Rather than studying nutrition as my first degree, I followed my interest in food systems and the environment, and completed an undergraduate degree Marine Biology. This included a placement year working in a research laboratory in Germany where I spent my spare time exploring nutrition degrees. My dissertation evaluated the labelling of sustainable seafood, which really cemented my interest in the crossover between nutrition and sustainability.
I then started my Masters degree in Nutrition at the University of Leeds. I've focused my studies on women's health including pre- and postnatal nutrition, and nutrition through the menopause, and metabolic syndromes. I'm particularly interested in the non-diet approach, and focusing more on behaviours rather than weight as a marker of health. Part of becoming an accredited nutritionist is continually studying and developing, and I've since taken additional courses in fertility and pregnancy, and Intuitive Eating, so I can better help YOU in my clinic. I'm registered with the Association for Nutrition as an Associate Registered Nutritionist. Alongside the Enlivening Elle clinic, I work in a team providing support services for NHS patients with Type 2 Diabetes.
Like many teenage girls, I fell out of love with exercise during secondary school. I wanted to move my body, but felt as though there wasn't a sport for me after I stopped gymnastics. Then, along came yoga. As much as I enjoyed training at the gym, and joining fun classes, something about yoga really worked for me. The balance of a practice that encouraged you to breathe, and be soft, yet had me shaking and working harder than anything else I had done hooked me in, and I qualified as a 200 hours Vinyasa Yoga teacher whilst at university. Having an understanding in the role of strength and resistance training has shaped how I teach, building classes that both feel good and help the body to move in a healthy way. I later qualified as a Mandala yoga teacher to bring a more creative element of sequencing into my teaching.