After years of following fad diets, Ruth had developed a negative relationship with food and felt a lot of guilt over her food choices. However, this all changed when she joined Second Nature!
Over the past 4 months, Ruth has noticed a positive shift in her mindset and relationship with food. She’s found a new love of cooking and enjoys all foods without guilt. Her health goals have also shifted towards being fitter, healthier, and happier rather than solely focusing on the number on the scales.
*A stock image has been used*
A little bit about you
My name is Ruth, I live in Yorkshire with my husband and sons and am a primary school teacher. Before the programme, I seemed destined to gradually work my way up through the different dress sizes and an inevitable slide to worse health both physically and mentally. I had developed a bad relationship with food, alternating between dieting or removing “bad” items from my diet, then feeling guilty when I failed to maintain the standards imposed. That has all changed, thanks to Second Nature.
“Previously, I struggled to prioritise my own health. Second Nature has helped me on all aspects of this!”
Since joining SN, I have not only halted the slide into obesity but reversed it. I now feel fitter than I have done in years and I have more energy for all the things in life I enjoy – including teaching.
I struggled to prioritise my own health but since joining the programme, the SN app has helped me on all aspects of this: I now enjoy going to the gym most days of the week and find that, combined with a better understanding of what works best for me, I am now fitter and leaner than I have been in years. I also have more energy to do the other things that I enjoy in life too!
“The programme has helped me become more informed about what my body needs”
The SN programme works by giving me the tools to help me eat more healthily, both by improving my mindset and relationship with food, and by giving me a range of brilliant recipes – which the whole family enjoy! Focusing on reducing carbohydrates, I have made a significant change to how I eat. Most importantly, instead of trying to cut things out, then feel bad about failing, I now make a mindful choice about what I am eating. The programme has helped me become more informed about what my body needs, so I am better equipped to choose well.
Although I had dabbled in other diets and tried to get fit by myself, having the SN app has been amazing. Each week the app focuses on different aspects of health and wellbeing, not simply counting calories. The detailed information on food has been really helpful, as it has helped me understand the significance of the choices I make. This, in turn, has made it easier to make and maintain good food choices for my body. Similarly, the information on exercise and mental wellbeing has also contributed to the better me.
What features of the Second Nature programme have you found the most helpful and supportive?
As a teacher, and now a daily gym goer, attending an online class was not going to be possible. The app and support available has been extremely helpful – the daily articles in the 12-week programme have been informative and inspiring.
My message to the team at Second Nature is to keep up the good work. It is great to have friends recognise that I have lost weight, or seem happier – and I always explain why. There are many people out there who need you!
Is there any advice you would give to fellow members on the programme or anyone looking to make a positive lifestyle change?
The single most important lesson for me from the programme is to have and hold a vision of what I want for myself – not in terms of dress size or weight on the scales, but to be a fitter, healthier, happier me. When I make decisions about what I am doing that day, or eating/drinking, these are votes for the better me that I want to be. It’s okay if not all votes go the same way, but I now recognise and understand the significance of my choices, so I can choose either way without feeling guilty, but know that when I make the right choices, they are each contributing to the future I want. You can do that too!
You can read more Second Nature stories here.
