Seventeen years ago in 1989, I was a single parent of a special needs child, I had no money and was teaching in a primary school. I had a vision, a vision to make a difference in young childrens lives. Against all odds, I opened a preschool for 40 children, employing 8 staff.

My aim was to provide the best education and care for preschool children at a time when early childhood education was not regulated or funded as it is now. I mortaged my parents home in Milford and managed sleepless nights of worry and opened a successful early childhood centre.

I worked 10 hour days with the children and at least another seven hours each evening.

Weekends were spent at the centre, maintaining the building equipment and the grounds. I ran on adrenalin, sheer determination and junk food. I wore many hats throughout the day, including teacher, mentor, supervisor, manager, receptionist, office administrator, cook, cleaner, groundsman, nurse, surrogate mother, bill payer, wage clerk and tax collector. When I stumbled home exhausted, I changed my hat to super mum until my 2 year old went to sleep. Then I put my administration hat back on and worked for another three to seven hours on the computer.

Stress became my middle name. Food and meals became whatever I could grab in a hurry. It had to be quick and easy and require no thought. Food became my comfort during the long nights sitting at the computer. I would continuosly pick at chips, chocolate, biscuits and lollies. Takeaway foods were ideal because I could order them, pick them up and be eating in less than 10 minutes.

Then the weight piled on, the stress continued to grow and there was no time for me.

I used food to help me handle the stress. My doctor diagnosed me with high blood prssure, high cholesterol and acid reflux. She told me to take time away from the business, eat healthily and exercise, but when was I able to fit this in? I had no time for myself, so I continued getting fatter, unhealthier and more stressed.

Five years ago I started experiencing medical problems that a string of doctors and specialists could'nt diagnose. During two years I was hospilised seven times and underwent five operations, still with no diagnosis.

One morning I woke up, dragged myself out of bed , looked in the mirror and diagnosed myself. I was burnt out. I had invested 15 yars of my life to being superwoman for everybody else, but had never looked after myself physically or emotionaly. I had strived for perfection but burnt myself out along the way. As a result my body began to fail me. I set about forming a plan to get my health back, which meant putting myself at the top of the list. I had to to come first in order to look after everybody else. I needed to eat right, exercise and make time for myself. I needed help to make these changes.

Enter my nutrition coach from Real Nutrition. My journey of a thousand miles began with a single step, meeting my nutritionist. After starting at a women's gym, I saw Jacquie and Sue advertising a free seminar about fat loss and my ears pricked up. I couldn't wait 2 weeks so I raced home and made an appointment straight away.

That was last August. I now see my nutritionist every wednesday and she is one of the most important people in my life. She teaches me and mentors me on my long journey to losing 40 kilos of fat. She makes me feel very comfortable, like I am part of the Real Nutrition family. She fine tunes my healthy eatting plan every week and tops up my nutritional supplements. She supported me to move to another gym and get a personal trainer to undergo regular resistance training and cardio sessions.

To date i have lost 14 kilos of fat. I feel so healthy, strong and in control.

I haven't been sick for months, and my doctor wants to take me off my blood pressure and cholesterol medication at my next 3 monthly visit.

I am also finding my healthy eating plan easy to manage. I don't crave the sugar like I used to, my skin looks and feels great, I am more fit and toned and full of energy. My eating plan and daily exercise is now foremost in my life and I feel I can maintain it for the rest of my life.

My business survives without my continuous presence. Perhaps it's not as perfect as it was, but I had to make a choice. I could live and reduce my stress levels or die young and leave my two boys with no one. I choose to live!

I want to thank Real Nutrition for being amazing, for helping take me out of my comfort zone and assisting me in ensuring I live a long and healthy life.

Nikki Allen. 

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