Welcome to Fashionably Balanced. My desire when creating this blog was to share with you my love for fashion and lifestyle trends as well as and most importantly my ongoing research into how to achieve a healthy, happy, holistic and balanced life. I would like to point out that I have no formal training or qualifications in healthcare, nutrition or holistic medicine and I don’t claim to have all the answers but I love to research and I’d like to share my findings with you in the hope that some of them may lead you to a happier, healthier, more fulfilled and fashionable you!
MY STORY
I have always had an interest in holistic health and wellbeing since long before it became the fashion statement it is today. Growing up with a mother studying to become an osteopath and later a naturopath and nutritionist, healing and a healthy lifestyle were very prevalent. Having said that, like most teenagers I went through a phase of eating little other than crisps and chocolate which whilst retaining my gangly teenage body left me feeling pretty rubbish. Becoming a fashion model in my late teens I began living a fairly un healthy lifestyle. There was definitely pressure to be super slim and most of my work involved overseas travel. Although with hind sight this was one aspect of my job that I loved most I also found it incredibly lonely and stressful. Being a naturally sensitive person I felt I had to take on a persona for each different job with a new client. This combined with the often physically challenging conditions models work in led to complete exhaustion. I was travelling across many different time zones and would often return from weeks away and find myself unable to get out of bed for a day or two. Although I loved my job I found it hugely stressful.
After marrying my husband in 2010 we soon began to think about starting a family. I was aware that for this to happen we would occasionally need to be in the same time zone! Also the stress and slight sense of foreboding I felt about my job didn’t seem to be helping as months went by and nothing happened. I gradually began accepting fewer and fewer jobs and at this time began looking at ways to improve my physical and mental health. I began this by looking deeper in to my nutritional needs and researching alternative therapies. I found myself a fantastic nutritionist and started having regular acupuncture for hormonal imbalances. I found that doing something proactive for my health almost immediately gave me mental clarity and a more positive outlook. On the day of my 31st Birthday I discovered I was pregnant.
I had a pretty great pregnancy, at times feeling better than I had done in years. I did a lot of relaxation, continued acupuncture, kept active with Pilates and gardening and practised Hypno-birthing which I believe helped me to achieve a short and drug free labour with my daughter who was born on Christmas Day 2012.
Becoming a mother has been a totally life changing experience. It has given me so much more confidence and trust in myself as well as the desire to be the best person I possibly can for the sake of my daughter. I’ve also been lucky enough that whilst being a stay-at-home mum for two years I’ve been able to carry on my research and quest to being the most rounded, complete and healthiest version of myself. Who knows where this journey will lead but I hope you might join me on it!
