Meet the Whole Food Revolution Team, Dr Nelum (GP) and Life Coach Ronit

Meet your Team!

Meet the team

Science tells us what matters. Lifestyle puts it into practice. Mindset helps make it last.

Whole Food Revolution brings together medical and metabolic science, practical lifestyle education, and behaviour-change and mindset expertise to help women 40+ create sustainable change.

Two complementary perspectives. One shared commitment to helping you understand your body and put that knowledge into practice.

Dr Nelum Dharmapriya and Ronit Baras together
Dr Nelum Dharmapriya and Ronit Baras

The people behind Whole Food Revolution

Dr Nelum Dharmapriya

Dr Nelum Dharmapriya

GP & Founder

With more than 30 years as a clinician, Dr Nelum brings deep experience in general practice, metabolic health and patient education. She helps women understand the changes happening in midlife — including insulin resistance, weight, chronic disease risk and long-term health — so they can make informed, sustainable choices.

Dr Nelum graduated from the University of Aberdeen in 1995 and worked in general practice in the UK before moving to Brisbane with her family in 2009. In 2012, she and her husband established Narangba Doctors. Patient education has remained central to her work throughout her career.

Ronit Baras

Ronit Baras

Behaviour Change & Mindset Coach

Ronit is an educator, author and behaviour-change coach with decades of experience in emotional intelligence, mindset and personal development. She helps women understand the beliefs, habits and emotional patterns that shape behaviour, and develop practical tools to create lasting change.

Ronit’s background is in special education, with more than 35 years of experience in coaching, teaching, presenting and writing. Alongside her books and the Family Matters blog, community work has been an important part of helping people build emotional and social understanding.

When doing the “right” things wasn’t enough.

I had spent years helping patients look after their health. Yet, in my own fifties, I found myself struggling with changes I hadn’t expected. I was exercising regularly and eating what I believed was healthy food, but my sleep was poor, I had heartburn, I was snoring, and my thinking didn’t feel as clear as it once had.

Questioning what I had accepted

At first, I accepted these changes as part of menopause and getting older. With a strong family history of type 2 diabetes, I worried that I was heading in the same direction. It was frustrating to be doing what I would advise my patients to do and still not feel well.

Food was also part of my identity. Growing up in Sri Lanka, I loved the rice, roti, hoppers and other foods of my childhood. Rethinking familiar meals meant changing long-held beliefs, not simply following a new food list.

Learning — and living — a different approach

Learning more about insulin and metabolic health opened a new chapter. I changed my nutrition towards a low-carbohydrate, healthy-fat approach and began noticing changes in my energy, clarity and sleep. My metabolic markers improved, and I re-established my morning meditation habit.

That experience sent me back to books, podcasts, seminars and the science behind what I was experiencing. It changed the conversations I had with patients and led me to combine education with medical support in my practice. Whole Food Revolution grew from wanting to make that understanding available to more people.

My own journey reminded me that health is personal. Understanding the science matters, but so does finding a way to live it within your own culture, habits and everyday life.

Change has always been personal for me.

My interest in health and mindset began long before I became a coach. I spent much of my childhood around doctors, hospitals and medication. Later, struggling at school became another turning point: taking responsibility for my thoughts, feelings and actions helped me change the direction of my life.

Learning through family life

As a parent, my daughter’s health challenges prompted me to pay closer attention to food and to read product labels for the first time. Over time, our family became more conscious of what we ate, moving towards whole foods and reducing processed foods and sugar.

Those experiences shaped my interest in the connection between how we think, how we feel and what we do. They also informed my work in education, emotional intelligence and personal development: change involves the person’s beliefs and circumstances, not just information.

Meeting midlife in my own body

Menopause brought a new challenge. My weight was changing despite eating what I considered a healthy diet, exercising and seeking advice. I tried different approaches and felt frustrated that the effort wasn’t translating into the change I hoped for.

A conversation with my sister led me to explore a low-carbohydrate way of eating. I noticed a renewed sense of energy and wellbeing, but living differently also meant adjusting familiar choices and beliefs. My own experience reinforced why knowing what to do and actually doing it are different things.

I bring that lived perspective to coaching. My role is to help people understand their patterns, find strength within themselves and develop practical tools that fit their lives.

Two perspectives. One whole-person approach.

We don’t teach this from the sidelines. We live it.

We are midlife women ourselves, navigating family, work and our own health. We know that understanding what to do and actually living it are different things. We continue to practise the principles we teach, encounter challenges, adjust and learn.

Health is wider than food alone. Strength, sleep, stress and sustainable habits all deserve attention. Our lived experience is one reason Whole Food Revolution brings together science, lifestyle and mindset.

SCIENCE

Science helps us understand what is happening in the body.

LIFESTYLE

Lifestyle helps us put that knowledge into practice.

MINDSET

Mindset helps us understand why change can be difficult — and how to make it last.

These perspectives underpin the Three Foundations within our Power of 8 philosophy: Proof — Know It. Practice — Live It. Programming — Become It.

Let’s find your next step.

Explore what’s right for you, or start a conversation with our team.

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Dr Nelum Dharmapriya

General Practitioner

Read about her health revolution journey
Read more about Dr Nelum

Women’s Health

Metabolic Health 

Lifestyle Medicine

Weight Management 

Insulin Resistance 
Chronic Disease Management 

Ronit Baras

Life Coach

Read about her health revolution journey
Read more about Ronit

Emotional intelligence
Motivation
Mind & Body connection
Change management
Mindfulness
Relationships between children, teens, family, couples & parenting

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Dr Nelum’s health revolution journey

My health journey, much like all health journeys  started one day. It is always a day that you wake up from getting used to not feeling healthy and decide you’ve had enough. That health is your right, and you are going to claim it, no matter what.

As opposed to awakening, deterioration of health happens slowly. Much like the frog in water that can be boiled to death if  the temperature increases the slowly, we humans can deteriorate in our health until we die.

As doctor, A GP with over 20 years’ experience, who dedicated herself to health, with many years of learning and experience, I have witnessed deterioration of health to… death. Every day in my clinic, I would do all that I could to prevent it. You can imagine how shocked I was to find myself in the same place my patients were. When I asked myself how I got there? The answer is always, slowly.
I got used to the weight, got used to the aches and difficulties in sleeping… As I said, slowly.

It was one day that I looked at a photo of myself and realized I was getting rounder, just like my mother did at the same age. My waist was thickening and I had love handles to die for!  In a moment of honesty, I had to admit that my health has deteriorated significantly over the years and reached a peak low when I reached my fifties. My sleep was dreadful, I woke up four times every night to go to the toilet.  I snored, had heartburn, my memory was dreadful, and I wasn’t as switched on as I was before. I hardly drank water as I was constantly going to the toilet.
I honestly didn’t understand how I got there. I took care of my body and mind,  I was exercising  five times a week at the gym, I ate, what I considered, healthy food. I did all the “right” things and still I didn’t feel healthy.

To survive the shock of not being able to do the things I could do before, I accepted those things as inevitable part of menopause and aging. This acceptance also meant I had to accept the fact that, since I have a very strong family history of diabetes (my mom was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in her early 50’s and most of her family had died early of Diabetes related complications) diabetes was waiting for me, just around the corner.

This acceptance of the deterioration of my health as a part of getting old, created a love hate relationship with food. Growing up in Sri Lanka, food was an important part of my culture. Rice, roti, hoppers, string hoppers, kiribath, kottu are just a few of the incredible variety of foods that I grew up with. I loved my food and was considered ‘chubby’ in my teen years. The joy of eating was no longer joy. It always came with worry for my health.
All my life, I used exercise as a friend. It was forever my stress buster. At the age of 38th I ran the London Marathon.  When I arrived in Brisbane at the age of 40, I was running multiple times a week including one 16km run. Over the years, I struggled to maintain the long-distance runs. I felt tired and irritable after running. As I reached 50, I could barely manage 6km. I kept going to the gym five times a week, but the weight just kept increasing and my health issues just got worse.
I mainly felt frustrated.
How was I supposed to help my patient’s if I can’t help myself?
Many times, I told myself “Come on Nelum, you are a doctor, what would you tell your patients to do?” and I did exactly that, but it just didn’t work. I knew something was wrong.

Sometimes you need to get very low to realize that something is wrong, but such low holds a lot of potential. It is a point when you realize getting used to not feeling healthy is not healthy. You just know there is something you don’t know, and you dare to open your eyes to new possibilities.
I was in that low.
In a search for something new, I stumbled upon the hormone Insulin, its importance in managing weight and health and the low carb healthy fat lifestyle. ‘Low carb’ was a shock to the system! Having My head and my body were at war. My mind was in total disbelief, because it was against anything I held true for 27 years of medicine. But within a few weeks my body started recovering and loving it.
I tried to remember how many courses in healthy eating I have had during my years of studying, None! I remember the food pyramid and it was exactly what I was teaching my patients.
Within days, I felt my mind was clearer, as if a fog had lifted. Gradually, within 3 months, all my health problems changed! I was sleeping well, heartburn and snoring had disappeared, I felt clear headed, I was drinking 2-3L of water each day, my morning meditation habit was re-established, I lost weight but most importantly my metabolic markers improved significantly. I was no longer on the trajectory to type 2 diabetes!

I was over the moon. After struggling with this health deterioration for years, I was able to change it within three month and I wasn’t hungry throughout this process. Not even slightly hungry.
Every eating plan I gave my patients, or I have tried myself, involved hunger. With this low carb, healthy fat lifestyle, the focus was on what to eat and not how much, which made life easier and sustainable. I was full. I had energy. I ate and my weight came off. I actually felt younger.

The hardest thing was to change my mind about what is healthy and what is not healthy for me to eat. Having grown up with carb rich foods for every meal, it took some getting used to. Much like most people, I have been conditioned to be afraid of fat. I struggled to believe that I eat so much fat and still lose weight and feel better.

I was so excited with my success; I embarked on a journey of learning. I gobbled books, watched interviews, listened to podcasts, and went to seminars. I was dreaming about it at night. My brain was re-arranging itself. I wanted to know everything there is to know about this way of eating. As a doctor, it was essential for me to know the medical implications of each section of this lifestyle.

I learned in this new chapter in my life that even though I had studied medicine, I hadn’t studied health. I was a doctor but not a healer. I was determined to change it!
My success was obvious for everyone around me, including my patients. For years I had empathised and sympathised with their frustration at not being able to lose weight and their dissatisfaction with their health. I couldn’t offer anything more than my support. After I improved my own health, I decided to help my patients get over obesity and heal, by learning about this lifestyle and adopting it. I was able to escort them throughout this change with medical supervision and was astonished that within a few weeks, some of my patient’s health improved significantly. Some were able to get rid of medications they have been taking for years. It felt good. I have joined the revolution in the health industry and within my small world, I had started a revolution.
The success stories of my patients spread like fire and shortly after, the interest grew. To meet the demand and reach more people, I combined workshops with one-on-one medical supervision in my practice. Word of mouth has created an awareness that opened many people’s eyes to new possibilities, the healthy possibility that weight management and health is within reach.

Shortly after, I started Whole Food Revolution where I dedicate myself to helping people pave the way to healthier version of themselves with weight loss as an added bonus, all under medical supervision.

Finally, I can offer something different, something REVOLUTIONARY that works!
Remember,  Health is your right, claim it!
Welcome to the revolution!
Nelum

Dr Nelum Dharmapriya

General Practitioner

Dr Nelum Dharmapriya (MBChB, MRCP, DRCOG, DPPF, FRACGP) graduated from the University of Aberdeen, UK in 1995.

I was a partner in a General Practice in the north of England for 7 years prior to moving to Brisbane in 2009. Together with my husband, I established Narangba Doctors in 2012.

I am a dedicated GP with a passion for making a difference in the lives of my patients. With years of experience and a commitment to holistic care, I strive to integrate medical knowledge with personalised approaches to enhance overall well-being.

I embarked on my medical journey at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, where I obtained my medical degree in 1995. Following my graduation, I built a successful medical career in General Practice in the United Kingdom before making the life-changing decision to relocate to Brisbane with my family in 2009. In 2012 my husband and I realised a lifelong dream of establishing Narangba Doctors—a thriving medical centre that has grown to include 10 GPs and has earned an excellent reputation for comprehensive and compassionate care.

Throughout my career, I have been passionate about medical education and training. For the past five years, I have had the privilege of working with Healthcert International, facilitating a full-day workshop on Intrauterine Systems. This workshop provides a step-by-step guide to intrauterine contraception procedures, emphasising safety guidelines, patient counselling, case scenarios, and hands-on practice using simulated pelvic models. It is immensely rewarding to empower fellow GP’s with the knowledge and skills to deliver quality care in this specialised area.

In 2021, I was honoured to be appointed to the Clinical Advisory Group of the Brisbane North Primary Health Network (PHN). This role allows me to contribute valuable insights from a clinician’s perspective, providing advice and guidance on relevant programs and projects undertaken by the PHN and Metro North Health. I am grateful for the opportunity to shape and improve healthcare services within our community.

My personal health journey has been a driving force in shaping my current approach to patient care. I have delved deep into the science of metabolic health, with a particular focus on the critical role of the hormone insulin in weight regulation and chronic disease pathogenesis. Applying this knowledge in my practice has resulted in remarkable transformations for my patients—achieving sustainable weight loss, improving chronic conditions, and enhancing their overall quality of life. I am wholly dedicated to educating my patients and fellow GPs about the significance of metabolic health and the simple back to basics principles that prioritises long-term well-being.

With a blend of medical expertise, a passion for education, and a genuine commitment to patient care, I strive to provide a holistic approach to well-being.

Ronit Baras

Life Coach

Ronit Baras is an educator (B. Ed special education) life coach, author, therapist, NLP practitioner, Family constellation facilitator, Reiki therapist, journalist, Justice of peace and motivational speaker.
She specialises in emotional intelligence, with over 35 years of experience in coaching, teaching, presenting, and writing.

Ronit is the author of five books. She has been writing for 38 years and her writing has appeared in educational , health and wellbeing magazines around the world.  Her blog “Family Matters” www.ronitbaras.com  is a great practical resource for readers already containing over 1600  original articles on personal development, emotional intelligence, education, relationships, family life , parenting, health and wellbeing.

Ronit is highly involved in community building. She was the state director of the Together for Humanity Foundation, Was the school’s program director of the Global Learning Center and she worked with many organizations around Australia to increase social intelligence health and wellbeing. For her community involvement, she has been nominated for the International Women’s Day Peace award by the Women’s Federation for World Peace and twice for the Australian of the Year award.

Ronit’s health revolution journey

My journey into health, went through lots of … sickness. I was born with a physical disability, was under antibiotics most of my childhood, had severe eczema on the palms of my hands, knees and elbows using millions of creams, a huge polyp on my vocal cord that did not allow me to speak, low iron level, extreme learning difficulties and many behavioural issues and most of that time I was medicated. Until the age of 12, I spent most of my time with doctors, in hospitals and with medication and one day I just felt  sick and tired of… being sick.

I know now that it was a good place to be because it was such a “Low” that started the movement into the right direction towards healthy Ronit. I call those events, quantum moment, because they paved my life  in a path to health. Maslow called them “Peak experiences”. 

I remember it vividly. I simply got up one day and said, “ no more”. No medications, no creams, no doctors, no antibiotics and though my family freaked out and expressed it very loud, I was determined. I found peace and healing in that decision. Surprisingly, most of the medical issues disappeared. My mind connected “taking charge” with “health”.

At the age of 15, I have experienced the second “low” that changed my life and put me on my path to emotional health. I was kicked out of school for being a horrible student with many failures on my report card ( I was horrible, no excuses!) and  again, I got up in the morning one day  and said, “I’m sick and tired of it, that’s it! no more!” and refused to leave school, took responsibility over my thoughts, feelings and actions and in less than 4 months I changed all my grades, became a school captain, received a scholarship for excellence, had a boyfriend ( he is still my boyfriend), took part in a prestige youth delegation, published my first poetry book. Wow, my life took a huge turn from failure to success.  It was a huge shift to taking responsibility over my mind and you can tell how my brain connected “taking responsibility” with “success and happiness”.

The third “sick and tired” moment happened when my eldest daughter, who was 1.5 years old at the time, had Pneumonia for six months in a row and the antibiotic she received, one after the other, did not help at all. The private paediatrician we paid a fortune to see in his private mansion (we were desperate) said she had Asthma and told us off that we didn’t give her the antibiotic properly, which we did. We were “good patients” who follow the orders.
Throughout the whole six months, I had a friend who told me not to give her antibiotics  and seek alternative ways, but I thought she was a lunatic. One day a family friend suggested I remove dairy from my daughter’s food. It was the first time in my life, I read the labels on products. Within a week the fever was gone. Within 10 days the heavy breathing disappeared and within 3 weeks the red, dry cheeks were a history. We got  our very healthy girl back ( She is 34 years old and still very healthy).

After my daughter  recovered, I contacted our “ lunatic” friend and said, “ talk to me now, she is healthy, I think I’m ready to listen”. She was kind to us and gave us a book about the combination diet ( separating carbs from proteins). I started this lifestyle with my younger sister and after several days I felt totally… awake. My husband joined a week later, shocked at my level of energy ( and I was energetic before). Slowly we became more health conscious. We were tuned to our body and slowly cut processed food,  the sugar, cut the junk, cut the whites, cut coffee. It was amazing, we felt like we didn’t make the change, our body did.  Our body just felt better with eating mostly whole food and all other health issue totally disappeared.  “We are what we eat” became a slogan in our family. It was a slogan in my mind.

Every “Sick and tired” in my life was an opportunity. It opened my mind to other possibilities. Henry Ford said: “If You Always Do What You’ve Always Done, You’ll Always Get What You’ve Always Got.”  I got to experience it in my body and mind.

Life was totally healthy for us as a family for many years. Over 32 years, the kids have seen a doctor, maybe twice. When my son had an accident and needed stiches in an emergency room in NSW, and we took him to my local clinic, they asked me “Who is he?” because they have never seen him.

 Every time the doctors said I had a serious health issue when I went  for regular check-ups, I applied  my  body and mind technique) I’m what I eat. I’m the master of my own destiny. Change my mindset, change my life) to get over it.  Fatty liver – gone! Glaucoma – Gone! Osteoporosis – Gone!

As a life coach, specialising in emotional intelligence, over the last 32 years I worked with thousands of clients around the globe, and did magic with my mind and body formula. I did it successfully without even knowing anything about low carb lifestyle, until  my menopause came.

Thanks to my work on my body and mind I had no menopause symptoms except extra weight. ( still don’t have any menopause symptoms!)  I gained so much weight even more than at the end of all my pregnancies. I don’t know what your “challenge” with extra weight is but for me It was like being 12 months pregnant all the time. Every three months, I was even more… pregnant. I was heading in speed to an elephant pregnancy.

The doctors said, “ You are just fat”.

 Well, I was perfectly healthy but… fat.

I went through many diets, 4 different dietitians, gym, hundreds of supplements and magic pills  and nothing helped.  My amazing GP said that if all people in the world ate what I ate (90% of my diet was : fruits, vegetables, and chicken)  we wouldn’t have any sickness in the world. He helped me get rid of the “guilt” and I reached my next quantum moment of “sick and tired”. Taking charge was necessary!

Eight years ago, In a conversation with my sister, who lives in the USA, she suggested I try the ketogenic diet.  I learned about it  in my special education degree  as a method to help children with Epilepsy but never gave it too much attention. My sister lost 60 kg over a year,  and I was so desperate, I gave it a go. Remember, for me it was to lose weight and nothing more.

Four days after starting, much like when we changed our diet to separating carbs from proteins, I felt a surge of energy. I was fully energetic before. I didn’t ever think it was possible to be “more energetic” than I was. I am called “energiser bunny” because I’m always on the move and in full blast, but this was a new energy.  

 In less than 6 month I have lost 17 kg of weight. I ate camembert, lots of butter, steaks, cream, and melted cheese (one of  my favourite foods) and honestly the hardest thing was to believe that I’m actually losing weight with so much fat, every day!  and to cut fruits. I was addicted to fruits.
I felt so good with my body and mind that for a full year, I didn’t touch anything out of the recommended food list because I cherished that wonderful feeling. Feeling vital, alive, strong, with laser focus, lighter, flexible, on top of my game, not being hungry. It felt awesome. I absolutely love it.

As  you suspected, everyone around asked me “ how?” and I happily shared my success story with friends and family and with my clients. About 5 years ago, I was introduced to fasting and that even boosted my energy more, and I realized that losing weight was just a bonus in this revolutionary lifestyle.

Everyone I shared my experience with, gained, health! No medications, not spending a fortune,  just combining mindset and food, real food, whole food  and understanding how our body works, did the magic trick.  

Though I worked with my clients only on the emotional side of losing weight, my greatest achievements were escorting them in recovering from a huge number of illnesses like: Graves, Hashimoto, Chron, cancer, ease symptoms of Parkinson,  frozen shoulder, diabetes, Multiple sclerosis ( I didn’t think it was possible) , Epilepsy, Auto immune diseases that doctors had no names for, high cholesterol, SIBO, arthritis, psoriasis, Depression, bi- polar and other mental illness, ease symptoms of Autism, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, learning difficulties… and my greatest achievement was reversing my mother’s Alzheimer at the age of 83 after suffering from it for 18 years.  (Yes, reversing!)

It was easy to help others to do something I practiced myself. I was a walking example of how it worked.  I believed in the body and mind connection with all my being, so I could easily help them learn, understand, and transition to a lifestyle that supports both body and mind and not just losing weight but gaining… health.

My role as a life coach is to help people find the strength within and gain control over their life. All those quantum moments in my life when I was “sick and tired”, were about regaining control. Controlling my destiny. I made it a life purpose to help others control their destiny. 100% of the people who combined eating healthy and managing emotions, improved, and I was over the moon for living my purpose.

Nicola Tesla said: “Illness comes from mental decline. A man should be his own doctor. If he is not quiet from the inside, then all his medicine and the best doctors are in vain. The subconscious mind of the modern man is like restless ocean with great stormy wind. The subconscious mind full of impressions makes the soul restless. Emotions then boil like volcano  eruption. Without working on emotions, spirituality is just a tower of card.”

My quantum moments took me through the realization that the combined work on body and mind is essential in this quest for health and happiness. This is exactly what we offer in “whole food revolution”. A revolutionised system to gain control over your own body and mind, claim your health and be happy. Happy with your body, happy with your weight, happy with your health,  happy with your thoughts, happy in your relations with self and others. Happiness is a  choice!  We help you choose!

I invite you to join our revolution and take charge over your life. With the proper guidance, the right food choices, the right emotional stamina, the right adjustment to your life circumstances and personality, you can lose the weight and optimise your health.  Health is your right.  You just have to claim it.

I welcome you to our holistic programs which is backed up by science, is practical and healing.
Welcome to the revolution!

Remember, Happiness is a choice! And so is health!

Ronit
The Happiness’ coach.
https://www.behappyinlife.com
https://www.ronitbaras.com/

Deb Finucane

Registered Nurse & Midwife

The Human Body absolutely fascinates me!!  The Body is such a sophisticated and wonderful machine that is magical when it works well and soul destroying when it doesn’t.

With an eager heart I commenced my Nursing training in Tamworth Base Hospital, thirsty to learn as much as I could.  I was fortunate to be exposed to all areas of Nursing in my Hospital Training.  I enjoyed every moment helping patients through their health journeys.  I was ever amazed at the patient’s inner strength to heal.  Some patients would not let their disease define them, while others, unfortunately, let disease swallow them up!

Once I completed my Nurse Training I headed to Sydney and worked at Westmead Hospital, consolidating my knowledge.  I went on to do my Midwifery training and continued on in Midwifery for the next 20years.

My Dad always wanted me to move back to Tamworth, so I decided to do just that.  I worked in the Maternity Ward for a few months and then moved into OML Pathology, as a Venepuncturist.  Here I learnt about Pathology testing/collecting and I met my future husband.

We moved to Brisbane together in and I continued at Springwood QML Laboratory as a Lab Tech setting up tests in the different areas as a Lab Assistant, along with Venepuncture and Couriering when needed.

A year later I decided to go back into the Hospital System and started work in the Neonatal Nursery at Mater Mothers Hospital.  This was an amazing journey!  The babies could fit in the palm of my hand!  We folded washers into quarters to use as a nappy.  They are such tough little beings!  Their journey is long and arduous.  It was such joy for the Staff when the parents would bring the little ones back a few years later, happy and healthy, running up the hallway.

The next few years that followed, saw the birth of our 2 children, working night duty as Casual Relief Staff. 

Trying to keep some stability at home, my Husband and I both did shift work, I started working as a Midwife alongside an O&G in his surgery, assisting with Antenatal Care and Gynae issues.  I found these next 10years very rewarding.  Guiding young mothers through their pregnancy and watching them build their families.  I worked closely with our mothers with Diabetes and learnt a lot about how the body metabolizes sugars etc as pregnant ladies are very compliant with their diets.

Next, I moved into Community Aged Care, where I was a Case Co-Ordinator for Aged Care Packages, tending to the elderly and frail in their homes, and helping clients through their “end of life” journey.  This time of my career proved to be a very spiritual journey.

Finally, into ‘GP Land’ and this is where I’ve truly found my passion – in Preventative Medicine.  I love working with the GPs and helping Patients obtain their life health goals.  Listening to their stories and guiding them through their healing process, I find this very rewarding.

Deb’s health revolution journey

I grew up in the country, the eldest of 4 children and heavier than my “skinny Mini” siblings.  But I loved to play sport, so I maintained my weight as a child.  My mother always cooked healthy meals, we seldom had sweets, pasta or rice dishes.  We were a “meat and veg” family with a slice of bread and jam for sweets if we ate all our dinner.  If Mum made sweets, it was fruit and ice-cream/custard or bread and butter pudding with fruit.  I felt well, healthy, and loved to run.

Once I started Nursing, I put on weight slowly, with all the shift work, lack of regular sleep patterns, not planning meals and cooking/eating on the run.  I couldn’t do the regular sport I was used to, which took its toll on my body and my energy levels.

At 25 my tummy just ached whenever I ate anything.  The Medical advice at the time was take some Mylanta.  I found a Naturopath who diagnosed food intolerances to Wheat, Beef, Nightshade Veges, etc.  It was also suggested that I had “Gut Candida”. So, I did some research myself, identified that when I ate sugar and yeast, my tummy pain was worse, so I decided I would try to cure myself.  According to what I had learnt, Gut Candida needed to be “Starved out”. 

Luckily, I met a girl who had similar symptoms, and had spent 6 months in Thailand trying to cure herself.  She found that drinking Coconut water daily had eased her symptoms and moved on to use Coconut Oil daily as a long-term management.  So, I tried this, which gave me some relief but symptoms still flared on occasion.

I thought I was ok.  I was tired, but hey, I had 2 kids under 5yrs and was working 4 days a week, expected right?  My turning point was a Family Portrait Session.  I looked at these photos of myself and all I saw was someone sick and struggling with their health!  My eyes were dull, skin sallow and I was carrying extra weight.  I pushed myself through the day, crashed at night and woke feeling unrested, to do it all again.  Things had to change!!

I met a lady who had studied Chinese Medicine and did Colonics.  She explained to me how I could heal my body using food and some supplements.  This turned into a 20yr management plan with guidance and treatments.  She helped me clear my gut of “Candida”, restoring vitality and taught me how to maintain good health by using food remedies.  I felt blessed to have met her.

My gut now felt more comfortable, when, menopause hit me.  The sugar swings were affecting my mood and the bloating was uncomfortable.  I decided to stop eating Sugar all together.  I started to feel a little better, but the hard part was justifying my choice to other people at work, friends, and family.  The most common comment being “you can have a little bit, surely that won’t hurt you”.  Well, actually, it did, my heart started racing a few hours later, not pleasant!!  So, I decided I would simply state “actually sugar is not my friend, it makes my heart race”. Magic!!  They stopped asking. 

My weight started to stabilize reducing the sugar, but I still couldn’t lose weight and now I was 30kg-40kgs overweight.  My Blood Pressure was up, I had Reflux and was on Medication for both.

I liked to walk, my friend Nelum, wanted to get a team together to train for the Sunshine Coast Trek, so I signed up for the training.  We did some amazing treks and my fitness was getting better, I learnt so much more about how the body heals and strengthens with movement.  I did a lot of rolling and stretching to maintain movement without pain. 

Then Nelum invited friends to join her on a trek in Nepal – This was a bucket -list moment for me!  We trained for 18months, and the trip was amazing!!  Unfortunately, I got Altitude Sickness and needed to be Airlifted to hospital. The Helicopter ride down was amazing!!

While they were checking me out in Hospital, the Triage Nurse asked me why I was climbing mountains at aged 60, I should be home with my grandkids!

But even with all that training, I only lost about 5kgs.  However, I did come back from Nepal lighter than I’d been in years, something that I had almost given up on.  Feeling inspired that it may well be probable for me to lose the weight, I made an Appt with a Nutritionist.  She did a genetic test and put me on supplements according to my body’s specify needs.  I had finally found someone that understood the body on a different level and didn’t tell me to eat less and exercise more.  In fact, her first lot of advice was – stop eating Wheat, Dairy and Sugar.  I was almost thankful, as these things had upset my system for most of my life, finally some validation.  I felt empowered.  I had never tried to eliminate dairy.  I moved to Almond milk in my coffee which was surprisingly easier than expected.  I lost 8kgs in the first 8 weeks! – this was a new experience for me.   I was excited to continue my journey. 

My next hurdle was the dreaded “plateau”.  I had lost 15kgs, now I was just Hungry!!  The intermittent fasting was becoming difficult, and I was waking at night hungry.  At this point, Nelum, invited me to a friend’s wholefood Cooking Classes.  (Nelum had started her own journey by this time) This class showed us how to cook food that was Gluten, Dairy and Sugar free.  I couldn’t wait to see how to cook this way.  I love cooking and I was keen to learn more about food preparation.  The plan I was following was getting a little boring.   

We were taught some wonderful ways to prepare food and how to eat the correct way for “Happy Hormones”.  My “plateau” became less stressful.  I had done some research into why the Plateaus happen (body’s way of taking you back to the previous weight).  Body needs time to reset and recalibrate a new base weight.  So, with this in mind, I ate when I was hungry, but did not over-eat and only ate the foods that were recommended, and now, the variety of food I could eat increased and was far more interesting to prepare and enjoy.  I maintained my weight for the next 2 months, then my weight started to slowly reduce again. 

My journey continues and I’m not putting a time frame on it, just enjoying good food, new energy levels and learning more about food preparation.  I like eating this way and feel inspired every time I get to prepare a meal for someone.  Good food is tasty and satisfying.  But more importantly I feel better after eating a good nourishing wholefood meal.

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