Member Story – Mel Tollman – My Weight Loss Journey without “Rules”

I started my 16-week healthy eating course with Coach Ann in September 2023.

I was already exercising regularly but realised that I needed help with my eating habits and nutrition. I had previously followed many diets, including diet clubs, keto and low calorie. My head was full of rules that contradicted each other, and I was feeling despondent that, despite my best efforts, no real results had been achieved.

My first session was with other members of the course and having introduced ourselves, Ann talked about how the course would work, what would be required from us and we got to ask our own questions.  Feeling confident and ready to start, I was somewhat surprised when we were told we could choose recipes from any book during our first week and just cook and eat.

What no rules???  This was a new approach to me and it made me feel a little disconcerted initially. I was used to food lists, food combinations and some kind of calculation that told me what and how much I could eat. However, Ann’s explanations and confidence helped me to trust in the process and I went home to choose some recipes for the week.

As the course progressed, we were given daily tasks to do. Not taking very long at all, I chose to do them each morning, so I was set up for the day ahead. Every two weeks we were set a new habit. These were very simple to follow but very effective in helping us to learn about ourselves and our relationship with food. 

We also got to watch videos and tutorials which were helpful in educating us about food groups and which types were more healthy for our bodies.  There were no foods that were forbidden but we were encouraged to practice “mindful eating”. Ann speaks a lot about this!

At first, I didn’t see any physical change.  Once again, I started to become despondent but then I realised my relationship with food was changing.  I was slowly making different choices, stopping eating when full, etc. Basically adopting the new habits taught by the course.

It was strange at first.  Although I was allowed to eat exactly what I wanted, I was making healthier choices the majority of the time.

I signed up to do the second module of the programme in January and was now on my way to feeling more confident with my food choices whilst feeling liberated that no food was off limits.

I am writing this in the Summer of 2024 and I am now 18 pounds down.  It has been slow and steady but has included a couple of holidays and several weekends away.

If you are thinking about signing up for the next course, then do it! You will learn a lot!

I have learnt so much about food and eating but more importantly I have learnt that I don’t need hard and fast rules. Using the knowledge and skills I have acquired through the programme, I only need to trust myself to lose weight – nothing else.

~Mel

You can find out more about our 16 week health eating course at www.clubtowers.com/healthyeatingforlife or arrange a 20 minute free consultation with Coach Ann to ask any questions you may have. You can contact Coach Ann via [email protected].