My Story

Hi there!


My name is Mary and I'm 25, Irish and living in Australia. I discovered fitness and healthy eating about 3 years ago and it has completely changed my outlook on life! I am so passionate about it that I want to share my experiences in the hope that I can inspire others onto the road to a healthier happier life.


My unhealthy habits with food began in my early teens. I suffered from severe acne which really affected my confidence. I used to feel uncomfortable in my own skin. I have always had a love for food and turned to comfort eating a lot to make me feel better about myself. I was a self-confessed sugar addict! I would drown my sorrows in late-night bowls of pasta, ice-cream and chocolate binges. This habit always made me feel better temporarily but afterwards I would feel ashamed of myself. Furthermore it would aggravate my acne breakouts and the vicious cycle would begin all over again.

From about 16 years of age onwards I started to become more aware of my weight and my looks. I noticed that I didn’t look the way I wanted to in my clothes and began to develop the usual teenage girl body related insecurities. At this point my acne had settled down significantly due to a range of strong medications however the unhealthy habits that I had developed with food remained.

At 19 years of age I moved to England to go to university. It was my first experience of living away from home and having to fend for myself. It was at this point that my unhealthy habits really came to a head. I always understood the importance of eating well in theory however lack of knowledge about healthy choices combined with no exercise, late lectures and the student lifestyle including lots of alcohol and late-nights caused me to put on more weight. By the age of 21 I was 5ft 3” tall, about 16 kg overweight and a size 14-16. Despite a happy university life studying a course I loved with great friends and experiences, I felt lost in myself.

I felt that there was more to life than binge drinking and unhealthy eating. Seeing unflattering photographs of myself on Facebook and social media pushed me to a point where I knew I had to make changes. I wanted to start exercising but was too self-conscious to go to a gym.  I had participated in a wide variety of sports and activities as a child but never had a very competitive nature or much skill with team sports. As a result I always gave up very easy when things got hard or required more commitment than I was willing to give.

I liked the idea of starting my fitness journey from the privacy of my own home and so I bought some workout DVD’s that I discovered on late-night television advertisements. The exercises were extremely intense and I struggled with this given my low fitness levels initially. However once each workout was finished I experienced an endorphin-high and a feeling of accomplishment that I had never experienced before. It was amazing and spurred me on to keep pushing myself to new levels.

I knew next to nothing about calories, macronutrients, what to eat or how much to be eating so I got on the internet and started to research nutrition and meal plans. Don’t get me wrong I was very blessed to grow up in a family that always ate very well. My mother believed in the importance of eating whole natural foods and avoiding as much crap as possible. However in our modern society, things that we may think are healthy options are actually deceptively not so and can even feed our junk food habits. I was shocked to discover all the hidden sugars contained in countless amounts of packaged food that I associated with being healthy such as fruit juices and yoghurts.

I slowly started to make changes to my diet and after 3 months of eating healthier and consistently exercising I lost 6 kilos and dropped from 11 stone to 10 stone. I couldn’t believe my progress as I was too self-conscious and afraid of failure initially that I didn’t weigh myself or take progress pictures.

At this point through my reading and exploration of health and fitness I began to incorporate strength training into my weekly workout routine. Still too self-conscious to go to the gym I bought home weights and began another DVD program with an emphasis on weight-lifting. Another 3 months on and I had lost a further 9 kilos. I hadn’t consistently tracked my progress so it wasn’t until people started to comment on the changes taking place with my body that I realised how different and more healthy I looked.

Overall I felt amazing, my clothes fitted better, I had more energy and my confidence significantly improved. Exercise was no longer a struggle to incorporate daily and simply became the norm for me. It was like a switch had gone off in my head and I started to look forward to my workouts – my energy levels and overall mood felt off if I didn’t fit in some form of daily activity.

About 1 year ago, I discovered Sarah Wilsons ‘I Quit Sugar’ program – an 8 week detox program designed to rid you of sugar cravings and balance overall health and energy levels. Up until this point I was still a sugar-addict and despite eating healthier and making better choices I still slipped back into my old habits of junk-food blow outs more frequently than I would like. The program changed my life for the better as it educated me on the importance of eating a wide variety of healthy fats (yes fats!) and protein and to limit the majority of processed and packaged foods containing high amounts of processed carbohydrates and sugars.

Eating healthy is no longer a choice for me either it just feels natural and balanced. Don’t get me wrong it’s still important to splurge every now and again because life shouldn’t be about restrictions. But nowadays I feel happier and freer making healthy choices that are good for me, all the extra benefits or eating right and exercising are a bonus on top of that!

And now you know my story! That is why I have decided to start this blog, to reach out to other health and fitness enthusiasts and also more importantly to inspire others that are thinking about making a change but are unsure or don’t know where to start. If I can help at least one person with this then I will consider this adventure as a success!

I ask that you don’t post any negative comments! Nothing but good vibes and positivity!


Mary xxx