From eating the kids' snacks because she was tired, lonely and drained to landing a new job, losing weight and finding confidence again.
“I don't want to be the old, fat mum in the playground.” Those were her first words to me.
She'd been out of the workplace for a decade and caught in a loop that will sound familiar to a lot of parents: self-soothing with food, followed by self-loathing, followed by the need to self-soothe again. She might finish the kids' fish finger tea, then reward herself with chocolate because she'd made it through bedtime. Tired, lonely and drained, she was quietly furious with herself for it.
As a mum myself, I recognised every part of her experience. So we got to work, one habit experiment at a time, one small win at a time. We built the evidence that she was capable and worthy, that she was enough.
After just four coaching sessions, here's what shifted for her:
[CHART: Confidence 5→7 · Self-compassion 2→4 · Fun 5→8 · Eating habits 4→7]
(scores self-rated out of 10, against metrics she chose as most meaningful to her)
She landed a brilliant new role after a decade out of the workplace. But the bigger change was underneath that: she had changed her habits, but she had also started to change her relationship with herself. The story isn't finished yet – and that's the point. This was never about a quick fix. It was about starting a journey towards lasting, meaningful change.
“I feel pride in myself for recognising an issue and looking for a solution. Talking honestly to an objective, experienced professional is essential – finding a way to start addressing things incrementally with real-world, common-sense solutions. You feel accountable to someone neutral who remains focused on your end game, as opposed to well-meaning friends who tend to kindly give you the answers you want rather than the ones you need.”
