Total Wellness With Jillian Cumberland

During my 20s I was always on a diet. Atkins, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and taking all sorts of magic pills that promised the world! Of course nothing worked. I did have some success but almost immediately put it back on with interest as it wasn’t sustainable or even healthy in some cases (sound familiar?). I put on a lot of weight in my pregnancies, but interestingly enough I put on more during my first sons first year of life.
My first son was, as they say a ‘colicky’ baby – always crying, never slept more than the dreaded 40mins (even at night), had chronic diarrhea and was losing weight. By the end of his first year he was off the growth chart and not doing great. He was never sick enough for doctors to be concerned about (I went to numerous doctors seeking answers) but he was never quite ‘well’ either. This was, of course, the reason I put on even more weight. I was always looking for that next sugar hit to keep me awake after a year of sleep deprivation. Fast food became the norm.
A mothers instinct is always right, I kept looking for answers (thanks Google), babies should not be behaving in this way. This is when I came across food intolerances and I started my health journey. My son was intolerant to dairy, gluten, soy and egg. After removing his triggers from his diet he started sleeping, eating more, gaining weight and was so much happier. My newly gained knowledge of nutrition and food sensitivities/allergies had me remove all additives from his diet too.
Soon after, my second son arrived. He had started to show signs of similar behaviours as my first son. There was no way I could go through that again. As he was breastfed I changed my diet from the beginning. This is where my weight began to change. I started feeding myself and my boys a diet free from our triggers (dairy, gluten, soy and egg) and focused on wholefoods and no chemical additives. Eating real, fresh food.
Fast forward to 2.5yrs later; I lost 25kgs in the first year and have maintained that weight loss, eat a sustainable whole food diet – as does my family, have more energy than ever before, sleep well, have no aches and pains and have a much calmer happier disposition. My experiences and knowledge about food intolerances, weight loss and nutrition are now backed up by the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and am now an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach.