How Alison’s life turned around after an Ayurvedic detox and being introduced to a new routine

After 24 years living in Europe, I was preparing to return home to Melbourne Australia, when my dad passed away unexpectedly. When I got back I took over from my dad as mum’s full-time carer – she has Parkinson’s Disease.

It was a difficult year, I was very stressed and put on a lot of weight. My health went out of the window.

My blood pressure also got quite high – for me it’s very dangerous to have high blood pressure because I have a genetic disorder, Marfan Syndrome, which affects the connective tissue and cardiovascular system. About four or five years ago I had preventative open-heart surgery. Being overweight isn’t good for me at all.

The thing is, I was in a vicious, downward spiral. Eating unhealthy food, feeling down and not taking care of myself. I was too tired to cook and would just throw something into the microwave; things just got worse and worse. The more weight I put on, the more lethargic I got. Plus, I wasn’t sleeping well and had bad psoriasis. In terms of motivation, I could barely function. I was so depressed and exhausted I could barely get out of bed. My body was saying it’s not happy!

Then I caught up with Jo towards the end of last year and she suggested I do the Health Dynamics  28-day re-set detox program in January. I thought it would be a good catalyst for change.

In the first week, I realised how much I’d been emotionally eating. During that week it was also the anniversary of my father’s death. It was a very emotional day. I was at a family BBQ with tons of party food and alcohol – because I was feeling down I was so tempted to scoff all the unhealthy food like potato salad, cakes and desserts, not to mention hitting the bottle!

I remember reaching out to the other people doing the detox by posting a message in our Facebook group. Everyone was so supportive they all rallied around me and said, ‘you can do it’. I think I would have caved in otherwise. It gave me the strength to get through those rough days.

From there, things have really gotten better. As I had eaten healthy previously after my surgery, it was not so much of a shock, it was more about reminding myself what I need and getting back into a positive routine. I really enjoy healthy food, and immediately started feeling much better.

I’ve finished the detox, but I’m still continuing on with the principals as it’s really working. I’m down more than 12kg, and still losing around 1kg every week. I love it, it’s easy and I’ve got so much energy. I’ve taken up yoga and meditation and am absolutely loving exercise for the first time in my life.

One of the biggest changes has been my routine shift. Jo and the team have dramatically changed my routine. I had always been an evening, night-time person. That’s when my brain would come alive. I had a habit of working late into the night, then going to bed around 11.30pm and still buzzing and not being able to fall asleep – or sleeping badly. Then I’d sleep in late in the morning because I was so tired. I was trapped in a cycle that was bad for my body and my brain.

Now I’m going to bed a lot earlier – ideally, I’m asleep by 9.30pm, which means I need to be in bed winding down by 9pm. I wake up at 6am or 6.30am. It’s amazing – I actually wake up feeling good at that time. Every day I get up and go for a walk along the beach.

Then I do my morning routine – tongue scraping, morning drink, have my breakfast, then I do a dry skin brush before my shower.

I’m dressed and ready to start the day by 9am and I’m really strict about my routine during the day. I drink my medicated water, take a proper hour off for lunch – aiming to get some time standing on the fresh, green grass. Then I’m really strict with ending my work-day at 5.30pm at the latest.

It’s all been such a turn-around for me. Before I would often only really start working around that time. Now I’m eating an early dinner at around 6:30/7 and start winding down for the night. I don’t have my phone in my bedroom anymore and I’m eating a healthy Ayurvedic diet which has been created specific to my imbalances and what is best suited to my body type. I also have a personalised plan for my health, which has really changed my life.

Not only have I lost a lot of weight, my health has improved considerably, I don’t feel stressed out or anxious and my blood pressure is at a healthy level. I’m feeling great and am so thankful to Jo and the team for putting me on this path, I literally am a whole new person!

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