One womans triumph on eating her way to slim, healthy and happy.

Three years ago I was 30 kilos overweight and depressed. I had stopped leaving my bedroom unless seeking food or having to go out to work. I was fat, miserable and lonely. I had socially isolated myself from my husband, family and friends and spent much of my time exhausted, crying and beating myself up.

I felt like I was stuck in a vortex of misery unable to get out and not knowing which way was up or down, just spinning mercilessly out of control and loathing myself, my situation and my life.

I ate to numb the anxiety which only made me physically feel worse. Even, comfort food was turning against me. During a 3 day eating binge, I ate to the point of physical fatigue and then promptly spent the next 10 minutes with my head down the toilet so I could make room to add more food. I saw this action as punishment and penance for how terrible a person I was. My life had spiralled out of control.

This moment was my awakening as somewhere deep down inside something was gnawing at me, quietly whispering, it doesn’t have to be this way.

I had no idea I was depressed until I allowed that voice to go from a whisper to a roar. IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY. The food I was eating was not only contributing to my massive weight gain but it was also contributing to my depression and anxiety.

It is widely known in scientific circles that 80-90% of our serotonin which is our happy hormone is created in our gut and fed back to our brain. How come I did not know this when I was using the wrong foods to try and make me happy? I was literally feeding my depression and anxiety with unhealthy food and an unhealthy gut.

I used an elimination diet to discover what was the cause of my weight gain, poor health and depression, cutting out gluten, wheat, sugar and commercial dairy. The weight literally began to drop off me and I had more energy than I sometimes knew what to do with! My brain fog was gone, I was no longer pre-diabetic and I was so much happier. I smiled more, I smiled wider and I smiled deeper.

“It’s a heartbreaking fact: depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. It is also the fourth leading contributor to the global burden of disease. Depression is the second largest cause of suffering next only to heart disease” Dr David Perlmutter, Grain Brain.

“It’s a heartbreaking fact: depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. It is also the fourth leading contributor to the global burden of disease. Depression is the second largest cause of suffering next only to heart disease”

Food is medicine. We can eat our way slim, healthy and happy. It is possible, it is biochemistry, it will change your life. It changed mine and continues to improve. I’m getting happier and the smiles are getting deeper

Bridget Davis, author of Eat Your Way Slim & Healthy,