Around 6 months ago I had cause to question why exactly I became a Thermomix consultant and whether I was still in the right frame of mind to be sharing information with all the wonderful households I have been meeting along the way. An inspiring training meeting with my Group Leader led to me pondering this very fact, and I ended up writing my Thermomix Go-Getters talk on that very subject of Why I Thermomix and just why Thermomix is so important to me....
So why did I decide to become a consultant? How did I end up here?
I thought I would just share a little bit about how I ended up getting started on my Thermomix journey. It is the story of becoming a Mum, post-natal depression and how food and behaviour can all be intertwined. I suppose it all began in 2010. In 2010, I became a Mum for the first time. In 2010, I was happy, reasonably newly married, and excited about starting my family. I was also about 30+ kgs overweight. I exercised occasionally, tried to eat well but other than that never put too much thought into what I was eating, or how I was living. By May 2010, when my little girl was born I was over 100kgs. My blood pressure crept up quickly and by mid pregnancy, I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and had my little girl 6 weeks prematurely. I was very unwell myself and spent almost 2 weeks in hospital. All in all it was a little traumatic start to motherhood.
But we were ok. I went home happy with my new family and set about navigating motherhood. By the time she was 2 months old my girl struggled with bad colic and reflux. It was not confirmed for a while as my current Dr assured me this was just what babies do. I was a new Mum – what did I know?! So we struggled through it. By 8 months old the reflux was starting to ease, but she was painfully covered in eczema. A few people suggested food reactions as a possible cause but when I mentioned it to our doctor it was dismissed super quickly. All of these things, are just things kids have, so I was told. By the time my girl was 16 months old I was struggling. We’d well and truly entered the “terrible twos” and while my mother’s group and friends talked about tantrums – well we had meltdowns. Screaming, uncontrollable meltdowns. She was always on the move – even more than a toddler normally would – it was like there was no off-switch at all! I went to see my local GP seeking someone to talk to about what was happening at home, but they really weren’t interested at all. After my little girl had a febrile seizure around the same time, and we spent a few days in hospital, it got a bit too much for me and after I had a good chat with one of the nurses they pointed me in the direction of new GP, a counsellor and also some parenting support.
Anyway to cut a long story short, together with the help from my support worker and the counsellor, I tried to get a few strategies together to help get things sorted on the home front. One day while discussing with my support worker what was happening at home, she asked me had I thought if food additives could possibly be a problem. To be completely honest I had no idea what she was talking about….I always thought I ate quite healthily? BUT I am a reader – I love reading and I love learning new things…..so off I went to the library and under her suggestion checked out the books Additive Alert by Julie Eady, and the Failsafe Diet by Sue Dengate. Well didn’t that open my eyes!!! Who knew they put these kinds of things in your food?! I decided we would trial a change of diet, and got my husband involved by promising we would only do it for 3-4 weeks just to see if it made any difference. Only 2 short weeks later – it was like we had a completely different child. WOW! My suspicions were confirmed around the 6 week mark when a day at day care resulted in an emotional breakdown, followed by another 2 days of a 2 year old banging her head on the floor alternating between screaming and crying and hysterical meltdowns. It was another 5 days after that to get her back to her happy self. After a call to the day care centre, we discovered that their normally mostly home cooked meals were combined that day with fruit cake and custard for afternoon tea. In case you aren’t aware – most packaged custards contain a food colouring called 160B – otherwise known as Annatto. Annatto is linked to children’s behaviour and learning problems, head banging, tantrums, irritability and hyperactivity. It was the last time for a very long time that we allowed our little girl to have packaged food, that wasn’t carefully considered by us, for their ingredients. Doing so bought about a massive positive change in her behaviour. Not only did her behaviour improve, but her eczema cleared, her skin and complexion brightened, the dark red rings under her eyes eased and she just became a happier, brighter little girl in general. Not to mention, how it eased the stress and tension at home.
I taught myself how to cook everything from scratch. All my sauces, baking etc. that used to come from a packet – no longer! Changing our diet I spent hours and hours in the kitchen and then I found Thermomix. I knew that I had to get one into my home. It was going to allow me and my family to eat well and save me so much time. It has been the best investment I have ever made for my family and household.
During all this though, I let my own health lapse. Already very overweight, I found I was getting tired all the time. I didn’t really have the energy to do even basic things. My support worker tried to gently coach me that it is hard to be a good Mum when you are running on empty. But still I kept on, pushing myself. I did lots of “low fat” eating, but still I ate on the run, and I made sure everyone else ate well, but not so much me… By 2013, while feeling better mentally, I was not in a great way physically. I was having chest pains on an almost daily basis, but the Dr’s could find no reason for this. I was still crazy tired all the time. I started having reactions to random things – firstly I became allergic to sunscreen, then alcohol, then I started reacting sensitively to shampoo and makeup and hair dye. I had chest pains, tummy pains, leg rashes, headaches and fatigue. I had so many tests and yet no results. So feeling a bit over it, to be honest, I took myself off to a Naturopath. Few discussions and tests later and her suggestion was virtually chemical sensitivities. Too much overloading my body with things that were pretty toxic, maybe not in small doses here and there, but for a body already unhealthy and overloaded….yes. She suggested multiple diet changes – firstly no wheat or gluten. – And bam – there disappeared my chest pains, mental fogginess and I had some energy back. No dairy except easily digested goats milk or cheese – and there disappeared my tummy aches. No food additives or colouring. No alcohol. I changed my skincare, my cleaning products, my makeup, my home – pretty much! Learnt techniques to cope with stress. Yes all the things that healthy people do, but I wasn’t doing. We talked about food and reactions to the body, and how food can affect your mood. Who knew food (and not just food, but what is in your food!) affected your mood, skin, and your brain? It seems so obvious now…but I was oblivious!
Along the way I lost 38kgs, learnt even more about cooking and food preparation, discovered a bit more about me and grew a stronger voice when talking to others. After all – it is up to me to change things for my family. Some of the most important lessons I have learnt out of all this is – you don’t have to take everything at face value, question everything and then question some more. How else can we learn? Talk to other people more - If those people had not talked to me about their struggles with food additives then, I may have been none the wiser. After all – you don’t know, what you don’t know. And finally YOU are just as important as everyone else – make time for you, to look after and nurture yourself, as well as your families.
14 months after getting my Thermomix, I decided that I had to do something more for myself and being a consultant was it. I took my own advice and jumped straight in, even though I was worried about doing demos, meeting new people, speaking in public. I was happy just to have given it a go, because I had the courage to try something different. Just one sale would have made me happy! And in the end – it’s been a great decision. I have learnt even more aboutThermomix, more about healthy eating, I’ve got to enjoy some great experiences like meeting “Quirky” Jo Whitton, learnt about bread making (thanks to our super Branch Manager, Elaine), learnt even more than I ever thought possible about my Thermomix.....And I have made some really wonderful friendships.
So why did I want to become a consultant again? Why do I love Thermomix?
Because I want to show others how easy it is to change their lifestyle like I did. I want people with young children to learn about food additives and the effects they can have. I would like to inspire others to teach kids – our next generation – the love of cooking. My Thermomix journey is about helping others, inspiring others, supporting my family and learning to support, encourage, believe in and love myself.
I want to share with people that even when you are busy you can knock up a meal in under half an hour, all the while relaxing, enjoying a glass of wine, or getting the kids ready for bed. That even if you aren’t a great cook, you can still whip up a quick, nutritious and tasty meal for your family. I’d love to show other Mum’s that preparing dinner for the family can be enjoyable and not a chore, and also that Mums (and women in general) don’t have to always put everyone else first. That in order to look after everyone else, we need to spend some time looking after us. And it is ok to do that.
And if I can help even just a few people to do that, then I’m achieving what I set out to do. I hope my demonstrations and chatting to others, helps you all to also go home and have another think about what you want for your family, what you can do for your health, and what else you can do to help people bring the love of cooking and the art of cooking from scratch, back into their homes……..