Happy Clients
Here are some comments from a diverse range of clients, with a range of optimum health and perfomance goals.
As an exercise physiologist myself I always thought that I had enough knowledge to manage my nutrition alone, but at this level, I could not be further away from the truth. Even with my background Joanne gave me a substantial amount of advice on what to eat and how to combine nutrients. I would recommend Joanne to anyone who is involved in any kind of activity that aims to improve their health or their athletic ability. Thank you Joanne!
Dr George Balanos, MSc, DPhil (Oxon)
Exercise Physiologist
George, Exercise Physiologist: Marathon Runner
I contacted Joanne during my preparation for a number of running, cycling and swimming events in 2018.
My first event was the Big Half in London in March (half marathon). For the first time I had trained properly, I had not suffered any injuries and very importantly, I carbloaded during the week leading to the race. I felt fantastic and I was happy with my performance. The new approach was paying off.
Next stop was the London Marathon and training was still on track but there were days when I felt sluggish during my runs and I felt very tired the next day. It was quickly obvious that the last piece of the puzzle was my nutrition. I decided to go it alone for the London Marathon and to then start getting advice from Joanne ahead of the next marathon in Edinburgh. With hindsight I should have not gone the “do-it-yourself" route as I ended up bloated and worried ahead of the race. The result was not bad at all, especially given the hot conditions in London, but Edinburgh was my attempt to a personal best and I was not going to take any risks.
Joanne is a great communicator and she shares with her clients a wealth of information. The level at which she explains the importance of her recommendations is tailored appropriately to her audience, which in my 14 year experience as a university lecturer is one of the most important elements of educating someone. Joanne gave me information that made sense and suggestions that were easy to implement. She understood both my starting point and the nutritional implications of my athletic goals and she effectively adjusted and guided my eating habits. Soon after my first contact with Joanne I started feeling fresh during even my toughest interval runs, and my gastrointestinal tract was somehow rejuvenated. I truly felt healthier and happier.
My runs were more enjoyable and this allowed me to gather lots of confidence in my running. The week before my race in Edinburgh I had a good chat with Joanne who gave me a carloading plan and a race-day nutrition plan. What a difference! I hit a high carbohydrate percentage without relying on all the foods that gave me the bloating before London and I completed my last few runs on strong legs. On race day all the pieces fell in the right place. I had trained hard, I stayed healthy, the weather was good and my body felt energised and ready to perform as planned. I beat my London time by a massive 14 minutes and
my personal best by a whole 4 minutes. At the age of 48 this was a fantastic achievement for me, and it was one in which Joanne played a key role.
Sporty GP Kate achieves PB and more!
After suffering a stress fracture through over training and under fuelling in 2017, I found Joanne and booked a 1-2-1 consultation to see if there was anything in my nutrition plan I could improve… as a sporty GP I thought I knew it all and was sceptical, but it turns out med school doesn’t teach you everything!
Even after 90 minutes with Joanne I learnt how restricted my diet was, leading to hormone imbalance and low immunity. It was also a massive wake up call as to how my daily stresses were impacting on my overall health.
Since working with Joanne I have introduced much more to my diet, overhauled my supplements and even applied to start studying lifestyle medicine. I have more energy and get sick less, and I’m pleased to say I’m fully recovered from my fracture and have some huge PBs this season with Challenge Prague 70.3 (47 minute PB).
Bring on ITU Worlds in September!
Kate Robinson, GP
Nutrition for Athletes
"Joanne shows dedication towards enhancing the nutrition and well-being of others. Through the recommendations she makes with regard to sports nutrition this becomes a reality. Alongside her considerable scientific knowledge is her genuine desire to understand the needs of the individual. Her consultations provide food for thought and instills a desire to make positive changes. I thoroughly recommend her".
Bev Callender, Olympic Athlete,
Teacher & UK Athletics Coach
Nutrition Suppport Alongside a High Intensity Training Period
"I thoroughly enjoyed working with Joanne, who applied her extensive knowledge to optimising my health during a high intensity training period throughout which recovery and performance were vital. With an approachable and enthusiastic personality, she helped by suggesting nutritional alternatives that were within my 'liked foods' so that we could minimise the changes I needed to make with consideration to my timetable, food choices and training patterns.
Without Joanne's help, I wouldn't have achieved what I have this year. I competed in the Intelligent Sport UK Challenge - a four day event involving running, biking and canoeing in Snowdonia (coupled with my job as a spin instructor and working towards my first Crossfit competition - this Saturday just gone). My team won the Grand Prix event in the UK Challenge and came 2nd overall and my team for the Crossfit competition was the highest placed team from Reading to enter”.
Kelly Vaughan
Personalised Nutrition - Rugby Players and Fitness Clients
"Joanne has worked with a number of clients for me, I’ve found her to be very professional and able to offer expertise as well as practical ideas. I am happy to recommend her and continue working with her".
James Haskell (Rugby Player, England & Wasps)
Personalised Advice - The Missing Piece
Before I met Joanne I'd read a lot on diet and health and had already made changes to my diet but I was still not feeling well and felt I was missing something. I answered a very in depth questionnaire which was followed by a thorough discussion about my symptoms, diet, lifestyle etc. She quickly identified a specific issue that was significantly impacting my health. The dietary changes she suggested has made a huge difference and I am now able to function more normally.
I found Joanne to be very knowledgeable and highly motivated to help me improve my health and I am very grateful for all her help and advice.
Dr P
University Student, digestive health and meal planning
I asked Jill* to summarise her sessions, she would always say ' you are lovely'. She is quite anxious and awkward with adults and you were able to put her at ease, it made all the difference. She found the nutritional advice super helpful with her erratic eating times (student life and work!). She also liked the menu planning, it gave her lots of ideas and she would come out of sessions with you really positive and inspired. So thank you.
Sarah, Mum of Jill* (name changed)
Here’s how I changed my eating habits to suit my training and dropped over a stone & a dress size over the course of a month.
I train about 5 days a week, mostly running & swimming but had signed up to my first supersprint tri so had started adding in some cycling and circuits, too. I decided to try Joanne’s 14 day eating plan for ravenous athletes for a number of reasons; I’d read a rave review from a previous client, I wanted to shift some weight to get my running times down, I wanted some variety in the meals I was cooking and I wanted snacking ideas for my extremely ravenous & active boys. Lots of good reasons to give the plan a go and with a support group, I thought it sounded worth a shot.
There was just the right amount of nutrition information to be informative without needing a degree to interpret it all. I’ve felt energetic during training. I upped my training during the plan to train for my first supersprint tri. I was a bit apprehensive that I would feel different as my diet changed, but in fact I’ve had no problems at all in adjusting intensity and frequency of training and with Joanne’s help have actually adjusted my meals to fit my training better.
In short, the plan was extremely good value for money and I would recommend it to all. I’ve achieved all the goals I set to and got a few bonuses, too. I would be very happy to answer questions on this plan from a participant’s point of view.
Oh, and I came first in my age group in my very first supersprint tri :o)
Beth Davies, Ravenous Athlete
London Marathon PB!
'Good Morning Joanne,
Just wanted to let you know that I got my London marathon PB, 6 years older than when I set the previous one. (3:44 from previous 3:47)
I am convinced it was the incremental gains I made in my nutrition and hydration from our conversations that helped me knock 3 mins off my previous best.
My meals leading into the weekend were as we discussed.
All of this improvement was wrapped up in a new belief that I was in control and confident that I would not experience problems - which of course keeps the anxiety away.
There were unknowns yesterday, but with hindsight it all went well - I’m very relieved and thrilled that the planning paid off!
Thanks so much for your invaluable guidance and advice, definitely wouldn’t have happened with your input'
.
David Cairns
Fit by 40! Food, mood & weight lifting
'Before I was working with Joanne I was suffering from low energy levels, my anxiety was up and down, I was comfort eating to cope with stress, I made poor diet choices, seriously overweight, poor sleep and I was miserable.
I've learnt about how food, sleep and exercise can improve my mood and aid controlling my anxiety. Losing weight and developing muscle strength takes time, discipline and patience but can also be fun and not so intimidating.
Working with Joanne is great as she breaks the most complex things into bite size chunks and makes everything clear and achievable which is why I have seen huge improvements in my energy, mood, sleep (I now sleep over 7 h compared to 5h before we started) and improvements in my body composition'
Greg