My story
Hey, I'm Michelle.
A Perth girl, fur mum, and someone who's been figuring out this whole weight loss journey for most of her life. This is my story.
Where I started
I was told to just lose weight
I've been overweight for as long as I can remember. Not the “I just need to lose a few kilos” kind - the kind where it's always just been part of who you are.
When I was diagnosed with PCOS in my twenties, I was told to “just lose weight”. No guidance, no explanation, no help. Just those three words, like they were the simplest thing in the world.
I spent the next 15+ years chasing every quick fix I could find - keto, shakes, cabbage soup, lemon detox, clean eating - and ending up burnt out, guilty, and more confused about food than when I started.
What I learned
I stopped guessing and actually learned
Eventually I got so tired of trying and failing that I decided to stop guessing and actually learn how it all works. So I studied nutrition - not to become a coach, but just to understand my own body.
The course taught me so much about food - macronutrients, micronutrients, protein - but it didn't really cover mindset, which I'd come to believe is just as important as the food itself. So I kept going. I did my own research. I learned from my own mistakes and my own wins. And slowly, things started to click.
Here's what I figured out: fat loss comes down to being in a calorie deficit. It's 80% food, 20% movement - which meant I didn't need to live at the gym. I just needed to focus on my calories and find movement I could actually stick to. For me that was walking - something I genuinely enjoyed, which made it easy to turn into a habit.
I also learned something huge from every diet I'd ever failed: the moment I restricted something, I'd white-knuckle it for a few days or weeks, then crave it so badly I'd binge. So I stopped restricting. I started eating whatever I wanted - just in smaller portions. Weighing and tracking my food completely opened my eyes to how quickly calories add up, and how much I'd been eating without realising it.
Where I'm at now
I lost 25 kg, and I'm still going
I lost 25 kg doing exactly that. No banned foods. No misery. No gym membership. I still eat chocolate. I still go out for dinner. I just understand what I'm doing now - and that changes everything.
But here's the thing... I'm not done. I've still got 20-30 kg to go, which means I'm not standing at the finish line looking back at you. I'm right here in the middle of it.
That's not a disclaimer - that's the whole point. This is my corner of the internet where I share the food I'm eating, the things that are actually helping me, and the real moments - including the messy, hard, unglamorous ones. Just me, becoming the best version of myself one day at a time.
P.S.