About Kat

 

Welcome to my site! So, this is me: Kathryn Asher! Mother of 2 lovely ladies, lover of green tea, green juice and anything wholesome, nutritious and holistic.

I began my site http://www.kathrynasher.com in 2010 after the birth of my 1st born when I suddenly realized, I was responsible for someones life. Gone were the days of my hedonistic, carefree lifestyle and almost immediately, a more conscious lifestyle took over… I guess that’s motherhood for you! I have to confess to being a very reckless, up for anything young adult that was more than aware but blissfully unconcerned of the consequences of heavy drinking, smoking and general over consumption of an indulgent lifestyle (I had great fun!). It just didn’t seem to occur to me at all that the importance of health and life is something to be cherished, nurtured and cared for until my first daughter was born where again, confession – her arrival stirred an overwhelming anxiety in me as I was suddenly very aware of the damage I had been doing over a number of years and I was her everything. Time to really take control of staying alive for her as long as possible!!!

So, I began training as a holistic therapist back in 2010 where I focused on Nutrition, Aromatherapy, Skincare, Stress management, Supplements, Reflexology, CBT (Cognitive behavioral therapy),NLP (neurolinguistic programming)  and Diabetes control. I’m not sure if how I was feeling was the trigger to start this mission or if it was just circumstantial that I would learn all this wisdom alongside some very unfamiliar feelings of doom but I started to understand that my anxiety was mainly aimed at specific physical symptoms that had developed. When my daughter turned 6 months old I started a course of reconstructive dental treatment so unsure if it was related to that, a lingering post-birth trauma or just one of those things one randomly gets but I developed an ongoing case of Fibromyalgia and have struggled with various ‘random’ and particularly bizarre symptoms that due to the ‘not knowing’ what was happening to my body and why were making me feel panic. It took 4 years to reach a diagnosis, until which, I was convinced I was experiencing heart problems  and autoimmune issues that had me believing I was about to have a heart attack. The severity of the symptoms at their worse had me actually calling out ambulances in the middle of the night terrified I was about to pop off! Symptoms ranging from widespread pain  (literally from head to toe), numbness, heart palpitations, dizziness, fatigue, tinnitus, IBS, jaw pain and tingling would cause an onset of serious panic attacks thus my insistent need to know what was wrong with me and better how to deal with or altogether prevent it from getting the better of me!  So, you see going from a carefree liberal to someone that reads and absorbs everything they can about health issues, I have come to terms with my own battles and while they still exist I have learnt to manage them properly through alternating my lifestyle choices and a lot of cognitive behavioral therapy.

When I got pregnant with my second child in 2013, I was panicked that I would have to stop any medication I was taking for my anxiety and terrified that the stress of pregnancy would wreak havoc on my body and set me off in a spiral of uncertainty. Thanks to my research I knew what kind of herbal supplements I could take during pregnancy to reduce the symptoms of anxiety and the flare ups of inflammation and the rest so I  toughened up and dealt with it! I had no choice and much to my surprise, It was a breeze! Little tricks I had learned (that I will feature on here for you :)) such as: DRY SKIN BRUSHING, MEDITATION, SELF HYPNOTHERAPY AND SPECIAL TEA BLENDS AND DIET PLANS, helped so much that even now I have not returned to any pharmaceutical medication and feel great leading the holistic lifestyle that is now benefiting me in so many ways! My energy levels are brilliant (considering I am still sleep interrupted) my skin and hair is looking better and my weight is coming off (I haven’t been skinny since 2008 pre- baby).

OTHER FACTORS THAT HAVE PUSHED ME TO THE FOOD AND OTHER NATURAL REMEDIES WILL CURE BELIEF…..

My mother is a type 2 diabetic who knows that she doesn’t need to be (sorry mother) but is all to quick to reach for the chocolates and allow herself treats she knows she shouldn’t have…She also has fatty liver and skin problems due to both these illnesses. Knowing what I know, I have now made it my mission to help her recover from this (as it is still possible to do so through lifestyle and diet changes) and not only her, YOU! I am in love with knowing what helps cure what and as I am quite the cook (and big head apparently ) I spend hours bashing up tasty meals that serve to heal all and any booboo! You should give it a try!

 

My husband also is ‘allergic’ to anything green or anything that resembles a fruit. His mantra is’If it’s healthy, it could kill me!’ He would live on bacon and egg rolls and burgers if he could….But he can’t, because he’s married to me! Its so bad he won’t even pick up a tomato to give to one of the kids. Over the years he had put on weight and struggled to get it off and food I had offered him that I know would help had been left untouched….until recently. Something clicked and he will eat meals that contain spinach, citric dressings, nuts, lentils, quinoa, pesto and healthy versions of things he loves like bean burgers with sweet potato fries (oven baked naturally). He has even gone as far as to confess that he considers sweet potato fries far superior to standard, actually fried pale chip sticks…and just the other day he picked up a strawberry and handed it to the baby! Break through! I am guessing it is simply because he has become subjected through me and my ways to opening up to new experiences with food and though he is still picky, he is eating what the rest of us eat and is getting proper nutrition! I know he sneaks a McDonald’s on his lunch break but you have to start somewhere and a little of what’s good for you is better than nothing at all!

So, whether you are looking to improve a little or a lot, I am here to help you discover what foods your body and yours alone needs in order to feel optimum health and wellness! And I’m pretty inspired so if your favorite foods are not so good for you really, I can make substitutes that can be! And you WILL love them!

Bon appetit!

MY STYLE OF ADVISING/COACHING

I am a holistic therapist, not a dietitian. Meaning that, while I can advise you as far as holistic nutrition and other holistic lifestyle topics, I am not registered to give advise via Doctors referrals or on the back of any diagnosis made by your GP or practitioner. Holistic nutritional therapy is based more on ‘getting back to basics’ with food and taking a more wholesome, natural approach to preparing and consuming meals. It is more of a preventative and complementary approach but that being said, most of what is preventative eating is what a dietitian would advise you eat in order to cure specific illnesses and conditions. As a nutritional advisor I am also not allowed to monitor and measure a persons state of wellness in accordance to what I am advising. That would need to be conducted by your GP though I am trained and certified to offer advice, recommendations and overall holistic treatments that I believe would suit a persons specific dietary plan and overall wellness based on their requirements and health conditions.

I and any practitioner that works with me consider each client on an individual basis and take into account the whole person: their current diet, lifestyle, and their emotional and spiritual well-being. The point of holistic therapy takes into consideration ALL the individuals whole self and state of mind is vital in order to better health and vitality. Once we can offer you a plan in terms of what we believe you should be eating, what exercises we could recommend, aromatherapy wherever necessary (and its always necessary) and any other form of therapeutic benefit, it is the individual that applies to what degree and strength they wish to move forward. Remember, we are there to help and encourage but for you to take the first step and come to me means you’re already half way there.

My nutritional plans are broken down into stages to encourage you to see the course through until the end. It is disheartening when you don’t see results straight away, and you won’t. It takes time so it is important to understand it is not a race and not lose hope. Aside from diet planning, I am there for each client as a source of inspiration and encouragement from day 1 until the day you call me and say ‘Hey, you were right! I’m super healthy now’! Remember, be realistic and positive!  You can do it!

Please also see the SERVICES page of this site to look into how else we can help you and get you in the shape you deserve to be in. We work on a referral basis so anyone that you pass onto us for consults or Corporate wellness packages, we will give you a store voucher of your choice!!! Now there’s an incentive to help your family and friends get healthy!

Take care all x

I look forward to meeting you and helping you get healthy!