It's not very often I look at my journey as a whole, but I thought I would today.

I'd love to hear your stories too :)

One of my earliest memories was sneaking into the kitchen when my mum wasn't looking and making myself a white bread and margarine sandwich - or 3. This was before I was 10 years old. When I was at Junior school my mum told the cook to just give me a piece of fruit for my pudding as I wasn't just having seconds, I was having thirds of pudding every single day. Boy was I mad at her!

When I left school I fell into the first job that was offered; I had no motivation; I was depressed and I would binge all day long on chocolate chip cookies and coffee. My confidence was through the floor despite being smart. I was rebellious and withdrawn with wild mood-swings topped off with crankiness.

When I wasn’t eating sugar and whites I was drinking. I lost whole weekends. I became a stay at home mum and clung to the house, not wanting to be seen. I was angry, bored and felt like a victim. I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted from life and thought that losing weight was the answer to all the worldly ills - oh how wrong could I have been LOL – I was just sugar sensitive!

I found Potatoes not Prozac as soon as it came out. I read it and connected with it straight away but I didn’t want to wait – I wanted it all NOW. It sat back up on my shelf for another five years and I had to explore plenty more avenues before I would come back to it again. Eventually I threw my hands in the air and decided that I’d had enough of detours. It took me another two years of faffing around with the program before I got past step 2.

Around step 3 I was starting to feel surprisingly good. I had never travelled on my own before but I wanted to go to the Brits’ lunch in London (100 miles away) but couldn’t figure out how I could possibly go. I asked for advice on the Brits list and I was given some baby steps and websites that I might look at for trains etc. I ended up going to the lunch and had a fabulous time!

My program progressed quite swiftly after that initial meeting and I detoxed totally by accident in June of 2007 - the sugar had been missing for 3 whole days before I had even realised. I was planning on detoxing after the summer holidays so that I could still have ice creams with my children but my body had other ideas! Talk about a non-event.

The following spring I flew to Amsterdam ON MY OWN to meet up with a couple of RR pals and we flew on to Boston together for a Seminar in Maine. This year I am flying to Albuquerque for Ranch for the first time. I’m really quite excited!

I am now happy the vast majority of the time, I eat just three meals a day, I am filled with joy - I know what full feels like, I wear make-up again, and am moving my body more. If something’s not quite right, I know how to fix it or know where to find the advice to do so. I am starting to dream again; to do the things that are important to me, to remember who *I* am, not someone who I thought I ought to be.

Last summer I found a really pretty skirt in a charity shop. It wasn’t my size but I loved it so much I bought it anyway. And then I wondered if I could make something out of it. Like a bag. So I bought a book on bag-making techniques and made a bucket bag. And then I made another one. And another. And then I began sewing so many different things I felt the urge to set up a blog to keep track of them all. And then my friends started to tell me that they liked what I was creating.

So at the start of this year I started my own business. I have orders already. I am designing and sewing costumes for a local dance school. I will be tendering a quote to sew curtains for my local school hall. I have a stall booked at a local fun day. I have had a logo designed and am getting woven labels produced. On Thursday I get to present my business idea to my class. I'm actually looking forward to it - boy is that a change!!

Focusing on the joy in my life and the energy that is flowing makes me feel so alive. I *know* that I’m on the right path now. I can feel it.

Well, that’s a glimpse of my story so far. I can’t wait to discover what exciting things are waiting patiently around the corner for me as I keep doing the food!

Selena