Claire, founder of The Healthy Blue Bird had kindly offered me a health and nutrition consultation which we held over FaceTime last week!
(At the end of this post- there are details on how to claim your free 30 minute consultation with Claire. Scroll all the way down to find the offer).
The lowdown: Claire’s an ex-magic circle litigator who launched The Healthy Blue Bird after deciding to retrain as a nutrition and health coach. Working in the environment she’s come from, Claire began to realise the detrimental impact the busy modern lifestyle could have on people’s health. She believes “it’s not a lack of knowledge around what a person should or should not eat that is holding them back, but rather an ability to fit the changes in to their hectic lifestyle”- I completely get this bit!
She works with busy people to help them increase their energy levels, eliminate cravings and lose weight. Together, they identify what areas of their life, diet and exercise routine are holding them back and work to make small achievable changes to enable them to achieve ultimate health.
To me, it feels like she looks at your life as a whole package- lifestyle, attitudes, and the relationship food plays in that. If I had to describe it, I’d say her session was like a life-chat, all the while putting food, digestion and it’s role at the centre of our discussion.
Despite a dogdy reception episode, it was fab to arrange a consultation over FaceTime…. we just picked a day and a time, and got cosy in our onesies before settling down to chat.
I’d filled in a form for Claire prior to the call, and so by the time we spoke, she knew I was a self-confessed sugar addict.
We jumped almost straight into this issue. I think it’s a biggie for me- because I know what’s good for me, and I spend a huge amount of time keeping fit and learning about fitness. I’ve learned about food as fuel in the scientific sense, and so I know I’m genuinely addicted to sugar, why my body craves it, and what it does to my digestion, sleep, energy and exercise regime.
But yet… I still love cake.
Claire guided the conversation, and although I don’t think it’s solvable in an hour, she didn’t once lecture or tell me what I was doing was bad. Every time, she carefully led me to my own conclusions.
Claire: When do you do most of your workouts?
Me: “I exercise in the mornings most of the week”
Claire: “and so what do you think is making you reach for that sugary snack before lunch?”
Me: “um, I need more energy and my brain’s being lazy and making me crave the easiest energy source out of learned habit?”
Claire: “BINGO!!!”
(it was a clever tactic and far more effective than just saying “sugar shits up your digestion, Carly! Stop eating so much!!” Claire repeatedly guided my cake-addled brain through this process).
It was good to have some guidance on substitutes for these cravings, and also ways to try and avoid them. Claire also shared her story about getting over sugar, which made me think.
Claire helped me to formulate 3 goals- they didn’t have to be related to food (the Health Coach bit coming into play here especially) and if we were to launch into a full programme then we’d work together over the next 12 weeks, where she’d set me achievable tasks and challenges to nail these goals; putting my health, digestion and wellbeing at the centre of it all.
Although we won’t be going through the 12 week programme this time, Claire didn’t just abandon me. She’s sent me a helpful write up with some recommendations (thank you Claire!) and also helped me think of a little something to get started on the goals I’d chosen, one of which I’m already implementing and feeling darn positive about!
If you were to start this programme, I think you need to really be ready for a lifestyle change. Just from our one session, I can imagine it’s a pretty hefty overhaul after 12 weeks- as you’d expect when you are addressing all of the interlinked areas of your health. Her packages sound truly transformational, and my hour with her leaves me in no doubt that those ready for a new life direction should seek her out.
So that’s the end of my review. But there are still two important things I need to mention as an aside. The first- even if you have no intention of changing a single aspect of your life, I DEMAND you book a 12 week programme with Claire just because it means you get to listen to her delectable Scottish accent for at least an hour a week. Honestly, it was the most delightful accent to be discussing my constipation issues with.
The second: Alan. Alan is a little blue budgie (the Blue Bird part of Healthy Blue Bird!) and he is ADORABLE. I’ve never really given much thought to birds (mainly just being dive-bombed by the occasional pigeon) but Alan was nattering away in the background (in an amazing tiny scottish accent he’s picked up from Claire) and buzzing on screen every so often to land on her finger and stare mesmerized at her face while she chatted to me over FaceTime. He genuinely thought he was part of the conversation! He was the most affectionate, loveable little dude I’ve ever seen, and made for a very unique and even more enjoyable consultation.
How to claim your free consultation
Intrigued by the above? Claire has kindly offered all readers of Project HB a free 30 minute session to discuss your health concerns, and to help you identify how you can make small simple changes to leave you feeling energised, slimmer and free from sugar cravings. Email Claire at thehealthybluebird@gmail.com to arrange your session!
