Nadia – August-September 2019

INTERVIEW

Fiona

Ralph

.PHOTOGRAPH

Y

Emily

Chalk

.HAIR

AND MAKEUP

Sharon Laurence-Anderson

.

“Ifyouwouldn’tsayittoyour

bestfriend,youhaveno

business saying it to yourself”

Tellusaboutyourfitnessjourney.I startedoutasa spin
instructorandthendecidedtotrymyhandatrunning.I rana fewhalf
marathons,anda fullmarathonabout 10 yearsago.ThenI thoughtI’d
givetriathlona goandevendid a half Ironman before turning my
attentiontobodybuilding.
I reallyenjoyedlearninghowtotrainmybodyusingweights;it was
a greatoutletformeintermsofreleasingstress,butthebodybuilding
diet when you’re coming up to a show is very challenging, and I found

A healing journey

JANELLEBRUNTON-RENNIE,DIRECTOROFETHICALPRAGENCYMEDIAJAM,HASBEENONANEMOTIONAL

AND PHYSICAL ROLLERCOASTER,FROMENDURINGBREASTIMPLANTILLNESSTOLOSING HER SOULMATE.

SHE SHARES HER JOURNEY TOWARDS HEALING AND SELF-LOVE

cutting[reducingcaloriesinordertoshedfatwhileretainingmusclemass]

forcompetitionsalwaystooka hugetollonmephysicallyandemotionally.

Mybodydoesn’tliketoliveleannaturally,soI hadtobeveryaggressive

withmydietandtrainingregimetogetasleanasI neededtobetotake

thestage– andthiscauseda lotof‘bounceback’andhormonalissues.

Howdidyoubecomeillaftergettingbreastimplants?I gotthe

implantsasI hadaspirationsofturning‘pro’asa bodybuilder.Despite

goingtothebestsurgeoninNewZealandI hadsomecomplicationswith

minealmostimmediately.I becomegraduallymoreandmoretiredandwas

diagnosedwithHashimoto’sthyroiditisandadrenalfatigue.It wasreally

frustrating;I waseatingwellbutI wasalways tired and was carrying more

weightforwhatseemedlikenoreason.

I rememberreadingonlineaboutBreastImplantIllness(BII)andallof

a suddenthelightbulbwentoff.Thesymptomsreadlikea checklistofmy

own.I joineda FacebookgroupofwomenwhoalsosufferedfromBII.Five

yearsagoit had 4000 members,todayit hasalmost84,000,andintheUS

‘explants’ (implant removal) are now being paid for by health insurance.

HowdidyourecoverfromBIIaftergettingtheimplantsout?

I continueddoingwhatI’dstarted.Mydiethadalreadytransformed

becauseI wasdoingeverythingI couldtotryandgetbetterwhenI had

implants.I becamevegetarianandthenvegan.I dida fullheavy-metal

detoxandevenhadmyamalgamfillingsremoved.I learnthowtomanage

stressusingmindfulnessandmeditation.I stillseea naturalmedicine

doctoroftenandtakereallygreatnutritionalsupplementsdaily.

Whathaveyoulearntaboutlovingyourbody?Onmywayback

togreathealthI hadtolearnhowtonourishmybodyfroma nutritional

focus,ratherthananaestheticone.I learnthowtoprepareandappreciate

wholefoodsandprovidemybodywithwhatit needsfroma plant-based

diet.I learnthowtolovemybodyforwhatit doesforme,ratherthanwhat

it lookslike– andwhenI madethatmindsetshift,mynutritionalchoices

changedimmensely.I’mverycarefulnowwithwhatI putbothintoand

ontomybody.I choosenatural,organicor‘clean’beautyproducts.I’vealso

learntthatthesamethingappliestomymind– I’m very careful with what

I ingest both mentally and emotionally now.

Food as medicine