Who’s ready for Easter? Easter is one of my favourite holidays of the year as less pressure than the run up to Christmas with the events we are obliged to attend and the invites for drinks and food are never endless. Easter is slower paced; spring is in the air with lighter evenings and glimpses of sunshine (not as often as we would hope at the moment!) and we get a lovely long weekend to enjoy time with family and friends in a much more chilled fashion and yes of course there is chocolate eggs everywhere which is slightly hazardous. Yes we know too much of the white stuff is not good for us but its easter after all … be rude not to right?

I wanted to share with you an amazing conversation I had this week with a client of mine, let’s call her Nancy for the sake of this newsletter.

‘Nancy’ 48 y/o has been working with me for just 4 weeks and halfway through her 8-week nutritional programme. She came to me with a list of persistent symptoms that she couldn’t get a handle on. When I spoke to her originally, sh14 described a persistent lack of drive and couldn’t understand why she felt so flat with a loss of joy for a life she used to love. She would wake every day feeling groggy and foggy brained regardless of how much sleep she was having and needed caffeine to get some oomph to start her day. She would come around mid-morning and feel a little more like herself only for the rug to be pulled out from under her at 3pm when the lethargy would kick in with a sense of unease and overthinking conversations and decisions she had made in the day in work whilst mulling over the endless to do list she felt awaiting her at home. Gone were the days of her beloved Pilates with her friends as she felt ‘what’s the point’ as she had to conserve her energy for the kids and their needs when she got home and then flop on the couch as soon as she could. She had stopped socialising and made excuses as to why she couldn’t meet friends which compounded her feelings of worthlessness and lack of enjoyment in life. She was putting on weight in places she had never seen before and felt her clothes were tight which was making her feel uncomfortable and impacting her self-esteem and, in her words, ‘I just want to hide in my house and not come out until this is over’.

Now on the face of it, you would think Nancy would be correct in her conclusion that peri-menopause was the culprit here and I would absolutely agree that this would be a plausible answer and therefore hormone balancing was the plan of action for us to support and that’s exactly what we decided to do but with every plan, we need to build a robust terrain with the right foundations to support her hormones. I asked for a food diary from Nancy and she provided what she typical eats in a week. Nothing drastically stood out but it was a typical Westerised diet which lent towards starchy carbohydrates as the star of her plate, 3 cups of coffee daily and a lack of water and snacking on sweet treats to get her through the afternoon slump.

We tweaked her diet over the first 3 weeks and started slowly so not to overface Nancy as life felt difficult enough. I used the PFF (Protein, Fat, Fibre) model to be included in every main meal which meant that the carbohydrate (star of the plate) reduced and we changed one of her snacks to fat based only to reduce overall daily sugar consumption. I asked ‘Nancy’ to include at least 4 different coloured veggies daily and include berries with her breakfast.  We reduced her caffeine to 1 cup in the day and switched to herbal teas to increase water intake and she systematically worked on this for 3 weeks. Of course, there where blips along the way (let’s not mention the share bag of wotsits consumed in the car 😉) but 80 % of the time, ‘Nancy’ made conscious small tweaks to help her terrain.

I want to share the email I got from ‘Nancy’ last week, as in 4 weeks this is what she felt:

“Debbie, I feel like I’m waking up from a bad dream and I’m starting to come to life again. I know we haven’t started the deeper dive into my hormones yet, but I wanted to share that I’m already starting to feel so much better! The last couple of days, I haven’t woken without a dark cloud over my head for ages and feel like I’m sleeping more soundly. I woke this morning, and my head felt clear, and I had energy – yes energy! I even asked the kids what we shall do this weekend for a fun day out, something I haven’t felt possible in so long. I went to work and forgot to eat my snack as I wasn’t hungry, and my brain was running on all cylinders. My black pants are loose round my waist, and I feel good! Please tell me this feeling continues as I don’t want to go back to the old me. I think you have woken me up from my carbacoma – ha!”

What a phrase … carbacoma! It made me chuckle, and I thought I had to share this genius phrase as that is exactly what unbalanced blood sugars can feel like. It was as simple as that. Changing the terrain and reducing sugar load whilst increasing healthy fats and proteins gave ‘Nancy’ a healthier, balanced terrain that reduced many of her debilitating symptoms in such a short time. Yes, we’ve still got work to do but boy is she motivated now to continue.

So, my question to you is this – If ‘Nancy’s’ story resonates with you and your wondering whether perimenopause is behind all your symptoms, would you think again and maybe, just maybe you’re in a little carbacoma of your own?

If you feel you are then feel free to drop me an email or book in for a free call – always happy to listen and chat:

Other ways to work with me:

We have our Hormone 28 Day Reboot: Start Date: 20^th April 2026

This is an online programme designed to support our community of women who like ‘Nancy’, just want to feel good in their skin, energetic and brighter in spirit.

What’s included:

• Full recipe pack to follow with delicious hormone balancing recipes and
• Expert support from PT Becca Broadbent from These Women Do supporting and motivating your movement plan and talking all things strength training
• Me, expert Nutritionist in Women’s Health to talk all things hormones and nutrition
• Dr Nicole Green, founder of The Green Menopause Clinic in Wilmslow www.thegreenmenopauseclinic.co.uk as a guest speaker to provide up to date science in all things hormone medication and answer your questions.
• Motivational support from a group of ladies who will cheer you on along the way

If you want more information, feel free to email me at info@debbiegallimore.com or book here.

One of the recipes for you to try: Apple & Blackberry Oats Breakfast Recipe: 

This one is Moorish and tastes like a pudding but perfectly balanced to support your blood sugars with PFF principles