Testimonials

I met Philippa in November 2021. It took her no time at all to see what was needed. She brings to her work a mixture of deep learning, empathy, practicality, and humour. She is incredibly articulate when explaining the health issues at play; and she is warm and gentle in her suggestions. She is encouraging and she is kind.

I have a demanding job and strive to be a good wife and mother. I would have been highly sceptical about the benefits of a health coach if I hadn’t already spent four years trying to shake off the symptoms of a chronic condition. Philippa enabled me to return to myself, and to good health. I will always be grateful and could not recommend her more highly.

Harriet T Dec 22

Working in a fairly stressful environment, I had almost entirely given up thinking about my rapidly growing ill-health. 

With compassion and empathy, Philippa helped me rethink my entire approach to my personal life in a way which promoted my needs and well-being. With her kindness and encouragement, I was able to explore my concerns and feelings to bring new clarity to my thought processes and regain a sense of purpose. Totally non-judgmental and utterly supportive, she gently enabled me to formulate a new and significantly healthier life plan. 

Her professionalism and positivity made the entire process highly enjoyable and I would not hesitate to recommend her; indeed, I have done so already. 

—Sally P

Every day there is something of Philippa that has made that day better.  I started seeing Philippa in November 2020 and since then my life has transformed.  It has not happened overnight, but the transformation is permanent, and I did the work. 

I contacted Philippa following a chat with a friend saying I needed help but I didn’t know where to start!  Following a long telephone conversation, Philippa was brave enough to say she could work with me.  I certainly thought I was a hopeless case: massively over-weight, unfit, lacking in direction and confidence.  Existing but not living life.  My husband had died eight years earlier and I was still trying to come to terms with that too.

 Philippa set out her role right at the start: a Coach works alongside you, helping you to achieve your goals.  I would have to put in a lot of effort and the effectiveness of her coaching would depend on me wanting to make changes in order to achieve my goals.  What goals?  Well, for me that was a big question because how can you achieve anything if you don’t know what you are aiming for?  My first session involved discussing what my goals might be and my homework for the week was to imagine my ideal life in 5 years’ time.  That in itself was a powerful and challenging exercise, and I realised it was something I had never actually considered.  The possibilities were dazzling and frightening but it helped me realise that this was for ME.  Probably the first time I had had the luxury of thinking about myself, and it transpired that it was really important to my health to focus on myself.  All those voices telling me not to be selfish etc gradually quietened down and with Philippa’s reassurance and encouragement I started making changes. 

My biggest change was to my diet and eating habits.  I cannot describe to you how frightened I was of making these changes, but change I did and came to realise I could make changes and those changes had positive effects.

 I won’t give you blow by blow details but each time I saw Philippa (initially on zoom) she was 100% focused on me and my goals.  Each week there was a small step I had taken that would not have been taken without her support and I know she celebrated my achievements at least as much as I did, and I began to develop a ‘can do’ approach to so many things I would never have dared to hope for.

 In writing this Testimonial I have had a chance to analyse a bit why Philippa helped me so much.  She is compassionate and empathetic and completely dedicated to making a difference.  These qualities of course make a difference, but my thoughts led me to a number of conclusions; she not only gave me the tools to make changes to my life, but she showed me how to use them; she kept me on track; she never doubted I was capable of achieving my goals.  As a result, I have what I would describe as a ‘Life Toolbox’, a ‘Life Vision’ and have found myself able to keep looking ahead at my goals and to use what I learnt with Philippa in every circumstance.  When I started seeing Philippa, I felt like a piece of driftwood being tossed about on the waves with neither the ability nor the confidence to change.  I am still a work in progress, but I now have the ability to effect the changes I want to make in my life.  I would compare myself more to a young tree with roots and branches and I am equipped to grow and flourish in a healthy and sustainable way.

 I have lost 5 stone in weight, I now play tennis regularly, I have 2 hours a week with a personal trainer, I play the piano again and am singing in a choir.  I enjoy the social situations I used to either dread or feel completely out of place at.  I also have a good sleep routine which was one of the first things we tackled in my efforts to improve my health.  I feel worthwhile and well and am still using my Toolbox to make more changes for the better.  As I said at the beginning, every day there is something that has changed for the better thanks to the dedicated hard work Philippa put in to supporting me as a Health Coach.  I can’t thank her enough.

Sophie L Feb 23

Working with Philippa helped to finally put into practice the ideas I had about what a healthy lifestyle meant for me.   

Having tried all manner of diet and exercise regimes, I felt that if a healthy lifestyle was going to mean giving up favourite foods and struggling to fit gym sessions into an already packed schedule, then I’d prefer to remain unfit and fat.  

Working with Philippa was a joy because when I explained my vision of health as being easy and natural, building on a re-established mind-body connection and seamlessly weaving into everyday life, she absolutely got it!  We worked to identify where I could build in more natural movement throughout my day so that I didn’t have to ‘book’ exercise into my schedule. 

As well as her understanding and willingness to work with my idea of health, I also appreciated Philippa’s balanced take on things.  She created a safe space for us to discuss sensitive ideas and together we developed an effective plan to build health into my life rather than wrap my life around a health regime. 

The result?  I’ve lost 12kg and 11 inches from my waist, have increased levels of energy and a renewed joy of movement that has made a huge difference to my life.  

This was a journey that I would not have started without Philippa and travelling with her has made all the difference.

—Tanya W