“you should be on prescription" (debbie, 54)
You are a miracle maker, it never stops amazing me how the body can self heal. You should be on prescription.
“sheila used her skills to help me find the answers I had been looking for within myself” (Sue, 53 - UK)
'I was lucky enough to work with Sheila at a time in my life where my work life balance was affecting my mental health . Sheila helped me break down and reflect on what could change in my life to help with a better personal life . Sheila very effectively coached me to set realistic goals that would have a profound effect . I found Sheila to be a good listener and used her skills to help me find the answers I had been looking for within myself . '
“sheila helped me to reframe my thoughts and encouraged a renewed positive viewpoint which has opened doors and opportunities” (elizabeth, 54 - UK)
From the moment I first met Sheila 18 months ago, my life has changed remarkably. Through her guidance, I have embraced a more nutritious lifestyle without having to think about it as it makes me feel great and as a result I have lost over 2 stone, gained muscle and improved my body composition, plus have grown in confidence in so many areas of my life, both work and personal.
What was once something I wouldn’t have considered; I have just entered my first 10k run. When we first started working together, I couldn’t breathe through, let alone run a minute of ParkRun. Now I have found a passion in challenging myself and building a social group through the different activities I am enjoying.
More importantly, Sheila has helped me to reframe my thoughts and encouraged a renewed positive viewpoint which has opened doors to social activities and opportunities previously overlooked. I have even made steps to change in areas that have negatively held me back long-term in work, relationships and confidence.
Sheila’s motivation, together with kindness, fun and friendship, has encouraged a transformation in me and I am very excited to see where this journey will take me.
“i feel so much more in control and empowered" (MT, 47 - the netherlands)
Having been referred by my GP, knowing I wanted some help but not sure where to go, I was bit sceptical, but agreed to some health coaching sessions with Sheila.
I can’t explain how unique the experience was from the start. Sheila was everything I needed and more. Her holistic person centred approach in her coaching and provision of very useful information gave me the direction I needed.
Sheila doesn’t shy away from personal topics while skilfully ensuring the session ended with some clear points of focus for the time ahead. This while always checking in to ensure I wasn’t falling into old patterns or too much was opened up (to deal with).
Thanks to her skilful approach, support and kindness our time together come to a natural end with me feeling so much more in control and empowered. I can’t thank her enough. MT
MARRIAGE BENEFITS FROM POSITIVE LIFESTYLE CHANGES
Despite having already seen some incredible results, this 53-year-old woman wanted to share how changing her lifestyle has positively impacted her marriage.
"My relationship with my husband has improved (not that it was bad) since taking your course as it has given me more energy and a zest for life, which has in turn has left me much happier and less stressed. I am more upbeat now, not moping around or moaning, feel younger, and have regained my spark because of this.
I am also going out with my friends a lot more. I wasn't terribly social before as my confidence wasn't great.
Another big thing that's changed is that my husband and I have begun laughing together more, which we seemed to have stopped somewhere along the way without noticing until now.
My husband is really supportive of the changes I've made in my life. I hope this make sense, as it's such a big thing, actually more rewarding and important than the weight loss really.”
Nicola H - stress, wellbeing, choices, breakthrough, POSITIVITY
I only had an hour with Sheila, but she went into a lot of things surrounding my life that were causing me stress. Some of the work was subtle and some not so.
We ended up focusing on the time I devote to my 91 year old frail mother and how it doesn't always have a positive impact on my own well-being.
Sheila enabled me to see that I had choices giving me more clarity on how to focus on the things that really matter. We worked on how I could make the time I spend with my mother more fulfilling.
Even though it was only an hour, it was tiring and emotional, but I do feel we had a major breakthrough. Sheila set me a goal and within a few weeks, and to my amazement, we were both enjoying our time together.
I now feel much more positive and look forward to the quality time I now spend with my mum. Thank you, Sheila, for enabling this.
sarah - aging, sleep, mindset, body image, menopause ready
I reached out to Sheila because I wanted to learn about how to age well and healthily and set myself up for success when the inevitable menopause hits.
I had some pretty big breakthroughs straight away. The biggest one being my sleep - I’ve had difficulty getting back to sleep for years and am a light sleeper. Sheila helped me to completely change my mindset around it and I’ve been sleeping peacefully ever since!
She also helped me change my mindset around food and body image. Before I used to think “I must only have xx calories” so I can be thin and would feel like I was missing out. Now that I’m intermittent fasting and eating filling foods, I think “actually I don’t really need to eat now.” I was surprised how much I enjoyed feeling light but satiated and making the realisation that I don’t need to eat out of habit.
As a coach myself, I’m very familiar with the benefits of working with a coach, but I’d like to reiterate the key reasons I have enjoyed such success working with Sheila:
I love having someone to be accountable to - it really motivates me to stick to my word.
I also love having the time and space to work out my own solutions
And finally I love the light bulb moments I have experienced which directly influenced my mindset. A change in mindset is incredibly powerful for me as that means that not only are the change in behaviours easy, they are permanent.
Sheila is great fun to work with. A lovely human, relatable, kind but also gently challenging when it’s needed. She worked around my schedule, commitments, strengths and challenges.
Highly recommended. Sarah Furness
52 year old female - berks, UK - weight loss, energy, confidence, anxiety, hope
It has taken me a while to get there but I have lost my first stone. So thank you for your support over last few months. Without your knowledge and support it wouldn't have happened.
For me it has become a sustainable way of living as I don't feel as though I'm missing out as have adopted the 80 / 20 approach. On the whole I feel so much better, more energy, more confident, my anxiety which I was struggling with is 90% better.
I know you don't know what will happen to you in future but you have given me the tools to hopefully get old and stay relatively healthy.
It makes me tearful to think about it but I honestly believe you have helped me improve the long term quality of my health and life. I just don't want to get old and immobile or get horrible diseases that may be prevented by eating low carb real foods with some movement thrown in as well. Sharon Ribbon x
Attendee at the Make A Change (Public Health Collaboration) workshops, Cedars Surgery, Maidenhead
49 year old female - strength and energy goals following aggressive cancer treatment
THIS IS SARAH AND IT IS SARAH'S TIME TO SHINE!
Sarah has had a very tough couple of years having been diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2020 and going through aggressive chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery since November 2020. At end of March 2022, she finishes her rounds of chemotherapy (which include 23 tablets per day).
We waited until Sarah was ready mentally and physically before she started working with me. The plan was to build strength, fitness and energy levels, work on mindset and removal of inflammatory foods to calm her body after the treatments.
From Day 1 Sarah astounded me with her drive and determination to make change and the benefits are so obvious to everyone.
Timing was important around treatment and nurse visits and we had to take into consideration days where she may be laid low, but gently and gradually she has turned into a strong, vibrant, energised and confident superhero ready to grasp life and new adventures.
Everything was new for Sarah, which is why these small changes in lifestyle can have such an incredibly positive and sustainable impact.
Sarah says “Since being diagnosed, I’ve experienced so many different emotions whilst maintaining a positive attitude, which hasn’t always been easy. My faith has helped me through those difficult and uncertain times, but I feel like now is my time to shine in both mind and body!
From starting my coaching with Sheila, my entire outlook on life has changed. I feel more energised, comfortable in my skin and have a new lease of life. Sheila has been amazing helping me every step of the way.
What surprised me was that during our coaching sessions (which included a lot of walking as I’m fairly local to Sheila) we discussed strategies for dealing with stresses that were having an impact on my life; how to make decisions and which things to let go of. It truly helped me to talk things through.
I wasn’t specifically looking to lose weight, but I did and my body composition has changed, plus there was no calorie counting. What I have found is my energy and confidence have improved massively, but also I have a new zest for life.
So much so, I have started looking at ‘comfortable’ clubbing shoes, so I can dance all night and I have commenced training for the Moonwalk 2022 on 14th May (breast cancer charity Walk the Walk). No one would have thought I would be dancing and planning to power walk a marathon 6 months ago.
I honestly feel better at nearly 50 than I have in the past 10 years. I know I look and feel strong, sexy, healthy, and ready to take on new challenges. I hope I am an inspiration to others.
This is a permanent lifestyle change for me and I question why the healthcare system doesn’t encourage us to live like this automatically, it would have really helped through the time I was in treatment by nurturing my body and mind.
Sheila came into my life at just the right time and I really feel that I have made a friend for life. She really has transformed the way I feel about food, exercise and mindset and has helped me through the most difficult time in my life!
I will be eternally grateful for the support you have given me and for the friendship that will continue. You’ll have to dust off your dancing shoes and join me to celebrate when my chemo treatment finishes!”
Energy - UP
Excitement for life – UP
Strength – superwoman
Stress – feeling calm and positive
Sleep - great
Food – totally clean and primal
Weight – lost 16lbs
Inches – 2” chest; 4” waist; 3” hips’ 2” thighs
Personally, as a coach, I feel privileged to help someone like Sarah rebuild their strength and confidence. An absolute honour!
“Primal living is not a quick splash, instead it is a deep dive into a new way of being.” Sara, 50 years old - devon
It was probably predictable, but as soon as I hit 50 last year, I realised that a) I hadn’t done half as much with my life as I’d wanted and b) I’d lost the will and confidence to do anything that was remotely adventurous. My key words last April would have been ‘sluggish, people pleaser, Netflix addict, sugar addict, boring, middle-aged, frumpy.”
A concoction of AWOL hormones, an ‘out of kilter’ work/life balance, and food-choice related inflammation, was leading me up the path towards flabby old-age, a wonky painful hip and, if I’m honest, a nice big wad of depression.
There was no need to blame it on the Covid lock-downs, over a series of months (almost years), I’d allowed myself to get well and truly stuck in my own ‘middle-aged lock-down’, saying ‘no’ to a load of things I should have been saying ‘yes’ to, and I could write a novel about the excuses.
So, what changed? First, I started putting my toe in the water and attempt a few quick cold water sea plunges (I live in Devon and lucky enough to have the beach as my garden). I met and became friends with a beautiful group of ladies, who are all fun, and ‘up for anything’ warriors! Looking at them and learning, I realised I needed to make some significant positive changes for myself…and just at the same moment, up popped Sheila, Primal Coach, on my Facebook feed!
To be honest, it wasn’t about weight loss for me (I know pretty much what to do and how to do that), I even had one of the first copies of Mark Sisson’s ‘The Primal Blueprint’ getting dusty on the shelf. It was a question of how I was going to move from old habits to new and get my mojo back.
As soon as I started my sessions with Sheila, things began to change for me. I was able to share my stresses in a safe environment, privately without feeling a burden. I learnt what foods didn’t agree with me and how to reduce inflammation – in fact as soon as I removed gluten and sugar from my diet my hip and achy joints became much less painful and my sleep radically improved. More importantly I recognised that I needed to make far more time for myself, say yes to a lot more invitations and no to a lot of people too! More importantly I got the confidence to talk to my GP and get the menopause in hand.
The Course didn’t just end after the pre-arranged number of sessions. Sheila is in touch regularly and I took part in a complimentary series of online sessions too, complete with recipes and video cookery lessons. Not only that, by saying ‘yes’ to a lot more things and pushing myself off the comfort zone of the sofa, I was proud to complete a 1km Exmoor Open Swim, in just my swimsuit in October, I regularly sea swim now, I take outdoor fitness lessons, and I can’t wait for new doors to open with new challenges in the future.
Thank you, Sheila, for supporting me to feel like me again….and more.
Check out Sara’s online shop for some inspiringly beautiful home and gift ideas: www.juulathome.co.uk
55 year old NURSE - weight loss, STRESS, MOVEMENT, inflammation, energy goals
Working with The Primal Zone was so good that I have decided to study to become a Primal Health Coach myself
Over the years I have tried many different ways to lose the weight I have always carried, with some success but never a continued improvement and so lots of disappointment and beating myself up.
I had known Sheila some years ago, when we had our young children, and she kept appearing in my social media feeds with her new project.
Eventually I contacted her and had a really honest, open conversation with her about my health, my job, my family and life in general.
Sheila listened very carefully and then explained the Primal lifestyle to me, with no selling or pressure for me to do anything. After thinking about it, I signed up with her and have been on an adventure ever since.
We talked about eating and I changed my meals a bit, but they are yummy and filling. But, this is not just about food, this is a way of life!
We have looked at exercise, stress, my job amongst some of the items.
I have several health issues amongst them Chronic Fatigue and now, Long Covid. I have found with Sheila’s support (she is my personal cheerleader), that I now have more energy and can spot things in my life that are causing me stress more quickly and so act in a better way to change.
This has been an exciting 10 months. It is not the end but the beginning of a new adventure for me
fabulous 60 year old lesley hits her goal of getting into the dress she wore for her 50th. the story “10 years, 1 designer dress, 4 stone”.
When a happy client continues her journey with The Primal Zone and reaches the target of wearing the beautiful designer dress she wore for her 50th on her 60th birthday celebration. Looking primally fabulous!
(see progress reports from Lesley further down the page!)
44 year old FEmale - Norwich, UK - weight loss and Energy goals
Wonderful testimonial from a client 10 weeks into her Primal journey with The Primal Zone. I'm a very proud coach!
Lou shares:
- why she was looking for a health coach
- her reasons for deciding to work with me
- the change in habits made
Plus, the benefits to date:
- 27lbs weight loss
- energy and confidence ‘shooting through the roof’
- no chins 😊
Thank you for your kind words Lou!
59 year old female - weight loss, Gut inflammation and energy goals
Thanks to my wonderful client, Lesley, who has ‘got her life back’ and recorded this incredible testimonial sharing her story and subsequent journey with The Primal Zone into her new sustainable lifestyle.
From:
Decades of yo-yo dieting
Life threatening infection of the colon (hospitalised)
Gut sensitivity and inflammation following use of weapon grade antibiotics (for above)
Chronic fatigue syndrome
She now:
Is at her lowest weight in 10 years
Bags of energy
Feels truly joyous
And is now honouring herself and wellbeing
Has tools to continue to hit her goals
The video gives a great description of how The Primal Zone programmes and I (Coach Sheila) serve my wonderful clients.
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“I bought my pink trousers and white Indian style top for my Mum’s 80th birthday party… I’d lost a little bit of weight and thought the long line top did a great job of hiding the lumps and bumps – I thought I looked fantastic! This became my go-to outfit for any summer outing for a good few years as I didn’t really get below 13.5 stone till I found the Primal Zone in Summer 2020.
Recently, though, I was sorting out my wardrobe and realised just how much weight - and body fat - I have lost! Needless to say, the outfit went to charity as I never intend to get that big again… shame though, coz I really did love that top!”
46 year old female - weight loss and energy goals
“From our very first conversation, Sheila listened and understood the changes I wanted to make. She has both supported and inspired me to take on board the Primal ethos and make long overdue changes to my lifestyle. In just two weeks, I have lost 5lbs, feel fitter, more energetic and overall, am much happier in myself.” Charlotte (Harrogate, Yorks)
57 year old FEMALE - weight loss and ibs
‘A big thanks to Sheila Docker - aka The Primal Zone for her expertise, encouragement and guidance to reach my goal of losing a stone and sorting out my IBS, learning its triggers. Sheila you are great, keeping on my case even when I didn't do any of the exercises you wanted me to.
Without your Zoom calls each week and your constant support on Messenger i'd still be thinking about doing something 'next Monday'. Cheers Sheila, I'll raise my glass of primal red wine to you tonight!!’ (Diana, Eire)
this is me!! - autoimmune, hormonal, inflammatory issues
When the change you’ve committed to makes you feel FABULOUS, you realise how unwell you really were! This is me! In the first image I'm feeling really pants. Fed up of feeling fed up. Tired of feeling tired. When hormones were taking me to places I hadn't been warned about and headaches and bloating were controlling my days. I began to realise that missing out on life and putting up with symptoms or masking them with medication was not the answer.
With two weeks of working on Primal pillars, I had the following:❤ energy and mental clarity improved❤ weight down❤ sleeping well❤ bloating gone❤ skin clear❤ joints pain free❤ mood lifted
I love living this way, understanding what choices influence my mind, body and soul.