I struggled to fit anywhere, because I spoke, acted and looked different.
I grew up in Canada, America, France and Italy. My parents divorced when I was a child, which started my loss of identity. As a young teen, I began a cycle of extreme dieting. At the time, being anorexic was ‘cool’, so much so, in fact, that the goal was to eat so little that you fainted.
My restrictive eating then spun into drinking, then drugs (hard and soft), and minor brushes with the law—all in the hopes of being popular and liked.
Ironically, I loved food, and at only 18 years of age became executive pastry chef for one of Toronto’s top restaurants which hosted the likes of Demi Moore, Cher, Halle Berry, Dani DeVito, Michael Jordan, Dan Ackroyd among many more. This experience, along with the fast-paced R-rated nature of the entertainment industry made me grow up very, very fast, problematic as I still didn’t know who I was in the first place.
I then ventured out on my own, opening a restaurant and catering business at only 20 years of age, which soon failed after which I went bankrupt for a quarter million dollars at only 23 years. Unsure of what to do next, I went back to school to ‘give it a try’; I ended up getting stuck there for the next 10+ years.
After finishing my doctorate I started a nutrition and fitness company (Deliciously Fitt). I figured everyone out there was making money off helping people lose weight, so why couldn’t I? I had years of experience, including training Olympic and professional athletes, and knew a tremendous amount when it came to nutrition. As such, I became face of my brand, once again striving for the ‘perfect’ body and ‘perfect’ life so I could feel good about myself.
This business also didn’t work out. Why? Well, you can’t sell something you don’t believe in – and I was trying to sell myself, and I didn’t believe in myself.
Unfortunately, it’s just not that simple.
To cut a long story short, my extreme dieting and exercise habits, as well as my hyper-focus on changing my appearance have not only caused decades of unhappiness, but have also now lead to permanent health problems including severe digestive disorders. I’ve battled severe depression to the point of attempting suicide.
It was only through years of working on myself, along with professional help that I was able to pull both my mental and physical health back on track.
It is therefore my personal knowledge of how dark, dangerous and insidious this problem can be that has driven me to develop and teach effective, evidence-based solutions to change people’s lives.
I know the demons you’re facing – I’ve looked them in the eye, and I know how to beat them.
And now, I want to help you beat them too.
If this even remotely resonates with you, I’m so glad to meet you, you’re in the right place.
Dr Katherine Iscoe x
