My name is Natalie Adams, I love food, and I love cooking, it’s in my blood. I come from a family that will celebrate anything with food, be it a buffet, family and friends for dinner, or dining out.

A few years ago, I had my lovely (if slightly crazy) little girl, and with that the mild case of IBS I had previously, became almost uncontrollable, and as a result of not knowing how to control it and changing my form of contraception, I put on ALOT of weight. This was fine in my mind, until my neighbour congratulated me on my second pregnancy! Something had to be done….

The question was how would a healthy diet fit into my lifestyle (looking after my child, working, university, and not forgetting my love of food!)? The short answer was it didn’t. Instead, I upped my exercise regime (of which I am now somewhat of an addict) and replaced my favourite treats, with healthier versions I created from scratch. My healthy versions of my favourite foods together with portion control and exercise helped me to lose 1st 8lb. Now I have achieved a healthy weight and my IBS is totally under control. I am now concentrating on maintaining a healthy muscle mass by concentrating on toning exercises to make sure I keep a strong fat burning body for life. Some examples of the types of recipes I change are can be found on

I go to many exercise classes a week, but one that has been really motivational for me is ALIVE Fitness, Derby, Susan Booth knows me and my body incredibly well, she kicks me up the bum when I need it, supports and motivates me, but she also understands real life, and knows that I occasionally need a treat to keep myself in check, she also discusses nutrition and sensible eating as opposed to faddy diets.