How Dundalk woman Denise found her true path in life

AS a new mum, local woman Denise Wogan says she found herself stressing about healthy ways to feed a young family, as well as struggling to maintain her own health and wellbeing. It was this thirst for information and desire to find balance that led Denise to retrain as a Nutritional Therapist and now from her clinic in Blackrock she uses this knowledge to help others to eat better, feel better and stress less.

“I do a lot of work with mums and dads who are in the thick of childrearing, career building and all out craziness. I want Mums and Dads to know that you don’t have to wait until the kids are older to focus on yourself’.

“I am a firm believer in modelling behaviour as my parents did for me, if my kids see me eat, then they will eat. That is why I believe in working with parents first and then children. If your relationship with food, with yourself, is positive then they will have a positive relationship with food”.

With a successful career in Fund Management, it was through personal experience that Denise found her true path,

“When I became a mum, I became intrigued with food, I searched the internet to find the perfect ways to feed my kids, always trying to do better. After all I loved my kids so much, I had to have them eating the best foods. But that is where it all unravelled, the more pressure I put on myself, the more my own body struggled. At that time, my own health wasn’t in the best shape. I had always struggled with my gut and it manifested in many ways in my body”.

It was at this point that Denise decided to take a more structured approach to her studies and retrain to get her Diploma in Nutritional Therapy.

“As I began to study that’s when it all changed. My relationship with food went from being super healthy and very time consuming to being able to rustle up a healthy meal in a jiffy and still find the time to exercise, sleep and meet up with friends”.

No stranger to study, with a Bachelor of Business Studies & French and a career in Finance already under her belt, for Denise this was a completely new experience,

“This time round I felt I had a purpose to study; I believe in food as a means to having a better and more fulfilled life. Learning was never a chore but it was hard, but nothing you really want ever comes easy does it? I knew what it was like to struggle with food and health. I also believe in the power of people; I believe we can change so I studied with curiosity this time round’.

“The biggest motivator for me is the feedback I get from people on the day of the session and in many months after we’ve stopped working together. It’s the smiles from ear to ear as they recognise, they’ve cracked the big barrier. Sometimes it’s the look of sheer relief as they begin to understand they are not a failure, there is a whole complex situation at play here and now they have something to work with”.

Now running a successful practice in Blackrock Denise is doing what she does best,

“I am more passionate than ever about teaching people about Good Nutrition beyond the science and numbers. I want to encourage people to be courageous and have a look at things with a new lens to see if they can make changes in how they feel…not how they look because that’s the most important thing. We are human beings…not robots…we feel things.’

“I love working with people, I love supporting them but most of all I love now that my work with people is so personal…a client made a significant breakthrough the other day and I thought that if I only had one client like this a year it is worth it. I know their life has changed forever and that is all I want, is for people to end up eating food that makes them feel better right now, in the body that they are in, in the body they’ve grown to accept as we work together. It makes everything worthwhile’.

Through her studies Denise has also undergone her own personal transformation,

“I don’t cook half as much as I used to. I love good food, but I have learned how to eat for my life-stage. I think about food less, I think more about the other things in life that might need attention in order to feel healthier. I’m also a lot happier in my own space, my own company, my own body’

“I qualified as a Life Coach earlier this year with Coaching Development and continue to work towards my professional accreditation. I gain valuable tools and strategies to use with clients but mostly I learned about myself. I wondered what there was to get to know. I have lived a very good life but through experiencing this programme and kind of learning, I learned that we all need to look inwards. We need to learn to live with the good and bad bits of us’.

“And if you want some inspiration, I have grown a ‘Covid belly’ and this is the first time in my life I honestly and truly do not care. That’s the power of the connection you get with yourself…that’s not something you can get easily but by god when you have it it’s amazing.”

Denise offers three kinds of services to people: one-to-one nutrition coaching, group programmes and workshops.

“My most recent offering as a licensed Eating Freely Therapist is a 20 week Emotional Eating Programme, a structured programme that is designed and proven to help you get on track but stay on it.

“First step for anyone is to book in for a free ‘iscovery call’. During this call I will hear what it is you want support with. I will ask you a few questions and then explain more about how I work. As I have many feathers to my bow, I will suggest which plan for you to follow whether it’s my one/one or the other service offerings’.

“The main reason for this call is for you to see if you like me. For me that’s the key, if you like how I work, if you connect with me then your journey and our work together will be much more effective. Our relationship and ability to work together is so important so you have to make sure you are happy with me before you invest this time and money in yourself”.