Get to know us
THE MISSION
To help active women, and girls, understand their unique nutritional needs so they can be healthy, happy and reach their potential both in sport and everyday life.
THE VISION
To create an environment in which people have positive relationships with food, free from rules and restriction.
About Lisa
Hi, I'm Lisa. I'm a nutrition coach from Devon, England, age-group triathlete and outdoor adventure enthusiast. I haven't always been a nutrition coach but I’ve always been interested in how the foods that we eat influence the way our bodies react and how we feel.
I grew up watching my mum cook. Cook for us as a family, bake cakes for school fetes, cook for girl guides on camp. I started helping out, developing my skills and had meals I enjoyed making for the family. Although I was a pretty fussy eater as a young child, I enjoyed food and didn’t really think much about the types of foods I was eating, or should be eating, or not eating.
When I was 18 years old, I had a severe bout of glandular fever requiring a period in hospital and some heavy doses of antibiotics. I didn’t appreciate this at the time but this left me with a pretty unhealthy gut microbiome, which led to a number of digestive issues and unable to tolerate certain foods. Working with a nutritionist to identify the foods my body wasn’t able to deal with and then slowly re-introducing these foods, allowed me to observe first hand my body’s reaction to these foods. Sometimes these were negative reactions, such as bloating, sickness and eczema, or headaches and feeling very lethargic. But there were also positive reactions such as good sleep, feeling energised and alert, and feeling happy! This was really the start of my journey into nutrition and awareness that what we put into our bodies really does influence the way we feel and operate.
I've always been keen on sport and in my thirties it started to become a big part of my life. I completed my first marathon, competed on several occasions at the Gig Rowing World Championships and National Championships, and took up triathlon. I was training 12+hours a week and didn't have the understanding at the time of what my body needs to sustain this level of activity. I fell into a state of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) through unintentionally not giving my body enough energy, the right type of energy or energy at the right time. It took about 18 months of working to change many ingrained behaviours and beliefs around eating to recover. It was this experience that has shaped my path into nutrition coaching and my passion of helping active women, and girls, understand their unique nutritional needs so they can be healthy, happy and reach their potential both in sport and everyday life.
I am a certified PN L1 nutrition coach. I've specialised in nutrition for sports performance, metabolic health and supporting female performance in sport and fitness. I have partnered with The Well HQ to support the launch of their amazing book The Female Body Bible. You can hear more about my journey on a podcast episode from The Inspired Triathlete.
Most days you'll find me working from home, on client calls, writing articles or reading up on the latest research papers on nutrition. In between I enjoy training whether it's for a triathlon or event, or just getting outside to move my body in a purposeful way. My favourite meal of the day is breakfast and nothing beats pancakes on a weekend after a morning trail run exploring the countryside.
THE APPROACH
Bee Wild embodies my approach to nutrition. I don’t like the term ‘food is fuel’ as I feel this detaches us from food and all the emotional, social, cultural and enjoyment aspects of eating.
I prefer to use the term ‘food as information’. Everything we consume, is giving our body information. The nutrients, when broken down, give our bodies instructions about how to function. This affects our energy, performance, mood, and optimal long-term health.
We are not machines, rather living organisms. Our bodies are incredibly complex, self-regulating and dynamic. Food is so much more than fuel. And we are so much more than machines requiring fuel.
Thinking about food in this way gives us a view of nutrition that goes beyond calories or grams, good foods or bad foods. This view leads us to focus on foods we should include rather than foods to exclude
The concept of food as information shifts our focus to foods to include rather than foods to exclude. Nutrients are nourishing substances that provide information to the body about how it will function. Food as information.
As your coach, I provide the guidance and support to help you build sustainable nutrition habits. You will gain the resources to empower you to take control of your nutrition for life.