Rachel Nelson lost 55kg in 11 months and used Swiish vitamins to help health journey

When old friends or acquaintances walk past Rachel Nelson without a second glance she isn’t offended, in fact a sense of pride washes over her.

The successful mum-of-two and CEO has become unrecognisable after deciding to put herself and her health first.

She lost 55kilos in 11 months, broke up with her long term partner, and shifted her mental health to become radiant and happy.

Speaking to FEMAIL the 46-year-old Bondi executive explained her ‘health kick’ began when she was in hospital looking after her daughter.

The mum-of-two barely noticed herself putting on weight – then one day she realised she was a shell of herself 

‘We spent months at Westmead and Ronald McDonald House dealing with a trauma related injury and that is where I first started using SWIISH supergreens as a way of just trying to have energy to get through my day,’ she said.

As a CEO Rachel spent a lot of time traveling – her stint in hospital with her daughter forced her to ‘take a look at her priorities’ and identify her ailing health.

She realised she had been slowly putting on weight and had become a shell – always putting work and family before her own needs.

At the same time her relationship was breaking down. 

Rachel tried to exercise and diet but nothing worked so she went to her doctor and asked for help.

She told FEMAIL she decided to put herself first – left an unhappy relationship and focused on her health 

They had a sobering conversation and her doctor suggested gastric band surgery to get on top of her weight. 

‘It wasn’t until I looked at my life holistically and the reasons why the weight wasn’t shifting that I could start to address the root cause,’ she said.

‘Once I could address the adrenal fatigue and stress the rest would start to fall into place.’

Her failing relationship was a sticking point for the businesswoman.

‘The relationship had certainly taken a huge toll on my health and I was diagnosed with adrenal fatigue from being under constant stress,’ she said.

‘I ended up spending two weeks in cardiac ICU due to the impact stress had on my heart. Something needed to change,’ she added.

After her hospital stint Rachel made the decision to end her relationship and focus on her own health.

‘Sometimes you need to hit a rock bottom to actually become the person you are destined to be. Life has certainly changed since then,’ she said. 

She now ‘feels the best she’s ever felt’ and credits that with her decision to highlight her own needs.

Rachel said she had to focus on her mental health before her physical health could improve 

‘As soon as the weight starting shedding it became more evident that the work we put into our bodies in terms of mental health soon translates to physical and general health also. 

‘The change in my self confidence as a person has increased tremendously, physically and emotionally which was a priority after years of neglect,’ she said.

 Rachel says consistency has been key in losing the weight and keeping it off.

‘It was hard to be disciplined when you are not in a good place mentally but being consistent even on the days when you just didn’t want to move was key for me,’ she said

She now feels younger and better than she has in years

‘My children deserved a mother that was healthy, positive and I wanted to demonstrate to them that we would be more than ok and that we can set goals and achieve them.’

After a while movement became part of a normal day for the mum – who now finds great joy in going for a run or doing a long walk with her children.

She’s also changed her tact at work.

‘I am now dedicated to health and wellness in my personal and professional life taking a detour to what I was doing professionally and using my lived experience to now focus on employee health and wellbeing,’ she said.

She focuses on Psychological Safety Management in the Workplace and effective DE&I strategies and training as well as Compassion Coaching to ensure her staff feel safe and secure.

‘I am tremendously proud to execute my lived experience in speaking engagements on psychological safety in the workplace and creating risk management plans which as we know ties into mental and psychical health,’ she said.

‘The mental strength that I have achieved from being where I was years ago, broken, unhappy and not being able to see a way out to now knowing without a doubt that I can achieve anything has been remarkable. I am not afraid to take risks and try new challenges,’ she said.

Rachel said she had to ‘completely show up for herself’ during her health journey.

‘I completely cut out alcohol and that definitely created a healthier baseline to be able to train more consistently,’ she said.

Her outlook on life has completely changed over the last year

 ‘I started incorporating SWIISH into my morning routine to initially help with my energy and overall health support but it soon became apparent that the adrenal fatigue that was affecting my metabolism was soon starting to heal correlating with the time I started taking the SWIISH supplements,’ she said.

 Rachel is sharing her story to encourage other people to take a holistic approach to their health.

She says it is important to identify anything standing in the way of your physical or mental health and to work out if you are better off without it.

The mum is proud to be unrecogniseable and believes she is in the best shape mentally and physically of her life thanks to her efforts.