I passed my degree with a 2:1 award in 2006, submitting my dissertation studying the efficacy of caffeine as an ergogenic aid in amateur boxing. During this degree, I took an optional module in clinical nutrition as a break from sports-oriented physiology subjects. Being of an age where fitness and performance were my predominate interests in the subject of Bioscience, this "clinical" exposure was a whole new experience for me and for the first time, I begun to truly understand some of the effects of diet on chronic disease pathology.

My self-confidence must have projected well, as within a couple of months I earned accreditation with the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) and I was Personal Training in a national gym franchise, building a solid client base and enjoying every minute of it. In fact, it was at this gym where I met my future wife, who joined the team later and became the Fitness Manager. Whilst the majority of my work-time was fitness instructing and personal training, I ran the weight management clinic twice a week and began to see clients on a one to one basis to discuss weight loss nutrition or sports nutrition.

After seeing several private clients, I began to realise that few people had isolated health concerns, and some of the people I was seeing for nutritional advice did not just want to lose weight or put on muscle, they also wanted help controlling their blood pressure, cholesterol and in some cases their blood sugar levels. I was not equipped to offer some of them this service, especially to the level that they warranted, and again realised my own limitations. Once again my drive to better myself began to dominate my thinking.

Hooked on the adrenaline of personal growth and immediately after this, I was now wanting to consolidate my knowledge in nutrition with my knowledge in fitness, and decided to up-skill my fitness qualification and complete the highly regarded “writing exercise prescriptions for clients with chronic health conditions” accolade, which includes diabetes, obesity, hypertension, COPD and many other common conditions.

Shortly after this, I began to work for BUPA as a Health Advisor. With this role, I would be able to screen clients’ health and in team with an on-site Doctor, offer the client exercise, diet and lifestyle advice, whilst the Doctor would focus on specifics from a medical perspective. I would carry out various anthropometrical tests, including BMI, waist circumference and Bodyfat testing. I would take blood samples to measure a variety of different aspects. I would carry out blood pressure testing, ECG’s, lung function tests, perform a movement screen and carry out cardiovascular fitness tests (Sub-maximal VO2 max tests). Based on the outcome of the client’s assessment, I would then offer them targeted advice in meeting their nutrition, lifestyle and fitness goals.

After nearly two rewarding years working at BUPA, and always on the pursuit of self-development, I was ready for my next career challenge. My next career goal was to focus specifically on nutrition and enhance my career in Dietetics. After 2 unsuccessful interviews, and feeling deflated at times, I gathered my strength, reflected and revised my approach and became 3rd time lucky with my interview at Queen’s Hospital in Romford, where I trained as a student Dietitian a couple of years earlier. I started working at Queen’s in October 2014, five days after my wedding. As a practicing Dietitian, my role is to advice the medical team in matters regarding the nutrition and hydration of their patients. My initial patient-caseload was varied, and working under the guidance and tutelage of a mentor, I would see nutritionally compromised patients with a variety of medical conditions during their admission to the hospital or who were referred to the hospital as an outpatient. Typically, I would see patients who were either under or overweight, diabetic, had a cardiac pathology or certain cardio-metabolic risk factors. I would see patients with various respiratory conditions who struggled to eat and breath at the same time, and those who had certain food aversions or intolerances. I often saw patients following some kind of gastric surgery and those who were recovering from fractures or bone breakages. In addition to this, I would cover the diabetic and general clinics on a weekly basis, and several times each month I would deliver a nutrition seminar to patients who were recovering from a heart condition.

After several years of trying to balance an advancing clinical career with my fitness career, and working 6-7 days a week, plus evenings, as well as continue with my own fitness pursuits and trying to be an attentive husband, I realised my current work/life balance was unsustainable. Shortly before the birth of my first daughter in February 2016, I made the decision to stop working at Nuffield Health and concentrate on my Dietetic career and my family. Realising that now ‘time’ was a commodity, I scaled down my freelance personal training service.