Dr Katherine Iscoe has her Bachelor, Masters and PhD in exercise physiology and biotechnology. She’s beautiful, kind and the picture of good health. But upon entering a room, it’s not her looks or wisdom that you first notice—it’s her humble self-assurance and infectious positivity.
As a body confidence expert, who spends her days helping women cultivate self-love, it’s unsurprising she’s so bubbly. But you’d never guess this wasn’t always the case. In fact, it was her personal experience with body image issues that got her into the profession in the first place.
“For years, I wanted the perfect body more than anything else…I obsessed about my diet. I counted every calorie and agonised over food choices. I felt unbearable guilt when I didn’t achieve my unrealistic goals,” Katherine recalls.
“I exercised for hours a day. I ran with blood-filled shoes. I trained when I had hip pain—later, finding out I had a fractured pelvis and, to top things off, a fractured coccyx too. Despite knowing exactly how my body worked, I still punished it daily with harder workouts and by yo-yo-ing my food intake.”
After two years of obsessive dieting, 10 kilograms of weight loss and achieving what many would call the “perfect body”, Katherine hit rock bottom. But it was here that she had her lightbulb moment.
“I always thought having a “perfect body” would result in guaranteed happiness and unconditional love from others. I now know how far from reality this was. Relying on my body’s appearance for my happiness lead me to have suicidal thoughts three times in my life.”
While Katherine’s experience is extreme, it’s not unique. Many women equate their happiness and self-worth to a dress size—and Katherine says this is our biggest mistake.
“My definition of body confidence has nothing to do with how we look. For me, body confidence means not relying on how you look for your happiness.”
Since healing her own relationship with food, weight and body image, Katherine has helped thousands of women to do the same.
Her unique holistic method, The Forever Approach, is built on the belief that a happy and healthy mind and body is determined by seven key pillars: nutrition, activity, sleep quality, stress levels, state of health, state of mind, and state of satisfaction. If one area is affected, it will inevitably affect another.
“Everything in our life will have a ripple effect into other areas. If you don’t sleep well, this will affect everything from your diet to your activity levels, to how you get along with your friends and family,” says Dr Katherine.
Through one-on-one consultations and group retreats, Katherine works with women all over the world to dissect their seven pillars and determine the root of poor self-esteem or diet habits. By doing so, her clients naturally shift weight, reduce stress, improve sleep and cultivate body positivity.
“Body confidence is more than just how you look. It’s about who you are, who you want to be, and how you’re going to get there.”
The sooner we realise this, the sooner we’ll be set free.
Double-tap for body positivity by following these 9 seriously inspiring body confidence Instagram accounts.