My Story

Hi, I'm Farkhanda, and this is my story

Where it started

I have never been like most girls my age. While everyone around me chased slim and skinny, I chased strong. I never wanted to be thin. I wanted to be healthy, toned, and full of energy, the kind of woman who moves through her whole day without a single ache slowing her down. I was an athlete at school, and I never stopped. Being fit was not a phase for me. It was simply who I was.

Even lockdown couldn't stop me

When Covid shut the whole world indoors and everyone's routines fell apart, mine held. My home was already half a gym, so I turned my dining table into a ping-pong table and my balcony into a walking track. I kept moving, kept cooking, kept going. From the outside, I was the picture of health.

Everyone deserves delicious food

And I made sure my health never tasted like punishment. I believe with my whole heart that the tastiest food should be the first thing on our plate, not the thing we give up. Healthy does not have to mean boring, expensive, or hours lost in the kitchen.

My kitchen, my laboratory

So my kitchen became a little laboratory. I created snacks, drinks, and even ice lollies that were as delicious as they were good for you, made from real ingredients, prepared to keep every bit of their goodness. If anyone had this whole health thing figured out, it looked like me.

But behind it all, I was struggling

Except I did not. Behind the fitness and the beautiful food, I was quietly falling apart. Allergies. Asthma. Crippling PMS. A frozen shoulder that dragged on for two full years. A sleep disorder no one could name. I went from doctor to doctor, and every single time I heard the same three words. Your tests are normal.

But I was not fine, and I knew it. There is a particular kind of loneliness in feeling unwell while everyone around you insists nothing is wrong, until slowly you start to wonder if it is all just in your head.

And here is what I need you to hear, because it is the whole reason I do this work. If this could happen to me, someone active, careful, and doing everything "right," then it is not your fault, and it is not a lack of willpower. It is your body asking for help in the only language it has. And if I could find my way back, so can you.

My deep dive into naturopathy

I refused to accept "you're fine" as an answer, so I went looking for my own. And slowly, the picture came together. These were never separate problems. They were all connected, all rooted in a body that had been quietly inflamed and overworked for years. For me, part of the answer was a hidden gluten and dairy intolerance, and finally understanding why deep, proper sleep matters so much for a woman's body.

The more I understood, the more I needed to know. I studied the naturopathic way, then trained as a health coach with CNM. Physiology, anatomy, biomedicine. Some days it felt like the first year of medical school. I learned how the body truly works, how the smallest daily habits quietly shape everything, and how homeopathy, osteopathy, and Chinese medicine each see the whole person. After more than seven years as a nutritionist for clients around the world, this took me somewhere entirely new. And piece by piece, I got myself back.

Confident, not obsessed

None of it turned me into a health freak. It made me calm, confident, and at home in my own body, in the best possible way. I am human, so I still slip. The difference is that now I always know how to find my way back.

Who is the hero of my story?

For years, I used to ask my friends and family, half joking, why is it always me lifting everyone else, and no one lifting me? For the longest time, no one had an answer. Now I do.

I am the hero of my story

I do not need anyone to rescue me, because I have learned to rescue myself. When I fall, I do not wait to be picked up. I stand back up on my own. But I could never walk past someone else who is struggling and leave them there. I reach out my hand, every single time.

That is who I am, and it is exactly why I do this work. I am not here to hand you a plan and disappear. I am here to walk beside you, hold your hand, and help you back onto your feet, again and again, until standing on your own becomes second nature.

And now, it is your turn. I want you to be the hero of your story too.

What I actually do, and why it is different

We live in an age of endless information. Podcasts, AI, an expert on every screen. Most women already know the basics. Eat better. Sleep more. Move your body. They know. They are just not doing it.

That is not a willpower problem. Knowing something and fitting it into a real, busy life, with a family, a job, and no spare hours, are two completely different things. That gap is where I come in.

Let me be clear about what a health coach actually is, because it's easy to picture the wrong thing. I'm not here to sell you a shelf of luxury supplements, a rigid diet plan, or a long list of rules. That isn't health, that's pressure, and it rarely lasts. A health coach is the person who helps you understand your own body, then makes the healthy choice the easy one, using what you already have, in the life you already live.

No rigid protocols, no punishing plans. Just two or three small routines slipped into the life you already have. Tiny, steady steps. Six months later, those steps have quietly become habits, and those habits have become you.

How we work together

• A free 15-minute discovery call to see if we are the right fit for each other.
• An initial 45-minute session where I get to know you and we co-create a plan built around your real life, your schedule, your family, and your limits.
• A 30-minute follow-up every two weeks to see what worked, what did not, and gently adjust.
• In person or online over Zoom, on a day and time that suits your life.
• Handouts and digital guidance to follow between sessions, so you are never left guessing about what to do next.
• Premium package: extra support between sessions, for when you want me closer.

I also work alongside the rest of your team. If you already see a naturopath, herbalist, TCM practitioner, acupuncturist, homeopath, osteopath, or chiropractor, I do not replace them. I help you actually put their advice into practice, day by day. That accountability and hand-holding is the one thing no app, no search bar, and no AI can give you.

Why you can trust me

• The first and only KHDA-approved Health Coach Diploma in Dubai (KHDA permit 631481), UK OfQual-regulated (Gatehouse Awards, Level 5), from CNM Institute of Natural Health, under the patronage of Sheikha Salama Bint Tahnoon Al Nahyan.
• Health Coaching Diploma including Biomedicine, College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM), UK, now delivered in Dubai at CNM Institute of Natural Health.
• Level 3 Sports Nutrition Diploma, Oxford Learning College (Quality Licence Scheme endorsed).
• Ongoing Continued Professional Development (CPD) in Naturopathic and Integrative Health.
• Proud member of the Association of Naturopathic Practitioners (ANP), mANP.

Areas of Focus