Helen Craddock

Hi, I'm Helen

A woman in her 50s who’s lost over 7 stone and is still learning how to show up for herself, one small step at a time.

This isn’t about perfection, quick fixes, or pressure.


It’s about progress, kindness, and building a life that feels good to live in.

For years, I felt stuck. Trapped in a cycle of emotional eating, shame, and feeling like real change was for other people. I lived with pain from lymphedema, carrying nearly 20 stone, my weight creeping up each year, whilst nothing I did made a impact. Then I discovered something different and for the first time, I started to believe it wasn’t too late.


I have started taking Mounjaro, a licensed drug to help treat obesity in the UK. I had been thinking about starting this treatment for quite a while and looked into this and other alternatives that are available in the UK.

There is so much misinformation about these drugs online and in the media so I hope I can help by sharing my experiences and provide you all with more information through my blog posts.

If you have any questions please feel free to drop me a message or let me know if there is anything in particular you would like me to discuss.

Please note that I am only documenting my experience, always do your own research and speak to a doctor or pharmacy for medical advice or if you have concerns whilst taking GLP1 medication.

With love, Helen 🩷

Start Here: Your First Steps

If you’re new here, welcome — I’m really glad you found your way.

This is a quiet space for women in midlife who are navigating weight loss, self-trust, and real life — imperfectly and honestly.

You might like to start with:

My Story
How I lost over 7 stone and learned that transformation is about more than numbers.

👉 Read More

My Most Read Blog Posts
The posts readers return to when they need encouragement and perspective.
👉
One Year On. One Step at a Time. 🎉

👉 Hormones, Paddington & The Great Chocolate Crisis of 2025

👉 What No One Tells You About GLP-1 and Emotional Eating

My Digital Journal
After years of struggling with emotional eating and self-doubt, I created a gentle companion journal to support women on GLP-1 journeys.

It’s designed for reflection, self-kindness, and realistic progress — not punishment.
👉
View the Journal

What I’m Building Next
I
’m beginning to share more of my journey on YouTube.
[Coming Soon]

One Small Step At A Time.

Healthy habits challenge

The

"I'm Doing This" Challenge

A 30-day self-trust boost that

feels doable (because it is)

✅ Build momentum with 5 tiny feel-good habits

✅ Learn to trust yourself again—one day at a time

✅ Finally feel like change is happening for real

Are you ready for more?

Ready to build the life of your dreams?

Let's chat

Ready to work with a coach to uplevel your life and business?

On The Blog....

My honest journey on Mounjaro (and everything in between)

mounjaro diary

All the Reasons I Didn’t Want to Try a GLP-1 Diet

(a.k.a. My Love Letter to Food and Mild Hypochondria)

Mounjaro blog

The real life diary of transformation

(without losing the plot)

Mounjaro blog

🎉 Good news: Back on track after my holiday

🎉 Good news: No adverse side effects after missing dose

The Mindset Makeover

Healthy habits challenge

💛 You’re taking the injection… but what about the inner work?

If you’re on a GLP-1 journey and starting to realise that mindset, habits, and emotional wellbeing are just as important as the medication — this digital journal is for you.

Over six gentle, 4-week cycles, you’ll track progress, stay connected to your why, and build the kind of self-trust that lasts long after the weight comes off.

About Me

Listen to the

Podcast

view my

services

read the

BLOG

Let's chat

Ready to work with a coach to uplevel your life and business?

Let's learn

Learn at your own pace and make quantum leaps.

Student Love Notes

We've helped so many incredible students to find success as Virtual Assistants...

The VA Business Blueprint helped me to go from feeling completely stuck to starting my business and getting my first client!

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I enrolled in the VA Services Academy feeling completely lost - within 2 weeks I knew exactly what to offer & what to charge.

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Beginner to Booked Out was a game-changer for me. Anna and her team are incredible and I'm booked out for the next 3 months!

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New on the blog...

January 2026

☀️ Sequins, Sunshine & Steady Steps

January 31, 20264 min read

January 2026 – Mounjaro Diaries

Happy New Year✨🎉

And no… there is no “new year, new me” speech coming.

Because the truth is, I quite like the me who showed up in 2025.

So January wasn’t about reinventing myself.

It was about continuing.


New Year’s Eve (Yes… I Wore The Same Dress)

Confession time.

I wore the same navy sequin dress for New Year’s Eve that I wore to the black tie event in December.

And do you know why?

Because losing over 7 stone is costing me an absolute fortune in clothes😅💸

Every time I think I’m “sorted” wardrobe-wise, something else hangs differently, slips differently, or just looks… not right anymore.

And also?

I loved how I felt in that dress.

Not in a “please tell me I look slimmer” way.

In a “this is me and I feel good” way.

So yes — same dress. Same sparkle. Different year.

And I danced again💃✨


☀️A Week in Cape Verde

And then… we escaped.

Cape Verde.

Sun. Sea. Sand.🌊☀️🏝

Oh my goodness, hello sunshine. I have missed you.

There is something profoundly healing about warmth on your skin after months of 5:30am alarms, pitch black mornings and scraping ice off the car like you’re in some Arctic endurance test.

I sat on the beach and felt present.

I swam without worrying who was looking.
I wore summer clothes without mentally calculating angles.
I walked barefoot without feeling heavy or self-conscious.

And yes — there were cocktails.🍹
And hotel buffets.
And desserts that did not ask permission before being delicious.

But here’s the difference.

There was no “last supper” mentality.
No internal panic.
No secret overcompensating.

Just balance.

And that feels like freedom.


💉“Have You Changed Your Dose?”

Another question that keeps popping up:

“Have you increased your dose?”

No.

Still on 10mg.

And yes — weight loss has slowed.

But let’s be honest… life has been a whirlwind.

Between Christmas events, travel, decorating chaos, hospital visits, and sunshine escapes — it hasn’t exactly been a quiet, routine-driven season.

What matters more to me right now?

No side effects.
Steady appetite control.
Being able to eat healthily (mostly
😉).
And not feeling ruled by food.

This isn’t a race anymore.

It’s a lifestyle.


📉Weight Update

January loss: 1.5lbs

Not dramatic.
Not headline-grabbing.

But steady.

And steady in January — the month of “all or nothing” — feels quietly powerful.

Because January used to be extreme.

This January feels grounded.


📖The Digital Journal & The Mindset Shift

I want to talk about something that matters more to me than the scale.

The mindset work.

Because the injection helps with appetite.

But it does not silence the inner critic.
It does not undo decades of emotional eating patterns.
It does not magically create self-trust.

That part takes intention.

It takes reflection.

It takes gently rewiring how we respond to stress, joy, boredom, grief, celebration.

That’s exactly why I created the “I’m Doing This” Digital Journal.

It’s not a rigid planner.
It’s not a food diary that makes you feel judged.

It’s a space to:

• Reconnect with yourself
• Build habits that feel doable
• Track your GLP-1 journey without shame
• Notice emotional triggers
• Celebrate non-scale wins

If you’re on this journey and starting to realise that mindset is just as important as medication, you can have a look here:

👉 https://helencraddock.com/join

Because this time, it isn’t just about losing weight.

It’s about becoming someone who trusts herself.

And that shift? That’s the real transformation.


💔The Quiet Undercurrent

While there has been sunshine and sequins and celebration, there’s also been something softer running underneath it all.

My sister-in-law is now in a home.

It’s a lovely place. The staff are amazing. Kind. Gentle. Present.

And yet… we don’t think she has long left.

It’s strange how life works.

You can be sitting on a beach in Cape Verde feeling warmth on your face… and at the same time carrying that ache in your chest.

January has felt like that.

Light and heavy.

Joyful and fragile.

And again, this journey reminds me why I started.

Health is not about a dress size.

It’s about being here.

Clear-headed. Mobile. Present.

Strong enough to hold both celebration and sadness.


🌿Moving Into 2026

There’s no dramatic declaration this month.

No detox.
No extreme gym plan (although yes… I probably should reintroduce one
😅).

Just this:

I’m continuing.

Still on 10mg.
Still steady.
Still living.
Still enjoying.
Still showing up.

The weight loss may have slowed.

But the growth hasn’t.

And honestly?

That feels like the most important win of all.

With love,
Helen
💕

MounjaroMounjaro Diaries
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My Story

For years, I lived with pain from lymphedema, carrying nearly 20 stone, and feeling like the best parts of life were behind me.

I knew if I didn’t make a change, I’d lose even more than just my health.


Mounjaro is helping me shift the weight, but the true transformation came from working through emotional eating and rebuilding self-trust.

Slowly, step by step I'm making real, long-lasting change.

HELEN CRADDOCK © 2026 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.