Vicki Harmer - Long Reach Nutrition Clinic

25 July marks and as many of my lovely followers know IVF played a massive part in our ability to start a family. It really is an amazing medical breakthrough and I thank the moon, stars and everything in between for its existence and for bringing our beautiful, kind, big-hearted daughter into the world.

It’s not a guaranteed success - 6 rounds for us, all fresh cycles, but every injection, every blood test, every scan, every egg collection and embryo transfer was one million percent worth it.

Before our last cycle we sought the advice of a fertility nutritionist, and I truly believe the changes we made ourselves alongside the IVF protocol made all the difference. The two work synergistically together and I wouldn’t recommend anyone go through IVF without seeking the support from a nutritional therapist too - whether that be me or one of my esteemed fertility colleagues.

There’s a saying it takes a village to raise a child - but in many people’s experience it can take a village to even bring them into the world.

I send all my love to those who have been or are going through fertility treatment now 💛

Happy

🌟 Delighted to announce that I’ve been working hard behind the scenes to add another string to my nutrition bow - Digestion Accredited Practitioner.

🔸What does this mean?
I have undertaken a thorough accreditation process on digestive complaints that include Acid Reflux, Heartburn, Indigestion, Gastritis, Hiatus Hernias, Bile Reflux, Barrett’s Oesophagus and more!

PPI medication is often prescribed for many of the above complaints, but lifestyle and nutritional changes can make a big difference to symptoms, improving not only digestive health but overall health too.

🔸But I’m a Fertility Specialist - how does this fit in?
When I see my fertility clients we work on the whole body, not just the reproductive system. Impaired digestion has a massive impact on nutritional status, gut health, energy levels to name just a few, which then has a knock on effect on fertility.

If your digestive system can’t tolerate a wide variety of foods, improving egg and s***m health is extremely difficult.

Nutrients struggle to be absorbed which then leads to nutrient deficiencies, again impacting egg and s***m health.

I work on a whole body approach so this accreditation fits in beautifully to support my clients even further.

If you’ve been struggling with any of these symptoms, do get in touch, you don’t have to put up with them.

Lunch (and breakfast and dinner too) doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming to be filling and nutritious.

This took me less than 10 minutes from fridge to plate and is one I’ll definitely be repeating!

Green eggs and halloumi from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s new book - How to eat 30 plants a week.

I added a few extras but what are recipes for if not to adapt to your own taste. Here’s the recipe:

Extra virgin olive oil for cooking
100 halloumi, cut into small cubes
A bunch of spring onions, trimmed and sliced
100g kale or spinach (I used both!)
Handful of frozen peas
4 eggs (this recipe is for 2 so adapt where necessary)
Sea salt and black pepper

I also added some chilli flakes and sprinkled with sunflower seeds and nuts once cooked.

Cook the halloumi until golden on both sides.
Add the spinach, kale, peas and spring onions until wilted and then transfer to a plate.
Beat the eggs in a separate dish and then add to the pan and scramble to your own taste.
Add back in the halloumi and greens and toss together before serving.

Delicious - and perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

I still jump up and down like a loon when messages like this come through. It’s an absolute pleasure and a joy to be able to help others, I just love doing what I do ☺️

The beautiful Starborough Manor in Kent played host for the Nutrition Network Summer Party on Saturday - and even the rain couldn’t dampen the day!

I was too engrossed to take many pics 🙈 but here are a few capturing the amazing talk by the force that is THE Patrick Holford, trying out Laughing Yoga which is something I’d definitely try again and of course the beautiful Manor House.

It was a pleasure to catch up with some of my NT friends and to finally meet ‘in person’ and - loved the hugs 🥰

A great day! Thank you for organising 🙂

❤️

Sending love to those who find days like today tough 💙

Prioritise self-care and spend the day doing what you enjoy x

Day 2 at the Kent Wellness Festival 😌

Come say hi 👋

I have some exclusive show offers and a chance to win two very special prizes.

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week and our emotional wellbeing can be tested to the limit when TTC and having fertility treatment.

Here are 5 tips I hope will help - I’ve also used these myself when going through my own fertility journey so I know these can definitely help.

Find what works for you and if you need any nutritional and/or lifestyle guidance just let me know.

Take care x

This is such a lovely day and some more spaces have become available if you were interested in booking on xx

Due to some last minute cancellations we still have spaces for our up and coming baby loss retreat.

Baby Loss Retreat 💗💙

💝 £35
📅 12.05.2024
⭐️ Nurstead Court
⭐️ Family / Friends are welcome
☕️ Lunch & Drinks Included
💜 Lavender Health -
🍓Vicki Harmer -

The Retreat is an opportunity for to review every day habits such as eating, sleeping as well as addressing own self care and self love awareness.

To gain empowerment and give themselves permission to feel happiness alongside their sadness. To have space to re-evaluate their lives and take time for themselves as well as to rest and revitalise both body and soul.

“I now realise how much I’ve been effected by what has happened to me. I still have a long way to go ….but I can do it”. Danielle

TO BOOK PLACE please email [email protected]

TeamMM💗💙
www.makingmiracles.org.uk

TTC can be easy for some and a complete rollercoaster for many others.

This Fertility Iceberg shows just some of what goes on under the surface for the many people (both men and women) where TTC hasn’t happened as easily for. I’ve created this visual as it can be easier to take in rather than reading through a lot of text.

I cover all of these aspects (and more) when working 1-2-1 with my clients, to find out what’s really going on and how to optimise their fertility for the very best outcome.

If you’d like to know more, comment with a 💜 below and I’ll be in touch x

My heart is singing right now, receiving such lovely feedback from one of my clients 🥰

I say this all the time (sorry to bore you all lol) but this is why I do what I do, to help people, and I love knowing I’ve made a difference.

I updated these yesterday for a client so thought I’d share the 2024 lists on here for all of you as well.

What the heck are they??

Each year the Environmental Working Group (EWG) produces these after thorough investigation, to advise which fruit and veg contains the most pesticides (Dirty Dozen list) and those with the least (Clean 15 list).

Buying all your produce organic can not only be challenging to find - but expensive too! Use these lists when you’re shopping to work out which you can buy the conventional way and those you should ideally be buying organic.

Why is this important? There is a lot of scientific research detailing how pesticide residue can impact not only our overall health but also our fertility and menstrual cycles too, when pesticides are able to disrupt normal hormonal function.

No matter where you are in your life cycle, reducing your exposure to pesticides is extremely important. And never more so if you’re trying to conceive. If you can’t buy organic use this hack to reduce the pesticide content:

Add 1 tsp of baking soda/bicarbonate of soda to every 2 cups of cold water and leave your chosen fruit/veg to soak for approximately 15 minutes. Give them a good rinse after this time and pat dry.

Also keep your hydration up (there are a myriad of reasons why water intake is paramount and this is just 1) to help your liver detoxify any pesticide residue left over.

Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like to discuss this, or anything else I can help with, further x

Just before the Easter hols I opened a lovely email from Lux Life with the amazing news I had won the award for “Most Trusted Nutritional Therapist 2024”

Absolutely over the moon! Thank you and all my wonderful clients 💫

These types of posts pop up all the time across my social media platforms - and they drive me mad! They give false hope to people who are often so vulnerable.

Fertility issues are usually far more complex than what these posts describe.

As a Fertility Nutritional Therapist I work extensively with my clients through dietary analysis, functional testing, scientific research and detective work to create truly personalised fertility programmes that work for them. Every recommendation is achievable and sustainable - there are no wacky, off the wall suggestions.

Please don’t be sucked in with posts like these, and if you’d like to speak to an expert, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch, or comment with a 💜 and I’ll be in touch with you.

Looking forward to Saturday!

If you’re near Kent next Saturday I’ll be attending the Ebb & Flow Wellbeing Festival as a stall holder and it would be great to see you!

I’m also offering these amazing mini consults which can be booked direct here or message me with your preferred time and I’ll book you in.

There’s also a Golden Ticket giveaway so be sure to stop by and see if you’re a winner!

Easter greetings from Thailand ☀️
Hope you’re all having a lovely long weekend. I’ll be a little quieter on here for the next couple of weeks as we’re on holiday but you guys know you can message me and I’ll come back to you as soon as I can x

March is Endometriosis Awareness Month and is a condition that affects 1 in 10 women in the UK.

Some of the symptoms of Endometriosis can be extremely painful and debilitating - can nutritional therapy help - absolutely!

Also on the flip side, some women are completely unaware they have Endometriosis until they are trying to conceive and fertility investigations have highlighted it.

As a Registered Fertility Nutritional Therapist I am trained to spot the signs and also to help you navigate this condition.

If you are at all concerned about your diagnosis or if you are trying for a baby and worried Endometriosis may be impacting your fertility, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Endometriosis is not an Infertility diagnosis and nutrition and lifestyle interventions can have a big beneficial impact 🌸

Protein Pancakes!
So many people requested the recipe for these protein pancakes I posted on my stories yesterday, so here it is:

2 eggs
1.5 tablespoons of protein powder (I’m currently using the Cacao Hylife Nutrition)
1 banana
40g almond flour
Pinch of baking powder (to help them go fluffy!)

Blend altogether and this mixture should make approx 4-6 pancakes depending on how big you go.

Top with some berries, nuts, seeds, Greek yoghurt, kefir - whatever you fancy!

A lovely balanced breakfast with protein, healthy fats and fibre which will keep you full until lunchtime and keep your blood sugars balanced too.

Enjoy 😊

This lovely client of mine is a new Mum!

She came to me whilst preparing for IVF and we worked together for 3 months to help achieve her dreams of having a baby.

So what did we do?

❤️We increased her protein and healthy fats intake to ensure she had the right building blocks to increase her chances of success.

❤️We took out all inflammatory foods that could have been working against her and optimised her gut health and nutrient intake.

❤️We reduced her toxic load to increase her chances of success.

❤️We devised a gentle but effective movement routine to keep stress and s*x hormones balanced.

❤️We improved her sleep and stress levels which can have a big impact on fertility.

❤️We used personalised fertility supplements to ensure maximum nutrient absorption for both pre-conception and pregnancy. These worked alongside each phase of her IVF cycle including aiding that all important embryo implantation.

This amazing lady was a pleasure to work with and the changes we implemented helped her achieve a positive pregnancy result and a beautiful baby ❤️

Today can be a hard day for so many and for different reasons. I just wanted to say I see you and I care.

If you’re trying for a baby, preparing for IVF, taking time out from the relentless IVF cycles - please take time for you, everyone will understand.

Sending love to everyone who finds today hard 🌸

Happy International Women’s Day!

To all the remarkable women out there:

May we always know our worth, stand tall in our power, and never settle for anything less than we deserve. We really are amazing!

It’s been a while since I introduced myself. Hi 👋 I’m Vicki and I’m a registered Nutritional Therapist specialising in Fertility and Women’s Health.

I often get asked why this is my chosen career and quite simply it’s all summed up in this pic.

We went to hell and back to start our family. But every injection, every scan (internal) and every tear we shed was all worth it to have this little lady in our lives.

After my 5th failed cycle I sought the advice from a Nutritional Therapist and this consultation turned our lives around. We finally had a successful cycle and welcomed our little beauty 9 years ago.

She is my why. She is my reason for wanting to help others who are navigating this fertility rollercoaster - which to be totally honest is really s**t at times.

Experiencing first hand how powerful nutrition and lifestyle can be is a complete game changer. We can often get to the root cause of fertility issues which can lead to the start of your family, with a healthy conception, healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.

This is my why 🩷

Nutritional Therapy isn’t just about food - although this is a big aspect. But I also look at the following:

🔹Stress management
🔸Sleep hygiene
🔹Lifestyle & movement
🔸Skincare
🔹Cookware
🔸…..and more!

It’s a whole body approach and I leave no stone unturned to find the actual cause of the health concerns you’re experiencing - rather than just treating your symptoms or putting you on an unsustainable crash diet.

As a registered Fertility & Women’s Health Nutritional Therapist here are a few areas I support my clients with.

My clinic is based in Higham but I also see clients online too, so distance need not be a barrier.

Get in touch if you’d like to know more 🌸