Maeve Madden - Beat Your Bloat: Recipes and exercise to promote digestive health

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Hi everyone, Im Maeve! I am so excited to be able to share with you what I have learnt over the past few years, during which time Ive built a positive relationship with myself, with food and my body. I really hope this book helps you to realise that health and fitness are not just about being, and having, the perfect body and lifestyle. No one is perfect and we dont have to try to pretend to be, but we all want to feel confident, strong, happy and beautiful in our own skin. The aim of your lifestyle should simply be to be the best version of yourself.

In 2015, I started sharing my daily life on social media @maeve_madden uploading 15-second1-minute home and gym workout routines. I also posted my favourite delicious recipes, my body transformation from skinny to strong, and tips on how to deal with health conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and adult acne.

I was first diagnosed with PCOS in 2006. I was in my final year at university, writing my dissertation and going through a horrific break-up, and I was definitely not living any kind of healthy lifestyle. I actually dont think I even had gym membership! I had always suffered from irregular periods and when I did go through a menstrual cycle it would be ten days of agonising pain. It felt like there was a world war happening in my uterus I would be completely drained of energy and I was an emotional, crazy, menstrual mess. Sound familiar? I know Im not alone! I knew there was something more to this hormonal chaos. Then, while I was writing my dissertation, I collapsed and was rushed to A&E, where I underwent an operation to remove ruptured cysts.

Honestly, I have never quite been the same since. I am not alone in having PCOS; actually, one in 10 women have it a lot of them just dont know it. There are so many symptoms of PCOS, which vary from person to person, and they can be really hard to deal with because they can feel embarrassing and make you feel less feminine. My adult acne soon followed, along with problems with weight, bloating, fibroid growth and lack of energy all because of the hormonal imbalances in my body. Leading a healthy lifestyle, keeping active and eating the right things were and are key to my ongoing treatment, and I get ultrasound scans regularly to make sure any potential cysts in my uterus are found and monitored.

For a really long time, I was so angry at my body and couldnt figure out what was wrong and why I was suffering. It wasnt until I posted a picture showing how my body went from lean, toned abs that I worked pretty damn hard for to looking nine months pregnant in a matter of minutes (ahhhh, the dreaded bloat!) that I realised that sharing my day-to-day life was so much more real.

My bloating images gathered a lot of attention on social networks. I always try to be honest with people through what I post, as there are so many unnatural edited images that we see on a daily basis. I am really passionate about being myself because I know how it feels to struggle with self-worth, body image and just generally being confident in your own skin. But still, I was amazed at the comments and messages from people all over the world who shared their stories with me and thanked me for comforting them so they didnt suffer alone. Along with the national media coverage of my bloat, it made me realise just how many of us suffer from conditions that result in extreme pain and abdominal bloating and experience our symptoms alone, in silence.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic condition that affects the digestive system, and is a gastrointestinal disorder that I have had for most of my life. Symptoms include abdominal pain, bloating and increased gas which we like to call sitting on a duck. There are different types of this disorder which can affect everyone in a variety of ways: constipation and diarrhoea are the most common, and for me it has been made worse because of my PCOS.

In addition, food intolerances and stress are all triggers that can affect your body and cause bloating, and I for one suffer from the majority, if not all, of them.

I am really passionate about being myself because I know how it feels to struggle with self-worth

I wasnt always the fit, healthy, happy person that I am so proud to be today. Five years ago, I was just a shadow of my current self, weighing a very worrying 46kg. Was I happy? Absolutely not! I was depressed, underweight and unhealthy. All my life I was told who I would be and what I should be. I read once that If conforming to everyones expectation is your number one goal, then you have sacrificed your uniqueness and therefore your excellence. Everything I tried to be for everyone else just made me feel limited; I lowered my expectations of myself and I felt less in control of who I was and wanted to be. I was trying to be perfect and I think I was just trying to be someone I am not.

As a former professional dancer and model, I have always been very competitive, but working in such cutthroat industries lead to me becoming obsessed with my weight and appearance. Trying to be perfect couldnt have made me any more unhappy. I had a poor diet, was doing too much cardio and I was constantly comparing myself to unrealistic images in magazines, online and on social media. Im fine, was the most common lie I told. I always focused on the negative, and found that constantly critiquing myself was destructive to my confidence and self-esteem. I thought I was eating healthily when really I had no idea about nutrition. I always wanted to be thinner, and I felt fat even though everyone would tell me I was tiny. It was mentally and physically draining, a horrible way to live that I wouldnt wish upon anyone.

People often change when there is a traumatic life-altering event, and so it was for me. In 2015 I suffered the biggest heartbreak, after an amazing four-year relationship, overnight I lost my best friend. I had given myself in full to a person I adored and I got my heart back in a million pieces. It was in the process of fixing myself that I discovered who I really am. Self-love, self-respect, self-worth, there is a simple reason why you cant find them in anyone else. To love yourself, you must stop hating yourself for everything you are not and start loving yourself for everything that you already are.