About Helena
Hi, I’m Helena.
I’m a certified ADAPT Functional Health Coach, and I went eight years without a period. Now I help active, driven women get their natural cycle back without the mental overload or stress that can come with it.
My story
Eight years without a period
For eight years, I didn’t have a period.
It started when I came off the pill. I was running, eating a vegetarian diet and, looking back, probably not eating enough.
Then I moved half way across the world on my own, started my business again from scratch, and spent years in a stressful relationship. I was training Muay Thai at 5.30am for two hours on an empty stomach, lifting weights, and trying all sorts of eating styles to “optimise” my health or fix my gut, like fasting, low-FODMAP and keto.
There were times when I thought I would never get my period back and would just have to accept that I’d be infertile. But my body just didn’t feel safe enough to have a cycle.
When I first tried to get it back, I went all in, ate everything and stopped exercise completely. That didn’t feel right for me, and I couldn’t keep it up.
What worked was a middle path: eating enough, training more gently, and learning to read my body’s signals through fertility awareness. I didn’t gain excessive weight or stress myself out even more by not being able to exercise at all. My period came back and my body settled at a place where I never even think about my weight or how much I can or should train or eat. It took a bit of time, but within a year or two my cycle was regular. Four and a half years on, it still is.
What I learned
Your period is a vital sign
The biggest thing I learned is that a missing period isn’t something to just live with. It’s your body asking for something. For most women that’s more fuel, more rest or less pressure, and often all three. Doctors call it amenorrhoea (also spelled amenorrhea), and when it’s caused by under-eating, training or stress, hypothalamic amenorrhoea, or HA.
For driven, high-achieving women, less pressure is often the hardest part. Doing less can feel harder than pushing yourself. That’s where I help most.
How I work
A middle path.
No extremes and nothing to count: enough food, gentler training, real rest, and learning to read your body.
Alongside your doctor.
I’m a coach, not a doctor, so I work alongside your doctor or functional medicine practitioner, never instead of them.
Support for the hard part.
Knowing what to do is the easy bit. I help you keep going when every part of you wants to do the opposite of what your body needs.
Online, wherever you are.
I’m based in New Zealand and coach online, so you can join from anywhere. We talk on Google Meet, and you can message me on weekdays between calls.
My training
Trained in functional health and coaching
I’m a certified ADAPT Functional Health Coach. I trained with the Kresser Institute, founded by Chris Kresser, in its 12-month ADAPT Health Coach Training Program. It covers functional and ancestral health, including nutrition and the principles of functional medicine, alongside the coaching skills that help people make lasting changes, such as motivational interviewing and positive psychology.
The programme is approved by the National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching (NBHWC). To be certified, I passed exams and a practical coaching assessment marked by an NBHWC-certified mentor coach, and completed at least 25 coaching sessions with clients.
Let’s talk about getting your cycle back.
Book a free 30-minute call. Tell me where you’re at, what you’ve tried and what’s held you back. If my programme isn’t the right fit, I’ll tell you, and point you to something that is.
Not ready to talk? Get the free guide