22 Feb Lynne’s Personal Story

The Story Behind Pepper Hustle

If you’ve ever looked at me and thought, “It’s easy for you,” I get it. I really do. From the outside, it can look like I’m full of energy, always motivated, always on track.

But, like so many of you reading this, it hasn’t been easy for me.

I’ve never actually *really* shared my story. I think I’m a little afraid it sounds like a “poor me” moan. But I also know that so many of you have your own struggles, and my hope is that by sharing my own story, it might help anyone wading through the muck of a tough time to remember that things do get better. Had I not gone through everything I went through, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

I also know this: if I can change how I feel, you can too.

Where it all started: body image, confidence, and losing my mum

I grew up in a household where health and wellness just… weren’t a thing. There was no talk of nourishing your body, building strength, or looking after your mind.

My mother, Edwina, was raised in the generation of fast fixes – the constant chase for the next thing that would help you lose 10lbs in two weeks. She had a terrible body image, which breaks my heart because she was the most beautiful person I had ever laid eyes on. She was fun, loved a bit of craic, and she raised eight children – always putting herself last so she could be the best mother she could be.

She died at 47 after a long and horrible illness, ultimately from bowel cancer in April 2000.

I mention this because my whole life I’ve lived with distorted body image and low self-confidence. I spent years criticising myself in the mirror. I was obsessed with every lotion and potion that promised to banish stretch marks and cellulite. I bought the teas that promised to make me skinny.

And now, when I look at my body, I realise I really have no right to hate on how I look. Because I’m sure my mum would trade every body image worry in the world just to be here today.

My health felt chaotic – and I didn’t understand why

My personal journey can only be described as chaotic. For years, I had little to no understanding of how my choices were impacting my health.

I’ve lost my entire sense of self more than once, and that’s not a good way to feel.

I made terrible choices throughout my life – from relationships, to food, to movement (or lack of it). I burned the candle at both ends, working my way up the corporate ladder. I worked insane hours, stressed constantly, and ignored how my body was responding.

I’ve been both massively overweight and incredibly underweight. At my worst, I was overeating and under-exercising and suddenly found myself at 189 lbs – it felt like it happened overnight. At my other worst, I was under-eating and over-exercising and hit 105 lbs.

And still, when I looked in the mirror, I saw nothing but a body I would give anything to change.

I also lived with bloating, digestive discomfort, and horrible hormonal problems for as long as I can remember.

At one point, I had debilitating OCD. I compulsively cleaned. I felt horror if friends invited me out for dinner. I was spending three hours in the gym and then feeling guilty about eating a bowl of cornflakes.

All of this came down to a lack of knowledge, lack of resources, and a lack of understanding of how much our daily choices shape how we feel.

Being dismissed… and still trusting what I knew

I’ve been laughed at by medical professionals. I’ve been told it was impossible for medication to make me feel a certain way. I’ve been told my symptoms were “all in my head.”

But like many women, I know my body better than anyone.

My hormones were in constant turmoil, and it had a devastating effect on my mental health. In my 40s, I was diagnosed with multiple autoimmune disorders.

Today, I can’t actually tell you how much I weigh – but I can tell you it’s been quite the journey to get here!

Motherhood, loneliness, and my rock-bottom moment

I had my son in 2013, and looking back, I had most definitely struggled with undiagnosed postnatal depression. I was great at masking how I was feeling, but I found new motherhood one of the hardest times of my life.

I had never felt so lonely, isolated, or lost – and yet I had to be there as the primary carer for a little child I didn’t know what to do with.

It was around this time that I had a moment of, “I don’t want to feel like this anymore.” I had hit rock bottom. I was so low that my little newborn baby couldn’t even spark joy. That definitely wasn’t right.

So I started researching what I could do to help myself feel happier.

The wake-up calls I couldn’t ignore

In 2015, I had a near-death experience that highlighted a heart problem. I was told I needed heart surgery.

And what did I do? I delayed it.

Ever the people pleaser, I told myself I couldn’t take time off work. I didn’t want to let anyone down. I was running two businesses.

I knew what I had to do – but fear of surgery and the worry of “what will my clients say?” kept me pushing it out.

I told myself I was managing fine.

I wasn’t.

Fast forward to 2019 – the worst year of my life health-wise. I was stuck in a constant loop of “show time,” hiding how unwell I was from everyone… even my husband. I avoided the doctor because I was terrified of what I’d be diagnosed with.

Until I couldn’t go on any longer.

I went to an emergency appointment with my GP, and it quickly led to me flying to London to see one of the top gastroenterologists. I was diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease – Ulcerative Colitis.

That diagnosis was harrowing. My mum had suffered from the age of 24 with the exact same condition, and it ultimately led to her death.

And still… I kept telling myself (and anyone who would listen) that I wasn’t stressed.

I thought I wasn’t stressed because I wasn’t having a nervous breakdown. Because I was smiling. Because I was coping.

Then my body said NO.

My medical team told me I had to get my stress under control – because if I didn’t, I was going to die.

It was an extreme and confronting thing to hear, but it worked.

For the first time in my life, I realised I wasn’t just stressed – I was chronically stressed. I couldn’t remember a time when I wasn’t living in fight-or-flight. And isn’t it mad how easily we can mask that to the outside world?

2020: surrender, surgery, and a new direction

Lockdown hit in 2020 and, because I’m me, I had to slip on a wet floor, hit a ledge, and break three ribs before I finally gave myself over to the universe and admitted: I’ve gotten the message.

Not long after, I had this urge to book my heart surgery. The surgery – or rather, the constant fear around it – was one of the biggest stressors in my life. So it was the first thing I tackled.

In August 2020, everything started to change.

I had my heart surgery in London. I stayed there for a month to recover. And when I came home, I went all-in on learning how to help myself become well again.

And this is what I discovered: Anything in isolation is not good.

The three pillars that changed my life

You know that feeling when you can’t quite put your finger on it, but you know you’re not happy? You want to change, but you don’t know where to start?

You think you’re seeking happiness – but really, you’re seeking to feel better than you feel right now.

For me, everything came back to three pillars of wellness:

• Mindset
• Movement
• Gut Health

Over and over again – through scientific studies and through my own lived experience – I’ve seen that a well-rounded approach is what creates real, lasting change.

It takes time. Things won’t change overnight. But if you take it one step at a time, one day at a time, the little improvements compound.

And then one day you’ll be lying in bed, and the overwhelming feeling you have is… contentment.

How long that takes is different for everyone. But here’s what I can guarantee: by taking a small step forward each day, you’ll keep moving in the right direction.

Why I created Pepper Hustle

Pepper Hustle was born from my own transformation – and from the deep belief that women deserve better than “just coping.”

I’m here for the women who decide one day that they are the ones who have to show up for themselves.

The women who are desperate to change but have no idea where to start.

The women who have spent years putting everyone else first and are finally ready to take up space – to put themselves higher up their priority list than they ever have before.

Because within this community, there is continual evidence that this approach doesn’t just change bodies – it changes lives.

And it doesn’t stop with the woman doing the work, either! It creates the most beautiful ripple effect.

When a woman starts showing up for herself – fuelling her body, moving it, calming her nervous system, learning what her gut is trying to tell her – she has more patience, more energy, and more emotional space. She becomes a steadier mother, a more present partner, a softer (and stronger) daughter, a friend who can genuinely connect, and a community member who has something real to give.

It’s not selfish. It’s foundational. Because when you feel better, you live better – and everyone around you feels that shift too.

Where I am now (and what I want for you)

The old me was overwhelmed, riddled with anxiety, and always putting other people’s needs before my own.

Today, I’m glad to say I’m still overwhelmed often, but now it’s with gratitude and contentment. Even though very little around me has changed, I put in the work. I no longer feel lost, alone, or low.

My Colitis is in clinical remission, and feeling unwell is no longer my everyday “normal.”

And I want you to know this: there is nothing that makes you different to me. We all have it within our reach.

You will be astounded at how much better you can feel, even in as little as 21 days – and if you let me, I’m going to show you how.