"Weekends consisted of McDonald’s...

KFC...

Chinese takeaway," Julie, 60, told Express.co.uk.

"I ate a lot of crisps and chocolate and my go-to drink was Pepsi Max; I ate a lot of biscuits and cakes too." Julie confessed: "I find it so hard now, looking back, to believe I ate this way." After witnessing her dad struggle with ill health and her mum passed away from cancer , Julie started taking an interest in her own health.

"I heard British epidemiologist Dr Tim Spector talking about the microbiome and listened to his podcast," said Julie. This is where she came across the ZOE membership , which is a personalised nutrition programme based on science. Since joining, Julie continues to "learn more and more" about which foods work best for her body.

When Julie first joined the ZOE membership , she weighed 10st 11lbs; now she weighs 9st 2lbs. "I’ve lost over two stone in weight ," Julie beamed, but that's not all. "When I started, I was suffering with menopause symptoms like hot flushes, anxiety , low energy and weight gain.

" Julie elaborated: "Since doing ZOE my hot flushes have all but disappeared, my anxiety has completely gone and I am a happy person that loves life again." Her cravings for fast food have vanished; now she steers clear of ultra-processed foods. "Breakfast consists of a variety of berries and grapefruit, chia and flax seeds, barley flakes ( oats spike my sugar), homemade kefir and Greek yoghurt," Julie revealed.

"Some weekends, instead of a once loved fry-.