Turning page(s ) ON LIFE-CHANGING JOURNEY Amy McAuley’s new book… Behind the Smile – is a revelation. It follows her journey from addiction and despair to health and happiness and, as she told HELEN PERRY, will hopefully inspire others travelling a similar path. To those who know Eastern Beach fitness enthusiast, Amy McAuley, or have attended her invigorating Powerhoop classes, the idea that she was once overweight, bulimic, depressed and drinking far too much, seems alien. But Amy is quick to point out that was, indeed, her life until 10 years ago.
wasn’t able to deal with any of these issues and achieve balance in my life.
And, rather, than conceal her past, she openly reveals it, documenting with passion and sincerity, how she went about her life-changing journey, overcoming many stumbling blocks, before building up confidence and self belief so she could love herself again.
“My unhappiness fuelled my sugar and alcohol addiction. I used alcohol to numb the inner pain and told very few people about it. I ate to console myself and ballooned to a size 18. I hid the dependency and unhappiness from even those closest to me; I was amazing at hiding my pain. I didn’t want to burden people, and then felt guilty because ‘what did I have to feel unhappy about?’ I was, quite simply, ashamed that I couldn’t be ‘normal’ like everyone else.
“For many years my life was a roller coaster ride of bulimic binging and purging, bouts of post natal depression, battling with other mental health issues, being overweight, having counselling and always feeling guilty that I
Then, almost miraculously, Amy discovered powerhooping and says, for the first time, she found an exercise she could fall in love with. “It was boom – this big, bright, beautiful hoop came into my life and changed every aspect.
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“I’d always been exercise-averse, but this was something I could do. I started losing weight and I felt happier. Then because my husband and I were also planning to immigrate to New Zealand with our three children, I trained as an instructor with the intention of introducing the Powerhoop programme here.”
for me because I just couldn’t strike that level of moderation which meant having one glass of wine instead of three or four. What’s more, I didn’t want my children to have the mum who always had a drink in her hand.”
It was the move that brought them to east Auckland nine years ago that saw the real turnaround in Amy’s life.
Setting up PowerhoopNZ also helped Amy find renewed energy and a lust for life, spurring her to new challenges such as tackling the Queenstown marathon and doing her first sky dive (all in the same weekend) at the age of 43.
“Leaving Scotland I made a conscious decision to leave my eating disorder behind and I did. The move was the catalyst for me cultivating a better relationship with my body and developing new habits which helped me give up alcohol.
Her changing life also provided her with the courage and determination to write Beyond the Smile, described as a raw and authentic story of depression and addictions but shows how anyone can learn to change life around to live healthily and happily.
“The latter was the only solution
It, too, was a journey, begun in www.eastlife.co.nz
