#MYSTORY
SO GET YOUR
Popcorn out, as this is not a short one. My name is Denise van Erven Dorens, and I am the founder of PurePure™ & Private DetoxBox™ and a certified nutritionist & holder of other funky university degrees. I am, hence, a so-called perfect all-rounder. About four years ago, I was at that famous point: "If you are tired of your own sh*t, change it." But how does one change and even change fast? While being an entrepreneur and juggling daily tasks. It did not make it look like a fast fix or even a good idea back then! And for sure, without a high success rate.​​
But then, I committed myself and broke free from the shackles of life. I embarked on a self-love journey called 'walk, journal, and find yourself.' My chosen path was the way of St. James, Camino di Compostela. Initially, I aspired to walk the Pacific Crest Trail, like Reese Witherspoon in 'Wild.' However, my humble ego reminded me that camping and wild animals were too much. So, I embarked on my trail. It took me over 1500 km across the picturesque landscape of Portugal and the north of Spain. All by myself, with my too-heavy backpack, as one still needs a laptop... It's almost comical, as it's not my usual style. ​
I walked for more than nine weeks. Was it challenging? Yes, but not necessarily physically, though walking in a 39-degree heat wave in the middle of the summer in Portugal could have been better organized. It was a daily battle. Me against me. To keep going every day, persist, and never give up. But as a brave bulldog, giving up is never an option, right? The walking had a healing effect and made me feel good. This comes from a person who neither believed nor was a fan of spirituality or mindfulness nor liked walking the slightest.
But the journey changed me. I started to see things differently and began to accept & forgive myself for the last 20 years of my life. The journey made me re-uncover well-hidden secrets of my past and forced me to heal. Based on the slogan, the shoemakers always wear the worst shoes; I had to face my mirror. And ask myself, what do I want? And what I wanted forced me to change my entire known, maybe even comfortable, life. I started to read Neville and many more great teachers of the law of assumption. As a former sportsperson, I was well aware of cybernetic theory. It says that everyone has their performance limitations based on their belief system. It felt logical to me that our thoughts create our reality in one way or the other.
But the journey was not without its challenges. I had to confront some harsh truths about myself. My life story is complex. I've struggled all my life with my weight, batteling an eating disorder that led to a severe form of body dysmorphia over the years. I've tried every diet under the sun. I can say without pride that I've lost over 100 kg, maybe even more, during my weight loss' career '. Yes, you heard me right! Even though I successfully helped hundreds of clients lose weight, I couldn't make it work for myself in the long term. I lived a lie that haunted me every day. Hiding from the public & pretending that I had it all together while I felt ashamed of who I was in terms of appearance. ​
Once back from my three-month break, I felt better, but not as good as I thought I would feel. Life kicked in in small steps but steady. So, I started to consult different coaches. It took work (if you are a coach yourself), as I immediately went," Ohh, I know that already, next one. But okay, I thought I would find the magic key with one of them. They showed me some great stuff, but I was still waiting for someone to sell me the magic solution. I did not understand that only I could fix myself, no one else.
As I applied the law and did not live it. Life went on, and I kept searching for my key. Even though I had all the tools, I was insecure about how to use them, actually about me, and got thrown off as soon as things got rocky. Now, two years later, I found it. I am free, balanced, and abundant, and that makes me grateful and happy from within. I am myself & stand up for what I want and not what others expect from me or out of anger because I felt misunderstood. It sounds all too easy, right?​
But today, I can finally say I made it because I found myself. I am free & do not need to hide anymore who I am. After 30 years of struggle, I finally overcame my eating disorder & body dysmorphia, and I am at my natural happy weight (the one I always wanted to be) for the first time in my life! I lost these nasty final 27 kg in literally no time & no effort, which was always my deal breaker to my OWN happiness! Remember, I was at an "acceptable" weight after my walk, but still far from my happy weight. And these last four stones made the difference for me! And the key I searched for so long & never found even it was just in front of me.​ As you can see in my pictures from before (at my highest-ever weight ever), there is a tremendous difference now. This visual evidence is a testament to the transformative power of my journey.
Even though my work as a nutritionist taught me a long time ago that an eating disorder, which is yo-yo dieting, is mainly mental, I knew it was a thing that is primarily addressed in therapy if it is as dominant as it was with me. However, this approach only works for some people and differs from everyone's preference. You must understand that at one point in my journey, I believed I could never reach my happy weight and gave up on losing and the law. Hence, I thought I was punished in every area of my life, as no one could ever really love & accept me the way I looked.
​But without knowing it, I dug into the mental approach to losing weight and the law over the last 18 months as I wanted to re-explore the law for athletes, which changed things for me. As I coached some tour golf pros, our work became more overall mental coaching than just nutritional support. It led me to research the law of assumptions from a different angle, or maybe I finally understood how to use it :-) Either way, it made my story as I could combine my nutritional knowledge with the law, which was the key to my success.
My process of searching, failing, and retrying to find myself made me realize that there must be more people out there who need help. And find their key. And so it happened: My MindSet coaching adventure was created. We created two fantastic programs over the last months to help people let go of their past and give them access to happiness & self-love. Our program, #BeYourself, focuses on body positivity and weight loss & #1MindSet concentrates on mental strength for athletes who want to push themself to the next level. You will be surprised how great life can be if you start to love & believe in yourself.
Now, for the first time, you will hear me say: Namaste!
Love,
Denise