Hi there, I'm Nikola Howard the face behind Low Carb in the UK
So, who am I?
I’m an occasionally sweary award winning coach, mentor, author and I’ve been where you are.
I got fat as I hit puberty and did my first “proper diet” at the age of 16. I then “ate less and moved more” for thirteen more years before I discovered a low carbohydrate way of living in 1999. Thirteen years of getting fatter and more unhealthy with every passing year.
I also know how hard it can be to go against conventional wisdom, how much pressure will be exerted by well meaning friends and family when we attempt to adopt something that turns everything we have been taught about how to eat on its head.
My Story
This is my “before” picture. It’s the only one I could find… I didn’t really get my picture taken much before, wasn’t really that comfy…
I’m *extremely drunk* (and that is an understatement) at my 29th birthday party, one month before I started Low-carbing. The man with me was my then partner, Matt.
I started a “low carb diet” on the 6th December 1999. Very quickly, I started to feel energised, my periods regulated, my skin was clearer and I was feeling generally awesome.
I then started a website and mailing list...
To share what I had discovered on the 8th August 2000. I did this as nigh on all of the information about low carb diets came from the USA.
We have both a different food culture and food labeling laws to our cousins across the pond, so some of what I was reading was very confusing until I figured out the differences!
I felt that if I were having issues finding information, well… it would have been selfish of me to keep what I was finding out to myself!
Hence this website was born. And yes, I did choose Comic Sans. As a typeface, I really like it!)
Of course it wasn't that simple.
Personally though, I was using the familiar to all of us attitude of “it’s just a diet” and didn’t address at all my underlying food addiction tendencies.
So, when in 2003 I was given a medical menopause due to suspected endometriosis, I didn’t yet have any mental resilience.
When my hormones came to a screeching halt, I went “bat-shit crazy”™ and I made myself feel better by self-medicating with ice cream and potato dishes (usually as chips, but also crisps, mash, jackets – I’ve never met a potato I don’t like!)
I was crying literally all the time, had brain fog, anxiety, agitation and no support at all from my GP. I also had no understanding about what was going on with me; who thinks about what menopause does when you are 32?
Although thankfully, I had (and still have) a group of supportive friends and family that helped me stay somewhat grounded, it was still not at all a good time.
So, the ice cream and potatoes got me through the day, even as it led me back to exhaustion, dry skin and more excess body fat that I started with back in 1999.
So, when I was finally ready to drag myself back to being Low Carb at the beginning of 2010 I knew that I had to do it differently.
I didn’t want to get “obsessed with the numbers” for a start! That way madness lies, especially given my hormonal history.
Over the next few years, I dived into personal development, educated myself around how the mind works, figured out why the current attitudes fail us so miserably and developed the systems now known as the HOPE Protocol and Your PATH to Health.
These frees us all from Diet Prison™.
I started to use the systems with private clients from 2015, and published it as part of my third book “How to do Low Carb, UK Style” in 2018.
This book has sold thousands of copies, and as a 1:1 coach I’ve now won several industry awards
My Books
How to do Low Carb, UK Style
A totally UK centric roadmap to eating yourself into your optimal body.
Control Your Low Carb Week
Be empowered by fast and easy menu planning.
How to do Christmas, Low Carb Style
Christmas meal planning for feeling fab without the flab.
Awards
My work’s been recognised with over 20 awards in the past few years — from being named Nutrition Coach of the Year multiple times, to winning Best Low-Carb Lifestyle Coaching Service here in the UK.
I’ve also been honoured for supporting women’s health and leadership, picking up titles like Most Empowering Women’s Nutrition Consultant and CEO of the Year.
It’s lovely validation, the honours are lovely.
What means far more to me is seeing clients reclaim their energy, confidence, and ease.
That’s the real reward.
Who do I work with?
I primarily work with women, as I am one!
I have a female menopausal body that has PCOS and insulin resistance, so I understand our hormonal pressures intimately.
I also know that women have resilience, we refuse to give up and we keep going, sometimes to the very bitter end.
We also work hard to hide our feelings of shame and embarrassment because somehow we believe we have failed, when it’s actually the systems in place that are letting us down.
What my clients have to say
“STOP TRYING TO DO IT ON YOUR OWN.
Food has SUCH a massive influence on our emotions and I don’t just mean in a low-blood sugar way. Not getting what it’s used to can drive your body into devious mind-monkey tactics – and then you end up failing.
If you’ve ever thought about going low-carb, OR you’ve gone low-carb and weren’t able to stick with it? You need Nikola Howard. If you wanna go full-commitment low carb with a Ketogenic diet even, you really need Nikola Howard.
Not only is she a badass with the actual food stuff – she is also a fantastic coach, and will deal with the mindfuckery of changing your diet, so it’s easy peasy and you actually get to change, and REALLY shift your food mindset, once and for all. I recommend that you have a call with her, like yesterday!”
MARISKA ANDERSON Ph.D.
My Favourite Recipes
Cheese Crisps
Overcooked" cheese has epic CRUNCH!!! Use these as a dip chip (they taste really good with sour cream and chives) or just as nibbles on their own.
Lamb and Mint Burgers
This is the perfect quick dinner or BBQ option for those low carb summers!
Rusty's Chocolate Torte
I have no idea who Rusty is, but their cake is a masterpiece of simplicity!