You’re nearing the end of your career, you’ve saved for an adventurous retirement, and suddenly life throws you a curve ball. This is what happened to Sue last October. Here she shares her personal story with us – a reminder that health and wealth are most definitely a partnership to be valued.

Meet Sue France

To say Sue has led a busy life would be an understatement. After sailing through the ranks to become PA to the Managing Partner and Client Events Manager of a global accounting firm. During this time Sue attended university two nights a week for three years; she went on to become the UK Training Manager for all Executive Assistants and Technical Training Manager for all staff. 

In 2002, Sue joined Bill Docherty MBE, founder of Persuasion, as his PA and Marketing & Training Manager. There she specialised in training clients’ PAs, co-presenting with Bill internationally.

Seven years on – with numerous awards in her field – Sue decided to go it alone. She devised unique training programmes for delivering to Executive Assistants all over the World, publishing two successful books in the process. During this time, Sue also raised her two daughters, now flown the nest with children of their own.

In 2016, Sue became a Master Practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming, using her knowledge to teach students to understand how they come to think and behave the way they do as part of her Workshops. Incredibly her solo career has taken her to 36 countries around the World so far!

A hectic lifestyle

However, all this came at a price. Sue’s varied and hectic work/life balance meant there was little if any time for meal planning and diet management. Gradually, her weight increased, even though she was physically active organising events and undertaking challenging walks, climbs and even kayaking, all over the World, ultimately raising £35,000 for children’s charities.

The background to discovery

“I couldn’t believe it, she was a year younger than me so only 63 at the time.”

But it was in October 2023, Sue learnt a work colleague had suffered two strokes the previous year. “I couldn’t believe it”, exclaims Sue, “she was a year younger than me so only 63 at the time. It was such a shock to see the scar where they had extracted cholesterol from her neck, as she urged me to get my cholesterol checked.”

“Bill had also suffered a stroke, and was very poorly,” Sue continues. “To add to the misery, my super fit, lean brother, Mitch, who’s always eaten a healthy mediterranean diet then had a heart attack aged 71. It’d never occurred to me to get a health check; my last one was when I enrolled with a new GP after moving to a new area six years ago. Although I hadn’t any outward health issues other than my weight and erratic eating, it was time to visit my GP.”

The diagnosis

“In October 2023, I was officially diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a cholesterol of 7.2, with triglycerides through the roof”, reveals Sue. “My doctor advised to first concentrate on treating the diabetes, initially through diet.”

At last, weight loss success

“My weight had yo-yoed for years, trying various diets,” continues Sue. “I simply had no staying power, but the thought of managing diabetes and having a stroke gave me the impetus I needed to drastically change my approach to food. With weather presenter, Carol Kirkwood, who’d retained her curvy figure after losing weight as my inspiration, and Dr Michael Mosely – who’d had a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in 2012 – I began with his blood sugar diet, incorporating his fasting programme.”

“And I just went for it cutting out all fat, carbohydrates and sugars, sticking to fish, chicken and vegetables. I ate twice a day with no snacking, fasting for 16 hours. By January, I’d lost one and a half stone. At my progress check-up, the nurse loudly exclaimed WOW, that’s amazing, as she weighed me!”

So far, but not all good

“At a score of 41, I’m delighted to be diabetes free! I’ve lost a total of 13 inches from around my body, and still have more to go.”

“Sadly, it’s a devastating shock like this that alerts you to the fact you’re not invincible but there’s a bittersweet ending to my story. Blood tests and further examinations show there’s more that lies beneath. I’m currently undergoing various investigations with the NHS for further conditions, to enable a decision to be made about my cholesterol management.”

“Naturally, by the time I do decide to retire, I want to ensure I’m as fit as possible to enjoy more adventures; there’s still so much to see and do. It’s certainly true when they say wealth and health go hand in hand. After all what’s the point of having invested into my pension all these years, if I’m not able to enjoy the freedom retirement gives you.”

“Wish me luck!”