Maureen Fautley

I have always been an active person – keeping up with two very active, sports-loving boys – I was always skiing, swimming, horseback riding, hiking, biking, kayaking – always on the go.  So, over the course of those active years, injuries were, unfortunately, a common occurrence.  I sustained two more serious injuries – one while snowmobiling, where the machine ended up on top of me and I had to push it off, and also while working towards my trail guide’s qualifications for horseback riding, I was tossed off and fractured my collarbone and separated my shoulder.

As time passed, those injuries caught up with me and I ended up with two compressed discs in my lower back – they would become acute on occasion, and chiropractic and physiotherapy were the recommended treatment.

Then after 21 years in the same house in Oakville [Ontario, Canada], we moved into our dream home further north.  The preparation to move was exciting but demanding, and there was a lot to do – sorting, packing, cleaning!  The final two months before moving were intensely busy with those activities, and then, once the move was completed, I had to UNPACK!

After settling in to the new house I noticed the occasional nagging pain in my back had become constant and severe – an MRI indicated that the condition of my discs had worsened and drugs were prescribed – I didn’t want to rely on chemicals, and would only as a last resort.

So I spent many hours on the floor with an icepack to help relieve the symptoms.

I knew I couldn’t continue like this, so I looked on-line for an osteopath – having heard that this could be yet another option.  I selected an osteopath who worked at the same facility run by a sports physiotherapist I had seen before – and I set up an appointment to see her.  After the initial consultation we started a schedule of treatments that over the course of almost a year and a half proved to be extremely effective, and combined with regular exercise, I am now almost pain free!

Over the first year in the new house I gained almost 20lbs due to inactivity. Getting to the point where I was able to challenge myself and get my active life back, I took on an exercise program, which involved walking, and the use of light weights and resistance, all to start to build strength and stamina.

Prior to the acute stage of my back pain I had enjoyed many long walks with my excellent dog Lucy.  At one point I was able to pick up the pace and run a little – an activity that had never appealed to me before.  Unfortunately, Lucy didn’t live long enough to make the move, and so I was without a running buddy – but having access to the golf course next door now allowed for a seasonal training course (winter!) that I took advantage of.  It has lots of variety in the terrain, and I was able to gradually work up to longer distances and bigger hills. So, combined with the workouts which include resistance,(weights) and standard core strengthening exercises (planks, “bird dogs”, crunches) and the running, I feel great! I have managed to lose all of the extra weight, and I am stronger than I have ever been. I “get” the runners’ high people talk about – it’s an addiction, but it’s a good addiction! I feel I am fortunate that I had such positive results. Was it difficult? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely! It’s a life long commitment, but I realize I am in control of my health and well being (with a little help from the professionals!)

I look forward to a whole new aspect of life, which is now available to me – including participating in 5 – 10 km running events!

“The dura is a fascial sweater that surrounds the spinal cord, from the bottom of the tailbone at the coccyx to the base of the skull. From there, it enters the skull through a silver dollar-sized hole to surround the brain and all the tissues within it. This includes the sphenoid bone, which houses the pituitary-hypothalamus. Sheaths of the dura also surround and infuse with the pituitary itself.

During the course of therapy, we use a whole body approach, addressing the spinal cord, dura and all of their attachments, from head to tailbone. Any dysfunction in this system, which is responsible for a countless number of activities, can have profound effects on various areas of the body.

We knew that the tissues within the skull (including the pituitary) should react to adhesive pulls similarly to other tissues in the body. We found that when we treated the dura and its attachments all the way into the brain, we saw dramatic improvements in FSH levels and numerous full-term pregnancies in women diagnosed hormonally infertile.”    

Here's my inspirational interview with Anna Sward of PROTEIN POW(D)ER. 

What's the name of your company & blog, & what's your mission? My blog is proteinpow.com and the company behind it is Protein Pow Ltd and Protein Pow Publishing (the arm from which my cookbook was born!) My mission is simple: to take over the world of protein powder cooking, hehe. No, but really, my mission is to inspire people to be more creative with their cooking, to care more about their fitness and nutrition, to have fun in the kitchen and to think outside the shake when it comes to protein!  I want to show people that a healthy diet doesn't have to be boring and it doesn't have to be flavorless, not when it can be jam-packed with flavor, excitement, and fun!!!!

"...a healthy diet doesn't have to be boring and it doesn't have to be flavorless..."

"...when you LOVE something, when you have a PASSION for what you do, you work hard and you get better and better and better until KAPOW!"

What sort of risks have you had to take in order to make Protein Pow(d)er a success? And have the risks been worth it? Oh man! So many. I've taken lots of risks and made an ocean of mistakes because, as you can imagine, my background is in academia - not business. So I had to learn a LOT (and am still learning!) about ways to grow it as a business and making it work in the long run.  There are a lot of risks that come with starting your own business: financial and even emotional! Because you're putting yourself out there, opening your hands and showing the world what you’ve got. And they can either take it or walk away, leaving you with a ‘sad face’ wondering why the hell you risked an actual career with something as intense as running your own business in something completely untried and untested like protein food is!  But I have to say: it's been totally worth it. I wake up every day and I think OH! I love my job! Because I get to do what I love on a daily basis: work out, cook, write, draw, experiment, and learn more about nutrition! What are some obstacles you've faced while getting your business/website started? How did you overcome them? By not giving up! I can't tell you the amount of eyebrows that I lifted when I told everyone I was going to open my own business and work at Protein Pow full time. "After a PhD you're going to work in food?" Most people didn't get it.

Do you have a favourite motivational quote/book/blog/movie that inspires you? Quotes-wise, one of my favorites is “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – R.W. Emerson. I ALSO love love love thingsweforget.com, can't recommend it enough. There are some beautiful quotes there and the illustrations are fabulous. I also like "The Four Agreements" by Miguel Ruiz. It's VERY cheesy and some parts make me cringe but the overall message is beautiful.  Another kind of tacky book that I really liked when I read it a few years back - it's very basic but at the same time I reckon this makes it really accessible to everyone - is the cheese book with the mice. Let me Google the name. Ah yes, “Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson. It's a really quick read.

"...I'd say to people to chase their dreams and to do it without fear.  I mean, fear is unavoidable - it's a quintessential side of risk taking, but a lot of people are scared to take a risk and later regret that they never took a single step in the direction their heart was always pounding towards."