Julie Ormston and her ‘Sugar Free Me’ November

Could you imagine a day without sugar?

A day where you say ‘good-bye’ to your deliciously sweet, mid-afternoon delight. Or, a day where you forgo your highly anticipated, saliva-inducing ‘after dinner sweet’ (you know that one, only to be enjoyed once the kids are fast asleep?!).  

Could you imagine!?

And if you thought that was hard, consider for a second, just how difficult it might be to remove it from your diet for an entire month! 

That’s what our very own Julie Ormston, from Julie Ormston & Partners (Woodvale, WA) did; in hope to raise awareness and some much needed cash for the Starlight Children’s Foundation. Known nationally as ‘Sugar Free Me’, the month-long fundraiser offers anyone an opportunity to ‘kick-start a positive health and well-being change’ whilst simultaneously ‘raising money for sick kids’ (sugarfreeme.org.au). 

Committed to positively influencing her community, and equipped with her always supportive friend (and colleague) Kerrie Broun, Julie was ready to put her own needs aside to support the amazing work undertaken by the Starlight Children’s Foundation. For Julie, her inspiration and resilience was built around beautiful 3year old Luca’s extraordinary story. These past seven months have seen Luca undergo surgery for brain tumours, persevere through five rounds of chemo and complete 137 nights in hospital. An unimaginable experience for all families with children at any age. 

‘The Starlight’s incredible ability to help many beautiful children just like Luca, is why we felt so compelled to commit to Sugar Free Me’, explained Julie. ‘Raising a total of $2,585 really highlights how generous and caring our community really is, and we couldn’t be more grateful for their support’, Kerrie added. 

On a personal note, Julie began weaning herself off wine, coffee and sugar from mid-October in anticipation for the month ahead, and has remained dedicated to a sugarless diet ever since. Now, 5kg down and a tonne-more energy up her sleeve, Julie feels this challenge was a win-win for everyone involved. 

‘Once we committed to Sugar Free Me, and began researching and confirming the sugar content within our everyday consumables, both Kerrie and I were flabbergasted with just how many unsuspecting foods contained high-levels of the addictive and insidious substance, sugar’, Julie remarked. ‘We just couldn’t believe how much we were unwittingly consuming on a day-to-day basis, and are so happy we’ve continued this positive lifestyle change’, Julie continued. 

If you would like to learn more about Sugar Free Me, explore the upcoming fundraisers hosted by the Starlight Children’s Foundation, or you would like to donate, please click here.