From the Force to Corporate Wellness: How Zest4life Helped Me Launch a National Programme for Shift Workers

After 15 years as a police officer, I retrained as a Nutritional Therapist with a clear mission in mind: to support shift workers like my former colleagues in the emergency services. I understood first-hand the health challenges they face - erratic schedules, chronic fatigue, poor access to healthy food, and I wanted to make a real difference.

During my training, I became fascinated with chrono-nutrition - the science of how food intake and circadian rhythm interact to affect our health. I immersed myself in CPD around metabolism, circadian biology, and how disrupted rhythms contribute to long-term health risks. This has now become the foundation of my specialist work with shift workers.

Like many new practitioners, I began with a 1:1 clinic. But I’d always planned to create something bigger - a corporate wellness programme tailored specifically to emergency service workers. In fact, I gave myself five years to realise that goal.

Thanks to Zest4life, I achieved it in under three.

Turning Point: From Stuck to Strategic

For over a year, I tried to make inroads into the police service using every traditional method: emails, phone calls, I even posted letters. But nothing worked. I couldn’t get past switchboards, couldn’t reach occupational health teams, and had no idea how to find the right decision-makers.

Then everything changed when I started working with my Zest4life Business Mentor, Antonia Maguire.

Antonia encouraged me to stop spreading myself thin on Facebook and Instagram and instead focus on LinkedIn. It was a game-changer. I began to network strategically, position myself as a specialist, and connect with the right people.

Through LinkedIn, I came across the Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary, a passionate advocate for officer wellbeing and founder of the National Police Wellbeing Service. I engaged with his posts, added to the conversation, and eventually reached out directly. I proposed integrating nutritional support alongside the mental health services already in place. He agreed and brought me on board.

A National Platform and a Bigger Impact

What started as a one-month pilot programme to design a “Nutrition for Wellbeing” initiative soon turned into a six-month contract. That’s now been extended to a full 10-month national rollout.

I now deliver a combination of live webinars open to all UK police officers, bitesize educational videos, and downloadable resources. These include shift-specific meal plans, healthy plate visuals, and practical nightshift tips. Everything is designed to be fast, effective, and accessible to time-poor officers.

Throughout this process, Zest4life’s tools and coaching models have been vital—not only in shaping my messaging but in making my content resonate. Whether I’m delivering bite-sized health hacks or facilitating small group coaching for officers needing extra support, I’m drawing on what I’ve learned from the Zest4life methodology every step of the way.

Looking Ahead

This work is about more than ticking boxes. From the beginning, I told the police force that I wanted to create lasting, sustainable change, ideally, culture change. That remains my vision, even as I begin to scale nationally.

I’ve also started running smaller, high-impact group programmes for officers identified as needing targeted support. Seeing individual results in these sessions is incredibly rewarding, and it reinforces the value of the Zest4life coaching models in action.

Now, thanks to the visibility I’ve gained through LinkedIn, and the confidence and strategy I gained through Zest4life, I’ve been approached by other shift working organisations who have asked me to deliver some material (which I have now trademarked). They’ve also asked if they can buy the IP to have the rights to spread that further - an exciting opportunity but one that I need to think about carefully!

It’s exciting to see opportunities open up, but what makes me most proud is staying true to my purpose: helping the people who help us, through practical, evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle support.

Zest4life didn’t just help me start a business, they helped me build my mission.

Anna Earl, Nutritional Therapist

If you’d like to develop your Corporate Wellness practice read about our short Breaking into Corporate Wellness course here.