We’re excited to kick off a new series on our blog called ‘Healthy Hangs’, where we’ll interview and feature our awesome clients, so you can learn a bit more about them, their health journey and get a sneaky insight into how they live (and what drives their passion!)
Our first interview is with the wonderful Stef Jung, also known as Wholesome Stef. This inspiring chick is a holistic health coach and blogger, who openly shares her past struggles with her relationship with food and body image. Stef is now on a mission to help heal others and get them to make peace with what’s on their plate. If you haven’t joined Stef’s #WholesomeTribe already, add it to your to-do list. We hope you enjoy our chat with Stef below!
SUPR: Talk us through a typical day in your life
Stef: At the moment, every day is different. I just transitioned jobs (as I’m not doing the health coaching full-time yet), so I’m just in the process of figuring out my new routine. But generally speaking, my morning routine involves journaling, meditating or doing a little yoga sequence. I then oil pull as I prepare my breakfast – lately I’ve been loving protein-jammed smoothies, a scrambled egg with avo on the side or a warming oatmeal. I also always have a hot lemon water with apple cider vinegar and a huge bottle of chlorophyll water that I make sure to drink before I leave the house. I then either have a day of client work from home, responding to emails etc. or I head off to my other job. Evenings are reserved for my workouts – I love to mix things up and you might find me doing a HIIT, barre, yoga or strength workout, depending on my mood. I’m also currently training for an upcoming half marathon, so I’m trying to squeeze in park runs here and there as well.
On weekends, you’ll find me wandering around my local farmers markets, trying out new studios (I’m on ClassPass at the moment and love discovering new places) or going for long coastal walks. I also took up surfing since I moved to Sydney, so that has been a great experience. On Sundays I make sure to set a couple hours aside to meal prep and get all my meals ready for the week. It’s something I only started doing fairly recently, and it’s been a total game changer
SUPR: What does health mean to you?
Stef: For me, being truly healthy isn’t just about what you eat and how much you train. It’s about so much more than that. You can eat all the kale in the world and live from juice cleanse to juice cleanse, but if you are not nourishing your soul on a deeper level, your body and mind don’t thrive. I think that being truly healthy means nourishing your body with whole foods, exercising because you love your body (not because you hate it!) and living a life that fulfils you and makes you happy. It’s something that I had to learn the hard way, but now I truly understand the importance of having the right mindset.
SUPR: What are five things you’ll always find in your pantry/fridge?
Stef: Hummus, Spinach, Avocado, Kimchi and Bone Broth
SUPR: What is your number one health tip?
Stef: Stress management! Because everything in the body is interconnected, stress hormones affect us on a physical and psychological level. I see so many people working incredibly hard to be healthy by eating well and exercising tons, but what they often don’t realise is how their stressful lifestyle is impacting their health and potentially hindering their health and fitness goals. Also, most women I know would consider themselves an ‘emotional eater’, and that is something that you can definitely overcome through stress management as well. My top tips are:
Getting enough sleep – allow 8 hours for your cells to repair for healthy hormones and overall healthSweat it out – there’s almost nothing a good endorphin release from a sweaty workout can’t fixIncorporating restorative exercise – HIIT classes might burn more calories and give you an endorphin kick, but practices like yoga, tai chi, meditation and walks in nature are equally beneficial for the body and especially important in times of high stressFostering a positive mindset – healthy mind = healthy body, it’s that simple!
SUPR: If you weren’t a health coach, what would you be doing?
Stef: Having a background in hospitality, I’d probably be working in that field. Actually, one of my goals is to eventually combine my hospitality education with my passion for health and wellbeing and to start hosting wellness retreats. It was about to happen this year already, but certain circumstances didn’t allow me to pull through with it. But stay tuned, it might come soon! I will also be doing my yoga teacher training certification this year in India, so who knows, maybe I will start teaching yoga at one point too.
For more on Stef, visit: www.wholesomestef.com and follow her on Instagram: @WholesomeStef.
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