The health and wellbeing industry is full of some pretty amazing people and we're excited to have had the opportunity to chat with the wonderful Cyndi O'Meara for our 'Talking Straight' series.
Cyndi O’Meara is a nutritionist, best-selling author, real food advocate, international speaker, filmmaker (What’s With Wheat) and the founder of Changing Habits, an online holistic health destination offering wellness products, programs and guides to nourish yourself and your family. Here's Cyndi.
SUPR: What does your morning routine look like?
CO: Up before the sun, put my togs on, ride down to Mooloolaba Beach and swim with the Mooloolaba Beach Bums swimming group, an organic black coffee and crossword, then home to a healthy breakfast of either eggs, avocado and salad or CADA (coconut, almond, date and apple)
SUPR: What does ‘health’ mean to you?
CO: Lots of energy, no aches or pains, no restrictions on what I want to do, hiking days on end in wilderness areas, early morning swims, active travel and thinking clearly.
SUPR: What are five things you’ll always have in your fridge / pantry?
CO: Fridge – fruit, salad greens, vegetables, organic meats/chicken, kraut
Pantry – Nuts and seeds, dried fruit, flours, chocolate, all things coconut
SUPR: What’s your favourite form of movement?
CO: Hiking and Swimming, with a stretch in between
SUPR: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
CO: Where I live now – Mooloolaba. It’s my happy place, the beach, my home, my office, my friends all live in one beautiful place surrounded by water and mountains.
SUPR: What is one fun fact most people wouldn’t know about you?
CO: I went to the University of Colorado, not that I wanted to go to university but rather I wanted to ski every ski hill in Colorado, but instead I loved the subject of anthropology and I loved the great outdoors, not only skiing but hiking for days in the wilderness. I hiked for 60 days through the Colorado Mountains, only coming into a town for food and supplies then going back out again. This set me up for my love of nutrition and nature SUPR: Why is it important to you to be Straight Up and authentic? Have you ever struggled in the past with being your true self?
CO: If I’m not me – straight up and authentic, then who am I? I’m outspoken, I believe in causes, I love my family and I have a passion for food, I don’t know how to be anyone else but me.
SUPR: The health industry isn’t perfect. If you had the power to change one thing about it, what would it be and why?
CO: I would change the food standards for organic, they are archaic and have too many loop holes. I’d also change the 4-star rating to be about the ingredients and not about salt, carbohydrates, sugar, fats and proteins. I’d make it essential to know where your food is coming from, be part of a farmer's lively hood by buying from the local farmer, either straight from them or via a farmers market.
You can follow Cyndi and Changing Habits on Instagram at @changing_habits and @changinghabits_hq