This week on our Talking Straight Series we caught up with Sydney based Nutritionist, Liv Crumpton - also known as Liv Nutritious on Instagram. Liv shares her morning routine, pantry picks & why her perfect home would be a hybrid between Manly & New Zealand. Here's Liv.
SUPR: What does your morning routine look like?
LC: Oh easy! My fav time of the day – when the world appears at peace…. heart sing! There’s something magical about being a morning person, about experiencing the day before most people have even started to stir.
5:00-6:00 Wake + shot of ACV … every day varies pending schedule. (Weekends, sleep in for sure if I feel like it!).
Straight to exercise with my collagen & greens mix in a 1.5L bottle H20 (LivNutritious creation): I need to get onto the exercise before my brain realises what I’m doing haha! I flow between reformer pilates (KX), yoga (Modern Movement), Barre (Sculpt), Spin (Luxe Yoga), running & walking… yes, I do to share my love across the community…Gym Hus*y haha
Coffee!! Cap, I want the chocolate topping all day long.
Take the hounds for an off-lead dash
8:30-9: Sit down, have a beautiful breakfast & BREATH, because the day is bound to get HECTIC
9am: Emails, Tea & off we go!
SUPR: What does ‘health’ mean to you?
LC: ‘Health’ means everything to me both literally & metaphorically. To me ‘health’ is first & foremost a beautifully balanced & nutritious diet along with daily physical activity. However, having an & engaging & abundant social life, drinking wine, eating chocolate, pizza & affogato’s (with the coffee, ice-cream & Frangelico PS), sleeping-in & watching Netflix until you are prompted ‘Are you still watching?’ (seriously, this does happen to me at times) is equally as important. Health to me is about keeping the brain buzzing yet light, whether this be she needs a day of long lunching, a day in bed reading, or a day hiking & breathing in the fresh air, achieving health is different for everyone … it is learning to become intuitive to your needs & give your body all that she deserves. Food is absolutely the basis, no doubt, the rest builds form there.
SUPR: What are five things you’ll always have in your fridge / pantry?
LC: Asking 5 foods for a nutritionist is a tough one! I wouldn’t say these are my favourite foods but they are certainly items I could not function without!
1. Nut butters – all kinds (for the purpose of this exercise I’ll have to categorise even though each nut butter is more than worthy as a stand-alone, but then it would seem I eat only nut butter!
2. Organic eggs
3. Avocado
4. Hummous
5. Anchovies
OK this is definitely a weird mix, but truthfully these things are always at the top of my shopping list.
SUPR: What’s your favourite form of movement?
LC: No favourite, everything & anything. Love it all! Any movement makes me feel so alive. I have this thing with needing to feel my bare feet on the ground … my toes in the sand, mud, earth, so I try to get my bare feet out as much as possible ... this is why I have a special place for pilates & yoga, so grounding. Cardio based exercise makes me talk a million miles all day – how can you not love that!
SUPR: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
LC: If I could have my Manly social life combined with the serenity & isolation of New Zealand that would be just ‘perfect’ but ‘perfect’ is not a word I like to use & well in this case, I can’t have my cake & it too… My life in the Manly community makes my heart sing, so I guess Manly it is. I’ve lived in France for a while, I found it incredibly isolating (but not in the good kind), it instilled a certain appreciation for my Sydney lifestyle.
SUPR: What is one fun fact most people wouldn’t know about you?
LC: Ooooh fun fact, tricky one. My nick name is ‘Slothie’ to some, because apparently, I resemble Sid form Ice Age… hectic! I can be a private person at times so I am sure there are a heap of fun facts I could share, but you’ll just have to get to know me if you want to know more…
SUPR: Why is it important to you to be Straight Up & authentic? Have you ever struggled in the past with being your true self?
LC: Like I said, I can be quite private. I guess this is a kind of self-protection mechanism. I have always been on the shy/a little self-conscious/I’m not good enough side but I take this & see it as a positive in the way that I bare my true self, wear my heart & soul on my sleeve. I am gentle & will never ‘all up your grill’, I will happily sit back & listen, let someone else take the light & soak up your full story. I would never be fake, I honestly love people, all walks of life & well, if we don’t get along then you just wouldn’t hear from me. Not everyone can be best friends with everyone. An authentic life is one that entails a beautiful balance resilience & vulnerability.
The word ‘perfect’ – Social media & the health industry definitely instils ‘perfection’ in people, … #perfectbodies, #cleaneating #eatgreen #juicecleanse …. Errr… I mean really, need I say more! Then how about all targeted advertising … I’m constantly notified of ‘skinny teas’ or ‘fat loss protein powders’, it truthfully horrifies the heck out of me. This constant bombardment makes us feel inadequate, not worthy (myself included). Clients think that as a nutritionist I eat perfect, I like to break down this barrier immediately! I am not the stereotype ‘perfect’ eater, & anyone who thinks they are ‘perfect’ have possibly developed a health imbalance along their journey. I would know, this was absolutely me for a brief stage in my late 20’s (now understood as orthorexia, which obsessive behaviour in the pursuit of a healthy diet). For those who are over thinking ‘perfection’, reflect on ALL the things that make you feel truly alive … to embrace the beauty of life with its ebb’s & flows, with darkness come’s self-reflection & light.
To check out Liv & her work, visit: www.instagram.com/livnutritious.