The health, wellbeing and lifestyle industry is full of some pretty amazing people and we're excited to have had the opportunity to chat with the lovely Shelley McKenzie for our 'Talking Straight' series.
Shelley is a qualified nutritionist and naturopath and mother of 6-month-old Van, who is passionate about real food and how it heals the body. Shelley is the founder of her blog, ‘Freedom Wellness’, which includes tips, recipes, articles, e-books and a podcast of the same name, all about wellbeing, fitness, health and travel. Shelley aims to inspire and empower her audience to make long term healthy and positive changes in their lives and dives into topics including body image, the effects of social media, hormone health, fad dieting, stress and more. Here's Shelley.
SUPR: What does your morning routine look like?
SM: I absolutely thrive on routine however, with a new little bubba my morning routine has gone out the window. My ideal morning is to wake after his morning feed at 5 or 6 am, I always drink a litre of warm lemon water first thing. I then sit down and get straight into some work and have a nice quiet breakfast before he wakes up again. Then it’s all about him :)
SUPR: What does ‘health’ mean to you?
SM: Feeding your body and your soul! It’s important to nourish your body with the right foods but it’s equally as important to enjoy all the small pleasures of life too. Nutrition is my jam and is an important part of good health, but your mindset, your social life and happiness are just as important. SUPR: What are five things you’ll always have in your fridge / pantry?
SM:
- frozen pineapple, it tastes like a frosty fruit icy pole
- peanut and nut butters, I seriously just eat straight off the spoon
- cold drip coffee for the espresso martinis my hubby makes
- nut milks
- green tea - I drink this daily and find it's helpful with sugar cravings
SUPR: What’s your favourite form of movement?
SM: This changes often but at the moment post bubby I am loving hot Pilates and spin classes.
SUPR: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
SM: To be honest I absolutely love Port Melbourne where I live now. I feel like I’ve got the best of both worlds with it only being a short walk into the city or to the bay. My one none negotiable is always living close enough, so I can walk to the water.
SUPR: What is one fun fact most people wouldn’t know about you?
SM: Oooo I have said this one before, but I still sleep with a teddy bear hahaha. Yep, I’m 32 years old and can’t see me getting rid of it now.
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?
SM: For me, I like to think I have always shown who I am and never felt the need to try to fit in, etc. I do think though that so much of our worlds are online these days and it’s easy for people (especially young women) to fall into the trap of thinking others’ lives, bodies, etc are perfect. Constantly judging and wanting what they don’t have or are perceived to believe. So, I think being straight up and authentic is really important, we need to start embracing and celebrating who we are as individuals. Plus, I think people are becoming smarter and more aware of the ‘fakeness’ out there which is amazing.
SUPR: The health industry isn’t perfect. If you had the power to change one thing about it, what would it be and why?
SM: The health industry is so influential, and I think everyone wants to be a part of it and share what has worked for them which is great. However, I think this can be dangerous too. We are all individuals and the human body is far more complex than what we give it credit for. I see a lot of people in practice that have tried different health trends, followed programs by unqualified people and have ended up doing more damage than not. I would really like to see more regulations around qualifications and programs that are on the market. People seem confused and don’t know what or who they should be looking for.
You can follow Shelley on Instagram at @freedomwellness
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