After a health scare in her 20’s, Libby was told she'd be on medication for life and probably never have kids. Healing herself through the right kinds of exercise and nutrition, and getting off medication, was the start of her life-long mission to inspire others to move more, eat better and live life to the full.
A decade later, her knowledge and passion led to her starring role as a trainer on Channel 10's re-imagination and relaunch of "The Biggest Loser: Transformed". As a former journalist she writes for publications such as Prevention Magazine and has also been the fitness expert for Women's Fitness Magazine and the HIT Network. She's also the co-founder of Chief and sustainable activewear brand Earthletica.
We sat down to hear a little more about Libby’s journey.
Can you share a little about your journey?
I left journalism to get into health and fitness after a health blip in my 20s. I had crazy high blood pressure that was really uncontrollable and needed a LOT of medication. No one knew what caused it, perhaps a virus, but I knew I didn't want to be on medication for life which would eventually cause lots of other issues.
Nothing motivates you like losing your health, so I started on a journey to fix myself with the right kind of exercise and nutrition. I used my journalistic skills to research, research and research some more, which included talking with every health expert I could get in front of. I also tested everything you can imagine to see what really worked for me.
What did you do to get your health back on track?
The biggest impact for me was definitely my nutrition. I started by cutting back (or in some cases cutting out completely) the things that aren’t good for hypertension like coffee and alcohol. Then I really focused on traditional foods – those that roamed or grew on the Earth, with minimal ingredients that you recognise. So, well sourced meat, fish and of course plenty of fruit and vegetables.
I also avoided vegetable and seed oils that can create inflammation and that our bodies don’t love to burn for fuel (things like sunflower, canola, hydrogenated oils, etc – google The Hateful 8 oils if curious) and include more traditional fats like olive oil, pure butter and ghee, avocado, nuts and seeds.
I still enjoyed whole grains but didn’t overdo them because they tend to crowd out more nutrient-packed foods, and really the number one thing to know about nutrition is to focus on nutrient dense foods. I still had a little sugar, but not too much and I avoided all artificial sweeteners.
What about exercise?
I don't think there's a wrong or right way to exercise but one things for sure, anything is better than nothing. What worked for me was simply focusing on what I LOVE doing. Little mental hacks like using the word ‘movement’ in place of ‘exercise’ helped too because it really opens up your options and walking, playing, dancing, stretching and swimming/surfing are seriously underrated as forms of exercise!
What about your daily routine?
Something critical for me was and still is to get to bed really early, around 9pm if I can. A good night sleep is probably the single most important thing you can do for your health. To help that, I turn off the phone and TV plenty of time before bed to help my hormones work for me.
I also find writing a list of what I need to do the next day before I go to bed gets those things out of my brain and onto paper which helps me sleep better. And I avoid any alcohol at all if I need a good night sleep!
Why did you start Chief?
Essentially, we were so frustrated trying to find healthy packaged snacks. Even most ‘natural’, ‘organic’, or ‘healthy’ products are stacked with fructose-loaded dried fruit, artificial sweeteners, or other unhealthy fillers. I just couldn’t find anything I was happy to eat and recommend.
We designed our range for “pack flippers”, i.e. health-conscious people who look at the back of the packet and our whole range has great macros and very clean ingredients.
Everything we do is so healthy that I’m happy eating them for breakfast on the go myself, or feeding them to my kids Izzy and Harrison, who love them too!
Comments (0)
There are no comments for this article. Be the first one to leave a message!