Happy Sunday everyone! It was a pleasure to have been asked recently to answer some interview questions on business and lifestyle for ThinkBusiness.ie:
1: You’ve had a really successful modelling and TV career to date, why did you decide to make the move into business? How has this changed your day-to-day life? And how is it all going?
Developing my brand and moving it more into the area of business has been a very natural progression for me. I spent three years studying nutrition and really wanted to use the qualification to grow into a new area. Day to day, it means more decisions need to be made and more time spent in my office than being out and about, but I’m really enjoying the process.
2: Can you tell me what your new book is about and why you were inspired to write it?
Eat Yourself Fit is the follow-up to last year’s book, Eat Yourself Beautiful, and it’s more based on fitness foods. It contains over 100 healthy recipes, from smoothies and juices to breakfasts, main courses, clean snacks and decadent desserts made with healthier ingredients. I took favourites including banoffee pie, cheesecake, brownies, biscuits, sticky toffee puddings and chocolate fudge cake, and made them using whole foods and without refined sugar. There’s also a 7-day fat loss programme, advice on losing weight, building muscle tone and visible abs, boosting your immune system and energy, committing food cravings and improving your sleep. It’s based on the premise that nutrition is thought to be up to 80% of fitness and what you eat before and after a workout can really help to make your workout work harder for you. The book is for busy people who want to look and feel their best from the inside out, and it’s designed for everyone from total beginners to seasoned gym bunnies.
3: Do you have any easy diet changes/tips for busy entrepreneurs to help them eat well while having a very busy and chaotic lifestyle? I’m a big fan of homemade smoothies made with plenty of leafy greens, such as spinach, plus berries and nut butter, seeds to avocado for healthy sources of fat. Smoothies are an easy and quick way to get plenty of energising nutrients and antioxidants into your system first thing in the morning.
4: What are you thoughts on the importance of diet in relation stamina, brain function, creativity etc.?
In my experience, good nutrition can make an enormous difference to mental clarity, energy levels and brain function. I overhauled my diet about five years ago, cut out processed foods and sugar and really increased my fruit and veg intake, and couldn’t believe the difference in how I felt in just a few short weeks. My sleep and fitness improved, my energy levels soared and my skin looked better. We are what we eat and it’s important to make positive health and lifestyle choices to look and feel our best.
5: What challenges have you faced/continue to face as a businessperson? Trying to keep your brand out there amongst everything else going on is always a challenge for any business person, and that’s where social media and public appearances really help. Driving it forward, continuing to expand and grow is another challenge, but I’m so passionate about what I do that I’m enjoying every bit of the journey and learning so much as I go.
