First up on the new 'Girls Are Women' segment we meet Clinical Nutritionist, owner of Get it Girl, Nutrition & Self Love, and Author, Malissa Fedele.
Malissa is a degree qualified clinical Nutritionist (BHSc), currently building her own health and nutrition business, Get it Girl, Nutrition & Self-Love. Malissa works in the empowerment of women, with a strong emphasis on nutrition and self-love practices.
Today we get to delve a little deeper into this powerhouse Woman, discovering how she got to where she is today, practical financial insights she has learnt over the years, and her best advice for staying your most true and authentic self - regardless of how old you are.
Let's start by getting to know the beautiful Malissa little better...
"I am a degree qualified clinical Nutritionist (BHSc) and I am currently working on building my own health and nutrition business (Get it Girl, Nutrition & Self-Love) aimed at empowering women to be their best through nutrition practices and self-love. As well as working on establishing my own business I also work as the head nutritionist for a company called Happy Way.
I have been working in the health/nutrition industry for several years now and even before I completed my studies I was sharing my love for food, health and wellness through publishing my own cook books and building on my social media platform to connect with like-minded people and share my vision to hopefully inspire and educate others on their health journey."
How did you fall into your line of work? Was there anything in particular that inspired you?
"I have always been passionate about the health and wellness industry and fascinated with the healing powers of food and how it can support us in feeling, looking and being our best. Studying nutritional and dietetic medicine was an easy choice for me, as it just felt so right. Helping people look, feel and be their best through nutrition and self-love makes me a very happy girl, I couldn’t see myself doing anything else."
What was you “dream job” growing up? How was this similar or dissimilar to your work now?
"I actually always wanted to be a dietician when I was a young girl because I loved food so much! As I grew up I changed my mind several times but I ended up coming back to what I could see myself doing when I was just a little girl!"
TIPS FOR WHEN YOU FEEL UNMOTIVATED & RUN-DOWN:
"I find that when I am feeling unmotivated and run-down I need to retreat and have some “me-time”. This looks like walks on the beach, reading an inspiring book, drinking tea, making home-cook nourishing meals, sleep-ins and switching off social media for a little while."
POWER OUTFIT FOR FEELING YOUR STRONGEST SELF:
"Lately I have been loving the power-suit and sexy stilettos combo. I always feel so empowered, strong and sexy in this outfit."
GO-TO QUOTE WHEN FEELING OVERWHELMED:
"I say my favourite affirmation -
BEST TIPS FOR STAYING PRODUCTIVE AND NOT WASTING TIME:
"I am a bit of a freak when it comes to organization. I have diaries, white-boards, checklists and calendars all around my workplace. I find that as long as you are organized, have goals to work towards daily and structure your day well you will always stay on task and get it done. I like to start each work day by sitting down and prioritizing my tasks. I then write up a checklist for myself. The big, more important, time consuming tasks always go at the top of my list followed by the smaller tasks that need to be completed. Once the big tasks are out of the way you will honestly glide through the rest of your day."
ON ROUTINES:
"I have both a morning and a nigh time routine that I have made a priority for the last few months. My routines don’t just set a restful nights sleep or me a productive day ahead, but it allows me to ensure that I am making time for myself everyday. You are your number 1 priority in life so it’s so important to always make time for yourself."
This is how Malissa practices self-love everyday:
"My Morning routine involves:
- As soon as I wake up I say my morning positive affirmations
- I Practice a 10-15min guided meditation
- I make a to-do list for the day"
"My Bed-time routine looks like this:
- I write down 3 things I am grateful for
- I rub magnesium oil onto my belly
- I read a good book and switch off all technology"
ON EATING: DAILY HEALTH ADVICE
In regards to what I eat, this changes everyday however, every single morning I make sure that before I eat anything I always have a warm tea with apple cider vinegar, lemon and manuka honey.
ON MONEY: ADVICE FROM EXPERIENCE
"You really don’t need another pair of shoes, girl.. LOL!
Learn to pay yourself first. By this I mean when you do have money coming in, before splurging or buying anything put a good percentage of that away into your savings account. This doesn’t restrict you from buying the things you want or force you to miss out on anything, it simply teaches you that you need to pay yourself first and then do what you wish with the rest. Work out a percentage that works for you and stick to this.
Trust me when I say that there will be a day when you are a little older and you will wish that you had just put a little money away because there are far for valuable things that you will want in life rather than shoes and clothes.
Remember, that a little bit goes a long way. So if you can save the same amount every week, even if its just $20.00, that will add up in years to come.
Let me give you an example, I spent all my weekly pay (every week) on clothes and shoes because at the time when I was younger, I thought looking good was everything. However, just a couple of years ago when I published my first cook book, something I had always wanted to do and worked incredible hard on and was potentially going to bring me income/career opportunities, I struggled with the process due to finances and had to work extra long and hard to save up and accumulate the funds required. This delayed the process and I had to make some cut backs on the final print copy, which I wasn’t too happy about. In this moment I wished I could go back in time and grab my younger self and chop up her debit card. I hope this puts things into perspective for you. Just save a little, trust me."
ON EXERCISE: TIPS FOR GETTING MOVEMENT INTO YOUR DAY
Moving your body every single day is a very important part of leading a healthy life. There are many ways to incorporate exercise into your day without having to pay for a gym membership or allocating certain hours of the day to a workout. Instead of driving to school, walk to school with your friends. If you catch the bus, get off 1-2 stops earlier and walk to the rest of the way, make sure to participate in school sports and PE class. When you make plans with your friends try to aim to do something that involves you getting out and about so you can move your body. Exercise can be fun and enjoyable you just need to do things you love and move your body in a way that you enjoy.
ON SOCIAL MEDIA: ADVICE FOR USING IT IN A POSITIVE LIGHT
"Don’t take what you see on social media too seriously. Social Media is simply a place for people to share pretty pictures and the good parts of their life. Don’t take things too literally and only follow people who inspire you to be better and help you to feel good about yourself. Remember that if you do choose to use social media as a platform to share your life, you should create some boundaries for yourself and know that its ok to not share every single thing about your personal life on there. That only opens us up to a lot more criticism and judgment. Lets be honest we just don’t need that negativity in our lives. Just have fun with it but don’t take it too seriously, it’s just an app on your phone at the end of the day."
ON AUTHENTICITY: ADVICE FOR EVERY AGE
"Don’t be so hard on yourself and learn to love the journey. Every single day is a chance to learn new things, grow and develop who you are so be grateful for the opportunities you have and your surroundings. Be kind to yourself, set some goals and make yourself a priority."
A huge thank you to Malissa for sharing her life experiences with us as the first #GIRLSAREWOMEN interviewee. I'm sure you all loved getting to know her as much as I did & will take & will take home a great deal of knowledge that will hopeful help inspire you to get out there and achieve whatever it is you set your find to as well.
To keep up with her work, you can follow Malissa on Instagram:
Stay tuned for the next 'GAW' interviewee - I can't wait for you all to meet her!
Big love until next time...
