A Snapshot In The Life Of…

Malisa Celeste; Online Business Manager, Nutrition Student, BioSignature Practitioner & Writer.

With a passion for good health and nourishing nutrition, Malisa enjoys imparting knowledge on her friends, family, clients & basically anyone that will listen; to help them achieve their health goals.

Over the past 5 years, Malisa has immersed herself with healthy eating, nutritional supplementation and superfoods; subsequently achieving amazing results with her own weight loss, energy and overall health. In fact, Malisa has successfully managed to lose over 70kg in a healthy manner and keep the weight off! This achievement has allowed her to completely change her life, achieving things she never would have dreamed of.

Recently, she quit full time employment to focus on creating her dream job, under taken a new degree at university and had a feature 3 page spread in an Australian Health & Fitness magazine.

An established writer, with articles published for various websites and print publications, Malisa hopes to spread the message that it’s never too late to make a change in all areas of your life through healthy lifestyle choices.

Malisa can be contacted via her email malisa.celeste@gmail.com

Tell us three things about yourself

• I’m addicted to studying, or so it would seem!  Post Secondary School, I undertook a business degree with an Accounting major. I then went on to study a Fashion Degree & now I’m mid way through a Bachelor of Health Science, with a Nutrition Major.  Although each field of study appears to be completely different to the one prior, I believe this combination of study has lead me to be exactly where I am today with the exact skill set I need to be achieving everything I currently want to achieve.
• I quit full time employment & created an income stream by surrounding myself with like minded people that encouraged me to do what I love doing.
• I have absolutely no will power when it comes to footwear.  Self-confessed shoe addict! Runners, high heels, flats, slippers; you name it, I’ve got them in every colour!

What’s been the biggest health challenge you’ve overcome and what did you learn from this experience?

At 25 years of age, I was morbidly obese, I stopped weighing myself when the scales hit 148kg (326lbs). This not only affected my physical health, but my mental health was also challenged.  It was hard to believe that there was any coming back from that, I’d tried everything, or so I thought!  One day I literally woke up and decided I had to change. Rather than looking for quick fixes, I joined a gym, hired a trainer & started spending time educating myself on real nutrition.  Now, over 70kgs lighter, I can say I learned about how important it is to surround yourself with the right support network & not only that, if you want something bad enough & you find the reason WHY you want it – you can achieve anything!

What’s your top tip for getting your day off to a great start?

Setting aside time for yourself and doing what you love first thing in the morning!  For some people it’s writing in their journal or spending time with their kids; for me it’s a good coffee and throwing some weights around at the gym before the rest of the world wakes up.

Your brekky usually consist of…

Breakfast for me is generally a piece of kangaroo steak & a handful of macadamia nuts. There is no other combination that makes me feel as good as this in the morning.

Which foods do you eat to nourish your body and give you vitality?

I’m a fairly simple eater!  I tend to stick to protein & greens with most meals.  I eat lots of grass-fed beef, kangaroo, chicken & seafood.  Living right near the market, I’m spoiled for choice with fresh fruit & veggies as well.

I’m also a huge fan of superfood smoothies made with fresh coconut water.  There is no better pick me up than a superfood smoothie; that is energy and vitality right there 🙂

Why is fitness an important part of your life?

It was learning about health & fitness that allowed me to completely change my life & turn things around, I’m beyond grateful for that.

Exercise is  the one thing I do that is just for me.  Due to the nature of my work, I need to be contactable/online all the time, which can make me feel like I’m constantly ‘switched on’.

When I’m training at the gym, I’m away from my phone, from my computer, the internet and the world.  It’s just me doing what I love doing.

What is your current exercise routine?

I’m currently enjoying doing a 4 day push/pull split; progressive overload to fatigue.  I like to lift heavy (for a girl 🙂 ) & I do minimal cardio.

Describe what motivated you to choose your current business or career path?

To be honest, I created my role. With the weight loss came a mindset shift.  I didn’t want to be working in an office job, doing mundane tasks that I didn’t see a point in; just for the safety of a regular pay check.  So, I did something about it.  I’m good at organising things, I’m methodical at learning online systems; including web design, internet marketing systems & graphics comes easy to me.  I also have a passion for health & well being, so I combined my skill set with my passion to not only be able to educate people about the benefits of health & fitness through my own writing, but also by helping others through my business management/personal assistant services.

What business or career challenge have you overcome and what one piece of advice would you like to pass on to others?

Breaking the mold, quitting my secure office job and going out on my own.  It’s ok to admit that you aren’t doing what you want to do! What’s not ok, is not doing anything about it.  I spent years sitting in a cubicle, in front of a computer, pushing paper around & complaining about it.

Rather than doing nothing about it, I surrounded myself with successful people that had gone out on their own & achieved great things.  Don’t be afraid of the unknown; you can always find yourself another job, but you won’t know if you can do it on your own unless you try!

Your favourite book or movie of all time is…

Breakfast at Tiffany’s.  I see a lot of Holly Golightly in myself 🙂

And lastly, do you have a recipe you’d like to share with us?

Sure do!  I’m addicted to Ceviche at the moment. It’s light, fresh & tastes amazing!

Ingredients:

• 1kg of sea bass or other white fish of choice, de-boned
• 1/2 cup of fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 red onion, finely diced
• 1 cup of chopped fresh seeded tomatoes
• 1 fresh chili, seeded and finely diced
• 2 teaspoons of sea salt
• Dash of ground oregano
• Dash of Tabasco or a light pinch of cayenne pepper
• Corriander
• Avocado

Method:

Place the fish, onion, tomatoes, chili, salt, tabasco, and oregano in a large flat glass baking dish. Cover with lime and lemon juice.

Let sit covered in the refrigerator for an hour, then stir, making sure more of the fish gets exposed to the acidic lime and lemon juices.

Let sit for several hours, giving time for the flavors to blend.

Serve with avocado & if you feel inclined fresh tortilla chips.