It’s hard to believe that just eight years ago, Angela Simson was eating Magnums for breakfast. After suffering intense migraines, the love warrior, new mum and overall wellness ambassador transformed her life and now shares her secret to a fulfilled life via The Gratitude Project.
A quick click-through is like hitting the refresh button on your life. There’s motivational quotes aplenty to nourish your mind, soul and even your body with the new Treat your Tastebuds eBook featuring delectable snacks to help kick that sugar habit.
Even the most stubborn junk-food devotee will be inspired to make a change. Even if it’s just trying one of her delicious recipes, Angela hopes The Gratitude Project supports you through those gradual changes using words of encouragement to `stay strong, love yourself and manifest your best life through your best self’.
“When it comes to your physical, mental and spiritual health, there is no magic pill. No one can give you the life you want, except for YOU.”
Her positive energy is magnetising, so much so that Vitality Fitness Partner, Lorna Jane launched their MNB Living Superstar series with a profile on Angela Simson, “an all round cool chick with some seriously amazing hair”. Yep, we’d have to agree with you on that one.
In this interview we chat further on how she went from Magnums to wellness; how to replace junk food with whole foods; getting the balance right; and three things you can do to better your life and enhance your happiness.
As long-time followers of your instagram, it’s hard to believe you were eating Magnums for breakfast, what was the trigger/s that made you realise you needed to make some life changes? Because you mentioned you weren’t overweight.
My change came when my migraines intensified. I went from one a month to one a week and I soon figured out that my diet was largely to blame. Full of processed foods, frozen dinners and lots of chocolate bars. I was eating whatever I wanted but I was completely ignoring my bodies cries for help and I was starving for nutrients!
In one of your posts, you mentioned your first GP was prescribing you diet pills despite being 5’7 and 58kgs – then you saw a GP who was also a naturopath, how did the combination of modern and alternate medicine benefit you? And what did he/she diagnose?
Looking back, it makes me sick to think that I was in such a negative headspace to be asking for diet pills, let alone that someone would actually have prescribed them to me! I found my new GP and she immediately put me on a detox, restricting dairy and gluten and minimising meat consumption for a few weeks. When I finished that it was like I’d had a complete mind and body clean out.
I realised that eating right makes you feel good. My eyes were shining and my skin was glowing but most importantly, I could think with such clarity.
There is a lot of talk now about diet and eating for health – what does this mean to you? And can you explain how you implement this into your daily life now?
I’m a huge believer that your diet and how you eat will affect your health later in life. If you’re constantly shoving processed foods into your body and increasing inflammation, you couldn’t be surprised when things stop working later on. Your body needs the correct fuel to run properly. Something that has stuck with me is that you ARE what you eat, literally. Your food becomes your blood, your cells. Don’t be cheap, artificial and nasty. Aim to be pure, natural and ripe!
You now only eat food from nature, nothing processed – what are some of the foods that you cut out of your diet? And what did you replace them with?
I cut out a whole lot of chocolate and dairy products, which I’ve replaced with raw chocolate and healthy slices (which you can find in my book!). While I’ll occasionally indulge in an ice cream with friends, which I usually regret soon afterwards, I now enjoy homemade rice and almond milk. When you really start to listen to your body, you quite easily figure out what you thrive off and what slows you down.
There are many products in your eBook that will be new to a lot of people, did you have to do a complete overhaul of your cupboard? What do you recommend for those just starting out on the path to health and eating right?
I started out slow. I didn’t throw everything out and get super strict because I don’t respond too positively to limitations. I took it very slow and I implemented changes as I was ready to. It’s also hard on the body to completely change your diet. My mind needed time to adjust to everything I was learning. I would recommend just putting extra focus on eating more fruits and vegetables, less meat, dairy and processed foods. Don’t cut anything out completely, just add in more good stuff.
There is a lot of information online from sugar is bad and don’t eat it to some sugars are ok but sucrose is bad and too much fruit isn’t healthy – what’s your response to this?
I believe too much of anything isn’t healthy, but at the same time I’ve also seen people thrive on extreme diets. You need to figure out what works for you. We’re all different so it’s pretty narrow minded to think that everyone will thrive off the same diet. Some people need more of this and less of that while for others it can be the complete opposite.
Just start by eating everything in moderation then when you become more balanced, you can start to really zone in on certain foods and how they make you feel and adjust accordingly.
You recently compiled an eBook `Treat your tastebuds, the sweet skinny on getting healthy’ – can you tell us about this and why you created it?
I really wanted to share my favourite recipes that I’ve created over the years. I’m constantly gifting raw treats to my friends and family and they love it and can’t believe it’s healthy. I know that my biggest hurdle in finding my health was pushing past my chocolate addiction. I still find myself overindulging sometimes, but at least I’m overdosing on nuts, cacao powder and dates instead of something from a factory with ingredients I can’t even pronounce.
For those of us who love chocolate, and that will be 99.9999% of people reading this, what are some healthy alternatives to satisfy the craving?
Make your own chocolate using recipes! Or if you don’t have time or desire to make your own, buy a really good quality raw chocolate like Loving Earth Raw Dark Chocolate.
There is a huge raw resurgence now, what are some of your favourite raw meals and how often do you eat raw?
I tend to eat a lot more raw meals in the summer time, in the cooler months I find I crave warming foods. I believe there are huge benefits to increasing your raw food consumption, but being that I don’t really do extremes, I couldn’t commit to 100% raw. I aim for 2 of my meals to be raw each day but I don’t get upset if I feel the need for more cooked foods. Again, it’s all about listening to your body!
How is your health now? do you still suffer from debilitating migraines?
My health is great! I went almost a full year without a migraine but in the last few months they’ve returned. I’m doing what I need to to keep them under control. I know my triggers. I’ve really focused on more self love, less pressure and I can already see the difference in my health.
They’re extremely debilitating for me, and with a one year old running around I just don’t have the time to be paralysed in bed for a whole day. Sometimes you need a gentle reminder to take more care of yourself, and if you don’t listen, your body will really let you know!
You have a huge following online now, what has the response been like? Has it surprised you?
It really has. I expected friends and family would support me but seeing my subscribers grow and getting regular emails from followers around the world is so inspiring to me. I love hearing from people who are trying to improve their life and health through gratitude.
I appreciate everyone who gets in contact, either asking for help or just letting me know what they’re grateful for that day. It’s really warming to my soul.
Finally, what are 3 things we can action today that will better our lives and enhance our happiness?
1. Look after yourself, make sure you’re doing at least one thing everyday that makes you truly happy. Even if it’s a quiet herbal tea outside, cooking your favourite meal or a walk in the park, have you time every single day.
Each night before bed, write down three things you’re grateful for from the day.
2. So often we go to bed thinking about what we didn’t finish, what went wrong or what we have to do tomorrow. Go to bed with that positive mindset and you’ll wake up feeling incredibly rejuvenated.
3. Let people know when they’ve done something that makes you happy. No matter how big or small. Make it a habit of sharing your gratitude with everyone around you.