Advertise on podcast: HealthFUL Living with Melissa Ensink

In this episode, I go over some of the pro's and con's of recording or tracking your food intake; why you might use this practice to support your nutrition and health goals, and why you might stay away from it. Over the years I have swung from one end of the spectrum to the other, and landed somewhere in the middle in terms of if tracking food is worthwhile or not. As with most things in the nutrition space, I think tracking food is an individual choice and should be aligned with your goals and your history. It isn't for everyone, it can be helpful for some and ultimately it is up to you if you think it will support you. I would love to know your thoughts on this topic - do you find tracking helpful or have you found it to be more harm than good? Let me know on Instagram. ------------------- Grab your FREE Plant Based Protein Guide here.   Connect with me on instagram! @melissaensink

Are you clear on what you want your life to look like in one year, ten years or fifty years? Do you have a WHY for pursuing a healthy lifestyle? What is the point of even TRYING to make healthy change? Where will this get you? To acknowledge World Health Day, I recorded this episode to share with you my WHY for pursuing a healthful and thriving life, and the circumstances I experienced that led me to be so connected to this, and so committed to realising my vision. Listen in for a quick run down on how the decline of my parent's health inspired me to decide on a health promoting lifestyle, and pursue a career in this space. -------------------------- Grab your FREE Plant Based Protein Guide here. Catch me on the 'gram @melissaensink

Claire Haesler is a fitness enthusiast, fitness professional and physiotherapy student who has been vegan for 17 years and vegetarian for even longer.  In this episode, I chat with Claire about her motivation to follow a plant based diet, her love of movement and the benefits she experiences from regular exercise. Claire shares some excellent tips on navigating curiosity and concerns from family members, and talks a bit about how she has seen things shift in the vegan space over the past few years. Grab your FREE Plant Based Protein Guide here.   Connect with me on instagram! @melissaensink

Have you ever been frustrated about your lack of progress towards a goal? Have you struggled being consistent with a health behaviour you have wanted to change? Do you ever wonder why you can't seem to reach a desired outcome? I don't mean to call anyone out in this episode but maybe, just maybe you are not doing the work 🤔 What does that mean and how can you actually 'do the work'?  This episode was inspired by a convo I had and I thought it would be great to share with you - enjoy! Let me know what you think over the 'gram @melissaensink Grab your FREE Plant Based Protein Guide here. 

These might not be the sexiest and latest fads in nutrition, but these things pack a mega punch in terms of impact! Focus on these six principles of plant based nutrition and I guarantee you’ll be well on your way to nailing your nutrition and setting a solid foundation for a healthful and thriving life! We KNOW that doing these things will have a positive impact on your health and wellbeing. These things will support energy levels, help you get the nutrients you need and ensure you have a sustainable approach to eating. Before jumping ahead and tweaking parts or your diet that will have minimal impact, focus on these areas first and enjoy the rewards that come with some super unsexy but super impactful nutrition! Forget the shakes, the latest diet trend or trying to control one tiny aspect of your diet. Focus on the big wins and use that remaining brain space for all the other good stuff in life. This episode is for informational and entertainment purposes and does not replace individualised and personalised advice from your healthcare provider. Grab your FREE Plant Based Protein Guide here. Catch me on the 'gram @melissaensink

What does it mean to be plant based? What foods can you eat on a vegan diet? Is a vegan and plant based diet the same thing? There is often some confusion around what is meant by a plant based, vegan and vegetarian diet.  This was made apparent to me seeing a recent post on a nutrition science page on Facebook, and a recent conversation with a family member. In this episode, I chat about the difference between these terms, go into a little bit of detail around  vegan lifestyle and how this goes beyond just what a person eats and share my opinion on if this even matters. Grab your FREE Plant Based Protein Guide here. Let's keep the conversation going on Instagram! @melissaensink 

Cultivating a positive mindset can be an incredibly helpful tool in making health change in your life. It helps you 'do the doing', move through periods of low motivation and can make the process of up-levelling your health a more enjoyable one. In this episode, I give a brief overview of what mindset is and the role it plays in making healthy change,  why it is so important to prioritise if you want to achieve your health and wellbeing goals, how limiting beliefs can derail your success and some useful mindset practices that can help you put all this into action. Grab your FREE Plant Based Protein Guide here. Resources I mention: Mindset (book) - Dr Carol Dweck ThinkUp (app) Insight timer (app) Are we friends on insta yet? Come and say hi and let me know what you think of the podcast. @melissaensink

It is that time of year…everyone is setting 2022 goals. And I am here for it!  Setting goals is a big love of mine. Why? Because goal setting inspires change and empowers people to achieve their biggest desires. When done right that is!  With changes to lifestyle, nutrition and health habits, goal setting is really helpful. Quite important too. How can you get to where you want to go, if you don’t know what or where that is? Or your reasons as to why you want to get there? In this episode, I share my  ‘12+1 goal setting method’ which is a mix of a couple of approaches I have used over the years and have found to work well for me and my personality type.  I chat through the steps to set your goals, process vs. outcome goals and some common mistakes people make when goal setting.    Grab your FREE Plant Based Protein Guide here. Resources I mention in the episode: The 12 Week Year, Brian Moran and Michael Lennington (book). Matt Ragland, YouTube channel and Connect the Dots podcast. Come and say on insta! @melissaensink

Marisa Debattista is the founder and CEO of not for profit animal welfare organisation, Second Chance Animal Rescue, is a mum of three (and fur mum to many more!), fitness enthusiast and vegan. In this episode, Marisa and I chat about how she prioritises her health, fitness and wellbeing, while living an incredibly full and impactful life.  Check out the incredible work Second Chance do: https://secondchanceanimalrescue.com.au/ https://www.instagram.com/second.chance.animal.rescue/ https://www.facebook.com/SecondChanceAnimalRescueInc ----------------------------- Grab your FREE Plant Based Protein Guide here.  Connect with me on Instagram @melissaensink

In this episode I chat through how a ‘snowball’ approach is the best way to make positive change in your lifestyle, change your habits around food and exercise, and reach your health and wellbeing goals. The snowball approach - as opposed to making an overhaul - will allow you to transition to new habits and a healthier lifestyle in a sustainable way. It allows your mind to adjust and your identity to shift and align with the person you are seeking to become.  Instead of a crash and burn (commonly seen in the overhaul approach), the snowball approach is more sustainable. Let me know your thoughts on this episode over on instagram @melissaensink Grab your FREE Plant Based Protein Guide here. 

You have probably seen it and heard it, the constant messaging from PT's and sometimes health coaches "You need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight, nothing else matters" or some version of that.   Well, I am here to tell you that that messaging is not helpful for people who are pursuing a healthful life and seeking to make positive change. I realise this could be an unpopular opinion, which is totally fine. That is what Mel's Soapbox is all about! This episode will explain why I have this position, and what I think we should be focusing on instead.    I am not denying that the theory and equation of 'energy in + energy out' is correct; it is spot on. My perspective is that spewing this messaging is often missing the bigger picture, and guiding people to focus on this is missing more important aspects of eating, nutrition, exercise and overall wellbeing. Grab your FREE Plant Based Protein Guide here.  Connect with Mel on Instagram @melissaensink

This very first Wellbeings episode is with Trang Nguyen, a Melbourne based physiotherapist, personal performance coach and friend of mine!    Trang’s mission is to guide people to achieve their greatest potential, so they can use their power to contribute to a flourishing world.    Trang works in a variety of ways, which she will touch on in our interview. She utilises her framework - The Thriving Three - to help people perform at their best AND also experience fulfilment in doing this.    In this chat, we talk about Trang’s perspective on the role of wellbeing in high achievement, the key pillars that are essential for achieving success while also finding fulfilment, some challenges she has experienced with eating while in the fitness and physique competition world and quite a bit more.    Through her own experiences and working with clients, Trang discovered that success in itself isn't always enough to create fulfilled lives or serve a greater world. From this, she developed a vision for a flourishing world where people are thriving within themselves, and all beings live in harmony with one another.  Trang supports her clients to step into their highest selves through running & strength coaching, physiotherapy services and personal mentoring.  I hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed creating it!  Say hi to Trang over on Instagram! @trangcessnguyen  Connect with Mel on Instagram @melissaensink Grab your FREE Plant Based Protein Guide here.