Women In Wellness: Ali Fiorella On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Create nourishing daily routines. The way we start and end our day are key for our wellbeing! Carve out some time to take care of yourself, even if it’s just 15 minutes! Try incorporating meditation, journaling, exercise, listening to calming music, reading, drinking tea, or practicing gratitude. Experiment to find what feels right for you!
As a part of our series about “5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ali Fiorella.
Ali Fiorella is a Integrative Nutrition Health Coach with an advanced certification in gut health.
She empowers driven professional women to feel more energized, elevate their mood, and gain confidence in making the right decisions for their health. Her mission is to support people on their wellness journeys and help them discover ways to nourish themselves more fully so they can feel their absolute best and live the life they deserve!
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the story about how you first got involved in fitness and wellness?
Thank you for having me!
Health and wellness is not my first career, so I’ll back track a bit! Since a young age I struggled with body and self-image, cycled through constant states of stress and fatigue, and experienced many digestive issues. Before I became a health coach I spent a decade as a fashion designer. While I did have some truly amazing experiences, I eventually became burnt-out and very disconnected from myself and my body.
When I was laid off during the pandemic, I had a lot of time to reflect upon how I was feeling mentally and physically and how I was living my life. I decided it was time to focus on bettering myself and my health, and finding work that better aligned with my values. There was always a part of me that had an interest in health and nutrition and it finally felt like the right time to pursue it. After getting a Health Coaching Certification with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, I not only had a new perspective on health and nourishment, but also found new fulfillment and purpose in my life. I began coaching others using the same holistic approaches I learned and used to transform my own health and vitality.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
Meeting some of the most wonderful people from all over the world that I now collaborate with, work with, and call my friends! Through events, courses, coaching programs, social media, and traveling, I have been absolutely blessed to be connected with really incredible and inspiring people. As someone that deeply values connection and sharing with others, meeting people with aligned visions and values is one of the things I treasure most about this new path that I’m on!
Can you share a story with us about the most humorous mistake you made when you were first starting? What lesson or take-away did you learn from that?
Yes! When I first started I always thought that I needed to learn more. If you struggle with perfectionism or imposter syndrome, you know what I’m talking about! When I first started my coaching business I had this fear that I didn’t know enough and that I needed to continue getting more certifications in order to help people. Of course it wasn’t funny at the time, but I can now look back and laugh because nobody knows everything! What I started to see was that you can still help people and make a massive impact on their lives even if you are 10–20% ahead of them. You don’t need to know everything to help people, nor will you ever know everything!
Can you share with our readers a bit about why you are an authority in the fitness and wellness field? In your opinion, what is your unique contribution to the world of wellness?
As a certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach with advanced certification in gut health, I have demystified a lot of false narratives of health and wellness through my own experience and learning. I used to think that eating healthy and working out made me healthy, but I was missing several pieces of the puzzle for most of my life. Taking a look at my life from a holistic lens to understand what was out of balance and focusing on how to nourish myself more fully, opened up a whole new world of healing for me. Helping people shift their beliefs and their perspective of a healthy lifestyle is the most powerful thing I share and want to continue to share with others so they can transform their own health and lives. I empower others to make their health a priority and understand that living a healthy lifestyle shouldn’t just begin because of a health issue, it should be out of respect for themselves and their desire to live a full and long life! Mindset is everything!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I work with a life coach and shaman who has been an incredible support for me and has helped me to step into my self worth and vision. I began working with her when I was pivoting my career and I was in need of support not only professionally, but personally as well. For so long I had a hard time asking for help and guidance and it wasn’t until I did that I was finally able to uncover some deeper rooted issues and free myself from a lot of pressure and anxiety. Even coaches need coaches and support systems, it’s something everyone can truly benefit from!
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. We all know that it’s important to eat more vegetables, eat less sugar, exercise more, and get better sleep etc. But while we know it intellectually, it’s often difficult to put it into practice and make it a part of our daily habits. In your opinion what are the 3 main blockages that prevent us from taking the information that we all know, and integrating it into our lives?
Ohh I love this question!
An all or nothing mindset is hands down the #1 roadblock I see! It’s a form of perfectionism which I think we all struggle with at some point in our lives. Thinking we have to do everything all at once or make a really drastic change in order to see results is overwhelming and this is where I see people get stuck in old habits and struggle to commit to change.
Feeling like there’s not enough time, which really stems down to what we prioritize! We’ll often put things off and say “I’ll focus on it one day when I have time”. We all have busy schedules and it’s very easy to say we don’t have enough time to do something like exercise, rest, cook a meal or meditate! Usually there are things we waste our time doing that we can easily replace with a healthier habit, some simple time management and prioritization can go a long way!
Noise and confusion in the health and nutrition world is also something that can get people really hung up! It can be confusing and difficult to navigate through on your own, with new information, misleading marketing, conflicting opinions, and new diets constantly being discussed. People often feel overwhelmed and really don’t know where to start or what is best for them as an individual. If this is you, seek support!
Can you please share your “5 Non-Intuitive Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”? (Please share a story or an example for each, and feel free to share ideas for mental, emotional and physical health.)
Sure!
- Create nourishing daily routines. The way we start and end our day are key for our wellbeing! Carve out some time to take care of yourself, even if it’s just 15 minutes! Try incorporating meditation, journaling, exercise, listening to calming music, reading, drinking tea, or practicing gratitude. Experiment to find what feels right for you!
- Ditch dieting and restriction and focus on eating real whole foods. If you struggle with dieting, it’s probably because it’s simply not sustainable for most people to maintain in a healthy and enjoyable way. Instead focus on eating real whole nutrient dense foods and preparing your own meals. Think leafy greens, fruits, veggies, fish, meat, nuts, seeds, and whole grains! Variety is key to making sure your body is getting the nutrients it needs!
- Find exercise or movement that you actually enjoy! Bringing a sense of joy to any habit you want to create, makes it much easier to do consistently and way more effective. Don’t force yourself to do workouts you dread, it will exhaust you mentally and physically! Lean into workouts that you actually enjoy and feel good for your body and mind. Exercise will become something you want to do, it will relieve stress, and bring joy to your day!
- Get exposure to sunlight in the morning. This helps to regulate your circadian rhythm, which can lead to improved sleep and energy in the morning! Sit outside while you drink your morning beverage or take your dog for a walk!
- Connect with your purpose and bring more fulfillment to your life! Get into alignment and connect with yourself to understand your purpose- why you do what you do, your reason! Reflect on your strengths, values, and life experiences. Live with intention and find ways to use your unique purpose to serve others professionally or personally! You’ll feel more peace and joy and live a healthier and fuller life because of it!
As an expert, this might be obvious to you, but I think it would be instructive to articulate this for the public. Aside from weight loss, what are 3 benefits of daily exercise? Can you explain?
There’s so many benefits, but here are my 3 favorites!
It improves confidence! Especially in the morning, starting your day with exercise will help you enter your day with a can-do, fierce attitude. You’ve already accomplished something great!
Getting in movement each day helps boost digestion and keeps everything running smoothly through your GI tract. Gentle forms of movement such as yoga and walking are especially effective if you struggle with any sort of GI issues or digestive discomfort such as IBS or constipation.
Mental clarity is an important benefit of daily exercise! Movement is meditation; it provides focus, can reduce brain fog, and crowd out negative thoughts.
For someone who is looking to add exercise to their daily routine, which 3 exercises would you recommend that are absolutely critical?
Daily walks are the number one exercise that everyone should do! If you struggle with exercise, start here!
Yoga is such an amazing mind, body, soul practice! Slowing down, connecting with your breath, and using your mind to take you through the movement of your body is so essential for the busy lives we lead today!
Simple movements with your own body weight are extremely effective for building strength. A few reps of squats, lunges, push ups, crunches, and planks will all work your entire body and don’t require any equipment!
Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story?
I absolutely love “The Book of Joy”! When I read it for the first time, it really gave me a fresh perspective on life and how to embody more joy each day. This is a book that I often come back to when I’m struggling mentally or emotionally, there’s so many tools and lessons that apply to all types of scenarios in life. I’ve developed a daily gratitude practice because of this book and have learned to perceive difficult situations in new ways!
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would start a movement for wellness communities to be created for people all across the world with a focus on holistic health and nourishment. Communities with a safe space for people to share their experiences and struggles and connect with one another. I believe that everyone deserves to feel heard and supported, and with the right knowledge people can transform their health.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?
“The body can heal itself by itself when given half the chance.” This is a quote from Joshua Rosenthal the founder of the nutrition school I received my training with and it’s something that has always stuck with me. The body is really quite incredible, it’s always sending us signals, and it knows what to do! When we learn to listen to it and give it the right environment, it has the ability to heal.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
What a question! I’d have to say Jay Shetty, I really love and appreciate the work that he is doing to serve and impact others on such a massive scale! It’s so inspiring!
What is the best way our readers can follow you online?
I love connecting with others and sharing on social media! The best way to follow and reach me is on instagram @alifiorella or visit my website Alifiorella.com.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
Women In Wellness: Ali Fiorella On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.