Fitbrittnutrition: Nourish Your Body with Britt Martin!

I’m SO excited to be back with another installment in my “Lovely Humans” series, and this week I’m featuring one of my favorite wellness babes – Britt Martin from Fitbrittnutrition! Britt’s inspirational captions, drool-worthy recipes, and overall positive vibes got me hooked as soon as I stumbled across her Instagram account a few months ago. There’s nothing I respect more than someone who is genuine, creative, and dedicated to improving the lives of others – and Britt is all of those things, plus more. Her recipes are to die for, and she has a way of simplifying wellness in a way that makes a healthy lifestyle attainable for everybody. From cooking to workouts to self-care, Britt has it all covered. A visit to her blog or Instagram account never fails to inspire me.

One of the things I love most about Britt is her balanced approach to health. It’s not just about eating right or getting enough exercise. She has a holistic, realistic approach, and her work is all about helping her clients find balance in every aspect of their lives. Loving yourself, feeling motivated, working hard, resting, pursuing your passions, eating delicious food, spending time with the people you love, showing gratitude – they’re all pieces to the puzzle. On her blog, you’ll find everything from recipes to exercise advice to anti-bloating tips! One of my absolute favorite posts from Britt is all about having “splurge meals” rather than “cheat meals” — I’d highly recommend you read it here!

This girl is beautiful inside and out, and I knew I needed to have her in this series. She’s totally killin’ it in the wellness world, so you NEED to get to know her. Let’s get to it, shall we?

Tell me a bit about yourself!

Hi! I grew up in California, and I’ve lived in LA with my boyfriend and our rescue dog/child Logan the past 3+ years. I’m in school to become a Board Certified Holistic Nutritionist and am actually almost done with my schooling – I have about 4-5 months left of my 2 year program…Super exciting! I currently have my own nutrition consulting company, Fitbrittnutrition, and work with clients to help them achieve their health goals, form healthier relationships with food, and get to the root causes of their health concerns and symptoms. I love hiking, traveling, yoga, meditating, and going to farmer’s and flea markets. I’m definitely a health foodie, so I love trying new healthy restaurants in the area and experimenting with recipes in the kitchen at home!

When did you first get into healthy living? What got you interested?

As a child, my mom was always a healthy eater and worked out regularly, so I was lucky enough to have a great example growing up. I was always in sports as a child (mostly I played roller hockey) and loved vegetables, but I probably started to became more conscious about my health when I was 18. Before this time I could eat whatever I wanted without having to worry about gaining weight. So when I started gaining weight, I became more conscious of what I was eating. While I thought I was eating healthy at the time, GMOs and organic foods weren’t hot topics then, so I would eat Lean Cuisines and sugar-free Jello and think I was eating “healthy”.

In my early 20s I read Kimberly Snyder’s first book, The Beauty Detox Solution, and that really changed everything for me! That’s when I finally understood what it meant to eat healthy. It wasn’t about fat-free, sugar-free, or tiny meals of 300 calories, it was about feeding my body organic, whole foods. Her book really made me look at nutrition in a whole new light, and I’d say this is when I fell in love with nutrition. Since reading this book, my philosophy around healthy living and eating has changed and evolved, but I think that will continue to happen as science continues to learn more and more about the human body and the role foods play in our health.

Tell me about the beginning of your blog! What inspired you and how did you get started? 

I always wanted a blog and had even dabbled in it years back in college (this was before Instagram or blogging were really mainstream). But once I shifted careers and went back to school for nutrition I knew I wanted to have a platform I could point my clients to and just have for anyone looking for holistic lifestyle inspiration or advice. I purchased my domain name, got a Squarespace account, and have continued to build on it and learn all of its capabilities since then. To anyone starting out, I highly recommend using Squarespace to build your blog – it is super user-friendly.

What’s your “food philosophy,” and what led you to it? 

Well it’s definitely evolved over the years…I’ve explored vegetarian, vegan, raw-vegan, and pescetarian diets, but today I try not to label how I eat. I think labeling or confining yourself to a specific diet of foods you can and can’t eat can cause restrictions, and you may end up depriving your body of nutrients it needs.

So today, I just focus on quality (organic/grass-fed, local, and seasonal), whole foods as much as possible, including clean protein, healthy fats and oils, fresh veggies, leafy greens, some fruits, and nuts and seeds.

When working with clients I recognize that each body is unique and different, so what may work for one person, may not work for another. I think it’s really important to listen to your body, cue into those signs and symptoms and eat in a way that makes you feel your best.

I think it’s amazing that you decided to switch over from your corporate career and pursue your passions in health and nutrition. What was it like making that decision? Did you ever have any doubts?

It was scary! I was leaving something secure and going into the unknown, but I knew if I didn’t pursue my passion for nutrition I would without a doubt regret it down the road. I really weighed my pros and cons and did a lot of research before landing on a college program and deciding to leave my prior career, but I couldn’t be happier today. It’s still scary in aspects, but I believe when you are aligned with your purpose the Universe is on your side and everything will unfold how it should.

What’s your exercise routine like? 

I like to switch it up between weight training, HIIT workouts, hiking, running my dog, and yoga. I think it’s important to find exercises you truly love doing. Working out shouldn’t be something you dread! I usually workout 5-6 days a week, but always give myself a rest day (sometimes more) when I feel I need it.

I know you looove self-care. What’s your favorite form of self-care?

I do! It’s so important. Many people treat it as a luxury, when it should be part of our daily lives. I think it’s important to remember there are tons of self-care practices you can do at home that don’t cost money! I really look forward to my early mornings of journaling when I can reflect on my feelings and goals while enjoying a tea or a warm elixir and starting my morning off with 10-20 minutes of meditation. That’s my go-to. I also LOVE massages, although I don’t get those as much as I should or would like to!

What’s your beauty routine like?

I use organic and nontoxic products as much as possible. I love using oils to moisturize and masks from my favorite skin care brands like OSEA Malibu, Franklin and Whitman, and Cocokind organic skincare.

What’s one health belief that you wish people would stop buying into?

Just the whole diet thing. I think people in the health world get that diets don’t work and have a common dislike for the act of dieting, but I still hear people (and even new clients) refer to getting healthy as dieting. Healthy should be a lifestyle, and it’s about eating an array of healthy, whole foods. Diets are restricting and usually don’t last because they aren’t realistic, nor necessarily healthy. I also wish people would stop counting calories, and realize it’s more important to focus on what ingredients they are feeding their bodies rather than the calories in their food.

What’s one beauty or health tip that you swear by?

For beauty: Dry brushing before a shower and coconut oil after a shower. I love that dry brushing can help your body eliminate toxins, and that I can slather coconut oil on my body to moisturize without worrying about harmful chemicals.

For health: Always be prepared with healthy food/snacks and water! Even if you are just running errands for a few hours, you never know when you are going to get hungry, and it’s so much better to be prepared with a healthy option than be left having to eat something you normally wouldn’t or skip eating altogether.

What’s your favorite go-to, quick and easy meal? 

A nourishing bowl! I usually have some things prepped in my fridge ahead of time, so it’s super easy to throw together. I add: a grain like quinoa and brown rice, whatever greens I’m using for that week, a few cooked and raw veggies, sauerkraut, herbs like cilantro or parsley, possibly a bean or hummus, and a protein like tempeh, organic chicken, or pastured eggs drizzled with tahini sauce. Hits the spot every time!

Do you have a guilty pleasure?

Podcasts! I so prefer them over watching TV – I love getting to learn while cleaning house or unwinding after a long day.

What are some of your other favorite blogs to read?

I love Mindbodygreen, Well + Good, Mystic Mamma, and The Numinous.

Favorite restaurants?

Cafe Gratitude, Sun Cafe, Gracias Madre, True Food Kitchen, and Moon Juice – I could live off of these.

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned on your health journey?

It’s not about being perfect. So often people beat themselves up over having a few bites of a brownie and think this “ruined” their healthy eating. At the end of the day, it’s what you do MOST of the time that’s going to make or break your healthy lifestyle. So there’s no need to dwell on the small stuff, like a few bites of a brownie, or even having the whole brownie! We are too hard on ourselves.

Whenever I indulge, I mindfully do so, I ENJOY it, and I move on. Simple as that.

3 foods you can’t live without?

Pastured + organic eggs, avocado, sweet potatoes, and nut butter. Oops that’s 4!

What advice would you give someone who is interested in living a healthier lifestyle but doesn’t know where to start?

Ditch the diet and just focus on eating quality, whole foods. Fill your refrigerator with foods that CAN expire instead of filling your pantry with foods that come packaged and don’t expire until 2030.

What’s the most common piece of advice you give to clients to help them live healthier lives? 

Each client is different, but I really encourage all of my clients to be mindful by being aware of what is on their plates and asking themselves how those ingredients are nourishing their body. This helps them to start being aware of what they are eating, and also helps them make the connection of the impact of their food choices on their health. I also think it’s important to practice mindful eating. We are so rushed all of the time that we scarf our meals down without thoroughly chewing them, which is awful for our digestion. So I encourage them to make meal time sacred (although I could be better at practicing what I preach here, but I try my best). I am also big on encouraging them to find workout activities they truly enjoy doing, practicing self-love, and making time for self-care.

What are your goals for the future? 

I’m working on an ebook that I hope will be out in early 2017. I’m also looking into getting my yoga teacher certification to expand my scope of practice while still getting to help people live healthier, happier lives, and I’d love to own a health cafe or wellness center one day.

Tell me what your current favorite recipe is! 

I’m crushing on my golden milk elixir (recipe can be found on my blog). It’s energizing and has some of my favorite ingredients in it like turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, coconut milk, and medicinal powders. I get so happy after having a warm cup of it in the morning.

She’s fab, amirite?! I’m crushing hard on that golden milk elixir too…I’m actually about to go make it tonight! Huge thanks to Britt for this interview – it was so much fun getting to know more about her! To learn even more about Britt and her services, head to her website, Fitbrittnutrition, and make sure you follow her on Instagram (@fitbrittnutrition)!