Celebrating Libby Babet
Libby’s life-long mission is to inspire others to move more, eat better and live life to the full. Her knowledge and passion led to her starring role as the new trainer on Channel 10's "The Biggest Loser: Transformed". As a former journalist she's a best selling author, writes for publications such as Prevention Magazine and has also been the fitness expert for Women's Fitness Magazine and the HIT Network, Australia's largest radio network.
Outside of her work in media, Libby is a mum and the founder of multiple businesses in health and fitness including Beauty Food and her Bondi training studio The Upbeat who's Live Online classes are ranked in the Top 10 Globally by ClassPass. She’s also co-founder of Nurture Her, a wellness and business event that (in non COVID-19 years!) takes over 150 female entrepreneurs to Fiji each year to recharge and refocus.
Getting to know Libs…
To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career?
I originally trained as a journalist and worked in TV and magazines before I had a big health scare in my early 20s. Basically, my blood pressure was more than double normal levels and I was told I'd be on medication for life and very likely never have kids.
Within a few years of working closely with a number of specialists, to the complete surprise of all my doctors, I got off the medication and this set me on a course into health and fitness because the more I learned, the more passionate I became about sharing that knowledge!
Since then I've started three fitness businesses including The Upbeat, and a few health food businesses including Beauty Food of course! I still love journalism and writing so I write as much as I can for various publications like Prevention Magazine. I've also been lucky enough to do a season as a trainer on Channel 10's re-imagination of The Biggest Loser!
What does a day in the life look like for you?
My daughter Izzy is in daycare 3 days per week so on my work days I’m up at 4:30am to teach at my dance fitness studio The Upbeat in Bondi. Then I'm usually off to a day full of meetings at the office or with my team. I also try and find time to write and shoot any content for my business and my own social channels. I'm often working evening sessions at The Upbeat too which means I can be going until 8:30pm. Can you see why I created the perfect collagen cookie to help get me through my day? ;)
What inspired you to start Beauty Food?
Izzy had just been born and I was so focused on her that my own nutrition was starting to suffer because I didn't always have the headspace to make breakfast or lunch (I mean, a lot of the time I'd just forget!). That meant I was snacking a lot more than usual and I found it next to impossible to find convenient snacks that weren't full of sugar or artificial chemicals and ingredients like erythritol. One day I was chatting with my co-founder Veronika and we just thought "we can do something about this".
Image courtesy of The Delivery Mag
What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?
I'm not sure work-life balance exists for me in a pure sense. I find that saying “yes” to one thing generally means saying “no” to something else, so I've given up trying to keep work and life always in balance. I find what works best for me is to lean in and really focus on where I'm most needed at any given time and try to let go of being perfect, knowing that I can't possibly fit everything in, but I can choose what I do fit in.
In the past 12 months, have you started/stopped any routines or habits to change your life?
Yes! I've never been a big TV watcher but I've stopped watching altogether and started going to bed a lot earlier. I've also gone completely alcohol free since the beginning of Feb this year (after, let's be honest, a few new habits had crept in through COVID!) and I sleep so much better which means my brain is a lot clearer!
Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you'd like to recommend?
I'm a fantasy nerd, it's my escape / meditation, so I highly recommend anything by Brandon Sanderson, Brent Weeks, Mark Lawrence and Peter Brett. In terms of podcasts I'm currently loving Healthy Her with Amelia Phillips and Healthy-ish by Body & Soul.
Are there any products, gadgets or apps that you can’t live without?
Definitely my Apple Watch, it's handy as a trainer (hello stopwatch, Tabata timer and adjusting music volume!) and keeps me on track by telling me what my next meeting is. I can even take calls on it when I can't find my phone (i.e. regularly!).
In terms of apps, I use Lightroom and Filmm to do a lot of content editing and I use Clue to track my cycle and hormones to get some science behind why I'm feeling low or highly motivated, plus understand how to get more productivity out of my weeks. I also love Soundcloud - we upload all our playlists from The Upbeat there and they're really motivating if you want something to work out to. If you want to do our workouts you can try our iPhone and Android apps too!
Oh, and for the mums, I love ABC Kids Listen!
Who in your life inspires you and keeps you motivated?
You'll be hearing about some of the people who inspire me over the next few weeks on @beautyfoodbondi!
I have to say though, almost nothing I've done or do would exist without the people behind the scenes (like our amazing Beauty Food team!). They / you are the ones who inspire me and motivate me every day.
What is your biggest career highlight / most memorable moment?
The experience of filming The Biggest Loser: Transformed gave me a chance to work with people in ways that I never get to do in real life. It was very deep and focused work, working on their fitness, nutrition, mindset for 7 days a week over 3 months. Getting to meet their families and watching them completely transform their lives and the lives of everyone around them. It was one of the most rewarding and memorable experiences of my life. You can see their transformations on the final episode if you're interested!
What's next for Libby Babet and Beauty Food?
We're just getting started at Beauty Food and I have to say we all LOVE hearing your feedback and support. When we hear that we're solving problems for you and making your life just a little bit easier and healthier, that's why we do this and with your help we can keep doing that on an even bigger scale.
From the Beauty Food Team, thank you Libby! For a being our fierce leader and inspiring your team to want to DO, BE and EAT better! xx
