Healthy Rituals by Naomi & Bolko, Refuel-Concept
Naomi and Bolko have the perfect partnership with their nutrition, fitness and healthy lifestyle training with thier company Refuel-Concept. Between them they offer a service to help their clients achieve a healthy combination of physical, mental, emotional and overall well-being. Naomi will feed you amazing healthy food and Bolko will get you in shape with his workouts, the perfect combination to help you achieve your goals.
We asked them to share some of their healthy life hacks here:
1. Do you have a morning and / or evening routine? If so please can you tell us what you do.
Naomi: The first thing I do when I wake up is to sit on the side of the bed and do some light stretching to wake my body up, paying any attention to any tightness I may have. It gives me the chance to do a little body scan and to include some breathing work which in turn is my way of doing a morning meditation – as most may agree with me here… once we get out of bed and start our morning we tend to get swept up in the ‘to dos’ for the day and think there’s no time for mediation. I then splash my face with cold water and then give myself a little facial massage with oils whilst saying some positive affirmations to myself – a little pep talk for the day ahead! I also scrape my tongue with a copper scraper which is an Ayurvedic practice in which ‘Ama’ – an accumulation of toxic residue in the mind-body – including undigested food and emotions are scraped away. I make myself a fresh juice (normally celery or greens) and following that I make a ‘gut soothing smoothie’ – I’ve been having a smoothie for my breakfast for the past 6 years, having Crohn’s Disease, this helps with giving my digestive system a much needed rest, it’s portable too so it’s great when on the move first thing!
Bolko: As soon as I wake up I really enjoy just taking a moment to listen to my surroundings, having that moment of silence (because I’m usually up before Naomi!) and time to set my intentions for the day. I then find a quiet and comfortable place to settle into my morning meditation. I’ve found after introducing some ‘me’ time in the morning really helps with how I tackle my day and also my general mood and mental wellbeing. This is followed by a cup of warm water and fresh lemon before my morning coffee – got to rehydrate before you caffeinate!!
2. Your top 3 tips to living a healthy life.
Naomi: Try living by the 80/20 concept – for example, if you spend your week sticking to a healthy routine then you can allow yourself the weekend to have some fun and relax! It’s all in moderation people! Be mindful of what you eat – the fuel you put into your body is crucial to having a healthy life and optimum longevity, it can affect everything from your mood, energy levels, skin, to your digestive function and MUCH more. Finally, avoid as many toxins and stress factors in your life, which can be environmental or bad relationships, how you get to work and where you work, pesticides and antibiotics in foods, chemicals are not only in cleaning products but products you use on your skin. I’m going to add a quick 4th… love and laugh often : )
Bolko: It’s all about a balanced lifestyle, making sure your work and social life are at a level that makes you happy. Eating fresh and natural foods and avoiding processed and microwave meals; fuelling your body with nutrient dense and mineral-rich produce is so important, to keep yourself from any illness or dis-ease enabling you to live a life full of energy. Exercise and movement is a big one for me for overall health, from simply taking a 20 minute brisk walk, a 40 minute HIIT session, 60 minutes of strength training, 90 minutes on a yoga matt, to a 3 hour bike ride. All of which have many benefits, you gain self confidence which reflects on all aspects of your life.
3. What’s the one thing you can’t live without
Naomi: My first response to this question was “Bolko” – but this is really cheesy so I will say it has to be my nut milk bag!! (which can also be used to make cheese – bad pun sorry!) I’ve been known to travel with my nut bag as I can’t go without my coffee or golden lattes with fresh nut milk. As we all have come to know by now that there are many brands of nut milks out there that aren’t that great for you, with only 2% of nut and the rest being water of course but also with thickeners, flavourings, stabilisers, emulsifiers… and so on. There are some great brands out there now but living in Nice currently, there aren’t that many options as you would find in London for example! And once you get the hang of making it yourself it becomes part of your routine and can be used in baking and cooking too!
Bolko: My TRX, I take it everywhere with me. It’s such a versatile piece of equipment that is light and easily portable which makes for a great travel companion!! Ever since I was a little boy I always found that movement was a huge part of who I am, being able to train and move my body is something I could never live without and the TRX helps me to achieve this anywhere I am! Oh – and my baseball caps, anyone that knows me will understand!
4. What are your next biggest dreams?
Naomi: For Bolko and I to travel the world sharing RE-FUEL with everyone! We’ve been working not only on our brand but also on ourselves for the last 4 years since leaving London. We set out on a journey of discovery and adapted along the way to this point, where we now know what RE-FUEL is really about and we can’t wait to share that. We believe that we rise by lifting others… to inspire, to educate and motivate!
Bolko: I want to see more of the world we live in. We live on such a beautiful planet with so many cultures and ethnicities, one can only imagine what you will discover and learn next… travelling evolves us into someone special. We are mostly drawn to the places our peers travel to but both Naomi and I always wonder if we travel to places that are less influenced by modern technology and social habits “what we could learn from them” and how we would be enriched with the experiences from the people & places we’ll see.
5. Do you have any guilty pleasures?
Naomi: I have a major sweet tooth – so pretty much all desserts tempt me!! But most of the time I end up trying to recreate them with alternative ingredients so I can feeeeeeel like I’m having a treat, without the guilt – but mainly so I don’t suffer the aftermath of symptoms – bloating, sluggish, face rash, mouth ulcers… I do though allow myself a dessert if I’m feeling well – as I am human and most desserts look too god damn yummy to resist! Oh, and chips (fries) but because potatoes are a deadly nightshade which I avoid as I have an autoimmune disease, I go for sweet potato fries!!
Bolko: Well, it’s not a guilty pleasure because it’s Naomi’s chocolate mousse with her pancakes! The mousse is made with raw cacao, avocado and frozen banana (sometimes she adds some chilli flakes and cinnamon for me as thats my favourite), the pancakes are gluten, dairy, wheat and refined sugar free… but not flavour free, they are soooo good and it feels like I’m having a naughty treat!
You will be able to meet Naomi and Bolko at our festival where they will be sharing their knowledge of eating and training for optimum health. Naomi will be hosting a healthy snacks workshop and Bolko will be getting everyone in shape with his motivational fitness classes. Check out the timetable to book in with them over the weekend.