Being fit and healthy combined with motherhood and working your ass off, it can be done! – Interview with Nathalie Beck, Managing director at Bluem Europe

If the recent pandemic has taught us something, it is how fundamental our health is. Fortunately, Covid-19 has made sure that this theme is high on everyone’s agenda. Everybody knows by now that our immune system, the line of defense of our body, is essential. We continue to learn how to deal with our body and to strengthen our immune system. It isn’t all about healthy nutrition and exercise. Today it is the international day of sport. A good time to highlight the importance of a healthy lifestyle. 

Being fit, exercising and eating healthy, it is no longer just a priority for elite athletes, it is for all of us. Also for us who have a job that consumes a lot of time, those who aside from their job have a family to run or those who just don’t make it a priority. Especially for them it is necessary to focus more on their health. One person who knows that all of this can be combined if the will and understanding is there, is Nathalie Beck (45), managing director of Bluem Europe. Superb physical condition, sporty, healthy and a hard worker. Every day she runs from meeting to meeting (when she is not traveling) and she has a never ending ‘to-do’ list. Not to mention all the creative ideas that are floating through her head, and oh she has a family of six (bonus)kids! For Nathalie these aren’t reasons to lose focus on her health. In fact, without that focus, she would be lost. But how? How does she keep going? What is her secret? What does a day in her life look like? We asked here all about it! Pen and paper ready?

Health is very important to you. But why is that and how important is it for you?

”It is vital. In general I think the quality of life is very important. I call myself a ‘life optimizer’, someone who wants to get the most out of life. For me it means to take good care of yourself. On all fronts. Physically and mentally. You can be fit, but when you experience a lot of stress you won’t do your health any good, you will only make it worse. Balance is key. Also; I want to enjoy life as long as I can, I really think life is a party.”

Nathalie Beck managing director bluem

Were you brought up with that focus on health?

”No, most definitely not. My father was very unhealthy. Hard working, lots of stress, smoking, unhealthy diet and lots of drinking. Consequence of that was that he didn’t have a quality of life. He became ill when he was 45 and he got a cerebral infarction. My father died when he was only 59. If he would have taken better care of his body, he would have lived a longer, happier and healthy life. His death was a turning point for me. I became a mother myself and found it important to be a healthy and positive role model. Also, in that time I started at Bluem, this also had a positive impact on my awareness and lifestyle. I developed my morning routine and by doing so I created enough rest and time in my life. Actually, ‘time’ is the most beautiful gift you can give yourself.” 

Morning routine? What does a day in the life of Nathalie look like? What time do you get up? What do you eat? What time do you settle for bed? Take us with you.

”I get up at 5am. I start the day with a few glasses of water to fill my moisture content. You lose a lot of moisture during the night. After that, I do Wim Hof breathing exercises to bring enough oxygen back in my life to start the day. Followed by a short meditation in which I go through a number of steps in a relaxed manner, according to a fixed program. What am I grateful for? On which things will I be focusing today? What do I want to accomplish? How do I want to feel today? How do I want to treat people? These are a few things that will run through my mind. This takes me about an hour, and afterwards I will exercise and finish it off with an ice bath.

By then the boys will be up and we will resume the start of the day together. I don’t eat in the morning, because I do intermittent fasting (alternate fasting). I do drink a good Alka Green Cappuccino, caffeine ;-). Super healthy! Afterwards I am full of energy to start working. Around noon I will start my breakfast, most of the time it is muesli, almond milk, fruit and some nuts. It isn’t healthy food all the time, I do enjoy some snacking from time to time! Throughout the day I make sure I stay moving, I tend to go for a walk whilst calling. By the time 6pm rolls around I will be home where I cook the boys dinner and we all eat together. After dinner I will slowly prepare for the end of the day. Starting the day consciously is just as important as it is to end the day consciously, so you can fall in bed with a relaxed mind. Entrepreneurship is a top sport! I always say; You can do a marathon untrained, but when you can train for it why don’t you do it? My healthy lifestyle is a training for entrepreneurship.”

Goals! What an inspiration! How many times do you work out in a week?

”I’m actively on-the-move every day, and a real good workout is on my schedule around six times a week. I do running, mountain biking, inline skating or a workout at home. My favorite is running, preferably while listening to an inspiring podcast.”

Don’t you ever have an offday? How do you keep balance with two younger boys who surely don’t want to eat healthy every day?

”Of course I sometimes have an ‘off day’ as well, but I always try to turn them around, either if it is physical or mentally. On days where I don’t feel like giving it my all I start the day even more conscious to turn my mood around. I listen intensely to my body. When I feel exhausted, I will exercise less intensively that day and put more focus on resting and meditation. Or when I experience a lot of stress and have a rapid and shallow breathing, I will do more exercises to relax and lower my breathing.”

What can we wake you up for at night? 

”I have my guilty pleasures as well… You can wake me in the middle of the night for an Indonesian lemper, I enjoy those intensely. They remind me of my grandmother, she has lived in Indonesia for many years and she used to make them for me. It is a steamed, sticky rice roll with with seasoned shredded chicken, delicious!”

What did the time of the pandemic teach you? Did Covid affect your lifestyle much?

”Yes it did. Covid brought me more peace. We couldn’t travel anymore so I experienced less chaos due to the fact that I traveled a lot for Bluem before the pandemic. Aside from that, I have the feeling that Covid has provided me with a better quality of life in several ways. Meetings with friends and family were more focused due to the fact it was so intimate, one on one, and lots of time it was outdoors. And I also feel like Covid has made people more aware. Despite all the negativity Covid has brought us we should focus on the positive things it has brought us. I truly hope we can hold on to the beautiful things that we have learned this past year.”

What could other people achieve when they start living more consciously?

”It’s all about quality of life. Conscious and healthy living is an investment in yourself. Life is very special, every day is a gift and you can only really experience that when you feel fit and mentally healthy. Only then can you start enjoying that wonderful life.”

What do you want to say to all the people who constantly have an excuse to not live that life? 

”You don’t have to drastically change your life. As long as you take steps and invest in yourself… Step by step you can add time to your life and improve the quality of your days. You don’t have to start the day at 5AM. Even if you stretch your morning just a little bit. Getting out of bed half an hour earlier or just 15 minutes earlier can bring you a lot. Take a moment to focus on yourself. Reflect on where you are today, what you want to achieve and how to reach that goal. If you said to me ten years ago that this would be my life today, I wouldn’t have believed you. My point is: ‘It is possible!’ Even if you think, this isn’t for me or I can’t do this: Everybody can do it! It is a matter of making yourself and your state of being your first priority. It will bring you so much more when you decide to go for it.”

What is your advice? 

”Don’t make it bigger than it is. Don’t try to change the world single-handedly, but try to change your life with smaller adjustments. Focus on a more aware and more valuable life for yourself, and enjoy it! You will slowly affect more people around you, be like an ocean wave and ultimately make the difference!”

Your cart is empty.