She’s the bright and bubbly TV personality who’s making waves at Channel 10 but Liv Phyland owes it all to her healthy lifestyle.
“I can’t ever remember not being excited by movement or exercise or even eating well. I grew up with my mum ordering the kids’ chicken nuggets and chips and me ordering the salad sandwiches!” the 30-year-old exclusively tells Who.
Liv may have a body to die for but she’s not about starving herself or focusing on changing herself to fit society’s mould.
“I think the thing I’m most grateful for is my relationship with body image and self-confidence,” she says.
“I think especially in a society that challenges us to change and to be a certain way and be smaller and prettier and skinnier and all of these unrealistic expectations I’m really proud that from a young age I’ve been quite sure of who I am and really stuck by that to be the best version of myself.”
When it comes to her day on a plate though, Liv, confesses she’s “the biggest foodie you’ll probably ever meet.”
“I think about it constantly, I talk about it constantly, I dream about it – it’s quite a bad habit. I eat more than any guy I’ve ever dated and I eat more than my dad – thank God for a good metabolism!” she jokes.
Whilst she’s partial to porridge topped with nuts, seeds and fruits or some form of omelette, Liv’s go-to breakfast is a big green smoothie packed with all sorts of healthy goodies.
“You can fit so many vegetables and fruit in plus some healthy fats like avocado and some protein powder,” she says.
Lunch varies but during lockdown when she was on the Gold Coast, Liv loved to whip up a health nourish bowl full of veggies and haloumi or finish up some leftovers whilst dinner is typically a huge veggie curry or some salmon with vegetables.
“I just try and cram as many vegetables in as possible. I’ve been making a shepherd’s pie but using turkey mince and then I add heaps of vegetables to it and a beautiful tomato sauce and then on top I’ll put mashed sweet potato and pumpkin and bake it. I think because I’m not a huge meat eater I don’t find it as overpowering but it’s actually so great. And then I always have chocolate – I absolutely cannot finish dinner without some form of dessert.”
Snacks are also a big part of Liv’s daily diet, especially with her busy on-the-go lifestyle.
“If I’m going to be out for quite a while like if I’m going straight from a morning boot camp to a meeting, I’ll grab a snack to take with me and that’s where belVita has been really great with their bars,” she says.
“For my afternoon snack I’m the biggest sweet tooth ever so that’s where the belVita Bites are my best friend because they have chocolate through them. Anything with any sort of chocolate is amazing plus they’re quick, easy but also no artificial flavours so that’s a big tick for me.”
She adds: “I also know how much sugar affects me so I try to do options with less sugar or a more raw natural form. I’m mindful of when I overdose on any inflammatory food whether that’s sugar or gluten.”
As for exercise, Liv is a big fan of boxing, fitness boot camps, Pilates and surfing – in fact her ideal day would start at 5am!
“I just love starting my days early. I’m someone that’s most productive, most creative and most energised in the first part of the day so by about 3pm I’m winding down,” she says.
“I don’t put that pressure on that strict routine of ‘I must go the gym and I must do this’ because my body responds so much better when I’m much gentler with it and listen to it,” she adds, explaining that making time for exercise in the morning motivates her for the day ahead.
“Whether it’s boxing or boot camp on the grass near the beach or a Pilates class, I find having something booked in early in the morning really holds you accountable and you can’t hit snooze – the more you hit snooze the more tired you actually are by the time you get up so it means that I have to get out of bed and be somewhere and it’s done by a certain time.”
When it comes to self-care, Liv is a massive advocate for mental health and wellbeing and has said that 2020 has seen many of us feel guilty for feeling bad because others have it so much tougher.
“I think what’s really important is to sift through those feelings and go ‘What is this leading to, why am I going through it?’ because most of your emotions are coming up for a reason,” she says.
“For me I really feel it and then I also have to know where my boundary is so then I need to put into practice certain things that make me happy. It could be a phone call to a friend or jumping in the ocean or forcing myself to write a gratitude list or pumping up my favourite up-beat music and having a dance around or cleaning my face so that I feel clearer in the mind.”
“It’s kind of having that balance of sitting in it and processing it but also having that toolkit of things that really help me and now it’s time to use them!”
With 2021 just around the corner, she adds that she’s all for New Year’s resolutions but not the stereotypical ones like losing weight or going to the gym more.
“I think it’s nice to go into the new year with some intentions. One that’s really come up for me in the last week has been all to do with boundaries in terms of where my energy goes and saying yes to too many things. The year 2021 is the year of creating healthier boundaries.”
When it comes to love, Liv’s most famous ex is arguably former Bondi Vet, Dr Chris Brown.
But despite being a huge fan of the Bachie franchise, don’t expect her to be handing out roses.
“I don’t think it’s probably my style of finding love,” she admits.
“I love the show to watch and I’m friends with a lot of people who have come off it so I truly believe it does work but whether it would work for me, I just don’t think it’s my style. Maybe don’t hold your breath to see me on The Bachelorette or The Bachelor!”
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