Healthy Tips with Toni to Roll into the New Year

Are you ready to get healthy in 2020?

Not only physically, but mentally too?

This past year has been quite a blur; between working a full-time job, being a mother, and blogging, my days are fully loaded. I vowed to myself for 2020 that some of my personal goals were to adapt a healthier lifestyle by cooking more, increasing my water intake, being more active, and taking better care of my mental health.

To help me on my 2020 journey, I chatted with Toni Marinucci, a registered dietitian living in Westchester, New York. Toni has been an avid lifestyle blogger with Tips with Toni for over seven years and provides a variety of services to help clients eat clean and relieve stress.

What inspired you to become a dietitian?

Growing up I was overweight and insecure. Unsure who to turn to, I started reading “health” magazines at a young age. This led me down a dark path and a never-ending cycle of overeating, restricting, binging, and excessive exercise. I didn’t have a healthy relationship with food or my body. Eventually, I changed the way I viewed food and instead of using it as punishment I started viewing it as fuel. When I did that, I started to find the balance in my eating habits. As a result, I was happier and more energized. I started to accept my body for what it was, and my confidence skyrocketed. I knew I was onto something great and wanted to learn more, which led to my decision to go to school to become a registered dietitian.

You’re a full-time dietitian working for yourself as a #GirlBoss. How did you come about this decision?

I officially turned my blog into a business in December 2017. I’d been posting free content for years and people came to know me as the person they could trust to get reliable nutrition information. I received many emails, DMs, and questions about how someone could eat healthier, lose weight, or manage their medical conditions, such as diabetes. Answering their questions was helpful, but if I truly wanted to make an impact and significant difference in their life, I needed to be able to coach them and put out MORE content MORE frequently. The only way to do that would be to devote myself to this full time. I had this vision in mind and knew that if I wanted to get to a place where I could financially support myself and do what I loved so much, I needed a plan and I needed guidance.

Being my own boss is something I dreamed about since I was a teenager, it’s why I became a dietitian. But I got caught up in fear, in “needing financial security/benefits,” and ended up working in hospitals, nursing homes, corporate wellness, daycare centers, and even outpatient, none of which were on my terms and with the flexibility to help people the way I knew they needed—time, energy, education, application strategies, and attention. I had listened to a dozen podcasts, personal development books, and LIVE streams and discovered that the next step was to get a mentor, so I did. I invested thousands of dollars into business coaches to help keep me accountable and work my way to a place of confidence to leave my full-time job and make Tips with Toni my one and only job. I remember flying home from a Mastermind weekend retreat, my second one since becoming a business owner, and thinking of every single “what if” scenario. Something in my gut was telling me to stop thinking about the possible outcomes, but rather to focus on the “how.” It was then that I made up a date in my mind, which motivated me to work toward it. February 2, 2019, I took a leap of faith and went all in and turned my side hustle into a full-time business.

I didn’t think my parents were going to be supportive, but surprisingly they were. See, my dad ended up as a mason contractor and although he loves his job, it wasn’t by choice. His mother died when he was five and his father was absent, so at age eighteen he couldn’t get further with his education because he had to work to support himself. At the time construction was what fell in his lap. He worked VERY hard to put me through college, so I had more choices, which he didn’t have. But when I told him about my decision, he was proud and excited. He said, “Now is the best time for you. You’re young, not married, and you don’t have kids. It makes sense.”

How did you go about growing your social media following?

Tips with Toni started when I was a junior in college. I remember sitting in nutrition class and overhearing chatter about the latest, greatest fad diet, and the students complaining about the “BS” claims Facebook feeds and magazines were able to make—“Drink this tea and lose 10 pounds in a week!,” “Eat this superfood and you’ll never need a doctor again!,” “Just exercise every day and you can eat whatever you want!”

Don’t get me wrong, I was as frustrated as they were, but I remember thinking, Complaining won’t change it. So later that day I went home and recorded my very first YouTube video, entitled “Whole Grains.” I started educating the public about the FACTS about nutrition and did my absolute best to teach them what foods they CAN eat in hopes of removing the fears they had as a result of falling victim to diet culture. After I started a YouTube channel, I created a Facebook page, then an Instagram, and later a blog. Those platforms have grown to other platforms, like my podcast and e-mail list. Since I’ve been consistently puttingout content, people know me as Tips with Toni and share my content with their family and friends. All of my growth is 100 percent organic from showing up daily for almost a decade!

What is one challenge you faced that you never thought would be as hard as it was?

I’m in it! Earlier this year I made a decision to write a book. It’s in the early stages, but I never knew how challenging it would be. For one, I prefer speaking and delivering value via video. Even though I’ve been writing content for a while now, it’s still difficult for me to express everything I want without feeling like I could do a better job getting my point across. I also didn’t realize writing a book about my life would force me to revisit some unpleasant places and really peel the layers back on who I am as a person and how I’ve come to be this way. I have to get vulnerable and share some very private parts of myself if I want to help people, and that’s the hard part.

Living in the Westchester area, do you feel as though you miss out on certain opportunities or networking experiences by not being in the city?

Not at all! Before I left the corporate world, I started going to local networking events I found being advertised on Eventbrite, Facebook, or Instagram. From there I met incredible people who connected me with other incredible people and that’s how I continue to grow my circle.

We all have bad days, but you make every day seem bright. Who/what motivates you to continue to push forward and remain positive?

I truly believe when things feel like they’re happening to you, they’re really happening for you. I look back on all the tough times and reflect on how they’ve shaped me to be who I am and because I worked through them, I’m able to help others do the same. So, when I’m having a bad day, I look for the lesson in it and find comfort in that. I remind myself that “this too shall pass,” and that I’ll come out stronger as a result.

You’re happy, healthy, in love, with an awarding business. How do you balance it all?

I am very self-disciplined and take full advantage of my time. I prioritize myself over my relationship and my business and as a result I show up as my best self in both. Everybody wins :).

Being a mom, having a career, plus working on my passion business, I have minimal time to eat the best or cook often. What advice would you give someone like me who’s looking to make healthier food choices?

Drop the all-or-nothing mind-set and take note of the little things, because they count a lot more than you think. You’ll feel significantly better by making small changes such as drinking more water, limiting added sugar/fried foods, and/or eating more vegetables daily. My guess is you know at least one thing you have the power to do better, so start there. Work on it every single day until you gain the confidence to move on to the next thing.

Living in a fast-paced city like New York, you know the stress levels are high, especially for women because we have so many boxes we want to check and goals to meet. What do you recommend for us to stay calm and stress-free?

Establish a morning routine and incorporate journaling/meditation with it. It’s difficult to begin, but once you get in the habit of doing it, you’ll look forward to it. Very often women get caught up in taking care of others and feeling like the whole day was spent putting out fires, so by the end of it they have nothing left to give to themselves. When we start the day alone with our thoughts, we become proactive and either feel 1) more capable of putting out those fires, or 2) we approach the day in a way that prevents them from starting in the first place.

When you’re not “Tips with Toni” what are you doing? What do you like to do for fun?

Tips with Toni is me! I am committed to healthier living and get to showcase that no matter what I’m doing. I get to show up every day as myself and have fun, which is a really beautiful thing.

How important is long-term goal planning to you? What are you goals for 2020?

Very! Having a vision keeps me going. My goals for 2020 include more public speaking, releasing my book, and offering more courses to help those who can’t afford to work with me one on one.

Baby-making season is near. “Wintertime, hello” for those of us who are trying to conceive (TTC). What advice would you share on ways to begin prepping the baby oven and staying healthy physically, mentally, and emotionally?

Self-care! You matter the most. That baby can’t be healthy if you’re not, remember that.

Emotionally: Communicate your needs with those involved. Join a support group on Facebook or in your community.

Physically: Talk to your gynecologist about starting on a prenatal vitamin. Begin to incorporate foods that are high in folic acid, such as leafy greens, legumes, eggs, and beets. Your baby will need these during the first trimester so why wait? Look into prenatal yoga classes and/or begin walking daily.

Mentally: Manage your stress by delegating tasks, practicing meditation, and get adequate sleep.

How are you helping other women to be empowered?

Demonstrating what we’re capable of daily and showing that it’s possible to do whatever you set your mind to. It’s my mission to help women see their worth and live up to it. I do this by helping them find that first step and giving them ideas for the next one.

Are you accepting new clients? If so, how would they reach out to you?

I am! However, spots are limited so I strongly advise applying to my one-on-one program sooner rather than later. You can learn more at www.tipswithtoni.com/coaching or e-mail me with questions at TipsWithToni@gmail.com.

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a Curvy Virgo: 5 minute Q&A

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

Brush my teeth, drink thirty-two ounces of water, pour myself a cup of coffee, feed my two cats, Joey and Chloe, journal, meditate, pray, review my day.

What would you tell your twenty-one-year-old self?

Stop selling yourself short and living in fear.

If you could invite any woman to dinner who would it be?

Kelly Clarkson. She is the sweetest, kindest, most hard-working, funny, lovable, genuine person I see in the media. I would love to just be around her energy to ask her how she stays so humble and true to herself through it all.

Best advice you have received?

Invest in coaching. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I wasn’t mentored by people who’ve been through what I’m going through. With the right guidance you’ll save a ton of time, money, energy, and frustration, and you’ll be a whole lot closer to achieving your goals.

Life motto you live by?

You get the life you think you deserve.