naturalhealthmag.com.au AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HEALTH | 25FINDING
JOY
I
She’s a model, author and health blogger whose
wholesome approach to life has helped her flourish.
NICOLE JOY chats to DANAE DIMITROPOULOU
about embracing change, cultivating health and
developing self-love.It’s fitting that Nicole Joy’s surname
accurately depicts her sunny disposition
and approach to life. On any given
morning, you’re likely to find Joy, 35, at
the beach with her husband, Adrian. The
couple reside on the Sunshine Coast, just
a few minutes’ walk from the beach. Joy
says her home helps her connect with
nature and life’s simple pleasures: being
barefoot on the grass, with the sun on
her face and the salty sea air on her skin.
It’s the iconic Australian lifestyle
and for Joy, it’s the ultimate source of
inspiration and relaxation. “It’s such a
cruisy, laid-back place to be,” she says.
“Most mornings start on the beach,
whether I’m walking my Aussie bulldog,
Nobby, doing some yoga on the sand, or
just chilling while my husband surfs. I
don’t wear shoes that often, and I pretty
much live in a bikini and denim shorts.”
While, for the average person, this
sounds like the idyllic summer holiday,
a sunshine-filled, beachside existence is
what Joy has always known.
Joy grew up in Brisbane, with a
strong influence from her family’s Italian
heritage. From her earliest years, she was
surrounded by her grandparents’ passion
for nutrition and nourishment. “As you
could probably guess, food – and its
preparation – played a large part in mylife,” reflects Joy. “I’m pretty sure this is
why I love to cook. Being with my mum
and nonna in the kitchen was the best.”
Although Joy describes her childhood
as vibrant and full of love, she admits to
losing her way. She spent years struggling
through anxiety, self-esteem issues and,
despite her foundation of nourishment
in her early years, she soon developed
an unhealthy relationship with food.
These dark times led her into a journey of
healing and self-enquiry, which she’s now
able to reflect on.FOOD, DIET AND HEALTH
“[A few years ago] I was in a pretty dark
place with my sense of self and body
perception,” says Joy. “I was on the verge
of competing in those fitness model
competitions, was strictly adhering to
calorie-restrictive diets and everything
I did for my body was because I hated
it, not because I loved and cherished
it. There is a big difference between
the two.”
Joy admits to experimenting with
every diet and putting herself through
endless cycles of restriction. “I have
seriously tried everything,” she says. “I
have found [that] the more rules and
regulations around something... the
harder it is to stick with.”Soon enough, eating became a chore
and she was pummelling into a fear-
based thought pattern. “When mealtimes
become stressful and you have lost the
enjoyment food can bring, then what
you’re doing is not right for you,” she says.
With time, Joy educated herself on
nutrition and she drastically changed
her mindset around food. “I think it’s so
important for us not to be tied down to
a set of rules that can’t be changed. It’s
absurd for us to think that our nutritional
needs won’t evolve over time,” she says.
“We, as individuals, change, so why
wouldn’t the way we eat change over
time? Strict rules and boundaries keep us
behaving the way that we think we should
be, not necessarily who we truly are.”
When Joy came across the National
Geographic Society’s Blue Zone study,
which identified the five areas across the
globe where people consistently live the
longest, she became fascinated with the
findings. “Researchers discovered that
it wasn’t just food that played a key role
in determining whether you saw your
100 th birthday,” she says. “Cultivating
meaningful connections, managing stress
effectively, engaging in work that you
love and exercising regularly were all
powerful contributors.” Joy has worked
to incorporate these principles into her