Today on the blog, Allison Mcnamara shares how getting in shape helped her grow her business.
Allison is the founder of Maraa skincare line infused with a proprietary algae sourced from France and Ireland. You may have seen Mara products at Sephora: They are beautiful, inspired by the sea and easy to use, which means they focus on cleansing, treating and hydrating the skin.
If you are a fan of double cleaning you have to try it Chia Moringa Enzyme Cleansing Oil. Luxurious, silky and effective. Take it sea silk lip balm while you are there.
Regardless, after focusing on health and wellness, Allison realized how certain mindset shifts and audits of her personal life were also intertwined with her professional life, and with big results.
If you need a change, whether in your professional or personal life, this article is for you.
With that, let’s welcome Allison to the blog.
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How Being in the Best Shape Helped Me Focus on Business
Never doubt your ability to transform your own life.
At 39, I’ve lived in Paris, experienced three career changes, gotten married and divorced, hosted red carpets like the Oscars, and launched a now-global skincare line. MARA. But one thing remained steadfast as a throughline through each of these rebirths: I could never lose weight.
Now, before you come to me, I know that I have never been considered obese. And, for the most part, he seemed in pretty good health. For starters, I had a BMI just above average for my age. And the ladder reached the top edge for my height. Obviously I was in spec. But I was never truly happy in my own skin. I was constantly fighting the urge to consume with excessive restrictions, and in the process I was accidentally consuming twice as much, all while putting myself through high-intensity cardio workouts and sacrificing sleep for a 6 a.m. cycling class. This led to burnout at work and in life. And all in the name of losing weight without even losing a pound on the scale.
So on the eve of my 36th birthday, I vowed to change my habits, my state of mind and my relationship with food. Yes, I lost a lot of weight in two years. But the side effects of my transformation were much bigger than losing a few jean sizes.
My wellness journey, which I detailed on my Substackcame with an awakening that impacted every aspect of my life, including my business and relationships. I really had a kind of enthusiasm that I applied to every vertical that I felt stuck in. And I released old patterns, habits and the familiar. I came out of it as a different person – I finally had the courage and confidence to leave an unhealthy marriage, I did the hard work of reviewing my own leadership as a boss, and I accessed the friends and business connections in my circle. Here are the things I’ve learned along the way that have allowed me to double my business, streamline my work-life balance, foster a healthy new romance, create new friendships, and strengthen old ones based on my new journey.
Identify the enablers
When it came to my initial wellness journey, I had to identify what was stopping me from achieving my goals, which we’ll call the “enablers” to moving forward. Enablers are vices, habits, or people that allow you to continue making the same mistake, without fault or responsibility. And in order to identify them, you need to track your habits and make a list of your goals, then cross-reference them. These can be seemingly small, like having ice cream on hand when you know you’ll always eat the whole pint. Or not having a packed lunch with protein to go into town with the office snack stash.
My easily identifiable problem was that I was fasting intermittently, but had sugary creamer in my coffee. This spiked my blood sugar and put me on the hamster wheel where I craved more sugar. At lunch, I wasn’t in the mood to eat anything nutritious. I wanted to continue the sugar high and ordered sneakily unhealthy things like smoothies or a peanut butter protein bar. And whatever office dessert was lying around in the kitchen that week.
By not consuming enough real protein throughout the day, my energy levels would plummet around 3 p.m., making my after-work exercises less impactful and leading me to gorge on whatever I could get my hands on before dinner. The change was simple, but monumental: a little organic whole milk in my coffee, pure protein like a steak or an egg to break my fast, then more protein and a diverse choice of vegetables at lunch. No crashes, no incentive to over-consume calories and more clarity were the immediate things I noticed.
I then applied the same goal to my business: what are stopping me from growing? Who or what are the factors preventing me from moving to the next level? I identified a combination of several types: people underperforming in their roles, myself not providing clear direction to achieve the results I was looking for for fear of coming across as a “bad boss”, doing things myself instead of teaching others how to do them, over-commitment, and a completely inadequate 3PL that made my logistical growth a nightmare.
I also looked closely at the relationships closest to me. Do they support me as I support them? Are their habits self-sabotaging and lowering the frequency I want to emit? Do I feel happy, fulfilled and lighter after spending time with them? Do they allow others to continue making poor choices because difficult conversations are uncomfortable?
Focus on whole foods
Food is fuel, and the cleaner your diet, the better your brain will work. I’ve been a victim of every diet trend – Jenny Craig, the Special K diet, the juice cleanse… It’s taken me 36 years (with about 20 years of being an unhealthy vegetarian) to realize that whole foods are still your best friend and that you need to prioritize your protein for muscle building. My brain fog is completely gone and I feel more awake and aware than ever. When in doubt, take the egg, apple, tuna on anything processed in a bag that you have to open.
Control consumption
A big principle I initially followed to be in a slight calorie deficit in the beginning was to eat 30% less. A simple concept, really, that has taken me very far! You can still enjoy all the wonderful things life has to offer, with just 30% less. Enter: food, snacks, alcohol. Boire was a paid actor in many of my past relationships. And while I still enjoy fun nights out with friends, I’ve cut down on my drinking significantly. Bosses can’t have hangovers at work, it’s truly hell.
Learning that I could operate on 30% less also pushed me to evaluate how I was spending money on my business. “Do we really need this?” is a question I continue to ask myself. How can we operate with less and streamline efficiency to maximize results? This is especially critical for those working in the CPG field. Especially as rising rates and COGs loom in the midst of a volatile market. If you can work with less, do so. Spend extra time optimizing your feeds, use AI as a resource, and outsource manual research to ChatGPT. Businesses and brains work best when they aren’t filled to the brim.
Mindset exercise
The best exercise is the one you enjoy doing. For my part, I found Pilates and not only has it put me in the best shape of my life, but I’m also looking forward to it. For women, low-impact exercises with medium to heavy weight can be truly transformative. Consistency is key, so create a schedule and stick to it! It took me almost 6 years of consistent Pilates, 3-4 times a week, to get the results I was looking for. So know that good things take time.
Prioritizing exercise as a founder and CEO is non-negotiable. You will be kinder, calmer and have more energy to lead your business to success.
Manifestation Mindset
Your mind is so powerful that your thoughts create your reality. In fact, reality is only what your individual mind perceives. This is why your reality and the truth vary from person to person. Once you have released the catalysts and are in a healthy headspace, begin to imagine yourself in your new life. Joe Dispenza has a chapter on creating “mini-movies” to replay over and over until you reach them.
My first mini-movie would be to imagine myself getting dressed for the day, loving what I saw in my reflection, and putting on an outfit with ease and without insecurity. I would then move through the day, enjoying my new kitchen, appreciating the way the light poured in from outside, and having a loving relationship to share my space and time with.
From there, I went to Sephora and touched and smelled and interacted with my products on the shelf and so on. I imagined every little detail, and then I started living my life like it was this mini movie. And you know what? After about a year, I realized that my life was actually a mini-movie. And so it was time to add a part 2 to set new goals – to manifest the next step in me.
There is magic in the mind, you just have to commit to omitting the right frequency.
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If you listen to The HIM & HER Show, you may have heard Michael say that he’s “never met anyone whose whole life didn’t improve after getting in shape.” Meaning, business, family and other aspects of life improve along with your fitness and health.
We hope you liked this article from Allison. Make sure to follow her And Mara on Instagram to hear about new products and get a glimpse into Allison’s life as a beauty founder.
x, The skinny confidential
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