The Real Healthy Lives of Sydney: Lauren Hannaford, Former Elite Gymnast & Founder of FHIT

First up, briefly tell us a bit about yourself and what you do!

My name is Lauren Hannaford from Sydney and I am the creator of FHIT by Lauren Hannaford, an online workout streaming platform.

I grew up as an elite gymnast so exercise has been a passion of mine from a very early age. I have also been a performer for The Wiggles which was a lot of fun as performing has also been a huge love of mine since I was young. It is so amazing that I now get to blend my love of fitness and performing all in one to help encourage all of my members to focus on themselves, their health and to help them become the strongest, fittest version of themselves.

What time do you wake up most days and how many hours of sleep do you aim for?

I usually wake up at 6:15am to get the day going. I absolutely loooove my sleep but I function best if I have had 5/6 hours sleep. Shame I know!!! I wish it were 8 or 9 haha.
I actually bought myself a Phillips light which you can set to turn on at a certain time of the morning to wake you up. I have it on the sunrise setting and sit it next to the window sill so it is just like as if the sun was coming up. This has the absolute best for winter as it is so dark in the morning.

Your absolute favourite healthy cafe in Sydney is?

Huxton’s in Bronte - They are constantly changing their menu so there is always something new and delicious to eat. I do find it hard to go past the omelet though. It may not fall directly into the healthy category, but their Lamington’s are to die for!!! SO YUM!!

Best place to get a green juice or smoothie in Sydney?

Melonhead in Coogee is my go to smoothie place. I am a creature of habit so i get the Protein punch every time I go there. I love it so much that I experimented at home and made my own version to share with my FHIT by Lauren Hannaford members on my blog. There are no surprises that has very quickly become everyone’s favourite also. My Banananut Protein Power smoothie is simple, quick and DELICIOUS!!

If you could only wear one brand of activewear for the rest of your life it would be…

P.E Nation for sure!! Every piece they create is so effortlessly cool and comfortable. I spend waaayy too much time on their website haha.

What’s the one beauty or wellness treatment you can’t live without? And your favourite place to have it done?

Just a simple massage at Massage by the Sea is my go to. Unfortunately, I don’t spend enough time on treatments for myself (thanks for the reminder) but if there is one that is my go to then it would be a massage. It is the best time for me to force myself to slow down and regroup in a relaxing way.

What beauty treatment/ wellbeing activity would you love to try but haven’t got around to yet?

I am pretty hopeless at getting regular treatments to look after my skin so I would love to make more effort to that but in particular i would love to try the micro skin needling. I have heard great things about it really rejuvenating your skin.

You’ve got a big event in 7 days time that you need to look incredible for. What’s your plan of attack to look & feel your absolute best?

Train regularly, eat healthy and drink lots of water which is what I try to do everyday anyway but maybe I just become a bit more conscious of it. Also…. EARLY NIGHTS to get allll the zzzzz’s! I can be a real night owl and don’t really need a whole heap of sleep to be on my A game, but sometimes it does catch up with you so I’d be a bit more conscious about getting more sleep. Lastly….It is probably the time that I will get myself to the beautician for a skin treatment.

If you could have the ultimate day of wellness & happiness in Sydney what would it involve and where would you go?

Ooooh most definitely have the day with my husband. How it would look would be - Wake up early to do one of my FHIT by Lauren Hannaford workouts then walk up the road for a coffee. Followed The Full Body Facial at The Langham’s Day Spa by Chuan.

What’s your dream wellness vacay?

I would looooove to go to Tahiti with my husband and completely unwind by relaxing by the pool, eating fresh food, getting a spa treatment every second day and going on all the adventures the island has to offer. We would of course keep up our FHIT workouts but being able to do that on the deck of a bungalow in the sunshine and then dive straight in the water would be absolute heaven.