Meet Abby Burdett - changing lives one recipe & post at a time.
Abby Burdett or @naturally__abby if you are following her on Instagram is one of those super rare 'influencers' who dedicate their life and social output to genuinely bettering the lives of her followers. She delivers the perfect balance between 'real life', inspiration and her daily 'what i eat' recipes - leaving you wanting more & feeling better for engaging with her posts. It wasn't always rainbows & unicorns for Abby though, like a lots of us she has suffered from mental health challenges but has transformed her life from someone who was afraid of food and people, to someone who felt strong, confident, empowered, fuelled and happy! We caught up with Abby to find out more about her mission to help others in their own journey.
Your name and what you do?
My name is Abby Burdett! I’m a nutrition coaching, foodie content creator and lover of hybrid training (running and weight lifting).
What does the perfect day (doing your sport) look like to you?
My perfect day looks like waking up at 6am, having a delicious bowl of oats for my pre-run fuel, running along the river and watching the sunrise, heading straight into a spicy back workout at the gym and then re-fuelling with my favourite breakfast combo. The rest of the day consists of experimenting with new recipes, creating content and connecting with amazing people from all over the world.
Hybrid Athlete - Marathon & Strength
When was the last time you experienced something like that? (perfect day) & can you give us an insight?
The last time I experienced a day this perfect was at the end of June! I set off on an early morning run with no set distance in mind. My only goal was to keep going until I felt ready to stop and that ending up being my record distance of 30km. I watched the sunrise, saw the world around me wake up and then ended my training with a short shoulder burner. It made me incredibly proud of what my body is capable of and how far I’ve come along my journey. The biggest, most delicious bowl of oats was also consumed after this with all of my favourite toppings to celebrate! (Hint: a blue dinosaur bar was involved)
What age were you & how did you get into (your sport)?
I began strength training and lifting weights at the beginning of 2020 when I was 19. I started with just one goal in mind, to achieve a full body push-up and then before I knew it, I was on a crazy journey of growth and strength. I fell in love with running just one year ago and combined my passion for lifting and running into a hybrid training style!
Do you have a specific career highlight that stands out above the rest?
Reaching 50K on my Instagram was a massive achievement! Knowing that so many people are supporting me, making my recipes and being inspired by my journey simply blows my mind. I never had any desire to grow my account or reach the amount of people I have! My only goal was to help just one person in their own journey so everyday I wake up incredibly grateful.
Two of Abby's amazing Blue Dinosaur recipes!
What is the ultimate goal you are looking to achieve in your sport?
For running, I have currently completed 4 half marathon distances and 1 30km distance so I think it’s no surprise that my next big goal is the full marathon! For strength, my big goals are to deadlift over 1.5x my body weight, achieve 10 pull-ups and keep getting stronger!
Is there anything specific you are currently working on, or need to work on to achieve that goal?
All of my training during this journey so far has been solo. I have planned all of my training schedules, distances, weights and races without a coach! The next step to achieving my big goals is to have the help from an experienced hybrid athlete.
Who inspires you to chase your dreams every day?
This may sound very cliche, but the person who inspires me the most is my past self. I spent many years feeling weak, insecure, anxious and afraid to challenge myself. Now I wake up each morning wanting to make my past-self proud of who I am today. I’m also inspired by Fergus Crawley, Lucy Davis, Benjamin Haldon and Nick bare who are all insane hybrid athletes!
Abby has just released a 103 page e-book!
Do you have a favourite Blue Dinosaur Bar or Bite?
This is the hardest question ever haha! There are so many bars that I absolutely love but if I had to pick just one, it would be the Apple Pie Bar. The combination of apple, cinnamon, coconut and dates is just 15/10.
If you could create our next Bar, what would it be?
Out of all the combinations I could create, I would make a peanut butter and banana bar!