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Nutritionist, Model + Actress Nicole Fiscella Shares How Barre3 Supports Her Full Life
Nicole Fiscella has an endless and compelling energy for everything life has to offer. She’s a mother of three, a model, an actress (you might recognize her from Gossip Girl!), a Certified Nutritionist, and an avid traveler. Nicole’s website is a treasure trove of inspiration, and it’s one of our go-tos for healthy and delicious recipes, travel recommendations, and more.
We sat down with Nicole to learn all about her journey—what inspired her interest in nutrition, how her perspective on exercise is shifting, and why asking for help has allowed her to show up more fully for her family and for herself.
BARRE3: Many people know you as Isabel Coates on Gossip Girl. How did that experience inspire your work as a lifestyle blogger and your subsequent pursuits since being on the show?
NICOLE: A lot of people probably don’t know this, but being on Gossip Girl was a totally random thing for me. I was working as a model at the time and my agent told me there was a new show coming up and that I should go audition for it. Aside from television commercials, I had never auditioned for anything in my life.
The opportunity kind of fell into my lap, and being on Gossip Girl showed me how much I love video as a medium. I have a lot of personality and I always knew that I wanted to be myself on TV, but acting and playing a role was a fun challenge and I learned so much from the experience.
BARRE3: You write that your interest in health and nutrition arose from necessity, of having to concoct your own on-the-go health hacks to keep your energy up during long days working as a model and actress. Can you share a little more about your interest in nutrition, your food philosophy, and what inspired you to pursue it as a career?
NICOLE: Both of my parents are physicians, so healthy eating was always an important part of my life. From a young age, my parents taught me to pay attention to what was going into the food that we were eating.
Because of that, I always ate well growing up. When I went to college, I took a course in nutrition and loved it immediately. Though I got my undergraduate degree in anthropology, I went back to school and got my Master’s in Nutrition from the University of Bridgeport. I did all my school work online while I was on Gossip Girl, doing my homework between shoots or sometimes at night, and taking tests and writing papers on the weekends as well.
As for my food philosophy, I truly believe in bio-individuality and that people should eat what makes them feel good. As for myself, I eat meat, but I’m gluten-free and mainly grain-free as well. But I have friends who thrive on vegetarian and vegan diets as well as macrobiotic and paleo diets. I think it’s really about experimenting with yourself, figuring out what makes you feel good or not so good, and let that guide your way.
There’s so much information out there these days telling us what and how to eat, so I encourage people to tune out that noise and pay attention to their own experience. Again, I’m a proponent of bio-individuality and following what makes you feel best.
BARRE3: Among the many challenges this year has brought, one is having to manage the overlapping of our personal and professional lives. How are you finding time to pour into yourself while also managing work and family?
NICOLE: I’ve always been someone who can’t sit still. I think that having three kids works for someone like me because I always like to be doing things, but I do have to manage all of the activity that having a larger family and lots of commitments brings. Every minute of my day is planned out, and I’m incredibly fortunate to have other people helping me. Whether it’s someone supporting me with the kids or cleaning, I’ve always had people that I can rely upon if I need to get other things done.
It’s important to ask for help when we need support. I don’t want to run myself into the ground and not be able to take care of myself. When I take better care of myself, I’m able to better take care of my family. If that means I need to outsource a few things, that’s what I’ll do. That’s a big part of the balance.
BARRE3: Have you found it challenging to ask for help?
NICOLE: It has been a challenge for me. Being someone who’s always in motion, who always wants to do everything and try everything, it’s easy to let things pile up. I’m totally there with the mom guilt, but I realized that showing up as my best self requires me not being with my children sometimes. That guilt started going away when I truly understood that to be a better parent I needed to take better care of myself.
BARRE3: Can you share a little about your relationship to fitness before starting barre3?
NICOLE: Along with healthy eating, I’ve also always been into exercise. It’s an important part of my life, but it’s interesting, because right now, I can feel my relationship to fitness shifting. Just like I’m constantly in motion, I’m also always pushing myself with exercise. I want to do more and see how much I can do. I want to see how long I can work out for and how effective I can make each workout.
There were definitely times when I was addicted to exercise, but now, it’s just a part of my life and I’m okay if I don’t fit in all that I wanted to do. I used to be extremely strict with myself—if I was going out for a run, and I was at 39 minutes, I’d tell myself that I’d have to make it to 40 minutes. That’s definitely changed. I’ve ebbed and flowed and come to a place where if I have other commitments or if my workout just doesn’t happen for some reason, I can find peace with that. I’m still making the effort, and for me, that’s enough.
BARRE3: What about the barre3 workout has resonated with you the most?
NICOLE: My favorite part of barre3 is being able to pick the time you want to work out for. Sometimes, I’ll only have 10 minutes, but it’s great to be able to press play to a workout and feel like I’ve done something good for my body. That also gives me flexibility with my workout. On some days, barre3 will be my workout for the day, but on others, I’ll use it to bookend other workouts as either a warm-up or a cool-down. Having the option to explore barre3 in that way—either as an entire workout or a complement to something else—has been really great.
Barre3 has also helped me embrace the mental aspect and benefits of movement. Before, I was focused solely on how exercise was impacting me physically, but I always feel more centered and aligned after doing barre3.
BARRE3: What new practices or routines have you invited into your life that are helping you navigate the challenges and changes of 2020? Are there other practices that were already in your life that you find yourself leaning on more?
NICOLE: I’ve always meditated, but in the past, my practice was inconsistent. There would be times when I would meditate consistently for a month and then my practice would fall away, but I’ve really leaned into meditation during this time more than ever. I’ve also loved combining meditation with movement and have been exploring supplementing my practice with yoga.
As I’ve begun focusing more on how exercise supports my mental health, I’ve started to incorporate this focus on meditation and yoga with my usual workouts—whether that’s barre3, running, or boxing. I’ve found that combining these practices addresses my physical health while also keeping me grounded.
B3 MAGAZINE: You’re a frequent and passionate traveler. How have you found inspiration while staying at home?
NICOLE: My husband and I have always said that the three pillars for our family are health, education, and travel. That’s what we want to instill in our children. I’ve definitely been missing travel during this time, but I’m fortunate to be in Colorado right now, and so I’m spending a lot of time hiking and being out in nature. There’s so much beauty here—I’ve been a city person my whole life, and this is making me realize how much I need to be able to touch trees and walk in grass. My husband and I are both avid hikers too, so being able to walk outside together and with our children has been great for all of us.
B3 MAGAZINE: We love going to your website for advice on all things wellness, cooking, and travel. Do you have any tips or words of comfort that you’d like to share?
NICOLE: As much as possible, I think it’s important to connect with others. I’ve been connecting with old friends virtually during this time and that’s been so good for me. So I encourage you to foster connection, because that’s something that we’ve been missing so much during this time. Whatever it looks like for you, try using this time to maintain connection with others.
Thank you Nicole! You can follow along with Nicole on Instagram or head to her website for tips, ideas, and inspiration on all things travel, nutrition and fitness.
Ready to try barre3? Find your local studio, or get started online with a 15-day free trial today!
Nicole Fiscella has an endless and compelling energy for everything life has to offer. She’s a mother of three, a model, an actress (you might recognize her from Gossip Girl!), a Certified Nutritionist, and an avid traveler. Nicole’s website is a treasure trove of inspiration, and it’s one of our go-tos for healthy and delicious recipes, travel recommendations, and more.
We sat down with Nicole to learn all about her journey—what inspired her interest in nutrition, how her perspective on exercise is shifting, and why asking for help has allowed her to show up more fully for her family and for herself.
BARRE3: Many people know you as Isabel Coates on Gossip Girl. How did that experience inspire your work as a lifestyle blogger and your subsequent pursuits since being on the show?
NICOLE: A lot of people probably don’t know this, but being on Gossip Girl was a totally random thing for me. I was working as a model at the time and my agent told me there was a new show coming up and that I should go audition for it. Aside from television commercials, I had never auditioned for anything in my life.
The opportunity kind of fell into my lap, and being on Gossip Girl showed me how much I love video as a medium. I have a lot of personality and I always knew that I wanted to be myself on TV, but acting and playing a role was a fun challenge and I learned so much from the experience.
BARRE3: You write that your interest in health and nutrition arose from necessity, of having to concoct your own on-the-go health hacks to keep your energy up during long days working as a model and actress. Can you share a little more about your interest in nutrition, your food philosophy, and what inspired you to pursue it as a career?
NICOLE: Both of my parents are physicians, so healthy eating was always an important part of my life. From a young age, my parents taught me to pay attention to what was going into the food that we were eating.
Because of that, I always ate well growing up. When I went to college, I took a course in nutrition and loved it immediately. Though I got my undergraduate degree in anthropology, I went back to school and got my Master’s in Nutrition from the University of Bridgeport. I did all my school work online while I was on Gossip Girl, doing my homework between shoots or sometimes at night, and taking tests and writing papers on the weekends as well.
As for my food philosophy, I truly believe in bio-individuality and that people should eat what makes them feel good. As for myself, I eat meat, but I’m gluten-free and mainly grain-free as well. But I have friends who thrive on vegetarian and vegan diets as well as macrobiotic and paleo diets. I think it’s really about experimenting with yourself, figuring out what makes you feel good or not so good, and let that guide your way.
There’s so much information out there these days telling us what and how to eat, so I encourage people to tune out that noise and pay attention to their own experience. Again, I’m a proponent of bio-individuality and following what makes you feel best.
BARRE3: Among the many challenges this year has brought, one is having to manage the overlapping of our personal and professional lives. How are you finding time to pour into yourself while also managing work and family?
NICOLE: I’ve always been someone who can’t sit still. I think that having three kids works for someone like me because I always like to be doing things, but I do have to manage all of the activity that having a larger family and lots of commitments brings. Every minute of my day is planned out, and I’m incredibly fortunate to have other people helping me. Whether it’s someone supporting me with the kids or cleaning, I’ve always had people that I can rely upon if I need to get other things done.
It’s important to ask for help when we need support. I don’t want to run myself into the ground and not be able to take care of myself. When I take better care of myself, I’m able to better take care of my family. If that means I need to outsource a few things, that’s what I’ll do. That’s a big part of the balance.
BARRE3: Have you found it challenging to ask for help?
NICOLE: It has been a challenge for me. Being someone who’s always in motion, who always wants to do everything and try everything, it’s easy to let things pile up. I’m totally there with the mom guilt, but I realized that showing up as my best self requires me not being with my children sometimes. That guilt started going away when I truly understood that to be a better parent I needed to take better care of myself.
BARRE3: Can you share a little about your relationship to fitness before starting barre3?
NICOLE: Along with healthy eating, I’ve also always been into exercise. It’s an important part of my life, but it’s interesting, because right now, I can feel my relationship to fitness shifting. Just like I’m constantly in motion, I’m also always pushing myself with exercise. I want to do more and see how much I can do. I want to see how long I can work out for and how effective I can make each workout.
There were definitely times when I was addicted to exercise, but now, it’s just a part of my life and I’m okay if I don’t fit in all that I wanted to do. I used to be extremely strict with myself—if I was going out for a run, and I was at 39 minutes, I’d tell myself that I’d have to make it to 40 minutes. That’s definitely changed. I’ve ebbed and flowed and come to a place where if I have other commitments or if my workout just doesn’t happen for some reason, I can find peace with that. I’m still making the effort, and for me, that’s enough.
BARRE3: What about the barre3 workout has resonated with you the most?
NICOLE: My favorite part of barre3 is being able to pick the time you want to work out for. Sometimes, I’ll only have 10 minutes, but it’s great to be able to press play to a workout and feel like I’ve done something good for my body. That also gives me flexibility with my workout. On some days, barre3 will be my workout for the day, but on others, I’ll use it to bookend other workouts as either a warm-up or a cool-down. Having the option to explore barre3 in that way—either as an entire workout or a complement to something else—has been really great.
Barre3 has also helped me embrace the mental aspect and benefits of movement. Before, I was focused solely on how exercise was impacting me physically, but I always feel more centered and aligned after doing barre3.
BARRE3: What new practices or routines have you invited into your life that are helping you navigate the challenges and changes of 2020? Are there other practices that were already in your life that you find yourself leaning on more?
NICOLE: I’ve always meditated, but in the past, my practice was inconsistent. There would be times when I would meditate consistently for a month and then my practice would fall away, but I’ve really leaned into meditation during this time more than ever. I’ve also loved combining meditation with movement and have been exploring supplementing my practice with yoga.
As I’ve begun focusing more on how exercise supports my mental health, I’ve started to incorporate this focus on meditation and yoga with my usual workouts—whether that’s barre3, running, or boxing. I’ve found that combining these practices addresses my physical health while also keeping me grounded.
B3 MAGAZINE: You’re a frequent and passionate traveler. How have you found inspiration while staying at home?
NICOLE: My husband and I have always said that the three pillars for our family are health, education, and travel. That’s what we want to instill in our children. I’ve definitely been missing travel during this time, but I’m fortunate to be in Colorado right now, and so I’m spending a lot of time hiking and being out in nature. There’s so much beauty here—I’ve been a city person my whole life, and this is making me realize how much I need to be able to touch trees and walk in grass. My husband and I are both avid hikers too, so being able to walk outside together and with our children has been great for all of us.
B3 MAGAZINE: We love going to your website for advice on all things wellness, cooking, and travel. Do you have any tips or words of comfort that you’d like to share?
NICOLE: As much as possible, I think it’s important to connect with others. I’ve been connecting with old friends virtually during this time and that’s been so good for me. So I encourage you to foster connection, because that’s something that we’ve been missing so much during this time. Whatever it looks like for you, try using this time to maintain connection with others.
Thank you Nicole! You can follow along with Nicole on Instagram or head to her website for tips, ideas, and inspiration on all things travel, nutrition and fitness.
Ready to try barre3? Find your local studio, or get started online with a 15-day free trial today!
