By Lauren Keating
Working women have their plates full. We juggle careers, homes, relationships, and children. Then, we are encouraged to exercise, eat right, and get enough sleep at night. It’s a lot to digest, and “doing it all” can cause burnout. As a result, our productivity in the workplace is often the space that suffers.
In a world that prioritizes hustle over health, two women are on a mission to redefine wellness for female leaders. Melanie Samuels and Melissa Coulier, co-founders of Live Well Lead Well, have combined their personal health journeys with professional expertise to create a holistic approach to nutrition, movement, and mindfulness.
"I think there’s a lot more societal pressure on females to overextend,” Samuels said. “And so the expectations of doing it all, especially being mothers, partners, and the pressure of putting others first and then also being on a team where you worry about so many people, that generally speaking, your needs all go to the wayside.”
From Personal Struggles to Professional Passion
Samuels’ journey began with overcoming an eating disorder that originated in her teenage years. After a decade-long career in television production, she found herself revisiting unhealthy eating patterns amidst the high-pressure environment of Hollywood.
Witnessing firsthand the industry’s impact on body image, she recognized the need for a sustainable and balanced approach to health, particularly for those in demanding careers.
“This sparked the passion that I had for health and pursuing the idea of what this balanced lifestyle that people talk about could even look like,” Samuels said. “And also realized the need for this information for people in fast-paced and high-stress environments which typically neglect the idea of health and prioritize health, because it’s such a hustle-first culture.”
This realization led her back to school to study holistic nutrition, where she discovered the concept of bio-individuality—the idea that everybody has unique nutritional needs. This shift in perspective not only helped her heal but also inspired her to guide other women toward personalized wellness solutions as a functional nutritionist and wellness expert.
“That took so much pressure off of what had been fed to me from the diet culture, from a young age, because it celebrated this individualism and celebrated the nuance and nutrition,” she added.
Coulier’s path to holistic health stemmed from her battle with lupus, an autoimmune disease that caused chronic pain and frequent hospital visits. As a commercial photographer in the competitive Los Angeles industry, she relied on medication to manage her condition—until her body stopped responding.
When her actor husband, Dave Coulier, met Samuels on the set of Fuller House, the women were introduced and quickly formed a connection. It was through Samuels’ guidance that she discovered the power of food as medicine.
Over the course of three years, she learned to lower inflammation through tailored nutrition, eventually becoming medication-free.
“I had only known my body to have pain,” Coulier said. “And so when this realization happened I was like, we have to help other women.”
Inspired by her transformation, Coulier pursued further education to become a certified Function First Pain-Free Movement Specialist and breath coach to help others manage pain through mindful movement.
LiveWell LeadWell:
A Holistic Approach to Wellness
Founded in 2020, Live Well Lead Well initially focused on working with women suffering from inflammation. However, recognizing a greater need for holistic wellness among female leaders, the women pivoted their approach to address the unique challenges women face in high-pressure careers.
The company offers a three-pillar system —bio-individual nutrition, functional movement, and mindfulness—to provide a comprehensive strategy for achieving sustainable health and maintaining well-being while excelling professionally.
“I truly believe that the body is like a holistic unit,” Coulier said. “And you can’t just treat one thing and not the other, there has to be some type of nutrition, mind, body movement, connection in order for everything to work properly.”
1. Personalized Nutrition
Live Well Lead Well emphasizes the importance of individualized nutrition. Recognizing that hormonal fluctuations and metabolic differences require customized approaches, they teach women to identify their own food triggers, stabilize blood sugar levels, and nourish their bodies in ways that optimize energy and focus.
“Our hormones are doing more of a roller coaster throughout the day where men have more steady hormonal patterns,” Samuels said. “And so that just means that we need to take that extra step in supporting them.
Samuels recommends starting the day with breakfast and stresses the importance of eating regularly during the day to prevent over indulging after work.
She said the company teaches women how to fuel their body during stressful times, which includes how to prepare nutritious meals quickly and encourages offices to stock up on nutritious snacks.
2. Functional Movement
Understanding that traditional exercise routines may not fit every lifestyle, the women promote micro-movements that can be seamlessly integrated into daily life. “So making intentional choices to to stand up, adjust your posture, roll all your shoulders down and back, get in like little bits while you can, because that frequency is going to add up and be very powerful for your whole week rather than having this stressful moment of trying to get in,” Coulier said.
Whether it’s incorporating stretches during meetings or habit stacking like doing squats while brushing your teeth, their approach makes movement accessible and sustainable.
“We need to focus on our strength training, especially during premenopausal and menopausal, because we lose so much muscle mass,” Coulier said when considering the needs of females versus males. “And that’s also helping our brain function better.”
3. Mindfulness and Stress Management
For female leaders balancing multiple responsibilities, stress management is crucial. Live Well Lead Well encourages simple but effective mindfulness practices, such as “brain dumpling” via journaling to release all of your thoughts in the morning so that you’re starting your day with a clear mind, and movement-based meditation to cultivate mental clarity and resilience.
Before a meeting or after a stressful phone call, take deep breaths. “A five second inhale and a five second exhale for a round of four to eight breaths is going to do wonders to just realigning and resetting your nervous system,” Coulier said.
Their strategies help women identify stress signals and respond proactively rather than reactively.
4. Redefining Self-Care
Contrary to popular belief, self-care doesn’t have to involve elaborate routines or expensive spa days. It can be as simple as taking a five-minute walk, practicing deep breathing between meetings, or setting boundaries around work hours.
Neglecting self-care can affect decision-making as a leader and trigger “fogginess and frazzled” feelings, Coulier said. “So no matter how prepared you are and how great you do your job, if you’re not taking care of yourself, you may feel a step behind at all turns. And this frantic rushing moment, which Mel and I like to call stress transfer—that transfers to your team and it’s a ripple effect across everybody that you’re leading.”
“The more clarity you have, the more intentional a choice you will be able to make. And I think that the word intention is really important for leaders because so much of what leaders do is driven by passion and by intentions,” Samuels added.
By incorporating small but meaningful wellness practices, female leaders can prevent burnout and sustain high performance in both their professional
and personal lives.
Programs Designed for Female Leaders
Live Well Lead Well offers a range of programs tailored to the needs of professional women, including:
• Private Retreats: Customized wellness experiences designed for teams and individuals.
• Seminars & Webinars: Educational sessions on wellness strategies, including upcoming events focused on enhancing leadership through well-being.
• One-on-One Coaching: Personalized guidance for women seeking tailored solutions to their health and productivity challenges.
“There’s a common misconception that being a leader means you can do whatever you want all day,” Samuels said. “In reality, you are responsible for taking care of people, and many individuals depend on you. Your own needs often take a back seat.”
Live Well Lead Well has the goal to make health and wellness a priority so that female leaders can reach for success in the workplace. To learn more please visit: www.LiveWellLeadWell.US