From My Little Sister

My sister, Anna, has made a commitment to a healthy and fit lifestyle. I asked her if I could interview her for the CanWin4Losing blog and she agreed!

Hi Sis! 

 

Krista (CW4L): First of all, thanks for volunteering to let me interview you for CanWin4Losing. You work hard and are an inspiration to me and I hope to know where your inspiration came from. What made you first decide to jump on the fitness bandwagon? 

Anna: The owner of the daycare I work for offered a free gym membership. I decided to jump at the offer. 

CW4L: Is there a person or people who inspire or motivate you? 

Anna: There are many people who motivate me. I call them fitspirations. My favorite fitspirations are Shari and my fitness coach (beachbody) Kelli. Both are working mothers who have made a huge change in their lives. Motivation works in many ways for me. I love a challenge so any time I could "win" I find motivation. Also I see many people in my life making unhealthy choices and they motivate me just as much. I don't want to live unhealthy ever again.

CW4L: Many people say that the key to their success is a support system. Do you have a support system?

Anna: My family is a great support, although sometimes they think I am a little obsessive. I have also found a lot of support on-line. I track my workouts on a social media page and have found lots of support from the users. I follow many motivational fitness pages and have even started my own page www.facebook.com/fitchallenges.

CW4L:  You look great. I know that you have physical goals to reach, but my first question regarding that is an obvious one. How much weight have you lost?

Anna: I have lost a total of 54lbs. 

CW4L: I know that one of your resolutions is to be able to do pulls ups. What other goals have you set for yourself? 

Anna: A spartan race in August. To be able to squat over my body weight and bench press my weight. 

CW4L: Are you able to do pulls ups yet? 

Anna: I can do one chin-up (sometimes), but I'm sooooo close!! 

CW4L: You have a varied workout schedule. What are some of the work outs that you do?

Anna: I love to work out in the mornings, but I work at 6am. So in order to raise my metabolism and set a little physical activity in I generally do an 7-8 minute tabata (like HIIT: high intensity interval training) session of burpees. 30 seconds of burpees and then rest for 20 seconds repeat 8 times. I work so close to home that for my lunch breaks I will walk home a do an Insanity (HIIT workout video from beachbody) workout. I also try to do at least 5 minutes of planks each day. Many days I will also go to the gym in the evening to lift weights. I randomly throw some extra cardio (running, biking, swimming, dancing, hiking, etc.) in when I'm feeling full of energy (3-4 times a week). I will try any workout once!!

CW4L: Which are your favorites?

Anna: Lifting is my favorite !! Also the one I get to do the least because I am still kind of new and prefer to have someone lifting with me or to work with a trainer. 

CW4L: We were active and fit when we were kids. And we were encouraged to try new activities. Our parents bought us tennis rackets and dad would take us to the tennis court to practice (I never got the hang of tennis, but I do wish I had tried harder to learn it). We both took dance and gymnastics for a number of years. Though neither of us participated in high school sports. There are a lot of things that I wish I had done differently in the years since we were that active and fit. Is there anything that you would do over or continue to do if you could?

Anna: I would have never quit dancing. I took ballet lessons into adulthood and even taught beginning ballet for a year. Why did I ever stop?

CW4L: Your husband is a hunter and I know that you have always preferred meat he brings home over meat bought at the store. I also know that you spend some time each week preparing for the upcoming weeks meals. Can you tell us more about your healthy eating? 

Anna: I try to eat "clean" as close to natural as possible. The more the food as been messed with the worse (stuff added or removed). Nothing fat-free!!! Fat-free equals a chemical shit storm I don't want in my body!! People are often surprised to see whole milk in our fridge.

CW4L: Has the way you eat changed after your renewed commitment to healthy lifestyle?

Anna: I have ALWAYS been weird about food. I have been eating clean for longer then I knew what clean eating means.

CW4L: How does the meal preparation affect how your family eats? 

Anna: My family eats home cooked meals most nights of the week. They still get fast food once in while or their favorites like chicken nuggets with macaroni. The nights they eat junk I eat my favorite meal, scrambled egg whites with salsa and steamed broccoli.

CW4L: How are you encouraging and helping your kids build healthy habits that will last a lifetime? 

Anna: Showing my children that I am important and take time for myself to stay healthy I hope will encourage them to make healthy choices for life.

CW4L: When I saw you last a few months ago you were excited about a new venture. Can you tell us more about Sweat Pink and what your involvement is? 

Anna: Sweat Pink is a group of fitness motivators from all over. People who are trying to encourage others to say fit and "Sweat Pink"!!