How would you describe your body transformation and fitness journey?
My mom is a personal trainer and fitness instructor. I grew up playing sports and had a good idea of nutrition and exercise. After freshman year of college I gained the freshman 15. Things took off for me after that. I didn’t want to be that person that came back home and had gained a lot of weight. I tried to lose a healthy amount of weight without losing it too quickly. I learned a lot through it and gained a lot of knowledge. I took over fitness and nutrition as a passion. Being here at Central I continue to learn new things everyday. I’ve learned that being healthy should be a lifestyle. It shouldn’t be a rollercoaster rides with fad diets because those things never last. I didn’t have a good mind set on what a healthy lifestyle looked like and all I focused on was my body image. It’s taken me almost four years now to realize that. It’s mental thing before physical.
Do you think social media has played a large role in your thoughts about your body?
It has. Social media blows things out of proportion. I have a little sister who is 14 and her body is constantly changing and I know that she is very sensitive to that. I think social media for that age has a negative impact because you portray it in the wrong way. Sometimes I look on social media and think gosh I wish I could have her body or why aren’t I that curvy? Or I wish I could have that. I try to pay attention to pages or blogs that provide you with work out ideas and use it more as motivation than letting it bring be down.
Is health and fitness more important to you than your actual appearance?
I’ve been self-cautious with my body and my appearance, in the past, always came first. It came before my actual health. My mom being a fitness instructor constantly made comments about my body as I was growing up. It made me guarded and insecure. I don’t think parents or people know how much their words affect them. It affected me a lot when I was younger. It made me focus only on my body appearance but now I realize that I need to think of my overall health. My mental state is much better now that I focus on my health. It has made me very confident.
Do you think most girl feel the same way?
I think most girls are more concerned with their appearance. Everyone judges by appearance and girls who are bigger feel very insecure about it. It makes, women especially, become very obsessed with appearance. I think social media plays a huge role in this. You see women who are so called perfect but most of the time they’re photo shopped but its this image that everyone obsesses over. It makes women focus on appearance more than health.
emilystorino 