Consistency can be so challenging. What are your secrets for staying motivated?
Something my trainer Gunnar Peterson always says is that you have to have a schedule. Because if you don’t have
If 2020 was “The Year of Health,” what are you going to call 2021? Do you have any exciting plans or new goals?
I’m pretty much just looking to kind of maintain this year. I think I lost about 60 pounds last year, so if I can just try to maintain that, it will feel like a success to me. In the past, I would maybe lose five or ten pounds, but then I would just gain it back. So, hopefully, with my new whole lifestyle approach, it will work. I do have some other goals that I’m kind of keeping a bit secret now. I’m not sure whether I’m ready to talk about them yet, but yeah, I have a lot of goals for this year that aren’t health-related. So, we’ll see! Although everything is a bit health-related, isn’t it? Because if you don’t have your health, you don’t really have much.
Let’s talk a little bit about aging because it’s something our society is a little bit obsessed with. You’ve recently entered your 40s. How do you approach aging, and what about this decade is most exciting to you?
It’s weird because I would always hear people like Oprah say that in your 40s you really come into your own power, but it’s true. Like, I’m not going to put up with bullshit anymore, and I’ve had enough experience in life now to know if someone is treating me right. I know what that looks like compared to someone who’s not treating me right and if I need to set them free from my life. And it’s like that with everything, my career included. You step into your own power. You’re experienced enough, but you’re still young enough to crush it, but now you know how to take the right steps after going through all the struggles of your 20s and 30s. And so, it’s kind of really cool being in my 40s. I just feel like I know myself way more—what I deserve and what I am worthy of—I don’t settle for the bullshit if that makes sense. Sorry to swear! [laughs].
Haha, swearing is allowed! Okay, so we’re already to the final question. What’s your Unfiltered beauty philosophy in seven words or less?
So, I thought about this for a while. “To love yourself” is an obvious one because, for me, beauty is found in all shapes and sizes. There is something so beautiful about someone who loves and accepts their body in all forms. I know it’s such a cliché thing to say, and it kind of makes me want to pull a face and say “Blah,” but it’s so true. As part of my journey in the past year, I’ve realized that for so much of my life I just wasn’t loving myself. I was feeding myself thousands of calories that I didn’t need, and even though I thought I was comforting myself at the time, I’ve now realized it wasn’t actually loving myself or being kind to myself.
But the other thing I want to say is beauty fades, but your personality is forever. I know I’m a bit proud of myself now, and I try to put hot pics up on Instagram [laughs], but I’m someone who has never traded on my looks. In fact, I’ve turned things people didn’t think were beautiful or saw as a disadvantage—like being overweight—into a positive for myself and for my career. Like playing characters like Fat Amy in the Pitch Perfect movies, a character who is so close to my heart. Beauty can come and go—it's a fickle, superficial thing. If you saw what I looked like in my 20s, oh my God. I had no knowledge about fashion or beauty. I had a snaggle tooth, and I was really overweight, but I did have a unique personality and unique talents. I didn’t care about all that other stuff, I cared about trying to be the best unique version of myself. So, try not to worry about it too much. Worry about developing your skills and your personality.