👋 Hi! Tell us about yourself and your training
Hi, thanks so much for having me here! I’m Lorenza and I am 31 years old. I was born in Italy but I had lived in London for five years before getting back to Rome, where I am currently based. I am an actress and songwriter, but I also work as a creative producer in an international movie company.
I am quite lucky because I have very flexible schedules and am mainly working from home. That allows me to have a lot of time to workout, to cook healthy food and to build a solid daily routine.
I used to be a professional tennis player, so sports in general have always been part of my life, I have been trying a lot of different workouts through the years and I get very depressed and sad on those days I don’t have a chance to move.
I can’t think about my life without training, this is something I need to feel good and it never felt like an imposition nor an obligation. Sometimes my friends laugh at me calling me “this Nazi” (joking of course eheh), because I take this very seriously and I feel guilty when I am not moving.
My dad is a tennis and skying instructor and a gym teacher, as are my mum and aunt. I was raised to be an athlete, I guess! Other than that I am a trained actress, model, singer and songwriter, so I love doing anything connected to that.
I recently started to work on my Instagram account, trying to collaborate and get in contact with mindful people and brands: one of these is called Nutriveg, and I am one of their ambassadors (this company sells vegan protein powders and supplements for sport enthusiast).
⏱ Describe a typical day of training
I spent years experimenting with a lot of different kinds of workouts, attending classes and going to gyms. Finding the best options for me was not easy. We are surrounded by fitness programs, weight loss programs, tips on working out, etc., etc., so it might be difficult to find our real “passion or vocation” when it comes to fitness.
What I have learned is that we always have to listen to our bodies because they don’t lie! That said, I typically try to workout everyday in one way or another, but on my resting day, unless I am super tired or injured (that can happen when I push too hard and because I have a herniated disk in my back, so have to be extra careful on my fitness program), I always have a brisk walk with my dog because that could be an ideal way to cool down, not to mention that it is crucial to me to spend time outdoors as much as I can.
When it comes to my workouts, my muscles always react too much to intense training like hard HIIT or weight lifting. When I say “react”, I mean I tend to gain bulky muscles, especially on my thighs, and that is something I don’t like. I want to feel feminine during my workouts, and that probably comes from the fact I always missed that when I was an athlete.
So I usually workout for an intense hour of ballet class followed by at least 30 minutes on the mat working different muscles every day. Alternatively, I jump on my rebounder for one hour of good old fashioned cardio. That is my first session of the day, usually in the morning; then I always walk for several km (average per day is 10 km), or I do power yoga in the afternoon, depending on how tired I am.
So we might say I tend to workout for a minimum of one hour every day plus another workout in the afternoon, usually another hour. Again on resting days, I try to walk or practice restorative yoga or stretching, trying to listen to my body. I want to stress the importance of this concept and it is crucial to give your body a rest, if it feels like it needs it, and most importantly, to stretch a lot!
I see a lot of people who run, Soulcycle, and so forth, and then they don’t have a stretching session. This is bad for one’s body. I try to stretch my body, other than yoga, several times a day, especially when I am stiff in the morning and before going to sleep with my daily meditation.
I am not a gym rat. I love working out from the comfort of my house, being a personal trainer to myself and knowing my body; I don’t want to lose time commuting. I think these days it is easy to create our personal programs!
I love kick-boxing, ballet, barre and yoga! I cherish working out alone. I love it; it makes me feel comfortable. I don’t feel intimidated by other people, so this is something I don’t want to change!
When it comes to food, I am very healthy, I am vegan and my approach is: Carbs are good! I love potatoes, starches in general, rice, fruits, et cetera, etc.
My philosophy is following an 80-10-10 diet with an emphasis on carbs; I followed high protein diets for years and they didn’t agree with my body. So now I don’t feel deprived or unsatisfied because I eat a lot whenever I am hungry and I am in a good shape!
I workout on an empty stomach because this is what works for me. Then, after working out, I usually have a smoothie with protein powders; I use my NATURVEG supplements.
I always try to monitor my burned calories with my Apple Watch, trying to burn at least 900-1000 kcal per day (only with working out, not considering basal metabolic rate, of course).
👊 How do you keep going and push harder?
I am a person of routines. I love knowing what comes next. In the past, I have over-trained and injured myself; so now I try, once again, to pay extra attention when it comes to listening to my body. If I am not working out, it is because I really need to rest. Otherwise I tend to recognize laziness very well.
I keep myself motivated watching a lot of fitness profiles on Instagram, finding the strength and passion to improve everyday; as with working from home I am able to create the perfect schedule tailored around my needs, my body and how I feel.
One of the biggest challenges I have faced and still do everyday, has been my diagnosis of Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism. If you’re familiar with this disease at all, you know it brings weight gain, lethargy, tiredness, brain fog and a lot of other unpleasant symptoms.
This condition has been and always will be with me; so I have to be extra careful with my diet, not to mention being as much as possible consistent with my training.
🏆 How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
I am currently in lockdown because of the COVID-19 virus pandemic. This means I can walk a little bit less freely than before, still I am training from home and I try not to skip a day!
Of course, my mood has been better; we don’t know what the future looks like and I don’t think it looks very bright at the moment. I hope this situation will be sorted out soon, of course, but I don’t feel very optimistic.
Gyms were closed down almost immediately, and this has been tough for the fitness world. On a side note, when I think about my future, I am a songwriter, model and an actress too, so I hope to achieve my goals still working out every day with the cooperation of my precious only body!
🤕 How do you recover, rest and handle injuries?
I try to eat cleanly, drink a lot of water and move my body if possible; this has helped me immensely!
I suffer from a disk hernia, so I cannot face workouts that are too strong or heavy on the back! I tried in the past and this does not agree with me. Usually, when I feel tired or injured, I stretch.
I do some restorative yoga and more importantly I listen to my body; I used to force myself in the past and my cortisol levels (stress hormone), spiked!
I couldn’t sleep and was always too wired or tired, or not able to properly sleep. Now I try to keep my sleep routine steady, meditating before sleep, winding down at least 30 minutes before turning the lights off.
I have to say I am able to sleep at least eight hours per night, which has been a huge improvement for me. This, of course, doesn’t happen when I travel, because my body loves a routine, so when I change it, I definitely feel bad. It takes many days to recover from a long flight or journey.
I try to eat cleanly, drink a lot of water and move my body if possible; this has helped me immensely! Also, I take a lot of supplements for immunity, thyroid, digestion, and so forth.
Supplements I never forget to keep in my suitcase are zinc, selenium, milk thistle, digestive enzyme, omega-3, curcumin, B12, vitamin D. Plus, I have a daily smoothie with ashwaganda, reishi mushrooms and maca. (I love Ayurveda and Chinese medicine!) I dry brush before my showers.
🍎 How is your diet and what supplements do you use?
Because I am affected by this subtle disease mentioned before, I have to pay extra attention to my diet. In the past I have been through ALL of them, just name it! Paleo, Atkins, Duka, et cetera, etc.
I was eating a high protein diet and I was not able to lose all the weight hypothyroidism caused me to gain, nor feel better. Then I came across the nutritionist Kimberly Snyder, whom I admire and follow, and my life changed.
I started a vegan detox and never looked back! That was four years ago. I am currently eating a “starch solution”, with emphasis on good carbs, plant based diet, lots of fruits and veggies, legumes, no processed food, very few fats.
I used to track my calories but now I do that only if I need to lose weight. My preferred foods are the ones I mentioned before and if I am careful with fats and oil, I start losing weight!
Regarding my supplements, I take them at lunch and dinner and before going to sleep. This way I always remember to take them. I also forgot to mention I take melatonin before going to sleep (1mg it’s the only one I can handle, otherwise I feel doggy and dizzy the next morning).
I also love having one cheat day per week where I usually get to be a little bit looser: my choices are vegan GF pizza, homemade cakes and dessert; I don’t use sugar but maple syrup or erythritol instead. I tend to gain weight very easily so a cheat meal is more than enough to me!
Another strategy I have been using in the past has been fasting, it helped me losing the extra fat and be in contact with my real hunger signals. I used to fast for as long as 16/24 hours and felt great! Now I am “only” skip breakfast and have nothing before 2 pm; but I am doing long fasting less often because of my stress hormone that has to be kept at a happy level, and fasting too much might bring negative issues if you have hormone – thyroid problems like I do.
Plus, I don’t drink coffee but chicory root, which has been a great discovery, or light teas with not a lot of caffeine. (I can’t handle caffeine, I have palpitations and bad sleep with even a cup of tea after 5 p.m.)
👍 What has inspired and motivated you?
As mentioned before, Kimberly Snyder of beauty detox has been the one to inspire me to change my way of eating. I read all of her books; she also has a podcast and I learned so much listening to it, plus watching documentaries like “What the health”, “Cowspiracy”, “Fat sick and nearly dead” helped me realizing I was intuitively on the right path.
I am also a devoted “Ballet Beautiful” member since the beginning. The creator and founder, Mary Helen Bowers, is a lovely instructor and I have spent every day with her training on streaming classes over the last five years.
I love the vibes, the classic and quiet music. That gives me peace and mental alignment (but still kicking my a** during the workout), not to mention the great posture ballet classes bring!
I also love bar method classes, sometimes I love to change my fitness routine! I have been with “Udaya” yoga for years. It has great online classes, amazing instructors and so many different options and levels.
Another yoga class is heart alchemy yoga on YouTube. Michelle Goldstein, the founder is a member of Udaya as well and she has a lot of free yoga classes and meditation on her channel. She makes me feel quiet and calm, something I really enjoy considering my vibrant personality.
✏️ Advice for other people who want to improve themselves?
Feel free to create your own method and things will be definitely easier and more fun for you!
My precious advice is to find something that you love and stick to it! I know it might seem easy, but actually the beauty of a workout is not thinking about it as such.
I don’t go to the gym because this is what works for me. I built my own gym at home and I am constant and diligent with my training.
If you feel this is something that might work for you too, don’t feel obliged to go to the gym because your friends are going! Feel free to create your own method and things will be definitely easier and more fun for you!
🤝 Are you taking on clients right now?
I am not currently working with people vis a vis, I am very happy to inspire them and give them advice when they need it though! I often get questions on my channels and I always try to reply to everybody.
The most common question I get is how I keep myself going every day even when I don’t feel like it. My answer is like before: I do something I love!!
📝 Where can we learn more about you?
I am currently very busy with my YouTube and Instagram channels. I started using YouTube years ago then had to stop it because I was so busy with my daily job.
So now I am starting over with a channel that will be both in English and Italian, a lot of interesting facts about food, health, alternative medicine and nutrition, fitness, recipes and so much more.
I am in the process of editing all the videos now! I am very active on Instagram; that is definitely my favorite social ever!
You can find me on Instagram: @thelorenzaveronica
YouTube (work in progress): A QUALCUNO PIACE Vegano
As mentioned, I am also a songwriter currently busy working on my debut. If you’re curios to listen to something, follow me on Instagram for updates. In the meantime this is a link to two songs with the famous record producer Steve Booker (Duffy, John Newman, etc).
