Name: Emily-Skye Anderson
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Height: 170 cm
Birthday date: 07/01/1985
Age: 34
Can you share more about yourself? When and how did you discover your passion for fitness (and health)?
I spent many years unhappy with myself, I suffered from depression, anxiety, and self-worth issues. Then, when I was twenty-three years old, I decided I had to do something about it because no one was going to come along and save me. I knew that healthy eating and exercising had an impact on mental health, so I started eating healthy food and exercising a lot. I started to compete in bodybuilding style competitions but realized it wasn’t for me. I enjoyed having something to work towards but it wasn’t really my thing. I wanted fitness to be a lifestyle and something I could hold on to forever. Fitness changed my life, it made me feel incredible and I loved the way the exercising influenced other areas of my life. Working out and healthy eating, made me feel more confident like I could do anything, kind of like a superhero! I felt on top of the world and I’d never felt like that before in my life and I wanted everyone around me to feel the same way. So I’d tell my friends and family to come and train with me, but it wasn’t enough. I just wanted to get out there and share with the world how good it is to feel fit and healthy. At the time, I saw social media as the best way to share my message.
What is your biggest achievement?
Having my daughter Mia of course! Apart from that, I would definitely say being able to overcome depression and self-worth issues. I’m not saying that it’s gone away completely, there are plenty of days where I feel unmotivated or down but now I have the tools to get through it.
What is your secret recipe for motivating yourself to work out?
I know how good it feels when you do the workout. So when I’m being consistent with my training and eating food my body loves, I feel much better. When I don’t feel my best, I try to refresh how was I feeling after workout and healthy food. Such memories help me to stay motivated!
What are the best 3 advices you would give to your supporters and the people inspired by you?
- Work out what it is you want, and realize that you are worthy and capable of achieving it. A lot of times, when people give up, it’s because they don’t feel deserving and don’t believe they can get through the hard work it will take to get there. Of course, there will be hard work, but they can do it!
- Believe in yourself and anything you set your mind to. Just because you really want it and you’re passionate about something, realize that all the hard work is worth it.
- Celebrate every success, all the small wins! Otherwise, it can get draining and you’ll feel like you can never get anywhere.
What are your favorite 3 fitness exercises?
I love including in my workouts hip thrusts, deadlifts, and lunges!
How often do you work out a week? And what is your workout routine/schedule?
I’d say on average 4 times a week for 30 minutes to one and a half hours. I usually do strength training, lifting as much as I can with good form. I don’t do a lot of cardio, the only cardio I do is high-intensity kettle bell swings or snatches with weights!
What does your diet look like? Do you commit to a special diet? (e.g. vegetarian, vegan, low carb, low fat)
It’s always about what my gut will tolerate. At the moment I’m working through fixing that. I like to eat basics, unprocessed and organic food wherever and whenever it’s possible. I like the hunter-gather diet, organic meats, fish nuts, and seeds. I don’t have much in the way of bread or pasta just because it doesn’t agree with my tummy. My diet is all about how I feel when and after eating the food!
Do you have cheat days? If yes, what is your most favorite cheat meal?
I call them treat days, I don’t like the negative connotation attached to the word cheat because you’re not cheating yourself! I think we all deserve to have something that we enjoy and not worry about what it’s doing to our bodies. I like intuitive eating and to allow myself one or two treat meals a week. It does depend on what’s happening though. If I have a photoshoot or something coming up, I’m a bit more strict with myself because I know I have a goal to achieve, but generally, I allow a couple of treats. My favorite ‘treat’ foods are chips and chocolate!
What supplements do you use? And what is your favorite Women’s Best product?
My favorite supplements are the Women’s best BCAA Amino, the Amino and Energy drink and the Protein Bars! I also love the Vanilla Vegan Protein! I cook with the protein a lot and when I need a quick snack after training, I prepare great protein muffins in advance!
Many people find it hard to eat healthy on a daily basis. How do you make sure to keep a healthy diet in your everyday life?
If I’m trying to be healthy, so I don’t have any junk food in the house. If I was to give someone advice, it would be not to have any junk in the house and only shop for good healthy fresh food and make sure you’re preparing your meals for the week. Cooking healthy meals using fresh and organic ingredients is the key to feeling good.
What has inspired you towards social media? When/how did you start it? And what is your favorite platform (Instagram / YouTube / Facebook etc…)
I was inspired to use these social media platforms to reach more people and share my message. I thought it was a great way to build my presence online and provide good quality fitness content which is easily accessible. My followers could get familiar with my videos and get fit! I originally started on Instagram but saw that Facebook was really taking off. I was sharing my videos from Instagram to Facebook without really thinking about it and then one day I realized one of my videos went viral with something ridiculous like 60 million views and I grew a million Facebook likes in a week! Social media is always evolving so I make sure I post on all platforms, but I enjoy using Instagram the most.
Besides being a very sports enthusiastic person, you don’t restrain to share pictures of your after-pregnancy body. Do you think body positivity is an unattended topic in the fitness community?
I think it has become more popular now, and it’s a great thing to show to young people who get exposed to perfect images of celebrities all the time. A lot of what young kids are seeing online these days are these perfect images so I think it’s great that so many people are jumping on board and sharing the less perfect pictures of themselves.
Mia is so adorable! Do you feel she is growing up with a passion for fitness?
I definitely get her involved and she sees me exercising and moving a lot. She’s learning about healthy food too because she sees us eating lots of fresh fruits and veggies. So hopefully that influences her and in the future, she will also enjoy eating healthy and exercising regularly!
What are your future goals?
My future goals are to continue what I’m doing now, reaching lots of people and having a positive impact on them. I want them to know that they are worthy of investing time into getting fit and healthy, that it’s not a selfish thing to put yourself and your health first.
