As part of the new web series, The Role Model In You — here is the most recent interview. The Role Model In You series discusses how individuals were influenced as a child to lead a healthy lifestyle. It covers who influenced these individuals, the changes they made in their life to be healthy, and the message they would like to convey to the youth of today. Our guests include doctors, soccer stars, Super Bowl champions, NBA players, Olympic gold medalist, entrepreneurs, celebrities, and just regular people looking to share their story. We hope you enjoy it!
1. Your name, title, and age? What do you do (or did you do) for a living?
Kristen Brown, Author of What Didn’t Kill Me, age 42. I’m a sponsorship manager for professional MMA fighters, writer for MMA Pro Now magazine, author of What Didn’t Kill Me, and editor of The Big M books published by my 10 year old son, Kaleb Brown.
2. Who was the person that inspired you as a child or adult to eat healthy and stay fit? What was their relationship to you?
I acquired poor eating habits and neurotic self-image from my mother. I spent my childhood being told that I was fat, even though I was severely anorexic. I was too awkward and uncoordinated to be athletically inclined. By the time I was an adult, I had a terrible relationship with food and had no measure of exercise in my life. I was still thin, but I was very unhealthy. When I was 38 I started working as a sponsorship manager for very fit professional MMA fighters, and everything changed for me.
There wasn’t one specific person who inspired me, it was an entire sport teeming with healthy athletes. It started with Florida based pro fighter Mark Serkez, when I interviewed him and his friends for an MMA documentary I was producing. He and his friends described a strict, healthy diet Mark followed that seemed interesting to me, and the opposite of where I was at nutritionally. Mark seemed to be bursting with high energy, which is something I desperately wanted. Even if I couldn’t cure my pain and fatigue, I felt it would be wonderful to have energy.
Then pro fighters Seth Petruzelli, Tom Lawlor, and Matt Brown all worked on either my son’s book, comic book, or cartoon video in one way or another, which got me talking to more fighters. I started inquiring about their own personal nutritional plans, and seeking exercise advice tailored to my disabilities.
3. What did they do to inspire you?
I was inspired by how driven and positive MMA fighters are. I started to pay attention to their routines out of curiosity. I have fibromyalgia and other disabilities, so I couldn’t push myself physically like they do, but I could eat like they do, which seemed to give them high energy and a positive disposition, two qualities I lacked. I was inspired enough by their healthy way of life to try to be more like them in any way I could. Most nutritional advertisements harp on weight-loss. I didn’t need to lose weight. I did need to be happier, feel healthier, and have more energy, so I followed the example set forth by the way these fighters live their life.
4. How did their lesson change your life?
Due to fibromyalgia, I am always exhausted, over-tired, and depression sets in from the pain and fatigue. I always said, “I just want to feel better.” By eating the way the MMA fighters eat, I noticed I did feel a little bit better and I had more energy. I was able to stop taking pain and anti-depression medication, because in just by changing my diet, I wasn’t as depressed or in as much pain. I will always have chronic pain, but the drastic change in diet had a huge impact on my pain level.
5. Do you convey their message to kids in your life presently?
When I changed my own nutrition plan, it automatically changed the way I feed my children. When I completely cut out all fast food and processed food, they were no longer exposed to it. Healthier food options in our kitchen means a healthier lifestyle for the whole family. I juice any produce I can, which is healthier for them than buying juice from the store with additives, preservatives, and added sugar or artificial sweetener. I started juicing my fruits and veggies because I saw a lot of fighters posting their juicing recipes online. The fighters who were sharing their juicing recipes, looked like they felt healthier than I was feeling. Juicing produce was one more way I could achieve better health, which improved my mood as well. I use only non-GMO farmer’s market produce. It seems like it may not make much of a difference where you get your fruits and veggies, but with no GMOs and less pesticides it really does make a notable impact on my health.
6. What would be your main message to children today to lead healthy lifestyles?
The old adage, “you are what you eat”, really is the truth. If you want to be healthy and live longer, you have to eat healthy food. If you develop healthy eating habits as a child, it will be easier to subscribe to healthy nutrition as an adult. The more exercise you get as a child, the easier it will be to fit exercise into your lifestyle as an adult, which will prove to be valuable to your over-all health and happiness.
7. Do you have a web site you would like to promote….web address only?