Posted on: Monday, April 18, 2005
FITNESS PROFILE
She'll run, but never away from exercise
By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer
Wedding planner Laura Lewis of Waikiki credits exercise with "saving me from mental fatigue and depression" during her late husband's battle with brain cancer, which he lost eight years ago when he was just 37 and she was 33.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser How does she do it all with such enthusiasm? "Fitness saved me during his illness and after his death. Exercise is the best remedy when you're grieving," she said.
Name: Laura Lewis Age: 41 Profession: Wedding planner, owner of Parasol Events Height: 5 feet 2 inches Weight: 120 pounds Workout habits: "I'm a strong believer in cross training, but my foundation is running. My other sports are surfing, tennis, cycling, yoga, hiking, horseback riding and walking. I run every other day, basically, but I always listen to my body. If I'm really tired, I walk or do yoga instead. I've found that any movement is good. If I only have half an hour, I jump rope or sprint. I tailor my workouts to what I feel I can do on any given day. I also walk a lot when I'm working on a wedding. On the weekends I'm usually tired and I just lay around."
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser My good foods/bad foods: "No real worries here; this is why I am so active! I eat whatever I feel like, but in moderation. Alcohol is the worst — it's full of empty calories and can drag your body down." My biggest motivator: "Exercise sets my day on a positive note. It is the great equalizer!" My biggest roadblock to fitness: "Mental fatigue. There's an irony to it: It's the hardest thing to do — and the most necessary. When you're really low, it's the hardest time to push yourself out the door ... yet it's the most necessary time to push through, because exercise can give you relief." What saves my sanity: "Exercise is critical to my mental and physical well-being. Yoga, running and surfing are very clear times to think and reflect. Each has a different effect, yoga being the most Zen, followed by surfing. Running is what I do when I am troubled." My next challenge: "Improving my swimming. I think it will take a big commitment to learn the proper breathing." Advice for those in the same boat: "In order to have any structure in your life, start your day by making your first priority to do something for yourself — exercise — and your whole day will go better. It's a positive thing to do, especially for women, who generally take care of everyone else first and don't make time for themselves.
"Nike really pegged it when they made their motto 'Just do it.' I ascribe to the same motto."
Left with two boys to raise, ages 6 and 10 at the time, Lewis launched a new career as a wedding planner and is home-schooling her youngest son, who is now 14.
Laura Lewis, 41, says running is her foundation but she also enjoys surfing, tennis, yoga, cycling and other sports.
When and why I started working out: "I started working out 20 years ago for mental and physical well-being and for weight maintenance."
Laura Lewis has found that exercise starts her day on a positive note. It also helped her when she was going through some tough times.
