Hilary
Hilary is the associate director of Small Girls PR, a mom of two, and a serious ah.mi vet! After completing the first 12 weeks with her friends, she jumped right in for round 2. Hilary embodies the ah.mi attitude of making small, sustainable changes for a healthy life. Read on to learn how this Portland-based mama eats healthier and squeezes in runs between working and raising a family.
What made you try ah.mi for the first time?
I was six months postpartum and trying to get it together: taking care of two kids and myself and being back to work, but it was super overwhelming. I ended up taking care of everyone else first. I saw Rachel’s Instagram post about launching ah.mi and the message really resonated with me—getting healthy through small changes with a group cheering you on (and, #liveyolife, obvi). I knew Rachel had two kids and a job and I felt like if she could do it, I could do it.
What changes did you feel after those 12 weeks?
I think the most important one was that, at the end of 12 weeks, it became easier to make healthier choices. For example, I used to have a glass of wine most nights, but now I mostly stick to a glass or two on weekends. My daughter and husband love pasta so we used to eat it all the time, but now I’ll use chickpea pasta, eat a smaller portion, or skip it altogether.
I feel so much better. I've noticed that I sleep better when I eat healthier and drink less. Since I’ve made time to workout, I feel a lot stronger; it’s easier to carry my kids, etc.
“I feel so much better. I've noticed that I sleep better when I eat healthier and drink less. ”
What do you do for work and what’s your work schedule?
I work at Small Girls PR. The company is based in New York and I live in Portland so I work from 7:30 to 3:30 or 4PM. Then I pick up my daughter from school, we get back around 5PM, then it’s dinner, bath, and bedtime for the kiddos. If I’m lucky, everyone is in bed by 8PM.
When do you find the time to work out?
I work out after the kids go to bed, or sometimes I sneak out of the house for a run on the weekends.
What workouts are you loving right now?
Anything by Melissa Wood Health. There are options for when you’re like, “I literally cannot tonight, but I promised my ah.mi team that I would get in three workouts this week. So 10-minute abs, it is!” I also used to run a lot so I like to squeeze in a run when I can.
What does your husband think of ah.mi?
He’s bummed we don’t eat as much pasta, but he’s pretty supportive. He makes breakfast for the family most mornings because I start work so early, so he humors me when I ask him to add kale to our smoothies or eggs.
We love that you signed up again for round 2 of ah.mi! How would you describe ah.mi to people who are considering joining?
It’s a supportive group that helps you make simple lifestyle shifts. Before I started, I was a little afraid it would be hard to stick to the plan. I thought the recommended recipes would be complicated and require a lot of random ingredients or everyone would be like, “I spent an hour at the gym at 5AM!” That’s just not where I am in my life right now. I love that it’s like, “I got a roast chicken, lettuce & avocado and that’s dinner, now I’m going to walk for 20 minutes.” And your whole ah.mi team is like 🙌🙌🙌!
