Everyone has noticed her figure and now they ask her for advice. Many expect wonder solutions. Especially to correctly and fairly relate the subject in the competition with her famous salary subject, I stepped behind the spotlights, in her everyday life. I found out that it is spiced with regular sports, light meals, but also an effective tactics to combat the routine.
“The fact that you have a personal coach is important, because in this type of movement, targeted on a certain muscle group, you have to execute the exercise very correctly.”
CSID: Andreea, tell us what motivated you to lose weight?
Andreea Esca: I cannot say. But there was a moment when I decided, and even if there were some days when I would say I will give up eating sweets, I will give up eating in the evening, and I was succeeding for a few days or a week or two and then abandoning the idea. This time, I was determined not to abandon anymore, and I think that it helped greatly that besides this little diet, I started to make some kind of Pilates I fell in love with. And the fact that I did not miss any training session (I’ve been doing constantly 3 times a week, for almost a year) helped me greatly to see the results quite quickly. From that moment, you feel more motivated and gives you the courage to go further. And somehow, it makes you feel guilty when you want to quit. And not to feel guilty and to feel good, I carried on.
CSID: How many kilograms have you lost? Did you count them?
A.E .: I think I was about 60 kilos, I was up to 60 kilos, and now I’m between 55 and 56. But it matters a lot because I’m short and every extra kilogram is visible. In addition, the way those kilograms are distributed matters. From a certain age you need to be careful because when you get fat, you do not necessarily gain weight in less visible places, and then it’s important how the kilograms are distributed.
CSID: Do you want to continue, have you set a target?
A.E .: I keep doing sports often. As for the diet, I’m careful. If today I allow myself to eat two small cakes because I have had a craving, I am very careful tomorrow to eat less food like bread, pasta and so on, so I can remain at this weight. I weigh myself almost every day to keep between 55 and 56 kg.
CSID: But it also matters the visibly improved appearance, not just the number of kilos, right?
A.E .: I think the most important aspect is the improved appearance. You know that before, during periods of constant sports, everybody was telling me I lost weight, even though I wasn’t losing a kilo on the scale. The muscles tone and highlight in a way, you lose fat when you do sports and everything looks completely different. I was not a flaccid person, I always had a very good tone and I had muscles, because I always did sports. But surely, there have been times when I have not done as much as I should have done, and now I cannot afford to miss it, I think this is first and foremost.
CSID: How did you make the transition from a sport so demanding as swimming to a seemingly gentle sport like Pilates?
A.E.: Well, I made the passage just like I did between 30 and 40. I think each age needs to adjust the type of movement, so that you enjoy practicing. The Pilates I do, doesn’t really have a lot to do with the classical mat Pilates, because we use springs as a type of resistance that is not the Pilates you are initially thinking of, a kind of yoga in which we stay in some isometric positions etc. Of course it greatly relies on isometrics, but it uses the resistance springs and it is more difficult than the classical Pilates. I think it’s somewhere in the middle, it’s not easy for sedentary people. As proof, I have friends who have never done sports and they do Pilates now and find it very difficult. I found it very easy, because coming from doing hundreds and hundreds of lengths in a pool; I find it a piece of cake. But at the same time, it does not mean that I’m relaxed during my training, because it’s easy from a cardio point of view but the effort with which you work your muscle groups is very serious and very difficult.
CSID: Does it help that you work with a personal coach?
A.E .: I think that when is about sports, a lot of the love for that sport is the coach. When I left swimming, I did it because I did not like my coach and I was no longer motivated, he could not motivate me and could not make me excited to go and have a desire to win. The relationship you have with your coach is very important. Here I found two trainers in Ana and Raluca… I train with Ana predominantly and sometimes with Raluca when Ana is unavailable. Both ladies did ballet, they were even dancers on “I dance for you” for a while, after which they started to learn this type of sport and they are very, very good at it. They are extremely warm girls, but at the same time very firm and I really enjoy working with them.
CSID: You are an energetic person. How do you overcome the daily routine, because we all have one?
A.E.: Well, here’s the way I’m doing this: for example, I do all sorts of sports. I have had periods and when I say periods, I mean years, when I did aerobics and I really enjoyed it and I was crazy about it. And one day, I got bored, I had enough of it. I did spinning, but I got bored. I swim, but I cannot do it all the time. So I’m always trying to find something else. An example is that for 6 years I’ve been working on “The One” magazine, after so many years of just doing the news. So I’m trying to find new things so I do not get bored and stagnate.
CSID: Describe a little your diet, because the world wants to find out quick solutions anyway.
A.E .: I did not lose weight very fast, I did it in about half a year. I did not go on a diet from a nutritionist, I did not ask anybody’s opinion and I did not make excesses like: from tomorrow I do not eat anything anymore; I go to sleep for three days to wake up thinner, etc. The goal I have set and I succeeded achieving, was that for a long time I ate bread only the morning. I was eating one, maximum 2 slices of toast and I still do the same. I always ate in the morning and I will continue to do so. So I was eating a slice of toast before my coffee, and after that I wasn’t eating any more bread, pasta, potatoes, absolutely nothing fattening. I was eating fish with salad, plain lettuce.
For example, if I had some meat on the grill, I was adding eggplant salad as side dish. I was finding all sorts of formulas: to simple canned green beans, I was adding a little bit of butter. Or broccoli, I was boiling it then rolling it in a bit of butter to make it tastier. I ate fish, I ate meat. I eat plenty of meat, so it was not a problem to increase the amount. I quit eating in the evening. Because the only time I was on a type of diet and I succeeded, was when I skipped the evening meal. I was eating before the news, that was at 17.00 at the latest and until the next morning I wasn’t eat anything. I was drinking water, tea, but I wasn’t eating anymore.
CSID: And how did you cope?
A.E.: I did it because I ate well at 17:00, a lunch, but at 5pm. You get used to it, I think it’s all about habit, because I also noticed: the less you eat, the less you want food and the more you eat, the more you crave for food.
CSID: How do you see life at almost 40 years?
A.E .: I cannot believe it’s been so many years and I always remember my mother who was telling me all the time: Oh, my God, when did all these years pass, when did a certain thing happen? Here I go. This morning my mom asked me: did you think about what party you want for your birthday? And I say: God, stop reminding me that it is happening. 🙂 I never had a problem with my age and I remember that when I was 30, everybody asked me what I feel now that I changed the prefix and it seemed like a stupid question…I mean, what was I suppose to feel ? Then, I was thinking, “God, I am not normal, I should feel something. I was already asking myself why everybody asks me that. Indeed, I really did not have a problem. Now, it’s true that 40 seems to be an age I have never thought of. I mean, if you asked me, I was sayin:, I’m going to do it later, when I am about 40. Now I cannot believe I have arrived there. On the other hand, I’m content, I’m happy.
CSID: What about looking in the mirror? Are you noticing things you haven’t seen before?
A.E .: I rarely look in the mirror. I did not even look when I was a teenager. I was not interested in the mirror, it was just the thing I was looking at when I was brushing my teeth and doing my ponytail so it was in the right position. So, I’ve never been worried about the way I look. Of course, we are not talking about being clean or having a neat appearance, but I have never been asking myself: am I okay, am I not? I was never preoccupied about that. As a result, I am not spending much time in front the mirror now either. I spend time at work, because it’s normal to put make up on and then to take it off. Of course I notice. I notice that I have some wrinkles around my eyes, I notice that I have some wrinkles on my forehead that I did not have, I notice that the three dimples I had turned into wrinkles, I notice that. But what can I say? I think every age has its charm and I think you have to be comfortable with yourself. That’s the way it is, what can we do? You cannot make a tragedy from the passing of time and I told you, I think there are more important things. I think you have to think about how to feel better now. What to do now if we have wrinkles? Anyway, the wrinkles are on the outside, your soul is frozen at a certain time at a certain age. In fact, I think and I know that I’m capable of doing things that maybe for a 25-year-old girl would seem crazy. So, in the end, it matters what you feel, obviously within limits so you don’t fall into ridicule.
CSID: You travel a lot and you noticed that the pressure about image is very high, at any level. Still, image acceptance must be doubled by some adjustments? I refer here to aesthetic surgery, but also to motivational courses to go further.
A.E .: Yes, I think so. Probably the time will come when I will think about these things. I am not excluding that one day I will think that I have too many wrinkles and maybe I should use some hyaluronic acid or botox. I will think about it. If someday is going to bother me very much, I’ll think about it. I mean, it does not seem to me that I’ll never do that and that I am able to cope like Brigitte Bardot. I do not know if I can be like Brigitte Bardot who decided not to do bring any improvements to her face and body. On the other hand, I think you have to think very careful about this decision and to choose some procedures and doctors who know the good measure, so you do not suddenly wake up with someone else’s face. Because you can be very cute, but be someone else. I mean, when you do not recognize yourself in the mirror, I think that then it becomes a problem, because you psychic is getting crazy because it does not know who it is anymore. So yes, you can think of improvements, but as long as you know some methods that do not dramatically change your appearance, to unbalance yourself.
CSID: Talking about weight loss, those around you have noticed the change. Do they ask for your advice, are they questioning you, do they want miracle solutions?
A.E .: Yes, everybody asks me: what did you do, how did you lose weight? Lately, this is the only thing people are asking me about. Until now, they asked me what the children are doing, now they went to: wow, you have lost so much weight, how did you do it? Maybe they expect a solution, because every time I tell them I’m going to Pilates 3 times a week and I’m sure that there is the answer, they are somewhat: yeah, it’s … but just that, are you sure? Now, honestly, I do not want to convince anybody of anything. If you asked me, I’m telling you the truth. Furthermore, you believe it or not, or do whatever you want. But yes, probably they want a miracle solution, but I’m convinced there’s no such solution. If it exists, the one who would invent it would be a billionaire.
CSID: Did you change your wardrobe; are you looking at clothes that you wouldn’t have worn before?
A.E .: Yeah, I changed it. Alexia asked me to get some new jeans, even before I got thinner, when I just started to lose weight. She asked me to get some jeans that I would never have thought of, a lot tighter than the ones I have had. I said to her, Alexia, I cannot get them, I don’t think they will fit me, but I noticed that they suited me and they were all right. She is my stylist now, I go with her shopping, I do not even choose the clothes anymore. I get into the cabin and she brings them to me. I got some leather pants. I had some that I liked for a long time, and now they were very long. Otherwise, I wear dresses quite a lot and I will stick with that because I really like them. They are easy to wear, you do not have to think of matching up the top with the bottom and they look feminine.
SOURCE: What Happens, Doctor? / MARCH 2012
Interview: Beatrice Osanu