For a good portion of my teens and early adulthood, I modeled with an agency in Chicago but stopped to focus on college and my health. I didn’t know if I’d ever get back to it and I never felt a need to, but I do think there’s a time and place for everything and that breaks are healthy.

 

I recently signed to a different agency in 2021 after not modeling for almost three years. It’s a weird adjustment because for three years, I wasn’t on top of my fitness goals since the pressure of modeling was no longer there. I let myself be a normal college student who didn’t obsess over calories, force myself to the gym everyday, and so on. Instead, I let myself go out with friends, order food after late nights out, and try lots of great restaurants Chicago has to offer.

 

With the pandemic that makes it feel like there’s no end in sight, I used this time to work on myself. I ordered an exercise bike from Amazon, started going for walks and runs again, and cleaned up my diet. 

 

I didn’t consider modeling again until talking to some friends who are photographers in the industry and also some model friends who are still in the industry. I wound up finding a really great agency and signing with them. 

 

At 23, I think my approach to health and fitness are extremely different from what I was doing as a teen and (even younger) adult. I no longer deprive myself, I don’t get crabby if I miss a day of working out, and I eat the amount I should be.

 

When preparing for a photoshoot, I go about this same healthy approach, but just making sure I don’t eat anything that could trigger a breakout on my skin or cause me to bloat. Here’s what I like to eat leading up to a shoot: 

 

• Breakfast: Egg white omelet with vegetables, turkey bacon, and any sort of coffee. I have a Nespresso so I’ll often make an oat milk latte with that or I’ll grab something from Starbucks (my weakness). 

 

• Snack 1: I don’t think I snack as often as I used to, but if I get hungry I’ll usually have an apple or a banana. Something dense enough to keep me full, but not stuffed.

 

• Lunch: Lately I’ve been loving pre-packaged salads. I’ll have a cup or two of a salad and either add four ounces of chicken breast from the night before or two hard boiled eggs for protein.

 

• Snack 2: I usually workout around evening, so if I’m hungry then I’ll have some deli meat like turkey and maybe some crackers. 

 

• Dinner: Oven-roasted chicken breast (about four ounces again) and some of the pre-packaged salad from earlier with a vegetable such as a sweet potato. 

 

• Snack 3: By this point, I’m usually not hungry but if I’m craving something sweet then I might make myself an iced coffee (not the best to drink at night, but still good!) with oat milk and cinnamon or I’ll have a Greek yogurt with berries.