“I don’t do this just to compete; this is a lifestyle.” – Ruby Carter-Pikes
How many excuses can you make for living an unhealthy lifestyle? I’ve heard some pretty interesting excuses like 50 year old women who are mothers of 30 year olds blaming childbirth for their weight. I’ve also heard people blame their family genetics on their weight claiming that that’s just how God made them.
Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing Ruby Carter-Pikes; a 64 year old grandmother who is also a fitness model. That’s right, a grandmother who looks better than some twenty year olds. But it’s not even about the way she looks, it’s about the respect that she has for her body and the healthy attitude that she has developed over the course of her life.
Pikes wasn’t raised or trained by her parents into living a healthy lifestyle. Being born in Mississippi, the Deep South, she faced the same disadvantages of nutritional information that many of us face. “My family grew everything, we had livestock and fruits and vegetables but the problem was that they didn’t know how to prepare the foods. Salt, sugar and flour were the pillars to our diet.”
Because of their eating habits, and being uneducated on the correct way to prepare foods, chronic disease ran rampant in her family. Pikes’ mother struggled with diabetes, her grandmother died at the age of 57 after being diagnosed with heart problems and her sister’s leg was amputated as a result diabetes.
Pikes herself was diagnosed with a heart condition but instead of accepting defeat, she decided to make changes to her lifestyle habits through nutrition and exercise.
At the age of 51 Pikes, a personal trainer, began participating in body building competitions. “I was talked into doing it and ended up coming in second place.” Later she began fitness modeling.
Instead of having a specific workout routine, Pikes keeps it fresh by working out with her clients and taking kick boxing classes. “I get up in the morning and either go for a five to seven mile run or I train with my clients.”
Ruby has made it her life goal to inspire others to live healthy, in fact that’s exactly what keeps her going. “I plan to keep competing until I can’t anymore. It’s not about winning or being seen, it’s about inspiring others to live better.”
When she heard that Enliven was part of a faith based magazine Pikes offered this advice, “The Bible says, “thou shall not kill.” If you are eating the stuff you know you aren’t supposed to be eating and not being active, ultimately you are killing yourself. If you want to live get your butt up and start moving!”
Ruby Carter-Pikes - Her Daily Eating Suggestions
Breakfast – Oatmeal (not instant) with berries and egg whites
Snack – Low-fat cream cheese with an apple
Lunch – Tilapia, baked sweet potato, and asparagus.
Snack – Whole wheat crackers with almond butter
Dinner – Tilapia, brown rice and spinach
Finally here are a few tips Pikes would share:
- Always prepare your meals ahead of time; that destroys the temptation to eat something unhealthy.
- Look at the ingredients in the food you eat. Look for the freshest, most natural ingredients.
- Nothing works without eating right. It doesn’t matter how much you workout or what you do in the gym, eating is everything.
Let this story inspire you to do better. If Ruby Carter-Pikes can look and feel that good at 65 years old, what excuse could you possibly have?
