Major: Operations Management minor in Health Education
Year in School: Third year
Campus Involvements: I’ve been very involved in the past including Greek life, my professional business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi, Lindner Women in Business, the PACE Program in the Lindner College of Business (PACE Leader), and briefly with Alpha Lambda Delta, Sigma Alpha Phi, and Her Campus Cincinnati. Now, I am still involved with Deltasig and the PACE Program as well as working at the CRC as a Fitness Floor Coordinator.
Fun Fact: I was bite by a dog in Clifton in 2015 and had to stay in the hospital for 3 days Oh another fun fact I was also the Salon Speaker for the TedxUC in August 2016 at the UC Freshman Convocation
Her Campus: You are definitely a busy #girlboss! Thank you so much for sitting down with us Sydney! I’m so excited for our readers to discover how amazing you are! So first off, what inspired you to begin your fitness journey begin?
Sydney Carter: Thank you so much for your kind words! I began my fitness and health journey in January 2016 when I had gained 20~ pounds over the previous fall semester. I decided to make a change and actually stick to it. The determination for consistency is what made this “time around” work for me in terms of weight loss and especially New Year’s resolutions.
HC: That’s amazing! As many of your followers know fitness and health has turned into one of your biggest passions along with wanting to help others achieve their fitness goals, which is AMAZING! Tell us more about why that is!
SC: Health has definitely become my passion through this journey I began with myself. It ended up evolving into so much more. I began sharing my journey (initially was just weight loss) on social media and the rest is history. I shared my story on Instagram and then I began a Youtube channel as well as a blog. I then began posting recipes and parts of my daily routine on my Snapchat. Seeing how much affect (effect?) I’ve had on people has motivated me to continue. Hearing that I’ve helped someone to make a lifestyle change or even workout once means the world to me. Having a positive impact on people’s health has become my life passion I would say. I have always felt a drive to help others and felt like that was my purpose in life. I am excited to have figured out how I can apply that purpose.
Recently I created my own website and sell online training/coaching plans. At the end of this month I will be certified as a Personal Trainer and then pursue another certification in Fitness Nutrition. I currently work at the rec on campus now so I’ll be able to transition into personal training and teaching group fitness classes (i.e. yoga, HIIT, Core Crush, etc.) as soon as possible. Another one of my goals is to open an LLC to really take my online business to the next level! I’m a business major at UC so figuring out how to combine business and health for a lifelong career is another one of my long-term goals.
HC: That is seriously incredible! And as a follower of your accounts, your holistic approach to fitness is really inspiring! I think one of the biggest things that college students struggle with is eating right because of our busy schedules and being surrounded by unhealthy choices more often than not. Any advice on how you make healthy food choices?
SC: I definitely agree with that! I fell into that trap for years of my life even before college, especially with how easily accessible fast food is. Nutrition is where you will see and feel the most change in your body, regardless of any workout routine. My biggest success with eating more healthy has been making small changes over time and eating/cooking at home more. You are almost guaranteed to make healthier choices at home, even if it just means eating a smaller portion size or eating foods with less preservatives, butter, sauces, oils, etc. Many of these things are added into our meals at restaurants (adding to the deliciousness, but also adding to the calories). Making small changes over time such as making a goal to drink more water, eating 4-6 small-medium sized meals throughout the day, and trying to combine healthy carbs fats and proteins at each meal would be good places to start.
HC: I’m so glad our readers will have you as a source to start their fitness journey as well! And lastly, as I’m sure you know, being a college woman is not easy. From juggling all of your extra curriculars, classes, social life, and usually putting your health on the back burner. But you’ve seemed to be able to put your health in your top priorities! What is your main piece of advice for our readers about how to take control of their health?
SC: Thank you for that! It is definitely a proud accomplishment of mine. I would say to begin by figuring out your “why.” If you don’t have a purpose behind wanting to have a healthier life, you won’t have any desire or reason to change. Reasons could include family history of disease, wanting to be healthier for your children or family, wanting to feel better internally, wanting to look better externally, wanting to be stronger, wanting to have more natural energy, wanting to respect and serve your body, etc. Figuring out a “why” and then following that with creating a plan on how you are going to change with implementing SMART goals would be my first steps. After that, make sure you tell someone. You don’t have to post on social media but make sure your friends and/or family know about your lifestyle change so that they can help you instead of delay your progress and also to keep you accountable
HC: That is great advice! Thank you so much for sitting down and chatting with me, Sydney! I know our readers will be really inspired by you and all your incredible advice!
SC: No problem thank you so much again for having me!
Make sure to keep up with Sydney on all of her social media, you don’t want to miss out!