Mara Schiavocampo speaking about her weight loss book THINspired.
Weight loss isn’t easy and neither is juggling a full-time job as an ABC correspondent. But university alumna Mara Schiavocampo does it all, and she recounted her experiences and discussed her new book with faculty and students Wednesday.
Schiavocampo’s book THINspired: How I Lost 90 Pounds — My Plan for Lasting Weight Loss and Self-Acceptance is the story of her weight loss and struggles with food. The book recaps how she shed 90 pounds after the birth of her daughter in 2011, and includes some weight-loss advice, she said.
Throughout her presentation to about 10 faculty members and a few students in Knight Hall, Schiavocampo highlighted her inspirations.
“[My weight loss] started from a really good place. It didn’t start from a place of self-loathing; it started from a place of determination,” she said.
Schiavocampo felt the pressures of being a woman in broadcast media, she said. She saw other reporters come back after their pregnancies and most, if not all of them, had shed all of their weight. However, Schiavocampo did not decide to lose this weight for others, she said; she did it for herself.
Schiavocampo received a master’s degree from the journalism school in 2003.
The journalism school reached out to Schiavocampo because faculty were interested in her weight loss book, as well as the opportunity to discuss her career with prospective media students, said David Ottalini, the journalism school’s senior communications manager.
“We’re always looking for guests who are working professionals, who can give a unique perspective on their career,” Ottalini said.
During a Q and A session, students asked Schiavocampo how to live a healthy lifestyle while living on the campus, what her specific exercise regimens were and if she had any nutrition recommendations.
Schiavocampo talked about different foods, such as ice cream and pizza, which she over-ate before her weight loss program, and advised students to “just let those foods go.” Popcorn has become one of her new favorite foods, a comfort food she can eat without worrying about its impact.
“I can eat a bowl of popcorn and really enjoy it,” she said. “It won’t really mess with my head.”
Schiavocampo’s path to weight loss was a combination of diet, sleep, exercise and planning. In addition, the book also includes a number of healthy recipe suggestions, which individuals can make when trying to lose weight or just eat healthy.
Julianna Romaniuk, a junior journalism major, is an aspiring broadcast journalist and said she recognized the pressure women feel from society to lose weight and conform.
“Once I found out she was having a book signing for weight loss, which is something I’m in the process of doing, I was very interested,” Romaniuk said. “I learned a lot, and I’m definitely going to use her pancake recipe.”
