Oxygen USA – July-August 2019

116 summer 2019

Mirela Cialai

New York City

Stats: 45 • 146 lb • 5’9”

Gig: Director of mobile marketing

From Fit to Fatigued. Karrie-Ann

Lowry was a hip-hop dancer and athlete

throughout high school and began weight

training at 17. She transitioned to running

half marathons and 10K races in her 20s, and

she even did a triathlon when she was three

months pregnant. Then her fi tness took a

turn. “I gained 70 pounds over the course

of two pregnancies, leading to chronic

infl ammation and pre-diabetes,” she says.

“I had achy joints and no control over my

hormones or blood sugar.”

Rethinking Nutrition. Lowry turned to

magazines like Oxygen to get back to basics

and fi nd inspiration, and eventually she lost 50

pounds. “I had to fi gure out what was healthy

for me, not someone else,” Lowry says. She

began to batch-cook her favorite dishes and

prepped fruit, salad and vegetables weekly so

they were readily available. Lowry’s perspec-

tive on “cheat” foods also changed. “For me, a

‘cheat’ is now a ‘carb-up’ and is usually a serving

of sweet potatoes or, if I’m really feeling bad, the

Cajun fries from Five Guys,” she says, laughing.

Fit Mom. These days, Lowry trains in the

morning after dropping off her kids at school,

and she begins her workouts with stretching,

push-ups, air squats and planks. “Then I train

individual muscle groups with free weights

or cable exercises,” she explains. Cardio

comes twice a week, and usually she runs,

cycles or takes a Spin class.

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Fit Over 40. Mirela Cialai has always been

into fi tness, yet she didn’t get serious about

lifting weights until she turned 40. “I was

coming out of a seven-year relationship and

realized that as a single woman in my 40s,

I’d be competing with women much younger

and in better shape,” she says. “That scared

me into action.”

Active Aging. Cialai began training three

to four times per week doing full-body work-

outs with an emphasis on weight training.

“As I got older, things that used to be fi rm

started sagging and cardio didn’t seem to

help much,” she says. “I was getting thinner

but wanted to be curvy where it matters.” Her

favorite move for adding those curves: dead-

lifts. And for her next challenge, she wants to

enter a local fi tness competition.

Confi dence Boost. “Having this strong

body gives me a huge amount of confi dence,”

Cialai says. “When I was younger, I was

always stressing out, wondering if the clothes

I was wearing looked good on me. Now I just

walk in like I own the place!”

Sound Advice. For those who lack moti-

vation, Cialai advises to avoid the couch at

all costs. “Either go to the gym straight from

work or grab your gear from home and go

right away,” she says. “Once you sit down,

the battle is lost.”

Karrie-Ann Lowry

Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Stats: 34 • 122 lb • 5’6”

Gig: Business owner

CALLING ALL

FIT WOMEN

Think you have

what it takes?

Send your story

to futureoffi tness

@oxygenmag.com.