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uhc_video
Health.Inspired: Laila Ali
Take Control of Your Health – UHC TV
How you guys doing? Good. Wonderful. So, as you heard, so I think most of you already knew, I am an undefeated world champion fighter. You know it’s funny because a lot people forget that. Because ever since I did Dancing with the Stars, that’s all I hear about you know, and like being on Dancing with the Stars and I am still bitter about the fact that I didn’t win that show. So, I don’t want to talk about it any more. No. They are like, do you still watch it? I’m like, no I don’t really keep up with that.
Anyway, I just wanted to talk to you today about my journey to health and fitness. I started training to become a professional boxer when I was 18 years old. I saw women’s boxing on television for the first time and instantly I wanted to do it. Most people assume that since my dad’s Muhammad Ali that I grew up in the household and saw my dad fighting and wanted to fight because of him but that actually wasn’t the case.
Being that women did not box on television that thought never occurred to me. But I always had something in me. I was always a little bit of a fighter, you know, growing up and it got me into some trouble. So when I saw women’s boxing for the first time I said, “You know what? This is right up my alley! I can fight. I can get paid. I won’t get in trouble. You know, it’s perfect!” So once I went to the boxing gym to look around, to just check it out, I didn’t tell anybody that I was actually thinking about fighting professionally because I knew everyone was going to look at me and think that I was crazy. Plus, I wanted to see if I had any natural talent because I definitely did not want to embarrass my father or my family. So I started training. I was about 20 pounds overweight at the time. Like I said, I didn’t work out. I was like the average person. I would get a gym membership, wouldn’t use it. You know, be on a diet one week and then off the next week.
So once I went to the gym, I saw that, you know, that I did have natural ability and I wanted to go forward with it. I trained for a year and I always knew that if I started boxing, I had to be, and wanted to be undefeated. I wanted to be a world champion. I wanted to be considered one of the best. I had very high expectations of myself. So the first think I did, was try to find out what does it take to be a fighter? What does it take to be a champion? And you know, you hear other fighters give you information and other trainers that are at the gym say, “ Oh you have to run six days a week. Oh, you have train at the boxing gym six days a week. You have to get a lot of rest. You have to eat right.” So I said, “okay, okay, I can to that.” So you know, I made a lot of sacrifices. I was eating right and that was major for me because I love to eat, like most people do. But I had to cut back on some of the sweets and all that. So I did that but then it got to a point where, I was like, “That’s not enough.” That’s what all of these other fighters in here are doing and I want to be an elite fighter. I wanted to go for the championship belts.
I hired a nutritionist. I hired a strength and conditioning coach. Um, you know, the strength and conditioning coach focused on, you know, my fast twitch muscles, and lifting weights the proper way, with the proper form. You know, doing things right. That had a tremendous effect just on my quickness, you know, and preventing myself from getting hurt. Also, my nutritionist had me looking at food differently. I started looking at food as fuel, as opposed to I’m hungry; I want to eat because it tastes good. It was more so, okay, what am I going to eat that is going to give me energy and that’s you know, going to…well actually, what am I going to eat to keep me from adding fat to my body but also help cut fat from my body? Because in boxing you want to come in at a certain weight. Right? It’s all about you weight class and all of that but you still want to be strong. So there is a balance there.
So, I learned a lot about health and fitness boxing, and you know, a lot of people will tend to think that athletes just eat right and that is not necessarily the case. I know some world champion boxers, I know some Olympic athletes that frequent McDonald’s regularly. And, the fact is that they can get away with it because we burn so many calories. So just because you are an athlete does not mean that you eat right. There are certain athletes that are going to take it to the next level and are going to do what’s best for their health. You know a lot of times we focus on calories and fat because we are concerned about the way that we look, and we not really concerned about what is going on inside of our body. So I got a passion for health and fitness and wellness and for being the best that I can be as an athlete through boxing.
Okay, so needless to say I became a world champion. You know, I stayed undefeated and I retired from boxing. I boxed for 10 years and I decided I wanted to start a family. I had two children. I have a three year old and I have a one year old. It has been harder for me now because when I was fighting my job was basically to work out. You know, I worked out three times a day. I ran in the morning. I went to the gym, the boxing gym, in the afternoon. Spent another couple hours there and then I did weight training in the evening. The only day I didn’t work out was on Sunday. So obviously, I don’t have time to do that anymore. With the kids, there is no need to do it anymore. So my body has changed, and you know, it’s been a transition for me. Because for one, you have to accept your new body, you know, I was 20 pounds lighter than I am now, when I was boxing professionally. I can look at pictures of myself and say, “ Ah, look at me. I want to look like that again.” I tell my husband, “You know, I am going to do it babe! I gonna do it, I’m going to go on this diet. I’m going to eat this certain way.” And then he is just like. “ Yeah, whatever, here we go again.” Because it never lasts. At the end of the day it has to be more than just a look. For me, because life happens, I have two kids. I don’t have time to be in the gym. You know what I am saying? Three hours a day?
So what I am saying is that I have had to approach health and wellness…excuse me; the same way I did when I was fighting. I have to do it for me and I have to do the best thing for my lifestyle as it is now. What I mean by that is, that my motivation now, being is that I don’t have to face an opponent, I don’t have to be prepared. Because one thing about me was, if I knew I had a fight and I had to face someone, there was no way I was not going to come in shape and ready to go. Because I took my titles and my reputation and everything with me as a fighter, so seriously that there was no way that I wasn’t going to train my hardest. That I wasn’t going to eat right. That I wasn’t going to do what I had to do.
But now, I don’t have an opponent to face. You know what I am saying? I can get away, I can put some Spanx on if I need to and if I am five pounds overweight I don’t need to get on the scale, strip down and weigh in, in front of an audience like this. Then get in the ring and back it up. Someone is trying to take your head off, I don’t have that. So for me that challenge has been trying to find a way where I can just stay consistent. What works for me is cooking my own food at home, mainly. Eating lots of vegetables and fruits and lean meats and trying to eat five to six small meals a day. Obviously we already know cut out all the junk food and processed food and sugar and all of that. But I do have a cheat day once a week. Where I can eat what I want to eat. Because I feel that we all should because it’s what you do 90 percent of the time that matters most.
Like I said, my motivation now is just that I want to be healthy. I want to be the best that I can be. I want to be around for my kids. I want to be an example to my kids because women, normally, let me just say, most households, the man is the head of the household but the woman is the backbone as far as providing for the family. Cooking most of the time. Grocery shopping, a lot of times, you know, we target women in health because women are the one’s that are going to stay on everybody about their health. I know I do. I’m like, “ Have you been to the doctor lately?” I’m making sure the kids are doing what they need to do. We are multitasking all the time. So for me, I feel very responsible for taking care of my husband. Taking care of my kids and wanting to be an example for them. So what works for me, like I said, is cooking at home and taking my vitamins. Doing all that and I do it just for health. Period.
We all know we have a problem here in the United States, right? With obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and it is really sad because it’s here in the United States. I mean, we know so much. We have all of the information but still we can’t seem to get out of this rut. And no matter how many times people hear it, it’s like we still don’t make the necessary changes for ourselves. We let food control us because all of those diseases and problems are preventable, for the most part. I think that if we would focus more on prevention and taking care of ourselves then we would not have to be as concerned about our healthcare issues. Worrying about someone having to take care of us once we are sick. A lot of times it is too late at that point. So I am always trying to stress the message to people that we can take control of our own health. You have to figure out a way to make it work for you, you know. Everything does not work for every body. The diet plan and the meal plan that works for me may not work for the next person. We just have to have a goal. We have long-term goals, short-term goals and taking it day by day.
So, that’s what I am preaching today. Just to take control of your own health. Do it for you and be that change that you want to see.
