Fitness Tips With SAN Athlete Cristi Cuellar
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I recently had the chance to talk fitness tips with SAN sponsored competitor Cristi Cuellar. Cristi has competed numerous times including winning the 2009 Miss Bikini Mexico Internacionalas as well as the 2010 NPC Europa – Dallas (Bikini Division).
Q: What inspired or motivated you to continue to pursue fitness the way you have?
Cristi: The feeling an intense workout gives you will motivate you to keep doing it. Its like a drug. You get addicted to the feeling.
I have also seen amazing results with what workouts have done to my physique. To have “abs” at age 30 inspires me!
I also know my purpose in life is to help and serve others, so if I can improve their health by giving advice or just being a role model, I will keep doing what I am doing.
Q: What advice would you give to someone who’s struggling to stay motivated, keep positive and stick to a proper nutrition and exercise program, especially someone who may not have a positive role model around?
After all, most of us are surrounded every day by a lot more negativity than we are positive people. It can be tough to break away from that.
Cristi: YOU have to WANT to change… BAD. Resolve the underlying issues of why you may be unhealthy. Face your addictions or find a way to change a habit. Role models can only do so much, but surrounding yourself with positive people can definitely help keep you going.
Q: You’ve developed a gorgeous, sexy, lean hard body and you couldn’t have done it without weights. A lot of women shy away from weight training because they don’t want to look like Arnold. If they train at all, it’s with the tiny pink weights and they never even break a sweat.
What do you say to these women to get them to not just train with weights but train hard and make it an important part of their overall program?
Cristi: Yeah, women get scared of lifting heavy weights and eating more protein. Lifting weights adds a challenging resistance to the muscle, which pulls at the attachment sites and also stimulates bone growth. Us women need to do everything to prevent osteoporosis.
Eating protein rich foods and lifting weights keeps the body in constant rebuilding mode, and that’s a good thing!.
Q: What’s the biggest mistake you made when you started and how did you correct it?
Cristi: After I won my first show, I celebrated by pigging out for weeks on the foods I cut out while training. I gained all the weight back and felt like crap again.
The more competitions I do, the more I learn that being fit is a lifestyle.
Sure, during the off season I enjoy cheese and wine, but everything is about moderation. If you splurge during off season, it’s just going to make “in-season” even harder. The same is true for people that don’t compete.
If you lose the weight you want to lose (say 25 pounds) and then go back to what you were doing before, you’ll gain it back, then lose it, and it becomes a vicious circle. You have to make positive and permanent changes to your lifestyle.
Q: What do you think is the most important thing or skill you’ve learned with regard to health and fitness?
Cristi: Keeping my stress level down. I used to stress out when I wasn’t doing the workouts exactly how my trainer set for me. I have learned every body is different.
What works for one person may not work for another. I don’t do well drinking protein or working out past 7 pm so I don’t do it. I don’t stress out about it either. I have learned and continue to learn about my body. I love it.
Q: What are some common pitfalls you feel people can stumble upon and how do you help them avoid these obstacles?
Cristi: They get frustrated when they mess up, so they just give up altogether and procrastinate on their “goals.” Resilience is about bouncing back from a fall, multiple times!
Q: Moving forward and knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently with your own journey, if anything?
Cristi: Aw man, if I knew about diet and supplementation, I would have had a track scholarship! I would not change any of the events that happened in my life. God let them happen, and now I know the reasons, and they make me smile.
Q: The most common excuse I hear from people who don’t eat right or train is that they don’t have the time.
Cristi: UGH THIS ONE IS THE WORST! It kills me when they say they don’t have time, but yet they post on Facebook everyday how they are so loyal to their favorite reality TV show. Sorry but if they don’t “have time,” they don’t want to change.
Q: What’s a typical day for you when it comes to training and nutrition?
Cristi: My typical day looks like this:
- 6 am – Wake up, Morning drink: 2oz aloe vera, 1 oz pure cranberry juice, 2 oz water, ½ tsp Herbalife green tea concentrate, 1 scoop greens, walk Chiqui, my dog
- 7am – 3 egg whites, ½ a piece of toast with coconut oil, flaxseed oil, and natural jelly
- 8am – Workout: upper or lower body, then 30 minutes of cardio. (elliptical, stair stepper or running)
- 10 am – Meal 2: chicken, almonds, sweet potato
- 1pm – Meal 3: fat free yogurt, berries and granola
- 4 pm – Tilapia, broccoli, asperagus (molly mcbutter to spice it)
- 6 pm – BCAAS before 30-40 min cardio workout
- 730 pm – Chicken salad, broccoli, hummus, cucumber slices
- 9 pm – Fat free Jello chocolate pudding with L-glutamine (if I am still hungry)
Work: I am a licensed physical therapist. I love my job because sometimes I get to stretch with my patients!
Q: How are you able to consistently fit everything into your busy schedule?
Cristi: I just do. I’m lucky I don’t have a hectic schedule or a family yet, because then, I’d have to work something out with my husband! Haha
Q: What do you think are the keys to becoming successful, whether it’s competing or losing 15 pounds of fat?
Cristi: I make my vision clear to myself, whether by writing it down in my journal or creating a “Vision Board.”
I don’t really have to tell everyone, but when my friends see that I am drinking water at a bar or ordering food “extra clean,” they understand I am training for a show.
Q: What’s one of the things you find most challenging about what you do?
Cristi: The only thing that frustrates me about me is that I AM A WOMAN. Sometimes no matter how hard I work out or diet, hormone imbalances kick me in the a$% and I feel like all progress has been lost.
When I’m in frustrating times, I try something different. Working out doesn’t have to be 30 minutes of weights and 30 minutes of cardio every day.
I incorporate Pilates, Crossfit, Bikram Yoga, and even dancing as a workout. They all have benefits and they all help you stay sane!
Q: What are your future plans?
Cristi: After placing 4th at Team Universe Bikini B division in July, I thought I would do well at Nationals in November. But I did worse!
Competitions are very subjective, and the time I take to prepare is very consuming. The bikini division is difficult to compete in, because the “look” changes. Right now I don’t think I have what the judges want, but maybe later I will.
At this time, I want to continue to workout for me and my immunity. I want to dedicate more time to family, friends and my career as a healthcare provider.
I recently had a blast shooting a music video a photo shoot, so I would love to continue to train for fitness modeling opportunities like these.
My ultimate goal is to one day combine my physical therapy knowledge with fitness, nutrition, and supplementation as a Life Coach to help my community.
More about Cristi Cuellar:
I was born and raised in Pharr, Texas- the oldest of three. Even though I was diagnosed with asthma as a kid, I grew up running track and dancing.
I graduated from Baylor University in 2001 and received my Masters Degree in Physical Therapy at Texas State University – San Marcos in 2004.
Since then I have lived in many cities but my fitness journey began in Las Vegas, Nevada.
At this time, I am a licensed Physical Therapist practicing in Austin Texas, and I am a sponsored athlete by SAN Nutrition.
Cristi Cuellar’s Competition History
- 2007 Fitness America Southern California Bikini Overall Winner
- 2007 Fitness America Bikini- 6th place
- 2008 Fitness Universe Bikini- 13th place
- 2009 Fitness America Bikini 2nd runner up
- 2009 Miss Bikini Mexico Internacional- Overall Winner
- 2010 NPC Europa- Dallas Bikini Overall winner
- 2010 NPC Nationals- Atlanta GA 10th
- 2011 NPC Team Universe 4th place
Learn more about Cristi Cuellar
