Success Story: From Professional Foodie to Powerlifter

Imagine if your job was devoted to food.

• You ate out at restaurants several nights a week.

• You tested all kinds of recipes.

• You hobnobbed with the foodiest of foodies.

Sounds like a dream job, right? And in many ways, it was for Jill Silva, (right, above) the award-winning former Food editor of the Kansas City Star who now has a public relations firm representing restaurants, chefs, and others in the industry.

But it came at a cost she’s now excited to be correcting: Silva, 60, gained weight over the years in restaurants and test kitchens, during which she was a busy mom of two and never made time for consistent exercise.

But now, thanks to a newfound passion for powerlifting and working out with a trainer, she’s healthy, fit and energetic.

“I might never be that skinny young thing again, but that’s OK,” says Silva. “I’m strong, I feel great, and I won’t need to use a walker when I’m 80.”

An ‘Accidental’ Start

The turnaround began “accidentally” a couple of years ago when a friend invited her to use a guest pass at a recreation center. To her surprise, Silva started working out for the first time in ages and felt better almost immediately.

She connected with a female powerlifting coach and has been working out at least twice a week, losing fat and gaining muscle along the way – and reversing worries from her doctor.

She’s reassessing aspects of her relationship with food, although she loves her work and all the countless ways food enriches our lives.

“I’m trying to let the excuses go that I’m a food person and I test recipes and eat out in restaurants, so that’s just the way it is for me,” she says. “I had to stop eating what I want whenever I want it.”

At 5 feet 7, she’s down to 210, near her goal weight of 200.

“I am very solid muscle. I am extremely strong,” she says proudly.

She eats at events about three times a week, and often what she eats there is beyond her control.

“So, I’m trying to remember quantity, to just take a taste,” she says. “A lot goes home in boxes. You don’t want to hurt the chef’s feelings.”

The ‘Misconception’ about Bulking Up

When she was growing up, Silva says, schools didn’t teach the health benefits of lifting weights, so it came as news to her.

“There was nothing in gym class ever that taught me about weights,” she says. “I had the misconception that you would bulk up.”

Squats, deadlifts, rows and more resistance exercises have built a new appreciation of her body – what it can do, how it can improve her health, and how it looks.

“I spent so much time in my life thinking I was not quite adequate, that I could have thinner legs or be more like someone else,” she recalls. “And that’s just such a waste.”