Living the simpElle life: Johanna

Welcome to my mini series -Living the simpElle life – where I talk to someone who has inspired me with their story. 


I heard a great phrase recently –

“The Universe is made up of stories, not of atoms”

– so that is what I want to share with you, stories, to open up the Universe to us all! 

Each individual we meet embodies what this blog is about. They have dug deep to find motivation, they have sought inspiration and in doing so become inspirational to others. They have been empowered with knowledge to change and that is what their story will do for the rest of us…


Meet: Johanna Lappalainen

Johanna

I was lucky enough to meet Johanna in the short time I lived in Rovaniemi, Finland earlier this year. Y’know sometimes you meet someone, you barely know them to begin with but you DO KNOW that they are a very special person worth having in your life…That is Johanna, for me! 

She live’s in a beautiful part of the world where the days of summer are very long…but when winter sets in, it stays put for 8 whole months and keeps a cloud of darkness over everything all day long. But this winter brings with it activities like cross country skiing and snow shoeing…kinda exciting for those of us who live in less extreme climates! 

Anyway…over to Johanna…

– {THEN} –

Elle: What made you decide to start training / running? …What was your plan / goals?
JL: Not being happy with the way I looked and felt. Then I finally met an amazing person to help me with everything; Elle! It is hard to start training when you don’t really know what to do or where to start. My goals were to feel better and to look better and most importantly to feel happy with myself

Johanna & Nelli

– {HOW} –

Elle: What’s your favourite way to work out?

JL: It has been really difficult for me to find a favourite thing! I usually start something and change it after a few weeks. But walking with my dog is always a everyday thing and I have fallen in love with kettlebells now! Maybe I have to try everything to find the favourite! 

Cutest picture ever?!

Elle: What’s your typical weekly exercise schedule? 

JL: As I said earlier I walk with my dog a few times every day; the distance we walk varies each time and how often! In a bad week on top of all my walks, I train another 0-2 times… but the best week 4-5 times! I include some running, yoga, Nike Training Club on the X Box and more! Right now I am having a good week and I feel GREAT!

Elle: What / who has been your inspiration? 

JL: Elle is my inspiration and the reason why I have found the inspiration in me. I would lay on a sofa eating takeout food without her encouragement

Elle:  What was the first big difference in you, that made you feel proud and excited? 

JL: To see that I had lost cm´s in a short amount of time and the fact that I reaaaally felt better! I had taken measurements of my arms, waist, hips and thighs before I began training and all the measurements have decreased!

making progress

Elle:  Did you make any changes to your diet once you started training?

JL: Yes I did! I quit eating takeout food and put more thought into what I am eating. I still have a lot to do with my diet. I still have too many bad habits.

– {NOW} – 

Elle:  How do you track your progress? 

JL: With checking my weight and also have used Myfitnesspal every now and then as well as using my forerunner watch for running. It tracks my distance, pace and other useful bits of information that I can compare each time.

Elle:  Have your goals changed since you started your journey? 

JL: The more you eat the hungrier you get I hope that´s a phrase in english also

Elle: How do you keep yourself motivated? 

JL: By checking my weight and the way I look. It also helps me to stay motivated when I have nice workout gear!

Elle: If you could go back and give advice to the “before” you…or any other person contemplating changing their lifestyle…what would you say?!

JL: That you don´t have to change everyting at the same time or quit if you miss one workout or feel that you have failed. Don´t make too strict plans at first There is always a tomorrow but why not start today!

See?! …inspirational huh?! 

If you’d like to leave Johanna a comment below please do! 

…and if you have a story you would like to share just get in touch! {Contact Elle}

Keep living that simpElle life 😉 

Elle 🙂