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HEALTH & FITNESS
Question:
As I looked at some of your latest pictures, you really have a different look. A lot of the Filipino characteristics are almost gone. Was this due to "growing" older or something else? I have to say that you look great both then and now, but was just wondering if you possibly had some touch up done. (And there is nothing wrong with getting touched up.) I have been wanting to have some touch up done, however I am very very scared. It's not like a perm that will eventually go away once it is done it's done.
Nia Peeples:
No there has been no touch up but don't let the photos, any photos, fool you. Make up and lighting can change anything.
And nowadays Photoshop is doing the work. I recently saw a picture of myself in a bikini that was shot for Maxim in Spain.
I was shocked. I worked out really hard for that shoot so I was in great shape but there is no way my legs were like that. They were long and very thin. I'm sure they reshaped them with Photoshop and whitened the whites of my eyes. It's amazing what computers can do.
As far as surgery goes I think you have to do what makes you feel best. Just remember that there are no guarantees. Do your research and take a look at the surgeries that don't go so right as well as the ones that do. And ask yourself if you are willing to take that risk. And always always look for strengthening alternatives. I am 45 and I still get carded. Now part of that is genetics but just as much is life style. Be happy. Be healthy. Research anti aging along with plastic surgery so you know what is available. (01/25/2007)
Question:
Do you smoke? Practice sports?
Nia Peeples:
I don't smoke. I wouldn't recommend smoking to anyone. In fact the statistics are this:
If you quit by your early thirties you most likely will not get lung cancer but if you do
8 out of 10 people diagnosed die in the first 6 months…Very very deadly.
Sports? I love sports. I don't play team sports but I love them. Beside dance and martial arts, I mountain bike a bit, I surf, I rock climb. I love all of it. (10/01/2006)
Question:
It is very obvious that you are serious about staying physically fit - you look fabulous! I'd love to know what your fitness regimen consists of. Would you please advise?
Nia Peeples:
Okay, I will be as brief as possible.
Let me begin by saying we are all genetically predisposed. I am small with curves and a tendency to bulk up quickly muscularly speaking. I will never be long and lanky with a waif like frame. Here are some ground rules.
- Be kind to your self. Love and appreciate the body you have. It is beautiful. It gets you around. It breathes and dances and sings to whatever degree it can, but it does.
- Know that muscle weighs more than fat. 5 lbs of fat is a lot bigger than 5 lbs of muscle. Throw the scale away and pay attention to how your clothes fit and how you feel energetically.
- Know that muscle uses more protein and burns more calories than fat.
- There is no faster way to gain muscle and reshape the muscles you have than weight lifting.
- There is no faster way to lose fat than consistent aerobic exercise.
If I want to lose fat, thin out, get smaller:
45 min to 1 1/2 hours of aerobic exercise 5 days a week.
1. In the fat burning zone. (heart rate) For me that is around 140 bpm. Or 24 beats per 10 seconds.
Most gym equipment these days has handles that will measure that for you. It should take about 10 mins to get it up there. Keep it in the zone, no higher, no lower, for the other 35 mins. If you are not in the gym, it can be as simple as walking with a watch that has a second hand. Just keep measuring your heart rate.
5 days is important because at the 5 day mark, after a while your body just starts burning fat on the off days at a higher rate as well. It's like you turn up the furnace.
2. EAT! Eat every 3-4 hours. Low fat, with some protein and carbs. The easiest way for me is to predetermine how many calories, carbs, protein, fat, figure out my meals and munch all day. The more simple the better. It takes time to figure out the first time but after that it's a breeze. Then on the weekends I try to be healthy but I don't measure and watch the clock and I allow myself some indulgences.
You should never be hungry. You should never be stuffed. Eating every few hours is important because it signals your body to go ahead and start burning the calories because it knows more food is coming.
If you starve yourself your body goes into starvation mode and will conserve rather than burn. GOOD LUCK! (10/01/2006)
LIFESTYLE
Question:
Aside from your entertainment industry likes and dislikes, what sort of things do you like, or would like to have in your own home? What sort of cars have you had, or would like to have for yourself? Do you have a favorite travel destination, or someplace you've always wanted to visit?
Nia Peeples:
I am very simple in regard to "THINGS." I have found over the years that things just bog me down. They just add responsibility and weight. They take time out of my day when I'd rather be watching the sunset with my daughter or catching a wave with my son. Twice in my life I have actually given away almost everything I have and it was so incredibly liberating. Simplicity makes me much more happy than a new motorcycle or boat.
Travel…hm. There are so many places I'd love to visit. But I kind of like the spontaneity of it. I like it best when it is organic, in other words traveling to a destination for a specific purpose like work or visiting friends and then letting the journey unfold. Wonderful, unexpected things happen. Amazing people come into your life unexpectedly. I find that what the universe brings into my life is always so much better than what I find when I seek too earnestly.
Now, back to the "Things." One thing I have always wanted is a little villa in Italy or France. Some place I could go every year for a month or two with my children. The thought of my little Sienna, (that's my daughter,) running around with little Italian children, playing the games and speaking the language while I prepare dinner after a day of surfing and frolicking in the water appeals to my every sense. (01/23/2006)
Question:
Hollywood is famous for its over abundance of bloated egos. In an ego driven industry, does it effect you, and how do you cope with the daily stress of it all?
Nia Peeples:
Yes Hollywood is full of bloated egos. But it is also filled with some amazingly gifted and generous people. I think the most difficult thing for me is knowing that success in this business isn't necessarily predicated on being good at what you do. Much of it is based on hype. That's why when legitimately talented people get a great opportunity AND that opportunity beats all the odds and actually makes money I am absolutely elated! How do I cope? I go home and make dinner for my children or take them for a bike ride or play music with them. I call my friends in Sweden who love me no matter what bad movie I make. Or I share.
I give. I teach. I guess it reminds me of my own abundance and that I do indeed have something to give and in fact it is my obligation. (01/23/2006)
SPIRITUALITY
Question:
Are you a Christian? I'm just curious since in your 1991 CD,
at the bottom of the lyrics to your songs, you have references to different verses.
Nia Peeples:
Am I a Christian? I'd say yes but I must add that I am not your most conventional Christian. After having studied the bible, and many interpretations of it at that, I have come to the simple conclusion that the message is to love one another. And I believe that message is given to everyone in all different shapes and sizes and at times only God can deem most appropriate. I also believe it is ultimately my responsibility to determine day
by day, moment by moment, action by action, how I can best accomplish that. It is at the center of everything in my life.
I figure if we really take responsibility for our own actions,
and love one another, the world can only get better.
(10/15/2006)
Question:
I wanted to know with your schedule do you attend church? If so, which one and are you active in the church?
Nia Peeples:
I do not attend church. I have tried many times but I think with all the traveling I do it is difficult. But I read and pray every day.
I believe God teaches and preaches to each of us in his own way. One man needs a priest, the other a sunset. One man needs an organization, another solitude. He made us each a unique being and provides us each with opportunities to learn as well as share what we learn and those ways are as unique as each of us. He makes that possible. We must be willing to reach for Him and listen. Listen to Him who is in each of us. And trust what we hear rather than solely leaning on convention or others interpretations. Without that freedom and personal responsability that goes with it could there have been a John the baptist...? Or Jesus for that matter. (10/01/2006)