Savannah Guthrie of the Today Show appears to have it all. As lead anchor of the morning news program since 2012 and a thriving family life with husband Michael Feldman and their two children, Guthrie has achieved both professional and personal success. Yet despite her accomplishments, Guthrie reveals she still battles this issue.
Balancing act
Guthrie has a lot to juggle between her 4 a.m. wake-up calls to be at the Today desk on time, and her two active young children – daughter Vale, 5, and son Charley, almost 3. The work-life balance can be tough to achieve, but the journalist finds ways to make it work.
“I’m the luckiest mom there is, because I get home most days midday. Which means I can pick up my little one from his Montessori day care, we can have lunch together, he goes down for a nap, I go down for a nap, we pick up my daughter from school, and we have the whole afternoon together,” Guthrie told Health Magazine.
The news anchor also swears by her midday caffeine fix. “I have a big cup of coffee, which is also probably a no-no. This should be a column for Un-Health magazine,” Guthrie joked. “I have a big cup of coffee at like 2:00; then I feel great. It gets me through dinner and bedtime and all that stuff.”
Diet and exercise
Fitting an exercise routine into her busy schedule proves to be more of a challenge. “I’m not one of those people who loves to exercise. I used to love to run, but I don’t anymore. I feel like my body can’t hack it,” Guthrie revealed. “Jenna Bush Hager is my neighbor and good friend, and our kids are practically the same age. So a lot of times we’ll do a playdate, and she and I will take cardio-dance classes together, and that’s fun ’cause then it feels like you had fun with your friend and you exercised. That’s a good combo platter.”
The Today Show anchor acknowledges the importance of exercise for health reasons but doesn’t focus on having some ideal body type. “I want to exercise because I know it’s good for my mind and for my body,” Guthrie said. “I’m not really berating myself into having some perfect figure because, frankly, I know it’s unattainable for me.”
When it comes to diet, Guthrie focuses on healthy choices but leaves room for indulgences. “I basically avoid carbs, and I try to eat a lot of greens. I’m really good during the week, and then on the weekend I go hog wild,” she shared. “I feel like you have to let yourself have fun. And to me, food is fun. And I like pizza on Friday night. But during the week, I can stay on the straight and narrow. I try to eat dinner around 6:30 p.m. or so, and I try not to eat breakfast until after the show at 9 a.m. So I’m trying my own little version of intermittent fasting, but I’m probably not doing it long enough, and I do have coffee with cream in the morning, so I’m probably not really doing it right.”
The journalist admitted she may not be at her ideal weight, but she doesn’t want to give up her weekend treats. “I should really weigh a lot less than I do, so I must be doing something wrong,” she pondered. “What could it be? Probably everything I do all weekend long. The pizza. And I eat dessert. And I drink. Again, these are all great tips for Un-Health magazine.”
A ‘lifelong struggle’
One reason Guthrie resonates with audiences is her authenticity. In her interview with Health, she openly shared of her battle with self-acceptance, and how even after all of her success, it’s still a challenge for her.
“It’s a lifelong struggle for me. I’ve never once felt good about how I looked on the outside. I think all of us women spend so much time not feeling like we measure up,” she revealed. “And what a waste of energy. I’m not there yet, but that’s my goal.”
A motivation to accept herself more fully is the example she wants to set for Vale. “A lot of us have that mental dialogue where we look in the mirror and we’re like, ‘Ugh.’ And that’s just not healthy,” Guthrie said. “I really think about it with my daughter, because I just don’t want to pass that on to her. It holds us back from joy. We should be happy and proud of our bodies, and proud to be 47 years old and still kickin’! That’s great!”
Guthrie is making progress on the road to self-acceptance, and is taking it on with a healthy sense of humor. “I never looked good in a bikini,” she confessed. “So I’m not even sad or mourning some past glory. It never existed!”
Revelations like this are why Guthrie has such a huge fan base!
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