BF Interview: Babi Beluco –

The model and runner @babibeluco is one of those who are completely passionate about the sport. She loves challenging herself so much that she has completed three marathons. One, in Chicago, under three hours—professional athlete time! “We don’t need much or anyone to run. Usually you are your only companion, besides being a great therapy! Running regulates my sleep, hormones, appetite and mood. I feel fresher and more self-confident after a good workout.”

And love comes from a child. “I grew up watching my dad go out to workouts and my mom working out at home with Cindy Crawford’s neon gymnastics tape. I think example teaches more than words. When I was 14 I started running with my father. It was kind of uncomfortable and I still didn’t love it, but when I had to leave my house to work as a model in São Paulo, I found that running eased the nostalgia and it seemed that the distance shortened. Gradually, I felt that in addition to the sentimental side, I was more willing, slept better and was less anxious. Then came the passion.”

It wasn’t easy at first: she had to constantly travel abroad for work. But she learned to reconcile her routine and training (she took advantage of the run to see the sights of cities, for example). “Even when the schedule starts very early, I schedule myself to wake up even earlier, before sunrise, to exercise in some way. My day changes. Running is a sport that doesn’t need much. It depends on yourself, ”she complements her.

Babi also says that the word “diet” has been very present in her life since she was 15 years old. That’s because she had the idea that she needed to follow the “model pattern” for her career. “What ended up generating some eating disorders. I was on very restrictive diets, some without the slightest sense or professional follow-up. A danger that, of course, I do not recommend to anyone.”

Everything changed when she met coach Bueno (deceased in 2019). “I was introduced to a nutritional education consistent and realistic, based on real food. No inventions or fads. At first I thought, ‘Wow, eat all that and stay in shape?’. And the results, allied to my physical activities, began to show. Focus, disposition and well-being. I definitely took the word ‘diet’ out of my dictionary.”

Today, she says she follows unrestricted eating plans — she drinks and eats sweets when she feels like it — recommended by her nutritionist Luciana Polini. All thought of according to the objective of the moment: be it a new marathon, rest between trainings…