As a former long-distance runner and a gymnast, Casey London Keeter was accustomed to a regular schedule of working out. Now 38, married, a mom to daughters aged 9 and 3 and the busy manager at Intrigue Salon in Atlanta, Keeter still finds ways to stay fit. Five days a week, her day starts early—she wakes up at 4:30 a.m., and by 5 a.m. she’s at Orangetheory Fitness for high-intensity interval training. She returns home at 6 a.m., crossing her husband’s path as he leaves for work and she proceeds to get the kids ready for school.
“Would I choose to wake up at 4:30?” Keeter asks. “Probably not. But I work full-time, and staying fit is a priority and a commitment I’ve made. People say they don’t have time to work out, but there is time; you just have to make it. You can do it at home—stream exercise videos or just do your own routine. I understand that I’m different, because I really love working out!”
Keeter is careful about what she eats as well, sticking to mostly organic foods and limiting alcohol to wine on the weekends. She starts each day with a green smoothie that blends spinach, bananas, mangos and almond milk, and she also has a daily cup of green tea. A family-pleasing dinner might be a healthy Mexican burrito: a tortilla wrapped around shredded chicken, pinto beans, tomatoes, scallions, quinoa and a little cheese.
“I read labels and buy foods as free of chemicals and dyes as possible,” Keeter says. “I think it’s better for my kids, and I try to avoid all of the additives in food that can make us feel tired. I love healthy food, so eating this way is pretty easy for me. I’d rather eat a salad than a cheeseburger and french fries.”
Keeter believes that her healthy lifestyle has had an influence at the salon. “Team members are always asking me what I’m eating,” she reports. “They come to me for advice about food and exercise. The year I had my younger child, eight of us were pregnant! There was a lot of discussion at that time about eating well. We have a Whole Foods across the street, which has helped our staff to get a healthy lunch compared with a few years ago when everyone would bring in fast food. Jeff (Intrigue owner Jeff South) has really changed! He’ll ask me to pick up something for him because he knows I’ll make a wise choice.”
As their manager, Keeter advises her team to see a chiropractor. “For this industry, which is hard on your back, arms and legs, I believe in regular chiropractic care,” she explains. “It helps stylists do their job.”
Even though health is a central theme for her, Keeter strives to keep it realistic.
“There are a lot of blogs about this, but if you get too engrossed it becomes an obsession,” she says. “I believe in living your life; you have to be able to relax a little. It’s a lot of pressure to eat healthy when you’re a working mom. I love my crockpot! My family eats well at home, so if we go out or we’re on vacation it’s okay if we eat other things. I make some organic pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that have a lot of butter in them, but they’re so good! You need to find a balance, and don’t be hard on yourself if you don’t always have something healthy for dinner. I have to constantly work on it, too.”
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