Zoe Costa

With an eternal smile on her face and hands full with two kids, Zoe Costa is also a health and fitness coach, helping busy women live healthier lifestyles with confidence. I met Zoe through the Miami Mom Collective community a couple of months ago and ever since have followed her enthusiastic invitation to jump into a healthier lifestyle.

Macy: Who is Zoe Costa?

Zoe: Zoe Costa is a woman of many hats! During the day, she is a stay at home mom raising her two little girls. But during the pockets of her time, she pursues her passion for educating her clients, specifically women, on how to take control of their health through healthy nutrition and fitness with confidence.

Born and raised in Union City, New Jersey, this Latina comes from Cuban-Ecuadorian roots and is the oldest of three sisters. She is married to an Active Duty military service member and it was the military lifestyle that has brought Zoe and her family to the Magic City.

Through my own personal journey, it has become my mission to help other women take control of their bodies, so they can thrive, regain confidence, and live a life on purpose.

Macy: What is @survivalofthefittish_mom?

Zoe: My Instagram account, @survivalofthefittish_mom, started as a way to share my story about the progress I was making in my own health and fitness journey. 

The name, @survivalofthefittish_mom was created because when I first started my wellness journey, I felt like I was barely surviving the days. I struggled to be away from my family and I found that deployment life was challenging me daily. I needed to find an outlet that would allow me to share my truth about both deployment life and how I was going to overcome the fears that held me back from my personal journey.

The more I posted, the more I started to receive messages from other moms wanting to know about what I was doing to get fit. That is when I realized that my Instagram page was no longer just about me. It became a way to encourage and inspire women in hopes that they too can see themselves in my stories, and realize that if I can transform my life, they can too! 

Macy: Why did you decide to start your health and fitness coach journey?

Zoe: After going through my own postpartum struggles, and just wanting to feel good in my own body again, I knew I had to pay this forward. Not only did taking care of myself completely transform my life; but a ripple effect started to happen. My husband began to exercise and eat better too, and eventually, my children became more open-minded about their nutrition since they were seeing us as an example.  

So I created a private wellness community to help coach and educate my clients. My clients learn how to fuel their bodies with good whole food nutrition; learn how to make exercise a part of their lifestyle, and we focus on mindset work to help them transform from the inside out. It brings me so much joy to see the growth that my clients go through. I believe with my entire heart, that when you change a mother’s life… you change her family’s life, and when you change a family’s life, you can change an entire community! 

Knowing that I get to encourage and help women feel empowered, sparks so much joy into my life and it has also helped me stay accountable to my own journey.  What I love about this business is that since it is virtual, my girls get to see how I coach my clients. Knowing that my girls are learning every day that they are enough, capable, and allowed to dream bigger, lets me know that I am also creating an impact in both my daughters' lives. This business was built from the pockets of my time all from my kitchen counter. Allowing me the flexibility to be able to take care of my girls, and also fulfill my passion for helping women find themselves and create community.  

Macy: How being a mom has influenced your work and career?

Zoe: They say you do more for others than you do for yourself. With motherhood, that Is exactly what happened. 

Being a military spouse has been an honor and a great privilege. But it also has had its share of challenges as well.  Moving every 3-4 years made it challenging to pursue my career as a Chiropractor, due to my husband’s military career. Together we made the difficult decision to pause my career until both of our girls were in school. 

I continued to pivot by accepting the opportunity to share my knowledge and love of the human body teaching anatomy and physiology at the college level when stationed in Long Island, NY. When it was time to transfer to the Sunshine State, I dedicated my time to focus on raising my two daughters while building my business as a Virtual Health and Fitness Coach.  

Motherhood helped me build resilience even in the face of adversity, and find the courage to keep going. Because of my two daughters, I found a way to fill my cup daily to give more to my children. My struggles are now teaching moments to help my daughters learn that success comes from what you do consistently over time. And that their mom, always found a way to fulfill her passion for educating her clients on how to live a healthy and fulfilling life through proper nutrition, fitness, and developing a more positive mindset. 

Macy: What advice do you have for moms that want to start a healthier life?

Zoe: My best advice to moms who want to start living a healthier life: Just do it! You will never be ready because life will always find a way to challenge you and interfere with your schedule. Being a mom is the most amazing and beautiful experience we will ever know, but it can also drain us. As mothers, we tend to put everyone first, and at times we place ourselves last. The last thing we need is to run on an empty gas tank. 

But when we exercise, our body releases chemicals that can improve our mood and make us feel more relaxed. Exercise helps us deal with stress better, and reduces the risk of depression. Just like Elle Woods from Legally Blonde says: "Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy.” In my opinion, exercise is the key to our mental sanity, especially on tough days. 

Something that I always suggest to other moms, is to time block their calendar. Just like you would time block your work hours of business, or schedule activities for your kids, select a time and day to do your workouts. Schedule it like an appointment or a meeting you absolutely cannot miss!  Make this your non-negotiable and reserve it as your time to self-care or “Mami time.”  This method has helped both my clients and myself stay on track and it has changed life for the better.

The time will never be perfect, so just start and get moving! We deserve to nurture and take care of our emotional and physical fitness. So drink your water, eat a cup of extra greens, and read or listen to something that will fill you up with positivity.  This is how we fill our cup.