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HANNAH AND THE FAMILY STORM
HANNAH STORM, AWARD-WINNING ANCHOR OF CBS NEWS' “THE EARLY SHOW,” SURGES
BACK TO THE FAMILY GROOVE TO TALK HEALTH, HAPPINESS, FAMILY AND HOW SHE
GETS HER GROOVE ON
THE FAMILY GROOVE: Every morning, millions of families look to you to start their day off in the right
way. How do you start your family's day off?
Hannah Storm: My day starts earlier than most people's. I get up at 4:15 in the morning-which is an ungodly, early
hour. I'm not particularly a morning person, but I, sort of, automatically pop out of bed. From there, I jump in the
shower to wake up, grab a yogurt smoothie and I'm out the door by 4:30. I pretty much go from zero to 180 at the
start of the day. I hit the ground running. I definitely don't ease into my day, but it's something that actually works for me.
TFG: Any morning rituals?
HS: One of the things I have to do at the start of the day is eat something. Then I eat all morning long-while I'm at work getting my makeup and hair done, meeting with producers, going over questions.
TFG: You look so fit. What do you eat?
HS: I go through phases, but I've always stuck with yogurt. I need a lot protein. I always have an organic yogurt smoothie in the house for the mornings. I get in the car, and instead of starting on the coffee right away, I have some yogurt and some water. Then when I get to work, I grab a cup of coffee and take it into the makeup room and drink it while I am having my makeup and hair done. When I come back into my office, I always have oatmeal with blueberries-or whatever kinds of berries we have around. Then I also eat hard boiled eggs, sometimes with a little flaxseed. I eat almonds and pistachios. Sometimes I'll throw in some prunes and peanut butter or Greek yogurt. I try to eat as much I can before the show, but if I'm really busy and I don't get a chance, I also eat during the show. Needless to say I have an endless supply of toothpicks on hand.
TFG: Did you develop these good eating habits on your own or do you work with a nutritionist?
HS: I really came upon them on my own. After my last daughter was born I noticed that my metabolism had changed. If I had a bagel or a piece of bread in the morning, I would get almost dizzy later on. I started going for protein that burns slowly, like almonds-,that kind of protein is really healthy for you. I got on a Greek yogurt kick before it became trendy. For me, what I'm eating is very healthy, but for someone with high cholesterol, it wouldn't be. I have no issues with that so I eat several eggs every day.
The other thing that I do more than most people I know is drink a ton of water. I'm sort of infamous around here for leaving empty water bottles all over the set. They joke that they use my old water bottles to water the plants-they actually do, it's not a joke, I guess. I constantly drink water, especially when my energy level is up.
I had three c-sections and I had some difficulty, in particular, recovering from my second one-it was a very intense surgery. I was doing everything to recover, including seeing a nature path and a chiropractor. The chiropractor didn't really help a lot except for one thing she told me: you are massively dehydrated.
TFG: At THE FAMILY GROOVE, we always talk about the panacea that is water. In fact, 75% of Americans are dehydrated. After a while your body just starts to break down. New moms, especially, should be drinking lots of water.
HS: I was breastfeeding at the time and so I took her advice and started drinking a lot of water. Once you start drinking water, when you get in that habit, your body craves it. Because I drink a lot of water, I am always thirsty. I have Mountain Valley water at home. It's one of the best because it really comes from a spring, as opposed to just being labeled from a spring. I always carry big bottles of water around wherever I go. And I'm constantly spilling it on me, in my purse, on my phone. I guess you'd say that I'm sort of notorious for my water drinking, but I guess it's a good thing.
TFG: Do your children drink water?
HS: My kids drink a lot of water. Actually that's what we drink at meals. We put water out
on the table. We don't put milk or soda. We don't drink soda in the house. If we go out to dinner, the girls can have Shirley Temples. We drink juice at breakfast, but we still always have water on the table, also. I'm a big fan of those drinks that are half juice and half sparkling water. They're fun for kids because they're soda-ish, but they have juice in them. I tend to buy that as a special treat.
TFG: How do you transition between your two main jobs: anchor and mother?
HS: Well, I have a great ride home—about 40 minutes. I get in the car and I usually fall asleep. I get home and I'm in my mom world. But I'm not that different as mom than I am as an anchor. I don't find that I get some kind of great rush at work that I'm sad I don't get at home. I just don't have any kind of an issue with that. I do think it's nice to have a ride home. Sometimes if it's been a wild day at work or if I'm thinking about everything that's coming up at home, I might not be able to sleep. But usually I can manage to grab my little nap then. I wish it was much, much longer. That's the on thing that's sorely lacking in my life: sleep. I really think that ride is a neat way to relax. I used always return calls or be on my Blackberry during the ride, but now I find that it's better if I take a break and chill. This way when I get back, I am ready to roll. I am always to so excited and happy to be home.
TFG: It's self-preservation, but it takes discipline to do that—to have boundaries and to take care of yourself.
HS: All my friends tease me because I never do anything for myself, but I do consider taking a nap survival. If I didn't take my itty bitty nap, I'd be the hugest grouch on the planet. I know that it does two things: it keeps me from flying off the handle and it makes me a better driver. I get concerned that driving my kids around after school while being sleep-deprived means that I'm not 100% there. This fall my baby is going to kindergarten and our after school activities are going to pick up a bit, so I might even be able to squeeze in a nap when I come home. After school is a crazy time. I'm always cooking dinner, helping with the homework. I like to have good energy for it.
TFG: What charities are you involved with?
HS: Sturge-Weber is one of several charities that I am involved with. I am also involved with many other birthmark-related charities and causes. (Storm went public in 2004 about her port wine stain, also called vascular birthmarks, in an effort to bring awareness to the potential health concerns for people with these marks).
TFG: What do you tell your children about the world we live in? How do you shelter or not shelter them? How do you deliver the news to them?
HS: Well, I don't talk about things that are upsetting unless my children ask. As parents, we have to be very careful when we speak to them to do it properly to ensure that they're not scared. Children need to understand something like the tsunami in Southeast Asia, but they need to understand that it's not something that is likely going to happen to them. When they ask-my kids frequently ask because they're older and they happen to watch the news because they check me out in the morning-I always answer them in a calm way. We talk about why that's something that won't happen here. I tell them not to worry about it. But I also tell them that these are people who we need to care about, think about and help out if we can. So I have no problem talking to them about serious things that are in the news, but I do it in a way that's not scary, but more educational.
TFG: And lastly, because we're THE FAMILY GROOVE, we have to ask: How do you get your groove on?
HS: Oh, my gosh! What does that mean exactly?
