Mrs. Missouri America Pageant--Chillicothe, MO

Name: Lisa Stottlemyre Schilling
Title: Mrs. Trenton
Age: 36
Married: 11 years
Children: Cole (age 7), Sam (age 6) and Luke (age 4)
Occupation: Registered Nurse
Platform: Making total wellness accessible for REAL people. It’s time to Get REAL!

Personal Information: Lisa and her husband Shawn enjoy living a rural lifestyle. Her love of the outdoors began when they met during her junior year of high school. She looks forward to springtime for mushroom hunting and spring turkey season. Having three small boys reminds Lisa what is truly important in life and keeps her grounded in reality. Her interest in health and fitness started while training for scholarship pageants in college. Lisa holds a degree in Marketing and Nursing, both paid in full through scholarships. She went on to receive her personal trainer certification from the A.F.A.A., Aerobics and Fitness Association of America and also completed modeling and acting training. As school nurse, Lisa is able to work closely with students to influence their health and fitness opinions and to increase their understanding of basic wellness principles. In the fall the school hopes to implement the Healthy and Fit program as an option for students who have a BMI greater than the 85th percentile. She is active in the community as the leader of a women’s Bible study group and as the Green Hills Community Wellness Coordinator. They are currently seeking funding for exercise stations to be placed around the community walking trail and planning quarterly wellness projects for the area. Her hobbies include bargain hunting at yard sales, ebaying and turning trash to treasure. She enjoys traveling with her close and extended family and they frequently play cards and hold poker tournaments.

Platform discussion: Since October, Lisa has embarked on a journey of health and fitness education in herself, school and community. She started by realizing that her own personal health and fitness habits had become poor and in many areas non-existent. Life had evolved into what many people find as they develop multiple responsibilities; too busy, too tired and too overwhelmed to schedule personal time and care for personal health. It can become just another "thing" on the list of things that need to be done. Although she knew better, she did not act on it. Through this experience she has discovered, “Just because someone knows the right things to do, does not mean they will choose to do them.” In this dilemma her philosophy was born. We need to Get REAL!

Life was easier to maintain before having a spouse, children, household and full-time job. What a surprise! But when entering the REAL world, you often lose the ability to maintain such high health and fitness standards. Unfortunately experts in this industry only tell people the rigid, highest standards that you would follow if you had all the time and resources to work on achieving optimum health. But most people live in the "REAL world" and that standard is not something they can commit to for the long run. Many start, try to follow these rigid standards and then ultimately give up due to how difficult it is to maintain. This crazy set up forces people into all or nothing patterns. The result of which is yo-yo diets and weight cycling. What was intended to improve people’s health is now the cause of chronic poor health and decreased fitness.

Lisa wanted to discover how to get back what she once had, in the new lifestyle, she currently has. By helping herself, she learned important health information and many useful techniques. She felt strongly that what she discovered would help others who find themselves in a similar position. The big aha! moment came when she discovered the need for a more obtainable entry point into health and fitness improvement. She found that by starting small, at less than what experts say is optimal, that people stuck with it, and started seeing improvement. The confidence gained from sticking with something and having success, encouraged people to add in more healthy habits. Small changes that were consistently and slowly done actually worked! This goes against the all or nothing thinking that many people fight with on a daily basis. This is a common issue among those struggling to improve total health, wellness and fitness.

Motivation: Teaching people how to embrace moderation and map their own path to better health became her goal. Since then she has lost over 30 pounds and greatly improved her muscle tone and fitness level. Learning to accept where you are on the way to were you are going, is a big part of that. She felt if this system worked for her, it would work for others too. Lisa used this philosophy to coordinate the Great Green Hills Weight Loss Challenge 2008. She picked the main reasons REAL people were struggling and addressed them in the information that was provided to all challenge participants. The 250 participants lost over 2,000 combined pounds. As a trainer and nurse, she had gathered piles of handouts, flyers and charts to illustrate the healthy living information. Lisa used her abundant resources to create weekly newsletters for the challenge as she had done for several years with staff wellness projects and when leading her “First Place” group. She decided it was time to compile all this information into one, easy to read, guide booklet called “The Get REAL Guide to Health and Fitness”. Over the years, she has used this information to help staff and students in the school where she works and individuals reach their personal wellness goals. Because of her personal success, the success of school staff and the community project, she wanted to get this information out to a larger audience.

Why Mrs. Missouri?: She then began looking for more opportunities to speak across the state, advocating her goal of empowering REAL people to improve health and fitness. Looking close to home, she discovered the Mrs. Missouri Pageant. It seemed like a great fit and wonderful opportunity to make a difference. The chance to win a state title and ultimately have a chance at a National Platform to share her passion of helping real people improve how they look and feel. People, who may have never heard of Lisa Schilling, could gain access to her message, cause and book. It could open doors that might otherwise be closed. Due to her recent successful endeavors, it seemed the perfect time and vehicle to get this message out.

How do you “Get REAL”?: Lisa leads a very busy - REAL life and has discovered some real keys to improving and maintaining better health, right where you are at. Because we are all different with unique schedules, interests and motivators, no single plan will work for everyone. In her book, Lisa guides people to develop a healthy living plan that they can stick with for the long term. Life is about the journey and not a destination. By focusing on what is important you can enjoy, rather than dread, any new lifestyle choices. Considering the four pieces of “total health” as nurturing of family, caring for your body, making time for mental health and spiritual health as puzzle pieces, illustrates the point. When you have the corner pieces of a puzzle in their proper place, it is easier to fit the rest of the pieces together. By being flexible and adjusting plans as situations change, people can enjoy their life while working toward their goals. Choosing the path to take and being accountable for choices helps people gain control over their actions. A moderate, gradual and holistic approach that is tailored to meet needs will yield personal fulfillment and results that last!

In the words of Zig Zigler, “You can have anything that you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want!”

Lisa Schilling
Mrs. Trenton 2008

Lisa's Sponsors:

Look at Me Photography • Trenton R-IX Schools • Hoffman & Reed, Inc. • BlueCross/BlueShield of Kansas City • Trenton Main Stop • Coldwell Banker/Monsees Realty, Pat Rinehart, Realtor/Broker • Lockridge, Constant & Conrad, CPA, Chillicothe, MO • Shelter Insurance Companies, Stan Lowrey • Muff's Warehouse, Trenton, MO • Trenton Republican-Times • Pro-Health FIT, Trenton, MO • Magnolias and Ratta Tat Tattoos, Trenton, MO • Sho-Me-Cleaning • Pure N Simple Health Food, Chillicothe, MO • Mary Kay--Connie Hurst, Consultant • American Family Insurance--Gary Hurst, Agent • Premier Eyecare Associates, Chillicothe/Brookfield/Trenton • Miss America's Outstanding Teen--Kay Lea, Director • Barnes Baker Motors, Trenton/Chillicothe, MO • North Central Missouri College, Trenton, MO • Total Entertainment Tanning Center, Trenton, MO • Cutting Loose--Heather Baker, Stylist • Edward Jones--Roger Bennett, Investment Represntative • Serve Link Home Care, Trenton, MO • True Radiance • Whittaker-Eads Funeral Homes, Inc., Trenton, MO • PAR Broadcasting, Inc.--John Anthony, General Manager • Leta Wheeler • Ward, Angela, Tristan & Hunter Dugan • Mom/Dad & Uncle Harry • Mandy Ellis • Aimee Cohen • Carolyn Foreman • Dr. Albert Cross • Bessie Schreck • Charlie and Patti Polston • Shar Schnake • Barbara Martin • Kay Lea • Vicki Wheeler • Tharran and Barb Gaines • Jean Peace • Patches King • Lynn Daniels • Mary Peterson • Barbara Hague • Debbie Southers • Shirley King • The Vaughn's--Andy, Debbie, Chelsie, Brady, Aaron, Katie and Hannah • Catherine and Don Cornwell • Doug and Marie Schilling • Paul and Lelar Corbett

Photography by Bailey's Studio, Chillicothe, Missouri