A different kind of trainer...
The beginning...
I know 'about' pages can be all too similar to one another and sometimes boring, but I hope that mine might give you some encouragement through familiarity.
I'll start with my reflection of where I was in life with that picture on the left of the screen...
Oh how I used to love that swimsuit. It was the only time I didn't have to suck in my gut constantly and worry how much it hung over my jeans or that normally I could see my belly stick out way past my breasts when I looked down. I weighed my heaviest ever at 248 pounds in that picture and my smile and tummy control swimsuit hid A LOT. It was hiding my low self esteem, constant pain, poor mental health and just my overall feeling of discontent. I was in so much daily pain with my feet, ankles and hips that it would take me almost an hour to have the ability and courage to stand up and get out of bed. After dealing with this pain for over 3 years and more doctors visits than I care to admit, I was finally diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). I spent about 8 months after my diagnosis trying and failing (due to side effects) multiple medications recommended by my Rheumatologist when I was told my only option left was Biologics. While those medications may be a fine choice for some, it was no choice for me since some of the possible side effects were health conditions that run in my family.
That was my kick in the butt to finally DO something about my overall health.
My Journey...
I started by doing a lot of research about Rheumatoid Arthritis and how it affected the body. Through this research I found that a low inflammation diet helped most patients to reduce the symptoms and damage caused by RA. After about 2 months of research along with a few tried and failed ideas, I found my liberation on a website called PhoenixHelix. Eileen's website is crammed with so much information about autoimmune diseases and lifestyles that have been proven to help possibly put you in remission without medication. (I am not sponsored by her website, I just wanted to give credit where credit is due!) I was beyond excited that I might no longer live with this debilitating pain and possibly rid myself of weight I've continuously struggled to keep off.
So I started a journey towards better health with the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) as my guide. I remember one morning about 3 months after starting AIP, I was washing my face and paused in shock, realizing that for the first time in years I didn't have the normal pain causing me to take time to get out of bed. I even started feeling well enough to exercise and that's when life really took off for the better.
This was the beginning of a new way of life, how I looked at food and health in general.
A quote by Hippocrates became my motto: "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food".
After 18 months of starting the Autoimmune protocol my results were this: I was in full remission from RA, no more constant pain, I felt happier, I was enjoying life more and I even participated in a 5k, something I never imagined possible. Plus I had lost a total of 83 pounds! My side effect of becoming healthier.
Life was looking great, filled with possibilities and I wanted more training to share this knowledge with others.
My Approach...
Realizing how much better I felt just by changing my relationship with food, managing stress and staying active daily, I wanted to be educated on a holistic or whole body approach to better health. I knew from experience that you have to find a way of eating that best fits your life, activities you enjoy to stay active and also how to manage stress that all works for you. And so began the ideals of Energize and Thrive...
I started by becoming a certified Lifestyle Educator through Metagenics First Line Therapy program with Velez Family Health. This was a great beginning to learn how to help others set goals, create menu plans, work on activity levels, and manage stress while being supervised by a doctor for support. But my desire for knowledge continued and was moving towards how to improve my body through exercise and learn more varied ways of eating for your overall health. That's when I found NASM, The National Academy of Sports Medicine, and decided to continue my education outside of the medical field. I am now a certified personal trainer and nutrition counselor and working towards other certifications continuously. My goal is to also become a certified autoimmune disease nutrition specialist and corrective exercise specialist to help others that are in a similar situations to myself and possibly start an AIP line of nutrition bars.
I know I do not look like your usual slender, body building trainer and I don't plan to. For what I lack in physical abilities, I make up for with knowledge and personal experience. Most trainers don't understand how hard it can be just to walk up a flight of stairs when your overweight, let alone the pain to do jumping jacks. I do. Most trainers don't know how tempting that piece of cake is, the joy you think you will have eating it and the disgust you will feel afterwards, due to tying your emotions to food and having trouble controlling those emotions. I do. Most trainers can't sympathize the daily struggle of looking in the mirror and hating the image, because everything looks and feels tight, so you give up and put on the same oversized clothes to try and hide the rolls. I do. I can sympathize with almost every overweight, discouraged, tired and pained person looking for help to change their lives. I can help those that want to help themselves, but just don't know where to start and need that beginning boost and knowledge.
Join me and you can Energize your life and truly begin to Thrive!