Testimonials & Transformations

We all have desires to be better in the future than we are today, whether that be in physical fitness or in other aspects of our lives. I had been saying for a couple of decades that I would start tomorrow, or I would start when things slow down at work. Even when the time felt right and I would begin an exercise program, work would get in the way, or the kids activities, or I would quickly get bored of the routine and just give up. I was not able to stick with anything for more than a few weeks, and of course, that did not change anything. I am an independent person, so with all the information available online, I figured that I should be able to come up with my own exercise routine that would work well for me. Unfortunately, I never had the time to do it, or at least do it well. My wife had been friends with Natalie since childhood and encouraged me to give her program a shot, so I did. Natalie gave me a fitness and diet plan that worked well for me personally, taking into account both dietary restrictions and old physical injuries. The plan was interesting, challenging, and fun, but most importantly it worked. I have heard it said that everyone has goals, but that is not what makes us different or better. It is our habits that form us. We become the little things we do every day for years at a time. If we exercise consistently, we become fit. Our body eventually become what it is that we consume, whether good or bad. Natalie helped me to establish new habits that changed my fitness, my energy level, the way my clothes fit me, and the way I felt about my own ability to do hard things. Her program was challenging, and I found myself doing more than I thought I could do, which accelerated my progress. The program is very app centric which works well for me, because everything I needed was right there on my phone. I could easily track my progress through seeing my activity level outside the gym, my previous workouts, how I was doing on my eating plan, and the app gave me badges and kudos when I broke through plateaus. It was all very motivating and encouraging. I could see how my weight and body fat percentage had changed over time. I learned not to focus on the day-to-day swings, but instead on the weekly trends. As a man, I have never really been focused on the scale as much as on my body fat percentage. From the beginning I really didn’t want to lose much weight, but instead I wanted to change the overall composition of my body to more muscle and less fat. In some ways this can be more challenging that just losing weight or just gaining muscle weight. It can be hard to do both at the same time. Over the course of the six months that we worked closely together, I went from 22% body fat to 12% body fat and now have a sixpack. As a man in his mid 40’s, I feel great, have a lot of energy, and most importantly, I know how to safely work out and eat right. It has been about a year, and because of the knowledge and tools that Natalie has given me, I have kept my body fat down and muscle weight up. I am now 13% body fat which is great. I plan to sign up with Natalie again to push my progress a bit further. You often hear people say that getting in shape made them more confident. In my opinion, confidence does not come from external sources or from physical appearance. It comes from within. Knowing that you can change your life in a way that makes you more fit and healthy can certainly help you see yourself in a more positive light but losing weight, in and of itself, will not make you more confident. Likewise, being overweight does not mean that you should be less confident than others. Confidence is a different journey that can parallel your fitness journey, but do not mistakenly believe that getting in shape will fix who you are inside and how you think about yourself. You are so much more than your external appearance. I am grateful to Natalie for creating a program that helped me to change the way I live and eat to become more active and healthier. She was supportive, engaging, and helpful every step of the way. I highly recommend her and her program to anyone that wants to change their daily habits and put themselves on a path toward longevity and fitness!