Meet Coach Amie

Hi all! For those of you who may not already know me, allow me to introduce myself:

My name is Amie, and I’ve been an RF Warrior for 5 years strong! You can usually find me swinging bells with 5:30am Breakfast Club or, super early on Saturday mornings. In 2020, I FINALLY made the switch to pursue my passion of nutrition and wellness coaching. As RF’s Pn1 certified nutrition coach, I am very excited for this opportunity and chapter of my life.

There are no better people to share my knowledge than with my Results Fitness family! After 20+ years in pharmacy, I decided to take a giant leap of faith and pursue this passion of mine full time for one very specific reason I explain in this blog.

Keep reading for a little backstory about me (full disclosure: I am an open book and love to share). While I can teach all I want from a book, sharing my personal experiences is also of the utmost importance to me. Like you, I am human and have had my ups and downs of health, exercise, diet, and everything in between!

MY PATH TO COACHING

My wellness journey started about 12 years ago while in my mid-20’s. I was in the best shape of my life, cycling like crazy and eating what I thought to be a pretty healthy diet. Suddenly BAM, out of nowhere, I gained 50 pounds over the course of a few months. I was sluggish, my hair was falling out, my heartbeat was scarily irregular, and walking felt like moving through Jell-O. The mystery of my weight gain was baffling as I was working for 8 hours then coming home and sleeping for 16. It was tiring to even chew food so as you can imagine, was barely even eating.

I finally broke down and scheduled an appointment with my physician. After a full physical and endless bloodwork, I was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis – the cause for the weight gain, sluggishness and everything else I was experiencing. My thyroid levels were off the charts and frankly, my physician was amazed I was still standing. This disease essentially destroyed my thyroid gland and at that point, my metabolism was basically non-existent. I was prescribed a thyroid hormone replacement, told it would take a while to kick in, and that it would be extremely difficult for me to lose weight.

Uh, duh. “Extremely difficult” was an understatement.

Fast forward a few years. I got married, pregnant and pregnant again. Two kids and a few years post my initial diagnosis, I found myself at 100lbs. overweight.

Not only that, my cholesterol and blood pressure were high and it was nearly impossible to exercise for one full minute without needing a break. Instead of going on medication, I asked my physician for time to tackle this on my own. At that point, I was determined to make a change. My family needed me at 110% and it felt I was hovering at a solid 20%.

My family is my “WHY”. They are WHY I made drastic lifestyle changes. They are WHY I wanted to be a better version of myself. So, I got to work.

I highly recommend you find your “WHY” because:

1. It helps spark motivation and keeps you going!

2. When we work together, I am going to ask you this!

I ventured out on my own and joined a popular weight loss system (rhymes with “freight notchers”) and that was really the beginning of it all. That’s when I started learning about portion control, how much I needed to eat for my particular needs and how to cook and prepare nutritious meals.

I took to it like a fish takes to water; spending endless hours meal planning, prepping and creating new recipes. Friends and family began contacting me for help with meal planning, and I loved every minute of it. Once I felt confident and successful in what I’d accomplished, I went at it on my own.

Yes, I got down to a reasonably healthier weight but eventually plateaued. Realizing I had learned everything I could at that point, it was time for the next chapter: a new outlet!

That new outlet? Exercise! I took up running and at first, could not run 1 full minute. Slowly, I built up my stamina and was soon running 5k’s….then those 5k’s turned into 10k’s…10ks turned into half marathons…and half marathons turned into crazy obstacle course races. I was hooked. But, once again, I hit that plateau so I did some online research and came across the website for Results Fitness. I signed up for my first Social Saturday class and the rest is history.

MY PATH TO RESULTS FITNESS

My first year as a Results Fitness Warrior, I decided to participate in Rise Up In 6 Weeks – a lifestyle program teaching you how to truly build and create healthier habits around exercise, nutrition, sleep, stress – the whole bit.

For me, Rise Up was incredibly successful – from the habits I created, everything I learned and the RESULTS!

It was clear the program worked, and I wanted to know more. I NEEDED to know WHY it worked so well for me and for hundreds of others (there is that WHY again!). After years of yo-yo dieting, spinning in circles with different workouts and being cardio crazy and never getting and or maintain this level of results, I knew incorporating many factors other than just diet and exercise were key to my success.

It was then I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up: A nutrition and wellness coach.

I began taking online classes and soon became certified as a Nutrition and Wellness Consultant through American Fitness Professionals & Associates. I loved every second of the course, am eager to continue and excited share the knowledge I have learned with you all! While I can teach all I want from a book, sharing my personal experiences is also of the utmost importance to me.

My philosophy is simple. Small, incremental changes over time lead to big results. Consistency and balance are key. Without either, you are setting yourself up for failure. I do not believe that total body wellness is a one size fits all approach. I take on wellness from a physical, emotional and mental standpoint.