My Fitness Journey

How Refine YOU Started

I have had a lot of clients, friends and family interested in why I started Refine YOU and what Refine YOU is all about. Well, here it goes…

My journey in health and fitness really begins years and years ago. I am one of those people who has ALWAYS had to be careful with my activity and nutrition. I have always struggled to maintain a healthy weight and body composition and because of this I had an interest in fitness early on. I was a trainer, fitness instructor and enjoyed hitting the gym at an early age. I worked in physical therapy part-time while going to school. During this time, there were some people close to me in hospitals with serious health issues. This fueled my interest in medicine and my career as a physician assistant with a degree in health sciences.

“I am one of those people who has ALWAYS had to be careful with my activity and nutrition. ”

I began my physician assistant career in Emergency Medicine for 5 years then switched to orthopedics. In my 16+ years as a physician assistant, I have seen and taken care of people of all shapes, sizes and personalities. One thing that has always struck me to the core, is how all these people could really make a difference in their lives if they would only make the right choices. Everything we put in our bodies and everything surrounding our bodies can affect our health short and long term. Many diseases and disorders are preventable by simply eating healthy and maintaining a healthy body composition. I have been passionate in helping my patients understand that their health starts with them and the choices they make.

Personally, throughout the years, I have always been active and working out in one way or another. Weight training, step aerobics, spinning, half-marathons and marathons, interval training, etc. I do this to maintain a good body composition but I also really enjoy working out. It is my “me-time.” Time for me to just do and not think. It has, in a way, become a mental release for me.

About 3-4 years ago (after having 2 children) I got to the point where I was doing high intensity workouts 5-6 days a week along with eating clean and low carb. It worked initially to get the baby weight off and then it backfired.

About 2 years ago I noticed my energy levels plummeting, I was hungry ALL time and my cycles were off (big time) but my blood work and hormone levels were normal. Not wanting to go on hormone pills for cycle regulation, I ended up having a uterine ablation. This helped that problem, but I still felt tired and hungry all the time. Then, I started to gain fat. Yep! My clothes were getting smaller and not fitting despite all my healthy eating and working out.

Something was wrong. I went back for more bloodwork and this time my testosterone was LOW. I was offered a prescription for hormone cream which I was not going to use. Sometimes healthcare providers like myself can be the worst patients. I knew what the problem was. I had, in the back of my head, thought about what the problem was… but I was in denial. I was in denial until the lab result was right in front of my face.

“Sometimes healthcare providers like myself are the worst patients.”

I did a lot of research, looked at a lot of studies and looked at a lot of programs and techniques. With my knowledge in healthcare and fitness I came up with a plan I could follow. I took before pictures and went for it. 14 weeks later, I was shocked! I felt like a completely new person! No joke! I couldn’t believe how great I felt! Even though I wasn’t focused on the fat loss, my clothes were fitting again! I finally took after pictures and just couldn’t believe it! The pictures speak for themselves. I began thinking about how much of an impact this had on me and my life and had to share it with others! Refine YOU was born!

My emphasis is to Refine YOU, Mind, Body, and Spirit. This program is a game changer on the inside and out. Emotionally, physically and spiritually.

It is truly all about regulating your hormones. Your hunger hormones, insulin, cortisol and all the sex hormones (estrogen, testosterone, etc.). Working smarter not harder to target stubborn fat, increase your energy levels and stabilize your hunger.

I am so happy and excited about this 7-week program which I named The FAST ATTAINABLE TRANSFORMATION-FAT Loss Program. It is a transformation because it changes your body to use fat for energy and not carbohydrates for energy. It combines carb-cycling, intermittent fasting, quality cardio workouts utilizing HIIT (to target fat loss) and strength workouts (to build lean muscle). It is a jump start to a lifestyle change and not a quick fix. No more yo-yo dieting, cleanses or omitting everything in your diet. It is not realistic to think that you are never going to have the foods you enjoy. This program teaches you how to work in what you enjoy occasionally and strategically so they work for you and not against you.

My clients are having amazing results from this program and if you have the dedication to stick with it for the 7 weeks you will too! LETZGO!