What Our Clients Are Saying:
"I've been working with TRX and Melissa for over one year. This has been the best exercise for me to keep motivated. Prior to TRX I had a hard time regularly committing to exercise, even after being diagnosed with osteoporosis where I knew the importance of strength training. But now I regularly train and can't believe the difference it has made to my posture and overall core strength. There are things I do now that I never thought I would be able to do. My thoracic and neck pain are reduced and I have more energy. On a recent trip to the Grand Canyon I was able to keep up with my husband and son hiking which I couldn't have done a year ago. TRX is fun and Melissa varies it up so that we don't get bored. I like the fact that she sets out exercises for us and monitors us to make us do it correctly. I never had much success doing this on my own. This program works for us former 'non exercisers' as well as those who are fit. I love TRX." -- Carol K.
"I cannot say enough great things about Melissa and TRX fitness. I am a mother of two and I work full-time. Although my job is not physically demanding it can be mentally draining. I felt caught up in a cycle of life that was not healthy for me. I was feeling like I was running around doing everything for my family, which I enjoy, but I needed to find something for me. I have tried many diets, exercising on my own, only to fail and return into the same daily routine. Go to work, run some errands, make or buy dinner and pass out on the couch and do it all over again the next day.
"I found out about Impact Fitness in July 2011 when Melissa introduced me to the TRX. I immediately signed up for the 6 week fitness challenge and started attending 3 classes a week. I was able to lose almost 15lbs and 13 inches within that first 6 weeks. I have an amazing amount of energy. I can run almost 3 miles now when before I could barely make it around the track one time. I now fit into all my clothes I have had in m closet for the past 10 years. Of course I was saving them for this moment. I knew one day I would wear them again. I feel incredibly strong like I can accomplish anything. My healthy lifestyle has also trickled down to the rest of my family. My husband just signed up and is working out with me now and my dog Pepper is in much better shape not munching on all of my leftovers.
"I have learned so much about how to take care of my body. If I have a question about nutrition, exercise, aches and pains, or even mental health, Melissa has an answer for me. She is so great about working around everyone's physical conditions and she is very accommodating. She will figure out a way to still get you a great work out.
"I also have to say I've never had so much fun working out in my life. I always thought it would be better to do personal training because of insecurities I had about myself but I must say training with a group of people is much better. I love the people I work out with. You never know what's going to happen on a daily basis, but I have never laughed so much working out, and I mean in a good way. Everyone I have met is very inspiring to me so I would like to say Thank You!" -- Amy E.
Whole30
"The reason I decided to try Whole30 is that I have several health concerns, and the premise of the plan is to 'try it and see how you feel'. So I did try it, and my clothes immediately started fitting me better. The first part of my body to improve was my belly, which has been out of control and expanding at an alarming rate! I also noticed that my 'cravings' had stopped and that some of my other "symptoms" had lessened. The foods that I gave up were not healthy ones. They were snacks made up of all kinds of grains, preservatives, sugars, and lots of other things that I don't even know what they are. They were fast foods full of sodium, sugar, and again - preservatives and all kinds of ingredients. Reading through the Whole30 booklet and understanding the meaning of 'Healthy Food' made me want to read labels and only put healthy food into my body. It has been a challenge to give up the fast foods, because I love to swing by and pick up a burger and fries during the day when I'm busy with errands, or to grab a quick dinner at Taco Bell on my way to a meeting or appointment, or to put a few frozen fast food items from the grocery store in the freezer for the days I don't want to cook. Those days are over for me, and I had to say goodbye to them and say hello to a different lifestyle and a different way of planning and preparing meals. I stayed on the Whole 30 and didn't deviate. I survived a trip out of town for 2 weeks to visit my family, the Super Bowl, a visit to Red Robin. Those were huge milestones for me, but I prepared my own food, tried my hand at ordering out at a restaurant, and I learned that life indeed did go on without breads and desserts! I didn't weigh myself at the beginning, and I'm not weighing myself at the end. When I get back into the size of clothes I feel comfortable in, and feel that I can sustain that size, then I will weigh myself.
"I have not deviated from the prescribed eating plan, I haven't 'cheated' during moments of weakness and gone off the plan, but I also haven't been perfect. I have eaten food that is lower down on the Whole 30 priority list, but it is still whole food, and is either a vegetable, a fruit, meat or seafood. I am a few weeks beyond the February Whole 30, but have not intentionally begun trying to incorporate grains, dairy, or sugar back into my diet. However, UNINTENTIONALLY, I started eating more fruit because it is fast, readily available, and easy! I developed 'cravings' again, and started feeling lousy again. It took me a while to figure out what was going on with my body. But once I figured it out - too much sugar - I pared it back and the results were immediate. I had one day of withdrawal, but I just bulked up on the other foods that were on the plan, and kept on eating healthy food and ate my way through it. Once I got over that hurdle, I felt good again, so that was a huge awareness for me.
"Well-meaning friends will offer me some of their special dark chocolate treat (either store bought or home made) that has 'healthy' ingredients, and 'only this or that for sweeteners' and "just a little bit only has this much sugar", and I decline, only because I now know that if I do eat it, that I will not have the pleasure later on in the day to eat a lovely piece of fruit, which I now prefer over a little tiny piece of candy treats. I prefer the sensation of biting into a living whole food that is bursting with flavor, and chewing it and savoring it, over just biting off a piece of candy and it's gone in a flash.
"There were a couple of rough spots AFTER the Whole30, because my attitude was that I didn't want to always have to cook my own food. There was a period of time when I was bombarded with appointments and engagements where there would be food, but nothing I could eat, so I would either have to eat before I went, or take food with me. I was frustrated to the core, but I did not deviate from eating healthy. A conversation with Melissa during class put the positive spin back in, and the realization that I was not feeling well, helped me to correct my negative thoughts. I treated myself with the herbal remedies that always work for me when I start "coming down with something" and I went to bed and slept it off. After that, I had a better outlook, and resumed the new habits that I had been forging over the last month.
I am super-committed to this program because I was not happy with how my body looked and felt, and since I have had success with this program so far, I don't see any good reason to discontinue it. Thankfully, my friends and family are all completely supportive of this endeavor, and in many cases, they have changed their habits for the better. In fact, some of my family members have already committed themselves to making healthier food choices, so they have been an example to me that it can be done.
"I am working on my attitudes, and I know that in time, all of this will seem more natural to me, and I will not have to think as hard as I have in the past 2 months. I am getting more used to cooking and preparing meals and cleaning up the messes they make, and not being so irritated about it. It's totally an attitude. Instead I am shifting my attitude to one of being overwhelmed with how blessed I am to have such healthy food available to me. I also believe that this way of eating is sustainable by me. I have tried other eating plans, and have not been able to keep it up over the long term.
"I stopped taking my multiple vitamins when I began the Whole 30, and I believe that introducing them back into my daily regimen has made a difference. I was feeling very tired all the time. The other factor in all of this is the amount of movement and exercise I get. I definitely need to increase my activity level. It's all a balancing act between the food choices, the attitudes, the exercise, and whatever else is going on in my life. Buying groceries, carrying them into the house, putting them away, preparing the food, all of that involves physical movement, and it's good for the mind and the body. About 20 years ago, I started putting on weight, then the arthritis began, and over the years the basic tasks of life became formidable to me, and it was more desirable to go the fast food route for more reasons than one. No muss no fuss! But the results have been disastrous for me! All of that just contributes to less brain function as well! It is definitely a vicious cycle and one that I have not been able to break until now. I don't want this to be another yo yo diet for me, and I don't want to gain weight back PLUS more, which has been the case with me. One of my most difficult challenges at this point in my life is exercise. The healthy food choices are paramount, but movement is also crucial. I do feel more like moving, now that I have shed some excess baggage around my middle!
"The lessons I have learned from my past behaviors will carry my through this lifestyle change and I look forward to better health in the days, months and years ahead! It is very promising, and I am excited to continue with the program for now. As I continue with the quest for a healthier lifestyle, I know I will learn which foods I can eat to feel good, and to maintain a stable weight. Whole 30 has been the springboard for this quest and I am glad I decided to try it. It is an easy one to try out because it's only for 30 days, then you see how you feel, and then you try incorporating other food groups back in, see how that works for you, and then go from there." ~ A Grateful Impact Client, Karen B.