I have been married since 1999 and have two young boys. I graduated from the University of Illinois in 1998 with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, after initially majoring in Physiology/Pre-med. In 2000 I obtained dual Masters’ degrees in Social Work and Human Development & Family Studies (HDFS). My first job was working as a Child and Family Therapist, before deciding to become a stay-at-home mom. This would turn out to be a wise choice, as my older son was diagnosed with autism just before his third birthday. After finally settling into my life that included autism as well as having our second child, I began to get restless. The time came for me to reinvent myself, and after successfully losing a considerable amount of weight I became certified as a personal trainer in 2006 and started my business in January of 2007. That’s my “generic” story, but only scratches the surface of how I got to this point in my life...
BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY
If you continue reading below, you'll learn details of the significant weight loss I succeeded in obtaining a few years ago. I
truly believe that I was given this weight loss experience so that I
could help others. However I give God credit above myself, and want to
follow these words written in the book of Proverbs:
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:6)
This
is God’s business first and foremost, and I have the amazing
opportunity of glorifying Him with it. In many ways, my weight loss
journey reminded me of my journey to Christianity. There is much more of that story below also. At some point in my
experience, I was reminded of a scripture in the Bible that really
resonated with me:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
This
was the inspiration for my business name, because I have experienced
both physical and spiritual transformations in my life. I try to
remember everyday the fact that I am a New Creation!
New Creation Fitness Counseling
blends my past education and experience as a counselor, with my new
passion for health and fitness education. It is my goal to provide you
with professional, research-based principles and customized plans to
help you reach your fitness goals.
TRAINING PHILOSOPHY
I
am not a “one size fits all” trainer; I take great care to gather
personal histories and to create individualized training plans for each
of my clients. I have extensive experience with behavioral modification
and cognitive-behavioral techniques. In English, that means how our
thoughts affect our behaviors and how to make them work FOR us and not
AGAINST us. That philosophy is crucial when introducing a long-term
lifestyle change. I offer a variety of fitness options, with the goal
of increasing client success and enjoyment. Strength training is an
essential component of any successful training plan, and I strongly
emphasize education in proper techniques to prevent injury. It is my
professional goal to educate you, inspire and cheer you on, and to
ultimately help you reach your goals. It’s hard work in many cases, but it's a fun ride and I thank each
one of you who decides to take me along!
MY TESTIMONY
I became a Christian when I was in college, before I met my husband. Even though I grew up being exposed to church weekly, I never really grasped the concept of having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. My high school and early college years had some rough spots, and I began to hide from God. I didn’t believe that I was worthy of forgiveness, and this started me on a string of self-destructive behaviors. My biggest vice was food. I realize that there are worse addictions out there, but this one was plenty of trouble for me. I was looking everywhere except to God for security, happiness, purpose, and fulfillment. In the summer of 1997, I found myself at one of the lowest points in my life. I felt unlovable, unworthy, ashamed of myself, and just plain lost. Now God had my attention. In the middle of all of that despair, I remembered some things that I had learned in church as a child. I thought about God and his forgiveness and how He sent His son Jesus to die on a cross for my sins. I realized that only God could help me out of my situation, and only He could give me what I desperately needed. After reading a Bible that my grandmother had given me as a child, I discovered that God really does forgive and He also forgets confessed sin. There is no memory or record of our wrongdoing, as the book of Psalms tells us:
He has removed our sins, as far from us as the east is from the west. (Psalms 103:12)
I claimed that for myself and from that point on, I began my Christian walk with the Lord. Most of my insecurities and self-destructive behaviors lost their importance as I allowed God to heal me from the inside out, although food would prove more difficult to conquer. Since that time, He has shown me so many wonderful things, often when I least expected it. I always get excited when he uses me to do something far greater than myself. This leads me to share the next chapter of my personal experience, leading to where I am today.
MY WEIGHT LOSS
I used to be obese (by medical definition), although many of my friends and family claim that they never would have considered me as such. After the birth of my second son in late 2004, I started an amazing journey to health and fitness. This journey was ALMOST as significant as my journey to Christianity.
As I mentioned earlier, food was a love of mine that developed during my college years. Once given the freedom that a young college student faces, I quickly discovered the concept of having “dessert with every meal” and ordering takeout at 1:00 a.m. It should have come as no surprise when I gained more than the typical “freshman 15” my first year in college. That was only the beginning of my weight gain, and my tendency to emotionally eat was a major contributor. There are many emotions tied up in the foods that we eat. My triggers were boredom, stress, and celebration. I had no concept of portions and LOVED anything sweet or chocolate (preferably both). I thought that so-called “healthy foods” were dull and boring, and assumed that the only people who thought that these foods were delicious were the “freaks of nature” that I saw in gyms and on TV. Despite the fact that I was an active child and an athlete as a teenager, I truly detested exercise. I would start exercising, only to wind up frustrated or injured and finally quit. I tried many different diets and philosophies to manage my weight; although at times I was slightly successful, the weight always came back… usually with even more weight on top of that. I felt destined to be overweight – obesity and high cholesterol are common in my family, so I told myself that I “just inherited” those traits and nothing could stop its progress.
Before I lost the weight, I was consumed with thoughts of food, my weight, and how to conceal my fatness. It was exhausting! I wasn’t loving the Lord as the Bible calls us to do in the book of Mark:
Before I lost the weight, I was consumed with thoughts of food, my weight, and how to conceal my fatness. It was exhausting! I wasn’t loving the Lord as the Bible calls us to do in the book of Mark:
And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. (Mark 12:30)
All of this finally came to my attention in late 2004 when my second son was 6 weeks old. At a doctor’s appointment for a routine check-up, I learned that I had actually gained weight since he was born. I actually asked the nurse if the scale was broken! Later I found myself sitting on my bathroom floor, literally crying out to God. I felt angry, ashamed, disgusted, depressed, sorry for myself, and hopeless. God answered me, saying “Well Heather, you’ve been eating a LOT of food and you haven’t been exercising. What do you expect? And don’t go trying to find someone else to blame.” God revealed to me that I hadn’t been a very good steward of what He had given me – my body. Each of us only gets one body to maintain while on this earth. I was overweight, tired, and at risk for heart disease. I became committed to reversing that situation and asked God to be with me every step of the way.
The very next day, I started exercising and writing down everything that I ate. I was shocked to discover how much I was capable of eating and how many “empty calories” I was consuming. For example, I would choose a soda instead of an apple with peanut butter. Both have approximately the same caloric content, but obviously not equal in nutritional value. I got to work right away on reading labels and understanding calories and serving sizes. Next, I worked on a balanced diet by following the basic food pyramid. This is crucial. Eating 1600 calories of junk is not the same as eating 1600 calories of the right stuff. Better yet, you feel more satisfied with the latter. I was also very concerned about my diet as I was nursing my son at the time.
In terms of exercise, I did my research and discovered the value of combining cardiovascular exercise with weight training. Neither method alone will come close to accomplishing what they can do together. I purchased some free weights and a few videos and did all of my exercising at home. No expensive gym memberships, no gimmick TV products, no public classes where I would constantly feel self-conscious. I scheduled my exercise time for the first thing in the morning. I am NOT a morning person, but having kids has changed that a little bit. There were some tough mornings when I really didn’t want to get up and exercise – especially after being up at night with an infant. But I was determined, and I asked God to help me to stay focused. At first, I really didn’t enjoy exercising at all. I ached afterwards and it was pretty obvious that I was out of shape. But with perseverance, I began to enjoy it and I loved starting my day with it. I noticed that I was getting stronger and my breathing during workouts wasn’t as desperate as before. Then I started noticing that my weight was coming down. I also measured myself and noticed the inches getting smaller. I kept a journal with all of my numbers, and wrote down my goals and frustrations as well. My goals didn’t just include weighing a certain weight, or fitting into a certain size of clothes. I also wanted to feel better, stronger, more capable, and able to do what God created my body to do.
I patiently plugged along and actually made it through many holidays successfully, which in the past had been one of my biggest struggles in terms of overeating. I should add that I never completely restricted myself with food. I just rearranged my priorities a bit and allowed myself to eat the fattening stuff, but a lot less frequently than before. An unexpected side effect was that I noticed that the food actually tasted better. I had become desensitized to the taste of food, and used to eat “unconsciously”. It was nothing to polish off a bag of chips or a plate of brownies in the matter of a 30-minute TV show, only to later realize that I never really tasted or enjoyed the food. During this entire journey, I asked myself, “can I do this forever?” I didn’t want to do something so radical that would help me take the weight off, but that I wouldn’t be able to maintain (another problem with many of the fad diets and exercise programs out there). I knew that it wouldn’t work to cut my calories ridiculously low, or drink shakes for 2 meals every day, or eliminate carbohydrates. I started the journey already thinking about how I would maintain my weight loss, which means that I had to believe that I could succeed. Believe me, there were times when I got frustrated and tired of it - but I leaned on God as well as supportive family and friends.
It took me just under 1 year to lose 60 pounds. As of January 2008, I have maintained this loss (within a 5-pound range) for two years. What an amazing journey it was! I finally found the REAL me who was buried under all of the weight! I feel great most of the time (a big change for me), and I have gotten reacquainted with my athletic roots.
The road to health and fitness opened doors that I never thought would be possible. Professionally, I have found a new passion and purpose. Personally, I am a runner – something I never considered before, because I had exercise-induced asthma. My cholesterol has been below 200 for the first time in my adult life. It is really amazing to wake up every morning, thanking God for a new day and actually meaning it. I no longer obsess over food or my appearance. I try to remember the saying, “eat to live, don’t live to eat.” I still enjoy food, but my life is no longer devoted to it. The biggest, most amazing result of this journey is that I have freed myself up to love the Lord with all of my heart, mind, soul, and strength.
The very next day, I started exercising and writing down everything that I ate. I was shocked to discover how much I was capable of eating and how many “empty calories” I was consuming. For example, I would choose a soda instead of an apple with peanut butter. Both have approximately the same caloric content, but obviously not equal in nutritional value. I got to work right away on reading labels and understanding calories and serving sizes. Next, I worked on a balanced diet by following the basic food pyramid. This is crucial. Eating 1600 calories of junk is not the same as eating 1600 calories of the right stuff. Better yet, you feel more satisfied with the latter. I was also very concerned about my diet as I was nursing my son at the time.
In terms of exercise, I did my research and discovered the value of combining cardiovascular exercise with weight training. Neither method alone will come close to accomplishing what they can do together. I purchased some free weights and a few videos and did all of my exercising at home. No expensive gym memberships, no gimmick TV products, no public classes where I would constantly feel self-conscious. I scheduled my exercise time for the first thing in the morning. I am NOT a morning person, but having kids has changed that a little bit. There were some tough mornings when I really didn’t want to get up and exercise – especially after being up at night with an infant. But I was determined, and I asked God to help me to stay focused. At first, I really didn’t enjoy exercising at all. I ached afterwards and it was pretty obvious that I was out of shape. But with perseverance, I began to enjoy it and I loved starting my day with it. I noticed that I was getting stronger and my breathing during workouts wasn’t as desperate as before. Then I started noticing that my weight was coming down. I also measured myself and noticed the inches getting smaller. I kept a journal with all of my numbers, and wrote down my goals and frustrations as well. My goals didn’t just include weighing a certain weight, or fitting into a certain size of clothes. I also wanted to feel better, stronger, more capable, and able to do what God created my body to do.
I patiently plugged along and actually made it through many holidays successfully, which in the past had been one of my biggest struggles in terms of overeating. I should add that I never completely restricted myself with food. I just rearranged my priorities a bit and allowed myself to eat the fattening stuff, but a lot less frequently than before. An unexpected side effect was that I noticed that the food actually tasted better. I had become desensitized to the taste of food, and used to eat “unconsciously”. It was nothing to polish off a bag of chips or a plate of brownies in the matter of a 30-minute TV show, only to later realize that I never really tasted or enjoyed the food. During this entire journey, I asked myself, “can I do this forever?” I didn’t want to do something so radical that would help me take the weight off, but that I wouldn’t be able to maintain (another problem with many of the fad diets and exercise programs out there). I knew that it wouldn’t work to cut my calories ridiculously low, or drink shakes for 2 meals every day, or eliminate carbohydrates. I started the journey already thinking about how I would maintain my weight loss, which means that I had to believe that I could succeed. Believe me, there were times when I got frustrated and tired of it - but I leaned on God as well as supportive family and friends.
It took me just under 1 year to lose 60 pounds. As of January 2008, I have maintained this loss (within a 5-pound range) for two years. What an amazing journey it was! I finally found the REAL me who was buried under all of the weight! I feel great most of the time (a big change for me), and I have gotten reacquainted with my athletic roots.
The road to health and fitness opened doors that I never thought would be possible. Professionally, I have found a new passion and purpose. Personally, I am a runner – something I never considered before, because I had exercise-induced asthma. My cholesterol has been below 200 for the first time in my adult life. It is really amazing to wake up every morning, thanking God for a new day and actually meaning it. I no longer obsess over food or my appearance. I try to remember the saying, “eat to live, don’t live to eat.” I still enjoy food, but my life is no longer devoted to it. The biggest, most amazing result of this journey is that I have freed myself up to love the Lord with all of my heart, mind, soul, and strength.