Hey there! My name is Nicolette and I’d like to tell you a little bit about myself and why I created this website. I was very active in high school, as I played softball competitively year round. I was at a healthy weight. After graduating however, I started working full time and my activity level dropped tremendously. Over the course of the next 7 or 8 years I slowly but steadily gained roughly 50 pounds. Hitting my high at 209 pounds, I knew I had to do something. I lost 10 pounds on my own, but realized I needed that extra push. I joined a boot-camp style gym, but only lost a few pounds. Although I was exercising very intensely, my diet never changed. About a year later, one of the trainers was putting together a team to compete in a natural bodybuilding/figure competition. As a team member I would receive personalized training and nutrition plans. “This is perfect!” I thought. I was going to look like a muscle goddess. The workouts were intense and great, but the diet was not. It was VERY hard and VERY unrealistic for me. I lost about 20 pounds within the first month and a half. I loved the way I looked, but hated the way I felt. The diet was making me miserable and it was no way to live. 6 months later I decided to quit the team. I had to do it for my health mentally, physically and emotionally.

It’s crazy to think how food plays such a big part in our lives. I slowly gained all the weight back over the course of the next year and a half. That diet was a competition diet and was created for people who wanted to take their bodies to that extreme. It was not a diet for your average girl who was just looking to get healthy and lose some weight. It just wasn’t the right choice for me. I often hear experts say to make your “diet” a lifestyle change or you will just gain it back. Oh yeah, they know what they’re talking about! This is exactly why “fad” diets don’t work. Through this whole process however, I found a new passion in life, and that is helping people reach their fitness goals. Although I was unhappy on the inside, I was very happy with my outer appearance. I never knew I could look like that, and I hadn’t even reached my goal weight! Just getting a taste of that person inside who had so much more confidence in herself was amazing, and I want that back. But I want to do it the right way and keep the weight off for good.

This past summer, I enrolled at the National Personal Trainer Institute where I earned my diploma in personal training. I was still about 50 lbs. over weight, so I was self-conscious about going to school with people who would be thinner and more in shape. But, I decided that I didn’t care. I had a goal in mind and that was to learn as much as possible so I could not only help others in their struggle to lose weight, but to also help myself in turn. Sure, in the past I would go to the gym and run on the treadmill for half an hour or lift some weights here and there, of course never knowing exactly why I was doing that. But now I know WHY you should be doing what and WHEN and for WHAT purpose. So here I am, ready and excited to help YOU achieve YOUR goals as well. We can do it together! Let’s do this, and do it the right way! You really can change your life for the better!

-Nicolette

nicki@appleweightloss.com

Just to give you an idea of the weight changes in my life, here are a few pictures.