Meet Diana!
This year, I am starting a new monthly series spotlighting some of my amazing clients and Achieve with Athena ambassadors! If you missed the previous months, you can find them here:
Now, it’s time to meet Diana! I’ve been working with Diana since May 2018. She started out as a member of the Empowered Together Coaching Club, and later added on 1:1 sessions. If you are someone working out regularly, but feeling stuck on the nutrition side of things, I think Diana’s spotlight is a great resource!
*Responses have been slightly edited for clarity.
Meet Diana!
How long have you been working with Athena?
Almost four years! I signed up in May 2018.
What did your fitness and nutrition look like before working with her?
I was taking group fitness and spin classes 4-5 mornings a week and my nutrition was spotty. I was restricting calories, I didn’t have any real focus on any macros, and I routinely ate meals of wine and cheese when I had busy days at work and didn’t feel like cooking. I also definitely ate FAR more on the weekends when I was allowing myself “cheat” meals.
What are some of the most impactful changes you’ve made over the years? Have these changes helped the way you show up outside of the gym too?
Oh wow, so many options! Eating more calories has definitely helped. My performance in CrossFit has improved immensely over the last year after Athena and I started working with the Empowered Together Coaching Club VIP membership and had more time to deep dive into my overall wellness.
Also, learning to identify some mental health challenges that have impeded my wellness goals was a huge help – I was able to realize how much my mindset had been holding me back. For example, I used to have to have chocolate every night. Then it switched to popcorn. Now I eat enough during the day that I don’t NEED a snack, but I also know that I can have one if I feel like having one. I’ve also realized that it’s just not feasible to be in a fat loss or weight loss cycle all the time. It adds so much stress to your body, and just freeing yourself from the expectation that any sort of wellness or fitness journey has to be linear has been transformative.
I’m not the smallest I’ve ever been, but I’m the strongest and the most fit I’ve ever been, and most importantly, the happiest. It feels really good to be able to work on my goals slowly instead of chasing an end goal that I can’t maintain because I’ve eliminated too many foods or dropped my calories too low. The less stress I have in my life, the better I am able to show up everywhere, not just in the gym!
“I’m the strongest and the most fit I’ve ever been, and most importantly, the happiest”
What advice would you give to someone who feels hesitant about working with a fitness coach?
Don’t go in with crazy expectations of what it will or won’t be to work with a fitness coach. If you’re not sure it’s for you, connect with the coach to make sure it’s a good fit. And if you’re hesitant, just start small – join the Empowered Together Coaching Club and see if that helps you with what you’re looking for. Show up in the group! Post about successes and failures and struggles and get the help of people who are also working with your coach. Provide feedback and READ the feedback of other group members. Participate in the challenges (if that’s something your group does) and have fun with it. If you find that you need more, see what other programs are offered, and give those a shot. I was in ETCC for years before I added on 1:1 discussions with Athena. I made a lot of really good progress in ETCC, but that has evolved with the addition of 1:1 coaching. You don’t need to go all in with the most expensive package and try to make extreme changes right away – take baby steps!
If you could only do one strength move for the rest of your life, which would you pick?
Power cleans. I LOVE power cleans.
What are you excited to continue focusing on in your journey?
This changes on any given day because I am super excited about a lot of things. This week it’s my improvement in CrossFit, and I think a lot of that has to do with the Open going on right now. I was really proud of my consistency in the first workout, even though I wasn’t the fastest, and how well I showed up. I love PRs, and I’ve been getting 1-2 fairly consistently over the past 6 months or so. This week has shown me that my endurance has significantly improved and I even got some of my double unders back! I’m also excited to see the way my body changes as a result.
P.S. If you think the Empowered Together Coaching Club might be a fit for you, book a connection call with Athena now!