I’m Doing What I Love
I’m a Registered Dietitian Nutrition Coach and Personal Trainer and the owner of Coaching with Abby (CWA). I got my passion for working with active people from my experience as an ultra-runner. I started running at an early age and then got involved with endurance running, racing, and road marathons in my 20’s and 30’s. When I moved to Colorado, I started trail running and even went on to compete in several 100-mile ultra-mountain races.
Over the years, I used running, food restriction, and a low carb diet to feel like I was in control of my life. In addition, I tried to achieve the lowest body fat, erroneously thinking that it would support my training. That all worked until it didn’t and I was forced to step away from running completely. Abusing and depleting my body led to insomnia, thyroid issues, blood sugar imbalances, hormonal and adrenal issues, and non-existent menstrual cycles. I had taken running to an extreme and my body said “No more!”
I knew the chronic cardio training would put me in the grave if I didn’t do something different. I stopped running and gained over 20 pounds. It sucked, but I knew it needed to happen in order for my body to heal. However, it was one of the hardest things to deal with and it left me with body image issues, a lack of confidence, and a feeling of insecurity.
Eventually, I discovered strength training and it saved my life! As I started to get serious about lifting, I quickly learned that my low carb diet, fasting, and extreme food restriction wouldn’t support my nutrition and fitness goals. That’s when I started to introduce carbs into my diet and hired my first nutrition coach (the best decision ever!).
Working with my nutrition coach, I learned:
• How much food I needed to support my goals,
• Not to fear or restrict food, and
• How to fuel my body to be the best lifter I could be.
Over 3 years, I put on about 20 pounds of muscle. I started to focus on how much weight was on the barbell vs. the weight on the scale.
When I hurt my back in practice over two years ago, the injury forced me to fully step away from competing. But, I believed God was on my side and really pushed me towards something greater … recovery and living a life with 100% balance. Being a competitive athlete was simply no longer serving my mind, body, or spirit.
Experience is often life’s greatest teacher. Though the path hasn’t always been easy, I’ve learned:
• There’s no need to stress about my nutrition or body image.
• I love my body for what it does and NOT because of what it looks like.
• The number on the scale does NOT determine my self-worth.
• Tracking macros is healthy for me because I’m prone to under-eating.
• All foods can fit (even chocolate!) with the right nutrition plan.
• It IS possible to eat more, exercise less, AND love my body!
My experiences have fueled a passion within me to help others avoid the same mistakes I made. I want to help other women escape the prison of over-exercising and under-eating. And I have a team of badass women that help me with my mission.
