Testimonials & Success Stories
If you’ve been under-eating, over-training, and following restrictive diets, it’s time to make a change and finally get the results you’re looking for. What if you could achieve your dream body composition by eating more, finding a balance between nutrition and fitness, and developing a healthy relationship with food? The good news is that you CAN! But, don’t just take my word for it. These happy clients have put my nutrition and fitness coaching to the test and have come out winning on the other side … read their testimonials to see what success and sustainable results look like!
I reached out to Abby because I was tired of being… tired. For years I was finding myself struggling to get through workouts. Runs that had been “easy” no longer felt that way and my beloved trails were becoming an enemy because of the resentment I had towards my body that seemed to be betraying me. Right from the start, I was ALL IN for whatever was asked of me. All I wanted was to feel better. Over the course of six months, we worked together to improve my nutrition by tracking macros. Like so many other endurance athletes, I had spent many years in a vicious cycle of undereating and binging. Over the six months we worked together, my caloric intake was nearly doubled to what I had been consuming at the start. While I was feeling better (and even losing weight eating more?!), I was still struggling with performance. After running some bloodwork, it was discovered I was deficient in multiple areas. We added supplements, as well as a few small changes to my diet, and I could really feel the difference!
The best part about working with Abby is that every food fits! Beer? Cake? Pizza? Yes, you can still eat the foods that you love while still improving your health. There is no “I’ll start again on Monday” mindset any longer, every day is a new opportunity to fuel my body so I can continue doing the activities I love.
My entire life was spent mired in a deeply dysfunctional relationship with food. I believed the less I ate the better and that hunger was something to be overcome; food was the enemy. This approach caused me huge problems when I was running ultras. When my wife and I had a child I realized I needed to have a healthy relationship with food so I could be a good role model for my son and maybe save him from the issues I struggled with my whole life.
Working with Abby has helped me completely changed how I view food. She helped me understand how to view food as fuel and redefined my relationship with my body. For the first time in my life, I feel like I understand the purpose of food and how to use it as a tool to support my health. I am not sure I would have ever gotten to that point without Abby’s support!
I was referred to Abby by a friend and mentor. My goal was to create a healthier sustainable lifestyle that I could manage for years to come. As I got to know Abby I was fascinated by her story. I could relate to her struggles and identified similarities with the work she put in to create change with positive results.
Abby helped me learn the importance of nutrition. My biggest learning was even at my unhealthiest, I wasn’t eating enough. I’m most proud of the fact I can continue to make progress with my health after our sessions end because of how much she taught me. Abby is an inspiration. She sends me articles that specifically relate to men with my same health issues. She pushes enough to make me want to do better for myself. I recommend Abby to anyone that wants to feel and look better!
Prior to starting nutrition coaching with Abby, I suffered SEVERE insomnia which also affected my vision.
These are the items we focused on to improve my sleep:
- Discontinued Intermittent Fasting and changed the times of my meals.
- Added a small meal in the evening.
- Prioritized protein- especially earlier in the day.
- Developed a deep breathing technique before bedtime that helped both body and brain relax.
3 weeks of consistency and I am sleeping more soundly for longer periods of time (up to 8 hours) and my vision also improved.
Sleep is a beautiful thing!
I am discovering that it feels good to listen to and honor your body. I just feel better overall. I am blown away at my ability to take the rest day and still have a good day. In the past, I would have obsessed over it all day but it has actually been good much-needed rest.
One thing I am proud of for this week is not weighing myself every day. I did really well focusing on what my body can do where it is today as opposed to focusing on where it was 10 years ago.
I come from a background of bikini bodybuilding shows with coaches that had me overtrain & under-eat. I was led to believe that carbs were bad & ultimately established an unhealthy relationship with food. For years I’ve been searching for balance with nutrition & fitness.
I’m 3 months post-partum & realized my nutrition is more important than ever. Before starting Coaching I was only consuming 1,500 calories- barely enough to fuel my own body let alone my new baby. Working with Abby my goal has slowly been increasing to 2,500 calories & most weeks I’m losing weight/maintaining. I am fueling my body with the right foods & because of that my energy for work & workouts is absolutely amazing!
This is the balance I’ve been looking for. Fueling my body & mind in a healthy way and not feeling guilty about a glass of wine or slice of pizza. I can’t wait to see what the next few months bring!
We have increased my calorie intake by over 600 calories per day and I have started PR’ing lifts and feeling strong during my CrossFit classes. I am also significantly less irritable.
My way of thinking has shifted from a deprivation mindset to an abundance mindset. I have developed a level of comfort with eating more food. I also feel so much more confident that fueling my body properly will result in maintainable weight loss as I get healthier and continue to eat to support my needs!
“Operation Fuel Becki”
I know this may come as a shock, but I have been a slave to dieting fades and the scale for as LONG as I can remember. I have been ‘faking it to make it’ by not eating enough during my training and races. I also fell into the Intermittent Fasting cycle that controlled and consumed me. I didn’t have control of anything except what I could allow or not allow myself to eat, food as I viewed it was the enemy. I knew something had to change, but what and how?!
I commented on a post Abby made on FB, our conversation eventually led to an interview and a week later at the beginning of August 2020, we started working together. What I remember from the beginning, Coach Abby kept telling me “Trust the process”. It was a struggle in the beginning, but I knew I needed to “Trust the process”.
My goal is longevity in the ultramarathon sport, which means I needed Improved Hormones, Health, Strength, Performance and Mental Health. Coach Abby and I agreed to a plan called “Operation Fuel Becki”. Once I allowed myself to just eat the damn food, so many of the needs were starting to come together. I view the food as the fuel for my energy, which allowed me to be kind to myself. From there the pieces started to fit together for my training and race schedule. I was fueled up, feeling great and I conquered my “A” race for the 2021 season, the Cocodona 250. After completing 257 miles on this course in 4 days 7 hours and 8 minutes, I felt the best I have ever felt after a 100+ mile race. I did not feel as destroyed when I finished this race like I had in the past. Without Coach Abby’s guidance and nutrition plan over the past 9 months, this “A” race of mine very well would have ended differently.
Thank you, Coach Abby, for being the change I needed in my nutrition and mental health around food. Our weekly check-in and monthly phone calls have helped me overcome a lot these past 10 months. I am in a better place physically, mentally, and emotionally, because of you. I read and hear everything you say on our phone calls & in your emails and take it to heart. I appreciate all of your thought-provoking posts on FB and how they got us started working together. THANK YOU, COACH ABBY! Thank you!!
If you need help with your Nutrition and Nutrition Coaching, I HIGHLY recommend Coach Abby to make you successful at whatever your goals may be.
I am really feeling confident in my body right now. I’m loving that making choices to meet my macros is becoming easier. I’m not perfect and it’s not easy all the time, but overall, I’m improving and that’s the most important thing to me. I don’t have to get it right all the time. I just have to be conscious of it and keep working toward improvement. I’m really proud of the dedication I have in building sustainable eating + exercise habits. I’m staying the course all while enjoying myself. I don’t feel deprived. I just make the things I want fit. It’s awesome.
And I still got the work in the gym and felt strong and was doing it for ME, not because of any guilt surrounding what I was going to be eating/not eating. Working out is WAY more fun when it’s not about punishment.
Reverse dieting was the scariest thing I’ve ever heard of… I couldn’t imagine eating more than 1000 calories a day! I knew I needed help and couldn’t do it alone. I hired Abby and she’s truly changed my life.
I am most proud of that fact that I’m no longer starving myself. I am discovering that it’s ok to eat.
I started going to Abby when I was struggling with figuring out how to properly fuel my body for my days & my workouts. She was incredibly helpful. She helped me, step by step, figure out what worked & what didn’t work for me and helped me gain a better and more balanced relationship with food. As a result, I had more energy, noticed other effects like hair growth & overall, had better workouts. I am very glad that I was able to work with Abby. I look back now and it was one of the best decisions I have made for my mind, body, and soul. I strongly recommend Abby for anybody who’s looking for help with food and wanting to get stronger and learn to fuel their body!
Recently I have had more of a transition from how I look to how I feel. I’m less worried about what the scale says and more focused on how my body feels. I continue to focus on improving my feelings and views of my body image. And I am finding that I’m able to eat all the food without tracking and still come close to my macros.
When I started working with Abby my daily intake was 900-1,300 calories & I struggled with anxiety & fatigue. She increased my calories to 2,000 with appropriate macros & within a short time-frame my anxiety was GONE! I even lost a few pounds & my body composition changed a bit. My energy is great, I feel amazing, & I don’t crave sugar at ALL!
It is because of Abby that I have learned to give myself grace with food. Nothing is off limits. She really pushes for people to learn sustainable health habits. Abby has been a coach, an educator, a mentor, a role model & a friend. As a busy mom who just finished grad school, I love to add things on my plate & say “I can do more & I can do it perfect” but really that lifestyle is not sustainable. It’s through our check ins that Abby tells me that I’m doing great, I’m on track, & I’m STILL making forward progress towards a balanced life of food & exercise to gain that desired energy and stamina.
I am most proud of the overall transformation in my mindset surrounding food, hydration, & fueling on & off the trails. My approach prior to working with you was that there are “good”& “bad” ways to eat & drink. And fueling during my runs was always a puzzle.
It is so empowering to realize there isn’t a single answer or a “right way.” I have the capacity to work with myself (my schedule, my family, my taste preferences, my history & journey to where I’m at) to create & maintain a healthy & effective nutrition plan for what I’m doing. Most of all, you’ve helped me feel empowered to make educated and positive choices about nutrition as part of my lifestyle.
Just a word to those of you who are tired of the constant world of dieting. As a middle-aged woman who just retired, I never realized how much I had left to learn about nutrition until I started working with Abby. The diet world is a mental game that TV, magazines, and the internet play with your brain. Unfortunately, many of us fall victim to this mind-blowing, brainwashing world.
Abby helped me to see that not everyone is a size 5 or less. She taught me that muscle matters and “all foods” can be good foods (and yes, there is room for dessert too). We all have “bad” days but there are “good” days too and we have to learn to celebrate those days and learn from the “bad” days as to why they happened in the first place.
She also taught me that we have to be mentally fit as well as physically fit. They complement each other to make us a whole person. I highly recommend Abby as a private nutritionist and more importantly as a friend.
I am proud of my mental progress around food. I am listening to my body more and learning that my body “talks” to me and tells me what I need. I’m paying more attention to how foods make me feel and I realize that feeling good feels good and nutrition is a big part of that. I’m not beating myself up as much when I don’t listen to my body or when I eat what isn’t considered nutritious. I feel more balanced in my approach to food.
I started training for my first 100-mile ultra-marathon. I was worried about recovering from my workouts & wasn’t sure how much I need to eat so I can keep building miles. Working with Abby has helped me focus on food as fuel & is a foundational part of my training. Now I plan my meals to make sure I am getting enough so I can feel good. As a vegan, I’m focusing on protein with each meal & balancing out my macros throughout the week, rather than trying to be perfect every day.
Abby has also helped me learn to give myself more grace when it comes to my training, diet, & life in general.
I have been on my health + fitness journey for some time now, and I struggle the most with nutrition. I needed to put myself around positive people who were in the same boat as me and I joined the Fit & Fuel Facebook Group. I love all the positive members that help you stay accountable and provide support to stay on track, and Abby makes sure she provides the tools we need to reach our goals. Thank you for providing this free group!
6 months ago, I would only work out in XL T-shirts and leggings. I wanted to cover my belly, arms, and legs because I felt they weren’t “fit” enough to be shown. These past few months I’ve been able to work out in a crop top/sports bra and feel amazing! I love seeing how strong I am under the big, baggy T-shirts and my body image has completely shifted. Wear the shorts and sports bras!