By Nancy Westbrook
I grew up on a large dairy ranch in northern California. I worked hard on the ranch as a pre-teen and teenager, went to college, worked in the mental health field for 15 years, then ran my family timber business for 15 years. Shortly before selling the timber business I turned 50 and realized that with the exception of a few years of running I had never really exercised and that I had gained weight progressively with getting older.
I knew that I needed to make a change.
I joined a gym and hired my first personal trainer, very scary and a very new process for me. He and I trained for about one year before his job changed and he introduced me to Kristi Tauti. It was life changing!
When I first met Kristi I really didn't have a specific goal except to lose some weight and get in "shape." I weighed about 145 lbs and my body fat was about 22%. Kristi took me to a new level. I really began to see changes in my body. She is tremendously inspirational and I began to love lifting weight and doing cardio - I could control the changes in my body!
I lost about 15 pounds and now my body fat runs between 13-15% consistently.
Kristi encouraged me to do a figure competition. I felt very threatened by my age and the "stage". I finally committed and did two figure competitions in 2011 - they were a tremendous experience! It took great discipline and dedication. I worked very hard to gain muscle and lose fat. At my age, it was a challenge but I was determined. The 12-week diet was very interesting and I could really see my body develop and change.
It is a great experience to be on stage and look down at seven judges - I had gained a great deal of confidence and had success! I won my first figure competition and placed right in the middle of my age group in the second. The stage and competition were in my blood and I committed to two shows the next year. I decided to do both bikini and figure. Again, I came in right in the middle of my age class in the figure but I won my bikini class at 57 years old!
At this point, I was essentially retired and realized that I love the fitness industry. I loved my training and nutrition with Kristi and her inspiration and positivity were something that I knew that I wanted to give back. I contacted ISSA and received my personal training certification in 2011 and Nutrition certification in 2012.
I have continued to train with Kristi (10+ years) until this year when she made a career change and moved to another state. I have worked in the same gym setting with her since 2011 and we have shared lots of knowledge and mentorship both ways. I currently have wonderful clients who I inspire and help with their fitness and nutrition goals.
The "Fit" lifestyle has personally become part of my life in both exercise and nutrition. I strive every day to be my best and inspire others to be healthy!
