Erica R. | Personal Trainer Cincinnati OH

Hi, my name is Erica. My personal journey began in July 2011. At that time I was 342 pounds and extremely unhappy. I intentionally stayed behind the camera at gatherings and avoided activities I knew I just couldn't do. Some of those activities included going to the park with my daughters, grocery shopping alone, doing laundry alone, sitting in the bathtub, and many other normal day-to-day life things that most people don't even think about. A conversation with my older daughter (age 6 at the time) lead me to fully understand that I was not only ruining my own life, but I was setting them up for a lifetime of weight struggles and avoidance as well. I vowed on that day that I would lose the weight and guide my two young daughters down a healthier path.
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It felt impossible. At that time I knew I had PCOS, endometriosis, and an extremely unhealthy relationship with food...an extreme dependence that seemed impossible to control/change (subsequently diagnosed as binge eating disorder). Later I learned I also have Ehlers Danlos (a condition that compromises my joints and has landed me with many injuries over the years). I was in an abusive, non-supportive relationship. A man that actively sabotaged me any chance he got. To say my self esteem was low would be a serious understatement. Despite the mountain of reasons (and past failures) I would never succeed, I pushed ahead anyway to uphold the promise to my daughters to show them a healthy path...and to save my own life.

With the help of some really inspiring people at a local gym I lost nearly 170 pounds in just under two years. No surgery. No pills. No fad diets. Nothing crazy. Just good, functional movement and eating healthier. It was amazing. To realize that it was possible was mind-blowing. These same great people encouraged me to pay that feeling forward and I obliged. I went back to college and obtained a BS in Exercise Science as well as a nationally recognized personal training certification.

I consider myself extremely blessed to have the opportunity to help others realize their own health and fitness goals. My unique perspective gives me an advantage of knowing just what that journey feels like and how impossible it seems. I know how scary walking into a gym is when you feel like you don't belong there. I know what it feels like when walking up a flight of stairs seems a lot like running a marathon. I have avoided sitting in my own bathtub because my thighs couldn't fit (and who in the heck was going to pull me out anyway?). I'm here to tell you that it all gets easier and you can finally start truly living again without surgery, without diet pills, without insanely restrictive diets.

It is absolutely possible.

Personal Trainer Cincinnati OH