– Contents –

What I Do and What I’ve Done. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Mini Bio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

My Advice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Food Talk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Contact. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

BONUS*

(Not-So-Bad-For-You) Chocolate Chip Cookies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

– What I Do and What I’ve Done –

I’ve been a certified personal trainer for 15 years, along with having held certifications in group fitness, cycling, nutrition and wellness, and most recently, becoming a certified Life Coach. I have studied all aspects of fitness and strength and conditioning, and sat in numerous nutritional conferences and classes, where I debated dairy vs. no dairy, gluten vs. no gluten and discussed the bogus-ness of most fad diets and cleanses.

I have a B.A., along with post graduate credits, in Psychology along with 7 years of counseling experience. My journey has had many twists and turns, which I could write a book about, but taught me some valuable lessons. My hope is my struggles and triumphs can in some way help and inspire someone else in their own journey.

– Mini Bio –

My mom died of a stroke when I was 11. She was 41. Being a preteen/teenage girl without your mom is hard. My dad got remarried and I guess my parents hoped we would be the Brady Bunch with our blended family. It didn’t quite work out that way. As a teenager and a young adult, I struggled with grief, anger, depression and suffered from anorexia and bulimia. My relationship with food and exercise was not a healthy one. I played field hockey and ran track in high school, not because I was good at it (I wasn’t), or thought it was fun and loved team sports (I didn’t). I did it solely to burn calories and help me keep my weight in check. Like so many people, my focus was on that number on the scale.

After college, I began a healthier relationship with exercise. I learned to love it because it was fun, and made me feel good about myself. I had my eating disorder under control and my weight wasn’t a struggle.

It wasn’t until I had my 2nd daughter at 31 that I hit another roadblock. I had gained 50lbs, and that last 30lbs wasn’t budging!

Suddenly, it wasn’t so easy. I enlisted the help of a personal trainer. A year after my daughter was born, I competed in my 1st bodybuilding competition, taking 2nd place in the lightweight division. I can’t say I loved competing. What I learned was that I loved lifting weights, and loved feeling, and being strong! Unfortunately, the food regimen of competition prep made my eating disorder rear its ugly head, so I had to shift my thoughts. What was my goal? I wanted to be a healthy role model for my girls of a strong and fit, but also balanced, woman and mother. I wanted to focus on loving myself and being happy with how my body looked and felt, no matter the number on the scale.
That meant embracing a LIFESTYLE change, not rigid competition prep. Becoming a trainer and entering the fitness world was a natural progression from there. I found that I could combine my counseling background with my love of lifting and fitness to help people in their own journeys.

Fast forward to 2015 where at the age of 45, after going through a tumultuous period of personal/family struggle and growth, I decided to reenter the competition world. One month into my prep…

I was involved in a major car accident: that was a game changer.

Now, I was questioning everything. If that had been my last day on this earth, why didn’t I have that glass of wine with a friend? Could the last memory my kid had of me be me completely losing my sht because she ate one of my prepped meals? Why was I doing this? Was this worth it?* For me the answer was no, it wasn’t worth it. I had lost sight of my goal of being the strong, fit and BALANCED woman for my girls. That car accident was a gift that refocused me on what was important in my life. Every day since I wake up reminding myself of what I value and asking how I want to spend the hours in this day. Is it with obsessive or negative thoughts? Is it worried about what others think of me? Or is it bettering and loving myself, and helping others to better and love themselves and their own lives? Not everyone is given the gift of a near death experience, but I believe we can all use that imagery to promote positive change in our lives. If you could imagine your funeral for a minute, what would you want others to say about you? How do you want to be remembered? Are you living that life?

– My Advice –

If, like me, you decide that you need to make some changes, you need to set a goal, make a plan and then activate that plan. With a healthy weight loss being 1-2lbs a week, making that kind of transformation in 6 months would have been an unrealistic goal.

Make sure the goal is realistic and attainable, or you will fail before you have even started. It took me an entire year to achieve my goal of losing the baby weight.When making your plan, break it into bite size pieces.

If your goal is to get into healthier shape, start with getting into the habit of exercising 45-60min a day, 4-5 days a week. It can be as simple as a brisk walk outside, or a little bit more involved like a gym membership and/or classes, but it needs to be something you enjoy or you will not stick with it. I mean, if you hate running, don’t decide to run to lose weight. Sure, it may work short term, but you’ll be miserable and who wants that? The habit of exercise is, in my opinion, the easy part. Clean eating is 80% of the equation, and a challenge for even the most disciplined of us.

If you have no idea where to start this is where investing in a trainer/nutrition coach is well worth the money.

I rarely put my clients on a regimented diet. I want them to meet their goals, but also enjoy life. I advise them to think of food as fuel, with the occasional night out or splurge.

– Food Talk –

If you can’t pronounce something, it’s probably not good for you. Plan your menu for the week, and buy only what you need, that way you aren’t tempted to just grab whatever at the end of the day. The internet is full of tasty healthy recipes!

The majority of the diet should be focused on lean protein sources, plant based starches, fruits, an abundance of dark leafy veggies, along with drinking at least 100oz
of water a day. Minimize sugar, soda and anything fried. Read labels and check ingredients.

Keep track of your progress, and celebrate when you reach every small goal. Keep setting and smashing your goals and soon your new lifestyle will be in place!
** I’m almost 48 and still get highly competitive, push myself too hard and injure myself, so much its comical.

My life is stupid busy yet making time to exercise will always be a priority.

My focus for both myself, and my clients, is on that happy, healthy lifestyle of balance and strength, both in the gym and out. I eat a well balanced diet that leaves room for coffee, wine, anything chocolate and pumpkin beer! My exercise habits include 4-5 days a week of running, Olympic and weight lifting, flexibility and functional training, and walking my dog, Twixy.

You can reach me for personal training, nutritional, and life coaching programs at
denimcj@gmail.com

– Deni McJilton

(Not-So-Bad-For-You) Chocolate Chip Cookies

A great recipe to have for the holiday season that won’t leave you feeling terrible. I always look forward to eating these when Deni throws Christmas parties!

1 stick of butter (not margarine)
6 TBSP brown sugar
6TBSP sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Salt
2 1/2 cups flour (should be doughy)
Bag of Hershey’s Dark chocolate chips

Bake at 350 F for 10-12 min

-Nora K.

Have Questions? Contact Nora