I’m a 40 year old mother of 2 children: Paige, 14 & Blake, 11. I’m proud to say I’ve been married to my husband, Greg, for almost 18 years!  I am a Registered Nurse in Labor & Delivery and love my job!

I’m thrilled to be featured right here! Last fall, as I was contemplating contacting Julie, I read many of the other profiles on her website. I had a hard time believing that I could ever look like any of these amazing women. It was so inspirational to see that many of them started out just like me! I’m so happy I took the leap & contacted Julie.

I’ve competed in 2 shows this Spring:

2015 NANBF Northeast/Southwest Classic
1st place–Masters Bikini
3rd place–Open Bikini, Tall
3rd place–Novice Bikini, Tall

2015 NPC Natural Indiana
7th place–Masters Bikini
10th place–Open Bikini, Class D

Just under 6 months ago I was at 22% body fat & today I am at 11% & I’ve lost about 12 pounds! Most of my clothes are now way too big, which is such a good problem to have!

I think what has been most effective for me is planning ahead & food preparation. On Sundays, I look at my work schedule & the kids’ activities for the week and decide then which days will be weightlifting, cardio, & rest days. Once its on the calendar, I treat my workouts like any other important appointment. I also spend time once or twice a week preparing food in bulk: grilling chicken breasts, roasting veggies, steaming rice, chopping veggies for omelets, etc… Its so much easier to make a healthy choice when the good stuff is right there, ready to be eaten!

I have grown to really enjoy weightlifting. I actually look forward to it! It feels so empowering to be a strong, confident, healthy woman! And the big muscle pump after lifting–I’ll never get tired of that!

I’m looking forward to keeping up this momentum I have going, with Julie’s help, of course.  I haven’t decided if I’ll compete again, but I’d like to look like I could if I wanted to!

While I love the compliments that my physical transformation has elicited, for me its really all about my health. I have a very strong family history of heart disease. My father had a heart attack at age 49, his father at age 52, and a cousin at age 36. I may not be able to control my genetics, but I can certainly control how I treat my body with diet & exercise!

I love that Julie personalizes my exercise & nutrition plans so specifically just for me! I feel like she knows my body better than I do! She always asks me if I have enough to eat, if I have enough energy, etc… Her reassurance & encouragement that I was on the right track would boost me up every time I started to worry that I wouldn’t be stage-ready in time.

Only seeing her every few weeks during the contest prep! A daily dose of Julie would be wonderful. Is there an app for that?!?!

Peanut butter & jelly with natural peanut butter, sugar-free jelly, & 2 slices of Aunt Millie’s 35 calorie whole wheat bread.

NANBF Masters Bikini Champion Deena Gindling

Lawrenceburg, Indiana

Fitness Model Deena Gindling

New friends are one of the best parts of Team FITBODY!

I love that Julie personalizes my exercise & nutrition plans so specifically just for me! I feel like she knows my body better than I do! She always asks me if I have enough to eat, if I have enough energy, etc… Her reassurance & encouragement that I was on the right track would boost me up every time I started to worry that I wouldn’t be stage-ready in time.