Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Cerna.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Chelsea. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I got to where I am today by having a deep desire to implore a healthier mindset into women across America. To give you some back story, I started snowboarding when I was a toddler. Every weekend, my dad would drive me to Lake Tahoe and push me to take lessons. When I turned 15, I was picked up by a scout! Later that year, we spent a week riding fresh powder at Snowbird Ski Resort and I fell in love. I told my dad I’d be back.
Then, enter life’s plan: right before my 16th birthday, I was diagnosed with Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy. The anticonvulsants I was put on completely changed who I was as a person. I put on 40 pounds within weeks and became what my parents called, a “zombie.” Their athletic little girl spent her days sleeping in class only to come home and sleep some more. I was clinically obese and uncomfortable in my skin. For years I allowed myself to became a victim of the disease.
Fast forward two years and my snowboarding coach suggested that I apply to Westminster College in Salt Lake City. I couldn’t believe I was accepted into my dream school. At that moment, I no longer wanted to be defined by all the things I wasn’t. During my Freshman year, I found a new love: nutrition. I spent my first year asking questions and studying everything I could about health and wellness. Within that year I ended up losing 50 pounds naturally by creating a sustainable lifestyle that worked for me and my physical condition.
As a Public Health major, I was determined to find a way to pass on everything I learned to women so that together, we would not only be able to raise a healthier generation but support that generation for years to come through ditching the societal diet mentality. By applying real, natural and sometimes even the subtlest of changes in how we eat, it’s my belief we truly will thrive.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Guiding women to heal their relationship with food for good as an online nutrition coach became a dream of mine and performing five fitness assessments a day was no longer cutting it for me so I leaped. Deciding to leave my secure job at a gym was one of the scariest yet easiest decisions I ever had to make. Becoming a business owner in what felt like overnight sounds cool, but the pressure was on. I had to somehow figure out how to pay the bills without having a stable income. I had to learn how to balance regular life and work life; turns out there’s no such thing when you’re an entrepreneur. On days when I felt like I was in an oversaturated market, I had to tell myself that I had the power to change the lives of women who feel stuck, just like I did. So I did just that. There’s nothing like educating the women I work with and giving them their power back. To get through your darkest days, you have to remember your why.
Please tell us about your work.
I take a customized approach to nutrition. In December of 2019, I launched a 90 day coaching program called Figuring Out Food. I knew I had to not only create a program but an experience. Anyone can buy a meal plan or workout guide, but how helpful is it if it isn’t tailored to your lifestyle, schedule and goals? I have other nutrition coaches reach out to me regularly asking what kind of calorie deficit I put my clients in to get the kind of results they see in 90 days. The thing is I don’t make the women I work with obsess over the food they eat. It is the absence of stress that allows them to heal their relationship with food.
I work with clients one on one and we figure out where their relationship with food is and where they want it to be. I am the best at what I do because I give my clients all of the knowledge they need to confidently live a healthy lifestyle for them and it’s a BIG bonus when their families are on board. For the longest time, I dreamed about receiving amazing before and after photos of clients. Transformation photos are cool, but there’s nothing like having a client tell me how their husband’s, kid’s or parent’s relationship with food has changed. If I can guide a woman to changing her mindset, she can potentially pass it on to others through her new knowledge, habits and support.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I remember feeling so alone on my wellness journey. Instead of talking about my struggle with food I would keep it in which would only cause me to turn to my trigger foods. It was a vicious cycle I couldn’t seem to get out of. I plan on creating the community I needed at that time. A safe space where women can talk about their food struggles and learn how to heal their relationship with food for good.
There is so much more to food than picking something up with a fork and eating it. Wellness is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. I look forward to bringing heart-centered wellness coaches and female leaders who want to dedicate their lives to supporting those who struggle with emotional eating, body image issues, self-acceptance, inner peace by creating a group coaching program. Through group coaching that encompasses all aspects of wellness, women will find the support they’ve been looking for. I believe in community over competition. Collaborating with like minded coaches is exactly what this industry has been missing. I’ve seen the effect Figuring Out Food has had on women, imagine if coaches with the same mission joined forces to create a healthier tomorrow.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://chelsem.com/
- Email: info@chelsemily.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chelsemily_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chelsea.cerna.5
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelseacerna/
Image Credit:
Brooke Waldroup
Adriana Michele
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