Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicci D’Amico Howard.
Hi Nicci, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am the creator of The StressLess Lifestyle, our mission is to help women feel better, be better and live better while supporting them through personalized nutrition and fitness coaching. My own experience with stress, overwhelm, burnout, having kids, hormone imbalance, weight gain, and working like a crazy woman with no boundaries certainly took its toll. I had to rethink my relationship to food and fitness. My husband and I moved from Pacific Beach to Missouri, where he is from, to try something new when we had our first kid. While there, I opened my own gym where my primary clientele were women over 35 and men over 50, people who wanted to get a handle on their overall health and simply feel better. When we moved back to San Diego (we tried, but we couldn’t stay away long!) I moved my business online about six years ago and began working with more nutrition clients helping them understand what eating to your personal nutrition looks like and how good you can feel.
I have been a personal trainer for 12 years, have taught group fitness for 22 years and began my love for nutrition as a biology major in college, I have a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a master’s degree in Business. Additionally, I has nine years of certifications in nutrition as nine years as a nutritionist working with people of all ages from high school athletes to women in their 70s.
My fitness career began as something I loved to do after being a lifelong athlete, as I got older and had kids I transitioned into competing in bodybuilding/bikini competition where, even though I won a few, I learned more about what NOT to do and when to turn around and try again. The StressLess Lifestyle was born out of the imbalances I had to correct from years of drastic training and also from being a work-a-holic and driven go-getter in her previous corporate career as well as in building my own business. There comes a time when you break, or nearly break, and need a new way of living and eating to support your busy and fast-paced life, and that is where the StressLess Lifestyle comes in.
I have helped hundreds of women feel better, look better and age better while they learn the process of personalized macro-nutrition and carb cycling. It has been such a fun journey getting to know people and help people in all walks of life. My ultimate goal is to reach, teach and help as many people as I possibly can. I feel like I’m on my way!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has definitely not been a smooth road! Quitting a consistent, stable job and opening your own business is never an easy feat. You have to be outgoing, even if it’s not your nature, you have to be confident in situations where you may not feel as such and you have to be your own champion and cheerleader when things are slow-going and others don’t see the potential. Closing my brick and mortar personal training studio and moving back to California uprooted my routine and a great number of clients that I got to see everyday, but on the flip side of that I got the opportunity to meet so many more people now that I am virtual and there are so many great gyms, studios and offices that I get to interact and network with here also, plus Sunny San Diego is the best so it’s a great play to live happy and be healthy! “Nothing worth having comes easy” goes for my clients trying to make a change as well as for myself as a business owner trying to effect change.
As you know, we’re big fans of StressLess Lifestyle. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
My company is a nutrition and fitness company which helps women feel better and see positive change though eating balanced nutrition that is personalized for their needs. We focus on whole, healthy foods while fitting in treats, I like to call it “Structured Flexibility”. We also have a virtual on-demand gym so some of our clients are just fitness clients, some are just nutrition clients because they have a trainer or a gym already, and some do both fitness and nutrition with us. I specialize in personalized macro nutrition (eating your protein, fats and carbs in a balanced way) and we utilize carb cycling to help understand how nutrition affects the body and because it is a great tool!
I focus on each and every client I have whether they are a member in the group setting as a “lifestyler” or are a 1-on-1 client. It is not just a program where you buy it and try and figure out what to do or how to do it on your own. I walk everyone through it step by step and I personally calculate each person’s nutrition targets. But the best part, the part that makes it more sustainable and enjoyable, is that each person gets to choose their own food to fit within their targets. Plant based? Cool, I adjust for that. Vegetarian? I can help. Meat eater? Perfect. Don’t like seafood? Great, don’t eat it. Want donuts? Yum, learn how to fit those in.
I am so proud of all of the people I have ever worked with, they help me become a better guide and teacher as they become better versions of themselves also. I am proud at how many people trust me, knowing that I will follow the science-based approach that works well with each individual’s lifestyle, needs and wants. I know that when someone is no longer a client, they still follow “The Lifestyle” and it makes me so proud to know that I was able to help them learn and feel better along the way.
Overall, health is a struggle and a balance, it isn’t something that can happen in 30 days or even two months, it is a process. Our clients all begin as “JumpStarters” into the StressLess Nutrition Method and then have a monthly membership where they get access to all of my live videos, cooking ideas, breaking down myths, weekly topics, it’s like a gym membership but for nutrition, because life changes and so do your nutritional needs and I can be there to help. I also take 1-on-1 clients a few times a year where we dive deep into helping you learn, adjust and feel better. 1-on-1 is best for time-crunched busy, successful women who don’t want to be in a small group but need or want that personalized touch with much more accountability, it fits better with their highly motivated, driven personalities.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I found business mentors through SCORE, a nonprofit that helps small business owners and I also helped others who reached out to me when they wanted to start their own gyms and I have a successful gym already up and running. My advice, just ask! People will say yes, and if they don’t, it’s ok because someone else will. It is best to learn from someone who has already done what you’re trying to do, learn from their mistakes, they should be happy to share. As for networking, that is something I have always struggled with, but the advice I received is still the same, just ask. Networking begins when you ask someone if they want to work together. Introducing yourself is always the first step, you can’t grow your business without other people. Just because you are a strong, independent woman (or man) doesn’t mean you don’t need other people to help grow your business, that was one of the biggest lessons I needed to learn and something I share with people who ask.
Contact Info:
- Email: info.stresslesslifestyle@gmail.com
- Website: www.stressless-lifestyle.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/nicci_stressless
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/thestresslesslifestyle
Image Credits
Steven Smith
