Front view portrait of businesswoman smiling with arms crossed

So .. a little bit about me. In school, I hated gym class and would fake sick notes so I could skip the class altogether. I was always the last person picked for a team team and was a regular recipient of the “well, you didn’t die” participation pin on the annual fitness tests. I struggled with excess weight and poor body image for years. I went on diet after diet, would sporadically hop into fitness and sometimes even get pretty good at it, but never managed to maintain the results. While raising a family, I also built a career in the tourism and hospitality industry. Finally, at the age of 51, I decided enough was enough. Instead of deciding to lose weight, I decided to get healthy, so that my ability to move, to explore and to travel the world with my husband wouldn’t disappear. I recently left the tourism and hospitality industry so that I could help other busy women find their way back to health and wellness. I completed my personal trainer certification through the Manitoba Fitness Council and my nutrition certification through Precision Nutrition, as well as Health Coach and Online Coaching certification through the International Sports Science Association. I don't believe getting healthy means deprivation, starvation and sweating it out for hours in a gym. Moving towards health is a journey, one or two kind patient steps at a time. After all – we don’t get unhealthy in one week or one month so it’s going to take longer than that to get back to health. View all posts by Laurie Barkman