Meet Coach Stephanie!!
Hey! They call me Steph!
Hi!!! I’m Stephanie, a 35 year old about to embark on the next chapter of marriage and starting a family :) My passion and my hope is to inspire women to take control of their lives physically, mentally, and spiritually.
My fitness journey goes way back, and there were many twists and turns, so enjoy the ride! I started paying attention to physical activity and nutrition in my middle school years, but unfortunately it was for all the wrong reasons and needless to say I had no clue what I was doing. I was a young girl, about to enter High School, wanting to be smaller to fit the mold. I found myself eating pretzels for lunch and going home to “run them off”…this got old quick and I knew I had to make a change. I had been cheerleading and dancing my entire life, and High School cheerleading was the catalyst for me to want to get strong. This is where my gym-going, strength training days began!
I started taking group exercise classes, learning how to lift weights, training for cardiovascular strength, and really diving into the world of fitness. I loved it! I really never looked back and have been working out consistently ever since. My love for fitness led me to get my Personal Training Certification through the Athletics and Fitness Association of America in my early college years and then eventually moved onto getting a Masters Degree in Exercise Science. Oh yeah, there was a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, my first passion, in the middle there too :) I am so grateful for my background in Psychology because everything truly stems from the mind and how we think…our perspectives hold a lot of power.
I had the physical part of fitness down, but something was always…I don’t know, I guess missing. Something wasn’t clicking. I wasn’t performing, feeling, or looking as I felt I should be. It clicked that it was my nutrition that needed the work! I tried all the fad diets out there. They’re all great for one thing…a quick fix. But then what? It was always leading to a dead end. FINALLY, I found “if it fits your macros” as I was just about entering into my Graduate program. It was a complete game changer. It taught me proper, adequate nutrition for my body, lifestyle and goals and through learning the tool of counting macros I am now able to navigate through any situation and any stage of life.
I’m a New Yorker, I am Italian, I like to eat. I’ve always been a foodie and going out to eat is my favorite hobby. What I really grew to love about tracking macros is I never had to completely give up anything I enjoyed eating. However…my journey with macros didn’t start out all roses and rainbows. I was what we would call an extremist, or a perfectionist.
When I discovered macros and what it meant to count macros, I was going in full force.
I hit my macros perfectly, I am talking to the gram, for months, maybe even a year. I said “no” to events, I said “no” to meals out, I brought my own dinner to dinners out at friends houses, I brought my own lunches to BBQs. Did I see results? Of course! Was I living my life to the fullest? Was my quality of life where it should be? Absolutely not.
I thought that because I was seeing results by being perfect, I wouldn’t see results any other way. WRONG! I slowly began to realize that it’s okay to not be perfect, it’s ok to have untracked meals, it’s ok to have an untracked day if I needed the break, it’s ok to go out to eat and enjoy a meal. I still saw results, I was happier, and I felt a thousand times better. It was then that I truly realized the beauty of counting macros and what it teaches us. I truly believe it is the best tool we can have in our box.
So, how did I land here with The Habyt? Well, I always knew I wanted to help people in fitness and health, especially women. I wanted to be able to combine my passions of Psychology, Fitness and Nutrition and being a one-on-one coach to help other people navigate through their health journey sounded like the perfect fit. I wanted to teach people the tools that I’ve learned along the way and how to navigate through any stage of life they may be in. I wound up getting my Precision Nutrition Level 1 Coaching Certification to further my education and I took the leap and reached out to The Habyt, hoping my story and my experience would be a perfect fit, and it was!
I love what I do, I love seeing other women make a commitment to themselves, show up, learn, and succeed! It’s truly an honor to get to work with so many amazing women across the globe and to be even a small part of their journey.
My coaching style: I am all about giving ourselves grace when we need it. Life happens, tough situations come up, we need to be kind to ourselves! However, I have no hesitation to call out an excuse when I see it. The hard truth is, we can do a lot more than we think we can for ourselves. We make time and show up for things that are priorities to us. If we are constantly giving grace every single day, every single week, we will get nowhere fast. Change takes change, and I know change is uncomfortable…but, nothing in life worth having comes with comfort and ease all the time. I am here to work with you, cheer you on, and encourage you to push past your limits of what you think you can do…because I know you are capable of more. I know and I stress the importance of planning for success. I promise you if you put the time, energy, and trust into this process you will gain an education that no one can ever take away from you, and you will change your life forever.
Want to learn more about The Habyt? We offer a FREE discovery call where we can answer all you questions!