Learning that Inspires and Energizes

I gained a lot from the program in terms of knowledge about nutrition and exercise, and reached two important quantifiable benchmarks; over a twelve month period, I lost and kept off ten pounds and lowered my AIC score significantly.

Melody was able to present even things that I might already know in a fresh and useful manner which made it easier to incorporate into my daily routines. While I had always ate fruits and vegetables daily, I didn't have an easy way to control portions and proportions until Melody introduced the plate method.

I left each class with at least one takeaway. Many times that takeaway was not part of the set curriculum, rather it was something that came up as part of the questions and answers between Melody and me and my classmates. This constant dialogue was one the best parts of the program; Melody listened carefully to each participant and would make diet and exercise recommendations specific to that person.
I would highly recommend Melody as an instructor for diet and exercise. She has deep knowledge and teaches with care and enthusiasm.

Melody would take a look at the foods I actually ate for each meal and offer suggestions and possible substitutions, She not only talked about calories and fat but the quality and types of fat and calories versus just counting .

She helped me implement real life changes such as non-fat Greek yogurt to substitute for salad dressing, sour cream and other items which added the same kind of textures without the fat and calorie content while amping up the protein.

She encouraged me in my early days when even long walks were sometimes painful with blisters and body aches, offering suggestions for stretching and changing my footwear to help out. She reminded me that it would get easier which it truly did. Now I am even able to jog without as much effort and get my heart rate up. During this time I was able to shed an additional 50 pounds making total weight loss over 100 pounds.

Her attention to detail of my individual life situations and recalling things I said in earlier sessions set her apart since she actually seemed to care about the real day to day struggles I was going through. Whenever someone in our group asked about an article or diet tip Melody would either debunk the claim or tell us how to apply the idea to our daily lives. This helps since there are so many fad diets and so-called expert advice out there it can be confusing. Melody helped us to understand the science.

From week 1 she helped us understand the various basic movements in exercises like the hinge, the push and pull and helped us understand the best form for these exercises.

One of the great qualities of her was that she was able to listen to guide very effectively even through zoom and adjusted the levels of exercises according to our strength and needs. She also pushed and motivated us to go for an extra rep or an advanced version of exercise.

I also liked how she reviewed our weekly fitness journey at the start of the class and congratulated us on our achievements. One of the things that I learnt from this class was how to inculcate wellness in my daily life and how even without any equipments I can do a great workout in the comfort of my home. Recommend her 100%