Finding the right balance between healthy living and lifestyle is a big challenge. Many people ignore health issues until they become serious. According to the SMA (International Stress Management Association), only 23% of the US adult population gets enough exercise, more than 40% suffer from chronic disease, and only 12.2% are metabolically healthy.
There’s no easy way, but these two women, Andrea Nagel, and Sofia Bilianka, not only reversed their health issues but also used their lifestyle changes to launch their own businesses.
But how did they do it?
Andrea Nagel, owner of The Enlightened To-Go and The Enlightened Culinist, Wellness Mentor, weighed 305 pounds and on a balanced diet lost 175 pounds over two years.
She reversed all her health problems by changing her eating habits and starting an intense exercise routine. This life experience led her to set up a wellness mentoring and meal prep business. Since then, she has appeared on multiple televisions shows such as News 12 and the LJ Show discussing the benefits of a healthy diet and lifestyle.
“My breaking point was when my knees gave out and could no longer carry a laundry basket upstairs in my basement. The extra weight was too much to lift without my body giving up on me. Not only that, I had hypothyroidism, high cholesterol, and blood pressure.”
It all began while Ms. Nagel was working full-time as a restaurant manager. When the Pandemic struck, she was fired from her position and decided to start her own meal prep service cooking the same healthy food that helped her to lose weight. Since 2021, her rotating clientele has grown fivefold through word of mouth and social media posts alone.
“It has only been two years since I took the leap of faith to start my business. There is slow and steady growth with moments of downfalls and uncertainties, but it’s my blessings and hardships that I work with now. That’s what keeps me going.”
Currently, Andrea works towards the continued growth of her wellness business. “My ultimate goal is to help children and adults understand our eating habits and that living healthy is achievable. I am currently creating services and educational programs to teach children healthy eating from an early age. From cookbooks to interactive drawings, I want to show that healthy food can be fun. Growing my meal prep service will allow me to expand into brick-and-mortar and offer more home delivery services.”, says Andrea Nagel.
Another example is trainer Sofia Bilianka, who lost 36 pounds in five months and changed her career from teacher to personal trainer.
Post lockdown, Sofia returned to teaching in her school district full-time. However, after a few months, she realized her true calling was wellness. She wanted to focus on her journey of losing weight and changing her lifestyle to help others.
“I started to have good interactions with my followers on social media who actively participated in my progress and were interested in my journey. I realized I could make a business from there.”
Ms. Bilianka started studying nutrition and metabolism-boosting tactics. She began teaching her friends and followers her on social media. “My social media started to grow at that moment and the next thing I knew I was making money out of it.”
Next, she began helping people in her community at the local gym as a personal trainer and nutritionist. “Getting clients at the beginning was a big challenge, as I didn’t know how to approach and offer my services. I worked on building a relationship with clients so that they would commit to training with me. Personal training is a business of human relations and communication is a vital part of it!”
One of her great achievements has been to create a training program for women who’ve recently given birth and had their bodies modified by pregnancy.
For this, she individually studies the needs of each mother and how to incorporate training in their routines with their children.
“One of the things I learned was to eliminate the exercises you don’t like. I tell my clients that if you don’t feel good doing some exercise, don’t do it. You need to love your routine. After all, you need to stick to something you enjoy.”
Stories of successful entrepreneurs, like Andrea Nagel and Sofia Bilianka who started from humble beginnings, can be an excellent source of inspiration to others. In fact, some are so surprising that they even seem like fiction. Overcoming lifestyle and career changes, these women managed to find success and server as inspiration to achieving one’s goals regardless of starting point. Many lessons can be learned, and many mistakes can be avoided—especially the mistake of giving up!
VIVIANE FAVER
Journalist
vfaver@gmail.com