Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Nguyen.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Stephanie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My journey personally started on January 1, 2015. I was out of college and fresh into my first career and noticed I had put on a lot of weight from college and all the traveling I was doing for work. I was an athlete my whole life and when I went to college I stopped playing sports and was very social so a lot of partying and drinking and late night eating was involved next thing I knew I had hit a weight that I never had before and things that used to be easy for me to do became hard. I was out of breath more and just very depressed with my body image and not fitting into things that normally fit. Throughout college, I would do “diets” and just fall in and out of the phase and was never truly committed. For some reason, the Christmas before 2015 hit I had seen some photos of myself with my family and just saw how bad it got. MY parents even mentioned to me the weight gain they had seen in me. This is when I decided I needed to change. I went full throttle. Told myself I would commit to going to the gym five times a week and I would start prepping my food.
And thats EXACTLY what I did. I also did my own research online to help me in this journey so that I could be better educated in what I was getting myself into. With consistency in my plan, I was able to drop 60lbs. This was the first step of me realizing that what I was doing was working. I kept this up for three years. Throughout that time frame, I started personal training and running boot camps and just being an advocate for health and fitness and what it could do if you truly pushed yourself. Beginning of 2018, I decided I wanted to take things further and decided I wanted to compete. This idea was always in my head since college or even high school honestly but I never really thought too deep into it. Jan of 2018, I officially made the commitment to pursue this goal. As I started prepping for my June show four weeks into my prep, I discovered a tumor in my right hip that had to be removed that caused me to stop my prep and get this taken care of. I was distraught. I wanted this so bad and here goes an obstacle thats preventing me from getting my workouts in. With the help of my friend Aaron who was my coach for my first show, we went straight back into routine once I was cleared to exercise again. The very first day back into my prep, I was doing some hip thrust at the end of my workout on my very last rep and busted my scar from surgery open. Rushed to the ER to get it stitched back up I was bawling. In my head, I was like what am I suppose to do my show is coming up. This is when I decided that I needed to push my show back and heal properly. We moved the June show to August.
Once I was ready to get back into the gym… I DID, HARD! I worked out seven days a week twice a day and kept grinding and grinding. There was definitely some moments where I wanted to quit but I didn’t. August comes and here goes nothing. I’m about to step on stage after 16 weeks of prepping and at 102lbs weight loss. I would be lying if I didn’t say I wasn’t nervous but I also know how extremely hard I worked to be here so in my mind I already won. I had achieved MY goal, the goal that I set for myself, which is discipline to get through and FINISH. The best news of all was I won the show!! I came out and won my very first show and honestly, it was one of the best days of my life. To have a life dream/goal come to life…. how many people in this world really get to experience that? Fitness literally changed my life and its not just a diet its a LIFESTYLE change. Its discipline within yourself daily to make the right choices for your life and your body. Now here we are not even a year since my first show and here I am about to go into my 3rd show going for a pro title. God willing that June 1st I get to walk away with the title of Musclemania Lonestar Figure Pro at the exact stage that I should have competed at for my very first show.
Has it been a smooth road?
No, it hasn’t a tumor in my hip caused meet have to stop prepping and rest and once I was cleared to get back to it I busted it open and had to take even more time off.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I’m known for women weight loss. I specialize in working with women only. I choose to because women tend to be more shy when it comes to the gym and want to learn from someone who’s been in their shoes and can teach them. I run an all-girls boot camp as well as do one on one training. What sets me apart is I’m a trainer who’s been through the stages. From being a fit athlete to being overweight to now being in the best shape of my life, competing and showcasing my body as what hard work can equate to. Women love to relate to someone who’s done because thats easier than having someone who’s always been in shape training you because there are some things they just wouldn’t understand as a trainer.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Any place would be because health and fitness is super important anywhere. You can honestly start in your daily life or even at home just making better decisions as simple as taking stairs instead of the elevator or parking your car a little farther so that you walk a little more or cutting out anything processed that you buy and make sure you only grab fresh groceries. There are also handful of body weight exercises you can do. My boot camp actually caters to this. Showing women you can workout with just your body and still get results.
Pricing:
- $200 a month for Bootcamp
- $50 Meal Plans
Contact Info:
- Phone: 8329168333
- Email: stephaniemai21@yahoo.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/justsaynguyen
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
