Mandy Brown

Many people who have only known me for the past 5 or so years, think that I have been into health and fitness my whole life. Thankfully, Instagram and Facebook weren't around during most of my late teens and early twenties, so little is published about my previous ups and downs – these pictures won’t be featured in my #tbt’s anytime soon either. Outside of drinking most of my calories at bars, I spent the majority of my twenties trying every fad diet known to man, every fat burner created (seriously, how I didn't die from all the ephedrine and caffeine supplements I took is beyond me), and believing that running was the end all, be all of getting that scale to move lower and lower. I weighed 195 pounds at one point and 145 pounds at another. I was so insecure with my body that I battled an eating disorder few people know about. Of course, all of this led me to lose a few pounds here and there, but never feeling happy with how I looked and I eventually gained any weight I lost back, plus some. How many people can relate to all or part of this story? After I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree, I began working a very physical job at a recreation center. I lifted heavy things A LOT and soon began seeing some muscles in my arms that I had never noticed before. Yeah, I checked myself out. And I started reading. I began lifting weights and really started noticing changes. That's also when my interest in training others started and I began studying about health, fitness, and nutrition.

In 2011, I became a personal trainer and trained at Lifetime Fitness for two and half years. I was the Nutritional Team Lead and as a Metabolic Specialist, advising employees and members on how to implement dietary and supplement changes to assist them in reaching their goals. During my time there, I designed and launched a Wellness Program for a small business, training and educating employees during a 90 Day Challenge to improve their health and fitness.