Elaina Carrera

NAME, AGE & HOMETOWN

Hi! I am Elaina Carrera. I am 40 years old and live in Flemingsburg, Kentucky.

TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR INSPIRATIONAL FITNESS STORY!

I am a proud mother of five, and am self-employed. I spent nearly twenty years in the mortgage industry before entering the world of full time entrepreneurship. I teach group fitness classes, and am a Certified Yoga Instructor, as well as operate an online home-based direct sales business.

WHAT THINGS HAPPENED THAT LED TO YOU WORK WITH JULIE LOHRE AS YOUR ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINER?

I turned 40! Hahaha!

In all sincerity, turning forty was a big milestone for me and really made me what to take those first steps in my own inspirational fitness story. I wanted to mark this year of my life with a matching milestone of challenging myself in a way that I had never done before. I set a goal to get into the best shape of my life, and toyed with the potential goal of entering my first Bikini Competition. I was at a decent level of fitness when I found Julie’s online training program, but knew I needed someone who’s experience in the fitness industry far outweighed my own, in order to achieve my goals.

I loved hearing about her personal journey, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that Katharine Rose, one of the ladies from my church who I had admired for her accomplishments in competition, was also trained by Julie Lohre! After our first conversation over the phone I shared my personal journey. Julie encouraged me that my story could be impactful for other women, and she instantly had confidence in me. At that point, I was SOLD! I am so glad I took the plunge!

WHAT ARE YOUR GREATEST FITNESS ACCOMPLISHMENTS?

April 20th this year, I competed in my very first bikini competition. It was the NGA Kentucky Natural Classic. I trained for 22 weeks and hit the stage in the best shape of my life! My body has been real good to me, in carrying five beautiful, healthy children, but the pregnancies weren’t so easy on it. I wasn’t sure what type of physique I would end up with after training, but gave it my all and was pleasantly surprised.

As I began training with Julie, the first change I experienced was an increase in energy and feeling great! I started feeling stronger and my endurance increased.

I was initially mortified at the thought of standing in front of a giant crowd in a bikini, but half way through the training I decided I owed it to myself to go through with the challenge I started. The personal growth, alone, was enough to make me want to press on and face my fears!

WHAT UNIQUE CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED IN YOUR INSPIRATIONAL FITNESS STORY?

With the help of friends, some close family and the local Women’s Crisis Center, I broke free from a psychologically and physically abusive marriage. The transformation  process I was inspired to partake in, when I started working with Julie was a big part of my journey in challenging myself and become even a stronger version of myself. I was tired of being afraid, and of questioning myself. The discipline of my fitness transformation gave me something tangible to push myself in. It gave me a structured formula of actions to adhere to, that I could lean on and trust that I would be able to get results from and eventually see the fruit of my labor.

For me, pushing myself as hard as I could was probably even a bigger part of my inspirational fitness story. It was more of an internal transformation beyond anything I was able to see in terms of change in my outward body. When you’re biggest opponent is the person staring at you in the mirror…stuff gets real, real quick. When you don’t give in to the knee jerk reaction to pour a glass of wine when the stress is high and the day is long…you learn alot about yourself. I had already been on a journey of self-discovery in my life, and the training process just amplified that!

I learned that I can do anything I set my mind to do. I learned that even if you can’t silence the voices in your head that try to shame you or hold you back…you can ignore them, and speak against them with an even louder tactic: ACTIONS.

HOW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT JULIE LOHRE’S ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINING PROGRAM?

I did an online Google search for Bikini Competition Coach, and her name came up in the results.

WHAT WERE YOUR ORIGINAL CONCERNS ABOUT ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINING AND ONLINE FITNESS COACHING?

Though my ex-husband and I operated a couple of our own fitness facilities in Arizona years ago, my experience in the weight room was limited. Most of my exercise regimen has been comprised of group fitness classes and outdoor activities such as hiking, cycling, and kayaking. I was a little concerned I wouldn’t know my way around the “grunt room” as I like to call it. haha!

Julie’s exercise database was fantastic in demonstrating moves I was not familiar with! Any and all concerns I had, however, were set at ease when we first spoke over the phone. I loved having the chance to share where my driving passion in this pursuit was coming from, and after hearing her own success story and her optimism, I knew I was in good hands.

TELL US ABOUT THE PROGRESS YOU HAVE MADE OVER TIME.

 I lost 4.25 inches in my waist, 13.6 pounds, 3 inches in my hips, and over 3 inches off each thigh. My resting heart rate dropped from 75 to 59 and my standing long jump increased from 50 inches to 62.5 inches. My upper body strength increased significantly. At the beginning of my training I could only complete 6 pushups at a time without resting, and that increased to 21 pushups!

WHAT HAS BEEN THE HARDEST PART OF THIS JOURNEY?

In the beginning, cutting wine out of my ritual was the hardest part. Eventually the hardest part became the new routine I created, the lifestyle. However, the routine actually became something I craved, something that made me feel stable and steady and that was something I really needed in my life.

HOW DO YOU FEEL NOW?  HOW HAS YOUR OUTLOOK ABOUT YOUR BODY AND YOUR LIFE CHANGED?

I am proud of myself. Not only do I feel better physically, but I feel stronger mentally. I believe our society often portrays the bodies of women in an overly sexualized manner, and sets some unrealistic expectations for many of us. I admire women like Jamie Lee Curtis who have insisted in hitting the front cover of a magazine without her image being airbrushed. Our bodies are magnificent! In this lifetime, you’ll have one body to live in, why ever cast shame on it? Why not love and appreciate all it does for you? My body is not perfect, but I have grown to admire how adaptable it is. When I treat it well, it shows, and when I don’t, it shows. Our hearts and minds are the same. What we feed our mind, our heart, our body…reflects in our speech, our demeanor, our attitude, our outlook, in how we feel and look.

Our lives are so fast paced and demanding, and we give so much of ourselves to everything around us: our education, our careers, our community, our families. All too often the person last on the priority list is ourselves. I support the notion of putting others first, and giving back…but I have come to learn that none of us can pour from an empty cup. And if we do not first know how to love and treasure ourselves, how can we expect anyone else around us to know how?

This has changed my life in a myriad of ways. I intend to implement this process in all sectors of my life, a little at a time. I intend to declutter and destress my home, my relationships, and my thought life and to assist my children in doing so and inspire others around me to start taking baby steps for good changes in their own lives as well…because they deserve it. We all do.

FAVORITE CLEAN EATING RECIPE?

My easy “go to” was poached cod, and steamed veggies with riced cauliflower topped with Salsa Verde. My favorite recipe is Julie’s Beverly International Protein Pancakes topped with fresh strawberries! When stress has ever been high or my morale was suffering for any reason whatsoever, that recipe was my instant “pick me up” treat!

WHAT IS THE BEST AND WORST PART ABOUT WORKING WITH JULIE LOHRE?

Having years in the world of numbers and finance, I am a numbers girl to a certain extent. I love the system Julie has built and the details her nutrition guidelines set out. It took out the guess-work! For a busy mom, this was key for me.

Julie Lohre’s optimism was my saving grace at times. She celebrated my successes, and called them by name. She also told me like it was when I started to veer off course! I appreciated that too! I love the exercise database and I love that she is adding more videos to some of the moves. There may have been one or two that I was misunderstanding, and when I saw a video, it cleared it up for me.

Strong, confident and oh so fit, Elaina Carrera makes fitness a priority in her life with her incredibly inspirational fitness story.