A Life of Movement, Fitness, and Passion for Health

Meet Tonya, a fitness professional, holistic nutritionist, and cancer survivor with a passion for health, wellness, and design. Her diverse experiences have led her to advocate for a human-centered healthcare approach and she reminds us that small changes can lead to big improvements in health and wellness.

Her message emphasizes the importance of nutrition, sleep, and lifestyle choices in improving health and wellness. She shares simple tips and strategies to help you achieve your best self.

Join us as we explore Tonya's journey and discover how you can make positive changes in your life today. Together, we can create a healthier, happier future.

EARLY LIFE

Growing up, Tonya moved frequently due to her parents' renovations of homes they would buy and sell. However, it was during her teenage years that she faced a particularly difficult challenge - the drug crisis in South Florida in the 80s forced her to attend boarding school in South Georgia. Despite the initial difficulties of adjusting to a new environment, the time at boarding school provided her with a unique and diverse education that would shape her life in many ways.

After graduation, Tonya received a basketball scholarship to a college in Arkansas where she played until she had a knee injury and decided to leave to study in Italy. She mentions that full scholarships for women at that time only covered tuition, while men received full scholarships for everything. Tonya's time at the boarding school and her love for basketball shaped her into an independent and determined person. Today, Tonya no longer plays basketball and instead works as a business coach.

EARLY CAREER

She was always interested in fitness, but it was more of a hobby for her rather than a career. Tonya's real passion was design and architecture, and she worked as an interior designer right after college. She loved decorating, but designing houses that she didn't like, left her feeling unfulfilled.

However, Tonya remained interested in fitness and worked at a recreation center in college, where she struggled to find good fitness instructors. So eventually she decided to get certified to teach herself. Despite initially feeling unsure about teaching, she felt a natural talent and understanding for the body and music. Though fitness was initially associated with girly activities such as aerobics, Tonya's background in kinesiology allowed her to bring a different style to her classes. With a deep understanding of how to fuel the body and the importance of exercise, she has developed a passion for helping others achieve their fitness goals.

LIFE IN CONSTANT MOTION

Tonya has lived in many different states in the US due to her parents and husband's frequent moves. She has lived in Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, Connecticut, and Alabama, with Texas being the most memorable for her, as it was the longest she ever lived in a place, and raised her children there.

She admits that moving can be hard and that it often takes a while to get established in a new place, but her mindset changed when she moved to Texas. She went in with the attitude that she was going to get involved and make the most of her time there. This made a big difference, and she ended up loving the experience. This shift in her mindset made all the difference and she found it to be her favorite place to live.

Tonya learned that she loved something about every place they lived and that moving shattered her preconceived ideas about certain places. Despite the challenges, she believes that humans are more alike than different, and each place has something unique to offer.

FITNESS JOURNEY

Today Tonya has 36 years of experience as a fitness professional. Her journey started with basketball in high school, where she fell in love with the sport and the fitness aspect of it. Later, she became a certified fitness instructor and personal trainer. She moved several times in her career, which was challenging as she had to establish new clients and start from the bottom every time. She faced age discrimination in the industry as she got older, and she noticed that fitness centers prefer young male trainers as they attract more female clients. However, Tonya still loves her job and feels she is making a difference in people's lives. She believes she will continue until she no longer feels productive.

NUTRITION JOURNEY

Her love for fitness and health also extends to nutrition, and she began to pay more attention to her diet when she started playing basketball.

Tonya shares her thoughts on how American food has been adulterated with too many unhealthy choices. She laments that food labels in America have 60 ingredients that are difficult to pronounce, unlike other countries that offer fewer and better options. She also attributes the rise of fast food to our increasingly busy lifestyles, resulting in poor food choices. As a fitness trainer, she has had to stay up-to-date on the latest diet like low-fat, Atkins, keto, and paleo. While teaching her clients to be aware of what they eat, Tonya recommends that people stick to fresh, whole foods that are found outside of the grocery store. She is a proponent of holistic nutrition and believes that every diet has some nutritional deficiencies. Tonya urges people to eat a wide variety of plants for optimal nutrition.

In this interview, she discusses her own journey towards healthier eating habits. She began by trying to find healthier versions of packaged snacks for her son but soon realized that even the organic options were still not real food. She believes that the key to healthy eating is to focus on consuming mostly fruits and vegetables and to prioritize buying organic when possible. Tonya also emphasizes the importance of balance and acknowledges that not everyone has access to organic foods or the money to purchase them. She notes that eating healthy can actually be more affordable than buying packaged and processed foods.

After being diagnosed with a parasite, Tonya became even more interested in nutrition and received her certification in holistic nutrition. She attributes her children's good health to their healthy eating habits and believes that focusing on whole, organic foods can make a big difference in one's health. Overall, Tonya stresses the importance of authenticity and practicing what you preach when it comes to being a holistic nutritionist.

LIFESTYLE CHOICES IMPACT HEALTH

She had personal experiences that inspired her to learn about diabetes, which her mother and husband's father were diagnosed with at the same time. Tonya witnessed the two different extremes of dealing with diabetes, with her mother being able to manage it well by changing her lifestyle, and her husband's father struggling with it and eventually losing his life to the disease. Tonya believes that 90% of diseases can be prevented or managed through lifestyle changes and healthy habits. However, she understands that it can be hard for people to make such changes because we live busy lives, and our bodies naturally crave the easy way out.

Tonya encourages people to change their mindset and prioritize healthy living. She believes that the first push may be difficult, but it will ultimately lead to a better quality of life.

HEALTH RESPONSIBILITIES

Tonya discusses the issue of food poverty and the lack of access to healthy food in the United States, particularly in inner cities and schools. She mentions that poverty, lack of financial stability, and access to healthy food are major factors in this issue. Tonya also notes that people have access to information and education on the subject, but not everyone is interested in it.

She suggests that companies that support health and look out for the community should be the ones getting government support, and not big corporations that contribute to food addiction and disease. Tonya believes that change should start early, in schools, and that healthy food should be made available to children to set them up for a healthier life. She also acknowledges that food is designed to be addictive and that people have become addicted to sugar and unhealthy foods. Overall, Tonya advocates for a shift towards a healthier, more conscious approach to food and for the community to prioritize health over profits.

IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP

While there are environmental factors that affect our health, a good chunk of it comes from the food we eat. Our mindset and lifestyle choices, including exercise, sleep, and activity, are also important factors. Tonya stresses the significance of sleep, which is often overlooked, even by athletes who prioritize healthy eating and exercise.

She believes that sleep is just as important as diet and exercise and that our bodies were created to sleep when it's dark and wake up when it's light. However, with artificial light and the constant presence of technology, our brains become confused and we fail to get the rest our bodies need. This lack of sleep weakens our bodies over time, and Tonya is concerned that people don't pay enough attention to this aspect of their health.

While the information about how much sleep we need is easily accessible, Tonya believes that we tend to ignore it. Instead, we rely on products and quick fixes, without addressing the root cause of our problems. Tonya believes that understanding the "why" behind our health issues is crucial, and we should be willing to make lifestyle changes to address them. Factors like stress, work-life balance, underlying diseases, and even caffeine intake could be causing us to lose sleep. In Tonya's view, addressing these issues can lead to long-term improvements in our health, rather than just patching up the symptoms.

HOLISTIC WELLNESS

Overall, Tonya's perspective on health and wellness is refreshing and highlights the importance of holistic approaches to wellness. Her emphasis on understanding the root cause of health issues and making lifestyle changes to address them is a welcome change from the quick fixes that are often marketed to us. With her knowledge and passion for wellness, Tonya is a valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their overall health and well-being.

Tonya shares her thoughts on the importance of taking care of one's mental and physical health, emphasizing the need to pay attention to warning signs before they become bigger problems. She talks about the convenience of taking sleeping pills instead of addressing the underlying issues causing sleeplessness, and how such problems can snowball if not properly addressed.

Tonya advocates for simple lifestyle changes, such as sleeping when it gets dark, getting up when the sun rises, and doing more exercise, even if it doesn't require going to the gym. She also stresses the importance of being mindful and aware of what we eat, appreciating the work that goes into making a meal, and planning ahead to make healthy choices. Tonya notes that the COVID pandemic has forced many families to learn how to prepare and cook their meals, which can be a positive change. She also shares her experience of losing power for a week and how it gave her the chance to read more books and have deeper conversations with her partner, highlighting the benefits of taking time to disconnect from technology and the outside world. Tonya believes that everything changes and it's essential to be aware of the lessons we can learn from difficult situations, which can help us make better choices in the future.

GRATITUDE

She talks about how important it is to sit down, take a moment of pause, and express gratitude for the food before eating. Even if one doesn't believe in God, one can still be grateful for what they're about to have and it changes everything. Tonya emphasizes how eating under stress or negative emotions affects the body's ability to use food as fuel. She urges people to be mindful of their food choices and question whether they are truly hungry or using food to mask their emotions.

MINDFULNESS

She believes that people in America are the most overfed and undernourished, as they eat for convenience, boredom, and habit, instead of true hunger. Tonya encourages people to be more mindful of their food choices, savor their meals, and be present in the moment while eating. She suggests a three-meal-a-day approach, being mindful of nutrients and calories, and avoiding mindless snacking.

PREVENTATIVE HEALTHCARE

She also talks about the unhealthy diet in the South of the U.S. and how it's difficult to change people's eating habits because of cultural traditions. She believes that comfort food is so-called because of the emotional comfort it provides and not because of its health benefits. Tonya also thinks that California is associated with healthy eating habits, but that's not always the case, as it depends on where you are and your lifestyle. She stresses the importance of having a personal reason for being healthy rather than just aesthetic reasons. Tonya believes that people should have a more profound reason, such as wanting to play with their grandchildren, and that this would increase their chances of success in achieving their health goals. She also thinks that healthcare should focus more on preventative measures to keep people healthy, rather than just treating them when they become sick.

Tonya herself is a cancer survivor who has gone through a lot of struggles to find the right doctor who truly cares about her as a whole person. She had to visit 15 different doctors and it took a whole year to finally be diagnosed. She believes that doctors who can save a life in emergency situations are amazing, but when it comes to the rest of it, the average is lacking. She is searching for an integrative doctor who can educate himself in the best of all worlds, combining the good of medicine with the holistic approach of Chinese medicine, which looks at the whole person rather than just body parts. Tonya believes in self-care and balance as a way to prevent illness from happening in the first place. Her story is an inspiring one, and it highlights the need for a more human-centered approach to healthcare.

FINAL WORDS

Tonya shared her advice for those looking to improve their health and wellness. She believes that the key to success is to make small changes and not try to change everything at once. She recommends starting with one healthy habit, such as drinking more water or going to bed an hour earlier, and adding to it each day. Tonya also stresses the importance of having a support system and finding someone who can encourage and motivate you, whether that's a friend, family member, or support group. Finally, she reminds us to forgive ourselves when we mess up and to start over right away, rather than waiting for a specific date or time to begin again. By following these simple but effective tips, Tonya believes that anyone can achieve their health and wellness goals and live a happier, healthier life.