Certified personal trainer Sara Pereira’s (@itssarapr) Instagram is flooded with glamorous shots from the gym and tactical fitness tips for her 384,000 fans. You might think she’s always had it all figured out. But Sara, like so many of us, started out as a complete beginner in her fitness journey. Sara’s journey really began when she was uprooted 6 years ago from her home country of Venezuela and moved to the U.S. Feeling alone in a new country and coping through emotional eating, Sara...

After years of emotional binge eating and unsuccessful restrictive dieting, Ashley Zeffiro (@ashleytrackspoints) became a weight loss success story. Not only did Ashley hit her target weight, but she also kept the weight off, a part of the journey Ashley says “people don’t talk about enough.” So how did Ashley go from watching her weight yo-yo for years to becoming a sustainable weight loss advocate for over 67,000 fans on Instagram? She changed her mindset and started thinking long...

“At the end of the day...self-care is fitness.” Ever wondered what a 37-year-long health journey looks like? For Tara Allison (@fatgirl.fit), it’s one full of wisdom, self-love, and lots of squats. Raised in a household with generations of complex body image issues, Tara was taught to feel ashamed of her weight from a young age, and even forced to attend Weight Watchers meetings when she was just 14 years old. For Tara, this was simply her way of life. And then everything changed. A form...

“The biggest part of this journey wasn’t watching the numbers on the scale drop… it was discovering a love for myself that I didn’t have before, and then having the privilege to share that with other people.” For years Grace Guilliams dealt with her health issues by… not dealing with them. Like so many coaches I’ve spoken to on this show, Grace (known as @GraceGoingDownDown to almost 100,000 followers on TikTok) struggled with her weight for most of her life.  She recalls coping with this...

Franky Delgado (@frankyfitness) has some simple yet powerful advice when it comes to losing weight: don’t be like him. This isn’t because he didn’t lose weight. He did - 120 pounds to be exact. However, Franky originally believed that his true path to happiness was a number on a scale, and his motivation to lose weight quickly turned into obsession, causing a rippling effect of consequences that Franky says he’s still living with today.  But don't worry, there is a happy ending to this...

Sometimes it seems like getting healthy means hitting an arbitrary goal weight and calling it a day.  Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Hitting that weight can be a great thing, but this is usually just step 1.  The unexpected question that so many of us face when we finally achieve that first, hard-won goal is… now what?  That’s the question that Michelle Wigle (@michworksout) wrestled with at the outset of her health transformation. In the early days, she had such a...

Rylee Ollearis (@ryleejade.fit on TikTok) knows that when it comes to hitting your goals, sometimes it's less about motivation and more about discipline. Luckily, building discipline can be as simple as making your bed every day. Simplicity, it turns outs, is at the core of Rylee’s health and fitness philosophy. She believes that it’s the small daily changes that add up to the big stuff. Her own practice of building healthier habits every day transformed her from someone who felt out of place...

We often talk about “getting healthy” and “losing weight” as if they always mean the same thing. But of course, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Health and wellness mean so much more than a number on the scale.   Take our guest, personal trainer Margaret Cresta. At the beginning of her journey, stress and a lack of proper nutrition made it nearly impossible for Margaret to keep weight on. So when she  decided to focus on her health, she knew she had to get physically and mentally...

Polly Kerbut (@polly__wants) is all about making big life changes.  But sometimes these changes happen to you. Instead of being in control, you feel at the mercy of your circumstances.  It was one of these changes in Polly’s life almost two years ago that left her feeling stressed, overweight, and depressed. Polly had relocated from her native home in Russia to Seattle where she didn’t know a soul. Her body was in the U.S., but her head was back in Russia. As she describes it, she felt like...

Ashley Mojo’s transformation was so stark, sometimes even she can’t believe it.  And it’s not even the physical transformation that stands out (though after dropping 80 pounds, that’s definitely part of her story). No, the viral Tik Tok star went from hating the way she looked and dreading the gym, to someone who inspires nearly half a million people  to think about their health and bodies in a whole new way.  On her road to helping others, Ashley also regained her self-confidence and a...

“I don’t think I would have survived recovery had I not lost the weight.”  Those are the words of Jen Wagner (@_jens_journey_), who lost 100 pounds and was enjoying her new, healthier life when her world was turned upside down.   She was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  According to Jen, recovering from brain surgery is the hardest thing she has ever faced. But it was only possible because she had recently committed to a healthier lifestyle, breaking her sugar addiction and dropping more than...

Jasmine Parent (@jasminelosingit) is a certified fitness trainer and nutrition coach who knows exactly what it takes to make sustainable, long-lasting health changes, because she lost over 120 pounds herself. Here’s a hint: it involves completely ditching diet culture. If you’re wondering how this is possible, you're not alone. There’s a reason Jasmine now guides her clients and her 174,000 followers on Instagram to true success. In this episode, Jasmine shares  three key things you can...

Madelyn Payne (@Life_As_Madelyn) has a secret weapon when it comes to weight loss: the  art of resilience. Madelyn knows that every health journey comes with its share of ups and downs, and instead of shying away from that fact, she faces it head-on. Despite the peaks and inevitable valleys, she keeps it positive and sets small, sustainable goals to see herself through to the next wave. This mindset helps Madelyn inspire her community of 34,000 strong on Instagram everyday, who come to her...

Amy Kiser Schemper is a certified personal trainer and busy mom of two who helps over 730,000 followers all over the world workout at home through her YouTube channel, BodyFit by Amy.  But Amy wasn't always the self-assured, virtual supertrainer she is today. In fact, it wasn’t until Amy experienced a powerful mindset shift that she reached her full fitness potential. Amy learned to work out because she loved her body,  not because she hated it or needed to change it.  After that, fitness for...

Matt Fox (@mattycfox) is a fitness trainer from Australia who specializes in at-home bodyweight workouts for his clients and nearly 380k social media followers. Matt has been active and passionate about fitness his whole life, and was actually a...

In 2017, Chelsey Bishop (@KetoHalfAsser) had a crystal clear “aha” moment when it came to her health - she couldn’t fit on a rollercoaster. Already tired of feeling shame and anxiety because of her weight, that fateful moment at Universal Studios...

Jana’e Michelle (@ThisCurvyGirlsFitness) has one major goal in life: to go skydiving. In order to do that, she needs to hit a goal weight of 250 pounds. Here’s the catch - Jana’e rarely ever steps on a scale. So, how will she do it?The answer is simple:...

Jana’e Michelle (@ThisCurvyGirlsFitness) has one major goal in life: to go skydiving. In order to do that, she needs to hit a goal weight of 250 pounds. Here’s the catch - Jana’e rarely ever steps on a scale. So, how will she do it?The answer is simple,...

In July 2019, Jessica Beniquez discovered a lump under her armpit. It wasn’t long until her worst fears were confirmed. She had cancer. The irony was, Jessica was the healthiest she had ever been. A few years prior she had committed to fitness and...

Jimmy Choi is a modern day Renaissance man when it comes to physical fitness. To date, he’s run 16 marathons, 105 half marathons, set world records for burpees and push-ups, and will be competing on NBC’s American Ninja Warrior for the 5th year in a...

Kalvin and Angelo, aka “The Vision Twins,” are beloved by their 2.3 million social media followers for high-energy, incredibly fun HIIT workouts. But before they rose to internet fame (and WayBetter popularity) with their infectious positive energy, the...

Wellness can feel intimidating, unattainable, and honestly, a bit much. Better by the Day is here to change all that. Each week we bring you life-changing stories from real people who’ve made wellness a keystone in their lives. One step at a time. From...