From Five-Hundred Pounds to CrossFit Coach | Athena Perez - E442

Athena Perez is a CrossFit Level 2 trainer, speaker, author, and founder of Scaled Nation Training, where she helps coaches and larger-bodied athletes navigate sustainable health and fitness transformation. After losing more than 200 pounds from a peak weight of nearly 500 pounds, Athena turned her personal journey into a mission to support others through education, functional fitness, and advocacy. She is the creator of the "Working with Larger Bodies" seminar, author of Lifting the Wait, and a featured voice on platforms including CrossFit Journal, CBS, and Good Morning America.   In this episode, Dr. Tro and Athena talk about… (00:00) Intro (02:04) How Athena began her CrossFit journey (04:57) Food addiction and adverse childhood events (11:40) Emotional eating (14:27) How a dysfunctional 11 year relationship shaped Athena (24:37) When Athena realized that she needed to make a change  (29:14) How Athena finally discovered the truth about good nutrition (32:33) Food addiction vs binging (37:16) How CrossFit changed Athena's life (40:16) How two knee replacements effected Athena's mental and physical health (42:43) How Athena's experience with a bone infection led her to discover fasting (47:39) Athena's 40 day fast experience (53:08) How faith played a role in Athena's rollercoaster health journey (55:29) Outro/plugs For more information, please see the links below. Thank you for listening! Links: Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.lowcarbmd.com/ Athena Perez: Crossfit Coaching Website: https://athenamperez.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/athenamariebt/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl-EOQbaFVxs1zL4tTGShMw Books: https://athenamperez.com/the-book-lifting-the-wait Dr. Brian Lenzkes:  Website: https://arizonametabolichealth.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrianLenzkes?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author Dr. Tro Kalayjian:  Website: https://toward.health Twitter: https://twitter.com/DoctorTro IG: https://www.instagram.com/doctortro/ Toward Health App Join a growing community of individuals who are improving their metabolic health; together.  Get started at your own pace with a self-guided curriculum developed by Dr. Tro and his care team, community chat, weekly meetings, courses, challenges, message boards and more.  Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/doctor-tro/id1588693888  Google: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.disciplemedia.doctortro&hl=en_US&gl=US Learn more: https://toward.health/community/