I met Maggie for the first time as I was hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains on a small quest to hike the 67 mile Backbone Trail. At one point, I felt I was lost and this petite fit lady crossed my path. She set me straight on how to get back to the trail and I went on my way. Fortuitously, about 45 minutes later, I ran into her again and we started chatting along our route.
I discovered she was the Queen of these mountains and so we subsequently have hiked together every week or two thereafter. Such a chance encounter has enlightened my life. Maggie is gifted in so many areas and I don’t say that lightly. First, such a positivity surrounds her. She has taught me to not look backwards, and to essentially work with what I have in the present. Don’t get caught up in what might happen in the future. It will take care of itself. She has boundless energy and puts me to shame. I have learned to stay grounded with nature which then lets me manage my stress. She has shared her “diet” (not a diet but healthy eating habits) and which supplements she takes, and only because I asked. She is a great listener and has shared some of her life experiences with me. She remains humble throughout and I believe I have grown as a person from spending time with Maggie and always look forward to my next hike in the mountains.
I have been a Physical Therapist for nearly 30 years and involved in fitness and wellness for 40 years. In all of that time span I have never met an individual as devoted as Maggie to the health and wellness of humanity. She is truly an inspiration, she not only keeps herself in incredible shape but helps women and men of all ages literally recapture their health and wellness. She is able to do this through a multi focused approach that is designed specific to the individual. Her knowledge of nutrition, fitness and life balance far exceeds anyone I have ever met. I have been fortunate enough to have Maggie as a colleague for nearly a decade and have seen the life changing metamorphosis she has made with her clients. If you are lucky enough to know Maggie, you know all this to be true. If not, I suggest you make it a point to do so if you have an aspiration of regaining your health and wellness. She is certainly the person with which to start your journey. To your health.
I had seen Maggie several times while attending a monthly meeting. She was a guest speaker and I guess I enjoyed her philosophy of life enough to join her ‘Fitness Family’. It certainly didn’t hurt matters to look at her and see that she practices what she preaches. She spoke of self-discipline and how one has to do for oneself in order to find happiness in life. Well, my story is slightly different. I spend the better part of my day standing on my feet and believe me, when I finish my day with arthritic pain, I just wanted to eat and sit! I don’t have to tell you what that did to my body and frankly, I needed to do something about it. I’d go to bed with braces on my wrists and forearms looking like I was in a bad accident. I didn’t feel good about myself, I didn’t like the way I looked and especially since my profession is one where I make people look their best, the skincare profession. I took the plunge and spoke with Maggie about what she could do for me. During my initial consultation I spoke of my weight problem, lack of energy, the way I was eating, my nutrition, and in general, I wanted to look better. When I started with Maggie’s Fitness and Nutrition program, I weighed 198 pounds, and then proceeded to erase 50 of them in just under 5 months. When I started with Maggie, I told her of a problem I had with my ankle. Surgery was planned for the next month and I was worried about interrupting my progress. I continued with Maggie and I’m not sure what happened, but my ankle improved, and, I don’t even think about it anymore. I’m now sure that dropping the weight and having a better daily nutritional plan had everything to do with it. More importantly, I now feel so much better about myself. Now I look forward to staring into the mirror. I know it sounds silly, but Maggie changed my life, although, she’ll say I did it and that she was only a catalyst. Funny thing is, I don’t feel deprived of any food, I eat healthy, natural food, a little fish and chicken, and I stay away from the bad stuff. Note, I don’t need the braces anymore! I’m with Maggie 3 days a week and Maggie is with me 24-7! Thank you Maggie for making a difference.
I’ve been friends with Maggie for a long time and I was secretly fascinated by how she looked; always so fit and healthy looking. I wanted to look like her. I thought about it for a long time and used every excuse in the book for not committing. Busy family life, working long hours, I look ok, just the same excuses everyone uses I guess. It wasn’t until I felt, yes, a little ashamed at how I let myself go, that I called Maggie for help. When I started with Maggie on August 1, 2008. I weighed 155 lbs., but Maggie didn’t tell me to not eat. She just told me what to eat. Of course. she beat me up pretty bad when we worked out! But one week into the program (and I seriously did everything she told me to do) I lost 5 lbs. Now that may seem kind of ordinary for all of the dieting systems you see on the market, and I thought so too, but I was determined to follow through with everything Maggie said. Of course her caveat was “…if you do what I say, you’ll reach your goal, and if you don’t, you won’t!” My eating regimen (Maggie will not use the word diet) is fresh fruits & vegetables; especially all kinds of berries; almond butter, organic wild fish & chicken, raw unsalted nuts & seeds and raw honey. And I really don’t feel hungry at all. Maggie says I can have red meat if I choose, but not too often. She always says “Don’t deprive yourself. Just substitute good food for bad. Well, it’s now March 1, 2009 and I am now at 123 lbs. I feel better than I have my whole life! What’s more important is that I’ve gone from a size 8-10 to a 4. And, better yet, my husband is more than pleased! The bad news, if you want to consider it that, is having to buy new clothes. Some really bad news right? I can make this promise to myself, “There is no going back”!
When I met Maggie and saw that most of the food she ate was in the fruit and vegetable family. My first thought was, bland, no flavor; I’ll be starved an hour after eating. I was wrong! I’m the kind of person that is usually not afraid to try something new, except jump out of perfectly good airplane, so I decided to give Maggie a try. Before I go too much further, I need to confess to a 3 day-a-week habit of McDonald’s, Burger King, and Jack-in-the-Box. I also partook of a donut or two in the morning. Every morning! Just for the sugar high!. “Don’t worry,” I told myself, “I ride a mountain bike and I can hike with the best of them. I stay in shape and I look pretty good, if I do say so myself.” The BIG change is coming. I followed Maggie’s advice and adopted her eating regimen and after 3 months, I can truthfully say I have no urge for donuts and hamburgers. I have eliminated carbonated beverages, most red meat, but sometimes a steak; it’s tomatoes, avocado, and a host of much better substitutes and I have no craving for any of the ‘foodstuffs’ I ate before. No chips, no cookies, no sugar, AND I feel better than I have felt in over 25 years – maybe more. By the way, I went down to a 32 from a 34 – waist that is! Thanks Maggie