My husband and I had joined the Rogers Wellness Center some time ago, but over the past 4-5 months we had decided to bump up our exercise regimen and started a HIIT class.  This is where we met Melissa (Mel).  She was a great introduction to this class and was diligent in making sure everyone in the class pushed, however, she always made sure to tell us to only do what our bodies said we can do. She was excited and talkative throughout the whole routine and would always ask how we were doing and/or if anything hurt, etc. Needless to say, my husband and I have always strived to do as much as we could when it came to working out and even having friendly competitions against each other but we noticed we were starting to slow down a bit and our energy levels were depleting. So we had to start somewhere and Mel helped guide us in the right direction. We loved Mel's positive attitude and eagerness to help everyone achieve results.  This class was not easy by all means and each time we came we went home exhausted, drenched with sweat but feeling like we accomplished what we set out to do. Each class got a little easier (not saying the classes were easy but our energy level was getting better after each session.  We did 2 months of HIIT and then the class changed to Boot Camp and we did a month of that as well.  Within our time in the Boot Camp we decided to hire Mel as a personal trainer and this was solely due to her knowledge and expertise of the body.  But we also noticed how much information we were gaining on a nutritional basis.  We had always see-sawed on the idea of leaning toward more of a "plant based" nutrition but never really knew how to get going let alone if we could do it or not.  Mel was so helpful in telling us about her nutrition and how eating a "plant based" diet was highly beneficial to our workout routine as well as helping us battle our weight issues.  Both my husband and I are older and have been struggling with getting past a certain point on the scale.  I wasn't eating enough calories and I wasn't drinking enough water on a daily basis and my husband was eating too many calories.  So needless to say, Mel suggested just trying a plant based diet to see how we felt.  She set our daily calories and we started logging the information.  I only weighed myself once a week and gave her weight info so we could see if we had to adjust the calories up or down...Low and behold....It works!  For the most part my husband and I have cut out meat but I do occasionally eat fish but for the most part it was much easier than I thought it would be to transition over to this lifestyle change. I cannot say enough wonderful things about Mel in how she is helping us strengthen our bodies but during our time with Mel, my husband has dropped about 20+ lbs so far and even though I have only lost about 10 lbs, I am continuing to go down but also I am toning up and losing inches with the strength training and nutritional regimen...I still have a specific goal to reach but with Mel by our side and with her personal training knowledge and her nutritional certification, I know we will achieve those goals!  We continue to walk 30-45 minutes a day and any aches and pains we had before all of this have gone away.  We wake up feeling absolutely fantastic!  I realize everyone may not follow the same routine we did and not go to a plant based diet, but Mel will guide everyone to the best of her ability as she knows what she is doing and is someone who can help you achieve what you are set out to achieve. I highly recommend Melissa for anyone ready to make a life change and get themselves healthy and strong.  Healthcare is a nightmare these days and believe me when I say, if you can get onto some kind of regular workout and nutritional regimen you will reap the benefits in the long run.  I realize this is a bit long but whether you are young or older (like my husband and I) and you are ready to start living and loving your life and being active and healthy, I would suggest you contact Melissa to get you rolling.  She knows her stuff and we have learned and are still learning more and more everyday.     Roxanne & Steve