The last 4 years have meant the world to me, I have grown so much from starting this journey in my early twenties to coming into my own in my later twenties. I went from not knowing anything about how to fuel my body and thinking I couldn’t eat certain things, to slowly over the years understanding how to use food as a tool to accelerate my fitness and mindset to where I am now.

I enjoyed this process so much- getting to understand my body and what works for me has been such a great experience. I truly believe everyone should invest in a year of tracking to figure out what works for them. I’ve hit PRs this last year that I didn’t think were possible, took 1st place in a competition, made it the furthest I have in the CF Open, and over the weekend ran 8 miles.

I joined Black Iron Nutrition as a performance client when I first started competing because I knew no amount of training would outperform the wrong nutrition plan. I chose BIN because of the impressive coaching team and how their mission focuses on clients as individuals and embodies everything positive about the health and fitness industry.

When I came to BIN I was a year into a new job that had taken me to full night shift. I've been a lifter/crossfitter for many years and couldn't figure out why I was losing so much strength. My coach has taught me so much more than just how to eat. I've learned the importance of different levels of my nutrition, and in just 10 months I have all of my strength numbers back and am currently hitting PRs!

I have practiced macro counting on and off for years, but the accountability I have with weekly check-ins is invaluable. I used to track for a few days then drop off, but because of my close monitoring and accountability, I am seeing more results than ever.

When I started the Black Iron Nutrition Lifestyle+ program 5 months ago I was in a RUT. I was the true definition of you can’t outwork a bad diet. I’m very head strong and determined, but without my coaches accountability and knowledge I wouldn’t be where I am today. My health has become my number one priority and I have learned this journey is a marathon, not a sprint. Change your mind and you can change your life. Take the plunge, you won’t regret it!

I started with BIN because I had tried all sorts of diets and found myself in a restrict-binge cycle I knew wasn’t healthy. I was obsessed with food and scared to gain weight, which I had. The first 6 months I lost 10 pounds, and my relationship with food was improved 10 fold. I’m so grateful to have had these coaches in my corner. They changed my mindset, and really gave me my life back.

Who knew all I needed was some outside accountability and having somebody in my corner to drive some change. With just a little bit of consistency I saw what I would consider significant change over a few months. I am a totally different person than I was 6 months ago and I like to call myself Kelli 2.0 nowadays

To say that my coach has been a guiding factor in improving my health, my overall relationship with food and my food choices is an understatement. There were some tough love moments in the beginning where I was concentrating on tiny little measurements, not really seeing the overall picture and she had to keep me in check. I wasn’t eating enough of the RIGHT foods and she guided me through a reverse diet that had me eating more than I maybe ever have, all while seeing body composition changes, feeling good in the gym and feeling more myself in my body as a whole.

I came to Black Iron after several failed attempts at trying to lose some weight I had gained during the pandemic. The difference with BIN is that I ate at maintenance level for a few months before even going into a cut -- I had never done this before! In the process, I have learned so much and grew in ways I didn't know were possible. I have a better relationship with food and my body now and the knowledge to carry on toward my goals in a healthier way.

It has been nice to have a coach that understands what it is like to not fit in the gender norm and what that sometimes does to your head. It has been nice to have a balanced coach that has seen what has been working and that made me trust the process and not stress about that “nothing is happening” feeling. It has been nice to have a coach that understands habits and how that works with mental health. it has been a good year and I do recommend everyone to work with BIN in general and Emi specially if you are one of us. The queers that are trying to find their space in a weird world.

I started the program because I was training for a half marathon and would feel completely drained and sick after my long runs. That paired with a desire to get off my acid reflux medication brought me to BIN to figure out what I could do better. I had counted macros before and knew that it wasn’t what I wanted for myself so the Thrive program was perfect. I could focus on how my body felt and figure out how to eat in a way that worked for me.

As my goals have changed from solely CrossFit performance to now bodybuilding and aesthetics, my coaches have been right alongside me, supporting me in making changes to begin seeing results. And with their help, I have been able to balance life better. While juggling a busy schedule as a college student, I am still seeing improvements in the gym weekly. Without BIN and my coaches, I don't think I would be where I am performance-wise, and most importantly, mentally.

People (women, especially) don’t fuel enough for what we ask our bodies to do day in and day out, and then we expect to perform our best too? It doesn’t work that way. And (thankfully for me) ultra running isn’t a sport that praises aesthetics. But we are rewarded with strong legs 60 miles in because we shoved mashed potatoes down at mile 50. Over the last 6 months I’ve been practicing eating for this kind of thing, because it takes just that - so much practice.

My experience with BIN has been truly eye opening! I had a lot of support from my coach and I really learned to fuel my body appropriately for my workouts. As a result there were a lot of PRs on a lot of my lifts and metcon times. This was when I truly got to experience what it meant to eat for performance. This was so encouraging that I decided to do my first powerlifting competition.

I've worked with Black Iron Nutrition for a little over a year, and I don't think it's exaggerating to say that this program has really changed my life! The coaching radically changed my relationship with food and how I think about my body, fitness, and health. I've gained a much better sense of how to eat to best fuel my lifestyle and my fitness goals, and a deeper appreciation for my body and all of its abilities.

I learned so much in the short amount of time working with my coach! She was very encouraging and supportive. She helped me learn to celebrate my victories and not be so hard on myself. I learned that I was not eating enough and how to portion out my macros. BIN and the personal coaching I had was instrumental in getting my nutrition into a healthy place and giving me amazing tools to use for life.

How refreshing it was to work with such a down to earth realistic person! I started just needing some real accountability to get me back to where I wanted to be after kids. I learned a lot about myself and my mind frame with food and fitness that in the long run could put me back in the place I was just getting my self out of.

I was just about to turn 50 and I knew I wanted to fight off pre-diabetes and age more gracefully. I wasn’t nervous to work with a coach, but I was nervous about submitting photos. I have had body dysmorphia for a long while and I hate having my picture taken.

I had used BIN in the past and knew I would benefit from the accountability, but worried about focusing too much on my weight and body. When I saw the Performance challenge, I knew that was exactly what I needed. This challenge and my coach have been so helpful in keeping me on track and helping my achieve my goals. I’ve learned a lot about balancing my nutrition, daily habits, and workouts in a way that I can sustain.