In this episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast,  I will be joined by Chef Sia Pickett, owner of Malata Cuisine, a personal natural Foods chef service located in Brooklyn, N.Y.  Chef Sia was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and credits her grandparents for teaching her how to cook.  Chef Sia moved to New York about 14 years ago and while in New York she attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.  During the interview Chef Sia will discuss her personal philosophy on nutrition and how what works for one person will not necessarily work for others.  Sia believes that although vegetarianism is a healthy way to live, not all vegetarians are healthy.  Chef Sia is a Personal Chef specializing in nutritionally, healthy, natural clean foods with a vegetarian, vegan and raw focus.  Chef Sia offers personal chef services, nutrition counseling, cooking demos, lessons and small group catering events.  

In this episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness Podcast, I will be joined by certified Yoga instructor to the stars, Emmy Award Winning Journalist and Talk Show Host, Robin Downes.  During the interview Robin, who was born and raised in the Boogie Down Bronx, will share what challenges she had to overcome that started her out on the road to becoming Hollywood’s “Yoga Instructor to the Stars”. Robin will also discuss the many health benefits of Yoga, especially, “Hatha” yoga which is the type of yoga Robin teaches.  Robin will also discuss her Youtube web series Yoga Flava and What’s Up With Downes (Robin Downes Network).  Robin is a great communicator and uses these skills along with the other assets she has picked up over the years to build what can only be called a multi-media empire.  I came away from this interview extremely impressed with Robin Downes and I truly expect to see her on national television in the very near future.  She is truly a role model for young women everywhere and she shares her wisdom and advice in this very informative episode.

In this episode I will be joined by Diane Skai Stroud, a Nutritional Counselor, Certified Fitness Trainer and owner of Skai High Fitness & Nutrition.  During the interview, Skai will discuss her personal  journey into health which started at a young age while watching her mother exercise and do yoga in the home.  Skai will also discuss the role alternative medicine plays in the prevention of chronic disease as opposed to traditional western medicine and why she believes that weight loss and weight management is 80% nutrition and 20% exercise.  Skai is willing to offer her fitness and nutrition services for free in exchange for help in building her company’s website.  You can contact Skai at skaiunltd1@yahoo.com.

In episode #46 of our Six Weeks to Fitness Podcast, I will be joined by the lovely and talented actress, Carlease Burke.  During the interview, Carlease will discuss her recent 40 pound weight loss and the “Aha” moment in her acting career that made her change her eating habits and improve her health.  Carlease will also take us on her personal journey growing up in Hollis, Queens, N.Y. to two loving, middleclass parents whose desire for her was to go to school and become a teacher.  To please her parents, Carlease attended City College of NY and received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Pre-Law.  Carlease, realizing from her birth that what she really wanted to do was act, decided to follow her passion, moved out to LA and began what is now a very lucrative, rewarding and fulfilling career as an actress of stage, film and television.

Carlease has over 100 acting credits to her name having worked with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood, such as John Travolta in “Get Shorty”, Tom Hanks in “The Terminal”, Jennifer Lopez in “The Back-up Plan”, William H. Macy in Shameless, and Marlee Matlin in Sweet Nothings in My Ear, to name a few.

Carlease is all about giving back as she speaks about the causes she supports and her upcoming projects and coaching program for actors.  This, and so much more is in this very informative interview.  You can find out more about Carlease Burke by visiting her website at www.carleaseburke.com.  You can also follow her on twitter, facebook and instagram.

In this episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness Podcast, I will be joined by Cynthia Phillips, Certified Personal Trainer, Fitness Consultant and owner of Absolute Body Symmetry Fitness Studio out of Atlanta, Georgia.  During the interview, Cynthia will take us on her personal journey to improving her health and opening up her own fitness studio.  The road to entrepreneurship was not easy for Cynthia as she explains in this interview.  There were many challenges she had to overcome such as her smoking and drinking habits and the recession of 2007/2008 which nearly wiped her out financially.  Cynthia will explain how she was able to bounce back in the midst of so much adversity and how her military experience contributed to her resilience.  This is a truly inspiring story of how one woman snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

In this episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness Podcast, I will be joined by Jayden Johnson, Certified Holistic Nutritionist, Group Fitness Instructor and Certified Personal Trainer out of Charlotte, North Carolina.  Jayden will share his personal fitness journey on how he lost 135 pounds naturally.  Jayden will also discuss what life was like being severely overweight and what changes he made in his life to reach his goals. I first heard about Jayden while on facebook.  One of his clients posted her before and after pictures and praised Jayden for helping her lose 40 pounds. Jayden’s story is one of inspiration and motivation.  After listening to Jayden you can’t help but feel the passion and conviction in his voice when he speaks about the importance and benefits of living a healthy lifestyle.  Jayden is one of the most sought after trainers in the North Carolina and after listening to his interview, you’ll understand  why. 

In this episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness Podcast, I will be joined by the talented actor, Page Kennedy, who appears on Fox TV’s highly anticipated television series, “Backstrom” which airs on Thursday evenings on Fox.  During the interview, Page will discuss his character “Officer Frank Moto”, who is an ex-Mixed Martial Arts fighter who wanted to change his life by going into law enforcement.  Officer Moto is loyal, tough and simple at times and aspires to be a “plain clothes officer” and role model for his son.

Page Kennedy will also share the unconventional way in which he landed his first television role in Hollywood.  Page credits Michael Jackson as being his role model and the reason why he became an actor.  Page will also discuss what it was like growing up in Detroit, Michigan with his family and how his upbringing prepared him for life and made him what he is today.

In addition to being an actor, Page is also an accomplished rapper and during the interview, Page talks about his favorite rapper and the actor and actress he most wants to work with in the future.

Page reveals that although he does play recreational basketball, exercise does not come easy for him but he realizes the importance of eating healthy and exercising and vows to make it a part of his life going forward.

In this episode, I will be joined by Certified Personal Trainer and Registered Nurse, Tafara Liz Muchechemera from Queensland, Australia.  During the interview Tafara will take us on a journey from Zimbabwe, where she was born and raised to where she currently lives in Queensland, Australia.  Tafara left Zimbabwe for economic reasons with only the clothes on her back and a suitcase, hoping to find a better life for her and her family.  Tafara will share the struggles and challenges she endured while being alone and how her only comfort was food.  The loneliness combined with her excessive comsumption of food, caused Tafara’s weight to increase to over 240 pounds.

In an act of desperation to lose the weight, Tafara took the advice of a friend and tried weight loss pills but the pills made her sick, nauseous and unable to sleep.  Tafara will discuss what actions she took to lose the weight and get her life back.  Tafara is now a personal trainer and has competed in various fitness competitions showing off her sculpted physique.  Tafara is truly an amazing woman and this is a very inspiring episode .

In this episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness Podcast, I will be joined by Mary Solis, Certified Personal Trainer with the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) and owner of Dream Body Fitness.  During the interview, Mary will share what event happened in her life that inspired her to lose weight and improve her health, and how losing her job after 15 years of service, served as the catalyst for Mary to start her personal training business .  Mary will also discuss her fitness and nutrition philosophy along with success stories from the clients she’s worked with through the years.  Mary reveals that in her earlier years she would never exercise, but now exercise and nutrition has become her passion and she enjoys sharing her expertise with others, especially women 40 and over who feel that they are too old to exercise.  Mary will also discuss what it was like to enter a fitness competition at the age of 47, an age where most women (and men) would feel intimidated to step out on stage in front of strangers and compete against other contestants.  Mary is truly enjoying her life.

In this program, I will be joined by Leonard Viltz, A U.S. Army Veteran and owner of Tenacityshop.com, an online retail store specializing in the sale of motivational health and wellness clothing.  During the interview, Leonard will discuss his experience in the military during Desert Storm and why he chose to leave the military after spending 13 years in the Louisiana Army National Guard.  Leonard will also discuss what traumatic experience and events happened in his life in 2007 that started him on the road to improving his health.  Leonard will share information on his healthy lifestyle and how he was introduced in his teenage years to the importance of saying affirmations and having a positive mental attitude which led to his creation of Tenacityshop.com.  This and much more is in this very informative episode.