Amanda Place is the founder of Sculptrition who specializes in health and fitness coaching and has been in the industry for over a decade. Known for delivering sustainable weight loss results to busy women all over the world, she consistently sends out the message that diets and quick fixes don’t work in the long term and can help you optimise your health without feeling overwhelmed.
Marie gives an insight into understanding with vibrations and frequencies matter when it comes to your skin and wellbeing. She takes you on a journey of how the environment we surround ourselves in and the people we associate with can impact our mood and health.
Amanda Place is the founder of Sculptrition who specializes in health and fitness coaching and has been in the industry for over a decade. Known for delivering sustainable weight loss results to busy women all over the world, she consistently sends out the message that diets and quick fixes don’t work in the long term and can help you optimise your health without feeling overwhelmed.
Marie gives an insight into understanding with vibrations and frequencies matter when it comes to your skin and wellbeing. She takes you on a journey of how the environment we surround ourselves in and the people we associate with can impact our mood and health.
I'm joined today by Amanda Place, who is an award-winning health and fitness coach. Welcome Amanda. Thanks for coming on to Good Vibes only. Hello. Super excited to be here. Thanks for having me. it's a pleasure. So just tell us what your story is and why you started your health and fitness coach business. Yeah. So if you can't tell already, my accent's a little bit different from the traditional English. I was actually born and raised in Canada. Lovely. And, I moved here about four years ago, from my husband who's British, but going all the way back, I grew up in a normal households, did a lot of fitness in the sense of like dance and a lot of competitive dance starting at the age of four. So I kind of got into the. fitness sphere, in that sense, right off the bat. And I did that all the way up into my university years. And when I went to um, university, I actually got a kinesiology degree. And if you don't know what that is, it's a little bit newer, um, in England, but it's pretty much like a. Uh, like anatomy, biomechanics, all about the body still. And if you, you kind of go into physiotherapy or athletic injuries, um, and sports med from there. So I got a degree in that and I really wanted to stay in the health and, you know, fitness sphere. And, um, unfortunately there was a big recession that hits in 2016 when I was graduated. So the town that I'm in, it's called Calgary. So I went back. Fortunately not many jobs. So I actually went into the corporate route for a few years and did human resources because I still want to help people. I just did it in more of a corporate sector, but I really wanted to keep the health and fitness aspect of it. So I actually got a group fitness certification kind of blending my love for fitness and health with my dance, and, um, worked at the gym, taught, body pump and kind of loads of different classes. Four years ago I met my now husband. I moved over to the uk and, um, I was lucky enough that we were in a good position where he said, look, you don't have to go in the corporate grind if you don't want to. Like, you can do whatever you want. And I totally understand. Um, Privileged in that sense, but I totally took the opportunity and I went back to school, quit the HR job, and I got a diploma in health and nutrition coaching. And then from there, at the end of 2020, I launched Sculpt Trition, which is my health and fitness baby, and I do one-to-one health coaching as well as personal training and have an online fitness membership from there. And in between all of that, I did suffer from, disordered eating, kind of strict workout schedules using exercise as a punishment. And I was actually quite overweight and unhealthy and. When I was in that kind of group fitness, even in dance, it was always, you know, lose weight to reach this certain, you know, look or, you know, achieve this based on what society tells you. And I actually wasn't really that healthy and it wasn't until I did come to the UK and actually the pandemic happened. I kind of went the opposite route. I found in the pandemic too. Bands kind of happened no matter what. We all lost our routine and our habits and we kind of. Slipped into kind of worse ones where we really took that time to take a look at our health and our wellness and kind of change the trajectory. And that's what I did. So I actually lost three and a half stone during the Covid Pandemic. Fantastic. Yeah, and I've kept all of it off and, and really this key change to that was rather than trying to, you know, lose weight for something or someone, or work out for something or someone, I really did it for myself and really did that mindset work that I needed to. Then from there, lost my weight, have kept all off. And then sculpt was born kind of out of that. And now I help women. Achieve that same body transformation, but also kind of mind transformation as well. Yeah, that's what the most important thing I think, especially with social media and the impact that social media has on people, that there's this forced narrative that goes around and there's so much pressure for women in particular to look a certain way and to have this pressure to work out and to sometimes. Eat the wrong things or be pressured into these fad diets. So what's your views on fad dieting and what is your advice on the nutritional tips for women going through the menopause or perimenopause? Yeah. And it's good. You mentioned the menopause as well.'cause that's definitely a big, a big group that I work with. And also it's great that there's more awareness to, to that aspect of life. That's great. There's more awareness, but there's still lots of work to do. Now when it comes to the fat diets or any sort of diet you want to go on. I like to just scrap it. And why I say that is because, Actually just every, everyone is technically on a diet.'cause what we eat, all eat food. We all have to eat to survive. And that is a diet and kind of with these, what I like to call, you know, meal plans, which is really what's kind of then turned into the fat diet culture of eating this, cutting out that, and unless there is a, you know, scientific reason I know with epilepsy is where keto came about and there's some kind of like hormone hormone balancing meal plans you could do. I'm not to say that you can't. Ever follow some type of plan. But where I get kind of concerned with the fad diets is that, you have to. Cut out food groups or even like timing at certain times of the day, like with intermittent fasting. And again, there's a place for it. Absolutely. But where we get into the sticky situation is, is it's not always sustainable or not even always, it's just not sustainable. We can't do that a hundred percent of the time. And when we do these five diets a lot of the time as well, we kind of perceive it as a project or a job. Right. So maybe think of the last. You know, fad.you went on, or any sort of plan you went on, it was either, you know, 12 weeks or even four weeks or something like that, and there was always an end date to it. And the problem is with that is yes, maybe whatever it promises, whether it's weight loss or body composition changes, et cetera, is that, there's an end date to it. And if you feel like you're struggling, if it feels like it's really hard to get through that four week or those eight weeks, or those 12 weeks, then how are you actually gonna keep it going? Afterwards. Mm-hmm. And that's the biggest thing is, and then we actually end up from the mindset perspective and in such a worse position.'cause the amount of clients that have come to me when they've done these five diets and they said, yeah, I lost, you know, let's say a stone or two stone in a very short amount of time, which is concerning on its own. But then as soon as they end it, then all of it's completely back on again. Everyone is different. When I, talk to my clients, you can't do a one-stop shop. You have to look at everybody's, yeah. Open constitution. It's really important to do that. So would you say that fitness goals are important? And explain us what sculpt is, what you do. Yeah. And so with your first question of is it important to have fitness goals? And I think absolutely. And it's up to, what type of goals that you want. And when it comes to sculpt, what I help with, typically what those goals, what people come to me originally it's either, you know, fat loss or weight loss. Um, and lately though, it's actually a lot of just wanting to. Get a healthier, like fitness consistency because they're kind of on the grind, whether it's at work or with the kids or both. And there's just, they don't have enough time for them and to actually take care of themselves. And so how on earth can you take care of everyone else if you're not taking care of yourself? And so I do a sculpt tri is, they usually come to me. Typically for other weight loss or just wanting to overall better their health and their health outcomes, maybe managing a health condition. And I do it completely bespoke in the sense I'm definitely not cookie cutter where I look at your specific situation, your preferences, where you're currently at in your fitness and your nutrition. And then what you want to achieve. And then we make a plan that's bespoke to you. So if you come to me saying that's, yeah, you might want to lose weight, and you have to find out, you know, what plans you tried before, what your current, even foods and exercises that you like, and then what is actually realistic, and then we can actually make a plan from there. So usually I have three pillars that I use with my coaching programming. And movement is one of them. I don't always like to say, you know, fitness or working out,'cause sometimes it could be a triggering word. So I like to just say movement.'cause where can we make movement an enjoyable and sustainable part of your life? And then nutrition is another pillar of it. So we look at again, what. Foods you like, don't like. Um, maybe looking at some of your, um, nutrition and, um, deficiencies, if there's any or if you have any hormone imbalances. We take a look at all of that and see if we can get some foods, and meals in your body that are fueling you and nourishing you through the day that also accommodate your goals that you want to achieve. And then my third pillar, but it's actually the most important, is mindset. And I think this really gets. Kind of ignored in the, kind of when it comes to the fad diet and, you know, the, the strenuous workout plans because from a business model perspective, just focusing on the nutrition and fitness. Will work because you're just kind of keeping, people on that hamster wheel of, achieve it, go off the bandwagon, come back on. They keep you in that loop where if you actually address the mindset of it, actually figure out how they got to where they were. What patterns or habits do they have now? Where do they want to go? And now let's kind of do that mindset work and take it step by step. That's easy and sustainable to get us there. Then that's what we really need to work on. And it wasn't until I did that personal work myself is when I lost all my weight and have kept it off. and it can be a bit, tough, not tough in the sense of it's really difficult, but kind of doing that inner work, it can be a bit scary. what people's, perspective out of it.'cause they want a quick fix and many people want a quick fix. So it's actually having that mindset to say, what is it that you want out of it? And, and how are you feeling now? And how badly do you wanna change that is so important. That's very key. Mm-hmm. Um, so what would you say to somebody who is self-conscious about approaching a fitness coach or going to the gym or even attempting to want to lose weight if they feel a little bit self-conscious, what would your advice be? You would come and it's totally fair to be self-conscious, especially, you know, in the gym. It can be if you're at like the mainstream, gyms, I have lots of clients who come to me'cause I have a private, um, women's gym for in-person and even online.'cause if. They're one scared to go in the main gyms where there's maybe kind of men you know, around doing the grunts and all that stuff. And if you don't know what you're doing, it can definitely be intimidating or even go on social media. Just go on the doom scroll for about 30 minutes and you'll definitely kind of maybe feel bad about yourself. And all I say to that is start where you're at, right? So even if you're completely new, but you want to get started, Have a think of like what's really important to you. I think that's the biggest thing of, okay, you want to lose weight, but is it actually for you or is it because your partner made a comment? Or is that because what your child's, best friend's mom is doing and stuff like that. Have a real reflection first. That's the biggest foremost. Before you go and search on Google and on Instagram, the best coach, the best diet. So have a think of what you actually want, you know, for yourself and to achieve and how you envision your life. Like, so if you wanna lose three stone, what does that offer you? Right? What do you get to do? How much better is your life gonna that be? If that happens, really feel it. Then from there. What to start simple by just what can you do right now? What's just one step? My favorite thing to say to myself and to clients is, how can you just get 1% better every day? Yeah. Because going from, you know, now to a three stone weight loss is not gonna happen in one night. Right? That's gonna be quite, it'll be a longer journey. And so rather than getting overwhelmed and think, oh, I have so much to lose, I need to completely overhaul and work out five times a week and, you know, go to 1200 calories a day. That's not realistic. Let's just keep it simple. What can you do five minutes after thinking of that? What can you do? What's one step closer to getting to that goal?, if you have a dog going five minutes longer on the dog walk, is it maybe, you know, having a cut up cucumber, for your snack instead of going for that trek bar or for, the office biscuits or something like that? You know, it doesn't have to be anything big. Yeah. Small, small changes, little often. Yeah, getting that small changes to see and also give you those quick wins, that's really important too.'cause as humans we need that reward. If you look at anything you've done, if we get rewarded for it, we're gonna keep doing it. So give yourself that quick wins. So going for that five minute extra walk, quick win, you know, having. That's, healthier snack instead of going for, you know, the office biscuits. Quick win. Right. I even like to say, even if you're not working out as well, like just have your, workout, outfit. Have your running shoes like near the door. I've done this with a client actually, just to get her showing up. Yeah. Just tie your shoe laces and like put your running shoes on and then that's it. Start from there. But the next day, tie your shoe laces, go out the door, walk a couple steps to get the mail. Come back in next day. Put the running shoes on, like just gradually build up and start from there just to, yeah it's reprogramming the brain. It's actually laying down these pathways to actually, that reprogram the brain to get you into that mindset. That's very good. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. That's the, that's the biggest thing. So before you go and search on Instagram, or on Google for the, closest personal trainer. First, figure out what you actually want and why you want it, and feel how that's gonna be when you achieve it. And then make a kind of quick game plan for what steps can you do right now to begin that journey. And then it'll be a lot easier as well. Once you are ready to either go to the gym or to hire that trainer or coach, you'll actually know what you want and know what you're looking for, rather than being bombarded and then getting overwhelmed and not taking action. At all. No, that's great. So like what you just saying about the, trainers, what you would say to our listeners who, let's just say that are just waking up feeling groggy. Are there quick tips that they can do in the morning and a couple of little things that they can pull into their breakfast to start their day? Yeah, so morning routines. I love those. Um, and so with the morning routine, there's lots of little things you can add in. Always hands down, keep it easy. So some little quick things you can do. If you just wanna not start, you know, groggy or even like the micro stresses in the day. I'm not sure if you're the same, but I know. For myself, I would get in the habit of, the first thing you do is you wake up in the morning with your phone, right. Checking your, messages, emails, and that's actually causing something called micro stressors to pop up. Mm-hmm. And then actually your stress tolerance is gonna be a lot lower in the day.'cause you're kind of already, by the time even you're out of bed, you already have about five different micro stressors just from your phone. Well, the phone is a big thing for me because the phone has to be out of the bedroom. So That's brilliant. That's a good top tip. Yeah. Yeah. So that's the one thing you can do. See if you can. this is what I've done. I've taken the phone out of the room and I've put a natural, like a light lamp, which you get on Amazon super cheap. We can put in the show notes for you guys and that way it wakes you up naturally and that way, and then you can get your, you know, day started, brush your teeth, all of that stuff, and then get your phone. At least you just start with out those micro stressors. But as humans, we get tempted and we're so glued to our phones. Typically we, I. Let's look at the messages. So if you can keep it out of the room. Another thing, to help with actually your circadian rhythm and get your energy levels up. Um, and high right off the bat is getting some sun first thing in the morning. I know we're in England though, so especially in the Autumns coming, so, and the winter's coming, so you won't not get the 20 degrees in the morning. That's not the point. It's more of just the daylight. So get up, open the windows. If you can get outside, like even just out on your Terrace, out in your front door, if you have dogs, let them out for a whee and just set, stand out and like get some of that natural sunlight, even if it's cloudy, because that's gonna naturally set your circadian rhythm, also known as body clock and set you up for the day. So you're not gonna be walking around like a zombie before that coffee. another hack you could do if you are a coffee person is really try not to have that first thing in the morning without any food. I know intermittent fasting, that's a bit of a different thing. They have a different perception, but at least for your energy levels. I personally like to, I've noticed a difference as well is waiting till at least an hour and a half to two hours after you've woken up. Yeah, perfect. Yeah, perfect. The liver meridian works best from 11 o'clock in the morning, so that's why coffee is amazing at that time. Great. Yeah, exactly. So Steve, you can have it then with some food so it gets all absorbed, so you actually have those stable energy levels. Rather than the quick, sharp, lift and then you're crashing by two or three. And then last thing, once you get to the breakfast, time to keep, the energy levels up, keep you ready for the day. and any meal you have going forward, if you can just imagine a plate, so there's a circle right in front of you. And to have a nice fuel to kind of balanced meal, you want a third of that plate, fruit and or veggies. a third of that plate, lean protein. So think, eggs. Even bacon, Greek yogurt, that type thing. You want another third of a slow release carbohydrates. so think you can do like sweet potato, even like that whole grain toast, Cous Cs, quinoa for the lunches and dinners, whole grain rice and pasta. And then you want a little bit of drizzle of healthy fat. So in the morning I love a bit of peanut butter also I'll put a bit of olive oil if you have it with your eggs. Um, nuts and seeds, that type thing. So if you can just think a third, a third, a third of proteins, fruits and veg or, some slow release carbs, as well as a bit of healthy fats and a drizzle. Then you'll be set up for the day ahead. So just a few of those. Pick what you want, and again, you can even build those up. Pick one now. Add on as you go through, and then you'll have a bulletproof warning routine. Perfect. That's amazing. So, Amanda, tell our listeners where they can find you on socials and also where they can find you on your website, but just tell us now where we can find your work. Yeah, so you can find me, on my website is sculpt trition.com, so S C U L P T R I T I O N. I'm also on all the social media platforms, attrition. So I'm on Instagram, Facebook, uh, TikTok, even Pinterest. I'm active daily on Instagram, so I'm always on kind of the dms on there. So if you wanna say hello, I'll be on that. And I'm also on LinkedIn, for my corporate friends, under Amanda. Place. And so we'd love to, welcome you. we offer, one-to-one coaching services, either in health coaching or personal training. but if you are also one of those maybe kind of conscious, um, gym goers new to the gym and want to try out, get your fitness routine back, we do have a great online fitness membership. which is the sculpt membership, and you can get that all on the website as well. and it's a great, place to meet women just like you and get your fitness all out from the comfort of your own home, whether it's live or on demand. And yeah, then you can see all the great work we do in the community that we have over there. We'd love to have you. Amazing. Amanda, thank you so much for giving your time this morning and sharing all of your knowledge to, our listeners. And, uh, we will make sure that you are followed and all your, information is put down in the, bio. So thanks ever so much. Yeah, thank you so much as well. And yeah, really great work that you're doing getting, this good words out to the world. So thank you so much.
