My Life in a Nutshell

Featured on http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/ Name: Kristie Belliston Year of Birth: 5.15.1973 Height: 5’9” Weight: 135  Birthplace: Layton, Utah  Current Residence: Logan, Utah Sports: Biking, running, weight training, kickboxing, yoga Website: www.thebellyfitclub.com  BIO: Kristie Belliston is widely considered one of the leading health and fitness professionals in the state of Utah. She is the producer in a series of 30 home workout DVDs, she teaches and trains people all over the world, is a Master Trainer for ProForm, and Fitness Expert on HSN. She and her husband, Ryan live in Logan with their seven children and own The Belly Fit Club.  Education: o   Fitness Specialist in Women's Health and Wellness o   Fitness Specialist in Youth Fitness o   Fitness Expert in Senior Fitness o   Certifications are NASM, AFAA, NFRA, YogaFIT, and Kickboxing Fitness Industry Experience: o   Master Trainer for ProForm o   Master Trainer and Examiner for AFAA  o   Founder, CEO and Program director, at The Belly Fit Club o   Fitness Expert at HSN (The Home Shopping Network) o   Featured trainer at FreeMotion Fitness   o   Group Program director for Golds Gym  o   Personal Training Manager for IFIT.com/ICON Health and Fitness o   Co-Founder of PureBODY a Program for women and men teaching them how to live a clean healthy life.  o   Author of Green is Good, a 30-day Raw Food Guide o   Program designer and creator of all testimonial programs for Nordictrack, ProForm, FreeMotion Fitness and Weider o   Founder of AFAA's Teacher Training Course Workshops: Teaching and Training over 800 women to successfully pass their AFAA exam and teach group fitness with success o   3 years of training in Pilates Certifications: o   NASM o   AFAA-(Aerobics and Fitness Association of America) Certified and AFAA Examiner o   NFRA- (National Fitness and Research Association) Certified o   Yogafit Kickboxing Certified Presenter/ Guest Speaker: o   HSN o   TVSN Fitness Expert in Sydney, Australia  o   Weber State University Women’s Wellness Convention (5 years in a row) o   IDEA Presenter o   Sears Associate Training Meetings Media Experience: o   Fitness Expert at HSN o   TVSN Fitness Expert in Sydney Australia  o   Fitness Expert for Channel 5 news o   Fitness Expert for the Crossbar, Nordictrack, and many other highly successful infomercials.   o   Fitness spokesperson for ICON Health and Fitness o   Co-Developer for the 5-star Fitness Solution o   Program Creator and host of Yoga by ProForm DVD workouts o   Program Creator and Host of Pilates by Nordictrack DVD's and reformer workouts. Tell us a little about yourself, what you do for a living, what hobbies / interests / passions you have? It all started when I was 12 years of age. My mom opened the first fitness club in Layton Utah.  Growing up in a gym has its benefits, after all it was there I fell in love with "Aerobics".  Its called 'Group Fitness Classes' now, yet back in the day it was the bomb diggity.   It was then that I found my passion and knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.   Fast forward 28 years....and this is what has transpired from that passion of mine. Today my husband and I developed a way to help thousands get fit and get healthy by creating an online club called The Belly Fit Club. (www.thebellyfitclub.com) I also currently work as a Fitness Spokesperson for ProForm on HSN (The Home Shopping Network) and have done so for over 12 years.  There are only a handful of people that have been there that long so I must be doing something right. ;) I often wonder how I got so lucky doing what I always dreamed of and I thank God each day for every bad moment and every great moment that has lead me to today.  Like the day I happened to be at the right place at the right time and landed a job at Icon Health and Fitness.  Needless to say there was something at work leading me to this place.  It's been 13 years at the largest fitness company in the World, and boy have I learned a lot! I started as their Personal Training Manager for iFIT.com.  Fitness modeling just happened, and blossomed into becoming a spokes model. Growing up as shy as I did anyone who knew me well was as surprised as I was to learn I actually had a voice. Today I am ProForm's Master trainer/fitness expert on HSN and I love every minute of it.  I have over 22 years of experience as a Certified Personal Trainer through AFAA, NASM, YogaFIT and Kickboxing.  This has allowed me to reach a broad range of people in helping anyone achieve their fitness goals. I have also consulted on health initiatives with Jillian Michaels, The World’s Toughest Trainer, and many other celebrity trainers. During my time on HSN I feel blessed to be able to inspire millions to get healthy and fit. In 2009, with my husband, I started a cutting-edge health company, The Belly Fit Club (www.thebellyfitclub.com). In addition to these health and fitness achievements,  I am the proud mother of a 23 year old boy, a 17 year old boy , and 8 year old girl, a step-mother to a 22 year old young lady, 18 year old girl, 16 year old boy, and 14 year old boy, and soon will have my first grandchild. When I'm not busy coercing my children to eat healthy foods, I love helping others live a healthier life by providing daily tips and information to anyone in need, watching movies, listening to all kinds of music, photography, camping with my family, and spending every spare second with my husband and children.“My goal is to help the world become a healthier place…physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually” When did you become vegan?  29 years of age so 11 years ago When and why did you become interested in fitness? I grew up in the fitness industry. My mother opened the first fitness club in Layton Utah when I was 12 years old. I spent most of my childhood there. I loved the environment and the energy. As soon as I was able and old enough I trained hard and received my first Certification through AFAA and started teaching group exercise classes. I was 17 years young. 21 years later, I am now certified in Kickboxing, Yoga through YogaFit, Spin, NASM, NFRA, and 2 years of training in Pilates. How would you describe your nutrition program?  Organic, Natural, Clean, Fresh, unprocessed, and Healthy. I follow the food combining rules of eating and aim for 80/20 alkaline/acid balance each day. How would you describe your training program?  Since I have switched to a vegan diet I find I don’t need to train as hard to have the body I want. I train 4 days each week for 1 hour doing Interval/Circuit based routines combining cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and flexibility training. What kind of supplements do you use if any, and why? Earth-I love the taste! It is extremely grounding and supports colon health, detoxification, and many other amazing benefits. Vitamineral Greens- I think of this as my daily medicine. It’s extremely alkalizing and great for travel when I’m unable to get my daily fresh green juice in. Hemp Protein Powder-I add this to my smoothies. This is my main source of protein. How do people react when they find out you are vegan?  I get asked a lot of questions. You know, the usual….”Where do I get my protein?” “What about calcium? Iron? b12?” Once these questions are answered…most people often seem confused because of what they have heard, have read, or have been told by the media, magazines, ect,.. I hope to be an example of what a vegan can achieve and look like. I competed in body building competitions in my twenties living on a high protein flesh eating diet. I remember how hard I had to work to have the physic needed to win. Today at 40 I don’t have to work half as hard, I am stronger than ever, and maintain a fit, lean, physic every day.* Have you had success in promoting veganism / vegetarianism to others? If so, how did you go about it? I have had great success. I believe pushing veganism on people by throwing gruesome pictures of abused animals in their face is NOT the way to help people make the switch. First I help them understand the importance of nutrition and clean eating. It’s amazing how naturally most make the switch themselves. It has to be a choice they make. It should never be pushed on anyone. I love and accept everyone no matter what they eat. My clients therefore are more open to me and my way of living. I live my life by example. I want people to see me as kind, compassionate, happy, and healthy. My wish is to inspire others to want to live the same way. What do you think the most important aspect of training is?  Nutrition! I love the saying, “You can’t out train a bad diet!” That’s so true!!! What do you like best about being vegan? The Feeling! The Energy! I love knowing no living thing had to die for me to live. Since I went vegan I haven’t had to count a single calorie. Coming from a place consumed with calorie counting this is such a great freedom. It has taken so much fear out of my life. What do you like best about being fit?  Again, the feeling! Being fit has no limits! I know that whatever physical activity I want to do or my kids want to do (I have 7) I CAN! It’s a wonderful life when you’re fit and healthy! What advice do you have for people who are just starting out with training? Start slow and focus on the journey. Also, make health your goal! We all know that exercise, eating more fruits and vegetables and cutting out saturated fat and sugar is healthy. When health is our goal we will do these things naturally. By doing this, we lose weight quickly, have more energy, and feel amazing. This keeps us consistent which soon becomes a lifestyle. I have always believed that consistency is the key to success. In my 22 years of training, I have found those that are most consistent understand the importance of exercise for health and not just weight loss. What advice do you have for people who are thinking of becoming vegan?  Start by making one vegan meal each day. Start with breakfast. Do that for a few weeks. Then make breakfast and lunch vegan based. Pretty soon you are eating vegetable based meals all day every day. What motivates you in life?  My kids, they are my life! I want to be there for them physically and emotionally for a really long time. I see my grandmother at 85, whom I adore, and she motivates me to live healthy and stay fit each day. My mother, who at 58 looks like she is in her 40’s because of the way she lives, healthy and fit. Also, all women who want to look and feel better. If you are a busy working mom or someone who has tried every diet only to be frustrated with the results…I've been there.  For all those women, I want to be an example for them to hopefully inspire them to get fit and healthy without dieting, without frustration. What do you think of veganbodybuilding.com? Has it helped or inspired you?  There are so many myths about living a vegan lifestyle and being an athlete. Finally, a website to help answer all of our questions and concerns as we live this amazing lifestyle!!! I love seeing the motivational pictures of those that live this lifestyle looking fit and fabulous, strong and healthy! It’s comforting to know I’m not alone. Thank you veganbodybuilding.com for providing everything I need to continue living and feeling my best the VEGAN way. Check out more @ http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/?page=bio_belliston