Update: Erica lost 64 pounds, transformed her body and is helping others

Update: Erica is celebrating her 4 year health and wellness anniversary this month and she is down 4 more pounds since we featured her a few months ago.  She’s lost a total of 64 pounds and transformed her body.  Now she is coaching others and sharing the good news of greater wellness.  Check out her update below and then check out her weight loss story to find out what she did to lose the pounds.

Instagram: @erica_stepteau

June 2014 will mark my 4 year Health & Wellness Anniversary. I accomplished my 64 lb weight loss goal in May 2012 and have maintained my weight for 2 years now! In the mist of my journey, I found my passion in helping others achieve their goals using some of the very same principles I’ve used in my journey. Two years ago,  I created a Facebook Group page (Erica Stepteau’s Fit4Life Group). This group started off with 39 people and as of today there are over 900 members apart of this group. I share daily tips, recipes, create workout videos, and facilitate monthly challenges.

I am now training to participate in my FIRST Figure Competition. This competition will be held on October 11, 2014 in Atlanta. I am SUPER excited about this opportunity. Training for this requires an enormous amount of dedication and perseverance. I have to get my body fat % down to 6%-10% and also build muscles at the same time. At my heaviest, I had 40% body fat (whew!). I have made some great progress since Jan 2014 and I am 20 weeks away from the big day! At 64 pounds heavier I would NEVER thought to accomplish any of these things. I feel so blessed and honor to be an advocate for such an issue of great need. I will not stop! Each day I strategize on how to spread the word. We all can help with fighting obesity; make a difference and start the change in your household today!

In addition, I started my own business: Fit4Life Nutrition & Fitness Coaching in Jan 2014 as a Wellness Coach. My vision is to empower families to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyle behaviors centered on MIND, BODY, and SPIRIT. Teach parents to educate their children to grow up healthier and motivate them to pursue any dream they desire to achieve. They are learning so much about how to treat this journey as a lifestyle change instead of a diet and achieving weight loss!! I meet with them weekly via FaceTime/Skype, provide customized meals, and customized fitness plans. We also read two books together to address mindset issues affecting their progress towards their goal.

More than one-third of U.S. adults (34.9%) are obese (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). There is such a great need for advocates to minimize these statistics. Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of preventable death. Fit4Life Nutrition & Fitness Coaching has a mission to attack obesity through several channels: Community Curriculum/Seminars, One-on-One Coaching, and continuous Social Media challenges/motivation.