Meet Cristina McClaren of Marathon Powered Performance in Glendale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cristina McClaren.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Cristina. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I had a wild childhood (addict parents) and I turned to food for comfort. As a child/teen, I was able to keep my weight in check because I was so involved in sports year-round. During my senior year of high school, I stopped playing sports as I was enrolled in both high school and college as well as worked a part-time job. That year I put on 80 pounds and the weight continued to pile on through the years.

On August 5, 2014, I made a decision to try a boot camp while my son was at football practice. I was the biggest person at the boot camp, I felt so out of place. I couldn’t do the majority of the workout because I was so out of shape. I couldn’t even do a jumping jack, it was too hard to get all of my weight off of the ground. I decided that night that I needed to change. I changed my eating habits immediately and continued to do the boot camp three days a week.

My highest recorded weight was 380 pounds, I had a 56-inch waist. I have since lost 200 pounds and now have a 32-inch waist partially because I had my excess skin on my stomach removed in January of this year.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
This most definitely has not been a smooth road. I have struggled with my eating, sometimes it’s easy to eat right and exercise and others it’s the hardest task I have to tackle.

I never understood addiction until I started losing weight. I thought the addict just needed to stop doing drugs, drinking, or whatever their vice was. Once I am starting having real food cravings, the type that you just can’t stop thinking about, I understood a little more.

Along this journey, I have learned just how driven I am. How much I need other driven, goal-oriented people around me. I started this journey as one woman and transformed into a completely different one. I thought I knew how my life was supposed to be, it turns out that’s not the case.

Along this journey, another difficult thing I’ve gone through is a divorce. When one person grows and the other doesn’t, it’s very difficult to make the relationship work, and we tried for years.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Marathon Powered Performance gained the name because this is a marathon, not a sprint your health and fitness are a life long journey.

We specialize in nutrition i.e., meal plans and meal prep as well as exercise/workout plans.

What sets my company apart is that I have been through it myself. I have looked down at the number on the scale and thought, “How am I ever going to lose 200 pounds?” I know the struggles as well as the excuses and can help with the first-hand knowledge.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was a wild, loud, athletic, tomboy. I loved to be outside and play any sport, in elementary I was always one the only girls allowed to play sports with the boys at recess which I loved.

Once I get a little older, I only played organized sports and I wasn’t bad but my attitude wasn’t always the greatest. I think I was just hiding my hurt because my mom rarely went to my practices or games. Her priorities were different and it hurt but addressing that with her was pointless because she always had a “reason”. For many years I had a chip on my shoulder because of our dynamic.

Pricing:

• Meal Plans $10 per week or $35 per month.
• Meal prep $8 per meal with a 3 meal minimum.
• Workout plans start at $10 per week.

Contact Info:

• Website: marathonpoweredperformance.com
• Email: marathonpoweredperformance
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stories/gringa.fit/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marathonpoweredperformance/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/marathonpowered

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