Hometown Clinton - Winter 2017

a new woman and leave my 206-pound
body in the past.”
When she started, Natalia was
not really interested in the world of
fitness as anything more than a means
by which to lose weight and make a
change in her life for the better. “I knew
I could do more, serve better, and give
more frequently to people I love,” she
said. “I took a look at myself and I knew
that I had to change myself first.” She
had no idea that these small changes
she was making would turn into
something so much bigger.
Through the power of prayer, Natalia
began her journey to a healthier,
happier life. She started to train at
5:00 a.m. in her backyard gym five
days a week, 45 minutes per day. In
the timespan of just seven months,
she dropped 70 pounds! “I found joy
and happiness like never before,”
she cheered. Told as a child that she
was genetically pre-dispositioned to
being overweight, she was always
very ashamed of her body. With her
new-found happiness and confidence,
though, she also found it within herself
to be bold and outgoing.
That’s when she started looking into
the idea of bodybuilding competitions.
“I became infatuated with the idea of
doing something daring, like wearing
a posing suit on stage in front of
the audience.” Using her faith and
determined spirit, Natalia worked
hard enough to become a three-time
National Physique Committee 1st place
champion in the figure division. “Every
time I went for the competition I was
opening the door for the opportunity to
learn and grow my attitude.”
Natalia now works as a personal
trainer for the Aerobics and Fitness
Association of America. She has
dedicated her life to encouraging
healthy choices within her family and
for those around her with tips and tricks
she has learned in her own personal
weight-loss journey. “Being a product
of the system helps me to have deep
connection and understanding of what
people that I train go through,” she said.
In fact, her friends at the Mississippi
Writers Guild have encouraged her to
share her story, and she has taken them
up on their suggestion. She is currently
in the process of writing an inspirational
and instructional book on how she
completely transformed her body in
seven months and how you can, too. “I
pray about being a vessel and delivering
healing of the body, mind and spirit
to others. When I am a vessel, when I
am fully engaged, the right words and
actions always flow in just the right
direction,” she said.
Though she misses her family in
Ukraine, Natalia has built a new life, a
new body, and a new understanding of
happiness here in America. She is fired
up about life and all of the possibilities
and opportunities it has to offer, and
does whatever she can to help others
find the light inside of themselves. •
26 • Winter 2017
Hometown Clinton • 27