The champion who gained 25 pounds back, and what she learned next

Her story

1. 1

   Skinny fat and trying everything

   Nikkiey's journey started at a low point. She was coming off a broken engagement and wanted to find confidence in herself and prove she could do hard things.

   On paper her weight looked fine, but she describes herself as skinny fat: low muscle, higher body fat. She wanted to look more toned, not necessarily smaller. She went online, tried routines and diets, and switched to something new every two to three weeks when results didn't show up fast enough.

   She admits she knew very little. She remembers Googling which foods had protein in them, not realizing chicken or beef counted. By her own description, she was the queen of sugar.

   Hear her tell it · 5:32Ep. 381: Why Hitting Your Fitness Goal Didn't Make You Happy
2. 2

   Into the world of bodybuilding

   A chance question from a gym manager about competing put her in touch with a local coach. True to form, she met with him, signed up and started within three days.

   She committed to her first competition and followed the plan to the letter for months, living what she now calls an all-or-nothing mentality. She skipped rest days and felt like a failure when she slipped once at a wedding.

   It was hard. She remembers breaking down in tears mid-workout when her mom walked over, telling her how hard it was. She kept going anyway, out of discipline rather than motivation.

   Hear her tell it · 7:10Ep. 144: Is Tracking Macros Worth It When It Feels Too Hard?
3. 3

   The win, and the rebound

   She won her first show. Then, in one month, she gained 25 pounds back and ended up heavier than when she started. She calls it the lowest she has ever been.

   The only way she knew to get results was to compete again, so she did, winning pro status with the OCB, a natural federation. Then the cycle repeated, and she was stuck yo-yoing for about two years.

   Looking back, she sees that chasing fat loss had become her identity. She had believed that once she hit her goal, her body would stay there no matter what she ate. During those years she also became a certified personal trainer and earned her BSN.

   Hear her tell it · 17:32Ep. 1: How to Stop Yo-Yo Dieting and Keep Your Results for Good
4. 4

   An extreme era, and what it taught her

   In 2018 she competed again, this time as a pro, and took first place at the biggest pro show in the OCB. She describes leaving the sport undefeated.

   She is also honest about the cost. That prep was extreme, and she was hospitalized along the way. She says it is wild to put your body through six months of hell for a few minutes on stage, even though she is thankful for the discipline it built.

   What finally broke the yo-yo cycle was understanding the phases: cut, reverse, maintenance and build. It took her about two and a half years after her first transformation to put that into consistent practice, and multiple rounds of each phase to reach the body she had wanted for years.

   Hear her tell it · 3:40Ep. 70: Can Restrictive Dieting and Overtraining Hurt Your Body?
5. 5

   Why she coaches and hosts the show

   Nikkiey left her previous career to go into fitness and found the online space, where she realized she could build a more sustainable career than the one she had.

   She hired a coach at the start because she wanted answers from a professional, and she credits coaching with speeding up her results. But she also remembers not having the right tools or resources, and she says the podcast is what she wishes she had back then.

   She knows what it feels like to be the odd one out. Friends questioned what she was eating and how she trained, and she eventually moved on from that circle and found people who supported the life she wanted.

   Hear her tell it · 4:21Ep. 153: Why Work With a Fitness and Nutrition Coach After 40?
6. 6

   Her life now

   She went from training up to three times a day, six days a week, to four days a week plus 10,000 to 12,000 steps, and she says her body has maintained well. She eats more intuitively now and finds it liberating to keep her results without tracking every bite.

   She still has chocolate every night and lets herself enjoy family weddings without worrying about her macros. She no longer fears food and sees it as fuel.

   She has also learned to slow down when her body asks for it, including a season of lifting less after a darkness retreat, while making clear that lifting will always be part of her life. Her faith has become central, and she describes her body as something worth stewarding.

   Hear her tell it · 25:10Ep. 74: Can You Stop Tracking Macros and Still Keep Results?