Fitness coach shares healthy lifestyle tips after she was hospitalised due to use of fad diets

A full-time fitness transformation coach has shared her healthy lifestyle tips after overcoming PTSD caused by child trauma. 

Marissa Remy, 24, from Southern California, was severely impacted by PTSD and sometimes the only thing she’d be able to do in a week was visit her doctor, with professional telling her it was something she’d have to live with for the rest of her life. 

Determined to rebuild her life, Marissa started researching healthy living, but ended up hospitalized when her weight plummeted after fad diets, juice cleanses and ‘weight loss’ products promoted in the magazines. 

But Marissa says she’s now healed her PTSD for good after learning how to live a healthy lifestyle, shunning fads in favor of a healthy organic diet, yoga and weightlifting.  

She is a full-time content creator, with more than 59.4k followers on Instagram @marissaremy, where she posts workout videos, healthy recipes and sultry snaps of her toned figure. 

Marissa created her Instagram while she was at university and, by the time she graduated, she had a thriving online business and worked as a full-time entrepreneur teaching people how to live a healthy and active lifestyle in an enjoyable way. 

She said: ‘I started creating on Instagram when I was in high school for fun. In college was when I realised I can actually build a brand, create a company, and turn it into more of a career. 

‘That’s when I started taking my Instagram more seriously as a platform where I could change the world. I graduated college as a full-time entrepreneur and business owner, promoting the values that I still promote on my social media channels every single day: how to sculpt your body in a healthy way.’ 

The former bikini competitor revealed how she developed severe PTSD due to trauma from childhood and how it had taken over her life.

Medical professionals told her she would live with the mental health condition forever and Marissa struggled to get by day-to-day. 

Doctors told her getting over PTSD would be impossible, but Marissa never gave up and pushed herself to get better.

She wanted to become healthy and strong for herself and so began researching ways to achieve her goal. 

Marissa embarked on juice cleanses and several other fad diets promoted in the media, thinking they would help her feel better, causing her weight to drop drastically. 

Ten years ago, Marissa’s health began to deteriorate and was eventually hospitalised under the professional care of a nutritionist. 

Marissa then decided to become a health coach to properly learn about nutrition and debunk health myths. 

She said: ‘I always had the vision of being my healthiest and strongest self. Before I found weightlifting, I followed whatever advice I could find in order to achieve this goal.

‘This led me to follow a lot of super unhealthy guidelines, because those are the guidelines being promoted in magazines and online.

‘Doing exactly what I was told to do to become my healthiest, actually led me to being hospitalized.

‘This is when I realized how much conflicting information there is out there, and how many companies promote false information for marketing purposes.

‘That’s what led me to get into coaching. The cycle of unhealthy information, body and consumer shaming, and promotion of more products – is the exact cycle that I aim to bring an end to as a coach. 

‘I personally developed PTSD after experiencing some trauma in my childhood. I had a very severe case and was told by medical professionals that I would never live a day without this condition.

‘My condition made me disabled. I wasn’t able to do anything other than go to the doctor some weeks.

‘Those years are the hardest years of my life. I never imagined overcoming those obstacles, because I was told it was impossible, even with medication, treatments, etc. But I never gave up.’

She soon learned how that eating nutritious food, lifting heavier weights and incorporating yoga and swimming would be much more beneficial for her mental and physical health. 

Seven years ago, Marissa began to develop a passion for weightlifting and began competing as a bikini competitor, winning several awards before becoming national athlete in her state. 

Through proper diet, training and using food as fuel, the 24-year-old felt a new sense of awakening and saw her anxiety reduce tremendously, claiming fitness had helped heal her PTSD once and for all. 

She said: ‘I started going to the gym at the start of college with the dream of one day becoming a bikini bodybuilder.

‘I did not have support on this goal at all when I started – so it’s been a long road to say the least! I had absolutely nothing going for me when it came to this goal, other than a burning passion. Zero muscle mass. Zero confidence.

‘It took me 3 years to build enough muscle to step on stage for the first time. I got second place in my first competition and went on to be a top national bikini bodybuilding athlete.

‘This journey resulted in so much more than a title for me though, it gave me my life back. Putting my energy towards my workouts was an escape for my anxiety.

‘It was better than any therapy I had ever been to. Over time, with the proper fuel and training, I changed my hormones, my metabolism, my body composition, the way my organs functioned, and in turn, the way my brain worked.

‘This journey showed me that I can overcome anything, and that every person is more powerful than they think. This journey healed my PTSD, something that medical professionals told me would handicap me forever.

‘No matter how severe or significant a mental health obstacle may be, it can be overcome.

‘Even though I am no longer competing as a bodybuilder, a fit lifestyle gives you the tools – mentally and physically – in overcoming anything.’

Since retiring from bodybuilding two years ago, Marissa continues to keep herself active and works out everyday, whether it be weightlifting, yoga or swimming – she makes sure she keeps her body moving. 

Marissa eats up to 3,000 calories a day, focusing on wholesome, organic and non-GMO food. 

Speaking about her diet and exercise regime, the 24-year-old said: ‘I train every single day. The activity and intensity level vary. 

‘I walk outside and do yoga every day. 4-5 days muscle building weight training, 2-3 days full body training of my choice such as swimming, yoga.

‘My diet is very intentional and deliberate. I eat wholesome, organic, non-GMO food.

‘Based on my understanding of glycaemic index, hormone manipulation, ayurvedic medicine, macros, and my personal metabolic rate, I’m able to live an extremely healthy lifestyle rather intuitively.

‘I eat an average two to three thousand calories each day. I start the day by either having a green smoothie. My favourite protein sources are eggs, turkey, chicken, Greek yogurt, protein powder and my favourite carb sources are rice, bread, fruits & veggies, and oats.

‘I enjoy using healthy foods to create fun new recipes that are way more delicious than expected and I share these regularly on my email list, such as healthy protein ice cream, burrito bowls, smoothie bowls, etc. I aim for four to six meals a day

‘My healthy snacks include slices of apple, avocado toast, and dark chocolate.’

In a few words of advice to others embarking on a fitness journey, Marissa added: ‘Do what’s right for you and your goals. That can be different for every single person. 

‘Don’t let your ideas of “genetics” or “metabolism” limit you! Anything is possible

‘And I can support you in that – I offer 1-on-1 coaching, group coaching challenges, and tons of gym/nutrition guides on my website and email list.’