Exploring Life & Business with Natalie Upp of Fired Upp Fitness

Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalie Upp.

Hi Natalie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi, my name is Natalie Upp, and I’m the owner of Fired Upp Fitness. I’m married to my high school crush, and we have two busy teen daughters. I am so grateful to do what I’m passionate about daily. Help moms over 35 looks, feel and live better. I didn’t start in the fitness world. I started as an Occupational Therapist (OT). Back then, I was in and out of working out and never even thought about what I ate.

Fast forward several years, I was a mom of two toddlers who had not moved her body with exercise in six years. I was exhausted and stressed out working long hours at a non-profit – where I had shifted from being an OT to a Development Director. I was in charge of all the fundraising, grants, and marketing, and little did I know that those marketing skills would come in handy for my own business. I suffered from chronic migraines. My skin was dull. My hair was dry and brittle; My muscle tone was non-existent. I wasn’t overweight, but my clothes didn’t fit great, and I was “skinny fat.” Even after 8 hours of sleep, I was always tired and would have to drag myself out of bed in the morning and live on Diet Coke in the afternoon to stay awake.

At 35, I realized that how I lived in my 20’s/early 30’s, was no longer going to cut it. And unfortunately, my jiggly butt and thighs were not getting any firmer with the cellulite-firming cream I’d been using. (So embarrassing!) I was not taking care of myself and not setting a good example for my girls. My husband had been working out for years. So, instead of continuing to resent him for his alone time at the gym, I finally decided it was time to get myself back, and we joined a new gym as a family. I’ll never forget my introductory session with the trainer, where I had to tell her what I usually ate. It looked like this:
Breakfast: Cereal with skim milk and OJ
Lunch: A sandwich or hotdog with some baked chips and apple juice
Afternoon Snack: Rice Krispie bar, fruit snacks, and a Diet Coke
Dinner: Two servings of pasta/casserole with 2 slices of bread and always dessert!

I lived off sugar and did not drink even one ounce of water daily!
My personal goal was to lose fat, tone up, have more energy, and feel more vibrant, healthy, and sexy again. So, as I do for everything in my life, I started researching everything I could regarding nutrition and fitness to learn more. I’ll admit, I became a bit obsessed initially, but it turned into a wonderful passion. I decided to use my OT skills and break down each healthy habit I wanted to implement, and it worked. I even ended up competing and placed “Top-5” seven times in NANBF and NPC Bikini Divisions, training myself in all but one of them. Friends and family kept asking how I was transforming my body, so I made a little nutrition and workout guide I’d send them for fun. I loved hearing their stories about how my ideas helped them! I knew I was on to something when my sister was one of these early guinea pigs, and I helped her lose 22 pounds. When competing, I did some pretty restrictive diets and put my body (and mind) through the wringer while trying to achieve a “perfect” body. (Which I learned does not exist!) I decided at 40 that I would compete in one last fitness show to prove that I could do it without such a restrictive diet.

My mission was to eat a healthy balance of all food groups (dark chocolate and wine included) and limit my workouts to no more than 4x/week (this was 2 days less than my norm at the time). By the time the show came, I’d never felt better and was finally embracing my “imperfections.” I was proud to earn 3rd place in the 40+ division. That same fall I decided it was time to leave my non-profit job of 16 years to start Fired Upp Fitness. Several months later, I became a Certified Personal Trainer and, over time, added certifications as a Weight Loss Specialist, Behavior Change Specialist, and a Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certified Coach. I fell in love with learning all about nutrition and fitness and how to help other women via my online and in-home coaching program. However, over the last 7 years in my business, my focus has evolved from not only helping women (and specifically moms) figure out how to live a healthy lifestyle but also how to deal with their changing hormones in perimenopause and menopause successfully.

At 48, it still baffles me that women aren’t really taught what to expect or how to deal with changes during perimenopause and beyond. We’re almost going through a reversed puberty that lasts so much longer (averaging 8-10 years)! In my experience, many traditional doctors suggest going back on birth control or offering women a prescription for an anti-depressant to help with symptoms. Instead, I would love to see them encourage women to adopt a type of healthy lifestyle that works with their aging hormones. It’s okay to get older, but we shouldn’t be suffering through symptoms or try to band-aid them with medications. Through my own experience and continued education on research-based methods for hormonal balance, I created the Mom Bod Tune-Upp program. When moms come to me wanting to feel “less fat, less tired, and less stressed,” I know how to help! The Mom Bod Tune-Upp is the foundation of all my online and in-home coaching programs. I’ve helped moms from all over, including Canada, California, Virginia, Ohio, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas, to name a few.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a smooth road?
Being an entrepreneur is not always easy, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I taught myself how to make a website. How do you market me on social media, create/edit YouTube videos, budget, and how do taxes and all the things associate with running an online business on your own (in addition to my continued education on how to help my clients). It’s a balance of working on and in your business. It’s been great, though, to have the flexibility to be there for my girls when they need me. However, I still struggle not to work so many hours or at least avoid working on weekends. When you love what you do and work from home, it can be hard to step away from it. The other challenge with owning your own business is stepping out of perfectionism. I’ve learned that perfectionism is probably more about fear of failure than anything, which I’m still working on. I can easily get hung up on details and want everything to be perfect before putting it into the world.

As you know, we’re big fans of Fired Upp Fitness. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
I help moms over 35 increase their energy, improve their mood, and get back into their favorite clothes again. To achieve this, I hold them accountable to implement consistent habits focused on the “Healthy Five”: Mindset, Movement, Nutrition, Sleep, and Stress using research-based methods. My goal is to get clients away from the traditional diet of eating less and exercising more. I want them to understand which hormones impact their health as they age and learn how to simplify hormone balance with these habits. Ultimately, I help them look, feel, and live better. Each client uses my Fired Upp Fitness app to make accountability and consistency successful. All clients have a private profile and calendar within the app to check in for their daily habits and actions. This is also where I support and guide them through each step of my process and where they can interact with other moms going through my programs via in-app group messaging. No extra Facebook group is needed!

I offer in-home coaching to clients in Kansas City and online coaching anywhere. You can read more about how to work with me on my website and start your journey here: https://www.fireduppfitness.com/beginyourjourney.

What do you think about luck?
I don’t believe in luck. You can’t control everything in life, and this is a concept I teach my clients. There are three levels of control: Full, Some and No. We focus on the things that we have full and some control over. You can’t control your age or your past, but you CAN can control creating a growth mindset, having a positive attitude, and taking consistent action. I believe these are what guide your outcomes. The more I practice at this, the more in sync I become with my life and business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fireduppfitness.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fireduppfitness
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fireduppfitness
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/fireduppfitness
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/fireduppfitness