Testimonials
What they are saying about Andrew…
"I continue to improve each week. Yesterday was my first day without any hydrocodone since April 2009. I’ll have ½ today as part of how I’m weaning off it and then will probably try to stop all together (outside of really bad days) and move on to dropping the next prescription next week. Since I first met with you I’m down from four prescriptions to two for my pain. I go in to see my regular doctor at the end of February for a cholesterol check and will hopefully drop those meds too soon after."
— A.Foster
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Andrew,
I wanted to write you a quick note of continued appreciation for all the guidance through my back injury and pain-free journey. Over the last 9+ months, I have maintained a strict regime of exercise, proper diet, hydration and rest with very few periods of break. Of course, at 39 years old, the straighter the path, the better I feel. All of this is probably no surprise to you.
As you recall, on Nov. 16th of last year, I literally could not move out of bed because my back pain was so intense in brought me to the point of nausea. This was not anything shocking, because I had dealt with this exact issue for countless years. It was the worst back pain I had ever felt and I was physically and mentally rock bottom. I truly thought that I would never play golf again and I may likely need to change career paths because my golf instruction business is so physically demanding.
However, after taking almost 15 years of competitive golf off due to the injury, spending an estimated 25K on back therapy with traditional Western medicine/testing, and seeing almost 20 different back pain specialists, you fixed me. You are the only one that healed me and gave a view of true health. After months of hard work and disciplined diet, I strongly feel your coaching and wisdom during this time enabled me to win a professional golf event a few weeks ago. I shot 67 and won a PGA Dixie Section professional event among other club pros in the Alabama area. Not a huge feat, but very rewarding considering my health history. I am looking forward to more golf tournaments.
For the first time since the 90s, I am able to practice, play and compete on a regular basis. I can work long hard hours on the practice tee with my players and stay worry/pain free. Thanks again for all the support and counsel. I owe you much…
Best Regards,
— Layne Savoie
PGA Professional
Birmingham, AL
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"My husband and I started working with Andrew as training clients in January 2000. We were not in great shape, but we had decided - at ages 61 and 48 - to get serious about improving our cycling and general fitness. Initially we thought he had confused us with people of greater abilities, but Andrew was very motivating. We found to our surprise that we were able to do the gym workouts as assigned, and our strength and cycling abilities improved significantly. A year or so later, when cycling had become an obsession, I switched to being a coaching client to access more of Andrew's expertise. I now find I've become the athlete he initially confused me with. My only complaint is a closet full of clothes that are too big for me."
— M. Graff
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I've never seen my dad so onboard and excited about making changes in his diet. His first few comments in the car were (to me) "Everything you've said about him (you), diet, foot, etc. is true." Then he said to my mother "You are next" so my next goal is to convince them to visit again soon and schedule my mother for an appt :)
Thanks again Andrew - my dad is the tough one to change so this was really really great. I can't express that enough :)
M. Debranski
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Just a bit more feedback for you to say that my strength program with you is helping my run in a MAJOR way. Last week I logged my highest running volume in about 10 months. All told, I had about 36 miles and 5 hrs or running, which was punctuated by a hilly 2hr, 15 mile run at Stone Mtn on Sunday. On Monday morning, I did my full strength program and couldn't even tell I had my longest run in almost a year the day before. Tuesday was an easy 50 min run, and yes the legs were a bit heavy from Sun and Mon. Did a track workout this morning and the legs felt great again. I did 4 x 1 mile repeats descending -- and did them faster than I ever have -- first one at 6:35 and last one at 6:08!
I'm a believer!
C. Hannan
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I just wanted to send you a quick note to tell you how much I appreciate what you are doing for me. I've lived by your program for the past month and the results are really starting to show.
Things I'm living without: pain that wakes me at night anytime I roll from one side to another, discomfort sitting in my car driving to/from work, and that sense that the pain was occupying my thoughts almost constantly throughout the day.
Things I now enjoy: getting to go out on the road for a run, a greater flexibility that makes every aspect of my training more productive, and an overall balance in my life with even more excitement about preparing for Kona!
Thank you doesn't seem like enough, but I hope you know what a difference you have made for me in this journey.
Many thanks,
M. King
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Thought I'd give you some early feedback after a week of stretching and two more strength workouts. Basically, I'm steadily gaining flexibility, waking up with less pain and, most shockingly, have boosted power output on the spin bike 5-10W without really even trying to work any harder. Thank you very much for the intelligent program you tailored for me and best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
L. Cataland
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I have been doing much better following your advise of going Gluten free, water, no diet drinks, fat-protein-carb combination. I have lost a good bit of weight and feel much better. I have not had hardly any low blood sugar incidences. Thank you for your guidance. I hope to still lose weight but I am happy to being feeling better and looking better.
A. Gant
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I hope you are doing well with your business, family and health. I often think about how thankful I am for discovering your talents. I am looking forward to a great and different 2014. For the first time in a long while, I have hope and promise for true health. Over the course of a few months, you guided me through a debilitating and chronic injury that lasted for a period of almost 10 years. For this, I am eternally grateful.
L. S.
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"At the beginning of 2008, my fiancé and I decided that we needed to improve our overall fitness and health, but were extremely intimidated by the thought of joining a gym. While researching trainers on the internet, we discovered Andrew. At first, I only anticipated scheduling a few sessions with Andrew, just to get us going. After just a few weeks though, we were so impressed with Andrew that we couldn’t imaging not working with him on a regular basis. In fact, we’ve found that if we go too long without seeing him, we actually go into “Andrew withdrawal!”
One of the reasons we selected Andrew is that he shares our holistic view of wellness and approaches training sessions with a sincere energy and excitement. Although we never feel pushed beyond our limits, we leave each and every training session feeling like we have accomplished something we never thought we were capable of. For the first time in years, we feel healthy and strong and look forward to exercising. I even found myself jogging the other day with a big grin on my face!
Right now, people are thinking very carefully about how they spend their money. For us, there are many things in our life that we would consider cutting back on, but Andrew is not one of them. Because of him, our lives have improved in so many ways. Andrew is no longer just our trainer, he is our friend."
— R. Weller_________________________________________________
"You are fat. It was this statement coming from my primary care physician that led me to meet one of the most amazing people in my life. I was 28 when I realized enough was enough. I looked through websites of reviews on trainers. Most people had a love/hate or just plain hate relationship with their trainers. It was also obvious that most folks out there were out to change how much they weighed. I on the other hand, was out to change the way I lived.
I spoke to a couple of trainers over the phone and most were eager to get me in the gym and immediately get into aerobic and weight training mode. Then I spoke with Andrew. He said before he could see me, I would have to do an assessment for him so he could figure out what training made the most sense for me. I thought to myself and quickly realized this was the only way people should train. When you think about it, each of us is unique. We each have our own set of strengths and weaknesses and training should address both. Part of Andrew’s assessment was a lifestyle session where he looked at other factors that affected our health and wellbeing. It was an incredibly thorough and well thought out process that left me confident of two things: 1) he knew what he was doing, and perhaps more importantly 2) he knew where I was and what my goals were.
In the time I have been training with Andrew, he has become more than a trainer. He is now a good friend. He is a daily inspiration and I find myself sharing with others stories about our journey in health. I have always felt challenged by our workouts, but I have never felt like I could not accomplish our goal. When my muscles are screaming to give up, Andrew is there to encourage them to finish the last set. His energy, positive attitude, knowledge and genuine passion for a better world make him a pleasure to work with and hang out with.
I think of myself as a very discriminating consumer. I would without any hesitation or reservation wholeheartedly recommend Andrew to anyone I know. In fact, I have."
— Y. Bakas_________________________________________________
"Hi Andrew,
I know we have a long way to go but I wanted to send you a big thank you! I guess I owe you a little bit of a back story as to why I am sending this to you now. I have NEVER been able to do an unassisted pull up. Yesterday for some reason I tried one and was able to pull my self up with no help. I realize it was only one pull up. But for me, that's huge and a testament to your way of training! You have kept me patient and on track without being pushy (only motivational). I don't think I would have stayed this committed without your help. Without your guidance and support I don't think I would have made such an easy transition to making healthy nutritional choices and working out a priority in my life. Thank you again and here's to a long friendship and me getting into the best shape of my life (and keeping that way!)."
— M. Iqbal_________________________________________________
"I woke up for the first time in 5 months without being in pain and it lasted the entire day. I came to you for physical advice, not nutrition. Not lifestyle. Yet I just realized right now, that it's what I'm eating that's having the biggest impact on my life. Thank you Andrew. Hope has finally returned to my life. I feel at peace."
— P. Danzig_________________________________________________
"Hi Andrew,
Thank you so much for how much you have impacted Nancy's life as far as diet, cycling, and lifestyle are concerned. I have been trying to help her and know that she is a phenomenal athlete and think that most of her hindrances were in her head. But I think that she needed an outside influence.
I know that you believing in her is really helping her. And seeing Nancy's confidence in her riding and how she has excelled is so exciting! Thank you so much for how you have helped my friend (I tried but did not have the capacity that you do). She is doing awesome in all aspects and I am so happy to see her more confident! She speaks so highly of you, and I am so happy that she has met someone to guide her that she can trust and truly has her best intentions in mind!
Thank you!"
— G. Voci_________________________________________________
"Drew,
I was catching up on your blog this morning and really enjoyed reading your posts. While I was reading and appreciating and reading and appreciating... I realized how incredibly special this 5'4" fireball of a straight guy has become to me.
When I was looking for a trainer over two years ago, I wanted to learn some new exercises to freshen up my routine. That was pretty much it. I definitely got a fresh routine, along with an entirely new way of thinking about my health. I also got instant access to leading edge knowledge about health and fitness... and life. I learned so freaking much unconventional wisdom about food that I feel like I should write a book. Oh, and you have already done that too - in your spare time. You are an influential and effective teacher and the things you have taught me have changed my life forever.
But more importantly this 5'4" fireball turned out to be one of the most genuine, caring and intelligent people I have ever known. Every time I come to visit, I leave feeling better - and not just because of the great workout. There is a peace and ease about you that is addictive and contagious. You have qualities that make me say, "Damn! I want to be like that!" That is true inspiration, my friend.Congratulations on being Andrew. I just had to get that off my chest."—_________________________________________________
Dear Andrew,
As you know, I was suffering from debilitating stomach aches that began mildly in my 20s and became increasingly severe in duration and intensity as I aged. Over the past 3 years, they became so frequent and severe the pain sent me to various doctors, including GPs, gastrointestinal specialists, dermatologists and, finally, to the ER. I was taking anti-gas meds, pain meds, etc.—my bathroom cabinet was spilling over with bottles.
Oddly, none of these docs ever examined my eating habits. When I asked all these docs if the itchy red bumps I had (that I told them were symmetrical) could have anything to do with these stomach aches, they dismissed the idea. It was a dermatologist friend who looked at them, saw they were on my joints (hence, symmetrical) and said I should try a gluten-free diet as these bumps can be associated with gluten intolerance.
I didn’t believe him since I’m Italian! But I knew I needed a different way to look at my problem in order to figure it out. So, I called you, a nutritionist. It was you, after tracking what I ate and how I felt for weeks, as well as looking not only at current but also past medications who came to the following conclusions:
6 years on Yaz could be impacting my gal bladder negatively and increasing the bad yeast in my gut – quit taking Yaz
having been on antibiotics for acne for over 10 years in my youth could have killed much of my good bacteria, as could chlorinated water—start taking probiotics and drinking filtered water
and most importantly--symptoms of gassiness and bloating correlated with my gluten intake—cut out gluten
I have been stomach ache free for 6 months (I was getting them once a month at the time of our initial meeting)--not because of cat scans, xrays or pills, but because of something far more elemental and essential.
You bring something to your patients that has been lost from our society’s collective knowledge—something I sincerely hope other traditional doctors will see the value of. By partnering with you, or other nutritionists, in the future these good people who want to heal others will be able to do so, in instances such as mine, in the most rapid and least invasive way possible.
Thank you, again, for everything. I’m forever in your debt.
Sincerely,
C. Carlisi
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