Athena Perez is a CrossFit Level 2 trainer, speaker, author, and founder of Scaled Nation Training, where she helps coaches and larger-bodied athletes navigate sustainable health and fitness transformation. After losing more than 200 pounds from a peak weight of nearly 500 pounds, Athena turned her personal journey into a mission to support others through education, functional fitness, and advocacy. She is the creator of the "Working with Larger Bodies" seminar, author of Lifting the Wait, and a featured voice on platforms including CrossFit Journal, CBS, and Good Morning America.

In this episode, Dr. Tro and Athena talk about…

(00:00) Intro
(02:04) How Athena began her CrossFit journey
(04:57) Food addiction and adverse childhood events
(11:40) Emotional eating
(14:27) How a dysfunctional 11 year relationship shaped Athena
(24:37) When Athena realized that she needed to make a change
(29:14) How Athena finally discovered the truth about good nutrition
(32:33) Food addiction vs binging
(37:16) How CrossFit changed Athena's life
(40:16) How two knee replacements effected Athena's mental and physical health
(42:43) How Athena's experience with a bone infection led her to discover fasting
(47:39) Athena's 40 day fast experience
(53:08) How faith played a role in Athena's rollercoaster health journey
(55:29) Outro/plugs

For more information, please see the links below. Thank you for listening!

Links:

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Athena Perez:

Crossfit Coaching Website: https://athenamperez.com/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/athenamariebt/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl-EOQbaFVxs1zL4tTGShMw
Books: https://athenamperez.com/the-book-lifting-the-wait

Dr. Brian Lenzkes:

Website: https://arizonametabolichealth.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrianLenzkes?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

Dr. Tro Kalayjian:

Website: https://toward.health
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DoctorTro
IG: https://www.instagram.com/doctortro/

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