We recently connected with Debbie Potts and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Debbie, thanks for joining us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?
In my “past life” as a small business owner, I learned that I can’t do it all and stay healthy! We need to put the oxygen mask on first and take care of our health to be the best boss, coach, trainer, spouse and friend but sometimes that isn’t enough. I owned a boutique “all in one” health and fitness studio for ten years in Bellevue, WA to help clients of all levels have a home base location to improve their health and wellness. The challenge of a small business owner is being the face of the business but also always needing to do all the back end work behind the scene which results in working all the time and always being “on” in multiple roles. The end result of doing TOO MUCH of everything and taking ownership for EVERYTHING resulted in “Metabolic Chaos” – or “adrenal exhaustion”. I wrote a book, LIFE IS NOT A RACE- IT IS A JOURNEY” to share my very personal story with the intention of helping other high performers avoid going through what happened to me in 2013. My focus switched from a competitive endurance athlete racing Ironman Triathlons, cycling events and marathons on top of a full work schedule coaching, training and running a business to getting certified as a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Functional Diagnostic Health Practitioner and Holistic Lifestyle Coach to help coach up others similar to myself! We can’t do it all and it is okay to stop, pause and course correct. If you can’t afford to hired assistants and surround yourself with a team that can support you, then maybe running your own business is not as exciting and profitable solution as you may have once thought. Your health and well-being comes first- and if your job is breaking you down and burning out your body systems then I would take time to find out what is your purpose, passion and mission. Perhaps there is another solution to make a difference in our society! For me, we moved from Bellevue, Washington to North San Diego in the summer of 2020 to improve our quality of life and restart my career online. Now I am focused on connecting locally and working with like minded individuals with an integrated approach as we need to work together to make a difference. As I continue to network locally, I have discovered how many small business owners are doing what I did to myself and they need to see the RED FLAGS before they become seriously broken and burned out from the inside out as I did to myself. The WHOLESTIC Method Coaching program has evolved based on my experience, observation and journey!
Debbie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Debbie Potts: Transforming Lives Through Health and Fitness Debbie Potts is a seasoned figure in the health and fitness industry with over twenty-five years of dedicated experience. Her journey is marked by an impressive list of achievements and a passion for helping individuals achieve their optimal well-being. Here’s a closer look at who Coach Debbie Potts is:
A Life of Endurance and Achievement Debbie’s remarkable journey began as a competitive endurance athlete, dedicating two decades of her life to the pursuit of athletic excellence. Her dedication and achievements led to her being recognized as one of the top one hundred best trainers in the United States by Men’s Journal in both 2004 and 2005. She is no stranger to the pinnacle of endurance sports, having participated in a staggering fifteen Ironman Triathlons, with five of those being the coveted Hawaii World Ironman Championship.
A Trailblazer in Health and Fitness Debbie’s commitment to health and fitness extended beyond her personal achievements. She owned and operated her own fitness studio in Bellevue, Washington, for an impressive twelve years. The studio was not just a gym; it was a holistic health and fitness center offering The WHOLESTIC Method coaching programs and personalized Nutritional Therapy services. Her mission was clear: to transform individuals from the inside out, addressing their complete well-being.
A Journey to Personal Transformation In 2020, Debbie embarked on a new chapter of her life by relocating from her bustling and stressful existence in Bellevue, WA, to North San Diego. Her decision to make this significant change was driven by her personal struggles with “Adrenal Exhaustion” chronic fatigue and “metabolic chaos,” which began in 2013. Debbie’s own experiences inspired her to write the book, “Life is Not a Race – It is a Journey.” In this book, she shares her journey and challenges, aiming to help other ambitious high performers avoid the pitfalls of burnout and breakdown.
Guiding High Performers to Reclaim Their Vibrant Selves Debbie is a dedicated coach, specializing in helping high achievers regain their vitality and well-being. Her approach involves delving deep into each individual’s unique health puzzle, unraveling the complexities from the inside out. Through her guidance, clients learn how to put the missing pieces back together and thrive once more.
A Lifelong Commitment to Learning Debbie’s dedication to her craft is evident in her extensive list of certifications and ongoing education. Her qualifications include a BA focused on Exercise Science & Corporate Fitness, ACSM Health Fitness, Natural Running Coach, NASM Certified Personal Trainer, Metabolic Efficiency Specialist, and more. She continues to expand her knowledge and expertise to better serve her clients.
Connecting with Debbie Potts Debbie Potts is the driving force behind “The WHOLESTIC Method Program,” where she focuses on helping individuals achieve fat loss, peak performance, and longevity. She is a certified FDNP and FNTP, NASM CPT, CHEK HLC, USAT coach, and host of the “Low Carb Athlete Podcast.”
To learn more about Debbie Potts and her transformative approach to health and fitness, visit her website at www.debbiepotts.net.
Connect with Debbie today and embark on your own journey to vibrant health and well-being.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
In 2013, I went from a top age group athlete and high performer to experiencing unexplained weight gain, chronic fatigue and depression. My mission was to figure out WHY I was feeling this way and HOW I can get better immediately so I could continue doing what I was doing and the races I had scheduled for the year ahead! Fast forward ten years, I have had to close my Fitness Forward Studio finally (five years too late) in October 2019 in Bellevue, WA and move to North San Diego to restart my career and life. In the past three years, I have focused on coaching ambitious, high performing individuals get their body and vibrant self back again by investigating what is actually going on from the inside out using functional lab testing and nutritional therapy assessments. My clients come from my podcast and from referrals but I still felt that I was missing something… meeting people in person as a trainer and coach as well as creating a community! Now, once again, I feel that I am re-inventing myself and ‘hustling” locally to let practitioners, doctors and coaches know more about me since I am the “new kid in town”. I continue to write in my journal and manifest what I want to see happen in my new journey and creating my future self. We always need to write out what is our purpose…who do we want to serve and how are we going to make an impact. I have learned that I do best working remote in my calm and peaceful glasshouse by Lake Hodges- but I also need human interaction and a sense of community!
Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?
After closing my FITNESS FORWARD STUDIO in October 2019 and moving to North San Diego 2020 to focus on health investigative coaching, I thought I was done with personal training and teaching group fitness classes as a result of burn out and perhaps a sense of failure after closing my business. My focus the past five years or more has been on health practitioner training and growing as a health investigator but my background as a personal trainer and fitness coach for 25 plus years was still in the background. I have been feeling lost and alone in a new location as people don’t know my history as a trainer, coach, business owner and top age group athlete …which is good and back as you can “re-invent” yourself to be who you want to be known as in the new town. Currently, I am working on integrated health and fitness approach as a local coach and practitioner with “The WHOLESTIC Method” – or to be a holistic coach and work as a team with local chiropractors, naturopaths and functional medicine doctors who want to see their patients reach their goals and see the desired results. It takes a team and we need to collaborate instead of fearing competition or resentment.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.debbiepotts.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachdebbiepotts/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoachDebbiePotts/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thewholesticmethod/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/thewholeathlete
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thelowcarbathletecoach/about
- Other: www.debbiepotts.net/pnoe to promote local services
Image Credits
Debbie Potts