We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ericka Payne a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ericka, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?

My career and ministry of taking care of your temple is exciting, joyful and fulfilling!  For the last 10 years plus I’ve had the humble pleasure working with men and women dropping hundreds of pounds, building lean muscle and creating healthy nutrition and lifestyle to keep the weight off!! All my clients’ weight loss journeys are a privilege to me and transformation for them in that they get results, keep the weight off and inspire others to do the same.

Here recently in 2024, I had a heartwarming story shared with me from two of my clients (husband & wife team) who participated in my online fat loss coaching where in 3 months, he lost 38 pounds and his wife lost 21 pounds.

Here’s what they shared. “We’ve tried diets before, but they didn’t work. So, to say we went in with low expectations and got amazing results is an understatement.   Neither of us wanted to go back to our teenage bodies.  Both of us are in this venture to have overall improvements in our health (better numbers on our physicals, lower blood pressure, less strain on our joints, more strength/stamina, etc.) and we both feel like we are benefitting from Ericka’s guidance.  We have been very diligent about following Ericka’s system (to the T) and it has paid off.   You’re intuitive and your care and love for what you do shine right through.    We highly recommend Ericka as a coach; she knows her stuff and she knows how to motivate.  What more could you want in a coach?”

Ericka, 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?

Absolutely!! Coach Payne here and I’m going to be radically honest with you. For 12 years, I struggled with my weight, low self-esteem and pretty much gave up trying anything to lose weight and let myself go. Then it happened.

I caught myself constantly not wanting to see myself in the mirror. Clothes got tighter, my belly got bigger and I became more depressed. I was horrified everytime I looked in the mirror, ashamed to see how out of control I allowed my health to go. The more I looked in the mirror, the more I ate. I just accepted that I will be fat for the rest of my life. By the way, during this time I had plenty of money, time and resources to take care of my temple, but I didn’t have the mindset.

A friend recommended a personal trainer she came across and figured what else I had to lose. Signed up with a personal trainer and now good friend and the rest was history. In 12-18 months I’ve lost over 90 pounds off my body and continue my wellness journey today!

I further became passionate about helping others especially women struggling to lose weight and with encouragement from my trainer, I went on to become a certified personal trainer, authored a book and have helped dozens of women & men lose hundreds of pounds eating real food, using safe & effective exercises that fit their fitness level and live fun & healthy lifestyle keeping the weight off!

The key to losing weight and keeping it off is mindset. You must identify & remove the challenge and old beliefs systems keeping you on the old hamster wheel of weight gain and replace it with a renewed mindset of self-love, worthiness, commitment, healthy habits, discipline and a lifestyle of wellness.

Also, keeping good company with a supportive network of like-minded individuals to keep you accountable and simply enjoy your wellness journey being an inspiration to others!!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Since becoming a wellness professional transforming lives, I’ve discovered quickly there is a much deeper struggle taking place than losing weight and this challenge became more apparent as I worked with clients.

What I’ve noticed with every individual I worked with to lose weight is a number of limiting beliefs, cliches and/or faulty values & belief systems that kept them from achieving their wellness goals. Clients would share with me their struggles regularly, how they felt about food, how they were raised and taught about food and money, how their bodies were perceived and expectations and roles they were held to the highest standards. Statements like, “I can’t help my weight, it runs in the family”, “You don’t turn down free food”, “Men don’t cry”, “I’m fat, old and worn out”, “I can’t afford th gym”, “I can’t….”, I’ve tried…”, “I give up”.

It became evident to me and my own journey and belief systems that I could better service & liberate my clients by learning and teaching how to transform your mindset from old ways of thinking (old selves) into renewed transformed thinking, our New-Self. Ephesians 4:22-24, Romans 12:1-2

I went on to obtain my certification as an Advanced Temperament Life Coach which better equipped me to help change mindsets about health and life. It complimented very well with my background in Psychology, my experience & services as a Certified Personal Trainer & Life Coach. I am grateful for my journey & position to help as many as The Lord will send my way transforming lives!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

My reputation is built on getting fast & sustainable fat loss results without the use of pills, injections, patches and starvation diets. People want results in whatever they invest their time, money & efforts into. And when it comes to losing weight, building muscles or sustaining a healthy lifestyle, this statement is very high on the “must meet” list.

We’ve heard the saying “Health is Wealth”. Indeed it is a necessity for every man, woman, boy and girl to be able, functional and capable to live and navigate through life without obesity, diseases or medical conditions. We need cardiovascular capacity, wind, stamina, strength and functionality to live, take care of ourselves, our spouses, family, work, build business and simply enjoy being overall in great shape.

My goal from day one is to get the scale moving south, safe using effective exercises & movements designed exclusively for my clients, a nutrition plan that feeds the body with needed nutrients to burn fat, build muscle ultimately developing a lifestyle of total wellness spirit, soul & body! It’s a challenge every person should take on and reap the many wellness benefits and most rewarding life changing results money can’t buy!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.CoachPayne.org
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ericka.payne.10
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@fitfigure4life84
• Other: TIKTOK: @coachpayne37