We were lucky to catch up with Kelly Bukovac recently and have shared our conversation below.
Kelly, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
I originally graduated from college with a business degree in Management which was right on track because I knew I always wanted to own my own business. However, after quite a few years in the corporate world, working a 9-5 for someone else in industries that I wasn’t passionate about left me feeling unfulfilled. I knew I needed a change but, felt too old to pivot. In the summer of 2017, I was preparing for my september wedding and had a very traumatic event change my life course. The home I had bought with my fiancé was severely flooded 3 different times in 4 weeks just less than a month before our wedding. The wedding was canceled and I was left feeling like nothing made sense. A lot of material possessions were lost during the flood too including our cars. After a few months of reflecting, I knew I had to start making changes to my life to choose things that made me happy. I realized that life can unexpectedly change in an instant so it is key that we do what we love NOW. I decided to start following my passion for fitness, nutrition, and overall health. (I had a past history of competing but, knew that wasn’t all I wanted to do in this space). I decided to work towards becoming a certified personal trainer. 2 years after that I become a certified sports nutrition specialist. And later that year, I decided to go back to school (while still working full time) to become a dietitian. I am now completing my dietetic internship and will sit for the RDN credentialing exam next Summer. I have been coaching clients online since 2018 and love doing that. I hope to continue helping people through fitness and nutrition by growing/expanding my business + practice.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I was an athlete for most of my young adult life and needed something to keep me training hard/competitive after college. I had always worked out but, didn’t really know very much about nutrition. I started a fitness instagram back in 2014 to keep me accountable and ended up in fitness competitions as I was inspired by others I met online. I continued to push to learn more about fitness & nutrition so I could help myself but, started helping others along the way and loved it. Helping others understand more about fitness and nutrition is so fulfilling to me. It can be a very confusing world with all the conflicting information on cardio vs. weights. vs. yoga vs. crossfit etc. and same with nutrition. It’s keto vs vegan vs flexible dieting vs low fat etc. I discovered that I can help others to feel better through a balanced approach to fitness and nutrition while customizing it to their lifestyle. The feedback I get from clients especially when they are ready to move forward on their own almost always brings tears to my eyes because they usually admit that they were reaching out to change physically but, end up feeling so much better mentally & internally. This is always the goal for me, my clients, and my business. I want to leave a positive impact on as many people as I can.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
Outside of training/additional education and staying current on research, I think the most helpful piece of succeeding in the fitness and nutrition field is experience and past failures. I have struggled in the past with weight gain, weight loss, weight maintenance, doing too much cardio/not enough, trying fitness routines I hate, restrictive dieting, eating disorders, dieting methods that aren’t sustainable, severe hormonal and gut health issues – not to mention many other failures. It is through all of these failures that I have learned the most. It is also very helpful to have good communication and people management skills in this field. As a fitness or nutrition coach, you have to know when to be gentle with others and also know when to give tough love. It is truly a balancing act that only gets easier with time and learning to navigate each person individually.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
The single most important thing that has helped me build my reputation in my market (fitness/nutrition) is practicing what I preach. Most of my marketing or where I gain clients from is my social media. There I post my workouts, food, drinks, and lifestyle overall. I model to people everyday that you have to keep showing up even when you don’t want to because consistency is the way to achieve success in those areas.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.fitandwellwithkel.com
- Instagram: fitandwellwithkel
- Youtube: Kelly Bukovac