Conversations with Jessica Castillo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Castillo.

Hi Jessica, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am a wife, mommy of two beautiful girls and a lover for all things fitness and Disney. I am also currently 36 weeks pregnant and expecting my first baby boy in April. When I am not training my clients, I spend my spare time doing Crossfit, Olympic Weightlifting, Obstacle Course Races or somewhere with my family.

Fitness and health became my passion as soon as I gave birth to my firstborn daughter. I use to be in your shoes, My road to being strong and healthy was definitely not an easy path, paved in gold! It all started in 2016 when I had back-to-back miscarriages. This led me to be depressed, and in a result – I did not have the drive or motivation to exercise and would often lead to food as a “way out”. I spent my time after that finding that “one thing” that would fuel my fire again and I discovered that in 2018, after the birth of my first daughter. I have always been into fitness but was not consistent or even motivated. She was my “WHY”, and gave me the push and the drive to further my knowledge, grow my passion and enthusiasm for fitness to better myself.

I began to enroll and take classes in fitness to gain knowledge of what I wanted to do so I didn’t have to hire a personal trainer. At that time, With the busy schedule of being a new mom… I was not financially or mentally read to hire a trainer for myself.

After studying and obtaining a few fitness certifications, I developed a love for fitness and saw the opportunity to help those in her community and beyond. I now live and breathe fitness because it has truly changed my life and has TRANSFORMED me in every area of my life for the better!

Fast forward to now, I am currently a NASM Certified Personal Trainer out of Santa Clarita, CA who works independently. I train out of a local personal training private gym that is exclusive to its trainers and their clients.

I currently specialize and am certified through NASM in the following: Women’s Fitness, MMA Conditioning, Weight Loss, Fitness Nutrition, and Corrective Exercise. I am also certified as an ISSA Body Building Specialist and Strength & Conditioning Specialist. Most importantly, I am completely happy and the most confident I have ever been both mentally and physically.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. I have tried EVERYTHING. From keto, intermittent fasting, phentermine diet pills, prorating cardio, weight loss shakes, etc. I had to find out later that none of them were sustainable and/or the right way to fuel or train my body.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am currently a private personal trainer training out of a private personal training gym in Santa Clarita. I am currently a NASM Certified Personal Trainer.

I currently specialize and am certified through NASM in the following: Women’s Fitness, MMA Conditioning, Weight Loss, Fitness Nutrition, and Corrective Exercise. I am also certified as an ISSA Body Building Specialist and Strength & Conditioning Specialist.

I train both women and men but my clientele is mostly mothers both either struggling to lose weight or needing to gain muscle. Some new moms or even experienced mothers often feel that children are a burden or a distraction when it comes to wanting to change their life for the better and or trying to find time for themselves without that “mom guilt” feeling. I can relate cause I have been through it all. I have been through the stage of doing at-home workouts with minimal equipment and either having my baby/toddler on top of me while exercising, having to include them in someway either by using them as weight or taking them with me on my runs to also having time to myself to workout at the gym by myself. “Mom guilt” is definitely a real thing but I love to help other fellow moms and provide them the support, accountability, and motivation to take that step to bettering themselves without that guilt or stress because at the end of the day, Our children need us at our best version – both mentally and physically.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Surround yourself with people who want the same thing as you. When you surround yourself with negative people, you attract the same energy as what they are attracting because surrounding yourself with people that only talk negatively of themselves or on other people will only drain your energy, thus will have you be placed in a toxic environment in which you don’t want.

Your choice of friends determines who you are as a person and defines what you wanted to surround yourself with, for instance, if you become more drawn to people who had an optimistic attitude and create a wonderful environment to live to, then you want your life to be constantly at peace and you put yourself in a situation where you don’t want anything to do with people that can only drain your energy and negatively impacts your life, whereas on the other hand, when you tend to hang out with pessimistic people then you are also being pessimists yourself.

Taking a leap in your fitness and health all starts mentally. You first need to get all doubt and negative thoughts out of your mind first in order for you to take that first step, than the rest comes easy.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: www.instagram.com/jessicaj_castillo