8 Reasons We Love Body-Positive Wellness Coach Lacy Davis
Photo courtesy Lacy Davis/Super Strength Health. Patch by bohemianblue.
In a country where 80% of women are dissatisfied with their appearance, and 10 million suffer from eating disorders, we need more people like Lacy Davis. The former Portlander recently returned to our fair city to continue her crusade to help people with body struggles (that is, most of us) feel “sane and awesome” around food and in everyday life. Here’s why we’re hyped:
She’s a passionate wellness coach.
Davis started her own business, Super Strength Health, “to empower people to actively love their bodies through physical fitness and nutrition.” Clients commit to a six-month program that includes bimonthly check-ins, flexible meal plans, and 24/7 access to Davis via email.
“We talk a lot about food, but we also talk a lot about feelings and the emotional hurdles around changing your diet,” Davis explains. “Most of my clients are people who have struggled with body image and self-esteem, who have had an eating disorder, or have been chronic dieters and don’t know how to be healthy without a word-for-word template of what to eat and when.”
She’s a body-positive personal trainer.
Through Rise and Resist Training—a personal training business she co-founded with pal Holly Noll in Oakland—Davis works with clients all over the world, writing fitness plans and checking in via Skype. (Lucky Portlanders can train with her in person, either at home or at Crossfit Stumptown.) Davis’s style is a welcome change for people who have had bad experiences with other personal trainers—ones who shame clients with constant weighing, measuring, body fat pinches, and weight loss talk.
“My approach with people is to pump them up,” says Davis. “I want people to feel empowered, not like they need to shrink."
She has an inspiring, honest blog…
Also named Super Strength Health, Davis’s blog contains a wealth of body positivity, allergen-friendly recipes, recommended reading, and deeply personal posts exploring Davis’s past struggles with disordered eating. (Dig through a few pages, and you’ll also find amazing photos of her epic, superhero-themed wedding!)
…and an inspiring, honest podcast.
Davis and Noll launched the Rise and Resist podcast in March 2015, and have already reached an impressive 20,000 downloads. The popular podcast documents weekly musings on fitness, feminism, and the duo’s true love: lifting heavy weights.
“[Weightlifting] has changed my life.” Davis says. “It’s really weird to think that picking up some heavy thing and putting it back down has made me a happier, better, funner, nicer person.”
She’s a proud feminist.
Through Super Strength Health, Davis and her clients work through the tension between body-positive feminism and the desire to lose weight or make other body changes.
“I question what is motivating me,” Davis explains. “If I feel motivated to go on a run because I have to, I don’t want to do that. If I’m feeling a little stir crazy and grumpy, and I know going outside will make me feel better, that’s a motivation I can stand behind. But if it’s because I have to because of some unknown reason, I pretty much assume that’s patriarchy.”
She co-wrote a terrific cookbook…
Davis co-wrote “The SuperTasty Anti-Inflammatory E-Book” with Melissa Lacitignola of TastyMakes. The vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free cookbook is packed with superfood-powered recipes like raw gingersnap cookies and blackberry bok choy salad.
...and she’s writing a graphic novel.
Davis recently landed a book deal for a memoir exploring her eating disorder recovery and body image struggles, due out in 2017. Adorably, the graphic novel will be illustrated by her husband, comic book artist and illustrator Jim Kettner.
Her rates are accessible.
Davis offers a sliding scale for all of her wellness coaching services. Rise and Resist Training sessions run $55-$75 per session, and Super Strength Health coaching rates are $150-$200 per month. Learn more at Super Strength Health.
