A NEW Part 1! It's never over...

This is the SPAM to SUPERHERO continuum.

Just when you think you are done and have become a lean, light, buff, bright superhero, you are again a can of spam - and will be DRIVEN... COMPELLED... PULLED... PUSHED to once again climb to your next "best".

Way to go Jen! You are an inspiration that there is always a ceiling to bust through.

When do you stop? When you feel like you have arrived at the person you are destined to become.

How will you know. Your gut will guide you. And you won't be able to stop it even if you tried. Life has a funny way of working that way.

Listen. Feel. Dig. Push. Smile. Embrace. Enjoy.


May 5th, 2012. My first Physique Competition

PART 3 - Mini Coop - Solid in Body, Mind & Spirit

My Life After Lean Eating:
Amazing. Different. Meaningful. Scary. Fun. Exciting. Adventurous. Proud.
Those are some ways I can describe my life now. From a physical and body composition point of view, I am stronger, leaner and more muscular than ever. The pictures can show how I look on the outside. But, that pales in comparison to what has happened on the inside.

Thanks to Lean Eating and Precision Nutrition, I have clarity and purpose. I am strong in body and in mind. I have learned what it means to be truly healthy. Being healthy is not merely clocking how many hours you spend working out – it is how you nourish yourself with love, relationships, spirituality, career, and nutrition. I have the utmost respect for my body and for the environment and I choose to eat and live responsibly for both. I have started local discussion groups to increase awareness surrounding health issues that are plaguing our country, and have become involved with various non-profit organizations that are trying to positively impact the well-being of our people and our planet.

Professionally, I have decided to turn my passion into a career. In March I left my position as Director of Rehab Services to pursue fitness and nutrition coaching full time and hope to have my website and business fully up and running early fall.
In order to help me achieve this goal, I have become Precision Nutrition Certified and am currently enrolled in a year-long Health Coaching certification course through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.

I encourage all of you to stay strong, give this program everything you have and never lose faith in yourself. Keep an open mind - you never know to what extent your life will be transformed!

Jen Cooper
minicooper13 (PN User Name)

PART 2 - Mini Coop in for Repair

Coach Krista & Mini Coop

Can you see why Jen is "Mini Cooper" (small thing / great package!)

My Life During Lean Eating:

During the program I was completely fascinated by the amount information that I learned. After all, remember, I thought I would have known most of it. I loved every lesson. Whether it pertained to me or not, I soaked it up and took something away from it. I followed the workouts religiously and backed off of the “cardio”.

It didn’t take long before I could see my body changing. More importantly, I could feel it changing. The combination of strength training and nutrition was allowing me to look and feel better than I ever have….and I wasn’t even working out ½ as long as I was previously. I started to feel strong and my energy level was constant though out the day. Nagging knee pain – GONE. Hip pain – GONE. I was feeling empowered both mentally and physically.

By the end of LE, as you can see from the photos, my body composition was drastically different. Interestingly, it was evident by these photos that I was lacking muscle. No wonder I was getting fractures - I did not have the muscle to be able to withstand all of the pounding I was putting my body through. It all made sense. I was a thinner, leaner version of my old self. But I wanted more. It was now time for me to take the lessons I learned and continue to grow – physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Mini Cooper Redesign - LEAN EATING Success Story

PART 1 - BEFORE LEAN EATING - Leanish, Meanish "Cardio Queen"


Jen Cooper, known as "Mini Cooper", shares her 2010 Lean Eating success story of evolution & upgrade. Jen is great evidence that one can transform and become their next version of BEST, even when they are starting out "pretty darn good!".

Hello current Lean Eaters! Congratulations on embarking on this amazing journey and investing in your health and happiness. I “graduated” from Lean Eating a little over two years ago (June 2010) and I can tell you with absolute certainty that it was a life changing experience.

My Life Before Lean Eating:

At the time I signed up for LE, I was a 35 year-old endurance junkie. I had just completed my 2nd Ironman Triathlon (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run) and had been competing in distance running & triathlons competitively for about six years prior. Throughout these years I incurred numerous stress fractures and other over-training injuries and was putting in about 15-20 hours of training per week. 90% of that time was running, biking and swimming with the remaining 10% dedicated to strength training.

My eating habits were good when you compare them to the rest of America. I cooked most of my meals, consumed lean protein, had ‘some vegetables’, and ate carbs freely (after all, I was an endurance athlete, right?). I rarely had any fried foods, never fast food, and no soft drinks of any kind. Pretty good, huh?

I never had a weight issue, however, I didn’t have the body that I felt I deserved after putting in all of those hours working out. I had an overall lean appearance. But I wanted the athletic build that I saw on others. I wanted the abs that I had 10 years ago. I wanted to look and feel strong and fierce. Despite all of the training I did I felt frail and as if I was one running stride away from another injury. My energy level would fluctuate throughout the day, which I attributed to my training schedule.

Oh – I should also mention that I have a B.S. in Exercise and Sports Science and a Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy. So, I knew everything there was to know about sports performance and healthy eating habits (yeah, right). I had a major case of the “I Know Syndrome”. My rationale for my current state of being was “This is what happens when you turn 35!”. I thought I was doing it all right and this was just the inevitable part of being a female in your mid-thirties.

So, why did I decide to sign up for LE? I don’t know. Devine Intervention I suppose. I guess I still had a ray hope in the back of my mind that I might learn something and perhaps look and/or feel better because of it.

Lean Eating Again? I say, why not!

I have had quite a few questions the last few days about my thoughts on former clients joining LE July 2012.

Here are my thoughts

Well big YES! Why? Well LE has evolved the last few years in amazing ways just as you have.

Darn cool video I just looked at :-) - cool timing! http://www.precisionnutrition.com/lean-eating-presale-list
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It has change a SLEW since you were involved last. Krista Scott Dixon is at the healm of the Lean Eating lesson planning and we have $25,000 in prizes to hand out (and then some!). It's the same price - $99 a month - and it's 50 weeks.

We have found it is much better giving people the time to make real "inside out" kind of change. Heck I have learned SO much from the new program! I follow along and I have lost 8 lbs during this cohort and I wasnt' even trying to. Just following along. So cool. And I found out things about myself and my eating I nevehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifr realized before. Proof that you never stop learning and evolving.

And of course we still provide workouts but they have a new architect. - designed by Geoff from Bang Fitness in Toronto. The workouts are brilliant. My body is so fluidly functioning now... I used to have lots of issues and pains. I guess I just needed someone with a Kin background to design my workouts and put me in my place. I am still strong, but different strong :-)

I say, why not girl! :-)

K