Hawke’s Bay fitness couple's health secrets: 'There are no bad foods, just bad portions'

Yoyo diets, workouts, gyms, jogging.

Most of us have been on the treadmill at some point in our life, looking for a quick fix to fit into an outfit or worse, trying to fix that feeling of helplessness when we look in the mirror.

It’s hard going it alone. Many of us quickly fall back into old habits and quite frankly, it can be depressing.

There is no easy fix. However, a Hawke’s Bay couple are on a mission to help people live a healthy and fit life.

Better Yourself is owned and run by Bridget Hicks and Pierce Ward.

Bridget says “unfortunately our world is bombarded with quick fixes, fads and extreme approaches to get results fast with zero regard to health or keeping results long term”.

“That’s our point of difference. We ensure our clients have a sustainable and balanced approach to get results and maintain them long-term, prioritising their health.

“We create custom workout plans and nutrition plans for every individual. Each plan is personalised to the client’s needs, preferences and goals.

“For example, workout plans can be designed for at-home or in-gym, set to their achievable amount of days and duration they can realistically commit to, their goals and abilities.”

Better Yourself designs nutrition plans to cater to all dietary needs such as dairy-free, gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan.

“The meals are easy-to-prep and budget friendly and cater to your likes, dislikes, allergies, preferred amount of meals per day, individual caloric and macro requirements, goals and meal flexibility.

“We do our best to stay accessible and affordable so our plans are delivered via our easy-to-use app from only $40 per month.”

Clients from around New Zealand follow their custom plans and Bridget says it’s great to see people improve their lifestyle and prioritise their health and fitness.

“However, because we are based in Hawke’s Bay, we want to make a big impact on our community so we have ventured into corporate wellness.

“We are looking after a large local company with regular boot camps. Their staff have access to custom plans via our app. They love it so much they all show up at 5am, three days a week.”

Better Yourself’s latest project is pretty exciting.

“We want to help someone in Hawke’s Bay who needs a massive lifestyle change to save their health. So we are offering an Ultimate Lifestyle Transformation.

“Applications are open and the winner will receive more than $6000 worth of help to transform their health and body.”

Better Yourself will provide workout and nutrition plans, personal training sessions and more.

Other local businesses have come on board with Flex Fitness Hastings providing the winner with a 12-week gym membership and Evolt Body Scans, a private cooking lesson with Kieran, owner, chef and nutrition coach of The Shredded Kitchen and Raiseys Supplements will be supplying supplements to help start the winner’s journey!

Bridget says it’s a massive giveaway and has the potential to change someone’s life.

“We want to document the winner’s journey and share it to inspire others to make healthy lifestyle changes. Seeing someone else do it can be very inspirational and motivating.”

Bridget qualified as a personal trainer in 2009, and achieved further qualifications in sports nutrition, pre and postnatal exercise and nutrition.

Pierce gained his qualifications in personal training about the same time, in his home country Canada.

They joined forces in 2021.

Bridget says the biggest mistake people make when it comes to health and fitness is choosing a diet approach that is not sustainable.

“Heavily restricted diets are not sustainable for long-term results. People fall off the wagon when it gets too hard and they realise eating in that way makes them feel miserable and it’s not worth it.”

The couple have always been sporty and fit.

“We have had a passion for health and fitness for as long as we can remember. Pierce and I started training in gyms at high school and have never stopped. We clicked so well when we met because of our shared passion and values in health.

“We knew when we started our business it could be a slow start. The industry is very saturated but our passion for helping others improve their well-being is what motivates us and things have fallen into place nicely.”

Asked how they stay motivated to eat well and stay fit, Bridget said motivation did not play a part in whether they eat well and stay fit.

“Motivation is something that gets you started but habits are what keep you going and our daily habits reflect a healthy lifestyle.

“We exercise because we enjoy it and how it makes us feel and because we value our health. We eat well simply because of long-term habits.

“We would feel physically and mentally rubbish if we were to eat a poor diet long term. I think understanding the effects on your health and longevity from living an unhealthy lifestyle helps keep us accountable too – once you are educated on the matter, it’s much harder to turn a blind eye.”

But that’s not to say they don’t treat themselves.

“We absolutely do. We live a balanced lifestyle and understand it’s about what you do most of the time and not about what you do some of the time. So most of the time we eat clean and sometimes we have treats.

“We don’t restrict ourselves to the point of being unhappy. We all get cravings and we will satisfy them when we do. It’s all things in moderation in our eyes. There are no ‘bad foods’, just bad portions.”

To find out more or be in to win the Ultimate Lifestyle Transformation go to www.betteryourself.co.nz