HOME / Our Story
We are the creators of
Curvy Girl Weight Loss,
Melissa and Tani,
and we are so glad you've found us.
If you’re here we’re willing to bet you’ve struggled with weight loss for a long time.
You’ve probably tried lots of different products and programs with disappointing results.
And before we tell you about us, let us set your mind at ease just a bit;
it’s not your fault that none of the things you’ve tried have worked…the research is in, diets just don’t work.
This is why we created Curvy Girl in the first place,
we are passionate about educating women about the failures of diet culture,
and how you can make the mindset shifts you need to finally find lasting success.
We have over 50 years of combined experience in health and fitness.
We have seen over and over again how the diet industry fails women.
In order to be successful at weight loss you have to fundamentally shift your mindset, habits, and behaviors around food.
This is what we teach inside of our programs,
with our step by step approach to building new habits we guide you through our 3 phases of lasting weight loss.
Tani's Story
I’ve struggled with my weight and body image for most of my life.
I grew up as the “fat kid”, I was never athletic, and I got picked on a lot in school.
When I I was 10, I heard the girls whispering about me.
I had just gone to the bathroom and on my way back I heard them
They were calling me fat.
I was crushed.
At the age of 10 I already knew I was chubby…
But now I was keenly aware that I didn’t belong.
And in that moment I INSTANTLY wasn’t good enough.
I was now “the chubby girl”...
The fat friend…
The one with a “pretty face”…
I became obsessed with every meal, often skipping food altogether
It took me years to break through this cycle of eating disorders and body dysmorphia well into my adult life.
Finally I started to realize that my weight and my shape don't DEFINE my worth or who I am.
I can feel amazing…confident…Strong…
I can enjoy the foods that I love…
AND feel peace inside my body and mind.
And I want that for you too
When I went to college I studied exercise physiology and earned a M.Ed. in health education.
Most importantly, I learned a much healthier way of eating and began to enjoy exercising on purpose.
Sadly, being in the fitness industry meant that many of my professional peers were lean, 6-pack toting “Adonis-types”,
while I was still an average woman, so my mental battles continued.
After watching my body shift through 4 pregnancies,
the weight gain and loss and gain again,
the struggle to fit in exercise and healthy eating as a working mother,
I knew it was time to work on self love and acceptance.
Now, I understand that the only path to change has to start with
mindset shifts and fundamental behavior changes.
Learning to love yourself and creating a healthy environment with our 3 S's:
systems, structures and schedules
in place to promote who you want to be are
essential to being successful at unlocking your personal
healthy and sustainable weight.
This is exactly the philosophy I bring to all of my coaching programs,
and how I train women to make life long shifts.
Melissa's Story
After working in the healthcare industry as a nurse for over 25 years, I chose to pursue my passion of helping people get and stay healthier; so I became a certified personal trainer, nutritionist and a certified health coach.
I have a passion for fitness and I love helping my clients find exercises that work for them so they can lose weight and become a fitter and healthier version of themselves.
My approach is balanced with a focus on helping women shift their mindset around diet and exercise.
After having my third beautiful daughter I realized I had to find a better way....
One of my "aha" moments came as I finished up a marathon. I asked my husband to take a picture (event though I was most definitely NOT in the mood). When I looked at that photo I realized I had to find another way.
Killing myself running every single day was zapping me of the joy I used to find in fitness, and it certainly wasn't helping me to lose the baby weight of my last pregnancy.
I began to research strength training.
I hired a trainer to help me lean proper technique, and maximize my time in the gym.
She had me cut my running WAY down, and I began incorporating HIIT workouts, with a focus on my lifting sessions each week.
I was sleeping better, my stress levels came down, I was spending less time working out but getting better results than ever before.
I had rediscovered the joy in movement that I had lost.
After 6 months the results were clear.
My starting weight remained almost the same,
in fact, I GAINED 2 pounds.
But my body was drastically different.
I went from a size 12 to a size 4/6.
My body fat percentage at my marathon weight of 140 was 30%
My body fat percentage after strength training and gaining two pounds to 142 was 19%
This is why I'm passionate about helping women simplify their journey.
We have to stop thinking more is better, and instead realize that we need to work smarter.
Curvy Girl Was Born...
With a mission and a passion we joined forces and created our dream
In the spring of 2020 we met online in a business coaching program when the fitness industry was rocked by shutdowns and closings.
After collaborating on projects while running our coaching businesses separately for 2 years we began to see a need for something different…
Traditional programs only focus on counting and measuring, wracking up minutes of tedious exercise, and adding stress to your already stressful days.
We wanted to create a program that would teach women that it can be much more simple.
That you can work from the inside-out to create change.
That you can focus on one step at a time and slowly build on each success
until finally you look back at how far you’ve come and you realize you’ve hit your goal.
This is how we created our step-by-step program to help women to lose weight and keep it off for good using
simple nutrition, gentle fitness, and behavior shifts for lasting change.
Are you ready to create the life and body you love?
A life free of obsessive calorie counting
A life that incorporates joyful movement
A life in a body that you love and honor with gratitude
We know that you create can all of this, and that it can be a simple process
The time is now to start on your journey, stop waiting until you "have time"
Don’t put your life on hold waiting for a life-changing moment…
The life of your dreams is waiting for you, you just have to take the first step
Free Resources
5 Ingredient Recipe Guide
You are a busy woman juggling a lot.
We created our 5 ingredient recipe guide just for you, to help you simplify your life.
They're big on flavor, but small on effort
simple nutrition
gentle fitness
behavior shifts
