Meet Emily Lever (Bedell) of BedelLifeFitness in Salem

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Lever (Bedell).

Emily, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up in Nevada and started dancing at the age of three. As time went on I became more dedicated and passionate and I auditioned for Walnut Hill School (a performing arts school in Natick). I spent my senior year at Walnut Hill and went back and forth on what I wanted to do for college. Half of me wanted to pursue dance while the other half wanted to work in the medical field. I applied for both and was fortunate enough to be accepted at The Boston Conservatory. Knowing it was an incredible opportunity I accepted and spent two years there. The program was intense and I spent anywhere from 8-12 hours dancing daily, five to six days a week. I met inspiring mentors and peers, but also missed academics. I felt that I had fulfilled my time in dance and needed a change after the years. I transferred to Emmanuel College and completed a BS in Human Form and Function. With the change from intense exercise to a stagnant lifestyle I put on about forty pounds. I was embarrassed and frustrated with myself. I knew I wasn’t eating well or exercising enough, but my knowledge on how to change was minimal. My brother (an avid runner) and I started having some honest conversations about it and he encouraged me to start running. I slowly added in running days and stuck with it. After a few months I appreciated that my body was starting to change but I did not love running. I remember thinking that if I were to be consistent then I need to find something I really enjoy. I joined a local gym and started a circuit training class. It was hard! I left feeling frustrated from time to time, but also appreciated the instructor who recognized I needed to be challenged. I kept going and I became stronger and stronger. I started reading articles about nutrition. Luckily with a science background I knew how to find evidence based material and ignored the random sites I knew wouldn’t help me. I made friends at the gym and picked their brains in regards to exercise and nutrition. I began lifting more and found out that was my true passion. There was something incredibly satisfying to me about being a small girl able to get behind a bar and lift more than I “should” be able to. This passion lead me to compete in powerlifting, Spartan races, and bodybuilding (my current goal). Through the process I continued to educate myself and read extensively about nutrition, supplements, and fitness (mostly strength and muscle mass programs). I found there was a lot of junk on the internet and heard people making comments about advice they had gotten that clearly came from a non-evidence based website or trainer. This infuriated me. How were people supposed to make changes if they were being fed inaccurate information? So I started to write BedelLifeFitness blog, meal plans, and training programs. My full time job is a registered nurse and I am currently working on my nurse practitioner portion. This has helped me look at clients and write blogs from a well-rounded stand point by involving health outcomes and recommendations. My primary goal is to help educate people so they can make informed decisions about their health. I hope to inspire, answer questions, and help move the population towards a healthier lifestyle.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The website and blog have been easy because it makes me happy. I enjoy educating myself and writing about it. Sure I would always love more readers and clients, but I know that will come with time. In terms of fitness it definitely hasn’t been a smooth road; however, I’m a firm believer that some of the best things come from some sweat and tears. It helps me fully appreciate what I’ve accomplished. Diet I think is the hardest. There are days that I wish I were 10 years old again and could eat 4 bowls of Mac and Cheese and not think twice about it. For me consistency and planning have been my best friend. If I have meals packed and ready then I know I’ll eat them. The hardest part is definitely during competing. I push my body to its absolute limit, which means intense cravings and fatigue. At the end of the day the overall goal has to be bigger than how you feel in those moments. I struggle like anyone else but I remind myself that I get to do this. There are many people who don’t have the resources or freedom to pick and choose their meals, their workouts, and their lifestyle. I am fortunate that I have the opportunity to make healthy choices for myself and do what I love. That’s enough for me to quiet my weaker moments.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about BedelLifeFitness – what should we know?
BedelLifeFitness is an educational blog for people who are interested in fitness, a healthy lifestyle, or purely to educate themselves. My posts surround nutrition, supplements, workouts, recipes, debunking certain fads, and answering readers’ questions. I specialize in meal plans and fitness programs for anyone from weight loss to competitive powerlifting. BedelLifeFitness stands apart from other companies because I do this 100% out of passion, not for the profit. Anyone who approaches me I take seriously and am always willing to answer questions and spend hours helping someone out if it means their health and goals will benefit from it. My clients have unlimited time as in they can text or email me whenever I will answer any questions or concerns quickly. I don’t just give clients a plan to follow and walk away. I educate them throughout the process so that when they are ready to move forward without me they can. Some people may look at this as a poor business model because I’m giving people the tools to be independent, but I’d rather have happy clients that can help those around them than uneducated ones.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Consistency. In my opinion, a huge problem with my generation is that everything is a click away. Although this is incredibly useful at times it’s caused people to want success in the blink of an eye. That’s why there are so many fad diets out there that starve clients. It may make you drop 10 lbs. in a month but you’re going to gain it back and possibly more. People want the quick fix rather than something longer even if it’s more sustainable. Patience and consistency are always more reliable.

Pricing:

• Meal plan $100 a month
• Workout plan $100 a month
• Meal + workout $150 a month
• Generic one month of workouts $25

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bedellifefitness.wordpress.com/
• Email: emilybedell49@gmail.com
• Instagram: @bedelle

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