Lisa Klaus

I grew up in the traditional farm family where food was home cooked and a big part of each day, every celebration. 

Food was used to show our love…

if someone was happy or sad; had a success or a failure, food was made to express how much we cared.   Exercise was working on the farm.  I had no idea what the inside of a gym looked like or was used for until college friends asked me to join them for a workout. I was blessed to have the childhood I had, but it was a childhood that instilled very bad habits that led to me being overweight and unhealthy most of my life.  

I really didn't know much else, and as intelligent as I may be, didn't realize there was another way of life.  That is, until I went to college in Champaign.  My roommates were from Chicago and Peoria, all of them had grown up in a world completely different than I had.  My freshman year I put on the Freshman 15, lived on little sleep, ate anything I wanted, and developed daily headaches that would haunt me for 20 years.  In college I did learn that exercise could be fun and used it to control my weight.  I joined Weight Watchers and by my Junior year was down to 115 pounds.  I ate yogurt and green beans and walked. However, this was nothing I could maintain and the weight crept back on slowly.  I graduated, got married and all the weight came back, plus some. 

  Even though I learned a lot about healthy eating, I never really did change many of my eating habits.  

Over the next several years I would gain and lose weight and exercise on and off, but never really established habits that would cause me to change my lifestyle and make them permanent.  About the time I turned 37 I found myself fighting to keep my sanity.  I was dealing with a failing marriage and daily headaches that were getting worse.  I was on seven prescriptions medications….four for headaches and three for high triglycerides….and was around 230 pounds.  My days started out miserable everyday when I woke up with a headache, and didn't usually get better….I was constantly tired and in pain.  Exercise was the last thing I wanted to do.  But, somehow I did get into the habit of getting up early to workout….looking back; I am not sure what it was that got me out of bed every morning.  Once I did get into a routine, I started to notice how much better I felt. My headaches got a little better and I had more energy through the day.  I started lifting weights more, I took some classes, and eventually found that I could push myself harder than I thought I could.  The harder I pushed, the better I felt.  Eventually my headaches got much better and I reduced the medicines.  It was a gradual process that took about two and half years but I has lead me to places I NEVER would have thought I would be. I lost 100 pounds and have found that my body is capable of so much more than I ever dreamt.

In March of 2012 I attended a Bodybuilding/Figure Camp that PowerHouse was holding and my life would never be the same. I met Debbie and decided immediately that I had to figure out a way to train with her and be a part of the PowerHouse team. I instantly felt like I had found something amazing.  My first meeting with Debbie reinforced that feeling.  She went through the assessment with me and found several structural issues and corrective exercises to address them. Her excitement and heartfelt sincerity were infectious. I could not wait to get started.

I did the foam rolling and stretches as instructed by Debbie and quickly saw changes. 

  I am convinced that I would be never be where I am now and possibly be injured if I had not met Debbie.  

When I met her my goals were to do a figure show and she got me there.  She gave me the tools I needed to take it to the next level, mentally and physically.  The knowledge, love and commitment Debbie gives is unparalleled and is what makes her different than anyone I've ever met.