A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. With Danielle Girdano’s full proof program, you may need to jump up and down to take that first step, but she’ll get you to your goal!
Danielle Girdano
Pennsylvanian born and bred Danielle Girdano isn’t scared of much. Least of all health and fitness. From a young age, she was highly involved in physical activity, excelling in sports and more. But due to certain circumstances in her life, she gradually turned herself into a morbidly obese adult. Addicted to cigarettes and carbohydrates, the lethal combination got her to over 400 pounds by the time she was 29 years old.
From the time her doctor warned her she wouldn’t live to see 35 if she didn’t change her habits, her life became her own. Taking back fortitude, determination and perseverance that had been lacking for so long, she reclaimed her livelihood.
Joining a gym, changing her diet, and changing a career path halfway through – she never looked back at the more than double person she once was.
Having previously worked in the marketing field, she changed her profession to health and fitness in 2009. Since then, her life has been a thing of dreams for most people.
Danielle’s Accolades
Acting as the President of D’fine Sculpting & Nutrition LLC, she is a 2 time ultra endurance cycling world record holder. In addition, in 2018 she was named one of the top 3 personal trainers in the world by Idea Health & Fitness Association. And if all of that weren’t enough, she hosts her own radio show entitled D’fine Your Health with Danielle Girdano; Strength Through Knowledge. In 2018 she was named “Most Influential Woman in Health & Fitness” by Global Health & Pharma. And in 2013 she was named one of the “Top 40 Executives Under 40” by the Dallas Business Journal. Oh, and one more thing. She wrote a best selling book: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-girdano-24285655/ The list goes on and on…
Needless to say, Danielle means business, and knows hers extremely well.
The Softness Behind the Strictness
While Danielle may be one of the strictest trainers you’ll ever come across, she teaches her clients to push themselves through hard work and discipline. She is committed to helping people achieve their goals, and she doesn’t joke around with those targets either. When someone comes to her with a desire to change their lives for the better, she gives them 100% of her time, energy and ability.
Her main objective when working with her clients is to teach them how to live a healthy lifestyle. In today’s world, with all the chemicals, synthetics and harmful foods out there, Danielle is determined to introduce the natural approach to life. After all, God has indeed given us all the resources we need to live a healthy life. Even if Oreos are amazing…
Her Philosophy
Danielle’s philosophy in life is to help people learn how to live and not just exist. Sadly, simply existing is what so many of us end up doing when we aren’t physically capable of doing more.
When asked what the key is to losing weight and feeling highly motivated, she responds,
“Results in the way you feel are the biggest driving factor for most people. If they don’t see results, they aren’t typically going to stick with a program.” How very true.
She adds, that the biggest obstacle for people is not understanding their bodies.
“Not understanding the physiology behind their bodies while they are stuck in a constant cycle of failure. Trying a gimmick or training with someone truly not qualified can lead to failure. These failures can lead to quitting as well as decreased self-esteem.”
Danielle’s Program and Rate
Given that she charges per session, she bills her clients at the beginning of each month. Once a client starts with her their session rate is locked in for the duration of their time with Danielle. Her seller is a “12-week program”. But typically her clients are with her for a minimum of 6 months.
And Danielle isn’t just strict while working out. She’s also strict about following her program. She will not take on a client on an individual session basis. Either you’re in the program or you’re not. Otherwise, it is not effective. The only exception she makes to this rule, is doing a separate consultation which will run you $350 per session.
With a top trainer like Danielle, you get what you pay for though. There’s no question that her program is effective, and she will in fact get you to your goals. But as she likes to say, “I can’t promise the path will be easy, but I will get you to your goal.”
https://www.daniellegirdano.com/
Danielle likes to brag that while she may be 42, her health is at age 23. An inspirational goal we should aspire to achieve.
We All Struggle – Even the Best of Us
While it goes without saying that the average person can get down in the dumps about their body image or physical limitations, even a top trainer has her days too. It would never occur to those who are struggling with their weight, that even the fittest of the fit have difficulty accepting themesleves sometimes. Danielle shares that though she is proud of the work she has accomplished over the years, she still battles her own demons. Her body image still haunts her from her days as a morbidly obese child and later as an adult.
This should teach us all, that no matter where we are in our journey we are all going to have moments of doubt, insecurity and unreasonable expectations.
But Danielle is still all about helping people and wanting them to learn how to love themselves. The certified master personal trainer continually evokes the message that knowledge is power. Wanting to educate people about health and wellness as she trains them is a crucial part of her program.
She wants everyone to be self-sufficient and to go forward with the tools that she has given them in her program in order to live the healthiest and most fufilling lives they can.
15. Is there anything else I haven’t already asked you that you would like me to add to the article?
“Everyone is stronger than they know, but they have to go outside of their comfort zone to realize that,” one of her most famous quotes. One that all of us should keep in mind no matter what aspect of life we apply it to.
We’ve All Wanted To Change
At some point or another, we’ve all decided it was time to go on a diet. Whether it’s because our jeans are cutting off the circulation in our waist, whether it’s because we want to fit into that dress for a special occasion, or just simply to get our health in a better place. We’ve all been there. And I’m no exception to the rule.
For a year and a half, I’ve been traveling around the world, and showing my viewers amazing places where to eat, drink, sleep and much more. But because of all the eating, and eating, and more eating, I gained a substantial amount of weight.
After being in Dallas for a few months, I solicited the help of a personal master trainer, named Danielle Girdano. I was looking for something that would change my lifestyle, my eating habits, and make it long term instead of just another crash diet. I also wanted to feel better about exercise, feel more energetic and just better in general. But my main objective, if I’m honest, was to be able to fit back into my clothes, which had sadly been taunting me in my closet for weeks, if not months.
Before I started my training with Danielle, I had no idea what to expect. Would this actually work? Would I commit to the program? Would it be hard? And of course, the biggest question, would I lose any weight? The answer to all of these questions was a resounding yes. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Corona
As we’ve all become abundantly aware, the Coronavirus has effected everyone’s lives in ways some of us can’t even understand. And because the majority of the world was under lockdown for several weeks – if not months – I decided to take advantage of the situation. After all, I couldn’t go to any restaurants (unless it was take away), I couldn’t go to any bars, I couldn’t go to any hotels, or really even travel. I was stuck in my home not because of quarantine necessarily, but because everything around me was closed.
I wanted to do something productive during the time that I was at home. I didn’t want to succumb to the temptation that so many others around the world fell victim to – gaining weight, due to inactivity and boredom. And truthfully, Netflix is a lot more enjoyable in the short term than lifting dumb bells.
Because of quarantine and having nothing else to do therefore, I decided there was no excuse not to get off my lazy backside, and whip it into shape. Or at least, hire someone to yell at me to do it. Because… I loathe exercise.
Stay Motivated
You may not know it, but I am not a very active person. Granted, I do travel a lot and there’s no question that when I do, I’m not doing a lot of sitting around. But when it comes to my day to day lifestyle, I’m very much a homebody. I am, after all, a writer and video editor. Neither of these two professions involve a great deal of movement.
And because I love to cook delicious things, when you combine laziness with high calorie foods you’re in for a high number on the scale.
I will freely admit that I am in fact, the laziest person I know. Carrying groceries inside the house puts a damper on my day. So the thought of putting my tennis shoes on and going for a run, is quite frankly a laughable notion in my world.
But when I decided to create this documentary for the full 12 weeks of Danielle’s stellar program, I didn’t realize all I was going to have to give up. And I’m not just talking about blackberries each evening – which I still kind of miss, if I’m honest. Or my coveted eggs every morning for breakfast…but I digress.
No, I’m talking about the freedom I had to be lazy prior to starting the program. On my own, if I had plans to go to the gym, or go walking, or do something that involved…movement, I would make excuses not to go. But, because I knew I was creating this documentary, I wanted to prove to myself and the people watching that I could do it. And that, with a little – no, sorry, a lot – a lot of hard work, others can do it too. Little did I know I would be screaming the whole 12 weeks. Figuratively and very literally too. Danielle’s still def, I suspect, from all the screams of torture.
So, what did the program involve? A lot. The top things that were clearly evident from the beginning that one needs to have when entering into Danielle’s program are threefold.
1. Stay positive
2. Stay motivated
3. Stay dedicated
If you don’t have these three thoughts going on in your mind at all times you will fail.
You also have to learn to be hungry. And to pee a lot. I should expand. If you’re used to constantly eating at any time of the day, be it snacks or late night dinners, etc., that will quickly become a thing of the past. And the peeing? You will be drinking so much water on her program, and eating so much less, you won’t know what to do with all that liquid. But then your body will figure it out. Every five minutes. For two weeks straight.
And lastly, if you’re not a fan of exercise, get ready to be sore over every square inch of your body for at least the first month. Unless you’re not as big of a pansy as me.
Pre-Training Assessment Tests
Danielle and I met one day before the diet began to run some tests. During this assessment, she used her very high tech equipment to determine my heart rates, screen the functionality of my insides, and test my physical strengths and abilities. Overall, my scores were low to average. In fact, in her notes, she wrote that she was concerned with my overall physical health. Considering that I am not a marathon runner by any means, it was really no surprise that my health was in very poor condition prior to starting her program.
She came up with a program specifically designed for me, which would tackle each individual issue that my body was facing at the time. Even knowing exactly how much rest time to give me personally in between each set we would do was incredible to me.
The woman was fully prepared for every aspect of my training and my diet, and I was impressed from start to finish. It was the execution of all of it on my part that wasn’t so easy…
Week 1 & 2:
Danielle sent me over her diet plan within the first few days of my starting the program. It was like a slap in the face and then someone pouring ice cold water over your head simultaneously. While they’re stealing your car. Which had chocolate cake in the backseat. Everything that would frighten a non-healthy eater was on that diet plan.
Totals I was supposed to hit each day:
- Calories = 1,400
- Carbs = 170 g
- Sodium = 1400 mg
- Fat = 23 g
- Protein = 125 g
- Fiber = 26 g
- Sugar = 20 g
There were things on there like…salad. And carrot sticks. And vegetables. And tofu…grosse!
The most difficult of all of these targets, without question, was the sugar. Sugar is in everything. It’s not just in things you would suspect like ice cream or even fruit. It lurks in things like beans, and even in spinach! Yes, it’s minimal, but when you are required to eat vegetables but you’d rather have a berry – that 1 gram of sugar really breaks your count of 20 for the day!
It became a numbers game. And for the first three weeks, I would spend 45 minutes a day adding up my stats trying to understand where I was going wrong, and why the numbers were so high that first week and a half. Then I understood one day. It was the fat and sugar content I was consuming.
No More Bad Food
My biggest problem? Surprisingly not the blackberries I was so accustomed to eating as an evening snack. Though I had to quit those too. It was instead, the avocados I was consuming once or twice a day consistently. Once I cut out the avocados and all cooking oils (even the healthy ones) I saw a dramatic switch. I went from hungry to starving. Just kidding. Kind of.
I mentioned already that I detest exercise. Maybe more than vegetables. But my dislike for fitness is possibly on par with anything that doesn’t have a seed in it. No, that’s not true. I’m not crazy about cucumbers either.
Trying new vegetables while on the program, I felt like a 4-year old making faces and gagging at the dinner table.
Danielle also wanted to get my insides as clean as possible. That meant eating a lot of fiber. More than I might normally. But hey, who was I to turn down bread? Even if it was multi-wheat bread. It was still bread… the untouchable food when dieting.
She’s So Good, She’ll Make You Cry
And the exercise? It was by the end of the first session with her that I started to question what I’d gotten myself into for the next 12 weeks. I was honestly frightened. No one, in my 35 years on this earth, had ever pushed me that hard in a first training session or in any training session for that matter. I literally cried. I use to make fun of people on reality shows that cried from exercise, thinking it seemed strange and out of place. Now, I completely understand. And yes, Danielle is so good, she’ll make you cry.
We began with abs in that first session, and over the course of the following two weeks, it wouldn’t just be that area of my body that would feel the pain. Or the burn. Or whatever term they use to describe the inability to walk from your bedroom to the living room.
And then, after 2 weeks of sheer torture and agony, exercise included, it was my very first cheat day. And I was walking on a cloud excited for that day. I knew it would only last 24 hours, but it was the most wonderful 24 hours ever. I could eat anything and everything I wanted. And then some.
Danielle never explained until after the program was over why those cheat days are so important. And they are in fact, important. Because of your metabolic system, you have to allow it to spike (i.e. cheat day), in order for your “diet” or as we like to say, “lifestyle change” to continue taking effect. Without that cheat day, your metabolism will eventually plateu and you won’t lose any weight. I was fully comitted to every aspect of the diet – most especially cheat day. If I needed a few thousand extra calories to help me fit into that skirt by the end of the program, then by God I was going to eat that fifth piece of pizza if need be.
Week 3 & 4
The diet was steadily the same for the first month, with no real changes implemented. She wanted me to get as detoxed as possible, while continuing to torture me in our workout sessions. We would meet between 2-3 times a week consistantly throughout the three months we worked together. And how did we meet, you might ask? Considering we were in quarantine it would stand to reason that we couldn’t exercise in the same space together. And you would be right. We didn’t. She trained me virtually. With my phone set up on the floor, doing a video call via Whatsapp, we conducted our sessions via camera the entire time. And I was just as successful with her over the phone, as I would have been had she physically been in the same room.
Week 5 & 6
It was at week 5 that the diet shifted. Incorporating 2/3 cup of plain yogurt in the mornings and 1 apple with half a tablespoon of organic peanut butter in the evenings, I was in hog heaven! Dairy and fruit? Stop, you’re spoiling me. This was also about the time I was required to introduce beets into my diet.
Given that I have a problem with my endothelial system, causing erratic and irregular heartbeats, Danielle wanted me to eat beets. One of the nastiest vegetables with which God decided to curse man, beets are important for people like me. Because of beets’ natural properties, they help create more oxygen in the body, which is something I was lacking due to my condition. And frankly, I’d rather not breathe at all than have to eat beets on a regular basis.
Be them boiled, baked, or sauteed, there was no preparation I could find that suited my taste buds. So I begrudglingly ate them to increase my stamina during my workout sessions with Danielle. Because of my endothelial condition, I would feel faint at times, almost blackout and once, even fell over. So, as nasty as those beets may be, they are in fact important if I want to keep exercising.
About halfway through the training was also when I started to see a significant change in my body. While I had been noticing small changes here and there, it was really around the end of week 6 that I was starting to fit into some of my clothes again – and not just squeeze them on. Actually zipping up skirts and dresses, buttoning jeans, and not feeling Closter phobic in some of my tops. It was a great feeling, and it only continued to get better after that…
Week 7 & 8
Danielle changed the diet ever so slightly yet again, by allowing me to have the ability to eat as many and as much as I wanted of…vegetables. Yay.
This was a good freedom though, because it allowed me to not have to measure out precisely how many leaves of spinach I was putting in my salad each night. It also allowed me to have the excuse of eating an afternoon snack if I wanted – as long as it was a healthy one. Like tomato and basil leaves.
I was also given a cooking challenge. This allowed me to start getting creative with different foods (albeit there was a limit as to which ones and how much). Some of the recipes I came up with were delicious, while others were worthy of being spit into the trash. In any case it was a fun experiment, and a challenge to stay within my calorie count for the day while still getting to try new things – other than a boring salad.
Week 9 & 10
At the very start of week 9, I was invited to join my friend in Florida where she lives. Going on a road trip from Texas to the Sunshine State, I gave myself a new challenge to plan and pack ahead. I didn’t get to eat any of the delicious drive-thru food my friend was having throughout the course of our 11 and a half hour drive. I didn’t get to have any typical Louisianan food the night we stayed over in New Orleans (not that anything was open). And for 8 of the 9 days I stayed in Florida, I didn’t get to eat any of the tasty beach food or cocktails we passed by every day. Instead, I took a can opener, my Albacore tuna, pita bread, rice cakes and a bottle of water to the beach. And, alright, full discloser here, some chickpeas and a couple of pickles.
But on cheat day – I went wild. I ate all of Pensacola. And had some drinks too. It was for the purpose of the documentary though, obviously…
Working Out on My Own
By the middle of week 10 I was back in the Lone Star state, and had brought a nice tan back with me. I also brought a lot of pride back too. Knowing that I’d followed the diet plan, and that I hadn’t given into temptation while on vacation. I stuck to my ab workouts on my own, too, when I wasn’t working out with Danielle in our weekly sessions.
Oh, didn’t I mention? During the course of the three month program, on days when I wasn’t working out with Danielle, I was required to do my ab workouts alone, and go for my power walks. Yes, I did a lot of power walking. And some of those ab workouts.
Week 11 & 12
While the exercises that Danielle gave me were increasingly difficult, I could feel that my resistance and strength had increased immensely. I wasn’t as lightheaded by the time week 11 rolled in; I wasn’t as sore the following days either.
And of course, my clothes continued to fit better and better with each passing day and week.
The Big Reveal
It was after day 80, my final day of the 12 week program, that Danielle revealed all of my results to me. She began by listing what my results were in our pre-training assessment tests, and then telling me how much I’d improved over the course of 3 months. She went through my physical stress levels, mental stress levels, my heart rate, my stress resistance score, and more.
Everything had improved. Everything.
- OXY saturation: 3 increment improvement
- Circulatory condition: From Fair-Poor improved to Good
- Aerobic Threshold – 22% improvement
- Balance: 25% improvement
- Equilibrium: 10% improvement
- Absolute Strength: 39% improvement
- Dynamic Strength: 34% improvement
- Flexibility: 2.5 inch improvement
Measurements:
- Upper Arm – 4 inches lost
- Chest – 2.25 inches lost
- Upper Leg – 6.25 inches lost
- Hip – 8 inches lost
- Waist – 6.25 inches lost
- Total inches lost – 26.75 lost
- Body Composition – 6% loss
- Ectopic Beat– 12 beat improvement
- Heart Rate– 12 BPM improvement (BPM fell 12)
- Physical Stress – 9% improvement
- Mental Stress – 2% improvement
- Autonomic Nerve Balance ratio score – 8% improvement
- Stress Resistance – 40% improvement
- My overall stress score – 41% improvement
- Arterial Elasticity 100 out of 100 – Null
- Peripheral Elasticity – 10% improvement
- Type of Arterial Health Type 1 Null
- Arterial Health Overall Score – 6 increment improvement
And all of this in the span of 12 weeks with Danielle’s full proof program! And the pounds? Well, you’ll just have to watch the documentary to find out just how many (if any) I lost.
What I’ve Learned
I’ve learned that I am stronger than I know. Meaning, if I don’t think I can do a push-up, I actually can. It’s probably that I just don’t like the pain that’s involved in doing it. If I think I can’t go for a walk, it’s not that I can’t. It’s that I don’t want to. If I think I can’t eat broccoli and cauliflower… nope. Nope. That one I definitely can’t.
But pretty much everything else, I’m capable of.
Danielle has taught me so much about myself, not just within training. She’s taught me lessons that I can apply to my daily life in all aspects. She told me once,
“Just remember. When you don’t push yourself, you’re not cheating me – you’re cheating yourself.” How profound. Working with Danielle has made me want to do better not just for my trainer, but for me. I want to be able to do the things I’ve only ever envied people for being able to do. Yes, one day, I’d like to climb a mountain. One day, I’d like to swim something like a marathon… but not in open water. And maybe not a whole 10 kilometers. Basically I just want to splash around in the pool but not get tired.
But now that I have worked with Danielle for these past three months, I feel like anything is possible. And I’m excited for the future instead of stressing over what my weight will look like now that I’m off her program. Because I’m not off her program. It’s a life program. Even when she’s not there telling me what to do, I can still hear her yelling at me to do it right. Yelling in a loving way of course, but pushing me nonetheless.
So what are you waiting for? Don’t you want to train with one of the world’s top 3 best trainers? Don’t you want to learn how to push yourself to limits you didn’t think were actually possible? Don’t you want the strength, encouragement and praise that Danielle gives you on a personal level? Yes, yes you do. Get in touch with Danielle today! And when you do, let her know her favorite client, Lisa, sent you!
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