Amber O’Neal

Born and raised in Elgin, Illinois, I am an odd candidate for starting a fitness and nutrition company. As an overweight child, exercise was something that I despised with a passion and avoided at all costs – even volunteering to grade papers for the teachers rather than endure recess outside with the other kids. While I grew up on healthy food, portion control was an unknown entity, and by middle school I had become the dreaded “big girl.”

Committed to changing my figure and my fate, I began taking aerobics classes at age 14. As the pounds whittled away, I felt empowered to test new physical limits - even joining the girls’ basketball team in high school, and I have continued to remain active ever since. I’ve never met a workout that I wouldn’t try at least once.

After gaining the typical “freshman fifteen” in college despite my physical activity, I began to pay closer attention to my eating habits – reading every nutrition magazine and book that I could get my hands on. Through my own self-study and experimentation, I found ways to satisfy my appetite without going overboard, and with that I began my fitness and nutrition journey.

After college, a friend suggested that I become certified to teach aerobics since I was always at the gym anyway. Originally thinking it was an absurd idea; I later pursued the certification and found my true calling as a part-time aerobics instructor at a major fitness chain. After quickly realizing that many of my students needed more intimate instruction in order to reach their goals, I became a certified personal trainer.

Several years later, I was ready to make a pivotal career change. In 2006, Café Physique (www.CafePhysique.com) was born out of my desire to offer a 360? approach to fitness. Convinced that for the ordinary person, progress would not be permanent without habit-altering lifestyle changes; I designed a company that offers full lifestyle management in the form of fitness training, weight loss management, and educational services.