Lori Kademian has worked in the nutrition and fitness industry for over 25 years and is currently the Operations Manager at Masters In Motion, Inc. She was formerly the Director of Research and Development for Apex Fitness a division of 24hr Fitness. Lori also operated a private nutrition practice for many years working with hundreds of clients. Lori is an avid Karate practitioner and has a genuine love and passion for its life changing wellness benefits and disciplined lifestyle. Most of all, Lori desires to help others experience the same life changing benefits that wholesome nutrition, wellness and Karate training give her and her family.
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As far back as I can remember I was interested in science and how the human body worked. It still amazes me that the foods we eat keep us going each day and that they keep us going well (good health) or poorly (disease/bad health). My fascination with how nutrition affects the body fueled me (pun intended) to want to know more, especially as I got more involved in competitive sports. This fascination led me to obtain my Bachelor of Science degree in Human Nutrition. I wanted to understand just how it all worked together – how what we eat impacts how we feel, perform, live and experience health.
Passion to Reality
During and after college I worked for many popular weight loss centers as both a counselor and educator. This allowed me to work directly with people and contribute to them living better healthier lives, a passion of mine. However, I soon realized that while each “program” offered its share of successes, I saw many shortcomings as well (i.e. eating only pre-packaged foods, too low caloric diet, etc.). These shortcomings were exemplified as the same clients would find their way to each new location where I worked still seeking “a magic pill”. Our frustrations (my clients’ and my own) led me to find a better way…
Refining Process
At the time, the better way was to open my own nutrition counseling practice where one-on-one care could be given to truly educate clients regarding what “good” nutrition was for them personally. After working with hundreds of clients with most finding success and better health, I soon realized that one component was still missing – exercise (proper movement). It was at this time that I began to work in the health club environment in hopes of giving clients a more balanced approach to lasting success.
Through these years I was able to focus a lot of time researching how foods impacted success in weight loss and performance for all different people, including myself. What I discovered was that we are all unique when it comes to “proper” food intake. While eating lots of carbohydrates works for one, the opposite works best for another, so true success is about more than just calories.
The Corporate World
Hoping to impact a greater number of people, I took a position with The Apex Fitness Group, a national nutrition education company that licensed nutrition programs to health clubs. I was involved in educating hundreds of personal trainers all over the country and later moved on to work corporately as Apex’s Director of Research and Development. During this time my team and I oversaw the development and launch of the bodybugg calorie management system in health clubs nationwide. It was very exciting to take part in the launch of such new and cutting edge technology and see people reach their goals easier and faster. Untimately, I viewed these career changes as a way to “reach the masses” and thus help more people achieve better health.
Reality Check
For a time, circumstances forced me to be less active for an extended period. The combination of less regular exercise and too many years of hard western sports took their toll in the form of severe back pain that reared its ugly head one morning. An x-ray revealed a Spondylolisthesis, common in gymnasts (my childhood passion). Research told me this was something that wouldn’t just go away so I began to seek ways to heal my back and learn how to move properly to keep things stable. I spent the next several years working through debilitating chronic back pain. There were many ups and downs but rather than focus on the challenges relating to periods of “forced” inactivity, and since giving up is not my nature, I chose to use this time to refine my own nutrition practices and knowledge.
This led to spending time in the kitchen learning to prepare foods in new ways to incur their most healthful benefits. Refining what I ate had a great impact on my healing and health in general.
The Missing Link
During this process, the best thing happened, I married my husband Kris Kademian, a lifelong practitioner and master of martial arts. He has a very scientific approach to practicing martial arts which introduced me to a different perspective about fitness and movement from both the physical and mental health standpoints.
I had spent way too many years doing “one sided” western sports and activities that over time weakened my body. Karate inherently does the opposite, it reveals weaknesses and shortcomings and allows the practitioner to make adjustments, improve those weaknesses and gain strength. Through proper Karate practice I have been able to obtain physical (structural) balance through proper movement and am now mostly pain free!
A Healthy Way of Life
Today, I can wholeheartedly say that the greatest gains in my total health are due to the combination of sound nutrition, Karate training and learning to “move” correctly. The Karate way of life has given this athlete a true path to health and vitality; a path I am still traveling today ~ the path to better living.
My desire is to help others by sharing my knowledge and guiding them on their path to wellness and better living through proper Karate practice and sound nutrition.
Recipes for Better Living™ 