Fitness Science

I started working with Monika to get myself in shape for my daughter’s wedding. I have used many trainers throughout the years and I must say that Monika is the most thorough trainer I have worked with. Her knowledge of everything from your fitness to nutrition to emotional wellbeing is extraordinary! I would highly recommend her to anyone looking to jumpstart their fitness regimen or reinvigorate your life completely. She is amazing! Really pushes you but is also very nurturing, her goal is for you to get the results you want and she definitely accomplishes that!
Thanks Monika!

I came to Monika to get me in shape for my wedding. I had spent the previous year and a half as a consultant and due to the heavy travel requirements, had really let my diet and exercise routine fall by the wayside. When I met Monika, I had the goal to tone up a bit for the wedding and get back into the habit of exercising regularly. She explained her holistic approach and performed an assessment of where I was at, gave a top level explanation of the types of exercises she recommended, and also a time frame for when I could expect to see results. I was genuinely surprised when she described my existing activity level as «sedentary» and knew that I needed to make changes in my lifestyle. I subsequently bought a 3 month, twice a week package.
I absolutely love Monika, but she does not let you get away with slacking off. She really works within your capabilities and gives you the confidence to safely push your limits to reach your goals. She writes new exercise circuits for every training session, so the exercises stay interesting. She also has a thorough understanding of how groups of muscles work together. By the end of 3 months, there was a dramatic difference. I didn’t even realize that I hadn’t been sleeping well until I started seeing Monika. I used to struggle to fall asleep and wake up maybe once or twice a night. I was tired and typically took naps throughout the day. After about a month with Monika, I noticed I had a lot more energy and realized I was having no trouble falling and staying asleep at night. I also wasn’t napping. My reflexes have vastly improved and consequently, so has my hand-​eye coordination. Even my posture, which I thought was pretty good before the training, has improved. At the end of the 3 months, I had lost 6 lbs of fat and put on 5 lbs of muscle.
When I reached the end of my package, I was still a month away from the wedding, so I decided to sign up for another package. This time, Monika suggested I meet with her for nutrition counseling. Monika wrote up a couple sample meal plans and we discussed what I had been eating and what I should be eating. During our hour meeting, I learned so much about food and how it affects your mood and energy level. For the next month, I followed Monika’s advice to the letter and was amazed to find that I didn’t feel like I was sacrificing anything. Sure, I wanted to eat the donuts left in the office breakroom and have that second glass of wine, but I didn’t feel like I was missing out by passing them up. At the end of the month, Monika weighed me and I had lost another 5 lbs.
Honestly, when I first came to Monika, I thought I looked and felt fine and didn’t really have any weight loss goals. I had NO IDEA there was so much potential to have a higher quality of life. As I’ve alluded to above, I’ve seen positive changes in my life as a direct result of training with Monika:. I sleep better, I have more cardio endurance, I’ve started running (something I never thought I’d enjoy), my body looks and feels better than it ever has, and I’m suddenly good at ping pong. Monika is truly worth every penny and I know you’re going to love her as much as I do.

I cannot imagine that there exists any better health/​lifestyle/​fitness coach than Monika.
I first came to Monika as a recent college graduate looking to learn more about leading a healthy lifestyle in the «real world». I had the expectation that I would just earn some quick tips on how to eat right, exercise, and balance it all with my demanding work schedule.
I got so much more from Monika than I had ever expected, and am so grateful for her help. Her knowledge of the human body and what it needs to be truly healthy astounds me. She put me on a program that was not only healthy, it was more than manageable and I never felt like I had to deprive myself of delicious foods.
A few months into our work together, after changing my eating habits and getting some more exercise in, I wasn’t seeing any results. Monika suggested I take a simple blood test to determine whether or not I was sensitive to or reacting badly to certain foods. As it turns out, I have a sensitivity to gluten and dairy, which was ultimately holding me back from losing the weight I wanted to lose.
Monika swiftly and smartly changed up my program and suggested I stop eating both of those types of foods for a few months to see how I felt. The results were remarkable. After just a few weeks I felt infinitely better: I had more energy, was sleeping through the night, felt less bloated and uncomfortable, and dropped seven pounds.
Without Monika’s expertise and guidance, along with a few very accurate and trusted functional medicine tests, I never would have found out the underlying problem and probably would still continue to feel run-​down, stressed out, and bloated. Monika changed the way I looked at food (in a good way) with her holistic approach and her strong belief in the great powers of clean, good food.
I would recommend anyone to Monika. Even if the goal is not to lose weight, it is worth it to learn these things from her in order to be healthy and happy.
Everyone’s heard the saying, «You are what you eat.» After my time with Monika, I know that to be true. I feel so much better, happier, and energetic because of the changes I made, and would not have even known where to begin if it hadn’t been for her.

It’s with great pleasure that I write a testimonial for my trainer of 15 years, Monika Tarkowska-​Carter.
At 51 with a long-​standing problem with my body image and consequent preoccupation with weight loss I turned to Monika for help with training. Even though exercise had always been a part of my daily life the goal was always set with regard to losing weight rather than effective and healthy training.
Today, at 67 I am physically healthy thanks to Monika and fully recovered from a back surgery for a congenital condition. My thinking is no longer consumed with my weight.
In addition to having met all the professional requirements of a qualified trainer, Monika is also certified in both nutrition and post-​rehabilitation training.
Her unique skills have combined in a way to give me a new perspective on healthy eating, effective and safe training as well as belief in the positive correlation between the two — something I never fully understood.
As a psychologist, I am impressed with the insight and understanding I have gained from my work with Monika into the mind-​body connection. I feel good, look good and attribute a great deal of my progress to my continuous commitment to training.
Linda Metzner, PhD
Doctor of psychology
Los Angeles, California