Lucy Dunne | Dunnebells

Meet Lucy Dunne! This free spirited Aussie living in Calgary is an online personal trainer - empowering women to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle. She sat down with us this month to discuss losing 65 pounds, her struggle with an eating disorder and how she is using her own experiences to inspire and motivate others. She tells us why the scale DOESN'T matter, and why cardio and restrictive eating habits are NOT going to help you reach your weight goals. Read her blog to find out more and watch out the discount code at the end! 

_{TOP: Sweat Society Alex Unisex Crewneck // LEGGINGS: Alea Active Vitality Tight - Floral Luxe}

_{How did you first get into the fitness industry?}

_{I launched into the fitness industry head first (the way I do pretty much everything) in April 2017 and haven’t looked back since. Every single day I am uncovering new things inside this incredible fitness industry. While the industry can be overwhelming, trying to stay on top of all the trends, fads and new innovations is one of my favourite things about it.}

_{Tell us a little about Dunnebells and how that started.}

_{Dunnebells first started as an Instagram account acting as my “Dear Diary” while I was on a mission to lose weight! At my heaviest, 215 lbs, I was unhappy and unhealthy. I was confused like so many people about which foods were the best to eat for weight loss and what exercises I should be performing. I started to document my results, frustrations, highs, lows and all the sh*t nobody else wanted to talk about! This quickly grew into a strong community of people around the world eager to learn more about the results I was finally achieving after years of yo-yo dieting and failures.}

_{It became clear that my passion was empowering these women with my knowledge I had gained from the education system paired with personal experiences and I felt it was my duty to turn this into something scalable to reach, educate and empower more people.}

_{It took me years to lose the weight and I do not believe this should be the way for everyone! After losing the weight I have spoken openly about my binge eating disorder and severe hormone imbalances which has only deepened the Dunnebells community which is filled with like minded individuals simple passionate about living their very best life and who are not afraid to show up and talk about the not so pretty highlight reels.}

_{TOP: Sweat Society Emily Crop Top // LEGGINGS: Alea Active Vitality Tight - Floral Luxe}

_{What has been the most rewarding part of being an online trainer? Most challenging?}

_{Being an online personal trainer has been so rewarding and I am excited for all of the wonderful things my future holds. I would say there is no better feeling than talking to my clients during our weekly check-ins and hearing all about their wins from the week. Hundreds of my clients lose weight, build muscle, overcome mindset blocks and finally start to uncover their sweet spot and I am truly honoured to be part of that journey with them.}

_{Challenges: Oh boy, where do I start. Probably making the switch from Corporate Project Management to an online entrepreneur. That was a challenge because the stability of a healthy pay check and the social interactions that come with being in an office were gone. I like to learn and grow from my challenges so I am very thankful for them but there were definitely some scary days in that transition.}

_{P.S - Any entrepreneurs out there reading this, rent a Coworking space. If nothing else but for your sanity. Work for yourself not by yourself at my personal favourite Work Nicer.}

_{Restrictive dieting and excessive cardio is constantly part of our dialogue as women. One of your focuses is training women to get away from this mentality and teaching healthier ways to lose weight and keep it off. Tell us why this shift in dialogue is so important.}

_{DIETS AND CARDIO! UGH! Is there a worse way to live? Personally, I don’t think so. I absolutely love the focus that Sweat Society has around getting women away from this dialogue as it very much relates to what I also preach.}

_{At the end of the day, the reason I am passionate about pulling women away from the excessive cardio and diets is because the reason they are often doing these things is to lose weight, look better and/or feel better. When women stop depriving their bodies and eat intuitively the results they see and feel are usually better than what any “diet” can do. When women strength train and add some muscle mass on to their bodies they are surprised at how amazing they look, feel and can perform. To summarize, what have found is that women enjoy eating delicious food and they also enjoy feeling strong and powerful. Diets and excessive cardio generally doesn’t provide this feeling and it is about time we break away from any of those stereotypes that exist out there when it comes to women and fitness.}

_{TOP: Sweat Society Becca Crop Top // BRA: Tonic Active Levita Bra - Black}

_{What is your best advice for women for maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle?}

_{The best piece of advice I could give women for maintaining a healthy balanced lifestyle is to find what works for you, and do more of that! Surround yourself with people who have achieved what you want to achieve. Often, we try to overcomplicate it with expensive bells and whistles that are simply just not required. Eat Lean protein, vegetables, healthy fats and don’t be afraid to also eat cake, cookies, donuts and chips! Life is for living and when you can actually realize that your healthy, balanced lifestyle doesn’t necessarily mean you need to weigh a certain number it is a beautiful freedom that you deserve to feel!}

_{Who inspires you?}

_{My beautiful fiancé Kelsi.
My parents.
My clients.
Some very special entrepreneurs and mentors here in Calgary and some complete strangers on Instagram (usually these are women just absolutely crushing business and life)!}

_{What are your goals this year? Personal, Work, Growth etc.}

_{Personal: Do a handstand. Yeah, really. Any tips?}

_{Work: Donate 15K to charity through the Dunnebells lead with giving program. Well on the way to this goal already! Vital Proteins and Dunnebells will continue to work on some very exciting things to bring to you, so stay tuned for that!}

_{Growth: ALWAYS growing and learning. As a busy business owner I am excited to continue to do the work and grow as a person to find what my happy looks like. It has never been so important to me to make sure I am showing up as my very best for the most important people in my life. Additionally, I have some revenue goals I am excited to hit so that Dunnebells can continue to grow, serve and empower women around the globe.}

_{[Top Picture] TOP: Sweat Society Krystal Racerback // LEGGINGS: Werkshop Owls}

_{[Bottom Picture] TOP: Sweat Society Alex Unisex Crewneck // LEGGINGS: Alea Active Vitality Tight - Floral Luxe}

_{Tell us about your upcoming retreats and events that are coming up that we can be involved in.}

_{One of my goals is to provide destination retreats where women can come and experience something that does not currently exist. Whenever I go on a retreat, I feel like I have to “be” a certain way. Dunnebells retreats main focus is and will always be on providing a space for the real, raw and vulnerable you. Trust me, there will be a hell of a lot of fun had at these retreats but to reap the full benefits you first need to show up as yourself.}

_{SO, starting local before moving these to an incredible destination, my second annual BE THE FIRE retreat can be found here.}

_{To be notified about exclusive events not announced anywhere else, you can jump on my list and download your free 7-day arm toning workout at the same time.}

_{How can people find you?}

_{Visit my website www.dunnebells.com or come hang out on Instagram @dunnebells_}

_{SPECIAL SWEAT SOCIETY EXCLUSIVE OFFER.
USE CODE SWEATSPIRATION2018 AND SAVE 20%.}

_{TOP: Sweat Society Nadia Zip-Up Hoodie // LEGGINGS: Teeki Clouds Hot Pant}