Meet Maria Maroti Howlett, Certified Fitness Instructor and Founder of Feel Sexy Over 40. Mom to 3 amazing daughters and grandmother to the most adorable little boy. Maria and her husband have been married for 35 years and have been through thick and thin. They moved to Woodstock, Ontario 3 years ago from Mississauga to slow down the pace of living and to be closer to farm-fresh food. Maria has always been physically active doing crazy stuff with her friends! She said that if she caught her kids doing these things now, she’d lock them up in their rooms.
When asked how she got started with her Fitness business, she replied, “When I found myself being the only female or being the oldest in the group I kept wondering where is everyone else? That sparked my interest in learning about fitness, nutrition and eventually becoming a coach in both areas. Along with physical development, I have been a personal development addict for over 10 years now, reading, listening, and watching everything I get my hands on.”
Maria’s Certifications
- Level 1 Crossfit and Primal Health Coach Certifications
- Chrystal and Colour Healing Certificates
- She is currently enrolled in a personal trainer course
- Next on the list is to become a High-Performance Coach
About “Feel Sexy Over 40”
When asked, What does your business name mean to you? Maria responded, “To me, this means feeling confident and powerful!”
Maria is a certified fitness, nutrition, and energy coach with 20 years of experience in the wellness industry. She prides herself on being able to help women over 40 get their bodies, minds, and spirits back in shape.
Services and Programs
- 1/2 hour initial Discovery Session
- One-on-one and small group training on location (in Oakville, Ontario) and virtual workout sessions.
- 12-week small group online program
- Monthly 1 hour live online coaching calls
- Weekly accountability emails with nutrition, fitness and mindset goals
- 6-month “Umm to Fabulous” small group online program
- Co-Hosts a private Facebook group for positive discussions, sharing, feedback & support, and fun challenges.
- Provides accountability for clients
- A 3-phase program called “Find Your Fire“
- Ongoing monthly and private Online Coaching
- 30-day Sanity Rescue Program
Maria’s Shares Her Transformation Story
The curse of being a naturally fit kid was that I thought it would always be that way. But after having children the pounds came on and stayed on. Before, I could have a bad weekend and by Tuesday I’d be back to normal. Now I had no idea how to deal with the extra inches. I thought, once the kids are older and I am not so sleep deprived, running around with the three of them I’ll have time to look after my body.
Well, 10 years later not much has changed but at this point all 3 of the kids were active in competitive sports. Through this experience was I first exposed to the importance of nutrition. What to feed them when and how to prepare them for competitions. What? This was a great revelation to me and I struggled to wrap my head around it but eventually with all the other parents we figured it out. As a family we at the same foods, which was good but my level of physical output was nowhere near theirs so even though I ate better, my weight still has not changed.
Two things happened around this time; I went to pick up my daughter from summer soccer camp and as I walked towards her, she finally started running towards me and said “Sorry Mommy, I didn’t recognize you, I didn’t know you were fat”. Wow!! That hit hard!!
A little later my sister and my oldest ganged up on me and went through my closet and threw out all my comfy clothes; meaning baggy, with holes, stretched out. I didn’t realize how bad it was.
I joined a gym, I joined a fitness challenge, I hired a personal trainer and it worked! For the first time in recent history I became strong and lean again. Then the challenge ended and the same gym routine stopped working. Then the pounds came back. I joined a weight loss clinic, I was hungry and miserable but this worked too… for a bit.
I finally found my stride when I discovered crossfit and with it the paleo diet. I worked hard and ate the foods that my body liked. (Paleo is wheat and dairy free; I had no idea I had food sensitivities.) I was surrounded with other athletes who busted their butts and ate to support their workouts. Cue the angels singing.
Fast forward to the coral dress; I bought that dress to my daughter’s wedding. I had 3 month to fit into it. In that dress everything showed. If I swallowed a peanut, you could have seen it go down. I worked with a nutrition coach/bikini model to dial in every ounce of food and I worked my ass off in the gym. I was so disciplined because there was no plan B, I wanted to look amazing.
I learned a ton about nutrition, fitness, and my body. That process has been the most empowering experience for me because I found out what I can do.
Now I am a bit more relaxed with my calories, I don’t always work out at that intensity but it has set me on my path.
Connect with Maria
Website: www.feelsexyover40.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EatDrinkSleepDan
Instagram: www.instagram.com.feelsexyover40
Free Online Fitness Classes with Maria
Maria will be teaching (3) LIVE online fitness classes in the MAWB Get Fit Facebook group. We’re calling these sessions Fitness Friday’s with Maria. For anyone who would like to follow along on, mark these dates on your calendar.
- Friday, May 1st at 9:00 am (30 minutes)
- Friday, May 8th at 9:00 am (30 minutes)
- Friday, May 15th at 9:00 am (30 minutes)
You can register for the fitness classes and get reminders and links to the recordings. Link here xx.
Maria was kind enough to provide a few workouts for us to print out as well.
Meet Other Members of the MAWB
- Puja Misra of Zoom Into Life Studio
- Fouzia Tariq, Florist, Simply Elegant by Fouzia
- Sarah Mulaner, RMT at Imagine Wellness
- Jane Cotnam, Family Insurance Advisor
- Tovey Blake, Founder, Above All Admin
- Ritu, Co-Owner, Greater Toronto Executive Centre
