Meet Marta Tomtas | Mindset & Habit Coach, Whole30 Certified Coach, Podcast Host

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marta Tomtas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marta, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My coaching business, Elevating Wellness Coaching, completely started from my own personal transformation. My whole life, I had really struggled with my weight, lots of limiting beliefs, and people-pleasing. From that, I didn’t know how to put myself first, how to follow through with the promises I kept making myself and kept feeling like I was stuck both mentally and physically. I had discovered Whole30 and my entire life changed. Not only from the concept of learning what foods work for my body and understanding my behaviors and habits with food, but also from the perpetual negative thoughts that were keeping me from becoming the person I had always dreamed of being: someone healthy, confident, and going after exactly what she wants. I lost 70 pounds, fell in love with lifting weights and moving my body in a way that feels good for me, quit smoking cigarettes, became sober, and actually started loving the person I was and respected myself.

Funny enough, I actually wasn’t even necessarily planning on starting my own business until I became a Whole30 Certified Coach, and then it just occurred to me that “wow, I actually just started my own business!” I wanted to broaden my coaching practice to mindset & habits because that was the basis of my own transformation. I have grown and transformed so much from mindset and habit work that I wanted to share my experience with other people and help as many women as possible to feel confident, have a purpose, fall in love with who they are, and realize that they have the power to create the life they’ve always wanted for themselves. I always have had an incredible ability to connect with people and have always wanted to help people, and this is exactly the way I was meant to do just that.

What should our readers know about your business?
Elevating Wellness Coaching is based on building a trusting, vulnerable relationship with my clients so that they can feel seen, heard, and take the steps to make lasting changes in their lives without feeling like they’re completely alone.

Starting a business has taken a lot of hard work and has opened up a lot of myself into digging in even deeper into my own mindset and habits. When I dove into going full time in coaching, it was one of the scariest and exciting things I’ve ever done and it hasn’t been easy. The biggest thing that has helped me continue on is understanding that I have the power inside me to make this business successful. I can look at all the things that haven’t been working for me and call myself a failure but I decided to look at all the things that haven’t worked in my business and use that as feedback instead. And I focus more on what is going right in my life (and in my business) than what is going wrong. I continue to keep shifting, showing up vulnerably in my own struggles with mindset and habits so that others see that it’s about progress not perfection. I will never dim my personality to make other people happy with how I should be running my own business and I’ve been open and authentic from the start – the more I’ve done this, even on my hardest days, the more I notice people thanking me for showing up as I am and helping them through their struggles in a relatable way.

What has truly helped me in the process of starting my business are my own mentors and coaches. It’s hard to trust a coach who doesn’t also get coached because there is always more growing and learning to do in all areas of our lives. Without having the accountability and guidance from my own coaches, I’m not sure if I would have ever even taken the plunge into going full-time and really stepping into my dream. Investing money and time in myself has been so incredibly valuable to me (even the coach who I hated working with taught me a lot about how I don’t want to do business, which is just as valuable as knowing how I do want to do business). Spending time with myself and continuing to invest my time and energy into the things that light me up – movement, spending time with loved ones, quality time with myself, eating all the good foods – continues to make it easier for me to keep making progress in my business while also enjoying the quality of my life.

I continue to walk my talk, everything that I teach my clients are things that I have applied and continue to practice in my own life. I learned that business is so much more about your energy than strategy and tactics. Showing up as my full, vibrant, foul-mouthed self has only brought more ideal clients into my life and more people who want to learn from me. I also learned that balance and structure are incredibly important, not only in business but in every day life. Working for myself from home has been a complete whirlwind – learning how to time manage and set boundaries has been the biggest challenge for me and is something I continue to work on (it’s easy to just keep working all the time when you have access to it 24/7).

My brand is so damn personal. My own personal transformation in self development and health is the foundation of my business and coaching practice. I know what it’s like to hate myself, I know what it’s like to look in the mirror and cry at the sight of “what I’ve become”, I know what it’s like to put limitations on myself and never fully believe I’m capable of seeing things through and becoming emotionally stable and healthy. I mean, I truly believed that I was “born to be fat” and then realized that that thought itself (my mindset) is what was keeping me from achieving any of the goals I was setting for myself. I started to fall in love with the process of growing, pushing myself to uncomfortable edges, learning and challenging myself. That process is where all the growth comes from and that’s what I teach and preach to my clients and audience. You are not your thoughts, you just have them. You can decide what you want to act on. I wasn’t born to be fat, I was born to live an inspired life full of laughter, growth, and connection and to help others find that within themselves. I grew my self confidence from challenging myself, the more I proved to myself I was capable of actually doing something the stronger my confidence has grown. I now am the host of a podcast called Born To Be Fat which is based on shedding your limiting beliefs and gaining inner freedom. I want to help change my corner of the world through my words and my coaching, to call you out and call you forth into your most authentic self. I have done and continue to do it for myself and want the same for you, too.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh gosh, what a question!

I was born and raised here in Colorado so doing anything outdoors is a must! I would take them on a hike for sure and spend at least some time in the mountains. I would tell you my favorite hiking spot but then I’d have to kill you for making it over-crowded! Just kidding, it’s already crowded – Beaver Brook/Chavez Trail is one of my favorite hikes to do and it’s only ten minutes past Red Rocks. Red Rocks is obviously another huge one that I feel like everyone will say! I love music (I worked in the music industry before making my way into health and wellness) so if we don’t go romp around Red Rocks to get some scenic views and some movement in, then definitely take them to dance our asses off at a show. Have a park day at Wash Park so we can play some games and soak in the sun.

I am now sober but if my friend is really wanting to go get some drinks, I would take them to the speakeasy B&GC in Cherry Creek. Easily one of the coolest bars in town and has the most talented bartenders, their drinks are out of control and getting in is a trip! Improper City is another go-to, they have both a bar and a coffee bar and their outdoor space is huge with food trucks! Such a great place to socialize!

When it comes to food, I absolutely love me some good Asian food. Sushi Katsu in Aurora for their all-you-can-eat sushi (the best deal and service in town, no matter how busy it is). Tokio is another huge favorite of mine! You HAVE to get their Diablo Ramen, it is easily the best ramen I’ve ever had! Other than Asian, I love Mr Oso, it’s an adorable Mexican restaurant with the cutest tropical decor. Flower Child is another favorite of mine with healthy options, lots of options for gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegetarian. Esters has some of the best pizza and salads I’ve ever had (The Prince Caspian is my favorite pizza with proscuitto, goat cheese, and figs! They also have the best gluten-free pizza dough. & Just BE kitchen – they have an entire Whole30 menu and they were featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives. Definitely need to get their Chicken No Dumplings and their green chili.

So yeah, we would be eating a lot!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My biggest shoutout is to Melissa Urban and the Whole30 Program. Without discovering this program and Melissa’s work, I would have never made such massive changes in my life and I wouldn’t have started my own business to help others transform their lives. Her work isn’t just Whole30 and your relationship to food, she has taught me about how to set healthy boundaries and different ways to shift my perspective so that I didn’t feel like such a victim in my life and how to build healthier habits in general.

All of the incredible coaches I have worked with and met through starting this business! My business is mainly run through Instagram and I have been able to connect, work with, and become friends with so many amazing women who have been the most incredible support system while navigating my coaching business. I have learned and grown so much from these women – there’s too many to name, but they know who they are!

I also have to recognize to my partner, Alex, for being here with me since the beginning of starting Elevating Wellness Coaching and always challenging me. He’s been the most incredible support system and is also the most badass salesman I’ve ever met, so he’s taught me a lot about sales and is an incredible mentor to me. I look up to him so much and he’s been my rock through this entire journey.

The book that really changed my life and is a catalyst to a lot of my growth is The Mastery of Self by Don Miguel Ruiz Jr. I read this book in 4 hours, I couldn’t put it down. I realized how much of my suffering in life was coming from the expectations I was putting on myself and others, the attachment to my identities, and that most of my identities were not even from my own creation but from the expectations/ideas of others. This is the book that I gift to all my private clients because it made such a massive shift in how I looked at things and how I went about my life.

Instagram: instagram.com/elevatingwellnesscoaching

Other: Born To Be Fat Podcast: anchor.fm/borntobefat

Image Credits
Sallie Sangiorgio Claire Knight