Today we’d like to introduce you to Tracy Bui.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Oh man, it’s been a journey to get to where I am now, and there’s still more ahead. I wasn’t an active person growing up, and I had no idea where to start when it came to eating “healthy.” After a car accident at 17 left me with chronic pain, I was told that physical activity wouldn’t help. That just reinforced my belief that exercise was bad for me.
But as my body image worsened, I started working out on and off in my 20s. Things got really tough during culinary school, where I inevitably gained weight. Eventually, I found some consistency with a gym routine and ate as healthily as I knew how at the time. I realized how good I felt and thought learning more about nutrition could help me feel even better, so I switched my major to nutrition.
Then I became obsessed. With numbers. With being perfect. With working out. My chronic back pain faded (unless I stopped moving), and I looked the best I ever had, but I also lost balance. I tried everything, overtrained, created new chronic injuries, and eventually developed a mild eating disorder. I became the unhealthiest version of myself.
After all that hard work, I lost everything, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I realized I had been focusing too much on what I thought the world expected of me, pushing myself to extremes. And as someone coaching others at the time, I knew something had to change.
So I retrained my mind to listen to my body and its needs. I healed my relationship with food and movement, and now I help others do the same. I show them they don’t have to obsess over every detail to be their best selves. There’s so much value in learning to be happy with yourself most of the time, not just for a couple of months out of the year.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was very hard.
I used to cry daily with chronic pain for nearly 8 years.
I lost all sense of myself and went into a deep pit when I ended up screwing up my hormones and developing a mild eating disorder. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a strength and nutrition coach who helps people rebuild their relationship with food and movement. I work mostly with foodies, overachievers, and people who are already working out but still feeling stuck, physically or mentally. A lot of my clients have been in the gym for years, tried all the diets, and still feel like they’re constantly chasing something out of reach. That’s where I come in.
I specialize in helping people shift away from the all-or-nothing mindset. I focus on strength training, functional movement, and sustainable nutrition without the restriction or obsession. I’m known for making the process feel doable, for meeting people where they are, and for helping clients get results without giving up their favorite foods or constantly feeling like they’re falling short.
What I’m most proud of is the way I coach people to listen to their bodies. I’ve seen clients go from punishing themselves in the gym to actually enjoying their workouts, from fearing food to understanding how to fuel their bodies, from feeling broken to feeling strong and in control. That transformation, mental and physical, is what lights me up.
What sets me apart is that I’ve lived both extremes. I’ve been the person obsessing over every calorie and workout, and I’ve been the person who felt completely lost. I blend science with lived experience, structure with flexibility, and I lead with compassion. My goal isn’t just to help people look better. It’s to help them feel better, in every sense of the word.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Something that surprises a lot of people is that I was never athletic growing up, and I actually used to hate working out. I hate sweating and made any excuse not to. Most people assume I’ve always been fit or that I’ve always loved the gym, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I didn’t start working out consistently until my mid-20s, and even then, it was more about punishing myself than supporting myself.
Another thing people don’t always realize is that I went to culinary school before I ever studied nutrition. My love for food has always been there, it just took me a long time to learn how to enjoy it without guilt. That’s a huge part of why I coach the way I do now. I’m not the bland diet, you’ve got to count your macros kind of coach. I teach people how to fuel their bodies and their lives because food should be satisfying, not stressful.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/tracybui_coaching
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tracybuicpt
