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Low Carb MD Podcast

From Five-Hundred Pounds to CrossFit Coach | Athena Perez - E442

Low Carb MD Podcast

Drs. Brian Lenzkes & Tro Kalayjian

Medicine, Mental Health, Health & Fitness

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 11 May 2026

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Athena Perez is a CrossFit Level 2 trainer, speaker, author, and founder of Scaled Nation Training, where she helps coaches and larger-bodied athletes navigate sustainable health and fitness transformation. After losing more than 200 pounds from a peak weight of nearly 500 pounds, Athena turned her personal journey into a mission to support others through education, functional fitness, and advocacy. She is the creator of the "Working with Larger Bodies" seminar, author of Lifting the Wait, and a featured voice on platforms including CrossFit Journal, CBS, and Good Morning America.  

In this episode, Dr. Tro and Athena talk about…

  • (00:00) Intro

  • (02:04) How Athena began her CrossFit journey

  • (04:57) Food addiction and adverse childhood events

  • (11:40) Emotional eating

  • (14:27) How a dysfunctional 11 year relationship shaped Athena

  • (24:37) When Athena realized that she needed to make a change 

  • (29:14) How Athena finally discovered the truth about good nutrition

  • (32:33) Food addiction vs binging

  • (37:16) How CrossFit changed Athena's life

  • (40:16) How two knee replacements effected Athena's mental and physical health

  • (42:43) How Athena's experience with a bone infection led her to discover fasting

  • (47:39) Athena's 40 day fast experience

  • (53:08) How faith played a role in Athena's rollercoaster health journey

  • (55:29) Outro/plugs

For more information, please see the links below. Thank you for listening!

Links:

Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.lowcarbmd.com/

Athena Perez:

Dr. Brian Lenzkes: 

Dr. Tro Kalayjian: 

Toward Health App

Join a growing community of individuals who are improving their metabolic health; together. 

Get started at your own pace with a self-guided curriculum developed by Dr. Tro and his care team, community chat, weekly meetings, courses, challenges, message boards and more. 

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/doctor-tro/id1588693888 

Google: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.disciplemedia.doctortro&hl=en_US&gl=US

Learn more: https://toward.health/community/

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Welcome to the Low Carb MD Podcast.

0:03.2

No one is beyond help.

0:04.9

No one is beyond hope.

0:07.2

Nothing said on the Low Carb MD podcast is medical advice.

0:11.3

Please consult your own doctor before making any lifestyle changes.

0:20.5

Welcome to the Low Carb MD podcast. It is Tro Collesian here again with you all, and I'm excited

0:28.2

about today. I got a recommendation from a close friend of mine. Honestly, one of the most badass

0:33.8

physicians that I know, Dr. Amy West, she's a physiatrist with an upcoming book.

0:40.7

So hopefully we'll get her on on the podcast soon and talk about it.

0:43.8

And she said, Trow, I have a guest for you.

0:46.8

Somebody who is right up your alley, you know, she cares about spirituality and faith,

0:52.9

and she talks about it.

0:55.1

She's a CrossFit beast.

0:57.3

And on top of that, she is fasted.

1:00.8

She's, she is a big supporter of fasting.

1:04.2

And she said, you got to get her on the podcast.

1:07.5

So I reached out to her, our guest today, who's here, Athena Perez.

1:14.2

Thank you. And she is an author. She is a CrossFit athlete. She is a speaker. And she's a highly

1:23.9

recommended by my good friend, Dr. Amy West. And I'm excited to meet her, talk to her, talk about her journey, talk about her faith,

1:32.9

talk about fasting, talk about CrossFit, and anything else she thinks is worth talking about.

1:38.7

So, you know, Ms. Perez, it's very nice to have you here.

1:42.6

Thanks for coming on and thanks for taking your time

...

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