SOMETIMES PEOPLE WANDER through life uncertain about the direction they want to go or how they’re going to get there.
For Janesia Pitt, a fitness athlete, it didn’t quite happen that way. It was the push from her mother to try several tasks that led her where she is right now.
Confident, strong and proud of her journey, she has found a way to marry the five years she worked in the hotel industry as a certified chef at Sandy Lane and Elegant Hotels, with her passion for fitness and being healthy, her business acumen, and caring nature.
She told EASY magazine that they came together after she “did a lot of things”.
“My mum tried to throw me in everything at a very young age. She did that to basically give me the exposure to see what I wanted to do in life. In 2010, I did garment making at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic. I can make all my clothes and I’ll have Fit Pitt apparel coming out soon – that’s a long-term goal.
“I am sharing my story because I was so confused before but now I’m glad I actually did these things because they helped me to fall in place and see who I am. It’s my story, my journey and now I know what I want to do in life.
“I realised that garment making was not for me so I did cosmetology with a woman named Donna, so I’m a qualified cosmetologist. After that, everything I did was culinary. I went to every single school – Youth, PomMarine, courses with chefs from France and I was actually considering going to La Cordon Bleu but I changed my mind.
“I wanted to take a break from it as the hotel industry is very demanding. After that I studied marketing and last, but not least, I did personal training, which I love. So I combined fitness with the cooking and the training, which goes as one because food plays a part in being fit. So, it worked out for me very, very well,” Janesia said, smiling.
Today she is a personal trainer and the owner of the one-year-old business Fit Pitt, which focuses on fitness and nutrition.
“I’m a fitness athlete sponsored by the Hilton. This is just my way of living, how I get ready for shows. I am revealing my secret to the public on how I prep.”
That secret is her range of juices she had displayed at her booth at the recent Girlfriends’ Expo.
“Fit fuel is a unique blend of fruits and vegetables combined with herbs and spices to promote weight loss and generally better health. The way our society is going people don’t really value their health so I’m actually trying to put it out there for people to take charge and make the best of it.
“Everything is structured around fitness. Before you start any fitness programme you need to shock your body so green power will actually help to eliminate those toxins that you’re carrying around. It basically flushes your system and the impurities in the skin. It acts as a natural diuretic.
“This business is relatively new; it’s still a baby. It’s been two months Fit Fuel has been going, but so far the demand is crazy”, she explained. “It’s been a fun journey for me because I’m a bikini athlete and I do boot camps as well. Every Sunday I do a boot camp because coming on to Crop Over the ladies want to get in shape so this is actually perfect for that.”
She has been competing for four years and she shared how she got involved in fitness.
“It’s quite funny actually. I was a pageant girl; I did Holetown Pageant and the [Samuel Jackman Prescod] Polytechnic as well. I went for surgery on my toe and the doctor said, ‘You know with your physique you should try bikini fitness’. I said okay because I’m very open minded, and said I would give it a try. They did an assessment and that was it.
“My first show I was really devastated because I came last but it was a learning experience. That was Nationals, basically prepping you for CAC (Central American Championships), where you get a chance to represent Barbados and get your pro card to become an IMBB pro. I was actually training for four months.
“The year before I came second and last year I came third. This year I’m back on the grind to actually claim victory. This year it’s going to be in Mexico so I’m trying to raise funds to get there. I call this fuelling my way to CAC,” she said, giggling. Her plan is to offer more boot camps, and when she gets her certification, will head to the region and then the rest of the world.
Girlfriends’ Expo was her “first major show” and she described the experience as “nerve-racking”.
Her unique blend of juices could soon be in supermarkets and she is excited about the prospects.
“I cook for my grandparents, who raised me. The doctor said we needed to monitor her blood sugar level, so when I started the juices she would have the green power (a citrus blend detox which breaks down into two different juices) and she liked the mint berry blast which is high in antioxidants and good for the respiratory system.
“Once I started this the doctor said the blood sugar was back to normal and to continue doing the juices as it was actually regulating her blood sugar.”
Janesia is equally excited about opening her restaurant – Fittables – offering takeout. She already has the location in Lodge Terrace.
““I’m very passionate about fitness. Before I used to do meal plans and deliver but it is too much of a task for me, because I also deliver the juices. This led me to have the open takeout restaurant. It’s about everything fit and it’s edible, so Fittables. It’s going to be all healthy. I’m doing vegan and a bit of everything – no pork though.” (GBM)
