Ron Shinkle, founder of the IntraLean Advantage, is a certified weight-loss and nutrition coach, a strength training expert and author, but more than anything, he’s a guy who understands. Ron knows what it’s like to be overweight and to feel despair, and he knows what it takes to overcome food addiction and low self-esteem. For more than 25 years, Ron has been guiding clients on the thrilling journey to fitness, wellness and self-confidence. He brings a lifetime of experience – along with a relentlessly optimistic attitude – to his weight-loss and strength-training practice. “It’s so exciting to watch my clients transform their bodies and their lives. This is truly my passion,” Ron says.

This passion for teaching, combined with the urging of his clients for organized, intelligent information, inspired Ron to write:

“The book provides all the tools for achieving optimum health and wellness for the long term – and creating the lean, healthy body that everyone deserves,” says Ron.

Ron has the experience and the enthusiasm to help people transform their bodies, and he also has the credentials. Ron is certified by the American Council on Exercise as a personal trainer, weight-management consultant and longevity specialist. “My approach is based on nutritional and exercise science, human physiology and practical experience,” Ron says. In addition to offering weight-loss and nutritional coaching, Ron teaches clients of all ages and fitness levels about the science and art of high-efficiency strength training.

Ron lives in Bend, Oregon where he currently counsels hundreds of clients on nutrition and strength training. In his free time, you can typically find Ron riding his mountain bike, running the river trail, cruising around on his motorcycle, skiing the local slopes, or whipping up a gourmet meal (Ron loves good food).

Like most of us, Ron was raised in a family of addiction. “Our addictions ranged from smoking to alcohol and make-you-fat foods,” he says. “We were as dysfunctional as they come. But eventually I realized that I had a choice about all of these things. I was tired of being fat and knew it was up to me to change.”

And change he did. First he focused on the cigarettes and alcohol. These addictions were more easily overcome, Ron says, because he simply quit the substances. But then he had to deal with the underlying emotional issues that fed those addictions. “Food was much more difficult because I couldn’t exactly quit eating. And I had no knowledge at the time what good nutrition was.”

The trick was to replace the bad food with the good, and hand-in-hand, replace the destructive emotional triggers with confidence and self-esteem. This kind of nutritional evolution is symbiotic with emotional and intellectual growth.

It took years of therapy, the study of human physiology and nutritional science, and clinical experimentation with countless diets and exercise plans, but Ron ultimately learned the most effective methods of redefining the body. He has combined these tools into the IntraLean Advantage.

Ron offers a long term, realistic approach for anyone who is committed to redefining his or her physical self and achieving optimal health and wellness. But it’s not a simple, overnight fix. “Much of it will be up to you,” Ron says. “I provide a rational, scientific road map to your success. Your responsibility will be to trust in me and believe that you are capable and deserving of all good things, including a fit, healthy body. The greatest gift you can bestow on yourself is a happy healthy life.”