~ Performance nutrition for a fitter you ~
It’s about time that Philipsburg had a proper “healthy” restaurant with a very broad selection of meals/snacks/dessert options. Fit Foods owner Catalina Ahlip along with her team explains that Fit Foods is for everyone: “People with diabetes, celiac disease, nut allergies or not, people with basically all kinds of needs.”
Are you into Paleo? Are you Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian? Are you recovering from surgery, pregnancy or some chronic illness? Are you a gym fanatic and want to be on top of your nutrition? Maybe you haven’t seen a gym in years and you now want to make a healthy new start but aren’t sure as to how as yet? Whatever it is you are looking for, Fit Foods can fulfil your needs, and their aim is to deliver healthy and interesting plates, no matter what type of eating plan you follow. Just know that when you order a Fit Foods meal, it is all-natural, organic and as fresh and locally sourced as much as possible.
Catalina has an extensive background in experimenting with nutrition and eating styles, and has a professional career in fitness. Her journey started after gaining weight when she had her first child at 27. “That got me to being 45 pounds heavier. I went from that to competing for a bikini fitness competition where I quickly learned stage fitness and nutrition. I also got certified and started teaching, personal training, then got certified in spinning and started spinning classes.” [This reporter has attended (and enjoyed by the way) many of Catalina’s spinning classes.] Catalina explained the difficulty of being a personal trainer but also having to teach her clients how to eat to meet their goals “Who can commit to such strict eating plans?”
Catalina is very experienced in various ways with different certifications and trainings in the fitness industry. In 2010, she acquired her “National Council on Strength and Fitness” (NCSF) certification online and has since continued acquiring more including her “Original ‘Spinning’ Instructor certification,” “TRX (suspense training)” certification, and “Physioball” certification – all from the USA! In 2011, she received her “Pre/Post Natal Exercise and Yoga” and “Original Kettle Bell by Dragon Gate” certifications.
By the time Catalina was pregnant with her second child, Vlad, she was ready to follow the vegetarian and vegan methods of eating: “With the second child, I gained only around 32 pounds, but what I started to realize is that if you apply basically any eating method strictly, they ALL work.”
About four years ago, Catalina learned about Ancestral Nutrition, where one eats foods that are high in protein, no gluten, and lots of veggies and fruits that are as organic as possible. During her third pregnancy, she gained only 25 pounds with this type of nutrition. “I also learned about Crossfit around the same time as ancestral nutrition and continued it throughout pregnancy.” It sounds unbelievable, but Catalina came out of the hospital with abs. I saw the photos and was flabbergasted. They were so impressive! I thought it was only possible for celebrities – really! It is refreshing to see somebody who’s very open about food, especially somebody as fit as Catalina.
“I don’t think there is a wrong nutrition plan or belief; just as long as you apply the proper amounts of proteins carbs and fats.” Based on all these types of nutrition and needs, having contact with people in the same field of training and fitness; teaching people how to eat and maintain their goals long-term, Catalina gets right down to the point: “People understand but they don’t apply it.”
How Fit Foods got started
“All this love for beautiful fruits and veggies that I express to my friends and family, I thought, ‘Why don’t I put it out there and present it to the whole island?’”
Catalina takes the most local, the freshest and most organic foods she can find: “I try my best to always utilize the Caribbean region as much as I can and ingredients from nearby South America.” Her advice to those of you trying to live a healthy lifestyle or trying to make a new healthful start? “Keep it simple; keep it real; stay away from the canned foods. Shop only one area of the supermarket (produce isles) then you are safe. Stay away from GMOs, hormones, pesticides.” Catalina says this is very difficult for people to do; so as they are working on it, there is now also Fit Foods with meals, snacks and desserts ready on-the-go to help them maintain that healthy lifestyle.
Part of Catalina’s amazing team is the well-known personal trainer and bodybuilding competitor Allison Williams. Catalina is quite grateful to have Allison on her team “I needed somebody as passionate as I am. I needed a team who knows what the ingredients are doing to your body – that was extremely important to me. Allison has a lot more experience in the fitness world than myself.”
Another team member is Yadira ‘La Latina’ – as Catalina calls her. “We come from everywhere and we all have a love for what we are doing. We are a team; a nutrition restaurant. You come in with a condition or request and we fulfil it.”
Allison Williams
Allison Williams is a known name in SXM’s fitness world. As a child, I was a fan of her fitness and nutrition column in The Daily Herald’s “Health” edition called “Diary of Allison Williams.” Just like many other young girls on St. Maarten, I also looked up to Allison, especially when I would see her bodybuilding competition photos in the newspaper. Allison is an International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) professional athlete, an IFBB Continental Certified Judge, and a certified Personal Trainer, who has provided training services in private homes and/or for gym clientele.
As a member of the Technical Committee, she has worked in collaboration with the Ministry of Sports along with representatives from other sports organizations to draft the new Sports Policy for St. Maarten. She has also hosted and/or organized many large fitness events on the island, such as the 2011 Allison Williams Fitness Extravaganza, which consisted of the first children fitness competition, in addition to a bikini segment, body fitness and bodybuilding competition.
Allison: “I’ve always loved cooking forever. When I started competing, I had to eat a certain way. I wasn’t fond of this as Fitness and Nutrition plans are kind of tasteless. I wanted to move to a different level than just the physical aspect; on a small scale, most of my clients were guys who didn’t want to cook for themselves. When Catalina approached me, I was like ‘Whoa-interesting!’ (It almost sounded too good to be true.) This is more within my scope of what I have been doing. Being here at Fit Foods allows me to educate our clients.”
I’m listening to this while sipping my fabulous shake that Catalina put together for me, made of pineapple, mango, mint and ice and a little Heavenly Water. It is absolutely delish. Catalina says my drink is an anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant drink, which makes it even better. If you’re hanging out at Fit Foods waiting for your order, you can educate yourself as there is some reading material around, such as the Gerson Therapy book, The Zone and The Paleo Solution. The same applies if you’re planning on taking a seat to eat right there.
A vegan lemon cheesecake comes out, and it looks so delicious. I get to try some and it is really yummy. I feel good knowing that it is nutritious. The Fit Foods menu, which they regularly post to their Facebook page, changes daily. Fit Foods boasts high quality ingredients. Catalina does this from her heart: “We sell as much nutrition as we can to our clients, offering them healthy nutrition based on foods that nourish your body, and is free from the major health hazards of food industrialization.”
Want to order or find out more? Send them a message on Facebook: Fit Foods SXM, give them a call or just pop in for their specials and fresh juices! Fit Foods is located on A. Th. Illidge Road, next to Heavenly Water and Sunny Foods Supermarket.
Contact 588-3200 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
