Have you ever been so exhausted and thought to yourself in the morning ‘How the fuck am I going to get through this day?’. I have and I’m sure many of you have too. Usually you get to take advantage of sick days and weekends to refuel, but others aren’t so lucky. I was one of those unlucky ones haha. Running your own business that requires you to be there 7 days a week is tough. Don’t get me wrong it’s pretty damn awesome I get to work for myself, but hell it was hard in the beginning. It’s still hard but at least now I get the occasional day off when I can. However at the start, getting up at quarter to 5 every morning for 10 hours of work every single day for 94 days straight was very exhausting. How did I get through it? Well, Exerstend got me through.

I worked 94 days straight in the busy kitchen of my new cafe before I even got a day to sleep in. My boyfriend and I opened the doors to All-Time Coffee Co. in Mermaid Beach in September 2015 and the first day we ever decided to close was New Year’s Day. We even opened Christmas Day haha what on earth were we thinking? Well anyway I survived and all thanks to taking Exerstend Beta-Alanine. I remember when the bottle ran out - those few days were a struggle but that was how I was able to recognise just how much taking this supplement was helping me. I didn’t feel as tired, I had more energy, my mood was better and I was able to power through each day without crawling into a ball on the floor of my shop. Then they released a new product (which might I add is my favourite supplement of all time) called Advanced Diet & Blood Sugar Support. Combined with taking the Beta-Alanine these products enabled me to improve my fitness, burn fat, control my blood sugars and balance my hormones. I noticed a significant improvement in my blood sugar levels after taking the ABS in just 2-3 weeks.

The owner/director and research behind the science of these products is Rhenan Nealon. I knew that the existence and drive of this company was because his father and brother both have Type 1 Diabetes. This made me want to trust in the product more and use them properly to help myself. I started doing finger prick tests more often to document the improved results. It made me want to learn more about what really is going into my body, what it gets turned into, and how it effects my metabolic profile. I found a whole new motivation to improve my quality of life. If this one guy (whom does not even have the disease) can dedicate years of difficult study and research just to help people like me then I owe it not just to him, but to myself, to try. All we can do is try.

Just 3 months ago my health was terrible. Although I had more energy and my blood sugar levels had slightly improved, I still wasn’t following an appropriate nutritious diet or exercise program. It says right there on the bottles that I needed to do this for optimum results. My hba1c was 13. This was when I started looking for more help with my diet and I found the book that helped me gain better control of my blood glucose levels. It gave me the knowledge I needed to change my diet and combined with taking Exerstend (and 3 months doing so) I was able to lower my hba1c down to 6.4.

I don’t know if many know this but for every 1% above a hba1c of 5, increases our mortality rate by 28%. With a hba1c of 13, I was killing myself. I actually felt like I was dying. But now I feel great. I’m healthy. All of my blood tests are within normal limits for someone my age and gender. I never imagined myself growing old and living a long happy life until now. Even though I still have diabetes, at least I have the comfort of knowing that this disease will not kill me. Why? Because now that I’m more aware of how everything works it’s enabled me to have the same blood sugars as a non-diabetic. 

Rhenan Nealon is who made me more aware. The positive influence of just one person trying to help is what helped me. He inspired me.

So yeah I would like to say thank you, Rhenan. Thank you for creating Exerstend. I’m so grateful for your constant support and for the friendship we have now. You saved my life.

I only hope my story can do the same for others.

So our first official home in LA was on Melrose Place. I know right, wtf Melrose Place? It was THE BEST location and we miss it so much. It definitely beats living smack bang in the middle of dirty old Hollywood right now.

Anyway, the first ever Alfred Coffee & Kitchen is right on Melrose Place opposite Croft Ave. We basically lived here every morning after the gym. We were lucky enough to help our mate Josh, the owner, raise his Instagram following up to 5k when they first got the profile up and running (@alfredcoffee). Now they are killing it! They do amazing collaborations with high profile fashion influencers. Alfred Coffee now have over 35k followers and are very well respected in the coffee and fashion industry here in LA. 

They opened up #AlfredInTheAlley not too long ago and one day we pretended we worked there haha.

They have also opened up a location in Brentwood and soon to be in Studio City too.

The coffee in incredible. Being Australian, we know good coffee. It’s hard to find places here in America where they actually do it right. So if you’re in town, make sure you check these places out. Alfred on Melrose Place have some vegan treats available in their bakery cabinet (the love heart chocolate zucchini muffin brownie thing is too good to resist) and they can make their coffees on soy or almond milk.

Alfred Coffee is a COOL place. Their packaging is fun and rad. Make sure you take a photo with their sleeves and hashtag them on IG #AlfredCoffee

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