About Rachael Attard

The “Women Cannot Get Bulky” Myth

Hey lovely, 

Have you ever heard any of these statements?

“Women don’t have enough testosterone to get bulky?”

“You have to lift heavy weights to slim down.”

“You have to get bigger to get smaller.” 

If you have, please read my story below.

How I Started My Fitness Journey 

Hi! My name is Rachael Attard and I am a fully qualified personal and group trainer and nutritionist. And this is my story.

I grew up in a fit household, my mum is a group fitness trainer (still to this day) and I used to go to her classes throughout high school. But when I was in my 20s, I started lifting heavy weights like everyone else, because that’s what I was told to do. It made my body bigger and bulkier, especially my legs, which wasn’t my goal. It also made me feel unhappy and unconfident in my body.

But whenever I expressed my concerns to trainers, they just brushed me off and said I couldn’t get bulky and I looked great with more muscle. And they told me that my goal should be to build as much muscle as possible, not slim down. Or my goal should be to exercise to build strength, not look a certain way.

I was so confused. Nobody understood my goal of wanting to be toned but stay lean. And nobody listened to me.

I found that almost all personal trainers put women on the exact same weight lifting program, regardless of their goals or their body type. Heavy weight lifting was always the answer.

But since this didn’t seem to be the answer I was looking for, I decided to take things into my own hands.

How I Became a Fully Qualified PT and Nutritionist

After university, I worked as an environmental scientist for 5 years, before deciding to follow my passion for health and fitness. This is when I decided to study fitness and nutrition.

It took me years of studying and working with clients to get where I am now! I did a lot of research and tested different workouts on myself and my clients. I learned exactly what you should do and avoid to tone up, but stay lean.

I am a fully qualified group and personal trainer. 

• I have a Certificate III and IV from the Australian Institute of Fitness (group training and personal training) (2014)

• And I have a Sports Nutrition certificate from the International Society of Sports Nutrition (2014)

I now have 10 years of experience training exclusively women, both in person and online. 

I developed a proven system that gets results, AND takes into account you goals and your body type. And I’m excited to share it with you!

All women have different goals on their fitness journey. If your goal is to build a substantial amount of muscle, or you really enjoy heavy lifting and exercises like CrossFit, then by all means go for it! I think being strong is amazing and do not let me or anyone else tell you otherwise. But perhaps my methods aren’t for you.

From Rachael Attard to Femme Nativa – How I Started my Femme Nativa Brand

If you want to train to stay fit and look toned but stay lean, or if you’ve had problems bulking up from exercise in the past and want to slim down, then my programs are for you! You can find more about them here.

To learn more about my methods, you can follow me on Instagram and read an interview I gave to one of the leading health and fitness magazines for women Women’s Fitness UK – How to Eat and Train for Your Body Type.

But that’s not all…

One thing I have learned is that when it comes to health and fitness, exercise and diet are only two parts of the bigger picture. For me, my health journey didn’t just stop here.

For part 2 of my story, please read About Femme Nativa. 

About Femme Nativa

Femme Nativa is a fitness brand created by the certified trainer, nutritionist, and Lean Legs Expert, Rachael Attard.

Here’s what she said about how Femme Nativa came to be. :)

For the past 10+ years, I have struggled with a whole list of health issues including poor gut health, binge eating, adrenal fatigue, hypothyroidism and leptin resistance. Every single health issue I experienced changed the way I looked and felt.

The medical system told me there were no answers. I was told that my symptoms were normal, or all in my head, or I just needed to fix my diet. In my mid 20’s, one specialist even told me that I just needed to wait until I got pregnant and my body would reset. When I did fall pregnant 6 years later, this couldn’t have been further from the truth!

I spent countless years and dollars on healing myself. My journey immersed me in medical journals, studies, and research (I love research!). It wasn’t easy, but I was determined to fix my health, and I did. Despite what you may hear or read about from “authoritative” sources, exercise and nutrition are only two parts of the bigger picture.

My health transformation took time and effort, but it was worth it. When I healed myself, I started to have friends and strangers ask for help. I didn’t realize it then, but my health challenges were a blessing as they allowed me to heal myself and help other women.

I feel blessed to have a thriving community of women forever changing their lives and health for the better. My goal is to help women worldwide feel great inside and out. To help achieve the dream, I created a new name for our community, Femme Nativa.

Femme Nativa means ‘feminine energy’. Femme Nativa is all about helping women, through our amazing community and health solutions. It’s also about where we focus our energy – not only through workouts, but in all areas of health and wellbeing. With Femme Nativa, we are going to go beyond just diet and exercise.

I look forward to being a part of your journey to better health, both on the inside and out.

Thanks for your support, and welcome to the Femme Nativa family.