“You can achieve anything in your life if you’re a self-disciplined person,” said Parisa Googe, personal trainer and co-founder of Fitrix Foods, a brand of energy bites that Parisa developed for her clients. She launched the brand last year with the help of her husband, Wade, and continues to produce them here in Plano.
It was one of Parisa’s clients – a physician – who inspired Parisa to come up with a healthy snack. Parisa’s goal was to make sure Fitrix Energy Balls didn’t compromise taste for health benefits, so with some research, a lot of trial-and-error and enthusiastic tasters, she prepared four different flavors that were a match in taste, energy and protein: dark chocolate peanut, coconut cashew, apple walnut and raisin almond. Every bite-sized ball contains vegan powder to increase protein content and help with appetite, plus flax and chia seeds, which are high in calcium, potassium, magnesium and omega 3. There’s rose powder in the apple walnut variety, which is soothing and good for anxiety.
“Being self-disciplined requires you to find something that motivates you,” Wade added. And for Parisa that moment arrived when she was visiting her sister at University of Texas at Dallas, and her lifestyle changed dramatically. They would eat fast food every day, and not think much of it, until Parisa got a wake-up call months later.
“One day I’m trying to open the door, and my pants just bust open,” Parisa said. “The next day my sister took me to Lifetime, and it was like a wonderland to me.” The gym turned into a happy place because she realized that taking care of her body also stimulated other parts of her life. It was all-encompassing and addicting but in a self-improvement way.
When her sons started gaining excess weight and losing confidence, Parisa signed them up for martial arts. When they protested, she told them, “If you don’t go to the martial arts class, you don’t go to school.” Her son, who was in middle school at the time, was sitting in the car, crying – he really believed his mom. But discipline paid off because not only did he lose weight, he moved on to become a black belt, teach classes and find something that he truly enjoyed. “I love the way he was coming home, with a sweaty face and red cheeks,” Parisa says.
Her influence transcends family; one of Parisa’s clients lost 100 pounds and now wants to become a personal trainer herself. The client even had a bachelorette party with an exercise theme, complete with workout clothes and planking.
Both cancer survivors, Parisa and Wade’s perspectives transformed. A new form of simplicity touched their lives. “We want something our whole family can do together,” Parisa says, and Fitrix Energy Balls are a perfect blend of what Parisa and Wade value most in life: love, health and balance.
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