About Balanced Habits
Why I Do What I Do
My name is Carolyn Fetters. In addition to being the founder of Balanced Habits, I was also a multi-location fitness business owner, with my husband, Paul. Together we have been in the fitness industry for 30 years.
I want to share something very personal to me…
I was not raised by health-conscious parents. I decided early on this was not going to be my fate. In college I had a professor, who knew my mother, say to me “you’re lucky you’re going to have to worry about your weight because it will propel you to take care of yourself.” In most cases, this might upset someone, but in my case I understood what he meant and built my life’s work around that one statement.
I do have a weight problem and have to watch what I eat, as I gain weight easily. I have to exercise, not only for my health but also to ensure I don’t gain weight as I age. I make conscious decisions each day to take care of myself by eating properly and exercising because I want to live a healthy and fulfilling life. I have practiced this behavior literally my entire life. The payoff of my choices is so worth the effort.
I had three siblings. I lost both my brother and one of my sisters to obesity-related causes in their mid-50’s. Fortunately, my surviving sister is taking active measures to change her lifestyle. A goal of mine from early on was not to follow in my family’s footsteps when it comes to their poor eating habits. This has been the catalyst for developing my deep interest in fitness and placing profound importance on nutrition.
For over twenty-five years now, I’ve been a nutrition expert and counselor. It’s my passion. Having said that, it seemed only natural to apply my energy and enthusiasm for nutrition in a way that would help people throughout North America to better understand how to make better and more healthful nutrition choices to support their own goals. I have now worked directly, and indirectly, with approximately 200,000 people with the nutrition programs I created to educate people how to eat real food in the right portions to support their body and lifestyle. I coined this term a Balanced Habits “Füducation.”
Meet Our Team
Meet the dedicated professionals who are on a mission to transform lives and bring the Diet Industry into the Fitness Industry–where it belongs.
Carolyn was raised in Orange County, CA and lived there for the majority of her life. Upon graduation from high school, Carolyn moved to Maui, HI for a year and took some time to travel around Europe. Eventually she started the local J.C., Orange Coast College. She graduated with an A.A. in Adaptive Fitness and moved on to UCLA where she completed her B.A. in Sociology. From there she stayed in the LA area. She met her future husband, Paul, a Personal Trainer at the Original Gold’s Gym, and they married two years later. Together Paul and Carolyn were joined by four incredible children, Mattison, twins, Sara and Katy and youngest, Daisy. They moved south, back to Orange County, CA to raise the family and build their life. Over the years Carolyn and Paul opened three Personal Training Studios, where they began what is now called Balanced Habits in 1995.
When the children were older, Carolyn officially set out to build Balanced Habits into what it is today. Carolyn is an avid distance runner and enjoys taking her Akita out for daily runs along the beach path in Huntington Beach, where she has resided for 24 years in the same family home they moved to from Venice, CA. Carolyn and Paul have been happily married since 1989. They recently sold their three gyms and Paul is now officially a team member at Balanced Habits. The company headquarters is located in Costa Mesa, CA, the city where Carolyn was raised.
Some of Carolyn’s accomplishments include:
● Associate Arts Degree, Adaptive Fitness, Orange Coast College
● Bachelor of Arts Degree, Sociology, UCLA
● Continued Education in Fitness/Nutrition at SMCC/UCLA
● Self-published Author of two healthy family-style cook books
● Developer of “The TakeDown™ CHALLENGE
● Developer of “The TakeDown™ LifeStyle
Paul has diligently studied the effects of nutrition and exercise on human physiological performance for more than thirty years. Paul has worked directly with amateur as well as top professional athletes to prepare them for competition and give them the benefit of the Balanced Habits edge. Having been a fitness business owner for the past 17 years of three successful facilities Paul understands the need for a turn-key nutrition program that is easy to implement and delivers great results for the customer.
Some of Paul’s accomplishments include:
• 2017 Grand Masters National Bodybuilding Championships
• 2009 California Bodybuilding Championships
• 2007 Grand Masters National Bodybuilding Championships
• 1997 Masters National Bodybuilding Champion
• 1996 California State Ironman Champion
• Participated in over 44 Bodybuilding competitions
• Top fitness trainer in Los Angeles & Orange County for over 35 years
• Member of IDEA Foundation
• Health Sciences, UCLA
• Level II Exercise & Physiological Science Certification
Autumn Gillespie has her Bachelor’s of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from Long Beach State University. With a lifelong love for sports and athletics, Autumn knew she wanted to pursue a career in the health and/or fitness. She held a handful of positions in other disciplines in the nutrition world, but found her ultimate desire to be in prevention and education rather than maintaining the damage that may have already been done.
Autumn was a personal trainer for a number of years and has continued her education with other accredited nutrition certifications. Being with Balanced Habits since the formation of the company, Autumn has played many roles including the initial position of a certified Food Coach in the Fetters’ fitness facility supporting clients on the Balanced Habits programs. This is where Autumn and Carolyn were able to creatively work on the programs and increase their value and potential impact on clients’ lives. Her current role at Balanced Habits is to manage the everyday operations of the growing company. She also is the Head Food Coach and with multiple responsibilities included in this role.
To summarize it best, Autumn “coaches Food Coaches to become better coaches.” This requires staying up to date with client issues and behaviors, current nutrition and health trends in addition to ongoing account management procedures. In her free time Autumn considers herself an avid, “gym rat” which is actually where she met her husband a number of years ago. She also enjoys cooking, watching football, being outside, snowboarding, laughing and spending time with her dog LittleFoot.
Matthew Santos began in the art field by receiving his BFA in Graphic Design from Central Michigan University and later his Master’s in Art Management from Columbia College Chicago. After a short stint in the health and fitness industry, Matthew found his way back into competitive gymnastics where he once competed as an athlete but discovered his knack for coaching as an adult. After many years coaching, he still wanted to pursue his interests in design and marketing where he found a home at Balanced Habits as the coordinator of the company's marketing and brand identity efforts. Other interests of Matthew’s include hiking, traveling, and writing.
Sara Colman graduated from the University of Tennessee, moving to California early in her career, where she has worked as a Clinical Dietitian, a Diabetes Educator and Nephrology dietitian.
Sara has over 35 years’ experience working in dialysis in Southern California, and has been a DaVita dietitian since the beginning. Her love for the renal area led her to a full time dialysis career. Sara has a passion for food and cooking, and is co-author “Cooking for David: A Culinary Dialysis Cookbook”.
Sara is currently Manager of DaVita.com Nutrition where she has helped create nutrition content, tools and recipes for kidney patients. She also works with Nutrition Services to train new Divisional lead dietitians and is responsible for the Expand Your Expertise on CKD Nutrition continuing education program for non-renal dietitians.
Sara is a resource for many in the renal community, participating in professional and patient education events. She has served on the board of the Renal Support Network and continues to participate in the Renal Teem Prom and other events.
In addition to her work in dialysis, Sara was a Nutrition Instructor at Long Beach City College teaching diet therapy classes. She developed and taught hands-on cooking classes, “Cooking for Kidney Diets” to kidney patients, friends and family as well as students and health professionals.
Meet Our Food Coaches
Meet the motivated and talented nutrition experts who are ready to support and guide you to your weight loss goals!
Autumn Gillespie has her Bachelor’s of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from Long Beach State University. With a lifelong love for sports and athletics, Autumn knew she wanted to pursue a career in the health and/or fitness. She held a handful of positions in other disciplines in the nutrition world, but found her ultimate desire to be in prevention and education rather than maintaining the damage that may have already been done.
Autumn was a personal trainer for a number of years and has continued her education with other accredited nutrition certifications. Being with Balanced Habits since the formation of the company, Autumn has played many roles including the initial position of a certified Food Coach in the Fetters’ fitness facility supporting clients on the Balanced Habits programs. This is where Autumn and Carolyn were able to creatively work on the programs and increase their value and potential impact on clients’ lives. Her current role at Balanced Habits is to manage the everyday operations of the growing company. She also is the Head Food Coach and with multiple responsibilities included in this role.
To summarize it best, Autumn “coaches Food Coaches to become better coaches.” This requires staying up to date with client issues and behaviors, current nutrition and health trends in addition to ongoing account management procedures. In her free time Autumn considers herself an avid, “gym rat” which is actually where she met her husband a number of years ago. She also enjoys cooking, watching football, being outside, snowboarding, laughing and spending time with her dog LittleFoot.
