About Laura
The road wasn’t easy…but it was WORTH IT!
Hello!
My name is Laura Painter and I’m here to help you!
But who am I? This is important for you when deciding on a fat/weight loss coach. I am certified as a Functional Diagnostic Nutritionist Practitioner (FDNP), Fat Loss & Weight Management Specialist (NESTA), Certified Nutritional Coach (NCI), Mind Pump Elite Coach and a prior Natural Figure/Sports Model Pro (PNBA/INBA).
Today, in my 60’s, I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been and easily maintaining a lean and slender body without struggle. I’m dedicated to help you do the same. My moto is ‘How Can I Help”.
The road to get here was rocky and full of diet failures, tears, and disappointments. Sound familiar? For me, it took over 40 years and tens of thousands of dollars plus extensive education to get to where I am today. My goal is to save you the time, money and pain I experienced.
I have truly not only found the missing pieces to “DECODE” my own fat loss but created a customized signature program to enable others to do the same in an easy-to-understand fashion and sustainable action steps. Following our methods, YOU can also end the suffering of the weight gain/loss cycle and achieve the sustainable healthy lean body you’ve always wanted.
My childhood was pretty normal. I was active, not overweight and happy. Then something radically changed around age 13. I woke up one day and a fat ugly girl I didn’t recognize was looking back in the mirror.
Feeling like I needed to change, I joined a gym, starting bike riding and began restrictive dieting. This became obsessive, unhealthy and pushed me further out of balance due to lack of education on how the human body works.
The erratic and obsessive food behaviors eventually branched out into drug and alcohol abuse to ease the emotional pain, pushing my body further off balance. Cravings kicked in and I began using food to feel better. This led to two suicide attempts and a series of therapists who prescribed mood enhancer drugs so I could feel better and get off the street drugs. When this also failed, I mustered the courage to leave behind the world of booze and drugs and went cold sober.
Being clean and sober was fantastic! I had more energy to exercise and loved the feeling of pushing my body to its limits. I began to feel like a new person, started distance running and began lifting heavy weights. But the stress of the heavy weights and constant pounding of the pavement caused damage to my knees, putting me on crutches and ending my new fitness lifestyle.
This threw me into a physical and emotional tailspin, and once again I turned to food to ease my pain. LOTS of food. Uncontrollable binges. I was miserable. The healthy euphoria I had experienced was gone.
This path of destructive behavior led me back to trying every diet I could get my hands on. I figured something had to stick. They all seemed to work temporarily, then they all failed. I was always hungry and could not shake the constant sugar cravings. This led to a routine of binge eating and purging.
So, I came up with a genius idea! I thought the only way to solve this food problem was to just stop eating food! Sounded reasonable, so I did that. I lost weight, quite a bit of it. But I also lost my health and began fearing food. This landed me in an out-patient treatment program for bulimia/anorexia. I attended regular meetings at a nearby hospital. But this made me feel worse – I felt like such a failure because the in-patient girls came to the sessions with their hospital robes and IV bags. I couldn’t even be a successful anorexic and earn a hospital stay – I was so jealous of them!
I was smart enough to know this was incorrect thinking, so I began seeing a hypnotherapist to ‘get my head on straight’. This really began helping, so I went to school and became a Certified Hypnotherapist to use the techniques on myself.
I started forming a much better relationship with food, started getting healthier, started exercising again and really turned the corner into a happier life.
I was so excited about this that I quit my full-time job and opened a hypnotherapy weight loss center and helped hundreds of other women make changes in their lives. But even with their many successes, there were still missing pieces. So I went back to the drawing board to figure out the rest of the puzzle.
Fast forward about 12 years I had done extensive education around fat and weight loss and found the missing pieces of the puzzle. Exercise was regular, foods were nutritious, emotions were stable. My body was changing rapidly with each new piece of the puzzle I found.
So much so, that I entered a bodybuilding & figure competition at the age of 41 just to see what I was capable of. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing but ended up winning first place in every category and the won the overall. Now granted it was a small show, but this was confirmation that my internal changes were reflected in my physical body. It catapulted me to the top of the world emotionally. I was fueled with excitement and new vigor and competed for a couple years.
It was truly an amazing time, but it did take time away from my family, so I left competing to focus on my kids, family, and career.
But the new habits were now in place, and I stuck with the workouts, eating right and continuing to educate myself in the field of health and fitness.

Laura (Silvester) Painter, Copper Classic – 1st Place Overall, – Age 41

Laura Painter, NPC 1st Place Masters Figure, – Age 54
At the age of 54, I was feeling even better about my health and body than I did when competing in my 40’s and decided to compete again.
I hired a competition coach and although it was pretty scary, I did 3 competitions in the year. My most memorable moment was placing 2nd to a 22-year-old. Standing next to her at age 54, gave me the confidence to know I had arrived, and age did not matter! I’d figured it out. I had DECODED my body and formed a relationship with it that WORKED!
This led to competing again at age 57 and at age 60 where I earned my long-awaited Pro Card.
The stage was now set for the rest of my life – I KNEW I was going to have to teach what I knew to others. I could not keep this information to myself. So, I got to work!
During this time, I delved into serious study, 1000’s of hours of courses, scientific research, obtaining certifications, and filling every spare moment with ongoing education.
I become associated with some of the top mentors in the health space, all of whom helped fill my cup in different ways. For each hour I spent on research, the results within my own body quadrupled.
What started out in life as a huge, mismatched puzzle turned into my personal masterpiece of health and well-being that I now teach to others.
Everyone has a different body, story, struggles and challenges. At DECODING FAT LOSS, we utilize our signature system in a customizable program that addresses what YOU need.
My goal is to save others the pain, suffering, time and cost of trying to figure out each piece of their own puzzle. With guidance, I know everyone can find the fulfillment I have found.
The stage competitions were only a very small piece of the work. The larger body of work is what I am here to teach YOU. Because I AM YOU. I have hurt. I have struggled. I have failed. And the only difference between you and me is time and knowledge. I’m just a few steps ahead of you.
Let me reach back, take your hand, coach and mentor you, and bring you onto this wonderful journey of self-healing, education, body re-composition, self-love, body truths and life-long happiness – living in the body YOU want to live in for the rest of your life!
Certifications & Competition Placings
Age 60
Best Female Poser – 2021 INBA/PNBA Copper Classic
Best Female Presentation – 2021 INBA/PNBA Copper Classic
1st Place – Fitness/Sports Model – 2021 INBA/PNBA Copper Classic
1st Place – Ms. Figure Open Short – 2021 INBA/PNBA Copper Classic
1st Place – Ms. Figure Ultra Grandmasters 60-69 – 2021 INBA/PNBA Copper Classic
2nd Place – Master’s 45% – 2021 NPC Natural Western USA
2nd Place – Master’s 40+ – 2021 NPC Natural Western USA
3rd Place – Master’s 35+ – 2021 NPC Natural Western USA
3rd Place – Figure Open A – 2021 NPC Natural Western USA
Age 54
1st Place – Masters Figure 47+ – 2015 NPC Terminator
1st Place – Masters Figure 35+ – 2015 NPC Terminator
2nd Place – Figure Open Short – 2015 NPA Terminator
1st Place – Masters Figure 47+ – 2015 NPA Arizona Open
3rd Place – Masters Figure 35+ = 2015 NPC Arizona Open
1st Place – Masters Figure 47+ – 2015 NPC Natural Western USA
5th Place – Novice Short Open Figure – 2015 NPC Natural Western U
Age 41
3rd Place – Open Bodybuilding Lightweight – 2002 INBF Best of The West
3rd Place – Masters Women’s Bodybuilding – 2002 INBF Best of The West
Age 57
1st Place – Ms. Figure Overall (all ages) – 2018 INBA/PNBA Copper Classic
1st Place – Masters Figure – 2018 INBA/PNBA Copper Classic
1st Place – Grandmasters Figure – 2018 INBA/PNBA Cooper Classic
Age 40
3rd Place – Ms. Figure America Short – 2001 NABBA Oxygen Magazine
5th Place – Figure Short – 2001 NPC Western Regional
1st Place – Ms. Figure – 2001 INBA/PNBA Las Vegas Nationals
1st Place – Open Women’s Bodybuilding Lightweight – 2001 INBA/PNBA Universe Forever National
1st Place – Masters Women’s Bodybuilding – 2001 INBA/PNBA Universe Forever National
1st Place – Masters Women’s Bodybuilding – 2001 ABA/INBA US Natural Las Vegas
1st Place – Open Women’s Bodybuilding Lightweight – 2001 ABA/INBA US Natural Las Vegas
1st Place – Overall Women’s Bodybuilding – 2001 ABA/INBA Copper Classic
Best Female Poser – 2001 ABA/INBA Copper Classic
Most Symmetrical Female – 2001 ABA/INBA Copper Classic
1st Place – Women’s Bodybuilding Open Lightweight – 2001 ABA/INBA Copper Classic
1st Place – Women’s Novice Bodybuilding – 2001 ABA/INBA Copper Classic
1st Place – Masters Figure 40-49 – 2001 ABA/INBA Copper Classic
1st Place – Women’s Masters Bodybuilding – 2001 ABA/INBA Copper Classic
1st Place – Ms. Figure Overall – 2001 ABA/INBA Copper Class