Providing a healthy alternative

Wonder what the most promised New Year's Resolution is for 2020?

If losing a few pounds, and eating healthier is on your menu, then you're right on target with millions of other Americans.

Unfortunately, 80 percent of folks pledging, tend to lose their resolve by the end of February. 

Lucky for San Marcans, Emily and Hom Weusi, owners of Weusi Wellness Café and Str8 Training, are standing by to help turn those resolutions into reality. 

Weusi Wellness Café, celebrating its first anniversary, specializes in healthy prepared meals and custom meal plans. Emily, a Texas State Alumna, and bodybuilder, also works with the Texas State Nutrition Internship Program as well as the San Marcos High School culinary program. She and her husband, Hom have owned and operated Str8 Training Fitness Center for almost a decade.

"I came here for college and fell into a lifestyle that wasn't very healthy," Emily said. "I wasn't feeling good I was getting very unhealthy."

As soon as she graduated, she had a little time on her hands and decided to start working out again.

"I did play sports, so I was familiar with the commitment to both practice and exercise," she said.

Not long after she met her husband who had a small studio gym on the square.

"He had an amazing skill set and service but needed more visibility, so I took what I learned in college, which was graphic design, to help with his exposure," Emily said. "Even though I thought that running a business was scary, I admired him…his spirit and the drive he had."

Emily said she went "all in" with becoming more fit to the point of making it her life's passion.

"It helped me feel so good physically, mentally and emotionally," she said. "It helped me so much from where I'd been, and I wanted to share that with others."

She began to channel her passion and share with others how she felt; that it was a "better path," than where she had been before. 

"From there I started a healthy catering business, teaming up with San Marcos Barbecue. We were doing about a thousand prepared meals a week and didn't even have a storefront," she said. "It was all pre-order and distributed out."

Eventually, Emily and Hom branched out on their own, opening the Weusi Wellness Café.

"Working with people at their own pace is so critical to succeeding," Emily said. "That's the hardest thing in the gym we've found. Oh, we can put them through workouts, give them meal plans on a piece of paper, but it's still very hard for them."

So, the duo came up with the idea of prepared meals  –  and its worked.

Maria Soza had been trying to lose weight and build muscle for years. But the gyms and programs she tried didn’t provide the success she wanted. Soza, a single mother of two kids,  works 40 hours a week and travels daily to and from work with little time to eat chose fast food as her go-to. But she quickly started to feel fatigued and clothes were no longer fitting. 

“I started to feel fatigued and my clothes were starting not to fit,” Soza said. “I would get home from work drained and I would go straight to the couch with no energy to do things with my kids. I then knew it was time to make a lifestyle change.”

She started looking for healthy meals she could take with her to work. Then she came across Weusi Wellness and immediately sent them an email. 

“Emily Weusi promptly replied and scheduled a time to meet in person at the café. She was very knowledgeable and asked me questions to set me up with the perfect meal plan for my body and goals. At the visit she mentioned the partner gym, Str8 training. She gave me details on personal training, the fitness classes that they offer as well as the gym hours which is open 24/7, which is super convenient for someone that can’t make it to the gym at a specific time.”

Weusi Wellness Café offers prepared meals as an option for healthy eating. Photo courtesy of Weusi Wellness Café

After 20 sessions and consistent weekly meal preps from Weusi Wellness Cafe, she lost 15 pounds of fat and added 3 pounds of muscle. By that point, she had already gone down a size on her clothes.

“I haven’t felt this good with myself since I can remember. I feel amazing and very motivated and I am excited for the future and more success,” Soza said. “I am so happy that I found Weusi Wellness Café and Str8 Training. They truly care about their clients and they are true to what they stand for.”

Shelley Burris echoed similar sentiments. A consistent daily customer, having visited the cafe more than 130 times said the food is delicious.

"This is my first week of trying the prepared meals,” she said. “The meals I have tried had amazing flavor and were delicious I am not normally a meatloaf person but decided to try it. It was one of the best meatloaf’s I have ever tried (don’t tell my mom). Already placed my order for next week."

"Start with the food. Your body needs that nutrition anyway to put yourself through a tough workout," Emily said. "We hope to eventually do more hands-on teaching. I have a nutrition intern coming in from Texas State. I'm hoping to build on this and have a team of nutritionist on site to counsel people."

The café boasts of some delicious protein shakes and smoothies. They offer delectable breakfasts and lunch — fresh — but the mainstay continues to be the healthy prepared meals.

"Even if you're not ready to begin a workout regimen start with changing your diet," Emily said. "Then, we can discuss what your goal is, how much weight you're trying to lose, and the time frame you're trying to lose it."

Weusi Wellness Café is open seven days a week and offers locals a full coffee bar, too.  It’s located behind the 10-foot dinosaur at 2626 Hunter Rd #101. For a complete menu, go to www.weusiwellness.com