From Pain to Power: Stories of Transformation
- Aug 11, 2025
- 3 min read
By Lisa Schultz, Certified Nutritionist, Personal Trainer, Life Coach, CEO and Founder of, Verdura Method
I used to think “unstoppable” meant never slowing down- stacking clients, squeezing in workouts, saying yes to every project and opportunity. Then a car hit me while I crossed a busy Chicago street, and all that momentum stopped when my body hit the pavement.
I was twenty‑seven, working as a personal trainer and nutritionist. Five broken bones and emergency surgery landed me in a wheelchair, then a walker, then hobbling with a cane. Two years later I was still limping and in pain. My surgeon shrugged and called it my new normal. I walked out of his office and decided that would NOT be the way my story ended.
The next five years were rehabbing my body on repeat. It was painful, frustrating, and slow. I tried everything: physical therapy, supplements, hard core anti‑inflammatory diets, early bedtimes, endless journaling. Some tactics flopped; others helped a little. Progress was messy, but it added up. Fourteen years later I’m fully pain‑free, off all medication, chasing my two young kids around, and running my own online wellness program, The Verdura Method.
The accident rewired how I define power. Real power isn’t white‑knuckling through pain; it’s knowing when to push and when to pause. It’s listening to your body instead of treating it like a machine you can run into the ground. The women I coach today struggle with the same thing I did; thinking they just need more grit. Usually what they need is more sleep, more vegetables, and a lot less guilt.
Starting Verdura was its own uphill climb. I trained my first clients in Los Angeles at a public park because I couldn’t afford studio space. Then I became a mom with no childcare, and a career that I loved but couldn’t afford to do. I had to learn to pivot and single handedly created a new business model. It became a blessing in disguise. My online program can now help anyone, anywhere providing them with a full 360 blueprint to total health and wellness. It’s nothing fancy, it’s based on consistent principles that fit real life but it really works.
So what does “unstoppable” mean to me now? It means I keep moving forward without ignoring my body’s cues in the process. I set boundaries with work, stop trying to be a martyr with my kids, and trust that good things will happen when I’m well‑rested. It means I can miss a workout, take a nap, and still call myself ambitious.
If I could sit with my younger self, the girl crying in the hospital learning how damaged her body was, I’d tell her three things:
First, healing will take longer than you want, but it will happen, especially if you stay consistent and listen to what your body needs. Second, progress, whether it be building a business, becoming well or accomplishing any goal, is a skill you will learn over time. Be patient. Third, the life you build after this accident will be even better than the one you lost.
I’d love to say I never feel like quitting these days, but that’s a lie. Last month I had a day where the kids were sick, I didn’t make any progress building my clientele, and my “good” knee started aching. The old voice whispered, “Why bother?” I answered the way I always do: “Just keep going.” Being unstoppable isn’t about nothing going wrong; it’s about resilience and refusing to stay down for long when it does. That’s my mantra for how I live my life and it’s what I teach my clients every day.
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