For those looking to lose the “Freshman 15” lies a cleansing answer: the Trifecta Health & Wellness Club in Burlington. Customers are drawn in as owner Candace Sappington, a former Elon University police officer and Elon ‘03 graduate, waves them in with a smile and encourages customers to learn about her club and how it can change someone’s life — just as it changed hers.
Looking at the wall of before and after photos, there are several rows of photos of the people whose health has been changed by the nutrition and wellness club through weight loss and choosing healthier lifestyles.
Sappington’s club offers shakes with nine different flavors, and each shake can replace a meal with only 200 calories. Walking in for the first time, she will explain the digestive benefits that aloe has — and yes, that’s the same aloe that is rubbed on a sunburn. She’ll offer a special tea, which seems borderline magic, that can help individuals focus and feel energized while burning 80 calories.
And she’ll let first-timers taste it for free.
Sappington has a zest for life and an enthusiasm for the message her health and wellness club puts out. She believes in the power of eating right and understanding what you put in your body, because it helped her lose weight and become the healthy, happy person she’s always wanted to be.
“Better nutrition will improve your skin, your hair and your nails,” Sappington said.
To encourage others to join the club and restart their lives, Sappington offers a free one-hour session with a coach who will allow clients to choose the right path for themselves in terms of exercise and nutrition.
Sappington,, has two locations for her nutrition clubs. Her other club is called Shamrock Nutrition, located in Graham. Trifecta Health & Wellness is located at 1143 Saint Marks Church Rd. across from Pelican’s SnoBalls and in the same shopping center as Piedmont Ale House.
Sappington signed the lease on her Burlington location one month before finding out she was pregnant with her daughter, Ruby, a little more than a year ago.
Now that her daughter is older, she hopes to expand the Burlington location’s following and develop a bigger Elon presence.
“I loved this space because it is so close to Elon,” Sappington said.
But Elon students don’t have to come to the store to reap the benefits that the Trifecta Health & Wellness Club provides. Coaches can meet with students wherever is most convenient for them and work around their class schedules.
“We don’t let people just come in and get canisters of shakes,” Sappington said. “We want to make sure that they know how to make them and that way, if they have questions or don’t like it, we can help.”
The coaches help clients come up with a meal plan that is best suits their lifestyles — whether they are college athletes or just looking to lose a few pounds.
After meeting Sappington and sampling a trio of healthy drinks offered, sophomore Lilly Zubren is considering getting a coach.
“One of those free coaching sessions would really help me become healthy like I was in high school,” Zubren said. “I froze my shake and ate it like it was ice cream the next day. It was the perfect breakfast.”
Sappington understands that some people might be skeptical. Not everybody believes that drinking the shakes or teas that the Trifecta Health & Wellness Club serves actually have health benefits.
But Sappington believes there is only one way for these people to understand — come in and see for yourself.
“Just come and try it,” she said. “The great part is there is no risk. There is no pressure here. Come and check it out and see if you like it. We are here to help. At Trifecta we have such a great community out there, where everybody is there for the same reason. Whether they want to lose weight or gain weight. This is a happy place.”