Kickboxing her way to a healthier lifestyle

The year 2011 was huge in the life of Woodmere resident Lisa Santisteban.
The Meadowmere Park native who played volleyball and softball for Lawrence High School wasn’t as active athletically after graduating from Queens College that year. In November, she met Christian DeFiris at a Rockville Centre gym in a cardio kickboxing class and then his father, Braulio Cuevas, which put her on course to exchange a business suit for sweatpants and T-shirts, and apply her educational expertise as a manager, instructor and personal trainer at Extreme Cage Fighting (ECF) Fitness in Lynbrook.
Away at college at Buffalo State for two years, her eating habits devolved. Couple that with no athletic participation and the stress of beginning her career, Santisteban, 27, gained a substantial amount of weight. At one point she weighed 300 pounds. She was teaching English at the Andries Hudde School in Brooklyn when she decided a change in lifestyle was needed, immediately.
Santisteban, as she once said in a Facebook post, “lost an Olsen twin” in about 10 months time through 2012 and is now more than 100 pounds lighter. The more svelte version of the 5-foot, 9-inch martial arts trainer also dabbles in kickboxing competitions.
“It’s a passion I had to follow,” Santisteban said as she sat on a chair in the lobby of the ECF building that faces Sunrise Highway. “I am still teaching and education comes in all forms. Whether it is about eating habits or providing the discipline kids really need.”
She munched on a tangerine tossed to her by DeFiris, and explained how her eating habits changed from starving herself throughout the day and then eating one huge meal to two or three small meals and consistent snacking that includes fruits, almonds and yogurt.
"Lisa has incredible determination and discipline to go along with a positive attitude and a heart of gold," said Andrew Coen, who trains at ECF. "She is also a gifted teacher as a trainer and her perseverance through weight loss and personal tragedy inspires those she works with."
During a typical week, Santisteban, who learned boxing, muay thai (a combat sport), wresting, mixed martial arts, kickboxing, judo and Brazilian Jui Jitsu, logs five hours or more per day training and teaching, which is a workout as ECF’s programs include elite combat training, fitness kickboxing, the Fight to be Fit Club and ECF Youth Warriors.