2023 DeNovofest Rx Division Champion
I can do burpees really fast
Healthy Steps Nutrition Coaching Certification (in-progress)
MS in School and Guidance Counseling
I was born and raised in Wisconsin. I grew up on a dairy farm, which helped me develop a sense of responsibility and a strong work ethic. I was involved in various sports including volleyball, cross country, track & field, and softball but was never too competitive in any of them. I was also hugely into music with piano and saxophone being my main instruments. During high school, though, I also learned flute, clarinet, oboe, and even the trombone. I thought I was going to pursue a career related to music but that wasn't in the cards. Fast forward to 2009 and I was volunteering in AmeriCorps, applying for grad school, and most importantly, met a guy named Matt who eventually became my partner in all things. In 2013, we moved here to CO, and I began my career as an academic advisor at Colorado State University. Remember when I said I wasn’t competitive in sports? Well, in 2017 I walked into my first CrossFit gym and all of that changed…
Growing up, I didn’t have the healthiest body image and I think I tried every fad diet/exercise of the time (Remember that belt thing that literally shocked your abs? Yup, I had one of those). I carried negative images of myself into adulthood as I see-sawed between what I perceived to be fit and fat. When we moved to CO, running became my main form of exercise and I ran more half marathons than I can remember; one time, even doing them on back-to-back weekends. I burned myself out and lost the motivation to keep training as a runner. I stopped exercising entirely and returned to my perceived fat phase. Then, in December 2017, a friend talked me into trying CrossFit. I fell in love with the sport and with the community aspect and, yes, became very competitive. Over time, I improved with the movements, got better at workouts, and started doing competitions, but I didn’t see any big changes in my body composition. I knew I still needed to lose some weight, my cholesterol was higher than it should’ve been, and I wanted to build a more fit physique, but CrossFit on its own wasn’t moving the bar. In 2020, I joined DeNovo CrossFit and in 2021, started nutrition coaching with Jenny. Learning about nutrition, that it’s fundamental to CrossFit (literally the base of the pyramid), and how to properly fuel my body was life changing. I started noticing bigger improvements on my workouts and my body transformed on the outside, and on the inside too (cholesterol dropped!). I couldn’t believe that I’d been a part of CrossFit for 4 years before learning how to incorporate nutrition into the equation…and that it didn’t have to be hard or complicated.
I really connected with the HSN philosophy and found myself wishing that I could help others through their own nutrition journey; and now I’m pursuing my HSN nutrition coaching certification so I can do just that! I want to bring awareness and education around nutrition to help people both inside and outside the gym. Nutrition isn't just about performance (although seeing how it improves those gains is pretty awesome), it's a lifestyle that improves all aspects of health and wellness. I’d love to talk to you about nutrition and see if we’d be a good coach/client fit!
