Meet Our Nutrition Coaches
GWEN HOLTAN
Chicago Nutrition Coach
Wellness advocate.
CrossFit athlete.
Lover of all delicious food.
gwen@beyondtheboxnutrition.com
After many years in the healthcare industry where her focus was on helping people after they got sick, Gwen decided it was time to start helping people find a healthier way to live by improving their nutrition. She became a certified nutrition coach so she could provide to others what she had found invaluable from her nutrition coach: support, education, accountability and results. She now has a healthier relationship with food, her body and her life.
Although she played sports in high school and college, she struggled to find her “sport” after college. After running a few marathons, taking barre classes and going to a local Chicago gym, she was still unmotivated and not enjoying exercise. That all changed in March 2010 when she found CrossFit. She was hooked. She enjoyed it so much she began competing and in 2017 she was ranked in the top 1% in the world (Masters Women age 50-54). To get to this level, she had to pay much closer attention to the food she was consuming. Eating the right foods to fuel her training was paramount to her success.
She participated in a few Whole30 and Paleo challenges to improve her nutrition and has also done the South Beach Diet, Atkins, caloric restriction (under 500 calories/day), Nutrisystem, the Cabbage Soup Diet and the list goes on. Sound familiar? She managed to lose weight on these plans but inevitably put the weight back on. She felt defeated and wondered if she could ever keep the weight off.
In October of 2015, she started working with a Chicago nutrition coach who helped her realize that the “flexible diet” lifestyle was the most sustainable way of eating. She discovered that she hadn’t been eating enough food for her activity level. She never would have learned this if she hadn’t had an nutrition expert guiding her to make ongoing changes. This meant her body was hanging on to excess fat to help keep her going versus losing it.
As her nutrition coach got to know her, her goals and her dieting history, he was able to know the right amount of carbohydrates, protein and fats she needed for her body to reach her goals. Since her needs have changed over time, she continues to work with him. She needed more carbohydrates to properly fuel and recover from her intense training sessions. To her surprise, she started to lean out when she ate more food. The most important thing he provided was the ability to listen without judgment and demonstrate empathy and kindness while continuing to increase her knowledge about nutrition. She now has a healthier relationship with food, her body and her life.
Most of the time, Gwen eats very healthy foods but flexible dieting allows her to occasionally have ice cream, margaritas and other treats. She believes that this is the most realistic way to get long term results for anyone. No gimmicks, no dieting, no restricting foods, just weighing and measuring your foods to ensure you’re consuming the right amount of carbs, fat and protein (macronutrients) so you can achieve your goals.
The great news is that virtually everyone can benefit from this way of eating. Gwen can help you whether you are looking to improve your health, lose weight or if you are looking to improve your sports performance.
Nutritional Coaching Institute
Level I certification
Mentorship program participant
Hormone Specialty certification
Mindset Specialty certification
Loyola University continuing education
Motivational Interviewing course
CrossFit
CrossFit Open 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
CrossFit Masters Online Qualifier 2015, 2016, 2017
NorCal Masters – 2015, 2016, 2017
Granite Games – 2015, 2016, 2017
CrossFit Gymnastics Certification
Power Monkey Gymnastics Seminar
SHEENA LAWRICK
Chicago Nutrition Coach
Two-time Olympian.
Carbohydrate enthusiast.
Empowerment through nutrition.
sheena@beyondtheboxnutrition.com
Sheena is a lifelong athlete and two-time Canadian Olympian whose passion has always been directed towards getting the most out of her body. Through her experiences competing at the highest level of softball, and more recently her involvement in competitive CrossFit, Sheena has learned what works for her with regard to both training and nutrition. Through CrossFit, she’s experienced first hand how different modalities of exercise demand different capabilities from your body. From both these experiences, Sheena has learned that it’s always easier when you don’t go at it alone and you stay in tune with your personal needs. She considers herself very lucky to have had some amazing coaches in her life and wants to pay it forward by helping others.
Sheena got hooked on CrossFit in 2009 after retiring from softball. Back then, a low carb Paleo diet was all the rage. Sheena fell into a “workout more, eat less” trap and actually began to see her health, body composition and fitness decline. For years, her quality of life suffered as she continued to dig herself into a deeper and deeper hole–refusing to believe that her diet and over-training/exercise was problem. Twenty pounds heavier from her Olympic softball days, her confidence as an athlete and CrossFit coach was extremely low as she felt she didn’t “look the part.” Sheena also struggled with new health issues like work/life balance, relationship management, energy and sleep.
In 2015, she teamed up with her coach, Jason Phillips. This would prove to be a major turning point in Sheena’s life. In their first year working together, Sheena dropped 10 lbs on the scale and made significant improvements in her body composition. Most importantly, Sheena’s confidence came back and her quality of life dramatically improved. She did all this by eating more food and exercising less. Today Sheena continues to enjoy strength training, CrossFit group classes and the occasional CrossFit competition.
Sheena believes there is no one “right” diet and that each person is unique in their nutritional needs. Sheena values the connection and relationship she creates with each client. She desires to teach positivity, patience and a “trust the process” mentality.
Nutritional Coaching Institute
Level I certification
Mentorship program participant
Hormone Specialty certification
Mindset Specialty certification
Functional Diagnostic Nutrition (FDN)
CrossFit
CrossFit Level 1 and 2
Precision Nutrition
Level 1 Certification
TERRI HARTMAN
Chicago Nutrition Coach
Crossfit Coach + Athlete
Mother of Two
Culinary Ninja
terri@beyondtheboxnutrition.com
“She believed she could, so she did.” – R.S. Grey. These are words Terri’s lived by her entire life. When she wants something, she goes and gets it. Terri believes in life you make your own road and she wants to be on a road that she believes in, that she’s passionate about, and that others will benefit from as well. Terri dabbled in and out of various sports and exercise routines until she met her now-husband who challenged her to run a 5K with him. Hesitantly, she agreed and caught the running bug completing several marathons over the next few years. After having her two boys and still working full time, Terri’s running wained and she started looking for her next fitness passion. Then came CrossFit. After 20 years in Marketing and Sales roles, Terri decided to take a break to focus on her family as well as her passion for people and fitness. Getting serious about CrossFit and learning about nutrition, she began a complete mind and body transformation that now is the center of her busy Mom+Wife life. Learning how to properly eat for health and to fuel fitness, Terri is now stronger, leaner, healthier, and happier than at any time in her life. Her family agrees.
Terri loves delicious food. Using her formal training in Baking and Pastry at Kendall College, she’s able to take a recipe and make adjustments in ingredients that not only makes the meal more nutritious, but tastes like you’re in a restaurant. She’s always experimenting with culinary ideas and techniques to strike the balance of “good” and “good for you”. Terri even teaches her two young boys how to bake and cook all the while teaching them about “macros”. At the ages of six and nine, her two boys now can discuss the balance of protein and carbohydrates in their food and why too refined sugar can potentially lead to unhealthy consequences – pretty amazing.
Through her own experience with nutrition coaches, nutrition training and practice, Terri found a balanced relationship with food while still being able to enjoy dinner parties, vacations and date nights in the city with her husband. Being a Mom of two growing boys and a wife of a busy husband, focus and attention on your own well-being can be hard, but with practice and self-love it is absolutely attainable.
Terri never imagined herself being this happy with food and fitness, but it’s possible and she can help you find your own road.
Crossfit
Level 1 Certification (CF-L1)
Crossfit Scaling Certification
Nutritional Coaching Institute
Level 1 Certification
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