awesome COACHES who care

A little about me: 

I grew up in McHenry, where I met my husband, John, in High School.  We live in Gurnee with our two children: Julia (14) and Michael (11).  I was an elementary school teacher for many years and this year I became an instructional coach for teachers in Highland Park.  When I am not coaching teachers or coaching you at HG, I am driving my daughter to and from dance, my son to taekwondo, and trying to keep up with their busy middle school social lives. As a family, we love spending warm summer days on our boat and taking trips together.

Growing up I was always in a dance class and I was on the Varsity Pom team.  Even though I was active, I struggled with my weight all my life.  I was always average, neither fit nor fat. However, as an adult I gained a significant amount of weight before, during, and after having kids.  The stress young kids, and my son has Level 1 Autism, along with juggling a full-time job resulted in me NOT taking care of myself.  I was angry, anxious, and uncomfortable in my own skin...

By 2011, I was about 60 pounds heavier than I am now and about 7 dress sizes larger.  In July of that year, I joined Weight Watchers with a goal to lose 30 pounds.  I committed myself to getting healthy and reached that 30-pound goal. I stayed focused and before I knew it, that 30 became 60, and I have maintained that weight loss since 2012.  

It was not until AFTER I lost the weight that I even thought about exercising.  I dabbled in a few Zumba classes, I tried “Jump Aerobics” at the trampoline park (fun once I got past peeing my pants every time I jumped!)  Then I tried a cycle class – and I hated it! But I had 3 free classes - so of course I had to use them. By the end of the third class, my saddle soreness was gone, and I was addicted. After only a few months of classes I decided to go out on a limb and get certified to teach cycle.  I taught cycle for 2 years and realized that I wanted to do more with fitness. 

In 2017 I got my ACE Group Fitness certification. I began teaching Barre right away. Somewhere in that time frame I also took my first yoga class...and hated it! I vowed I was never going back. Notice a pattern here? Had I given up every time I said that I would, I would never be where I am now.  Here I am nine years later, teaching Cycle, Bootcamp, Barre, and even, Yoga!  I am loving every minute of it each format brings a level of balance to my fitness. 

I have found that even after the weight loss, I need to continue to focus on staying committed to my nutrition goals. It has become less about the number on the scale or the size of my pants, and more about how I feel (I don’t even own a scale anymore).  When I start to feel like I am reverting to old habits or feel low energy, I go back to focusing on healthy choices and watching my portions. It is all about balance. Even with all the fitness classes I teach, I know I cannot out-exercise an unhealthy diet. 

When I read members comments about being thankful to the HG community for supporting them, encouraging them to try new things, and pushing them outside their comfort zone, I cheer from the top of my lungs, “Me too!”  I am right there with you - working toward my own goals, challenging myself to try new things, and constantly stepping outside my comfort zone right alongside of you!

I swear I have music pumping through my veins and no matter what my mood is I can find something to match it or lift it!  From classic rock or alternative, to techno, gangster rap, or soul crushing ballads - I seriously love it all and what I am listening to changes with my mood.

“I want to be in the arena. I want to be brave with my life. And when we make the choice to dare greatly, we sign up to get our asses kicked. We can choose courage, or we can choose comfort, but we can’t have both. Not at the same time.” - Brene Brown

I became an ordained minister to officiate my sister’s wedding! 

I had a job releasing doves (ok, passenger pigeons) at weddings while I was in college.

Pre-workout I grab a banana or a piece of fruit - something light that boosts my blood sugar. Post-workout I go for something higher in protein.  After morning classes I like eggs or peanut butter on toast, and after an evening class I eat a light dinner - usually fish or chicken and a veggie.

My splurge/ guilty pleasure is:

Pizza, Doritos - anything salty or savory.  I could leave cookies and cake behind and never look back, but the salty snack food is my guilty pleasure!

How I recover:

I love to take a hot jacuzzi bath with Epsom salts.