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My experience with Nova 3 Labs: How Sheena Got her groove back

I'd like to first start off by saying that I'm thrilled to be able to share my story with you. When I come across something awesome (a new restaurant, coffee shop, book, movie, app, etc.) I have to share with people. I get so much happiness from helping make other people happy. So today, you get to hear all about my experience with Nova 3 Labs and more specifically my experience with my nutrition coach of the past 6 months, Jason Phillips. I'm sharing my story in hopes that it will help you better understand why I will be "highly encouraging" every member of Windy City to join our Nova 3 Labs Coaching Group. In short, Jason and Nova 3 Labs have changed my life and I want you all to have the same opportunity! 

*Side note: Nova 3 Labs have undergone a few name changes this past year. Formerly Dynamic Nutrition then Driven Performance Labs for those of you keeping track at home*

I've been a self proclaimed nutrition nerd since I first started Crossfit in 2009. I have LONG history of "dieting" and internal struggles with what I truly believed eating "healthy" means. I've been through The Zone, Paleo, HCG, Carb Backloading, back to paleo, all of it. Many people in the CrossFit world preach that paleo is the only way to go. I have believed this in the past, but am proud to say that my understanding of nutrition has expanded and I've accepted that there is a better way to fuel MY body. Paleo is too extreme for me. I have learned that I don't want my daily food choices to be classified as "bad" or "good". I LOVE food. I want to enjoy my food. I've been searching for what I think we all want, I want to eat food I like eating, work hard in the gym and be comfortable in my own skin. Is that so much to ask??? 

Around April of this year, I decided to make a change. I decided that I needed to swallow my pride and hire a coach. I was at the end of my rope and didn't know what else to do. I was so unhappy with my body, energy levels and mood. I wanted to be more and was ready to take whatever steps I needed to in order to make that happen. I did my research; a lot of it. I had been following Dynamic Nutrition (who have since evolved into Nova 3 Labs) ever since Mike Kesthley started doing nutrition education for OPEX. I have always valued OPEX in the fitness industry and trusted their affiiliation with Mike. I reached out to Nova 3 Labs via their contact form and heard back from Jason almost instantly. We set up a time to chat over the phone and he gave me all the info I needed to hear. I signed up immediatley and started to get to work on completely changing my eating habits. 

Jason listened to my goals and my history with food. I can remember telling him that I had absolutly no interest in eating for athletic performance (Nova 3 Labs is known for helping high level Crossfit athletes, which I didn't consider myself at the time). My issue was that I was so ashamed of how my body looked, especially as a CrossFit coach and I wanted was to feel better about myself. At this point I wasn't really working out either. I would coach my classes, back squat or deadlift every now and then and feel sorry for myself most of the time. Jason assured me he could help me. He gave me my initital plan which looked like below (going from memory): 

Daily Intake: 165g of protein, 175g of carbs, 90g of fat

*He also gave me specific plans for pre and post workout,  as well as supplementation. 

I followed this plan as close as I could for 1 week. I lost almost 2lbs instantly. Did I mention this breaks down into almost 2100 calories a day? PLUS I was eating more carbs than I had ever eaten before. Most females struggling with body fat are trying to consume 1000-1200 cals a day on a low carb diet. Most notably, my energy shifted 100%. 7 days after following my plan from Jason, I told Justin I was ready to get back to training and would be joining the Competitve CrossFit track. I've LOVED every minute being back on that Competitve track training with amazing athletes again. This would not have happened if I didn't change the way I was fueling my body. 

*Fast forward 8 months and my carbohydrate intake has gone up by about 100g. My body LOVES carbs. Yes this means less fat overall and a little less protein, but I'm 100% on board with the changes!

(March 2015 is pictured on the left :27% body fat. UPDATED Body comp progress reports are pictured above. I had a goal of getting below 20% body fat and recently acheived this in December 2015: 19.5% pictured right)

Since that initial week, Jason and I have met via skype once a week for the past 6 months. The more fat I'm able to drop, the more food he allows into my program. The goal is never "dieting". The intention is to give me as much food as possible while still keeping me on track to reach my goals. Read that again. I'm eating MORE food and MORE carbs and still loosing body fat. This is the part where you are probably confused and wondering if this plan will work for you. It will. Let Nova 3 Labs coaches set up a plan for you (maybe it will look different than mine) but stick with what they are recommending and you will see results. 

I have more thoughts which are best shared in bulletpoint form. These are also the most common questions I get asked. 

  • I would not classify myself as "paleo". I eat quality meats when I can but I also eat dairy to help me reach my daily protein goals. I also eat bread and enjoy a sandwich often. I also love cereal and tapioca puddng. White rice is probably my most favorite food. 
  • I work out 4-5 times per week- not because I have to, but because I love it. 
  • I frequent Chipotle often. I've found that if I go to the same location enough times, they will remember me and have no problem making my burrito bowl exactly the way I like it. I know my bowl has 8 oz of white rice, 4 oz of steak, 1 oz cheese and 3 oz of corn. 
  • My daily carb intake has increased from 175g daily to 280g daily while my scale weight has dropped from 163 to 144 during the past 8 months. The leaner I get, the more carbs I get to eat..this usually happens 10g at time on a bi-weekly basis. 
  • As of Sunday January 17th 2016, I have lost a total of 17lbs and nearly 8% body fat. 
  • If you want to see EXACTLY what I've been eating for 111 straight days, feel free to check out MyFitnessPal profile.
  • I take Max Adrenal, Max Sleep, Max Perform and Max Capacity daily. I love all of their products and can't recommend them highly enough.
  • Invest in a kitchen food scale. You'll need to teach yourself "what is what". For example 4 oz of chicken is roughly 25g of protein, 8 oz of white rice is roughly 45g of carbs, ect... you'll need to learn how to build your meals around your allotted macro plan provided by your coach. 
  • The very same day I hit my first goal of 150lbs (13lbs down) and I got my very first muscle-up. I had been doing CrossFit for 8 years without ever doing a Muscle up. The following week (or 2) I also took my first steps of a handstand walk! 
  • I no longer fit into any of my clothes. Shopping for new clothes in smaller sizes is fun. 
  • YES this will WORK for you if you put in the WORK.  

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Comments

  1. Matt Baker

    Matt Baker posted at 9:57pm on Oct. 26, 2015

    Awesome read, thanks for sharing Sheena!

  2. Terri Hartman

    Terri Hartman posted at 4:06pm on Oct. 27, 2015

    Amazing Sheena.  The more I learn, the more interested I am in nutrition and fueling your body properly.  I’m really happy for you, and can’t thank you enough for sharing with all of us!

  3. Charles Rubert

    Rubert posted at 2:37pm on Oct. 29, 2015

    Thank you for posting this!! I always like to read people’s fitness journey, but it becomes more inspiring when is someone close to you that you admire. This is full of great information regarding nutrition and training as well! Now I’m definitely looking forward for the seminar on the 7th.

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