23 Simple Rules to Transform Your Fitness & Health In Order To Live Your Best Life!

You lie to yourself a lot. You know you do. At some point, you have to rip the band-aid, learn from mistakes & do what works.

Hi. I’m Katie.
I’ve coached hundreds of nutrition & fitness clients.
I’ve taken care of hundreds of patients in the 18 years I’ve been in this space.

I ain’t here to preach or convince you I know everything or am the best coach in the world.
I’m here to speak to my younger self, to remind my current self, & anyone else out there needing hope.

My rules for a good life are based on years of struggle, both personally, & seeing others fall deeper & deeper into the dark abyss of 50 shades of fucked up.

Now is always the time to get into the best shape & live your best life.

When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear. I’m not here to tell you what you want to hear.

I don’t provide cures. If I know anything about self-improvement it’s because I battle & struggle with it every day, too. Most self-improvement writers & coaches are writing & coaching to themselves, with the hopes that it helps you.

So use the concept of radical honesty, with yourself & with others, to fight the uphill battle needed to change your life. Be honest with yourself about who you are, what you want, & what you need to do to stay true to both.

Let’s go!

Rules To Live Your Best Life

If you’re anxious, slow down. If you’re depressed, speed up.

Anxiety means we’re doing too much & overthinking. Slowing down consciously helps with this. Being depressed is often remedied by leaning into action & getting busy.

Never make big decisions when you’re emotional.

Take your time & give the decision as much time as possible. It’s ok if you’re scared, but if you know it’s right in your gut, then act. We feel our thoughts. If our thinking makes us doubtful & fearful, those thoughts are not serving us. We don’t need to be at the mercy of a thought.

If you’re self-conscious, focus on serving others.

Self-consciousness has brought me little but misery. When I feel anxious, it’s time to focus on making someone else smile & serving. This takes the pressure off me & instantly makes me feel better because I’m helping someone else.

Drink coffee.

Coffee (caffeine) is a fat loss cheat code when used optimally. It’ll help you burn fat through a few different mechanisms: Fat mobilization (moving fat out of storage), Fat oxidation (burning fat), Increased adrenaline (the release of adrenaline leads to more fat burning)

Eat 1g of protein/lb of body weight or goal weight if you have more to lose.

Protein is crucial for optimizing body composition & controlling hunger/satiety. Aim for 30–40g/meal through things like: meat, seafood, eggs, & dairy (if you’re not sensitive)

Time-restricted eating (Intermittent Fasting).

Eat all of your meals within a 12 hour or less window each day. Choose a fasting window that works for you like: 12/12, 14/10, 16/8, 18/6, etc. Don’t snack or eat outside of this. TRE will accelerate your fat loss by letting your body tap into its fat stores, autophagy, & giving your digestive system a break.

Avoid seed, veggie, & low quality oils (fats).

Things like: canola (rapeseed) oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, grapeseed oil, rice bran oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, & sunflower oil. They’re highly inflammatory & are destroying your health, metabolism, & weight loss efforts. If you want to get in the best shape of your life, avoid these at all costs.

Morning fasted walk/movement.

During a fasted walk, your body has minimal stores of available energy (glycogen) from the foods you eat. Your body needs to tap into energy stores in the body (stored fat) plus its good for the mind.

Get 7+ hours of high-quality sleep & walk 10k steps/day.

If you’re not getting 7 hours of sleep, you’re sabotaging your efforts. Your hormones will be out of whack — leading to increased hunger/ cravings. Your body is also more likely to hold onto fat & is going to struggle to build muscle. If you want to transform your body, you need to walk more. Walking 10k steps/day might be the highest ROI habit in this list. This one habit can dramatically improve your ability to lose fat & will improve your energy, mood, & productivity too.

Make the first move & be a role model.

Stop waiting to be a follower. Stop waiting for permission to create something cool. Start a conversation with a stranger. Experiment first. Lean in first & make it a habit. Now you’re the leader, & you set the precedent for creating success that others will admire & follow.

Walk tall, always look & do your best.

Posture has been known to directly affect our chemical composition, among other benefits. Walk a fraction taller with a skip in your step. Your self-image will improve by doing this alone. The little things regarding your appearance make a huge difference in how you perceive yourself & how others perceive you. Be extra. Clean your dirty-ass shoes. Iron your shirt. It will infect your confidence (the good way).

Do what most others refuse to do.

What interests you? How bad do you want something? Your drive, commitment, & work ethic set you apart by doing what others do NOT have the patience or fortitude to do. That’s how you separate yourself from the pack.

Eat nourishing, single-ingredient foods.

You need to eat high-quality foods if you want to be healthy & lose weight. By prioritizing single-ingredient foods (i.e., foods as they come in nature), you’ll make massive progress. Eat these foods 80-90% of the time & be flexible with the other 10-20%. (Shit like Beyond Meat & packaged diet foods are NOT one of them. Read your labels!)

Lift weights at least 3x a week.

Lifting weights is key if you want to transform your body. Lifting weights: burns a lot of fat, increases your metabolism, improves your body comp (what you look like aka looking good nekkid), builds muscle (which will also lead to you burning more calories at rest).

Minimize alcohol consumption.

It wrecks your sleep, sabotages your weight loss efforts, & leads to many other unhealthy habits. Stick to an allocated 1–2 drinks/wk. Plan ahead & find alternatives so that you don’t give in in the moment.

Get your heart rate up & do HIIT 1–2x a week.

High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, is another great tool for fat loss. It involves exercising at a higher intensity for a short period of time, followed by a period of rest. I personally love CrossFit because it combines strength training sprinkled with a little HIIT.

Eat healthy fats.

Fat doesn’t make us fat, despite what we’ve been told. We need fats — our cells are made up of this vital macronutrient & they are the precursors to our hormones. Prioritize things like: eggs, fatty fish/seafood, avocados (if you’re not sensitive), & fatty cuts of meat.

Measure & track progress (especially if things aren’t working).

You need objective data to ensure you’re making progress & proper adjustments. You can measure: food (calories/macros), body weight, body fat %, lean muscle mass, blood glucose, ketones, performance (cardio/endurance/strength) in the gym, body measurements, etc.

Manage stress.

Stress is an overlooked aspect of body transformation. Cortisol (our stress hormone) disrupts insulin activity & leads to weight gain. It also makes it hard to build muscle. Include de-stressing practices like walking, coloring, yoga, working out, & meditation.

Make a habit of asking.

Many people fall short of their dreams & potential because they don’t want to rock the boat, ask for help, seek coaching or mentorship, & let their ego get the best of them. You can be, do, or have anything you want if you’re willing to do what you need to do & learn to achieve it.

Create something & smile every day.

Journal your thoughts. Brainstorm ideas. Design. Share your stories. Build a following with your advice. There’s little downside & massive upside to daily creating. Also, smiles are free & contagious. It can change your &/or someone else’s entire day!

Don’t be a whiner, moaner, complainer, or fun-hater.

No one likes a Debbie Downer. Whining reaffirms a negative reality. Focusing on what’s good brings more good in.

Mind what you consume.

What you consume, consumes you & what consumes you, controls your life. It’s not only what we eat & drink but also what we watch, listen to, media, & environment. If you want to change, become a better version of yourself, you have to change your habits. Listen to a podcast, motivational speakers, surround yourself with successful, positive minded people – create yourself a new environment.

Final Thoughts

If you want better health, a better body, & a better life, it’s gonna take work. For some of us, maybe you’re simply not disciplined enough. It is what it is – you either do or you don’t.

There’s nothing worse than rolling through life in the passenger’s seat.

I don’t know about you, but I would rather be a DOer. Goals don’t mean anything unless you act. Just like knowledge isn’t power unless there’s application. We were made to be ACTIVE participants in life. The word ATTRACTION includes the word ACTION.

Do these sound familiar?

• “I want this, but not bad enough to do what is required to achieve it”
• “I can’t cut back on workouts.” (even though they’re stressing my body out even more which is actually hindering progress)
• “I can’t give up sugar/bangs/etc.” (even though my glucose/cortisol are jacked up thru the roof & I can’t sleep at night)
• “I can’t give up sweets & snacking at night.” (even though they’re causing inflammation, gut problems, high glucose, fat gain, & more cravings)
• “I can’t reverse diet because I’ll gain weight.” (even though you’ve been eating less than a toddler for 20+ yrs & still don’t have the health or body you want)

Thank you for reading & allowing me to add value to your lives! Link here to resources, guides, coaching & more!

Life is the dash between the dates on your tombstone. What you do with it is your choice.

Katie Kelly @lil_bit_of_fit

While the inevitable is bound to happen, my goal is to carpe diem my way thru life & make my dash everything I want it to be. People will remember how you made them feel. Treat each other with respect & smile more. Remember this special dash might only last a little while. So, when your eulogy is being read, would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent YOUR dash?

Recap

23 Rules:

If you’re anxious, slow down. If you’re depressed, speed up.

Never make big decisions when you’re emotional.

If you’re self-conscious, focus on serving others.

Drink coffee.

Eat 1g of protein/lb of body weight or goal weight if you have more to lose.

Time-restricted eating (Intermittent Fasting).

Avoid seed, veggie, & low quality oils (fats).

Morning fasted walk/movement.

Get 7+ hours of high-quality sleep & walk 10k steps/day.

Make the first move & be a role model.

Walk tall, always look & do your best.

Do what most others refuse to do.

Eat nourishing, single-ingredient foods.

Lift weights at least 3x a week.

Minimize alcohol consumption.

Get your heart rate up & do HIIT 1–2x a week.

Eat healthy fats.

Measure & track progress (especially if things aren’t working).

Manage stress.

Make a habit of asking.

Create something & smile every day.

Don’t be a whiner, moaner, complainer, or fun-hater.

Mind what you consume.