Health Coach | Speaker | Writer | Welcome to my digital diary! I'm here to help you blend life & fitness to find your health & happy! Thank you for being part of my family & allowing me to add value to your journey!
If you have a body, you’re an athlete. Athletes strive to function at their best!
The amount of information on the interwebs as the “right” diet is for you is astounding & confusing.
I used to be one that followed what everyone else was doing especially if I desired to look like a specific person, whether deep down I knew their training & diet methodology didn’t align with me.
So I started collecting my own data to solve the riddle & choose what was best for my health & body goals:
-Bloodwork & testing via my family doctor & functional medicine doctor
Ex: Hormones, routine labs, thyroid, inflammation markers, lipids, gut tests if I was having bloating/pain/abnormal symptoms
-Tracking Food via @myfitnesspal
Ex: calories, macros, trigger food symptoms
-Tracking via my @fitbit Versa 3
Ex: sleep quality, menstrual cycle, steps, weight
-Journaling Biofeedback
Ex: sleep quality, mood, performance, recovery, energy & digestion when eating certain foods & meal timing
-Tracking ketones via @ketomojo
-Tracking glucose NOW via @nutrisenseio continuous glucose monitor (CGM)
Since transitioning to a carnivore-based diet, I am particularly interested to see how my body regulates glucose to keep me my healthiest.
I want to see if there are things I can do to optimize my health like experimenting with meal timing, meal sizes, fasting, work out intensity, sleep, etc, to keep stress levels down, performance in the gym strong, & energy levels exceptional so I can be EXTRAORDINARY!
Age is just a number & your quality of life, impact on this world, & longevity hinge on your ability to understand & take care of the only forever home you will ever have — your body. 🏠❤️
It works better for ME & my special digestive needs. For decades I chased fat loss & performance as a Crossfit Athlete following diets because everybody else was doing it. But I found myself broken, emotionally eating, inflamed, bloated, & unable to lose body fat despite “eating ‘clean’ & all the right things.”
Had a consult call yesterday with a client struggling to find the right diet. The problem — focusing solely on fat loss & not holistic health first. That includes mindset, gut health, & your relationship with food & exercise.
First thing’s first — there is no such thing as a “clean” or “best” diet. This only creates food fear & stress. There are only foods that NOURISH & make you feel GOOD & foods that HINDER you & make you feel CRUMMY. Some of these can be those deemed “healthy” like fruits & vegetables, you just can’t break them down & digest them properly.
You may still be having symptoms because:⠀
❌You haven’t addressed the root cause. There is a reason for symptoms. Don’t put a bandaid on it. My approach is find the root cause & develop a system to fix it. Is it an infection, stress, lifestyle, overtraining, Candida, bacteria, no sleep, too much fiber/too little fiber, not chewing your food, too large of meals, food combos?
❌You’re stressed af & not making a change. That gut brain connection isn’t bs. It controls many things from mood to energy to digestion. If you can’t chill out, your gut can’t do its job.
❌Sleep. Rest & digest means just that. If you’re always wired, it’s hard for the body to adequately rest & digest. It affects the 🚽 too.
❌Histamine/food intolerance: some lack enzymes to break down specific foods &/or our guts are so inflamed we’ve developed an intolerance over time.
❌Stress. Over exercise. Under eating. Malnourishment. Life stress. ALL STRESSORS.
Love y’all & I’d love to hear your experiences/feedback below and on the Gram!
A client got pissed at me yesterday. I said, “Good, then I’m doin my job.”
I had several conversations yesterday via dm with people letting their mindsets & emotional heaviness get the best of them.
On repeat: You attract what you put out. You cannot become what you want by remaining where you are.
You gotta shift your mindset. Mindset is part of the work.
This particular client, flat refuses to eat more food yet wants to gain muscle & heal. And I get it, it’s a mindfxck.
And I don’t care what goal y’all are chasin in whatever facet of life — DON’T BE UPSET ABOUT THE RESULTS YOU AREN’T GETTING FROM THE WORK YOU DIDN’T DO.
4 things I live by…& letting my weight or my Crohn’s or excuses control me — NOT any of those 3 things…
1.) Be mentally attractive, kind, & be worth knowing. You attract what you put out.
2.) Thou shall not judge because thou has fxcked up too.
3.) You either DO or you DON’T.
4.) 2 things I don’t like to share, toothbrushes & wieners.
💁🏼♀️Slap that last one on a T-shirt.
January 2021 I picked my word. Actually I picked 2: JOY & SURRENDER.
I’ve always hated my back. Rarely ever take back progress pictures. I feel partly because I don’t want to give a reason for negative thoughts to creep in & pick myself apart when I know I have to love myself for the sum of who I am in my entirety.
There’s 5 months & 11lbs between these pictures. I love this woman & her season in both pictures. The left is now, the right was on family vacation in October.
Things I used to loathe:
My scoliosis – it throws my hips off. My body is not symmetrical, I squat lopsided.
My left boob is bigger than my right & neither boob is as big as I would like. Hey there’s at least a handful, I’ve been told that’s all you need right?! 😂
My elbows don’t straighten. I can’t fully lock out in any lift which limits my abilities. My CrossFit coaches used to yell at me, not knowing it was a defect.
I have stretch marks & cellulite from gaining & losing 50 lbs over my lifetime. I always wanted slender legs, it’s just not the way I’m built. But my ham hocks are strong.
I have a red sun spot on my nose I have to cover from getting burned as a child on vacation & bailing hay on our farm.
I chew on the inside of my lip, still don’t know why.
From being the girl who refused to take the T-shirt off at the beach or pool to the woman now brave enough to show the canvas God gave her — hats off to you sis.
Wanted to remind y’all you can’t hate yourself happy, skinny, strong, successful, worthy, or LOVED.
Stop putting new energy in old containers.
@jamesclear said, “The events of your past are fixed. The meaning of your past is not. The influence of every experience is determined by the meaning you assign to it. Assign a more useful meaning to your past & it becomes easier to take a more useful action in the present.”
I put a Post-it on this mirror of a reminder I saw yesterday: “This Chapter of my life is called: now that I know better, I must do better.”
Have a beautiful bootylicious weekend y’all! ❤️🍑🦾 I’d love to chat with y’all on the gram, never hesitate to reach out!
Lotsa carnivore questions today about what a day in the life of this girl looks like. It ain’t special y’all it’s just a routine that works for me.
I’ll summarize for those who are new around here! Welcome! 🥩 Bookmark this on Instagram, there’s a lot of info! I also did an interview which is here on my blog that explains all of my transition over my carnivore journey.
▫️I don’t ‘treat myself’ or ‘cheat.’ Food is not a reward/something to earn. I also dislike saying cheat because it implies it’s going to benefit you in some way. Cheaters cheat to win. Do you really think you’re winning by cheating yourself?
▫️I eat 2 meals/d on avg. My days off or if I can sleep in, I now eat 1 meal. You must experiment. Your experience/needs will be different than mine. It takes TIME. It took me an entire year to fully adapt &, yes, I gained 15lbs initially.
▫️Majority of meals are my Airfryer Crispy meat bars. 85% ground beef, ground chicken. Avg 2lbs of meat/d. Ground meat is easier to digest & track. I removed most pork & dairy, I don’t digest’em well. I don’t add extra fat often. Choose meats that are higher in fat. No I don’t like organ meat, I prefer the taste of grain fed over grass fed beef.
▫️I stick to beef bc it’s satisfying & delicious but not SO delicious I want to binge. Food addicts tend to have issues controlling carbs, sugar, sugar free substitutes, keto treats, dairy, butter, cheese, bacon, pork rinds, hyper palatable & processed meats)
▫️I track macros loosely. It keeps me accountable & I know where to adjust. Rice cakes on occasion post workout or in the evening if I need them, rarely above 50g/day. Macros 10% C – 30% P – 60% F for ME** around 1900-2100 cal/d. Workout fasted at 5 AM on weekdays. Yes I drink coffee before. Work out 5d/wk, 1 active recovery day, 1 rest.
▫️YES, you can CrossFit & carnivore, CAREFULLY. Comes down to allowing yourself to fully adapt to being fat-fueled, meal timing, eating ample calories, & RECOVERY.
▫️Sleep=nonnegotiable. 7 hrs min. Zzyquil helps. I take it most nights because I can’t shut my mind off.
▫️Still hit 13-15k steps/day, even on rest days, drinkin a ton of water + electrolytes, fasting when I’m not hungry (~18hrs avg), eating when I am. No extended fasts, no snacking.
▫️I do drink socially. I don’t typically eat & have cocktails I choose 1 or the other. I also don’t like to eat late. Last meal is usually around 2 or 3p.
▫️Favorite self care is coloring, writing, walking, live music, time with friends, working out @3kings_athletics , @hotworx.fishers infrared saunas, @vitalityivbar , routine colonics treatments via Brandy Mason Colon Hydrotherapy in Carmel (I have her info), @massageheightsindy
All of these experiences are going to be different for you but I hope what I’ve learned throughout my journey can help steer you in the right direction 😉🐮
When I started an animal based nutrition approach this is what I heard. In this photo I was about 10lbs heavier on vacation, embracing the journey.
Had many of you ask about this yesterday & my recent weight loss.
I’m excited many of you want to try a more animal based approach & YES I absolutely believe its a wonderful lifestyle of eating which corrects many health issues, but I also want to make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons & not just wanting to hop on the “bandwagon” because you seek weight loss.
It’s not for everyone’s lifestyle needs, some of you NEED specific kinds of carbs in your diet to feel & function better. Just because I prefer this style of eating doesn’t mean I think everyone should do it. No diet dogma here. We’re all different.
I had a question from a follower yesterday asking what she needed to do to heal gut issues & finally see weight loss.
I responded with some hard truths.
You will most likely have to do things you don’t wanna do. Things I had to do:
Reduce workouts: no more 2 hrs of CrossFit & 20k+ steps a day. More rest days. I have to modify, reduce intensity & steps. Requires me swallowing my ego & not picking weights & movements I don’t need to do anymore for LONGEVITY as a goal.
Ate in MAINTENANCE & SURPLUS for almost 8 MONTHS. GAINED 15lbs in the process. Experimented with intuitive eating, macro ratios, fasting, meat, portions, tracking glucose & ketones, etc. Figured out I get better results tracking macros. Ground meats work better as far as tracking, simplicity, & satiety. Carb refeed days via rice cakes or white rice work great when I need them with minimal negative feedback. My appetite did “correct.” I eat slower & know know when I’m truly full.
Different fasting windows affect you differently. Don’t recommend any newby to fast, just get adapted to the way of eating 1st. You’ll find what works best. I can fast longer now. I don’t do extended fasts. The longest I go is about 20hrs.
What gets TRACKED gets MANAGED. I know a lot of you don’t wanna track but HOW ARE YOU GONNA KNOW WHAT TO CHANGE IF YOU DONT HAVE ANY AWARENESS OF WHERE YOU’RE STARTING? Quality & quantity matter. After a while you master it & won’t have to track but you need to learn quality & quantity & how it affects you 1st. It’s about making EDUCATED choices.
If you’re having gut/hormone issues, do a true elimination diet & stick to something longer than a few days or 2 weeks. This takes TIME. You didn’t have these issues after 1 day &/or put on the weight in 1 day. There are no quick fixes or magic. Put in the work. Get help from a coach or practitioner, get tested! Quit guessing. I worked with multiple practitioners, coaches, protocols & diets, & tracked symptoms/trigger foods for DECADES.
Do the DUE DILIGENCE — experiment, eat more, educate yourself, sleep more, have patience, seek help, fix your relationship with food & self 1st, quit binging on the weekends, overtraining, & treating your body like a dumpster fire.
I named my airfryer💁🏼♀️His name is Albert. If you’ve been following me for a bit you know I name all my plants too🪴💕
After experimenting with all different kinds of ground meats, 85% ground beef is my fav. Just the right amount of fat for my macros, flavor, & texture.
I used to bake meatballs all the time, but fell in love with the crispy edges on meat when cooking in the airfryer. I thought, why the heck not, let’s airfry’em.
You can add cheese with this recipe or omit if sensitive to dairy. You can also use different kinds of ground meats, have fun with these!! Ground Pork is another fav, if you’re trying to reduce fat use a leaner ground chicken or ground turkey like a 93%
Simple Cheesy Carnivore Meatballs
Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef (I like 85%, idc if it’s grass fed or grain fed. I feel people over complicate things. As long as it agrees with your health, eat it. I prefer grain fed for taste.)
2 large eggs
2 oz pork rinds ( @epicbar brand baked pork rinds are my fav)
3 oz shredded Italian cheese blend (or whatever you’d like)
1 tsp pink Himalayan sea salt
Instructions
Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
Roll into balls (~1-2 inches in diameter) Should make 24 meatballs.
Cook at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Turn meat balls & cook for another 4 minutes.
Ballpark Macros per 4 meatballs
(These’ll vary depending on your meatball size & what ingredients you include)
Life ain’t always tacos & tequila 🌮🍸but it should be 🎉 😝 (more like beef & bourbon🥩🥃 for this girl.)
In other words, you don’t always get whatcha want but ya get whatcha need. It hinges on your perspective & reaction.
Yes, ‘whatcha’ is a word. Hxll my talk & text can’t even decipher my Indiana twang. Anybody else have that problem? 📲
Raised on a cattle & crop farm in small town Indiana I grew up hearin things like, “Sexy as socks on a rooster” and “Quit your dickin around” an awful lot. 😂
Cleaning the barn 💩🐮 was punishment. That and picking up rocks out of the field.
And you did not wanna hear mom say I’m gonna call dad — you knew your a$$ was in trouble.
I wouldn’t have changed my childhood for anything. Priceless life lessons that never could’ve been taught sitting in a classroom — the value of hard work, honesty, the Golden Rule, love, teamwork, responsibility, discipline, & the relentless pursuit of betterment.
Katie what the hxll does this have to do with your bathroom photo this mornin half naked in @Amazon underwear? 😆 — I’m getting to that.
You see these life lessons were the foundational bricks that transferred into my success habits AND fitness.
Most people scroll & look at the after photo & want to be &/or look like that person but they’re not willing to commit & do the work behind it. That’s what you need to think about.
Can you do what that person had to do to get where they are? (Eat more food, reverse diet, commit to healing & rest, work thru the hunger in a cut, etc)
Is that your story & authentic self?
Have you learned the correct bricks to build your foundation? (Macros, eating maintenance, what foods you can digest, trigger foods, eating schedules, workout schedule, etc)
Growing up on a farm & fitness taught me a few things:
— They taught me I CAN do the hard things. I’m stronger than I think.
— They taught me how to stay committed, not just by what I looked like in the mirror, but simply by keeping the promises I made to myself to be healthy.
— They taught me discipline. Getting those workouts in, working with my 4H calves, hitting the macros, eating foods I can digest vs crap, sleeping over drinking all night.
— They taught me the value of hardwork & that I can do anything I put my mind to.
— They taught me having a serving & loving heart is more important than having a set of abs or five grand champions.
As creatures on this earth, we either find comfort in not trying or comfort in the extreme. It’s difficult to find comfort in the balance.
There will be bumps along the way. They’re called lessons and remember you don’t always get what you want you get what you need 🌱 🪴
Cheers y’all happy St. Patrick’s Day from Kelly Farms🍀🍻
Go make memories, have fun, remember no good story started with a salad 🥩🥗🥂😄
I could talk all day about the mistakes I’ve made throughout my fitness journey.
To name a few:
Feeling I had to earn food or use it as a reward
Yo-yo dieting & falling for fads, pills, & what Karen down the road was doing
Wearing restriction as a badge of honor then falling victim to self-loathing, disordered eating & exercise habits
Eating all the wrong foods for me physically and mentally causing paralyzing G.I. distress
Equating my worth with abs & a number displayed on a dirty box which sits on my bathroom floor
Losing weight doesn’t have to feel like a punishment, in fact that’s the one thing you must avoid.
Think about it, if you hate what you’re eating and how you’re training, do you think you’re going to stick to it?
— Heck no.
Losing weight is simple, but it’s not EASY. Ultimately it comes down to being in an energy deficit. (Taking in less energy than you are expending)
We over complicate the process. We set ourselves up for failure by chronically dieting, picking the wrong kinds of workouts, picking the wrong kinds of foods we cannot digest & absorb properly, we over stress, under eat, under educate ourselves, under execute, & over train.
Don’t even get me started on the negative self talk & shxtty mindset syndrome.
30 years ago (I’m almost 39 now😬) my fitness journey began. I was 8 years old. My heaviest weight was 160 lbs on a 5’1 frame.
Right now is actually the lowest weight (avg 107-110lbs) & best health I’ve ever been. And I’m eating at my true maintenance (calories around 2000-2200 daily). Maintenance is we all should be hanging out the majority of our lives.
I’ve made the same mistake as you have. We are all different as far as what foods & training work best for you.
Here are some examples of hacks that have helped me keep the weight off and I hope it helps you find the right tools for your toolbelt too!
Abstainer: cannot have just 1 cookie without then eating or wanting to eat the whole pan. Does better with food rules and a more “all or none approach.” More prone to binge eating.
Moderator: can have 1 cookie and be satisfied. Needs more flexibility.
Are you a food addict? Get real with yourself. I understand this stuff isn’t pretty.
What is your relationship with carbohydrates? Are they like drugs which trigger self sabotaging habits? How do they make you feel? Do you need them for your health & fitness goals for optimal health, performance, & recovery? What is your daily threshold that makes you feel your best?
2.) CHOOSE THE FOODS & TRAINING YOU LOVE AND HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH
For me, it’s animal based nutrition. Protein & healthy fats are the center of my meals. I do not have a good relationship with carbohydrates and have many emotional and physical trigger foods. I only consume carbohydrates when I need them for optimal health, performance, and recovery. I find eating carbohydrates makes me crave more carbohydrates & I’m not satiated as sticking with meat only.
I prefer CrossFit like training. I love the community, I love the variety, I love it combines strength and aerobic conditioning. It’s effective af & keeps me happy. Therefore it’s easy for me to stick to my routine.
3.) EAT & TRAIN INTENTIONALLY & MINDFULLY
The food you eat literally makes you. Choose accordingly. Slow down when you eat, enjoy every bite, chew thoroughly, eat till you’re 80% full. Same with your training. Pick a goal and stick with it. Keep your commitments to yourself. Work hard & rest when you need to and be intentional about both! Motivation is fleeting, your integrity & character are forever.
4.) SET YOUR NONNEGOTIABLES & FLEXIBILITY
Especially important when it comes to social functions & family. Set step goals. Mine are between 13-15k on average. Maybe you allow yourself 2 cocktails on the weekends, maybe it’s one untracked meal with family, maybe it’s 2 refeed days on the weekends, maybe it’s more carbohydrates one day a week, maybe it’s dessert a couple times a week, maybe you do better being strict for a couple weeks & taking a week off, maybe you prefer to take your own food when you go out. Anything goes, you are your own boss, but OWN IT.
5.) GRATITUDE AND CELEBRATE EVERY WIN
Y’all gratitude is everything. You can’t hate yourself healthy and love yourself healthy at the same time. Which one would you rather choose? Take progress pictures, the scale isn’t the only indicator of success. Maybe you’re eating for better energy and better biofeedback. Maybe you’re trying to get stronger. The number on the scale does not dictate your worth or achievement.
6.) MANAGE YOUR MINDSET & OWN YOUR DAY
You should have a success routine nailed down. I talked about 8 things you should do every day that will change your life, yesterday. Check out that post and blog. If you continuously tell yourself you are a failure & always fxck up, guess what? That’s what you’ll attract & become. Talk to yourself like your best friend. What would you say, what advice would you give her or him? Be the person you want to embody.
You can make moves or excuses. You either DO or your DON’T.
Tips to optimize a low carb lifestyle as an athlete/avid exerciser with special digestive needs:
▫️For my carnivore low carb’ers:
1.) Just get adapted-eat meat, find the low carb sources you love, cut the junk, find what eat windows that work for your schedule, track to make sure you’re eating enough food.
2.) Focus on healing any gi issues & give it time. Be patient & consistent. You don’t feel good all the time, as with any diet it takes time to find your groove. Most hit a slump around 2 weeks. Reduce the intensity & volume of your workouts (especially my crossfitters & Orange Theory enthusiasts)
3.) Thrive & THEN play around with fat loss or muscle gain goals. You’ll be more self aware & educated once your reach this point.
Not until someone is adapted & healed do I recommend any kind of playing around with fat loss cuts.
For some it may take 3-6 months or it can take years depending on what kind of healing (gut, hormonal, metabolic etc) you have to do.
▫️For someone who is just learning how to best manage IBD – I wanted to share my learning tools as an athlete. Do not give up who you are because of IBD – you will need to adjust & pay attention to your body, but you can continue to do what you love as well! There will be good days & bad days. Some days you may need to modify workouts, movements, intensity & volume.
SLEEP & HYDRATION
I drink water with electrolytes from @goultima Sleep has made the biggest impact on me physically & mentally. Shoot for at least 7 hours. I am in bed asleep by 8:30 at the latest most days, wake at 4am the majority of week days. Sleep is the most important thing to manage during any season. NON NEGOTIABLE.
NUTRITION
Everyone has different triggers & different needs. Do not apologize for having to eat a certain way or bring your own food in social situations. Food choices are extremely important. For me, I find lowfodmap, easy to digest, gluten free, low lectin, minimal dairy, animal based nutrition with the exception of white rice, plain rice cakes, & rice Chex cereal if I feel like I need some carbs (don’t crave or need them anymore now that I’m fully adapted to a more carnivore lifestyle). But I believe you should always leave room for flexibility & no diet dogma. Do what works for you. Carbs are most optimal post workout & in the evening prior to bed.
SOCIAL SITUATIONS
I understand this is a rough spot for many with autoimmune issues &/or special digestive needs. Use your uniqueness to educate others why you need to eat the way you do. Maybe it’s something they need to hear too. Be confident, bring your own food if you have to, eat before you go out, custom order your meals. I set a limit of 2 alcoholic beverages in social situations & also mix my own drinks the majority of the time. Just order a shot of whatever liquor you want & whatever mixer you want. That way you have control over how much alcohol is in that drink. There have been times I’ve also brought @zevia as a mixer. Voice your needs to the restaurant & they will accommodate.
STRESS MANAGEMENT
Stress plays a huge role in inflammation. Sleep, take more rest days when you need them, make sure you’re eating enough food for your activity, take walks, spend time alone.Learning how to manage stress is a skill. Be kind to yourself!❤️
