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!
You are where you are in life because you choose to be there. Face the truth. On some level, you feel like you deserve to be where you’re at in life, even if you don’t like your life. I’ve been there. If you’re getting paid “less than you’re worth,” if you agree to a certain wage, you literally accept that wage as what you’re worth. If you keep people in your life who don’t treat you well, you’re keeping them there because you have low self-worth. After all, if your self-worth was high you wouldn’t allow people to treat you that way. The secret to a sexy life you love? Well, it’s not exactly what I thought it would be. It’s actually in doing the “unsexy” the majority of the time, following what you love to do, & creating systems to make your life successful! You see I figured out that “life” truly happens in the interlude & inbetweens. It’s creating your heaven everyday. My “regular” daily life? Workout. Work. Write. Create. Read. Learn, Sleep. Fun. Repeat. Grind & hustle my a$$ off & I love it. I found by walking the line of structure & spontaneity, that THAT in between was the secret sauce to finding the sexy life. For me, the only way to facilitate such sweet serendipity was to keep leveling myself up in life — unlocking access to richer experiences, better health, & deeper people. That meant cultivating upleveling habits, environments, mindset, & goals. So, if you’re puffing cig after cig before getting drunk at the local bar every night the only “serendipity” you might unlock is a clumsy, dumpster fire make-out sesh with someone with more baggage than a trash truck & hangover the next morning. Swipe, save, & share: becoming superhuman. This is how I manage it all!
Hailing from Fishers, Indiana, Katie is an aficionado of health, mindset, human connection, & entrepreneurship. Motivational writer, speaker, doer of many things, she grew up on her family’s beef cattle & crop farm where agriculture was her first love. She is a Purdue University graduate well known for her storytelling of life lessons & personal transformation through her own relationships, financial struggles, Crohn’s Disease, disordered eating, CrossFit, & adapting a carnivore diet lifestyle.
Katie also has over 17 years experience as a Registered Radiologic Technologist, Nutritionist, & Sales Consultant. She works with people of all walks of life as a nutritionist & personal life coach to help them authentically optimize their lives to find health, wealth, & happy!
You can catch her via Instagram @lil_bit_of_fit & blog, Lilbitoffit.com
I don’t know one person that wouldn’t want to know the secret to the foundation of youth. As one living with Crohn’s Disease & lived 40 years of struggles ranging from obesity, bulimia & anorexia, cervical cancer, renal stones, having my gallbladder removed to any color of 50 shades of f*cked up & addictions you can imagine…I’d try & experiment with anything to look & feel my best.
You can read more about my healing and transformation journey here. Disclaimer: these are what have worked for me. Take what you need, can, believe in, whatevs, & chuck the rest. You do you. You are more than welcome to DM me with questions. No unsolicited advice here. Aholes not welcome. Everyone is entitled to eat, workout, & live in a way that makes them feel amazing & a badass. I’m simply journaling my experiences as a resource for you to be your own health advocate & do your own life admin. **All links & discount codes available in IG bio & highlights** Biohacking is a term simply used to describe do-it-yourself biology. It involves people making incremental changes to their bodies, diet, & lifestyle to improve their performance, health, & well-being. Some types of biohacking have been around for many years, such as intermittent fasting. Biohacking ranges from efforts to improve brain function, treating dis-eases & disorders, looking more youthful, to faster weight loss. Some favorites I incorporate into my life & success routine include things like: Red Light Therapy @emrtekinc Grounding (Earthing) Meditation & Writing Cryotherapy Infrared Saunas Blue Blockers Organic & Natural Products vs Conventional (beauty products, cleaning supplies, cooking products, coffee, water, teas, etc) Supplements @nuethix_formulations Intermittent Fasting Functional Crossfit @3kings_athletics Restore Hyper Wellness @rhw_fishers A Meat Based primarily Carnivore Diet (I call myself a Liberal Carnivore. I’m not dogmatic about it) Colon Hydrotherapy You’ll wanna save & share this resource!
I stopped obsessing over fat loss & focused on holistic health.
The biggest one in my opinion. Excess weight & inflammation come from not only physical triggers but also mental & emotional triggers. Unpacked trauma, habits, & addictions manifest as both physical & emotional inflammation.
I believe the secret to having it all is believing abundantly you already do. Those that choose to walk along the path of abundance experience a completely different life. Opting to live life to the fullest, exuding happiness, generosity, creativity, fulfillment, inspiration, & joy.
Your physique, energy & overall health will never flourish or look/feel the way you want if you do not get healthy first & stop obsessing over numbers like the weight on the scale, body fat %, excessive number of steps you get in a day, & how many calories you restrict.
Master your emotions & circle or you become a prisoner to them.
I eat optimal protein, calories, & foods that nourish my body, mind, & spirit.
Due to my autoimmune allergies, Crohn’s disease, past disordered eating, & addiction to food/carbs/sugar, I experimented & found a meat based “carnivore” WOE (way of eating) worked best for me. Been carnivore for 3+yrs
I generally eat between 1g-1.5g of protein/lb of body weight. I’m 5’1 & 105-108lbs on avg. I trust my body, eat what I crave & do whatever form of exercise it feels like doing that day. I do not punish myself for eating. I do not earn, burn, or use food as a treat. It is honored with respect & literally the life fuel we are made of.
I eat mindfully, slow, chew thoroughly & until I’m 80% full. I wait 20 minutes after eating to allow my satiety cues to let me know I’m full. Eating enough food also helps balance hunger & satiety cues. I maintain my weight on 1850-2100+ calories/d after giving my body time to heal. That meant initially gaining 15lbs during a reverse diet & adaptation period. Took me a year to lose that weight. Be patient.
I embraced aging is inevitable, but living well with a young spirit & nourished vessel is a choice.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Eat the right way for you & in appropriate doses.
Get exercise & quality sleep everyday.
Stress your body optimally. Challenge=Change.
Track your data if things aren’t working.
Avoid fake, processed, sugary drinks & foods.
Its never too late for dietary & lifestyle changes.
Mind your thoughts & circle or they’ll mind you.
Saunas, red light therapy, grounding, & cold therapy are fabulous for longevity, recovery, anti-aging, & detox.
Get out in the sun, avoid toxins as much as you can.
Live for metabolic & hormonal health, aesthetics will follow if you’re good to your body.
SLEEP & WALKING: Anyone can do this. Sleep as much as you can. Take naps. Walk in the morning, take breaks during the day, walk after meals, walk as a night cap. Gtfu & move. We weren’t made to live like sloths.
GRATITUDE, Positive Affirmations, Abundance Mindset: basically loving MY life unapologetically, doing shit I love, & giving less fux. Try it. I lovingly dare you.
Not CHRONICALLY DIETING: eat enough optimal food for daily function & activity consistently to be a badass, eat at least at maintenance the majority of the time, eating daily optimal protein at every meal, getting in daily optimal healthy animal fats. Choose to eat the right way for YOU.
Digestion Support: Intermittent Fasting especially on work days. Occasional Omad. Nuethix Formulations Utilyze Digestive enzymes. (Code: lilbitoffit) Chewing food thoroughly, eating slowly, not stuffing myself, stopping when I am about 80% full. Walking after meals.
Reducing Caffeine & Alcohol: Duh. Leaving this one here, you guys are smart you know why. Stress + hormone balance. Keep caffeine in the mornings.
Meat Based Diet: I eat mainly meat, seafood, eggs, & dairy in moderation (butter/cheese/milk), organic coffee, tea, water. Minimizing/removing processed, artificial foods. This has allowed me to reduce gut flares, put my Crohn’s in med-free remission, lose fat & maintain my weight loss, & feel/perform my best. My specific story & healing protocol is in the link in my IG bio. It’ll answer all your questions on trigger foods, disordered eating, gut healing & carnivore! AGAIN, eat the way that serves YOU best!
Organic Coffee:@bulletproof@foursigmatic@lifeboostcoffee Coffee is one of the most chemically treated plants produced. Organic reduces toxins, chemicals, & molds. Tastes better imo.
No Tap Water: Reduces toxins. Contaminants in our water can lead to health issues, including gastrointestinal illness, reproductive problems, neurological disorders, & autoimmune conditions.
Personal Development: be a forever student of life! Read, write, therapy, workout, eat well, listen to educational podcasts, YouTubes, audiobooks, learn new skills, invest in yourself! Use your time wisely! A list of my favorites are here on Instagram!
Reduce Toxic Products: Beauty products. Fragrance. Plastics. Cleaning products. Microwaving. Cooking products, etc. Use cast iron skillet, Airfryer paper liners from @amazon Love Physician’s Formula & BeautyCounter.
Circadian Rhythm Routine: reducing electronic use. Sleeping more. Blue blockers (Discount Code: lilbitoffit20) Getting outside for sun & grounding especially in the morning. My prescription glasses + blue blocking lenses I got from Eyeglass World. I use them during the day & a pair of amber ones at night before bed.
Red Light Therapy: pads off @amazon, @Emrtekinc Light. (Discount Code: lilbitoffit20) Benefits include: Reduces oxidative stress, inflammation & joint pain, Increases muscle recovery, collagen production & tightens skin, Reduces fine lines & wrinkles, Increases hair growth, Increases energy, Increases wound healing, Improves memory & vision quality, Increases testosterone production, Improves sleep & can aid in fat/weight loss. Use mine at least 20 minutes per day.
Grounding: Mats/Pads & getting outside in nature. Involves doing activities that “ground” or electrically reconnect you to the earth to help with pain, inflammation, fatigue, depression, sleep, & numerous dis-eases & conditions. Got my mats off @amazon I sleep on one & use the pad at work.
Supplements: @nuethix_formulations Cort-Eaze Cortisol Balance Support, Estro-Cort Estrogen Balance Support, Utilize Digestive Enzymes, Nu-Multi Multivitamins, Relax Liposomal Sleep Support. Electrolytes: @goultima, @drinklmnt Tea: Green tea, Matcha, Herba Mate, Red Rose Teas off amazon
Portable Infrared Sauna: got min off @amazon. Love it for detox, recovery, reduces inflammation & pain, & positive hermetic stress. Hormesis is a dose-response phenomenon characterized by low-dose stimulation & high-dose inhibition, & has been recognized as representing an overcompensation for mild environmental stress. The beneficial effects of mild stress on aging & longevity have been studied for many years.
Wellness Treatments & Services: I utilize Restore Hyper Wellness @rhw_fishers Services include Red Light Therapy, IV Therapy, Compression Therapy, Cryotherapy, Infrared Sauna, Etc.
Colon Hydrotherapy & Enemas: flush bowel of toxins, relieves constipation, helps with digestive motility for my Crohn’s disease, gastroparesis, & impaired gastrointestinal motility. I have a home in-shower enema system from @amazon Colonics I do quarterly, enemas as needed. I go to Brandy Mason in Carmel, IN with Carmel Colonics & Terri Hawkins with Natural Rejuventation in Indy.
This is my home shower unit from Amazon
Hope this was helpful! If you like this, you can follow me on Instagram here!
P.S. Grab your copy of the Cook With Coach K Carnivore Made Easy Recipe Book Here!
P.S.S. Grab your copy of the Ultimate Meat & Macros guide Here!
It was like getting glasses & actually seeing for the first time. Those “blobs” – they were trees. They were flowers & so much more. Most people spend the first half of their lives collecting and the second half choosing what to keep.
“So now that you’re 40, which lessons do you plan to carry with you?” A friend asked me this question on my 40th birthday. At the time, I didn’t have a great answer. Actually I think my eyes glazed over a lil bit from the enormous amount of information running through my brain. Looking back, I realized the reason I write to y’all is so you can learn from not only what I have learned, but from my mistakes & experiences so that you can be a better human faster than I was. THAT is being a good leader. It’s not about acting like you know everything or being “sugar & spice & everything nice.” “Nice,” in my opinion, is telling the truth & that doesn’t always make you the most popular, but it does make you someone who stands for something larger than themselves & accountable. I started my fitness, nutrition coaching, & social media journey 15+ years ago. During that time, I’ve written & shared thousands of blogs, posts, & videos, most rooted in life lessons learned & weeding out what matters from what doesn’t & what’s gonna help the most people out there. Here are more lessons the world — and the amazing people (like you) I’m lucky to have along with me for the ride — have taught me that I plan to carry with me as long as the Universe will have me here. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you’re in motion. The less time you spend thinking and the more time you spend doing, the closer you’ll get to the life you want. Try some of these on for size and just run with’em. Report back to me when your life is awesome. I’m grateful for each & every one of you that read, share, & unpack your bags of life right beside me. oxox Coach K
Highly asked question the past few weeks & it is #worldcarnivoremonth 🙌 These are based upon my personal & client experiences.
**DISCLAIMER: I want you to find an approach & WOE (way of eating) that makes YOU feel AMAZING no matter what it is. This is simply for education & sharing my experience why certain approaches may not be working for you.
Summary of my experience in a shot glass:
– I personally do better on a higher, optimal protein approach. I’m an avid exerciser, crossfit athlete, lift weights, & live an active lifestyle. I want to build & maintain as much muscle as possible.
– I have Crohn’s disease & don’t have a gallbladder, my fat threshold is lower (means I can’t eat as much fat) than someone with a gallbladder who digests & absorbs fat well. Thru personal experience tracking food & experimenting for DECADES I discovered when I ate higher fat over 150g/d, my digestion was terrible, I had slow motility, constipation, inflammation, & gained weight.
– I am lactose intolerant. Dairy causes gut upset. I can’t add large amounts of butter & cheese to increase fat without gut upset & inflammatory. I also don’t digest pork & bacon fat well in larger quantities without digestion & histamine issues.
– I lived decades with disordered eating. I had shades of bulimia & anorexia. I’m a volume eater, which means I feel more satiated & “safe” on higher volume foods like meat vs low volume food like fats & oils. It is difficult for me to feel when I’m full on high fat, which leads to overeating, emotional stress & thus, weight gain. Self awareness is everything!
Thank you for allowing me to express my experiences & hope they help you!
If you need additional help, I would be happy to listen & assist.
I’ve found throughout my 3+ years on carnivore that most people feeling crummy typically have a few things in common: electrolytes may be off, you’re not enough food, increased glucose & insulin numbers, & low ketones.
If you’re eating too much protein, the excess can signal the liver to use protein as a fuel via gluconeogenesis instead of fat. This can cause your glucose numbers to rise & ketones to drop. If you are metabolically healthy & more active, you can still thrive, feel good, & lose body fat on large amounts of protein — I am one of those types of individuals, but not everyone fits that profile or protocol.
Tips, signs, & things to think about
Meal Timing & Food Quantity Matter
Calories & quantity still matter no matter what diet. So this is why saying, “Eat all the meat you want!” isn’t the best approach or message. The type of food you eat matters in terms of digestion. Ex: processed meat vs whole food or you may have allergies/histamine responses to certain meats & dairy. Macro ratios matter like high fat/mod protein vs higher protein/mod fat. Try spreading meals & protein quantities out equally through the day. Experiment!
Satiety Cues
If you’ve struggled with disordered eating/chronic dieting & can’t “feel” true hunger/satiety cues, slow down when you eat. We should be able to distinguish between true physical hunger & emotional hunger & habits. Meals should be large enough to keep you full for 4+ hrs. High fat carnivore can pose a challenge to volume eaters & lead to overeating. Make sure to get quality sleep always!
Blood Glucose & Ketones will Vary Person to Person
Lifestyle, health status, & activity level matter when it comes to both set of numbers. People who are highly active, avid exercisers, athletes, & fully fat adapted may not have high ketone numbers because their bodies are efficient at utilizing fat & ketones as fuel & there may not be as much concentrated in the blood. I am one of those people. I lift, CrossFit, & get 15k steps/d & still lost 20lbs with ketones averaging around .6. My glucose also tends to run around 85-90 fasting.
On the other hand, if you are more sedentary & getting higher blood glucose numbers & low ketones, this could be an indicator you’re consuming too much protein & not enough fat, maybe your meals are too large at a sitting, maybe you can try different fasting windows to get these to optimize. I find our largest meal should be post workout for most for optimal recovery & digestion. I’ve seen the best fat loss results tapering meal sizes later in the day, fasting 12-16 hrs overnight.
Fasting
Once fat adapted, it is natural to lean more towards longer fasting periods. I can easily fast 20 hrs. If you fast & feel great & your numbers improve, fasting may be beneficial & more aligned to you & your lifestyle. I find more sedentary people do better with fasting & longer periods of fasting.
In contrast, if you are highly active, an avid exerciser, athlete, lifting weights, getting 10+k steps/d, & live a higher stress lifestyle, overly fasting can do the opposite & put more stress on your body causing glucose numbers to rise & fat gain in many cases. Hormones matter, be good to them & work with your body.
Fasting too long, over caffeinating, & over exercising while eating too little can also cause higher glucose numbers due to excess stress & a rise in cortisol. You may need smaller more frequent meals & shorter fasting windows to balance blood glucose & hormone levels.
80/20 or higher fat carnivore
May NOT work great for you if:
You have trouble digesting high fats. For ex: I don’t have a gallbladder & cannot optimally tolerate digesting large quantities of fat without digestive issues like reflux, slow digestion, constipation/diarrhea, & nausea.
You are lactose(dairy)&/or egg intolerant. Often times egg yolks, butter & dairy like cheese are added to meals to increase fat, If you cannot digest these well, they will cause challenges & inflammation.
You are active, an avid exerciser, or athlete lifting weights & focusing on muscle building. We typically have protein higher requirements to build & maintain this tissue.
You are a volume eater & cannot feel full or satisfied on a higher fat approach which makes it hard to sustain, adhere to, & leads to overeating.
You feel sluggish, digestion is off, & start putting on excess body fat with higher quantities of fat.
Experimentation & data tracking is the only way to know!
Higher protein/mod fat carnivore
May NOT work great for you if:
You are more sedentary. Your protein & calorie needs are likely lower than a more active person.
You are encountering higher fasting glucose numbers & lower ketone numbers consistently.
You don’t feel well eating higher protein quantities. For ex: low energy, constipation, high fasting glucose numbers, low ketones, peeing more frequently, lethargic, slow motility digestion(feeling like your food is just sitting there & vice versa for high fat too), ravenous hunger, never feeling full & satisfied, excess thirst.
You’ve tried higher protein & aren’t seeing any fat loss results. It may be time to switch it up & try a higher fat approach. You may need a diet break or try fat cycling higher fat days in with lower fat days.
You simply may need to eat more & reverse diet if you’ve been chronically under eating. To increase calories on a carnivore approach, you have to increase your fat. Don’t fear the fat!Experiment!
You can read more about how I healed my gut, disordered eating, & fat loss story here. This will answer the majority of your questions as well as provide products & supplements to help!
Cleaning my apt yesterday I noticed a book. Hmm I thought…
Despite a busy schedule, I remember finishing The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck in 2 days. It was one of the 1st books that invoked shifts in my perspective on how I wanted to more authentically live my life. There were so many lessons to dissect & apply, I read the book numerous times.
I feel most people’s ultimate goal in life truly is to simply “be happy.” But wtf does this really mean? I know I’ve had to ask myself this on numerous occasions while stepping off the hot mess express of life.
Happiness is a problem. For many of us, happiness consists of relaxing on the beach while sipping our favorite cocktail 24/7. (Sounds good to me right?!) Or it may be getting healthier or losing weight. It may be getting a new job or relationship.
However, this concept couldn’t be more wrong.
Time after time, psychology has shown that human beings draw their positive feelings (happiness) often from achieving. You could picture happiness as standing on a podium holding a gold medal.
Try to recall the last time you felt joy. What was the trigger? Most often it was because you overcame a challenge & achieved something.
The “problem” I talk about is really the need for love & validation. It triggers us to do some crazy sh*t like extremes: diets, exercise, over working, people pleasing, & settling for less than we deserve.
In other words, just because a little may do great things, more doesn’t always mean better. The sweet & savory blend is found in the appropriate dose.
I actually learned to give a f*ck about the right things by giving less f*cks.
We can learn much about paradoxes which in turn can help us achieve our “happy.”
I was staring at a terribly unflattering close-up of my face on my iPhone screen. Kinda like the terribly unflattering videos in the Target checkout line.
Staring at my iPhone, I was waiting for a client to accept our FaceTime call.
“Why the hell do reflections trigger us?” I thought.
I should have used those 10 seconds of wait time to express gratitude for this technology that allows us to connect from all over the world!
And yet all I could focus on was this red sun spot I have in the middle of my forehead & the fact my eyes looked tired af.
I moved the phone to a different angle to see if I could get a “better view.” I pulled at my eyes for an instant eye lift. I immediately started brainstorming solutions to these “imperfections.”
Was this something Botox could solve? Would I need to invest in some kind of fancy cream or treatment?
I’m disappointed to say that all of this flashed through my mind in those 10 seconds, but I keep things on the real reel here & I’m just like you.
“Only from a place of self love do you have permission to change yourself,” I kept telling myself. And that is what I remind myself every time the criticism Gremlin creeps in.
I understand it’s hard to break this cycle of self-critique. Especially when you’ve experienced trauma like being made fun of as a kid or raised in an environment where achieving & people pleasing were the only ways you felt you could receive love.
I realized years ago I needed to break these bad habits & started practicing daily gratitude & being present in my body as it was.
If you ask me today what my top beauty advice would be, I would say this…
Look in the mirror less, obsess less about things that don’t add true value to your life & look at the rest of the world to see what you could be using your time for instead.
I now use my extra time for growth & nourishment in the forms of education, service, money, personal development, health, self care, & making memories with loved ones.
I decided 2023 would be the year I give up. The year I nourish.
I owe it to myself, to you, to my dreams, & to the legacy I want to leave here that doesn’t have a damn thing to do with a red sunspot on my forehead.
I listened to a podcast by Jay Shetty last week that invoked the most enriching reflection on my year I’ve ever had. Every year I spend time getting a clear insight of how this year went, the ups & downs, the special moments, & the things I might want to do away or restart next year. This year I asked myself 7 questions suggested on that podcast. I included them on the last slide for you! These would be a great idea for a date night, community group, or a night out with friends! And here’s a challenge for you, REALLY get to know people this next year. I feel we get so wrapped up in superficial 2 second reels & TikTok’s that we’ve forgotten about depth & real life sh*t. I’m over the swipe right or left society we got goin on here. How bout you? 🙄 Anywhoodle…to help you start somewhere, here is a synopsis of the success formula I’m using to make 2023 my best yet! Lots of life lesson gems 💎 in the one! Gimme a 🔥 of you’re ready to have your best year! Oxox Coach K
I know I’m not the only one who has wondered this exact thing in times of hunger & juggling fat loss &/or physique goals…or playing the ole “macro Tetris” 😆
Basic rule of thumb: if you hungry & you’re choosing to over eat, CHOOSE A LEAN (means lower fat) PROTEIN SOURCE. The higher the fat content, the higher your calories will be.
Carbohydrates typically affect your blood sugar the most.
This is also a reason higher protein carnivore & meat-based diets vs high fat are extremely effective in helping you achieve & maintain a lean, more muscular (athletic or “toned” as a term many of you use) physique.
Also a reason why fat cycling is effective. (which is similar to carb cycling for those who are familiar with carb cycling) It focuses on higher protein and helping you achieve a calorie deficit by lowering your fat on specific days. Basic science and math at the end of the day.
My favorite lean protein sources: Ground chicken Lean ground beef (90-93%) Cod Tilapia Shrimp Scallops Chicken breast
You know it’s true, we all wanna look good naked. Yes, health should always be at the forefront & I stand firm in my belief if you focus on health everything else will fall into line.
You may have resolved to make this the year you finally start, & hopefully stick with an exercise program or nutrition approach, but you’re fighting an uphill battle if you don’t shift your vow into truly making a LIFESTYLE change.
It’s all too easy to give up after a few weeks & lookin around the gyms after the January rush, come February you see the same people there as before & most newbies drop off. The OG’s know what’s up!
So how to turn your determination into action you can sustain for more than 30 days? There are no secrets. In Beth Dutton fashion, to be blunt, at some point, you must get off your tush & take action. No one can do it for you.
Write down your ultimate physique &/or health goal & how you’d like to look/feel. Include weight, body fat, any mental or physical improvements you’d like to see. Anything goes here.
2. Make Time
Work up to 60 minutes of physical activity each day. That doesn’t mean beating the crap out of your body 7d/wk, but strive to get some kind of activity & routine down — even if it’s a walk with your dog, walking after meals, working out 3 days a week, etc. If you’re new to fitness, start with a 20 minute session 5-6 d/wk, two 15-minute sessions or three 10-minute sessions to help you become acclimated. Work your steps up to 10k/day.
3. Do What You Enjoy Weights & lifting are one of the best ways to make significant physical changes to your body. Unfortunately, not everyone enjoys lifting. The most important determinant of long-term success with fitness is how much you enjoy an activity. Choose something that makes fitness fun & keeps you consistent! Explore new exercise classes and activities to determine which you prefer. As a beginner, almost anything you choose will be challenging, but gains will be made starting your very first week.
4. Surround Yourself With a Supportive Community & Accountability
Train with a friend who has similar goals. Join a group class at your gym. Try CrossFit, F45, Orange Theory, Spin, etc. You’ll be far less likely to skip your workout & it’s also more motivating when you workout with a group & push each other. You’re also less likely to cut your sessions short. People who choose healthy lifestyles will engage in behaviors that will impact you. Similarly, if your friends are just the opposite, they’ll likely reinforce the wrong kinds of behaviors.
5. Avoid Comparison to Others
Instead, compare yourself to YOU. If you make every week better in some way than the preceding week, you’re moving forward & making progress. Aim to improve yourself vs last year’s version of you. It’s hard for any of us to feel good about ourselves when we try to measure up to more advanced athletes who may have been training for a decade or more. What makes these people champions is they focus on what they need to do & who they need to be to get what they want every single day. They stayed consistent, created a lifestyle they love, & kept going.
6. Make Mistakes & Be A Forever Student
Experiment! It’s the only way to figure out what works, what doesn’t, what you like & what you don’t like. Try different classes, different diets, track your food, get a mentor, get a coach, invest in a trainer or nutritionist. An easy way to get inspired & increase your knowledge of fitness, training, & nutrition is to commit to researching each day. There are tons of free resources via the web, YouTube, Podcasts, Social Media, etc.
7. Learn to Be Patient AF
Many individuals will drop out of their training or nutrition program because they’re not seeing results fast enough. However, physiological adaptations occur incrementally. You most likely won’t see much, if any, improvement from one week to the next, but you surely will over 90 days. That’s why you should make a commitment of at least 3 months when starting any diet or exercise program.
8. Rise, Grind, Then Shine
Work out in the morning before the rest of the day gets in your way. Bonus: morning workouts boost your energy & confidence for the rest of the day! Get up 20 minutes earlier & knock out some of those steps. Sleep in your gym clothes or set your clothes out in the morning to make it easier. Set your coffee on auto brew so it’s fresh & ready. Caffeine helps!
9. Get Up & Move During the Day
Sedentary jobs are associated with greater risk for cardiovascular disease, not to mention weight gain. Incorporate some kind of movement every 30 minutes or so at work. Set a reminder on your phone, walk after meals, park further away, walk to lunch, take the stairs, walk on calls, just keep moving.
* Reduces oxidative stress * Reduces inflammation & joint pain * Increases muscle recovery * Increases collagen production & tightens skin * Reduces fine lines & wrinkles * Increases hair growth * Increases overall energy & vitality * Increases wound healing, great for skin conditions * Improves memory & vision quality * Increases testosterone production * Improves sleep & can aid in fat/weight loss
11. Reduce Eating Out & Alcohol
You consume more total calories when you eat out, & many of those calories will be empty, in the form of sugary beverages like pop & alcohol, & desserts. You won’t be tempted to indulge during a weak moment if you’re eating at home & no junk food or temptations are present.
12. Make Protein the Focus of All Meals
Undereating + over exercising = bone loss, muscle loss, & a hot metabolic & hormonal mess for women especially. We underestimate the protein we need, especially if we’re active. It’s all about that repair & regrowth of muscle mass & recovery that build a healthy, lean physique. We need protein for “tone” & if we’re not careful when we lose weight, we’re actually losing muscle instead of fat. For most, .8-1.2g of protein/lb of body weight or goal weight if you have more to lose (or even 1.5g/lb for some more petite, leaner, active women) is appropriate. Choose what’s right for you. Try to get at least 30-50g of protein per meal.
13. If You Consume Carbs, Choose Slower-Digesting Carbs Over Fast-Digesting
Slower-digesting carbs such as veggies, brown rice, whole grains, oats, sweet potatoes, & quinoa provide more sustained energy throughout the day & don’t spike your insulin as much. Fast-digesting carbs like sugar, white bread, candy, crackers, pancakes, bars, juices, baked goods, & most prepackaged stuff can spike blood sugar levels & increase the insulin response. Save these for your post-workout meal, when your body can use the extra carbs to replenish fuel stores if you must have them. And don’t forget to keep sugary juices & drinks in check!
14. Set Eating Windows & Routine Meal Times
Routine meal times & some kind of food boundaries are helpful for most. Try fasting, which isn’t a dirty word. It simply means periods of not eating. Fasting 12-16hrs overnight would suffice for most. Nix late night eating & snacking in front of the tv. Set routine meal times. We should not be snacking in between meals. If you find you’re hungry in between meals, you’re most likely not eating enough food, especially protein &/or fat. Meals should keep us satiated for at least 3+ hours. Track your food if you don’t know. I use MyFitnessPal. Awareness is a super power!
15. Realize Huge Muscles & Ripped Abs Don’t Equate To Being Fit & Healthy
Fitness is about more than big muscles & ripped abs. Flexibility, cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength & endurance, & body composition are elements in determining how fit & healthy you really are. Realize there are specific activity & exercise regimens for each one of them. This goes back to tip number one, define your goals, create a system & plan accordingly.
16. Start With Simple Total Body Workouts
One of the simplest ways to ease into a weight workout is to do a total body workout 3x/week with a day of rest in between for recovery. A total body workout hits these major muscle groups: glutes, quads, hamstrings, chest, back, shoulders, triceps, biceps, & core. Choose one exercise for each muscle group (multi joint exercises hit multiple body parts), training every other day. Examples: bench press, shoulder press, squat, deadlift, rows, pull-ups, push-ups.
17. Build Upon Your Workout Routine As You Gain Experience
As you gain experience in the gym, start adding more exercises and sets (volume) for each body part for better overall development. Rather than just doing longer workouts, start dividing your training into a split, such as push muscles (chest, shoulders, triceps) one day, pull muscles (back, biceps) on another, and legs on a third. Given the greater overall volume you do each session for those individual muscle groups, you’ll also need a longer recovery session before repeating that workout again.
18. Prioritize Strength Training & Use Cardio As A Lever For Fat Loss
To lose body fat, you need to burn more calories than you consume. Doing cardio is one way to widen the caloric deficit. But not all cardio strategies are created equal & more is not always better. Weight training is an essential component of weight loss. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue, meaning it burns off loads of calories all day long, even when you’re at rest. To build as much muscle tissue as possible, or even to keep it when dieting, train with moderately heavy weights in the 6-12-rep range. And stick with the multi joint exercises for the majority of your movements.
Studies have also shown that intense, moderately heavy lifting of this sort has the greatest effect on keeping your metabolism elevated for as long as 24 hours after your workout has ended. That significantly adds to the total number of calories burned!
Hailing from Fishers, Indiana, Katie is an aficionado of health, mindset, human connection, & entrepreneurship. Motivational writer, speaker, doer of many things, she grew up on her family’s beef cattle & crop farm where agriculture was her first love. She is a Purdue University graduate well known for her storytelling of life lessons & personal transformation through her own relationships, financial struggles, Crohn’s Disease, disordered eating, CrossFit, & adapting a carnivore diet lifestyle.
Katie also has over 17 years experience as a Registered Radiologic Technologist, Nutritionist, & Sales Consultant. She works with people of all walks of life as a nutritionist & personal life coach to help them authentically optimize their lives to find health, wealth, & happy!
You can catch her via Instagram @lil_bit_of_fit & blog, Lilbitoffit.com
People with great bodies have a dirty little secret…
…OR maybe they’re simply just more aware of their activity & habits.
I’ve found shifting your perspective is EVERYTHING. Especially when it comes to diet & exercise. It’s a myth that “exercise is only effective when you break a sweat.”
People often ask me, “how can I exercise every day, how can I do at least 30 minutes of exercise daily, & how can I make exercise a habit.” My answer remains the same — reinvent the meaning of exercise.
Though exercise does shred calories to disperse extra stored fat, aid in muscle building, & mobility, it doesn’t always imply killing yourself in the gym to attain the body you want. Oftentimes we’re doing too much. extremes are not sustainable.
Exercise shouldn’t be a forced time-based activity. That’s one of the reasons why most of us fail at exercising. It needs to be enjoyable & easy just like the diet or WOE (way of eating) you choose.
You wouldn’t believe how many straightforward ways there are to burn calories, but it’s easy to miss the opportunities if you’re not looking for them.
Research has shown that swapping sedentary habits, such as watching television, for pretty much anything that doesn’t involve sitting down can make a world of difference.
I hope these simple tricks help you on your journey & explain how to take every opportunity to love life, flex your muscles, boost your heart rate, & eat foods that yield maximum nourishment & satiety for a happier, healthier life!
