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!
My poor body image to the point I remember putting a belt around my tummy rolls in middle school under my jeans so I looked thinner. I needed to “suck it in” then maybe they’ll be nicer to me.
I remember being as young as 8 comparing my body to skinnier girls in class. I thought restriction was the only way to weight loss.
I feel your pain if my story resonates with you too.
Yes, research has concluded that a “calorie deficit” is the only way to lose fat. It is science, but we are emotional creatures & they play a huge role in our habits, which become us.
Many fitness experts & diet gurus come up with complicated diets, workout plans, & supplement stacks that require a lot of work, & frankly, are unnecessary. I know for me, if it’s not easy, I ain’t gonna do it. My time, energy, & mental real estate are too important to worry about unnecessary things.
I’m sure you’ve heard the mantras like “eat less, move more” & “no pain, no gain.” Seriously, if it sounds hard, do you think people will be more likely to stick with it?
In short, this silliness & overabundance of info out there have forced many of you to choose inaction, which isn’t helping you to move the needle forward.
Self-discipline & willpower can be weak on any given day, leading us to make bad eating decisions & eventually fail at reaching our fat loss & health goals.
Plus, we can’t deny the fact that various foods influence hunger & hormones to varying degrees — so not all calories are equal.
When I embarked on my fat loss journey, over time, I realized if I adopted a simplicity approach, I was more likely to stick with it because:
“What’s simple & attainable on a daily basis IS SUSTAINABLE.”
So I created 5 simple concept habits that require minimal effort but go a long way in making fat loss automatic — meaning you don’t have to rely on restriction, self-discipline & willpower which result in basically life sucking.
Enjoy these cheat sheets & I hope these help you on your way to SUCCESS & LOVING YOUR BODY!
If you questions about how I healed my gut & lost 55 lbs via the carnivore diet, I show you how here in a detailed personal blog on my journey !
If you need some hand holding, I’m here to listen. Coaching & resources in link in my IG bio. If you’re serious about making a real (EASY) change, would it be crazy to book a call with me?
oxox Coach K
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
In the 40 years of my life, I’ve attempted to get into “better shape” & heal my gut more times than I wanna admit. I’ve been a plethora of different shapes & sizes depending on what season of life I was in.
But FINALLY something stuck. My motivation & drive were at an all-time high. Things started working & I stuck to my plan more than 2 weeks 😆 Most importantly, the carnivore WOE (way of eating) turned into my new lifestyle.
I’ve had tons of questions on how I want about figuring out what worked. So I mapped out my thought processes & phases just for you!
I share symptoms & trigger foods I encountered. I hope this helps you figure out what’s best for you!
***I also have a complete Meat & Macros Guide where I documented everything I have learned throughout this journey. Click the link in my Instagram bio to snag yours! Link: https://linktr.ee/lil_bit_of_fit
Was this journey easy? No. Did I feel great all the time? No. But what did happen within a couple weeks, my carb cravings were gone, I was satiated after meals, I was no longer binging & purging, my inflammation & gut issues had all but disappeared & I embraced stepping into my new chapter of life!
oxox Coach K
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
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!
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 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,” it’s because you’re not 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? Well, it’s not exactly what I thought it would be. It’s actually in doing the “unsexy” the majority of the time.
You see I figured out that “life” truly happens in the interlude & inbetweens.
I don’t know about y’all, but the last 4 years of my life have been UNREAL.
I went from being broke af, single af, sick af, lonely af, lost af to abundant af, healthy af, happy af, to married af, to divorced & single af again & everything in between!
That’s only a percentage of the roller coaster ride that strangers I meet & write for find delight in listening to.
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 & a hangover the next day.
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
A sobering & reflective conversation… Emotion is energy in motion. Dieting is an emotional problem, it’s more about behavior than food. Nothing happens if nothing moves. So I ask you, “Where is your emotion driving you?” Hard truths & guidelines to help you push the restart button for the last time. 🔖 Do you refuse to rest? Refuse to give up addictions? Refuse to reverse diet & STOP chronically dieting? Do you refuse to simply put in the work it requires to change your body, health, & life? Y’all, basically what you’re saying here is, “I want this, but I don’t it bad enough to do what is required to achieve it.” Biggies: “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 my coffee/bangs/etc.” (even though my cortisol is 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) Sound familiar? I share these things because I love y’all and I’ve made all the same mistakes as you! It’s Sunday night, let’s freaking rock this week! Here are some tips to help, take what you need! Oxox Coach “your biggest cheerleader” K 📣
What if there was a gateway drug that could give you happiness? That could give you focus, discipline, confidence & fulfillment?
What if it guaranteed a life of greater significance, stamina, impact, & success while alleviating depression, stress, & anxiety?
Would you take it?
Wanna know what it is?
This ‘gateway drug’ …is FITNESS.
Fitness isn’t just about the physical. It’s about the mental, physical, & energetic transformation of creating & embracing an evolutionary journey for LIFE.
What fitness really teaches you…
If you’ve followed me for years, you’ve witnessed I’ve been all shapes & sizes. And if you’re new, I cannot wait to get to know you!
I been thru 50 shades of healing, strong af, thiccc af, shredded af, & f*cked up & everything in between.
Struggled like all of you.
And I’m honesty getting emotional writing this, thinking, having spent so much of my energy nitpicking the “perfect” set of macros or training routine. Not going out or dating because I felt less than or I was over my calorie allotment that day.
It’s about finding that perfect blend of balance.
Fitness 100% taught me that I CAN do the hard things👇
➡️It taught me how to stay committed-not just by what I looked like in the mirror, but by keeping promises I made to myself.
➡️It taught me discipline. Getting workouts in, hitting macros, eating whole nourishing foods & not crap.
➡️It taught me the value of hardwork & that I can do anything I put my mind to.
➡️It taught me seasons, how to work with my body, self care, time & energy management.
It’s hard to find something that will teach you how to f*cking finish something more than that.
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.
I firmly believe pressure creates diamonds, & the challenges endured mentally & physically through fitness have helped reveal my highest self.
Go find your highest self❤️
That’s your gateway drug.
What has fitness taught you?
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
Today, I’m 40 years old & 55 pounds lighter. My heaviest weight at 5’1 was 160lbs & it’s been one hell of a journey living with challenges like gut issues, Crohn’s dis-ease, disordered eating, training as a Crossfit athlete & juggling all the life lessons along the way from the school of hard knocks. My story is not one of overnight success. I didn’t take a magic pill, although admittedly tried diet pills & every diet known to man. The physique I earned today took over 10 years to build. My results were not from a fad diet or a product from an infomercial. My journey has been more like a roller coaster ride of trials, errors, & a collection of milestones along the way, eventually leading to more than I ever expected to gain (or lose). I was an unhappy girl with no self-esteem, trapped beneath a baggy t-shirt & stretchy pants & desperate to lose weight to just “be normal.” I had no idea that it would turn into a journey of self-discovery, freedom, & finding joy. Trying to lose weight & build muscle while working a job(s), commuting, trying to take care of your family & juggling all the adulting can be hard work. But I want you to know that it doesn’t need to take hours each day. In fact, you can make a lot of progress with only 20 minutes of daily effort. The key is that you need to focus on the right lever-moving actions each day. It’s about controlling your environment & creating a success routine with the intentional habits to help you embody the person you wanna be & the life you wanna live. You won’t always be motivated. In fact I loathe the word motivation because I feel people use it as an excuse to not do what you need to do to be better. It comes down to keeping commitments. You’re worth keeping commitments to. A professional is a human who can do their job when they don’t feel like it; an amateur is one who can’t when they don’t feel like it. Which one you wanna be? So here is your 5 step blueprint & simple 6 guide for building a lean, energetic, happy, healthy body for LIFE!
Misconceptions & confusion that are most likely holding you back.
Like these: “I am not losing weight on the scale but am losing inches. Is this working?“ & “Muscle weighs more than fat”
Which isn’t actually true.
A lb of muscle weighs the same as a lb of fat. Just like a lb of chicken breasts weighs the same as a lb of ribeye…YES, one is fattier than the other, but a lb is a lb.
The more accurate way of saying this & probably what most people mean when they say this is “Muscle is more dense than fat.”
When you’re losing inches but not weight, this means that your body is going through what’s called recomposition or you’re losing body fat, which takes up a significant amount of space, & you’re left with a greater proportion of muscle, which takes up less space (i.e., more density)
This is actually a great sign due to the positive changes your metabolism & overall health are undergoing as you continue to build muscle
Muscle is the organ of longevity & metabolically taxing. This means that the more muscle you have on your body, the leaner you will be. The less muscle you have, the less efficient your body is at using the calories you consume on a daily basis & the greater decline you will have in your overall health.
The scale can be a useful tool to show long-term trends but it doesn’t give you the entire picture. Additionally, fluctuations in your scale weight can happen for SO many different reasons that have absolutely NOTHING to do with body fat gain or loss.
With that, here are 7 fat loss and fitness misconceptions that are most likely keeping you!
7 Fat loss & fitness misconceptions keeping you stuck
7 Fat loss & fitness misconceptions keeping you stuck
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
In the 40 years of my life, I’ve attempted to get into “better shape” & been a plethora of different shapes & sizes depending on what season of life I was in.
I had more than enough phases that sadly, fizzled out in a few weeks. Either because the fad diet wasn’t sustainable &/or I fell right back into my disordered eating habits again.
But this time, something was different. My motivation & drive were at an all-time high. I was sticking to my plan perfectly, & most importantly, the carnivore WOE (way of eating) was turning into my new lifestyle.
Was this journey easy? No. Did I feel great all the time? No. But what did happen within a couple weeks, my carb cravings were gone, I was satiated after meals, I was no longer binging & purging, my inflammation & gut issues had all but disappeared & I embraced stepping into my new chapter of life!
What was so different this time?
I started listening to my body & intuition instead of what everybody else was doing. I put my health first over aesthetics.
I committed to doing the hard things like: ⁃ tracking food & steps diligently ⁃ tracking my weight from an objective point of view instead of letting my emotions get the best of me ⁃ eating more food ⁃ gaining weight ⁃ making mistakes & experimenting with different foods & macros to find my sweet spot.
These 4 major changes over my 1st year on carnivore resulted in 20lbs of weight loss & the ability to consume more calories than I ever thought possible:
I stopped eating sugar, plants, processed foods, fiber, nuts & seeds. Due to my autoimmune & Crohn’s disease I do not digest these well without gut issues.
I eat meat, animal fats, eggs, & seafood.
I don’t binge, purge, or obsess over restrictive calorie counting & dieting anymore.
I eat when I’m hungry, stop when I’m truly satiated, & fast when I’m not hungry.
Notes: I initially gained 15lbs on the carnivore diet but stuck with it & adapted. It took a whole year of experimentation to find my calorie & macro sweet spot. Been meat based for 3+ years. I have lost 55lbs in my lifetimes, I’m 40 years old, been all shapes & sizes. I’m 5’1, & maintain 105lbs +/- a few lbs on 2000+ calories/d.
My weight loss did not happen overnight & you do not always feel fantastic, it’s not linear & requires a lot of patience.
I’ve lost 55lbs over my lifetime!
Common Carnivore FAQ’s
What do I eat? Do I need to buy expensive, organic, grass-fed meat? No. buy what you can afford & enjoy. Eat meat, eggs, & seafood. Ground meat & eggs are cheapest, buy what’s on sale. I would eliminate dairy, cheese, pork rinds, & artificial sweeteners the 1st 30-90 days. Most have gut or emotional issues with these things. Drink water, coffee black, unsweet tea, electrolytes.
What are high fat & low fat meats? Your higher fat meats will be your ribeyes, beef chuck roasts, ribs, waygu beef, 75-85% ground meats, pork sausage, pork butt/shoulder roasts, salmon etc. 85% ground meats are my sweet spot. Low fat favorites are shrimp, scallops, fish, 90-93% ground meats, Perdue ground chicken. Grilled chicken breast, egg whites, & chicken thighs without skin are also leaner options.
Can I use seasonings or eat other things besides meat & eggs? I’m all about freedom of choice & flexibility, if you want to use seasonings or consume other foods like carbs, fruits & veggies & they don’t cause any negative physical or mental issues – go for it. It’s YOUR diet. 1st 30-90 days, I’d stay more rigid so you know what works & what doesn’t.
Why did I lose my period? The biggest reasons I see are under eating, not eating enough fat, overly fasting, & over exercising. Keep your stress as low as possible.
I have loose stool, is this normal? I experienced this when I 1st started. Digestive enzymes will help. Take these 5-10 minutes before eating or mid meal. Try reducing meal sizes, increasing meal frequency, & lowering fat/meal. Don’t add extra fat to meals. When we reduce carbs & fiber we loose the “bulk” in our stool paired with the higher fat/protein content in meals our gallbladders release more bile to compensate to digest our meals.
I’m constipated, why? See this most often with clients when they’re consuming too lean of meat, too many processed meats & dairy, & not drinking enough water/electrolytes. Deli meat, pork rinds, dairy & sausage can be culprits, minimize these. Eat natural meat, increase fats by choosing fattier cuts like 80-85% ground beef vs chicken, increase water, & electrolytes. You should be drinking at least 1/2 your body weight in oz of water/d. Always being in a stressed out state can do this too as well as not getting enough sleep. Also, if you’re not eating enough, your digestion naturally slows too. Track your food, make sure your calories ¯os are appropriate.
Having leg cramps/muscle soreness? Make sure you’re recovering properly by managing stress, sleeping 7-9 hrs/night, getting in electrolytes & magnesium (I use Ultima Replenisher, link in IG bio), & staying hydrated.
How do you order when you eat out & travel? I typically stick to plain beef patties if I eat out, especially fast food. I’ll order 4 plain quarter lb patties from McDonalds for example. Also enjoy shrimp, scallops, salmon fillets, occasional steaks, plain/naked wings. BBQ places I go for the plain beef brisket. Ask how they cook their food & ingredients. They will custom cook your food. I ask for no oil & no seasonings. At Mexican restaurants I order the fajita meat only, no oil, no seasoning. I travel with my Instant Vortex 6qt airfryer & pack ground meat in a cooler for meat bars. I always book at hotel with a fridge, microwave, & fitness center. Cook your meat ahead of time and keep it in a baggie &/or in a cooler. At gas stations, they usually have hard boiled eggs & a microwave if you need to heat your food. Go to the grocery & stock up when you reach your destination. On the go, I enjoy rotisserie chickens, check the ingredients. In a pinch, most airports have restaurants to order meats & have hard boiled eggs.
What do I do when people question me? Use it as chance to educate on why you’re eating a meat based diet. Most people are just curious. Don’t let it trigger you, if they do give you sh*t, it is because of the way they feel about themselves, not you.
How many meals do you eat? Do you snack? During a 12hr shift work day in the ER, I eat 2 meals/d. An off day I can get away with OMAD post fasted workout. I eat around 2lbs of meat per day. I do not snack, “treat” myself, or earn food. Some days I like higher fat, others days I eat leaner. I trust & listen to my body.
How much protein should I eat/what do you eat? I will preface this with we are ALL DIFFERENT. I thrive on higher protein, I also strength train & CrossFit, have an active job, & get 15k steps per day. I avg 140-175g of protein/d. Most do well on 1g protein/ lb of body weight or goal weight if you have more to lose. I find most females do well around 120-150g of protein daily & keep a leaner physique. Others prefer a 70/30 or 80/20 approach.
Protein per meal? Most do well around 30-60g on avg of protein/meal if you’re consuming at least 2-3 meals/day.
How do I increase fat? Choose fattier cuts of meat like 75-85% ground meats, ribeye, beef chuck, pork belly, & ribs. If you have to you can add some butter, bacon fat, & tallow to meals. Ask your butcher for fat scraps or skins.
How do I know if I’m eating too much protein? The most common symptoms: waking up in the middle of night, sh*tty sleep, peeing all the time, lack of energy, hungry all the time, & excess thirst. Protein thresholds will be different for us all, it is helpful to track your food.
I feel tired all the time, why? Again, track your food. Often times you’re actually not eating enough calories. You may also not be consuming enough fat & too much protein. Most active females who workout 3-4 times per week, avg 10-15k steps/day, & lead an active lifestyle should be consuming around 1800-2100+ calories daily for general maintenance levels. Also take your electrolytes, you excrete more water & lose electrolytes during the transition.
What macro ratios should I start with to find my maintenance calories? I recommend most starting with a 1:1 ratio of protein:fat. For example, I started around 150g Protein:150g Fat then made adjustments off of that foundation. Use the TDEEcalculator.net to help you find your maintenance calories, then set your protein around 1g/lb of body weight or goal weight, then set your fat grams. You just have to experiment.
I can’t tell when I’m full! This happens often in those who come from a background of under eating, chronically dieting, orthorexia, & disordered eating. One of the biggest reasons is chronic dieting. It imbalances our natural hunger & satiety hormones (leptin & ghrelin), causing us to lose “sense” of what our body’s needs & are trying to tell us. We lose sensitivity to true stomach hunger, & get it confused with a multitude of other signals & needs like emotions, thirst, under recovery, boredom, stress, numbing, etc.
What can I do to help me feel when I’m full?
Eat regularly scheduled meals: they should be large enough to keep you satiated 4+ hrs. Protein (ex: meats & eggs) should be the center of your meals & around 30-60g of protein/meal. Daily goal around 1g/lb of body weight or goal weight if you have more to lose. (leaner individuals even up to 1.5g/lb for some) **Everyone’s preferences, thresholds/goals will be different as far as daily grams of protein. These are GENERALITIES! Some like higher fat approaches like 70/30 & 90/20 carnivore. Go your own way. I hope whatever you choose you feel AMAZING! 🙂
Do not skip meals, allow yourself to get “hangry,” & chronically under eat: especially if you tend to binge &/or emotionally eat. If you cannot control your eating when you’re overly hungry, I do not suggest intermittent fasting or doing extended fasts either. Eat slowly. It takes 20 minutes for your body to sense fullness.
Avoid trigger foods: mentally (causes emotional eating, binges) & physically (causes gut flares, bloat, energy crashes, etc) triggering foods like sugar, carbs, highly palatable & calorically dense foods like cheese, nuts, nut butter, bacon, ribs.
Will I gain weight on Carnivore? It depends on the level of healing you need to do metabolically & hormonally when you start. Also, what is your story? Have you chronically been dieting your entire life? If you’re starting from a place of under eating, you will most likely gain some weight when you start eating more food. Its basic science & will happen with any diet you choose.
We should be eating our maintenance calories the majority of the year, not dieting more than 1-2x/year for no longer than 12-16 weeks. You can use the TDEEcalculator.net to find your maintenance calories. Any weight you gain through making changes for better health & healing was most likely weight you needed to gain. Yes, you will lose the weight more easily & optimally the next time you try to diet after going through this period of taking care of yourself, eating more, focusing on muscle gain, & repairing any downregulation & imbalances from the years of undereating.
I hope there is something you can take out of this read! Good luck on your journey wherever it may find you!
Hoosier farm girl & Purdue University grad, Katie is a multifaceted girlboss! She’s a nutritionist, radiologic technologist, personal coach, executive assistant, motivational speaker & writer, & brand growth consultant working with individuals, businesses, organizations, & executives. She specializes in gut health, sports nutrition, disordered eating, social branding, human connection, and how to optimize life to attract health, wealth, & happiness. Katie welcomes all preferences & skill levels with a no diet dogma or one size-size-fits-all approach to health, wellness, fitness, & nutrition. After decades of struggling with her own health issues from Crohn’s, obesity, disordered eating, infertility, hormonal imbalances, & being a competitive athlete, she is passionate about helping others find self love, achieve their goals, & create sustainable success habits for an EXTRAordinary life!
You can catch her via Instagram @lil_bit_of_fit & blog, Lilbitoffit.com
