How to Build Muscle & Lose Fat + 10 Tiny Sacrifices To 20 lbs Shed

One mindshift allowed me to finally lose weight after 3 decades of trying & failing…

In the last 30+ years, I quit binging on carbs & sugar so many times, but I always went back to it. Sometimes it took 1 week. Sometimes I resisted for as long as 3 months. But I always broke my promise. I ended up getting bigger & bigger & sicker & sicker every year. Veggies & fruit & even foods I thought were “healthy” killed my gut & caused my Crohn’s to flare.

Losing weight can be a daunting task, especially when we think about the sacrifices we have to make to reach our goal weight. However, making tiny changes in our daily routine can result in significant weight loss without having to make drastic changes to our lifestyle.

The mindshift that helped me: “You need to be okay with failure to succeed”

I’ve heard this many times but it didn’t click with me until my healing & fat loss journey “plan” finally worked.

This is not just about weight loss. When you expect results right away & get dependent on them, failure to reach them in a certain time frame frustrates you & throws you off your goal.

The solution to this problem is to be okay with the possibility of not reaching the goal. It is to be invested in the process & the other benefits of doing the work.

When you stop obsessing about the result, it magically appears!

How I’ve been able to build muscle & maintain my weight loss working 40+ hours a week at 40+

weight loss before and after carnivore lilbitoffit katie kelly

katie kelly fat loss advice 10 things carnivore lilbitoffit before and after photo

I maintain the same habits & commitments to myself as when I was losing weight because I want to be the healthiest, happiest, & strongest version I can be. I’ve made fitness my lifestyle.

I don’t let the scale determine my success or worth. I know it will fluctuate naturally with sleep, stress, food intake, hydration, workouts, etc. I do not cut food & punish myself when it goes up. I stay consistent with my plan & take it simply as data to help me.

I prioritize health & how I feel with food, workouts, & movement. My mindset determines my reality. I know I cannot hate myself thin, happy, strong, successful, & fulfilled. You have to diet & live from the inside out. Being active & strength training are always priorities no matter what age or season I’m in.

I eat simple, basic af food that serves me best physically & mentally. I stick to meat, eggs, animal fats, seafood, & dairy in moderation. My gut healing/carnivore story is in the link in my IG bio for reasons why I eat this way + my Crohn’s & bulimia remission.

I am patient & consistent af. I know body change & healing take time. I leave room for flexibility. I do not cheat, earn, or burn my food. It is fuel, not a treat. I don’t do rules, I do what feels right.

What I eat about every day!

Your Super Simple 5 Step Blueprint

1. Prioritize Walking: you can make a lot of progress by simply walking more. Aim to take at least 10,000 steps each day.

2. Prioritize Protein: eating is where most people struggle when trying to lose weight. You can simplify your nutrition strategy. In every meal, prioritize protein. I shoot for at least 40-60g per meal.

3. Prioritize Whole Foods: building on the last point, eat nourishing, whole foods 80-90% of the time. These are foods that aren’t processed & don’t come in a package. READ YOUR LABELS! The less ingredients the better.

4. Lift Weights at least 3 x Per Week: lifting weights is crucial whether your goal is muscle gain or fat loss. Lifting weights increases metabolic efficiency and muscle mass. The more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn on a daily basis. Lifting weights also increases excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), which means you keep burning calories even after you’re done exercising.

5. Prioritize Sleep: there’s no shortage of research showing a lack of sleep can lead to fat gain and hinder our ability to increase our muscle mass. Ways to improve your sleep quality: morning light exposure, keep caffeine in the am, avoid eating late, keep a consistent sleep schedule, create a calm, dark, cool environment, limit electronics

Strength Training as a Newbie Tips

As a beginner, you’re obviously not going to be pushing as much weight as someone more advanced. When I started CrossFit, my coaches started me of with less reps & lighter weights, focusing on the basics & proper form first.

I had to drop down to much lower weights than when I was at the peak of my more competitive CrossFit days & times when I took a break from heavier/more frequent training due to work & life stuff.

Devoting 20 minutes 3 x per week — or 10-15 minutes a couple times a day works too. Start somewhere & build from there in terms of weights, frequency & intensity.

Pro Tip: invest in a quality trainer or group fitness program. They will show you how to use equipment & movement with proper form as well as workout routines. Utilize YouTube for workout videos & education at home. Tons of home workouts programs are available nowadays with minimal equipment & cost.

Best Time To Workout?

Choose a time you’ll actually get yo ass to the gym. There’s no magic time. Some days you may need to be flexible, it’s called life. Being a creature of habit & routine will help with consistency.

Once afternoon strikes, my motivation to get to the gym is next to nothing. I prefer 5am or 10am depending on work.

This obviously varies from person to person as all of our lifestyles are different. But as I tell clients, “workout time is sacred time”. If you’re committed to it, you need to find a way to get it done.

Pro Tip: Start every morning with movement. Go for a walk, do mobility — something. Set out your workout clothes or sleep in them. You literally just have to roll out of bed & go. Split up your workouts into 2-3 mini sessions if you dread long sessions. Instead of doing 1 long workout, do 3, 10 minute workouts. It’s easier to make small simple commitments to yourself.

Realize Lack of Fitness Is An Emotional Issue

My job as a coach & mentor is to get my clients to “feel” like improving. To “feel” like doing the things they need to do to be their best. That might be working out in the morning, eating more protein, eating MORE, staying off the scales, working out less, nixing the negative self talk, etc. Binge eating especially comes from restriction with food & self worth – body, mind, & spirit.

It’s why people continue smoking when they know the risks. Why people overeat when they know it’s taking years off their life, why people would rather binge Netflix all day than go walk.

Humans seek short-term pleasures over long-term rewards. Most things worth doing take time to pay off. Most things that get you into trouble feel comfortable in the short-term. But until you “feel” like changing, long-term progress won’t happen.

Goals are great. They’re like the north star on a map. But the whole point of goal setting is to develop the habits & routines along the way to create a lifestyle.

Adherence & Consistency Are More Important Than The Details of the Training or Nutrition Plan.

I remember my first few years of work as a nutrition & CrossFit coach vividly. We could have the most “perfect” program, I could give the best advice I could. Then…the clients didn’t show up. They didn’t do the work. And they continually fell off the wagon. It doesn’t matter how good the plan is, if you don’t do it, you’re not going to improve.

Or as Joe Defranco says “a poor program done perfectly, is better than a perfect program done poorly.”

Dan John, a favorite of mine in the strength & conditioning world, has a catchphrase “Little & often over the long haul.” It’s not about how hard you can train today, how many times you train for the week, or even the month. It’s about showing up today & again tomorrow & the next day & repeat this lifestyle for years on end.

Movement, The Power of Words, & Accountability Are Important

Very few people wouldn’t benefit by taking more steps. Get up to 10,000 as a goal. I prefer to break this up into 2–3 smaller walks during the day. You might prefer one long one. It doesn’t matter, just get those steps in.

Take the word “might” out of your vocab & switch “have to” to “get to.” My pet peeve is when clients say “I might get to the gym tomorrow.” Or “I’ll try & eat good today.” They’re giving themselves an out, not committing. Don’t give yourself the option. Do you have to train at the gym or do you get to?

Group training & accountability make exercise more enjoyable, more efficient & produce greater results for most. Gyms like CrossFit, Spin, Orange Theory, & F45 have nailed what makes fitness more enjoyable.

Go through hell together & laugh about it afterwards. Or more simply: train, laugh & repeat.

Aesthetics are the By-Product of Quality Training, Nutrition, & Health.

The physical follows the physiological, target health first. Aesthetics shouldn’t be your focus. Yes, looking better naked makes us feel good. But that shouldn’t be the focus of your training/diet unless you’re an elite bodybuilder. Longevity & a sustainable lifestyle lean should be placed at the pentacle.

I’ve also seen far more “aesthetically-minded” clients get burned out, fall to binge eating, & stop training altogether than I do with “performance & longevity-minded” clients.

When your sole focus is on how you look in the mirror or the reading on the bathroom scales. You lose hope when it doesn’t change & often develop an unhealthy relationship with food and fitness.

Pick some performance goals. Let’s say a 2-mile run, max pull-ups & increasing your back squat. If you improve your performance on these 3, your body will look better, I promise you that.

Final Thoughts

Create your own framework & system for success! With all habits, developing them often comes down to mental hurdles.

Your body is the reflection of inputs & outputs. If you fuel your body with healthy, balanced nutrition & stress it with strength training, it will adapt appropriately.