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!
I’m fortunate enough to be med free loving with Crohn’s. I’m an advocate of being EDUCATED & FLEXIBLE, eating foods that are nourishing, suit YOUR lifestyle & needs.
I’m a coach that helps you find your “happy.” I understand how living with gut issues, being overweight, or simply having a poor relationship with yourself paralyzes you.
I’m not a coach that’s gonna give you a specific meal plan, sell you sh*t that doesn’t work, or put on a façade that me or my life is perfect. Perfect doesn’t help anybody, remember that.
I’m gonna share my story & let you decide how to put your puzzle pieces together as your guide.
Specific Products did significantly help me. I don’t have a gallbladder either, fyi. I created an entire supplement guide just for you!PDF LINK IN IG BIO! I’m happy to answer questions via comments or dm.
So fueling like an athlete with special digestive needs & why digestion matters.
Here are my top tips living with gut issues as a fitnessor just like you! Swipe!
Why do I eat a meat based diet? — I’m sensitive to lectins, oxalates, high histamine, high fodmap foods & phytates. I wondered for years why I felt like poo after eating nut butters, high amounts of veggies, fruits, fiber, sweet potatoes, breads, & any nuts & seeds. Basically my body hates anything but coffee, gf alcohol, eggs, & meat.
Why I choose a diet based on animal foods
Majority of my calories are from the most nutrient-dense bioavailable foods
I LOVE & thrive off meat with no digestion issues.
Minimal fiber, meaning everything is easy to digest.
Low to no sugar, or highly palatable processed carb based foods. These are my biggest triggers when it comes to binging or basically eating like an a$$hole
Natural fats & plenty of protein. I’m fuller longer, don’t have energy crashes.
My body is more recovered, less inflamed, I eat more food & stay leaner with no binging. My workouts feel great & I simply do what I love. I modify my “carnivore” diet to my preferences. There is room for leniency, you are in charge of your adventure. I hope this helps you find your happy! Go crush it, Team!
Why digestion matters & how to properly take digestive enzymes!
Eating trigger foods, even when I transitioned to carnivore caused a lot of inflammation. I discovered some animal-based foods like pork, pork rinds, PSMF bread, & turkey caused water retention, constipation, weight gain, & poor digestion.
Enzymes significantly helped! I don’t have a gallbladder either, fyi.
I really had no idea the application of digestive enzymes or how vastly different foods affected digestion early on in my journey.
Enzymes play an essential role in physiological processes throughout the body. Natural digestive enzymes, such as lipase, amylase, & protease, aid in breaking down fats, proteins, & carbs.
First & foremost, if you’re experiencing chronic problems, go get tested, see your doctor, practitioner, or qualified coach. Stop ignoring the root causes.
The best time to take your enzymes is right before, or right as you start eating. When in doubt, check the label. Usually anywhere from 10-20 minutes right before you eat is ideal.
Most of us lack stomach acid. We don’t slow down when we chew our food, we’re always in get sh*t done mode & this is the 1st step in the digestion process.
EXAMPLES OF COMMON SUPPS & TIMING:
💊BETAINE HCL &/or ACV: increase stomach acid to breakdown down macros, especially proteins & fats. Take prior to eating.
💊OX BILE: great for people without a gallbladder, especially doing keto/low carb/carnivore. Take prior to eating.
💊MOST BROAD SPECTRUM DIGESTIVE ENZYMES: take before or mid meal.
💊FISH OIL & MULTIVITAMINS: take mid meal.
💊PROBIOTICS: take at night on an empty stomach.
Below are lessons learned, my triggers & symptoms. You may be experiencing similar. Remember we’re all different!
MY SYMPTOMS
▪️bloating after eating dairy, carbs, larger meals, too much sf gum
▪️reflux, poor digestion, inflammation after eating larger quantities of pork & turkey
▪️constipation when eating too lean too long & too many pork rinds
▪️bloating & constipation after eating PSMF “bread” (egg white powder sensitivity)
▪️Bloating after larger lunch & dinners
▪️poor digestion in general later at night (which is why I don’t eat “dinners” & eat early in the day)
▪️gas & gi bleeding eating plants, grains, & most carbs other than white rice
▪️right lower quadrant pain during flares
▪️chronic constipation & slow transit digestion if I eat trigger foods, don’t get sleep, or am stressed to the titties
▪️low stomach acid & reflux eating trigger or meals too high in fat for my threshold
▪️low energy after too large/high fat meals
▪️energy crashes after eating carbs
▪️inflammation & water retention when eating triggers, too many artificial sweeteners, carbs, shitty sleep, too much stress, too much alcohol, workouts too high in intensity/volume/frequency
MY TRIGGERS
▪️Gluten, corn, fiber, grains
▪️Artificial sweeteners, preservatives, most seasonings
The quick & dirty on how to properly take digestive enzymes.
These were one of the first supplements I tried when experiencing chronic bloat, gas, pain, cramping, etc. I created an entire supplement guide just for you! LINK HERE!
I really had no idea the application of these supplements or how digestion worked. I’d take them willy nilly expecting my gut flares & issues to magically disappear.
Enzymes play an essential role in physiological processes throughout the body. Natural digestive enzymes, such as lipase, amylase, & protease, aid in breaking down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.
First & foremost, if you’re experiencing chronic problems, go get tested, see your doctor, practitioner, or qualified coach. Stop ignoring you have a problem.
The best time to take your enzymes is right before, or right as you start eating. When in doubt, check the label. Usually anywhere from 15-30 minutes right before you eat is ideal.
Most of us lack stomach acid. We don’t slow down when we chew our food, we’re always in get sh*t done mode & this is the first step in the digestion process.
EXAMPLES OF COMMON SUPPS & TIMING:
💊BETAINE HCL &/or ACV: increase stomach acid to breakdown down macros, especially proteins & fats. Take prior to eating.
💊OX BILE: great for people without a gallbladder, especially doing keto/low carb/carnivore. Take prior to eating.
💊MOST BROAD SPECTRUM DIGESTIVE ENZYMES: take before or mid meal.
💊FISH OIL & MULTIVITAMINS: take mid meal.
💊PROBIOTICS: take at night on an empty stomach.
I take primarily @nuethix_formulations products. Link Here. Discount Code: lilbitoffit at checkout! Above are my favs!
Swipe for tips on how to improve your digestion, supplements that help me and common triggers that cause problems.
Who else had no idea how to take their #digestiveenzymes ?🤪 💊
I went into this low carb, insulin reset diet as another learning experience. What I found was a wake up call.
A lot of knowledge and life bombs here 💣
With the dramatic life changes for us all over the course of the past 2 weeks, cliché as it sounds, everything happens for a reason at precisely the right time.
Why the reset? I had been overly stressed, trying to cut, eating a high amt of carbs (via jasmine rice/rice Chex/occasional alcohol) while intermittent fasting & focusing on 2 (occasionally 3) larger meals a day.
👉🏻I have Crohn’s, struggled with a missed diagnosis of IBS basically my entire early life & was overweight.
👉🏻Don’t digest fruits or vegetables or fiber or seeds or skins well
👉🏻Thrive off animal meals & animal-based nutrition
👉🏻Struggled with disordered eating & bingeing
👉🏻 Spent 4-5 years healing my gut & getting myself out of metabolic adaptation because I ate poverty macros for fuggin forever
👉🏻Tried to competitively CrossFit on Paleo, Quito, low carb & did all the dumb shit for years
👉🏻I eat lowfodmap, gluten-free, dairy free, bullshit free 😆, and basic af, not cute meals are my jam. Why? Because that’s how I like to eat, Karen.
Save this for later 😉
My cut started out well, but as we progressed I noticed my energy was all over the place I was starting to feel more out of control eating larger meals (I was fuller throughout the day). My fasting blood sugar was consistently higher (for me) around the 95 to 100 range, staying elevated even 2 hours after eating.
Mine typically sits around 80 to 85 in a controlled environment, fasting.
My digestion was decent, but I still felt inflamed, puffy, & like I was carrying a lot of “fluff” around my middle which I did not have in my 20s. (I was more low carb as far as my diet approach in my 20s, & my workouts were lower intensity). I didn’t CrossFit until my 30s.
My lifestyle now is very different from even December 2019. My stress is higher & I’m traveling more.
My last cut was amazing (I had not dieted in 2 years & was coming off of a surplus) My schedule & stress were more controlled.
Last 12 week cut for a photo shoot.
💭🤔 HELLO!!!! Katie, you’ll be 38 in July, you don’t have the same body you had in your 20s. Dude, you’re almost a legit Cougar 😻😂
💁🏼♀️It’s time to get real, refocus, & realign.
To those of you in your 30s, let me tell you, things change quickly. You don’t recover as quickly, nights of bad decisions haunt you for weeks, and you’d rather go to bed by 9:30 than stay up & go clubbing. PS you still don’t have your shit together in your 30s. 👍🏼🤘🏻
I’ve learned this is the time to accept, adjust, & think about longevity more so than a ripped set of abs.
I love being lean & feeling light & strong, but just because you look the part doesn’t mean you’re healthy on the inside. Abs, striations, & single digit body fat — don’t help you live to a ripe old age.
These require different levels of commitment and flexibility with your diet and training. Be realistic.
MY CHANGES:
👉🏻Focus on a low carb approach, primarily animal-based nutrition. Why? Because I thrive off animal meats & already don’t digest fibers and plants well. I will harp at you till I’m blue in the face, go your own way! Don’t send me fucking hate messages because I eat animals. I’m not telling anyone to eat this way, I’m simply sharing my experiences and reasoning why.
👉🏻I also am not “CrossFitting” because all the gyms are closed, therefore, my activity is more lower intensity. This would warrant lower carbohydrates for my needs are not as high.
👉🏻I am also sleeping more, reducing caffeine intake, & fasting at least 14-16hrs overnight to recover, give my digestion a break & allow my body to balance itself out.
👉🏻I need an approach that is going to keep me fuller, longer, with less energy crashes to sustain long days working at the clinics & hospitals. I don’t like worrying about food & a bunch of meal preps, just my personality. I prefer two large meals a day. Naturally, protein and fats will do this. they take longer to digest and are harder to digest by the body — keeping blood sugar more stable, energy levels more stable with you feeling fuller, longer like a cherry on top. Which is why I’m taking a higher protein, higher fat approach.
👉🏻Macro wise, I am loosely tracking just to make sure my calories are in check. Keeping my carbs 50 g & under. Not really paying attention to where my protein & fats fall, obviously I’m getting plenty of both with animal-based nutrition with the inclusion of nut butters.
👉🏻I Am tracking weight, progress photos, & blood sugar with a simple glucometer (am fasting, 2 hrs post meal, bedtime) just to see how my body tolerates specific ratios, salt intake, stress, & food choices. Not because I’m focusing on the weight on the scale. Obviously when reducing carbohydrates, you’ll naturally lose water, so a lot of this is water weight loss, initially.
Me this morning 3/24/20 113.7lbs
THINGS IM LEARNING:
✅CrossFit is not in aesthetic sport. Stop choosing CrossFit to look like a bodybuilder. Align your training, lifestyle, & align your food. Manage you mofo stress!
✅I personally feel much better on a carnivore-ish diet which aligns better with my lifestyle right now.
🌀My digestion is exceptional, my bloating is gone, bowel movements routine & normal, my puffiness is gone, I feel lighter.
🌀After nine days I’m noticing aesthetic changes finally. Stomach is starting to lose that patchy fat in my stubborn areas above and below my belly button.
🌀Yes with the training differences I’m getting smaller, and softer but I’m fitting more naturally back into my happy setpoint. My weight is staying around 113 pounds.
🌀I don’t hurt as much (minus my broken toe I have right now).
🌀No energy crashes, I have absolutely no cravings for sugar and I’m offen satisfied with one large meal during the day after my fasted walk.
🌀I love walking, it is my savior mind and body. I don’t need to work out six days a week and I need to sleep more. Duh.
✅The more data we have the more we can make educated informed decisions about our lifestyle & food choices. Do we need to worry about tracking & measuring all of the time — NO! But there’s a time & a place for it so you can learn & make educated decisions about how to live your life for YOU.
Quit whining, complaining, yo-yo dieting, yo-yo training, yo-yo living your life aimlessly because you’re not educating yourself. Get tested, invest in mentors, coaches, doctors to help you. There are free podcasts, wonderful people & resources on social media, books you can purchase & things out there at minimal cost.
✅Your goals should be centered around 4 different areas: healing, performance, aesthetics, & longevity. Your seasons will change, adjust accordingly.
✅People just think glucose is just a measure of carbs, it’s not, it’s a measurement of your lifestyle. Stress, food choices, sleep, your workouts, air pollution, under eating, over eating, toxins, artificial shit you put in your body or on your body — it all matters. It all affects your physiology, hormones, gut health, & processes that go on internally.
✅You have to ask yourself what level of stress you are OK with in your life. Adjust accordingly. If you choose this stress level, don’t bitch when you don’t get what you want.
✅The biggest thing people ignore are their mindset & their thoughts. So why are people having such a hard time right now being at home with their thoughts?
BINGO.
I hope this helps you wherever you are in your journey. Remember only you know your body best. I am not endorsing anyone to follow any particular diet I want you to learn, I want you to follow your heart, and I want you to ALWAYS listen to your gut. ❤️
Many times when asking your doctor, “What can I eat and what should I avoid?” when dealing with digestive disorders they tell you, “Just eat what you want unless it bothers you.” 🤔😳🤷🏼♀️🤷🏻♂️
Maybe they’ll add a few restrictions like a low fiber, low-fat, gluten &/or dairy free diet but beyond that you’re on your own.
I repeat, WE ARE WHAT WE DIGEST & ABSORB. When dealing with certain digestive issues like IBS or IBD disorders, gut dysbiosis like Candida & bacterial overgrowths, the inflammation & symptoms can trigger further problems other than discomfort like malabsorption. Subsequently nutrient deficiencies are a prevalent issue.
THE WHAT & WHY OF COMMON TRIGGERS
FAT
We need fat to live. It’s needed for absorption of vitamins A, D, E, & K, but in people with certain issues, it causes symptoms. Fat is a powerful stimulant to the G.I. tract which can exacerbate diarrhea & is hard to digest in individuals without a gallbladder or those who have undergone a bowel resection.
CAFFEINE
Another stimulant. Bad for those with diarrhea, can be an aid for those with constipation. Keep <200mg/day.
ALCOHOL
It’s a toxin y’all. Delicious yes, but does nothing positive but give you the confidence to dance & eat like an a$$hole. It inhibits folic acid absorption, is an irritant to the G.I. tract, filled with empty calories, no nutrient value, dehydrates, raises estrogen levels, & interacts with numerous medications.
GLUTEN
Gluten means “glue” & that’s exactly what it is: two proteins, gliadin & glutenin, stuck together. Gluten is found in wheat, barley, & rye. An intolerance or sensitivity is the body’s inability to digest or break down the gluten protein found in wheat, grains, & certain products. Causes inflammation & abdominal discomfort & symptoms ranging from skin rashes to more severe problems in those with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder.
DAIRY
Many people with problems are also lactose intolerant. Dairy is an inflammatory food, one of the top allergens. Due to lactose, which is milk sugar, it causes problems in those who are lacking the enzyme lactase which breaks down the lactose. Bacteria in the colon feed on the undigested sugar, producing hydrogen, which leads to diarrhea &/or build up of gas.
GAS PRODUCING FOODS & DRINKS
Common culprits are high fodmap foods, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, beans, garlic, onions, leeks, cabbage, beer, high sugar drinks and fruits. Many sulfur producing vegetables produce more gas & fermentation which causes bloating.
RED MEAT
Minimizing red meat greatly lowers hydrogen sulfide levels which can have a negative affect on the health of the colonic mucosa. It’s harder to break down & digest which causes stress, requires more energy, which also causes that energy slump.
ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS
The ols like sugar alcohols which are found in many sugarless chewing gum’s, cookies, sweets, processed foods are a big trigger of bloating & diarrhea via fermentation because our bodies can’t break them down.
FRUCTOSE
Consuming fruits with high sugar can cause bloating,cramping, diarrhea because certain individuals lack the enzyme to break down the sugar thus allowing the colon bacteria to consume triggering symptoms.
FIBER
There are two kinds of fiber insoluble & soluble.
INSOLUBLE Fiber is found in raw fruits, vegetables, certain grains, leafy greens, brands, skins, nuts & seeds. This fiber does not take on water in the gut but provides undigested bulk to the stool. For those of us that cannot break down the fiber it does not easily pass through structures, can contribute to irritation in those with an inflamed gut.
SOLUBLE fiber takes on water providing bulk to the stool but is easier on the G.I. tract. It’s found in quick oats, white bread, cereals, white rice, pasta & potatoes.
Again, we all have different triggers so keep a food journal, notice patterns when eating certain things, have patience & know that by making simple food & lifestyle adjustments, you can help minimize your own symptoms.
Be an advocate of your own health❤️
Do you know your triggers? Share your experience with someone else👇🏻
Sources: Healthy Gut, Healthy You, Dr. Michael Ruscio | Crohn’s Dsease and Ulcerative Colitis, Jill Sklar | Crohnscolitisfoundation.org | The Rain Barrel Effect, Dr. Stephen Cabral
