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!
Raise your hand if weekend eating is your nemesis & you feel you just can’t shake the carb cravings🤚 I understand it’s a problem at work too! Especially around the holidays.
I was this person for years. “I’ll start my diet on Monday. I already ruined my day, might as well eat what I want”…sound familiar?
Or the, “I had a stressful week or I was good all week so I deserve this.” mentality.
Chasing fitness goals doesn’t mean you can’t go out & have a good time, but for many of us we’re stuck in this disordered, scarcity mindset constantly set on replay.
The biggest shift to make if you want to start winning your weekends & kicking your food/sugar addiction is to deal with your inner baggage & change the way you talk & think of yourself.
On carnivore especially, make sure you’re eating enough food to support optimal body function & your goals. These are called your maintenance calories.
Hydrate, often times we’re thirsty not hungry. Take your electrolytes. Cut the artificial sweeteners.
Keep your mind busy. The answer is always walk. Boredom & stress are huge triggers to emotionally eating.
Make sure you’re eating enough protein & fat! Not only do we need fat for healthy hormones & protein for lean muscle mass & tissue building, they help keep you satiated too.
Once you remove the carbs & sugar I promise the easier it becomes & less cravings you will have.
I’m gonna say it again…if you constantly restrict food all week & constantly tell yourself that, well, I f*ck up every weekend…guess what? You’re never gonna become the person or have the health & body your desire because you’ve told yourself you’re a f*ck up.
Do you really want to stay a slave to food addiction, disordered eating, & “I’ll start my diet on Monday?”
I get it, I did it to. But there comes a time you get fed up enough you decide to make a different choice. You’re not alone.
Swipe through, let me know if these resonate with you! Share this post freely with your friends! Post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CYG6wb7O331/?utm_medium=copy_link
Tap for IG post with all the cheat sheets!!
Share your struggles, tips, & experiences with your fellow warriors below 👇
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
There are 50 shades of a meat based diet. Some people include small amounts of carbs, some do fat or carb re-feeds, some do not. Don’t be that Ahole that shames other people for including other things & different approaches into their diets because you don’t. We all have different needs/preferences. I see it too much. No need for dogma of any kind, we are here to learn & support one another. Choose what work best for you.
Seems most “higher” protein carnivores are around 40P/60F, 50P/50F, 60P/40F as far a protein/fat macro ratios. Always go your own way, again, we’re all different!
I’m showing you what I’d do for myself as far as macros, not saying you have to follow these, but a visual & calculation breakdown were requested. If you need coaching, fill out an inquiry here & I’ll send details via email.
Your 1st steps in choosing any kind of diet need to be:
1. KNOW YOUR WHY & BE SELF AWARE
2. UNDERSTAND YOUR STORY & FOUNDATIONAL STARTING POINT
3. DEFINE YOUR REALISTIC GOAL
4. SET A PLAN & ORGANIZE YOUR SUCCESS ROUTINE
As far as Carnivore, get adapted & heal FIRST. I wrote a blog from an interview on my experiences the 1st year of my carnivore journey. Please read that interview here (link also in IG bio to blog post) — it will answer the majority of your questions as far as my story, living with Crohn’s as an athlete, adapting, transitions I went through, & my special digestive needs & trigger foods.
I don’t recommend any kind of manipulations with the carnivore diet for fat loss until you are adapted, eating at maintenance, & thriving confidently with this lifestyle.
Fat Loss Tips:
Create a calorie deficit from pulling from your fat macros. Protein should stay consistent (around 1g/lb of body weight or goal weight for most) Tracking will help. It creates awareness & more educated decision making when making adjustments. Protein for most/meal should be around 30g minimum, most do fine around 40-60g/meal if you’re eating 2-3 meals/d.
Choose meats that are easier to track & control like ground meats & eggs. Leaner meat will naturally be lower in calories.
When in a calorie deficit, & this will depend on your degree of calorie deficit, it can be helpful to increase your protein macros to maintain as much lean muscle mass as possible especially if you’re strength training. (YOU SHOULD BE)
If you’re fat cycling for fat loss, try 4-5 lean days/wk, 2-3 higher fat days/wk. Its helpful to have higher calorie (high fat days) on days of higher activity or harder workouts. You can also reserve these for days of social events for easier adherence.
Diet breaks & structured refeeds can be wonderful tools to create adherence, consistency, & decreased hormonal & metabolic stress. I included a graphic on different kinds of periodization.
Intermittent fasting can also be a wonderful tool to allow larger meals for satiety while staying within your allotted calories. Choose eating windows that work for you & your schedule. Do not abuse fasting. Extended fasting is not necessary, most do fine fasting 14-16 hrs overnight. It will bite you in the a$$ by increasing stress on the body if you abuse them. Same for overdoing protein sparing modified fasting (PSMF). PSMF are more applicable to people with significant weight to lose, of higher body fat, & kept only 2-3 days/week. If you cannot control yourself with portions after fasting because you’re SO ravenous, decreases your fasting windows.
If in doubt, WALK. Simply increasing steps & choosing lower intensity activities will be easier on your body yet still help create a calorie deficit by increased activity.
If you’re including carbs in your training & fat loss diet, keep them around workouts. Your largest meal I prefer post workout for recovery & optimization & earlier in the day. Taper meal sizes as the day goes on.
If you’re waking up starving, having sh*tty sleep, peeing all the time, low energy – these are signs you may need higher fat, higher calories, &/or a period of a diet break or refeed. YES, hunger will be part of a fat loss diet, but you also want to optimize hormone & metabolic efficiency as much as you can. That’s what diet breaks & refeeds are for. If you’re body & mind are stressed to the titties as I say, it will not drop body fat easily or optimally.
Sleep is a nonnegotiable, 7-8 hrs/night. If you eat carbs, a little before bed can help decrease your cortisol level. Do not eat late, heavy meals. You won’t sleep well & your digestion will be a dumpster fire. If having loose stool after meals &/or wonky digestion, include some digestive enzymes before or mid meal to help, decrease meal sizes & decrease fat. You will adjust. I use Nuethix Formulations Utilyze, Discount Code: lilbitoffit
Q: I can’t seem to control my weight, portions, & sugar cravings no matter what diet, currently Carnivore. Some days I’m not hungry.
So I asked her, “What’s your 1st thought in the morning when you wake up? Is it how much you’re scared you weigh?”
She said yes. I said that’s your problem.
Also asked her, “Do you intentionally make sure you are simply moving & hitting your steps every day?”
She said no. I also said there’s your problem.
One thing you can easily control which will also boost your mood, metabolism, digestion, & appetite👉🏻Build a success routine which includes movement. I suggest 1st thing in the morning. That leaves less time for excuses for you not to get your workouts in. I got mine this mornin before work.
When you’re constantly stuck in a negative mindset around dictating your entire day on a number or what you look like in the mirror, that’s the weight actually weighing you down.
You dictate your reaction. Your thoughts & emotions (your REACTION to things) – dictates your behaviors. Your behaviors become your habits. Your habits become you.
Tips we talked about to help navigate sweets cravings, addiction, & mindset around body image:
– Stop body checking in the mirror. Take away the scale. Wear comfy clothes that complement your body. You wear your clothes, your clothes don’t wear you.
– Sweets cravings are addiction: determine if you’re an abstainer or moderator. If you’re an abstainer you need to avoid carbs & sugar, period. Get the food out of your house. Watch artificial sweeteners, keto treats, cheat days, gum, drinks with sweetener, make sure you’re eating enough food especially enough fat. Track if you don’t know!
– Cheese, dairy, nuts, & nut butters can be addictions/triggers, they’re hard to portion control.
– Choose meats easier to portion control like ground meat vs ribeyes, ribs, pork belly, bacon. They are highly palatable (& high fat) which means you’re more likely to eat past satiety.
– You may need a multivitamin to fill in gaps for your specific needs. Always consult with your physician before making any changes. Most common imbalances/deficiencies I see with Carnivore if not eating a well rounded variety: vitamin D, electrolytes, magnesium & sodium, B vitamins, zinc, vit A, calcium & vitamin C
– Check yo stress: Relationship & life stress? Sh*tty sleep? Over training? Under eating? Too much protein? Not enough Fat? Still eating trigger foods? Over caffeinating? ALL STRESS which increases your blood sugar, & increases inflammation even if you’re eating low-carb.
Your reflection in the mirror does not dictate your worth. Neither does what diet you choose to follow. Choose the things that make you a better human!
I had no idea when I lost my normal period in my early 20’s something was wrong.
Admission: chronic exerciser & habitual dieter.
At 25 I was diagnosed with cervical cancer & had part of my cervix removed. Went through divorce number 1 at 27, had a high stress job & lifestyle.
Discovered Crossfit in my early 30’s, which was like chasing a bad shot of cheap tequila with another bad shot of cheap tequila. Exacerbated my tendency for extremes.
I was overly stressed, under fed, experiencing Crohn’s flares, over training — I completely lost my period. Basically I just ignored it. I didn’t care I was just trying to chase PR’s.
At some point in your life, you’ve probably declared that your period is a major pain in the tush. But while it may be a nuisance it’s a good insight into your overall health & one we use as a biofeedback marker to help you achieve your health & fitness goals.
A recent article by Outside Magazine explained how common these issues are with female athletes & avid exercisers:
“Researchers estimate that as many as 60 percent of exercising women may experience one component of the female athlete triad, which includes disordered eating, loss of a menstrual cycle, and loss of bone density.
When an athlete’s nutritional intake doesn’t meet the body’s needs, whether due to reduced dietary intake—intentional or not—or increased exercise, the body shuttles resources to systems that are essential to survival, suppresses energy-intensive processes like menstruation and growth, and alters hormone levels.”
Cred: @theglowingfridge
Quick tips on what your period tells you:
Bright Red Blood
Means you are simply at the beginning of your cycle. The ‘fresher’ the blood the more red it’ll be.
Darker Brown Blood
Brownish blood is basically just older blood that’s been in your uterus for a lot longer than fresh blood. It’s had a chance to oxidize. Can also be prevalent if you have an IUD, especially the progesterone kind. This is because you’re shedding a smaller amount of the uterus lining every month, which means the blood stays in there longer.
Clotting
Totally normal, but if you have large clots on a regular basis, they could be indicative of a larger problem like hypothyroidism, uterine fibroids, symptomatic anemia, or heavy bleeding (menorrhagia).
Irregular or Absence (Amenorrhea)
Occasional irregular periods may be totally normal, but it could also be a red flag. For starters, stress is a huge culprit.
When you’re stressed, your body produces more cortisol. Elevated cortisol levels can block signals that lead to the release of an egg that then leads to your period.
Other Common symptoms related to overdoing it, warranting an overhaul:
Irritability, mood swings
Cold extremities, hair loss, gut issues, bad digestion, bloating
No sex drive, Irregular or no menstrual cycle
Increase in belly fat, unexplained weight gain, plateaus
A prevalent problem in the fitness scene as discussed above: UNDER EATING & OVER TRAINING resulting in amenorrhea
Experiencing this myself first hand, here is some advice to help you destress & rebalance — not only to help you get your period back, but to also move the needle forward towards achieving your fitness goals.
Tap for link to all info
Tips to Help
EAT. Eat enough food to support body systems & your activity
The number one reason athletes & avid exercisers lose their cycle & go down a rabbit hole of metabolic adaptation & basically life sucking.
We’re preconditioned to think 1200 calories is the magic number to eat to lose weight. We spend endless time punching numbers in calculators that have no idea our medical history, lifestyle, stress level, or the fact we think sugar free jello & rice cakes dipped in Walden Farms Syrup are meals. Invest in a coach y’all, life isn’t a template or calculator. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.
We underestimate the calories and nutrient dense foods needed to support muscle growth to get the ‘tone’ that every woman talks about but refuses to eat & lift weights accordingly to gain. We also tend to over exercise & do too much HIIT & cardio on top of under fueling. Focus on strength training & reduce high intensity activity.
When we don’t eat enough, and/or our body fat is very low, we don’t have enough energy stores to efficiently support body functions like reproduction. As a result, hormones and body systems down regulate (like your period & thyroid function) to survive.
Many women can have trouble losing weight and may even gain weight when eating a chronic deficit over a period of time. This is typically due to the down regulation of thyroid hormones that slow down metabolic rate. This has become commonplace in women who are training hard, competing, repeatedly doing HIIT style workouts like CrossFit and the Orange Theories without adequate food and recovery.
Find the “Right” Diet for YOU
Look, I tried to do paleo for years trying to run and CrossFit despite not being able to properly break down fruits, vegetables, nut & seeds. Add it to my list of dumb shxt Katie learned the hard way.
Not only did my physique not change, my performance suffered, my recovery suffered, I was sore all the time, pissed off, bloated, and hangry.
I was officially finally diagnosed with Crohn’s in 2018. Guess what my body cannot digest and absorb? Nuts and seeds, fibers, raw fruits & vegetables.
Guess what makes up the majority of the Paleo diet? All of the above.
We need adequate food and the right kinds of foods for our unique needs for lean muscle gain, recovery, reproduction, healthy hormone balance, and cortisol control. More food is not automatically going to cause you to gain weight and go into the dreaded ‘fat storage mode.’
Carbs are by far the most insulin-stimulating macro & antagonist to your cortisol level (stress hormone). So if you’re eating a low carb diet and performing highly glycolytic activities like CrossFit, all the boot camps and Orange Theory‘s, your insulin levels will be low. If you have a good relationship with carbs & can digest them with ease, they’re not the devil. You may need to incorporate more into your diet if you feel things are “off.”
Your body senses that resources are limited and down regulates accordingly.
Now, with that said, carbohydrate requirements will vary. We all have different fitness goals, train in different modalities and metabolize carbohydrates to varying degrees.
If you are one with PCOS, for example, you may do better on a lower carb approach but lifestyle and training needs to be tailored appropriately. Work with a qualified practitioner.
If you don’t know how many calories to eat for your activity I wrote a phenomenal post and resource on that here. Below are helpful infographics to guide you to more optimal choices.
Meat based macro ratios more applicable for healing & muscle gain phases
Meat based macro ratios more applicable for maintenance phases
Remember, standing on the podium or holding that medal in your hands doesn’t require you to have abs. Athletes don’t eat less & train more, they eat more & train intentionally.
Make Sleep a Non-negotiable
We should be sleeping well for at least 7-9 hrs per night. Make sure your environment is:
Cool & dark
Shut off electronics an hour or so before bed
Read & wind down with things that are relaxing
Keep caffeine <200 mg per day ideally and only in the mornings
This transitions into what it means to be metabolically flexible…
What we want is Metabolic Flexibility
I used to be a huge sugar burner. I didn’t understand why I had energy crashes, craved carbs & was hungry all the time despite eating plenty of food. Even when I was eating in a surplus, training for performance & muscle gain. I was eating plenty of meat paired with more rice, rice Chex, & rice cakes – no matter how large my meals were I was always hungry like 2 hours later. It was super frustrating & not convenient at all as I work in healthcare & don’t have time to have meals every 2 hours. I fluctuated from a sugar burner, to metabolically flexible, & everywhere somewhere in between during my health & fitness journey. Since going meat-based with my diet I no longer have these issues of being a “sugar burner.” I now can incorporate smaller portions of white rice based carb around training occasionally with minimal negative issues. I really don’t crave them anymore. Becoming metabolically flexible, which just means you’re able to burn both glucose & fat as fuel, was the biggest life changer. It took a lot of experimentation & patience but there is light at the end of the tunnel for y’all! I can easily fast overnight & in between meals for hours, without having to force it or feel like I want to rip someone’s head off because I’m hangry lol! I don’t have to worry about multiple snacks available at all times because I have to eat every 2 hours. That’s food freedom for me. Here are a couple cheat sheets simply to help educate & help you along your health journey!
PR’d this 5k fat fueled & fasted, metabolic flexibility is where it’s at y’all!
Stop ignoring the problem, seek help from a qualified doctor, health practitioner, & coach. Your quality of life hinges on it❤️ I’d love to hear yall’s experiences & if you struggled with this like me!
Experiencing any of the problems above in this blog?
If you’re an athlete or woman struggling like I did, and need personalized help tailoring your nutrition, work with me one on one HERE.
Don’t forget to share this with the women in your squad who deserve to be well-fed!
Confessions of another dirty bathroom photo… Dis me. I’m awkward af trying to get body photos. I dunno how to properly “pose.”😆 but I’m glad I do. They make me proud of how far I’ve come & what my body & mind are capable. Just a friendly reminder you can do whatever shade of the Carnivore Diet you want (or any other diet for that matter). I feel I’m speaking for the majority of us meat-based folk who love this lifestyle because it works for us. I’m 2 years in. We really don’t care what you eat or what your body looks like as long as you’re happy & healthy. It’s really none of our business what you eat every day, what workouts you do, what your body looks like, if you show your body & journey or not. We just love happy people. Be nice to each other. I feel I needed to reiterate that again. I know some people say we all have the same 24 hours in a day, & literally we do, yet realistically we don’t. I preach being a DOer. Yes, you either DO or you DON’T. But be nice to those who have children or special circumstances which make going to the gym or a certain fitness goals challenging. I’m not giving excuses for “lazy” people but just asking you to be nice. Perfection is never needed, but do remember EFFORT matters no matter what your circumstance & you can still be a person that keeps COMMITMENTS to yourself in whatever way YOU need. As for shades of “carnivore”…some of us eat a little bit of carbs. Some don’t. Some eat organs, some don’t. Some just eat beef, some don’t. Doesn’t matter. I for one can do a little bit of plain rice cakes/white rice as far as starchy carbs. I keep these around my workouts if I’m going to incorporate some. I do that because that’s when my body metabolizes & utilizes them the most efficiently for performance & recovery. I don’t eat them often or every day, I simply eat them when my body is telling me I need them. I also incorporate leaner, lower fat days with higher fat days. This too varies & I also listen to my body & eat accordingly. I’m happy in maintenance. I notice after 2-3 days of eating lower fat, I crave more fat. Because I most likely need more calories, especially after hard training days. My fat macros vary. Protein is around 160-200g most days. I also am very active, CrossFit, & lift weights. So what I do may not work for you. I posted a guide for optimizing eating for workouts yesterday, save tag & share that post. Great resource! This style of eating works very well for me, my needs, & my body is responding well. I’m leaner than I ever have been before, eating 1800-2000+ calories on avg & ~2-2.5lbs of meat/day. Lean days I prefer ground chicken, shrimp, & 90% ground sirloin. High fat days I enjoy 80-85% ground beef & lamb, eggs, & ribeyes. My crispy airfryer #meatbars are LIFE & I eat them every day because I love them. And I’m so happy y’all are loving them too! Tag away! I also haven’t had a Crohn’s flare or binge since I went meat based 2 years ago — the best part! Yes, people look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them I really just eat meat AND I prefer “CrossFit.” People told me I couldn’t do it. My bloodwork, mental clarity, energy level, & physique say otherwise. 😉 Listen to you body’s. I am happy to share my experiences & I fully admit I made a lot of mistakes on the way, I didn’t always feel well, I initially gained 15lbs & I wanted to stop numerous times along my journey. Any diet that serves you best mentally & physically & is high in bioavailable nutrients will always be better than one that lacks the essentials your body needs to function properly. Love y’all Peace love & meat 🥩
Starting your Carnivore Journey, where to begin? Keep it super simple y’all.
*Realize this journey takes patience, experimentation, & everyone has different needs.
*Should be approached from a health & healing perspective 1st over a fat loss perspective.
*Adaptation times varies. Mine took about 10 months to fully adapt before I saw any fat loss. I gained 15 lbs when I started because I needed to heal & reverse diet 1st.
Your 1st 30 days should focus simply on getting adapted to eating animal based food like meat & eggs & making sure you’re eating at your true maintenance calories. Which is where your body thrives for optimal health & function based upon your activity level.
I suggest tracking on a fitness app like @myfitnesspal just to gain awareness on what you’re consuming as far as daily calories & where your macronutrients naturally fall eating this way.
Trust me, it will make your life a lot easier making appropriate adjustments to suit your goals & needs. You don’t have to track forever this is just a tool to help you figure sh*t out.
Keep meals simple, choose foods that are easier to weigh & measure to get a good handle on how your body responds to different macronutrient ratios & daily calories. Ground meat is the easiest.
If you gained weight doing things to regain your health, you needed to gain that weight.
I’m talking about that reverse dieting, more rest, stopping the excessive working out, stopping the constant restriction & scarcity mentality, eating more fat, for some it may mean eating more carbs, maybe it means you stopped isolating yourself & started living again, etc. You can’t live a full life on a chronically empty tank (mentally, physically, emotionally, & spiritually).
You keep diet & program hopping – basically just “winging” &/or over complicating sh*t.
You don’t stay consistent with anything. You think you always have to do what someone else is doing. You allow yourself to get lost in all the info & lose sense of what YOU really need/like to do. You choose unrealistic goals, quick fixes & extremes. You choose a plan yet never prepare or follow through which leads you to continual self sabotage & poor choices. You refuse to track food & activity, therefore, really have no idea what you’re consuming. What gets tracked gets managed. You don’t need to overcomplicate things like meal prep, simple movement, & the basics. Keep it simple & routine: get 10k steps a day, eat nourishing real food, sleep, manage a positive environment & mindset.
You haven’t dealt with your relationship with food, exercise, & body image.
This a biggie y’all. You have to “diet” & LIVE from the inside out. Your relationship with self/food/exercise, your mindset, the energy you put off – ARE EVERYTHING. Thoughts become things & you attract the energy you put out. It doesn’t matter what diet, macros, training program, coach/trainer/practitioner you hire, they won’t work unless you do. The most important work is the inner work. “You must be willing to do the things today others won’t do, in order to have the things tomorrow others won’t have.” Les Brown
You’ve set unrealistic, unsustainable goals you can’t adhere to.
Are you comparing & constantly trying to look like some else who’s life, background, history, health, preferences, etc are NOTHING like yours? Cliché but true – comparison is the thief of joy and we were meant to live this life with JOY. If you have a poor relationship with carbs & they cause negative mental & physical effects, why are you eating them? If you hate meat, why are you trying keto & carnivore? If you hate weightlifting, why are you trying to look like a bodybuilder? If you hate veggies, why are you vegan? If your life is stressed to the titties, why are you trying to diet?
You haven’t taken enough time to heal, educate yourself on how your body works, or gain self awareness for a successful diet.
I used to be a chronic dieter & eating the wrong foods for my specific needs. My body composition reflected that too. I was skinny fat, inflamed, binge eating, performance & recovery sucked – life basically sucked. Learning about your body & how it works & WHY you need to eat & train a certain way will change your life. You should be eating in maintenance the majority of the year, not diet more than 1-2x/yr no longer than 12-16 wks. Most active females, athletes, & avid exercisers should be consuming around 1800-2100+ calories/d for maintenance. You have to BUILD the body first to reveal the physique you want when you lose the body fat. That takes food, rest, & strength training.
You refuse to give up your weekend warrior ways & get real with food consumption & activity.
Just because you didn’t log your food doesn’t mean you didn’t just down a whole pizza, bag of chips, 6 cocktails, or whatever your poison. Same with your steps & workouts, if you didn’t get it in, that falls on you – no one else. Restricting all week & blowing it every weekend is also biting y’all in the tush. Hit your protein & eat enough calories for your health & goals consistently. Get a fitness tracker & track your steps. They are the biggest impact on calories burned throughout the day. If you have gut issues or special dietary needs, own that too. Stop going out & allowing other people or situations to control what you put in your body. You can totally enjoy being social, you simply need to set & stick with healthy boundaries you set for yourself.
You’ve struggled with disordered eating & can’t “feel” true hunger/satiety cues. Not everyone can intuitively eat if you’ve lost you’re intuition.
This one – HUGE. HUGE reason I cringe when I hear people say “Just eat intuitively” or “Just eat as much meat as you want on Carnivore.” Quantity matters. You should be able to distinguish between true physical hunger & emotional hunger/habits. Some of us have lost this ability because of chronic dieting. Your meals should be large enough to keep you full for 3-4+ hrs, & they should be protein centric. You should not be snacking in between meals. Most of us should be eating 30-50g of Protein/meal. We numb emotions with food, we eat too fast, we eat our kids food, we eat in front of the tv, we wire our brains to think these sabotaging habits are normal. You can choose to change those habits & re-write your story.
You’re ignoring your toxic environment.
What you consume, consumes you and what consumes you, controls your life. Our consumption is not only what we eat & drink but also what we watch, listen to, media we consume & environment. If you want to change, become a better version of yourself, become healthier or more successful, you have to change your behaviors & consumptions. Listen to a podcast, motivational speakers, surround yourself with successful, positive minded people – create yourself a new environment. That might mean to break up friendships or a relationship. For me it means constantly learning/changing in order to become a better version of myself.
You’re simply not disciplined enough. It is what it is – you either do or you don’t.
Like Andy Frisella says, ‘Don’t listen to your b*tch voice.” There’s nothing worse than rolling through life in the passenger’s seat. You wake up, go to work, & drift through each day with no direction or driving force. It’s about keeping commitments to yourself & mental toughness. If dieting & obtaining the physique & level of health you desire was an easy task, everyone would do it & be happy. I don’t know about you, but I would rather be a DOer. Goals don’t mean sh*t unless you ACT. Just like knowledge isn’t power unless there’s application. We were made to be ACTIVE participants in life.
The holy grail of all the fat loss knowledge bombs this girl has in her head for all you carnivores out there!
Tap photo for full post and all the cheat sheets !!
I’ll create more guides for performance/muscle gain, hormone healing, & anything else I can think of later. Stay tuned!
Save it, tag it, share with yo people! That’s how we all learn!
I’ve made plenty of mistakes throughout my journey, this is what I have learned & has worked for me but always remember we are all bioindividually different so experiment & play around – there is no one-size-fits-all in anything in life!
Remember we should be livin at our maintenance calories the majority of the time. We should not be dieting more than 1-2 x/year no longer than 12-16 weeks.
Also, I’m all about cashing in fun tickets & having social cocktails in moderation, but if you are serious about body fat loss goals AND being kind to your hormones, alcohol HAS to be minimized. It elevates estrogen levels, lowers testosterone, slows your metabolism, trashes your recovery, dehydrates you, & gunks up the livers detox pathways.
The body also does not metabolize food well in the presence of alcohol. Alcohol is a toxin & the body’s primary responsibility is getting rid of the toxin, so it metabolizes alcohol first. That means all that extra food (energy) is more apt to be stored as body fat.
So think about that when you’re smashing excess nachos, pizza, burgers, whatever — I don’t care if it’s Carnivore or not. Calories matter when it comes to body fat loss.
I typically choose to either eat or drink I do not do both together, limit to 2-3 basic af drinks. I order a diet Coke & 1 shot of vodka. I moderate the liquor that goes into my drinks & mix it myself. Eat an hour or two before I go out.
Feel free to leave advice for your fellow dieter & I’d be glad to answer questions on the gram!
Big question from yesterday: What would my general maintenance calories be & protein & fat macros for carnivore if I prefer higher protein?
These are simple calculations & general ranges for you guys to use. This doesn’t mean you have to eat these exact calories or macros. Needs will be different for everyone but this will get you close.
A refresher on what maintenance means. **Macros will vary with training/goals/personal history, etc.
The maintenance period is when we are eating enough calories to support our activities, energy expenditure & MAINTAINING our weight. Not to lose weight/fat. Not to gain.
Being in a cut adds more stress on our bodies and generally, we shouldn’t be living in those phases for more than 12-16 weeks & not dieting more than 1-2x/year.
The different ways our bodies burn calories:
1️⃣ BMR/RMR (basal/resting metabolic rate)
The amount of calories we need just to exist.
2️⃣ TEF (thermic effect of food)
Our bodies burn calories by eating & digesting our food. We burn about 10% of our total food intake cals here.
3️⃣ NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis)
Our everyday activity like walking/taking, cleaning house, etc. These burn more calories than you think which is why we suggest moving & getting 10k steps/d.
4️⃣ Exercise
The calories you burn while you workout.
I love using the TDEE calculator ( https://tdeecalculator.net ) for a good place to start, but finding a coach is the best way to make sure you tackle any imbalances or metabolic issues from the past & build a solid foundation.
