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!
Had a client tell me yesterday she loved running but everyone said cardio was “bad” & she should only lift weights. 🤦🏼♀️ (but she hates it & is the reason she avoids the gym)
This is the problem with the inter-webs & having so much information at our fingertips. We get lost in the things we love, we ignore our intuition, & think we have to do what everyone else is doing.
I’ll ask you this, if you choose a form of exercise you hate, do you think you’ll stick with it? Don’t you think getting to the gym, period, is most important?
I personally love me some cardio. 🙋🏼♀️ Type A, give me that hit & high all day long. No shame as long as you are using it for the right reasons & from a place of self love, not self hate.
Too many people use it to punish themselves for overeating, or they use it incorrectly as a singular form of exercise thinking it will build them a booty 🍑
You absolutely can use cardio to reach your fat loss goals. It’s just another tool for your toolbelt! Strength training can be abused as well, it all comes down to your application & relationship with food & exercise.
Cardio conditioning is a tool that improves your health, performance, & even allow you to build some muscle (yes, cardio can!).
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For example, why do many CrossFitters look so “jacked?” We combine cardio AND resistance training in our workouts. Is it for everyone? NO, not if you hate it. Will it work for you if you stick with it? YES.
Cardio should be intelligently applied, just like lifting weights.
We should be working all our energy systems & using different modalities, switch it up, your body does adapt.
Remember when your mom & dad used to say, “You’ll understand when you get older.”?
Well, I’m almost 40 & just when I think I have everything figured out I realize I still don’t understand a fuggn thing. 😂
The difference — I’ve learned to embrace & fall in love with my journey.
Learn from the lessons of your past.
Self awareness is a super power.
Had a fun podcast with Dan Rosada & @bigfatlifepodcast today! That will drop next Wednesday, I will post all the links! 🤘🏻
We talked about building our foundations 1st.
Most people wanna over complicate things or they just want people to tell them what to do without educating themselves or understanding how their bodies work, their emotional ties & relationship with food, how they respond to food, exercise, stress, etc.
I put it like this, you don’t tell builders to go ahead & put the walls & roof up on a house without building a foundation, right? Because it won’t work will it? Everything will come crumbling down.
I chatted with a friend today about age. How we don’t really understand why people fear getting older.
I don’t know about y’all but my 20’s & early 30’s were a train wreck. As I’ve aged, I started to wake up & realize I had been livin for everybody else but me. I disappointed myself with comparison & expectations instead of falling in love with the process & journey.
I ignored addictions to things like sugar & carbs, excessive alcohol/caffeine, men, negative self talk, seeking to change my body to make myself feel better rather than changing my mindset & relationship with self.
Now is the time to build your foundation & fall in love with YOUR journey! 🌈
A client got pissed at me yesterday. I said, “Good, then I’m doin my job.”
I had several conversations yesterday via dm with people letting their mindsets & emotional heaviness get the best of them.
On repeat: You attract what you put out. You cannot become what you want by remaining where you are.
You gotta shift your mindset. Mindset is part of the work.
This particular client, flat refuses to eat more food yet wants to gain muscle & heal. And I get it, it’s a mindfxck.
And I don’t care what goal y’all are chasin in whatever facet of life — DON’T BE UPSET ABOUT THE RESULTS YOU AREN’T GETTING FROM THE WORK YOU DIDN’T DO.
4 things I live by…& letting my weight or my Crohn’s or excuses control me — NOT any of those 3 things…
1.) Be mentally attractive, kind, & be worth knowing. You attract what you put out.
2.) Thou shall not judge because thou has fxcked up too.
3.) You either DO or you DON’T.
4.) 2 things I don’t like to share, toothbrushes & wieners.
💁🏼♀️Slap that last one on a T-shirt.
January 2021 I picked my word. Actually I picked 2: JOY & SURRENDER.
I’ve always hated my back. Rarely ever take back progress pictures. I feel partly because I don’t want to give a reason for negative thoughts to creep in & pick myself apart when I know I have to love myself for the sum of who I am in my entirety.
There’s 5 months & 11lbs between these pictures. I love this woman & her season in both pictures. The left is now, the right was on family vacation in October.
Things I used to loathe:
My scoliosis – it throws my hips off. My body is not symmetrical, I squat lopsided.
My left boob is bigger than my right & neither boob is as big as I would like. Hey there’s at least a handful, I’ve been told that’s all you need right?! 😂
My elbows don’t straighten. I can’t fully lock out in any lift which limits my abilities. My CrossFit coaches used to yell at me, not knowing it was a defect.
I have stretch marks & cellulite from gaining & losing 50 lbs over my lifetime. I always wanted slender legs, it’s just not the way I’m built. But my ham hocks are strong.
I have a red sun spot on my nose I have to cover from getting burned as a child on vacation & bailing hay on our farm.
I chew on the inside of my lip, still don’t know why.
From being the girl who refused to take the T-shirt off at the beach or pool to the woman now brave enough to show the canvas God gave her — hats off to you sis.
Wanted to remind y’all you can’t hate yourself happy, skinny, strong, successful, worthy, or LOVED.
Stop putting new energy in old containers.
@jamesclear said, “The events of your past are fixed. The meaning of your past is not. The influence of every experience is determined by the meaning you assign to it. Assign a more useful meaning to your past & it becomes easier to take a more useful action in the present.”
I put a Post-it on this mirror of a reminder I saw yesterday: “This Chapter of my life is called: now that I know better, I must do better.”
Have a beautiful bootylicious weekend y’all! ❤️🍑🦾 I’d love to chat with y’all on the gram, never hesitate to reach out!
Lotsa carnivore questions today about what a day in the life of this girl looks like. It ain’t special y’all it’s just a routine that works for me.
I’ll summarize for those who are new around here! Welcome! 🥩 Bookmark this on Instagram, there’s a lot of info! I also did an interview which is here on my blog that explains all of my transition over my carnivore journey.
▫️I don’t ‘treat myself’ or ‘cheat.’ Food is not a reward/something to earn. I also dislike saying cheat because it implies it’s going to benefit you in some way. Cheaters cheat to win. Do you really think you’re winning by cheating yourself?
▫️I eat 2 meals/d on avg. My days off or if I can sleep in, I now eat 1 meal. You must experiment. Your experience/needs will be different than mine. It takes TIME. It took me an entire year to fully adapt &, yes, I gained 15lbs initially.
▫️Majority of meals are my Airfryer Crispy meat bars. 85% ground beef, ground chicken. Avg 2lbs of meat/d. Ground meat is easier to digest & track. I removed most pork & dairy, I don’t digest’em well. I don’t add extra fat often. Choose meats that are higher in fat. No I don’t like organ meat, I prefer the taste of grain fed over grass fed beef.
▫️I stick to beef bc it’s satisfying & delicious but not SO delicious I want to binge. Food addicts tend to have issues controlling carbs, sugar, sugar free substitutes, keto treats, dairy, butter, cheese, bacon, pork rinds, hyper palatable & processed meats)
▫️I track macros loosely. It keeps me accountable & I know where to adjust. Rice cakes on occasion post workout or in the evening if I need them, rarely above 50g/day. Macros 10% C – 30% P – 60% F for ME** around 1900-2100 cal/d. Workout fasted at 5 AM on weekdays. Yes I drink coffee before. Work out 5d/wk, 1 active recovery day, 1 rest.
▫️YES, you can CrossFit & carnivore, CAREFULLY. Comes down to allowing yourself to fully adapt to being fat-fueled, meal timing, eating ample calories, & RECOVERY.
▫️Sleep=nonnegotiable. 7 hrs min. Zzyquil helps. I take it most nights because I can’t shut my mind off.
▫️Still hit 13-15k steps/day, even on rest days, drinkin a ton of water + electrolytes, fasting when I’m not hungry (~18hrs avg), eating when I am. No extended fasts, no snacking.
▫️I do drink socially. I don’t typically eat & have cocktails I choose 1 or the other. I also don’t like to eat late. Last meal is usually around 2 or 3p.
▫️Favorite self care is coloring, writing, walking, live music, time with friends, working out @3kings_athletics , @hotworx.fishers infrared saunas, @vitalityivbar , routine colonics treatments via Brandy Mason Colon Hydrotherapy in Carmel (I have her info), @massageheightsindy
All of these experiences are going to be different for you but I hope what I’ve learned throughout my journey can help steer you in the right direction 😉🐮
When I started an animal based nutrition approach this is what I heard. In this photo I was about 10lbs heavier on vacation, embracing the journey.
Had many of you ask about this yesterday & my recent weight loss.
I’m excited many of you want to try a more animal based approach & YES I absolutely believe its a wonderful lifestyle of eating which corrects many health issues, but I also want to make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons & not just wanting to hop on the “bandwagon” because you seek weight loss.
It’s not for everyone’s lifestyle needs, some of you NEED specific kinds of carbs in your diet to feel & function better. Just because I prefer this style of eating doesn’t mean I think everyone should do it. No diet dogma here. We’re all different.
I had a question from a follower yesterday asking what she needed to do to heal gut issues & finally see weight loss.
I responded with some hard truths.
You will most likely have to do things you don’t wanna do. Things I had to do:
Reduce workouts: no more 2 hrs of CrossFit & 20k+ steps a day. More rest days. I have to modify, reduce intensity & steps. Requires me swallowing my ego & not picking weights & movements I don’t need to do anymore for LONGEVITY as a goal.
Ate in MAINTENANCE & SURPLUS for almost 8 MONTHS. GAINED 15lbs in the process. Experimented with intuitive eating, macro ratios, fasting, meat, portions, tracking glucose & ketones, etc. Figured out I get better results tracking macros. Ground meats work better as far as tracking, simplicity, & satiety. Carb refeed days via rice cakes or white rice work great when I need them with minimal negative feedback. My appetite did “correct.” I eat slower & know know when I’m truly full.
Different fasting windows affect you differently. Don’t recommend any newby to fast, just get adapted to the way of eating 1st. You’ll find what works best. I can fast longer now. I don’t do extended fasts. The longest I go is about 20hrs.
What gets TRACKED gets MANAGED. I know a lot of you don’t wanna track but HOW ARE YOU GONNA KNOW WHAT TO CHANGE IF YOU DONT HAVE ANY AWARENESS OF WHERE YOU’RE STARTING? Quality & quantity matter. After a while you master it & won’t have to track but you need to learn quality & quantity & how it affects you 1st. It’s about making EDUCATED choices.
If you’re having gut/hormone issues, do a true elimination diet & stick to something longer than a few days or 2 weeks. This takes TIME. You didn’t have these issues after 1 day &/or put on the weight in 1 day. There are no quick fixes or magic. Put in the work. Get help from a coach or practitioner, get tested! Quit guessing. I worked with multiple practitioners, coaches, protocols & diets, & tracked symptoms/trigger foods for DECADES.
Do the DUE DILIGENCE — experiment, eat more, educate yourself, sleep more, have patience, seek help, fix your relationship with food & self 1st, quit binging on the weekends, overtraining, & treating your body like a dumpster fire.
Life ain’t always tacos & tequila 🌮🍸but it should be 🎉 😝 (more like beef & bourbon🥩🥃 for this girl.)
In other words, you don’t always get whatcha want but ya get whatcha need. It hinges on your perspective & reaction.
Yes, ‘whatcha’ is a word. Hxll my talk & text can’t even decipher my Indiana twang. Anybody else have that problem? 📲
Raised on a cattle & crop farm in small town Indiana I grew up hearin things like, “Sexy as socks on a rooster” and “Quit your dickin around” an awful lot. 😂
Cleaning the barn 💩🐮 was punishment. That and picking up rocks out of the field.
And you did not wanna hear mom say I’m gonna call dad — you knew your a$$ was in trouble.
I wouldn’t have changed my childhood for anything. Priceless life lessons that never could’ve been taught sitting in a classroom — the value of hard work, honesty, the Golden Rule, love, teamwork, responsibility, discipline, & the relentless pursuit of betterment.
Katie what the hxll does this have to do with your bathroom photo this mornin half naked in @Amazon underwear? 😆 — I’m getting to that.
You see these life lessons were the foundational bricks that transferred into my success habits AND fitness.
Most people scroll & look at the after photo & want to be &/or look like that person but they’re not willing to commit & do the work behind it. That’s what you need to think about.
Can you do what that person had to do to get where they are? (Eat more food, reverse diet, commit to healing & rest, work thru the hunger in a cut, etc)
Is that your story & authentic self?
Have you learned the correct bricks to build your foundation? (Macros, eating maintenance, what foods you can digest, trigger foods, eating schedules, workout schedule, etc)
Growing up on a farm & fitness taught me a few things:
— They taught me I CAN do the hard things. I’m stronger than I think.
— They taught me how to stay committed, not just by what I looked like in the mirror, but simply by keeping the promises I made to myself to be healthy.
— They taught me discipline. Getting those workouts in, working with my 4H calves, hitting the macros, eating foods I can digest vs crap, sleeping over drinking all night.
— They taught me the value of hardwork & that I can do anything I put my mind to.
— They taught me having a serving & loving heart is more important than having a set of abs or five grand champions.
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.
There will be bumps along the way. They’re called lessons and remember you don’t always get what you want you get what you need 🌱 🪴
Cheers y’all happy St. Patrick’s Day from Kelly Farms🍀🍻
Go make memories, have fun, remember no good story started with a salad 🥩🥗🥂😄
I read, “You’re never going to be 100% ready and it’s never going to be just the right time, but that’s the point. It means that every moment is also the right moment. If you want it, you just have to do it.”
Hi five to whomever wrote that.🙋♀️
You wanna know why it’s so hard to get what you want (or what you think you want)?
Fear.
Doesn’t matter if it’s losing weight, talking to a person you like, moving, asking for a raise or going after that job you want.
Muscle ups scare the shit out of me but I commit to practicing relentlessly because I believe in my ability and deservingness of having what I want out of life.
**Some hard truths to take with you into 2021**
1.) You have a short term attitude that doesn’t align with your long-term intentions
Without a long term intention & approach to anything in life, you’re bound to suffer a rebound when you figure out it isn’t working. It’s that “oh fxck” moment…
How you respond afterwords determines everything.
Take weight loss for example. Say you go low carb, lose a few pounds of water weight after a couple days, then discover it’s harder than you thought, your body isn’t responding as quickly as you thought — so you go back to old self sabotaging habits.
How about we commit to something more than 2 weeks? Commit, experiment, try & THEN if it’s still not working, it’s OK, be proud of yourself for trying!
Part of success is willingness to take a risk, yet also being smart enough to own it if it’s not working and search for another solution.
2.) You lack a quality support system
Your environment is everything! Fitness, career, social media, relationship related — doesn’t matter.
Any source that makes you feel bad about yourself and drags your vibration down — get rid of it, unfollow, block, trash it. Replace them with sources and people who are positive & successful & living the life you desire.
I personally have been called a savage for the ability to cut people & things out of my life with no remorse if they are not serving my highest alignment, but guess what? I am a whole hxll of a lot happier because of this skill. Doesn’t mean you have to be an dxck, but be HONEST.
Don’t worry about what other people think of you, you will never be happy if you’re constantly people pleasing. Own your shxt, own your life.
You control your thoughts, environment, and reality of your life. Choose accordingly.
3.) You lack clarity & don’t really know what you want
Write out your thoughts, feelings, and intentions. Learn to BE with yourself. Align your thoughts & actions accordingly to be the person you want to embody and that life will follow.
If you’re chronically stressed, sleep deprived, overworked, & talk down to yourself, your life will be a helluva lot harder.
Set you day up for success. You should have a success routine & habits in place. I wrote a blog just the other day about 8 things you should do every single day to be more successful. I suggest you go back and look at that.
Keeping these 3 hard truths in mind will allow you to create the space to welcome more abundance in your life.
I could talk all day about the mistakes I’ve made throughout my fitness journey.
To name a few:
Feeling I had to earn food or use it as a reward
Yo-yo dieting & falling for fads, pills, & what Karen down the road was doing
Wearing restriction as a badge of honor then falling victim to self-loathing, disordered eating & exercise habits
Eating all the wrong foods for me physically and mentally causing paralyzing G.I. distress
Equating my worth with abs & a number displayed on a dirty box which sits on my bathroom floor
Losing weight doesn’t have to feel like a punishment, in fact that’s the one thing you must avoid.
Think about it, if you hate what you’re eating and how you’re training, do you think you’re going to stick to it?
— Heck no.
Losing weight is simple, but it’s not EASY. Ultimately it comes down to being in an energy deficit. (Taking in less energy than you are expending)
We over complicate the process. We set ourselves up for failure by chronically dieting, picking the wrong kinds of workouts, picking the wrong kinds of foods we cannot digest & absorb properly, we over stress, under eat, under educate ourselves, under execute, & over train.
Don’t even get me started on the negative self talk & shxtty mindset syndrome.
30 years ago (I’m almost 39 now😬) my fitness journey began. I was 8 years old. My heaviest weight was 160 lbs on a 5’1 frame.
Right now is actually the lowest weight (avg 107-110lbs) & best health I’ve ever been. And I’m eating at my true maintenance (calories around 2000-2200 daily). Maintenance is we all should be hanging out the majority of our lives.
I’ve made the same mistake as you have. We are all different as far as what foods & training work best for you.
Here are some examples of hacks that have helped me keep the weight off and I hope it helps you find the right tools for your toolbelt too!
Abstainer: cannot have just 1 cookie without then eating or wanting to eat the whole pan. Does better with food rules and a more “all or none approach.” More prone to binge eating.
Moderator: can have 1 cookie and be satisfied. Needs more flexibility.
Are you a food addict? Get real with yourself. I understand this stuff isn’t pretty.
What is your relationship with carbohydrates? Are they like drugs which trigger self sabotaging habits? How do they make you feel? Do you need them for your health & fitness goals for optimal health, performance, & recovery? What is your daily threshold that makes you feel your best?
2.) CHOOSE THE FOODS & TRAINING YOU LOVE AND HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH
For me, it’s animal based nutrition. Protein & healthy fats are the center of my meals. I do not have a good relationship with carbohydrates and have many emotional and physical trigger foods. I only consume carbohydrates when I need them for optimal health, performance, and recovery. I find eating carbohydrates makes me crave more carbohydrates & I’m not satiated as sticking with meat only.
I prefer CrossFit like training. I love the community, I love the variety, I love it combines strength and aerobic conditioning. It’s effective af & keeps me happy. Therefore it’s easy for me to stick to my routine.
3.) EAT & TRAIN INTENTIONALLY & MINDFULLY
The food you eat literally makes you. Choose accordingly. Slow down when you eat, enjoy every bite, chew thoroughly, eat till you’re 80% full. Same with your training. Pick a goal and stick with it. Keep your commitments to yourself. Work hard & rest when you need to and be intentional about both! Motivation is fleeting, your integrity & character are forever.
4.) SET YOUR NONNEGOTIABLES & FLEXIBILITY
Especially important when it comes to social functions & family. Set step goals. Mine are between 13-15k on average. Maybe you allow yourself 2 cocktails on the weekends, maybe it’s one untracked meal with family, maybe it’s 2 refeed days on the weekends, maybe it’s more carbohydrates one day a week, maybe it’s dessert a couple times a week, maybe you do better being strict for a couple weeks & taking a week off, maybe you prefer to take your own food when you go out. Anything goes, you are your own boss, but OWN IT.
5.) GRATITUDE AND CELEBRATE EVERY WIN
Y’all gratitude is everything. You can’t hate yourself healthy and love yourself healthy at the same time. Which one would you rather choose? Take progress pictures, the scale isn’t the only indicator of success. Maybe you’re eating for better energy and better biofeedback. Maybe you’re trying to get stronger. The number on the scale does not dictate your worth or achievement.
6.) MANAGE YOUR MINDSET & OWN YOUR DAY
You should have a success routine nailed down. I talked about 8 things you should do every day that will change your life, yesterday. Check out that post and blog. If you continuously tell yourself you are a failure & always fxck up, guess what? That’s what you’ll attract & become. Talk to yourself like your best friend. What would you say, what advice would you give her or him? Be the person you want to embody.
You can make moves or excuses. You either DO or your DON’T.
People are gonna tell you you CAN’T do a lot of things. They’re gonna tell you THEIR way is better than YOUR way…
You’ve asked great carnivore questions over the weekend. I’ll summarize for those I haven’t had the pleasure to chat with & tell you some things you may not want to hear…
▫️I don’t ‘treat myself.’ My view of food has changed since going animal based. I “treat” myself everyday, enjoy every bite & it all serves a purpose — nourishment & fuel. Food is not a reward/something to earn.
▫️You must experiment with different meats/food/fats, eating/fasting windows, meal sizes/freq, tracking macros vs not, & macro ratios. Your experience will be different than mine. It takes TIME. It took me an entire year to fully adapt &, yes, I gained 15lbs initially.
Common Q&A’s:
⇢ Majority of my meals are 85% ground beef, ground chicken, & salmon. Avg 2lbs of meat/d, 2-2 1/2 meals/d. Yes I drink coffee. Ground meat is easier to digest & track. I removed pork & dairy, I found I don’t digest’em well. I only consume them on occasion in small quantities.
⇢ I stick to beef bc it’s satisfying & delicious but not SO delicious I want to over eat. For those who struggle with food addiction, like me, find foods that are satisfying & get the job done without triggering over eating or bingeing. We typically do better with food rules, we are abstainers. (Food addicts tend to have issues controlling carbs, sugar, sugar free substitutes, keto treats, dairy, butter, cheese, bacon, pork rinds, hyper palatable & processed meats)
⇢ I track macros loosely. It keeps me accountable & I know where to adjust. Rice cakes/white rice on occasion post workout or in the evening if I need them, portioned carefully, rarely above 50g/day.
⇢ YES, you can CrossFit & carnivore, CAREFULLY. Comes down to allowing yourself to fully adapt to being fat-fueled, meal timing, eating ample calories, & RECOVERY (sleep, rest days, deloads) Macros 10% C – 30% P – 60% F for ME**
⇢ Sleep is a MUST. 7 hrs min. Zzyquil helps. It is what it is, I’m transparent here.
⇢ Still hit 13-15k steps/day, even on rest days, drinkin a ton of water + electrolytes, reduce alcohol, fasting when I’m not hungry (~18hrs avg), eating when I am. No extended fasts, no snacking.
It’s taken me 38 yrs to understand where my body is at mentally & physically.
And I’ll have to keep figuring it out every day for the rest of my life.
Have patience. Take care of your body it’s the only forever home you have♥️🏠
