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!
If you’d have said that at 40 I’d be fitter, healthier & more attractive than my 25-year-old self, I’d have laughed in your face. (Then secretly hoped you knew something about my destiny than I did.)
Optimistic me likes to hang on to any glimmer of hope, while gullible me will believe anything that you tell me if it’s going to make me feel good. Yet the bizarre thing is, it’s true, along with many of my fellow 40-somethings who are refusing to attach themselves to the notion of what 40 should look like.
Not one to pigeon-hole an age or say what’s right or wrong, but in my 20s I had already decided that once I hit 40 I’d be old af. Lackluster weekends would consist of goin to Lowes & cartin kids around only to complain about my 9-5 every day (thank you Jesus my life is far from that description & perfectly imperfect in it’s own right).
I think back to how I was behaving at 25 & I realize I am one of those late bloomers. I’m totally ok with it, now, but thought there was something wrong with me because I hadn’t lived a traditional “timeline” by old school society’s standards. I felt a failure for decades going thru 2 divorces, living with extensive gut issues & a shitty relationship with food & body image.
There’s always a catalyst to a radical lifestyle change & I suspect that the end of my marriages were mine. Both times I had to rediscover myself & learn to live again. I grew the most in my last relationship & it was full of more good experiences than bad. I understand many people aren’t as fortunate to say they were able to lovingly go thru a conscious uncoupling. I’m extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to spend a season of my life with an incredible man, still evolving & trying to be better just like me. We were simply victims of life & poor timing. Still great friends to this day.
At 40 I have no hesitation in admitting my age or my mistakes. One thing I’ve learned which comes with age, aside from a lil wisdom & a chunk of hindsight, is the confidence to not give a shit what others think of you. It’s freeing, you should try it.
Believing in yourself is your most potent weapon & defense mechanism — guard it well! If you believe & have complete confidence in your body, mind, now, & future, there’s no need to ever think about your age again.
Sharing some shiz I’ve learned along the way, enjoy!
Make the most of every day, & love it! Age is just a number that most pay far too much attention to.
You have 2 ages:
Chronological Age — your actual time alive
Biological Age — how you look & feel The choice is yours: You can go with the clock OR you can choose the body & mind option, keeping yourself fresh af.
Hoosier farm girl & Purdue University grad, Katie is a multifaceted human!
She’s a nutritionist, radiologic technologist, motivational speaker & writer, brand growth consultant, & connection maker working with individuals, businesses, organizations, & executives. She specializes in mental health, IBS/IBD conditions, sports nutrition, disordered eating & how to organize/optimize life for better health, increased wealth, & happiness! Katie welcomes all preferences & skill levels with a no diet dogma or one size-size-fits-all approach to health, 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 find her on the gram at http://www.instagram.com/lil_bit_of_fit
Gut check moment: I realized I felt incapable of discovering who I was or what I wanted on my own.
This was why I couldn’t find the right diet, career path, or relationship. One of those “Fxck, it WAS me all along” moments.
Now, hear me out, I see no problem in seeking guidance when searching for your life path. And I know part of finding your path includes finding your identity & making mistakes. In fact, it’s essential to know who you are to discover your purpose in this world.
What I did & what I take issue with is when people feel incapable of discovering who they are or what they want on their own, placing their value in people pleasing, diet & exercise “camps,” what they look like, achievements, titles, &/or how much money they have in their bank accounts.
Ya feel me?
On the evening he died, Buddha delivered his final, but one of his most powerful teachings for generations to come.
As recounted by many historians, he gathered with his monks encouraging them to continue practicing everything he taught them long after he was gone.
His words, translated into modern English: “I was only able to point the way for you.” He furthered: “All individual things pass away. Strive on with diligence.” He also told them: “Be a lamp unto yourself, be a refuge to yourself. Take yourself to no external refuge.”
Essentially, he was telling them that he himself & his teachings were not the source of happiness, well-being, peace, & wisdom. Instead, he reminded them that to become FULLY FREE, they needed to find their truth FOR themselves & WITHIN themselves.
I feel Buddha was urging us to see this truth: although you may search the world over trying to find it, your ultimate refuge is none other than your own being.
In other words – You do you, Boo.
Hope this meets you where ever you need…the hard af truth why you struggle in life, with food & fitness + a few rules will make you stronger than you’ve ever been.
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!
“Abs are made in the kitchen.” — possibly every fitness trainer & influencer who ever lived. LOL!
We’ve all heard this statement before as we try to figure out why the countless hours we have spent sweating in the gym & eating all the “healthy diet food” have yet to turn into that chiseled six-pack we desire.
While the obvious answer is that regardless of how hard you work in the gym, if you don’t eat “right” FOR YOU, you’re only working against yourself. Health first, aesthetics will follow.
What if I told you the quality of what you’re eating every day was related to & a predictor of the quality of your life?
We’ve all heard how important healthy eating is, but we all tend to put it on the back burner because we’re too focused on working harder in the gym & chronically dieting.
While I did hit several personal & fitness goals by just outworking my former self (to my demise in the long run) what I recognized was that by focusing on self love & my eating first, I didn’t have to work as hard in the gym anymore & discovered a number of other areas of my life became much easier & better to manage.
I’ve lost 55lbs in my lifetime, put my Crohn’s disease in remission, & live med-free via the carnivore woe (way of eating).
One positive change led to another that created an almost domino effect of favorable results in my life, ultimately leading to a more well-balanced, happier life!
Hoosier farm girl & Purdue University grad, Katie is a multifaceted girlboss! She’s a nutritionist, radiologic technologist, personal coach, 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
When we think of weight loss & happy living, the immediate reaction is to downgrade our food, increase exercise, work ourselves to death & become deprived for the rest of our lives.
Well, that’s one way to pursue weight loss & success, & it might work for some. But at what expense?
I spent a big chunk of my life that way — a very long & hard pursuit in my 20’s & most of my 30’s.
You end up putting weight back on, becoming miserable & embarrassed about your body. You chase all the wrong things & end up pissed off & unhappy wondering if this is all there is to life? One struggle bus after the other.
If you have been dieting & seem to feel like you’ve been unhappy & unfilled forever, not gaining any momentum, it’s time to flip the switch. It’s time to rewrite your story.
Thinking about health & happiness in terms of peace & fulfillment rather than scarcity will create a new environment for success in fitness & life!
It’s not about being as lean as possible. It’s not about being as monetarily rich as possible. It’s not about being married, or partnered, or single, or divorced, etc. It’s about love & savoring the journey!
What’s the point if you’re not enjoying life?
Here are some huge playmakers I’ve learned in the game of life! Get off the bench.
Your #1 focus should be on reducing stress & optimizing hormones.
Stress, anxiety & depression are huge factors that inhibit weight loss & quality of life. If you experience chronic, excess stress on a day-to-day basis, this needs to be at the top of your list. This also means eating well & ENOUGH. Chronic dieting is also a stress.
Sometimes it’s a challenge, well, because life – we need our jobs to make a living, or perhaps our children are driving us crazy. Do the best to control what you can control.
Elevated cortisol levels have a sneaky way of increasing your hunger & cravings for junk foods (or overeating good food sources, too!). This can easily escalate to overeating & weight gain.
Some natural alternatives that help mitigate stress & anxiety:
Spending time in nature, walking is always the answer
Listening to your favorite music while your kids are b*tchin
Exercising so you don’t punch the offending person (I recommend lifting weights)
Meditation, yoga, have a spa day
Stretching & massage (even if you have to do it yourself)
Spending time with animals (especially the cute ones)
Get more sleep & get movement in 1st thing in the morning before you eat.
Sh*tty sleep makes you tired throughout the day, throws hormones off, makes you hungrier, & causes you to give fux about things you most likely don’t need to give fux about. All can cause more fat gain.
A study in 2010 found that adding 3 hours of sleep resulted in burning 400 calories at night. Subjects who slept for 8.5 hours/night lost 60% less muscle than those with 5.5 hours of sleep/night. In addition, extra sleep helped them boost their metabolism.
Also, stop telling yourself you’re not a morning person. Knock out 20 minutes of movement 1st thing in the morning before you eat. When your body is in a fasted state, you are more likely to burn fat for energy since there isn’t any instant fuel available.
Lift weights & simply do sh*t you love to celebrate what your body can do.
I modify CrossFit classes + Lift & “body build” 5d/wk. Haven’t looked or felt better! Lifting heavy weights not only burns calories (because it takes a lot of energy to do this), but it helps you build extra muscle. This is important for us seasoned ladies, who lose muscle mass more rapidly as we age.
Lifting weights helps keep your bones strong & healthy & eliminates your chances of fat gain as menopause starts to creep (as in, belly pouches & weight gain as long as you are also prioritizing stress management & happy hormones).
The more muscle you have, the better you look nekkid & the more food you can eat because muscle allows you to burn extra calories at rest & throughout the day.
The hardest climbs lead to the best views.
I wake up early, get outside in the sun & nature as much as possible, walk 15k steps/d, eat plenty of protein & healthy fats via meat & eggs, & give gratitude for all that I have now & every mistake that has made me better.
It’s the struggles in life that shape us & determine who we become. My elderly patients & clients frequently tell me that they have finally been able to see their difficulties in life as sources of both strength & character. They are proud of the challenges they have faced & wish they had adopted this thinking when going through difficult times.
As one patient told me, “Just keep moving. Minutes of pain can lead to years of growth.” You can use this mindset to achieve your goals, both in life & fitness.
You are the main character of your life.
A lot of us forget that each of us has a different story. When we try to align our stories with what other people expect or want, that’s when we lose our own.
Think about dreams you want to fulfill. Whenever we don’t know what to do, we should ask ourselves, “Will this make me happy? Will it add legacy to my story & value to other people?”. “Rich & successful” mean different things to us all!
In your healthy living journey, remember that you are the main character. You don’t need to compare your results to others; they are your own! Your story will unfold, maybe just in a different way.
Embrace aging is inevitable, but living well with a young spirit & nourished vessel is a choice.
Resting doesn’t mean quitting.
Sometimes life gets really hard & common wisdom tells us to keep persisting. We should, but what’s often left out is that it is ok to take a break. Taking a break from challenges in our lives makes sure that we have the time & energy to come back with a better mindset. Taking a break does not have to mean “giving up”… it just means we’re re-energizing ourselves for a bigger comeback!
How does this lead to happier living? If you find yourself completely stressed out, take a break! It’s ok! You can meditate or just rest your mind & body. When you come back after this rest period, you’ll have a clearer mind & renewed purpose.
The secret to having it all is believing abundantly you already do! A healthy, happy mind & spirit mean a healthy, happy life. That also takes rest & presence.
It’s the little things & There’s no such thing as false hope.
Yeah, the big things are great but if you sit down & talk to the elderly, they rarely talk about what they’ve achieved. They speak of candid moments of generosity & kindness that they still remember, even decades later.
We often forget that making others happy can also help us become happier too. So be kind, both to others & yourself!
Hope is the desire that a situation or circumstance will turn out favorably. By its definition, it can’t be false. It’s either there or not there. Would you rather spend time with someone who lives a life of positivity & optimism or despair?
It is possible for you to become healthier, happier, more fit, etc…whatever you want is possible! Have faith because sometimes it’s all we have & you create your reality!
Share with a friend who needs this too!
There is a light inside all of us. No matter how hard we try to shove it down.
It glows. Always glows — even the faintest, no matter how dark it may seem.
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!
