Fitness tips – lil bit of fit

June 1, 2023

23 Simple Rules to Transform Your Fitness & Health In Order To Live Your Best Life!

You lie to yourself a lot. You know you do. At some point, you have to rip the band-aid, learn from mistakes & do what works.

Hi. I’m Katie.
I’ve coached hundreds of nutrition & fitness clients.
I’ve taken care of hundreds of patients in the 18 years I’ve been in this space.

body transformation woman carnivore diet — My weight loss & healing story HERE!

I ain’t here to preach or convince you I know everything or am the best coach in the world.
I’m here to speak to my younger self, to remind my current self, & anyone else out there needing hope.

My rules for a good life are based on years of struggle, both personally, & seeing others fall deeper & deeper into the dark abyss of 50 shades of fucked up.

Now is always the time to get into the best shape & live your best life.

When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear. I’m not here to tell you what you want to hear.

I don’t provide cures. If I know anything about self-improvement it’s because I battle & struggle with it every day, too. Most self-improvement writers & coaches are writing & coaching to themselves, with the hopes that it helps you.

So use the concept of radical honesty, with yourself & with others, to fight the uphill battle needed to change your life. Be honest with yourself about who you are, what you want, & what you need to do to stay true to both.

Let’s go!

Rules To Live Your Best Life

If you’re anxious, slow down. If you’re depressed, speed up.

Anxiety means we’re doing too much & overthinking. Slowing down consciously helps with this. Being depressed is often remedied by leaning into action & getting busy.

Never make big decisions when you’re emotional.

Take your time & give the decision as much time as possible. It’s ok if you’re scared, but if you know it’s right in your gut, then act. We feel our thoughts. If our thinking makes us doubtful & fearful, those thoughts are not serving us. We don’t need to be at the mercy of a thought.

If you’re self-conscious, focus on serving others.

Self-consciousness has brought me little but misery. When I feel anxious, it’s time to focus on making someone else smile & serving. This takes the pressure off me & instantly makes me feel better because I’m helping someone else.

Drink coffee.

Coffee (caffeine) is a fat loss cheat code when used optimally. It’ll help you burn fat through a few different mechanisms: Fat mobilization (moving fat out of storage), Fat oxidation (burning fat), Increased adrenaline (the release of adrenaline leads to more fat burning)

Eat 1g of protein/lb of body weight or goal weight if you have more to lose.

Protein is crucial for optimizing body composition & controlling hunger/satiety. Aim for 30–40g/meal through things like: meat, seafood, eggs, & dairy (if you’re not sensitive)

Time-restricted eating (Intermittent Fasting).

Eat all of your meals within a 12 hour or less window each day. Choose a fasting window that works for you like: 12/12, 14/10, 16/8, 18/6, etc. Don’t snack or eat outside of this. TRE will accelerate your fat loss by letting your body tap into its fat stores, autophagy, & giving your digestive system a break.

Avoid seed, veggie, & low quality oils (fats).

Things like: canola (rapeseed) oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, grapeseed oil, rice bran oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, & sunflower oil. They’re highly inflammatory & are destroying your health, metabolism, & weight loss efforts. If you want to get in the best shape of your life, avoid these at all costs.

Morning fasted walk/movement.

During a fasted walk, your body has minimal stores of available energy (glycogen) from the foods you eat. Your body needs to tap into energy stores in the body (stored fat) plus its good for the mind.

big rocks of sustainable fat loss lilbitoffit's bulletproof routine

Get 7+ hours of high-quality sleep & walk 10k steps/day.

If you’re not getting 7 hours of sleep, you’re sabotaging your efforts. Your hormones will be out of whack — leading to increased hunger/ cravings. Your body is also more likely to hold onto fat & is going to struggle to build muscle. If you want to transform your body, you need to walk more. Walking 10k steps/day might be the highest ROI habit in this list. This one habit can dramatically improve your ability to lose fat & will improve your energy, mood, & productivity too.

Make the first move & be a role model.

Stop waiting to be a follower. Stop waiting for permission to create something cool. Start a conversation with a stranger. Experiment first. Lean in first & make it a habit. Now you’re the leader, & you set the precedent for creating success that others will admire & follow.

Walk tall, always look & do your best.

Posture has been known to directly affect our chemical composition, among other benefits. Walk a fraction taller with a skip in your step. Your self-image will improve by doing this alone. The little things regarding your appearance make a huge difference in how you perceive yourself & how others perceive you. Be extra. Clean your dirty-ass shoes. Iron your shirt. It will infect your confidence (the good way).

Do what most others refuse to do.

What interests you? How bad do you want something? Your drive, commitment, & work ethic set you apart by doing what others do NOT have the patience or fortitude to do. That’s how you separate yourself from the pack.

Eat nourishing, single-ingredient foods.

You need to eat high-quality foods if you want to be healthy & lose weight. By prioritizing single-ingredient foods (i.e., foods as they come in nature), you’ll make massive progress. Eat these foods 80-90% of the time & be flexible with the other 10-20%. (Shit like Beyond Meat & packaged diet foods are NOT one of them. Read your labels!)

Lift weights at least 3x a week.

Lifting weights is key if you want to transform your body. Lifting weights: burns a lot of fat, increases your metabolism, improves your body comp (what you look like aka looking good nekkid), builds muscle (which will also lead to you burning more calories at rest).

Minimize alcohol consumption.

It wrecks your sleep, sabotages your weight loss efforts, & leads to many other unhealthy habits. Stick to an allocated 1–2 drinks/wk. Plan ahead & find alternatives so that you don’t give in in the moment.

Get your heart rate up & do HIIT 1–2x a week.

High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, is another great tool for fat loss. It involves exercising at a higher intensity for a short period of time, followed by a period of rest. I personally love CrossFit because it combines strength training sprinkled with a little HIIT.

https://lilbitoffit.com/the-stupidly-simple-system-i-use-to-stay-in-shape-and-love-my-body-as-an-empath-at-age-40/ — Check out my routine here!

Eat healthy fats.

Fat doesn’t make us fat, despite what we’ve been told. We need fats — our cells are made up of this vital macronutrient & they are the precursors to our hormones. Prioritize things like: eggs, fatty fish/seafood, avocados (if you’re not sensitive), & fatty cuts of meat.

Measure & track progress (especially if things aren’t working).

You need objective data to ensure you’re making progress & proper adjustments. You can measure: food (calories/macros), body weight, body fat %, lean muscle mass, blood glucose, ketones, performance (cardio/endurance/strength) in the gym, body measurements, etc.

Manage stress.

Stress is an overlooked aspect of body transformation. Cortisol (our stress hormone) disrupts insulin activity & leads to weight gain. It also makes it hard to build muscle. Include de-stressing practices like walking, coloring, yoga, working out, & meditation.

Make a habit of asking.

Many people fall short of their dreams & potential because they don’t want to rock the boat, ask for help, seek coaching or mentorship, & let their ego get the best of them. You can be, do, or have anything you want if you’re willing to do what you need to do & learn to achieve it.

Create something & smile every day.

Journal your thoughts. Brainstorm ideas. Design. Share your stories. Build a following with your advice. There’s little downside & massive upside to daily creating. Also, smiles are free & contagious. It can change your &/or someone else’s entire day!

Don’t be a whiner, moaner, complainer, or fun-hater.

No one likes a Debbie Downer. Whining reaffirms a negative reality. Focusing on what’s good brings more good in.

Mind what you consume.

What you consume, consumes you & what consumes you, controls your life. It’s not only what we eat & drink but also what we watch, listen to, media, & environment. If you want to change, become a better version of yourself, you have to change your habits. Listen to a podcast, motivational speakers, surround yourself with successful, positive minded people – create yourself a new environment.

Final Thoughts

If you want better health, a better body, & a better life, it’s gonna take work. For some of us, maybe you’re simply not disciplined enough. It is what it is – you either do or you don’t.

There’s nothing worse than rolling through life in the passenger’s seat.

I don’t know about you, but I would rather be a DOer. Goals don’t mean anything unless you act. Just like knowledge isn’t power unless there’s application. We were made to be ACTIVE participants in life. The word ATTRACTION includes the word ACTION.

Do these sound familiar?

“I want this, but not bad enough to do what is required to achieve it”
“I can’t cut back on workouts.” (even though they’re stressing my body out even more which is actually hindering progress)
“I can’t give up sugar/bangs/etc.” (even though my glucose/cortisol are jacked up thru the roof & I can’t sleep at night)
“I can’t give up sweets & snacking at night.” (even though they’re causing inflammation, gut problems, high glucose, fat gain, & more cravings)
“I can’t reverse diet because I’ll gain weight.” (even though you’ve been eating less than a toddler for 20+ yrs & still don’t have the health or body you want)

Thank you for reading & allowing me to add value to your lives! Link here to resources, guides, coaching & more!

Life is the dash between the dates on your tombstone. What you do with it is your choice.
Katie Kelly @lil_bit_of_fit

While the inevitable is bound to happen, my goal is to carpe diem my way thru life & make my dash everything I want it to be. People will remember how you made them feel. Treat each other with respect & smile more. Remember this special dash might only last a little while. So, when your eulogy is being read, would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent YOUR dash?

Recap

23 Rules:

If you’re anxious, slow down. If you’re depressed, speed up.

Never make big decisions when you’re emotional.

If you’re self-conscious, focus on serving others.

Drink coffee.

Eat 1g of protein/lb of body weight or goal weight if you have more to lose.

Time-restricted eating (Intermittent Fasting).

Avoid seed, veggie, & low quality oils (fats).

Morning fasted walk/movement.

Get 7+ hours of high-quality sleep & walk 10k steps/day.

Make the first move & be a role model.

Walk tall, always look & do your best.

Do what most others refuse to do.

Eat nourishing, single-ingredient foods.

Lift weights at least 3x a week.

Minimize alcohol consumption.

Get your heart rate up & do HIIT 1–2x a week.

Eat healthy fats.

Measure & track progress (especially if things aren’t working).

Manage stress.

Make a habit of asking.

Create something & smile every day.

Don’t be a whiner, moaner, complainer, or fun-hater.

Mind what you consume.

bio carnivore lilbitoffit katie kelly indiana fishers — Hailing from Fishers, Indiana, Katie is an aficionado of health, mindset, human connection, & entrepreneurship. Motivational writer, speaker, doer of many things, she grew up on her family’s beef cattle & crop farm where agriculture was her first love. She is a Purdue University graduate well known for her storytelling of life lessons & personal transformation through her own relationships, financial struggles, Crohn’s Disease, disordered eating, body transformation, & adapting to a carnivore diet lifestyle.

Katie also has over 17 years experience as a Registered Radiologic Technologist, Nutritionist, Brand Growth & Sales Consultant. She works with people of all walks of life as a nutritionist & life coach to help them authentically optimize their lives to find health, wealth, & happy!

You can catch her via Instagram @lil_bit_of_fit & blog, Lilbitoffit.com

May 26, 2023

4 Damaging Habits Ruining Your Results Most People Do When Trying To Lose Fat

Losing weight ultimately comes down to what you do on a daily basis.

It’s not your herculean efforts every month or so that will bring you results. It’s the small things you do day in and day out. While not hugely exciting, it’s effective.

In the blog post today we talk about: 4 Damaging Habits Ruining Your Results Most People Do When Trying To Lose Fat

PLUS here’s 7 easy habits that will help to accelerate your weight loss journey with simple lifestyle changes:

Track calories
Calories are not the be-all & end-all of weight loss. But they do matter. You need to have a good idea of how many calories you’re eating each day. Download MyFitnessPal. Track calories, daily.
Create a calorie deficit
Now that you have a good idea of how much you’re eating on a daily basis, you need to create a calorie deficit. A good method for this is the following formula:
(Bodyweight (lbs) x 15) — 400
Or use this calculator: tdeecalculator.net
This will give you a rough ballpark to aim for.
Get 8 hours of sleep
If you’re not getting 8 hours of sleep, you’re sabotaging your fat loss efforts. Inadequate sleep makes your body more likely to hold onto fat.It also alters your hunger hormones & decreases willpower, making it much harder to stay on track with your nutrition.
Eat 1g of protein per lb of body weight
Eating more protein will accelerate your fat loss. Protein: Burns calories from digesting it, keeps you full for longer, builds muscle mass, limits cravings.
Limit alcohol, sugar, & processed food
All of these will sabotage your weight loss efforts.They’re packed with calories, mess with your hormones, & will lead to other bad habits. Go out and enjoy your life, but keep these to a minimum.
Lift weights 3x/week, walk 10k steps/day
Lifting weights & walking are key if you want to lose fat. Walking + loading your muscles: burns fat, makes you look leaner, increases your metabolism, improves your muscle mass (which will lead to you burning more calories at rest).
Drink water
Boring, I know. But drinking more water is crucial if you want to lose weight. In order to function properly, our bodies need a lot of water + electrolytes. Water is also highly satiating — meaning you’re less likely to want snacks & will also eat less at mealtime. Drink 1/2 your body weight in filtered water each day.

4 Damaging Habits Ruining Your Results Most People Do When Trying To Lose Fat

the story behind the after photo — You can read more about my journey on how I lost 55lbs & put my Crohn’s disease & bulimia in med free remission via the carnivore diet HERE

#1. Letting a Number Control Your Emotions

The scale can be your best friend or worst enemy.

If it helps keep you motivated & you use it to track your long-term progress, great. But if it’s a source of unending frustration, you’re probably falling into the first & most common pitfall of losing fat: obsessing over the numbers on the scale.

A number should never have the power to make or break your day — especially when dozens of variables affect it.

Though I weigh myself nearly daily, I only do it to keep track of the weekly & monthly averages. Tracking numbers with a long-term view can ensure you keep your goal in sight without falling into the self-doubt rabbit hole.

How to start:

If you like weighing yourself, do it daily or every once in a while, but make sure you only compare weekly or monthly averages. The long-term trend is more important than the random daily fluctuations.
Important tip: Get a scale that measures your fat & muscle percentages. Tracking these values is what matters when losing fat.
If you don’t like weighing yourself, take progress pictures with the same clothing & lighting conditions every week or every month.

#2. Becoming an App’s Prisoner

Many people have developed an eating disorder because they’ve let a calorie-tracking app rule their lives. They feel like a failure if they eat more than the app’s recommended goal or if their macros are off.

They start fearing certain foods, the origin story of most eating disorders.

Now, I tracked for decades, I only do occasionally now. It taught me a lot about nutrition — and food freedom (yes, you read that correctly). As I know how many calories my body needs to maintain weight & function at my best. I learned it SAFE to EAT WELL.

I know how to properly adjust calories & macros to make my body look & feel, too depending on my goals. I use the calorie tracking app to ensure I’m not going overboard with food.

How to start:

If you feel comfortable tracking calories, ensure you do so with a weekly overview. This will allow you to relax on the days you go over. For instance, if your goal is 2,000 calories/day, that’s 14,000 calories/week. So if one day you eat 4,000, ensure that on the other six days of the week, you eat 10,000 calories.
If you feel uncomfortable tracking calories or suffered from an eating disorder, try this tip: 85% of your meals should be nutritionally & calorically on point (protein centric, healthy fats & whole foods). The rest of the meals (15%) are for flexibly enjoying life.

#3. Forgetting Sustainable Fat Loss Habits

Years before I got smart, I felt like a winner because I’d lost some weight while eating nutrient poor, processed diet foods. (Hello Atkins bars, slim fast, & lean cuisines) I reduced my meals from 3-4/day to 2 (& sometimes one) + exercised like 2+ hours a day.

The little food, coupled with excessive exercise + massive amounts of stress, created a hormonal, mental & physical dumpster fire. As I restricted more, & fell into the binge/purge/guilt/restrict cycle, eventually the weight returned & I looked worse. Why? Simple.

I made shrinking my body a hobby & tried to hate myself thin & happy. I learned an essential truth about sustainable fat loss: you have to make it a healthy lifestyle based on the foundation of the big rocks (see photos below).

big rocks of sustainable fat loss — Looking Better Than 99% of People Over 40 is About This One Thing

How to start:

Though you can achieve a calorie deficit by eating whatever you want, try prioritizing nutrient-dense foods that provide your body with what it needs to thrive mentally & physically.
A place to start is to consume an average of 1g of protein/lb of body weight if you’re in a normal weight range or choose your goal weight if you have more weight to lose. Use the TDEEcalculator.net to find your maintenance calories & start there.

#4. Hiding & Feeling Shame

When you’re trying to get healthy & lose fat, birthday parties, weddings — any social gathering can inspire anxiety.

What if I overindulge? What if they judge me? I’ll have to exercise extra hard to burn off that slice of cake!

I have a question: WHY are you trying to lose fat & get healthy?

For most of us, the answer will be something like: to be stronger, healthier, to look better — to be happier.

That last point is crucial. Most of us want to achieve a certain fat percentage because we believe that’ll make us happier. And I won’t lie: Achieving & maintaining the physique you want is incredibly rewarding.

But you know what’s even more rewarding? Spending time with your loved ones.

An 80-year Harvard study found that the #1 thing that makes us happy & live longer is having strong social bonds — not a hot body with a low fat percentage.

So if your ultimate goal is to be happy, neglecting social gatherings forever is your worst decision. Moreover, as I’ve mentioned many times, fat loss should be a long, sustainable process. A process of forever learning & evolving. It requires patience, time, and enjoyment.

How to start:

Don’t avoid social contact to achieve a fat loss or health goal unless it’s necessary. Instead, try adopting some best practices that can help keep you on track while enjoying the company of your loved ones.
Prioritize protein to help satiate your hunger while keeping your muscles strong. Ordering something like grilled chicken breast or a steak will keep you satiated & less prone to binging. Eat before you go if you need to, don’t go hungry.
Opt for zero-calorie drinks if possible. Water, tea, coffee, diet pop if you have to. No-minimal alcohol.
Check the menu ahead of time. Load up on protein first. Skip sauces & dressings or have them on the side. Check the cooking method used. Higher cal will be described typically as pan-fried, breaded, creamed, dipped, scalloped, slathered, etc. Low cal will be grilled, steamed, baked, roasted, broiled, seared.
Communicate your needs to others. Bring your food if you’re in prep or cutting for a specific reason that requires rigidity. Especially important if you have specific digestive needs. Use this opportunity to educate your friends & family if they ask you why you’re eating this way. ⁣

Final Thoughts

Long-Lasting Fat Loss is simple once you stop doing these things & make it a lifestyle you love. Many of us hope to quickly shed pounds when a significant event or a holiday approaches, so we:

Obsess over daily & normal scale fluctuations instead of tracking progress over a long period.
Become prisoners of a calorie-tracking app instead of using it for information while keeping a weekly (or monthly) overview.
Forget about the big rocks of sustainable fat loss & fall back into self sabotaging habits.
Get lost in information & think we have to do what everyone else is doing or we just don’t do anything because we’re so overwhelmed.
Avoid social gatherings because we’re afraid of judgement or we can’t manage ourselves instead of understanding that social contact makes us happy & flexibility is totally doable. You can have this AND that! Just takes a strategy & a plan.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Eat the right foods for you. Make habits an effortless LIFESTYLE.
Get exercise, protein, & quality sleep everyday.
Track your data (food/weight/blood sugar/ketones, labs) if things aren’t working. Avoid fake, processed, sugary drinks & foods.
Mind your habits, thoughts, & circle or they’ll mind you.
Enjoy the process! There is no end goal, just the journey!

oxox Coach K

Like this Blog? Follow along for my digital diary plus daily tips & resources on Insta Here!

April 25, 2023April 25, 2023

How To Lose Body Fat And Maintain Your Weight Loss

“Who does she think she is?”⁣
⁣…Well it appears she is someone who is living her life unconcerned with who you think she is.”⁣
⁣⁣
Anyone else need to make that quote your screensaver?

Tips for you today!
IG post version here for my Igers
⁣

Things I had to do to lose body fat and why you can’t maintain your weight loss

Suggestions to live by starting now:⁣⁣

Repeat, “Every day in every way I am better & better.” Every. Day.⁣ Post-it on your bathroom mirror.

A negative, self sabotaging mindset will do more damage than any piece of cake. ⁣ Saying, “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” is bs. I can think of 100 different things right now that feel &/or tastes as good as skinny feels. (Some are not IG/Blog appropriate LOL!)

You can choose your diet & your foods, but you will never OPTIMIZE your health/physique when dieting if you don’t follow these simple rules:⁣⁣
- Prioritize protein & eat food that optimizes digestion.
- If you don’t eat enough, you’ll also lose muscle. The more muscle you lose, the lower your metabolic rate, the less food you can eat, the less “tone” you will have.
- Doesn’t matter if the food is “healthy” if you bloat & cant digest it — it’s not nourishing you efficiently.
- Skinny syrups & sugar free jello aren’t food groups, they belong in the trash
- Sleep & Move. Trust, life will suck a whole lot less in every facet if you get enough sleep & simply walk.⁣
- Resistance Train. Resistance training helps preserve muscle & metabolic rate. You wanna look good naked right? You wanna eat food right? You wanna eat tacos & all the beef confidently while being naked right? (Maybe that’s just me 🙂 )⁣

⁣⁣Accept you will never look the same. Periodize your nutrition. We have seasons for a reason. A number does not define you. You are the sum of all your gifts & imperfections. That’s why people love you. If people don’t like you — fxck’em be you anyways, & be KIND.⁣

Placing worth on titles, achievements, numbers, & people pleasing don’t make you happy. You do. It’s a state of being. Do the inner work to heal. Our shadows can make us do & say things that aren’t kind or becoming. Kindness is always cool.⁣

**FYI: All links, discount codes, guides, recipes, coaching, & more are located here

Community Question & Answer: “HELP! I’ve lost & regained the same 10-20lbs pretty much my entire life!”

Used to be me too. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say this, so let me start out by saying that having the “perfect” diet or macros are rarely the weight loss issue.

When it comes to losing weight, it’s quite easy if you set yourself up for success. Eat less for a period of time, & you’ll likely lose weight. Most of us have the willpower to diet for a couple weeks & lose 5-10 lbs.

What most don’t understand is that once you lose weight, your dietary intake needs to support that new weight loss in order to maintain it. Reverting to your old habits will result in weight regain.

weight loss before and after carnivore lilbitoffit katie kelly — I’ve lost 55lbs in my lifetime and kept it off! Read more about how I did it HERE

Many focus on simply the outcome or a quick fix & not the processes like daily actions & routine to cultivate a new lifestyle to become the person you actually want to be. If you want to lose weight & change your body & your LIFE long-term, then YOU MUST commit to it every day.

Everyone wants to believe that there’s some hack or “secret” successful people know about that they don’t – there isn’t.

The only “secret” I’ve found is called:

“Know what you want out of life, & do the things you need to do to get it.”
-Coach K

If you want to make success easier & the “right” decisions, diet, workouts, etc, automatic…

You need to get crystal clear on your values & vision.

Because when you know exactly what you want & what you value & what is realistic & sustainable for you…

…everything else becomes easier. You simply act in alignment with your values automatically.

Every decision is easy when you know what matters. Because your values & vision drive every decision.

There are tons of habits that I’ve outlined in previous posts, & they will look slightly different for each person. However, your current dietary habits support & align with the body you currently have. Unless you change them long-term, your physique will not change.

Some habits might include:
eating at the same times each day, no snacking
making sure you’re hitting your protein & staying within your calories
resistance training 4-5x per week
hitting your daily step & sleep goal

It may seem like a lot of small monotonous tasks, but once you start doing them regularly, they become part of your life & make a HUGE impact.

There are no secrets to improving your body, it just takes work. The sooner you come to terms with it, the sooner you can be on your way to creating the physique you want!

Things I had to do to lose body fat

Realize cardio should be used as a lever and not abused.

Do just enough for enjoyment, get 10k steps/day minimum. It should not solely be done in excess and in the absence of strength training.

Our bodies are smart, they will adapt to you over exercising which means it will take even more to get results.

More is not always better. Train smarter not harder. Strength & resistance training should be the foundation of your workouts. 3-5 workouts per week is appropriate. Get your steps, this doesn’t mean always doing HIIT.

You have to build the “toned” physique first. Its much easier to maintain once you go through a proper building phase. Which means you need to EAT as well.

Losing fat means you need a calorie deficit, but that doesn’t mean you need to slash your calories down to 1200 or even 1500 in most cases if you’ve done the due diligence to reverse diet and eat like a well nourished human and not a toddler.

Stick to a consistent, sustainable calorie deficit.

You can’t over exercise a poor diet. It will also make you hungrier and life will suck.

Protein should always be the priority. Meals should be protein centric.

You body can’t build or maintain muscle without it. Your body also burns more calories simply digesting protein more than carbs and fat. Its called thermodynamics.

Most do well with meals containing 30-50g of protein & eat real food, primarily meat. 1g/lb of body wt for most, goal wt if you have more to lose. Protein also keeps you more satiated. Life will suck less.

If you need to increase your calorie burn, simply increase your daily steps. Another reason to use cardio wisely and as a lever.

If you’re getting in 8k, increase it to 10k, if you get 10k, increase it to 12-15k. Walk after meals, in the morning, park further away, walk during commercials, take the stairs. Walking also decreases stress. We were made to move.

Quality sleep is also absolutely necessary. This is a non-negotiable. 7-9 hrs/night. Our brains, muscles, and body recover when we sleep.

Stress management is super important. The higher your stress, the higher your cortisol, the higher your blood sugar, the harder it is to lose body fat.

You cannot function at your highest when you’re sleepy & stressed to the titties. Stop being impatient af. It takes time, grace, & effort.

Thank you for allowing me to add values to your lives!

Again, All links, discount codes, guides, recipes, coaching, & more are located here

oxox Coach K

Hailing from Fishers, Indiana, Katie is an aficionado of health, mindset, human connection, & entrepreneurship. Motivational writer, speaker, doer of many things, she grew up on her family’s beef cattle & crop farm where agriculture was her first love. She is a Purdue University graduate well known for her storytelling of life lessons & personal transformation through her own relationships, financial struggles, Crohn’s Disease, disordered eating, body transformation, & adapting to a carnivore diet lifestyle.

Katie also has over 17 years experience as a Registered Radiologic Technologist, Nutritionist, Brand Growth & Sales Consultant. She works with people of all walks of life as a nutritionist & life coach to help them authentically optimize their lives to find health, wealth, & happy!

You can catch her via Instagram @lil_bit_of_fit & blog, Lilbitoffit.com

March 18, 2023March 18, 2023

Workouts & Tips That Helped Me Build A Lean Physique At Home, Work, While Traveling, Or The Gym

I remember getting anxiety when I thought I’d miss a workout due to travel or work because I couldn’t get to a gym. Then the C-word hit in 2020 & rocked our worlds right?!

Tips on how I optimize workouts at home, work, & travel creating a more peaceful, successful, abundant, strong af life!⁣

Workout 1st thing in the morning. Have a success routine nailed down. Walk after meals, set an alarm every 20-30 minutes to get up & walk around, take stairs, & park further away.⁣ Add a weighted vest to your routines!

Get movement & steps in while your food cooks, down time at work, make walking especially outside your meditation! Sometimes I do a mini workout with bodyweight or dumbbells while my meat air frys⁣. I keep dumbbells, yoga mat, resistance bands, & a suspension set at work in the cabinet. I don’t sit much & walk around as much as possible.

If you’re 1 that travels often, have pre-packed bags with essentials ready to grab & go with workout gear & snacks. Book hotels with a fitness center, fridge/kitchens, & or near parks/trails.

I keep an overnight bag with me at all times.⁣ Travel with my barbell & bumper weights in my trunk. I keep a bag of my bands, dumbbells, trx, weighted vest, etc in my car. I got all mine from Amazon.

I lay clothes out for the next day & set my coffee on auto brew. It speeds up the process & gets me pumped to get sh*t done! YouTube & Google are wonderful resources for workouts. They have apps that generate workouts for you too. Do your own life admin!

Have ready to go meals or snacks. I keep string cheese, packets of tuna, hard boiled eggs, ready bacon just in case & I don’t have time to go to the store.⁣ Rotisserie chickens on the go are BAE!

I have a whole Biohacking/Anti-aging guide HERE complete with all the products & supplements that keep me looking/feeling my best!

You can ready more about my carnivore, weight loss, & gut healing story to help answer all your questions HERE!

Swipe, share & save for workouts, tips & more!

oxox Coach K

Click for Recipes, Guides, Coaching & More Here!

December 20, 2022

How To Feel And Look Good Naked: 18 Fitness And Nutrition Tips to Make This Your Year

How To Feel And Look Good Naked: 18 Tips to Make This Your Year

You know it’s true, we all wanna look good naked. Yes, health should always be at the forefront & I stand firm in my belief if you focus on health everything else will fall into line.

You may have resolved to make this the year you finally start, & hopefully stick with an exercise program or nutrition approach, but you’re fighting an uphill battle if you don’t shift your vow into truly making a LIFESTYLE change.

It’s all too easy to give up after a few weeks & lookin around the gyms after the January rush, come February you see the same people there as before & most newbies drop off. The OG’s know what’s up!

So how to turn your determination into action you can sustain for more than 30 days? There are no secrets. In Beth Dutton fashion, to be blunt, at some point, you must get off your tush & take action. No one can do it for you.

To help you get started towards truly making this your year of change, here are fitness tips to feeling & looking good naked!

1. Set Clear Intentions

Write down your ultimate physique &/or health goal & how you’d like to look/feel. Include weight, body fat, any mental or physical improvements you’d like to see. Anything goes here.

2. Make Time

Work up to 60 minutes of physical activity each day. That doesn’t mean beating the crap out of your body 7d/wk, but strive to get some kind of activity & routine down — even if it’s a walk with your dog, walking after meals, working out 3 days a week, etc. If you’re new to fitness, start with a 20 minute session 5-6 d/wk, two 15-minute sessions or three 10-minute sessions to help you become acclimated. Work your steps up to 10k/day.

3. Do What You Enjoy
Weights & lifting are one of the best ways to make significant physical changes to your body. Unfortunately, not everyone enjoys lifting. The most important determinant of long-term success with fitness is how much you enjoy an activity. Choose something that makes fitness fun & keeps you consistent! Explore new exercise classes and activities to determine which you prefer. As a beginner, almost anything you choose will be challenging, but gains will be made starting your very first week.

4. Surround Yourself With a Supportive Community & Accountability

Train with a friend who has similar goals. Join a group class at your gym. Try CrossFit, F45, Orange Theory, Spin, etc. You’ll be far less likely to skip your workout & it’s also more motivating when you workout with a group & push each other. You’re also less likely to cut your sessions short. People who choose healthy lifestyles will engage in behaviors that will impact you. Similarly, if your friends are just the opposite, they’ll likely reinforce the wrong kinds of behaviors.

5. Avoid Comparison to Others

Instead, compare yourself to YOU. If you make every week better in some way than the preceding week, you’re moving forward & making progress. Aim to improve yourself vs last year’s version of you. It’s hard for any of us to feel good about ourselves when we try to measure up to more advanced athletes who may have been training for a decade or more. What makes these people champions is they focus on what they need to do & who they need to be to get what they want every single day. They stayed consistent, created a lifestyle they love, & kept going.

6. Make Mistakes & Be A Forever Student

Experiment! It’s the only way to figure out what works, what doesn’t, what you like & what you don’t like. Try different classes, different diets, track your food, get a mentor, get a coach, invest in a trainer or nutritionist. An easy way to get inspired & increase your knowledge of fitness, training, & nutrition is to commit to researching each day. There are tons of free resources via the web, YouTube, Podcasts, Social Media, etc.

7. Learn to Be Patient AF

Many individuals will drop out of their training or nutrition program because they’re not seeing results fast enough. However, physiological adaptations occur incrementally. You most likely won’t see much, if any, improvement from one week to the next, but you surely will over 90 days. That’s why you should make a commitment of at least 3 months when starting any diet or exercise program.

8. Rise, Grind, Then Shine

Work out in the morning before the rest of the day gets in your way. Bonus: morning workouts boost your energy & confidence for the rest of the day! Get up 20 minutes earlier & knock out some of those steps. Sleep in your gym clothes or set your clothes out in the morning to make it easier. Set your coffee on auto brew so it’s fresh & ready. Caffeine helps!

9. Get Up & Move During the Day

Sedentary jobs are associated with greater risk for cardiovascular disease, not to mention weight gain. Incorporate some kind of movement every 30 minutes or so at work. Set a reminder on your phone, walk after meals, park further away, walk to lunch, take the stairs, walk on calls, just keep moving.

10. Get Sunshine

Get outside in nature as much as you can. Sunshine is vital to healthy vitamin D levels & walking in nature helps lower stress levels. Try Red Light Therapy. You can get a small portable one for your home. You can read all about my experience here in this blog, complete with a 20% discount code for EMR TEK: lilbitoffit20

Benefits include:

* Reduces oxidative stress
* Reduces inflammation & joint pain
* Increases muscle recovery
* Increases collagen production & tightens skin
* Reduces fine lines & wrinkles
* Increases hair growth
* Increases overall energy & vitality
* Increases wound healing, great for skin conditions
* Improves memory & vision quality
* Increases testosterone production
* Improves sleep & can aid in fat/weight loss

11. Reduce Eating Out & Alcohol

You consume more total calories when you eat out, & many of those calories will be empty, in the form of sugary beverages like pop & alcohol, & desserts. You won’t be tempted to indulge during a weak moment if you’re eating at home & no junk food or temptations are present.

12. Make Protein the Focus of All Meals

Undereating + over exercising = bone loss, muscle loss, & a hot metabolic & hormonal mess for women especially. We underestimate the protein we need, especially if we’re active. It’s all about that repair & regrowth of muscle mass & recovery that build a healthy, lean physique. We need protein for “tone” & if we’re not careful when we lose weight, we’re actually losing muscle instead of fat. For most, .8-1.2g of protein/lb of body weight or goal weight if you have more to lose (or even 1.5g/lb for some more petite, leaner, active women) is appropriate. Choose what’s right for you. Try to get at least 30-50g of protein per meal.

13. If You Consume Carbs, Choose Slower-Digesting Carbs Over Fast-Digesting

Slower-digesting carbs such as veggies, brown rice, whole grains, oats, sweet potatoes, & quinoa provide more sustained energy throughout the day & don’t spike your insulin as much. Fast-digesting carbs like sugar, white bread, candy, crackers, pancakes, bars, juices, baked goods, & most prepackaged stuff can spike blood sugar levels & increase the insulin response. Save these for your post-workout meal, when your body can use the extra carbs to replenish fuel stores if you must have them. And don’t forget to keep sugary juices & drinks in check!

14. Set Eating Windows & Routine Meal Times

Routine meal times & some kind of food boundaries are helpful for most. Try fasting, which isn’t a dirty word. It simply means periods of not eating. Fasting 12-16hrs overnight would suffice for most. Nix late night eating & snacking in front of the tv. Set routine meal times. We should not be snacking in between meals. If you find you’re hungry in between meals, you’re most likely not eating enough food, especially protein &/or fat. Meals should keep us satiated for at least 3+ hours. Track your food if you don’t know. I use MyFitnessPal. Awareness is a super power!

15. Realize Huge Muscles & Ripped Abs Don’t Equate To Being Fit & Healthy

Fitness is about more than big muscles & ripped abs. Flexibility, cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength & endurance, & body composition are elements in determining how fit & healthy you really are. Realize there are specific activity & exercise regimens for each one of them. This goes back to tip number one, define your goals, create a system & plan accordingly.

16. Start With Simple Total Body Workouts

One of the simplest ways to ease into a weight workout is to do a total body workout 3x/week with a day of rest in between for recovery. A total body workout hits these major muscle groups: glutes, quads, hamstrings, chest, back, shoulders, triceps, biceps, & core. Choose one exercise for each muscle group (multi joint exercises hit multiple body parts), training every other day. Examples: bench press, shoulder press, squat, deadlift, rows, pull-ups, push-ups.

17. Build Upon Your Workout Routine As You Gain Experience

As you gain experience in the gym, start adding more exercises and sets (volume) for each body part for better overall development. Rather than just doing longer workouts, start dividing your training into a split, such as push muscles (chest, shoulders, triceps) one day, pull muscles (back, biceps) on another, and legs on a third. Given the greater overall volume you do each session for those individual muscle groups, you’ll also need a longer recovery session before repeating that workout again.

18. Prioritize Strength Training & Use Cardio As A Lever For Fat Loss

To lose body fat, you need to burn more calories than you consume. Doing cardio is one way to widen the caloric deficit. But not all cardio strategies are created equal & more is not always better. Weight training is an essential component of weight loss. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue, meaning it burns off loads of calories all day long, even when you’re at rest. To build as much muscle tissue as possible, or even to keep it when dieting, train with moderately heavy weights in the 6-12-rep range. And stick with the multi joint exercises for the majority of your movements.

Studies have also shown that intense, moderately heavy lifting of this sort has the greatest effect on keeping your metabolism elevated for as long as 24 hours after your workout has ended. That significantly adds to the total number of calories burned!

Coaching, Resources & Product Links Available Here!

November 21, 2022

7 Fat loss & fitness misconceptions keeping you stuck

Misconceptions & confusion that are most likely holding you back.

Like these: “I am not losing weight on the scale but am losing inches. Is this working?“ & “Muscle weighs more than fat”

Which isn’t actually true.

A lb of muscle weighs the same as a lb of fat. Just like a lb of chicken breasts weighs the same as a lb of ribeye…YES, one is fattier than the other, but a lb is a lb.

The more accurate way of saying this & probably what most people mean when they say this is “Muscle is more dense than fat.”

When you’re losing inches but not weight, this means that your body is going through what’s called recomposition or you’re losing body fat, which takes up a significant amount of space, & you’re left with a greater proportion of muscle, which takes up less space (i.e., more density)

This is actually a great sign due to the positive changes your metabolism & overall health are undergoing as you continue to build muscle

Muscle is the organ of longevity & metabolically taxing. This means that the more muscle you have on your body, the leaner you will be. The less muscle you have, the less efficient your body is at using the calories you consume on a daily basis & the greater decline you will have in your overall health.

The scale can be a useful tool to show long-term trends but it doesn’t give you the entire picture. Additionally, fluctuations in your scale weight can happen for SO many different reasons that have absolutely NOTHING to do with body fat gain or loss.

With that, here are 7 fat loss and fitness misconceptions that are most likely keeping you!

7 Fat loss & fitness misconceptions keeping you stuck
7 Fat loss & fitness misconceptions keeping you stuck

Hope these deets help!

Oxoxo Coach K

Coaching, guides, discount codes & products to help you here!

November 16, 2022

7 Habits of Naturally Optimistic & FIT People

“Are you ALWAYS this positive?” – I’m asked this question on the reg.
“Absolutely, I’m a relentless optimist.” I reply.

Had a guy one time say he thought I was actually being fake via text until he met me in person because he had never met a woman so consistently happy & genuinely positive.

Which is sad & realistically true more times than not.

I haven’t always been this way however. It’s been a skill that I’ve had to sharpen just like fitness & personal development.

I’ve found having an innate sense of optimism has been helpful in every facet of my life from fitness, relationships, & professionally. It’s helped me deal practically with challenges & enjoy life more, no matter what’s going on.

Most of all, it fuels faith, inner peace, mental fortitude, & self love which all remain the antidotes to fear, despair, ego, & sickness.

Optimism is a mindset — a way of seeing things, a different perspective about life & the world. It’s based on the belief that the outcomes of the things we do & experiences we have will generally be positive.

Life’s challenges & “failures or mistakes” are simply seen as lessons & experiences to help us grow & become better.

Studies indicate that having a more optimistic mindset can reduce stress & promote mental & physical health benefits. That’s true — as long as difficult feelings are not stifled or masked with alcohol, substances, excess spending, sleeping around, food & the like.

It’s possible to learn habits that can shift even a stubborn mindset. And even a small change, turned into a habit, can radically improve your life.

Here’s how I’ve been able to transform my mindset & body & wake up to a life I’m extremely grateful for!

7 Habits of Naturally Optimistic & FIT People

Would love to hear your thoughts & experiences too!

oxox Coach K

Coaching, content, guides, & discount links here!

June 20, 2022

More is not always better

Stress really is a killer. It affects your physical, mental, emotional, & spiritual health.

“How do I lose the belly fat?” – a question I receive almost every day.

Often times this comes down to you doing WAY too much. More is not always better.

What you should be doing! Morning chat with Coach K!

Stress & belly fat are absolutely connected, we cannot address one without the other. I never realized the stress I was putting on my body with poor habits & a negative mindset.

They affected both my aesthetic & health goals.

Tips:
1. Manage your Emotions
Thoughts become things. Our brains don’t know the difference of whether an event actually happened or if we only imagined it. The physiological reaction is exactly the same.

If you don’t learn how to navigate, mitigate, & work on your emotional fitness – you’re fighting a losing battle regardless of whether you have the perfect diet or not.

2. Calories & food matter. Eat in a MILD calorie deficit while maximizing nutrients.
Cut the fake diet food. EAT YOUR MEAT. The better quality the food, the easier it is to stay satiated & nourished with minimal digestive distress. You’ll also have less sweet cravings, more stable energy, & mental clarity sticking with meat & healthy fats vs carb centric meals.

3. Walk!
It lowers cortisol, helps manage stress, burns calories, reduces hunger & cravings, aids in digestion & mental clarity/happiness.

4. Sleep!
Even if exercise & diet are perfect, without quality sleep, it is extremely difficult to function at your best & lose body fat. Sufficient sleep means less hunger, cravings, balanced hormones, & a better mood. Not to mention you’re more likely NOT to eat like an a*hole when you’re rested.

5. Lift weights!
Y’all you have to build the body first. Under eating paired with chronic stress & excess cardio will lead you to what we call skinny fat.

When it comes to losing fat, “emotional fitness” will always be your 1st priory, followed by sleep, movement, & eating in a way that HELPS not hinder fat loss.

New Facebook Community Support Group Coaching is a go!!!

Enrollment is open, apply here!

Happy Monday y’all!

You can find all the links, services, discount codes and free content here!

Oxox Coach K

Add me to the email list here!

lilbitoffit katie kelly indiana — Hailing from Fishers, Indiana, Katie is an aficionado of health, mindset, human connection, & entrepreneurship. Writer, speaker, doer of many things, she grew up on her family’s beef cattle & crop farm where agriculture was her first love. She is a Purdue University graduate well known for her storytelling of life lessons & personal transformation through her own relationships, Crohn’s Disease, disordered eating, CrossFit, & adapting a carnivore diet lifestyle. Katie also has over 16 years experience as a Registered Radiologic Technologist, Nutritionist, & Sales Consultant. You can catch her via Instagram @lil_bit_of_fit & blog, Lilbitoffit.com

January 16, 2022

The biggest question asked this week and your answer: what is your daily food & fitness routine?

The fact I match my coffee cup is making my OCD so happy right now.
Most common question yesterday from y’all was about my daily routine & workouts so I’m gonna post the helpful infographics to give y’all ideas for the week!

Fyi! Special flash sale on the complete guide to meat & macros here!

There’s a LOTTA newbies round here, welcome! Bookmark these, save them as a reference as you wish.

If you’re lost on your path to success, go back to where it all began & start fresh.⁣

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You asked me how I figured out my routine, & it came from decades of making all the mistakes. My routine also changes with my learning & seasons.⁣

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When I began this Instagram years ago I used it as an outlet for myself & an inlet for others to join in my life journey. An honest & real depiction through the most incredible rollercoaster ride I will ever be on. ⁣

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Success, whatever your definition, won’t come easy. Habits & routines constantly evolve through your life. But there will be life truths that always ring true to bring you back to the ground where your roots were planted. ⁣

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LIFE TRUTHS ⁣

1.) You will never become the person you want to be if you don’t take care of your body. ⁣

2.) You are the sum of your surroundings. ⁣

3.) A wish is not a goal. ⁣

4.) The most important relationship you have is with yourself. ⁣

5.) The beauty is in the mess. ⁣

6.) Rich is in the eye of the beholder. ⁣

7.) The most important food in the world is soul food. ⁣

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Your life is a field of dreams. And like a farmer, you only reap an abundant harvest if you nurture the soil. Remember if you can’t love the reflection in the mirror with tummy rolls you’re not ready to love the reflection with a six pack. Appreciate your seasons. ⁣

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I mapped out my new daily routine here + workout structures, swipe away. ⁣

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I also created a PDF version with clickable links & clickable images to take you to the appropriate information. @swanwick @goultima @nuethix_formulations @emrtekinc @amazon

Link to guides in IG bio as well!⁣

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As always, hope this helps you create a routine of your own!!⁣

⁣PS you can purchase your copy of the workout guide here: This Workout Guide + Free access to the Lilbitoffit’s 100 page Guide to Optimizing Food & Fitness

**If you guys need to use other methods of payment, feel free to email me or reach out via Instagram and I will get you fixed up ! Email: katieokelly2@gmail.com

IG @lil_bit_of_fit

Oxox⁣

Coach K⁣

September 22, 2021

Tips to optimize eating for your workouts and getting results!

No matter what diet you follow, you should know that nutrition has a significant impact in every facet of your life, it is literally what you are made of. It especially has significant impact on your results in the gym. What you eat before, during, & after your workouts may be the difference between achieving your goals & falling short.

I want to keep this as basic af, easy to understand & apply as possible for y’all, no matter if you follow a meat-based (or “carnivore”) diet or a more traditional approach including carbs. I will share my experiences & tips especially for those of you who have struggled with special digestive needs like autoimmune, IBS, IBD, & Crohn’s like myself. A lot of word vomit here, I tried to include as much as I could.

Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to the “right” way to eat, workout, or live. You choose what works best for you. 🙂 This is a non-dogmatic safe space.

In general, by eating a healthy, well-considered meal 1-2 hours before exercise, & another healthy, well-considered meal within 1-2 hours after exercise, most people can meet their workout nutrition needs without anything fancy stuff. In other words:

If you’re a healthy person who exercises regularly, you probably don’t need special workout nutrition strategies. Most of us fall into this category & that’s where I will keep this focused.

Important stuff:

TOTAL DAILY INTAKE

Your calories & energy balance. The big rocks. Without adequate calories, you won’t perform or feel your best. Fats & carbs are your energy sources, not proteins.

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MACRONUTRIENTS

Carbs (if you eat them) the more you train or the harder you train – the more carbs you will likely tolerate. Fats are the other lever for us fat fueled folk. Protein stays pretty consistent.

ELECTROLYTES & HYDRATION

Ever been dehydrated or electrolytes lacking? If you have, then you know your energy, sleep, recovery, & training were trash 🚯. These are crucial for keeping your CNS healthy, muscles hydrated, & your body functioning optimally.

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FOOD COMPOSITION

You are what you digest & absorb. You also are your habits. Eat food that is nourishing to your body & mind. Avoid foods that are hard to digest, cause physical problems, & emotional issues like binging & emotional eating. If you don’t absorb nutrients, you won’t utilize those nutrients efficiently.

MEAL TIMING

Efficient digestion, absorption, & nutrient utilization are keys here. Meal timing won’t change things drastically until you master the basics first. Like sleep, eating enough food & the right food for you!

Swipey swipe away!

Special timing considerations:

You work out early af in the morning: you can do these fasted if you prefer & eat a well sized meal with plenty of protein after. If you’re hungry in the am, liquids (shakes) & easy to digest, low volume carbs (like cereal or rice cakes), if you eat carbs, are more appropriate. I find people who follow a meat-based diet & workout early in the mornings prefer to fast & then eat their largest meal post workout.

CARBOHYDRATES

There are few things in the fitness world more controversial than carbs. Will they make you fat? Do you need them? Timing? The questions are endless. Quality fuel is critical, which we get from carbs & fats. They are our energy sources, not protein. You pick which one you prefer.

Carbs in general are your body’s preferred fuel source when it comes to highly glycolytic (means it burns a sh*t ton of carbs) activities like HIIT, the “crossfits,” & Orange Theory-esque type workouts.

Optimal timing & portions are more important. You want every gram of carb you consume to be utilized as an immediate fuel source or to restore glycogen levels – you don’t want it to be stored as fat. I find them consumed around your workouts most optimal. Just remember the more active one is, the more carbs they can typically warrant consuming.

PROTEIN

Protein is essential for tissue growth & repair. Since the body is continuously breaking down proteins, our diet must provide sufficient quantities. Although recommended intakes vary & depend on so many different things like dieting/health history, activity, training modality, goals, digestion, allergies, etc, a post workout shake is almost always universally helpful to kickstart muscle repair, recovery, & growth.

Shakes are convenient around workouts for high digestibility & absorption, but not necessary if you time your meals accordingly to your needs & preferences. I prefer real, whole foods for my nutrition vs supplements. To cover your bases most people do well consuming meals around 30-50g of protein per meal to meet optimal amino acid needs. Timing will differ based upon diet preference, workout timing, workout modality, & specific goals.

FAT

The body uses fat as a fuel source, & fat is the major storage form of energy in the body. Fat also has many other important functions in the body, & is needed in the diet for optimal health. Fats (cholesterol) are also the precursors to our hormones.

Fats in food come in several forms, including saturated, monounsaturated, & polyunsaturated. Quantity & quality are important. Fats do help to slow digestion, which maintains stable blood glucose & insulin levels. Fats also provide vitamins & minerals, aid in absorption & are important in everyone’s diet.

Some examples of foods that contain fats are butter, oils, nuts & seeds, meat, fish, & dairy products. Again, people will have different preferences as to whether they get their energy from carbs or fats. Most meat-based people prefer fats as fuel or they only consume a strategic amount of carbs around workouts only.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATION TIPS

Athletes may have special needs, for example:

An endurance athlete: You train for high level competition. You log a lot of high intensity miles each week. For you, carbohydrate & calorie needs are likely higher unless you do not digest them well & prefer fat as fuel. You could add a protein + carbohydrate drink or shake during your long training.
A bodybuilder: You lift weights with muscle growth as your goal. Your protein & calorie needs are likely higher especially in a building phase.
Getting ready for a fitness competition: You likely accumulate more exercise hours. Goal is to drop to a low body fat %. For you, carb intake (if you eat carbs) will likely be lower & protein higher especially as calories drop to maintain as much lean muscle mass as possible. Keto athletes will manipulate protein & fat macros to their preferences & needs.

Tips for those with special digestive needs like allergies, autoimmune, IBS, IBD, & meat based:

**This is simply to help you optimize from my experience as an athlete & someone who lives with Crohn’s & special needs**

If you’re going to eat carbs, keep them around your workouts for more optimal utilization aesthetically & metabolically. Largest meals I prefer post workout & earlier in the day. Digestion is better in the mornings.

I did best with minimal digestive issues with easy to digest, gluten free, low volume carbs like rice cakes, gf oats, white rice, rice chex cereal if I was going to eat carbs. I don’t need them much anymore since going meat-based. Ground meat & seafood is easier to digest vs steak, ribs, & chewy cuts of meat.

If you workout early af in the am & you’re not training for a performance sport, I find fasted workouts more optimal as far as aesthetics & digestion. Protein shakes are great if you’re hungry early, training long periods, or don’t have time to eat a meal within an hour or so after your workout. Stop fasting until like noon before you eat after an early workout. “Tone” aka MUSCLE takes FOOD. You gotta build the body first!

People reverse dieting do better with 3 meals/day vs 1-2, especially if meat-based. It’s harder on your digestive system to cram more calories in larger, less frequent meals. You MUST set yourself up for a successful cut by eating at maintenance or surplus for an extended period of time (like 6 months to a year realistically) BEFORE dieting for optimal, quicker results. A HEALTHY body loses body fat. You shouldn’t be dieting more than 1-2x/yr for no longer than 12-16wks. Most maintenance levels for active females are around 1800-2100+ calories/d. (I eat 2000/d & am 5’1, 105lbs for ex)

When dieting, I find larger, less frequent meals more satiating utilizing intermittent fasting. Fat cycling leaner, lower fat days with higher fat days is extremely effective & easier to sustain on a diet. Try 4 lean days/wk & adjust as you go for your needs. Higher fat days you should be consuming around maintenance calories. Leaner individuals don’t need as many lean days or need to do the Protein Sparing Modified Fasting (PSMF)

Don’t eat a high fat, heavy meal too close to working out. Digestion takes a lot of energy & you will be tired & sluggish. Eat 2+ hrs prior.

Stay hydrated! 1/2 your body weight in oz, more if you sweat a lot & workout frequently. I use Ultima Replenisher electrolytes. If you’re low carb, you require more electrolytes. If you’re having muscle cramps & sh*tty recovery, up your electrolytes. All my product/supp info/discount codes in LINK IN IG BIO!

If you’re having trouble sleeping, peeing a lot, hungry all the time, & tired, check your macros. You may need to decrease protein & up your fat. This is why I suggest at least loosely tracking your food! I find 180-200g of protein on the top end for females. 140g protein is an avg for most active females lifting weights. Most people who are hungry all time need more fat & calories.

Maintenance macros: start with a 1:1 ratio of protein:fat as a baseline then tweak as needed. Use the TDEEcalculator.net to find your calorie needs 1st.

If you’re losing hair, tired all the time, gut messed up, hormones wonky, craving carbs/salt, waking up at night starving, sh*tty sleep & recovery, plateaus in the gym or fat loss – you’re most likely NOT EATING ENOUGH, not sleeping enough, fasting too much, over caffeinating, & stressed to the titties -STOP 🙂

oxox Coach K