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!
A few painful things I learned while self healing: If you’re angry or regretful you’re hoarding & livin’ in the past. If you’re worrying, you’re livin’ in the future. If you can look back & smile, look forward & smile, & you’re content…well, that’s when you know you’re livin’ graciously in the present.
And that’s when life all started to make sense.
That truth is what I hold onto every day. It doesn’t mean things are always easy, in fact, I’ve had really frickin hard times on some of these travel Xray assignments, but…
I always learn new things
I always discover I’m tougher & more able
I acknowledge & savor growth is never comfortable. It’s what has made me perfectly imperfect & wise.
How you handle discomfort says it all & I choose to handle them with grace like a boss😉👑
A trip down memory lane from 1 year ago, Photo dump of a weekend on my travels in #omahanebraska I LOVE it there! Hoping to go back soon! My heart & soul are were happy there. Some places make an imprint on your life & never leave.
Open up to opportunities & people that make life more fun. It’s that simple. There’s no right time or specific version of yourself needed when you’re setting goals, living in alignment, embracing your purpose & loving yourself.
Ask yourself what you’re livin’ for & who you’re livin’ for, & if neither of those answers are YOU, even if you think you’re weird as hell, you’re livin’ the wrong life.
And if I can offer you anything today, one of the hardest lessons I’ve learned is that it’s MY JOB to create a joyful reality & I choose to treat others better than they’ve treated me.
So let everyday be YOURS. OWN IT & don’t apologize for who you are🫶 Home is wherever you are.
Oxox
Coach K
Like blogs like these? Come adventure & get FIT with me!
Hey there, I’m Katie. Indiana farmer’s daughter, former hot mess, overweight, shopping addict turned minimalist mindset & carnivore guru. In 5 years, I went from totally broke, to a 60lbs healthier, financially-free minimalist. I joke & say I did most of this with nothing more than an air fryer, ground beef, & a prayer.
I currently am a nutritionist & travel radiologic technologist RT(R) with 20 years experience in the healthcare & nutrition industry. I got rid of my apartment, ditched my storage unit, & now, basically everything I own fits in the back of my 2019 Ford EcoSport (named Ruby btw). We travel all over the US somewhere between scrubs, boots, & steak.
Looking back, there is one thing I wish I had had. A friend to share the journey with me, who actually understood what I was going through. This is my hope for everything I share here & social. It’s is for you.
To be a place where you can shake off the shame of imperfection, the need to people please, & where we can both show up as our authentic selves, even if we’re still in yesterday’s sweatpants.
Think of this as a standing coffee date with an old friend whose only job is to hear you out, hype you up, remind you that you are already enough, & doesn’t mind if you spike your coffee. 😉 🥃
As always, let’s keep this simple.
Let’s keep this real.
Let’s choose our own adventures!
Life is hard enough. Welcome to my storybook & a farmer’s daughter’s guide to life.
I used to be gorger & hoarder of things. Material things.
Emotional things.
Relational things.
Food things.
Minimalism, or peacefully living with less is not something that came easy for me.
Back in my 20s & 30s I racked up those credit cards so high I was drowning in 50k+ of debt. It imprisoned me. I fully admit I was owned & controlled by my addiction to things.
My car was even repossessed at one point. I remember sinking to floor, tears streaming down my face, in disbelief & shame that I had allowed myself to get that low.
I bought things to make myself “feel better.” To numb empty feelings of aloneness in my relationship, disappointment with myself, & the void of fulfillment & purpose in my life.
I realize what’s clutter for you may not be clutter for me, & vice versa. Minimalism to me is the willingness to sit with the following question:
How might my life be more with less?
We encounter a lot of temptations in the form of things to be possessed, things to be pursued, things with which to be preoccupied.
And these become little traps for us that lead to a life of defeat, a life of discouragement, a life of distraction & so on. And so, I see minimalism as the willingness to let go of anything that gets in the way of us living our most free, authentic life.
I asked myself one morning: What is my life about? What am I about? What do I fully support & love? What is my why? Why am I here? What is the impact that I am to have? What gives me anxiety & heaviness that I can prevent or improve that will GIVE me freedom & energy?
And “clutter” became anything that got in the way of the answers to those questions.
And so when I think about wealth, I don’t think of it so much in terms of what I have, but what I do with what I have. That to me is having a more spiritual understanding of what wealth is.
For example, you could say if I were to give you a Tesla right now, that would make you wealthy.
What would truly make you wealthy is your use of that Tesla to serve other people, to solve problems, & to create value for yourself & others. That’s what wealth is. It’s defined by what we do.
And so, I like to think of minimalism as not scarcity or being better than someone else because I they’ve on less, but abundance healthfully expressed.
Minimalism doesn’t mean not wanting things or buying things we love but investing in things that make us vibrate & embody our highest selves.
For me, if it isn’t a necessity, or doesn’t bring me extreme joy, or make me money in some way — I don’t buy it or I return it. If it’s something I can’t sell, I donate to charity.
I see hoarding now as hoarding energy & holding me back. I live with an open hand, open mind, & open heart. Which means letting things & people go when it’s their time.
A minimalist lifestyle has been more than just decluttering for me. In fact, it went hand-in-hand with my spiritual awakening.
Have you ever considered the freedom you could find with breaking up with the world? Letting go of what everyone else thinks or expects from you & going with the natural flow of things?
To me, I have worked so hard or let go so much to just embrace the fact that I have no idea what’s going to happen to me tomorrow.
I used to get so beat up, so mad about the fact I used to be angry at myself feeling like I could have changed some of my life’s outcomes. And in reality, the letting go & the accepting of has been one of the best things I have done for myself & my sanity.
And it has truly allowed me to live a richer life just by changing my mindset by breaking up with the world.
I think so often we can become so consumed with the things that we see, the things that we feel, our accomplishments, what we think we are, what we think we’re capable of.
We can get so lost in our jobs, we can get lost in a partner, we can get lost in our looks, we can get lost in the opinions of other people.
And by breaking up with the world, by not letting any of these things define us or control us or rob us of joy in any way, we allow ourselves to be in control of our own joy.
I say that oftentimes the clothes were me trying to be who I thought the world wanted me to be, & the same with my fake lashes, fake nails, fancy apartment, & my “stuff.”
I invest in things now because they bring me joy & creative self expression, not to convince people to see me as I hope they would see me.
Now I love & enjoy thrift stores, consignment, goodwill, & supporting small business.
And by eliminating that “stuff,” I started taking back my power. I started telling the world who I was & who I wanted to be, & not giving a frick what people thought. It’s about boundaries.
The more I have learned to just love everything & everyone & myself as they are, as it is. And saying no to a situation or to a person isn’t me saying no to that person. It’s just me saying yes to how I spend my time, money, & energy. It’s me saying yes to my own sanity.
If I keep saying yes to everyone & everything, I am going to have nothing left to give anyone.
By letting go of my stuff, it was a way of releasing myself from people-pleasing & other people’s opinions.
Minimalism has allowed me to transform my life & release so much of the stress & the pressure of control that I used to carry with me every day.
I have been able to find so much freedom, not only in the time that it has granted me or the freedom that it allows, but the freedom in my soul that I have been able to gain because of it.
Minimalism, though at its core is having less things, but it’s really about intentional living & having the things in your life that are meaningful & energy giving to you.
Marie Kondō helped me take minimalism to another level. She wrote the book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Her baseline concept is really looking at the material goods & the things that you have in your life & asking yourself, “Does this truly bring me joy?”
Before I purchase something, I ask myself, “Do I need this? Will I use this? Will this bring me joy, comfort, fulfillment, & creative self-expression enough to warrant investing my money energy on it?”
✅YES = that’s what I call “Happy Money” spent. Highly suggest reading Ken Honda’s book, Happy Money. Also a game changer.
So, for me, that was a really big shift in my mentality when it came to looking at my things. Gratitude instead of shame. Empowerment instead powerless.
That gave me the ability to look in my closet where I felt a lot of guilt when it came to expensive clothing that I bought, maybe clothes that I bought that were cute, but I never actually ended up wearing, nostalgic pieces from old boyfriends or gifts or whatever it was & make a better decision.
Like shirts that I’ve had for a long time & felt like I should still keep. I was able to approach my closet, look at some of those things & say, “Hey, thank you, white T-shirt that I can’t keep clean. I need to release you. And thank you for the good memories sweatshirt from my ex or dress from that amazing party. Thank you! But it time for me to release you & let someone else love you to allow fresh, new, better energy into my life. Thank you for bringing me joy.”
I learned to appreciate what I bought & also know that I could live untethered & separate from them without stripping my worth or a label I somehow received because of them. I really shifted from guilt to gratitude. I could say thank you for bringing me joy & put it in my donate pile with love & release.
There were times I bought something because I thought it was really going to be cute & make me feel a certain way, but the truth is 95% of the time when I go into my closet, I’m looking for something tactical, maybe a certain color, & most importantly, comfortable.
Simply appreciating & acknowledging that fact prevents you from going into the store & making more mistakes in the future.
A promise practice I created for myself: whenever I buy something, I must donate & release something. Eliminates clutter, hoarding & impulse buying.
With traveling somewhere new about every 13-26 weeks as I do for my career as a travel radiologic technologist, you realize you have to pack light & smart. You learn what you really value & what’s important to you because moving a bunch of sh*t all the time…well, you ain’t got the time or energy for that. It used to give me anxiety. Now everything I own fits in the back of my 2019 Ford EcoSport.
Screenshot
A big part of cutting down the clothes was doing a capsule wardrobe.
So what’s a capsule wardrobe?
So glad you asked 😊
Capsule wardrobes are where you intentionally buy things that are tactical, of similar style, similar color, so that most of the pieces will flow & piece together well with each other no matter what season. You have outfits that work together. So it’s just easier to pick out your clothes.
Not only will a capsule wardrobe make your life easier, but it is also:
Sustainable
Saves time & money
Timeless
Longer-lasting fashion
Start with a small selection of clothing pieces that make up many different outfits when combined. Part of the concept is having an overall neutral color palette with a few pops of color, maybe a stylish jackets or sparkly funsies thrown in there.
Hugely helps with decision fatigue!
There is no strict rule for the number of items in a capsule wardrobe, It all depends on your lifestyle & your preference. Usually, a capsule wardrobe doesn’t exceed more than 50 items.
If most of your clothes fall under a certain color scheme, you can really mix & match whatever you need to.
Here’s a little checklist if you’re unsure of how to get started. The following items are basic items that get you covered for most occasions, including work. If you’re not sure what color to pick, I recommend going with neutrals, such as navy, grey, black, beige, or white.
Sweatpants, shorts, t shirts, sweatshirt (think gym wear that double as pajamas)
Here are some suggestions to think about when putting together your capsule wardrobe: a timeless blazer, a button-down shirt that fits you well, a sleek pencil skirt, a sweater that can be layered, a fabulous pair of jeans, and a versatile dress that can be dressed up or down depending on the accessories.
These pieces can be combined in various ways to create outfits, and you can also incorporate seasonal trends to keep your wardrobe interesting and up-to-date.
To expand your women’s capsule wardrobe, you can consider including a few essential items like a striped shirt, basic T-shirts, a sweater, a blouse, a cardigan, a denim jacket, and black leggings.
This same principle can also be applied to accessories and footwear by ensuring you have at least one representative item from each category.
This just makes it easier to take things out. When I was going through my wardrobe the first time, I realized that there are certain colors I don’t wear. I don’t wear anything that I have to iron either haha! So now I don’t buy things that I have to iron, but little things like that are helpful to acknowledge.
Another big thing for me too when it comes to wardrobe is I realize that sometimes I do know right away after I bring something home that I don’t like it, but I’m used to be so terrible about returning things! So now I only shop at places that have a very generous return policy because for me, sometimes I still have the tag on it three months later. Amazon is also awesome. Easy returns.
Now I fearlessly just buy the clothes, but keep all the receipts & keep the tags on until I wear it. I have a receipt drawer/folder, and if needed, I can return anything that needs to be returned. I also always get digital receipts if that’s a possibility.
Another thing that can be helpful as far as avoiding accumulating things is not purchasing things the moment they go to your mind. Because now with Amazon online shopping, you can literally think of an item and then purchase it in that second with one click purchasing.
Instead, you can write it on a list and wait a few weeks to see if you still want it. I really only give myself 24-48 hours. And it turns out that’s all the amount of time I need to control my impulse shopping. Because a lot of times I really, really, really think I need something. And then after sleeping on it, I just realized that that was an impulse purchase.
Another tip, never enter Target. Hahahah!!! But for real, I try to avoid Target & TJ Maxx as much as possible.
I hope this inspired you a little bit today! And feel free to reach out on social media or via email (katieokelly2@gmail.com) & let me know how you feel about it all because I always love to hear from y’all as well!
Oxox Coach K
Like blogs like these? Come adventure, get FIT, & live your best life with me, too!
I posted this picture of myself sitting in my living room one morning 7 years ago. I used to hate looking at Facebook memories. Now I admire in awe at the beautiful transformation of my life & spirit this go round.
I actually enjoy checking memories. They remind me I’m alive. They remind me I lived. They remind me I still have a lot more AMAZING life to savor. To learn. To adventure. To experience.
Some of these memories bring pain. Like salt on a wound. Some are sweet like the most decadent treat. Some sting & burn so good…So. Good. Like a fine bourbon or strong coffee.
Some simple thoughts of awareness. Some things I enjoy, things I’ve learned & simple raindrops of life sprinkled on the pages of my storybook thus far…
I like cutting my meat with scissors ✂️ Easier. More efficient.
I love supporting small business & giving back to others as much as I can. It brings me more fulfillment than any fancy stuff I could buy for myself. I love & welcome in all the money into my life so that I can invest it into others & things that truly matter.
I’m way prettier in my more natural state without make up & fake stuff on my face. With age comes wisdom, thank goodness. And thank goodness I didn’t have social media back in college😂
I really love embracing this life of more minimalism. It has given me much freedom & energy to focus on things that truly mean the most to me versus worrying about what I’m going to wear or dreading packing up all this “stuff” when I leave to another travel Xray assignment.
I really, really love my careers & my life at 42. It’s far from perfect & makes absolutely no sense sometimes 😆 but I am infinitely happy in the now & for the woman I’ve become. For the loving family & friends I have, have made, & will make.
And if I was to pass on today or tomorrow, this would be enough❤️ And I’m forever grateful.
Oxox Coach K
Like blogs like these? Come adventure, get FIT, & live your best life with me, too!
One of the biggest obstacles to fat loss for most of us midlife, busy, boss girl queens is being in a hurry & getting lost in information.
We wanna look like insta fit Sally IMMEDIATELY. News flash, it probably took her decades to look like that. And her lifestyle is probably completely different than yours.
This causes us to waste a lot of time with unsustainable approaches & beating ourselves up.
While I’m not a fan of obsessing over numbers & chronic tracking, it’s common to not have any idea how much energy your body needs to thrive!
Fat loss rarely requires a complete overhaul of your nutrition approach or severely slashing calories. It usually comes down to a few simple tweaks like walking more, self awareness, & a slight 250-300 calories reduction.
When You Say You Hardly Eat But Fat Loss Seems Impossible
THE MOST COMMON HABITS HOLDING YOU BACK THAT ARE HAPPENING WHEN I HEAR THIS. SIMILAR CLIENT EXAMPLES.
YOU’RE NOT ALONE, I USED TO DO IT TOO BEFORE CARNIVORE & SWITCHING TO A SELF-LOVING LIFESTYLE 🥰
YOU GOT THIS! LET’S MAKE SOME CHANGES…
Solutions to consider
Understand your ACTUAL ENERGY NEEDS. use a calculator like tdeecalculator.net to find your maintenance calories
This habit pattern is usually your typical “I don’t have time” starter pack based on convenience, time constraints, lack of cooking desire or skills
Pick a couple different protein options like ground beef or chicken & start there. Protein is a priority no matter what diet
Reduce or eliminate snacking. We should be fueling with protein centric meals. Try 2-3 well-sized, nourishing meals, evenly spaced thru the day.
Alcohol frequency & quantity is a sticky point for many. It inhibits good decision making & prone to overeat or choose foods you normally would not. also adds calories, dehydrates, & does nothing positive. When fat loss is a goal (& for many reasons) it’s elimination or significant reduction is one of the biggest levers you can pull.
Solutions to consider
KNOW YOUR ACTUAL ENERGY NEEDS** again, use the calculator: tdeecalculator.net. temporarily tracking calories for a couple of weeks can be especially helpful If you have no idea what you are truly consuming.
You can be successful and not have to fast all day. Trust that you can have nourishing & satisfying meals during the day and still lose fat. i prefer to eat my largest meal post movement in the morning then taper meals as the day goes on & fasting longer overnight. Better digestion, absorption, & blood sugar regulation.
Start with a savory protein & healthy fat breakfast with at least 30 g protein. I find this helps with daily hunger.
Don’t skip a meal if youre HUNGRY. Starving is not a badge of honor. Ps go outside, get sun, walk, & drink more water.
Plan meals in advance when possible so you’re not rushed. Prevents reaching for less optimal choices. Have nutrient-dense, protein snacks on hand. Skip the alcohol.
Pro tips no matter what diet you prefer or experimenting
For each scenario, knowing your actual energy needs is key & most of us are spectacularly inaccurate at guessing. Fat loss comes down to a consistent calorie deficit. Not perfection but intentional choices each day. If you’re not losing fat, you haven’t maintained a deficit & need to look at your lifestyle habits. It really is that simple.
Tracking isn’t for everyone. If that’s you, keep reading this
Be intentional about portions & snacking. For 14 days, track accurately how you truly are eating. Everything – all licks & bites. If you start by seeing exactly where you are now, rather than guessing, you may not need to slash calories as low as you think. The least drastic calorie deficit that’s effective will increase enjoyment & sustainability.
Once you know your current typical daily calorie consumption, see where you can reduce by 250-300 calories (smaller portions, less calorically dense swaps, reducing high calorie foods like nuts, cheese, butter, high fat meats, dressings, etc). Be willing to take time and have fun experimenting! Thats how you figure out what works!
Take this time to learn macros: what amount of protein & fat keep you healthy & satisfied. Build your meal staple routine for those targets. It’s ok to have to adjust, that’s how we learn! PRO TIP: people who repeat simple, nutrient-dense meals, rather than constantly seeking novelty, have a much easier time with the fat loss process.
THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO ADD VALUE TO YOUR LIVES!
oxox Coach K
Like blogs like these? Come adventure, get FIT, & live your best life with me, too!
RESOURCES IN LINK IN INSTAGRAM BIO, HIGHLIGHTS, & PINNED TO TOP OF MY ACCOUNT EVERYDAY JUST FOR YOU!
January will be here before we know it. Grateful to spend fall & winter with you, Virginia❤️
I started my travel Xray contract extension here October 21st. I’ve been in Lynchburg since the beginning of July. I’ve loved it here.
I work with great people at the hospital. Yes, the grind is grueling, but I’ve come to appreciate the 3 days off after 7 days on. Sadistically I love the pain. F*cked up, I know. But it’s what it is & how I’m wired.
I appreciate the small airport here that flys into Charolette. I don’t feel trapped, I feel more free than ever. If I wanna do something, I just book a flight & go!
Solo travel has been soul-deep nurturing for me. A journey of self discovery. A journey of being good at being ME.
There is a really wonderful circular relationship among confidence, inner peace, traveling, & simply feeling like a BADDIE that can take on anything.
Traveling in itself is an act of confidence. The fact that you went somewhere by yourself demonstrates strength. As your self-esteem grows, you start engaging in more independent, self-serving behaviors.
You let sabotaging ones fall away. Honestly I feel like I just don’t give a sh*t about a lot of silly things anymore. 😄🤷♀️ It’s great.
Truthfully, I can’t pinpoint where the travel antidote came from. Images of happy women doin life on their terms stamped an impression into my brain of the person I wanted to be, but my 20 something old self felt I couldn’t — a woman who can pick up & go & feel confident in all of her decisions.
But I freakin did it, & I’ve done it well. I did it scared sh*tless. Haha! And I’ll continue to choose my adventure.
I’ve made my way to touristy spots, rural gems, hills & hollers, chatted with locals, made out with cute guys at bars on occasions, even let some of them steal a piece of my heart along the way.
The ability to be okay with being by yourself, to not need constant stimulation & company, is extremely empowering. It opens up choices for you that are not contingent on what others want & it enables you to be out in the world with others & then be with yourself to reflect, to regroup & to feel replenished.
Lost & found come from the same box & not all who wander are lost😉
To be continued…
Oxox Coach K
Like blogs like these? Come adventure, get FIT, & live your best life too with me!
This guide has now passed thousands of views! Big thank you to everyone who continues to share (my posts & your story too) & be a big part of my life as my digital family!
You guys make my days so much brighter & I hope you know how much you mean to me!
I’ve lost 60 lbs thanks to carnivore & intermittent fasting! Follow me on Instagram (@lil_bit_of_fit) to see my day-to-day journey with living a meat-based life as a rockin travel xray tech & almost 42 year old athlete of life with Crohn’s Disease. (Birthday July 2nd 🎉)
I tried every diet in the book to lose weight & heal my gut issues. While I did see occasional results, I eventually couldn’t sustain it and then yo-yo’d. IF & carnivore have been the simplest and most manageable way I have found to improve my health & fitness (and stick with it).
This post is intended for my friends (and friends of friends) who have been following my health journey on Instagram, Facebook, or have asked how to get started. Because the interest has been in the thousands (so amazing!), I’ve wanted to share this information more publicly.
In the interest of time, I’ve created this super quick educational start guide with a couple troubleshooting videos!
Let’s dive into fasting & why you may not be seeing results.
I see this oftentimes with all y’all chronically under eating, trying to do protein sparing modified fasting (PSMF) or OMAD (one meal a day) with a disordered eating history.
Tap for a short video on why fasting may not be working for you!
Yes, I prefer to utilize intermittent fasting. It works best for my digestion. I eat when I’m hungry & fast when I’m not. Typical fasting window is around 14-20hrs, biggest meal I consume after my workout in the am. I also love to incorporate fat & carb cycling. It is not necessary for you to fast to achieve your health and body goals no matter what diet you prefer.
Remember: health & happy hormones first.
Here’s a previous video answering a client question talking about why fasting wasn’t working for her
Intermittent fasting, also known as intermittent energy restriction, is simply an umbrella term for various meal timing schedules that cycle between voluntary fasting or reduced calorie intake and eating over a given period of time.
It is just a tool to help you to manage meal times & calorie intake, it is not a dirty word nor is it a quick fix or magic pill. There are 100 different ways to “fast” & everyone has their own “definition” of what they consider fasting. Some drink coffee & water, some don’t. Some use no calorie sweeteners, some don’t. There are more optimal times, situations, & schedules that are more effective & efficient. Make sure it fits easily into your lifestyle & schedule. Pick whatever suits your needs. Remember adherence & consistency are always keys!
Most utilize the 16/8 or 14/10 or 12/10 windows. (Fast 16 hrs/eat 8) You can also periodically fast 24 hrs or longer. I personally do NOT do extended fasts.
16/8, 14/10, 12/12 Protocols – Ex: Fast 16hrs/8hr eating window
OMAD – One meal a day, fast the rest
TMAD – Two meals a day, fast the rest
PSMF – Protein Sparing Modified Fasts: highly restrictive diet that involves severely limiting the intake of calories, carbs, & fat & consuming only lean (zero-low fat) protein
5:2 – Eat normal 5 days, restrict calories to 500-600 for 2 days
Eat Stop Eat – Eat normal for 5 days then fast for 24hrs for 2 days
4:3 or Alternate Day Fasting – Fast every other day, eat normal on non-fasting days
Skip Meals Spontaneously – skip meals when you’re not hungry
Will fasting help me lose body fat?
Why your story & background matter when it comes to fasting efficacy
Before we dive into fasting deets I want to reiterate & touch on WHY your story & food/dieting/health history matter when it comes to the experiences & results you get (or lack of).
Lets be honest, the main reason most people choose the Carnivore Diet & utilizing fasting is because they want fat loss. That’s fine, we all wanna look good nekkid, HOWEVER, the difference lies in our starting point: calorically, metabolically, hormonally, physiologically, mentally, emotionally – the whole picture.
I feel we really should approach any nutrition protocol from a health/healing perspective, first, aesthetic perspective, second.
Some of us come from the SAD (Standard American Diet), some have been dieting basically our entire lives & still think 1200 calories is the magic number for weight loss, some fear fat, some fear carbs, some are binge eating &/or suffering from disordered eating & still in denial, some come from Keto, some have been struggling with gut issues/autoimmune stuff for decades & really have no idea what they can eat.
All of these different stories & starting points impact the transition & adaptation to any diet. You do not have to fast at all if you don’t want to.
Usually I see two different stories, & thus experiences, when working with clients. We’ll call them Peter & Patty.
Are you Peter or Patty?
PETER
Peter is male, used to over consuming the typical SAD, dad bod (aka looks like he might lick something deemed “healthy” & work out occasionally but really loves tacos & would much rather smash a 6 pack vs have a 6 pack). Simply eating meat & cutting out all the other crap significantly reduces his caloric intake & the fat just falls off.
PATTY
Patty is female, lets say 30-40yrs old, habitual yo-yo dieter, excessive exerciser, wants to lose fat & build muscle but doesn’t wanna be “bulky” (sigh smdh), scared to eat more than 1200-1500 calories & gaining weight is one of her biggest fears.
She’s tried every diet in the book. Had some success with “Keto” (doesn’t really know what keto means but she’s eating less carbs right?!) but always falls off the wagon, stressful home life/ job, struggled with bloating & gut issues for years.
Her neighbor, Peter, looks great since carnivore, so she decides it’s gonna be the magic quick fix to all her issues. Sooo Patty stops tracking food (because she was told it didn’t matter on the carnivore diet) & starts smashin all the bacon, ribeyes, cheese, ribs, & chicken wings.
Her gut issues get better, the first week she dropped 3lbs, but now she’s about 6 weeks in & hungry, tired, & the scale is going up! So she decided to start fasting more, & ups her steps to 20k/d. (Further stressing her body out more btw).
She gives it another month with more weight gain. She wants to quit after a couple months despite her gut issues resolving. It doesn’t work she says, “I didn’t lose weight.”
Things that matter when choosing any diet, macros, calories, &/or fasting protocols
Training modalities (how you prefer to workout. CrossFit vs running vs yoga vs Orange Theory vs walking vs Barre vs Bodybuilding vs power lifting etc)
That’s a LOT of stuff, right? It’s not as simple as just picking a set of macro numbers, or calories, or a magic diet camp or fasting protocol. You are not a template or calculator, you’re a human. This is why we set up coaching consultations to help you!
A BIG reminder, we should not be dieting any more than 1-2 times per year, no longer than 12-16 weeks. You should be chillin, eating at your maintenance calories, enjoying life and getting strong AF the majority of the year! Like this chart? Allllll the free content available on Instagram!
Why should I try fasting?
It’s simple, eating fewer times works better for your schedule, less thinking/measuring. Your lifestyle aligns w/your eating schedule. Helpful when in a calorie deficit to allot larger meals.
Metabolic flexibility. It will utilize the fuel from previous meals/glycogen first, then it will use your fat stores to fuel your day.
Hunger response. Are you bored or really hungry? You learn/feel the difference. A big reason I would utilize IF with clients. It helps connect with your body’s true hunger signals.
Benefits of fasting: hormone balance, reduced insulin resistance, risk of diabetes, inflammation, improved focus, gut health & digestion, fat loss in a calorie deficit.
Why it works for fat loss
While I will reiterate fasting is not a diet, it can help with fat loss goals by creating a calorie deficit in various ways:
Reduces the number of meals in a day
Helps create food rules to prevent over eating & snacking, especially for people who are abstainers
Helps reduce your weekly calorie average
Helps you feel & get back in tune with true hunger cues which helps prevent eating when you’re not truly hungry. Many of us eat out of learned habit like eating in front of the tv at night, eating desert just because it is available, or seeing/smelling/hearing food cook
When should I not fast?
You’re on the gain train. If you’re ok cramming 3-4000 calories down your pie hole in a short amount of time go for it. For most, IF protocols are utilized for eating less calories simply by decreasing feeding time.
It screws with your mind & feels restrictive. Can’t sustain it easily & comfortably w/your lifestyle. If it increases cortisol/blood sugar/affecting your sleep/mood/energy negatively.
If you can’t feel fullness cues & eat past satiety & all you do is think about eating during your fasting — STOP! Try eating more frequent meals during the day.
Who should NOT fast &/or fasting is not ideal
Pregnant Women
Women who are nursing
People who are reverse dieting
People training for high performance
People who have abused or overly fasted
People who have chronically under eaten for an extended period of time (aka you’ve made chasing a smaller body your hobby)
People who are trying to gain muscle
Women a week before their cycle
People healing &/or struggling with adrenal insufficiency & fatigue
People with eating disorders &/or disordered eating habits, poor relationships with food, exercise, &/or body image where restriction is a huge trigger
Getting Started
Chances are that you’ve already done many intermittent fasts in your life.
If you’ve ever eaten dinner, then slept late and not eaten until lunch the next day, then you’ve probably already fasted for 16+ hours.
Some people instinctively eat this way. They simply don’t feel hungry in the morning.
Many people consider the 16/8 method the simplest and most sustainable way of intermittent fasting — you might want to try this practice first.
If you find it easy and feel good during the fast, then have fun, experiment and maybe try moving on to more advanced fasts like 24-hour fasts 1–2 times per week (Eat-Stop-Eat) or only eating 500–600 calories 1–2 days per week (5:2 diet).
Another approach is to simply fast whenever it’s convenient — simply skip meals from time to time when you’re not hungry or don’t have time to cook.
There is no need to follow a structured intermittent fasting plan to derive at least some of the benefits.
Experiment with the different approaches and find something that you enjoy and fits your schedule.
At the end of the day, there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to nutrition. The best diet for you is the one you can stick to in the long run.
I find for those who have a poor relationship with carbs & sugar, chronic gut or health issues, autoimmune needs, etc for example, a lower carb, animal or meat-based approach is extremely effective for health, healing, & fat loss.
👇older posts to reference for ideas & help👇
Here’s my routine & what has help me drop lbs & put my Crohn’s disease & bulimia in med-free remission.
Intermittent fasting is great for some people, not others. The only way to find out which group you belong to is to try it out.
If you feel good when fasting and find it to be a sustainable way of eating, it can be a very powerful tool to lose weight and improve your health.
So you tried low carb, keto, maybe dabbled in some carnivore too & now you’re ready to add some carbs back in…
Yikes, right?!
It’s normal to be a little scared & anxious after seeing results on a low carb approach to your nutrition, but feeling you need to switch things up.
I’ve felt that too! But after pushing through the fear & embracing more vibrational, functional eating, you’ll strengthen your trust muscle with each experience & season of experimentation! It’ll help you find your sustainable lifestyle approach to look & feel your best!
Y’all know I’m an advocate for meat-based, protein-focused nutrition for my Crohn’s & health preferences if you’ve been here a while. If you’re new, WELCOME! Pumped to have you here in this safe space of love, wellness, & learning!
I’ve lost 60lbs & put my bulimia & Crohn’s disease in med-free remission via a flexible carnivore diet approach & kept it off for over 4 years!
Tap photo for a blog guide I documented just for you on how I lose the weight & gained health!
Y’all should also embrace that nutrition isn’t one size fits all! I fully support a no diet dogma approach & support trying new things to find YOUR WAY.
So say low carb worked short term, maybe you lost a few lbs, maybe you tried it for a reset, a medical condition — whatever.
For most, yes, you’ll lose weight initially, primarily because of water loss & more food awareness (quality & quantity). Most don’t stick with the low carb/keto/carnivore diet long-term unless they’re on it for a specific reason or it fits their lifestyle/preferences appropriately. That’s ok too!
The most common reason people fail to stick to any diet regimen: “real life” & social situations ends up “getting in the way.” Adherence & consistency are the keys to any success plan. 🤷♀️You ultimately make the decision to stick to your commitments to yourself or not.
You can incorporate carb cycling just like you incorporate fat cycling, it’s the same concept just utilizing a different macro as a fuel source. I have a blogs on resetting your insulin & leptin resistancehere and specifically how to carb & fat cyclehere.
Regardless of why you stop, there are things to know to help ease your transition.
You can save this post on Instagram here!
MAIN POINTS
1.) Have a plan
2.) Get familiar with portion sizes
3.) The order you eat your food matters
4.) Focus on whole foods over processed
5.) Go slow
6.) Expect fluctuations
Things I believe in no matter what diet:
NO diet dogma & eating for HEALTH
Cyclical, seasonal eating
Quality, Quantity, When, & What you eat matter
Variety & nutrient density
Eating for efficient digestion & absorption
Experimentation & fun = learning & results!
Optimal protein centric meals
Eating for strength, health, & functionality
Loving your life & being kind to others!
Self love living + an abundance mindset!
Take it slow, you got this! No need to exclude or be dogmatic about any food choices or diet as long as they help you be your best!
Here are some more gut friendly, gluten free, low fiber, low fodmap options that worked for me.
Great options for pre or post workout carbs. I keep mine post workout in the form of plain rice cakes mainly if I feel I need a carb refuel after heavy training or high intensity cross training or cardio. These tend to be easy on the stomach with minimal bloating & gut issues for most.
Let’s dive in further!
Regardless of why, there are some things to know to help ease your transition.
1.) Have a realistic plan
One of the biggest problems with dieting altogether — lack of clarity/planning. Most people end up falling back into bad habits. What’s your why? What’s sustainable & realistic for you? What’s your relationship with food, self-awareness, and your body image? Your story matters & your results hinge on all of these details.
2.) Assess portion sizes
Quantity, quality, when & what you eat all matter. With any form of restriction, especially carbs, once you allow them, you’re more likely to go ham. Make sure you’re a moderator (not an abstainer) & comfortable & ready to add them back in. Measure & weigh your portions! Check nutrition labels for anything you’re sensitive to.
It’s all about balancing blood sugar. Food order & when you eat matter. Sugar & carbs spike your blood sugar more than any other macro (protein & fats are the other 2 macros).
Tips:
Don’t eat your carbs naked (by themselves): pair them with a protein like ground beef or grilled chicken or a fat of your choosing like bacon fat, butter, or a nut butter if you aren’t sensitive to those. It acts as a buffer & slows your blood sugar spike. If you can eat fiber & non starchy veggies, these will help buffer the spike as well, but not as efficiently as protein & fats.
Examples: white rice & butter & ground beef, rice cake & peanut butter, grilled chicken and sweet potato, etc.
When eating a meal, eat your protein & fat first, veggies if you eat them next, then your starchy carbs. You’re less likely to overeat as well because protein & fats are more satiating.
I time my carbs if I’m going to eat them after my workouts. That’s when I refuel my body & it uses the carbs more efficiently vs storing them as body fat. Also reduces your cortisol levels & helps with recovery. Choose sources that serve you best mentally & physically. I personally avoid anything treat-like or sugary, including fruit to prevent binge eating tendencies & gut issues. High fiber, fruits & veggies, & sugar are huge gut irritants for me. You may be able to eat them and that’s ok! Do you!
3.) Quality Matters
Rather than going straight for processed options like chips, pasta, doughnuts, & cupcakes, go for whole-food, non-starchy vegetables first like your greens, then white rice, potatoes, gf oats, fruit, etc. Again, choose things that are not physical or mental triggers for you.
4.) Go Slow
Keep it easy on your GI system: choose gluten free, cook food thoroughly, & go low fodmap if you’re one that struggles with any G.I. distress. Start with adding carbs in at 1 meal/d for a few weeks & assess how you respond. If you’re good, add a serving into another meal. White rice is usually a safer, gut friendly option.
5.) Expect Fluctuations
You might have weight & blood sugar fluctuations — it depends on how your body metabolizes carbs, your diet, exercise, etc. Much of the weight changes are water weight initially. Pair carbs with protein & fat to help control those blood sugar spikes. With every gram of carb, you get 4g of water. Bloating & constipation could happen because of the re-introduction of fibrous foods, drink your water! You may have more energy or less. You might feel hungrier. Again, we’re all bio individually different. Have patience.
Supplements to Help With Carb + Nutrient Utilization & Body Goals
I was tired of struggling with post-meal blood sugar spikes when eating carbs and grappling with insulin sensitivity issues. NuEthix Formulations has a wonderful profuct, Slin-Trol™, the glucose disposal agent designed to assist your approach to managing blood sugar levels.
Slin-Trol™ enhances your body’s ability to efficiently utilize glucose, ensuring it is directed towards muscle cells rather than being stored as fat.
DIRECTIONS: As A Dietary Supplement, Take 1 Tablet With Carb Containing Meals To Improve The Nutrient Partitioning Of The Meal And To Possibly Minimize Fat Storage.
I take mine prior to my largest meals & walk 10-15 minutes after eating for better digestion.
Utilyze is a dietary supplement designed to support digestive wellness and nutrient absorption.
It contains a blend of digestive enzymes that target the breakdown of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates in the body, which can improve overall digestive function and help with nutrient absorption.
Utilyze comes in convenient travel packets and aims to support overall health and wellness through improved digestion. This supplement is gluten-free, non-GMO, and suitable for adults of all ages.
DIRECTIONS: As A Dietary Supplement Take 1 Packet With Larger Meals 2 To 3 Times A Day.
Cort-Eaze is a natural supplement designed to help with stress and anxiety relief. It contains a blend of herbs and nutrients that work together to promote a healthy stress response and support adrenal function. I use it for recovery & cortisol balance, which can affect your sleep, digestion & ability to build muscle & lose fat.
Some of the key ingredients in Cort-Eaze include ashwagandha, rhodiola, holy basil, and magnesium, all of which have been shown to help reduce cortisol levels and support overall mental and physical well-being.
DIRECTIONS: Take Two Capsules Daily. I take mine post workout & before bed. One post workout & one before bed.
Helpful Educational Resources
Fabulous book on protein focused, anti-aging nutrition!
EXCELLENT article on food sequencing and balancing blood sugar here
Take-Home Message
Watching glucose spikes is particularly important if you have diabetes or a handful of other medical conditions. Your treating doctor or dietitian will advise how to modify your meals or food intake to avoid glucose spikes. Food ordering & timing may be part of that advice.
For anyone wanting to live a healthier, leaner, stronger life, consider removing sugary beverages & foods, processed food, & focusing on protein/meat-based foods as the foundation of your meals. Add fiber, proteins or fats to carbohydrates to slow gastric emptying and flatten glucose spikes. Walk 10-15 after meals & shoot for 10k steps per day. Lift 3-4x per week and watch your body & well being change!
If you found this blog helpful, join me on Instagram for daily inspiration & subscribe to our newsletter community here! I would love to have you!
Before we dive into fat & carb cycling for fat loss on any diet (especially a carnivore/keto/low carb approach) lets reiterate WHY your story & food/dieting/health history matter when it comes to experiences & results.
There’s no shame in the main reason most people choose the Carnivore Diet & a low carb approach because they want fat loss. That’s fine, we all wanna look good nekkid. The difference lies in our starting point: calorically, metabolically, hormonally, physiologically, mentally, emotionally – HOLISTICALLY. This stands for any diet.
We should approach any diet from a health & healing perspective, first, aesthetic perspective, second.
Your Story & Starting Point MatterSignificantly When It Comes To Results.
You’ll hear me say it time and time again, we are all coming from 50 shades of our own dieting f*cked upness. LOL!
Some of us come from eating the SAD (Standard American Diet), some have been dieting basically our entire lives & still think 1200 calories is the magic number for weight loss.
Some fear fat, some fear carbs, some are binge eating &/or suffering from disordered eating & still in denial.
Some come from Keto (High Fat Diet), some have been struggling with gut issues/autoimmune stuff for decades & really have no idea what they can eat.
All of these different stories & starting points impact the transition & adaptation to a diet. Some will lose fat immediately, some will gain.
I gained 15lbs when I started the carnivore diet! I needed to heal, I needed more calories, & the weight gained was most likely weight restoration to repair & recharge.
Was it uncomfortable? Absolutely.
Was it necessary for fat loss & progress? Absolutely. Have patience. Put in the time & work.
Things I need as a coach to help you figure out appropriate macros/diet/fitness approaches:Click for Coaching FAQ’s
Age, Current Weight, Height
Training modalities (how you prefer to workout. CrossFit vs running vs yoga vs Orange Theory vs walking vs Barre vs Bodybuilding vs power lifting etc)
That’s a LOT of stuff, right? It’s not as simple as simply picking a set of macros numbers, or calories, or a magic diet camp. You are not a template or calculator, you’re a human.
Usually I see two different stories, & thus experiences, when working with clients. We’ll call them Peter & Patty:
1. Peter
Peter is male, used to over consuming the typical SAD, dad bod (aka looks like he might lick something deemed “healthy” & work out occasionally but really loves tacos & would much rather smash a 6 pack vs have a 6 pack). Simply eating meat & cutting out all the other crap significantly reduces his caloric intake & the fat just falls off.
2. Patty
Patty is female, lets say 30-40yrs old, habitual yo-yo dieter, excessive exerciser, wants to lose fat & build muscle but doesn’t wanna be “bulky” (sigh smdh), scared to eat more than 1200-1500 calories & gaining weight is one of her biggest fears.
She’s tried every diet in the book. Had some success with “Keto” (doesn’t really know what keto means but she’s eating less carbs right?!) but always falls off the wagon, stressful home life/ job, struggled with bloating & gut issues for years. Her neighbor, Peter, looks great since carnivore, so she decides it’s gonna be the magic quick fix to all her issues.
Sooo Patty stops tracking food (because she was told it didn’t matter on the carnivore diet) & starts smashin all the bacon, ribeyes, cheese, ribs, & chicken wings. Her gut issues get better, the first week she dropped 3lbs, but now shes about 6 weeks in & hungry, tired, & the scale is going up! So she decided to start fasting more, & ups her steps to 20k/d. (Further stressing her body out more btw).
She gives it another month with more weight gain. She wants to quit after a couple months despite her gut issues resolving. It doesn’t work she says, “I didn’t lose weight.”
Reasons You May Be Gaining Weight or Bingeing on Carnivore/Low Carb Approach
You’re eating in a surplus. As with ANY diet you choose if you are eating in a surplus chances are you will put on body fat. It’s part of it. This is when you should be focusing on muscle gain & strength.
You’ve been eating in a chronic deficit & your body is finally getting the nutrients it needs to function & grow muscle. You WANT muscle growth. More muscle=more food=more badass. You can’t have the athletic body without building the muscle underneath FIRST. This weight gain is actually weight restoration.
You’re snacking too much on things like pork rinds, fat bombs, or fake keto sugar free junk like Atkins bars. They’re easy to overeat & nutrient deficient. Even no cal artificial sweeteners can trigger hunger, water retention, & over eating for many. Go back to the basics for a while & experiment. Simplify. Meat, eggs, water, coffee, electrolytes, minimal sweeteners. Get rid of the extra butter, creams, & oils on food & in coffee.
You’re choosing highly palatable meats & foods like ribeyes, bacon, cheese, butter, processed meats, brisket, etc. They are delicious, YES, but can trigger over eating when you’re not really hungry. It’s like when you’re not hungry but then they bring out dessert. Most of us will want that extra piece of cake. Choose foods that are satisfying & get the job done. My choice (FOR ME) is ground beef & ground chicken cooked in the air fryer. Delicious & satiating, but not so much I’m triggered to eat more for pleasure & not true hunger.
You’re overly fasting, overly training, not sleeping, still eating foods you don’t digest well, over caffeinating, &/or consuming excess alcohol. All these things are stressors which increases our blood glucose & cortisol level. Chronically high cortisol & hormone imbalances affect your weight, recovery, energy, & fat loss. Reduce your workout intensity & volume, SLEEP, reduce caffeine/alcohol, cut out foods & habits that hinder your digestion, shorten your fasting window or STOP fasting. Get a @nutrisenseio continuous glucose monitor to track blood sugar levels. It’s a wealth of information & will help you more accurately make adjustments! Code: lilbitoffitCGM10
This is what biofeedback means
You’re eating too much protein, throwing hormones & your biofeedback off. Try increasing your fats & start with protein around 1g per lb of body weight or goal weight if you have more to lose. Everyone’s ratio preferences/needs will be different. Remember our optimal energy sources come from fats & carbs, so if you’re experiencing low energy, play around with different kinds of meats & macro ratios. There’s no one-size-fits-all. If in doubt, invest in a coach or practitioner to help! Coaching FAQ’s are HERE
Left I gained 15lbs and got up to 125lbs, Right is more my aesthetic now, sitting around 105lbs at 5’1. 20lb weight loss, which didn’t start till around month 8 after starting a meat based diet. Have patience & learn as much as you can!
My story was similar to Patty’s.
I gained 15lbs when I started carnivore, gut issues completely went away, energy was all over the place the first 3-6 months, I didn’t track initially until about month 5 & was eating hyper-palatable meats & foods like chuck roasts, ribeyes, ribs, pork, bacon, & pork rinds. But I kept going and experimenting.
I started tracking. I noticed I was eating WAY MORE than I thought. I also noticed I was swelling & not digesting pork well so I eliminated it. I noticed I digested ground beef & chicken best & it was easier to track. I also noticed my fat threshold was lower, so I stopped adding butter & bacon grease to my already high fat meats, I stopped consuming cheese & only eat pork rinds on occasion.
Slowly my performance in the gym started getting better, about month 8 my weight started dropping, I was able to fast longer & was able to really feel & understand what true carnivore satiety felt like, I knew what meats worked best for me, I figured out what calories & macro ratios worked for me, & I discovered the airfryer was my best friend & meat bars were born! I have now lost 20lbs & feel better than I ever have 2 years carnivore!
SO HAVE PATIENCE! Adapt, gain confidence, & self awareness first before trying to mess around with fat loss cuts. Now, I experiment with fat cycling with fabulous results! It comes naturally & I listen to what my body is craving & how I’m feeling.
Fat & Carb Cycling
Before we get started, though, let’s get one thing out of the way, no diet dogma here, we’re neither pro-fat/carb cycling nor anti-fat/carb cycling.
We’re pro-sustainable & realistic results.
This is also my experience, I am not a physician & learning right along side of you! We’ll learn about:
What fat/carb cycling is
How cycling works
Who should try cycling
What is a common cycling strategy
Protein & Fat Cheat Sheets to help
What is Fat & Carb Cycling?
Fat & carb cycling is when you fluctuate days between eating lower fat meats & animal products & higher fat meats & animal products. For carbs, you simply eat more carbs one day & fewer other days. People who fat/carb cycle usually end up calorie cycling, too. This simply means they eat fewer calories on their “low fat or carb days” and more calories on their “high fat or carb days.”
For example, a typical fat cycling schedule might look like this:
Non-workout days: low fat, lower calorie
Workout days: high fat, higher calorie
Examples of how you can calorie cycle via changing your fat macros per day.
So you ask, “Why don’t we just eat low fat or lower our protein?” Well, to be frank, some “not so great” stuff can happen when you don’t get enough protein or fat.
For example, if your fat intake stays too low (& too low calorie), you may lose your menstrual cycle & your sex drive. And if your protein intake stays too low, you can lose muscle, be less satiated at meals, hungrier, & experience mood swings.
What Does Calorie Cycling Do? A Couple of the Big Rocks
Fat & carb cycling may help keep your metabolism functioning more optimally during fat loss. When you eat less, your body responds in a variety of ways. For example:
Your daily activity outside of workouts tends to decrease because you have less energy. You’ll find you move around less.
So as you lose weight, you have to continue reducing how much you eat in order to keep seeing results. You can only reduce calories so much.
Example: Let’s say you start a 2,000 calorie a day diet & lose weight steadily for a while. Over time, you might find that stops working. So you cut back to 1,800 calories to kickstart weight loss again, then you plateau, then you have to reduce to 1,600 & so on…
This is called metabolic adaptation. So all you chronic dieters out there that can’t lose weight & gain anytime you eat above 1200-1500 calories, this is what has happened. You must reverse diet to fix this.
2. Calorie cycling may help regulate hormones affected by fat loss.
Intense dieting messes with your hormones. Specifically: Leptin, Thyroid hormones, & Reproductive hormones (testosterone & estrogen)
If you’re trying to lose fat, leptin’s a particular concern. Leptin is released by fat tissue, & plays a key role in hunger & metabolic adaptation.
The more body fat you have, the more leptin in your blood. Your brain uses leptin levels to make decisions about hunger, calorie intake, nutrient absorption, & energy use. When you reduce calorie intake, even just for a few days, leptin levels drop. This tells your brain you need to eat to prevent starvation.
The kicker: Leptin is one of the reasons you feel so hungry & binge when you consistently eat less. It is also considered the “master controller” of other hormones, meaning that when leptin drops, so do thyroid & reproductive hormones.
So by periodically eating more calories from fats (known as a “refeed”), our leptin levels will temporarily rise, telling your brain that you’re safe & well-fed, causing a temporary decrease in hunger & appetite. The extra calories & energy will also help with performance.
This higher calorie break, might also make it feel easier to adhere to a lower calorie intake. As with any diet, consistency & adherence are key!
Optimizing hormone & metabolic health is essential for any body goal. Learn to work WITH your body not against it!
Who Should Try Fat CyclingSpecifically?
Fat cycling isn’t right for everyone, nor is it necessary of any kind of diet. But it can work for specific types of people.
Try it if:
You have your big rock habits nailed down & have ADAPTED FULLY to the carnivore /keto/low carb lifestyle
You eat nourishing meats & animal products, you’re eating at your maintenance calories, your gut health is good, sleep is great, exercise habits are routine, your relationship with food is great, you eat mindfully, no disordered eating or bingeing, etc.
You want to get leaner& have plateaued
As you diet & get leaner, your body will start to fight every last bit of fat loss. Cycling calorie & fat intake could help minimize the metabolic adaptation that often occurs with a chronic, ongoing calorie deficit. Plus, refeed days & cycling more food can make dieting suck less & easier to adhere to. Carb cycling can do the same thing for those of you who consume carbs & a more “balanced” plate approach.
Common Fat Loss & Dieting Strategies
Common Fat Cycling Strategies & What Has Worked For Me
There is no one size fits all here, again, you can choose any number of days to reduce your fat & calories depending on your needs.
There are many of us in the carnivore & low carb community experimenting with fat cycling. Which, as explained above, simply means cycling periods of days during the week that are leaner (eating lower fat proteins) with days of higher fats (more around your grams for maintenance calories). This naturally will lower your calories when you do this.
I feel its beneficial as a whole to cycle any kind of diet/fitness regimen. Our bodies are smart, they adapt to the same foods, workouts, & stressors.
I’ve found fat cycling to be helpful if you’ve plateaued on your fat loss journey or not seen any progress (again, your definition of progress will be different depending on your goal & needs) for several weeks.
This is very similar to carb cycling for those of you who follow a traditional diet which includes carbohydrates.
Red light therapy significantly helped my energy, sleep, digestion, & skin! It’s one of my favorite biohacking routines. Read all about it here!
I use an EMR TEK FIREWAVE red light. Discount code at checkout: lilbitoffit20
**As always, I am not a physician, always consult with your doctors before changing any kind of protocol, this is simply my experience.
My physique is leaner than it has ever been, weight has only fluctuated a couple lbs here & there but I find I wake around 100-105 lbs the majority of the time. I’m 41 yrs old, 5’1, 15k steps/d, active job in radiology, workout 5d/week doing a mix of Orange Theory, lifting, & occasional CrossFit. Protein stays ~130- 175gish (for ME), low fat day ~85-90g, high fat day ~135-150g. Calories range from ~1,550-2100+/d. Surplus/Refeed ~2,200. I always listen to my body and eat what I’m craving. I eat when I’m hungry and fast when I’m not.
For supplement support I Take GDA-Max, Utilyze, & Cort-Eaze from @nuethix_formulations to help with stressors for hormone balance. Discount Code: lilbitoffit
I’m happy with my physique where it is, so I know I need to make sure to cycle in more higher fat days (which means higher calories) if I find I’m too lean or losing too much weight/strength. Naturally I typically cycle 3-4 lower fat days, 2-3 maintenance days, & if I feel like I need more, I’ll throw in 1 surplus (refeed) day. It varies. I don’t have a set program & live vibrationally honoring my energy.
Favorite lower fat foods: 90% ground beef, Perdue ground chicken, shrimp, cod, & swai. My crispy airfryer meat bars are life & easy to track. Track. Your. Food. It will help with adjustments. I use MyfitnessPal.
Happy cycling y’all!! I hope this helped! You can always slide into my DM’s on Instagram!
Hailing from Fishers, Indiana, Katie is an aficionado of healthcare, fitness, & personal development.
You can find her personal weight loss & healing story here.
She’s been involved in travel nursing & radiography for 20 years! She’s a writer, connection maker, nutritionist, & entrepreneur who loves helping others & squeezing every drop out of life!
Katie grew up on her family’s beef cattle & crop farm where agriculture & healthcare were her first loves.
She is a Purdue University graduate well known for her storytelling of life lessons & personal transformation with weight loss & Crohn’s disease.
She competed as a competitive CrossFit athlete in her early 30’s. After decades of struggling with her own health issues from Crohn’s, obesity, disordered eating, infertility, & hormonal imbalances, she is passionate about helping others find self-love, achieve their health & business goals, & create sustainable success habits for an EXTRAordinary life!
This will probably trigger you… It triggers me everytime someone asks me. “How do I learn to love myself?”
Straight up, I’ll tell you, you are the reason you’re not where you wanna be. And it’s because of fear.
I tell you this as your coach & fellow human that understands.
For the majority of you following along my fitness journey via the interwebs, I feel confident saying we have many things in common, including this painful topic.
You see I realize now, as my 41 year old self, fear of gaining weight totally stifled my potential, controlled, & basically wrecking balled my life in every facet.
Every facet of life is connected. I categorize mine as health, self, wealth, & relationships.
My disordered eating & self love journey started at the age of 8.
Fear of gaining weight & self loathing caused me to live decades in agony & struggle.
I ate all the wrong things for me. All the “healthy” sugar free food & crazy diets that tore up my gut, hormones, & metabolism.
I starved, binged, purged, & over exercised myself to exhaustion, inflammation, & imbalances.
I didn’t have many friends & missed out on SOOO many memories because I feared eating food, both because I didn’t wanna go over my calories & be “fat” & I feared being judged for not being able to eat “normal” due to my Crohn’s.
I didn’t ask guys out, I doubted myself. I was never athletic enough, skinny enough, lean enough, strong enough, pretty enough, smart enough…
I never reached a body goal I was happy with no matter how thin I got or how strong I got. Not because I wasn’t a hard worker, I worked my ass off, but because my relationship with myself, my negative mindset, & fear of gaining weight controlled ME.
I had a DM from a woman desperate for me to give her magic macros & all the answers to get a lean physique.
First thing she said, “I’m afraid to gain the weight back, but what I’m doing isn’t working.”She was eating tons of lean protein, little fat, stated she was hungry all the time, fasting, working out like a fiend…sound familiar?
I said you’re right, it’s not working. The main issue isn’t not having the perfect macros or workout regime, it’s because you’re letting your fear of gaining weight block your doors of abundance & success.
It’s preventing you mentally & physically from making the correct decisions & courses of action. Your body also responds to your thoughts & feelings, if all you think & feel is self hate, despair, & poor health – that’s what you’re gonna get.
She said, “I never thought of it that way.”
I said, “Exactly.”
So I wrote a list of simple things I did to help me learn to love myself for you to refer back to. Make these yours however they fit & resonate.
I hope they give you HOPE that you can learn to love yourself too.
Simple Ways I Learned to Love Myself
Self awareness means to know & accept yourself. It’s impossible to love yourself if you don’t even know who you are. Invest in discovering what you believe, value, & like. And yes, this will mean making mistakes, but you’ll learn & discover what you do like.
I asked myself these questions: What are my strengths? How do I want to feel in my body, relationships, & finances? Who matters most to me? Who are my people? What am I ashamed of? What do I like to do for fun? What am I worried about that consumes my thoughts? What are my values? What do I believe in? If I could have one wish, it would be… Where do I feel safest? What or who gives me comfort? What or who do I numb with? If I wasn’t afraid, I would… What is my proudest accomplishment? What is my biggest failure? Am I a night owl or an early bird? How can I arrange my life to better suit this part of me? What do I like about my job(s)? Does it bring me joy & fulfillment? What do I do to show myself love & self-care? Am I an introvert or an extrovert? Am I energized being around others or being by myself? What is/are my happiest memory/memories? What am I grateful for?
Say “no” when you need to. It doesn’t make you a bad person, it makes you smart & more able to fully yourself & those around you. Boundaries are one HUGE form of self-care because they let others know that you are deserving of respect.
Comparison is the thief of Joy -Stop. Others aren’t better or worse, more or less than you; we’re all just different. You are worthy simply because you exist. Period. The reason we struggle is because we compare everyone’s highlight reels to our behind the scenes.
The reason we struggle is because we compare everyone’s highlight reels to our behind the scenes.
Know and own your strengths. We all have tremendous gifts. refer back to those questions in number 1. And again, stop comparing. When you’re busy, distracted, & always stuck in comparison “whoa is me” mode, it’s hard to acknowledge & access these vibrant qualities. Focusing on your strengths will increase your positive feelings for yourself & inner & outer vibration.
Let go of the past. Your past mistakes and imperfections don’t need you anymore. Cut the cords physically & energetically. Embrace your humanness. Mistakes are normal. Imperfections are part of what makes you, YOU. Everything is an experience. That’s it. You can choose & begin again every day.
Accept that some people won’t like you no matter what you do. All that matters is you love YOU. People view you from their own lens of life experience & trauma. We do this to others too. So think about that before you go to judge someone. Don’t waste your time trying to please people who are impossible to please or people who just aren’t that important to you. Being yourself means you have to give up your people-pleasing ways and embrace your authentic self. People pleasing leads to you losing yourself & ultimately building resentment.
Make JOY & fun unapologetic priorities. We were meant to live this life in Joy. Put something you love & look forward to on your agenda every week. Anticipation is a key stage in helping you feel happiness; by having something to look forward to, no matter what your circumstances, you bring happiness into your life well before the event actually takes place. That’s you vibrating those happy feelings we all want which helps us attract abundance into all areas of our lives.
Practice gratitude. Gratitude is one of the simplest ways to focus on the good in yourself and in your life. Name at least 3 things you’re grateful for when you wake up every morning. Flood your mind & morning with positive quotes, images, intentions for your day. This is an enormous part of my morning routine. I speak out everything I’m grateful for no matter how silly they seem. I can’t tell you how many times I say, “Thank you God & Universe” during my days. And it has made all the positive difference. Even for small things like a light turning green, or a parking space, or bills or expenses that enable me to live a life of comfort & joy.
Here are some things I like to do that help me live in positivity & gratitude:
Waiting in a checkout line, compliment someone. Acknowledge people & say good morning. Buy someone’s groceries or coffee. Be kind to the homeless & less fortunate.
Leave sweet notes for your partner, spouse, kids, roommates, coworkers, etc telling them how much you appreciate them. Send a kind text.
Send people gifts on Amazon. OMG, one of my favorite things to do! Get their address & send them something to brighten their day! You can do this anywhere & anytime without even leaving home or getting out of your pj’s!
Tip well & express gratitude for exceptional service. Give well deserved reviews. I do this at restaurants, bars, on instacart & amazon, surveys about services.
Thank the Universe, God, Collective- whatever & whoever you believe in for letting you live another day.
Thank Mother Earth & farmers for our food.
Express your appreciation for the weather.
Daily, write down at least 3 things you feel grateful for.
Look in the mirror & appreciate all the miraculous things your body does for you. What do you love about yourself?
Open the door for people. Help the elderly. Talk to everyone no matter who they are. Tell people who serve you THANK YOU!
Take nurturing, loving care of your body! Y’all, health is truly priceless & your greatest wealth. Give yourself the gift of feeling physically strong & thriving – move, exercise regularly, eat healthfully, hydrate, get 7-8 hours of sleep most nights, say no to gluttony, & minimize alcohol &/or other numbing mechanisms. The most successful, happy people are those with daily success habits & a routine that helps them thrive!
Write yourself a love letter. Get it out, you’re amazing! This puts all the wonderful intentions out there & that’s what you’ll attract back to you. We attract what we ARE. Attraction also includes the words ACTION. Do the things that embody the person you desire to be. Repeat this list in the mirror every morning. Write them out on post it notes & put them where you can see them.
Surround yourself with a nurturing, up leveling environment. This includes everything you consume: people, books, movies, social media, food, drink, jobs, where you live, where you hang out, etc. Who you spend time with reflects how you feel about yourself. People who feel worthy surround themselves with positive people. Sometimes loving yourself means you have to end relationships & things & let them go. Let them go with LOVE.
Things that keep me HIGH VIBE⚡️✨:
Pinterest scripting (saving photos I wanna manifest & those that make me feel AMAZING, LUSCIOUS, VIBRANT, EMPOWERED, etc)
High vibe music
Exercise, walking, nature
Infrared sauna, red light therapy
Positive podcasts & audiobooks
Coloring & Canva design
Talking to my people, writing
Smiling at someone, hugging
Doing something kind for someone
Gratitude shower
Putting on makeup, hair/wardrobe accessories
Dressing in sparkly vibrant clothes/jewelry
Massage, Doing my nails, lash & hair extensions
Organizing & cleaning my space
Wearing certain colors #colortherapy
Start with the ones that feel easiest for you & work on something new every week. A reminder you can do hard things, especially when the hardest thing feels like loving YOU.
Hailing from Fishers, Indiana, Katie is an aficionado of healthcare, fitness, & personal development.
You can find her personal weight loss & healing story here.
She’s been involved in travel nursing & radiography for 20 years! She’s a writer, connection maker, nutritionist, & entrepreneur who loves helping others & squeezing every drop out of life!
Katie grew up on her family’s beef cattle & crop farm where agriculture & healthcare were her first loves.
She is a Purdue University graduate well known for her storytelling of life lessons & personal transformation with weight loss & Crohn’s disease.
She competed as a competitive CrossFit athlete in her early 30’s. After decades of struggling with her own health issues from Crohn’s, obesity, disordered eating, infertility, & hormonal imbalances, she is passionate about helping others find self-love, achieve their health & business goals, & create sustainable success habits for an EXTRAordinary life!
I turned 41 this year. 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 & 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘱.
I don’t remember what I thought life would be like when I turned 21 & thought about turning 40. But right now I can say I feel better now then I did back then.
Days off, simply being present, enjoying nature, wearing clothes I love, doing my nails, doing anything that lights my soul on fire is me creating my heaven & I’m proud of myself.
Along this journey I’ve figured a few things out 🙂 & I want to share with you my biggest takeaway for the last 41 years…
Ready????
It’s easier being EXTRAordinary & exceptional than it is being mediocre & average.
🤷♀️Here’s the hard truths & proof…
Most people are unhealthy & overweight. I choose not to be.
Most people are in debt & broke. I choose not to be.
Most people are complacent & lazy & have zero success routine. I am not.
Most people gossip & complain. I do not.
Most people stop learning. I have not.
Most people accept 0 responsibility. I take full accountability for myself, past, present, & future.
Most people are not a good example for their kids or society in general. I try to be the human I’d want my kids (if I could have any) to look up to.
Most people cower from hard conversations & tough situations. I embrace them & choose brutal honesty.
I am not saying I am perfect but a human that simply learns & strives to be better.
If you do the exact opposite of what “most people” do, you will live a pretty exceptional life.
I should warn you tho…
Doing what most people don’t do is not easy. But it’s also what makes it exceptional.
I hope me sharing life & getting older has inspired you 🙂
Go be EXTRAordinary & exceptional!
Oxox Coach K
Hailing from Fishers, Indiana, Katie is an aficionado of healthcare, fitness, & personal development. Travel Radiographer, motivational writer/speaker, nutritionist — doer of many things, she grew up on her family’s beef cattle & crop farm where agriculture & healthcare were her first loves.
She is a Purdue University graduate well known for her storytelling of life lessons & personal transformation through Crohn’s disease & life as a radiologic technologist with 18 years experience!
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
