lose weight – lil bit of fit

January 31, 2024

How to Build Muscle & Lose Fat + 10 Tiny Sacrifices To 20 lbs Shed

One mindshift allowed me to finally lose weight after 3 decades of trying & failing…

In the last 30+ years, I quit binging on carbs & sugar so many times, but I always went back to it. Sometimes it took 1 week. Sometimes I resisted for as long as 3 months. But I always broke my promise. I ended up getting bigger & bigger & sicker & sicker every year. Veggies & fruit & even foods I thought were “healthy” killed my gut & caused my Crohn’s to flare.

Losing weight can be a daunting task, especially when we think about the sacrifices we have to make to reach our goal weight. However, making tiny changes in our daily routine can result in significant weight loss without having to make drastic changes to our lifestyle.

The mindshift that helped me: “You need to be okay with failure to succeed”

I’ve heard this many times but it didn’t click with me until my healing & fat loss journey “plan” finally worked.

This is not just about weight loss. When you expect results right away & get dependent on them, failure to reach them in a certain time frame frustrates you & throws you off your goal.

The solution to this problem is to be okay with the possibility of not reaching the goal. It is to be invested in the process & the other benefits of doing the work.

When you stop obsessing about the result, it magically appears!

How I’ve been able to build muscle & maintain my weight loss working 40+ hours a week at 40+

weight loss before and after carnivore lilbitoffit katie kelly

katie kelly fat loss advice 10 things carnivore lilbitoffit before and after photo

I maintain the same habits & commitments to myself as when I was losing weight because I want to be the healthiest, happiest, & strongest version I can be. I’ve made fitness my lifestyle.

I don’t let the scale determine my success or worth. I know it will fluctuate naturally with sleep, stress, food intake, hydration, workouts, etc. I do not cut food & punish myself when it goes up. I stay consistent with my plan & take it simply as data to help me.

I prioritize health & how I feel with food, workouts, & movement. My mindset determines my reality. I know I cannot hate myself thin, happy, strong, successful, & fulfilled. You have to diet & live from the inside out. Being active & strength training are always priorities no matter what age or season I’m in.

I eat simple, basic af food that serves me best physically & mentally. I stick to meat, eggs, animal fats, seafood, & dairy in moderation. My gut healing/carnivore story is in the link in my IG bio for reasons why I eat this way + my Crohn’s & bulimia remission.

I am patient & consistent af. I know body change & healing take time. I leave room for flexibility. I do not cheat, earn, or burn my food. It is fuel, not a treat. I don’t do rules, I do what feels right.

What I eat about every day!

Your Super Simple 5 Step Blueprint

1. Prioritize Walking: you can make a lot of progress by simply walking more. Aim to take at least 10,000 steps each day.

2. Prioritize Protein: eating is where most people struggle when trying to lose weight. You can simplify your nutrition strategy. In every meal, prioritize protein. I shoot for at least 40-60g per meal.

3. Prioritize Whole Foods: building on the last point, eat nourishing, whole foods 80-90% of the time. These are foods that aren’t processed & don’t come in a package. READ YOUR LABELS! The less ingredients the better.

4. Lift Weights at least 3 x Per Week: lifting weights is crucial whether your goal is muscle gain or fat loss. Lifting weights increases metabolic efficiency and muscle mass. The more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn on a daily basis. Lifting weights also increases excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), which means you keep burning calories even after you’re done exercising.

5. Prioritize Sleep: there’s no shortage of research showing a lack of sleep can lead to fat gain and hinder our ability to increase our muscle mass. Ways to improve your sleep quality: morning light exposure, keep caffeine in the am, avoid eating late, keep a consistent sleep schedule, create a calm, dark, cool environment, limit electronics

Strength Training as a Newbie Tips

As a beginner, you’re obviously not going to be pushing as much weight as someone more advanced. When I started CrossFit, my coaches started me of with less reps & lighter weights, focusing on the basics & proper form first.

I had to drop down to much lower weights than when I was at the peak of my more competitive CrossFit days & times when I took a break from heavier/more frequent training due to work & life stuff.

Devoting 20 minutes 3 x per week — or 10-15 minutes a couple times a day works too. Start somewhere & build from there in terms of weights, frequency & intensity.

Pro Tip: invest in a quality trainer or group fitness program. They will show you how to use equipment & movement with proper form as well as workout routines. Utilize YouTube for workout videos & education at home. Tons of home workouts programs are available nowadays with minimal equipment & cost.

Best Time To Workout?

Choose a time you’ll actually get yo ass to the gym. There’s no magic time. Some days you may need to be flexible, it’s called life. Being a creature of habit & routine will help with consistency.

Once afternoon strikes, my motivation to get to the gym is next to nothing. I prefer 5am or 10am depending on work.

This obviously varies from person to person as all of our lifestyles are different. But as I tell clients, “workout time is sacred time”. If you’re committed to it, you need to find a way to get it done.

Pro Tip: Start every morning with movement. Go for a walk, do mobility — something. Set out your workout clothes or sleep in them. You literally just have to roll out of bed & go. Split up your workouts into 2-3 mini sessions if you dread long sessions. Instead of doing 1 long workout, do 3, 10 minute workouts. It’s easier to make small simple commitments to yourself.

Realize Lack of Fitness Is An Emotional Issue

My job as a coach & mentor is to get my clients to “feel” like improving. To “feel” like doing the things they need to do to be their best. That might be working out in the morning, eating more protein, eating MORE, staying off the scales, working out less, nixing the negative self talk, etc. Binge eating especially comes from restriction with food & self worth – body, mind, & spirit.

It’s why people continue smoking when they know the risks. Why people overeat when they know it’s taking years off their life, why people would rather binge Netflix all day than go walk.

Humans seek short-term pleasures over long-term rewards. Most things worth doing take time to pay off. Most things that get you into trouble feel comfortable in the short-term. But until you “feel” like changing, long-term progress won’t happen.

Goals are great. They’re like the north star on a map. But the whole point of goal setting is to develop the habits & routines along the way to create a lifestyle.

Adherence & Consistency Are More Important Than The Details of the Training or Nutrition Plan.

I remember my first few years of work as a nutrition & CrossFit coach vividly. We could have the most “perfect” program, I could give the best advice I could. Then…the clients didn’t show up. They didn’t do the work. And they continually fell off the wagon. It doesn’t matter how good the plan is, if you don’t do it, you’re not going to improve.

Or as Joe Defranco says “a poor program done perfectly, is better than a perfect program done poorly.”

Dan John, a favorite of mine in the strength & conditioning world, has a catchphrase “Little & often over the long haul.” It’s not about how hard you can train today, how many times you train for the week, or even the month. It’s about showing up today & again tomorrow & the next day & repeat this lifestyle for years on end.

Movement, The Power of Words, & Accountability Are Important

Very few people wouldn’t benefit by taking more steps. Get up to 10,000 as a goal. I prefer to break this up into 2–3 smaller walks during the day. You might prefer one long one. It doesn’t matter, just get those steps in.

Take the word “might” out of your vocab & switch “have to” to “get to.” My pet peeve is when clients say “I might get to the gym tomorrow.” Or “I’ll try & eat good today.” They’re giving themselves an out, not committing. Don’t give yourself the option. Do you have to train at the gym or do you get to?

Group training & accountability make exercise more enjoyable, more efficient & produce greater results for most. Gyms like CrossFit, Spin, Orange Theory, & F45 have nailed what makes fitness more enjoyable.

Go through hell together & laugh about it afterwards. Or more simply: train, laugh & repeat.

Aesthetics are the By-Product of Quality Training, Nutrition, & Health.

The physical follows the physiological, target health first. Aesthetics shouldn’t be your focus. Yes, looking better naked makes us feel good. But that shouldn’t be the focus of your training/diet unless you’re an elite bodybuilder. Longevity & a sustainable lifestyle lean should be placed at the pentacle.

I’ve also seen far more “aesthetically-minded” clients get burned out, fall to binge eating, & stop training altogether than I do with “performance & longevity-minded” clients.

When your sole focus is on how you look in the mirror or the reading on the bathroom scales. You lose hope when it doesn’t change & often develop an unhealthy relationship with food and fitness.

Pick some performance goals. Let’s say a 2-mile run, max pull-ups & increasing your back squat. If you improve your performance on these 3, your body will look better, I promise you that.

Final Thoughts

Create your own framework & system for success! With all habits, developing them often comes down to mental hurdles.

Your body is the reflection of inputs & outputs. If you fuel your body with healthy, balanced nutrition & stress it with strength training, it will adapt appropriately.

10 Tiny Sacrifices To 20 lbs Shed

Cut out sugar
Drink water
Increase your protein intake
Cut out processed foods
Walk more
Cut out alcohol
Get enough quality sleep
Cook your meals at home
Practice mindful eating
Reduce your portion sizes & try fasting

Biohacking Guide Here

I understand what it feels like to be a prisoner in your own body with no idea what to eat or where to start. Wish you all the best of luck!

If you like blogs like these, sign up for my weekly newsletter!

1:1 Fat loss solution coaching available! Resources & guides in link 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.

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

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

September 27, 2022

Hard Truths About Why You’re Not Seeing Fat Loss On The Carnivore Diet And How It May Be Harming You

carnivore hard truths and why you can't lose body fat

Do you know there are people that would trade years of their life to be skinnier?

Hi. It me🙋‍♀️

The FORMER version of me.

You have to get to a point of metabolic & hormonal health to become more flexible with your diet & macros. That may mean scaling back over exercising. That may mean moving more if you are more sedentary. That may mean eating more food & gaining weight in the process.

I gained 15lbs when I started the carnivore diet over 3 years ago & it took me an entire year to adapt & finally lose weight.

carnivore katie kelly indiana lilbitoffit

Katie kelly fishers indiana lilbitoffit carnivore fat loss journey

Do the hard things. If you keep doing what you’ve always done you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.

Swipe, save & share this post here on Instagram!

You CAN eat too much protein, be under nourished & under fueled. Food is fuel. Fat is fuel. Carbs are fuel too if you prefer them as an energy source. We need to start thinking about food in terms of fuel instead of a treat or reward or diet camp.

Machines are all different, right?! They take different fuel sources & parts, right?! Why do you think humans are any different?!

Fat is super important. Protein is not an optimal fuel source. You won’t feel great eating lean meat all the time. If you think I’m full of sh*t, why don’t you eat skinless boneless chicken breast for 2-3 weeks & tell me how you feel (please don’t do that but it will be a rude awakening).

You can’t eat all the meat you want without some educated decision making to nourish your body properly & get the results you truly want. Same with your workouts. If you want to have a certain physique, you have to eat & work out appropriately to get that physique so choose wisely.

Eating as little as possible is not a badge of honor. A toddler can’t survive on 1200 calories a day. Are you a toddler? Have you been conditioned & chronically dieting/under fueling your entire life? The importance of reverse dieting & getting healthy are not emphasized enough over dieting.

Please prioritize getting healthy & reverse dieting first. It will be one of the best things you ever do for your body & I promise the results will follow. Most active women getting at least 10,000 steps/day & working out 3-4 times/week average 1800 to 2100+ calories/day for maintenance levels for perspective. What are you crushing? I crush about 2000/day & I’m 40 years old, 105lbs at 5’1.

indiana lilbitoffit maintenance calories chart carnivore reverse diet katie kelly

You cannot look like me. I built my physique via CrossFit & lifting which may be different from what you prefer. It took me over a decade to get the physique you see today.

Not everyone likes the same workouts which will change the way your body looks. Not everyone has the same story, we didn’t grow up the same way, with the same experiences & same level of health or relationships with food & exercise.

katie kelly crossfit indiana carnivore lilbitoffit — I discovered CrossFit at 31 years old. Prior to that I had never touched a barbell in my life. I am 40 years old today and haven’t been healthier or happier!

Not everyone can eat high-protein & thrive. This all goes back to getting metabolically & hormonal healthy FIRST before most people can be metabolically flexible with their macros & diet approaches. Experiment, track data like macros/ketones/blood glucose if things are not working. Take the emotion out of it, you’re doing this from a place of health. They’re just tools to help you. Learn to be objective. Mistakes are how we learn & find solutions.

Here’s an informative video about different troubleshooting with versions of carnivore.

Not everyone can incorporate carbs, sugar, & alcohol & be a moderator. This all goes back to your emotional & physical relationship with food. Not everyone can include plants, fruit, or honey into their carnivore diet because it spikes blood glucose, causes cravings, binge eating, & other physical ailments. These are a drug for many. We don’t tell alcoholics just to have one drink, right?! Sugar & carbs are addictive. Determine if you’re an abstainer or a moderator. Over time you may be able to moderate certain things once you establish a healthy relationship with a substance.

Here’s a blog on how I stopped binge eating, bulimia, & healed my relationship with food!

It’s OK if you have a poor relationship with certain foods or carbohydrates. I do, openly, have a poor relationship with sugar & carbs, which is why I abstain. They also cause physical ailments for me due to my Crohn’s disease an autoimmune condition. My peace of mind & my health takes precedence above all. Which means I do what works for me & I give zero fux if other people judge me for it because I am my healthiest, happiest, & most peaceful & that’s all that matters.

Here’s why I don’t eat plants & changes I made to lose 55lbs!

carnivore diet fat loss transformation guide

Carbs are not the devil. They are beneficial if you are an athlete or avid exerciser to blunt the cortisol (stress) response & help with recovery. They can also help you sleep better when timed & applied appropriately. We must learn to work with our bodies & food to optimize our body function to live our best lives. Work with your body not against it.

Protein sparing modified fasting is not appropriate for everyone. Feasting & fasting is not appropriate for everyone. Extended fasting is not appropriate for everyone. High intensity workouts are not appropriate for everyone. Eating carbs is not appropriate for everyone. Eating vegan or carnivore or whatever diet camp you want to put here is not appropriate for everyone. Again, get healthy first. Pick an approach that is easy for you to implement in life & one that you enjoy. Be willing to make mistakes & embrace a different way of doing things. I promise you will find your solution to diet, exercise, relationships, & life in general.

Why fasting may not be working for you

You will never regret walking. You will never regret eating optimal protein & fat. You will never regret quality sleep. You will never regret being kind. You will never regret eating slowly & mindfully. You will never regret eating the right foods for you no matter what someone else thinks. You will never regret therapy. You will never regret a gratitude attitude & abundance mindset. Set your high value nonnegotiables in life. This includes everything you consume including the people you surround yourself with.

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel you just have to follow a way of eating & a way of living that suits you❤️

oxox Coach K

Coaching services, guides, discount links & more here!