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!
You know it’s true, we all wanna look good naked. Yes, health should always be at the forefront & I stand firm in my belief if you focus on health everything else will fall into line.
You may have resolved to make this the year you finally start, & hopefully stick with an exercise program or nutrition approach, but you’re fighting an uphill battle if you don’t shift your vow into truly making a LIFESTYLE change.
It’s all too easy to give up after a few weeks & lookin around the gyms after the January rush, come February you see the same people there as before & most newbies drop off. The OG’s know what’s up!
So how to turn your determination into action you can sustain for more than 30 days? There are no secrets. In Beth Dutton fashion, to be blunt, at some point, you must get off your tush & take action. No one can do it for you.
Write down your ultimate physique &/or health goal & how you’d like to look/feel. Include weight, body fat, any mental or physical improvements you’d like to see. Anything goes here.
2. Make Time
Work up to 60 minutes of physical activity each day. That doesn’t mean beating the crap out of your body 7d/wk, but strive to get some kind of activity & routine down — even if it’s a walk with your dog, walking after meals, working out 3 days a week, etc. If you’re new to fitness, start with a 20 minute session 5-6 d/wk, two 15-minute sessions or three 10-minute sessions to help you become acclimated. Work your steps up to 10k/day.
3. Do What You Enjoy Weights & lifting are one of the best ways to make significant physical changes to your body. Unfortunately, not everyone enjoys lifting. The most important determinant of long-term success with fitness is how much you enjoy an activity. Choose something that makes fitness fun & keeps you consistent! Explore new exercise classes and activities to determine which you prefer. As a beginner, almost anything you choose will be challenging, but gains will be made starting your very first week.
4. Surround Yourself With a Supportive Community & Accountability
Train with a friend who has similar goals. Join a group class at your gym. Try CrossFit, F45, Orange Theory, Spin, etc. You’ll be far less likely to skip your workout & it’s also more motivating when you workout with a group & push each other. You’re also less likely to cut your sessions short. People who choose healthy lifestyles will engage in behaviors that will impact you. Similarly, if your friends are just the opposite, they’ll likely reinforce the wrong kinds of behaviors.
5. Avoid Comparison to Others
Instead, compare yourself to YOU. If you make every week better in some way than the preceding week, you’re moving forward & making progress. Aim to improve yourself vs last year’s version of you. It’s hard for any of us to feel good about ourselves when we try to measure up to more advanced athletes who may have been training for a decade or more. What makes these people champions is they focus on what they need to do & who they need to be to get what they want every single day. They stayed consistent, created a lifestyle they love, & kept going.
6. Make Mistakes & Be A Forever Student
Experiment! It’s the only way to figure out what works, what doesn’t, what you like & what you don’t like. Try different classes, different diets, track your food, get a mentor, get a coach, invest in a trainer or nutritionist. An easy way to get inspired & increase your knowledge of fitness, training, & nutrition is to commit to researching each day. There are tons of free resources via the web, YouTube, Podcasts, Social Media, etc.
7. Learn to Be Patient AF
Many individuals will drop out of their training or nutrition program because they’re not seeing results fast enough. However, physiological adaptations occur incrementally. You most likely won’t see much, if any, improvement from one week to the next, but you surely will over 90 days. That’s why you should make a commitment of at least 3 months when starting any diet or exercise program.
8. Rise, Grind, Then Shine
Work out in the morning before the rest of the day gets in your way. Bonus: morning workouts boost your energy & confidence for the rest of the day! Get up 20 minutes earlier & knock out some of those steps. Sleep in your gym clothes or set your clothes out in the morning to make it easier. Set your coffee on auto brew so it’s fresh & ready. Caffeine helps!
9. Get Up & Move During the Day
Sedentary jobs are associated with greater risk for cardiovascular disease, not to mention weight gain. Incorporate some kind of movement every 30 minutes or so at work. Set a reminder on your phone, walk after meals, park further away, walk to lunch, take the stairs, walk on calls, just keep moving.
* Reduces oxidative stress * Reduces inflammation & joint pain * Increases muscle recovery * Increases collagen production & tightens skin * Reduces fine lines & wrinkles * Increases hair growth * Increases overall energy & vitality * Increases wound healing, great for skin conditions * Improves memory & vision quality * Increases testosterone production * Improves sleep & can aid in fat/weight loss
11. Reduce Eating Out & Alcohol
You consume more total calories when you eat out, & many of those calories will be empty, in the form of sugary beverages like pop & alcohol, & desserts. You won’t be tempted to indulge during a weak moment if you’re eating at home & no junk food or temptations are present.
12. Make Protein the Focus of All Meals
Undereating + over exercising = bone loss, muscle loss, & a hot metabolic & hormonal mess for women especially. We underestimate the protein we need, especially if we’re active. It’s all about that repair & regrowth of muscle mass & recovery that build a healthy, lean physique. We need protein for “tone” & if we’re not careful when we lose weight, we’re actually losing muscle instead of fat. For most, .8-1.2g of protein/lb of body weight or goal weight if you have more to lose (or even 1.5g/lb for some more petite, leaner, active women) is appropriate. Choose what’s right for you. Try to get at least 30-50g of protein per meal.
13. If You Consume Carbs, Choose Slower-Digesting Carbs Over Fast-Digesting
Slower-digesting carbs such as veggies, brown rice, whole grains, oats, sweet potatoes, & quinoa provide more sustained energy throughout the day & don’t spike your insulin as much. Fast-digesting carbs like sugar, white bread, candy, crackers, pancakes, bars, juices, baked goods, & most prepackaged stuff can spike blood sugar levels & increase the insulin response. Save these for your post-workout meal, when your body can use the extra carbs to replenish fuel stores if you must have them. And don’t forget to keep sugary juices & drinks in check!
14. Set Eating Windows & Routine Meal Times
Routine meal times & some kind of food boundaries are helpful for most. Try fasting, which isn’t a dirty word. It simply means periods of not eating. Fasting 12-16hrs overnight would suffice for most. Nix late night eating & snacking in front of the tv. Set routine meal times. We should not be snacking in between meals. If you find you’re hungry in between meals, you’re most likely not eating enough food, especially protein &/or fat. Meals should keep us satiated for at least 3+ hours. Track your food if you don’t know. I use MyFitnessPal. Awareness is a super power!
15. Realize Huge Muscles & Ripped Abs Don’t Equate To Being Fit & Healthy
Fitness is about more than big muscles & ripped abs. Flexibility, cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength & endurance, & body composition are elements in determining how fit & healthy you really are. Realize there are specific activity & exercise regimens for each one of them. This goes back to tip number one, define your goals, create a system & plan accordingly.
16. Start With Simple Total Body Workouts
One of the simplest ways to ease into a weight workout is to do a total body workout 3x/week with a day of rest in between for recovery. A total body workout hits these major muscle groups: glutes, quads, hamstrings, chest, back, shoulders, triceps, biceps, & core. Choose one exercise for each muscle group (multi joint exercises hit multiple body parts), training every other day. Examples: bench press, shoulder press, squat, deadlift, rows, pull-ups, push-ups.
17. Build Upon Your Workout Routine As You Gain Experience
As you gain experience in the gym, start adding more exercises and sets (volume) for each body part for better overall development. Rather than just doing longer workouts, start dividing your training into a split, such as push muscles (chest, shoulders, triceps) one day, pull muscles (back, biceps) on another, and legs on a third. Given the greater overall volume you do each session for those individual muscle groups, you’ll also need a longer recovery session before repeating that workout again.
18. Prioritize Strength Training & Use Cardio As A Lever For Fat Loss
To lose body fat, you need to burn more calories than you consume. Doing cardio is one way to widen the caloric deficit. But not all cardio strategies are created equal & more is not always better. Weight training is an essential component of weight loss. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue, meaning it burns off loads of calories all day long, even when you’re at rest. To build as much muscle tissue as possible, or even to keep it when dieting, train with moderately heavy weights in the 6-12-rep range. And stick with the multi joint exercises for the majority of your movements.
Studies have also shown that intense, moderately heavy lifting of this sort has the greatest effect on keeping your metabolism elevated for as long as 24 hours after your workout has ended. That significantly adds to the total number of calories burned!
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, CrossFit, & adapting a carnivore diet lifestyle.
Katie also has over 17 years experience as a Registered Radiologic Technologist, Nutritionist, & Sales Consultant. She works with people of all walks of life as a nutritionist & personal 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
When should I eat? Is there a “right” time? Does it matter? Optimization Tips? Tips for special digestive needs?
The way all the “sporty & exercisey people” talk about it, you’d think meal timing, which is also called nutrient timing, was a make it or break it variable when it comes to body goals.
Is it really important when it comes to health, fat loss, muscle building, or performance? Yes & no in the grand scheme of things in my opinion.
Ima lay this out as simple as possible y’all. This a question received on the reg from people of all diet camps! Meal timing or nutrient timing simply means eating specific food & thus nutrients (ex: protein, fat, carbs, etc) at specific times (ex: pre or post workout, OMAD vs 2 or 3 meals/d, etc).
**Reminder: All of this info along with basically everything I’ve learned along my weight loss, health, & carnivore journey is available in the 354 page Meat & Macros Guide HERE
You can always message me on IG or email at katieokelly2@gmail.com for more info & questions! Coaching FAQ’S HERE
It really comes down to the individual & their specific goal (or lack of). I’m not gonna get into all the complex science stuff & research around this topic, we’d be here forever, but I do want you to have a basic understanding on how specific meal timing can help you, when you really need to consider it, & when you don’t need to stress about it. I share my experiences & tips especially for those of you who have struggled with special digestive needs like autoimmune, IBS, IBD, & Crohn’s like myself.
As always, you do you, boo. This is a non-dogmatic safe space, these are generalities, & personal experience.
In general, by eating a healthy, well-considered meal 1-2 hours before exercise, & another healthy, well-considered meal within 1-2 hours after exercise, most people can meet their workout nutrition needs without anything fancy stuff.
In other words: if you’re a healthy person who exercises regularly, you probably don’t need special workout nutrition strategies. Most of us fall into this category.
SIDE NOTE…special timing considerations: You work out early af in the morning. You can do these fasted if you prefer & eat a well sized meal with plenty of protein after. If you’re hungry in the am, liquids (shakes) & easy to digest, low volume carbs (like cereal or rice cakes) if you eat carbs are more appropriate. I find people who follow a meat-based diet & workout early in the mornings prefer to fast & then eat their largest meal post workout.
Lets talk macros (your Carbs, Protein, & Fat)…
CARBOHYDRATES There are few things in the fitness world more controversial than carbs. Will they make you fat? Do you need them? Timing? The questions are endless. Quality fuel is critical, which we get from carbs & fats. They are our energy sources, not protein. You pick which one you prefer. Carbs in general are your body’s preferred fuel source when it comes to highly glycolytic (means it burns a sh*t ton of carbs) activities like HIIT, the “crossfits,” & Orange Theory-esque type workouts.
Optimal timing & portions are more important. You want every gram of carb you consume to be utilized as an immediate fuel source or to restore glycogen levels – you don’t want it to be stored as fat. I find them consumed around your workouts most optimal. Just remember the more active one is, the more carbs they can typically warrant consuming.
PROTEIN Protein is essential for tissue growth & repair. Since the body is continuously breaking down proteins, our diet must provide sufficient quantities. Although recommended intakes vary & depend on so many different things like dieting/health history, activity, training modality, goals, digestion, allergies, etc, a post-workout protein is almost always universally helpful to kickstart muscle repair, recovery, & growth.
Shakes are convenient around workouts for high digestibility & absorption, but not necessary if you time your meals accordingly to your needs & preferences. I prefer real, whole foods for my nutrition vs supplements. To cover your bases most people do well consuming meals around 30-50g of protein per meal to meet optimal amino acid needs. Timing will differ based upon diet preference, workout timing, workout modality, & specific goals.
FAT The body uses fat as a fuel source, & fat is the major storage form of energy in the body. Fat also has many other important functions in the body, & is needed in the diet for optimal health. Fats (cholesterol) are also the precursors to our hormones.
Fats in food come in several forms, including saturated, monounsaturated, & polyunsaturated. Quantity & quality are important. Fats do help to slow digestion, which maintains stable blood glucose & insulin levels. Fats also provide vitamins & minerals, aid in absorption & are important in everyone’s diet.
Some examples of foods that contain fats are butter, oils, nuts & seeds, meat, fish, & dairy products. Again, people will have different preferences as to whether they get their energy from carbs or fats. Most meat-based people prefer fats as fuel or they only consume a strategic amount of carbs around workouts only.
SPECIAL CONSIDERATION TIPS Athletes may have special needs, for example…
An endurance athlete: You train for high level competition. You log a lot of high intensity miles each week. For you, carbohydrate & calorie needs are likely higher unless you do not digest them well & prefer fat as fuel. You could add a protein + carbohydrate drink or shake during your long training.
A bodybuilder: You lift weights with muscle growth as your goal. Your protein & calorie needs are likely higher especially in a building phase.
Getting ready for a fitness competition: You likely accumulate more exercise hours. Goal is to drop to a low body fat %. For you, carb intake (if you eat carbs) will likely be lower & protein higher especially as calories drop to maintain as much lean muscle mass as possible. Keto athletes will manipulate protein & fat macros to their preferences & needs.
Tips for those with special digestive needs like allergies, autoimmune, IBS, IBD, & meat based: This is simply to help you optimize from my experience as an athlete & someone who lives with Crohn’s & special needs
If you’re going to eat carbs, keep them around your workouts for more optimal utilization aesthetically & metabolically. Largest meals I prefer post workout & earlier in the day. Digestion is better in the mornings.
I did best with minimal digestive issues with easy to digest, gluten free, low volume carbs like rice cakes, gf oats, white rice, rice chex cereal if I was going to eat carbs. I don’t need them much anymore since going meat-based. Ground meat & seafood is easier to digest vs steak, ribs, & chewy cuts of meat.
If you workout early af in the am & you’re not training for a performance sport, I find fasted workouts more optimal as far as aesthetics & digestion. Protein shakes are great if you’re hungry early, training long periods, or don’t have time to eat a meal within an hour or so after your workout. Stop fasting until like noon before you eat after an early workout. “Tone” aka MUSCLE takes FOOD. You gotta build the body first!
People reverse dieting do better with 3 meals/day vs 1-2, especially if meat-based. It’s harder on your digestive system to cram more calories in larger, less frequent meals.
You MUST set yourself up for a successful cut by eating at maintenance or surplus for an extended period of time (like 6 months to a year realistically) BEFORE dieting for optimal, quicker results.
A HEALTHY body loses body fat. You shouldn’t be dieting more than 1-2x/yr for no longer than 12-16wks. Most maintenance levels for active females are around 1800-2100+ calories/d. (I eat 2000/d & am 5’1, 105lbs for example)
When dieting, I find larger, less frequent meals more satiating utilizing intermittent fasting. Fat cycling leaner, lower fat days with higher fat days is extremely effective & easier to sustain on a diet. Try 4 lean days/wk & adjust as you go for your needs. Higher fat days you should be consuming around maintenance calories. Leaner individuals don’t need as many lean days or need to do the Protein Sparing Modified Fasting (PSMF)
Don’t eat a high fat, heavy meal too close to working out. Digestion takes a lot of energy & you will be tired & sluggish. Eat 2+ hrs prior.
Stay hydrated! 1/2 your body weight in oz, more if you sweat a lot & workout frequently. I use Ultima Replenisher electrolytes. If you’re low carb, you require more electrolytes. If you’re having muscle cramps & sh*tty recovery, up your electrolytes. All my product/supp info/discount codes in LINK IN IG BIO!
If you’re having trouble sleeping, peeing a lot, hungry all the time, & tired, check your macros. You may need to decrease protein & up your fat. This is why I suggest at least loosely tracking your food! I find 170-200g of protein on the top end for females. 140g protein is an avg for most active females lifting weights. Most people who are hungry all the time need more fat & calories.
Carnivore Maintenance Macros: start with a 1:1 ratio of protein:fat as a baseline then tweak as needed. Use the TDEEcalculator.net to find your calorie needs 1st. I can help you with these & is something we discuss in your tailored plan on consult calls.
If you’re losing hair, tired all the time, gut messed up, hormones wonky, craving carbs/salt, waking up at night starving, sh*tty sleep & recovery, plateaus in the gym or fat loss – you’re most likely NOT EATING ENOUGH, not sleeping enough, fasting too much, over caffeinating, & stressed to the titties…y’all just chillllll & STOP.
I categorize my meals into PRE WORKOUT, POST WORKOUT, & ANYTIME MEALS.
PRE WORKOUT I find I don’t need a pre workout meal or snack the majority of the time, especially if you’re working out: 1.) Super early in the morning like 5 or 6am or 2.) Afternoon or evening when you’re in the fed state (you’ve eaten)
Most of my fellow early birds & I prefer to workout fasted if we’re hitting up the 5 or 6am gym time. If you struggle working out fasted & don’t feel you have the energy to do this, this is when a small easily digestible snack or a protein shake are helpful. You can also choose to consume a snack or smaller meal prior to bedtime if you’re hungry. Carbs at bedtime will help decrease your cortisol level & help you sleep. So if they don’t cause issues for you mentally or physically, there’s no need to feel like you have to cut them out of your diet.
My more gut friendly, easy to digest options as far as carbs & pre workout or pre bedtime fuel (everyone will be different so go your own way, these are just suggestions not an exhaustive list): Gluten Free Rice Cakes Nuethix Formulations MediPure or Iso-perfect Protein Powder Gluten Free Rice Chex Honey White Rice Gluten Free Quick Oats (If you’re not grain, lectin or fiber sensitive) Sweet Potato (If you’re not lectin or fiber sensitive)
My carnivore & meat based folk, our meals are typically heavy & make our digestive systems work really hard to digest, which zaps our energy for digestion processes, so I don’t recommend eating a larger, heavier meat based &/or high fat based meal too close to workout time. I personally need at least 3-4 hrs after a heavier meal to feel like I even want to workout.
POST WORKOUT This is one I feel people stress way too much about. If you’re eating a sufficient sized meal sometime close to after you workout, you’re gonna be fine! Make sure you’re getting adequate protein for muscle building & recovery. This is also when I prefer to time my carbs if I choose to consume some or I feel I need carbs for optimal recovery.
Times I choose to consume my carbs (My choice is typically 2-5 plain rice cakes, just depends on hunger level & workout volume & intensity): In the evening after a harder, more intense, or higher volume workout like Crossfit or HIIT Post workout at anytime of the day my workout is a harder, more intense, or a higher volume workout like Crossfit or HIIT & I feel I need them. This is totally intuitive for me.
I find I personally don’t need or crave carbs the majority of the time, & if I’m hitting up my typical 5am or earlier morning workout I never eat carbs, I stick to meat & eggs.
ANYTIME MEALS, GENERAL MEAL TIMING, BLOOD SUGAR, & FASTING If you’re one that is not a gym or exercise goer &/or you stick to a low carb, keto, carnivore, or meat based way of eating (WOE), meal timing becomes less important, but I didn’t day not important.
Blood sugar regulation, optimal health, having a good relationship with food (mentally, physically, & emotionally), & eating to have stable energy should always be priorities.
Things I’ve used to check my blood glucose: Keto Mojo: checks both ketones & blood glucose. Has app, blue tooth, syncs with phone, got mine off Amazon. On Amazon favorites list, link in bio & highlights.
Nutrisense Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM): my top pick. Painless application, has app, syncs with phone, no pricking your finger, continuous monitoring, access to their nutritionists. Link In IG bio, Discount Code: lilbitoffitCGM10
Helpful Times to Check Blood Sugar Fasted 1st thing when you wake before any food or drink: to gain data & a biomarker of metabolic & hormonal health. This is when I weigh myself too.
2 hours after eating combo meals: to see how they interact with one another & affect your digestion & blood glucose. Quality & quantity matter. Ex: combos like carbs + protein +fat, high protein + low fat, high fat + lower protein, carbs + protein, carbs +fat, etc.
After eating singular foods: to see what spikes your blood sugar more than the other. Ex: like testing after eating carbs, diet pop, chewing gum, using sweetener, eating dairy, after a larger high protein meal, after a bolus of fat, etc.
After periods of stress: to see how your body handles stress. Ex: after a hard workout, a poor nights sleep, after a stressful life experience, etc.
BLOOD SUGAR FAQ’s What can I use to track? I’ve used a keto mojo & my top pick is a NutriSense CGM. You can get a simple glucometer from your local drugstore too. Link in IG bio to CGM info, code: lilbitoffitCGM10
What range should my blood sugarbe for optimal body fat loss? I like MINE in that 70-90/dL range fasting. Normal fasting ranges will vary but for most are in the 70-100 range. Mine tends to run higher, around 85-100 while others may be lower around 65-80. Lifestyle, genetics, & environmental factors all matter & can affect ranges.
How long should I wait after meals to check my glucose? I recommend checking prior to your meal then 1-2 hours after eating for your “peak” levels.
What diet works best for food/sugar addiction? Low carb & meat-based hands down in my opinion.
What are normal blood sugar levels? They’re less than 100 mg/dL after not eating (fasting) for at least 8 hours. And they’re less than 140 mg/dL 2 hours after eating. During the day, levels tend to be at their lowest just before meals. For most people without diabetes, blood sugar levels before meals hover around 70 to 80 mg/dL. For some people, 60 is normal; for others, 90. Again, we’re all different.
Why does it matter if my blood sugar is high, like around 120-200ish sometimes? It is very important to keep your blood sugar level under control. It affects everything really, mood, fat loss, weight gain, hunger, satiety, energy, performance, sleep, etc. When your blood sugar level is high, it can cause damage in your veins & arteries. This damage could lead to complications later such as heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease, neuropathies, vision problems, etc.
What foods spike my sugar most? What food has carbohydrates? Carbs typically spike blood sugar the most, then protein, then fat. Fruits, starchy veggies, milk, dairy, yogurt, rice, cereals, bread, grains, basically think anything sweet all have carbs. High glycemic foods affect glucose the most, ex: bread, cereal, candy, baked goods, fruit, honey, rice, crackers, cookies, rice cakes, sugar, pancakes, waffles, potatoes, corn, most processed foods.
If it is sugar free, I can eat as much as I want, right? SF foods can be part of your diet in moderation. Abstainers typically do better abstaining from any carbs, sugar, or SF substitutes. Many cause gut issues like bloating, constipation, & pain due to added fibers, fillers, gums, sugar alcohols & artificial sweeteners. Some of these foods still have carbs (in the form of other sweeteners such as sorbitol, isomalt, & mannitol) & may affect your glucose levels.
Things that may be increasing your blood sugar you’re overlooking: Coffee: Increases adrenaline, cortisol (stress hormones) & blood sugar which can cause a release from our liver glycogen even when fasting. This was one thing I tested, luckily black coffee only affected my blood sugar like 2-5 points.
Fasting too long: Again, increases body stress which increases your cortisol level which will cause liver glycogen to be released & your blood sugar to rise. Are you waking up in the middle of the night? Is your fasting AM blood sugar high (>95)? Try eating more, shorten fasting windows
Dehydration: Less blood volume=higher concentrations of glucose in the blood. Shoot for 1/2 your body weight in Oz of water daily.
Over exercising, under eating, &/or eating trigger foods: All huge stressors on the body which increase cortisol & thus blood glucose. That gut brain connection is so impactful on our body function as a whole.
Carbs: No they’re not the devil. Typically it’s our relationships with them & our habits that are. Carbs do keep us calm by serotonin & cortisol. Our tolerances vary bioindividually. Typically in a healthy individual the more active the more carbs we require & tolerate. Carbs do spike your insulin higher than protein or fats. Carbs obviously spiked my blood sugar higher than any other food even experimenting consuming 2lbs of a high-protein meal. 3 rice cakes spiked my insulin to 160. The 2lbs of beef #meatbars spiked my insulin to 130.
Artificial sweeteners & sweet beverages: If it tastes sweet typically it will cause a reaction in your body & spike your blood sugar to some degree. I’m all about moderation but don’t have the majority of your diet full of diet foods & Splenda just to save a few calories & carbs. They lack in micronutrients which your body needs to function properly. In my experience with the CGM, they did elevate my blood glucose slightly but not very much, maybe 5 to 10 points max.
Alcohol: I’m just leaving this one there, y’all this is common sense. The higher the calorie, the higher the sugar, the higher the carbs the more it is going to spike your blood glucose. The “worst” options are beer, wine, sugary cocktails like White Russians, margaritas, Mojito‘s, Long Island iced teas, etc. I know it’s heartbreaking right ?! Vodka actually dropped my blood glucose when mixed in Diet Coke. Weird but it happens every time & I notice I get cold when this happens. This was not consuming any food with my drink.
Sleep: Not only does this disrupt your satiety & hunger hormones like a leptin & Ghrelin which can cause you to crave carbs & feel like a bottomless pit, it also spikes your blood sugar, & your performance, fitness goals & recovery suffer. I found lack of sleep, & high intensity workouts especially fasting were the biggest culprits that spiked my blood sugar & made me feel like trash.
Tips that helped me with more stable blood sugar & energy: – Stick to meat & eggs & routine meal times. No snacking. – If you’re gonna eat carbs &/or a large meal, eat them post workout. – Pairing carbs with a fat &/or protein source will blunt the blood sugar & insulin spike. – Reduce stressors like over exercising, chronic under eating & dieting, eating too many carbs &/or trigger foods, over caffeinating, not getting sleep, life stress, take more rest days. – Have coffee or your caffeinated beverage AFTER you’ve eaten if you’re caffeine sensitive. The food will buffer it’s effects.
Personal preference always comes into play with meal timing in general. You can choose any number of meals you want. I find most people IN GENERAL considering all diet camps find it easiest to stick to 3 meals per day, minimal or no snacking.
My meat based people & low carbers, most of us choose anywhere from 1-3 meals per day, average being 2 meals per day & around 2lbs of meat for most. Some more sedentary people or people who prefer large meals may like one meal a day (OMAD). Pick what suits your preferences & needs. **A reminder it should align with optimal health, your goals, your schedule, & be easy for you to stick to.
Meal timing tips from my experience to help you decide what is “right” for you: – I find digestion is better & it’s easier to maintain a “leaner” physique keeping your largest meal post workout & larger meals earlier in the day – If you’re gonna eat carbs or feel like you have to have a “cheat” meal or “treat” (which I LOATHE saying btw because food should not be something earned or burned) I find digestion & nutrient utilization more efficient post workout
– If you’re reverse dieting, eating for performance, or muscle building, it’s easier to eat 3 meals per day vs trying to cram all your calories in 1 or 2 meals per day
-OMAD & fasting on occasion are totally fine & beneficial, just make sure you’re using them out of a place of love, using them with respect & not abusing them in excess.
-Fasting & OMAD work great on days you’re not as active, not as hungry, in a fat loss phase, in a “reset” whatever that means to you, or working on improving your gut healing & digestion.
-I feel everyone should be fasting at least 12 hrs overnight. No need to feel like you need to do extended fasting. If you’re fasting 12-16 hrs overnight, that’s FINE. You don’t need to fast at all if you don’t want to.
Typical Fasting Protocols
16/8, 14/10, 12/12 Protocols – Ex: Fast 16hrs/8hr eating window OMAD – One meal 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
People who shouldn’t really be fasting:
Pregnant Women Women who are nursing People who are reverse dieting People training for 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
In conclusion, no matter what diet you follow, you should know that nutrition has a significant impact in every facet of your life, it is literally what you are made of. It can especially have a significant impact on your results in the gym. What you eat before, during, & after your workouts may be the difference between achieving your goals & falling short. Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to the “right” way to eat, workout, or live. You choose what works best for you. 🙂
I hope you found this information helpful! Don’t hesitate to reach out via Instagram or email ( katieokelly2@gmail.com )
