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 while back, I was a podcast guest & panelist for fitness & leadership workshops for companies like Burn Boot Camp, Orange Theory, CrossFit, & privately owned health & wellness entrepreneurs.
One of the ideas that many resonated with as I spoke of my experiences with body image, gut issues, weight loss & evolving perspectives on life & fitness transformation in general was my “8 Forms of Wealth” ideal I embraced from Robin Sharma.
In my mind, health, wealth, happiness, & fulfillment aren’t just about making money & being skinny. They are world-class levels to embrace whenever you’re ready.
You meet, love, & accept people & the reality of your life only as deep as you meet, love, & accept yourself. You KNOW you.
It’s like If you’re wondering if someone likes you, you will not have to go to f*cking tarot card readers, investigators, & some shiz to find out. Your inner compass knows.
Inner Wealth: a positive mindset, self-respect, internal peace & strong spiritual connection, clarity around your values & targets you’d like to achieve along your journey.
Physical Wealth: Your health is your wealth. What’s the point of getting to a great place in your life or career if you get sick doing it? Don’t be the “best” coworker or businessperson in the hospital. Why be the richest person in the cemetery? Most GREAT leaders & successful peeps are in great health.
Relationship Wealth: When your social life & circle is joyful & nourishing, you will perform better at life, period. It is imperative to forge deep connections with family, friends, community, colleagues, role models & trusted advisors.
Career Wealth: Getting to greatness in your profession brings a feeling of satisfaction & fulfillment. It helps you shine & is good for your self-respect. Be so good at what you do that you leave everyone in your presence spellbound.
Economic Wealth: Yes, money is important. It’s not the most important thing in life, but it absolutely makes life easier & better. Money allows you freedom! Like to live in a nice home, take beautiful vacations & provide well for those you love. I like to say: “The more I make, the more I can give away!”
Circle of Genius: You become who/ what you spend time with, & these influences affect your health, mindset, & performance. “Lead without needing a title” & surround yourself with exceptional people—their stardust will rub off on you.
Adventure Success: To be fulfilled, each of us needs adventure, awe, & novelty in our lives! Adventure is necessary for growth. The human brain craves novelty. And we are creative beings, so we need to be creating & learning constantly if we hope to feel joy. Perfection is nowhere required here, but effort is. I f*ck up sh*t all the time too, but lots of lessons in experience (ranging from meeting new people to visiting new places) is an essential element of authentic wealth!
Impact Wealth: The deepest longing of my human heart & spirit is to live for something greater than myself. Each of us craves to be significant. To make a difference. To know that the world has somehow been better because we have been here. Leaders leave a legacy.
I invite you to focus on each of these elements. Money & being jacked or skinny alone do not define being happy, healthy, & wealthy.
Don’t go back to containers & doors with dust & cobwebs on them. Remember why dust settles.
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.
When Cardi B said, “I gave you more than I gave myself. So loyal to you that I betrayed myself.” I felt that…
Deep shiz reflections & life feels lately
I’m in such a wonderful place in life. I give gratitude every day for this privilege. This growth. I prayed for it.
How many times have you betrayed yourself because you were giving more to other people or your personal issues & limiting beliefs?
I understand how changing myself to please others or validation attracted all the wrong things that I needed to figure out all the right things. I know if I can’t be my raw, authentic, no filter, little weirdo self around someone it’s not meant for me.
Maybe it’s disordered eating
Maybe it’s that toxic relationship
Maybe it’s that job you hate
Maybe it’s drinking too much
Maybe it’s negative self talk
Maybe it’s stagnation & fear
Maybe it’s a scarcity mindset
Maybe it’s as simple as too much coffee🙋🏼♀️ (I’m trying 😆)
I’ve been in an abusive, obsessive relationship with all of these at one time or another in my 41 years.
What helped me? Journaling & getting real. Falling on my face. Failing. Spending time alone. Finally getting a place of my own that I LOVE. Stepping into my worth. Focusing on being the person that I would like to be with.
Knowing I don’t have to be in a relationship to be happy or more worthy. But knowing I’d really like to find a special someone to live life with that looks at me the same way I look at them.
Look for beautiful people & places that quiet your soul. Not just beautiful people & places.
I love my family & small circle.
We may not like or see each other every day but I’m grateful to know that I have a forever home to go to whenever I want & that’s wherever my people are. It’s wherever I am.
When we show up fully & completely as ourselves, content with where we’re at, being fully present & conscious in the moment, listening attentively, showing love & respect, practicing gratitude — we attract more love, positivity, & abundance into our lives & expand those feelings to others.
It took me a long time to learn that what society deems as “beautiful” people & places are common.
Hell, nowadays all you need is a good filter & just the right angle. You can’t build anything with beauty alone.
I prefer the REAL good stuff. The stuff that stings a lil bit. The ones with scars that tell a story. The places with history & character.
I had a client tell me she just wanted to be told she was beautiful. I teared up, I understood exactly how she felt.
I explained to her the difference between a beautiful person & person who was simply beautiful.
Yeah, it’s nice to be told you’re beautiful or hot or whatever, but I’d much rather hear someone say that I made things easier.
That they’re happy because I exist.
That I’m strong, & smart, & able.
That their life is better with me in it.
That they’re proud of me.
That they value what I bring to the table.
Be a person who is complimented on more than just appearance.
Life reflections lately…2 years ago today I was at a bar crawl with this beautiful soul. Thank you Facebook memories 😆
I have a small circle of high value people & I prefer it that way. When I was younger, I thought if everyone didn’t like me &/or I didn’t have a huge friend circle that I must not be cool or hot enough to spend time with.
In my 20’s, I lied to myself with a plethora of “good” reasons to drink, & I thought that everyone would drink if they were dealing with problems like mine…
I drank because I was depressed & hated my body
I drank to cope with the trauma of Crohn’s disease, obesity, orthorexia, body dysmorphia, & bulimia
I drank because my marriage was misaligned
I drank because it made me feel confident & vibrant (numbing social anxiety & insecurity)
I drank because I felt life was “really hard” when I didn’t
Navigating the world in a marginalized body can be hard. Add trauma &/or mental sabotaging to that, & it makes sense that some of us might use substances to cope with the weight of living in a fog of scarcity & lies
A coping mechanism doesn’t have to be healthy to be valid; we’re all just doing the best we can with the tools & level of consciousness that we have.
I Had Lots of Reasons to Think I Didn’t Have a Problem
Despite the fact that I had been admitted to the hospital one time with a BAC of .346 & on a vent, a year later after that incident I started drinking again.
I had lots of reasons I told myself I wasn’t an alcoholic:
I didn’t drink every day or much on many occasions
I didn’t drink in the morning (unless I’d been up all night & was still drinking. That didn’t count)
I’d never had a DUI (but should have)
I didn’t drink alone. Even if I went to the bar alone, there were always people there, so that wasn’t technically “alone”
And then one day, I was fed up with giving something power over the magic of my life.
And someone said to me, “It’s not about how much you drink; it’s about what happens when you drink & how you feel when you don’t.”
Ooof.
With that one sentence, everything fell into place for me. I started to connect the dots about my behavior & it was like warm sunshine came thru my windows of life.
1. I Often Drank More Than I Planned
I often went out with the intention of having “a cocktail. No more than 2.” No matter what I told myself at the beginning of the night, it hard to just have a couple of drinks. I got a better handle of it in my late 30’s but would still wake up & feel less than even if I had 1.
2. My Drinking Interfered with My Life
Waking up hungover affected my work, productivity, energy, workouts, Crohn’s disease, weight gain, energy, mood, hunger, satiety, money, relationships — EVERYTHING.
3. I Routinely Did Things When I Was Under the Influence That I Wouldn’t Have Done Sober
I used to be the queen of drunk texting. I’d wake up & delete all my text messages before I couldn’t even read them because I didn’t even want to know. I slept around. In the morning, I never wanted to hear about what I’d done the night before. “Just don’t. tell. me!”
4. I Was Drinking to Fix How I Felt When I Was Sober
Drinking may have caused a lot of problems for me, but the real problem was how I felt when I was sober. When I was drunk, I was relaxed & confident. I wasn’t so insecure about my body. I was outgoing, I could talk to people, & I could go places without my empathy & clairsentience going into overdrive, especially in large crowds.
5. Drinking Controlled Where I Went, What I Did, & With Whom I Hung Out
I was way more likely to attend a function if I knew there would be booze. I could be friends with anyone as long as there was alcohol involved. I avoided hanging out with people who didn’t drink like me because they made me feel guilty. I’d take shots before going out to social functions to “chill out.”
6. I Kept Promising That I Would Stop, But Never Could
I tried to stop (or cut back) drinking many times in my 20’s & 30’s. My 40s haven’t been bad, but I still enjoyed drinking less & less the more I realized how it affected me & my spiritual awakening strengthened. Remember swearing off drinking many weekends?
I’m not writing this to say you’re wrong if you drink. And I would be lying if I said, I didn’t enjoy drinking. I love enjoying cocktails & enhancing experiences. But I had to come to terms & ask myself if I was really enhancing experiences when it did nothing to make me feel better or improve my life?
If you’re reading this & thinking, “Wow, this sounds a lot like me,” then hi! 👋 I’m so glad you’re here! Thank you for reading a chapter out of my diary of life!
Knowing that other people thought & acted like me was a huge step towards getting well. It meant that I wasn’t abnormal, I wasn’t broken, & there was a solution.
As a first step, I encourage you to do some reading. Read other stories & blogs written by people embracing sobriety & the sober curious life.
There are many wonderful venues out there now with alcohol free options, & mocktails, too. You’ll come to realize there are an abundance of life things to enjoy that do not have to include alcohol.
If you’ve read this far & relate to what’s written here, I want you to know that you are an incredible human!
Recognizing that you want to make a change is the beginning of a lifelong journey that can be incredibly difficult, but it’s one that you never have to take alone.
If no one has told you how strong you are yet today, let me be the first❤️🫶
Oxox Coach K
My name is Katie Kelly. I’m a multi modal travel clinician 🩺💀, nutritionist, high performance coach, & biz consultant specializing in human connection & process optimization with over 20 years experience. On social I’m better known as Coach K & I’m just like you!
More importantly, I want you to believe in yourself, your health, your business, your voice, & your ability to live your best life!
I’m known as the sweary, Indiana farmer’s daughter who went from a sick (Crohn’s Disease & bulimia), overweight (lost 60lbs via the carnivore diet & CrossFit), broke bish (was 50k+ in debt) to a thriving, self loving human here to inspire, educate, & mentor!
Welcome to my digital diary & wellness guide full of life lessons learned the hard way🫶
I post content about life/biz/self improvement anywhere from fat loss, therapy, disordered eating, Crohn’s, self love, entrepreneurship, healthcare, food, fitness, finance, & everything in between to a social media audience of 47K+!
Thank you for allowing me to add value to your lives! Grateful to have you part of my digital family ❤️
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!
Journaled my feelings & thoughts this morning around energy, intentions, & alignment.
Big Dolly Parton energy ✨
I realize I’m constantly shedding skin into new versions of myself. Like peeling layers off an onion. I reflected back even 2 years ago & wow such a transformation inside & out!
I share this in hopes of being relatable to y’all wherever you are right now too. We’re all humans living this experience.
I reminded myself this morning I deserve people & companies & connections who are SURE. SURE in themselves and SURE about me. Because I SURE as heck is sure about me 🙂
This year, one of my big intentions is calling in aligned partnership & connections. I’m open to receive whatever is meant for me & my highest alignment without judgement or questioning.
Yeah, it’s painful & uncomfortable af for someone who loves control 👋 😂
Another change is the way I view time. I had to let go of my old “routines” & simply organize & schedule my daily activities & energy management to cycles that serve me best.
So I decided to stop looking at time like the norm & view it in cycles authentic to me. Maybe you can relate to this too?! ⏰
February is the month of love. I hope you manifest & receive whatever love (for yourself, others, & your life) is meant for you🙏💕
I was asked before if I had a “best friend.”
So I thought, well, I guess I don’t really use labels like that at 41 🤔
As I’ve aged it doesn’t “fit” in my life anymore.
I view people in terms of frequency & the qualities they bring out in me – you see, they’re all different.
I don’t judge people based upon race, sex, sexual preference, religion, politics, size, shape, whatever da fugg you wanna put here.
I ask myself:
Do you make me want to be a better person?
Do you bring me joy?
Are you kind & energy giving?
High vibe?
Do you embody a human & life I align with?
Yes?
Cool. We can hang out.
I have friends that hold keys to all different doors of my personality. I have close friends I’ve never even met in real life thanks to social media. I am incredibly grateful to have all of you in my life!
Some keys open my mind. Some my heart. Some my entrepreneur. Some my introvert or extrovert. Some my feminine side. Some my masculine. Some laughter. Some adventure.
Some Saint.
Some Sinner.
Some my rawest, deepest, ugliest, & most beautiful parts too.
Some I haven’t seen in decades or years, past lovers, acquaintances, friends, family, yet they’ve been a part of the most pivotal moments in my life.
They all take a piece of my heart that I plant in my garden of life. Some only grow & bloom for a season, or moment, or a lifetime.
It’s OK if a past friend, family member, spouse, or partner don’t hold all the keys to your billion dollar home or nourish every part of your field of life.
Some of the most beautiful weeds are the most beautiful flowers, some of the most magnificent creatures are the most unruly.
Throw away the labels, definitions, boxes, chains, & cages – let love grow wild. 🥀🌱🌹
Be fearless. Let your guard down. Always put your oxygen mask on first. Stand by your boundaries.
Love fiercely (especially yourself) because this all ends.
I had a teacher tell me in middle school I was “too big to be a cheerleader.”
I was CRUSHED.
➤ That meant I was different.
➤ I was less than.
➤ I didn’t. Fit. In.
(I’m 60lbs lighter than I used to be for people new here. I spent the majority of my life sick, over weight, & broke af. You can find my weight loss/healing story in the link in my IG bio)link here
In the absence of love & belonging there is suffering. -Brené Brown
I still feel alone (not lonely – big difference).
I truly am a dominant introvert. Being around a lot of people is really hard & energetically draining.
I won’t, however, sacrifice my loves like live music, travel, & exploring because of it tho. I’ve taught myself to be a selective extrovert.
If I wanna go do something – I do it.
Here’s been the game changer for me: I belong to ME.
I spend a lot of time belonging to myself &, frankly, that makes a portion of other people feel uncomfortable🤷♀️
Even when I feel alone or “don’t fit in” I know I belong to ME. For the first time in my life at 41, I feel fully embodied in the unique, sparkly, sweet & spicy essence of MY “being.”
You see the opposite of belonging 👉is fitting in. Belonging doesn’t ask for us to change ourselves it asks us to BE ourselves.
The more you love yourself & give yourself what you need, the less you’ll demand & need from others.
♡ I challenge you to ask yourself the question, “Who am I?”
How would you answer that?
To give you examples, today, as the 41 year old model, I’d describe myself as follows…
∞ Storyteller & Experience collector
∞ Life & people lover
∞ Creator & entrepreneur
∞ Messenger & mentor
∞ Psychic Intuitive & Healer
∞ Forever student & athlete of life
∞ Your safe space & biggest adventure
I don’t like to be “defined” by labels, nor do my values reside there. I value freedom/time/health/& energy more than anything.
I used to live for labels like being defined by things like being a CrossFit athlete, a former Marine wife, an X-ray tech, yada yada, etc
I am an athlete of LIFE!
And guess what? So are for you!
Enjoy flexibility & the ability to shed & create whatever shade/character you want every day.
As a travel RT & clinician, I’ve learned to make HOME in MYSELF. That’s how I’ve found happiness, joy, & peace embracing this lifestyle.
♛I belong everywhere I go as long as I don’t betray myself.
If I’m worried about:
if other people like or accept me
or the need create for likes or follows instead of what my heart wants
& I feel the need to change for those reasons…
THAT is the moment I’ve betrayed myself.
“Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves, even when we risk disappointing others.” -Brené Brown
My name is Katie Kelly. I’m a multi-modal travel clinician 🩺💀, nutritionist, high performance coach & biz consultant specializing in human connection & process optimization with over 20 years experience. On social I’m better known as Coach K & I’m just like you!
More importantly, I want you to believe in yourself, your health, your business, your voice, & your ability to live your best life! I believe in vibrational living in life, fitness, health, relationships, & business. Intuition is one of our greatest gifts! I’m here to help you discover & follow yours to a more abundant, joyful life!
I’m known as the sweary, Indiana farmer’s daughter who went from a sick (Crohn’s Disease & bulimia), overweight (lost 60lbs via the carnivore diet, CrossFit & Orange Theory), broke bish (was 50k+ in debt) to a thriving, self loving human here to inspire, educate, & mentor!
Welcome to my digital diary & wellness blogs full of life lessons learned the hard way🫶
I post content about life/biz/self improvement anywhere from fat loss, therapy, disordered eating, Crohn’s, self love, entrepreneurship, healthcare, food, fitness, finance, & everything in between to a social media audience of 47K+!
Thank you for allowing me to add value to your lives! Grateful to have you part of my digital family ❤️
You can simply book a call via email: katieokelly2@gmail.com
I had a patient tell me I had really BIGblingy earrings in the ER one day💎✨😂…
I find in general people are afraid to step outside the norm.
Y’all, the more we embrace the concept of being colorful & XTRA, the more we will normalize people feeling comfortable in their own skin.
When my patient commented on my appearance in the ER, I was so freaking proud of myself in that moment because instead of being triggered, I thought f*ck yeah, I’m doing my life right.
I feel amazing, regal, beautiful, luxurious, abundant & I’m not afraid to show up. I no longer live life trying to shrink myself. (Note most of my jewelry is affordable & from Amazon. These particular earrings were Kate Spade AB crystals. LOVE. OBSESSED.)
There are threads that connect our past, present & future selves together. 🧵🪡🧶They’re unique to us. No thread is identical.
Btw… my patient smiled, I looked at her with loving eyes, & I said, “Hell yeah, I love my big earrings 👉just like life. Little person, big personality. That’s how my mom describes me.”
I experience JOY crafting & creating my character of the day. That’s me creating my heaven + my reality. You can create yours too! That’s the magic of thoughts become things. 🪄🦄
💫I manifest the feeling of my reality via my writing, my words, my wardrobe, my accessories, the way I take care of myself, the way I present myself. 👉It all comes from me. We co-create life. Utilize your resources & inner beauty.
I truly do enjoy the “ #travelnurse “ life. (I’m a travel Xray tech & clinician for newbies here) The decision to partake in this unique lifestyle didn’t come lightly, however. I did it scared shitless & had self doubt, too.
What if I suck?
What if I’m homesick?
What if people don’t like me?
What if I hate my assignment?
What will people think of me?
What if, what if, what if…
I’m elated embarking on this journey. It’s exciting, enlightening, challenging, adventurous, fulfilling, pleasurable & painful af too.
You become a more resilient, able, adaptable, loving, insightful, resourceful, badass & bombdiggitty human in my opinion.
Dudes, we rock 🤘🫶💀💕🚑🏥 Travel healthcare workers UNITE!
I realized in a rock-bottom point in my life years ago that I was stuck in a stagnant, hyper vigilant state. I was addicted to the complacent, “busy life” instead of one of inner peace & fulfillment.
GSD (get shit done) is a dopamine hit with pros & cons on both ends of the spectrum.
On one hand, it made/makes me super successful, productive, & proud, but on the other hand, also burned out, tired, cranky, oftentimes sick. It can feel on occasion I’m stuck in a phase called “chasing the next best thing,” missing out on the sweetness of life. I forget to be present.
I’m clearly aware of it. Back then I simply didn’t know how to change it or how to evolve into a better version of me. Some things that helped me understand myself & other people to get what I wanted 👇
I’ve lost 60lbs in my life’s time and kept it off. I documented my healing, weight loss, & carnivore journey HERE just for you in case you’re struggling like I did.
My complacency with life was a protective mechanism. I armed myself with “safe” decisions & stagnancy because of past trauma:
being a people pleaser
always feeling like I had to achieve to receive love
feeling I had to look a certain way or weigh a certain weight to be seen as beautiful & worthy of love
wanting to change myself to be accepted & validated…I could go on & on here.
Ego got me into debt because I would buy shit just to look the part instead of because it made me feel amazing or enabled me to express my creative authenticity.
It’s taken over 40 years for me to acknowledge & accept the following things that are seen as weird & non-traditional to society.
I’m exuberatingly proud to say that I am OK living an extremely satisfied, loving life being self partnered & non traditional.
Self partnered to me is living life on my own terms to feel, look, & be my best…AND THAT MEANS designing a life optimized to help me live my most peaceful, happy, easy, joyous, abundant, loved filled, & purpose driven life possible.
I don’t give a shit that my light shines differently. And you have permission to shine bright yourself, as bright as you want, however you want! ✨🪩✨
Huge observational revelations I scripted one morning trying to make sense of myself & life. They’re a tad bit triggering but honest af. Maybe you’ll relate to them too!
🧠I sleep in cycles & when I’m tired, I don’t pay attention to the time or whether it’s deemed morning or night. Chock that up to probably working weird 3rd and first shift cycles. I am always responsible/respectful of my work schedule. I feel my best when I honor my natural sleep/wake cycles. I sleep really well 😆 in the back of my Ford Ecosport (named Ruby btw 🚗) where I’ve made a little bed. I had to take naps on my lunch breaks to conserve energy on many travel assignments and road trips. I travel often & this has been a Godsend in keeping my energy/health as a priority.
🧠 I am a biohacker 🤷♀️ To answer y’all’s questions about my anti-aging & biohacking routine, I wrote a blog HERE for you.
🧠Music is my life force just like food. So is my wardrobe, colors, & the vibe of my environment. They immensely influence my mood & energy. I’ve learned how to change & utilize these to my benefit. I have playlists & colors that I’ll wear & listen to to reflect the mood I’m in or vibe/state I need to be in. Playlists I enjoy are my Denim & Rhinestones list, coffee house jazz, classical pop, nature sounds, country, red dirt music, caffeine & kilos playlist, etc. morgan wallen, post Malone, & Warren zeiders always 🙂 A HUGE VARIETY! 🎶 Spotify playlist HERE
🧠I feel my best when I’m caffeinated. Haha! I do enjoy coffee & occasional alcohol in moderation. I don’t drink alcohol much tho. If I’m going to partake in alcohol or a cocktail, it’s to enhance an experience like a special occasion or my favorite venue. I don’t drink to get drunk anymore. Not worth it, dims my light & numbs my abilities. I’d rather go to bed early & get up early. If I’m going to partake in alcohol, it’s usually early in the day, socially.
🧠I eat when I’m hungry & eat what I’m hungry for. I do whatever form of exercise/workouts feel good to me in that moment. Here lately it’s Orange Theory, zone 2 cardio, walking, occasional CrossFit & strength training. I look & feel my best when I honor my body without force. I do better digestively & energy wise eating one large low carb, MEATY meal early in the day & sipping on my daily chocolate nutritional shake from @acheiveequilife or @nuethix_formulations Medipure DS during daylight hours. (LINK to discounts & products IN IG BIO & HIGHLIGHTS btw)
OR one larger meal in the morning post workout & a small snack around 1pm-ish.
Meat bars and my airfryer are my jam. You can find recipes and videos in this blog HERE.
Post workout breakfast. 1.25 lbs of *0% ground beef #meatbars Airfry. 380. 12 minutes. Did not consume the fat in the bottom of the airfyer to make it leaner.
I have a whole recipe book full of low carb deliciousness! 👇👇
I prefer eating alone or intimately with few people vs eating out. My energy is best with liquid meals (I am more satiated with real food however, that’s why I keep one large meal in the morning) I do fab fasting longer hours overnight (like 20 hrs) That’s when my digestion is the best.
🧠I prefer being a lone wolf. I am social, but do it in doses on my own terms.
I have very few people I am comfortable sharing my space with (traveling, sleeping over, adventuring, etc): my parents, + my 2 besties @lisamitchellindy & @just___jess___
They are my persons & make my life FULL❤️ no matter how little or how much we talk, or are/aren’t physically around one another, I know they are always there & we pick up where we left off. People that feel like Freedom & Home. Thank you for being my biggest adventures + safe spaces.
🧠I define & base my relationships on how they make me feel. Traditional relationships, the married then kids then picket fence things, feel like masks & facades people put on to appease society. They simply don’t feel aligned. It’s not that I haven’t tried being the bride with the white picket fence in the past, &/or I’m not open to love, I’m just open to love & relationships on my own terms that serve me best. And why is it that the majority still feels they HAVE to have kids?
I understand this is “weird” for most people. Let me explain what is aligned to me…
💕I typically don’t stay over at peoples houses. I feel more comfortable in my own home around my own energy.
💕I enjoy driving myself, Uber, & travel solo.
💕I enjoy & sleep better alone.
💕I like going to bed early + getting up early. My mornings are everything to me & set the tone for my entire day.
💕I am energetic in the morning & more productive. I don’t lay around in bed when I first wake & I’m not one to lay & cuddle for hours. (I like cuddling & I love physical affection, but I don’t want it first thing in the morning I have things to do 😂 Same with Sex…I LOVE passionate sex, but would rather have it spontaneously throughout the day or in the middle of the night. I don’t like it first thing in the morning because ya girl dedicated to her routine)
💕I love people & being in an aligned relationship. I’ve realized I am frankly super happy & satisfied doing my own thing on my own time and I would hope that other person would feel the same. Then when the time is right, we come together later when our energies & attention are aligned to be a freakin POWER COUPLE.
🧠I love being by myself🤷♀️ Took me decades to get here. One thing I’m SUPER proud of myself for cultivating. It’s effortless. I am my own best friend, in my own energy. I openly love myself a ridiculous amount👉 I’m not afraid to admit that. It’s taken me over 40 years to love the essence of my being & my body & being able to just BE me.
🧠I don’t feel the need to be a wife. I look forward to a life partner that agrees with my lifestyle, my ambition, my goals, my personal boundaries, & similar beliefs. I prefer someone that compliments me in their own unique way. I prefer diversity, someone not exactly like me. I like the wisdoms that comes with challenge & variety. I like someone that wants to build something together, I like someone that is OK with me striving to always be my best.
🧠I desire someone that doesn’t want to change me. I am able to evolve & compromise but the moment you tell me what to do when I don’t want to do it & it doesn’t feel aligned, you’re trying to change me. The relationship will not work. I say this with love because I want you to be your best too. (I’m speaking to whomever my life partner is here.)
➡️➡️I call this kind of writing/journaling scripting. Simply get your thoughts out. I suggest trying it to everyone out there! Visualize/journal your thoughts & what you desire! That’s why I write all of these down in the morning on my notes page in my phone. It has helped me make sense of my life, myself, make better business decisions, relationship decisions, health, & body decisions, money decisions, etc.
🧠I am an impulse shopper. I’m an emotional being & I buy shit on a whim. 😂 I’m aware of this. I don’t shame myself for it. It just is what it is. If I buy something when I’m being emotional & I don’t love it, I require myself to take it back. It’s a self love boundary. Because money is freedom and I want to utilize it in the best way possible. I’ve made investing & saving a game that is SEXY & FUN TO ME! That’s how I’ve been able to create wealth, including getting myself out of 50k+ in debt! If finances & wanting to be a high performance achiever are things you struggle & want to improve, book a consult call with me. I’ll coach you how to do this specifically for your situation. I’m not just a “ nutrition coach “ 😉. Email me, katieokelly2@gmail.com
🧠I love to save time & make my life effortless. I love Amazon➡️easy returns, effortless shipping. I love Instacart. They save me time going to the store & having to be around other people when my energy is low.
🧠I don’t shop in stores often because I buy shit I don’t need 😆another reason I like Amazon. I tend to only get what I’m inspired to buy. I love goodwill and thrift stores. Sometimes I just want to dress in a different style or a different color for a day or a week. I don’t need to buy designer I just buy what I feel good in. It can be a dollar or it can be $500
🧠I invest in what I feel is worthy of my well earned and deserved money. I tell myself I’m gifting the universe when I invest in other peoples crafts and skills or wardrobe. I don’t care my hair extensions and lash extensions are expensive 💁🏼♀️they make me feel amazing! The same with my lip injections. I love the way I look & I don’t care that other people criticize me for investing in this form of self-care.
🧠I love an effortless, energy giving life. I like auto brew on my coffee maker, I organize my space in a way that makes sense to me. I purge and clean old energy & stuff constantly. I update my wardrobe all the time with the seasons, with my seasons. If something frustrates me, I get rid of it, I change it, I cut it out of my life, I optimize it, or I delegate it in someway. I am here to love every bit of my life and I have the power to change whatever I want.
🧠I know I don’t have to do everything myself. I can utilize my resources. I am worthy and deserving just being me, I deserve being paid for just being me, in whatever form that means, I don’t have to perform or achieve or look a certain way to be incredible.
I record these reclamations/thoughts/acknowledgments simply for observation & self nourishment reasons with so much self-love, not ego.
And now I can go out & serve everyone to my best ability because I know my blueprint.
Oxox Coach K
Love you. Mean it.
Who’s Coach K? Wrote this for you, my fellow warriors working to be the best versions of yourselves!
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.
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**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.
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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!
Today’s theme for self/life improvement/optimization: UPLEVEL & UPCYCLE
⭐️Uplevel: Having greater capabilities. To transform & grow in an area previously stagnant. To make progress or improve in a specific skill or area of one’s life.
⭐️Upcycle: form of recycling where instead of turning waste into new materials, you can take a product that you would otherwise throw away & give it a new use in life.
Being frugal & living as a minimalist aren’t about restriction &/or living a life less than…it’s about freedom & living MORE with LESS.
Moi
Photo dump of my morning loves & the simple things!
Found this dropped on my floor. Somehow it was attached to my clothes. Happy angel blessings & reminders. Mom left this before I left for my new travel xray job in Omaha, Nebraska.
Spending is massively influenced by advertising & marketing. Don’t fall to consumerism. I did in my 20s & 30s, resulting in $50,000 of debt which I payed off 3 years ago👉an achievement I’ve most proud of to have overcome & continually evolve to improve.
Learning about health & money haven’t been easy or natural for me either. I simply do the best I can every single day to live my best life as my best self, physically, mentally, spiritually, & financially.
It’s not about perfection or feeling guilty every time your spend money, it’s about investing in what is important to you & detoxing the clutter. That’s it. You determine your rules.
I sat down & wrote out how I wanted to feel in life. Where was my resistance? Fear? Frustrations? Most orbited around having too much clutter. Having too many unnecessary decisions. Saying yes, when I should say no.
Freedom, ease, & joy. Bingo 🎯
Enjoy all these tips, tricks, & #lifehacks I’ve learned about #lifeoptimization & #minimalism . Lots of brain vomit here, but I promise they’re worth their weight in gold + time reading.
I’ll continue to add to & improve these✨
One of my favorite go to books! Lifts your vibe & improves your perspective about money! I listen to it on Audible!
Blueprint on how I optimize a simple, more peaceful, successful, & abundant af life!
Lessons learned the hard way. Anyone else belong to this club? 💁🏼♀️work smarter, creating more flow.
** These are recorded for me & from pages of my story book. They’re things I’ve learned. These are from my perspective & my experiences. I am in no way telling you exactly what’s gonna work for you, but these have worked for me. Enjoy. Take what you need, leave what you don’t **
➡️ @instacart & @amazon prime delivery. Saves time, money, stress, & energy. Allows you to get other sh*t done during your day without having to run errands. prevents impulse shopping.
**I noticed if I shopped in store i bought tons of crap I didn’t need. I’m an emotional buyer. I reduce this as much as possible. All comes down to self awareness. I ask myself before I make a purchase if it will make me feel amazing in my soul & is NOT AN EGO OR NUMBING BUY. (Like making me feel “better” like a dopamine hit. These are short term & usually don’t last & make you happy long term.) if I don’t love & use something consistently I have to take it back, another reason I like Amazon, easy returns. If I buy something I also have to get rid of something. Reduced clutter & attachment to things.
➡️ Workout 1st thing in the morning & get sunlight. Get up early & have an easily adaptable success routine nailed down. Works wherever you go. Walk after meals, set an alarm every 20-30 minutes to get up & walk around at work, take stairs, park further in parking lots, take the stairs, walk hallways. Easy changes to get more movement.
➡️Bought a cheap treadmill off Amazon & simple set of dumbbells (15, 10, 5, 3 lbs weights) I workout at home with to save on excess gym memberships & keep fitness at the forefront. You can google & YouTube free workout ideas. Luckily, the treadmill fits in the back of my car, as well as the dumbbells, and I take these with me on travel assignments, which eases my mind not finding a convenient gym.
➡️ Get easy tasks & must do‘s done 1st. Work 1st, play later. Creates energy of achievement & peace vs anxiety & procrastination.
➡️ I have multiple income streams (both active & passive) & do travel healthcare (I understand this isn’t for everyone or does everyone have the lifestyle to allow it). Transparently, I make 3x as much working less as a travel healthcare worker vs a staff healthcare worker. I also get insurance & benefits through my company.
**I view ME as a business. I know I am my product. I have coaching & Xray as active income sources, meaning I trade my time for money. My passive income comes from e-books, courses, & partnering with other aligned people/businesses for the greater good. Social media is also viewed as a business. I use it wisely + with intention.
**I do my research on travel Xray contracts that I take, I’m smart about cost of living, location, & expenses. I don’t take time off much, I don’t go out excessively & I save as much love-earned money as I can to invest where I please& pay off any debt that I have. This gives me peace of mind, freedom, happiness, and everything I’ve ever wanted. I also feel free and easy vsdown the road I go. It’s help me live simple and actually with Wess. It’s made me a more well rounded person as well as healthcare, professional, and has allowed me to travel while making really good money!
➡️ I use clear storage bins & containers to help organize closets, shelves, cabinets, pantry’s & drawers when I plant roots somewhere longer term & aren’t traveling. Creates peace of mind & order.
➡️I purge & clean every week unnecessary items & any items attached to old energy no longer serving me. I take old clothes to stores like Plato’s Closet or Clothes Mentor. They give you money for old clothes to resale. Learn to live unattached to things. They weigh you down. This also means social media & media on your phone. I clean my car completely out once a month.
➡️ Organize shelves, cabinets, drawers, pantry’s, & closets by color. It creates a beautiful aesthetic look & you know exactly where to find things. this make me so happy 😀 which helps user more abundance into my life because I feel good. Manifesting what you desire is all about feeling. Feel good juju, get good juju.
➡️ Clean 1 area of my home every day. No dirty dishes in the sink. Declutter. Simplicity & detachment are bliss.
➡️ Get movement & steps in while your food cooks. Sometimes I do a mini workout with bodyweight or dumbbells while my meat Airfry‘s or meal is cooking.
➡️ If you’re 1 that travels often, have pre-packed bags with essentials ready to grab & go. I have an overnight bag with me at all times, I keep it in my car & closet. I also invested in an Anytime fitness membership because wherever I travel, I always have a gym for low cost.
➡️ I lay clothes out for the next day, brush my teeth in the shower, set my coffee on auto brew. It speeds up the process. I bring my own coffee & maker when I travel. Saves money & energy. I also utilize hotels free breakfasts/coffee/& amenities to save money. Research hotel beforehand. Book this with the amenities you need like free breakfast & fitness center.
➡️ I delegate things I don’t like to do or hire it done. saves energy & frustration in the long run which again, make me happy & user more good energy & wealth into my life.
**I have people drop me off when i don’t wanna drive or get an Uber or Lyft. I get to meet new people & have a more peaceful life not living in stress when I don’t wanna do something. I also feel good paying someone for their services & allowing them to have abundance in their life too. I call it gifting the universe. I find if I drive or do something I don’t wanna do, negative shiz like getting a ticket or having to pay for parking or car trouble is more likely to happen therefore costing me more in terms of money, time & energy.
➡️ Have ready to go or go to meals or snacks. I keep a freezer full of sale & budget buy meat (like steak or rib sales & ground meat. They’re cheaper). Go to snacks are deli meat, @applegate brand sausages, string cheese, & packets of tuna just in case I don’t have time to go to the store. I grab rotisserie chickens at the store & keep pork rinds in my car to carnivore on the go. Most hotels also have free breakfast with eggs/sausage/bacon. Also travel with an air fryer & grab my meats when I get to a destination.
**Cheapest low carb, carnivore foods I love: eggs, chicken drumsticks, stew meat, & fattier ground meats. Chicken/Turkey/pork is cheaper than beef/bison/lamb/seafood
➡️ I save & fill up my water bottles in natural springs or filtered water fountains at the gym. Reduces trash, helps with detox, & saves a TON on money on a budget.
➡️ I do my own nails. I order press on nails + glue from Amazon. I also do my own toenails. Have days I wear no make up & only wash my hair once a week. Saves time & money.
➡️ I don’t use much makeup. Again, simple is best & less is more. Reduces toxic products, your hormones and body will thank you. I use tallow lotion on my face & natural lotions, beauty products, deodorant, shampoo etc. as much as I can. Shop sales, places I have coupons or discounts for cleaning, beauty products & groceries. Love Aldi, amazon, TJ Maxx, thrift stores, goodwill, garage sales. Just do the best you can.
➡️ Pay your bills on time! I have credit cards that are cash back, I use these for purchases, shop sales, & then pay them directly off vs use my debit card. I also keep cash on hand, this will help reduce charging things. Set a loving boundary to only buy what your cash will purchase.
➡️ Shop at second hand stores like thrift stores, goodwill, & the Salvation Army. Most of my favorite clothes have come from thrift stores! I also love to buy kids clothes & shoes, one benefit of being a petite person 😂 saves a ton of money! Some of my favorite budget buy stores are Walmart, Marshall’s, tj maxx, old navy, kohl’s, meijer, & shoe carnival.
➡️ I don’t go out excessively. A benefit of being an introvert, I save a ton of money not going out. I also don’t drink alcohol or fancy coffee drinks much. I go out like once every couple weeks & set a 1- no more than 2 drink limit.
➡️ If you get a large sum of money, like a promotion or inheritance, or a happy surprise, put that towards your debt or something you really really want/need like a vacation or hair extensions or whatever the hell you want here.
➡️Set YOUR nonnegotiables & services/products you LOVE. Mine are my hair extensions & lash extensions. They help me feel incredible and save me money on make up, time, and energy. That is worth it to me. Don’t spend it all frivolously. Remember, love and respect your money. Give it a good/quality purpose.
➡️ Close any “leaky faucets” like services/subscriptions/memberships/products I don’t need or use. Motto: saving & investing are sexy. Travel & experiences are wealth, don’t be afraid to invest on self care & things that bring you expansion, joy, freedom, fulfillment, & help you vibrate at your highest. This helps me attract fulfillment in the ways I need.
➡️ Be open to accept income from endless opportunities available. Create opportunities to welcome income for your unique abilities & gifts. Do shit you love & get paid for it. Mindset is everything. I Repeat, “Whatever I spend comes back to me x10!” And I treat $1 like 1 million. Money has ears, loves love, & loves purpose👉give it purpose.
✨Remember, your energy allows you to attract what you want, but your aligned action allows you to claim what you want. You still have to act. Simply wishing & creating a vision board won’t magically make it happen.
✨Outer order, inner calm. An organized clean environment welcomes & attracts more abundance. Think less & simple, not more & complicated.
✨The most successful people are organized, honest, frugal, invest wisely, service driven, prioritize health & education, & communicate effectively. Above all they KNOW THEMSELVES & are KIND TO EVERYONE no matter who they are. They know people remember how you made them feel. And how you make them feel ultimately determines how you’re remembered & treated. Remember that thing called the Golden Rule? It’s like the Universal Laws & Karma. They aren’t bullsh*t.
✨I vow to spend my time working on improving my health, environment, attracting wealth, educating myself & others, & embracing different ways to utilize my gifts to better other peoples lives. I live by a personal creed & set of values I’ve written down. You should do this too.
Now go get sh*t done ✅
Oxox
Coach K
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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, branding consultant & 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!
