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!
5 years ago, on a Saturday morning, I wrote a journal entry about my ongoing struggle with binge eating. I detailed my longstanding struggle with my seemingly endless appetite & f*cked up addiction to stuffing huge amounts of food in my face. I was struggling with gut flares & drowning in a black cloud of self loathing & frustration.
I had no “cures” as of yet, but I was now out of the closet & getting REAL with living in the haunted house of this behavior.
Since writing that entry, I created a community here simply sharing my life in hopes of helping others living a similar nightmare. I’ve received dozens of messages from readers asking about my journey of recovery from disordered eating, poor body image, food addiction, orthorexia, & Crohn’s disease.
Living 3 decades of 50 shades of f*cked up, I’ve learned so much about these demons that used to haunt me. I used to feel lost & powerless when it came to what I saw as my most shameful behaviors, but I’ve since found the keys to recovery, unlocked my own cage, & strutted my way out.
Today after going “carnivore” with my diet & changing my perspective on health & fitness, I never binge,& am healthier than I’ve ever been at 40 years old. I want the same for you.
I’m 3+ years carnivore and thriving!
How did I crack the code?
Well, first, I stopped looking outside of myself for solutions, in online articles & advice from friends, doctors, & the latest fads. Instead, I decided to compassionately look inward & get curious.
I started observing myself to understand why I was engaging in this behavior. I found that without exception, I binged in response to 3 different situations that left me hungry physically & mentally:
When I’ve been “restricting” & trying to eat like everyone else instead of for ME When I’m avoiding an emotion &/or lacking purpose When I’m neglecting my own pleasure & needs
By addressing these 3 triggers, I’ve been able to completely eliminate binge eating from my life, lose body fat, & enjoy freedom!
My top-of-the-list priorities now are: Great food in the form of meat & eggs — good sleep & exercise — plain & simple joy & peace.
I don’t categorize dieting & working out as a daily must-do activity anymore. I’ve learned to consider carnivore & exercise a lifestyle choiceI love, not a chore.
And it’s definitely not something I schedule or force myself to do every day because being a CHAMPION means to be someone that loves the work of becoming one more than the idea of becoming one.
Let your wrinkles & stretch marks & flaws serve as tree rings of growth.
Hoosier farm girl & Purdue University grad, Katie is a multifaceted girlboss! She’s a nutritionist, radiologic technologist, personal coach, executive assistant, motivational speaker & writer, brand growth consultant, & connection maker working with individuals, businesses, organizations, & executives. She specializes in gut health, sports nutrition, disordered eating, social branding, human connection, and how to organize/optimize life for better health, increased wealth & happiness! Katie welcomes all preferences & skill levels with a no diet dogma or one size-size-fits-all approach to health, fitness, & nutrition. After decades of struggling with her own health issues from Crohn’s, obesity, disordered eating, infertility, hormonal imbalances, & being a competitive athlete, she is passionate about helping others find self love, achieve their goals, & create sustainable success habits for an EXTRAordinary life! Katie currently resides in Fishers, IN where she has worked in the health, sales, and nutrition field for over 17 years.
I used to plan big binges on purpose. They were a high. I believed that if I could “get it out of my system” & cultivate enough shame, I would “get my sh*t together.”
It didn’t work. No change ever came from me shaming myself when I kept reliving the same story.
I realized I was hungry all the time – from under eating, eating too many carbs, sugar, & gut trigger foods. The Carnivore way of eating saved my life in more ways than one. Not only did it heal my disordered eating & put my Crohn’s in remission, it helped me find more purpose in my life. You see I was hungry in a much different way than just food.
I realized my worth & my mess was my message. That if I kept my mind busy, fed my soul, & stoked my hunger in more ways than one, I had more enjoyment & satisfaction, not just in my belly, but in my whole life. Somewhere as a kid between farm chores, playing with my little ponies & my 1st diet, I lost the simple enjoyment of my body, my food, & just being me.
Don’t underestimate the value of having purpose & simply staying busy. Tasks & movement engage our bodies & brains to redirect in more positive ways. They offer a sense of structure & boundaries that give comfort to most abstainers when it comes to food/sugar addiction. Along with eating enough food to fuel my body, this was one of the most useful tools in recovery.
Most days, especially when my emotions feel ginormous & suffocating, I create a “to do” list of things to execute during my day.
(I freaking love lists, how bout you?)
It gives me a sense of control, direction, & inner peace.
For a busy bee like me, there is grounding in the “doing,” especially for those of us who have to keep our minds busy.
During times when my disordered eating & binge eating were at their worst, I found correlation in the times when I was bored, restricting more food, eating more carbs, &/or lacked a sense of purpose.
Ways I redirected away from binging: Coffee with a friend, drink more water Go for a walk, get out in nature, sun Go to CrossFit or a group fitness class Clean & purge my home Design something for social media Write a blog, read, listen to a podcast Go for drive & listen to music Color
Until I reached my weight “safe place” or “set point,” my body was still hungry & not losing body fat even on Carnivore. I wasn’t underweight, but my body did not feel safe. It was hard to sense fullness & true hunger. I gained 15lbs when I started Carnivore 3 years ago. It took me a year to heal, adapt, & lose fat. I’m now 20lbs lighter, maintaining my weight eating 2,000+ calories/day.
When I allowed my body to heal & gain the weight it needed to restore my health, a switch went off & I felt capable of eating foods I knew I needed, in amounts I needed without feeling fear. For those of us with a disordered eating history & one of chronic restriction/exercise abuse, safety is everything. Your body decides when you’re ready & recovered.
Your set point & maintenance ranges are not static, like your body & LIFE, they’ll shift & change over time. Genetics, medical history, dieting history, training modalities, food needs/preferences, digestion, body goals, etc will all differ.
Live your life & listen to your gut.
So maybe the question you should be asking is “How do I start satisfying my hunger living a life of purpose authentic to me?” vs “How do I stop binge eating?”
Hailing from Fishers, Indiana, Katie is an aficionado of health, mindset, human connection, & entrepreneurship. Writer, speaker, doer of many things, she grew up on her family’s beef cattle & crop farm where agriculture was her first love. She is a Purdue University graduate well known for her storytelling of life lessons & personal transformation through her own relationships, Crohn’s Disease, disordered eating, CrossFit, & adapting a carnivore diet lifestyle. Katie also has over 16 years experience as a Registered Radiologic Technologist, Nutritionist, & Sales Consultant. You can catch her via Instagram @lil_bit_of_fit & blog, Lilbitoffit.com
I’ve struggled with body dysmorphia, orthorexia & disordered eating. Swipe for some things you may relate to like I did.
Lately I’ve been experimenting, reflecting, & redefining what “beauty” & physical beauty mean to me. At 40, beauty is a feeling & state of being that becomes from knowing I’m listening to, honoring & taking really good care of myself. In my teens, 20’s, & early 30’s beauty meant a certain size, weight, body fat %, barbell PR, & things like how many compliments I got about how I looked… Beauty encompasses the whole body & soul. To me, beauty also has a visual, aesthetic element too (if you want that to be part of your definition) that includes who I want to embody AND see in the mirror. How do I want to feel? For me, the emotions around my body & mind were the pivotal helping or hindering factors on redefining the identity & relationship with my body AND other people. Going carnivore significantly healed my gut issues & relationship with food. Life dramatically improves when you simply honor yourself & stop trying to fit into somebody’s box. As for other people, life dramatically improves when you start seeing people for who they truly are & what they show you instead of romanticizing about what they could be. If some of these sound like you, know you’re not alone. Things won’t get better until you really “do the work” & that starts from within. Sending love & hugs 🤗
Hailing from Fishers, Indiana, Katie is an aficionado of health, mindset, human connection, & entrepreneurship. Writer, speaker, doer of many things, she grew up on her family’s beef cattle & crop farm where agriculture was her first love. She is a Purdue University graduate well known for her storytelling of life lessons & personal transformation through her own relationships, Crohn’s Disease, disordered eating, CrossFit, & adapting a carnivore diet lifestyle. Katie also has over 16 years experience as a Registered Radiologic Technologist, Nutritionist, & Sales Consultant. You can catch her via Instagram @lil_bit_of_fit & blog, Lilbitoffit.com
“You’re just too big to be a cheerleader, hon.” -cheerleading coach, middle school
“Pretty girls are in the front, you fit better in the back.” -a mom, childhood birthday party pictures
“Well, you’re just not polished enough.” -recruiter, job fair in college
“I’m sorry I cheated, I like you, it’s just, she was prettier.” -someone not even worth mentioning here
Naturally I’d be lying if a part of me didn’t want to tell these people of past chapters of my life they can suck it.
I’ll take the high road & use it to help y’all if you’ve ever struggled when someone has devalued you.
People will teach you how to love well by hurting you. They will teach you how to love yourself by not loving you back. Life will teach you evolution & growth through pain & stagnation.
Pay attention to the wisdom the Universe is trying to teach you. Gold is found sifting thru gravel & diamonds are created under pressure.
Hell, crispy airfryer #meatbars were discovered by me being late to work & literally throwing the shizzle my nizzle in the airfryer basket. Now we can’t live without them!
In my youth, I shouldn’t have taken these statements as a reflection of my worth, simply moved on, & not allowed a single encounter to take up so much energy in my heart & taint decades of my being with shame.
This world is made up of a plethora of different people with different priorities with different life situations all 50 shades of f*cked up.
You’re not alone, the difference is how you react to what life throws at you.
People who have broken my spirit have actually led me to having more empathy, more self worth & appreciation for who I am, & the desire to reach out to all of you because I have felt what a lack of human acknowledgment & compassion can do to a person.
Know that your feelings have a real place, & this life can be so much more beautiful & grander if we let love & optimism fully into our hearts.
The first time I set a “fitness goal, “I didn’t even know fitness goals were a thing. I just wanted to lose as much weight as possible.
I started out doing videos at home in my room. I swapped two and three portions of food at dinner for a salad and then walked a mile on the treadmill instead of sitting and watching TV.
I started working out and setting more intentional exercise goals in the 7th grade. I was the heaviest I’d ever been. I was 160lbs and barely 5 foot tall.
Me at my heaviest
Kids were extremely cruel. They called me names. I will never forget the kids who were mean to me, their names, or the way they made me feel.
And I took that as a life lesson into my adulthood that I would be aware of how I made other people feel because the way other people made me feel made a huge impression on the trajectory of my life and perception of myself.
The imprint you make on other people’s lives is truly your legacy. It’s not the number in your bank account, what you look like, your size, achievements or how many titles you have before or after your name.
“To live in the hearts of those we love is to never die.”
Hazel Gaynor
I was 11 years old feeling trapped in an overweight, changing body I didn’t recognize or understand. All I wanted was to be accepted and loved.
As I spoke before my body image issues started at the age of 8 and I had already absorbed the message that being skinny was desirable, powerful even.
If I could just shrink myself down to the “right size”, I’d ace all my classes and win the hearts of all the boys and the popular girls would want to be friends with me.
Although more intentional exercise goals are a positive thing in the right dose, I noticed all I wanted to do was skip meals and exercise more.
My lunch used to be a handful of Ritz crackers and one small snack size cottage cheese container. Dessert, some sugar-free Jell-O.
In retrospect, at 40 years old, it’s something I can only guess was an attempt to exert control over my body, life, & other people in an attempt at “happiness.”
Throughout my school years, college and even when I married early at 22 years old, I struggled with my body image and self-confidence.
I skipped many social functions to exercise and avoid eating. With all my gut issues I didn’t know what to eat without causing some sort of flare up anyways. I resorted to diet pills and taking shots of cold medicine to make myself sleep so I wouldn’t eat.
I figured out when I binged, ice cream was the easiest to indulge because it was easy to throw up. I’d down 2-3 gallons of ice cream in one sitting.
I missed the beauty of exercise as a celebration of what my body could do & the simple love & joy it brought to my life.
I couldn’t see the ways I was hurting myself, pushing myself too hard, eating too little, and denying myself basic care, pleasures, and missing out on making memories with friends and family because of my addictions.
This pattern continued even into my early 30s, even after I shifted my focus away from being purely about aesthetics and losing weight towards performance goals like CrossFit, running, spartan races and lifting.
I knew I had the heart of an athlete and so much potential but why did I always feel like a total failure?
The answer arrived when I broke up with aesthetic or performance goal setting, at least in the way I’d been doing it.
I started focusing more on improving my health, especially my gut health which I struggled with my entire life.
I stopped trying to fit into a box and eat a certain diet because certain athletes ate that way or my favorite Instagram account ate that way.
I started looking at goals as destinations on the horizon, an invitation to do better because now I knew better.
Goals aren’t a finish line or a final destination. There’s simply an invitation.
I started choosing workouts because I loved doing them and they made me feel amazing whether it was running, bodybuilding, spartan races, or CrossFit.
I started eating food that made me feel amazing and I took the knowledge I had gained working as a nutritionist to make smarter adjustments and decisions with things like quality, quantity, macros and the types of foods I was eating.
We’ll talk about food & gut specifics later on in the book.
I’ve been meat based or ”carnivore” for almost 3 years. Outside of coffee & occasional social alcohol, my diet is 99% comprised of meat and eggs. I haven’t had a full blown Crohn’s flare since I started this way of eating.
And in the process of learning, experimenting, and authentically stepping into myself, my greatest fears since childhood, gaining weight and failure, fell away.
I got stronger, leaner, and healthier. I can confidently say at 40 years old I am the healthiest and happiest I’ve ever been.
This hasn’t been a linear journey, I’ll remind you it takes a long time.
Simply sit back and enjoy it. It’s taken over 10 years to build the physique you see today. It took me 4 years of intentional healing and doing things I didn’t want to do like eat more food and gain weight to gain my health back.
I tell everyone, especially my clients, any weight that you gain in the process of gaining back your HEALTH is weight you needed to gain.
And what I’ve learned throughout this process is that I can accept that sometimes I must get lost to find what I was looking for all along.
“Lost & found are from the same box. Remember this when you don’t know where you belong.”
I used to crave all the sweets. Could smash an entire pan of brownies, boxes of cereal, gallons of ice cream — & I did in the thick of my binging & disordered eating. Followed by days of guilt, inflammation, pain, & more hunger.
Tap for full post with cheat sheets!
Thank God every day for this carnivore lifestyle. This is an important post, please SWIPE, save tag & share freely with someone who needs to hear it or if it’s a simple reminder for yourself.
We think we crave chocolate, cookies, brownies, & ice cream, but our hunger truly is for somethin much deeper, somethin much more nourishing.
Things like love, significance, fulfillment, & connection are what we really crave.
When we allow ourselves to FEEL & RECEIVE & have these things, it’s far more satisfying than treats, overindulgence, & temporary pleasures.
If you feel constant, ravenous hunger, know you are probly feeling undernourished & unfulfilled in more ways than just food.
❌Watch your words, they’re powerful!
“Diet starts tomorrow, or Monday, etc”
“I deserve a ‘cheat meal’ or ‘treat’ because I’ve been, ‘good’ all week.”
“I messed up my diet, might as well splurge & start again Monday.”
“If I eat that I’ll need to make sure I workout enough to burn it all off.”
“I’ll be happy when I reach my goal weight.”
“I don’t deserve to eat that, Ima failure.”
“I can’t do that until I lose the weight.”
Look deeper for what you truly need. Maybe its a walk with a friend, a deep convo, GRACE, a hug, doing something nice for someone else just because, or quiet time with God/the Universe/the Collective or whatever you believe.
⠀Without connecting with ourselves, forgiving our past, & getting real honest on the bullsh*t sandwiches we’ve been feeding ourselves & understanding what TRUE nourishment is — we remain unfulfilled & hungry.
If you are feeling disconnected & lost, my door (& DMs) are always open 🚪💌📲
I have a whole 354 page guide with an entire section dedicated to emotional eating and things to help you. Click below ⬇️
What I have to say may piss some of you off, and that’s OK.
I hear this question a LOT.
I asked you guys what you were struggling with & these were the biggies: What can I do to beat the sugar cravings? And the “I’m bored with my food.”
And I get it, I’ve been there too, & I’ve also realized when I tend to crave things like this it’s because my life & body are out of balance.
⠀So here’s the thing…there’s not just 1 reason why sugar cravings take over. It really could be a number of things, but these are the ones that are worth taking a look at first:
• Under eating, over exercising, overly fasting
• Unbalanced blood sugar
• Too many processed carbs & sugar
• Malnutrition
• Too little sleep
• Not drinking enough water
• Unmanaged stress / emotional eating
• Bad habits
⠀
When you start to become more aware & mindful about what’s causing your cravings & you start linking them to your lifestyle or daily choices, you can start to reset your body & strive for more balance in these areas, to help ease your cravings.
⠀
For me, not getting good, restful sleep is a huge trigger for cravings as well as Crohn’s flares.
Swipe through, I promise the cravings will get better the more you build a foundation on consistency & fueling your body & mind with nutrient dense foods like all the delicious meats & nourishing positive thoughts!
Raise your hand if weekend eating is your nemesis & you feel you just can’t shake the carb cravings🤚 I understand it’s a problem at work too! Especially around the holidays.
I was this person for years. “I’ll start my diet on Monday. I already ruined my day, might as well eat what I want”…sound familiar?
Or the, “I had a stressful week or I was good all week so I deserve this.” mentality.
Chasing fitness goals doesn’t mean you can’t go out & have a good time, but for many of us we’re stuck in this disordered, scarcity mindset constantly set on replay.
The biggest shift to make if you want to start winning your weekends & kicking your food/sugar addiction is to deal with your inner baggage & change the way you talk & think of yourself.
On carnivore especially, make sure you’re eating enough food to support optimal body function & your goals. These are called your maintenance calories.
Hydrate, often times we’re thirsty not hungry. Take your electrolytes. Cut the artificial sweeteners.
Keep your mind busy. The answer is always walk. Boredom & stress are huge triggers to emotionally eating.
Make sure you’re eating enough protein & fat! Not only do we need fat for healthy hormones & protein for lean muscle mass & tissue building, they help keep you satiated too.
Once you remove the carbs & sugar I promise the easier it becomes & less cravings you will have.
I’m gonna say it again…if you constantly restrict food all week & constantly tell yourself that, well, I f*ck up every weekend…guess what? You’re never gonna become the person or have the health & body your desire because you’ve told yourself you’re a f*ck up.
Do you really want to stay a slave to food addiction, disordered eating, & “I’ll start my diet on Monday?”
I get it, I did it to. But there comes a time you get fed up enough you decide to make a different choice. You’re not alone.
Swipe through, let me know if these resonate with you! Share this post freely with your friends! Post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CYG6wb7O331/?utm_medium=copy_link
Tap for IG post with all the cheat sheets!!
Share your struggles, tips, & experiences with your fellow warriors below 👇
Confessions of another dirty bathroom photo… Dis me. I’m awkward af trying to get body photos. I dunno how to properly “pose.”😆 but I’m glad I do. They make me proud of how far I’ve come & what my body & mind are capable. Just a friendly reminder you can do whatever shade of the Carnivore Diet you want (or any other diet for that matter). I feel I’m speaking for the majority of us meat-based folk who love this lifestyle because it works for us. I’m 2 years in. We really don’t care what you eat or what your body looks like as long as you’re happy & healthy. It’s really none of our business what you eat every day, what workouts you do, what your body looks like, if you show your body & journey or not. We just love happy people. Be nice to each other. I feel I needed to reiterate that again. I know some people say we all have the same 24 hours in a day, & literally we do, yet realistically we don’t. I preach being a DOer. Yes, you either DO or you DON’T. But be nice to those who have children or special circumstances which make going to the gym or a certain fitness goals challenging. I’m not giving excuses for “lazy” people but just asking you to be nice. Perfection is never needed, but do remember EFFORT matters no matter what your circumstance & you can still be a person that keeps COMMITMENTS to yourself in whatever way YOU need. As for shades of “carnivore”…some of us eat a little bit of carbs. Some don’t. Some eat organs, some don’t. Some just eat beef, some don’t. Doesn’t matter. I for one can do a little bit of plain rice cakes/white rice as far as starchy carbs. I keep these around my workouts if I’m going to incorporate some. I do that because that’s when my body metabolizes & utilizes them the most efficiently for performance & recovery. I don’t eat them often or every day, I simply eat them when my body is telling me I need them. I also incorporate leaner, lower fat days with higher fat days. This too varies & I also listen to my body & eat accordingly. I’m happy in maintenance. I notice after 2-3 days of eating lower fat, I crave more fat. Because I most likely need more calories, especially after hard training days. My fat macros vary. Protein is around 160-200g most days. I also am very active, CrossFit, & lift weights. So what I do may not work for you. I posted a guide for optimizing eating for workouts yesterday, save tag & share that post. Great resource! This style of eating works very well for me, my needs, & my body is responding well. I’m leaner than I ever have been before, eating 1800-2000+ calories on avg & ~2-2.5lbs of meat/day. Lean days I prefer ground chicken, shrimp, & 90% ground sirloin. High fat days I enjoy 80-85% ground beef & lamb, eggs, & ribeyes. My crispy airfryer #meatbars are LIFE & I eat them every day because I love them. And I’m so happy y’all are loving them too! Tag away! I also haven’t had a Crohn’s flare or binge since I went meat based 2 years ago — the best part! Yes, people look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them I really just eat meat AND I prefer “CrossFit.” People told me I couldn’t do it. My bloodwork, mental clarity, energy level, & physique say otherwise. 😉 Listen to you body’s. I am happy to share my experiences & I fully admit I made a lot of mistakes on the way, I didn’t always feel well, I initially gained 15lbs & I wanted to stop numerous times along my journey. Any diet that serves you best mentally & physically & is high in bioavailable nutrients will always be better than one that lacks the essentials your body needs to function properly. Love y’all Peace love & meat 🥩
People are gonna tell you you CAN’T do a lot of things. They’re gonna tell you THEIR way is better than YOUR way…
You’ve asked great carnivore questions over the weekend. I’ll summarize for those I haven’t had the pleasure to chat with & tell you some things you may not want to hear…
▫️I don’t ‘treat myself.’ My view of food has changed since going animal based. I “treat” myself everyday, enjoy every bite & it all serves a purpose — nourishment & fuel. Food is not a reward/something to earn.
▫️You must experiment with different meats/food/fats, eating/fasting windows, meal sizes/freq, tracking macros vs not, & macro ratios. Your experience will be different than mine. It takes TIME. It took me an entire year to fully adapt &, yes, I gained 15lbs initially.
Common Q&A’s:
⇢ Majority of my meals are 85% ground beef, ground chicken, & salmon. Avg 2lbs of meat/d, 2-2 1/2 meals/d. Yes I drink coffee. Ground meat is easier to digest & track. I removed pork & dairy, I found I don’t digest’em well. I only consume them on occasion in small quantities.
⇢ I stick to beef bc it’s satisfying & delicious but not SO delicious I want to over eat. For those who struggle with food addiction, like me, find foods that are satisfying & get the job done without triggering over eating or bingeing. We typically do better with food rules, we are abstainers. (Food addicts tend to have issues controlling carbs, sugar, sugar free substitutes, keto treats, dairy, butter, cheese, bacon, pork rinds, hyper palatable & processed meats)
⇢ I track macros loosely. It keeps me accountable & I know where to adjust. Rice cakes/white rice on occasion post workout or in the evening if I need them, portioned carefully, rarely above 50g/day.
⇢ YES, you can CrossFit & carnivore, CAREFULLY. Comes down to allowing yourself to fully adapt to being fat-fueled, meal timing, eating ample calories, & RECOVERY (sleep, rest days, deloads) Macros 10% C – 30% P – 60% F for ME**
⇢ Sleep is a MUST. 7 hrs min. Zzyquil helps. It is what it is, I’m transparent here.
⇢ Still hit 13-15k steps/day, even on rest days, drinkin a ton of water + electrolytes, reduce alcohol, fasting when I’m not hungry (~18hrs avg), eating when I am. No extended fasts, no snacking.
It’s taken me 38 yrs to understand where my body is at mentally & physically.
And I’ll have to keep figuring it out every day for the rest of my life.
Have patience. Take care of your body it’s the only forever home you have♥️🏠
