40- 5 Powerful Ways to Transform Your Health & Body Composition

Feeling overwhelmed by the conflicting advice on health and fitness? This episode of MilesFromHerView by KatFit Strength reveals five sustainable ways to transform your body and boost your health without extreme diets or endless gym hours. Hosted by Kat, a mom, business owner, and strength trainer, this episode focuses on actionable tips for busy women to make lasting changes. 

Discover the importance of sleep, hydration, protein, fiber, and strength training. Learn how to integrate these strategies into your hectic life and start seeing real results!

00:00 Introduction: Simplifying Health and Fitness

00:31 Meet Your Host: Kat's Journey and Mission

01:21 Seasonal Reflections and Personal Insights

03:10 Overcoming Overwhelm in Health and Fitness

06:08 Key Point 1: The Importance of Quality Sleep

11:29 Key Point 2: Staying Hydrated for Optimal Health

16:00 Key Point 3: The Power of Protein

19:37 Key Point 4: Building a Healthy Gut

22:04 Key Point 5: Strength and Interval Training

26:08 Practical Tips for Busy Lives

27:59 Conclusion: Empowering Your Fitness Journey

☎️ - Schedule a complimentary call to see if KatFit Strength is a good fit for you: https://katfit.moxieapp.com/public/katfit/consultation-call

📩 KatFit Strength Weekly Newsletter:
https://katfit.kit.com/7564404daa

❓ - Have A Question About Strength Training, Nutrition, and cardio training? Submit It HERE: https://forms.gle/kndmqaf91psZEmPs6

Transcript

Kat: 0:00

Are you tired of all the conflicting advice about health and fitness that leaves you feeling overwhelmed and stuck? What if I told you there was a much simpler, more sustainable way to transform your body without resorting to extreme diets or endless hours in the gym? In today's episode, I'm sharing five powerful ways you can make lasting changes to your health and body composition starting right now. So if you're ready to stop feeling frustrated and to start seeing results, Keep listening. Welcome to MilesFromHerView, the podcast powered by KatFit strength, where busy women like you find practical solutions to fuel your fitness journey with authenticity and resilience. I'm Kat your host, a mom of two active boys, a business owner and an ultra marathon runner and a strength trainer in her forties with nearly two decades of experience. I'm here to help you cut through the noise of fads, hacks, and quick fixes. This is a space where we celebrate womanhood and motherhood. All while building strength and resilience and reconnecting with you from a place of self compassion and worthiness. Whether you're lacing up your running shoes to go out for a run, driving your kids to practice or squeezing in a moment for yourself. I'm right here in the trenches with you. Let's dive in. Welcome back to MilesFromHerView I'm Kat and I'm here today. It is almost the end of January. I am so excited that the days are getting longer and the sun is shining after 5 p. m. here in the northeast. I hope wherever you're at, you're having a great day. Spring is getting closer. I am someone who appreciate the winter. But I much prefer the warmer months. It just, Everything feels better, and I don't know if you're feeling this, but the struggle in the morning to get out of your nice, cozy, warm bed while it's still dark, and for me, I'm getting the kids off to school. I'm getting my morning workout in getting into work to serve my clients and to keep moving my business forward. It is just a struggle. But in those warmer months, it just seems easier. Yes, it's later out in the morning. You know, it's not as cold. So that wake up doesn't feel so abrupt. But yeah, I don't know if you're feeling that too, but I'm feeling it. I'm looking forward to this warmer months. And now that my kids older, I will honestly say I do enjoy it. the summers. It's not that I didn't like the summers when they were younger. It's just there was just a lot more to do and juggling. The business and not always the best childcare situations in the essence of not consistent childcare situations with camps ending early more of a workload falling on me, juggling both kid management and enjoying time with them. Plus trying to build my business and keep it going now that they're older, it's a little bit better. So I see you, if you're in the thick of things with the kids, under five. You're getting there, you're doing great and yes, this, this time will pass soon. So today we're going to be discussing something that I'm sure you guys can all relate to. I've been in this. business for almost two decades. It seems shocking to say that I've been in it from a coaching perspective of coaching athletes on the college level to that coaching, I'm gonna say the general public individuals who are adults, who are looking to maintain their health and wellness and that strength while juggling all the things. And it can feel overwhelming, And my job is to take that overwhelm out, hopefully simplify it, and provide you with solutions. You log on to anything, there's always the do's and don'ts. And it's just like there's a new trend that comes out. You're like, Oh, I think I nailed it. And then a new trend comes out. Don't eat this. Don't do exercise this way. Do this. This is the, you know, the, the gateway to, youth everything. And it can seem just that overwhelming and frustrating. And it's like, what do I do? All right. There are tried and true things. I have mentioned these things before, but I think it's a good time to go back over them. There's a lot of new listeners here, and I need to hear these things over and over again as well. Not only just to verify that, yes, these things do work, but also I am on the right path. We all need that validation. And it's not a, Oh, I ticked off this box and it's all good. As I mentioned earlier seasons of life change your kids when they're little, your life demands look different than when your kids are in elementary school to middle school, to high school, to college, your body needs different demands does not mean that you're broken or doing it wrong, but these things are the staples that help us move forward. Go through these seasons feeling our best. The most brilliant thing is they have not changed. And they are not in, I'm going to call them the magic potions of millions of different supplements, etc. We are not going to go into supplements. We are not going to go into any of that. Let's just dive into this. These five key points. I also want to stress, you need to make them your own. Everybody has a different 24 hours. If you're a long time listener, you've heard this. The only thing that is a fact is that there are 24 hours in a day. What your 24 hours looks is going to be different than my 24 hours. And that's not a bad thing. So when I talk about these five key points, I want you to apply it to your own life. And take what will work and then discard what won't work. Apply it to the season that you are in now and know that you might be able to implement more when your seasons change and seasons don't have to be years. They could be weeks. They could be months. They could be, you know, whenever you have the capacity to take on more or you get consistent with the first thing that you want to implement. Remember, these are building skills. It is not a eight week program and you've mastered it all, So first one is get plenty of sleep. What does this mean? I try to get plenty of sleep, but my kids are up. This happens. This happens. Okay. I get that again. You got to apply it to your own 24 hours. So sleep is a non negotiable. We all need sleep. There's a brilliant book Why we sleep. It really dives into all the nitty gritties of why we sleep and why it has not been taken out, why we have not evolved past needing sleep because every living being on this earth has some sort of respite of sleep. So we want to try to aim for six to eight hours of good quality sleep. Every night. Okay. That's not Monday through Friday. It's not, two days out of the week or three days a week. It is seven days a week. Why this is important is poor sleep, or not getting enough of sleep can wreak havoc on your hormones. Getting great quality of sleep helps your hormones regulate. And this is really important. We want our hormones to be regulated. We don't want them to have all these peaks and deep valleys. There's always going to be an undulation. Your hormones are never going to be a straight line of balance. There's always going to be an undulation, but we don't want just these massive peaks and valleys with those hormones. And when we sleep, our body. Repairs. It helps managing stress. Our cortisol. Your stress hormone. It decreases when we're getting that good quality of sleep. And when you are really stressed out, And when your cortisol levels are not able to come back down when we're getting that good sleep, it increases those sugar cravings. It also impacts your metabolism and you know, your fat storage. You're not able, your body is just not able to function the way it is meant to function because it's not getting the respite that it needs. So it just, also struggles to repair. So if you're pushing your body really hard, but you're not getting that quality of sleep, your muscle recovery, isn't going to be there. The inflammation reduction isn't going to happen, you know, so it all plays off of each other. So sleep is that integral, like piece that helps the body repair from all the activities that we do during the day. But it's not just about quantity. You might be getting eight hours of sleep and wake up. Feeling awful well, you need to create an environment that supports restful sleep. So get the screens out of the bedroom. I get it. It's hard. Full disclosure. Yes I have a TV in my bedroom, but it gets turned off. There's cold hard stop times There's no TV on after a certain time, It allows my body my mind to understand that it is time to go to sleep. Have learned that I don't function well. I mean, I could function well, but I'm forcing myself to function and my body just doesn't feel good if I'm not getting that quality sleep. So I've had to develop that skill to now Of not staying up past a certain time. We need to go to bed. So getting rid of the screens, putting down the phone. Yes, it's hard. I'm right there with you. So I don't want you to think that I'm standing on this high pedestal and preaching saying Oh, this is so easy. But get the screens away, put them down, put your phone on airplane mode, put your phone, delete apps, get, you know, reduce that temptation. Another great thing is to practice some relaxation techniques, deep breathing, meditation, some mobility to prepare the body to go into a restful state. This will help you when you get into bed versus running around, running around okay, I need to sleep now. Well, the body doesn't really work like that. You know, if you've ever had seen a toddler fight sleep, like that's what I liken it to when we're really keyed up and we're doing all these things, or we're getting a lot of information when we're looking at our phones or watching a adventure thriller or a crime drama on TV, it activates our brain. So we want to allow our body and prepare our body to get into sleep. So just like brushing your teeth, using the toilet before bed, we want to incorporate a little bit more to tell the body, like, Hey, it's time to get ready for bed. Think about maybe when your kids are little, or now, if you have little kids now, the bedtime routine, you know, there's no horsing around and jumping off beds or doing all these different things to rile up the kids. My husband was great at riling up the kids and it would kind of fluster me I just got them ready. Quiet it down. We read the book. We maybe saying my older son loved twinkle twinkle little stars when he was really little saying the song did the whole routine and then he'd come in all high energy. And then I'd have to start the process all over again. So, we're not toddlers. but we want to create that, tranquil respite like situation before we go to bed. So this is something I talk about with my clients is that we want to have that routine there. So it triggers for the body to go to sleep. Start to look at your routine, see how you can do it. Now, if you were in a situation where sleep is out of your control because you have a baby or a child who just doesn't sleep well, look at where you can get chunks of restful sleep. This season will pass. If you're in that stage looking at ways that the pockets of time that you get is quality sleep. Number two. Drink plenty of water. There's that eight glasses of day rule, but you really want to aim for one fluid ounce per pound of body weight. I stress this with my clients. If you are only drinking eight ounces in a day of water, don't go from eight ounces to 120 ounces or 140 ounces. You will be in the bathroom 24 seven and you'll be like, this is not what I signed up for. Slowly start to build that up over time. And that applies to with the sleep, look at your habits and start to integrate where you can build up more sleep. Build in those routines over time. So with the water it'll be most noticeable if you drink, you know, like I said go from Eight fluid ounces of water to 120 fluid ounces. You are just, you're going to be running into the bathroom to get pee all the time. Look at how much you're drinking in one day. And understand your base level reason why hydration is so important is your body needs water to function properly. And when you're dehydrated, you can feel really sluggish and foggy and just have unwanted cravings. It can make you feel more tired. Maintain a good level of hydration so that we are feeling good. Hydration plays a huge role in digestion and energy levels and skin health. You want great clear skin. You want your skin to look radiant water, drink water. Energy levels. This is something that directly impacts your energy levels. If you are very low on water, your body's not going to function well because it doesn't have an essential,, I don't know what to call it it's not a mineral. It's not a macro, but it's an essential piece of providing you with energy and life. The other reason why we wanna stay hydrated is it helps flush out toxins and it aids in absorption of nutrients. So you can be eating all these really, really great foods, but if you're not hydrated, your body's not gonna absorb those nutrients, and your digestion system is going to get backed up. You're gonna feel bloated and sluggish. Drinking water can move things along in that digestion track. I get it, you're busy, you don't have time to drink enough water, you know, we all are jam packed, we're trying to get as many things done in that 9 to 5 situation and you don't have time to be running to the toilet. Carry a bottle of water. I have a 32 ounce bottle of water and I'm making sure I am drinking. Anytime I kind of get stuck on a problem or I'm working on developing a workout for a client or responding, I'm making sure that I'm trying to pick up that water bottle and take a few sips. throughout the entire day. That's the other thing is we don't want to, it's 3 p. m. or 6 p. m. Oh, goodness, I have not drank enough water and start chugging water. You will be in that bathroom. I cannot stress enough. If you are going to flood your body with a huge influx of water, it is so great at functioning and purging anything it does not need, especially when it's in Overwhelming amount of whatever coming into the body. It's not going, it's going to be like, I don't need this. I'm overwhelmed. Get it, get rid of it. So think about developing a routine throughout the day. For me. It makes it easier to think I want to drink 32 ounces of water before 9 a. m. And then another 32 ounces of water before 12, 1 o'clock p. m. And another 32 ounces of water before 4, 5 p. m. And another 32 ounces before I go to bed. So if you've done the math, I mean horrible mental math, but I drink over 160 ounces of water. I have worked up to that. My body is used to drinking that much water. And you're probably like, how are you not in the bathroom all the time? Well, my body is used to it. My body knows and utilizes it. I'm sweating. I'm moving. I'm absorbing the water that I need So look at how much you are drinking currently Establish that baseline and then go from there I can honestly say when my clients start to incorporate more water the reports of I feel more energized. I'm not as hungry between meals. That is one of the missing pieces that they can add in that isn't spending more time in the gym, isn't doing more cardio. That also helps alleviate that bloat in the gut that tends to build up there. Number three, eat more protein. The reason why protein is so important is because it helps us maintain our muscle mass and build more muscle. It also helps us regulate our metabolism, our blood sugar levels, and Satiate, meaning we feel fuller longer. These are all huge things. especially over the age of 35. When we hit over 30, 35, we start to lose muscle mass. Muscle is the fountain of youth. If we want to label anything as a fountain of youth is muscles help us grow. Maintain our independence longer. Muscles help us also maintain a healthier body composition, blood sugar levels throughout our life. If we do not have the muscle mass, And it has nothing to do with a healthy weight, healthy BMI. If you do not have muscle mass, your body composition is not going to be healthy. You either have a Lean mass or non lean mass? Non lean mass is fat. We need fat to be healthy. I'm planning an upcoming episode and diving into all things fat to help provide information on that. But it's, Non lean or lean? Muscle mass is important I'm going to clarify here. You do not need to look like a bodybuilder. We need strong muscles and that's going to look different for each person. Protein helps with muscle repair, fat loss and metabolism. We need a certain amount of protein and it's different for each person because it's based on your body weight. We want to look at one gram of protein per pound of body weight. That can be broken down throughout the day If you've listened to my podcast on the ranges, we want to look at this in a range maintaining and hitting our protein goal more times throughout the week than not. We want to aim for about 10 grams of protein per snack and around 30 grams per meal. This means every time you eat, you're fueling your body with those building blocks. So if you are someone who is 150 pounds, that means 150 grams of protein a day spread across the meals. And again, don't be afraid to get creative. We want to add in protein rich foods like chicken, fish, eggs, lentils, quinoa into the meals. Other things that I do love adding in that are sneaky is flax seed chia seeds. Seeds have a high amount of proteins as well as other micronutrients mixed in. So look at different ways where you can maybe swap out one or two times per week. different foods to get that protein bump. Chronometer is a great way to track, to look at what is your baseline. Look at like how much you're eating at breakfast, lunch, dinner. If you do a mid morning snack, afternoon snack, so that you have that there. When that protein is at a good, solid rate, it's going to set you up for success, help you maintain blood sugar levels, keep you fuller longer. And it's going to support that muscle recovery. You're doing so much with strength training, with moving in life that you want your food to set you up for success. So you feel really good. Number four, create a healthy gut. Fiber can be found in, in food, just food that you can find at your grocery store. You don't need any fancy things out there. And the reason why fiber is so essential is it plays a critical role in digestion and gut health and even mental health. You need fiber to help support that gut microbiome, help regulate bowel movements and fight off inflammation. Not to mention a healthy gut is also connected to a healthier immune system and can improve mood and mental clarity. There's several different ways. There's grains, veggies, nuts and seeds, or some of the primary ways like oats. quinoa, brown rice, veggies like spinach, broccoli, brussels sprouts, nuts and seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, almonds. And if you notice some of these things cross over and serve multiple areas. So like quinoa, protein, it's also a great provides a great source of carbs for the body. Chia seeds rich in omegas protein, also other micronutrients, flax seeds again. So these things can all work together. when you are looking at your overall diet, look at ways you can incorporate more of this. Now, these examples that I mentioned are not limited to the only fiber sources or the only protein sources. There are. a ton of great things out there. That's why tracking you can really decode. What am I getting into my diet? I know you know yourself, your authority on your own self, but look at it as a way to get curious. to help If it's not going to be a positive experience to track, then I really recommend if you want to do this, just two things, either work with someone to help you. And so it takes some of that emotion out or just think, add, okay, what can I add to this meal to improve? You don't have to say protein or fiber, but just play the So sometimes with my clients, even for myself. I'm going to take a basic meal, spaghetti, white pasta, red sauce. What can I add to this to make it better? So I might throw in broccoli and steam some broccoli and add to that. I might steam some carrots and do broccoli and carrots with. Spaghetti, think play the ad game. Moving along number five add progressive strength training and interval training this is my wheelhouse. This is what I'm passionate about. Now, the other four things I help my clients with because we can't just be one sided. You can't just go strength training and interval training and not pay attention to your sleep and not pay attention to the intake of protein, hydration, or fiber. All of these things play I'm going to be talking about a few things that are really going to play a role together in supporting each other so that you are getting the best health outcome. It's not one or the other. Alright? And even though I'm talking about progressive strength training and interval training other support it is getting that mobility, the warm ups, the cool downs strength training is just non negotiable for building muscle and boosting that metabolism. Muscles are a metabolic organ, fiber, etc. If you want your metabolism to be faster. You need muscle! Muscle is a metabolic tissue. You need to build your muscles. You need to challenge your muscles with progressive resistance. This means increasing the weight and reps or intensity over time. So your muscles keep growing and adapting. You will not turn out like a bodybuilder. I'm going to keep screaming this to the heavens. You'll feel stronger. We want to incorporate those compound movements like squats, deadlifts, pushups into your routine. These exercises recruit multiple muscle groups, helping you build strength, burn fat more efficiently. And As far as the frequency, we want to do it two to three times per week, focusing on the full body movements, that are going to target those major muscle grips. Why strength training is so powerful is it, it doesn't work just during the workout. It's going to boost your metabolism well after the session. You are going to burn more calories because muscles consume more energy at rest than fat. Now interval training, it can be HIIT or circuit training. This is something that we are working on building that cardiovascular health. We are working on challenging the cardiovascular health of the body to build longevity, to build endurance. Strength training trains the muscles, helps with the stability, the balance, and the body composition for overall health. Interval training helps with cardiovascular health and exercise endurance. They both work together. It's not one or the other. It is both. My programs are set up for my clients so that they get both because all of these things work in relation to each other. What you should aim is 10 to 30 minutes of an interval training, two to three times a week. And I can honestly say when clients come in and they commit to the strength training and interval training, they feel so good. They, they, the, I love the aha moments or when I get messages from clients, like. I am sleeping better. I picked up my toddler and my back didn't hurt. I was up all night with my child because they're teething and they were in my arms and my body still felt fine. I didn't have the aches and pains. I was playing in the snow with my kids and sledding with them and pulling them up the like the hill with the sled and I felt more balanced and in control. It is because of strength training. It is because the cardiovascular training that they do. And most of my clients do two to three sessions per week, or maybe some of them do between two to four workouts per week. And we incorporate movement throughout their day. So it's movement outside the gym plus this stuff that they're doing in their workouts. Those are the five key points. But what do I do with them? This all sounds great that you're talking about it, but here I am. I have a full schedule. I can't even think about taking out one more thing. I would love to get more sleep. I'd love to drink more water. I'd love to work out. I get it. Start by focusing on one area at a time. Like I mentioned before, if you have little, little kids, And your sleep is out of your control,, either focus on the chunks of time that you can do, look at maybe creating a better sleep hygiene routine before getting into bed. you are the authority on your own 24 hours. I'm here to present the information, and I want you to apply it to you. Maybe it's drinking water is a little bit more accessible start there Maybe adding protein seems within your capacity. Brilliant. Start there. The beauty of this is that you can start where it makes sense for you and build from there. So maybe you're through in a season right now, we're getting to the gym, or if you have a home gym, it's just not in the capacity of your 24 hours. Focus on sleep, focus on protein, focus on fiber, focus on hydration. They all work together so when you are in life's busy seasons that are really, really demanding, you can turn up, kind of think about dials. There's five key points and five dials. You can turn up or turn down the focus on them. You can develop that like automation with them so that it feels good for you. And a little tough love here no one is going to do this for you and if you really want to change your health, your body and your mindset, you have to commit to it. You truly are capable. I want to, I'm going to say that again. You are capable and you deserve to feel strong, empowered, and confident in your body. You need to start to take action because nobody is going to do this for you. But I am here. I am, I'm one of your biggest believers and I know you can do this. I know you are capable and you totally deserve to feel strong, empowered and confident in your body. I'd love to hear from you. If you are open to it, let's hop on a call and let me see if I can help work with you until next time. Stay strong and take care of yourself. Thank you for tuning in to miles from review powered by KatFit Strength. If this podcast inspires you don't keep it for yourself, hit, follow, or subscribe to stay updated on the new episodes and leave us a review to help more women and moms discover this space. Your feedback fuels this podcast, and I'd love to hear what's working for you or what topics you want to dive into next. You can connect with me on Instagram at KatFit Strength, or share this episode. With a friend who is ready to embrace her strength. Remember fitness isn't about perfection. It's about showing up for yourself and finding strength in every step of your journey until next time, keep moving forward one mile at a time.