80- Fitness Tips for Busy Moms: Surviving the Holiday Season Without Guilt

In this episode of Miles From Her View, host Kat dives into the importance of showing up for yourself, the power of consistency, and staying curious on your fitness journey. As the holiday season approaches, Kat challenges the fitness industry's guilt-driven messaging and provides four key strategies to thrive: embracing the basics, building effective systems, practicing gratitude, and maintaining curiosity. Kat shares her personal experiences and practical tips to help women create sustainable habits without falling into the trap of perfectionism. Whether you're dealing with busy schedules, holiday stress, or a loss of motivation, this conversation offers valuable insights to help you stay on track and feel strong. Plus, learn about Kat's coaching programs designed to help you achieve your fitness goals. Join this empowering discussion and discover how to embrace your fitness journey with resilience and compassion.

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Transcript

Kat: 0:00

Ever wonder how the simplest actions like sticking to a plan, even when life feels overwhelming, can lead to big transformations? In this episode, we're diving into showing up for yourself, embracing consistency, and staying curious about your journey. These create. A foundation for success and fitness and beyond. If you are feeling stuck or unmotivated as we head into the busiest time of the year, this conversation is for you. Welcome to Miles From Review, 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. Hey friends. Welcome back to MilesFromherView. I am Kat, your host, and today we're gonna be talking about something that is close to my heart, the gratitude and power of showing up. It's no secret we are headed into the holiday season. It is early November and I can already feel the pace picking up. And you know what else I'm seeing? The fitness industry is ramping up the holiday marketing machine. Maybe you've noticed it too. They're selling ads on staying on track through the holiday season. The programs promising, you'll earn your feast or burn off Thanksgiving dinner or detox from Halloween. You know that big candy filled holiday, we just passed this message really disguises guilt as motivation. It's exhausting for me as someone in the industry. It's exhausting and here's what drives me crazy about this. The fitness industry has convinced us that holidays are something to survive, that we need to be perfect. That one meal one week, one season is going to derail everything in this toxic perfection steeped in hidden guilt, let me be clear you do not need to earn your food. You do not need to punish yourself for enjoying time with loved ones, and you do not need to detox. You do not need a detox, a reset, or redemption plan In January. What you do need is a foundation built on consistency, compassion, and curiosity. And this is exactly how I coach my clients. Not with restriction and guilt, but with sustainable systems that work with your real life. I get it. Life is messy. There are busy schedules, unexpected challenges, and those days where motivation feels like it's on vacation. I know the feeling. Trust me, you are not alone. Showing up, even when you feel friction is where the magic happens. It's not about being perfect or crushing every workout, and in those busy moments, especially. As we're heading into Thanksgiving, then December, then the new year, it can really test your ability to show up because that friction is so high. That is where being consistent and trusting the process, even when you don't see results right away, is huge. And here are four strategies I'm sharing with you today the four strategies I'm sharing with you today, are the antidote to that guilt driven fitness culture. Right now I am in the thick of it. All my kids' schedules are packed with their winter sports. I am also training for a huge goal in 2026. With my ultra marathon training. My schedule doesn't always look pretty, but things get done and I show up fully rested most of the time. I would say probably about six days outta seven, maybe five days outta seven fully fed and feeling strong because I focus on these core four key things, we're gonna go over them today. These four strategies help me navigate busy times, and they are especially relevant right now as we prepare for the weeks ahead. So whether you are wrapping up your work before the holidays, preparing to host or travel, just trying to keep your head above water, these tips will help. Strategy number one, embrace the basics when life gets overwhelming. For me, I simplify my fitness. My life resolves around the basics. Two to three strength training workouts a week, getting my run, prioritizing my sleep and making sure my meals are balanced. Balanced meals look like this. Getting a protein, fruits and veggies and whole grain, just sticking to that format. I'm not nitpicking over what. Animal or plant-based protein, what fruit is or isn't on my plate, what vegetable is or isn't on my plate, and getting a whole grain in, whether it be white rice, brown rice, quinoa, farrow, whatever it is, it's not flashy. And let me tell you, it is the basics that work here. They are the foundation that help me keep. Pace with my busy life. For me, it's not about doing more, it's doing what works. And this is exactly how I coach my clients. We focus on the fundamentals that actually move the needle, not the flashy stuff that looks good on Instagram, because that stuff isn't sustainable. It's the basics. I really encourage you to focus on these because. The fitness industry is selling you trendy things right now. You don't need that holiday challenge or that Turkey Day bootcamp, when I prioritize my sleep during this busy times when I focused on my work at. Strategy number two, motivation is overrated. Systems are essential. Motivation is fleeting. You can feel it one day and you may not feel it for a couple weeks. And if you, and if you build a system, it's going to help you. More the fitness industry loves to sell motivation, inspirational pose, transformational photos, no excuses, messaging. But you know what happens when motivation fades? You're left feeling like a failure, and that's by design. They want you to feel like you need the next program, the next challenge, the next fix. When I coach my client, I coach my clients differently. We build systems of support that remove the guesswork and don't rely on you feeling pumped up every single day. For me, I built systems of support into my life that work with reality, not against it. So here are a couple systems. My workouts are planned. I have all my workouts written down. I know what I'm doing each day, so I don't have to guess. This makes it easier for me to adapt. And fit my training into my life. When life gets busy, I don't scramble. I adjust within the system meals or prep. That does not mean everything is in a perfect container. My meals are planned out. Sometimes they are pre-made. I tend to batch cook. If I have the time on Sunday. It's often breakfast meals that are the easiest and quickest for me to do on Sunday. I don't stress about perfection. It's about removing the decisions when I'm already decision fatigued. So there's already prepped food in that fridge that fits my basic protein, fruit, or vegetable and whole grain. I know my priorities and my times of busyness. This goes back to embracing the basics. My sleep is huge. If I don't get enough sleep, my workouts are gonna suffer both strength and cardio, and my focus is gonna suffer. So I'm not gonna be able to work efficiently and provide my clients with the care they deserve. If I'm not sleeping well, I'm gonna find myself snacking more or not wanting to eat the way I should. Creating systems of support does not mean everything is perfect. The biggest thing is this. If we wait for motivation, especially in times of busyness, it doesn't work. Motivation is overrated. You need to have systems that help keep you set up for success. Don't wait for that motivation to strike before we take action. Systems, take the guess workout. This is what separates the sustainable fitness from the boom and bust cycle. The industry wants to keep you in. Strategy number three, gratitude for the journey. Having gratitude for yourself is huge, and it's the complete opposite of what the fitness industry pushes during the holidays. They want you to focus on what you haven't accomplished yet, what you need to fix, how you need to look before family photos or New Year's Eve. It's all future focused guilt disguised as goal setting, but here's what I teach my clients, progress is not linear. Some days you're gonna feel like you knocked it outta the park with everything, not only on your to-do list, but with your workout. And other days you're really going to feel like you're going backwards. That is. Normal. But the truth is, every small action, every lunge, every run, every mindful meal is a part of a bigger picture. The boring basics lead to extraordinary results when we stick to them. It may not be flashy, it's not always fun, but this is what works. This is what I apply in my everyday life. This is what my clients commit to and believe in. They see results, real lasting results, not the kind that disappear by February. So as we head into the holiday season, I want you to practice gratitude for where you are right now, not where you think you need to be or should be, not where someone else is, not where some fitness ad is telling you that you need to be, but for your fitness, but for your journey. And in fact. For your journey in showing up for yourself, that's powerful, that's sustainable, and no one can sell you that, it has to come from within strategy number four. Stay curious. This may sound weird you're like, why do I have to be curious? But remaining curious about where you are right now is going to be so helpful. It's the antidote to the judgment and perfectionism that the fitness industry thrives on. Think about the fitness messaging. It's very black and white. You're either on the wagon or off the wagon. You're either crushing it or you're failing. You're either all in or you're giving up. There's no middle ground, no nuance, no room for being a human. So when I coach. My clients. We approach everything with curiosity instead of judgment. If a plan isn't working or life throws you off track, we meet you where you are. We adjust, pivot, and keep going. No guilt, no shame, just problem solving. Think about the times. Maybe you're right in one right now when life throws you a curve ball. Often curiosity goes out the window and it becomes a should game. It becomes a comparison game and what that does is it starts to build guilt and shame. That idea of scarcity versus coming from enoughness. But if you have curiosity, if you like, oh, okay, you know what? Life is getting really busy and you adjust with curiosity. By saying, okay, if I adjust my workouts and pivot here, then I'm going to be able to keep going. That changes everything. Transformation happens when we approach fitness and life with curiosity and compassion. It's not. Looking at it as an absolute or thinking I should just be able to maintain everything at a level 10. Never adapt, never adjust. You have to be adaptable, and as we head into the holiday weeks, curiosity is going to be your best friend. Instead of beating yourself up, which is what the fitness industry has conditioned you to do, ask yourself, what can I do today? What would feel good? How can I adjust to make this work? This is how sustainable change happens, not through guilt, not through perfection, but through showing up with curiosity and compassion for yourself, now, let's put it all together here. I truly believe in these four things, and I see how they work in my own life, especially right now with this busy season. Being in the thick of things with my kids' schedule as a business owner and someone who trains for races, that require a lot of time, as well as training my clients. It doesn't always look pretty. Trust me. Some days I'm like, Ooh, this is quite ugly. My schedule. Doesn't look pretty, but I get things done in a way that I'm meeting myself where I'm at, so that I am able to show up, fully rested, fully fed, and feeling strong and amazing. It's embracing the basics, building systems, practicing gratitude for where I'm at and staying curious. These four strategies will carry you through the next few weeks without the guilt trip. The fitness industry wants to sell you and you don't need to earn your food. I cannot stress that enough. You don't need to earn your food. You do not need to punish yourself for living. You just need to show up for yourself with consistency and compassion, speaking of systems of showing up for yourself, if you're someone who needs more support, accountability, or structured plan to keep you consistent, especially during these times. I have something for you. I'm currently taking on new clients for my online programs, cat Fitch Essentials and Cat Fit. Premier C Fit Essentials is perfect. If you want expert programming without the guesswork, you'll get customized strength training programs designed specifically for your goals, equipment that you have access to your schedule. This is I ideal for, this is ideal if you are self-motivated, but. Want the confidence of knowing you're following a plan created by an experienced coach. This program focuses on the basics, the things that actually work. Cafe Fit Premier is my full service coaching experience. This includes everything that essential has plus direct access to me for regular check-ins, live coaching. This is if you want a coach in your corner who really understands balancing the fitness with the busy life, these programs are tailored to your goals, your lifestyle. Whether you want live hands-on guidance or a plan that you know is going to work, there's an option for you. Both programs are done completely online. So whether you train at a gym or at home, we can work together. Right now, before the holidays hit, is actually the perfect time to start working with a coach. You don't have to wait till January to start fresh. Let's build these sustainable habits systems now so you are already thriving when everyone else is scrambling. If you're interested to learn more and you wanna chat about which program might be right for you, head to www.cat. Or send me a message on the podcast. All this information is in the show notes. Remember, with these four strategies, embracing the basics, building the systems, practicing gratitude for where you're at and staying curious, pick one and focus on it. You do not have to do them all at one time and know that these take time to implement. For me, it took me years to build systems. To rework systems, play around with it. Be curious. Let. Your systems. Let your workouts, let your nutrition, let how to set yourself up for success. Be led by curiosity. There's no right or wrong. It's how you can set yourself up for success. Thank you so much for tuning into Miles from Review, and I am so grateful for your support. If this episode has resonated with you, please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and share the podcast. It means so much to me to help women like you hear these messages. Stay consistent, be kind with yourself, keep moving forward on your terms. Thank you for tuning in to MilesFromHerView, 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 or share this episode. Road 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.