Meet Kate:

Hey guys! Kate here! I’m so excited to be contributing to the blog this week! Before I share some of my macro tips, I thought I’d introduce myself and share a little about my journey and how I became a part of Cali’s team.

I am first and foremost a wife and a mama to three beautiful little girls! Being a busy mom, I truly do enjoy daily exercise to combat stress and anxiety, and to have me time. I do eyelash extensions part time around my kids’ schedule and I love sharing it all on my Instagram (@kate_brownn), where I’ve met an amazing community of women that I look to as my accountability and support system.

I met Cali about 2 years ago when I started doing her lashes, and we became instant friends. I reached out to her after my baby was born to make a plan to get healthy and was so excited to be part of her Back At It 2019 Challenge as a team member and it went amazing! I ended up starting it about 13 weeks postpartum and I just put my blinders on and got to work. I lost a total of 15 pounds and wish I measured inches because that was truly so incredible for me to see that overall transformation via my before and after photos.

I do breastfeed my baby, and I have absolutely loved counting macros while nursing. Macros actually helped me realize how little I was eating before. I used to think I was one of those girls that couldn’t lose the weight until my baby was done nursing. WRONG! As it turns out, I was eating way too little and my body was hanging on to excess weight in response. Knowing what I know now has allowed me have such a relaxed approach to it all. My baby is nursing great, in fact, my supply has been better than it was with my other two daughters. I know my baby is getting what she needs, and by keeping up with my workouts I know I’m burning calories to be in enough of a deficit to reach my goals.

Kate’s top five tips on how to stay motivated and healthy as a busy mom:

1. Protein First

I like to divide my daily protein goal into 3-4 equal portions and make each meal hit that protein goal. I start with protein and build my meals around that because protein is my number one priority. When I’m not strictly counting macros, I try to get close to 40 grams of protein in every meal. I know if I do that I will reach my protein goal for the day. Bonus: Eating plenty of protein means I’m not hungry for snacks and junk food! Fill up with protein, the rest is a bonus.

2. Plan your priorities.

My workouts are non-negotiable. I start my day with a good workout and I take my kids with me to the gym day care. I talk to them about exercise and how it makes me feel. They know, “Mom exercises so she can be happy!” Making my kids a part of the journey has been amazing because they uplift me and cheer me on. My oldest even asks me if I had a good workout and tells me I’m strong (how cute is that?!). I always want to be an example to them and show them that they can set and achieve goals and that there’s nothing wrong with being strong.

I book everything we do during the day around my workouts and there is no shame in my game. Doing this is how I was able to complete every single workout during the 8-week challenge.

3. Monitor your heart rate.

My Apple Watch is my bff. Any activity tracking device (Fitbit, Apple Watch, heart rate monitor) will do. I track my workouts and it pushes me to work harder and burn more each time. Pro tip: There’s an app called Zones, if you have an Apple Watch, that shows you your heart rate zones and what kind of workout you had based on how hard you worked. It’s a really awesome tool! I love seeing how many minutes I was in the fat burning zone and how many minutes I remained in a peak zone. It’s free to download it and I love it!

4. Make social media work for you.

Who are you following? I love to follow uplifting and inspiring accounts on social media. There’s something so motivating about seeing posts in your feed from people on the same journey as you. Whether it’s a workout they tried, a recipe they shared, or just a cute gym selfie after a workout, I love it all. Seeing other women work hard at their goals is inspiring and makes me want to keep going. I also love sharing that aspect of my life to keep myself accountable and hopefully motivate someone else on their journey.

Don’t forget: If someone you follow makes you feel bad or has you believing you’re not enough, hit that unfollow button. Save yourself the grief, take care of your mind, and strictly follow people who make your journey fun and motivating.

5. Give yourself grace.

Don’t be too hard on yourself. If I have an extra treat or don’t hit my macros, I try my best to just MOVE ON. Resolve to try harder the next meal, the next workout, etc. When I used to “mess up” on my diet, my thinking around it would result in a binge and I would sabotage the whole day, and sometimes the whole week! Remember: One extra “cheat treat” wont derail your success, just like one single workout won’t give you abs. Choose to be healthy as a lifestyle instead of looking for quick fixes and give yourself grace along the way, the rest will fall into place!

One last thing I wanted to share is a quote that I love by Jennifer Rollin, an eating disorder therapist.

“Working to accept your natural body size is crucial, because the alternative is spending a lifetime chasing after a size that you were never biologically meant to be- at the detriment of your values, passions, and relationships.”

When I first read that, it hit me like a train.

Be kind to yourself. Set realistic goals for YOUR body. Don’t compare yourself to anyone! Compete with yourself. That’s why I love the Macro Method and the approach Cali has with first finding your body type then and establishing your goals! It works.

I would love to have you join me on the journey by following along (@kate_brownn is where you’ll find me) if you don’t already, and reach out to me personally if you have questions or need a buddy to hold you accountable! I would love to hear from you! I can’t wait for the next challenge and I look forward to connecting with more of you!

xo - Kate

Losing Weight While Nursing with Kate Brown