hi, i'm katie leonard.
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Diet is more than just calories in and calories out. It is also about the quality of the food and the ability of the body to assimilate that food and use it as energy and building blocks to restore cells, tissues, organs, and ultimately the entire human organism.
I'm Katie Leonard aka @FuelinYourself
I'm a Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Therapy Practitioner (NTP) who is obsessed with everything food and fitness.
As a personal trainer and group fitness instructor at Nike Training Studios and Lifetime Lakeshore in Irvine CA, I get to coach athletes on how to gain confidence in the gym that often permeates into all aspects of life.
As a Nutrition Therapy Practitioner (NTP), I embrace a comprehensive approach to well-being, harnessing the potential of whole foods and lifestyle modifications to foster enduring health. Recognizing that there is no universal solution to health, I do not believe in "quick fixes" and aim to address the underlying issues. Nutritional Therapy delves into the depths to unearth the root causes, offering individuals the opportunity to regain their vitality.
More about NTP...
A holistic health professional with special training in how food, our body, and overall well-being are connected. These professionals look at many things when they create a personal plan to help people become healthier. They don't just think about what we eat but also how our body takes in and uses what we eat. They look at different parts of our lives, like what we eat, how our stomach and intestines work, where we live, what our genes are like, and how active we are.
One important thing they understand is that our body's way of using food is like a trip from our brain to our bottom. This means our whole digestive system, from our brain to our stomach and all the way to the end, helps our body get important things from the food we eat. These important things give our body the energy it needs to move, repair itself, grow, and get better when we're not feeling well. These professionals use a mix of a holistic (looking at the whole picture) and science-based (using scientific information) approach to help people use food to become as healthy as possible and full of energy.
fav products
assortment of my favorite products - everything from food to daily rituals!
T.J.’s high protein
veggie burger
$5.00 / 2 burgers in store
these are seriously the easiest, most tasty veggie burgers ever! bake at 420 for 20 minutes, then combine with some roasted / boiled veggies, avocado, and rice or sweet potatoes!
T.J.’s whole grain crispbreads
$5.00
super seed crackers / toasts with 4g of protein and 3g of fiber per cracker. tastes incredible as a base with tuna salad OR avocado + hard boiled egg! they're also quite filling!
Ocean Mist Farms brussel sprouts
$4.69 / per bag
I eat these every single night and pair them with grilled salmon, chicken, tempeh, tofu - you name it! They take 4 minutes to cook, very lightly seasoned, and are and incredibly perfect soft texture.
intuitive living
I am a huge advocate for intuitive living. Since January 2021 till now, I have made a conscious effort to reconnect my mind with my body.I spent the past 3-4 years prior (2017-2020) creating a chasm between these two key components of my being in an effort to conform to diet culture, shed pounds, restrict food, and exercise until exhaustion 8+ times a week.So, while this "intuitive living" is somewhat of a new lifestyle for me, I find I am happiest listening to what my body wants, eating all the carbs, and not forcing myself to exercise for 2+ hours every morning on the days where I instead feel like going on a pensive stroll.According to the original intuitive eating experts Elyse & Evelyn, the 'intuitive eating' principles help you cultivate attunement to the physical sensations that arise from within your body to get both your biological and psychological needs met. The principles also encourage you to remove the obstacles and disruptors to attunement, which usually come from the mind in the form of rules, beliefs, and thoughts.intuitive eating
Our diet-culture mentality encourages separating our minds from our stomachs to lose weight. This launches us into a toxic cycle of feeling perpetually guilty for consuming "bad" foods, having "cheat days", and self-loathing for not being able to "stay on the wagon".
Intuitive eating instead approaches food from an 'all foods are OK' mindset in an effort to reconnect to our instinctual and inborn responses to consuming food. Intuitive eating is listening and responding to the direct messages of the body in order to meet your physical and psychological needs.
intuitive movement
For a heap of reasons, the endorphin-release of breaking-a-sweat results in a plethora of benefits for the soul. However, what I did not know was that this physiological / mind-body reaction can become an addiction of sorts and actually lead to adverse effects. I have always played sports and love being active, but there was stint where my workout regimen consumed my every waking moment.
I am in the process of adopting intuitive movement, which is the practice of connecting with your body and its internal cues...then using that to determine what type of movement, how long, and the intensity you'd like to engage in because let's the be honest - you are the expert of your body!
intuitive refueling
Curating your environment is absolutely key to living intuitively because we are ultimately guided by what we see and experiment. This could include: unfollowing accounts that do not positively serve you, saying "no" to plans you're not hyped about, journalling to get all your thoughts (both positive & not-so-positive!) down on paper, appreciating your body / friends / roof-over-your-head / health, wearing comfy clothes - the list goes on!
.Understanding yourself and what makes you feel secure and warm is what will allow you to intuitively refuel. Your preferences will change throughout your life, but knowing how to create a sanctuary (both physically and mentally) with your favorite colors, people, hobbies, etc. will set you up for success!
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A little bit more on my background...
I received my undergrad degree from Chapman University in psychology and business. After I completed my undergraduate degree, I pursued a career in advertising, where I worked for ~6 years managing 7-8 clients (from Netflix to Under Armour) at any given time. The fast-paced world of advertising granted me experience in managing cross-functional teams (from engineers to strategists to designers), structured time-management skills, and efficient organizational strategies, however, I came to realize that food, sports, fitness and nutrition are really what fire me up! In 2020, I opened my own LLC (KTLEO, LLC) selling healthy baked goods as a passion project.
This endeavor not only allowed me to develop custom recipes based on clientele’s dietary restrictions, but it also taught me tenacity; I was required to work with both community markets and the government to obtain Food Handlers permits in California and Arizona, Cottage B Food & Public Health Licenses, Tax permits, etc. In addition to my baking business and the Nutrition program, here are some of the other projects I'm working on:
- I am a Fitness Professional & Group Trainer, with experience at Lifetime Fitness in Irvine, California and private clients with a variety of fitness goals (muscle toning, blood pressure improvement, longevity, etc.).
- I teach "Healthy Habits'' cooking classes for community youth ages 6-17 with the Semper Fund and Boys & Girls Club programs. These cooking classes require me to create and teach a curriculum on macronutrients, nutrition from all around the world, and how to prepare simple meals (i.e.: Greek salad, chicken tikka masala, etc.) on a budget.
- I lead online cheese-board classes with Alice's Table and Harry & David making workshops where I virtually instruct groups of 15-60 people about the cheese-making process, 'good fats' in cheese, and how to assemble an aesthetic board.
Whether you want to crack the case of your digestive discomfort or hit your last rep in the gym, I want to be by your side! I want to help you gain the tools you need to feel in control of your hunger, reach your body movement goals, and eat the right amount for YOU — without another restrictive diet.
fitness
songs, sample workouts, and workout recommendations
- crumb and get it!
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