Becoming The “Fitness Junkie”

by Liz Kiser

Yes, it’s true.  I am a bonafide nerd.  In fact, when people ask me what I do for a living, I often just tell them I am a professional nerd.  The good news is, however, that you don’t have to be a nerd like me in order to dive a bit deeper into understanding things related to nutrition and fitness.  In fact, it wasn’t until someone pointed me into the direction of some helpful resources that I became, well, a fitness junkie.

Over the last four years, I dove head first into almost anything I could get my hands on in order to better understand how my nutrition coach was finally helping me lose weight and get off all those pesky medications.  If you are wondering, yes, I was that client who asked a ba-zillion questions too.  Once I had a basic understanding of how my nutrition plan worked, which was macros-based, I began to follow more nutrition and lifestyle focused people on Instagram (not influencers), which led me straight into podcasts.  I honestly didn’t know what a podcast was until about two years ago, but some of my favorite Instagram people also have a podcast #winning.

But, to be honest, a lot of the people I first began to follow were Crossfit athletes or people somehow affiliated with the sport, like Brooke Ence (@brookeence), Marston Sawyer (@marzmedia), and Camille Leblanc-Bazinet (@camillebaz).  While those people are fun to follow, and Brooke does have a Naked program I once followed, I am by no means a crossfit athlete, so I needed to expand my horizons.  

Since then, I’ve added people like EC Synkowski who runs Optimize Me Nutrition (@optimizemenutrition) and hosts a podcast called The Consistency Project.  She is the founder of the #800gram Challenge where people are encouraged to eat 800 grams of fruits and/or vegetables a day.  It may sound like a lot, but really it isn’t.  If you struggle to find ways to get more healthy fruits and veggies into your diet, look up EC’s Instagram or listen to her podcast.  She would be a great person to start with if you are just starting out or want clear information quickly.  Her podcasts are often thirty minutes or less.

Other podcasts I enjoy are:

Fitness/Nutrition (Crossfit affiliated too)

  • Chasing Excellence with Ben Bergeron
  • Thick Thighs Save Lives (put on by the ladies who own Constantly Varied Gear)
  • BIN Radio (Black Iron Nutrition)
  • RP Podcast (Renaissance Periodization)

Fitness/Mindset

  • The Key Nutrition Podcast
  • The Tailored Life Podcast

Functional Medicine approach to Health

  • Pursuing Health with Julie Foucher
  • The Doctor’s Farmacy with Dr. Mark Hyman, M.D.

Also, if you are a female who struggles with hormones or perimenopause/menopause, then the Dr. Brooke Show is a great podcast for you.  Dr. Beth Westie (drbethwestie.com) is another resource for those looking for guidance specifically related to cycle issues.  She has a great book The Female Fat Solution Book where she dives into all things related to females, including how our cycles impact our body throughout each week of the month. 

Finally, if you’d prefer to watch your information rather than read it, I do follow a few YouTubers.  A fitness, nutrition and lifestyle blogger’s channel I really enjoy is called Simply Manders.  She posts vlogs every Monday and Thursday.  She is a Black Iron Nutrition coach, as well as a former CF teams athlete.  Her channel ranges from nutrition and meal prep tips to what she does in a day to beauty and food hauls and so on.  She provides a good mix of knowledge with laughs and cute dogs.  

Lastly, for my fellas, if you are still reading, I love to catch episodes of The Buttery Bros.  Are these guys really health and nutrition focused? I mean sort-of.  Marston Sawyer and Heeber Cannon, two former Crossfit Inc. videographers, make up the dynamic duo of the Buttery Bros.  They go around and document/interview various people from strongmen to crossfit athletes and health and fitness enthusiasts, like Brooks Laich. 

So, if you want to take your health and fitness knowledge a step further, I’d suggest any one of the podcasts above.  In some way or another one podcast led me to another one which led me to another and so on.  Thus, find one you like, and pretty soon you’ll have your own bag of suggestions to offer someone else. 

Happy learning!