Obsess Less, Explore More

Krys welcomes registered dietitian and fitness coach Carley Horan to discuss everything from building confidence in the gym to developing a healthier relationship with food. Carley shares her journey as the founder of Athena Athletics, a community-driven fitness program empowering young women to fuel their bodies better and thrive in weight training.

The conversation explores the nuances of balancing personal and professional goals, the science of nutrition, and the importance of consistency and self-exploration in fitness and wellness. Whether you’re starting a side hustle, tackling fitness goals, or striving for a more intentional lifestyle, this episode is packed with practical advice and empowering insights to kickstart your year.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

1. The Athena Athletics Story: How Carley built a thriving fitness program to help young women build confidence in the weight room.
2. Starting a Side Hustle: Tips for balancing passion projects with financial security and realistic expectations.
3. The Role of Resistance Training: Why strength training is vital for overall health and how to get started, even if you’re a beginner.
4. Food and Fitness Myths Debunked: Carley breaks down misconceptions about protein, carbs, and incorporating all foods into your diet.
5. Exploration as a Mindset: How to approach fitness, nutrition, and personal growth with curiosity and openness.

Episode Highlights:

• Carley’s tips for incorporating weight training into your routine, starting with body weight exercises and progressing gradually.
• Debunking myths about protein and carbs and understanding their roles in muscle building and overall nutrition.
• The importance of exploring your body’s capabilities through various forms of resistance training, from bands to barbells.
• Krys and Carley discuss redefining success in fitness and business, emphasizing the importance of consistency, intentionality, and self-discovery.
• Carley’s philosophy on allowing “all foods to fit” in your diet and making intentional choices to support your health and happiness.

Quick Fire Nutrition Tips:

• Eat Before or After a Workout? Both! Timing depends on your goals and energy needs.
• Is Fasting Good or Bad? Usually bad; it depends on the individual and context.
• Top Foods to Reduce Bloating: Fermented foods, water, and fiber-rich options.
• Top Foods for Blood Pressure: Whole grains, lean protein, and fiber-rich foods.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• Learn more about Carley’s mission and Athena Athletics: cjtrain.com
• Connect with Carley on Instagram: @cj.train
• For personalized koaching and updates, visit FitLikeKrys.com

Take Action:
This year, explore your fitness, nutrition, and personal growth goals with curiosity and flexibility. Start small, stay consistent, and remember that every step forward counts.

Subscribe & Share:
If you loved this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs a little extra inspiration. Let’s spread the word that fit is a mindset!

Transcript

Carly Horan [0:00 - 0:00]: Foreign. 

Krys [0:12 - 1:28]: Welcome back to the Fit Like Chris podcast. I have a really amazing, special, awesome guest today that I'm so excited to talk to and I feel like we haven't caught up in a little while. So this podcast might be half catch up. Like you're listening to a phone conversation of ours. And also we're gonna get into some stuff that she is an expert on and also that I'm just curious about these days. So I would like to welcome our next guest. She is from New Jersey. That's actually where we met in Morristown, but she now lives in Manhattan Beach. She is a registered dietitian, nutritionist, specializing in sports nutrition and eating behavior, which we're going to talk about a little bit today. She's. She has a lot of letters on the end of her signature. She's. She got an MSR dc. I don't even know what all this means. Yeah, she'll. She'll tell us. Essentially, she's a trainer. She can tell you how to eat, she can tell you how to move and, and the whys behind that stuff. And she is recently the founder of Athena Athletics and her mission is to empower women to fueling their bodies better and to feel more confident in a weight room. That's a real specific mission. I love it. 

Carly Horan [1:28 - 1:29]: Thank you. 

Krys [1:29 - 1:29]: Welcome. 

Carly Horan [1:29 - 1:32]: Thank you so much for having me. This is so fun. 

Krys [1:32 - 1:35]: Thanks for flying all the way from California just for the. 

Carly Horan [1:36 - 1:40]: It's more of like when I'm flying here and let's add crystal to the calendar. 

Krys [1:40 - 1:50]: I love it. Every time she's coming in, she's like, okay, this is what I'm coming. What do you have going on? What am I doing? And I'm like, oh my God. When you said you were coming this week, I was like, perfect. Because this date was already planned. 

Carly Horan [1:50 - 1:51]: Like, can I be a part of. 

Krys [1:51 - 2:06]: Yeah, everything. So I want to talk about a bunch of things today, but the first thing I want to talk about is Athena Athletics because that is your heart and soul right now. You just started it this year or 2023. 

Carly Horan [2:06 - 2:25]: So it evolved. I started training athletes in like 4th, 5th, 6th grade girls, mainly lacrosse players because I was a lacrosse athlete. So I'm in the lacrosse community. Both shout out your college usc. 

Krys [2:25 - 2:26]: Okay. 

Carly Horan [2:26 - 3:11]: Fight on. Go Trojans. But yeah, like lacrosse. Let's just start there. Like, it just, it's just blessed me in so many ways. And one way has given me this space in Manhattan beach to support the growing lacrosse community and female athletes there. And there's a ton doing so many different sports. And I had some parents ask me to like, teach their kids how to run. And I was like, okay. I mean, I've done every type of fitness under the sun. And to be able to work with these younger girls was obviously just. I felt very connected to them because I was them at one time. And it just got. I really benefited from friendship circles and like a little bit of the keeping up with the Jones. 

Krys [3:11 - 3:13]: Like, what's your friendship circle? 

Carly Horan [3:13 - 3:15]: Meaning, like, I want to do this because my friend's doing it. 

Krys [3:16 - 3:16]: Okay. 

Carly Horan [3:16 - 3:18]: Oh, like Sally's gonna go to Coach Carly. 

Krys [3:18 - 3:18]: Got it. 

Carly Horan [3:18 - 3:19]: Allie has to go to Coach Carly. 

Krys [3:20 - 3:20]: Got it. Got it. 

Carly Horan [3:20 - 3:21]: Rebecca needs to go to coach Carly. 

Krys [3:21 - 3:22]: Got it. 

Carly Horan [3:22 - 4:07]: You're going to coach Carly. Well, you have to be going to coach Carly. You're not doing Coach Carly. You got to go to coach Carly. So word of mouth and it's very, very social. And if you're not coming. I've also experienced that end of things. Like when people are choosing not to come, sometimes it's because their friends are not going. So I benefited from like people feeling like they need to do training, which is a whole other topic. And youth sports. And it's like the over scheduling of youth sports. But anyways, teaching girls had a run and then I had. Yeah, I had a gym, a home gym that kind of was able to open up to that group as they got more mature. And now we are in a real gym that I'm renting space out of and getting these girls to use barbells. Going in eighth grade, going into high school, squatting over 100 pounds. 

Krys [4:07 - 4:08]: That's so cool. 

Carly Horan [4:08 - 4:19]: So it is so sick. And I've gone from just lacrosse players. Now we have like 12 different sports represented. And I operate year round, but the girls come in and out based on their sports schedule. 

Krys [4:19 - 4:24]: And what's the age group that you sort of would say you are? Mostly. 

Carly Horan [4:24 - 4:48]: Mostly fifth to eighth grade. And we now are like six. I have a couple more high schoolers, and it's just a totally different demographic that I'm used to, that we're used to in fitness, doing, like spin for, you know, 25 and up and how much the parent's life is involved in the child's participation. 

Krys [4:48 - 6:39]: So for the past, you know, six or eight years, I've known you. I can remember really early on from first meeting you, which we're not going to go into that story. I think we have on another podcast. You were always a little lost because you did so much. You were just like, do I go this way or do I go this way? Should I do one on one? Should I do group? Should I do, am I doing yoga? Am I doing this? Should I start my own business? Should I work for this? But I need this. And you've always, you know, randomly, I'll get a phone call or a text from you. Like, and I really appreciate that by the way, asking my guidance because I, it seems like I know what I'm doing most of the times, but it's definitely just like flying by the seat of my pants also most of the times. But I get those, I've always gotten those, those phone calls or texts from you. So it was really amazing when I saw you kind of made a decision. And I think that's the first thing I wanted to talk about in this podcast as we're going into a new year, starting a new year. A lot of people, career is like a huge, you know, it's a big part of your life. And people spend a lot of their time doing things that, you know, they think they should do or maybe they went to school for. And I'm not going to ask you how you do it because that's not a question anybody can answer. But I do want to ask when you, when you made the decision to kind of pick something and, and kind of go forward with it, take a risk, did you have, did you wait until like you had the business to do it or did you do it knowing that the business would come? Like, did you wait until there was the demand to kind of make the switch? Was that what helped you to make the switch? 

Carly Horan [6:39 - 8:17]: Yeah, that obviously gives you confidence, but you also have to know that. So there's two things. One, it's like, it's like really, it's, it's like to hear your reflection of me is really cool to hear. And to be honest, I still feel like I am confused and I'm. Because I ended up having to go back to get a job for security. And like, that's a, that's a big part of the whole thing. Like, it's a risk and you lose security for. So for context, like I was working at a clinic as a registered dietitian, part time coaching lacrosse and having this growing Athena fan, like base. And then Athena got to the point where I made more money coaching Athena than I did at my clinical job. And it really was frustrating to me that I went, paid like $70,000 to get a master's in nutrition, become a registered dietitian. And I'm sitting at this part time job Looking at the people who are ahead of me being like, I don't want their life, I don't want their job. I don't want to do this. And so, like, the second Athena can do better than this, I'm out of here. And Athena has done so well and still didn't give me the security that I needed to live in California and fly home when I need to. If I get sick, if I'm out and I can't be there, I don't have coaches to help me out yet. So it was like, I took the risk. I did 100% full time, Athena. I did some online nutrition coaching for one year and I said, we're doing it for one year. And it didn't stop. And I went 110% for one year. 

Krys [8:17 - 8:17]: Love it. 

Carly Horan [8:17 - 8:49]: And it was really cool yesterday to sit down with my brother who's now getting his mba. So I'm like, yo, financial consultant, Nice financial advising. Thank you. And to have looked at all the financials that I've kept and bookkeeping that I've kept for a year and look back on, like, this is where you spent too much money that. To actually have data, like, and I made the decision. So to answer your question, the decision was more a little bit connected to my age too. So I'm 29 years old. I've. I've had this business on the side that's always functioning. 

Krys [8:49 - 8:49]: Are you. 

Carly Horan [8:49 - 8:51]: You're 30? I'm 31. 

Krys [8:51 - 8:52]: 31 now. Okay. 

Carly Horan [8:52 - 9:30]: But at 29 years old in 2023, I was like, I have this growing thing that if I feel like if I gave it 100%, I'd really like to know, like, what it could be as. Almost like a bucket list item. Yeah, I wasn't. Yeah. Because I knew it was so risky and I was like, I'm doing it for a year and now I have data to be like, how much do I like entrepreneurship? How much group, in person training, online, one on one coaching? Like, I still have all these different things that I can provide. And I think I'm at a point now where, like, it's still not crystal clear, but I'm definitely more aware of what I like doing the best, where I show up my best self. 

Krys [9:31 - 9:35]: Do you think it'll ever be crystal clear? Like, do you feel. 

Carly Horan [9:35 - 10:28]: Well, I don't know. I think I also did it because you have to. And I feel like a lot of your listeners could relate to this, like, being a woman and like, wanting a family or not, like, having to consider that with your Job, like being a dietitian and a fitness coach is cool because you can do the part time, full time, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. And I was actually in this process looking at all the women who are very successful. There's, there's the fitness health coaches type and then there's like your dietitians running private practices. I was doing a little bit of both. And I very clearly saw the women who are most successful were not single. And I was like, yeah, Carly, like, you have to remember, like, you're not going to be as successful as them because your business pays for your whole life. It pays for the business expenses and it pays for your life. And I was able to do it because I didn't have a ton of overhead. 

Krys [10:28 - 10:28]: Okay. 

Carly Horan [10:28 - 10:35]: And in order for it to grow, I need more overhead. So it's just been a big lesson in like, how to run a business. 

Krys [10:35 - 10:38]: How did the, how does the relationship correlate to the success of the business? 

Carly Horan [10:39 - 10:43]: I just think having, like, I don't know what it is. I don't know what it being. 

Krys [10:43 - 10:43]: Okay. 

Carly Horan [10:43 - 11:04]: You just upset women who are not single. Like, a lot of the mom CEOs got it. Running the best private practices. Got it. Because maybe, I don't know, I'm like, well, my. One of my biggest business expenses is my health insurance. Like, I have to pay for that by myself and my rent. And if I want to travel, like, the business pays my flight home to New Jersey for Christmas. 

Krys [11:04 - 11:12]: How do you define success? When you say they have the most successful businesses, what are you seeing that's telling you that they're successful? 

Carly Horan [11:12 - 11:15]: True. Well, I don't actually know. Right. It's just, I like. 

Krys [11:15 - 11:16]: Yeah. How do you define it? 

Carly Horan [11:16 - 11:22]: Some of them, some of the dietitians are running like now they're doing how to make a six figure private practice. 

Krys [11:22 - 11:22]: Got it. 

Carly Horan [11:22 - 11:49]: So to me, I'm like, six figures. That would give me a lot of financial freedom. But they also have support of another human helping provide for like their home and their. I'm assuming they're getting support with stuff, you know, um, so it was just, it like validated that like, you're there, but maybe you're not there yet. And like, it's okay if you have to go back to work to get some of this stuff because, like, you need support. 

Krys [11:49 - 11:54]: So right now, as of today, you are working part time. Full time. 

Carly Horan [11:54 - 12:05]: I have a full. So I'm back to. I was asked, did not pursue, but was asked to run a nutrition. Sorry, the dietary side of an eating disorder clinic. 

Krys [12:05 - 12:06]: Okay. 

Carly Horan [12:07 - 12:19]: And that's why I include food behavior is like a huge part of what I do. Because knowing the facts about food and nutrition is one thing, but being able to understand like someone's decision to change a behavior. 

Krys [12:19 - 12:19]: Yeah. 

Carly Horan [12:19 - 12:20]: Really is what it all comes down to. 

Krys [12:20 - 12:21]: Yep. 

Carly Horan [12:21 - 12:31]: And I'm just seeing the most extreme cases of that which has helped me tremendously and just like my philosophy around health and it still is like ever changing as I get more and more cases. 

Krys [12:31 - 12:33]: Is it women and men this co. 

Carly Horan [12:33 - 12:37]: Ed and it's anywhere from 12 to like 60 years old. 

Krys [12:37 - 12:37]: Okay. 

Carly Horan [12:37 - 13:18]: So you're getting people in all different phases of life. So I'm running. I'm the dietary manager at an eating disorder clinic called Malaga Cove in that area. And then after work I'm just running Athena, which I've decided is like the thing I love the most. Doing online nutrition coaching was awesome. But I feel like being a person, group dynamics, group cl, like where we met, like the group and the energy and camaraderie and being able to facilitate the connection between people is the best. And that's why I actually don't like. I do like this clinical setting because it kind of runs like a classroom. Like it's a school for people who are trying to learn how to eat. Again, like you would go to school to learn math and science. 

Krys [13:18 - 14:16]: That's. I mean that job is really valuable for everything else you're doing and just for. I mean you're gonna learn a ton there. But what I would like to observe and comment on how to find what you want to do and it being crystal clear and doing what you love, I think is a misconception that doing what you love is absent of things that you don't like. And there's a lot of things I do that I don't like, but it's so that I could do what I love. And so I think whatever it is that people want to do as a side hustle or your make like you're never going to. You can definitely fill your time and days and find out where you feel, you know, the most lit up. But to grow any business, in my experience, you also. There's also components that you're not going to like so that you can grow the part that you love. 

Carly Horan [14:16 - 14:16]: Right. 

Krys [14:16 - 15:43]: And a year is a great amount of time for data. And I can't remember. Oh, I think it was Gary V. Where I'm sure a lot of people have said this, but some like if you're not willing to do something for 10 years. Like, just not don't. But, like, that's where you're going to see, like, can you be consistent for that amount of time? And I don't think you have to give up your day job to find out. I think what you're doing is really smart and it's realistic. Yeah. And you're totally right. That support aspect is essential. That was one of the ways that I was able to start a business is because I had support. If I didn't, I don't know, I probably would have done exactly what you're doing because that's really smart. Before I need to get into this before we. You leave. Because most people, although starting a side business and hearing how you started Athena is amazing and inspirational. You are an expert on food and nutrition, and that is the biggest. All the questions, all the concerns. Now they have different colors, you know, in terms of, like, age and goals and seasons of life. And so I have a couple things that I wanted to go over with you, but the first is, and when I introduced you, I kind of quoted nutritionist, because that's something that you are a nutritionist, but you're also a registered dietitian. 

Carly Horan [15:43 - 15:43]: Yeah. 

Krys [15:43 - 15:46]: And not all nutritionists are registered dietitians. 

Carly Horan [15:46 - 15:47]: How many times have you gone already? 

Krys [15:47 - 16:05]: Yes. So it's so annoying, but it's so important to distinguish it and also distinguish it from just googling something. Right, right. So, like, what's the value of a registered dietitian and the information, you know, versus just like googling something or a nutritionist? Right. 

Carly Horan [16:05 - 16:26]: So, yeah. So a registered dietitian is like the parallel I draw is it's kind of like registered nurse. We're part of an interdisciplinary clinical or medical team. And the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics or the Commission of Nutrition and Dietetics in the US Is like our governing body. 

Krys [16:26 - 16:26]: Got it. 

Carly Horan [16:26 - 16:37]: And they gave us the credential rd A few years ago, they added the N to say, represent nutritionist. So we now have a choice. Do we want to be an RD or do we want to be an rdn? 

Krys [16:37 - 16:37]: Right. 

Carly Horan [16:37 - 16:45]: And that was. I don't. I think it was to kind of soften the blow because a registered dietitian can come off as, like, food police. 

Krys [16:45 - 16:45]: Right. 

Carly Horan [16:46 - 16:57]: So they added nutritionists to kind of soften it. But then it got confusing because so many people in their regular language will just. Anyone who's an expert on food is referred to as a nutritionist. 

Krys [16:57 - 16:58]: Right. 

Carly Horan [16:58 - 17:15]: So then that, like, muddies the waters. So, yes, registered dietitians can be referred to. As nutritionists. But a. There are a lot of nutritionists with certifications or health coaches who've had personal experience or which are. Can be very good coaches. 

Krys [17:15 - 17:15]: Right. 

Carly Horan [17:15 - 17:21]: Like you. Yeah, like very good coaches. Because again, it's about behavior change and who's going to inspire you to make the change. 

Krys [17:22 - 17:22]: Right. 

Carly Horan [17:22 - 17:33]: There's a lot of dietitians who might be super research clinical who you don't connect with. So that doesn't mean we're going to be your best coach necessarily. But when it comes to, like, understanding nutrition science, it's from a. 

Krys [17:34 - 17:35]: You. You have the medical. 

Carly Horan [17:35 - 17:57]: The biggest difference is that we can administer medical nutrition therapy, which is like a very specific. It gets down to like, giving tube feeds to people in the hospital. Tpn, like is a IV that you would give someone. You could kill someone if you don't give them the. Right. There's a whole. There's a lot of math involved and like that. So that's the soup. That's the most clinical. 

Krys [17:57 - 17:58]: Right. 

Carly Horan [17:58 - 18:06]: But even in. In, you know, I'm an eating disorder, it's like extremely clinical, very behavioral. But you wouldn't just have any nutritionists come in. 

Krys [18:06 - 18:07]: Yeah. 

Carly Horan [18:07 - 18:10]: And help someone with anorexia or binge eating disorder. 

Krys [18:10 - 18:16]: Yeah. So there's some. There's some medical and science or a lot of. I mean, you went to school. You have a degree. 

Carly Horan [18:16 - 18:16]: Yeah. 

Krys [18:16 - 18:19]: In it. And then additional certification as well. Beyond the degree. 

Carly Horan [18:19 - 18:20]: Exactly. 

Krys [18:20 - 18:45]: I want to. So I have a really flk method. We have a couple ways that we do a quick fire. Our class is 15 minutes. At one point, I had a quick fire picks email that was like five things. It didn't last long because I didn't feel like doing that anymore. But I am going to do a quick fire with you for nutrition because I have so many questions. 

Carly Horan [18:45 - 18:47]: Cool. And see how concise I can be. 

Krys [18:47 - 18:53]: You're okay. And I was like. I was actually thinking of you. And I'm like, I don't know if this format is going to work for. 

Carly Horan [18:53 - 18:55]: A really good challenge for me. 

Krys [18:56 - 18:56]: Yeah. 

Carly Horan [18:56 - 19:04]: I've been called a yapper. I got it. I got a. I got a sweatshirt by a friend this week. This is professional yapper. I was like, let's try to be more concise. 

Krys [19:04 - 19:11]: It's amazing. So this will be your first challenge and lesson because you're only going to have one minute. 

Carly Horan [19:11 - 19:12]: Okay. Okay. 

Krys [19:12 - 19:21]: So basically, if you can answer the question yes or no, just stick with that even though deep down you want to explain it. 

Carly Horan [19:21 - 19:21]: Totally. 

Krys [19:21 - 19:22]: You just. 

Carly Horan [19:22 - 19:24]: Okay. Okay, okay. 

Krys [19:24 - 19:33]: Let me Grab it and I. When the minute is up, if you're still explaining something, if you want to. Well, kind of coming off, it's fine. Okay. 

Carly Horan [19:33 - 19:34]: I won't be offended. 

Krys [19:35 - 19:41]: I have so many questions, so I also posted to ask for questions. I have so many. So we'll get to as many. 

Carly Horan [19:41 - 19:41]: We'll get. 

Krys [19:41 - 19:42]: Let's go. 

Carly Horan [19:42 - 19:44]: I'm ready for it. 

Krys [19:44 - 19:47]: Okay. I'll start the clock after I ask your first question. 

Carly Horan [19:48 - 19:55]: Like, oh, we have perfect. The timer is there. Okay. I'm not foreign to the hit timer. Okay. Also my best friend. So. 

Krys [19:55 - 20:01]: Wait, is the sound on? Hold on. Let's put the beeping on. I don't know if the ball. Oh, okay. 

Carly Horan [20:01 - 20:01]: Wonderful. 

Krys [20:02 - 20:05]: You'll hear it beep. I don't think they heard it beep, but you'll hear it. 

Carly Horan [20:05 - 20:08]: My family's going to hear this. Like, let's do the stir at the dinner table. 

Krys [20:09 - 20:17]: Bring the hit clock up. Okay. Eat. Before or after a workout? 

Carly Horan [20:17 - 20:18]: Both. 

Krys [20:19 - 20:22]: Is fasting good or bad for you? 

Carly Horan [20:23 - 20:24]: Usually bad. 

Krys [20:25 - 20:29]: What? Yes or no? Supplements. 

Carly Horan [20:30 - 20:36]: Yeah, really. Get your labs, get some lab work and decide if you really need it. 

Krys [20:36 - 20:39]: What's your go to breakfast? 

Carly Horan [20:40 - 20:45]: Peanut butter toast and Greek yogurt with granola, chocolate, granola and berries. 

Krys [20:46 - 20:49]: Name three foods that can help reduce bloating. 

Carly Horan [20:51 - 20:56]: Fermented foods, water, fiber rich foods. 

Krys [20:57 - 20:59]: Same question to help blood pressure. 

Carly Horan [21:01 - 21:05]: Fiber rich foods. Lean protein, whole grains. 

Krys [21:06 - 21:09]: Can nutrition help symptoms of menopause? 

Carly Horan [21:11 - 21:13]: Yes, but not my specialty. 

Krys [21:14 - 21:17]: Oh, you had three seconds. Go on. We want to know more about this one. 

Carly Horan [21:17 - 21:20]: Okay. No, for menopause. 

Krys [21:20 - 21:21]: Yeah. 

Carly Horan [21:21 - 21:22]: Or what? 

Krys [21:22 - 21:23]: You were. You were just thinking of something else? 

Carly Horan [21:24 - 21:25]: No, I just. 

Krys [21:26 - 21:27]: That was good. 

Carly Horan [21:27 - 21:35]: Wait, also, I thought I had a minute for each one, so that's amazing. Okay. Okay. I didn't. That's amazing. You just had one minute for all of those? 

Krys [21:35 - 21:37]: Yeah, we got a lot of information. 

Carly Horan [21:37 - 22:00]: Okay, that's great. Yeah, there's like so many nuances to all of those, but the menopause one is actually the hardest question for me because I. I have never really. I don't have a lot of clinical experience with women going through menopause. I've never gone through it myself, and I don't even remember my mom going through it because she didn't even talk about it, so it seemed like not that big of a deal to her. Lucky for her, I've heard other women talk about going through it. 

Krys [22:00 - 22:20]: Yeah, it' definitely a hot topic right now. I'm actually going to be doing one of my podcasts about it. Yep, that's One, One of the things that, you know, you and I have in common where we don't like to talk about things unless we're going through it or I've done it or have. But I've. I've been fortunate to coach a ton of women. 

Carly Horan [22:20 - 22:22]: Yes, I'm sure. Yep. 

Krys [22:22 - 22:22]: That's like. 

Carly Horan [22:22 - 23:01]: And I feel bad. I feel like I'm never as well versed. I will say this, like, based on what the, the experts that I have listened to in the field, in the dietitians, basic nutrition coaching that you would give anyone, it usually is consistency. Maybe you're going to tweak the amount of carbohydrates or like, if you're looking at macronutrient ratios, you'll tweak it a little bit, but it's still going to be whole grains, lean protein, fruits and vegetables. Like, maybe your plate is going to be half fruits and vegetables instead of half your plate being starchy carbohydrates. And like, maybe your protein's gonna be a little bit higher. And. 

Krys [23:01 - 23:02]: Go ahead. 

Carly Horan [23:02 - 23:43]: My last thing was me. It's act like weight training. And that's why I, and I've spoken to. There's a woman in Manhattan beach who is, like, trying to change the story for the South Bay is like the greater area that I live in in Southern California, in South Los Angeles. And it's this, it's, it's not too different than Morris county, but just women feeling like we're only gonna do Pilates and yoga or, like, walk or be cardio bunnies. Like, don't be afraid of the weight room. That stimulus is going to change your insulin resistance and increase your muscle mass and help you, you know, change your body composition from a higher muscle mass to less fat mass. 

Krys [23:43 - 24:17]: I do just want to. This is a great thing to end on because this is something that Peter Griffin grinds my gears. Vibes. I get asked about protein, and I'm sure you get asked, how much protein should I eat? Several times a day, most days. Some question about protein, especially women, especially women over 40 and strength training. So I just want to ask, and just be clear, to build muscle. Because that's what we want to do when we're. 

Carly Horan [24:17 - 24:17]: That's like the goal. 

Krys [24:17 - 24:18]: Okay. 

Carly Horan [24:18 - 24:21]: Yeah. So to build muscle, that's going to help the. 

Krys [24:21 - 24:27]: What are the components? What are, what do you do to build muscle? 

Carly Horan [24:27 - 24:30]: You have to do resistance exercise. 

Krys [24:30 - 24:33]: Okay, pause. What is resistance exercise? 

Carly Horan [24:33 - 24:37]: And look, a variety of ways. Your own body weight is a form of resistance. 

Krys [24:37 - 24:38]: Oh, thank you. 

Carly Horan [24:39 - 24:40]: Start with your own Body weight. 

Krys [24:40 - 24:41]: Oh my God. 

Carly Horan [24:41 - 24:45]: You never touched a weight before. Don't go, don't grab, don't go. Grab a 30 pound dumbbell. 

Krys [24:45 - 24:58]: This is so important for you to say because this is similar to the whole like, I'm gonna get big if I start. It's like the amount of work you have to do to get big. A lot of people ain't even gonna. 

Carly Horan [24:58 - 24:58]: Not even close. 

Krys [24:58 - 25:00]: You're not even. It's so hard to do that. 

Carly Horan [25:00 - 25:01]: Right. 

Krys [25:01 - 25:10]: But I think the most important thing you just said, and I'm gonna let you keep going, is that you're. If you cannot do 10 push ups, let's start there. Yeah, let's just start with a push up. 

Carly Horan [25:10 - 25:14]: Oh, don't even pick up a weight if you can't move your own body weight. 

Krys [25:14 - 25:15]: This is great information. 

Carly Horan [25:15 - 25:58]: I would even say like most guys, people in a gym, like, I would love to see what everyone's push up form looks like. You can't move your own body. That's why I think yoga is so fascinating to people because you'll these like super fit people who might like do these incredible things, come into a yoga class and can't even hold up their own body weight in like really good form in a Warrior two or struggle with a down dog. It's like, whoa. You don't have the mobility or the, or the strength to hold your own body weight. So I think that's really important. Your own body weight is a form of resistance. Other ones that I think are underrated are. But I know you are bands. I think bands are incredibly underrated. 

Krys [25:58 - 25:59]: You can pull. Yeah. 

Carly Horan [25:59 - 26:19]: And just like, I don't know, just think about all the people who also end up in physical therapy. Like you're getting bands, so why not just do bands? You don't go to. I call it prehab. Yeah, go to do your prehab. So you don't have to go to rehab like, and do bands, like, just make them a part of your workout or your warmup or so when, when. 

Krys [26:19 - 26:34]: You'Re doing, let's say you're doing body weight, but you're also doing 5, 10, 15 pounds. Like, when do you know, like in your building muscle, you know, journey. Yeah, when do you know to. That you're not doing enough weight or to increase weight. 

Carly Horan [26:34 - 26:52]: So I tell all my girls that because I let them make all their own choices. It's like very much like athlete led. I'm not like, okay, time to do like you will I. That I'm not doing my job if I'm not. The whole point is for you to learn and be intuitive about, like, oh, this is easy, or this is too hard. 

Krys [26:52 - 26:52]: Yeah. 

Carly Horan [26:52 - 27:00]: And so the last two to three reps of your set, and I think, like, generally speaking, doing anywhere from like. 

Krys [27:00 - 27:04]: 8 to 12 reps of something like a minute, maybe. Sure, yeah. 

Carly Horan [27:04 - 27:19]: The last, like, two to three reps have to be good form, but, like, you're really struggling to finish. Bicep curl, for example, if you're like, the last three should be. Then you know you're at a good weight. 

Krys [27:19 - 27:19]: That's good. 

Carly Horan [27:20 - 28:28]: If you're feeling that, say you're doing 10 and you're feeling that at rep 4 or 5, it's too heavy. But if it's at 8, 9, or 10, you're golden. And you're going to keep doing that weight until 10. All 10 are like, oh, I got this. Yeah, this is easy. Time to go up and only go up. So my rule of thumb for the girls, too, is upper body go to the two to five pounds every set. So if you are doing bicep curls, you're doing 10 reps. Say you're doing them three rounds of those. This was easy. Okay, do all 10. This second set, go up by two and a half to five pounds. So if you started with tens, now you're doing, you know, 12 and a half. That's just the way they are to be, too. But 12 and a half or 15 is your next one. And then maybe you stay there for the third set because it's hard. But if that's also easy, then Maybe you're hitting 17.5 or 20s on your third set, but you probably will stay at the same one for two weeks before you go up. That's how like. And just to speak to, like, you're not going to go from £10 to £25 in two weeks. 

Krys [28:28 - 28:28]: Right. 

Carly Horan [28:29 - 28:31]: It will take two months to get there. If you're consistent. 

Krys [28:32 - 28:46]: If you're consistent. And so when do you know or when do you stop adding weight? Like, what is enough? And can you build muscle by keeping the same weight and let's say, increasing the reps? Like, do you want to go up? 

Carly Horan [28:46 - 29:07]: You could totally increase the reps, usually for hyper per trophy, which is a fancy way of saying muscle growth. And then there's total strength. So it's like, can you do what. What's the heaviest weight you can do for one rep? I don't think anyone, the general population needs to be doing that. Unless you're like a bodybuilder or you're an athlete. 

Krys [29:07 - 29:07]: Right. 

Carly Horan [29:08 - 30:07]: I think if you're staying within the like 8 to 12 or maybe like 10 to 15 rep range, depending on what it is, I think the next thing people should think about is like, be consistent with that stuff. Go up, go up, go up. Maybe go up in your rep count. But then start thinking about two things, tempo and how to be powerful. So let's do like squats for example, because bicep curls are bicep curls. But like squats is a very athletic move. It's also very functional and it's like you need to be able to sit up and stand down for your entire life. Second, you lose that, your quality of life's going to decrease. So being able to squat in a variety of ways. Feet are wide, feet are narrow, feet are staggered. You're doing a single leg squat. You can do a single leg squat on one leg, but it's harder on the other leg. Doing a split squat. Doing a split squat with a medicine ball with two dumbbells. Offset one dumbbell on one side, one on the other side. So then it becomes, that's where fitness for me becomes really, really fun. And I know for you too, but. 

Krys [30:07 - 30:11]: Like the modifications, functional and functional and. 

Carly Horan [30:11 - 30:25]: Offsetting it and learning. Actually I'm going to learn how to have better posture in my squat now that I build the leg strength. Right now we only think about the orientation of my hips. Am I always in like a super arch or am I always like under tucked or can I find more of a neutral pelvis? 

Krys [30:25 - 30:25]: Yeah. 

Carly Horan [30:25 - 30:40]: And so it becomes kind of like yoga where you start to explore your body and how like there's one thing to be able to squat a lot of weight, but like can you squat that weight with really good form and can you actually like orient your spine and your hips to. Now we're like, for me it's like I'm now pain free. 

Krys [30:40 - 30:41]: Yeah. 

Carly Horan [30:41 - 30:42]: Because I've stabilized my spine. 

Krys [30:42 - 30:43]: Yeah. 

Carly Horan [30:43 - 30:48]: And my squats become a core, a standing core exercise for me. So I'm not on the floor doing crunches all the time. 

Krys [30:48 - 30:48]: Yeah. 

Carly Horan [30:49 - 30:58]: It's like playing around with all of that, keeping it functional, getting creative and challenging yourself with being off balance and doing one legged things. 

Krys [30:58 - 32:11]: I'm so happy that this conversation worked itself in and we talked about a bunch of things. But this is. I always worry that strength training or like lifting heavy weights because that's what most people attribute it to. And eating protein are going to, especially as we go into the new year for women are going to be things that women Upset, obsess about and you're forgetting about all the other things. Protein is not the only nutrient on the plate. Weights are not the only type of movement. Like, because if you can lift a hundred pounds but you can't squat with proper form, or your back starts to sink when you're doing a push up, or it's like mobility Pilates for core. You know, like yoga for mobility. Lifting weights to build or lifting weight. Weight that is giving your body resistance so that you can build muscle. It's just everything, you know, going. And then you have the mental health aspect and then you have. And it's just there's so much stuff to do. So I just, I love this conversation because it's like, yes, like let's do that. But also take into consideration that there's all these ways to look at it. It doesn't look one way. 

Carly Horan [32:11 - 33:34]: And I would even say like weightlifting is very important. But again, like walking up a hill, treadmill on an incline bike with resistance, all different forms of resistance exercise. And I think what is really cool is when you have this component of like maybe lifting weights or using bands of your own body weight and then see how they impact the movement elsewhere. Like, I want to give a really. I went on a run yesterday pain free. Like, I can't tell you, like how much joy that brought me to just be able to go and do it. It's because I put in so time that like my core, like I don't miss a day of core exercise because I have a history of a herniated disc. So like, it is so not like exercise has become so not about what I look like. It's a product, a byproduct of it and obviously like feeling and looking a certain way. But to be able to move pain free is like my number one goal. And it, in a way it reminds me like how lucky we are to be able to move. So anytime you're doing movement, if you make it about exploring your body and like learning to become more aware of things, you are more likely to become consistent. Wanting to look a certain way is that we all want to look good. We all want to feel good in our own skin. But it just, I would encourage everyone to not make it. The number one reason why they're working out. Make it the 10th reason why you're working out and put like all these other things in front of it and you won't stop. 

Krys [33:35 - 34:21]: Yeah, I like the word explore for 2025. If anybody's looking for a goal or a word, explore Your career, explore your desires, explore your lots of different ways, explore your nutrition, explore your relationships. Like just I think having this end goal or one way to look at it and listening to what everybody says, including us, like listening to what people say. Like take into consideration the things you hear. But like put it into practice, Explore, figure out if it works for you, figure out what you like, figure out what you don't like, and that's going to be the best way to live. I love that explore. Thank you for coming and sharing and exploring. Is there anything final that we didn't ask you that you need to add? I feel like I have so many more nutrition. 

Carly Horan [34:22 - 34:27]: Well, I would just say I feel like we went on a couple tangents there, but back to the muscle building journey. 

Krys [34:27 - 34:27]: Yeah. 

Carly Horan [34:27 - 34:29]: You talked about the fitness aspect. 

Krys [34:29 - 34:29]: Okay. 

Carly Horan [34:29 - 34:36]: Can't just work out and then like not eat and think that you're going to build muscle. And you can't just eat protein and not do resistance. 

Krys [34:36 - 34:36]: There you go. 

Carly Horan [34:36 - 35:02]: You have to have both. So yes, protein and resistance. But then outside of that, like you want to not just lift weights, you want to do a variety of resistance. That can include cardio and all that stuff. And then with food, we can't forget, we can't put. Protein gets put on this pedestal because it's associated with muscle building. But protein cannot do its job without carbohydrates. Hear that clap? 

Krys [35:02 - 35:04]: Can they hear the clap in the microphone? 

Carly Horan [35:04 - 35:58]: Like even after my workout yesterday, like I ate a sugar cookie and was like, yeah, this is, it's sugar. And I'm, I'm eating a lot more of it this week than I will next week. And just because it's sugar doesn't mean it, it, it is also replenishing the glycogen that I just used on my run. And that is okay. I had to talk myself through that one because I had three desserts that day and I don't feel good and I feel bloated and like I don't feel good this week, but I'm like, I went on a run just to do it and I got, I did it with pain free and I'm gonna eat a cookie after and am I gonna do that tomorrow? No. But not because I'm, I have a rule about it, right. And it still has a function. And yes, I'm prioritizing my high fiber carbs at all my meals and I have my vegetables, but like there are 500 in our fridge and I'm eating one and it can still play a role in my fitness Even though it might not be the best one. 

Krys [35:58 - 36:22]: It's part of your diet. The diet. Yeah, it's part of your diet. Eating a cookie is part. Eating a cookie should be a part of everybody's diet. Any, any whatever kind of whatever your cookie is, whether it's a cookie, whether it's ice cream, whether it's pizza, whether whatever you love should be a part of your diet. And just like everything else that I preach, just be intentional about it. Start to practice intention. Whether it's a salad or pizza, if there's intention behind it, it's going to feel good. 

Carly Horan [36:22 - 36:24]: Right? All foods fit. That would be last one. 

Krys [36:24 - 36:25]: All foods. 

Carly Horan [36:25 - 36:51]: And when you can allow all foods to fit and you make New Year New me about how you want to feel. I want to feel pain free. I want to feel energized. I want to feel confident. I want to feel fit. I want to. I don't want to feel bloated. I don't want to feel lazy. I don't want to feel heavy. It's not about looking heavy. I don't want to feel heavy and weighed down. And if you. If you try to just commit to a feeling and once you feel it, you'll know and you're going to want to feel it all the time. 

Krys [36:51 - 36:51]: Yeah. 

Carly Horan [36:51 - 37:08]: But once you figure out how to achieve the feeling and it's not the feeling of control manipulation, being the control is the big one. You may not be in. Like when you can find the feeling, that's when I know I felt the most confident about being able to let everything exist together. 

Krys [37:08 - 37:09]: Yes. 

Carly Horan [37:09 - 37:12]: Instead of only letting these things exist and never letting these things exist. 

Krys [37:12 - 37:14]: It's a practice. Takes a lot of work. 

Carly Horan [37:14 - 37:15]: You have to explore it to get there. 

Krys [37:15 - 37:34]: Explore all foods fit. Fit as a mindset. I was gonna say something that I'm not gonna say. I love you. Thank you. Thank you. All right, guys, thank you so much for listening. Carly will always be back and we'll have many more conversations. Happy New Year. 

Carly Horan [37:34 - 37:34]: Happy New Year. 

Krys [37:35 - 37:37]: Happy New Year. Yeah. All right, guys, we'll see you next time.