Desserts, Discipline, and Doing the Work: Lindsay Dills 90-pound Transformation
Welcome to the Counter Culture Health podcast. I'm doctor Jen McWaters. And I'm coach Kaitlyn Reed. We're here to help high achieving women overcome mental blocks, find freedom from anxiety, create an abundant life, and build the body and life that they deserve and desire. In this weekly podcast, we'll uncover the raw truth about mental health, nutrition, fitness, and beyond.
Intro:Let's get to it.
Kaitlin:Hey, friends. Welcome back to another episode of counter Culture Health. I am super excited about this episode today. We have a very special guest on, Lindsay. And she just has such a cool story and a powerful journey that I think is going to be so helpful for so many women out there.
Kaitlin:So I'm super excited to have her on and share her story with us. So I'm going to read her bio, and then we are going to get right into it. So thanks so much for joining us, Lindsay.
Lindsay Dill:Good. Thank you for having me. Glad to be here.
Kaitlin:Okay. Lindsay is a full time online wellness coach and a part time cottage baker. She is married with two pit bulls who she treats like her children and currently resides in Mesa, Arizona, right down the road from me, which is fun. She loves all things strength training, macros, and desserts. She loves to travel, and her favorite thing to do when she is on the road is try new coffee shops and bakeries.
Kaitlin:She's a foodie at heart. And we have her on today because she has an incredible story and journey of losing 90 pounds and has been able to keep it off over the last for over ten years. And that is so incredible. So I feel like the the keeping it off part long term is the hardest part. But I think your story is, like, so cool and special too because you share how you can love food, love dessert, and still enjoy all of those things while losing weight and while keeping it off.
Kaitlin:And I think that's just such an important message to share and spread with everyone.
Lindsay Dill:Yeah. Thank you.
Kaitlin:So tell us a little bit more about yourself and just kind of how you got started on your weight loss journey.
Lindsay Dill:Yeah. So growing up, I mean, I recognized that I was, like, the the biggest girl in class probably by the third grade. I was overweight since I can remember. You know, middle school, rough, high school. Like, I was very athletic.
Lindsay Dill:I always played sports, basketball, volleyball, softball. I was I mean, what people knew who I I wasn't, like, popular. I don't know. But but, like, people who knew me because I was an athlete, but I was, like, the big funny girl. Right?
Lindsay Dill:I was always the big funny girl with the pretty face that could be hot if she lost weight. Like, literally, that's that was my vision of myself. Through high school, and then I went to college and gained the freshman 50. Is that a thing? Because it was a thing for me.
Lindsay Dill:I went to a college down the street from where my parents I'm originally from Southern Illinois, so like right outside of Saint Louis. I went to college down the street. I didn't know what I was doing. I I had no direction in school, and I left softball behind. I played softball all through high school.
Lindsay Dill:I was always I was always really active in athletic, but I was never fit. And get into college, get into drinking, get into partying. I have my own job with my own money that I can spend however I want, which was a lot of fast food and a lot of just, like, junk. And then my sophomore year of college, I moved in on campus literally fifteen minutes from home with my best friend to get the full college experience. Right?
Lindsay Dill:And I don't know that I even cooked one meal. Like, we lived at the the muck, like the campus center. We ate food there, or I worked at Best Buy, and I would eat snacks from the front lanes. Like, you know, I just I had no idea what I was doing. And probably by the time I was maybe around 20, 20 one, I stepped on the scale and realized I was closer to three hundred pounds than I was two hundred pounds.
Lindsay Dill:And I was like, oh, that happened really quickly. I was two fifty seven at my top weight. And right around that time, the end of my sophomore year of college, my dad was diagnosed with cancer, and he battled for fifteen months, ended up dying in 2,009. And that was kind of like that was a big catalyst for me, you know, to recognize like, okay. I should start taking care of myself.
Lindsay Dill:I probably spent, you know, the next year still partying, partying my feelings away, drinking my feelings away. Like, what do you do when your dad is dies at 20 years old? Right? And then it was a New Year's resolution that I was like, I'm gonna just get in shape this year. And I remember joining my local fitness club, and I would just go in there, do cardio, and leave.
Lindsay Dill:Like, forty five minutes, elliptical, stairs, whatever I could find, whatever was available, and I would, like, run out the door. Eventually, hired a personal trainer for a couple of sessions, and he put me on all the machines in the gym. Didn't really teach me much. But that's that's kind of like where things actually got started, and I kinda was like, okay. This is what we're doing now.
Kaitlin:Did you what what was food like growing up? Was it like a big part of your, like, your home? Was there any education around, like, food or nutrition, or was it just kind of I don't know. Just just I don't wanna say, like, a free for all, but, you know, like, not structured or education or have anything
Lindsay Dill:around nutrition and food. Yeah. No. No education. No structure.
Lindsay Dill:I mean, I'm, you know, meat and potatoes. Like, I grew up in the Midwest. Corn is a vegetable where I'm from. Like Same. I'm from Iowa, so
Kaitlin:I get it. You
Lindsay Dill:know, I have an older brother. Like, my parent we would sit down as a family of four for dinner every night. I have very good wholesome memories of growing up. I always had breakfast. Like, there was always food on the table for me.
Lindsay Dill:My mom my mom packed my lunch for me until I was a senior in high school.
Kaitlin:Love that. She So cute.
Lindsay Dill:My lunch. Brown bagged me up every single day. But no. Like, there was no you know, I think the life of a millennial, right, like, parents didn't have resources and access. And unless that was something that they really knew about or were interested in or educated on, my mom and my dad, they thought they were doing what was best.
Lindsay Dill:Like, my dad went to work. He got home from work. My mom made dinner, and it was a lot of casseroles. Vegetables always had cheese or cream or butter. Like, you know, that's how I eating food.
Lindsay Dill:And there was always dessert. Always. Always options for dessert, whether my mom made something fresh, a cake, a cookie, something. There were always, like, Oreos or popcorn or ice cream. Like, there was always something, and you just you have dessert after you have dinner before you go to bed.
Lindsay Dill:It was just part of what we did. That's how my mom grew up. That's what she knew. My grandparents would come in town always. So that's certainly, like you know, when I would have things in my lunchbox, like, that that felt that 15 year old me felt like it was a well rounded meal.
Lindsay Dill:35 year old me is like, probably not so much, you know, but no no education and definitely not not a lot of balance.
Kaitlin:Mhmm. Mhmm. Yeah. I feel like that's sounds very I mean, that's very typical, like, mid Midwestern. I feel like you will hear that from anybody that grew up there.
Kaitlin:That's just kind of like how it was and how mealtimes were. And, you know, education about that stuff then was also so different than it is now for sure. Yeah. Yeah. I also think it's very powerful that, like, you took that life changing event of your dad passing and decided to make change and do something about it rather than go in the other direction and just continue down that road.
Kaitlin:I think that says, like, there's something like, very powerful. It says something about you and, like, your mindset and outlook on that too. Thank you.
Lindsay Dill:Yeah. Yeah. I watched the you know, my mom was very depressed, obviously, and lost a ton of weight. Mhmm. Like, not on purpose, not the healthy way.
Lindsay Dill:And then, of course, you're rebounded and gains it all back. Right? And I was kind of watching this happen, and I was kind of a little interested in changing. And but that was that was a big a big moment for me that didn't come until like a year or two later, but it was still like always the thing that just sat in the back of my mind.
Kaitlin:Yeah. Yeah. So powerful. So what did you what did you do? What I mean, how did you even start?
Kaitlin:What what did you do? I'm sure it, like, evolved over time too, but what was that that thing that you just started to do to get this journey started?
Lindsay Dill:Yeah. So I so like I said, New Year's resolution, did the cardio. I would go to the local fitness club and kind of, like, bounce around on machines. I didn't know what I was doing. And around that time, I had a girlfriend who had moved back home after college.
Lindsay Dill:She was a collegiate soccer player. She was always really fit, like, one of my fittest friends for sure. She still is to this day. And I remember reaching out to her and being like, hey. Can you come help me in the gym?
Lindsay Dill:Like, will you wanna come train with me because I know you probably had strength training during soccer or, like, you're really strong. Help. She was like, yeah. Of course. So she came.
Lindsay Dill:We we had, like, two sessions together, and it was like, I don't know, just kismet. I posted something so random on Twitter about a back squat. I don't even I don't even tweet anymore. Right? Is Twitter even a thing?
Lindsay Dill:Posted something about back squatting. A mutual friend from college that I knew through another friend of mine, he commented on my post and was like, hey, my brother and I are opening up a CrossFit gym in O'Fallon, like the next town over. Would you be interested in checking it out? And I was like, oh, I had heard about this CrossFit thing. Right?
Lindsay Dill:Like, I had heard people tell you it was this is fifteen years ago. So, like, the beginning of CrossFit getting really big. And I was like, yeah. Sure. Like, I like sports.
Lindsay Dill:Like, let's go. So I brought my friend with me. We went in early morning one day, and I signed up immediately. I was like, this is so cool. This is so fun.
Lindsay Dill:We learned, like I learned how to snatch on my very first day. It was terrible. I learned all these new things, and I was like, okay. Like, I need something to keep me accountable. Let's do it.
Lindsay Dill:So, I mean, from that day forward, I showed up at the 6AM class every day. I was working I think I was just a server at that point. I had I've had a lot of jobs, and I was serving full time across the river in Saint Louis. Like, I lived in Illinois. Gym was in Illinois, so I'd get up at six.
Lindsay Dill:I would go to the gym, workout, come home, shower, get ready for the day, eat breakfast, and then go to my serving job. And I just like the CrossFit was like it was it was fun for a little while in the beginning, but that was in February of twenty twelve maybe. And then that fall, the coach was like, I'm just gonna put you guys on a strength cycle, like lifting only, no cardio, no burpees, no running. Like, we're not gonna do any conditioning right now. I'm gonna take you guys in a couple months of strength training.
Lindsay Dill:And I was like, this is it. Like, that was it for me. So we were just doing the Olympic lifts and, you know, the squats and the deadlifts and all the things. And I was like, this is way fun. And at that point, I mean, if you know CrossFit Beginnings, you know paleo, so I was doing paleo.
Kaitlin:Ah, yes. I always was eating, like,
Lindsay Dill:almond butter by the jar and, like, pounds of bacon a week because, you know, it's you just, like, you stick to paleo. But I think before CrossFit, had lost, I don't know, maybe, like, 30 or 40 pounds on my own. I was in, like, the low two hundreds, and that was just after a couple of years of dabbling in watching what I was eating and doing some cardio. And then got into the paleo. It did I mean, it did it helped me push me along, got me into, like, under two hundred into the one eighties, and then I kinda just sat there for a little while.
Lindsay Dill:And then in 2014, a friend of mine, another friend who had brought to the CrossFit gym, we decided to move to California. Like, I wanted to get out of my mom's basement. I needed to see something different. I needed more culture, see the world. So we went out to LA, which is just, like, hilarious because LA is a special place.
Lindsay Dill:The LA dream. Yeah. I immediate I, like, bought a convertible. I was like, I wanna live by the beach and drive a convertible, and
Kaitlin:I did just that. And That's amazing.
Lindsay Dill:You know, get there and I worked three jobs. You have to if you're young all day. And I was working seventy plus hours a week, seven days a week. One of my jobs was at a CrossFit gym. I was, like, working the front desk.
Lindsay Dill:I had found this girl on Instagram at this gym in LA and it was so ironic because I found her, like, six months prior. Don't even know how I came across her page. And as we were deciding to move out there, I've reached out. I was like, hey. I'm gonna be moving to LA.
Lindsay Dill:Like, I've been doing CrossFit. If you guys need somebody at the front desk, like, I would love to be considered. And it just worked out. Like, I got that job, and then I started getting coaching certifications. And I was also working at a dispensary that ironically shared a wall with the CrossFit gym.
Lindsay Dill:It was literally CrossFit on one side and dispensary on the other. So there were multiple days a week where I would go to the gym in the morning, work out, work the front desk, change my clothes, and go go work at the dispensary. Like, it was the time in LA was hilarious, and I was also serving on the side. So still doing paleo at this time, continue to lose a little more weight. And here's where it's interesting is because then I, like, started I was working in Hollywood at a restaurant at Dave and Buster's.
Lindsay Dill:Terrible. Worst job I've ever had in my life. People that eat in Hollywood are special. Hollywood's gross. If you're not from there, if you've never been there and you wanna go to LA, you don't need to go in the Hollywood area.
Lindsay Dill:But I started, like, kind of, you know, everybody in LA is really cares about their appearance, and everybody is, like, super fit. And I was around all these smaller girl like, I was much more fit visibly. You could tell, like, I worked out, but I was still bigger than most of my coworkers. And, I mean, there was probably a good couple month period where and for the first time in my life, I was always an overeater. Right?
Lindsay Dill:Like, food was my vice. I've that was I love to eat. I started having this weird aversion to meals. Didn't last very but I certainly found myself enjoying feeling hungry and enjoying that hollow skinny feeling that you feel and I after twenty five years, I had never experienced that. I was like, you know, you kinda get addicted to that feeling.
Lindsay Dill:Yep. And then it it was it was fairly short lived, I think, because I was so busy and so active. I was hiking. I was, like, going to the beach. I was rollerblading.
Lindsay Dill:Like, I was doing the thing. So, thankfully, it didn't last long, but it was a very interesting couple of months having experienced that for the first time ever.
Kaitlin:Yeah. Yeah. And that's also I mean, then I should it sounds like it's a long time ago, but then is where, like, lifting women lifting wasn't, like, a huge thing still. So it's kind of like that that small, skinny, not really muscular fit have had come in yet. It's been especially being in LA in Hollywood.
Kaitlin:I can imagine that was at a whole whole another level as well. What was it like getting I mean, starting to work out at two hundred and fifty seven pounds or so, what what was that like? Because I know for so many people that like, keeps them from, like, I'm so heavy. This is so hard. This is uncomfortable.
Kaitlin:It hurts. So it keeps them from getting started, but getting started is what they need so things get better. So what was that like for you?
Lindsay Dill:It was hard. It was, I mean, certainly one of the hardest things I've ever done. And I think a little I think, fortunately for me, because I had always been athletic and moved, I didn't necessarily have the physical pain, but it was the shame that I felt showing up in my body at the gym with all these other people who were seemingly way more fit than I was. Right? Like, it was the I mean, I used to live in basketball shorts and oversized hoodies and big t shirt.
Lindsay Dill:Like, I did I didn't wanna be seen by anyone, and I think that was the biggest hurdle. So we just put on my headphones. Like, I had a hood on a lot of the times when I was at the gym. And I think just like, you know, when you first get started, not not a lot we we expect this massive change, right, overnight or in a week, and that was not the case for me. But it was just this this yearning that I didn't wanna feel that way anymore.
Lindsay Dill:I have felt that way my whole entire life. And I I say this out loud sometimes that I think even still at 35, like, I've still spent more of my life so far to this day out of shape than in shape. Like, this is who I know myself to be now, but like when I think about it, I'm like, damn, like the first twenty years of my 35 years of life, I was overweight and out of shape and like, it was it was really hard and I think you just you you man, you just like, you gotta keep showing up for yourself because nobody else can do the work for you. Nobody else can lose the weight, lift the weights. Like, you have to your yearning for a better version of yourself has to be greater than that shame, that guilt, that embarrassment.
Lindsay Dill:Because what I have learned is that I tell my clients this all the time, and I say this with love. Literally nobody cares about what you're doing in the gym. Nobody cares. Yeah. So once I for that, it was like, okay.
Lindsay Dill:And then I have an accountability partner. Like, having a buddy was a big change. It changed the game for me, and I often think about, like, just reaching out to that friend. And we were we were friends. We weren't great friends.
Lindsay Dill:We were definitely, like, had a circle of friends that each of us were separately closer with. But I was like, oh, she's really fit and she's back here in town and, like, I need some help. So I asked.
Kaitlin:Yeah. I was I was making that mental note too. That is huge of actually being able to reach out and ask for help. You know, I think that's a big fear for a lot of people or what keeps them stuck they're afraid of or that judgment or they think they can do it on their own. All of those comes into play.
Kaitlin:So just, like, being vulnerable and asking for help. I tell people, like, the gym, I think, is one of the most welcoming, friendliest places there is. Oftentimes, people see it as intimidating, but it is the most welcome welcoming and friendliest places there are because everyone is there for the same reason. We're all there to be better, to get better, to be healthier, and nobody's paying attention to anybody else. They're all, you know, doing their own thing.
Kaitlin:And if you ask for help, people will help you for the most part there. And so it's and it this plays into, like, a lot of life stuff too. It's like we create these scenarios or stories about what a situation is going to be like, And so that keeps us stuck or from making change or taking this step when in reality, that's not what it's going to be like at all. That's not going to be the experience. Yeah.
Kaitlin:So just like, yeah, say that to encourage people to reach out, ask for help, face those fears instead of letting them hold hold you back and keep you stuck. What was it like for you balancing life, working all of those jobs, hustling, grinding, and still being able to prioritize your health and make progress? Because that is I mean, you know this too. One of the biggest excuses that we get is I don't have time. I'm too busy.
Kaitlin:I and it really just comes down to making it a priority. And so how did you balance all of those things?
Lindsay Dill:You know, as my as my time in LA, so those three jobs that I mentioned, that was probably, like, the first year of living there. I had all three of those jobs that first year. And, you know, of course, it's helpful when you're working at a gym, and it's it's a place that you have a shared common interest with the people around you, but it it really be I mean, I remember waking up, gosh, early, 04:30 in the morning to prep my meals for the day, like, to make my smoothie, to drink on the way to work, to have my lunch packed in the morning, to take with me in between breaks. Like, has to come like, the the systems and the strategies and the preparation, you are not going to see succeed without it in the beginning. Much more flexible once you've learned.
Lindsay Dill:Right? Like but being as busy as I was, I mean, there were some weeks where I feel like I didn't have a moment to breathe, but it was you know, again, my support system was huge. It helps that my roommate at the time went to the same gym as me and, like, we had different jobs, but, like, you know, kind of having that person there. But it all came down to how I feel about myself when I do the things that I say I'm gonna do and how I feel about myself when I don't show up. Like, I didn't like that version of me, and I knew it would be really easy to just it's easy to do nothing.
Lindsay Dill:It's easy to not do the work. And, you know, I think you have to think about all the other hard things in life that you have done, and this is just another one of them. But motivation is not certainly wasn't motivated to wake up at 04:30 in the morning every day. You know? Twenty five.
Lindsay Dill:Like, I'm living in LA, and I don't wanna do all that. But it had to get done, and the the prep was a big part of it for sure.
Kaitlin:Yes. A must. Having systems and routines, making sacrifices. I mean, nothing worth it comes easy. Right?
Kaitlin:And so, yeah, there are going to be sacrifices that you make along the way of, you know, not going out at night or not eating out as much or saying no to things or having to get up at 4AM and meal prep impact. Like, all of those things, it just comes down to prioritizing those things and so important because it's like, change change is nothing's going to change if nothing changes. Right? Right. Those things are a must.
Lindsay Dill:A lot. I said no. I mean, like, I had fun. I went out. I did stuff.
Lindsay Dill:But, like, I mean, gosh. Every night after I would get off work at at Dave and Buster's, especially if I was working a weekend, somebody's going to a bar or a club or a something. I said yes sometimes, but most of the time, I was like, I gotta go to the gym in the morning. Like Yeah. I I had a big party girl face for sure.
Lindsay Dill:And that came that became so much less appealing to me because I knew how I'd feel the next day, and I knew how I would eat the next day, and I knew I probably wouldn't show up for myself or my workouts. And, like, it's those boundaries. And and saying yes sometimes and saying no to the things that you know aren't gonna serve you more more times than you're saying yes.
Kaitlin:Yeah. Yeah. It's also, you know, what you're you know, when you're saying no to things, what you're saying yes to. And having that what you want and what you're doing in alignment. And because oftentimes there's this disconnect of what I say I want, but what I'm doing, there's this disconnect.
Kaitlin:So how can we get those things in alignment and and connect and live out those live live that way out? And, you know, most times people think about the things that they're going to miss out on and get hung up on that rather than the things that they can they're going to gain and how much better things can get, you know, if they say yes to these other things. So with that, what was the hardest part of your journey, would you say, if you can even pick? I'm sure there's many, many hard parts and challenges. But
Lindsay Dill:Yeah. I I think I mean, I think even still to this day, the hardest part it's easier now, but it's just my relationship with food and how I think about food and and temptation and sweets and, like, all of the things. I love to eat. I'm a foodie. I love all types of cultural foods, ethnic foods.
Lindsay Dill:I'm so grateful to, like this is why I could never not live in a city because I need good food. Right? And I I think about this a lot with my clients too because I'm like, I don't know if there was one specific thing that that changed for me or that I implemented. I mean, it quite literally is building up that self efficacy around how you view food. Something else that you know, of course, like, I transitioned out of paleo.
Lindsay Dill:I hired my first macro coach in 2017. And so, you know, I'm a couple years in. I'm still living in LA. At this point, I was living in a studio apartment by myself. Had just started dating my my now husband, and he's a weightlifter as well.
Lindsay Dill:And we're talking about nutrition and just goals and things. And I was like, I think I wanna try this macro thing. Right? And that that was a big game changer for me. Like because I used to be very all or nothing.
Lindsay Dill:Right? Like, I would try to not have any dessert or not have any whatever the case may be, but doesn't work like that. Because then you you go off the deep end and you wanna eat it all. Right?
Kaitlin:Yeah.
Lindsay Dill:I can remember going through I don't know. We call them setbacks or whatever, but high times of stress. I can remember before I would get home to my apartment, I would go to seven Eleven, and I would there was a seven Eleven on the corner, and I would buy something salty, something sweet, something crunchy. Right? Like, I didn't know what I wanted, and I would sit in my car and eat all of it.
Lindsay Dill:And then I would throw the trash away in the dumpster so my roommates didn't see because I was so embarrassed. And that was, like, my biggest like, I had cycles of that a lot. I did it when I was living with my husband, like, early on because that was the way that was my fights. Right? Like, I didn't really drink much anymore.
Lindsay Dill:I didn't do anything else, so I would turn to food. And, I mean, I struggled with that for a really long time. And, like, I you know, happens here and there where I'm like, oh, I just I just put some calories down, and I don't even know how that happened. But now it's kind of like a stop point, like, having things to practice when I feel those urges and sensations coming up. I mean, I feel like the mindset of an over eater like, I I mean, I was addicted to food, I would say.
Lindsay Dill:Right? And I feel like that mindset never really completely goes away, but you learn how to manage it better. Right? You learn how to deal with And the thing about macros that changed the game for me is that I recognize, like, oh, if I want two Oreos at the end of my day, I can have those two. Like, it took the novelty away from those things that I felt like were so naughty, right, or, like, that I couldn't have.
Lindsay Dill:So when I started eating more whole foods and, like, incorporating more nutrient dense things, thinking about nutrition as a spectrum and, like, as a whole to fuel myself, it became a lot easier to manage. And those urges, cravings very randomly, seldomly come up. And if they do come up, it's only in, like, incredibly high times of stress.
Kaitlin:Mhmm. So,
Lindsay Dill:yeah, I I don't even know if I answered your question. I just Yeah.
Kaitlin:I was gonna ask what your like, what role food played for you? Like, emotionally, like, mentally, emotionally? Is it stress? Was it I mean, it it can play so many different roles for people. And I think that's what makes food the most challenging thing to deal with because it it serves so many purposes.
Kaitlin:It plays so many roles in people's lives. It's something that we need to survive, and it's always around. So how do we how do we deal with it and build a healthy relationship with it when it's always going to be around and be there. You know, we're like other substances. We don't need them for survival.
Kaitlin:So it's much different, you know, working through that. But food is it's just so unique in that way that we literally need it. So how do we, you know, how do we navigate that and, cope with that and integrate it into our lives in, like, a a healthy way?
Lindsay Dill:Yeah. I it's funny because when I started dating my husband, I, like, didn't even know how to cook vegetables. Like, it sounds so ridiculous, but I was really afraid of salt. I was really afraid of seasoning. I I, like, didn't really understand how to make my food taste good, which is why I had a hard time sticking to plans back in the day because I was, like, so afraid of sodium.
Lindsay Dill:I was so afraid of, like, all of these things because of what I had always read and heard. And my I cooked a meal for my husband, this poor man. He was just kinda like you know, it was we were early on in dating. He was trying to tell me it was good. And then we'd talk about it later, and he, like he was like, no.
Lindsay Dill:You gotta cook it on high heat with a little oil and a little salt and a little this. And I'm like, oh, that's how it you know? I just, like, didn't really understand cooking concepts. So Mhmm. Willing to, like, try new recipes, try different things.
Lindsay Dill:And I'm certainly, like, I'm definitely that eighty twenty girl. Right? Like, 808085% of the food that I put in my body, I know it's, you know, lean protein and vegetables and and whole grains and, like, the things that make me feel good, but I'm definitely not like a all organic only, never have a treat. Like, that doesn't work for me. It will never work for me.
Kaitlin:So I don't think it works for a lot
Lindsay Dill:of people. A lot.
Kaitlin:Right? Yeah. Mhmm.
Lindsay Dill:I I have like, I wanna make my my food taste good. Making my food taste good, whether that's using a sauce or, like, adding a a cheese or combinations of different thing. Like, I was afraid of a lot of those things and avoided a lot of those things for a really, really long time because I thought they were bad. Right? They were gonna make me gain weight.
Lindsay Dill:They were gonna make me fat again. But when I learned, like, it really I mean, I come back to it, but macros just being able to incorporate those things. Like, I didn't eat whole eggs for so many years because I was so afraid of the yolk. Egg whites sting. I do not enjoy them, and I don't eat them anymore because I don't like them.
Lindsay Dill:Like, I have eggs every day, and I eat steak. And, like, I eat the things that I was, like, so afraid of because they were higher in fat content. So I think really just kind of going through and asking myself, like, what do I actually enjoy and how can we incorporate that in? A meal is a game changer. And, like, really, I'm not I'm no chef.
Lindsay Dill:Like, I don't really cook, quote, unquote. I mean, I'm meal prep. Right? Like, I prep my things in bulk and I have it there for the week, but my food tastes good. Mhmm.
Lindsay Dill:It has to taste good, especially if I'm prepping in bulk and, you know, I know I'm gonna be eating the same thing five days in a row. Every once in while, I'll come across a a recipe that I'm like, man, this sucks. Like, it's not very good, but we're gonna get through it because I know next week I can make something that I really, really love. But, like, I love the food that I eat.
Kaitlin:You know? Yep. So important. And that's that's why I love macros too is because it it provides a lot of education around food and nutrition. Like, I view it as so much more than just tracking or, like, keeping track of your foods.
Kaitlin:It teaches people so much about food and exactly what and how much you're consuming. And with that, I think it helps remove the fear of foods too and really gets away from the, like, good or bad or I can't have this or I can't have this to make progress because you understand how it all works together. And having that nutritional piece with tracking macros, I feel like it just makes things click for people. Yeah. And and really makes food and nutrition make sense because now they understand it and how it all fits together.
Kaitlin:And even those, you know, the treats, the desserts, and, like, how that contributes to your intake for the day. And it's yeah. I mean, for me too, it it made learning macros made me not fear food anymore. Like, oh, I can have this and this much and nothing bad happens. Right?
Kaitlin:Yeah. Yeah.
Lindsay Dill:I was definitely that girl in the beginning of my macro journey who was like, I I f y m. If it fits, I'm gonna make it fit. I was not eating whole foods, but I was everything had protein powder in it. Everything was like high protein x y z, or I was making my own high protein things. And, like, did I still see results?
Lindsay Dill:I did. Absolutely. But I I was still in that mindset of like, it's I can I can be a little naughty? I can make this thing right? Yep.
Lindsay Dill:And it really it it probably took me a good let's see. I started tracking my macros in 2017. I would say it took a good, three years of really dabbling in that. If I can make it fit, I'm gonna make it fitment. I mean, I was eating Halo Top ice cream.
Lindsay Dill:No. Thank you.
Kaitlin:If I
Lindsay Dill:have ice cream, I'm going to the ice cream shop.
Kaitlin:You eat the real ice cream.
Lindsay Dill:Yes. Like, I'm going to Churn in Midtown. Okay? Yeah. But then it was it really truly was, like, eating more whole foods.
Lindsay Dill:I felt better. Yes. Wasn't as hungry in between meals. I've been through all of you know, I've I've been through a cut. I've been through years of maintenance.
Lindsay Dill:I've I've reversed my way back up. I did a bulk last summer. I've done all the things. Like, I've eaten a full spectrum of calories, but even, like, in a I'm in a I'm finishing up a cut now and, like, you know, my calories aren't very high. I'm coming to the end of this cut phase, but I'm not, like, I'm not having cravings during the day.
Lindsay Dill:I had, you know, I have vegetables with my breakfast. I have fruits and berries all day long. Like, I've learned how to make those things again, like focusing on fiber, learn taking what I've learned from the things that I'm tracking in MyFitnessPal to understand, like, okay. I know how I'm gonna feel when I eat these certain foods, and there might be a day here and there. Usually, maybe, like, over a weekend where I'm like, ugh.
Lindsay Dill:I don't feel like eating my prep. I'm a have a protein bar for lunch. Like, it happens. Mhmm. And, like, I'm a little hungrier on those days, but I kinda get to relax from, like, eating the same things and that's those are those are, like, my naughty days where I I have a a protein bar.
Lindsay Dill:Like, you know, it's just like, I'm gonna get it in, but I don't feel that need to always, like, have something anymore because my diet is more balanced.
Kaitlin:Yeah. Yeah. Well, do you think a lot of, like, the cravings and, like, wanting those, like, more processed foods came from also not getting enough of what you actually needed, not getting enough of the real whole foods. And so your body's craving it's like telling you you need, like, fruits and vegetables and protein, but we just take it as I just need something and it turns into so once you can make that that flip of I just need, like, quality and how that impacts your cravings and desires for, like, the ultra processed foods too. A %.
Kaitlin:Like, I used to live on built bars and protein shakes. And, again, I was hitting
Lindsay Dill:the macros. I was, like, seeing progress, but I never really felt satisfied like I do now and like I have these past couple of years because, you know, like, I always have protein powder in my cabinet. I always have protein a protein bar in my cabinet. But, I mean, I was buying, like, a box of protein bars every other week because I was having one or two a day. I mean, sometimes two a day and a protein shake and then, like, a protein pancake.
Lindsay Dill:And, you know, I mean, everything was like, okay. How can I supplement with whatever so I can, like, curb that sweet craving? But what I did not know is, yeah, absolutely. My body needed more real nutrients Yeah. And a real balance.
Lindsay Dill:And, yeah, total whole foods is it's a game changer.
Kaitlin:Heard that. Yeah. I always tell people it's like, yeah, like, macros matter, but also the quality. The quality of your food matters too. It just it it you just feel totally different when you have quality.
Kaitlin:Yeah. How did you manage setbacks and plateaus or days where you just didn't wanna do it anymore. They feel like is in the you have to be in this for the long haul. Right? Like, this this has to become just your lifestyle.
Kaitlin:It has to become a way of living. That's just how it is. And you and I both know the biggest challenge for a lot of people is the the time that it takes to actually achieve the result that they want. And so being in it for the long haul, how did you manage those times where, I mean, you're frustrated it wasn't happening as fast as you wanted it or maybe you're at like, not seeing change at all. How did you get through those moments?
Lindsay Dill:Tears. You know? Kind of. But Yeah. I actually I just I had a moment about a couple months ago when I was feeling exactly this way.
Lindsay Dill:And remember telling my husband, like, do I have to do this every day for the rest of my life? Like, I I was like, I'm over this. I'm over it just again, outside stressors, life happening, and then I just I kind of will it builds up. And sometimes for me, like, the best thing that I can do for myself in those moments is take a couple of days away from tracking. Maybe that means I need them to take a day off the gym.
Lindsay Dill:Just go for a walk. Like, just stretch. Have a day where I'm not even thinking about all of those things. It's a really good reset for me. And I I mean, it happens a couple times a year usually Mhmm.
Lindsay Dill:Depending on what else is going on. But I think that's the other thing is, like, not forcing yourself to be so rigid. It's consistency over time. Right? It's it is that 85%.
Lindsay Dill:That's really truly, I think, the only thing that has gotten me to maintain the success that I've had. I don't count my macros 365 a year. I don't count my macros on my birthday dinner, on our anniversary dinner. Like, I know in my head and in my heart, I know around the holidays, I'm gonna have some days untracked and some flexibility. So I think I kind of always have something to look forward to in a sense that, like, I know I'm gonna have a little bit of a break.
Lindsay Dill:And that's what works for me. Like, could I be a little more strict? Sure. Do I try to plan my cut phases around big events like that? Absolutely.
Lindsay Dill:That's why, you know, living in a place of, like, maintenance and flexibility is the ultimate goal. Right? Because then you do things like that and, you know, kind of letting go of that, it really came to the this the conversations I have with myself every single day and, like, reminding myself of the success and doing what I tell my clients, like, one day, one week is not going to be the make it or break it in your long term success or not. So I take breaks often. Like, I need them.
Lindsay Dill:And usually, a break looks like for me, sometimes a break is just I'm not I'm not actually opening my fitness pal. I'm eating a lot of the same foods that I normally eat. Maybe I'm just not weighing them that day, and I'm basing it off of my hunger cues. Sometimes that means, like, okay. My husband and are going out to dinner.
Lindsay Dill:I'm just having a good old meal, like, something hearty, something tasty. We're probably getting ice cream afterwards. And then I'm like, okay. Like, I'm glad that I was able to take that step back. I allowed myself to do that, and now I feel really good about getting back onto my habits.
Lindsay Dill:So usually, it's
Kaitlin:just a pause for me that I need. Yeah. So important. Yeah. And and taking a break doesn't mean you have to go off the ledge.
Kaitlin:Right? Like, go to the extreme. It's it's you're still being mindful. You're still, like, you know, considering all those things, but it doesn't need to be, like, that intense or that serious. I always tell people, as long as you're not doing what you were doing before that got you here in the first place, you're gonna be moving forward, and you're gonna be just fine.
Kaitlin:You're gonna be just fine. I think also the important thing to note too is, like, focusing on why you're doing this just outside of achieving a result or a number or whatever. Because that takes so long. And if that's the only thing that you're focused on, you're gonna feel defeated. You're gonna feel like nothing's happening or it's not happening quick enough because that it takes time.
Kaitlin:So doing it for some other reason outside of that too, your health, your kids, your I don't know. Whatever. Fill in the blank, whatever it is for you. Because as long as you are doing the things to take care of yourself and prioritize your health, the results will just naturally happen. That's just like the side effects of prioritizing your health and taking care of yourself, of eating well most of the time and moving your body.
Kaitlin:The result will come with time.
Lindsay Dill:Yeah. Absolutely. And, you know, I a big part of my why, like, didn't have a very healthy family representation. Right? Like, I remember my dad in his later years, he would go to the gym, but I don't I don't know what that meant.
Lindsay Dill:Like, he would come home from work with his gym bag. Was he doing cardio? Was he lifting weights? I don't know. I was kinda young, and I didn't ask.
Lindsay Dill:My mom never went to the gym. We would go for walks, like ride bikes and things. But I see my mom now in her early sixties, hip replacement surgery, always in pain. Always, like, still uncomfortable in her body. And, like, I hate saying that, but, like, that's my I don't want to be like that in thirty, forty, fifty years.
Lindsay Dill:I want I'm gonna be like Joan. Joan, the old lady. Yes. Yes. I wanna be I don't want to be limited physically in what I could do for the rest of my life.
Kaitlin:Yep. Yeah. And always having your eyes, like, set on that or at the forefront of, you you know, on those hard days or where you don't feel like doing it anymore, reminding yourself of of why you're doing that is so much more than just a size or a number or a shape or so many things.
Lindsay Dill:Coach and wife and teammate and, like, human being when I do those things and I feel good because on the days that I don't or if I've had multiple days in a row, I know how I'm I'm not showing up in that same energy. And, like, I'm a generally happy individual, but you could tell when I'm not. Yep. Back to some of these things that we're talking about. Right?
Kaitlin:Yep. Yep. I'm the same way. The my mood, every you know, my irritability, all those things start to creep up a little bit if it's too many days. Yeah.
Kaitlin:How has your approach to food and exercise and health evolved over the last ten years, like, from where you started to where you are now? On
Lindsay Dill:the fitness front, less is more. I went through a period of so I compete in the sport of weightlifting. I have been since 2015 when I moved to California, and I made that transition from CrossFit to strictly weightlifting pretty quickly. There was a point a couple of years ago when I first moved to Arizona that I was like I mean, I was training, like, 10 sessions a week. I had double days on Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
Lindsay Dill:I trained on Tuesday, Saturday, sometimes Thursday. I also did bodybuilding accessory work on top of that. I was getting 10 to 15,000 steps a day, sometimes more. And truth be told, I was certainly not fueling for that. I was not a full time athlete.
Lindsay Dill:I had a I had two, three jobs at also during that time. I thought that's like what I needed to take myself to the next level as an athlete. And I think, you know, that athlete in me will never die. I love that version of myself, and I love when I can, you know, like, show up in her energy. But my whole identity used to revolve around fitness and lifting.
Lindsay Dill:I wanted to make sure everybody knew that's what I did. Mhmm. And I think, like, finding other things that bring me joy, you know, even the nutrition front too. Like, I I went I went in a bulk for the first time last year. And, like, I'm not a small girl.
Lindsay Dill:I'm five six, like, a hundred and seventy pounds. I'm I certainly was like, I don't wanna I don't wanna get heavier. Like, I don't wanna bulk. I don't wanna I don't wanna gain weight. I already, like, still have never really achieved kind of like, my my my goal is a hundred pounds of weight loss.
Lindsay Dill:Right? So I'm, like, right there on the cusp. That's
Kaitlin:what I'm
Lindsay Dill:by this cut.
Kaitlin:Amazing. I love it.
Lindsay Dill:I was like, I don't I can't I can't gain weight again. Like, it was the scariest thing for me, but, man, girl, I was eating. I was eating, and I was lifting, and it was so nice. And I think I needed to I needed to challenge myself psychologically in that that manner. Yeah.
Lindsay Dill:Bulk for about just shy of six months maybe. And it was a really it was over the summer. Don't recommend. I do not. I do not recommend in the summer.
Lindsay Dill:It was a really uncomfortable year. Yeah. But it was, I feel like, so necessary just to try different versions of that. And now, you know, now I strength train four days a week. Maybe in maybe an accessory day if I, like, have time and it works and I have the energy.
Lindsay Dill:I get a normal amount of steps in, but it's I'm, like, doing other things now than just identifying as a weightlifter. Like, I'm running. I got my jump rope out. I wanna get my bike out. Like, I wanna just move because it's fun.
Lindsay Dill:Yeah. And I think that is the thing that's going to keep me moving for the rest of my life. Like, lifting heavy weights is full. There's nothing there's no feeling quite like hitting that perfect lift. For me, I love that feeling, but it's not the only thing that brings me joy.
Lindsay Dill:And then it opened up other areas like baking and more time with my dogs and things that I get to do and involved with my community. And had I been stuck in that, ah, I wanna be the best athlete I can be mindset. I don't know that I would have been able to explore some of these other things.
Kaitlin:Yeah. So important. That's amazing. And also, like, building trust with yourself and food too of, like, I can do this and not revert back to where I was before, like, to really build that that trust and confidence. That is so important as well.
Lindsay Dill:Yeah. It took some work.
Kaitlin:Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing. What are, like, the the small daily habits that you feel made the biggest difference for you? Because I think so many people get caught up in, like, the big picture, the end result, or having to do all these things at once, and it becomes overwhelming and makes them, like, freeze or not take action.
Kaitlin:And so it's like those small those small things that we think are insignificant that make the biggest difference. What was that? What what is that for you?
Lindsay Dill:Yeah. So I have something that I I just do, like I call it a week at a glance and a day at a glance. I I didn't start using a calendar as an adult until I started working for Warrior Babe, like, literally half ago. I did not
Kaitlin:use I'm the same way. I'm like, thought I could function without it.
Lindsay Dill:Yeah. Like, I always had jobs where I clock in and out. I worked the same days. Like, I didn't feel like I needed one. But now you gotta have one.
Lindsay Dill:Right? Yeah. So Yeah. What I will do every night before bed is I pop up in my calendar. What do I have the next day?
Lindsay Dill:Like, I kind of have an idea. Right? Like, my weeks don't change that much, but I like to see, okay. Where are my blocks of time where I have calls? K.
Lindsay Dill:Here's where I need to fit in a meal because if I don't fit in a meal here, I'm not gonna get it until this time. It's gonna it's gonna throw off my whole entire day. Right? Okay. Where can I go get in some steps?
Lindsay Dill:Like, where like, it really comes down to planning ahead. Something else that I have that has become really probably not until this last year or so, like, habitual pre tracking all of my meals. Like, it's a non negotiable for me. I pre track. I have certain days of the week that I do pre track.
Lindsay Dill:Sunday night, Monday night, Tuesday night. Because I know my Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday are busy days. I need to have it planned. Thursday, the rest day for me, my calendar's a little bit different. So I leave that open for a bit of flexibility, although most of the time I end up eating the same things.
Lindsay Dill:Friday is another day I pre track for. But, like, I've learned over time, like, this is what I need. This is what my brain needs to to feel good about not feeling like I'm stuck inside this box. But, man, it's it's the the doing things beforehand. Right?
Lindsay Dill:Like Yep. The calendar is just and honestly, something so simple and I think highly underrated, just walking every day. Walking every day. Like, I have a walking pad, right, that I do when I'm working or if it's like super crappy weather, which doesn't happen often here, but I get my steps in no matter what. It's pretty rare that I don't unless I'm, like, really sick.
Lindsay Dill:And getting outside, that was actually a COVID habit that started because I was, like, bored in the house, and I was like, alright. We'll go for a walk. And it just stuck. And it's become part of my part of my routine. I look forward to I'm going for a walk after we get done recording.
Lindsay Dill:Like, I'm excited to go up for my daily walk. Right? Like Yeah. Do every single day.
Kaitlin:Fresh air, sunshine. Yes. We need more of that. Yeah. And I always encourage people.
Kaitlin:It's like, movement doesn't have to be a workout. Right? It's just thinking about how can you move more throughout the day. It can be very, very simple. So I love that you touched on that.
Kaitlin:If you could go back and give yourself a piece of advice maybe early on or throughout this journey, what would it be? Hire a coach early.
Lindsay Dill:Yeah. I got to the points where I asked for help from a friend. I had that accountability circle, but like, man, I think about that sometimes, like how the trajectory of my success could have been if I would have just hired a coach to have that one on one feedback from. It is so vital. And I think we, you know, we have so much to learn.
Lindsay Dill:I've had multiple coaches. Like, I still have a right? Like, it doesn't stop. I go through phases where I have coaches and don't have coaches. Like, I just I worked with someone for the last six months, and now I'm like, alright.
Lindsay Dill:I'm take a little break from coaching. Like, I'm gonna do things on my own for a little bit, but it's always good to have objective feedback from somebody else, especially in the beginning of your journey.
Kaitlin:Yeah. Yeah. Love that piece of advice.
Lindsay Dill:Do you feel like you just you it would have maybe fast tracked, like, your knowledge or the information? Or what is the biggest thing that you gained from having a coach? Yeah. Totally. I mean, just I think, you know, having that objective eye and and the education piece, like, the first coach outside of weightlifting.
Lindsay Dill:Right? Like, I always have a weightlifting coach, but the first nutrition coach, I mean, gosh, I learned so much from her and so much about macros and and not to be so hard on myself and, like, how to just make that work for me, I really I do. I think it could have truly fast tracked or, you know, given me a different result earlier on. I wouldn't change it at all, my journey, but certainly, it would have been very beneficial to have that from the beginning.
Kaitlin:Yeah. I I agree. What is the myth about weight loss that needs to just go away and not exist anymore?
Lindsay Dill:Gosh. Where do I begin? I I think I still have to lean into the the the cardio only for weight loss. Like, cardio is important. It's important for our heart.
Lindsay Dill:It's important for our lungs, but y'all pick up the weights early in your journey. Just pick them up. Like Yeah.
Kaitlin:Is that when you started lifting weights, did you see, like, the biggest shift in in your body composition in weight loss?
Lindsay Dill:Oh, yeah. I mean, it's funny too because it's the shift in composition. Yes. Like, I I get to a point to where I was like, I'm not really losing much weight anymore, but my foot things were changing. Like, oh, I get a lot of people who were like, oh, I wanna lose 20 pounds first, and then I'm gonna start lifting.
Lindsay Dill:And I'm like, no. Start lifting right now. Yes. And then we get to peel back the layers later because Yeah. If you lose that weight, like, you're just gonna be a smaller version of exactly how you look.
Lindsay Dill:Like, you're not gonna get that that tone physique that everybody's out for. Right? So Yep. Those weights early.
Kaitlin:Yep. Yeah. Yeah. And really focusing on changing your composition, not just weight loss. Right?
Kaitlin:Like, your body can look so different just by putting on muscle and decreasing body fat without numbers moving sometimes too.
Lindsay Dill:Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, my hundred and seventy pound body now looks very different than the very first time I was a hundred and seventy pounds because now I've got seven more years of training under my belt and muscle built. Right? So I'm a very different version of that Yeah.
Lindsay Dill:Years ago.
Kaitlin:Yeah. How do you define success today? And how is that different from, like, maybe, like, what you thought would be successful, a successful journey when you started or what you envisioned it to be like and what is actually like now?
Lindsay Dill:Yeah. I think what I used to think was success was looking a certain way. Right? Wearing a certain size or seeing a certain number on the scale. But now my version of success is how I feel about myself every day.
Lindsay Dill:Like, showing up, keeping the promises I make to myself. Like, it's important to me to continue to build that self efficacy. And I think my success is in how I treat others based on how I feel about myself. Like, I'm always a better version of me when I do the things and I show up. And most of it's habitual at this point.
Lindsay Dill:But like I said earlier, you know, I can I know the days that I'm not the best, and I I want that I want that to be my legacy? How other people feel in my presence and how other people feel when they speak with me, not how shredded my abs are. Right? Yeah. Yeah.
Kaitlin:Something I wanna end on and and finish up with is just, like, highlighting, the importance of how long this took you. So can you reiterate how many years you have been on this journey and how long it has taken.
Lindsay Dill:Yeah. I started this journey in 2011. So I was 22 years old, and I'm 35. And I'm still learning things about myself. I still have physique goals and and strength training goals and, you know, all these other things and I think that's the biggest piece is it has to be a nonnegotiable.
Lindsay Dill:This is this is nonnegotiable, and I understand that even on those those bad days when I need to take a pause, when I need to take a break, it's like we just continue on. Right? Like, it's been thirteen years of effort, but not all those days have been the best days. So you just you gotta keep showing up.
Kaitlin:Yeah. Do you feel like now it's just like your lifestyle, who you are, and how you operate, and it just is like second nature now?
Lindsay Dill:Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.
Kaitlin:Yeah. Kind of what it takes to to achieve, you know, that time to achieve the the result. And it's it's really it's never finished either. Right?
Lindsay Dill:It's so worth it. Yeah. It's not easy, but it's worth it.
Kaitlin:It's amazing. What an incredible story. Thank you so much for showing up and sharing that with with all of us and our listeners. And I know it's going to inspire and be helpful to so many women listening here today. So where can people find you and, your social, especially your dessert page?
Kaitlin:Tell us more about that as well. You guys, her desserts are incredible. But this is my favorite part about your story too. It's like you can do that and still achieve your goals and lose weight and be passionate about that and enjoy it. It's it's it's part of it, and it's so amazing.
Kaitlin:So where can people find you?
Lindsay Dill:Absolutely. So my personal Instagram is lynn slay underscore dill. So just my name, but a little caveat in there. And then Dessert Mommy is my baking business. I'm a cottage baker.
Lindsay Dill:I I do local markets here in the Mesa area, and I also have some monthly boxes. So follow me on there if you guys wanna be to date on all the things I got coming up. Dessert mommy with two underscores at the end on Instagram, and that's where you can find me. Emails are linked in
Kaitlin:there and all that good stuff. Amazing. Like muscle mommy. You guys get it?
Lindsay Dill:That's how it started.
Kaitlin:I love it. It's so good. Desserts are amazing. Subscribe to her monthly dessert boxes. Follow along her journey.
Kaitlin:Puts a lot of great information out there, honest and open about her journey and passionate about helping other women achieve and go through the same, you know, same journey. So reach out and thank you again for joining us and for everybody else out there that tuned in to listen today. And we will chat with you next week.
Lindsay Dill:Thanks so much for having me.
Intro:Thanks for joining us on the Counter Culture Health podcast. To support this show, please rate, review, and share with your friends and family. If you wanna be reminded of new episodes, click the subscribe button on your preferred podcast player. You can find me, Jen, at awaken.holistic.health and at awakeningholistichealth.com. And me, Kaitlyn, at Kaitlyn Reed Wellness and KaitlynReedWellness.com.
Intro:The content of the show is for educational purposes only. As always, talk to your doctor and health team. See you next time.
