Katie Crewe is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), Certified Nutritional Practitioner (CNP), psychology grad and health coach. For her, the fitness journey started for aesthetic purposes as it starts for many of us. But she discovered a significant improvement in her confidence and mentality too and she knew it was for the best. Now, she shares her journey which includes her advice on health and fitness, nutrition tips and other lifestyle hacks to her Instagram community which has more than 8 million followers.

She is also a coach on the famous Fit plan app and she helps everyone reach their fitness goals by making them realize their own potential and equips them with knowledge.

She is from Canada but has a worldwide reach because of her healthy food recipes and workout advice! Sh even offers premium dieting and workout programs for her clients. However, growing up, she was not really keen on fitness and was super afraid of getting bulky if she went to the gym. Therefore, she preferred doing bodyweight exercises using no equipment. A great thing about her was, she was active in her school sports team and played regularly. She says,

"I grew up dancing and playing soccer, but once I went to university, those activities fell to the wayside. I never really enjoyed going to the gym—mostly because I didn't know what the heck I was doing—and my eating habits were atrocious."

One day, I noticed I got winded just running to the bus...

She says, "I remember thinking, "How did I get to this point? This is so bad." I also noticed my body changing: I was softer in some areas, skinnier in others, and my butt was going south. I remember thinking, "How is my butt getting saggier?!" I was 21 years old. When I went to the doctor, they told me I had high cholesterol, too. I would fall asleep at the drop of the hat and always feel exhausted."

However, after experiencing severe bloating, heartburn, and exhaustion which lingered for years, Katie realized she had to change her lifestyle completely. "Finally, when I graduated, I decided I needed to get in shape again. Sure, I wanted to make my butt look better—but not being able to jog without getting winded also made me feel disappointed in myself," she admits. She decided to leave her comfort zone and push herself for a strength-based workout plan and changing her diet completely. She continues,

"I started out just doing cardio, but eventually, I made my way to a gym where I started taking classes. In class, I was basically forced to do all the things I usually avoided—like pushups or upper-body exercises, which were such a struggle. But eventually, I started to get better, which fired up my competitive nature, and I started challenging myself to do more weight training.

My first few trips to the weights room were intimidating, but I'd try to go in with a plan to make myself feel more confident. I'd search for workouts and look up videos online, and write them down so I could go in and feel like I knew what I was doing."

As a result, all her symptoms just went into thin air and she felt better. She recalls,"I'd start the day with a French vanilla cappuccino, and an apple fritter or donut. Then, for lunch, I'd have a sandwich or pizza, with a sugar-y juice instead of water. Later, during my break, I'd snack on a muffin or cookie. For dinner, I'd maybe eat some vegetables or protein, but then I'd snack on cereal throughout the night. Still, I was thin, so nobody was saying "you're unhealthy" or pressuring me to change."She shared her results online which gained immense popularity because of the immense inspiration it brought to people. She gained an army of followers instantly and became a fitness guru in the process.https://www.instagram.com/p/B8uokMMA8s_/

Katie Crewe Statistics

“I find physically being at the gym helps a lot with my motivation but if you are at home, make sure you have a solid plan so you don’t end up napping instead.”

• Full Name: Katie Crewe
• Age: 31
• Date of Birth: May 20, 1988
• Nationality: Canadian
• Profession: Fitness Coach, Model

Katie Crewe Accomplishments

• Certified Nutritional Practitioner (CNP)
• Personal Trainer
• Social Media Personality

“I’m not someone who started lifting and whose body immediately transformed. While some people make pretty dramatic changes in a short time, for many others, noticeable changes take time, and that’s okay.”

Katie Crewe Workout Routine

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8xOW1igWnz/

As she began weight training in the gym, she did not see the results immediately and was flustered at first. But then she realized nobody actually did care for her weight and she stopped checking it! It was an epiphany! She says,

"I didn't notice changes right away—it probably took six months to a year after I started lifting.

As I gained more muscle, my body weight increased, which freaked me out at first. It finally clicked one day that absolutely nobody else cared about my weight, and that it should not be affecting my happiness. So I just stopped weighing myself.

Instead, I like to focus on the fact that I gained muscle and it enabled me to do all this cool stuff that makes me feel confident. I’m definitely happier with my body now, and there’s a pride in having built it myself."

Severe Bloating

Katie Grew up as an active child, playing sports in her school team, and exercising regularly at her home. But as she got into her late teens, she started having bloating problems. She experienced severe gas, heartburns, and stomach aches right after eating her meals. There was always a lingering feeling of exhaustion.Even though Katie tried almost everything ‘under the sun’ to get rid of her problem, even consulting with doctors, nothing really helped.

Finding the Solution

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9DP8unAw-l/It wasn’t until Katie decided to take the matter into her own hands that she quit her job and enrolled herself into a wellness course that focused on a holistic nutrition course. That's when her life finally started changing for the better.After she made several changes to her lifestyle, including her diet and the way of training, Katie’s bloating problems finally started to diminish.Katie says, “With my new knowledge, I also found empowerment. I realized that things didn’t just have to happen to me, I could take charge and make the changes that I wanted to see happen.”

Using her Knowledge to Help Others

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7HYnOUAP6i/Realizing how much of an impact her diet and her newfound correct weight training program can have, Katie went online to share her journey with others who may feel helpless; hoping she would reach some people and help them transform their lives, just like she did.What happened next was something Katie didn’t expect – in a matter of months, her social media profiles became a sensation among fitness fans. And she has not looked back since then. Today, she is coaching thousands of people and inspires a couple of millions. She makes customized meal and fitness training programs for her clients to help them reach the goal.

Training Schedule:

Flexibility

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-avPQVA5Jn/While she loves to go all crazy with strength training using heavy dumbells and rods, she also likes to stay at home and do some no-equipment workouts when she has to. She says that consistency is the key and no matter where you are, it is great to at least train for the day; the place where you exercise is not important.

Volume and Weights for Growth:

She likes to train heavy especially for her legs and glutes. She also makes sure to include as many reps and sets as possible. She also allows her body to recover between each set and takes an ample amount of rest so that she could lift quite heavy in her next round.

Best Exercises For the Entire Body:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-x9D46gATl/These are some of Katie’s favorite exercises for each of her body parts:

• Chest and Triceps – Push-ups
• Back and Biceps – Deadlifts and Pull-ups
• Legs – Squats, Deadlifts, Lunges
• Abs/Core – Hanging Leg Raises, Planks

She says on the hazards of doing excessive cardio, “People very often get excited about their goal but are also overly-ambitious and start doing cardio every day while cutting calories super low. Not only are you a lot more likely to lose muscle this way but it’s also very hard to sustain. You don’t need to go to such extremes to see results.”

She takes ample of rest to recover, saying, "I take at least two full rest days a week."

On her routine in the gym, she says, "I train in a four-day split, so":

• Day 1: Lower-body
• Day 2: Upper-body
• Day 3: Lower-body
• Day 4: Upper-body
• Day 5: Bodyweight/cardio

This is her comment on her leg day workouts where she likes to go a little heavy: "For lower-body days, I'm focused on strength and hypertrophy (muscle growth), so I'm lifting fairly heavy. On upper-body days, I do more bodyweight activities like pushups and pullups. Plus, I always have two full rest days a week—sometimes more."

Katie Crewe's 4-Move Kettlebell Leg Workout

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8H4VvFAC28/Before you start, don't forget to warm up by activating your glutes and, cool down afterward with some of the lower-body stretches. You'll be doing four sets of each exercise, and Katie also gives alternate moves for some of these in case you are unable to do it. These are the following exercises that are involved in the 4-move workout:

1. Romanian deadlifts: four sets of 15 reps (or four sets of 10 single-leg Romanian deadlifts on each side)
2. Single-leg chair squats: four sets of 10 reps on each side (or four sets of six to eight pistol squats on each side)
3. Lateral lunges: four sets of 12 reps on each side
4. Single-leg hip thrusts: four sets of 12 reps on each side (or four sets of 15 regular hip thrusts)

If you're into home workouts, Katie has some tips for ensuring that you're creating a quality exercise routine outside of the gym. "Choose some more challenging exercise variations, use higher rep ranges on certain exercises, and cut rest times," she advised in the caption. "It's also a great time to work on some bodyweight strength." How about this four-move no-equipment leg workout to start?

She used to feel gross about herself to the point that she started to accept the way she feels. "I used to think it was normal to feel tired all the time."

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8Pt2ymgTfx/But having a holistic approach towards fitness changed all of it for her. She now knows that she can live a better lifestyle by making some little changes. She also says that she feels more confident and she appreciates each day of her fitness journey. In her words,

"I would fall asleep at the drop of the hat and always feel exhausted. Now, I feel so much more vital. I think human beings are meant to move. You don't have to do what I do, just find something you enjoy. I also feel so much more confident today. I wouldn’t trade bodies with anyone—I worked really hard for this one, and appreciate what it does for me. I've felt a huge increase in my self-worth and confidence, which I think comes with treating your body with respect and working hard."

That was all about her workout routine but let's jump on to her diet plan too.

Katie Crewe Diet Plan

Here are a few things that Katie keeps in mind when it comes to eating the right kind of food and fuel herself. She also shares these tips with her fans:MacronutrientsHer diet is based on proteins and a lot of healthy fat and she takes carbs as a post-workout fuel to re-energize herself. She also takes carbs when she has a cheat day to refuel herself. She says, “As a general rule, once you have established your protein and fat intake, you can ‘fill in’ the remaining calories with carbohydrates.”Losing Weight Made Simplehttps://www.instagram.com/p/B02AI-Nghg8/According to Katie, there isn't much of a science behind losing weight. It all boils down to reducing the calorie intake and increasing the calorie expenditure. If she wants to drop some body fat and lose weight, she will cut down her calorie intake by 200-600 calories. However, she does just cut it all out. Instead, she replaces the comparatively nutrient-poor and calorie-heavy foods with things that are not too calorie-dense. She takes fewer calories but more micronutrients. Some of those foods are kale, Swiss chard, lean fish, blueberries, avocado, etc.Slow Progress for Optimal Fat LossKatie advises that when dieting, one must create a small calorie deficit as possible. She says doing this will not only preserve muscle mass but also allow the body to adapt to a new change in the diet and hence making the fat loss process more efficient.

She says that if she was to suddenly drop her calorie intake, her body would most likely consume its muscle, rather than fat. This is why she stresses the importance of steady, slow progress. In Katie’s opinion, around 1 lb lost per week is ideal.

"But when I first started training, I took 'clean eating' too far," she admits.

She continued by explaining her routine, saying,

"When I was 23, I did a fitness competition. I never ate after 7 p.m., and pretty much lived off of produce and protein. Around this same time, I also went months without eating any added sugar, to the point where even almond butter and carrots tasted super-sweet to me.

But I realized that type of lifestyle wasn't sustainable. I started noticing changes in my mood, and I think my body was trying to tell me, "Bitch, you're staving, you need to stop doing this."

However, things have changed now and she makes sure she is eating enough and not starving herself. She says, "Now I count my macros to stay healthy."

"To build a butt, you should be eating enough calories to maintain your weight," says Crewe. "You have to give your body enough energy to push hard during your workouts." However, everyone is different and one must most certainly not copy anyone else's plan in order os gain or lose weight. But here is Katie's sample diet if you are looking for what she eats in a day.

Breakfast:

• Coffee
• Few pieces of dark chocolate

She tells, "I wake up and have coffee and a few squares of dark chocolate because that’s what I want in the morning."

Snack:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzWSNmmgXwo/

• Frozen berries
• Coconut whip

She explains, "I love frozen raspberries and blueberries with coconut whip. It’s a good way to get extra fiber, and it kinda tastes like ice cream."

Lunch:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxFUdcPH6k4/Salad:

• Protein source
• Choice of veggies
• Carb source

She says, "I usually have a salad with some kind of protein, like eggs, chicken, or fish. I use lots of lettuce, zoodles, beets, and tomatoes. I also make sure to have a side of carbs, like overnight oats with chia seeds or a sweet potato with almond butter."

Post-gym mini-meal:

• Veggies
• Protein source
• Carb source

She says, "To refuel, I eat veggies, protein, and more oats or potatoes."

Dinner:

• Pasta/Zoodles
• Omelet
• Chicken
• Veggies
• Avocado

"I like variety, so I try to avoid eating the same protein I had for lunch. So I might have some kind of omelet or pasta or zoodles with chicken and veggies. I like to add avocado to get something fatty in there too," she said.

Dessert:

• Dark chocolate
• Icecream sandwich

“This is an everyday thing for me. I’ll have a few squares of dark chocolate or an ice cream sandwich—or both," she reveals.

Booze: "I don’t drink because I feel awful the next day. But I think it’s fine if you enjoy it! Just keep hydrated," she explains.

However, there are days when she needs more food than she actually needs so she adjusts her diet accordingly. And she explains it saying, "Eventually, I realized food is fuel; you need to eat more to get stronger. I started eating more carbs and that helped a lot. I also do intermittent fasting—though not very strictly. If I'm hungry, I eat. Here's what a typical day of eating looks like for me now:

• Morning: Coffee and a little bit of dark chocolate
• Lunch (around noon): Zoodles with beets and tomato and chicken, and then a carb like sweet potato with cinnamon and almond butter
• Afternoon (after training): A giant-face-sized salad with some protein and carbs. I’m a huge fan of frozen raspberries so I’ll have those, or if I’m going to have something like Halo Top ice cream I’ll have it around then.
• Dinner: More veggies, some healthy fat, and another protein source.
• Snacks: I usually have oatmeal and chia seeds. I also eat a lot of rice cakes with PB&J and a decent amount of cereal. Plus, more dark chocolate."

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu4pOhqntaq/She also shares her favorite smoothie recipe with her fans:

Katie Crewe’s Healthy Smoothie

The base:

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup of almond milk or coconut water

“Once you have your base, you can customize your shake however you’d like to add in your favorite foods and flavors,” says Katie. Here are some of her recommendations;

• leafy greens (e.g. spinach, kale, parsley, mint leaves)
• berries
• chia seeds
• hemp seeds
• ground flax
• cacao powder
• shredded coconut
• coconut oil
• nut butter (e.g. almond butter, cashew butter, pumpkin seed butter)
• protein powder
• cinnamon
• extracts (e.g. almond extract, orange extract, peppermint extract)
• pitted dates (natural sweetness)

That's all about Katie Crewe's diet and workout routine but if Katie has taught anyone anything about fitness it is that you can see results by making small changes and stick with it for a consistent period. She says that diet and exercise play an important role in our health and must not be neglected because it can help elevate the health benefits and might be able to cure them too. She recommends to add healthy food which means nutrient-dense and wholesome foods and avoid eating processed food. That's what changed her life for her too!