An Interview with Fitness Competitor Kate Stewart

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Kate Stewart.

In this interview, you'll pick up some great tips from Kate on weight training, nutrition, motivations and planning all aspects of your fitness program. Even more than that, you'll be inspired by Kate's story and what she's overcome to get where she is today.

If you're a reader of my newsletter (and you should be!), you'll know I sign off each issue, 'No BS, No Excuses'. Kate lives that motto.

Keep a couple of things in mind. Kate works full time, and she's a single mother of a special needs child. And you're going to tell me that you can't find the time to train and eat right?

If you want to stay young, both in how you feel and how you look, a proper weight training, cardio and nutrition program is the fountain of youth - not diet drugs, or dangerous surgeries.

And oh yeah, Kate managed to lose about 70 pounds and now competes in fitness competitions!

1) What problems have you had as far as staying motivated and disciplined to stick with your nutrition program and hit the gym on a consistent basis? With my readers and clients, I've found motivation and discipline to stick with a program to be their biggest obstacle.

Did this come easy to you or were their tricks you used along the way to stick with your progam?

Kate:Oh my, this is never easy even for the best of the best. If it was easy no one would need to lose weight and we would all look stage ready all of the time. I have many friends that compete in the Pro's and even they struggle from time to time. I have to make the time and the workouts work for me and my lifestyle. What works for one person and their schedule may not work for someone else.

I think that my biggest obstacle that comes up from time to time is just the stress of making it all work and come together. I am a single parent of one child that has several learning disabilities and finding a balance between his needs and my needs sometimes is a struggle. Not to mention the needs of having a relationship with my boyfriend of seven years. I had to realize it's ok to ask for help sometimes.

Another huge obstacle for me was my own self esteem issues. I wasn't just working on myself from the outside but I was working on helping the girl inside that was staring at me in the mirror.

For motivation I set mini goals. I am not overly fond of the long term goal but derive much more pleasure from setting little goals and then reaching them and setting new ones. When you see you are making your little goals such as lose X pounds this week, etc., then that is fuel for the next goal.

2) How did you get started with your liftestyle? In other words, what changes did you make, or planning did you do, to give yourself the best chance at success?

Kate: I had to hit an all time low in my life before I took a long hard look at where I was and where I was going. Many tragic things had happened for so many years straight that I had lost who I was inside as well as not recognizing myself on the outside.

My mother passed away from a terminal illness, I had a sister that passed away within a year of cancer and within two months my son was born three months premature and my marraige completely fell apart. My ex-husband told me countless times that my life had too much trauma.

I started with little things such as reading all the self help books I could find on weight loss and nutrition. I tried everything from weight watchers, South Beach and Atkins. Finally I read the book Body For Life. It really changed my ideas of dieting, and fitness from that point.

Until I had read the book...I really had only done cardio. I trained for a couple of marathons and really burnt the calories leaving me slender but I didn't have a shape. So I started eating several times a day, backed off of all the cardio and started weight training. I absolutely loved the physique I was obtaining and the nice rounded look of my muscles. I wanted more.

I am now a firm believer that you can plan for a lifetime to make changes without doing a thing. You just have to decide that you are going to DO IT!

3) Preparing for a figure or bodybuilding contest is a completely different world from regular old training and eating "right." Even the most motivated and disciplined people can struggle to stick with their plan.

Most people look at athletes and think it comes easy to them but even you (and I!) can struggle with our motivation at times. What tips keep you motivated through contest preparation that the everyday person can use in their fight to get and stay in shape?

Kate: Well, again nothing comes easy even for the pro's. I believe that the best success anyone will have in preparing for a show is to plan, plan, plan.

I spend my Sundays preparing and measuring out foods and putting them into containers. This makes my weekdays and packing much quicker and easier and takes the guesswork out of what you will eat each day. The diet is 90% of the success so I take a great deal of time planning my meals.

Never leave home without your cooler of food and water. You never know when something might pop up or change and you don't make it back home before that next meal.

Also remember there is a great deal of the contest prep that is totally mental. For example...today is day one of my next contest prep. I am already thinking about food nonstop even though I am not hungry at all. During these times I tell myself that food is just fuel, nothing more. Sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn't.

As far as the exhaustion that comes from so much training...I have no advice. It's just something I do if I want to get on that stage with my best physique yet. You just do it.

4) Most people think competitors just have to focus on training and eating right but most of us work full time. You have the same challenges everyone else has as far as time, yet you have to be more disciplined than the average person who just wants to get in shape.

What problems did you have to overcome in order to stay on track with your fitness program? Some of the popular excuses I've heard from people I've trained include "not enough time"(both for exercising and eating right), "eating healthy is too expensive", "don't see results fast enough", "weights will make me big and bulky", "have trouble sticking with an exercise routine". What were the obstacles you had to overcome?

Kate: For me it wasn't that I didn't have enough time. (which I didn't) I asked myself...if someone offered me an all expense paid three month long vacation around the world, would you take it? OF COURSE I WOULD!

Well, if I could make the time to do something like that then I could make the time to take care of my body. Create a healthier lifestyle and stay around on this earth to watch my grandchildren grow up. Time was not going to be an issue.

The hardest part for me was the time that it took me away from my family. I have a son that has several learning disabilities and needs his mother desperately. I had to fit him into what I was doing for me as much as possible. There were many days that he actually went and worked out with me.

The other huge obstacle was that I found that there were so many people that just did not understand. They all wanted a healthier body and a healthy lifestyle but no one wanted to do the work. It was always, "One bite won't kill you" or "You never spend time with us anymore". I did not have support at all in my daily life other then at the gym and with my family.

I found out that as the body changes, the world can become full of haters. There were so many people that just started to not like me just because I was changing myself. It was and still is quite hurtful. People stereotype me as arrogant without even getting to know that really I have tons of self esteem issues just like everyone else. I am just choosing to do something about it.

5) How did you overcome those problems? What specific techniques did you use to make your dreams a reality?

Kate: If you make a schedule to include training, cardio, work and at home responsibilities and stick to it, you can do it. It takes time and a lot of discipline. Once you get used to it, you don't want to go back to your old habits. For example during off-season, I didn't HAVE to get up at 4:00 am for cardio but I did anyway. I did this because I didn't want to have to get used to doing it all over again at that time of day.

6) Moving forward and knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently, if anything?

Kate: I wouldn't change a thing except maybe wish that I didn't have to work a full time job. Being dedicated to a sport or this sport is a lifetime commitment and a lifetime learning experience. I know that I may never make it to a Pro card and that's ok with me. I have become a pro on my own by losing over 70lbs, changing my life and being proud in my own skin.

7) What would you have done the same way, and will continue to do, going forward?

Kate: Having my Trainer/Nutritionist, Kim Oddo. He has been so good to me and patient and supportive in all that I do. I could not have done this without him. He takes all my guess work out of my programs. I do exactly as I am told and I succeed because of his expertise! I love my KO!

8) Do you feel that ongoing feedback and motivational tools would help in maintaining a fitness program? I always encourage my clients to take pictures periodically.

Kate: Absolutely. All good trainers will ask for this for reason. My trainer has told me before that if he can make me look good in pictures then in person look out.

Pictures are an incredibly great idea. Sometimes we don't think we are changing and you take pictures a couple of weeks later and it's like WOW...where did that come from.

I also have a great mentors in the business that are so encouraging to me. I can ask questions, air my ugly thoughts or even if just needing to talk. They are there for me.

9) If you were to advise a close friend or family member how to follow in your fitness footsteps, what would you tell them?

Kate: I wouldn't think of it as following in my footsteps. We are all so individual in every way. You have to like what you are doing and find a way that suits you. Not everyone wants to look like a figure competitor. Find what you enjoy, work out a schedule so you can work it into your lifestyle and make the commitment to stick to it.

10) What's a typical day for Kate Stewart when it comes to training and nutrition?

Kate: Get up at 4:00 am and hit the gym for morning cardio

Home at 6:00 am and get the family showered, fed, lunches made and out the door by 7:00

7:30 to 5:00 pm I am at my full time job

5:30 Back at the gym for evening cardio and weight training.

I start my meals at 6:00 am and eat every three hours right up until bedtime. (which is usually about 9:30PM)

My meals consist of lean protein such as egg whites, protein drinks, chicken breast and fish. Good carbs such as brown rice and yams and lot's of green veggies.

11) What are your future fitness plans?

Kate: I have a very busy 2007 planned. First stop will be the Arnold Classic Amateur. Then I am planning on the Emerald Cup. It will depend on how those two competitions go if I will then go on and do Jr. USA's or if I will do the Orange County and then pick up towards the middle summer some National level competitons. Maybe Vegas. I am planning on about 5 or 6 competitions over the next 8 months. It's going to be a very busy season.

12) Feel free to add anything important you think I may have missed. Include any pics you want as well.

Kate: LOVE YOURSELF!

I want to thank Kate for such an inspiring and motivational story. If you can't get motivated to get your own weight training, cardio and nutrition plan into high gear after reading this, I'm not sure anything will give you the kick in the butt you need. Go hit the gym!

Kate has a new site coming at www.KathrynStewart.net

Click on the picture to see a full sized version.