About
Hey heyyy! I’m LCK (:
I’m a nutrition and fitness coach and total fun junkie who loves lifting, being outside, and living a BIG life. I’m also the founder of the world-famous online workout company, Paragon Training Methods.
In my free time, you can usually find me lifting, running, boxing, skateboarding, surfing, playing video games, at the beach, adventuring with our German Shepherd, and traveling the globe.
In my late high school years, I was suddenly dealing with unexplained weight gain (despite being a competitive athlete who was excelling in multiple sports).
In addition to struggling with my weight, I was experiencing severe hair loss, awful digestion, and chronically felt exhausted to the bone. I’d sleep 10 to 12+ hours at night and still struggle to pull myself out of bed.
After seeing a doctor and pulling some bloodwork, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I was prescribed thyroid meds, and while they helped a little, I still wasn’t feeling super great.
My doctor didn’t really provide further guidance or suggestions on how to improve my health, my symptoms, or how to get my weight under control.
As a result, unfortunately my teenage years and early twenties were filled to the brim with disordered habits regarding nutrition and exercise as I attempted to take control back over my body.
I decided to pursue a Bachelors Degree and formal education in Food, Nutrition, Dietetics in hopes of not only getting to the root of my health issues, but to help others in my position never be in my position.
Fast forward to my later college years, I had gotten into long distance running and endurance training and weighed a whopping 92 lbs.
Finding the barbell and getting into lifting heavy weights saved me … but my food and exercise habits still were not very healthy ones.
I would lift every morning and then run for several hours at night. I was absolutely terrified of eating carbs (and food in general), and spent the majority of my days obsessing over food, my body, and my appearance.
I found CrossFit and instantly fell in love because I could workout with other people, being strong was celebrated, and there was so much focus on self improvement and celebrating what your body could do.
Once I graduated college, I moved to Texas and went on to help open and manage what would later become a world-famous CrossFit gym. I also coached for CrossFit Gymnastics Seminar Staff.
I leaned in hard into competitive CrossFit and if I wasn’t coaching, every spare moment of time I had was spent lifting and training. In 2016, my hard work payed off as our team qualified and went on to compete on the CrossFit Regional floor.
While I had become a tremendous athlete, I was absolutely obsessed with tracking my macros and micromanaged every morsel of food that went into my mouth. I was constantly hungry, always battling food cravings, and would often wake up hungry in the middle of the night.
I somehow limited myself to 1800-2000 calories (despite lifting and training for hours and hours each day – yikes). I took Tupperware to pool parties and out to restaurants with friends, because I was afraid of dining out and terrified of gaining weight.
My hair was falling out by the handful, my joints perpetually ached. I was always exhausted, so I survived by drinking entirely too much caffeine. Labs showed my thyroid and sex hormone levels were pretty much non-existent. And sex drive = 0.
I was really, really miserable.
I spent so many years tirelessly smashing my body into the floor, but I just kept going harder because my body appearance didn’t reflect all the hard work I was putting in.
Eventually I realized that the way I was working out wasn’t sustainable nor conducive to health or my goals. And that I needed to find a better approach with my nutrition and workouts.
No one ever really told me…
- that working out more isn’t always necessarily better
- how to actually fuel myself appropriately for my goals and activity levels
- the importance of taking rest days to give the body time to rest and recover
- that soreness is not a good gauge of whether or not you “got a good workout”
- that you don’t have to leave yourself on the floor dripping in sweat and gasping for air after every single workout
- the importance of following a good workout program that is backed by science, has progressive overload and has periodized training cycles
- that training for performance and training for aesthetics are completely different animals, and if maximizing body composition is the goal, bodybuilding and hypertrophy work forever reigns king
Present day, I don’t really stress over food or exercise stuff as much anymore.
Learning how to listen and take care of my body, actually feed myself, prioritize my health, play the long game, and do LESS has changed my life.
I lift 4 times per week. I eat no less than 2200-2300 calories per day. I work closely with my doctor to manage my thyroid and hormone health. I still track my food most days, but mostly just to make sure I’m eating enough.
We’ve come a really, really long way from the girl with an eating disorder that went to college to pursue a degree in food, nutrition, and dietetics.
I’ve learned so many things the hard way, and I wouldn’t wish what I’ve been through on anyone. But if I could do anything different, I’m not sure that I would.
Sharing my own personal health and fitness journey has enabled me to reach thousands of people around the world and share the importance of eating well, eating enough, and show that we don’t have to destroy ourselves in the gym or workout 7 days a week to look, feel, and perform our best.
I found my healing in 15+ years of coaching and educating others. I’m still finding it every day.
Paragon Training Methods is our life-changing online workout company.
Our evidence-based workouts, online fitness community, and unique approach to nutrition and fitness will help you build muscle, enhance your physique, and help you look and feel damn good in just 30, 45, or 60 minutes per day.
The way you eat and exercise should provide freedom.
Your own worst enemy doesn’t have to live between your two ears.
And you don’t have to spend your whole life at war with your body.
In a world that continues to tell people that they’re not enough, to shrink themselves, and to take up less space — Paragon will keep doubling down on helping people take up space and be unapologetically strong, confident, and well-fed.
Connect
Looking to podcast together, create content together, interview me, or have me as a guest speaker?
Just know that if we hang, you’re guaranteed a damn good time! Shoot me a message and let’s connect (:
