89. Fat-Adapted Ultrarunning Success with Kelly French

My name is Patrick McGilvray, and I’m an experienced marathoner, ultra runner, Sports Nutritionist, Master Life Coach, and weight loss coach for runners. I’ve dedicated my life to helping runners just like you properly fuel your body and your mind. So you can get leaner, get stronger, run faster, and run longer than you ever thought possible. This is Running Lean.

Patrick McGilvray
Hey there, and welcome to episode 89 of Running Lean. My name is Patrick McGilvray, the weight loss coach for runners. And today I’m talking fat-adapted ultra running success with Kelly French. Actually, she’s talking about her fat-adapted ultra running success.

So on Sunday afternoons, over in the Running Lean community on Facebook, I do these live training and coaching sessions. And this past week, I brought on a special guest, Kelly French, and we had a fun and informative conversation all about her experience of becoming a fat-adapted runner.

So Kelly’s an ultra runner, who came to me for help transitioning to the low carb way of life, she wanted to lose a little bit of weight, and she wanted to improve her running performance. So she made it through that tough transition period, I helped her kind of get through the transition period from you know, being primarily a sugar burner to be becoming a super-efficient fat-burning machine.

And since adopting this approach, she’s run two ultra marathons with great success. And she’s going to tell you all about that. She’s also become quite a bit leaner in the process and says she feels the best that she’s felt in years. Kelly and I had a ton of fun working together, she’s done an amazing job of sticking with the program, as you will see. And I just have no doubt you’re gonna enjoy this conversation with Kelly, and you’re gonna get something out of this episode.

But first, if you like this podcast, definitely come check out the Running Lean community on Facebook and the two kind of go hand in hand, the community on Facebook gives you a chance to ask questions and join in the conversation. And you can participate in those Sunday lives that I do. And you can ask questions, and we can have some fun.

And sometimes I interview some of my clients and some other professionals and other people, experts in the field of health and fitness running in nutrition. And we just have a lot of fun over there. So just search for Running Lean community on Facebook and join us.

And here’s another five-star review of the Running Lean podcast. And this one’s from BW45. And BW45 says, “Great information. I started listening as a way to get motivated to train for a half. But I’ve continued to listen because of all the great information Patrick shares each week, I’ve learned so much about health and nutrition, that I’ve started making changes to my diet. And I can’t wait to see how these changes improve my running. This podcast is great for anyone looking to not just improve their running but their whole life.”

Patrick McGilvray
Yes, I love it. And a lot of the principles I talked about here, yes, they apply to more than just running more than just you know, trying to lose weight. mindset. Mindset is huge. It’s the foundation of everything we do. If you want to get success in any area of your life it requires the right mindset.

And if you enjoy this podcast, it would mean a lot to me if you would just take a moment. To leave a quick review, you can do that on Apple podcasts, just go to the podcast, scroll down where it says, rate and review, tap the stars and leave a few words, I would love that.

And then we’re still doing the four weeks to fat-adapted running over in the Running Lean coaching group. So this is my monthly membership program. And each month we have sort of a different topic that we cover in great detail. We have a lot of work around a specific topic this month, September 2021. It’s all about fat-adapted running, becoming a fat-adapted runner.

So we’re talking about how to do it, how to get started, what foods to eat, which you should definitely avoid, the kinds of carbs that are good, the kinds you should stay away from, and how to get through this tough transition period. All that stuff. And we just got started this past week. So you haven’t really missed much.

If you want to still join us you can absolutely do that. And we have replays of all the coaching and training sessions that we do in there. So you won’t miss anything. I promise you just go to runningleanpodcast.com/join and join us it would be super fun to see you in there.

And if you ever want a little bit of help, a little more personalized help. I’m a coach. I do one on one coaching, this is what I specialize in. This is my forte. This is my specialty. If you just want help becoming a fat-adapted runner and you just want to work with me like imagine what you can accomplish working one on one with a coach for like three months at a time, you can just become the most badass version of yourself, I promise you, it’s awesome.

And with one on one coaching, you also get access to the Running Lean coaching group. So it’s kind of like a win-win. If you want to apply for one on one coaching, just go to runningleanpodcast.com/apply. And hopefully, we’ll have a little conversation and see if coaching is a good fit for you. It’s not a great fit for everybody. Some people are like, no, that doesn’t sound like me.

But for a lot of people, it’s exactly what they need. And Kelly was one of those people. So like I said, in the intro, Kelly French is an ultra runner, she decided she wanted to try this like low carb thing, you know, she wanted to lose some weight. But really, she wanted to improve her running performance.

Weight loss wasn’t her like her main goal, she wanted to become a better runner. And she’s done an amazing job of making this work for her. And she’s somebody that has kind of special, special dietary considerations. And so you know, I want you guys to see that you know, you can make this work no matter what your dietary sort of preferences are. Okay.

So she’s had some pretty great success with a couple of recent ultra marathons. So since becoming fat-adapted, she’s run two ultra marathons. And this is only in the last few months. This all happens sort of in the last three months-ish. But I’m going to let her tell you all about it.

So without further ado, here’s my recent conversation with Kelly French, Kelly is an ultra runner, and just an awesome human being, by the way. And she came for me, came to me for some help in getting leaner and getting stronger as an ultra runner.

And so together, we, you know, kind of coached her through the fat-adaptation process through a low carb approach to running and helped her get through that challenging fat-adaptation phase, which I think she’s going to talk to us a little bit about hair today too.

And since then, she’s had some really great results, including two pretty successful ultra marathons that she’s done recently. And so we’re gonna just get into this, I think you guys are gonna have a lot of fun with this. I know, Kelly and I were just talking before we started here that we’re gonna have fun today. Right?

So Kelly, introduce yourself, just tell us who you are. And let’s talk a little bit about what drove you to seek out coaching? Like, what was it that was going on with you where you wanted to get some help?

Kelly French
Yes, um, well, hello, everybody. I guess it was maybe a few months before I decided to do the coaching that I just was almost in a place of just some bad habits and just some lifestyle habits that just was not working, I was going to be completely honest. Like, I’m not gonna hold anything back I was drinking on a regular basis. No matter if I was happy, celebrating, sad, whatever it was, I was using that to cope.

I was doing the same thing I’m doing now – running all the time, I’m still doing trail races, still exercising, but I was also, you know, kind of having the mentality of, I can eat whatever I want. I just ran all these miles, I didn’t have the mindset of what I was putting into my body, you know, maybe wasn’t healthy. I wasn’t getting a lot of the results.

As in, you know, my speed, I wanted to hit certain things. And I and I wasn’t, and it was probably, you know, a couple of weeks before that I was at work, you know, listening on some headphones and was like, you know, I wonder what is out there that I could listen to that maybe there’s some podcasts or self-help, or somebody who’s in the running community.

Because I was just at a little bit of a low point at that time. And it was very interesting because I started listening to a couple of your podcasts. And there were a few things that you said, you know, hey, this is what I went through. This is what my life was like. And now here I am today, doing a to z and I just have all these results and a better person mentally.

So I saw that you were looking for people you could sign up and kind of give your story on if it was a good fit to get some coaching and to get some help. And I said you know what? I listening to you. I felt like I knew you I felt for a reason you could help me so I reached out and I said this is what I’m doing, going through, this is what I’m looking to do and, and then the next day you got back to me and we had a one on one. And it was just the best thing that could have ever happened to me in my life. So yeah, that’s kind of how it started.

Patrick McGilvray
Yeah. So what were a couple of those goals that you are hoping to accomplish? Like, what did you want to get out of coaching? Besides just like getting a little bit faster? Like, talk a little bit about that?

Kelly French
Very interesting. So in the very beginning, I think my goal was to just feel better, feel healthy. And definitely, I wanted to at that time, the goal was to lose 15 pounds to take some of the weight off to kind of have some mental clarity. I just needed, I needed direction.

And before this, I mean, I tried things like cleanses, right? I tried, at one point, Weight Watchers, I tried just things that were very much so quick fixes things that were not going to be long term. And, you know, that’s just kind of how it was in the beginning. So at that point met you, I was like, my goal is just it really was just to lose weight and feel better. I did it like when I first started, there wasn’t anything concrete yet. Yeah. And the fear of getting weight loss surgery. That was it.

Patrick McGilvray
That’s fair. And so tell me a little bit about what running was like for you like before we started working together? How was your running performance? How did you feel running? How do you feel about running? Where were you?

Kelly French
Sure. So I would have to say, I’m still, I can relate at this time. The best part about running for me, in general, is the group of women that I run with, that’s always going to be special to me, I have really close friends that run such an amazing group of athlete women. At that point, I didn’t have concrete goals with running, my goal was to always be able to finish quote, unquote, I guess I was more like, am I back of the pack, I’m okay with that. I’m just here to finish and I was slower.

And even when I ran, you know, I would just carb load before I was like, Oh, my gosh, I have a half marathon, I need to eat a bagel or peanut butter, I got to get up an hour early and just, and I almost I would run and I would feel kind of slow and being kind of like, just I wasn’t feeling good about myself. I love to do it for the fun of it.

But I was more settling with being slow, mediocre, um, just kind of being there and then not feeling good when I was running. Like I just kind of, I would swear I’d have these conversations with girlfriends every day, I would load up on goos. Oh, you’re gonna have these goos you’re gonna feel so great. You know you take the goos, take goos with you, you’re going to feel fantastic. Take salt tablets. I mean, the list goes on. You’re going to be high performance if you eat this before. And you just, I felt like trash really. Um, so I was not feeling good. Like, during the runs. I loved the people I was with. And I love the group. I still love the group of people I run with, um, but I didn’t feel strong at that time. No, I was just there. I was just there.

Patrick McGilvray
So we started working together and you want to kind of get into this fat-adaptation thing you wanted to become a fat-adapted runner. What sort of changes did you make? Like, how was that process for you? What was the hardest thing about that process for you?

Kelly French
Cool. I would say that’s a good question. Um, I would say in the beginning, I would say I’m taking away things that helped me cope better. With alcohol, I stopped drinking the alcohol. So I felt like my advice was kind of gone. I was after long runs. I was used to getting whatever I wanted like pizza was my life at that time.

And I was like, okay, so I wasn’t able to. I made the choice. I’m not gonna say I was unable to I made the choice to not have those foods that I was used to, I was used to alcohol is used to kind of eating whatever I wanted. Although I snapped pretty healthy, I was used to eating throughout the day like snacks, even if they were peanuts, or just fruit or random stuff here and there I would like, because where I worked, I usually ate at my desk.

So I would bring like a ton of snacks. So I had to kind of sit there with no snack, and just kind of in watch, you know, drink water or coffee or something. So I wasn’t used to just having minimal, minimal things. So I had to kind of wait and I wasn’t eating for 16 hours, you know, I was doing the fasting. So that was different for me as well. And then I guess I would say, after you know, three or four weeks, your body just did it adjust to it. Um, but in the beginning, it was not fun not being able to have what I was used to having.

Patrick McGilvray
Especially, so you’re talking about using alcohol and using, you know, food, basically, as you said, like a coping mechanism, or I call that like, how we deal with our emotions, you know, it’s like emotionally eating or drinking. So, right? Was that hard at first for you? Like, did you find that that was pretty challenging to like, you because you made a decision to stop drinking for a little while?

Kelly French
So that was difficult in the sense of. Um, so this is, in grade two exercise was still every day for me to at that time, so I never missed work. But I had a schedule of working out, or going for a run cross-train, whatever it may be, you know, having a glass of wine or two at night, making, you know, pasta, maybe getting a pizza, maybe making too much of, you know, whatever the food may have been. So just I had that routine of unhealthy habits.

So when that was kind of taken away, that was difficult, especially if I had a stressful day at work or you know, people piss me off. And you know, you want something. I mean, we can all relate, right? So, it was hard to deal with certain things like that, or go to an event or a party and other people that your social drinking, you know, and however you want to put it to having you know, water or a diet soda or something when everybody else is having this or that. And they’re like, oh, what are you doing? Like you’re not drinking? You know, things like that. It’s like, well, no, actually, I’m not because I’m, you know, making that choice. But it was difficult to adjust to that in the beginning.

Patrick McGilvray
So did it get easier?

Unknown Speaker
Oh, super easier. It’s for somebody who drank alcohol, whether it was one glass of alcohol, whether it’s going out after a group run, and going to a brewery, you know, and just being after a race and drinking to drinking almost every day or on the weekends with friends after 10 miles or brunch or mimosas to now the last time I had I had half a beer was when I finished the ultramarathon in July. And I couldn’t even taste it because my taste buds are so different now.

So I don’t miss it at all. Wow. And for me, that is huge. Because I was so used to that for so long, where it’s now it’s like it’s just not in my life anymore. It’s not a part of it anymore. And I never would have thought in a million years, I would say that I have gone to barbecues and brought my own stuff and everyone’s drinking, having fun. And I still have a great time. I just choose to, to not I mean, I could if I wanted, I just I don’t have the urge like I used to, which is in a good way.

Patrick McGilvray
That’s beautiful. Because with the urge being there, like when you have this desire for alcohol or for food, whatever it is, and you’re trying not to do it but the desire still there that’s really hard to do. That’s where most people find themselves kind of white-knuckling it and trying to get through it.

But when you get to the point where the urge is gone or the desire is gone, then it’s no big deal. You can just like go to the party and hang out and you’re not craving you’re not thinking you’re you know, missing out on something. You know you’re not craving that thing. So that’s super awesome.

And I want you guys to know that are watching. If you guys have questions for Kelly, go ahead and drop them in the comments. And we’ll get to all the questions at the end. So you got through this place where you were eating a lot, you are drinking you, you change these habits, you know, started to anyway. And then things started to get a little bit easier for you.

So let’s talk about that. Like, when did you know, cause I know that like getting fat-adapted is tough. There’s a transition period, right when you’re running. And there’s a period where running is pretty terrible, right? Like, how hard was it to get through that, and then what’s running like for you now?

Kelly French
So I would say, maybe week five to six is where I started to feel kind of crappy, during the fat adaptive with the longer mileage and with the heat coming. I had done there was a three-hour run and it was kind of the same mile loop every time it was in PA was a trail. And each loop there was this terrible incline uphill. And I was just super mad I couldn’t get up there as fast as I wanted to, I was literally taking two to three breaks, even trying to like, hike up there.

Granted, it was pretty wild the incline, I just felt like trash, but you just keep going anyway, um, I still made it through the three hours, I’m not gonna give up. But I knew going into it, just by the research and just by listening to and getting the knowledge that that that’s what it’s gonna be like because your body is used to all of the things you’re doing to it before and then you know, you’re taking some of that out, it’s almost like your body’s trying to cleanse itself and, and reset.

So I feel like that’s part of like the reset progress or process. So that was difficult. And there was another time where I had like a longer run, and I was just getting aggravated. And I started walking and probably swore a little bit. And I was like, you know what, just do what you gotta do, you know, and then I might have told you about it. And I was like, oh my gosh, like this is I just, I feel like I’m not doing what I need to be doing. You know, it’s I’m slower.

But then it must have been maybe three weeks later. And I felt like a brand new person. So it was probably week six when I felt not great. And maybe a few weeks after that I started to feel different, better. And my body, adjusted the schedule to the food to get rid of things that were not fueling my body, I guess to say.

Patrick McGilvray
Yeah, so you, you know, adapt, embrace this whole low-carb approach to running. You got through the fat-adaptation period, it was a little bit challenging, a little terrible. Trade. Kelly’s always very honest with me about how she’s feeling. So I remember that. And then I remember you telling me about your 50k because you had this 50k planned, and you had a pretty good experience at that. 50k, tell us about that.

Kelly French
Well, I feel like a lot of the races that I do are never the weather is always down for so that was the first thing 24 hours before the run. It was nothing but down for the whole night. So we’re in the hotel room and I’m like, great, great. And you just hear it it’s just heavy. And so we got to the start I think was seven and it started at A and it was just a total down downpour. Granted this was a trail 50k and I knew it was going to be sloppy, I knew it was going to be a mess, but I was with two girls that I always run with just a fantastic group of women and we were going to embrace it anyway. It’s never gonna be perfect running conditions. You just figure it out and you do it.

So we did it. They did have a lot of it all to my do. I brought only the noon tablets that’s what I use. Um, and I did have some coffee before so I was feeling pretty good. And I would say maybe mile 10 or 11. They had some like rest areas and stuff where they had people there so they had electrolytes water, and usually if anyone who does trail they know a lot of this stuff is kind of garbage that they’re going to give you. There’s lot of candy needed, goldfish, cookies, you know. So I ended up doing a couple of pickles shots that they had their mile, I want to say 18-19 is when I started to feel a little bit cranky that I knew I was like, okay, I need something here.

So I ended up having half of a banana, some pickles, and I felt fantastic. And I just had my noon tablets. And I didn’t need anything else. So and then after, which was cool, they, you don’t have food for you. They have stuff for vegetarians, meat-eaters, whatever. So they had bean burgers, which I like and mix it with whatever you want. So and I felt fine. I wasn’t sick. I had no major GI issues during that run.

And the conditions were absolutely out of control. So the same loop twice that we did. There were a lot of people who dropped out who didn’t do it. There were even people who went as far as did the 50 miler, and it just down-poured the whole time. The second loop we did, was barely runnable you had water up to your knees. People were falling. And we just did it.

So it was and I did it with barely anything to eat. So and I felt great. I felt great. So yeah, that was awesome. I felt really good. Which a couple of years ago, if I did something like that, I would have probably felt like I had to eat two meals doing something like that. So but I felt great. And that was the first time where I got done with a run. And just felt fantastic. So, so awesome. Good. It was a really good feeling.

Patrick McGilvray
Yeah, and to be able to do a 50k, which you know, that’s good, that’s a long time you’re out there running, it’s like between, you know, five and eight hours, depending on how long it takes you and especially in those conditions, you’re probably on the higher end of that.

Kelly French
I was gonna have flowers.

Patrick McGilvray
What was it six and a half? Something like that. Yeah. So that’s a long time to be out there running and to just be like, oh, yeah, I have like a half a banana, and some electrolytes. That’s so awesome. Another thing I didn’t mention is that you’re doing this and you’ve been doing this as a vegetarian. And a lot of people say, oh, you know, it’s really hard to do the low carb thing as a vegetarian or if you’re a vegan or something like that. So was that extra hard for you? Because I don’t, I don’t remember that being really that much of a challenge for you.

Kelly French
I have to say I would 100% disagree with somebody who would say that that’s difficult, um, even so, I would say, maybe two years ago, I did incorporate fish into my diet. So I was a vegetarian for many years. I was an overweight vegetarian is what I was. Um, but the last couple of years I did include fish. So even if I didn’t eat fish, I could tell you what I did. There are so many options.

There’s bean burgers, if you don’t want to buy them, you can make your own you could do the beyond sausage. I think they taste incredible. I eat them almost every single day to be quite honest with you. You could do mushrooms you could do all the greens you want. You could do fish. I love salmon. I do salmon at least two to three times a week. If you don’t like fish, all you have to do like I mean tofu – marinated tofu. I put tofu and buffalo sauce. You could do whatever you want to eat. You could grill it you could saute it. There are just so many options.

You know I have that a lot of the time with broccoli. You can put that with the shredded cheese you could do marinated Brussel sprouts with buffalo sauce. I put buffalo sauce on everything so there’s just there are way more options than you think. I was like that in the beginning. I was like huh, so then I had looked before I worked with you and I can tell you I’ve never eaten so many eggs in my life until I started this process.

I love a soup can scramble omelet pickled however you want. I’ve fallen in love with eggs. Eggs are awesome. Avocados do the trick. There are just so many options and you could fill your plate with all these different things and it’s awesome. There’s so much food, so many different things you can have. You just have to, you know, look it up. I did a lot of research on different foods I could have, you have a pamphlet that says foods that you know you recommend. To me, it was not even, it wasn’t even difficult now you were the first second with not eating meat.

Patrick McGilvray
So yeah, one of the things you mentioned was like the beyond product like the Beyond Meat products, which are, are gluten-free. They’re sort of they’re like plant-based burgers and sausages. But they don’t have a lot of carbs in them either. And they don’t use, you know, wheat or anything like that. And so they’re kind of made for people like you who are doing more of a low carb type of thing. And then what a good source of protein. So they’re loaded with good quality protein, like pea protein.

Kelly French
Yogurt, to a lot of the yogurts that I that have very low sugar have like 16 grams of protein. There are just a lot of options at the store that you want to think but I think super easy to do it without being a vegetarian, you could do it being a vegan, all you’re doing is cutting out all the carbs. It’s easier than you think.

Patrick McGilvray
Yeah, for sure. I just said that because I think I think that’s true. I believe that that is true. It is easier than you think. But I think it’s just people have this concept of like, if you’re going to do low carb, then you’ve got to be eating a bunch of meat. And that’s just really not the case. You just take out all the garbage trash. We mistake eating real food, right?

And so okay, so you set out at the beginning, I remember when you and I started out you were talking about losing a little bit of weight, you’re like, I just want to lose maybe 10 or 15 pounds. And then I remember on the very last day that we had our last coaching call, you’re like here’s my weight, and you’d lost how much exactly?

Kelly French
Now it’s 22 pounds. Oh, yeah, so my goal weight. This is, let me see. Eight pounds less than my RIT original goal weight with you. I had a number between this number between that number. And then I even and I didn’t even do it on, I don’t even do it on purpose. That’s the thing. Like this is just I don’t even the best part for me. This is, it’s so easy. You don’t have to track everything.

You don’t have to keep pressing numbers into a phone. I did use that carb adapted those carb app carbs. Yeah. And I tried that. I did that for a month, just so I knew what was in certain foods that I didn’t really know before. I don’t even use that at all. Now, I don’t have to track anything. It’s just my will. It’s just my life. It’s just what I eat, and I don’t pay attention to it anymore. So awesome.

Patrick McGilvray
And that’s sustainable. Because like, I don’t think it’s sustainable to be tracking your food every single day. I really don’t think that’s a good idea. Because then we start to get a little too obsessed with this stuff. You know, I encourage people to understand what their kind of macros look like and what a day looks like, of what they’re eating.

Like, how does this all break down? Like what are the calories look like where the carbs look like what is the protein look like? But at the end of the day, we want to just be like, you know, let’s put all that stuff away. And just make this like a lifestyle like you’ve done Kelly, which is so cool. So you recently did another ultra event. And you did a Ragnar Relay, but you did it in a little bit of a different way. Tell us what you guys did there.

Kelly French
Oh, yeah. So before COVID I was signed up for Ragnar to do in West Virginia. And then COVID happened so it got canceled. So then we just had it with a month ago. Yeah, mid-August. So we did West Virginia. So as I was on, there must have been 35 people total like just from our group, but people came from all over the place. But in our group alone, there were some people that had a team of eight, or a team of seven.

We were the women’s Ultra team. We had four and then there was another women’s team that came with us there was a team of four. Then there are people from all over. They had Ultras or they just had, you know, regular teams. And it was awesome, it was a really, really cool experience. And I would say, so it’s interesting.

So I would say two years ago, I would think that I was going to be not the weakest link on the team, but just maybe, you know, the person who may be the slowest one on the team, which at that time, I’m like, It’s all right, you know, no worries, you don’t really have a lot of goals, you’re just there to, quote-unquote, have fun. So throughout this time, I have just seen so much progress in just my speed, my endurance, my overall health.

So I was like, eff that I’m coming, I’m gonna like, I’m going to see what I can do during this thing. And I’m going to, I’m going to go out and it’s going to be awesome. So when you have an ultra team, you do two loops at a time. And so you’ll have two loops, and then two loops at night. And then two loops in the morning. So this was like 26 hours. And then I had a night run, which was a 10 miler.

And, you know, you have your headlamp, there are bears, there are roots everywhere, there’s bold, it’s technical, you have to climb. It was wild, you know, but it was beautiful. It was cool. The adventure was awesome. And by then, you know, you’re just dead after the night runs, you’re not really paying attention to your times, you’re not paying attention to a lot of stuff. You’re just there, you know, you’re able to see like strong people running, you know, friendships and people having fun laughing such a fun, supportive environment.

So, as we got into the morning, and we’re on, you know, our last loops, someone was like, you know, you guys are on track to get first place and the women’s Ultra, and I’m like, no, really? And I was probably delirious. I mean, I didn’t sleep in I don’t know 30 hours. Yeah. And I was like, that’s pretty sweet.

So I had a friend that she was on our team, she ended up having some GI issues. So I ran her loop at the end. And then another girl ran one of mine, and then I ran the last one. So then we’re finished. And they said, This is the first place women’s Ragnar, so we came in first. So cool, and it was like, and I was telling you that. I mean, that was a cool experience.

But I’m gonna just tell everybody this because I think it’s so important. I have a girl on my team, she has lost over 100 pounds I had to be I just met her within the last month. And I didn’t know her backstory, I haven’t known anything except for I see her at the gym, she does a lot of obstacle course stuff. She loves to do the running. And she finished and she started crying.

And she was like, I never would have thought in my life, I would do anything like this. And she’s like, I’m so happy, I can’t even tell you. And that is what was important to me. It wasn’t about the first place it was about seeing somebody else who reached a goal and who was in a place where they needed help and support. So it wasn’t until a couple of weeks later that she had a before and after picture. And I was floored. I just couldn’t even believe it. It was her and she was on my team. And I just was like, you’re just so amazing. I’m so happy for you, you made this experience even that much better for me.

And then I kind of you know, I got home when it sunk in and like, Oh, we got first place, you know, then it’s like getting all like, this is awesome. I’ve never been in this situation before, you know. So I was looking at the results when it came to my legs. And I was like, I want to just compare them to like the other girls on my team and I want to compare them to maybe some of the other ladies who ran just to see where I was at.

And I’ll tell you, I was like at the same kind of pace or better than a lot of women. I would have never thought that it would be like that and that’s when I knew I am getting so much stronger because I’m at such and not even on purpose. Like it’s just I’m just getting faster and stronger and you know mentally and physically So that experience was awesome. But this is just an icing on the cake to be like, Oh, we got first place, let’s go.

Patrick McGilvray
And I don’t want you to downplay this at all, because you are doing this on purpose. You know what I mean? You are doing this on purpose like this is something you’ve been really focused on, is getting stronger and faster. And then this is one of the reasons why you set out to do this in the first place.

And when you lose 22 pounds, running is going to be easier, you know, and you’re going to be faster, you’re going to be a little more powerful as a runner. And then I remember you telling me and I want you to share this like picture in your mind of like, what it was, like you mentioned, like seeing somebody at that race at that ultra, and all the like, food or goos or whatever that they had, versus, versus what you had.

Kelly French
It’s just really funny, like where I’m at now. So I brought that I brought bananas. Um, I bought in the stores, they have like a Keto granola, like very low sugar, like a trail mix, like a cleaner trail, mostly nuts. Yeah. Correct. And then I brought, um, waters, noon tablets. That was it. But yeah, it’s just all water. Nothing really.

And I knew they were gonna have food trucks there anyway. Because I researched before. So I knew that there was going to be stuff that I could eat, and there were no grills or anything, so I’m not going to bring it.

So we’re with a bunch of different people. And so there’s like just one big tent with a canopy with just food in there. I mean, you name it. There’s like, I couldn’t even believe it there. Doritos, Oreos, sodas, Ginger Ales. Sandwich bread. Granted, there are food trucks there. And I’m just like, Oh, God, if I eat any of that like it’s over. Like, there’s no way I’m going to feel good on the runs. Because, I mean, you’re in the wilderness. There are no restrooms out there, you know?

Patrick McGilvray
So it’s like, I mean, I know what you mean.

Kelly French
One of those things. No, so I didn’t need anything. You know, I had dinner. I knew I wasn’t getting anything until after my first two loops were done. So I had a 3.5 and then a 4.5. And then I was like, Okay, then I’m going to eat dinner. I don’t want to eat really before. So they had like a bean burger, which I knew that they would have. They had eggs there. They had coffee they had and then I had my own stuff.

So I had like the night runs that stuff saved me. Because you’re feeling kind of crappy already. You haven’t been sleeping, you have to do 10 miles in the dark. You don’t know what’s going to be behind some of these boulders. So it’s like, that’s when I was, you know, had my banana. They had coffee. You know, if I wanted the trail mix, it was there. And I was fine. I had no stomach issues. And I was up for many hours. And I felt pretty good. Even on no sleep.

Patrick McGilvray
So yeah, that’s awesome. That’s a good sign of that adaptation right there for sure. Yeah, I remember you describing like, you looked over and saw somebody some guy maybe that you were, you know, one of the runners out there. And he had this bag of like goos and gels and just like so much stuff. And you were thinking to yourself, like how many weeks do you plan on being out here with all that stuff that you brought with you, you know, bars and shoes and all kinds of stuff.

Kelly French
And there’s people drinking like a ton of beers there. Oh, oh, God, like I just can’t I can’t even imagine while you’re doing that. And then okay, go for your 10 Miles have a great time. It’s like no way. But yeah, it was nice to not act like that anymore. You know, you’re already nervous enough about I have to run the next day, and when you don’t and who wants to bring a load of food? I sure did it. So I feel like you’re gonna be just fine.

Patrick McGilvray
Oh, yeah, for sure. You can eat in bring your own if there’s not, not a big deal. So anything else you want to share with us? Kelly, this has been really fun talking with you. But any other thoughts on any of this stuff?

Kelly French
I know I’ve told you many times, but I have to say what I’ve learned the most. And what I’m most happy about. It’s not about weight loss. I think in the beginning people have that mindset of, I just want to lose weight and, you know, be this or be that it has really overall helped me in my life.

You know, I have a new job now I’m, I have mental clarity, I’m physically stronger, faster, I’ve become a better person, you know, I’m volunteering on Tuesdays for Special Olympics, and I do track and field, there are so many things, I’m doing better myself because of this process. And it’s not, you know, just about the food. It’s just about you as a person, and how do you want to spend your life and what do you want from it, and I would say anyone who’s on the fence about working with you or getting the coaching, it is the best investment you could ever do for yourself.

100% It’s worth it, it’s your life, it’s, you know, becoming better, you know, sister, it helps me become a better spouse, friend, employee, just all of those things. Once you get your health under control, everything else just falls into place. And that’s just honesty. So that’s the bigger picture is it’s investing in yourself, you owe it to yourself, and people who are listening, you know, they’re listening for a reason. And they might be thinking, maybe this is something I’d want to do. And but I’m just not sure. But if you’re not sure, do it, just do it, you have nothing to lose everything to gain, and it’s your life, you know, life back.

Patrick McGilvray
So yeah, there’s this well, thank you for saying that, I really appreciate that. But there’s this real ripple effect that happens. And I talk about this a lot. It’s like you, we worry sometimes that we’re being selfish, you know, we worry that sometimes we’re like, oh, I’m, you know, taking care of myself, you know, and getting this coaching and losing the weight and getting healthy. Now, that’s just me being selfish.

It’s like, No, it’s not being selfish at all, your health is the most important thing that you have. And when you become healthy, and when you feel good about yourself, and you feel good mentally, emotionally, and physically, that has a ripple effect. It you know, you’re more fun to be around, you know, and you get more work done, and you’re a better mom, and you’re a better parent, and you’re a better spouse and all those things that you just mentioned.

So I’m glad you said that. Because, you know, it’s one thing to hear me talking about this stuff, but to hear your experience and to hear you actually say that this is what you’ve experienced and how it’s worked for you. This is really cool. So I just want to say thank you, Kelly, for like being here and sharing all this stuff with us. It’s been awesome.

Kelly French
Well, thank you for everything. Like I say you’re one in a million and you are and you help advocate and you know, you give people the knowledge and the tools and you’re supportive, and it’s it can just help you’re there to help people. And when people make the changes for the better.

Like I said, you came into my life at such an interesting time when I really needed it. And if I didn’t start listening to a podcast, like I would have never met you. It’s just like, What are the chances? You know, and then here I am. I’m just, I’m just a better version of myself right now. So it’s, it’s great.

Patrick McGilvray
Oh, my gosh, Kelly is so awesome. Thank you so much, Kelly for the conversation that we had, it was so so fun. And remember September is four weeks to fat-adapted Running month over in the Running Lean coaching group, you will learn exactly how to become a lean fat-burning running machine and become the healthiest version of yourself yet, just go to runningleanpodcast.com/join and join us over there. Well, I hope you all got something out of this episode today. And if you did, please consider sharing it with a friend. I love you all keep on Running Lean, and I’ll talk to you soon.

If you’re a runner and you’ve been struggling to lose weight or you keep losing and gaining the same 10 pounds over and over again. Or you’re finally ready to get to your natural weight and stay there for good this time then I have something you will love. I’ve created a powerful new training just for you called running lean for life. You’ll learn exactly how to transform yourself into a lean fat-burning running machine. So you can run without bonking, lose weight without calorie counting and develop the habits required to make it last for life. To get this free training right now go to runningleanpodcast.com/leanforlife and start your transformation today.