Talking to nutritionist and coach, Kelly Carter, you immediately recognise that she is a force to be reckoned with. Young, determined, and full of energy, Carter is focused on changing lives with her outlook on nutrition and mindset. This lifestyle architect recently founded the Food Freedom Lifestyle Program to teach her clients to learn to live healthily without cancelling the enjoyment of food. You can eat well and not starve to hit your health goals according to Carter and her program teaches you just how to do this.
At the time of writing, Carter is about to turn 30 and, with her radiant smile, exclaims how excited she is about this milestone event even though ageing is often seen as something negative for people in the nutrition field. “Thirty is awesome!” she says. “There is such a taboo around age, especially in my industry. I think 30 is such a hard-hitting number for so many people. Not me. I’m going to be 30 and this is going to be the best year and decade. Life is short, so that’s why I’m going to make it happen!”
The nearly-30-year-old is also juggling being a wife and a mother of two while meeting her clients’ needs. Her own motivation to live a healthy life and maintain a positive growth mindset is perhaps what gives her this unstoppable energy. Unlike many others in her industry who focus on group coaching, Carter still works with each client on a one-to-one basis, not only weekly but sometimes daily.
She creates personalized plans to meet her clients’ needs. Her wealth of mindset experience has also equipped her to build programs for her clients so they can achieve realistic changes, and sustain them. She is also able to assist them to shift their attitude towards food and their bodies, leading to incredible results.
Her passion for nutrition and transformation started when she was in high school after watching an episode of the popular weight-loss reality series, The Biggest Loser. Intrigued by what the show was about and the contestants’ lack of confidence, she felt like food was hiding something emotional for them. She immediately wanted to support people like those she saw on the television show and help them become more confident. “You are more confident when you believe in yourself and when you love living life. It’s just so much better, right?” she says.
Carter is honest about her own struggles with food and self-image. She’s been 30 pounds overweight and severely underweight. Her own personal struggle with her esteem demons has enlightened her and allowed her to see that there is more to health than food. She has done the work and learned what it takes to fuel the body properly and that success has a lot more to do with mindset than eating less or more.
There Is No Right Size That You Need To Be When It Comes To Health
This is a myth she is determined to debunk. “It is so frustrating!” she exclaims. “Everyone thinks that unless you’re a size two or zero then you’re unhealthy. I was a size zero, I was 10 pounds underweight, and so unhealthy. Living through that opened my eyes. Now, if I feel like cookies, I’m going to have cookies. And I’m telling my clients that’s happening. I’m as authentic as possible so that they know my vision of health.”
She credits her success to working with a coach. Through the work they did together, she realised she wanted to be more than a nutritionist or dietitian. “What I was doing back then was just handing out recipes and meal plans. My clients were not seeing long term success and that really did bug me,” she says honestly. She learnt that the key to success has a lot to do with personal development and mindset coaching. “If your mindset isn’t in the right place then change will never happen the way you want it to,” she explains.
Equipped with this new knowledge, the Fat Loss Food Freedom Program was created. It is based on four pillars: sustainability, accountability, understanding food freedom and, most important of all, support. She takes her role in supporting her clients very seriously – she is there for them no matter what struggle they may face in their lives. It’s important that her clients feel supported but are still held accountable. “You need support. Whether it’s in the home or your community. Support is absolutely everything,” she says.
Another pillar, understanding food freedom, means being able to enjoy all foods and not saying that certain foods are good and other foods are bad. It means focusing on what will help better your health. Shifting the way people think about food and seeing nutrition in the context of overall health is fundamental to achieving and sustaining goals. She has seen this with her clients who go on as healthier, happier people after working with her.
Live What You Teach
The advice she gives her clients is modelled by how she lives her own life. Carter believes in learning from failures and taking the time to reset. She does this by making time for self-care. This is demonstrated in her own home where there is honest communication about when she needs to take time for herself. “I love taking time for myself. One of the reasons why I’m successful is because I have the most supportive husband. I communicate with him when I need more time to myself. Then I have time for myself so I can listen to a podcast, have time for a bath or prepare food for the morning.” This is why she teaches that taking time for yourself is important.
Her program is built on working with people that are ready to work with her. The emphasis is not on a quick fix, supplements or a six-week boot camp. Her program is rooted in her genuine care for transformation. This is what makes her stand out above all the rest. Her clients are given personal attention and coaching, and she is able to check on her clients daily to build a foundation of trust. This way there is also constant accountability. She is there for her clients and this is seen in their results.
As Carter heads into a new decade and turns 30, she does so with power, confidence and the ability to change people’s lives. It is clear that she is focused on creating positive changes in the world. Whether it be mindset, health or weight loss, she is enabling people to be healthier, authentic and happier versions of themselves with her passion to help others in their journey of a life transformation. Working with her is an opportunity to live life beautifully with Kelly Carter.
To follow her incredible journey, and the paths she takes her clients on, you can follow her Instagram.