meet the coacheskATE LYMAN
founderKate lyman
I am a mom, wife, leader, nutrition educator, advocate, and former chronic dieter helping clients rebuild their relationship with food, escape the cycle of yo-yo dieting for good, and cut through the overwhelm of nutrition misinformation.
Experience: +10 yrs
Helping clients break free from all-or-nothing dieting and build sustainable nutrition habits that actually stick.
I’m the “KL” behind KLN and wife to an incredibly supportive husband who plays a big role in our team. We met at a CrossFit gym in Utah back in 2013 and now call Oaxaca, Mexico home—with the mountains right outside our front door. I’m mom to our son, Milo; owner of an undeniably ugly cat named William; an avid Spikeball player; a loyal Dave Matthews Band fan; and, admittedly, a little too competitive for my own good.
I’ve worked in the fitness world since I was 17 and coached CrossFit and worked as a personal trainer through college while earning my degree in Exercise Science.
I grew up in a family focused on health and fitness, on outdoor adventures, and on working hard but playing even harder. My love of the outdoors, fitness, health, learning, and doing everything with intensity propelled me through competitive high school sports, years of working in the fitness industry, years of demanding schooling, and also an intense relationship with diet culture.
I spent years trying to eat less, following rigid food rules, and doing everything “right,” but continued to battle my body and cling to more restrictive diets while relying on willpower. Nutrition felt like a constant struggle and, having grown up around constant diet culture messaging, I assumed that’s just how it was for everyone.
As I started my Master’s program in Public Health, I focused on nutrition education and behavior change. I began learning how nutrition and behavioral health intersect, how habits are formed, and how behavior (not willpower!) is what drives change. With the support of my own nutrition coach and the foundation of this new knowledge, I realized that my perpetual pursuit of restriction was not only leaving me spinning my wheels, it had left me with a poor relationship with food as well.
In 2015, while still in grad school, I started taking on my own nutrition clients — mostly from my gym — just trying to offer something more supportive and individualized than another meal plan or macro calculator. Through nutrition consultations with my CrossFit clients, KLN was born as my little “side gig.”
But during my first year of a PhD program in social and behavioral science, I had a lightbulb moment: this wasn’t just something I did on the side. It was the thing I loved most. I saw a real need for coaching that combined evidence-based strategies with compassion, flexibility, and long-term strategy.
So I left the PhD program and built a business. And since 2015, KLN has grown into a team of thoughtful, evidence-led coaches who help people move beyond the noise of diet culture, ditch the all-or-nothing mindset, and build a more peaceful, sustainable relationship with food.
sound like you?i love working with…
Those struggling to break the vicious cycle of restricting and overeating and looking to gain a better relationship with food and with themselves.
Hybrid athletes wanting to fuel their bodies better and gain a greater understanding of how their nutrition can support their training and recovery.
Those who want to achieve sustainable fat loss goals from a place of learning about, caring for, and feeling good in their body rather than hating it.
Credentials & Experience
BS in Exercise Science
Masters in Public Health, focus on health behavior change and nutrition education
Certified Health Education Specialist
Certified in Pregnancy and Postpartum Athleticism
Certified Menopause Coaching Specialist
CrossFit trainer since 2011: CF-L2
Completed Chrissy King's Anti-Racism for Wellness Professionals Course
My Coaching Superpower:
I'm a great coach, but an even better teammate. I meet my clients where they're at & together we work through old habits, limiting beliefs, and the restrictive diet rules they've believed for far too long. Nothing is more fulfilling than showing clients that working towards their goals doesn't mandate misery or restriction.
let's get personal...Get to know ME
non-guilty pleasurePink frosting sugar cookies with sprinkles
walk out songSemi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind (my pump up jam since I was 10 years old)
Fun Fact I was once the Mexican National Women’s Spikeball champion!
my own nutrition journey
Despite being deeply involved in fitness, I struggled for years to figure out my own nutrition. I spent a decade as a vegetarian and cycled through every fad diet imaginable (Paleo, Whole30, Keto) yet never felt like my effort in the gym was paying off. I was overtraining, undereating, and constantly frustrated by the lack of progress.
During the week, I tried to “eat clean” on kale, almonds, and lettuce-wrapped veggie burgers, only to end up sore, exhausted, and binging on cookies and peanut butter by the weekend. I thought I was doing everything right — but my all-or-nothing mindset was holding me back.
In 2014, as a broke 20-year-old college student, I finally took the leap to work work with a coach. That single decision changed everything. I learned how to fuel my body properly, understand the “why” behind my nutrition, and use macro tracking as a temporary tool that helped me actually understand my food choices.
For the first time, I saw beyond diet trends and learned how to make progress that actually lasted. The process of tracking my macros allowed me to see beyond popular nutrition fads and fuel my body with what I needed to both look better and feel better and has set me up with long-term habits that allow me to navigate nutrition regardless of what life throws my way.
That experience shaped not just my own health, but the foundation of how I now coach others.
"Physically I feel stronger, leaner, and more comfortable in my body. Emotionally I no longer feel like I’m in an adversarial relationship with my body.
I understand what it needs and how it communicates with me better. I not only look and feel better physically but thinking about and planning my food no longer feels stressful. I lose weight without having to be hungry or frustrated. I gain strength more easily. I feel like I have waded through years of unhealthy relationships with food and my body and come out the other side as a happier healthier human. I am really, really grateful to Kate for that."
Christine
"Before working with Kate, I had been trying to cut weight for over 6 months with the scale dropping but then climbing back up again.
I was feeling frustrated and burnt out.
Working with Kate was amazing. She helped me figure out some of the key things I was missing with tracking on my own, made sure that I was eating enough, and helped keep me accountable in a safe and supportive environment.
In our time together, I went on a few vacations, multiple holidays and parties with friends or family and she helped me stay the course without feeling like I was depriving myself at all. She also helped me see that progress isn’t always seen on the scale - I lost multiple inches in my waist, hips and legs and the progress photos do not lie! I am so confident now that I can continue working on my goals on my own and I’m grateful to Kate for all her support and guidance.”
Kate G, 32
