How Katie Dunlop, Fitness Influencer, Conquered The Thyroid’s Butterfly Effect

Katie Dunlop is one of the fitness industry’s most accomplished and followed fitness gurus. As the beloved founder of Love Sweat Fitness, Katie has created a global online community that encompasses nearly 400,000 followers on Instagram and 550,000 YouTube subscribers, all joining together to support one another’s fitness and lifestyles.

Started in 2014, her channel has logged over 34,000,000 views, and counting. Her videos provide quick, effective workouts and high-quality advice that has helped countless thousands create a happy and healthy lifestyle. The excellent content, along with Katie’s kind and genuine personality, is what has helped make her channel a favorite.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Katie about her unconventional and inspirational journey to the top of the health and fitness world.

To begin with she confided, “I was not born fit and athletic… It has always been, and still is, a challenge to lose and maintain weight.”

“When I was eleven years old I began struggling with fatigue, headaches, hair loss, and weight gain. I had a lot of people, including friends and teachers, thinking I was faking it. My doctors attributed it to puberty, even though these are not the typical symptoms of puberty. After six months of dealing with this, I received the diagnosis of Hypothyroidism.”

Katie’s condition was caused by a malfunction in the small, butterfly-shaped thyroid gland. The thyroid produces hormones that control metabolism, heart rate, breathing, mood and muscle control, and impacts every major organ in the body. A seemingly small change in diet and stress levels can alter the release of hormones and create a ripple, or Butterfly Effect that can cause the body to attack itself with an autoimmune response. The symptoms typically include fatigue, cold sensitivity, constipation, dry skin, and unexplained weight gain.

The condition led Katie to worry about her weight before she was even a teen.

She recalls, “My friends were able to eat most anything and remain tiny preteens, but I couldn’t. That led to years of yo-yo dieting, cutting out full food groups, and struggling to fit into a perfect mold of what I thought my body should look like.”

She reflects on her struggles with health and body image, saying, “I always thought I was failing. I would do a diet for two weeks, then binge on food. I couldn’t stick with anything, because it wasn’t a long-term or healthy solution.”

While in college Katie had the mindset that, “I’m not going to lose the weight anyway so why even try?” That led to an inconsistent workout pattern, and like many college students, she started drinking. She did not know how to nourish her body and wasn’t planning to learn. At that point Katie admits, “I allowed hypothyroidism to be an excuse.”

In her twenties Katie decided she wanted to take control of her health and life. Adopting a new lifestyle led to a 45-pound weight loss and the inspiration to become a fitness instructor.

The other women in her fitness classes were inspired by Katie’s journey and would often ask about her other workouts and healthy habits. That led to her making YouTube videos documenting her at-home workouts, meals, and healthy lifestyle. She also created the Love Sweat Fitness Instagram page to share this type of information and establish a community for herself and her fitness friends.

Learning to live with and overcome hypothyroidism has been a hurdle for Katie, but it allows her to help others who have the disease. In one of her YouTube Videos she briefly mentioned she had the condition and many people flocked to the comments with questions.

“What the community likes and has questions about helps guide what I am doing… I realized there was a need to talk about my health journey.”

This inspired Katie to create one of her most watched YouTube videos in which she discusses how she struggled with and overcame hypothyroidism. Many of her followers have been inspired to change their lives for the better and Katie’s guidance provides everyone the tools to do so.

Katie never expected the Love Sweat Fitness community to be this popular, but her rise to the top of the fitness community makes sense. She is exactly what so many people want: a relatable, motivating, and empathetic mentor who has been on every end of the health and fitness spectrum.

Actions speak louder than words and through her free videos, support, workouts, meal plans, advice and more, it is clear she genuinely wants to help all people become their happiest and healthiest selves.

“I want people to be able to create healthy habits and have a healthy lifestyle no matter what their economic state is. There will always be free content from Love Sweat Fitness,” she states emphatically.

To put this in perspective, others offering similar online advice sell books, including short e-books that can cost from $15 to $30 or more for just one of these topics.

Katie is helping many followers become the best versions of themselves, by reminding, “Healthy is going to look different on everybody. It’s going to feel different for everybody. You should find what makes you feel good inside and out. You must do what makes you feel the best!”

Katie felt her best after eliminating processed foods and incorporating more whole foods into her diet, sparking the biggest change in her symptoms. Her energy level, hair, and weight started changing for the better.

Her social media is a breath of fresh air, with her honest and concise approach to health and fitness. Rather than promoting services or products through advertising, Katie focuses on creating her own original content. She relied on medical journals and the advice of doctors. She also did research on herself by testing and eliminating food groups based on how she responded, and had regular blood work done to track her progress.

“Unfortunately, there’s not a quick fix and a lot of mixed information,” she says. “Everyone has unique symptoms and needs for medication. It’s really a learning process and about finding what makes you feel the best inside and out and being patient with yourself.”

Katie admits finding your healthiest self can be a greater challenge for those with a condition like hypothyroidism, but she has inspired thousands by proving it is possible.

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See more of Katie and LSF on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Pintrest, and on their website at Love Sweat Fitness.

Thanks so much to Katie for the opportunity to interview her and for sharing her story!

The featured illustration was inspired by Katie and her appreciation for the people who support and have benefited from what she is doing. It was also influenced by her health journey. Hypothyroidism is symbolized by a butterfly, as the thyroid gland is shaped like one. Katie is depicted in front of the wings to show that she has overcome the struggles this condition presents and is now helping others to do the same. Check out the featured artist on Instagram who created this amazing piece, and purchase their personalized art!

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