I’m very honored to welcome Vince Sant onto the podcast today! Vince Sant is the co-founder of V Shred, the well-known online health & fitness brand that has helped more than 5 million people get in shape, and achieve life-changing results. He’s also the founder of Sculpt Nation, and host of the V Shred: Better Body, Better Life podcast. In today’s episode, Vince and I discuss the evolution of fitness culture (we both started around what we like to call the ‘golden age’ of fitness), and fitn...
Mar 11, 2025•1 hr 10 min
Something that has really been on my mind lately is fitness culture (or gym culture), and what it looks like to redefine that. Fitness culture is EVERYWHERE these days. It can provide motivation, support, and a sense of community, which are all amazing things! But…it can also lead to unhealthy thoughts and beliefs that are unrealistic, and end up doing more harm than good. I personally LOVE following other women in the fitness space; I look to them for inspiration and motivation, but I also find...
Mar 07, 2025•21 min
I don’t know about you, but mentally…I’m preparing for Spring! Since we’re (hopefully) getting to warmer weather soon, this is a great time of year to start preparing for a ‘cut’. I’ve found that this is something many people think about too late though, so let’s talk about it (and plan for it) NOW, before summer arrives! Before you even *think* about doing a ‘cut’, you need to consider 3 missing pieces: your habits, preparation, and intentionality. You’ve got to be both flexible AND realistic w...
Mar 04, 2025•40 min
You’ve probably heard the saying “we all have the same 24 hours in a day”. Honestly, this is one of those statements that drives me CRAZY. So, I’m just going to come out and say it… We do NOT all have the same 24 hours in a day. Sure, we all ‘get’ a total of 24 hours every day, but they do NOT look the same. Not all time is created equal! I know you have a lot on your plate, but that doesn’t give you permission to use the whole ‘I don’t have time’ excuse indefinitely, either. It’s important to m...
Feb 28, 2025•20 min
Something that seems to be prevalent now, more than EVER in our society, is receiving unsolicited comments about our bodies. Today’s episode is actually inspired by a recent message I received from a listener, all about THIS topic. I’ve dealt with it on my own journey, and even if you haven’t, I bet you know someone who has! For some reason, people feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions on other people’s bodies (typically, women are the ones getting this feedback). This is happenin...
Feb 25, 2025•29 min
I recently saw this quote on social media: “I deserve to know what the baddest version of me looks like”. I know it’s not super deep, but for some reason, it REALLY resonated with me! For so many of us as women (and especially as moms), we’re used to doing and doing for everyone else. We tend to put ourselves last, but you know what? We deserve to feel freaking GOOD about ourselves, too! I want you to picture yourself showing up confident, empowered, and ready to kick ASS on your fitness journey...
Feb 21, 2025•17 min
The topic of macros is something I get asked about a LOT. I know it can feel complex and overwhelming; the nutrition piece pretty much always takes longer to get a handle on, compared to workouts. Thankfully, you don’t *need* to try and achieve perfection with your macros every single day. You don’t *need* to live a life that feels monotonous or boring, and leads you to you dreading the entire process! In today’s episode, I’m sharing 5 different ways you can design your week and your macros, in ...
Feb 18, 2025•27 min
The world of social media is definitely complex. As someone who started out using social media just for ‘fun’ years ago, to then building a business online, I’ve had quite the journey! While I’m incredibly grateful for social media, it can be freaking HARD to navigate - especially as a business owner. I know many people view me as a fitness influencer, but I have a bit of a different take on that. If I’m going to influence you to do anything, I hope it’s to live a healthier life! Honestly, I am ...
Feb 14, 2025•21 min
For today’s episode, I wanted to do something a little different. I received a question from a listener about how to properly transition through your fitness journey, so I’m diving into that here! When it comes to your fitness journey, there’s never just one way (or a ‘right’ way) to do things - it needs to be super personalized to YOU and your goals. In regards to fitness, the 3 phases you'll typically go through are building, maintenance, and cutting. It’s important to know how your body ...
Feb 11, 2025•33 min
I am sooo pumped to be chatting with you twice a week on the podcast! To kick off this first FRIDAY episode, I want to dive into a topic I know many of us can relate to: procrastination. Procrastination can present differently for everyone, but it often shows up as excessive planning and preparation. For me, this is what it looked like as I’ve been wanting to release 2 episodes/week for a while. I kept putting them off, because I thought I needed to have every single detail planned out! Maybe yo...
Feb 07, 2025•18 min
Today’s episode is a very special milestone, because…we’ve hit 150 episodes!! As I reflect on my (almost) 3 year podcasting journey, I can’t help but feel immense gratitude for this space, and this community. Podcasting has allowed me to be my unfiltered, authentic, and very (im)perfect self. I get to be a human, and show up and do what I love every single day. This is truly my FAVORITE way to connect with you! For this 150th episode, I’m sharing an EXCITING announcement (trust me - you don’t wa...
Feb 04, 2025•35 min
I don’t know about you, but this time of year is HARD for me. I’ve never been a fan of winter - I also live somewhere that gets super cold, so I look forward to warm weather and summer even more! I also know how difficult it can be to stay motivated during these cold, winter months. I personally struggle with seasonal depression, and sometimes that makes it even harder to want to commit to my fitness goals. If you can relate, today’s episode is for you! Thankfully, there are plenty of things you...
Jan 28, 2025•26 min
One of my all-time favorite topics to dive in and educate on is…MACROS! I’ve talked about macros many times in previous episodes (check some out linked below), but my goal for today’s episode is to break them down super simply, and with a bit of a fresh perspective. Macros (short for macronutrients) are the biggest piece of the puzzle; they’ve transformed sooo much for me over the years, and really changed the game for me on my fitness journey! As I’m working with many new clients right now, I’m...
Jan 21, 2025•31 min
Since we’re a couple of weeks into the new year, I want to dive into a topic that I believe will really resonate with you - especially if you’re just starting your fitness journey! I’m 15 years into my fitness journey; what I’m doing now looks pretty different compared to what I was doing at the beginning. I’ve learned a lot along the way, so I want to share the steps I would take if I was starting my fitness journey in 2025. One of the MOST crucial pieces to set you up for success is building a...
Jan 14, 2025•27 min
Happy New Year!! I wanted to kick off the first episode of 2025 in true Kristy Castillo fashion with some #realtalk (I know those are your favorite). I recently posted a question on my Instagram stories about what’s *really* holding you back from having the body you want. I received sooo many amazing responses, and I wanted to share several of those in today’s episode (thank you for taking the time to answer if you did)! As I read through your responses, it became crystal clear to me that we ALL...
Jan 07, 2025•27 min
I can’t believe it, but…we’ve made it to the last episode of 2024! As we gear up for 2025, you may be tempted to set a ton of New Year’s resolutions. I used to do this too; I would write my resolutions down, lose the paper I wrote them on, and totally forget about them all together! Instead of going the whole ‘traditional resolutions’ route, I want to encourage you to do something a little different. When you’re thinking about the year ahead, I want you to find clarity on your ‘focus’, and get S...
Dec 31, 2024•26 min
I don’t know about you, but this time of year has me feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and definitely TIRED. I’m often asked about navigating fatigue on your fitness journey. I’m feeling pretty damn fatigued myself right now, so I thought it was fitting to dive into this topic for today’s episode! For some reason, we beat ourselves up when we feel so tired, and we think something is *wrong* with us if we don’t feel great every.single.day. As human beings, we have SO much happening both within our b...
Dec 24, 2024•30 min
Today’s episode is covering a topic that is pretty widespread, and affects all of us in some way or another: self-sabotage. Self-sabotage is complicated, and it can manifest in countless ways - the root of where it stems from within each of us is different, too. From our fitness goals to our personal ambitions, self-sabotage can rear its ugly head and realllly hinder us from making the progress we want to in our lives. Even though it’s a bit conflicting, self-sabotage can be both intentional AND...
Dec 17, 2024•30 min
When it comes to our health and fitness, we tend to make it sooo damn complicated. This isn’t necessarily our fault. We are constantly bombarded with information from coaches and influencers on social media, to health and wellness companies trying to sell us the ‘next best thing’. It’s exhausting, overwhelming, and honestly..I’m OVER IT! I’ve been on my fitness journey for over 16 years now, and I’ve learned how powerful REPETITION is. No, it’s not the *sexiest* topic, or super exciting. It’s ac...
Dec 10, 2024•28 min
It’s that time of year again - the holidays are upon us! I know this time of year is hectic; the holidays are fun, but also suuuper busy, stressful, and can feel really hard. You can think of today’s episode as your ‘holiday survival guide’ in regards to your fitness journey. I know you’ll be hearing plenty of tips and tricks on how to navigate the holidays without gaining weight or getting ‘off track’. You may also hear that it’s okay to just say f*ck it, and start over in January. Well..I’m no...
Dec 03, 2024•28 min
I’m super excited to welcome my friend, Caitlin Mundy, onto the podcast today! Caitlin Mundy is a NASM-certified personal trainer and macros coach. She is passionate about helping moms 35+ get in the BEST shape of their life, without giving up what they love, and gain more confidence in the process (I’m totally here for all of that!) In today’s conversation, Caitlin and I chat about the power of flexible coaching, emotional eating, and fitness freedom. We’ve both seen how vital it is to take a p...
Nov 26, 2024•48 min
Today’s episode is covering a couple of different topics that are important to me, especially as I’m currently navigating perimenopause! I feel like I’m in the ‘thick of it’ with perimenopause, and am really struggling with certain changes. Lately, I just don’t recognize my body. Sure, my body *looks* fine, and it could all just be in my head. But..I feel like my muscle is leaving my body, deteriorating, and things are changing in ways I wasn’t quite prepared for. I’ve learned that being proacti...
Nov 19, 2024•30 min
When you think about rewarding yourself on your fitness journey…what comes to mind? Maybe you’re excited to go out and celebrate at your favorite restaurant with your family and friends, or..maybe you’re excited simply because you’re noticing beneficial changes happening within you. Regardless of how you like to reward yourself when you reach a new goal or milestone on your fitness journey, there’s not a ‘wrong’ way to do so! This is a topic that’s come up recently with several of my clients, so...
Nov 12, 2024•22 min
There’s a topic I’ve been dying to dive into on the podcast. I’ve been feeling especially frustrated about it lately (and I’m betting you can relate), so I knew it was time to bring it here! I want to share my thoughts on the harsh effects of social media on your fitness journey. Like I said, this has continued coming up for me recently, and honestly..it’s been pissing me off! I don’t know about you, but every time I get on social media (whether it’s Facebook or Instagram), I’m being BOMBARDED w...
Nov 05, 2024•28 min
I’m very excited to be BACK with my amazing guest, Erin Burns, for today’s part 2 episode! If you haven’t listened to part 1 from last week, make sure you do that first, and then come back to this one. In today’s conversation, Erin and I discuss how thoughts like shame and guilt can get you stuck in a vicious cycle of ‘suck’, and how anxiety comes into play. Years ago, anxiety wasn’t something that people typically dealt with, but now...it’s everywhere! Getting to the ‘root’ of your anxiety and ...
Oct 29, 2024•40 min
I’m beyond excited to welcome my very first GUEST, Erin Burns, onto the podcast today! I’ve contemplated whether or not to have guests on my podcast, because I always want to make sure you’re getting the best information and value possible. However..I have no doubt that Erin is going to provide all of that, and I’m so pumped that she is here! Erin Burns is an Illinois-based licensed clinical professional counselor; we connected on Instagram awhile ago, and she’s also a regular listener of my pod...
Oct 22, 2024•43 min
I’m excited to talk with you all about how I set up my own personal training programming in today’s episode! There are plenty of ways to set up your workouts each week, and there’s really no right or wrong answer in regards to how they should be. I’ve had quite the journey with my workouts over the years. From being an avid runner to doing only Beachbody workouts, to then finding weightlifting and falling in love with that, I’ve tried a little bit of everything! I’ve grown to love workouts that ...
Oct 15, 2024•26 min
I’m excited to cover a highly requested topic in today’s episode - taking ‘breaks’ on your fitness journey! This has come up a lot with clients - many ladies worry about taking a break, or taking time off from their fitness routine. Whether you’re navigating pregnancy, an injury that’s resulting in surgery, mental health issues, or something else, we all face struggles that require us to change and pivot. It’s totally okay to take some time off and/or adjust when you’re experiencing a major life...
Oct 08, 2024•26 min
I’m digging into one of my favorite topics today - MACROS! I looove the world of macronutrients (aka macros), but I’ve found this is something that gets very overcomplicated for people as they’re navigating their fitness journeys. There is no shortage of information about macros today, but even if you feel like you understand macros fairly well, that doesn’t mean you know how to make them work for you. I freaking LOVE the flexibility and freedom that macros have brought me; that’s why I’m passio...
Oct 01, 2024•31 min
I’m super excited to be chatting with you, all about the Oura Ring today! I’ve been using my Oura Ring for almost a year now, and I’ve gotten quite a few questions about what I think of it. Honestly..it’s been a game-changer for my overall health, and it’s a seriously great product! I wanted to take some time and dive into what my experience has been like, and really, why I believe it’s such a phenomenal tool for your long-term health. First of all, the Oura Ring isn’t just another fitness track...
Sep 24, 2024•36 min
