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Fit Fat Training

Body. Accountability. Mindset.

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Welcome to the website for Matt Van Der Laar (@mattlaarfit) and Fit Fat Training, LLC!

To learn more about who we are, what we do, and how we help clients, please use the navigation menu above. Thanks for stopping by!

itsmattvanderlaar

Helping humans become stronger humans.
πŸ’ͺ Strong body β€’ 🧠 Strong mind β€’ ☯️ Strong Life
Run. Lift. Hike. Live mindfully.

Fit Fat Strong turns 2 years old this week. Over Fit Fat Strong turns 2 years old this week.

Over the last two years, we've had hundreds of coaching conversations, completed countless workouts, hosted challenges, book clubs, races, trainings, and celebrated more wins than I can count.

Every person who has come through Fit Fat Strong has had their own journey, but there are some lessons that come up over and over again.

Here are 10 things the FFS community has taught me:

1. You don't have to be perfect to make progress. In fact, being imperfect is how you win.
2. Missing one day doesn't ruin anything. Keep stacking bricks.
3. The scale doesn't tell the whole story. You control the narrative!
4. Motivation is helpful, not sustainable. Habits take time to form, but they're far more reliable.
5. Fitness should FIT your life, not take over your life. Fitness should help kick ass at the things you love to do.
6. Strength is about more than what happens in the gym. It's how you show up in everyday life.
7. Food isn't something you need to earn. Food is nourishment, enjoyment, connection, and yes, sometimes comfort.
8. Small, quiet actions matter more than dramatic, loud ones.
9. Progress isn't linear, and that's totally f*cking normal. Life happens. Learn to pivot.
10. You're capable of more than you think. Why not you?

I already knew these things, of course πŸ˜‰ But it’s been so rewarding helping members realize this themselves!

What I’m most proud of isn't the workouts, challenges, coaching calls, or thought provoking book club discussions.

It's watching people stop seeing themselves as a problem that needs to be fixed. Seeing them learn to trust themselves again. Watching them learn that health and fitness can add to their life instead of taking it over.

Thank you to everyone who has been part of Fit Fat Strong over the last two years.

Whether you've been here since day one or just joined recently, you've helped make this community what it is.

One team, one dream πŸ’ͺ🧠
Cupping therapy.. Does it work? Let me say this - Cupping therapy.. Does it work?

Let me say this - nothing replaces the foundational, boring basics when it comes to recovery:

- adequate sleep
- eating enough calories
- eating enough protein
- hydration
- stress management
- active recovery

I consider cupping to be more of the stress management part of my recovery

A lot of the claims of cupping are overhyped for sure. But at this point I've got all of the basics down for recovery, so I can experiment with different things on top of that.

Focusing on things like cupping when you're neglecting your foundation will be numb but a waste of time and energy. Spend that time and energy on building a strong foundation, brick by brick.

Then, add more.

Have you ever done cupping? What was your experience like?

Matt

#cuppingtherapy #activerecovery #hybridtraining #enduranceathlete #mindfulmovement
Comparison is the thief of joy The grass isn't al Comparison is the thief of joy

The grass isn't always greener on the other side.

Someone will always be better than you. Faster than you. Stronger than you. Doing more with less.

And that's F*CKING FINE. Be happy for those people and leave it at that. They are not you.

You never know what someone is going through or what they had to do for the results they got. You don't know their struggles, especially if you're looking at an influencers highlight reel on social media.

Focus on yourself. For yourself.

You're what matters - no one else. F*ck 'em (with love 🀣)

We're all a beautiful shit show. Embrace it baby.

Matt
2026 Mohican Trail Marathon Great course, couldn' 2026 Mohican Trail Marathon

Great course, couldn't have asked for better weather.

Meeting new people on the trails is what I love about this sport. Shared 20+ miles with Don and quite a few with a woman by the name of Sandra who was inspiring us all day!

I accomplished everything I wanted to for this race as I prepare for the Rachel Carson Trail Challenge - an all day hiking challenge featuring 37 miles of technical terrain with 8,000 feet of elevation.

I'm ready!

Congrats to everyone for doing hard things this past weekend. Keep killing it πŸ€™πŸƒ
Found myself jamming to the music at the grocery s Found myself jamming to the music at the grocery store today.

Here I am, checking out some beautiful fresh fruit and meat, singing 'Lullaby' by Shawn Mullins, loudly, when it hit me.

"Does this mean I'm getting old? Having a blast grocery shopping on a afternoon?" I thought to myself.

Responding to myself, "Nah - maybe it means I just don't have a f*ck to give" 

I like to think it's the latter.

Happy Sunday, don't take yourself so seriously.

Matt
Think you can hurt me? This is what I consider fu Think you can hurt me?

This is what I consider fun 🀣 

Endurance running creates a resilient mind and body.

How did you move your body this weekend? πŸ€™
Fat loss lies I'm not falling for I've lost and Fat loss lies I'm not falling for 

I've lost and maintained 50+ lbs for more than 10 years now but it wasn't easy

I struggled for years to lose weight in a sustainable way and that's mostly because I believed a lot of BS about fat loss.

I thought the answer was low carb, then low carb and running, before moving onto intermittent fasting.

Those things did nothing but kept me feeling like shit and burning out, leading to inevitable weight gain and quitting. 

It's time to simplify this shit. Fat loss is simple, but not easy. 

So stop making it harder than it needs to be!

Clean eating is a myth. I hear this all the time..

"I'm eating clean but cant lose weight. I'm frustrated!" That's because clean eating for weight loss is a gimmick.  It comes down to energy balance.

One thing I see so many people do to lose weight is start running. Now, I love running, but that wasn't always the case. I used to run to lose weight and I hated every moment of it. Nutrition is the driver of weight loss - not cardio! 

Don't even get me started on 1200 calorie weight loss diets lol you've been doing this for years, yet you are no closer to your goal. You can eat MORE food and calories and still lose weight! 

Yes its slower but who the hell cares? This isn't a race. Sustainability is the name of the game and you are overeating because you try to cut calories as low as possible.

Hope this helps. Tired of the BS surrounding fat loss? Me too. Save this video to your favorites and give me a follow if you're ready to learn how to sustainably lose fat πŸ’ͺ

Matt
You deserve to eat today, and everyday. Stop skip You deserve to eat today, and everyday.

Stop skipping meals to save room for later.

This is the literal definition of restriction you and do it every weekend, every holiday, pretty any time food is involved.

Yet you wonder why you can't reach your goals..because you continue to keep yourself in this cycle of restriction, overeat, then feel guilty and beat yourself up for it. 

The answers pretty obvious.

Stop restricting, stop overeating.

You deserve to eat food no matter your size and where you are in this journey.

Eliminating the guilt and shame around food starts right here, right now, with you.

Matt "Eat The F*cking Hamburger" Van Der Laar
Go touch grass. Go touch grass.
Going on a walk to burn off cake. No!! That's no Going on a walk to burn off cake. 

No!! That's not how your body works!

Doing this can create an unhealthy relationship with food and exercise. You aren't a bad person for eating cake and you don't need to do extra exercise and punish yourself for eating it.

You cannot out run or walk your fork! Exercise doesn't burn that many calories. It would take hours of exercise to burn the amount of calories found in a piece of cake, let alone in half of a cake. It takes seconds or minutes to eat that cake.

The math ain't mathing.

You can have your cake and eat it to. Account for the calories in your overall daily caloric intake, enjoy the cake, and move on.

Is this something you struggle with?

Matt
How to get back on track quickly after a setback. How to get back on track quickly after a setback. 

You don't need to beat yourself up about it or restrict food or make up for lost workouts. 

Just do something.. Anything..to move yourself forward.
Grocery shopping haul as a mindful eater No foods Grocery shopping haul as a mindful eater

No foods off are off limits and you can eat fruit every day. You can even eat dessert every day.

Everything you see here is a big part of my diet. I focus on protein and fiber and fueling my body for performance

It's not that complicated yall πŸ‘Œ 

Matt
Your body isn't your enemy. You arent broken, no Your body isn't your enemy.

You arent broken, no matter what shady influencers and diet culture want you to believe.

They want you to feel broken and desperate, its much easier to sell you a fix that way. 

Loving your body NOW is possible, not after you lose that belly fat.

How long have you been disgusted and fed up with your body?  How has that been going for you?

You will see greater progress by embracing your body, treating it with respect, and showing up for yourself when its hard to do so.

You will never hate your body to skinny...at least not long term.

Hope this helps you. There IS hope. 

You ARE worthy. You ARE capable and good enough right now as you are.

If you're a strong badass woman that refuses to believe shes broken, give me a hell yeah πŸ’ͺ

Matt
What happens to body fat when you lose weight? We What happens to body fat when you lose weight?

Well, it doesn't just disappear and it doesn't cry as it melts away.

You don’t sweat fat out like influencers make you believe, and you don’t poop it out.

You mostly breathe it out. Fat gets broken down and leaves your body mainly as carbon dioxide.

Your lungs have been doing more work than your waist trainer 😏

Of course fat loss doesn't happen if you aren't on a calorie deifict.

Science is fun!

Matt
What you need to know about intermittent fasting. What you need to know about intermittent fasting.

Intermittent fasting is not more superior for fat loss than any other form or caloric restriction.

Intermittent fasting is not a magical health hack.

Its a tool that let's you control your caloric intake and provides rules as to when you eat. Its a diet, and a restrictive one at that.

For some people this may be an effective tool.. but not for the type of people I typically work with.

For fat loss you must be in a caloric deficit. Intermittent fasting can help you get into a deficit.  Its a tool, not a rule.

The problem with Intermittent fasting is that humans are not robots. We dont do well with restriction in this way and our brains will rebel against it.

Intermittent fasting will teach you to ignore your hunger and fullness cues, which is a problem. 

I remember how hungry I was ALLLLL of the time when I fasted. I was cranky. My workouts suffered. My body composition suffered. I was always thinking and talking about food. 

I was the running joke of the office because of my glorified binging that was being displayed, and I loudly told everyone how amazing I felt, even though I was going home form work and eating an entire baking pan of food before 8 pm because that's when my eating window ended.

Yeah, not a fan of disordered eating. That's what I'm hear to help you with. 

So, no,  I don't reocmmend intermittent fasting.

Hope this helps πŸ˜€

Have you ever done intermittent fasting? What was your experience like?

Matt
Training for the 37 mile Rachel Carson Hiking Chal Training for the 37 mile Rachel Carson Hiking Challenge

Quality movement and time on my feet last week!

My goal is to have 15-20 hours of intentional time on my feet a week. For an all day endurance event like this, time on feet is one o the most important things to train for. 

I also did 30 mins of yoga and 30 minutes on the stairclimber.

Love training for events like this because it gives me so much freedom with how I choose to move my body!

This challenge has a 15 hour cut off limit. It is 37 miles long and has 8k feet of elevation gain and loss. Going to be a long, brutal day. I can't wait πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

How did YOU move your body last week?

Remember - all fitness is good fitness. All movement is good movement. Move your body in a way that you enjoy!

Matt
Unpopular nutrition truths Unpopular nutrition truths
How to eat mindfully when going out to eat Ask fo How to eat mindfully when going out to eat

Ask for your dressings or sauces on the side!

Salad dressing and sauces are typically pretty high calorie and the amount you get when you go out to eat is over kill. I ordered a salad, not some pieces of lettuce swimming in dressing. 

Sauces and dressings are a good example of sneaky calories. I hear it all the time - I'm eating so healthy, I started eating a salad for lunch but I'm not losing weight!

Yeah because your salad dressing has 300-400 calories!

Asking for your dressing on the side allows you to have more control over what you're eating and how much.

Another thing you should focus on when out to eat is protein. I had a burger here, not super high protein, but I ate most of that first that way I didn't fill up on French fries, which would make me feel like shit.

And for crying out loud.. You aren't a trash can! You don't need to eat the food just because it's there.

When you're satisfied, stop f*cking eating.

Stuffing yourself just because you paid for it or because it's there is silly. You aren't a trash can.

Take your leftovers home or push you plate away and call it a day.

Is mindful eating something you struggle with?

Matt
My runner type? Baby giraffe Listen.. you're not My runner type? Baby giraffe 

Listen.. you're not going to be amazing at everything you do.

Sometimes you're going to have to bust your ass just to be average.

There's nothing wrong with that. Work with what your momma gave you, baby.

Get out there and MOVE your ass. No one cares what you look like when you're doing it, or even how fast you're doing it. 

Matt
Ice baths are for weak minded influencers Real in Ice baths are for weak minded influencers

Real influencers take baths in ice cold mountain water, not a cute little bath tub with climate control while wearing red glasses and a warm house to go back into.
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