We had the good fortune of connecting with Kat Carrier and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kat, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Work, Health, Family, Sleep, & Social Life – simultaneous growth in all aspects is like a golden ticket, we’re all after it!

The best thing I’ve learned about work-life balance is that it changes as the seasons of your life change. Understanding that if your life is tilted to one side of the seesaw right now, doesn’t mean it will be like that forever. More importantly, understanding you’re allowed to change your mind, at any moment, on what that balance looks like for you and your family.

For me, endurance training season looks far different from growing-your-business season, which will all evolve again when Grant and I choose to start a family. There’s plenty of events that throw a wrench in your current work-life balance – such as raising a puppy, planning a wedding, or a world-wide pandemic.

Sometimes you will have to make hard decisions to say no to things you want to do in the moment, in pursuit of things you want in the long term.

The most important piece of finding your balance, is understanding that the work-life balance required to achieve your goals, may not be the balance you are willing to give

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I currently work in two completely different business fields. Oil & Gas and Health & Nutrition. I am degreed in Mechanical Engineering, working as the Commercial Loss Control Advisor. I currently support the Global Crude & NGL groups, with previous experience in Operations & Project Management both upstream, midstream, & downstream.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, I work as a Health Coach specializing in Nutrition for Lifestyle, Weight-Loss, and Endurance Training. I started pursuing this after my own experiences of struggling with major weight swings my whole life – ultimately with a life-changing 60 lb weight loss journey in 2019. After that, I started pursuing endurance sports and have since then completed 2x Marathons, 3x Ironman 70.3, 1x Ironman 140.6, and countless half marathons & sprint/Olympic triathlons. Being from a STEM background, I am obsessed with the science behind WHY and HOW our bodies function. There’s always a reason for every reaction – and I’m here to explain it to you! The huge riff I see is between catchy Marketing and being an educated consumer! So many big name brands try to take advantage of people’s miseducation to push products, diets, & false quick fixes. The best thing you can do for yourself is to be educated in order to make the best decision for you and your family! My entire goal is to take all that conflicting information and break it down to a more simplistic digestible form for you to learn and progress from! I am here to breakdown the confusing product labels and bust health industry myths.

If I can help just one person, I’m leaving the world a better place.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Houston has so many fun pockets! Once you arrive, first thing’s first is a nice walk to stretch you legs along Buffalo Bayou with a great view of downtown at Eleanor Tinsley Park. A full day of fun would include breakfast at mine & my husband’s favorite little place called La Guadalupana Bakery in Montrose. The Mexican coffee & homemade Churros are incredible! Full day of fun would include Memorial Park Arboretum, Houston Museum of Natural Science, street tacos for lunch at Pistoleros, and watching the Bat Migration at dusk along the Waugh Bat Bridge over Memorial Dr. Then we can get dressed up for a nice night out – starting with the most amazing dinner at Nino’s where you truly feel you’re transported to Italy. Then heading downtown for drinks at your favorite spots, Bovine & Barley for an Old Fashioned & Captain Foxheart’s for a specialty cocktail while you take in the sights & sounds of downtown Main Street. Next day can start with mine & my husband’s shared hobby of Skeet Shooting out at American Shooting Centers located out in George Bush Park. We’ll follow that up our favorite way, one of the plentiful local breweries in town! It’s hard to pick just one, so if you have time to brewery hop our favorites and what makes them stand out aside from their beers, Saint Arnolds for their fabulous outdoor patio area, Platypus for the best fish & chips ever, Buffalo Bayou for the best views of downtown and some of the most unique beers, Holler for amazing on tap root beer & cold brew on top of great beers, True Anomaly with more Saisons that I knew possible, and honorable mention to Astral for having the only Hard Seltzar I have ever liked. Still time left over? Hit up all of the amazing food this city has to offer such as Burger Joint, Hugos, Ramen Tatsu-Ya, The Waffle Bus, Tony’s Mexican, or Cyclone Anaya(Fun Fact, Grant & I shared tacos and margaritas here after getting married in the Courthouse downtown in 2019). Want more bars? Check out Memorial Trail Ice House, Little Woodrow’s on Shepard for all my LSU Fans, Underground Houston in Downtown, Okra Downtown, or Heights Bier Garten for a great afternoon or game-time hangout(pup friendly too!).

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Shouting out just one person is impossible because it truly takes a village! My parents, for their unending support. My coaches Dustin Drewes, Hanah Jones, & Jeff Frazier, for always leading by example and holding my accountable. My teammates, for inspiring me to continue pushing my own limits. And of course, my husband Grant – for never letting me settle for anything less than my best, always treating me as an equal, and for doing everything in his power to support me & our family so I can pursue what makes me happy.

Website: https://linktr.ee/katn_thehat

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katn_thehat/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleen-niedbalski/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katniedbalski

Other: https://1stphorm.com/KatNTheHat

Image Credits
Alondra Martinez Vikka Schweer

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutHTX is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.