riverside kiara & cheryl nov 13, 2025 001 heal nourish grow p

Hey everyone, I'm Cheryl McColgan, founder of Heal, Nourish, Grow, and today I'm joined by Kiara Laux. Kiara and I met this year when I competed in the fit model competition in Kentucky, and she had the same coach that I did and ended up doing the same show, and I just immediately loved this woman. So when I learned about her journey and her health stuff, I had to have her on. So anyway, Kiara, welcome. If you could just tell everyone a little bit about who you are, and then we'll get into some of your health journey because I think it's really interesting and I think there's a lot of things there that will help a lot of people.

Absolutely. First off, thank you so much for having me. I'm so honored to be here. My take on our meeting is very similar. I just fell in love with you from the second you texted me asking if I wanted sourdough. We had never met. You brought me sourdough and I was like, I don't know her, but I love her. So yeah, I've had quite a wild journey. Health and fitness have been at the center of my journey. Really since I was young. I've been an athlete my whole life in different sports that have taken me all over the world and brought wonderful people like yourself into my life. Outside of professional athletics, I work in tech on my, like, my 9 to 5. I work on Wall Street in paid media, and then I actually am now running an organization on the other side of that with all of the spare time called Her Outdoor Journey, which is really focused on bridging the gap for women and families in the backcountry. So whether it's survival, holistic wellness, it's really this concept of community and education to get women and families outside, which is now actually evolving into co-ed opportunities. So in a very, very high-level nutshell, that is me. My fitness journey was, well, I'm sure we'll dive into it, but I don't think you knew this, but I'm actually over 100 pounds down from my heaviest. So that was 11 years ago. Just, I think like most people kind of gave up. And had always wanted to compete, but it was a pipe dream that never had any real legs to it until it did. So really excited to dive in with you and I'm just excited to be able to chat with you. You're one of my favorite people.

I know it's been, I wanted to catch up for so long and we just like, you've been traveling so much and doing really exciting work with the project that you mentioned and we'll get into that. But before we go into all that and we go into the weight loss thing, because that is definitely a subject that people are on this podcast are interested in, but I have to have you tell people You kind of just glossed over that whole professional athlete thing. Tell people what you, what your sport is, cuz I think it's so wild.

Yeah, so, um, kind of in this purgatory season right now, so not actually professionally competing in anything, but I've been a professional rower. I've been a professional bobsledder for the US and Canada. I've been a bodybuilder, Olympic weightlifter. We've been all over the map. Yeah. And I'm kind of getting back into the endurance side of things right now. I'm not done with bodybuilding or. Bodybuilding isn't done with me yet, but we're on a little hiatus. As you know, it kind of takes over your whole life and I've lived a season for the last decade where sports is my whole life. So I'm kind of just turning my brain on for a little bit and creating and doing other things.

Yeah. And I think that's, um, it's, it's an interesting mindset being an athlete for most of your whole life. So you said though, at some point you kind of gave up. Can you share a little bit more about that? Was there an injury? Was there something that happened in your life where things just shifted for you and, and how did that go? And then how did you get back to where you are now?

Yeah, great question. You seem like the type that's okay to go kind of deep and heavy off the rip because that's just life. So I had actually signed a scholarship agreement with UC Santa Barbara to play softball once I graduated high school. And my senior year in high school, I both broke my back, quite literally, two vertebrae in my back, in a terrible sledding accident. And then I also endured a sexual assault. So I was raped my senior year in high school. And those two, I think, combined just put me in a place I didn't know how to cope. And so I learned growing up that food is comfort, and when we hurt, we self-soothe. And I didn't have the tools in my toolkit to do that in a healthy way. So I started partying a lot, started eating a lot, and honestly, by the grace of God, I walked onto campus to try to rush for a sorority. I missed, I missed rush, but I had walked by the rowing recruiter tent and some young gal shouted at me. She was like, hey, You have really big legs. Would you want to row? And I was like, simultaneously so offended and so flattered. I was like, let's try it. And that opened this new avenue we've been on for the last decade. But prior to that, I just, like I said, I had given up and food was really my reprieve from life.

Yeah. And I think a lot of people will be able to relate to that. And I'm so sorry that you had to go through that experience, although often some of the great tragedies in our life really end up shaping who we are. And I think that that is definitely one of the reasons that's contributed to you, you know, being so successful and being able to overcome all that. So, but anyway, definitely a heavy subject, and thank you for being willing to share that with people. So after all that happened, you rode in college, and then, um, let's fast forward to like just before we met, because you had some pretty crazy health things and things happening in your life right before you decided to compete. So I'd love it if you'd kind of share that journey.

Yeah. So like I alluded to, bodybuilding was a dream of mine for the last 12 years. Like I saw someone do it and thought it was the coolest thing and never thought it was a realistic opportunity for me. And then fast forward, lots of things changed and decided actually a year ago that I was gonna get into bodybuilding. And got into it locally. It went swimmingly. Like I, I just found a lot of success very quickly, but in an extremely unhealthy way. Um, working with a coach, which bodybuilding is wrought with coaches who went pro and then think that they have the license to dictate someone else's health. So went down that rabbit hole, came out of, we did 4 shows back to back to back to back. We blitzed last fall. And did really well. Coming into the off-season after my last show in November of last year, I was following my reverse diet to a T and was putting on weight extremely rapidly. And not only was it a mental battle, it was also physically feeling out of control of my body. And on top of that, I started bleeding, like, nonstop. Started presenting pregnancy symptoms, had no idea what was happening, and my body had just kind of taken on its own life. And so was controlling all that I could. And at first they thought I had cervical cancer. And so we went kind of through some rounds of testing for that. And then coming back in January, this was like a 3-month saga. Coming back in January, found out I was pregnant. And then they thought I was having a miscarriage cuz I was bleeding the entire time. So I was extremely anemic. I was just exhausted. I couldn't really do much in, I would not give up training. Like that was the only thing I really had was just training and trying to be present for the holidays. And so after they thought I had a miscarriage, my HCG levels, which are the hormones present when you are pregnant, were actually going back up. And so it was end of January last or this year that they found out I had an ectopic pregnancy growing in my left ovary. And we were early enough that they had attempted to treat it with chemotherapy. So methotrexate is a chemotherapy procedure that they typically will try before they go to surgery as an intervention in order to try to get the cells to kind of reabsorb into the body. It stops everything from turning over, which my goober brain decided to still train, still try to move through all of it, even if that was just walking on the treadmill for most days. So it was extremely humbling. But through that, I had one round of chemo, which was just hell, for lack of a better term. And then it ended up rupturing anyway. So by rupture, I mean I was internally bleeding, had come up with a fever in the midst of all of the chemo symptoms. So for those out there who are not privy to what that looks like, your body feels like it's on fire. I couldn't smile, I couldn't chew, I couldn't laugh, I couldn't cry. Everything from my head to my neck to my back would just seize. And so in the midst of that, I popped a fever. We went in and as we were walking into the E.R., I was rupturing. And so they opened the OR middle of the night and had a surgical intervention for that. And then me being me, I needed something on the calendar. Maybe not the best way to cope. We're learning, but I've always been someone that when I have something to shoot for, the in between, between here and there doesn't really matter. We have a goal. We're working towards something. We're progressing. We're controlling our environment for lack of better term as well. So put a show on the calendar. And decided to find a new coach because like I mentioned, my previous coach was not health conscious at all. And so I found Adam, who's just a godsend, and was able to actually reverse some of my endometriosis symptoms, certain things through protocol with supplementation and food. It was a miracle. And we started prep while I still had chemo in my system. We were like hitting the ground running, let's go. And that was beginning of February, March timeframe. Um, and then we walked into the show that you and I met at, which was in Louisville. Went well, not as well as I'd hoped, but it's okay. It was still a blast. And I met you. And then we did two shows right after that in Las Vegas and then in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

So, and she's leaving out that she won one of those shows, which we did bring home Miss Nevada this year. I was not surprised because seeing you in person and Now, knowing everything that you went through leading up to that, I mean, the amount of muscle that you have is a testament to, I think, something that people kind of lose sight of sometimes is that your muscle is a metabolic sink for a lot of things. It, it helps control your blood sugar. It helps, um, it helps you survive times like what you went through. And I, I'm convinced that's one reason my dad did so well with his cancer treatments over the years is cuz he was always really muscular. He was like Jack LaLanne, basically, my dad. He was like into that way before anyone else. So he was never like huge, but he always was very concerned. He always lifted. And so I would say, you know, do you feel like both your mentality as someone that was into fitness helped you as well as the fact that you were already in such good shape to start with? Because I think you just— the outcomes are so much better if you have muscle.

Yeah, I think twofold. The physical side of it, there's research to support that muscle mass is an indicator of longevity, and it's also the best way to push off atrophy in the body as we age. So knowing that no matter what sport you're doing, having lean muscle mass is going to always be a benefit. That's kind of the first part, and it allows your body to bounce back really quickly. Like you're a lot more resistant to whatever life throws at you, whether it's disease or acute injury. And so that's kind of the first side. And then the second side is the mental side. So when I, you know, as someone who's been an athlete my whole life, was told I can't do anything, let al— like I can't even walk on a treadmill. Mentally, I just crumbled. But then you realize, and you'll get this too, no matter what sport you do, or just lifting in general for people that just go to the gym to stay healthy, it's not easy and it hurts. Like you are training your body to deal with things that hurt, knowing full well that you're going to be better for it. And I think that was the privilege walking into my health situation last year, was that mentality that I'm going to make it through this. It sucks and it really hurts. It's not gonna last forever, I guarantee it. And I'm gonna be better on the other side of it, whether that's mentally, emotionally, spiritually, or all of the above. We're gonna be okay.

And how, so how did you get from the point where I, I mean, to me, like putting something like that on the books, is just unbelievable. And then, then to see the shape that you showed up in, I mean, it was just unbelievable. So thank you. Can you talk about your mental state during that time a little bit? Because I think there's, you know, whether people are an athlete or not, I think there's always something to be learned with mindset. And I think the more that you can share about maybe that part of that and how you You know, seemingly made it through to the other side. I mean, nobody's saying everything's perfect all the time, but you still moved through life. You created these amazing goals. You are still working all this time. Talk a little bit about your mindset and how you, how'd you overcome that hurdle? Like once you were on the chemo and, and doing all this really crazy health stuff.

That is such a good question. Yeah, I think when life really kicks our teeth in, it's usually there to teach us something. And I hate to be the person that's like, it always happens for a reason, cuz it doesn't always, but being able to take a a really poopy situation and make meaning of it and find that meaning while you're walking through it is really the best way to endure it. So for me, I've always been an incredibly independent woman. I don't need anyone, I don't need help, and I never ask for help. And so my husband had just gotten out of the Army, so he's— we're actually one year free as of two days ago on Veterans Day. And when he came back, we actually had a really hard time because I had kind of established this life where he was more of accessory than a need. And I didn't have an issue with that. In fact, when he got home, I reminded him that I didn't need him, I want him. And you know, like all of these pieces that I think the intention was pure, but this chapter, the health chapter we're talking about, really taught me that other people need to be needed in our lives sometimes, and allowing space for that I didn't have an option. So there was literally a week where my husband had to help me go to the bathroom. And I still remember when we were in the OR, we didn't know we were gonna go into surgery when we went into the ER and they basically threw a pack of ammonia wipes at us as they're opening the OR cuz it was like, you can die relatively quickly from internal bleeding. And so they threw this bag of ammonia wipes at us and it was such an intimate moment where they were like, all right, wipe yourself down. Like we're gonna go open the OR, we'll be back and my husband and I both took a wipe and we just started cleaning things off, like prepping for surgery. And I'm standing there like, I know you're not a believer, but I'm just going to pray over us and the situation and where we're going. And that whole evolution taught me it's okay to need other people. And people in our lives are often eager for those situations where they can step up for us when we're the ones typically stepping up for everyone else. So mentally it allowed a lot of intimate relationships to just flourish in my life, both my husband, my family, who all stepped in for me. And through that, it was like this mental battle to be okay not being okay on a daily basis. And then as we put the show on the calendar, things are kind of turning around, things are getting better. Then it became this super cool ethos. Of everyone's gonna hear the High School Musical theme, we're all in it together. Like, it was cool that we were all in the trenches together. Like, great. We all watched movies together. Everyone helped me. It was fantastic. But now we're on the come up together and realizing how rich that come up was with everyone in tow. And so my husband was there in Louisville. He was there in Chattanooga for nationals. Like, he's texting me constantly when I'm at shows and he's not there. It brought us so much closer together and it made me realize is that win, lose, or draw, I'm a better person for being in this with the people that I love, building something that's inspirational for other people. Like, the number of messages I had of people who— from people who had watched the whole health journey into the prep, into the shows, into doing very well in the shows, who reached out and said like, holy shit, I'm gonna get off the couch and I'm gonna do this because if you can do this, like, I can do that. And so it's realizing mentally We don't live for ourselves. Like, the fullest life we can possibly aim to live is that for others. And bodybuilding is an incredibly selfish sport, but this whole evolution turned it around into, this is for my family, this is with my family, this is for other people. And I will be extremely transparent about all of the highs and the lows, um, and everything in between. So I don't know if that answered your question, but yeah, it was a really cool turning point for me that has completely transcended bodybuilding into my career, into my hobbies, into my passion projects on the side. So it's been really cool.

Yeah. And it's been, it's been so fun to watch as people on the outside, like you said, you had so many people rooting for you and just following along with your journey. And, you know, I guess part of our time together was like we were at the show doing this and we were in separate divisions. And so we kind of had to stick to, I guess, you know, I don't want to say surface level conversations, but we didn't get a chance to really dive deep into some of this stuff. So it wasn't until later afterwards where I was watching, you know, some of your Instagram Instagram stories and some of the comments that people were making about your health journey and all this stuff that I really was able to see, you know, just how much you had come through. And so hearing this today, it kind of like puts all the pieces together and just makes the whole thing even just more amazing. And, and I think it's really exciting now what you're kind of turning that into, because I have a feeling that all of this and, and, you know, just recovering after a show, people that haven't done it. It's, um, you know, bodybuilding is not a healthy thing. Let's, let's be real. Lifting weights is healthy, but bodybuilding is a very extreme sport. You're getting to an extreme level of leanness, which especially for women is really hard, like on your hormones, on your body, everything. And, you know, I've certainly experienced that. I don't know, aftermath, for lack of a better word.

Yep.

And, and it's, it's just a very interesting mental challenge afterwards as well as physical. And yeah, so it wasn't surprising to me that I saw after your show you kind of turned to, uh, this retreat that you ended up going on. And so now I would love it if you'd share about that, like what, what made you become aware of that? And is my sense right that you kind of just needed some like recharge alone time? Yeah, I'd love to hear just all about that, how that happened.

Yeah, I love this. It's It's like the most exciting thing in my life right now. So 100%, you're correct. Once the show season was over, I just realized how much of my time had been spent in the gym, working, and then being a wife, being in the family. Like, it's just every day just trying to go. And one of my favorite things is spending time outside. Like, I firmly believe that it is the closest place to the divine. It makes me happy. It gives me clarity. Like, it is my favorite place to be. I live in Colorado. So I realized like a year went by that I hadn't gone just to play outside with my dog. Like, okay, like I just need to get outside more. And I was feeling this void, which did you feel after the show too? It's like this depression a little bit.

A little bit. It's kind of a, ah, you know, I wish I would've done a better job documenting some of that stuff. I kept meaning to, cuz it is just kind of a wild, thing, but it never, I guess for part of it for me is because I always knew that I would, you know, I'm still do, I'm still working, going to the gym 5 days a week and still just really trying to build my lean muscle for the purposes we were talking about, just making sure that I stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible. And then I can lift myself off the toilet when I'm 80 years old and things like that. You know, if I'm lucky enough to make it. Get to that age.

Exactly.

So I guess in the back of my mind it was like, well, this was an interesting process and stuff, but I was anxious to kind of get back to normal life, like what you're talking about, like more time to spend time outdoors and more time to enjoy food and drinks with friends and not have to be so focused on every single bite you're putting in your mouth. So, so I don't know, somehow I kind of, I feel like I distracted myself from a little bit of that, but I, I've read a lot of and heard a lot of other people's stories that talk about that because it's almost like, well, you, you've had these goals, the goal you got there basically, and then what, you kind of get off the cliff?

Exactly. Yeah.

So yeah, I don't know, I avoided that a little bit. I don't know, I'm not sure how.

You know, I'm thrilled for you.

I did not.

I just, I don't know, like, I think if I had a body that could sustain it, which I don't think anybody is meant for it, I would compete all year long every year. Like, I just love it so much. But when we finished Nationals in Chattanooga, I just my body was asking for a break. Like there were just several signs that I needed to pump the, pump the brakes and chill. And so coming out of that, um, I realized I needed to be outside more and I just felt this void, like this one thing I'd been working for and felt meaning in, all these people invested in my story. Um, it just was suddenly gone. And so I'm like, okay, I just need to go outside. And I had a dear girlfriend of mine actually come out and we went up to a cabin in the mountains and we were chatting, I was like, I just don't know what I'm chasing after. Like, I always have something I'm chasing after and I feel like I'm missing it. And she was like, well, Chiara, you've been chasing outside. Like, since you finished competing, all you've done is chase the mountains. And I'm like, well, no, no, like, that's just a medium. That's a catalyst for me to find clarity. That's not what I'm chasing. Yeah, that's ridiculous. And sure enough, it is what I was chasing. And for the last several years, I've had on my vision board wanting to start a business to allow space and build a community for women to get out into the backcountry together because like all of the same things that you and I probably took away from bodybuilding, the confidence, the discipline, the community aspect, if you're fortunate to have that, like those are all things that I've found historically in the outdoors. But I think the value of the outdoors far outlasts and has much deeper lengths to it than bodybuilding. And so it's been on my vision board for years to start a business that I can just take women outdoors and on these retreats and do cool things and It was just another pipe dream, right? But God bless vision boards and always coming back to like ourselves and where we find meaning and purpose. And so just by happenstance, this opportunity dropped in my, into my lap in August. So my show, my last show of the year was middle of June, went outside a bunch, kind of just got my head screwed on a little bit for the rest of June and July. And then this opportunity dropped in my lap to go to Montana with a group called Her Outdoor Journey in August. And it was gonna be their summit, which means they were doing everything from butchery to survival to fieldcraft to foraging to defensive shooting to, uh, glassing, which is basically understanding how to scope the side of a hill and look for animals. They were doing all of this in one event. I was like, all right, cool, I will help you guys out in trade just to go check this out because this seems kind of rad. And I on a whim, didn't know anyone, got in the car, drove up to Montana like 12 hours, and I show up and this week completely changed my life. I mean, I've never been around a group of 20+ women and there's no drama, no cliques, people wanting to help, people wanting to serve, everyone having a blast. Like, and not only that, it was the skill sets that we were handed, like the education and the content. I was like, I need more of this and I need to share this with as many people as I can. Like, how can I get more in the weeds on So I sat down with Courtney Preedy, who is the founder of Her Outdoor Journey, and we just kind of started dreaming up how we could work together. And she needed me, I needed her. Like, it was this extremely serendipitous, miraculous meeting of two people who desperately needed each other. And her and I since then have walked hand in hand, just blowing the lid off of this thing. So we have, like, over 15 events next year. All across the continental US, Alaska, and Hawaii. We're also looking at Canada. But our mission really is to teach and empower women and get them outside. And it's like this beautiful thing that happens when you're learning and you're vulnerable, when you're outside. Like, all of these perfect elements that bring out the most beautiful side of people. And that's the part that I love, is nurturing these women, these people, these families, seeing how we can impact as many women and families as we can. So yeah, long story short, um, it has been the coolest thing I have found, and I also fell in love with butchery out of that. So I have kind of been on this whirlwind of working with feedlots and local ranchers and processing plants, understanding truly what is it that we're eating. So going back to health and wellness, we just talked about bodybuilding. It is not a healthy sport. And so when you're given a certain set macros for the day, you'll eat trash as long as it fills those macros and you're enjoying it. When much like you, I got into this because I fell in love with taking care of myself. And so I had completely gone off path. And when I found this, it was like, oh, I can literally make an entire meal for me and my family off of literally just what exists out here in the backcountry. Understanding the seasonings, the foods that we are given naturally. Growing in the mountains or wherever. What a fuck, Google reactions. Jeez. But yeah, so it was just this really cool journey that's now evolved into the butchery side of things and long tail. Like I would love one day to open my own high-end butcher shop and do high-end steak dinners for people that they get to pick right outta the case, supporting local agriculture, which is a dying breed in our country right now. So. Bringing awareness to those things, bringing people along for the ride. I have no idea what we're going to do with all of this, but I'm just so happy. Like, I'm just right where I feel like I need to be.

Yeah, watching some of your stories when you were on that retreat, I felt the same way. I was just so happy for you because I could just tell you were enjoying it so much and you were in your element. And it did not surprise me afterwards that you're like, I'm gonna be a butcher. You just like, I mean, you're crazy like me, like, I'll get onto something. I'm just like, oh well, this is now— this is my thing, you know?

Yeah, exactly.

So, so if people are hearing this and they're like, okay, that sounds really cool, I would love to, you know, spend some time with other women outdoors, do all the things. And also though, I can see how maybe some people— like, there probably will be some people to be like, okay, I like a lot of that, but I'm not into the hunting, or I like a lot of that, but I don't know that I want to chop up a deer, or taking a deer on this retreat. Tell us how that works.

Not expected. Not expected at all. So we actually offer a whole host of opportunities for people to get on trips with us. One of the events I'm looking forward to the most is actually an adventure retreat up in Alaska. So we are literally going to go jet ski in the glacier, ride horses, ATV, spa day. Like, it is an adventure retreat. There is no hunting, there is no guns, there's no butchery, there's no nothing that should really kind of raise flags for some people. Knowing that everyone has different thresholds, so if you come on any of our trips and you're like, this part is not for me— so for example, the, the event that I was just talking about back in August, the defensive shooting, we had women that didn't feel comfortable being on a range with other women who had never shot a gun. Great. They went out and had their own, like, they went for a hike, they read their books, they went and hung out. There's so much freedom and liberty to do whatever you're comfortable with. Our mission is to serve you and make sure you're walking away with what you intended to get out of an event. So whether that's rest and recovery, a little adventure, um, learning skills or trades, we do it all. And there's never any judgment when you decide something isn't for you.

Can you share the website and where they can find out information about the trips? And do you know off the top of your head, like, when the next one is? Because this episode will come out really soon.

Here. Absolutely. Yeah. So our, our next one coming up is actually our first winter retreat in Yellowstone. So you can find out more at heroutdoorjourney.com or on Instagram at Her Outdoor Journey. And we're actually just launching all of our events for next year. So take a look. We actually have everything from, like I said, the adventure retreats to archery, long range shooting, you name it, we got it. Um, and we also have payment plans. So knowing that some of these are maybe a little bit more expensive, we do have payment plans and we also have gift cards. So knowing the holidays are coming up, if you wanna gift some special lady in your life the time of her life and change her world forever, we are your people. So give us a shout.

Awesome. And on top of that, where can people connect with you personally and kind of follow along with your journey? You post somewhat frequently at Instagram, but I don't know if you have any other socials that you wanna share.

Yeah. Yeah, no, Instagram is the best. As I'm kind of defining this new chapter of my life, I've tried to be a little more conscientious about what I'm posting and how I'm presenting to the world. So we're going to get back in the saddle here pretty soon with more consistent posts and all sorts of exciting stuff going on in the world. But yeah, follow along at @kiara.loux. Yeah, @kiara.loux. My brain is half—

I'll have it in the show notes as well. For some reason you can't find her. Well, Kiara, it has been so wonderful catching up with you again today and sharing more of your journey that I was not aware of, and I'm really excited for everything that's going to happen next. And I will be following along to see what amazing things you do from here.

Oh, thank you, and thank you again for having me on. You are just one of my favorite people, even though we haven't spent a ton of time together, obviously. But sourdough, you won my heart forever, so thank you.

It's my love language. All right, take care, and we'll see you again next time.

Sounds good. Thank you.