Strive for overall wellness with KT23Fit

Kris Tiedt gets asked all the time 'how she does it” - ‘it' being: looking like a 20-something as a 37-year-old and maintaining high energy and positivity while balancing so much on her plate.

In addition to coaching Coe's women's tennis team, Tiedt is also on the wellness committee at Coe College, leads strength and conditioning sessions with Coe's tennis, soccer and golf teams, teaches student fitness classes, parents an 8-year-old at home and is training for an Ironman triathlon this summer.

So how does she do it? Overall wellness, she said.

'Most people think only of physical fitness when they think of wellness - or the proverbial six pack,” she said. But when she says wellness, she means six things: physical, intellectual, social, spiritual, emotional and occupational well-being.

Having a balanced and well-rounded lifestyle that includes all six of these 'dimensions of wellness” sets you up for success, she explained.

Last summer, Tiedt decided to share her approach to wellness with others through an app called KT23 Fit.

Like many inventors before her, the idea was born on a paper napkin. She was on an airplane back to Iowa after visiting family in Georgia and was feeling inspired by her cousin, who was also in the process of developing an app.

After conceptualizing the idea and coming up with a basic design, she submitted the idea to WebileApps, a mobile app development company headquartered in India.

Together with WebileApps, her aunt, Christy Goedtke - who designed the graphics - and a student-athlete, Nate Ackert - who created the music for the app - Tiedt 'churned out a pretty professional looking app,” she said.

The app, available for 99 cents on iOS devices, uses a simple, easy-to-use design to walk users through daily wellness, which is measured in points. Users can earn up to 23 points by getting eight hours of sleep, drinking eight glasses of water and eating seven superfoods.

Tiedt provides a selection of 23 of her favorite superfoods as a guideline - including a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains and even dark chocolate - but substitutes can be made as long as they'd stand up to a nutritionist's judgment. The app does not get complicated or restrictive with serving sizes and calorie counts because 'it's meant to be simple, not restrictive,” Tiedt said.

'The concept of weight loss and dieting ... I just don't believe in it,” she continued. 'Dieting is temporary. I believe in lifestyle.”

Users count their points in the positive and choose foods that best fuel their body for energy maximization, she explained. The goal is not to lose weight, but if used correctly, could lead to weight loss.

'You'll be eating the right foods, exercising and have less stress, which can all lead to weight loss,” she said.

Users can earn up to 23 points, but the goal is to hit at least 18, Tiedt said. As for why 23 points, the number has always had significance to her, she said. And when thinking about how many hours of sleep, glasses of water and number of superfoods needed for overall wellness, she said it 'just made sense.”

Users don't receive points for exercise, but if they've exercised for 23 minutes that day, they can acknowledge their efforts by highlighting the exercise feature. Any exercise qualifies - whether it's yoga, interval training, a team sport or otherwise. Users also have the option to do a KT23Fit workout - an interval training workout set to the beat of Ackert's techno tracks also offered through the app. Examples of a KT23Fit workout can be found in the app or at kt23fit.com.

Although there are only two music tracks available as of now, Tiedt plans to add more of Ackert's music as an in-app purchase in the future.

In addition to earning daily points and tracking exercise, users also track other wellness dimensions with the KT23Compass - a circular check list that includes the six dimensions of wellness. If users complete the compass, they earn a Wellness Warrior Badge, which shows they are living a balanced life.

Even Tiedt herself struggles with completing the compass, she said, but users shouldn't be discouraged, instead, they should feel motivated to keep working at it.

Tiedt estimated the app currently has about 100 downloads. She hopes to add more features and create an Android version when she can afford it, but the first version alone cost her more than $6,000, she said.

'My ultimate goal is to serve and help others,” she said. 'Even if only ten individuals download this app and they increase their wellness or knowledge or intensify their workouts, I'm happy.”

l Comments: (319) 398-8364; elizabeth.zabel@thegazette.com