Today we’d like to introduce you to Katlyn Zirkelbach.
Hi Katlyn, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always been curious about health and the human body, even before I knew it would become my career. I grew up playing sports and was very driven academically and athletically. I was captain of my soccer team and was constantly training or competing. Even back then, I noticed how different foods affected my energy and performance. Looking back now, many of the symptoms I was experiencing, fatigue, allergies, digestive issues, and eventually painful periods, were early signs of endometriosis, although I didn’t know that at the time.
I’m originally from the Midwest, where nutrition and preventative health weren’t really part of the conversation. My family didn’t prioritize it, so a lot of my learning started out of curiosity and necessity. What began as a personal interest slowly became something I realized I could turn into a career. While working at the campus gym during college, I discovered dietetics, and it immediately felt like the right fit. I had originally considered nursing, but nutrition allowed me to combine my love for science with my passion for helping people feel better in their bodies.
When I entered my dietetics internship and graduate program, I was excited, but also surprised by what the traditional career path looked like. Much of the work involved short hospital visits where you rarely saw the long-term impact of your guidance, and doctors often dismissed the role of dietitians altogether. I quickly realized that the traditional system wasn’t built for the kind of care I wanted to provide.
My career shifted when I joined the nutrition team at Life Time Fitness in Denver. It was the first place where I was exposed to a more functional approach to health, looking at lab work, food sensitivities, hormones, and the deeper root causes of symptoms. It completely changed my perspective. I began combining nutrition coaching with personal training and helping people implement real lifestyle changes, not just textbook recommendations.
Eventually, I was recruited to help open a new Life Time club in Cherry Creek, but when COVID hit shortly after opening, everything changed. During that time, I began coaching clients online, which ultimately led me to start my own business.
The early days were slow and honestly pretty scary. I left a stable job, opened a small office, and started from scratch, sometimes sitting there wondering if anyone would actually walk through the door. But slowly, things began to build. Referrals from previous clients and colleagues really helped create that momentum, and eventually, new clients started finding me through word of mouth.
Over time, The Wellness Lab evolved into what it is today, a space focused on helping women understand their bodies, uncover root causes of symptoms, and build sustainable health practices that work in real life.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, both personally and professionally.
Like many entrepreneurs, I had to learn a lot the hard way. Early on, I started a business with a friend, and while there’s no bad blood today, we eventually realized our visions were very different. That experience taught me an important lesson about partnership and alignment.
Running a business on your own is also far more complex than people realize. You wear every hat, practitioner, marketer, accountant, and leader, and at times it can feel incredibly lonely. I’m a very team-oriented person, so building a business without that environment was challenging. Then, when you finally start building a team, a new kind of pressure arises because others are now relying on you for their livelihood.
Another pivotal moment came when I left a boutique gym where I had invested years helping grow their business. I was very close to signing a long-term contract there to partner and provide my nutrition services. One morning, I woke up and realized I couldn’t do it; the values and direction no longer aligned with what I wanted to build, and I knew in my gut it wasn’t the right path. I walked away without a backup plan, which was terrifying at the time, but ultimately one of the most important decisions I’ve made, and I really just had faith that it would all work out.
Alongside the business challenges, I was also navigating my own health struggles with endometriosis. For years, I was dismissed by doctors and told my symptoms were normal. I experienced severe pain, digestive issues, fatigue, and anxiety without clear answers. There were moments where I questioned if my dreams would still be possible, if I’d be able to keep up and show up for my clients in the way I was known for. This is what took my business and the type of clientele we serve to a whole new level. I started researching and taking more courses to expand my knowledge even further in functional medicine while trying to find answers to my own health issues. Eventually, after many years of searching for help, I underwent excision surgery for endometriosis, which completely changed the trajectory of my health.
That experience deeply shaped how I practice today. I know what it feels like to be dismissed, confused, and searching for answers. It’s why listening to my clients and helping them uncover root causes is at the heart of everything we do at The Wellness Lab.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Wellness Lab?
The Wellness Lab is a virtual and Denver-based nutrition practice focused on helping women understand and support their bodies through every stage of life.
We work with clients navigating gut health issues, hormone imbalances, food sensitivities, autoimmune conditions, fertility prep, pregnancy, and postpartum support, and many complex symptoms that often fall through the cracks of traditional healthcare. Our approach combines personalized nutrition coaching, specialty lab testing, lifestyle support, and nervous system care.
What truly sets us apart is how we work with clients. We don’t believe in cookie-cutter programs or handing someone a binder of recommendations. Instead, we teach the skills from the ground up, helping clients understand how their body works, how different systems interact, and how to build a plan that actually fits their life.
The body doesn’t work in isolated systems. Hormones affect gut health, gut health affects hormones, and stress impacts both. Because of that, we take a very integrated approach to care.
In addition to one-on-one nutrition coaching, we offer personal training programs, both in person and virtually, that integrate movement with nutrition support. We also host free monthly breathwork classes and quarterly cooking events for our clients and community. These events are incredibly important to me because they create connections and make wellness feel accessible rather than intimidating.
At its core, The Wellness Lab is about helping women feel seen, heard, and supported while giving them the knowledge and tools to take ownership of their health.
What are your plans for the future?
As The Wellness Lab continues to grow, our focus is on expanding the depth of care we provide rather than simply growing for the sake of growth.
Over the past few years, we’ve seen an increasing number of complex cases referred to us through word of mouth. Because of that, we’re continuing to expand the functional side of our practice and bringing on another practitioner this year to support a new six-month program that includes advanced lab testing and deeper health investigation.
We’re also excited about continuing to grow the community aspect of our work. This year, we plan to host more wellness events, expand our group programs for clients who want foundational support before working one-on-one, and continue offering accessible education through breathwork and cooking classes.
Long term, we hope to expand our space so that we can bring our fitness and nutrition services fully under one roof, creating a place where clients can truly support their health in an integrated way.
More than anything, the future of The Wellness Lab is about continuing to build a space where women feel supported, informed, and empowered in their health journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wellnesslabnutrition.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wellnesslabnutrition/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellnesslabnutrition
