Fitness Safari

Today we're going to discuss various types of exercise and where each type fits into Intermittent Fasting. What you're about to read is pretty much my own opinion based on about eight years of experience with Leangains-style IF. When I first stumbled upon Leangains and began the training, it felt like I wasn't doing enough. Three to four movements each workout, sets of 5-7 reps, a whole lotta rest time...how could this possibly work? To my surprise, I found that I became freakishly strong and was smaller and lighter than I had ever been in my adult life. I think when I started IF in 2011, I weighed 128 lbs at 5'2" tall. This was not muscle, in case you were wondering, and you can go back to my early blog posts to see the photos here  and a year in pictures here . I don't have any current pics, however, because I tumbled off the wagon after life threw a heap of shit at me. It's 2019 and I'm back on the Berkhan bandwagon again. My left knee is he...

The 950' vertical climb at Jamaica's Dunns River Falls was  a piece of cake for this 40-something. I have always considered myself an athlete. I was a three-sport child excelling in basketball, softball and soccer. I dabbled in track & field and spent many afternoons scrambling up trees or playing football with my big brother or my bff. As an adult, distracted by marriage and motherhood, I floundered sport-less for nearly a decade until I discovered surfing at age 30. Still, despite traveling often in pursuit of perfect waves, I wasn't particularly strong or healthy. I was skinny fat, unable to complete a single unassisted pull-up or chin-up and had no idea what a deadlift even was. Almost exactly two years ago, I made a discovery that would change my life forever and start me on a new path of self-discovery that continues to teach me new lessons almost daily. It was Martin Berkhan's  Leangains  website. I couldn't tell if it was a diet or a tr...

I just finished a 38-hour fast. I had never fasted that long before, and I don't plan on making it a habit but, after a 5-day fun and food fest in New Orleans with my family for Christmas, I felt the need to do something drastic to get back on track. Going a day and a half without food was actually much easier than I thought it would be. Perhaps this is because I've grown accustomed to going 16-18 hours without food daily anyway - of all the things that taking on intermittent fasting, a la Leangains, has taught me is that I can control what I eat and when I eat it. I was traveling home yesterday and have to admit that the airport was the hardest for me. We had nearly a 2-hour delay in which I watched the folks around me scoff ice cream, cinnamon rolls, po-boys and all manner of chips and pretzels while I was inundated by amazingly delicious smells all around me. Then, when I finally boarded the plane, the man next to me pulled out an industrial size bag of trail mix - one of my...

A friend of a friend reached out to me recently. She's frustrated and looking for a weight-loss approach that actually works and is sustainable - same as the rest of us. I started typing her response, but, what came out was a fairly detailed outline of what I've been doing and why it works. It's not super technical or scientific. If you want to read about the science behind the theories, go to www.leangains.com . Martin always does a thorough job of explaining things in fairly simple terms. What follows is more of how I would explain my lifestyle on Leangains to a friend. It is in no way complete and does not cover all aspects of IF, but I think it's a decent introduction to the average person who may be curious about what IF is and why the way we eat is primarily responsible for how we look. .................................................. No matter whether it's 10 lbs or 100 lbs, I see people every day killing themselves in the gym on treadmills and elliptical t...

Ok, so here I was in my former tubby glory, hanging out with my dad in New Orleans in August of 2009. Now, dad loves me and was clearly blind to my chubbiness b/c he told me I had never looked better! LOL. Thanks, Dad! I love you, too! ........ I was getting down on myself the other day b/c my belly fat just doesn't seem to want to unpark itself from my abs. It's pissing me off and I find it quite frustrating. Well, a friend of mine suggested that I look back on older photos - from 2010 and beyond, to see just how much I really have changed. So I did. And guess what I learned? I have already completely transformed my body in many ways. I may not be sporting ripped abs - yet - but my face, chest and arms have leaned out tremendously! And, even though my belly is still there, it's nowhere near the proportion it was when this photo was taken. Here I am as of yesterday, April 28, 2011...It's not as full of a shot to compare, but it really does say it all. Who still doubts L...

I stumbled upon this first pic when clearing out my BlackBerry. It was taken almost exactly a month ago - March 19th. So, naturally, I had to take another to compare (see below). No major changes, but I think I am starting to look a bit more firm in my troublesome belly area. I have a long road ahead to uncover those amazing abs that I can FEEL but just can't see yet...Well, I think I'm making progress. March 19, 2011 April 16, 2011

Here is just a sampling of what I am sure will be a towering pile of fat clothes I will never again need in my life. Pictured here: 2 pair of jeans 1 pair cropped khakis 2 pair khaki sorts 1 pair camo cargo shorts 1 T-shirt 1 Columbia undershirt 1 pair gray slacks If you want to know why they're in the donation pile, check out the photos below. I've never been so happy to do spring cleaning. Only problem is I'm pretty thin on clothes that fit and I don't want to buy much yet as I'm nowhere near as lean as I'm hoping to get...ah, the trials and tribulations of Leangains . Damn you, Martin! :) ...