Let's jumpstart your cardio workouts

Good Day everyone.  It's your Trainer.  I'm not going to watch you do cardio.  We both have better things to do.  Cardio is between you and the jump rope, you and the road, or you and the bike. 

Not coincidentally those are arguably the three highest calorie burns.
1- Jump rope- 300-500 calories per 30 minutes
2- Running- 200-450 calories per 30 minutes (depending on your weight, pace, surface etc)
3- Bicycling- 200-420  calories per 30 minutes (depending on your weight, pace, surface etc)

2 questions: 
1- Why the huge gap in the calorie estimates?  Answer- you're burning 200 if you're jogging, 500 if you're getting chased.  Effort matters.  Terrain matters.  Weighted jump ropes matter.
2- What is the best form of cardio?  Answer- Objectively it's those three, but if you hate all three and love to swim, or hike, or dance...

The best cardio is the one you enjoy.  You can't out cardio a bad diet.  Doesn't matter which workout you end up choosing.  Think differently. You're not burning off last night's pizza, or earning tomorrow's beers.  The purpose/benefits of your cardio workouts are:

• gets your blood pumping

• lowers your blood pressure

• strengthens your immune system

• improves your sleep

• supports your mental health

• regulates your blood sugar

• contributes to a healthy weight

• gives your brain a boost

Weight loss/maintenance is on the list, but not foremost.  Now some people may throw up their arms and say 'Why bother?'  

I get it.  I thought more cardio equalled increased weight loss for forever too.  It does if you take the long view (250 calories a day by five days a week= 1250 calories a week= 65,000 calories a year= 18.5 lbs burned annually).

But think differently.  

One purpose of your life is to feel Vital.  That list up there is a recipe for vitality.  Lucky you!  The cost of vitality ain't too high.

The Department of Health suggests we get 150 minutes of cardio every week.  2.5 hours.  That's .015% of your week that will sharpen you up to kick ass and take names.  Let's carve up that 150 minutes into the three kinds of cardio workouts that will truly vitalize.  You can do these every week.

1- Long cardio
2- Speed work
3- steady state cardio

Workout #1: Long effort.
What: A cardio workout that is roughly 25% of the weeks total.  If you're doing the recommended 150 minutes  then we're looking at 37.5 minutes.
Heart Rate: This is easy cardio.  Keep your heart rate below 60-65% of your max heart rate.  Back when I was an athlete we called this conversational pace.  If you couldn't hold a conversation you were moving too fast.
Example: 40 minutes easy on the treadmill, a long hike, an easy 40 minute ellipse session.
Do this workout once a week.

Workout #2: Speed work
Here you're going to warm up with about 5-10 minutes of easy running (below 60-65% of Max HR).  Then you're going to craft a workout that go all out (90% Max HR) for short periods of time.
There's any number of ways you can do this.  Here are 2 of my faves:
Ladder workouts- Run/bike/swim/jump hard for :30 then take a :30 rest. Go hard for :45, easy for :45, Hard for :60, easy for :60.  Climb the ladder up (:30-:45-:60 and then go back down (:45, :30).  Back in the day I'd do this on the track.  200M, 400, 800, mile, and then back down.
Intervals- Go hard for a minute, recover for a minute.  Do it for 10 intervals.  I did this with a weighted jump rope this morning after a 2 mile jog.  If a minute is too hard start with :30 seconds, then build up.  
Finish with 5-10 minute cool down (walk or jog).  
You'll burn 25-30% more calories in speed work, but the effort is much higher.  
Do this kind of workout once a week. 

Workout #3: I'm talking about Easy, steady state cardio effort.  You're working a little harder than your long effort, but you're not red lining it.  You're going longer than a speed workout, but you're not pushing to those long workout distances.  You're doing your thing at a comfortably uncomfortable pace, Keeping the heart rate at 60-70% of your max.  You can hold a conversation, just not a robust one.
Do this workout 2-3 times a week.

One last set of rules before we wrap.  If you want to increase your cardio past 150 minutes follow these two rules:
1- Increase by 10% every other week.  This is the safest way to up the ante. 
2- Schedule in one down week per month.  This goes for all workouts.  If you're pushing hard you're strategically overloading and breaking your body down.  You've got to schedule in time to refurbish/rebuild.  So throw in an easy week here and there.  You'll see and feel the results.

Lets finish with a little story.  Remember 'The Biggest Loser'?  Bob? Gilian?  The ranch? There was one season where they added in a 3rd trainer to shake things up.  She was working out her crew and one guy revolted.  He wanted to work out with Bob or Gillian.  He thought the new Trainer's workout wasn't hard enough.  That he wasn't burning enough calories.  Here's what I wanted her to say.

'Listen up you little piece of sh...'

Whoops.  We're on ABC.  Take 2.

'Listen here, Tough guy, You lost 10 lbs last week.  That's 35,000 calories.  Do you know why you're losing weight?  Is it because of the 200 calories you burned lifting weights yesterday?  Is it the 250 calories you burned jogging for 20 minutes?  It doesn't matter what you do, you're gonna burn a max of around 500 calories in an hour.  Why 500?  Because you're not fit enough to burn more than that, and you're definitely not fit enough to work out for more than an hour without getting injured.  Burning 500 calories a day while exercising is phenomenal; but it only adds up to one lb over a week.  The other 9 lbs come from sleeping 8-10 hours a day; not working; not stressing; not stuffing your face with Oreos; restricting calories; not touching processed food.'

She didn't say that.  Didn't flex her fitness knowledge.  She acted hurt; he switched teams and they hugged it out on a later episode.  

Did she not lay it out because she didn't know (most trainers haven't had to lose significant weight) or because the producers of that show can't make a Rocky-esque montage of the real reasons he was losing weight: sleep, stress reduction, breathing, saying no to Oreos?

And oh, I almost forgot... cardio.

Keep it vital my friends.

Greetings from Vacation

I brought my trainer with me to the Outer Banks.  That's her taking me for a beach run at dawn up above.

It has been a truly great week of relaxation here in Corolla NC.  Every day I feel more alive and recharged.  Seems like an opportune time to talk about rest.

Rest is important.  I could write a book on this, but given the confines of newsletter format I'll share three interesting aspects of rest, and throw in some fun quotes about rest/recovery so the content doesn't put you to sleep.  Ba-DUM-BUM!

'Wanna hear a joke?  
Sleep.  
I know, I don't get it either.' 

1- Is sleep/rest important?: Your body is wired for survival.  Every subconscious action (including pain) is designed to keep you alive.  That underlines the value of sleep.  Let's break it down.  Think of a human being living hundreds of years ago.  They are living in the wild, not this comfort trap we live in presently.  The world is actively trying to kill him/her every day and the body still demands they close their eyes and rest for several hours daily.  Rest leaves one open to attack, robbery, imprisonment, and sacrifices valuable farming/hunting time.  Not getting rest drastically decreases cognitive and physical function.

My point: If sleep weren't IMPORTANT we would have evolved to need less.

We haven't evolved to that point despite the 'I'll rest when I'm dead' NAVY Seal mentality. This mindset gives us a short term productive edge, but in the end 'time, tide, and adequate sleep wait for no man.

"The amount of sleep required by the average person is five minutes more." - Wilson Mizener

2- Sleep is incredibly important to weight management.  Study after study proves:
- that getting less than 7 hours of sleep will cause weight gain over time.  
- that we sleep less than ever before and weigh more than ever before.
- that lack of sleep thwarts good exercise and dietary habits.
- that sleeping 8+ hours a night significantly drops body weight.

We know all this to be true yet so many of us sacrifice sleep at the altar of career and social life.  We figure we'll catch up on sleep over the weekend, or that we can push through with caffeine or some other stimulant.  

For a while we get away with it, but then age kicks in, the mileage adds up,  and we put on a few pounds that we just can't lose.  We figure we need to eat less and move more when the answer might involve putting down our phones, and setting a solid bed time.

'I love a good nap.  Some days it's all that gets me out of bed in the morning.' - George Costanza 

3- Sleep/rest is also incredibly important in the effectiveness of your workouts.
Let's talk about steroids for a minute.  From Livescience.com:

When we lift weights heavier than what we're used to, we create tiny micro-tears in muscle fibers. The body's natural repair process repairs the tear and then overcompensates by adding bigger cells to build a stronger fiber — this is called muscular hypertrophy. Over time, this repeated process of teardown and re-build will result in muscle growth.  Natural testosterone is the body's main ingredient for this process.

So you do the workout and your body's natural steroids assist in the repair phase.  Per our friends at sleepcenterinfo.com:

"Testosterone levels fluctuate during the day, and are at their highest during REM sleep. If you’re not getting enough REM sleep, it can affect your body’s testosterone levels. "

REM sleep will occur 4-5 times during a good night's rest.  So if you're not sleeping enough, you're not maximizing your recovery/workouts.

Have I proved my case?  Are you ready to commit to better rest?  Here's 3 easy ways you can improve your rest/recovery.
1- Set a bed time.  You are a creature of habit.  If you lie down at the same time every night your body will wind down easier than if you go to bed haphazardly.
2- Stop eating an hour (or more) before sleep.  Stop caffeine/stimulants well before then.
3- Stop looking at your screens an hour (or more) before sleep.  The blue light limits melatonin production and melatonin is what puts us to sleep in the first place.

So is rest just as important as exercise?  Yes.  I would say it is just as important for reasons covered here, plus a few others.  Time for our final quote.

'My Man is so cool when he goes to sleep sheep count him.'- David Mamet, Heist

I wish that quote was talking about me.  But it isn't.  It's about Gene Hackman.  Gene Hackman is lying on a pile of money somewhere doing cool stuff.  I'm out here giving great advice.  How do you know it's great advice?  Because it is boring.  And all good advice is boring.  And I am making a living telling people to do boring things like eat vegetables and go to bed.  I am uncool, I am boring, and hopefully this boring newsletter puts you to sleep for 8 hours tonight.

Sit Ups, Bad Posture, Wonder Woman & My Fave Core Exercise

I HATE sit ups but I love the Dead Bug. 

Also- I hate the dead bug.

Ok- why do I hate sit-ups?  First off it's personal.  My parents were killed by a sit up.

Sit ups suck because:
- You only work for half the exercise. 
- They put a ton of unnecessary torque on your spine and neck.
- They encourage crummy posture.  

Who has great posture?  Wonder Woman.

I don't own that pic, but screw it.  The image police probably aren't reading our newsletter yet. If they are, well hey, I'm impressed.  Sue me.  Take half.  

Back to WW.  She stands tall.  Shoulders back.  Chest proud.  Everything she is doing is the exact opposite of what you're doing in a sit up.  Did you know there are studies that prove Wonder Woman posture benefits your self esteem and job performance.  WHOA!  What was that sound?  Apparently a few bullshit meters just went off so HERE's a link to back that up.

How ya like me now?

The S.A.I.D principle tells us that the body Specifically Adapts to Imposed Demands.  You're already adapting for bad posture when you sit hunched over your screens, hunched over your steering wheel, or hunched over on your couch watching Netflix.  But go ahead, add a few thousand setups to that postural nightmare.  They won't affect you at all.

But Steve my abs burn when I do sit ups.  I can feel I'm burning belly fat.

Riiiiiight.  Let me cure you of that common misconception.  I'll let Dr. Allen Conrad explain the muscle burn:
"When you exercise very intensely, your muscles can't get all the oxygen needed to break down glucose for energy quick enough, so lactic acid accumulates in muscles and spills over into the bloodstream."  That's your burn.  Lactic acid.  Not fat
.
Also-  You can't control where you body burns fat from.
That's called spot reduction.  If it were true 90% of us would be fatter on our left side.  Now that you know this you can call BULLSHIT on every trainer you see claiming their workout targets belly fat.  

Want to know what makes me want to scream?  The word Chillax.  Absolutely the worst "word" ever created.  Know what else wants to make me scream?  When some good looking insta fitness model with a million more followers than me claims he's designed a program to target your belly fat.

Let's bring it full circle.  Wonder Woman is great.  Sit ups suck.  We deserve more insta followers and If anyone says chillax while in Train they're getting chucked.  Try me.

That brings us to Dead Bugs.  The exercise, not the bugs.  Like sit ups Dead bugs suck, just not in the same way.

Dead bugs create a strong core without placing undue pressure on the spine.  You'll even feel a burn in your abs (hence the suck).

I'm not going to waste any time describing how to do a dead bug.  Instead I've gone through the trouble of making some videos depicting my favorite dead bug variations.  Who loves you more than me?

Basic Dead Bug
Dead Bug w a press
Banded Dead Bug
Dead Bug with a block

 It is simple.
It is elegant.
There are dozens of variations and they'll work you harder, and safer, than those useless sit ups.

And you know who does Dead Bugs?  None other than Wonder Woman herself.

Boom!  Full circle!

If you need any help with posture, or learning how to Dead Bug our Trainers will be more than happy to help.  Click the button below and let's get moving.

What’s your where?

The first step of a run is the hardest to take.  You give yourself a thousand excuses about why today isn't your day.  It's too hot, too cold, too rainy, your knees hurt, you have a meeting to prep for.

What gets me out of the driveway?

I run the southwest corridor, cut through Bussey Brook meadow, and climb Watchtower Hill in the arboretum.  I cut through a maze of paths to climb Peter's Hill.  I know the names of these places, I know the trails, I know which paths to avoid when it rains, I know where the high school kid's congregate in the summer to smoke pot.

Or maybe I head east; Savin Hill, cross Morrissey Blvd and run the Umass/Boston loop.  If the tide is high enough I'll jump off the wooden dock across from the JFK museum (pic) and cool off mid run.  Maybe I go long, extend the effort to Castle Island and then home via Southie, or maybe I just loop back home.

This is what gets me out the door: Visiting my city.  It's like checking in with old friends.  If I don't run the Charles River between Arsenal street and Elliot Bridge for a few months I miss it.  I watch certain neighborhoods grow up before my eyes (Hello Brookline avenue/Fenway).  I watch the graffiti get updated in others (BU Bridge I'm looking at you).  Some remain defiantly the same (Jamaica Pond to Olmsted Park) and I remember a particularly good run; or when I walked there with the Wife and she decided we had to live nearby (mission accomplished-we moved 2 months later).

Where you work out matters.  Your where inspires you to get out the door, go a little farther, stay a bit longer.

I can motivate to get out the door and run someplace uninspiring, but it gets tiresome.  Just a work out.  Breath and movement.  

But If you can attach an intention, a deeper meaning, to the mundanity of the breath and movement you're not working out anymore.  Sometime the where brings it out of you.

I write that sentence and remember running under towering pines lining Oak street during high school.  I'm training to win my league championship.  It's been driving rain for the last hour.  The rain stops; the temperature dives 10 degrees colder in an instant.  The road ices, as do the pine trees.  They sparkle in a way I can't forget 26 years later.  It's mile 10 of 10.  My soaked cotton sweatshirt (it was the '90's) freezes solid but I feel like I can run forever.  

When I get home the sweatshirt won't come off.  It's frozen solid. I have to break my way out.  My skin is red, rashed, chafed; bleeding in spots.  

Sounds terrible.  And yet.

Let's take it indoors.  I'm teaching heated yoga on Temple street.  It's dusk; lightly snowing.  The neon signs on Cambridge street mingle with falling snow.  I'm sweating.  'Feel it All Around' by Washed Out pulses from the stereo.  I'm trying to push the students deeper; into the poses; into themselves.  They're definitely breathing, definitely moving.   The snow, the light, the music wash over us.  

Do they feeling it?  Are they on Oak street with me?  Is this more than a workout?

That night's never far from mind as we build out Train.  We've worked so many hours in box gyms that going there to work out felt like going to school on Saturday.  We were committing to spend thousands of hours in this space.   We want to build a church.  A place you come to move, and breathe, and sweat; but if you come with intention...

Maybe it Transcends.

Then it happens.

I'm downstairs at Train.

It's 7:45 am and Ben Klein is 90 seconds into a hellish 2 minute all out jump rope interval.  Sweat pours from his brow.  The stereo is blasting deep 70's disco cuts like 'It feels like I'm in Love' by Kelly Marie or 'Do You Wanna Funk' by Sylvester.  Niche tunes, but tunes that Ben chose, tunes that chase him through his next pain barrier.  

The space is ours.  We're as loud as we please.  Truly private training.

'10 seconds to go.' I warn him.

'3 minutes,' he shouts, adding an extra minute.  His eyes close, his forehead knots.

Ben's on Oak street with me.  This is more than a workout.

Church is in session.  You're never more alive than Ben is right here.

And all I can think is you can't get this in a box gym.

Q: What habit do most thin people share?

A: Fidgeting.

Burning calories while not exercising.  

Forget Netflix and Chill.  Let's Netflix and fidget. 

(The above photo is supposed to convey that I'm constantly moving while watching Netflix, surfing the web, and texting.  Ya know... fidgeting.  And top right that's a Netflix promo for Molly's Game so get your mind out of the gutter.)

From a Harper's Bazaar article:
"Multiple studies have confirmed that fidgeting throughout the entire day can burn ten times more calories than just sitting still; one study from 2005 clocked the number at 350 calories per day, enough to lose 30 to 40 pounds in one year. It makes sense: constant motion, even while sitting, is a form of cardio."

Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis:  NEAT.  Now that it has a fancy science name you can believe.

The bigger takeaway: small things add up.
A 3,500 calorie deficit loses a lb.
At 100 calories a day that is 35 days.
That is 10 lbs a year.
That ain't that much fidgeting.

10 lbs of body fat is about the size of a pair of size 10 Men's sneakers.  

That's a lot.

In fact a lot of people who think they need to lose 10 lbs might not have 10 lbs to lose.

Go ahead right now and fidget away.  Scratch your ears, comb your hair, walk to work, take the stairs, stand up at your desk, tap your feet.

Quick aside- I tap my feet constantly.  Bugged the shit out of my sisters.  The fact that they hated it made me do it even more.  Jamie & Lyndsey- you inspired me to be fit.  Not all heroes wear capes.

Now what if you fidget with purpose.  Do 5 air squats, jump rope for 60 seconds, 5 pushups, walk to work, take the stairs, do 3 Sun salutations.  

Now imagine you work out with a Trainer 2 x's a week.  Each time you burn 150 calories, get a 50-100 calorie after burn (the Body's gotta repair).  On top of that you're getting 8 hours of sleep and chucking all the processed food out of your fridge!  You're getting stronger now.  You have a little more muscle mass which boosts your basal metabolic rate (how many calories you burn while sitting/sleeping).  

Now you're running downhill.

Losing weight is hard, small things add up and we here at Train are here to help.  Just imagine what you can accomplish with our help.

Keep it moving.

Life is a contactSport

(Click on hyperlinks for more in depth videos/blogs)

Life is a contact sport.  Day in, day out your body takes a beating.
Your muscles.  Your bones.  Your ego.  The whole shebang.
Today we're gonna focus on joints.
And on something called arthrokinetic dysfunction.  (Yes I looked up how to spell that before moving on.)
Arthrokinetic dysfunction is a ten cent phrase I throw out there when I'm wearing my glasses and want to sound smart.
It is also an important concept that you should know a little bit about so you can impress  your chiropractor next visit, or Wow your friends at your next get together.  

I'm actually serious.  Stay tuned.  I'm gonna show you some magic.

What does Arthrowhateverconjunction even mean?  Here's the easy way of describing it:

Jammed joints= global weakness/inflexibility.

You have 360 joints in your body.  They are constantly getting jammed.  By gravity, by activity, by mistake.  Now If those joints get jammed your body slows you down and makes you less flexible.  Why?  Because your body is designed for the sole purpose of keeping you alive, and when a joint is jammed the body freaks out and slows you down so you don't do anything stupid and get hurt.

And now for the magic trick.  That wasn't bullshit.  Sit back be amazed, click HERE as I illustrate the concept of jammed joints with Surgeon extraordinaire Pete Weber.

And scene.  A round of applause for my lovely assistant Pete.  

Ha!  I've rewatched this a few times and can't get over how utterly surprised Pete is at the end.  Definitely worth a couple rewatches. 

So do you think you may have some jammed joints in your body?  Here are a few of my favorite joint drills to create:
Hip mobility
Hamstring flexibility
Spinal length

Cool stuff huh?  This is part of the fun of working with a Trainer. We all know a little magic.  I've seen all the Trainers here at Train pull a rabbit out of their hat to help clients.  It's the best part of the job.  You should train with us!  Click the button below, tell us about yourself, and then be amazed as we find new and magical ways to improve your strength and flexibility.

This May we make getting in shape easier.

5 X's easier.

May is approaching.  And being that May is the 5th Month of the year it seems the appropriate time to roll out one of my greatest fitness creations.  This is a workout I created by accident.  I misread a chapter in a book by a guy named Pavel.  He's a Russian kettlebell master who can do splits.  He seems like a good guy and that just goes to prove my long held theory that not all Russians are evil.

Russians who ARE in fact evil: Ivan Drago, Joseph Stalin, Rasputin, Yakov Smirnov, Putin.

I thought Pavel wrote 'Do 5 sets with 5 reps of 5 exercises 5 days a week for 5 weeks.'

Never mind what he actually wrote.  I went back, found the page, and apparently my reading comprehension sucks.

So somehow I read 5x5x5x5x5.  5 exercise, 5 sets, 5 reps, 5 days a week, 5 weeks.  So that's what I did.  Here are some additional rules.

- You can do this as your main course workout, or on your days in between your tougher workouts.  I.E. if you're working with your trainer Monday and Thursday you can throw this one in on Tues, Weds, Fri.  You got your 5 days.
-It is a good maintenance workout; or a good beginners workout.  If you're reasonably fit you'll get strong/stay strong, but you're not gonna drop 30 lbs or bulk up.  It's about getting something done, and getting it done quickly.  Time is money, am I right?
- It's supposed to be somewhat easy.  The ask of the 5 is so low that even when it's 10 pm Friday night, and your wife/husband is screaming at you, and your kids are going nuts, you can still get it done.
- You're performing 25 reps, and again, the point of this workout is convenience.  If you want to do all 25 in one set then be my guest.  You'll save time and add in a cardio aspect.
- When programming your 5 you want to consider equipment you have access to during the week.  If one of the 5 is a chin up you're committing to installing a chin up bar in home or in the office.
- It doesn't have to be 5 consecutive days. 
- When programming your 5 you want to include all of the functional movements, of which there are 7.  

What's that?  Smoke coming from your ears?

Don't worry.  We can combine some of the 7 movements,  The 7 moves are:
-Push
-Pull
-Squat
-Hinge
-Lunge
-Rotate
-Gait
-Dasher
-Dancer
-Prancer

Hey!  That was 10!  And three of them are flying reindeer.  
I'm making sure you're not falling asleep and creating your own amazing workout by accident.  That happens I'm out of a job.

Where were we?  Combining foundational movements.  Yes.  Gait is walking.  Chances are you'll do that somewhere else in your day.  So we'll just chop that one for time, unless you want to do some farmer carries as one of your 5.  Farmer Carries are suitably evil.

And rotation can be added to almost any of the other 5.  Do a pushup with rotation, or a rotating step back lunge.  

I'll do a sample 5 piece for you right now.  You can do this at home in your living room with minimal equipment.  Ready?  Hyperlinks lead to demos that I worked "hard" on.
Push- Push up (creative I know)
Pull- Band Row
Hinge- Single Leg Deadlift
Squat- I'm gonna go with Air squats here.
Lunge- Step back lunge... with a rotation

Walk to the gym or get your 10k steps and BOOM.  We're home.

You wanna break a sweat?  Do it without stopping.  Just crank it straight through.  You won't die.

Quick aside... My teammates and I used to say things like 'I was doing great and then Diiiiiied in the 4th mile.'  Then I was at a road race and a guy actually did die in the 4th mile.  So I stopped saying that until I wrote the above.   I'm keeping it so I can share this story.

The dead guy made it btw.  The woman running next to him was a nurse.  Lucky SOB.

Seems to simple to work?  Well once upon a time yours truly did the 5 exclusively for 5 weeks.  I lost 2 lbs (from a lean frame) and gained a bit of muscle.  Read all about it HERE.  Complete with semi nude pictures.

Simple works with fitness.
Repetition works.
Showing up 5 days a week works.
This will work.   But...

Will you do the work?

Weight loss advice from someone who recently lost some

(Click highlighted text for more in depth links)

At the start of 2022 I was 216 lbs and 16% body fat.  These were both personal highs.  The kind of record you don't want.  My pants were fitting snug. 

Last week I measured 204 and 9%.

I changed 3 habits.

Disclaimer: Weight loss is personal.  These 3 habits worked for me.  They may work for you, they may not.  One size doesn't fit all and there's more than one way to skin a cat.  Read this, try out what fits, discard what doesn't.  Your friends at Train are here to help.

Change # 1: Massive amounts of cocaine and pills.

That disclaimer was boring.  Just making sure you're having fun.  Let's try again.

Change # 1: Intermittent fasting (IF).  I read about this, watched a few videos on YouTube and decided to give it a go.  I restrict eating to bw noon and 8 pm.  I do allow myself coffee and water in the am.  Sometimes a scoop of Peanut Butter as well.

IF is calorie restriction.  It's cutting out boredom eating.  It's stopping eating early enough that eating doesn't affect bed time.

I thought that at 11:59 every day I would desperately watch the second hand on the clock, waiting ravenously for the moment I could eat.  Not so.  Turns out I like feeling fasted in the morning.  It makes me sharper mentally and physically.  Restricting like this wasn't hard but...

Initially- I lost no weight.  Why?  Because I committed to the smallest possible change.  I restricted the eating window but I learned that wasn't enough.  Time to step it up a notch.

Bring on Change #2: I cut out processed sugar.

Now there's no way you can cut all of it out.  Sugar is everywhere.  I successfully cut out the processed foods that are LOADED with it and didn't sweat the small stuff.  For example I mentioned eating a scoop of peanut butter above.  That has a gram of sugar in it.  Turns out 5-7 scoops of peanut butter per week aren't enough to crush my dream of becoming an underwear modeling at 43.

Some things I want to share about cutting processed sugar.
- Berardi's law: if you are in possession of an unhealthy food you or someone you love will consume that food.  Purge your pantry before you start.  
- You don't crave sugar after day 3.
- Your taste buds change.  You notice subtle tastes.  Fruit and slasa are more amazing than ever.
- I allow myself slip ups and even the occasional treat. 
- It's not as hard as you think.
- When you do have a sugary treat you KNOW IT because you feel like sh********t.

(*= i in case you couldn't tell.  The extra*'s are for effect, so you know how shiiiiiiiiitty I felt.  Big headache and a major energy crash.)

This has always been an effective weight loss method for me.  Here are the blogs from when I cut it for:
-30 days in 2016
-40 days in 2018
I went further than ever before.  3 whole months with almost zero processed sugar.  Now the scale began to move.  Let's let the numbers tell the story:

1/1: 216 @ 16%.  
3/28: 204 @ 9%.  
My Actual body fat total went from 34 lbs to 18.4.  

I gained 4 lbs of muscle during the 3 months.  I had not been working out consistently at the end of 2021 because 1- I was injured (knee and shoulder issues) and 2- I was building out the beautiful studio you all want to come train with me in.  I also made excuses, skipped work outs, ate comfort foods and told myself that on January 1st I was going to change.

Change #3: I decided to LOVE my body.  
It's well documented that women compare themselves to unattainable ideals in fashion magazines.  Turns out plenty of men do as well.  I was always comparing my body to professional athletes, or models, or who I used to be.  99% of the thoughts concerning my bod were negative.
Thoughts become things.  If your thoughts are consistently negative it will show up in your body.
So I started to thank my body.
For being fast.
For when I looked and felt good.
For it's strength, flexibility and resilience.
And the body responded.

And most importantly I thanked it by feeding it well.  

Results came slowly until they didn't.

It all started January 1st.  I'm a resolutionary.  A cliche.  I'm kind of embarrassed, but hey, Whatchagonnado? 

And I'm telling you the truth:  It feels so good.  I'm more energetic, my sleep is better, food tastes better, and I recover quickly from workouts.

Early in my career I suffered from a bit of impostor syndrome.  I knew how to lift, I knew the basics on diet but I never had a chance to put what I knew to the ultimate test.  Now I have.  Again.  I've lost weight by
- cutting sugar (10+ lbs)
- fasting (12+)
- following the 5 simple habits I outlined in a recent newsletter. (10+)
- running 70+ miles a week. (10+)
- getting mono (5+)
- cutting my hair (5 oz)
- Taking a dump (2-3 lbs)

I've walked the walk.
And so have the Trainers we work with at Train.  I've seen my peers lose baby weight, Dad bods and get lean for physique shows or summer fun.

So if you're reading this, and you're thinking about hiring a coach or a trainer I know a Guy (or Gal) who's been in your shoes.  I can make the introduction.