Why I went 60 hours without food

 

Yep.  It sounds a little crazy I know.  That is exactly what I thought when I first heard of my friends doing a 60 hour fast.  Well, thankfully I am not above a little crazy so I started some research.  

Let me begin by saying that there is more than just water involved.  I also added in a supplement for body and brain fuel so no starvation going on here, get that out of your brain and cal down for a minute!  Let's start off with the Why

Purpose: To Detoxify, Repair, Regenerate and Reset our body both physically and psychologically. + Mental Clarity, Acuity and Accomplishment + Starve the micro-biomes of sugar + Brain Metabolism Adaptation (The Sugar Shift) + Increase Growth Hormone Levels + Detox...The worse you’ve been, the worse it will be. Toxins will be removed via skin, breath, bowels.

Now, I'm not necessarily looking to lose weight here, I don't need to.  What I do need is a shift in my body, over the past 2-3 years while my weight has remained virtually the same, my % body fat had increased from 16-18% on up to 25-26%  I work in the fitness industry, I'm not sedentary, and I didn't like where this was heading.  I am a hard gainer meaning it takes a LOT of work for me to build muscle so I knew I was going to have to make a conscious effort to stop this trend.  I have always followed a higher fat diet because that is the science that I align myself with and I'm wanting to follow more of a ketogenic diet as I come out of this.  Enter the 60 Hour Water Fast & Ketone Cleanse!

I'm not going to go into full detail & run folks off from boredom, I'll just say that I trusted the research that I read and I made the decision that felt right for me, telling myself that I would stop without judgment if something didn't feel right.  A nurse friend of mine joined me and we agreed to be accountability partners (this became SO important)  There is also a FB support group we joined (I can add you!) and we embarked.  

We started a bit earlier than the group due to work and travel plans so at 9:00pm on a Thursday night we stopped ingesting any protein, carbs, or fats and started our clocks.  My goal was no less than 100 oz. of water each day of the fast (I struggle with water intake and want to hit 50 oz. daily but like most people I often fall short).  I went to bed with a large bottle of water and slept like a baby.  Following is my recap of the next 60 hours.

Hours 0-9.5 Get ready for bed and sleep, that was easy!  I actually have slept so very well since starting with this supplement, it has been one of my favorite benefits that I've experienced (Once I decided to stop resisting waking up at 6:30 am!)

Hours 9.5-17.5 Friday morning, Up and ready for work, I had my morning packet of Max (caffeinated) and life was grand! Now a little intermittent fasting is nothing new for me, I don't like to eat early in the mornings so no big change here.  This was a bit of a busy day at work with a few back to back meetings and 2 practice workouts.  During this phase of the fast guidelines are to get in a good workout so that you burn through your glucose and glycogen stores so we wanted to 'spend' lots of energy today. ✔

Hours 17.5-22  Friday afternoon, I ran from one thing to the next (a bad habit of mine!) and while I did keep my water bottle full I did not have my mid-day supplement pack.  I felt it, and reached out to my friend who pointed out to me that duh...my sugar appeared to have dropped! I shook up a drink and immediately felt better this turned out to be the first and only time I wondered if I would need to stop.  No hunger pains, no cravings and water intake is going well! Finished the workday and went home, the hubby is out fishing so no worry about dinner...not yet!

Hours 22-26 I wanted to go to an essential oils class tonight because my accountability partner uses lemon essential oil in her water and I wanted to learn more about this so I go to a friend's house for the evening. It was so nice, there were beautiful looking and delicious smelling snacks, fruits, salad, and even some ketogenic diet friendly foods since her mom follows a ketoogenic diet! I thoroughly enjoyed looking at and smelling the foods but was not compelled to cheat or break the fast at all.  I brought a non-caffeinated Max with me and was fully satisfied. I also got to enjoy some amazing company and laughed more than I have laughed in ages!  I have some awesome friends!

Hours 26-34 Home to sleep again, this passes time wonderfully.  I did break the 100 oz. mark yesterday and yes, I did go to the bathroom a lot, no GI distress though!  Slept well as usual and got up this morning to go teach Boga, a floating fitness workout that we offer at our outdoor pool.  I fixed my water bottle with lots of ice and shook up my caffeinated Max and headed off to work (Hubby left before me for more fishing so no breakfast duty either!)

Hours 34-38 Taught two classes back to back, showered, made a round around the facility and headed home... I'm still feeling great, no grumbling tummy, no fatigue, no weakness! Today the shift from sugar metabolism to fat metabolism should kick in, I'm making regular check ins with my friend and she is right there with me, she may have had it worse though, she went to a BBQ last night and didn't even cave! I'm telling y'all the cravings aren't there!

Hours 38-43 The time I fear the most...being at home with nothing to do.  I knew it before going into this but I tell you what I really know it now.  I am a snacker, I eat out of boredom and I will eat anything...I will also eat the whole package so I don't have to worry about eating it later - especially if it is less than healthy because I won't want to keep that unhealthy stuff around, you know!  I'm feeling good and the yard needs some work so I set out to mow and weed-eat. Yep. In the Texas heat.  It was the s-l-o-w-e-s-t yard work I have ever done! But it kept me busy and trust me I took so many rest, water, and cool down breaks I also popped a few rocks of Himalayan Sea salt throughout the day to keep electrolytes balanced. This is a cool article on salt too:It's Not Salt's Fault  So anyway, I drank my mid-day Max and other than snooping obsessively in the cabinets and fridge for a snack that I knew I wasn't going to eat, another good day!  Now, about this snooping - this was not out of hunger, it was out of habit, note to self.

Hours 43-49 The evening.  Hubby is home and loves to cook so he took care of his own dinner at this point I'm pretty glad for that.  I continued distracting myself, had my evening Max and made another mistake. I got on Pinterest. 😮 I knew what I was doing too! I just wanted to innocently look at some good ketogenic recipes and start planning a grocery trip! Planning my breakfast, dreaming of food and delicious things!  It was only mildly tortuous 😏 But then I drifted off to sleep and all was well.  Still no hunger pains, still no GI distress, no headaches, etc.  This does make me feel good about where I started from, had I not started making some healthy changes beforehand this could have been a bit more ugly!

Hours 49-58 I went to bed with my breakfast all planned out, visions of eggs dancing in my head!  You're going to get tired of hearing this but I slept like a baby again.  I don't get up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, I just sleep.  Until 6:30 and then I wake up, it never fails.  I didn't want to wake up at 6:30 today though, I wasn't having breakfast until 9!  So I made myself lay there tossing and turning for a little longer.  I didn't get up and get another bottle of water like I should have and a headache started to creep in, I knew why.

Hours 58-60 About 8 am I forced myself up to get a bottle of water, goodbye headache. Hello stove!  at 8:30 am I started pulling out my breakfast supplies and getting so excited!  I whipped up some eggs, avocado, bone broth, and...bacon.  The bacon was a bad idea, it wasn't part of the plan and I see why! It sure tasted good though!

First Meal Post Fast

Post Fast Day 1: After breakfast I went to church, now today calls for breakfast only and a small snack or so I'm still having my Max regularly and still aiming for 100 oz. of water for the day.  So, about that bacon - I did not feel good and I could tell it was bacon related, a little queasy and a little headache but nothing ridiculous so I'm hanging in there.  This evening we have a dinner at church, fries chicken, potato salad, and tables full of desserts!  Now my snacks should have been small bits of fruit but I broke guidelines and had a bit of salad and a nibble of chicken (meat only) instead! Felt okay about it and stuck with no dairy, sugar, etc.

Post Fast Day 2: Never. Have. I. CRAVED CARBS like I have today. Never! Without willpower and time invested I could have devoured a buffet of pasta, bread, pastries, cakes, cookies, you name it! Today was a mild struggle but I just had to remind myself that these were the very things that had gotten out of control in my diet and this was exactly why I needed this reset. Power through, complain a little, and en the end I'm proud of the progress.

Post Fast Day 3: Carb cravings are gone, water intake is easier and easier each day and I'm consistently hitting my 50 oz. goal with no trouble and a completely normal number of restroom breaks! I've not had sugar cravings and I've just been slowly adding in new foods, monitoring how my body feels as I add them and making a decision from there on keeping the foods or not.  I'm happy with my progress so far, I'm on vacation right now and don't have the urge to splurge (I am considering a sno cone later today though) and Monday mom and I will be headed to Trader Joe's and JR (the hubby, fisherman extraordinaire) will embark on the ketogenic diet! Pinterest here I come!!

I'll update again later on with my progress! Oh, and speaking of progress - while you don't weight during the fast, I an conscious about not losing weight so I utilize a tool at work called an InBody to track changes in my body composition.  In the past month my weight has virtually remained the same, only my usual fluctuations of 1-2 pounds. In the time I've been supplementing with Keto//OS my body fat has been dropping, from its highest point at 26% to my post-fast 21% and not only have I maintained muscle mass but I've gained muscle along the way.  I couldn't be happier -- imagine the update as I implement a new workout routine and begin to focus a bit more on myself and my health!

If you want to try a fast of your own, or even just add in the daily supplement it is so easy and so good, just Email me, Facebook Me, or just Place an Order!

Beginner's Top Ten Guidelines to Building Strength

Strong muscles are important to your health and well-being; without them, daily activities such as carrying groceries and climbing stairs can become quite a task! Lower back pain and injuries also become more likely to occur when we don’t have the support of a strong muscular system. Healthy muscle mass does many things for our bodies including burning extra calories, so those with fit muscles have an easier time maintaining a trim figure. There are many great reasons to incorporate strength training into your fitness program but sometimes it is hard to know where to begin. Let’s talk about the top ten beginner’s guidelines to building strength.


10. Keep it Safe Speak with a doctor before you begin an exercise program, you want to focus on activities that are safe for you. Start your program slowly and gradually increase your intensity as you feel ready.

9. Schedule Your Time You can complete an effective workout in as little as 30 minutes! With

8. Find a Tempo Keep a steady pace and avoid moving with any momentum. Much of your strength is build in the negative portion of the movement where your muscle resists lowering the weight. Try lifting for a count of two and lowering for a count of four.

7. Maintain Good Posture Proper alignment is a foundational component of any program. Always keep a soft bend in the knees and shoulders rolled gently back. Maintain a natural curve through the lower back to avoid excess compression in the lower spine.

6. Warm Up First Begin your routine with a brisk walk or 5-7 minutes on a cardio machine to get your blood flowing and warm up the muscles. Save your stretching until after your workout.

5. Stop if it Hurts Remember your S’s - Sharp, Shooting, or Stabbing pains mean Stop! Learn the difference between pain and sensation, it is natural to feel the burn of a working muscle but a sudden, intense pain is a sure sign to stop and evaluate.

4. Quality over Quantity Never sacrifice your form for one more rep. If you have worked to the point of exhaustion, that is a good time to stop, rest, and repeat if needed. There is no magic number so pushing through bad form for the sake of finishing your 15th rep is not worth a potential injury!

3. Enjoy Variety Mix it up, if you find that you have been dong the same routine three times a week for the last eight months, it is time to mix it up. This goes for those in group classes as well, don’t be afraid to try something new! Making a change in your routine is also an excellent way to get past a plateau.

2. Ask for Help If you are uncertain about what to do, you haven’t been able to be consistent or stay committed, or you are just plain lost don’t be afraid to ask for help. Speak to a gym attendant or a class instructor about your concerns or set up a consultation with a personal trainer. The initial session is generally free and you can get some great direction even from just a few quick sessions.

1. Have Fun! If you don’t look forward to your routine then you need to make a change. There are so many options available when it comes to working out sometimes you have to be adventurous to find what you truly enjoy.


Be creative, beginning an exercise routine takes commitment and determination, but it is never too late to start. The benefits you will find are well worth the efforts, not to mention the camaraderie that you can find and the knowledge that you can gain about yourself and the beautiful machine that is your body.

Just...

At a meeting this week we went around our circle and introduced ourselves, shared a little bit and said what our committee placement was.  On my turn I gave my name, I am a newlywed, a personal trainer and I am on This committee, I'm just a writer.  Our mentor chimed in from the other room "Never say just!" Of course at the time I didn't realize I had said it which led me to wonder (very) briefly about why it had come out that way.  Oh well, life moves on.
Fast forward a couple of days and today I am thinking to myself how blessed I am to have a laid back job that I truly enjoy.  And I do I really love helping people, teaching people, and seeing them catch on and make great changes in their lives.  On the other hand it got me thinking and got me really down.  I am great at what I do, I work great with people, I know how to talk to people, how to share information.  If it has to do with health, wellness, fitness, or marketing I can do it and I can do it better than most.  A big part of why I am successful is that I am a people person, a genuine, honest, old fashioned people person.
So why did I get so down?  That word came back to me, "Just" I am just a trainer.  I am just a writer.  It clicked as soon as that word popped back into my head.  I want to be more!  Sneaking that little word in was not me belittling myself or what I do at all.  It was me letting it be known that I am not satisfied.  Right now I am just a writer but next year I plan to be more.  Right now I am a trainer, I don't foresee myself moving up the ladder in my facility.  Why, I am not really sure.  I haven't given up hope but I've accepted it as fact and moved on.  But I do know that I still want more.  My mother-in-law says that if God has given the gift of a talent and you don't put it to good use then it makes Him sad!  I believe it, it makes me sad too when I look back and I just flat out do not feel like I am reaching my potential.
Now, I'm not one to sit around and be sad about something for too long, I want to make a change! There was a time when I would decide that I needed to just find a new job or another place to volunteer.  I have thankfully learned that when I am spread out all over the place that I am not very efficient in anything and I become quite exhausted!  Instead I can now look at what I have and how can I change myself any my thinking to make what I have into what I need.  (Thank you yoga! Instead of entering panic and run mode, I was able to breathe and think rationally!)  So now it's Friday and I'm at work with a positive outlook.  I've brainstormed a few things that I can do at the gym to be able to reach out to people, talked with one supervisor about teaching a few more classes and another about building up some small groups (I love working with groups!) and even another about some speaking opportunities.  All three ways for me to be able to share my knowledge with others!  But the best part of the morning was speaking with a new member - I spent about an hour with a lady answering questions, sharing my personal theories on how we should work with our bodies, and being present with her needs.  As we ended our conversation she told me that I had "been a blessing to her this morning."  I almost wanted to cry again, that is just what I was needing to hear!  I do make a difference every day!
I am on the way, I still have some ground to cover so I have committed to myself not to be satisfied with the baseline.  I want to be able to put my big ol' heart into whatever it is that I may be doing, to be fully present with all of my efforts not just a few.  I will not let fear hold me back from building my business and I will accomplish what I set my mind to because anything that I do is worth my full attention, and when I give my all I have a feeling that little word... just will no longer be slipping out of my mouth.  As I change myself I can change the world!

7 Tips for Making the Most of Your Training

7 Tips for Making the Most of Your Training

If you’re spending your time and money on personal training, you deserve to get great results. As your trainers we are here to guide you, teach you, and motivate you but you have to be the one to put forth the effort. Remember, showing up for a workout is not the same as working out.

1.     Drink Water.  This is the single most important thing you can do for your body.  No less than 8 cups (4 bottles) a day, no excuses.  Use natural water infusions but try to stay away from additives and artificial sweeteners.  Did I mention that there are no excuses?

2.     Show up on time. Every minute you’re late takes away time you have scheduled and can throw off your workout plan.  Life happens and we all run late on occasion but if you are arriving 10 minutes early for your warm up this should not be an issue.  If you need to cancel a session a 12 hour notice is expected.

3.     Clean up your eating. No amount of working out can override a less than ideal diet. Incorporate more whole, natural foods, and limit eating out.  Your trainer can spot a bad diet in your measurements so be truthful about what you eat, end of story.  If you feel that you need to hide the fact that you are eating something then you shouldn’t be eating it. Turn in your weekly logs or you may be removed from the following week’s schedule.

4.     Don’t be negative. Your trainer will have a hard time managing your program and results if you claim to be exercising more or eating better than you really are. Be honest and open about what you’re willing to do; then let your trainer be honest and open about the results you can expect.  Remove the word “can’t” from your vocabulary, there is always a modification.

5.     Set clear goals.  You trainer cannot set goals for you, they can guide you in the right direction, educate you on healthy goals, but ultimately you have to want it.  Use the acronym SMART for your goal setting and handwrite all goals in your log or journal.

6.     Come into the gym on your own.  Show your trainer that you are making an effort and not relying solely on them to do the thinking for you.  Your training program is a partnership and if you are here to make a change and become more healthy and fit then show it!  Enthusiasm breeds success.

7.     Be well rested. Your fitness recovery and progress, as well as your available energy for workouts hinge on adequate sleep. Showing up exhausted drastically limits the potential of your sessions and increases risk of injury.

Moving Toward Balance

There is always something.

If I had __(a)____ then I could do __(b)____, or I would be a better _(c)____.  How many times have you obtained (a) only to find yourself not doing (b) or being (c)?  At the risk of sounding like an algebra equation, think about it.  As long as we are yearning for something out of our reach we will always have an excuse not to be our best self right now, at this very moment.

So I challenge you to stop for 3 minutes and think about something that you have really been wanting to do but keep putting it on the back burner.  Start small, something you can do today or this week and then DO IT! Make a phone call to a friend, read a book, try out that new recipe you have been eyeing on Pinterest.  In fact, leave a comment if you are willing to share on what you plan to do.



Find out how good it feels to accomplish something that you have been putting off, you're going to want to do it again and again! 
It is so easy, talk about instant gratification!  Notice however, as you start experiencing these mini moments of glory how you begin to glide through your To-Do lists, you feel more confident, you doubt yourself less, and it is easier for you to follow through with plans.


So how does this relate to balance?
Once you stop daydreaming about what you wish you could maybe be doing and start making decisions, commitments to yourself, your family, and your happiness become second nature.  You have created a flow within your life, you spend less time worrying about what might be or what could be and you're actually out there, living in the moment - one small step at a time.

I'm pretty sure that Devo summed it up the best

 "Shape it up! Get straight! Go forward! Move ahead!"