I have an amazing pancake recipe for you all. Grain free, dairy free and no added sugar. Just 4 simple ingredients and they taste out of this world!

They are super easy to make though if you’re making a large stack, they can be a little time consuming but I assure you they are totally worth the effort!

Banana & Coconut Pancakes

Makes 7-8 pancakes

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas
3 large eggs (I like Omega 3 eggs)
4 tbsp unsweetened coconut
Coconut Oil

Chop the bananas into chunks and add to a food processor. Break in the eggs and whizz until the banana has blended with the eggs. Add in the coconut and blend until the mixture forms a thick batter consistency.

Heat a frying pan over a low heat and add in 1tsp coconut oil…

Once melted, pour in a small amount of batter…

Cook over a low heat until the bottom has firmed. Carefully flip the pancake and cook the other side…

You will need to add a little more coconut oil to the pan before cooking each pancake.  Once cooked, keep warm in the oven until all other pancakes are cooked.

We ate them plain as they are delicious as they are and we are dairy & sugar free. However, you could add some toppings such as maple syrup, greek yoghurt with berries & chopped nuts, chocolate spread, almond butter & sliced banana – the possibilities are endless!

If you decide to make them, give me a shout and let me know how they turn out.  Happy eating!

©2012 JAG's Fitness Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Earlier this week, my boyfriend and I had a craving. A beer and pizza kinda craving.  As you all know, I’ve been wheat/gluten free since March 13th this year and though I’ve indulged in non-gluten grains a couple of times, I’ve been pretty strict with the whole grain elimination.  My boyfriend suffers with Crohn’s disease and has been wheat/gluten free for over 18 months. Out of all the medical advice and medication, eliminating gluten grains has been the only thing to keep my boyfriend free of flare ups in the last 18 months.

However, this craving was strong and we decided to go with it, indulge in what we craved and then get back on track with our regular diet.

We enjoyed pizza, dough balls, banoffee pie and a couple of beers. We both thoroughly enjoyed it and there was no guilt whatsoever.

The next day, we were out enjoying the sunshine and we both craved a full English breakfast.  As we both practice intermittent fasting, breakfast became a thing of the past a long time ago but our little taste of normality the evening before felt kinda nice and we decided to go with it. We found a lovely little cafe in the Marina and sat outside in the glorious sunshine…

Typically, a full English would be a safe option as long as you steer clear of the sausages (they contain gluten) and the toast that accompanies the meal.  However, on this occasion we enjoyed both.

I’m not going to lie, I bloody enjoyed eating pizza and sausages and drinking beer. I’m not enjoying the after effects though.

First came the bloat…

The first picture (a gratuitous picture sent to my boyfriend to show him what I was wearing to cut my grass!) was taken 5 days before the second. The comparison is purely to show that I haven’t secretly become a heffer and am blaming the wheat ;)

The second side effect I noticed is the most INTENSE wheat cravings. I’m not kidding. You guys know how strong my willpower can be, how I don’t really struggle with compliance and how much better I’ve felt in myself since eliminating wheat and gluten grains.  However, despite bloating me and making me feel tired, drained and lethargic, I still wanted more.

This is a side effect of wheat and is why your body goes through withdrawal type symptoms when it is deprived, such as irritability, shakiness, intense cravings, light headedness, etc.  It has an opiate type effect on our brain chemistry and produces those kind of side effects when it’s eliminated.

I’ve craved bread, cakes, biscuits – you name it, I wanted it.  I’ve struggled to keep those cravings at bay and have given in a couple of times.  What harm can a few wheaty products do right?

My entire mouth is sore, inflamed and ulcerated.
My throat is swollen and sore.
My joints are painful even though I’m not exercising.
My head is fuzzy and aching constantly.
My IBS has flared back up with stomach cramps, diarrhoea and bloating.
I’m so tired and lethargic in the afternoon that I have needed to take a nap in the afternoon for the previous 3 days.

These are all problems I suffered with on a regular basis before eliminating wheat and within a week of re-introducing it, the problems have all flared back up.

Today is the first day that I’ve not consumed wheat and even now, as I type this, I’m craving it. It’s so difficult to not give in but I really can’t stand feeling like shit any longer and there is no way I’m giving in, as much as I might want to.

You’re probably wondering why I’m sharing this with you but I felt like you deserve to know. You’ve followed my paleo/primal journey from day one and I wanted you to know that I’m not infallible and that I do slip up occasionally.

But, the most important reason for sharing this with you is to show you just how much my health is suffering at the moment, after re-introducing wheat for a mere 4 days.

Death warmed up does not even come close!

©2012 JAG's Fitness Blog. All Rights Reserved.

I love lower body training day. It’s my favourite, especially when I get to train fasted. I’m always so strong and powerful when I train fasted, I often day dream about how awesome it would be to afford to give up work and spend my time training and building a super hot bod!  But until my beloved wins the lottery, that’s not gonna happen :’(

I was a little bit apprehensive about training today. I should have trained yesterday but didn’t feel up to it due to a visit from Aunt Flo. Yesterday was spent on the couch reading, watching movies and snuggling up in my blanket.   A terrible night of sleep had me waking after just 5 hours and feeling shockingly bad. However, once I’d drank several glasses of water and some green tea I felt more like myself and decided to just go for it. The 20 minute walk to the gym is something I really enjoy now, it gives me chance to think about my training, listen to my music and prepare myself mentally for the challenge ahead.   As I rounded the corner to the gym, my adrenaline started pumping and I decided what the hell, I’m gonna go all out today and get me a new PB.  And I did :-D

I started off with front squats. Since I got my new PB of 75kg at back squats, I’ve been alternating every session between front and back squats. As my working weight for fronts is now 55kg and my working weight for back squats is 65kg, I’m catching up pretty damn quick!

FRONT SQUATS

20kg x5
40kg x5
50kg x3
55kg x6
55kg x6
55kg x4

An increase of 5kg on my front squats. Really happy with that and my legs felt strong on the first 2 sets. I’m thinking maybe I didn’t leave enough rest time in between 2nd and 3rd set as I only managed 4 reps. Will aim for 6 next time.

DEADLIFTS

60kg x5
70kg x5
80kg x5
80kg x5
80kg x5
90kg x3
100kg x3
105kg x1 (PB)

Super happy with my new PB!  I won’t lie, it was hard. It was fucking hard! But I loved every second of it :D  I don’t see it going up any time soon, I’m gonna stick with that for a while and focus some attention on my squats now.  Grip is getting stronger and the chalk is really doing the trick. No need for straps just yet, not that I would use them anyway!

LEG PRESS (FEET PLACED HIGH) – 120KG

1×8
1×7
1×6

I increased this last time from 110kg to 115kg and matched the same reps and have increased up to 120kg today and still matched the same reps. Think I will be going up to 125kg next week.

LYING LEG CURL – 20KG

1×8
1×6

I really loathe the lying leg curl machine AND the standing leg curl machine at my gym. They just don’t feel right, especially the lying leg curl.  I find the start position is unnaturally low and makes it awkward getting a full curl.  I have noticed my gym now has a GHR bench though so I think I’m gonna be a masochist and include some GHR’s in my workout regime – torture!

CALF PRESS (ON LEG PRESS) 75KG

2X12
1X10

An increase of 5kg again. Still matching the same reps as last time so this will go up again next week to 80kg. Thank you stiletto heels for my stupidly strong calves!

SEATED CALF RAISE – 20KG

2×12

This machine has been out of order the last few weeks so I was really happy to see it back in use again today!

All in all, a killer workout and I can feel the DOMS starting to develop in my ass already. And I bloody love it! To celebrate my new PB, I created some grain free pancakes…

To be honest, they weren’t the best. I just don’t like the taste/consistency of coconut flour so I am going to recreate them with almond flour instead.

Here is the recipe anyway…

COCONUT & BLUEBERRY PANCAKES – Serves 1

4 eggs
4 tbsp coconut oil (or melted butter)
4 tbsp coconut milk
1 tsp sugar/maple syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 tbsp coconut flour
1/4 tsp gluten free baking powder

Blend eggs, oil, milk, vanilla, sugar and salt.  Sieve in the coconut flour and add the baking powder and mix until combined.  Heat 1tsp coconut oil in a pan and drop in a spoon of the batter mixture.  Cook over a low-medium heat until ready to flip over, cook underside for a few minutes.  Keep warm under a grill until other pancakes are cooked.

Top with your choice of topping.  I made some cream cheese frosting and covered with sliced strawberries.

I’m off now to enjoy my DOMS, drink some green tea and watch some trash on TV. Enjoy your evening folks!

©2012 JAG's Fitness Blog. All Rights Reserved.

and I’m loving it!  It’s been just over a month and I’m still the only female training there during the day but I kinda like that. It’s fun seeing guys do a double take when they see me at the squat rack lifting heavier than they probably could.  I was doing deadlifts at the weekend and there were a small group of guys watching me from across the gym.  As I loaded the bar to go for the 100kg I heard one of them say “christ, she’s going for 100!” It made me chuckle to myself.  My hands proved how hard I worked that day…

and my legs bore the bruises…

It’s also (on 13th) 5 months since I changed the way I eat. Wow, I can’t believe it. Almost half a year. And to think I was only going to do this for 2 weeks! It’s still the best decision I ever made. Since my boyfriend’s birthday weekend, I’ve been completely grain/legume free again with the occasional bit of dairy and my body has got back to it’s normal self, the IBS has cleared up and I’m back to feeling amazing.  I definitely won’t be doing that to myself again – ever!

I won’t be taking progress pictures this month, simply for the fact that I want to wait now until the end of September which marks the end of my cutting phase.  As the changes are getting smaller (but are still noticeable – the boyfriend had the pleasure of seeing a new picture yesterday and said I’m still leaning out and that he is still seeing changes – woohoo!) I want to leave a little more time in between pictures. I may take some just for my own records, then I will have tracked throughout the whole of the 6 months,  but I won’t be sharing them.

Time is passing so quickly and pretty soon it will be time for my first ever bulk. I’m massively looking forward to this, not only because I want to see my strength progress but it means I get to EAT! Though, I have to admit, my calorie intake has been through the roof of late, my calories have been way exceeding the 1700-ish I should be sticking to and a couple of days last week I consumed between 2500-3100 calories – oops!  I’m really knuckling down though for the last 6 weeks – pre-planning food so that I’m not over eating and the treats are going to be kept to a minimum – a grain free carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and maybe a little ice cream when I see my boyfriend – but nothing else.  I want maximum results in the last 6 weeks so that I can go ahead and bulk without being unsatisfied with how I look.

I’ll leave you with a few pictures.  First of all, a facial comparison from March/August…

Though the angle is different, you can see the jawline/chin is more defined and my hamster cheeks have kindly fucked off ;)

A comparison picture of my legs…

March/May/July.  What a difference huh? I didn’t actually lose that much scale weight between May/July but the shape of my legs has changed completely. I remember being really happy back in May to see how my legs looked yet now I think they look pretty chunky!

And finally, a bicep pic. Just because :D

Starting to look leaner and more pumped. Hurrah! Oh, and excuse the crap in the background, it was a laundry day!

Back with a workout update tomorrow.

©2012 JAG's Fitness Blog. All Rights Reserved.

I’ve been grain free now for over 4 months apart from a few weeks ago when I made a gluten free Victoria sponge, cheesecake and apple crumble for my boyfriend.  And apart from this past weekend.  My better half was celebrating his birthday and I offered to bake him something awesome – he requested a vanilla cheesecake and an apple crumble, gluten free of course.  And naturally, I obliged ;-)  Cooking is something I’ve always loved, creating fabulous meals was a real passion of mine pre-paleo and I miss it sometimes – my paleo meals tend to be very functional and consist of meat, sweet potato and veggies. Simple but delicious.

As it was his birthday, I think we both used it as an excuse to go a bit crackers and indulge in more grain-based products, simply because they were gluten free. We sampled almost the entire range of Mrs Crimbles gluten free baked goods – coconut macaroons, bakewell slices, coconut rings with jam…we also had some gluten free bread for toasting.

Until this weekend that is.  Within a couple of hours of consuming grains, my stomach was cramping.  Two days later and my bowels were sluggish and not working.  My stomach was bloated and painful and I was starting to suffer with nausea.  Four days later and my bowels were still not working properly and I spent a sleepless night in pain, on the verge of vomiting and suffering with horrendous cramps in my stomach.

Hopefully, a 50g dose of coconut oil will remedy that problem and I’ll be feeling more like my old self again.

This has simply confirmed to me that ditching the grains was the right thing for me to do and I won’t be making any exceptions from now on, whether they are gluten free or not – a blanket wide ban on all grains is now in effect!

I’ve been kinda quiet on the blog front lately.  There hasn’t been any particular reason for this though my presence has been missed by a few concerned people who have dropped me emails/private messages – thank you all, you are very sweet :-D  Life is just very awesome right now and I’m out enjoying it rather than spending so much time online.  That’s not to say I’m slacking as I’m not.

I have taken a 2 week break from training due to a week of pretty nasty lady problems and then having to cover shifts at work but I’m still doing my thing.

My last lower body session saw me switching to back squats so I could see what I was capable of lifting.  Front squats are harder than back squats and as a result my weight is lighter than I think I could lift on a back squat.  I decided to put it to the test and was really REALLY pleased to hit a 75kg ASS TO GRASS back squat.  Looks like that 100kg goal isn’t as far away as I thought!

I’ll be back in the gym tomorrow hitting lower body but as it’s my first session in a couple of weeks, I won’t be looking to break any records – I’ll save that for fasted training at the weekend!

I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures…

Considering I’d not hit the upper body for 10 days when this was taken, my upper body is still looking pretty good :-)

And I am massively pleased with how frickin’ amazing my legs are looking at the moment!

I still have my glow going on…

And here is a bike pic – I’m still riding :-)

Finally, I got back from Wales yesterday to an awesome message from someone that reads my blog. She had spotted me out shopping with my boyfriend and had recognised me! I’ve never been spotted before :-D  She was too shy to come and say hello but dropped me a little message telling me “you looked absolutely wonderful – full of health and vitality” – it made my day!

Thank you lovely reader!

©2012 JAG's Fitness Blog. All Rights Reserved.

I hope to cover all of those questions in this post but it there’s something I miss, feel free to hit me up in the comments section at the bottom of this post and ask it there and I’ll be sure to answer.

So, I guess the first and most common sense question to start with is why? Why change my diet, that was already quite restricted by some people’s standards (mostly whole foods, very limited processed/junk foods/sugar/refined carbs/alcohol) and restrict it even further?

I’d been reading about the benefits of the paleo diet for a few weeks and I knew a few buddies that had seen some really positive health changes whilst following that way of eating. Most of all, I wanted a challenge. I’d been going through a tough time and my motivation was low so I needed something to give me a boost – mentally and physically.

My love affair with oats has been very well documented on the blog over the last few years, along with luscious pancake stacks…

I know it sounds mental – why give up something I love so much? Because they didn’t love me back :(

I had gotten used to the sluggish feeling after eating oats/pancakes. I accepted that my stomach ballooned within half an hour of eating and stayed like it the rest of the day. I thought I was destined to follow in my mum’s footsteps with IBS symptoms that often made life crap.

Then I read about grains and the effects they have on the body and I had a light bulb moment! I didn’t have to suffer with the lethargy, sluggishness, bloating and IBS!

I read all I could about Paleo/Primal eating and decided to give it a try – it was a 2 week challenge, anyone can do anything for only 2 weeks right?

As I have never really over consumed carbs, I didn’t suffer as much as many people do with the dreaded low carb flu.  The first 2 days I had a fuzzy head and a little nausea but on the third day it had gone and left in place was abundant energy that has not left me or my body since.

I’ve got a natural glow that has been noticed by many…

and my mood has lifted dramatically although that has no doubt been enhanced by circumstances in my personal life taking a turn for the better!

The biggest things I have noticed since eating paleo/primal and starting intermittent fasting:

No bloating
No lethargy
No mid afternoon slump
Improved mood
More relaxed
A constant “buzzing” supply of energy
No gas
Naturally glowing
Clearer skin
Stronger nails
Shinier hair
Gums not bleeding when I brush my teeth
No upset tummy after consuming dairy
More “regular”
Not sweating as much
Skin is softer (thank you saturated fats!)
Weight loss
Appetite is satiated easier
No bingeing
No stressing or obsessing about food
No longer eating to the clock
Enjoying food more
Eating bigger meals
Strength gains in the gym

A whole list of positive side effects :D  It’s been noticed by those closest to me that I am a lot happier, more relaxed and mellow but that could easily be down to my personal life finally turning around.  However, I’m certain the diet has contributed to that feeling and I don’t get stressed over things that would have me breathing fire in the past.

So, onto what everyone is wanting to know – what, how much and how often do I eat?

When I first switched to paleo I was very creative in the kitchen…

But then after two weeks, I began Intermittent Fasting.  I read about how good IF was if you were looking to shed fat without obsessing over calories/food.  As a previous binge eater, obsessing is something I’ve spent plenty of time doing about food, to the point that I was on the verge of seeking professional help as I didn’t think I would ever overcome it on my own.

If you’ve not heard of Intermittent Fasting (or Intermittent Feeding as it’s also called) I highly recommend reading Martin Berkhan’s guide – it’s an excellent source of information.

I fast for a minimum of 16 hours per day, with most of that time being overnight whilst I’m asleep.  I typically eat my first meal anywhere between 1-4pm.  Most people I’ve come across who practice IF go for the 16/8 split which gives a 16 hour fast with an 8 hour eating window.  However, I am still trying to listen to my body so if I’m not hungry after 16 hours, I don’t eat.  I’ve been known to go for 18, 20 and even a single 24 hour fast without any ill effects.

However! I know for a fact I could not have succeeded with IF prior to switching to a paleo/primal diet as the carb withdrawals would have been horrendous.  I waited until my body was adapted to burning fat for fuel before making that final step as it would have resulted in me getting trembly, shaky, agitated, light headed and sent me to the nearest carb source to inhale – typical addiction withdrawal side effects!

Most of all, IF has liberated me. If I go out for the day, I don’t have to stress about planning what I’m going to eat or freaking out in case my food requirements are not catered for.  I’m not constantly looking at the clock, waiting for the next meal time and I’m not sitting thinking about food and planning what I’m going to eat. Food isn’t controlling me any more and it’s the most amazing feeling.

So how much am I eating?  Well, here is a screen shot from my food diary with the nutritional breakdown since switching to paleo on 13th March…

You’ll see I haven’t completed it every single day – either I forgot or I was away for the weekend having too much of a good time to worry about logging my food :D On the days I didn’t log, it’s safe to assume I was WAY over!

I’m averaging around 1700 calories per day which is where I should be to lose ½lb. By the calculations of my food diary/weight loss site, by consuming that amount over the last 8 weeks, I should have lost a total of 4lb. In reality, I have lost 22½lb.

Since changing to IF, I won’t lie – food has become a lot more functional and I eat because my body wants food.  That’s not to say that I’m not eating delicious food or that I’m not enjoying food because I am – I’m actually loving my food probably more than I ever have.

However, meals tend to consist now of:

Protein – Ribeye/Sirloin steak (including fat), pork loins (including fat), chicken thighs/legs (with skin), lamb steaks (with fat), beef or lamb mince (non lean, fat not drained away), 97% pork (gluten free) sausages, bacon, proper ham, eggs

Vegetables – broccoli, cauliflower, sprouts, green beans, carrots, spinach, mushrooms, lettuce

Carbs – Sweet potatoes, butternut squash, parsnips, swede

Fats – coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, butter, beef dripping, almond butter, coconut butter, pecan butter, macadamia butter, cashew butter

Fruit – Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, clementines, apples

Nuts – almonds, pecans, cashews, macadamias, walnuts

Treats – 85% or 90% dark chocolate, red wine

The above list is what I stick to pretty rigidly.  I only consume fruit post workout and since I started IF and stopped snacking, I rarely eat nuts now though sitting with a spoon in a jar of nut butter is becoming part of my PWO routine :D  Dark chocolate I try and keep to training days only but it’s not always possible – sometimes a girl just needs chocolate yeah? And red wine is a very occasional treat, probably once or twice a month.

There has been a couple of occasions where I’ve consumed a milk chocolate (and suffered for it!) and one weekend not so long ago I indulged in some Ben & Jerry’s which upset my tummy dreadfully.  I’ve not cheated and touched ANY grains at all and I don’t plan to.

A typical day for me would look like:

5.45am – wake

2pm – weight training

4pm – PWO meal (generally epic!)

8-9pm – smaller meal (if needed)

If I’m not training my first meal of the day tends to be between 1-2pm.

The physical progress I’ve made whilst following this plan really does speak for itself…

HOWEVER! And it’s a big however – I had a decent base already built up underneath the flab from weight training over the last 2 years. I have no doubt that this has contributed to my progress being so dramatic.  The average woman with no history of weight lifting probably couldn’t expect to achieve the same or similar results – no doubt she’d just end up skinny fat.

Above all, I’m not recommending this way of eating to anyone.  I believe that EVERYONE is different and just because something works for me, it won’t necessarily work for others.  If you are interested in Paleo/Primal eating or Intermittent Fasting, go and do some research and make up your own mind :)

Finally, some invaluable links that have helped me with my transition:

Mark’s Daily Apple

Leangains

Everyday Paleo

Rob Wolf

If there is a question you wanted answered that I haven’t covered, feel free to ask in the comments section and I will reply :)

©2012 JAG's Fitness Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Hola blog friends, hope you are all having a wonderful day :)

Before I say anything else, I need to correct my last post – it’s actually been 7 weeks since starting paleo, not 6.  So, progress pictures will be taken this coming Sunday – eeeeeeek!  *Prays for a slim day*

I’ve had a few questions lately about what I have been eating, calorie intake, macro split, etc since eating paleo and starting intermittent fasting.  I’m gonna cover all this in a post tomorrow so if you have any questions, leave them at the end of this post.

Today was upper body training – 15 and a half hours into my fast when I started.  Strength still up overall and weight/reps increased on pretty much everything except my chin ups.

BENCH PRESS:

Warm up – 20kg x5, 30kg x5

32.5kg:

2×8
1×7

Reps up on the 2nd and 3rd set – hurrah!  I’m going for 3×8 before I increase to 35kg.

BENT OVER ROW:

Warm up – 30kg x5, 35kg x5

40kg:

2×8
1×6

These felt strong and I could really feel my upper back working. Will stick with this weight for at least another session – if I manage 3×8 next time I will increase to 42.5kg.

INCLINE BENCH PRESS – 27.5KG

1×10
2×6

Really pleased to increase by 2.5kg and reps were pretty high on that first set. Should have really gone for 3×8 as I could have increased next time but I’ll aim for that in my next upper body session and then increase up to 30kg.

CHIN UPS (ASSISTED)

3×8

Hard as hell. Situation normal.

PUSH PRESS – 32.5KG

1×6
2×5

Managed to get an extra rep on that first set but still hella tough – still loving them though :D

All in all a fantastic session! It was done during my break from work as I was working til 6pm so I had to try and not sweat too much ;) I also had to leave my hair loose so that it didn’t look like shite when I went back to work. A bit of a pain considering how breezy it is here at the moment, it was blowing all over the place!

After training I had the most amazingly epic post workout meal – are you ready for this?

500g organic free range chicken thighs/drumsticks with salad
150g blueberries & 125g strawberries with 35g coconut butter (melted and drizzled)
2 clementines
1/3 bar 85% Green & Blacks
The rest of the G&B :D

My appetite is really through the roof at the moment which is always a sign that my metabolism is fired up – hurrah, let’s hope I see more fat melted off this week!

After eating and showering, I returned to work full of energy with no mid-afternoon slump whatsoever. I love that since cutting grains from my diet so many symptoms have disappeared – it’s really been life changing for me :)

I’m off for my final feed now, enjoy the rest of your evening!

©2012 JAG's Fitness Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Aloha my wonderful blog friends, I have neglected my posting of late!  This isn’t anything intentional but I had a spur of the moment trip to Wales to see my awesome friend at the weekend which was absolutely incredible :)

Though there was a lot of indulgence (ice cream – yes, it gave me a dodgy tummy, lots of dark chocolate, my home-made cacao bliss, berries and double cream and red wine!) we busted our asses in the gym, walked along the beach for miles and miles,  also ate a huge double rump steak (16oz) and a wickedly delicious rib eye cooked by moi. So, it all balanced out in the end.  I also, quite unintentionally, did my first 24 hour fast which was surprisingly easy. I was too excited to eat dinner on the Thursday due to my impending trip on Friday and I didn’t get to eat until the next afternoon when I arrived in Wales.  It’s not something I plan to do on a regular basis but have been reading about the benefits of the occasional 24 hour fast so something I might consider every now and then.

The glorious weather we’ve been having lately is having a very positive impact on me too, everything is better when the sun is shining and it makes me smile that little bit brighter…

Today’s training – lower body! I was working late which meant by the time I could get to the gym, it would be peak time. My one and only visit during peak time saw the place filled with posers, all strutting round but not really doing a great deal. As the only female I’ve ever seen training there, I didn’t feel too comfortable about being there alone so I decided to train at home instead.  However, I knew I would have to re-jig my workout to get something out of it as my weights have increased such a lot in the recent weeks.

So, front squats were changed to overhead squats, stiff legged deadlifts were done as single leg deadlifts, lunges were changed to walking lunges and I also added in Bulgarian split squats…

OVERHEAD SQUATS

Warm up – 10kg x6, 15kg x6
Working sets – 20kg 3×8

An awesome full body exercise! They helped me a lot by forcing me to work on my core and keep myself upright. Weight was kept low though as I’ve not done them before.

SINGLE STIFF LEGGED DEADLIFTS – 30KG
1×8+8
2×6+6

These were so difficult and I really felt my lower back working. Balance was a slight issue but I soon go the hang of them. Hamstrings are feeling it already.

WALKING LUNGES – 25kg

3×20

Walked the length of my garden which equalled 20 paces – hella tough and my ass is feeling it now!

BARBELL STEP UPS – 27.5KG

3×20

Was really pleased to see my legs have got stronger! Last time I did step ups was 28th March and I only managed 3×12 – woohooooooooo

BULGARIAN SPLIT SQUATS – 20KG

2×8+8

I don’t normally do these but I threw them in as my quads didn’t work as hard in squats as they normally would. Only managed 2 sets as my legs were just totally fatigued.

DUMBBELL SWINGS – 12.5KG

3×10

An increase of 2.5kg but reps were dropped way down to 10 as I literally had nothing left in the tank.

All in all, a totally fantastic workout and I feel I’m gonna have some murderous DOMS in the next few days!

As I’ve indulged in the last few days and it’s also TOTM, I’ve not weighed/measured this week – I’ll be leaving it til this coming weekend instead. Last week showed 1lb loss but no inch loss yet I’m definitely looking leaner and my friend noticed straight away that I look slimmer so it appears that Intermittent Fasting is definitely working for me :)

Motivation is still massively high, diet is nailed again now after the weekend of naughtiness and I’m gonna bust my ass so that my next set of progress pictures aren’t a disappointment!

I’m now off to stuff my face as I’m ravenous, but I’ll leave you with this picture of my epic meal from yesterday – all 1800 calories of it ;)

2 x 97% pork sausages, 2 x chicken drumsticks, 8oz rib eye steak and 2 x eggs

TOTALLY FACE ROCKING!

Enjoy your evening folks :)

©2012 JAG's Fitness Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Those of you that know my routine might think it strange me training on Wednesday – I had sort of settled into a routine of Tuesday, Thursday and then one day at the weekend.  However, yesterday I just couldn’t face the gym.  Lady hormones had sapped me of all my energy and all I wanted to do was go home, curl up and snooze all afternoon.  Falling face first into a bag of fizzy Haribo didn’t help and the consequential sugar crash knocked me out for 2 and a half hours.  I was good for nothing. I felt sick, bloated and my head hurt and all I wanted to do was nap.  Thankfully, I awoke feeling much better and more energised again and Haribo are now banished from the house when I’m hormonal!

Later on in the evening mini JAG and I went to visit my dad, whose ongoing knee saga continues – he has just come out of hospital after yet more knee surgery! We’re hoping this is the last operation he will need and he can start to mend now once and for all.

Mini JAG had cycled with me walking alongside him and on the way home, he was badgering me to race him.  Several sprints ensued which were fun at the time but by the time I got home, my left knee (with patella tendonitis) had swollen and was extremely painful :(  It has been ok recently but only when not doing any impact work.  Squatting seems to be strengthening it quite well but it’s still some way from being healed.  Thank goodness my love affair with running is well and truly over!

This morning, the knee was still very sore and walking to work aggravated it.  I was wary of training, not because of the weights as they don’t aggravate it, but it’s a 5 and a half mile round trip and I was concerned that my knee wouldn’t hold up.  However, as the morning wore on, it started to feel better and by the time I finished work at 1pm, the pain had gone on walking – hurrah!

I rushed home, changed and got out into the sunshine to walk to the gym.  I’m not sure if the sunshine is making dudes hornier or if my emerging hot bod is just attracting more attention but damn, I don’t recall a time I got so many honks, wolf whistles and actual shouting from windows – to quote one guy in a van “fuck me, that’s a gorgeous ass” – um, thanks :D

By the time I arrived at the gym, I was already hot and sweating and the gym felt hot and humid – obviously it doesn’t have air conditioning. Super!  I made my way into the leg training area, also known as…

Surprise surprise, it was entirely empty, with the few dudes that were training working on their beach muscles – situation normal ;)

I didn’t set out to break any PB’s today – I just wanted a steady session.  The last few sessions have been massive with new PB’s and I can’t expect my body to keep working that hard.  So, today, weights were kept relatively heavy and reps were kept 6-10.

FRONT SQUATS:

Warm up:

20kg x5
30kg x5
40kg x5

Working Sets – 50kg

1×6
2×5

These felt tough today. I’m going to switch to back squats next session, just for a change.  By the time I had finished all 3 sets the sweat was pouring out of me and I was not smiling ;)

STIFF LEGGED DEADLIFTS – 60kg

3×6

I could have lifted heavier or for more reps than this but I was so hot and sweaty the bar was slipping out of my hands. My liquid chalk is on order so that shouldn’t be a problem next time.

FORWARD LUNGES – 20KG

3×16

I couldn’t find the 15kg plates so had to make do with 10kg plates which wasn’t a bad thing really as my knee niggled slightly as I was doing these. Heart rate through the roof as usual and the sweat was running down my back throughout.

LYING LEG CURL – 35KG

1×10
2×6

I decided to get over myself and do these as they hit my hamstrings like nothing else.  There was a guy using the bench whilst I was waiting and he offered to let me work in with him but I politely declined to which he then said “It’s only because I wanna watch you with your ass in the air hahahaha”  Seriously, hot weather = horny dudes!

STANDING CALF RAISES – 60KG

2×10

Finished off with these but only did two sets after the last time I did them, I was unable to walk properly for 3 days.  They felt pretty easy so I will be increasing to 70kg next time. Being a female, I have stilettos to thank for my strong calf muscles ;)

The walk home was tough. I was hot, sweaty and tired which = a miserable Jo.  My legs were like jelly the whole of the way and it took me almost ten minutes longer than normal to get home.  Once I got my PWO meal down me my mood had significantly lifted and I was happy again :D

500g pork tends to have that effect on me…

Fucking yum!

I’ve settled nicely into my Intermittent Fasting now and paleo has become just normal life now (with the exception of the Haribo yesterday!).  I’m fasting for 16 hours per day which gives me an 8 hour eating window.  I typically eat my first meal between 1-2pm though it has been known to be a little later if I’m training fasted. Due to being TOTM, my strength is already feeling lower at the moment so I didn’t train fasted today but I most likely will at the weekend.

I still have my glow going on and I don’t think it’s going anywhere soon…

Enjoy your evening lovely people!

©2012 JAG's Fitness Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Happy Saturday blog friends, I hope your weekend is off to a fabulous start! As I woke this morning, I glanced up and looked at the bedroom window and saw brilliant sunshine and blue skies.  Perfect weather and there was no way I was spending the day cooped up indoors!

After sitting in the garden with a cup of green tea, I realised it was gloriously warm too so it was lovely being able to dress in something that showed a lil’ skin which I wasn’t so paranoid about showing since I’ve lost so much weigh – hurrah!

I decided to go for a walk along the canal – getting in some fasted cardio ;)

Gotta love some HUUUUUUUUUUUGE sunnies ;)

The walk was gorgeous – sun shining, music in my ears and I was feeling awesome. I was almost 16 hours into my fast but my energy was high, my mind was clear and I felt fantastic.  My whole body feels fatigued though from training on Thursday though I’ve not experienced the DOMS I was expecting!

I’ll be having a go at my first fasted upper body session tomorrow, so I look forward to seeing if I make any new PB’s – twice I’ve done it on lower body training so watch this space!

Before I sign off, I did a check earlier to see where my macros have been for the entire month I’ve been eating Paleo and they are pretty much where I want them to be (These are average figures based over the course of the month – some days calories are MUCH higher, some days they are a little lower):

Calories: 1601 daily
Protein: 34%
Carbs: 11%
Fat: 54.9%
Alcohol: 0.1%

Average F&V is 7.3 per day but that has been much higher in the last two weeks as I’ve included a little more fruit and more veggies with each meal.

And now I’m off to relax with a teeny glass of red wine and 2 squares of my favourite Lindt dark chocolate with sea salt *swoon*

Enjoy the rest of your weekend folks, I’ll be back with a workout post tomorrow!

©2012 JAG's Fitness Blog. All Rights Reserved.