How many of you are singing that now?!

I measured my booty today as I’m trying to get it to grow, along with my quads. 43″ all the way around – hurrah! I last measured before Christmas, November I think, and it was 41″ so it’s certainly going in the right direction. With my 28″ waist it’s certainly kapowing quite nicely :-)

*Excuse the bloat – I took the pictures right after eating an epic meal!*

In other news, I hit another deadlift PB on Monday – 120kg. Not as energetic as my last pull, I just wasn’t feeling the session at all and wasn’t even sure if I would go for it. In the end I thought what the hell, pulled it anyway but there was no celebration and I didn’t feel as good as I did in my last session.

I’ll spend the next few weeks repping out at 105kg and will then go for the 125 or even 130kg some time during February.

Right now, I’m working on my flexibility as it’s really starting to affect my squats now the weight on the bar is going up. Lots of daily foam rollering, stretching and pre-stretching glutes & hamstrings pre-squatting should hopefully help.

I’ll leave you a picture of my glow. Paleo or love – you figure it out ;)

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

That there is the barbell from my deadlift at the weekend. A total weight of 107.5kg.

Considering I did it AT THE END of my upper body workout, I know I am capable of much more.  My boyfriend advised me to reduce the reps on the warm up sets (60kg x5, 70kg x5, 80kg x3, 90kg x2, 100kg x1) which should also help.

My goal at the moment is to deadlift twice my body weight, which would amount to 144kg – watch this space!

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

The one thing that puts most women off lifting weights is fear. Fear of getting bulky.  So many ladies think that if they lift anything heavier than a 5lb dumbbell they’ll end up looking like this…

Those that have been reading my blog long enough will know I’ve dispelled this myth on numerous occasions and today, I have my own photographic proof that this just isn’t going to happen without chemical intervention.

I remember, back to March 2010. Just before I started to train seriously for my half marathon, I was training at home and after I’d finished, I got my mini JAG to take a picture for me.  I’d just finished training my upper body and I wanted to see how I looked when I was pumped from training.  The picture was took and it became one of my favourite ever photos of myself…

Over the next 4 months I was training for my half marathon so my lower body training was changed to lifting lighter weights with less intensity as the DOMS was interfering with my running.  However, my upper body regime remained exactly the same.

Once the half marathon was over, my exercise regime returned to what it was – heavy lifting, no cardio – the way I prefer it.  I seriously got back into my training in January of this year.  When I say seriously, I mean training consistently and lifting progressively heavier weights.

Tuesday, I took a new picture, in pretty much the same stance as my prior picture from March last year…

And here they are side by side…

Definite improvement for sure but upon checking back over my measurements from last year, my bicep is only 1/2cm bigger than it was back in March.  Hardly “bulky” is it?

Over those 18 months, I’ve been lifting heavily, eating a surplus of calories for a good chunk of that time and I’ve still not morphed into  a female version of Arnie!

Don’t let the fear or worry of getting big and bulky put you off lifting weights. I can promise you it’s not going to happen.  Take it from me – the woman that only 2 days ago pulled a 105kg deadlift :-)

©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 checked on Weight Loss Resources at my nutritional breakdown over the last 4 months and my macros are pretty much where I want them to be. My daily calorie intake averages out to 1794 which is slightly over the 1782 allowance I get to lose half a pound a week.  However, I have not completed my food diary for 18 of those days and most of those days my calorie intake was a lot higher than the allowance I get.

I really need to start recording my vegetables more accurately as I tend to not log it due to the small amount of calories.  However, I realise that to get a true and honest picture I need to rectify this.

I’m still seeing progress, both in how I look and in the numbers I am lifting at the gym – yesterday’s workout is here:

INCLINE BENCH

20kg x10
20kg x8
30kg x6
30kg x6
30kg x4

DUMBBELL BENT OVER ROW

16kg x8+8
17.5kg x8+8
22.5kg x8+8
22.5kg x6+6
22.5kg x6+6

FLYES – 7.5KG

1×12
2×10

Not done flyes in ages hence the stupid light weight as I didn’t know what to go for. Will be going up significantly next session.

CHIN UPS (ASSISTED)

2×10

HANG CLEAN TO PUSH PRESS

30kg x6
30kg x5
30kg x5

I was planning to add in some isolation for for biceps/triceps but my entire upper body was literally fried after this session and I just couldn’t face it. Maybe next time?

I was really pleased with how great my upper body was looking when I was doing my HC2PP – really shapely and pumped and lean! One of the gym owners actually asked if I compete (though in what I’m not sure) as I look “really strong and am in great shape”.  He also said he has watched me train and that it’s nice to see someone, especially a female, train with such energy and enthusiasm!

When I first took my progress pictures this morning I wasn’t very happy with them. I thought I looked bloated and not as lean/firm as I would have liked.

However, I got my ass kicked firmly by the girls at work who really helped me to see things in perspective and I’m not so nervous about sharing them now…

Really pleased with how my legs look in the above picture – leaning out and looking firm and muscular and shapely – hurrah!

Taking back photos of yourself in a mirror is hard! Crap angle but you get the gist.

Booty is looking firm and round and my upper back is looking leaner – needs more mass though!

I appear to have halved in size :-D

Now I can look at the pictures a little more objectively I am happier with them though I still think my stomach looks bloated ;-)  I’m going to make a real effort to keep to my calorie allowance, to continue eating sensibly and to really bust my ass in the gym (though I do that every time anyway!).

My plan at the moment is to carry on with fat loss until the end of September and then do my first ever bulk for 6 months until my birthday in March next year. I want to focus on adding some really good mass and to do that I know I have to EAT EAT EAT! I look forward to my numbers in the gym going up significantly during this time – 100kg squat here I come!

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

They hurt. Like hell :(  I really have to get my arse in gear and buy some chalk – today’s deadlifts totally hurt and my callouses stopped me going for another shot at the 102.5kg PB from last week.

I had a great session though – my first lower body session in the new gym.  I really love this place so much. I felt completely at home and relaxed in there and not at all intimidated.  It was busier than my last visit but it was 10.45am on a Saturday morning so it was always going to be.  There were about 20 guys training today, still no chicks but I’m cool with that.  A few guys smiled and said hi to me today which is nice, it made me feel welcome.  I even had a guy tell me “nice deadlifts” when I was repping out 75kg which made my day :-D

Today’s session:

Fasted lower body training with 10g Xtend pre-workout

FRONT SQUATS

20kg x8
30kg x8
45kg x7
45kg x7
45kg x6

Really pleased with my front squats today. I focussed hard on keeping my form perfect and really dropped my ass all the way down to the floor – glutes were certainly feeling it!

DEADLIFTS

40kg x6
60kg x5
70kg x6
75kg x6
75kg x4
80kg x4
90kg x3
100kg x1

I was disappointed that I couldn’t go for my 102.5kg again but my hands were so sore, I couldn’t stand to do any more.  MUST.BUY.CHALK!!!

LEG PRESS (Feet placed high to hit hamstrings and glutes)

110kg x8
110kg x7
110kg x8

Gotta say, my quads looked effing awesome when I was doing these.  Really muscular and lean.

LYING LEG CURL

30kg x6
30kg x6

These were harder than the last ones I did as this machine works the legs individually with a plate on each side – they hurt. A lot!  The above weight is combined for both legs – 15kg for each.

CALF PRESS (On leg press machine)

50kg x12
50kg x12
50kg x10

SEATED CALF RAISE

20kg x12
20kg x10

Calves were burning by the end.  I’ve neglected training them for way too long!

Legs were totally shredded by the time I had finished and I walked home with very wobbly legs looking like I’d shat myself ;-)  Felt incredible though and it was a fantastic session – I’m so glad I joined this gym.

Progress pictures are due on Wednesday which will mark 4 months of switching to a paleo/primal diet – time has flown by so quickly!  I’m still loving this way of eating and still have no intention of returning to my old diet.  And of course, I’m still Intermittent Fasting which is with me for life :-)

However, my legendary impatience led me to snapping this pic this morning just to see how I’m looking…

Positives:

Starting to get some quad/hamstring separation
Legs are looking firm
Booty is looking bigger (hurrah!)
Waist looks teeny
Stomach is looking leaner and abs are starting to show ever so slightly

Negatives:

Not enough of all of the above ;)  I want MORE!

Have an awesome weekend everyone, enjoy the sunshine :)

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

Hola blogettes, how freakin’ gorgeous was the weather this past weekend?  I sincerely hope you were all out enjoying it :-)

I spent the weekend with my beloved so enjoyed some beach time, amazing ice cream and a super huge gym session!  Despite the heat and drinking red wine the evening before, I really felt up for a massive workout.  As it was lower body training, I decided I wanted to at least match my previous deadlift PB of 100kg if not surpass it and whilst I was there, I was gonna have a damn good attempt at breaking my front squat PB too (previously 50kg for 5 reps).

We were training in the morning so it was done fasted – early fasted training rocks!  I always feel so strong and powerful and it makes me wish I had time in the mornings to train before work.

We started off with squats and I felt pretty damn good.  My squats felt strong and I knew I was going to increase my weight as I was using the rack so didn’t have to worry about cleaning the weight up onto my shoulders, which totally fries my upper body – this is the reason my squats have not progressed past 40kg all the time I have been training at home!

FRONT SQUATS – ASS AAAAALL THE WAY TO THE GRASS

Warm up:

20kg x6
30kg x5

Working sets:

40kg x8
45kg x7
50kg x6
55kg x3 (PB)

Woohoooooooooooo, a new squatting PB! I was massively pleased to achieve this as my squats have been stuck for so long.  I know if I squat only to parallel (and do more back squatting as opposed to front squatting) I would be able to add a lot more weight to the bar but I would much rather keep the full range of motion, drop my ass right down and build up at a slower pace.  Plus I just really *heart* front squats!

DEADLIFTS

Warm up:

40kg x5
62.5kg x5

Working sets:

70kg x8
80kg x4
90kg x3
100kg x2
102.5kg x1 (PB)

Oh yeah, that’s what I’m talking about! I know for a fact that had it not been such a hot day that my hands were soaked with sweat or had I got some chalk, I could probably have gone a little heavier or lifted for more reps.  As it stood, I was just massively pleased to hit my new PB.   Deadlifts are the one exercise that make me feel totally badass – lifting something that heavy from the ground, just because you can, is the best feeling in the world!

LEG PRESS – 100kg

1×8
1×9

110kg

1×8

I haven’t done leg press in a LONG time hence why the weight is lower than the 130kg I used to press.  However, I really enjoyed them and they were a great exercise to add in to really finish off my quads.  I certainly had trouble walking properly after these bad boys!

LYING LEG CURL – 35kg

1×7
1×6

LOVE these! They hit my hamstrings like nothing else and as a result I’ve been walking like I’ve shat myself since Sunday!

SEATED CALF PRESS (Done on leg press)

40kg x12
47.5kg x12
47.5kg x10

SEATED CALF RAISE – 20KG

2X10

I said it last time I hit my calves hard but I really ought to stop neglecting them.  I don’t do any direct calf work and as a result the DOMS always kills me for days after.  I therefore promise to include them into my routine from now on.

GOOD MORNINGS – 37.5KG

2×8

A good exercise to finish off with.  I wasn’t going to include them as the deadlifts had already done a good enough job working my back but I decided to give them a go and see how they felt and really loved them.  Obviously, care was taken and movements were kept slow and controlled and form was perfect – do take care if you practice GM’s!

As you can see, it was an amazing workout and one I can’t wait to repeat in my new gym!  That’s right – I think I have a new gym :-D

I popped for a look the other night but it was so busy I didn’t get much of a chance to get a proper look so I have arranged to go tomorrow for a single session to see how I like the place and if all goes well, I’ll be signing up.  From what I’ve seen though, it looks pretty damn awesome…

I just want to go in around the time I’ll be training to get a feel for the place, have a session and see if I like it before I commit but all being well, by this time tomorrow I will be signed up :)

WATCH THIS SPACE…

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

Something I noticed from my previous post about strength training (and other posts in the past) is that there are a lot of women out there that really want to include resistance training to their exercise routine but don’t really know where to start.

It can be a really daunting prospect, walking into the gym, seeing the free weights area filled with hulking dudes, heaving weights about and grunting – how could one not feel intimidated?

Which exercises should you do? How heavy should you lift? How many reps should you perform?  It’s easy to see why some girls (and guys!) get confused.

Having lifted weights on and off for the last 10 years or more (only in the recent years have I taken it seriously) here are my favourite tips to help you get started pumping some iron :-)

Don’t fear getting HUGE

I touched upon this in my previous post but it’s so important, I want to mention it again. If the thought of picking up a barbell leaves you with the terrifying image of looking mahoooooosive…

then fear not – it just isn’t going to happen. Most guys would struggle to get that huge, let alone women. The only way for a woman to achieve a look such as that is with a lot of steroids.

You’re more likely to achieve a look similar to this…

And of course, I’ve been lifting progressively heavier weights for quite some time and I look nothing remotely like a huge muscle woman….

You see, us women just don’t have the required testosterone to build huge, man muscles.  The normal range of testosterone in a female ranges from 15 to 70 ng./dl whereas it ranges from the low 200’s to over 1200 ng./dl in men.

So, you can lift some heavy weight and not stress about getting huge. It’s NOT GONNA HAPPEN!

Pick a tried and tested routine

As a beginner, it’s a good idea to pick a workout that has proven benefits and results rather than trying to cobble something together yourself.  If you want, hire a personal trainer to devise you a programme and show you the ropes but do yourself a favour when you do – talk about strength and muscle building rather than “toning”.  That’s a sure fire way to get a lazy trainer to give you light weights with high reps and shit loads of cardio, which isn’t going to get you the look that you want.

Though I’ve not got the book, I’ve read very good things about the New Rules of Lifting for Women and every fitness forum I read has females raving about the results they get from it.

If you want to get strong and master the big compound moves then Starting Strength and StrongLifts are good choices though they may be more tricky to get the hang of as they include Olympic lifts.

Don’t underestimate your capability

When I used to train in the gym, it was a rare sight to see a woman lifting weights. However, the few that I did see were either doing tricep kickbacks with a 2lb dumbbell or sitting for 10 minutes on the adductor/abductor machines.  Don’t sell yourself short – you can lift a lot heavier than you think you can.  You are only going to be lifting for 6-12 repetitions so pick a weight that allows you to do this with good form but you also want it to challenge you.  The last couple of reps should be a struggle but should not compromise your form.

If you’re going to be training at home, buy yourself adjustable weights rather than fixed dumbbells. This will allow you to change the weight for each exercise and will also allow you to progress as you get stronger, rather than having a bunch of dumbbells hanging around the place that will be no good after a certain point.

Focus on compound exercises

Compound exercises should form the base of any weight lifting regime.  Compound exercises involve two or more joints and work multiple muscle groups at once so give you more bang for your buck.  It also means you don’t have to waste time doing lots of isolation exercises that only work a single muscle group at a time.

The basic compounds that should ideally form your base are:

Squats
Deadlifts
Bench Press
Barbell Row
Overhead Press

Don’t drop your calories too low

This is especially relevant for women.  A common theme I see on the various diet/fitness sites that I frequent is women trying to lose weight and existing on a paltry amount of calories.  Dropping calories too low means your body isn’t able to get all the required nutrients which is very important when you are lifting heavy weights. The stress and trauma your muscles go through to grow mean they need the correct nutrition and you aren’t going to get that on 1100 calories a day.  A 10-15% calorie deficit is often plenty to lose fat and if you do eventually plateau, at least you can restrict a little further if required.

Don’t do your weights and cardio in the same session

A question I see a lot is “should I do my weights or my cardio first?” If you MUST do them in the same session, save the cardio for after your weights. You will be lifting heavy so will need all of your energy to be heaving the weights around.  However, if you can, do your cardio separately from your weights session.  This will allow you to focus 100% on each workout rather than giving a half arsed effort to one or both.

Concentrate on maintaining good form

Good form is important when lifting heavy weights but it’s not something that comes naturally to most people. It has to be learned. There are many resources available on the internet such as coaching videos and articles.  ExRx is a great site that has videos for every exercise along with tips and pointers.  However, this is no real substitute from having someone assess and correct your form.  This could be a personal trainer or someone who already trains and knows what they are doing.  I thought my form was ok until I recently trained with dude who was far more experienced than me and he told me my knees were tracking inwards when I squat.  It was something I hadn’t noticed before and him assessing me allowed me me to correct that.

And the most important advice I can give you…

Be consistent and persevere

The changes won’t happen over night.  It will take time and effort and hard work and determination and consistency to get the physique you are seeking.  If your diet is good, you can expect to start seeing progress within 4-6 weeks but it can take years to build up a decent enough muscle base that looks good at low body fat levels.  Don’t expect to look like you’re ready to step on the stage of a figure competition after 6 months because you are only going to be setting yourself up for failure.

Though I have only been seriously dieting and training for the last 3 months, I’ve trained pretty much on and off for the last 10 years or more.  Therefore, I have a decent enough base already built up so that as I drop body fat, I’m still left with a shapely body…

In fact, I was looking at my pictures from when I reached what I call my physical peak back in 2009 and I think certain parts of me are actually looking better than back then – my legs for example…

All this time I have been coveting my legs from 2009 without realising that they are actually looking better already!  Thank the lord for ass to grass squats, walking lunges and dumbbell swings :-D

I probably won’t get a chance to blog again this week – I’m off to visit my delicious boyfriend this weekend but I will be busting my ass in the gym when I’m there so will give you a full report when I get back.

But, I’ll leave you with a window reflected shot of my flexed bicep from today whilst training  ;-)

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

My most recent progress pictures have caused a little bit of a stir in my corner of the internet and I have received a few emails and facebook/twitter/forum messages asking “how can I look like you?”

The fact of the matter is, you can’t.  I am me. You are you.  Comparing yourself to someone else is setting yourself up for failure.  You can only hope to become the best version of yourself that you can be.

A few people have decided to give Paleo/Primal eating and Intermittent Fasting a go after seeing my results and I think it’s awesome that people are feeling encouraged to step away from the traditional dogma that surrounds the body building/slimming world to try something different.  However, as I have pointed out many times, just because this works for me does not mean it will work for you.

I genuinely believe that even though Paleo/Primal eating and Intermittent Fasting is the best thing I have ever done for my own health, it is not for everyone.

However, the one thing I will encourage EVERYONE, male and female, young and old to do is to PICK UP THE IRON! Seriously, your body will thank you for it!

So many people, especially females, are scared to start pumping iron for the fear of “becoming huge”.  Well let me put your mind at rest right away because that’s not gonna happen.  If you had any idea how difficult it is to get huge, you really wouldn’t be coming out with such a crazy statement. It takes a lot of time, effort, hard work (with both diet and training) and determination to gain muscle and for females, it’s even harder due to our lack of testosterone.  Even some dudes lift for years and years and still don’t get huge.

The benefits of strength training are numerous and include (but not limited to):

Increased metabolism, a firm body, stronger joints, better posture, stronger bones, improved fat loss, reduced risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, reduced risk of injury, prevents osteoporosis and sarcopenia (losing muscle tissue as you get older).

You will also look better naked!

Out of the pictures below, it’s not hard to see which ladies lift weights and which don’t…

OR

OR

Without strength training, I would not have been able to make my legs change so drastically in the space of 3 months…

Thankfully, I already had a pretty decent base built up from my previous years of lifting weights, so that as the fat has melted away I’ve been left with lovely, firm, shapely muscle.

Question:

If you don’t already incorporate strength training into your exercise schedule, why? If you do, how has it benefited you?

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

With that in mind, I decided to take pictures a day early instead and OH EM GEE! Ecstatic doesn’t even come close to how I feel right now! I had to do a double take with my brain screaming “fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck, is that really me?!?!?!”  When I came to compare them with my photos from 3 months ago, I actually squealed with excitement – I can’t believe there has been such a dramatic difference in just 3 short months!

Of course, there are still parts of me that appear to be lagging – my lower abs still have fat hanging around that I wish would just eff off already but my legs, that I have constantly moaned about forever, are really shaping up and I personally think they look awesome in the photo of me from the back – the saddlebags are gone, my ass is looking damn hot and my whole shape is streamlined and looks tight.

HAPPY DAYS!

After snapping pics, I hopped on the scales as I’ve not weighed myself in around 4-5 weeks and was pleased to see another 5lb has bitten the dust!

I never really post about weight on the blog because it’s not important to me. I much prefer to use how I look and feel as a guide as to how happy I am with myself and refuse to let a number on the scale define me.  However, I’ve had a few queries from people asking what I weigh so I’m gonna post it here, if only to prove you don’t need to be as light as a feather to look good.

When I got to goal in 2009 I was bang on 10 stone.  I dropped a few more lbs right after I reached goal and dropped down to 9st 10lb but I started looking skinny.  Though I was happy with how I looked at the time, when I look back over photos I feel sad that I had started to lose my curves.  I love having a decent sized rack, curvy hips and an ass that goes Kapow! and back in 2009, all of these things had started to disappear.

For that reason, I will not seek to drop my weight as low as this again.  And really, I think to do so I would have to compromise some muscle that I have gained.  I’m fitting back into clothes that I was wearing in 2009 but I am a stone and a half heavier.  Yup, that’s right.  I weigh 11 and a half stones at this moment.  So I’m definitely not as light as a feather but I myself would never guess my weight to be what it is from looking at pictures.

And this is why I always say the scale doesn’t mean jack shit!

So, here are my pictures after 3 months of paleo/primal eating and just under 3 months of Intermittent Fasting…

I’ve been asked what I think has made the biggest difference to my shape – the Paleo eating or Intermittent Fasting?  In the beginning, when I dropped the majority of my weight, no doubt it was thanks to the lack of grains, dairy and sugar.  However, as the weeks have gone on, I know it’s Intermittent Fasting that is helping me to lean out.  There have been numerous occasions over the past couple of months where my eating has been through the roof – weekends with my gorgeous man have been spent indulging in lots of dark chocolate (dunked in clotted cream!!!), ice cream, jars of nut butter, red wine and Jack Daniels and without IF, I know I would have gained weight.  But all this time I haven’t though had I not indulged on those occasions, my results would have been even better and more dramatic.

So whilst Paleo/Primal eating did wonders for me in the early days and continues to benefit my health, I have Martin Berkhan @ Leangains to thank for leaning out.

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