Tag: fitness

The Orange Trail

Jamal Miller2 Comments

Fact: I hate getting dirty. I hate bugs even more; especially ticks!

Growing up in Alaska, those little blood-sucking critters weren’t anything I ever had to deal with or had encountered until I moved to Indiana. Getting out on the trail is an easy workout, and we live pretty close to a park here in Indianapolis, so why not get out and enjoy some fresh air.

Back home in Alaska you get more scenic and mountainous views. There are trees everywhere, but the trails I frequented didn’t involve trekking through mud or doing tick-checks when I got home. Okay, sure, moose and grizzly bears are far scarier than ticks… but give me a break! Ticks are just #$%#$^#@#$@$^^&$% to me (laughs).

Usually if I’m in a scenario where I’m not having the most fun, or I’m working through a tough moment, I go silent. That is me processing whatever thoughts are bouncing around my head at the time.

I’ve never been a whiner, but I am very honest. My dad would tell me all the time growing up “it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.” My aunties would blast me with the classic line “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

Family and friends would jump down my throat accusing me of being a wet blanket if they perceived I was having a terrible time. Those of you who know me have seen the majority of my facial expressions, and know that I don’t have to use any words to communicate how I’m feeling most of the time. This is something I’ve learned to contain… for the most part.

I’ve learned to communicate that a situation may be new and that I wouldn’t put myself in any scenario that would make me uncomfortable.

Hitting the trails with S has been funny, mostly because if we encounter a long stretch of muddy non-sense, or have to go through a tighter trails with brush – more chances of getting TICKS – I simply say “I’m trying. You know I’m trying.” I’m sure S is getting a kick out of this inside, but he’s very supportive.

We’d planned to get out on the fitness trail today, but Mother Nature has other plans. It’s been pouring cats and dogs this weekend, so I’m NOT going anywhere near that trail until it dries up a bit. Hey! Don’t judge. I’m taking baby steps here.

Oh! You can find a clip of the trail adventure on my Instagram profile.

Have a lovely Sunday, everyone!

J

Feeling Great After a 24-Hour Fast

Jamal Miller3 Comments

ketofast post

 

We fasted today to give our bodies a surge. In a fasted state, I have the most focused and productive workouts and feel a cognitive boost throughout the day. I feel great and wasn’t hungry at all today – probably because I keep my healthy fat intake at 70%-80%, my protein moderate, and my carbs really low.

My workout schedule wasn’t too strong this week, but there’s still time to make up for that. We’ve been really good because we want to look good at this wedding this weekend. Fasting while keto boosts your metabolism and naturally pumps up your muscles; it’s also scientifically proven to fight cancer cells.

I won’t lie though – the longest period I can fast for is 24 hours. It’s tougher when you lift heavy weights, so I generally stick to my #intermittent fasting windows; 16 hour fast. 8 hour feeding window. It’s amazing what the body can do when you fuel it properly and generously. 🐻

3 Reasons Why I Dig A Smith Machine

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1. I don’t need a spotter. When it comes to lifting weights, I’m fairly antisocial. I workout just before work, and am the king of keeping a schedule. I don’t have time to switch out between sets and chat leisurely during this time.

2. Focus and awareness. Because smith machines only allow vertical motion, I’m forced to pay extra attention to my form while lifting. It’s extremely easy to sacrifice your form on a smith machine because of the built in spotting design. Just because the bar is supported by a giant metal frame, does not mean you get to let your core slack off, or your feet chill wherever you’d like. Bend those legs, get that butt down, and let the bar touch your chest before you push that weight back up. Stay challenged.

3. Variety. Three out of my five lifting days, I follow a stronglifts routine. Lucky for me I get into the gym early enough to hog the smith machine – knocking out the first few lifting sequences in peace and undisturbed. I always start with squats (because they suck), then bench, and finish with some barbell rows; this takes me about thirty minutes. If I can sweat my ass off without having to move very far, I’m all in.

Stalled

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You’ll notice I didn’t post an October progress report. I’ve hit a little stall on the fitness front, and this is completely normal. For the past year my body has been adjusting – going from strictly cardio workouts, to regular strength training with light cardio in the form of the occasional elliptical session and yoga – and has finally hit a point of pause. I always view a fitness stall (or plateau) as an alert to kick things up a notch, or to pay closer attention to what’s going in my body. The weeks that followed the first progress report on FATboys, my weight stayed the same, went up, a little down, and back up again. I’ve been challenging myself in the gym, and making more of an effort to really focus my yoga sessions.

I decided last week that I would wait until November to produce the next progress report, and that I would cut dairy from my diet. When it comes to dairy and myself, I’d say we have a pretty good relationship, but did notice times of bloating. I’m not lactose intolerant, and something was definitely off when it came to my body and how I felt. Jamie Caporosso was a guest on The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore, and went on about how he wasn’t sure what it was about dairy, but after cutting it from his diet, he saw more results and felt completely refreshed.  Maybe my body is reacting negatively to dairy? For the next handful of weeks, I will be cutting dairy, and hopefully the next progress report will not come in stall form.

Bourbon On The Rocks, Please.

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Hangovers are real, ladies and gentlemen, and I hadn’t experienced one in quite some time.  For the past two weeks, S and I have been drinking once a week – picking Saturday as the day to consume our favorite poisons in a socially moderate manner. Not drinking during the week is something we are already familiar with, but with this past summer came plenty of opportunity for us to slip up occasionally, and throw ourselves back into a drinking-freely-post-work-or-whenever spiral.  It’s the start of week three, and I just had some random thoughts about how I’ve been feeling over these past couple weeks; particularly about how I’ve been feeling my last couple Sundays.

I love a good drink – beer, bourbon on the rocks, or vodka waters are preferred – and have recognized that part of my weight loss and fitness plateaus are due to overconsumption of my desired elixirs.  Let me tell you. The past couple Sundays have been rough. I used to brag that I never got hangovers – what a tool-ish and bro-like thing to do, first of all – and that’s only because my tolerance for alcohol was really high. Much like a muscle, a high tolerance to alcohol is something that was exercised, and made to be strong with each drink consumed. There have been a number of instances where I simply stop drinking, because I become aware that I’ve consumed a good number of drinks – empty calories – and had no locale markers on my inebriation radar.

My drinking total for the past two Saturdays consisted of a few (low carb) mixed drinks, a LOT of red wine, and bourbon or two. Given my past ability to drink haphazardly with major admittance into Hangoverland, I did not think my body would be rocked as hard as it was come either Sunday.  The first Sunday of our new drinking rule was mostly okay. I felt very lethargic and just sat around for the greater part of the day; not doing anything productive besides tending to the puppy. The second Sunday was game over for my mind and body. I had a headache that felt like an ongoing earthquake, my body ached all over, and I found it extremely hard to focus. “Really?! (Enter a paralyzed eye-roll here)” I thought, but what should I have expected? My body had clearly gone through some form of detoxification during the week, and by not being careful – on my one day of alcoholic freedom – I was punished and reminded to think before I acted.

Now, with all that being said, I will continue to have drinks with friends on Saturdays. The past couple of weeks have taught me to be weary of even just the few drinks I may consume, and to respect the possibility of feeling like a true pile of bear shit if I cross the line. I feel completely recharged having not drank during the week. My mind is clear, and my workouts are focused and productive. In the two weeks since we’ve been following our new drinking rule, I’ve lost about eight pounds, and S has lost a good amount of weight as well. Our workouts are not crazy intense. I lift weights twice a week for about thirty minutes, and do about twenty to thirty minutes of mild-to-medium yoga a few times a week. I’ll be posting my body stat updates during this journey with the FATboys category of Gays in the Life. My weight, BMI, and body fat percentage will be shared. This will only happen once a month, however, because I get scale crazy, and don’t wish to psych myself out. You can’t go solely off your weight when you lift weights, lol.

Be healthy,

For the Love of Butter, and A Nearly Carbless Life.

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“Dieting can suck, but that’s up to you.” This is the mentality S and I adopted when we began our low-carb journey almost two years ago.  We had both played the yo-yoing-weight-fluctuating game over the years, and we decided that counting calories was not enough. Working out was part of our regular routine, so what was the deal? A diet that shocked our system was our sole goal to battle the repetitious plateaus that would taunt us from the scale’s view. Plateaus happen, but something wasn’t quite clicking with the workout and eating schedule we were keeping.  What about the factors beyond calories and exercise? What about the food and how it affects our bodies in the long run? My husband, S, mentioned the success he had doing the Atkins diet some years back, and that is how the low-carb curiosity was sparked.

“No bread? No beer?” Sandwiches are still my favorite food – I can turn anything into a sandwich, and didn’t mind doing so in the past – and beer is currently the only thing I miss if I have any cravings.  The first year was up and down, but we saw a great deal of success; only keeping our carbohydrate consumption around twenty grams a day.  The hardest part of any diet, or lifestyle change, is controlling your cravings and staying mentally persistent with your intended goal always on the mind. When we started our journey, the only goal we had was to lose weight and look good. After year one and deciding that we wanted to continue on a low-carb diet, we got more into the health aspects and benefits of the lifestyle. We still stay around twenty grams of carbohydrates a day, but we’re also focusing on the consumption of good, fatty foods.

Eating like our ancestors, the cavemen – with heavy emphasis on low carbohydrates and good high fats – has changed the way we function and the way our health is maintained.  The adjustment from a low-fat/high carbohydrate diet was not an easy one, but focusing on the specifics of our diet – we’ll get into the details of low carbohydrates and high fat on a separate post – and eating REAL, non-processed foods, has us feeling great, and learning more and more about human health in the process.  We’re not so strict that we don’t enjoy a good cheat meal every once in a while, and encourage a good burger and beer here and there. You can’t forget to live. Discipline is the key to any diet, but you have to have fun with what you’re doing. We don’t ever feel like we’re on a diet. Do you?