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Then someone nice gives you a call and is so positive that you smile.

Then you ask the boys if, on the off chance, they might consider contemplating, the possibility of riding my coveted Rocky Mountain race bike beside me while I run in the dark?  Who am I kidding?  They’re on their computers.

Then, I decide that bed is a better option, I get a drink, and Aidan brings in the dogs.

Now Aidan, to be fair, rides beside me a lot.  he always has.  But wait…

“What was that about a bike ride in the dark?”, Liam asks.

So we’re back.  Ran 7.5km on dark trails and quiet streets.  Liam rode and lit the way with my Petzl head lamp.  And we talked.

Life is very very good.

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I am STILL doing the Fast 5 Intermittent Fast.  Who would have guessed?    How I last until a measly sub-1000 calorie dinner every day I’ll never know.   My scale vacillates at present between 165.5 and 164 but is steadfastly convinced that body-fat is at 12.5%.  It’s full of electronics so I know it’s wrong.   My face does look a lot thinner in the mirror and I have tightened my belt a notch.  I can pull my size 32 jeans over my hips without undoing them so the belt is mandatory.  I think the last time I was sub-32 was in my 20′s.  Cool.

In any case, there are times when I am hungry and long stretches where I am not.  Staying hydrated seems to help.  I seem to be able to run and work out at the usual intensity levels, a fact that baffles me.

In any case, once my tournament is done I will stop the intermittent fast but I do not plan to gain back any fat.  I may gain weight… but it will be muscle.

Right now I am nursing a sore shoulder and a stomach full of dinner.  I’ll kill some time on my guitar before my workout.

Cheers

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I’m still on an intermittent fast.  I think I am burning fat.  Ketones are definitely being produced which is actually annoying.  I am not suffering by any means.

Tonight I had a great but clean meal with Annette.  Chicken with carrots, parsnips and onions and acouple of glasses of red wine.

After the boys went to bed I went for a run in the rain.  I actually felt really good.  Light on my feet.  I have always loved to run.  600 calories burned.  A bit of an endorphin high.   Forty-six and still flying.

Now I’m turning off the lights.

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Given the mental anguish (real or imaginary) I suffered at first, I would have thought that I’d be skinnier than a super-model by now.  Not the case.   My scales registered a 2 pound drop from my start weight this morning.  2 lbs is not even outside the range of accuracy of my scale.  So despite a reduced calorie intake and having maintained my exercise regime – I’VE LOST NO WEIGHT.  So why am I feeling this good?

The articles I have read online suggest that intermittent fasting could result in:

• Maintenance of muscle mass
• Reduced inflammation
• Reduced blood glucose and insulin levels
• Increased fatty acid oxidation
• Reduced oxidative damage
• Increased cellular stress resistance
• Decreased risks associated with degenerative diseases of aging (cancers, heart diseases, diabetes, Alzheimers)

I could live with that.  I’ve also noticed a significant reduction in the swelling on my injured hand this week.  Coincidence?  AND I am stunned at how few calories I am consuming.  STUNNED.  Then again I have had some hunger pangs.  And the odd light headed moment.  But they have become fewer and far between in the last two days.  Maybe I’m starving to death and have an eating disorder.  Ah….No.

Anyway, I’m not here for the health benefits (which is pathetic).   I’m Fast Fiving it to try and get into the light weight class at my first Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament in Toronto in a month.  Okay that’s a bit of a fabrication…I also want to be leaner.   I just feel better and more confident when I lose the belly fat.   I am extremely curious to see whether this forty six year, single father, can get lean without getting skinny or sickly looking.   So I am using this tournament as a bit of an excuse. 

This is an “intervention“.  I heard about it at my seminar at Gym Jones back in 2008.  They told me that the results would be “shocking”.  Well…SHOCK ME.

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Well I am trying and so far it’s getting me nowhere.  On a diet of not much more than air and a cup or two of coffee a day, I am gaining weight.  WTF? I have noticed that joint inflammation seems to be lower.  AND, I have no energy which is a bonus.

So, having gained a pound on my journey to cut weight, I’m going to do what I always do…. stubbornly keep going.  Ha!

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Haven’t been able to train or workout this week due to other commitments so between laundry loads I did a quick Crossfit “Cindy”.  As many sets as possible in 20 minutes of:

• 5 pullups
• 10 pushups
• 15 squats

I stranded 7 seconds at the end so it was close.  Of note:  I managed to do the pullups without stopping all the way up to set 12.  Around set 16 I had to slow down or throw up.

20 sets in all.  1 better than last time and 6 better than when I started using it as a test again.  Good form.  That’s a record.  Now 21 is calling my name.  Yuck.

I wonder if all that time off helped.

Not bad for a guy in his mid 40′s.

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I am a busy father in my mid 40′s.  What I am finding is that I have to maintain an extreme off-mat fitness regime in order to remain injury free.  There is no margin for error when you are older.  It is virtually impossible time-wise.  And yet I am not ready to shrivel up and retreat to my rocker quite yet.

The issues:

• Range of motion:  Mine is reduced
• Power:  The younger guys have it
• Endurance:  I have none
• Time:  I am employed full time, I am a single father
• Metabolism:  Lowered

What do I have that the younger guys don’t?  Not sure.  Maybe the ability to think.  To be circumspect.  Patient.  Also, no one expects me to do all that well.  Or to be all that fast so….

I try (TRY) to:

1. Get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep (tough).
2. Watch what I eat (is coffee a food?) – no sugar, watch the carbs.
3. Drink 8 glasses of water a day (and pee constantly).
4. Lay down a strength and endurance base that also promotes range of motion.
5. Think always about injury prevention.

I started Crossfit a few years ago.  Cool.  Good for overall fitness with a great website.  It’s at  www.crossfit.com .  That went well.  But or me the WHY is as important as the WHAT.

So I kept searching and stumbled upon Gym Jones.  It follows a different path.  Everything is questioned.  Tested.  Re-tested.  And in the end it seems that at Gym Jones the journey is the thing AND THAT is my thing too.  They seem to measure, improve, measure again, improve.  Competitions are tests of the program.  The guys there use their brains as a tool to improve their performance.   www.gymjones.com .  In the end I took a seminar in Salt Lake City.   The course gave us a foundation to develop our own program for diet, strength, power, endurance, rest and recovery.  There are also Black Belt BJJ guys developing the fitness part of their game at Gym Jones.  That’s actually where I first heard about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

So for this forty year old, BJJ at Martial Arts Planet is part of the journey.  So far, so good.

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