Deep Tissue Massage and Weight Loss: The Perfect Partnership

Deep Tissue Massage and Weight Loss: The Perfect Partnership

waTHER COLOR MASSAGE FOR BLOG

If you’re looking for a way to jumpstart your weight loss journey, you might want to consider adding deep tissue massage to your routine. That’s right – massage isn’t just for relaxation; it can also be a powerful tool in your weight loss arsenal. Studies have shown that deep tissue massage can help the body burn calories, reduce cellulite, and even boon athletic performance. Here’s a closer look at how deep tissue massage can help you lose weight and keep it off for good.

How Deep Tissue Massage Can Help You Lose Weight

Deep tissue massage is a type of massage that targets the deepest layers of muscle tissue. This type of massage is typically slower and more intense than other types of massages, but it can be extremely effective in promoting weight loss. One study found that participants who received deep tissue massages burned more calories in the 24 hours after their treatment than those who didn’t receive massages. What’s more, the participants who received massages also had reduced levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which has been linked to increased appetite and cravings.

Another study looked at the effects of deep tissue massage on cellulite. Cellulite is a type of fat that tends to deposit in areas like the thighs and buttocks. It’s often difficult to get rid of, but the good news is that deep tissue massage can help. The study found that participants who received regular deep tissue massages experienced reduced cellulite deposition in their thighs over the course of eight weeks.

Finally, deep tissue massage can also help improve athletic performance. One study looked at the effects of deep tissue massage on cyclists who were training for a race. The study found that those who received regular massages improved their power output by an average of 3%.

If you’re looking for a way to jumpstart your weight loss journey, consider adding deep tissue massage to your routine. Studies have shown that this type of massage can help burn calories, reduce cellulite, and even improve athletic performance. So if you’re ready to start losing weight and keeping it off for good, book a session with a licensed masseuse today!

Endings, Origins, and Beginnings: Introducing the Keplinger Institute of Massage & Wellness (KI)

Endings, Origins, and Beginnings: Introducing the Keplinger Institute of Massage & Wellness (KI)

William Bullard - Father, friend, and chef

This story begins on a somber note: my father passed away recently — and to be candid, some might say he died when he retired. He was a very passionate cook his entire life and it’s all he loved to do. Shortly after he retired he had a stroke and his health, slowly at times and quickly in others, declined, until he was no longer able to cook or taste things of which he was once a master. I learned a lot from my father; how to be passionate about the work I do, a good work ethic, and not living my life in fear of living. The last one by omission as my father never pursued what he really wanted: to own his own restaurant out of fear it would fail. From watching his trepidation growing up, I worked on building my resistance to fear and the skills for something I was passionate about.

Finding that passion took a lot of twists and turns, but eventually, I landed on the thing I knew I was meant to do. I have always (even as a child) been interested in the human body and anatomy, especially the way the body works.

As condensed as possible, my story:

While living in South Korea in the mid-1990s, I studied to become a group fitness instructor and entrepreneurially began a fitness program for the military children after school as a volunteer, while also teaching aerobics at Yongsan AIN, and conversational English at a nearby university – my education passion was sparked. After we moved (off to Germany that time) the volunteer position I’d created became a paid position, which proved there was demand in the market for what I wanted to teach. When we moved to Frankfort (Rhein-Main AFB), I added personal training to the mix and managed even more after-school programs for kids (this time a paid position, modeled on the one I created in Seoul), with, of course, a focus on physical fitness. More sparks.

The irony of that position was how excited I was to have my own office with a desk (not exactly physical fitness), which I didn’t use much as I was always playing with the kids. While in Germany a friend of mine, an occupational therapist, suggested she thought I would make a good massage therapist and the idea just stayed in the back of my head. Once I returned stateside — we were living in Utah in a small town on the south side of the Great Salt Lake – an hour away, Salt Lake City (at the time) was the capital of massage training (I don’t know if it is any longer) and after a tour of the Utah College of Massage Therapy campus, I was so excited I signed up for the program on a Friday, paid for my parking pass, quit my job and started classes that next Monday. As anyone who has been through massage school can tell you, it’s rigorous training and it changes your life, from the inside out — The very first day, I was hooked. I chose massage because it’s a vast field of change, opportunity, and many modalities to choose from so I knew I would never be bored with this job. That’s right! I’d found what I was passionate about.

I was also right that I would never be bored. My massage career in 21 years has had a lot of twists and turns, but I’m still doing bodywork and have really created my own style, which I introduced with That’s the Rub 12 years ago in our wonderful little burg of Bloomington. For the last five years, I’ve been teaching in the massage program I helped found at Ivy Tech some of my style and now I’m bringing it to our own school with the opening of Keplinger Institute of Massage and Wellness (website coming soon). Not only will be teaching massage professionals continuing education, we will be introducing wellness classes to the community while also working on our trade school curriculum to soon be able to train people for licensure.

Every day I choose to live through my passion for the anatomy of the human body that has followed me since my early childhood. Each time I strayed something brought me back to it. Anatomy, massage, fitness, nutrition, teaching, growing, and wellness, the options are endless, and I am most passionate about sharing them with YOU!

I invite you to join me for our FIST community offering: Ki for Stretch and Relax, and very soon for Guided Couples Massage, or any of the classes my passion leads us to. Sparks are flying, I’m excited about the adventure, I can’t wait to meet you!

That’s the Rub,

Lisa

That’s the Rub’s COVID-19 Precautions [UPDATED May 21, 2021]

That’s the Rub’s COVID-19 Precautions [UPDATED May 21, 2021]

A quick reference chart for Corvid-19 vs. Allergies vs. Flu

MAY 21, 2021 UPDATE: Yup! We’re almost back to normalcy. Almost. Group classes have started again (YOU should come!) and we also offer facials, couple’s services, and more. But masks are still required until the medical board (who we fall under as massage therapy) declares it safe for medical practices to ensure safety for all). We thank you for your understanding as we move a little closer to normal…in a very relaxed way.

[June 3, 2020 UPDATE: We ARE OPEN after 2.5 months and we’re thrilled! This blog post has some good information in it so I’m not removing it, but for an update on our specific actions and plans, please visit our COVID-19 Response Page.]

Dear Friends:

Today’s blog is brought to you by the Letter C and the Number 19. There’s no way to make light of such an important topic as COVID-19, but this a That’s the Rub email, so I’ll try to keep it informative and fun as a possible. That said, let me hit the highpoints and then dig in more:

TLDR: Yes, we’re OPEN! Massage is GREAT for moving lymph and helping to strengthen your immune system. We are taking our already extraordinary precautions to an even higher level (we’re clean freaks anyway). We’re hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

If you’ve been with That’s the Rub for any length of time, you know we take our client’s health VERY seriously. Likewise, we take our team’s health just as seriously. COVID-19 (the novel corona virus) is scaring a lot of people, and for a very good reason. We’ve always been a bit more than germophobic around here, but we’ve been increasing our disinfecting across the board…and knobs…and shelves…and anyplace that has a chance of being touched by one of us or you (honestly, we were pretty fastidious already, but more can’t hurt).

Massage therapists and estheticians (by training, law, and OSHA) wash their hands (for at least 30 seconds) BEFORE AND AFTER every service. Always. Every time. The only change is we may be doing it EVEN MORE. But you can rest assured we are doing a LOT (and I mean a LOT)!

Next, after a long and hard think, we have changed our sheet process. In the past we have used (or owned) a cleaning service to launder our sheets. In no small part to the current viral concerns we have switched to a certified medical-grade cleaning service who provides linens to hospitals. This might be overkill and is above and beyond state and federal OSHA standards for a day spa, but we think we’re all worth it — we’re not playing games with anyone’s health. Our sheets have always been single-client use, but now they are being fully sanitized, not just cleaned. The quality of the new linens is just as high as we’ve always had, but you can rest assured they are the cleanest it is possible to clean them.

The fuzzy blankets are still around but are no longer the default in making the tables. They’re not really needed, the new top-sheets we use are extra thick and when combined with the table warmers (on ALL our tables) are more than sufficient (If you get cold during a service, PLEASE ask your therapist to turn up the table, they will happily do so!).

We have always provided equipment for our Yomassage, breathwork, couple’s massage training and other classes, and we will continue to do so. While we do disinfect all equipment between classes, you are always welcome to bring your own, and single-use pillowcases will be available upon request for bolsters, etc.

Our 24-hour cancellation policy remains in place (e.g. if you cancel within 24 hours of your appointment you will be charged full price), HOWEVER, we have ALWAYS had an exception for illness which is certainly not changing. If you are sick, PLEASE call us as soon as possible and stay home, drink bone broth, binge watch something insipid, and get healthy. We don’t want it either.

Likewise, we have always empowered our staff to turn away any client for any reason whether it is health, cleanliness, safety, or otherwise. If you show up sick, and we are concerned, you will be asked to reschedule (did I mention we don’t want it either?).

However, should one of our staff come down sick, we also will ask them to stay home. This could become inconvenient at the last minute before an appointment, and we will do everything we can to keep you informed. Where possible, we will simply move you to another of our fantastic therapists and you won’t miss a step (did you know we take EXTENSIVE notes after each and every appointment for just such an occasion? Yup! Always have, always will).

But as there is a lot (A LOT!) of confusion as to what is allergy, cold, flu, or COVID-19 The chart at the top of this blog is for your reference. If you’ve only got allergies, may I recommend our signature Allergy Relief Rub? It’s awesome!

Friends, we’re all in this together, and you can be assured we are watching, reading, and listening to everything and will absolutely operate within the law, common sense, and needs of the health of our community.

That’s the Rub!

Jim, Lisa, and Team Rub

PS – If you have ANY questions, please don’t hesitate to write me directly: jim@thatstherub.com

Wash your hands, A LOT!

2020 is Off and Running: The New Year’s Here Blog

2020 is Off and Running: The New Year’s Here Blog

new years 2020

Hello there and Happy New Year Rub Family!

Now, I know and you know it’s been a long time since I’ve posted a blog and I’m really sorry about that, it’s just we’ve had so much going on that it’s been a real challenge just to sit at the computer, let alone write and when I do, I want to make sure it’s because I have something to say.

A lot of people have come up to me in the last few weeks and told me how much they love and appreciate coming to That’s the Rub and that they refer their friends. Words cannot describe how wonderful that makes me feel! When I managed destination spas all over the country, I dreamed I would own my own spa one day and that it would have local art on the wall, it would be five-star quality services and hospitality with a comfortable atmosphere that could be enjoyed by everyone, clients and staff alike. I’m so over the moon to say that the feedback we receive says that Jim and I nailed it right on the head! Thank You so much for spending your time with us.

What have we been busy with you ask? Well, I’m so glad you did, but don’t worry, there is NO way I will remember everything, so I’m going to start and see how far I get.

In December (2019), just before the holiday, we graduated another cohort of students at Ivy Tech. Never a dull moment, we incorporate the students that would like to do so into The Rub to further their education in daily operations of the spa, expand on their massage techniques and to do more hands-on work with the general public who are unable to make it out to Ivy Tech for our clinics. Our student massages have been a smash hit with clients and students alike, and this semester promises even more with our new batch of senior massage students!

Over the summer (yeah, way back then) I learned how to teach and launched a class called Yomassage. Yomassage combines supported yoga postures with massage and breath and it’s amazing. It’s amazing because you don’t have to be flexible (thank goodness), you wear clothes, there is music, it’s done in a group format, AND it’s VERY relaxing. So it’s a great pick me up in the middle of the day when you need to hit the reset button or at the end of your workday to unwind and get a good night’s sleep. It’s amazing for people who’ve never had a massage (come on and get into some self-care already!), special occasions, or team building workshops. Please see our website for more details or feel free to write to me (lisa@thatstherub.com) if you want more information. This is starting to get a little too sales pitchy for my taste and that’s NOT what this post is about. I just get excited when I talk about it and I really enjoy teaching it.

Of course there were the holidays to prepare for, which seemed to be a little crazier for me than usual; I hope all of you came out unscathed.

That’s the Rub is proud to have donated more than $2,000 in 2019 back to the community in goods and services this year to support what we love and where we live.

We also want to say THANK YOU for a wonderful year! Your patronage has sustained many therapists and their families this past year and we couldn’t be more grateful.

Thank you for being part of The Rub family. Thank you for your continued support. Thank you for valuing the skills that we bring to the table. Thank you for choosing The Rub to be your partner in helping to attain your personal healthcare goals. Thank you for referring your friends and family. We love what we do and we’re so happy that you share that with us.

It’s Our 10th Anniversary! Join us this year as we celebrate 10 years of That’s the Rub! In 2019 we rebranded the business to That’s the Rub the Therapeutic Day Spa because we felt it would say more of what we do now vs what we did when we first began. Ten years ago, The Rub started with just me and Jim and we’ve continued to expand and grow ever since, not just our square footage, but our service menu and our staff as well.

So stay tuned and look for our save the date notification (in March) for our anniversary celebration! We hope to see you there! In the meantime, if you have questions about massage, benefits of massage, classes we offer, etc please check out our website, www.thatstherub.com OR you can write me directly at lisa@thatstherub.com and I can include your question and answers in my blog. I want to ensure you are getting the information you want about what we do here at That’s the Rub.

May your 2020 bring you light, love, and happiness.

That’s the Rub,

Lisa

Impossible is Nothing: The Lessons of Aunt Fran and The GOAT

Impossible is Nothing: The Lessons of Aunt Fran and The GOAT

Impossible is Nothing 2019 top image

“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given, than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” – Mohamed Ali

The above quote came out in a Sports Illustrated trifold poster sometime between 2003 – 2004, I don’t remember the exact time period because it was a time in my life when I moved quite a bit and memory is a blur. Those words still bring tears of potential to my eyes when I read them.

When I first saw the poster I was working my first Spa Director position and I felt like the odds were against me. I started that job with such high hopes, but I found out that we didn’t have front desk staff, and the “manager” at the time was EXTREMELY overwhelmed. She decided to not give me and my methods a shot to help her out and quit two days later. It would’ve been easy to throw in the towel and say that I couldn’t do it, but as was recently reaffirmed to me earlier this month Drewry (my mother’s family name) women don’t give up — we work hard and tirelessly to make things happen.

You see, my Aunt Fran passed away in late June. Fran was the one constant in my life who believed in me, especially when I didn’t know how to believe in myself. She taught me the philosophies I use as the foundation of my business: hard work and perseverance will pay off, keep your eye on the prize, switch gears when necessary, and believe anyway. She encouraged me to embrace my life, get an education, travel, don’t be afraid, and never let anything or anyone hold you back. Fran taught me about myself in ways I will probably still be unraveling when I’m 85. She was stubborn, smart, and strong. At her funeral, some of the last words said about her was she was a hard worker, but she was so much more than that. She lived her life on her terms and no one else’s and she taught me to do the same. Fran taught me I had the knowhow and the drive to accomplish anything.

So, in that first spa, I worked 12-14 hour days, conducted front desk interviews for staff, while working on the front desk because there was no one else but me to do it. I managed treatment staff, booked appointments, conducted interviews for even more staff, and trained treatment staff in the services they needed to be able to perform, all while working full time at that front desk. I learned a lot about myself in that first directing job, there were days where I felt like all I did was walk back and forth from the human resources department to pick up my next interviewee — I put a lot of steps in before anyone was ever counting them. I built a world class spa out of that property, I hired and trained over 20 people while I was there, I redeveloped the service menu, chose and nurtured fresh product lines, amplified and the expectations, increased the bottom line, and radically changed how my boss thought the spa was (just an amenity to the guests) by turning it in to its own destination. I added a café to serve food because my guests wanted to stay longer and the restaurant delivered gourmet it to the spa. I redecorated it with the company interior designer which gave it a unique look and feel from the rest of the resort. Ah, it was the worst of times and it was the best of times. There were days so hard I didn’t know if I wanted to go back, but I couldn’t bring myself to quit until I felt that I had succeeded in doing all I could and I had nothing left to give.

Last year, I visited the spa for the first time in over a decade. I was astounded and delighted to find at least three of the treatment staff I hired and trained are still there (I just checked, it’s been 17 years). Not much had changed, until the following week when they were to begin breaking ground on building a fresh, new spa, updating it to this century, no small task I assure you. I can’t wait to see what they do!

Why do I bring this up you ask? Because if I truly believed I couldn’t do the impossible, I wouldn’t be sitting in front of you today writing this blog. I went on to become known (and recognized by Conde-Nast – ed.), The Spa Fixer (cue ominous music – your humble editor). Every spa I directed from then on needed some kind of triage help. They were bleeding, damaged, and needed to be staunched. Each task required yet another level of increasing stick-to-itiveness to get the job done, not only to succeed, but to always exceed the expectations of what the spas were capable of doing in the right hands.

If I had believed these tasks and contracts were impossible I wouldn’t be sitting at my own desk, in my own business (10 years and counting), writing this blog, mentoring the next wave of therapists, training my own front desk staff, teaching massage school, and being a boss. There are days just as hard as when I first started as a director, but now I call my own shots, work as much or as little as necessary to get the job done without someone else’s judgment, change things that aren’t working, and embrace all the things that do.

I am the owner, director, daily operations manager, massage therapist, and lead shot caller of That’s the Rub, The Therapeutic Day Spa and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Impossible is NOTHING! I have the power to change my world and I own it! Thank you Aunt Fran for showing me the way, I will be forever grateful.

That’s the Rub,

Lisa

Eating Windows: What Are You Two Doing?!? Part 1

Eating Windows: What Are You Two Doing?!? Part 1

Eating Window Part 1 main

Hi there, welcome back…to both of us! To say that it’s been a while since I’ve blogged is putting it mildly. It’s not that I have nothing to say, rather, I’ve been in one of those situations where I have SO much to say, that I have NO idea where to begin. Let’s start with a question Jim and I have been getting a LOT lately: “What are you two doing?” Normally, this would be a rather innocuous question, without much meaning, but in this case,  I know what they’re asking: “How are you looking so much fitter and how has Jim lost so much weight in so little time?”

ANSWER: Nutrition…but not how you might think, and certainly not how most (all?) of us were taught.

Nutrition is a wide topic made up of misinformation, inconsistencies, and contradictions. There’s so much noise, it’s hard, if not impossible to know where to begin, therefore, I will begin with a brief summary of my own nutritional journey.

I’ve been eating low carb (Keto / keto-ish) for about three years. Previously, I’ve done the Adkins diet (version 1 and version 2), low fat, high protein, vegetarian, vegan, and Richard Simmons’ Deal-a-Meal (remember that one, it takes me way back to the days of infomercials, spandex, and teased hair). None of these worked for me for longer than six months, but each time I tried a new approach, I learned something new about my body, my lifestyle, and what I would and would not do for the long-term.

Interestingly, each of these plans always ended with the idea that you were expected to “go off” the diet at some point and then “just eat a healthy diet in moderation and your body will maintain the lean shape you have just gotten to.” Boo! Wrong! My body never maintained it, I had to fight for it every inch and pound of along the way. Anyone who seemed to not struggle with this concept (or not YET) always looked at me like I was crazy when I couldn’t maintain my weight loss. The simple, hard truth is there’s no way for me to maintain like this because our human bodies are designed to adjust to what we’re doing.

Yeah, I said it: Our bodies adapt to what we do with it, it’s called homeostasis. The body’s primary job is to maintain its homeostatic environment at all costs and that includes at the cost of your metabolism. Oh yes, your metabolism, that wonderful word that all guru’s like to throw around like it’s something magical, unchangeable, pre-destined, and fixed. It is magical in the way the body adjusts its metabolism to the environment it’s currently in. However, try going back to what you THOUGHT always worked for you before (you remember when you “were young” and could eat anything and everything) and you quickly find it doesn’t work that way after all. It has to do with that homeostatic environment that your body likes to create for survival and that’s what we’re going to address here.

Nutrition is such a difficult thing to broach in conversation because everyone (I mean everyone) defends their choices of what they consume and how as if their life depends on it (which to be fair, it really does, but not while we’re stuffing cupcakes and diet sodas down our gullets). Most of these defenses are excuses to give us permission to consume something that our body clearly doesn’t get along with (even if you think it does, it really doesn’t and over this and the following blogs I will be explaining why, and better yet what to do about it!). It makes it doubly challenging that what works for one person rarely does for another, but we try to blanket nutrition with a one-size-fits-all solution.

Because we’re human, we then follow up our own behaviors with judgment for those who clearly can’t / don’t maintain their bodies as well as we do — or at least it seems that way more often than not (fat shaming is a pastime for many people, especially on social media). This is nothing less than blaming the victim, it’s not right, but when it comes to nutrition science, the human condition and the state of our food supply, make no mistake about it we are all victims of the industrial food complex and those who profit from what you consume.

The good news, despite people who say “just accept it,” is your body is NOT designed to be fat all the time, it’s not “just the way you were created,” it’s also not choosing to accept who you are. Staying in the victim state IS a choice, but once that choice is understood, it is easy (really) to choose something else.

I am not a nutritionist, I am not a scientist, I am not the alpha nor the omega of this conversation. However, I have spent the last 30 years studying the human body, consuming (pun intended, of course) every bit of dietary information I could get my hands on, and putting to use every kind of nutrition advice I came across, no matter how contradictory to other advice I may have already read, seen, or heard about. In short, I’m a body-hacker, and my goal is always to be the best me possible.

Here’s the sad truth: Every one of those diets, techniques, and fitness things might have been okay for a while, but I couldn’t maintain them because I always had cravings that I just couldn’t kick….come on, admit it you do too. It’s why you’re reading a blog about nutrition written by a massage therapist and spa consultant – maybe, just maybe she’s going to drop some knowledge that’ll work THIS time (fingers crossed).

In today’s post-industrial-food society we have the ability and are actively encouraged, to eat whatever we want to, whenever we want to, however, we want to, wherever we want to. Food (and food-like stuff) is all around us, all the time, and we are encouraged to eat and eat and eat – six meals a day (three primary and significant snacks) is now considered “normal.” It’s not, and if you take a quick look at history, you’ll find it rarely was before World War II (this is a very rough time frame as many cultures were impacted by factory foods 50 years before this and some only as recently as the 1960s).

It’s all about the forgotten SCIENCE (not art, not religion) of Eating windows (more popularly, if erroneously called intermittent fasting for those who want to Google more after this article). “WHAT?!? You mean you’re STARVING yourself?!?” Nope. Not even close, in fact, Jim did the math, we’re both eating MORE than we did just a few months ago…but we’re doing it LESS often and with MORE joy.

It began with a random conversation with family friend and world-class Magician Andrew Baerlocher on a visit to town in February. He mentioned he’s been doing really well with an eating window and weight loss. To be fair, he’d been talking to Jim about this off and on for a couple of years, and Jim flat out ignored it. This time was a little different, however, as he had both of us in the room and was able to lay out references and studies and books (Jim is all about the books). Andrew was adamant we at least look into it, and as we’ve all been friends for 20 years, we figured it was polite to at least watch a couple of YouTube videos and read a study or two.

Jim and I looked at each other and right after he left we dove in with digging up as much research as we could about eating windows and intermittent fasting. There’s a LOT, and not all of it is good, valid, or based on hard science…but a lot is, and there’s more coming out every day. This was about three months ago and we haven’t looked back. It’s hard at this point to remember a time when we were eating our three meals a day plus snacks if we got hungry. This intermittent fasting / eating window thing easily just became our thing, as we studied fasting protocols more, I quickly learned WHY it was so easy to stick with: the longer I use a shortened eating window as my choice of eating style the easier it becomes. My cravings have all but gone away (I have a potato chip hunger I have tried to shake for decades with little success which no longer affects me).

This is not a diet, it’s a lifestyle change.

What am I doing? I simply eat within a specific eating window, which changes by the day (I do this to keep my metabolism always guessing what’s next, which is easy because my schedule is nuts). That eating window is influenced by how I’m feeling in my body, about my life stresses at the moment, AND how much time I have on my hands. Some days the eating window is 8 hours long, some days it’s 1 hour long. But as a rule, I try to not eat for at LEAST 16 hours (this is because of something called autophagy which I’ll dig into more soon).

The secret little beauty about eating windows is, I’m not constantly fixing the next meal. I have my coffee in the morning, make my electrolyte drink to take with me (water, salt, potassium, and lemon juice), pack some tea to take with me and off I go. Easy peasy. It’s been great! I’ve saved so much time not making meals, grocery shopping for meals/snacks, and cleaning up after I make them. I haven’t yet noticed any money we’ve saved, but we did heavily invest in teas in the beginning because I think both Jim and I thought eating windows were going to be harder than it is. It isn’t hard at all.

Jim and I are coming at this from different directions for our own health reasons, but here is what has happened so far. I have lost at least 8 lbs and two dress sizes, all of my clothes look too big for me. This is the first time in over four years that the scale has budged. My skin has become softer. I look younger…the fountain of youth maybe? I have more energy, more focus and more awareness of what’s going on in my body (a blessing, and a curse). I have virtually no hunger — at least not the way I’m used to experiencing hunger. If I do feel like I need something, usually water quells it. No. I’m not kidding, just water. If it doesn’t go away with a few distractions, then I eat. When I do eat, I eat a balanced ketogenic diet (more on this soon as well), but I’m not able to eat as much and as such have to choose wisely, i.e. nutrient-dense foods to get the most out of what I am eating. But during my eating window, I eat the same number of calories I always have, I’m far from starving.

Jim’s coming from a very different place than I am. After retiring from the Air Force, Jim’s weight climbed rapidly (go figure, he was special operations for a chunk of his career and was used to constant physical exertion). Due to several injuries along the way, it simply became too much for him to run all the time, and eventually, as of 2017, he topped out around 330lbs (Jim is 6’0” and can hold a lot of weight well, but that’s a lot for anyone)! For years, he tried everything, more exercise, less calories, this diet and that…nothing worked, or didn’t work for long. In 2016 he started seeing a personal trainer (Lannie at Impact Fitness) and dug into more dieting. It was a slow roll, but over two years he lost about 25 pounds, was much stronger, and certainly looked better…but he was still over 300lbs if barely. Since we began eating windows (not quite 3 months ago), Jim has lost 35 pounds without changing a single thing other than WHEN he eats. Same workouts, same calories, same crazy work schedules…just following an eating window. This is all well and good but having lost 60 pounds since the last time he bought suits is putting a serious, if welcome, crunch on his clothing budget. Even better, he’s aiming for 200lbs by Christmas, and honestly, I see no reason he’s not going to do it. Yeah, it’s that easy.

This is not anywhere near enough information to pass along, so there will be a Part 2 and 3 for sure…maybe more. If I’ve piqued your interest and you too are interested in looking good and feeling great, the resources you choose make a HUGE difference. Dr. Jason Fung is a doctor of nephrology out of Canada who researched these results based on his diabetic patients and got the ball rolling with his book The Obesity Code, even if you aren’t diabetic or obese you WILL get a lot of information from this book. The Guide to Fasting, also by Dr Fung, breaks down what to do, how to do it and why. But you do not have to spend a dime, he gives it all away for free on his website and lectures on YouTube. You need spend nothing.

I also recommend, YouTube channels for Dr Eric Berg, Thomas DeLauer and there are several Ted Talks with fantastic information too. Know you are not alone. If you too have struggled with your weight, are confused about what you should and shouldn’t eat, when to eat or why, you are NOT alone and these resources above can be your first step in learning more about your body, what you want to put into it, when to put it there and why. It will change your life. I know, because it changed ours. Good luck on your journey and please reach out, post below, and let us know how it’s going for you. I’m a sucker for success stories. :o)

That’s the Rub,

Lisa