In the past two years, when Mubarakah Ibrahim wasn’t leading a fitness boot camp, tending to her four children, teaching yoga at her fitness studio, or chatting with Oprah, she was writing a book. The Ten Commandments, actually. Of weight loss.
Ibrahim’s book, Fat Loss 10, is now available at her fitness studio across from Edge of the Woods; at Atticus Bookstore Cafe; and at Sogno Boutique of Dreams on Audubon, where she conducted a book-signing Saturday. The book is a compilation of sensible nutrition guidelines she’s been telling her fitness clients for years: stop eating three hours before you go to bed, don’t eat grains after 5 p.m., drink half your body weight in water (ounces, not pounds) every day, etc.
When Ibrahim was trying to lose weight after the birth of her second child, she set out to educate herself about fitness and nutrition. She experienced major results and was so hooked that, while working toward an English degree at Albertus Magnus College, she became certified as a personal trainer. Last year she opened a women’s fitness studio, Balance Fitness, on Whalley. After self-publishing her book, she now shares her most effective strategies with readers as well as clients.
Ibrahim is not just any personal trainer who happened to write a book, however. She’s known around New Haven as the “Muslim trainer,” she said at the signing. After her recent appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show, she heard from women all over America. Ibrahim is an observant Sunni Muslim, and leaves only her face and hands uncovered. “People are always curious to see if I’ll take off some clothing when I’m training,” Ibrahim explained. She never does.
To read more about how Ibrahim challenges stereotypes of Muslim women, click here.
Mubarakah Ibrahim is a true New Haven story, and so is her book. In addition to general guidelines and recipes, Fat Loss 10 includes illustrated exercises modeled by clients at Ibrahim’s studio — it looks like the plan is working for them.
Click here to check out the website for Balance Fitness.
Thank you for writing a balanced article - it is very refreshing. I'm proud to read about this amazing personality who is single-handedly battling stereotypes by simply being herself.