Let’s review:
Long range goal - Lose 80 more pounds (total of 100 pounds) by my 40th birthday (3/1/19). Short range goal: Lose 7.5 pounds per month.
- Track my food until I am fully confident I don't need to (aka, can go a day or two or week or two with no weight gain). UPDATE: tracked *almost* every day the past 4 weeks! I'm giving myself Saturdays off from tracking but still being wise about my choices. I know tracking my macros is paying off - had to make some adjustments this week but I feel like I've found my sweet spot! More on that later...
- Plan my meals weekly, doing some meal prep with the family so we all have healthy options available that stay within budget. UPDATE: Have done really well for all 4 weeks! The travel weeks got a little hairy but I made sure to be conscious of my decisions, while also not being hard on myself. Last week I fasted 24 hours at one point, not really on purpose but because I couldn't stomach any airport food and by the time I got home (midnight) I was so tired I crashed!
- Test for ketones daily until my results stay consistent. UPDATE: I stopped tracking this every day because I stay around the same in ketones, and as long as I keep eating this way, I am in ketosis. PLUS - being in ketosis DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY GUARANTEE FAT LOSS! More on that later in the blog...
- Begin the T25 workout program as prescribed, following the modifier and taking rest breaks as needed until I don't have to. The Alpha program is 5 weeks and begins tomorrow 4/9/18. UPDATE: finished week 4! This week I was able to do burpees again! And some of the ab stuff I couldn't do in week 1! It's so exciting to see progress.
- Participate in STATurday, where I measure my progress and report it on my blog sometime each weekend. UPDATE: weighed in this morning - EEEEEEK! Can't wait to share - keep reading.
- Plan ahead a few days when I may not stay in ketosis. Such as Wyatt's birthday next weekend, or when we travel two weekends in a row at the end of the month. Be flexible, but firm with myself and don't allow my workouts to suffer due to poor choices (which means they will be limited!). UPDATE: I have Stephen's birthday tomorrow - but I'm feeling so strong that I am not sure I'll partake in anything that would cause weight gain. We shall see. I feel zero pressure either way! My family had desserts from two different places last night and I abstained and it didn't even bother me! Super happy about the headspace I'm in right now.
- Plan to reach out to my fitness mentors and friends when the days or weeks are challenging before making a less than helpful decision. UPDATE: Kept up with a few of my BFFs who are also working their fitness goals. It's so motivating to keep each other on track!
So a few things to talk more about: My macros, ketones and actual week 4 results!
This week I decided to give the ketogains macros a try (https://ketogains.com/) I follow these guys on FB and the group is pretty hard core but the results they put up are incredible. The actual calories are a little lower than I am used to, but I figured I would see how I felt for a few days. They are 1100 calories total - 8% carb, 62% fat, 30% protein. I added a few hundred calories just for good measure - and because 1100 scares me - but let's face it, I have alot of fat to lose. I figured taking it up a few hundred but keeping the % the same may still work. My test would be, how do I feel, and do I actually lose weight or do I stall because it's not enough nutrition.
At the same time, I have been toying with intermittent fasting, and decided to dive in because I felt so good doing a 16/8 eating window (fast for 16 hours, eat during an 8 hour window) and it really seemed easy. My issue was, it was tough to hit my protein goal in such a short window. So, I added a protein shake with a cup of coconut milk, ice, water and Primal Kitchen Collagen protein (chocolate coconut flavor). Two scoops pack a good protein smack without adding fat or a ton of calories/carbs. This made a HUGE difference this week I think, with hunger too. Having just black coffee in the morning, then eating lunch was fine, but by the time I would be cooking dinner I was ravenous - so this shake is my pre-dinner snack and it's been exactly what I needed, and it tastes fantastic so that's a huge bonus.
Immediately I saw something shift on the scale and on my body. I went anywhere between 1250 - 1580 calories this week, with my macros percentages being right on target (8% carb, 62% fat, 30% protein) and ate alot less dairy this week as well (sad face but seriously cheese hates me!). And BAM weight loss picked up, as well as my energy.
That brings me to chasing ketones. I've been in ketosis for WEEKS, and in and out of it since October. I mean every time I checked. I could even eat some carbs and check and my body has stayed in ketosis, or gotten back by that evening. I had a paleo pancake with chocolate chips, peanut butter and maple syrup for my first meal today about 2 hours ago (directly after weigh in LOL) and I'm juuuust under ketosis at .2 ketone level. I'm sure by tonight I'll be back in. What's my point? You can be in ketosis but not have your macros set correctly to actually lose weight. So, honestly, my last ketone strip will sit in the jar for awhile. (I do blood tests with a keto mojo meter in case you're curious). I won't be basing success on that number, or be too concerned with it anymore.
Successful HEALTHY keto is not eating all the meat/cheese and bacon you can stuff in your face and hope you lose weight...
A healthy, successful keto diet is really just a low carb version of paleo - lots of green, more protein and honestly, less fat than many keto diets prescribe. If you have fat to lose (like me!) then you DO NOT NEED high fat keto. I don't add fat to anything. I cook with it and I eat bacon but don't purposely add fat to my food afterward. It's not always necessary (unless my macros call for it which is like never lol).
That said - my grams for fat came in just under 100 per day. So I would not at all call what I'm doing a "low fat keto diet," either. The ketogains folks recommend that your protein number is a goal, carbs are a limit to stay under and fat is the lever you use to keep you satiated. For me, a girl with 70+ pounds left to lose, a great number of those fat pounds, it makes more sense to be more calculated in how I eat, especially as I heal my body from lots of less than stellar choices.
The other thing I want to mention is that there is NO ONE WAY for everyone to eat. Period. I see so many people hating on keto, trying to debunk paleo, harassing vegans, saying shakes are the only way to go...it's getting ridiculous. Just like our political and religious views, it seems people get so hung up on their current "good food word" that anything other than what they do is wrong and horrible. (insert eye roll here).
Different body types, personalities, lifestyle needs, and beliefs all play into HOW one gets themselves healthy. Heck, I'm not even doing what I did to lose the 100 pounds the first time! Read back in 2010 in my blog and you'll see that. I'm doing what is working for me, for now. And it's different at 39 than it was at 30.
If you create a caloric deficit, and eat healthy, whole food, and move your body regularly you should see successful healthy weight loss. You CANNOT outrun your fork. Period.
Recently, the Keto Reset Diet book by Mark Sisson was a huge help to me to find my way back to my paleo preferences and enjoy this process again. My inflammation is at an all time low, I'm sleeping GREAT, I'm losing weight steadily again and I have a ton more energy.
So. RESULTS this week? Well, since changing my macros this week, I dropped another 4.2 pounds! This is following my .2 loss last week which was meh - but because of all of the travel I gave myself some grace. This means I'm at 28.4 pounds down, or 28.4% to my overall goal! For the month since I started, I am down 8.2 pounds, so I surpassed my goal of 7.5 pounds this month!
I'm in a new "ten number" on the scale and I haven't seen this number since before Wyatt was born!
A few non-scale victories: I mentioned reduced inflammation - my joints are feeling GOOD. I found myself sitting criss cross applesauce last weekend - can't believe I can even SIT like that! My clothes are getting looser and people at work are beginning to comment on my newfound waist-line. My energy is through the roof and I'm super focused at work - incredibly productive and things are going amazingly well.
ALL GOOD THINGS!
Keep on keeping on my friends. Check in next week will include FULL stats and how many inches are lost!
Be well,
Clara
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