Circling back to a ketogenic approach...

After 2.5 months of an Eat to Perform "PFFL" cut, I'm not thrilled with the results. As I said in my last post, the first month as strict Whole30 was good - it got my inflammation back in check, and I dropped a lot of water weight that I gained over the holidays from some dairy cheats. However, the following 6 weeks did not yield much more fat loss for me, despite eating at a 3500 cal/week deficit. I was really hoping to get back under 200 pounds, but never got below 203.5 (and that was only brief, since I bounced back up to 205). I was averaging around the following macros depending on whether it was a workout day: 

    PFFL HI: 2200 Cals - 233gC/160gP/70gF (42C/29P/29F)

    PFFL MED: 2000 Cals - 183gC/160gP/70gF (36C/32P/32F)

    PFFL LO: 1800 Cals - 133gC/160gP/70gF (30C/35P/25F)

As I wasn't seeing the progress that I experienced back in 2013 when I first went gluten/dairy free, and I've been steadily gaining weight since I started Eat to Perform in July 2014, I stated thinking about what was different. The obvious difference is that I've been eating a lot more carbs, and less fat. 

• Back in 2013-mid 2014, I was keeping my carbs under 100g/day (very little fruit) and 50%+ of calories as fat, and I was steadily losing fat. I also was not very hungry since all the fat was so satiating, so I ate even fewer calories (1500-1800/day). I'd gotten down to 183# in June 2014 without much effort or tracking or macros (although I did some tracking in February 2014 for reference).
• When I started Eat to Perform in July 2014 and through 2015, I was eating a lot of sugar and corn-based cereal to meet the very high carb goals that were suggested to meet my TDEE (sometimes 200-300 grams/day to match my 2500-2800+ calorie TDEE when I was in a "growth" phase), and I was steadily gaining fat (although my stamina had improved vastly). Here's a high cal day - sooo many carbs!
• In 2016, I cut out all the sugar and processed food, and only ate fruit in order to meet the carb macro goals, but I've lost very little despite eating at a caloric deficit (and my stamina SUCKS). Typical day of food. 

I'm coming to the conclusion that maybe some people's bodies can lose fat while eating lots of carbs, but it seems that my body's response to all those carbs (even fructose from "healthy" fruit) prevented me from releasing fat. So, I started looking into lower carb diets, and stumbled onto the ketogenic community. It is similar to Atkins in that it's VERY low carb, but they want you to track macros to ensure you aren't eating too much protein either, which can also be used by the body as fuel instead of fat (Atkins does not limit protein). They promote limiting carbs to only ~5% of your macros, or 25g (net carbs, so excluding fiber). There are a bunch of Facebook groups and web sites swearing by this method (I just loaded up my Facebook feed with Keto groups), and I found a log of great info on the KetoGains site, which says they strive to be more science-based than anecdotal. 

The KetoGains calculator suggested the following macros for me based on my TDEE. Although the carb limitation a bit more extreme than I did back in 2013, eating that few carbs is a sure way to kick your body into ketosis and switch to using fat as fuel instead of carbs/sugar. And after eating at the extremely low level for a while and losing a good amount of fat, you can experiment with adding more carbs to see where your limit is to still be losing (typically up to 100-125g, which is where I was in 2013).

So, although I had vowed to stick with the Eat to Perform program for a full year, I just don't think it's working for me. I'm going to start eating the Keto macros on Monday 4/4 and see how that treats me after a couple months (I am expecting good things!). I would start now, but I'll be having a girls' weekend New York City with my aunt and some cousins (it's the first time in the city for some!), so I'm going to have one last hurrah before cutting out the carbs (including some gf/df pancakes with my aunt's homemade maple syrup - YUM!). But I've got my MFP goals ready to go for Monday (you can get an add-on to count net carbs here). 

2 months of progress so far

Checking in after 2 months of rededicating myself to my health. 

I started a Whole30 on 1/4/16, and finished it in 26 days...is that a PR? ;) Had a housewarming party at a friend's house on the 26th night, so I finally broke my dry spell with a few drinks. I tried to avoid sugary mixers so I wouldn't OD on carbs, so I had pink lemonade vodka and raspberry vodka mixed with raspberry lemonade Crystal Lite. Very tasty, although I'm not sure if it's healthier to have sugar or chemicals... But then I got right back on the wagon again...well, until my Book Club the following weekend... 

However, until then, I followed Whole30 perfectly (along with adding the RepairVite supplement to repair my gut and following Eat to Perform PFFL macros to shed some fat), and dropped a lot of the vacation and holiday bloat, as expected. I didn't weigh myself on 1/4/16 since I was too disgusted about what the scale would say, but then I went to the doctor for an exam on 1/26 and had to get on the scale...I was 210.5 (I don't even want to think about what I was on 1/4). Since then, I've dropped another 6 pounds (a steady pound/week, which my FitBit HR is predicting accurately with a ~3500 calorie deficit each week). So, as of last week, I was down to 204. Planning to stay on the PFFL until I get back under 200, and then I'll go back to my maintenance macros for a couple months before another PFFL. I still plan to stay away from sugary processed foods though in order to meet my carb macros each day (been eating a lot of sweet potatoes and fruit for carbs). Although I have been hitting the Sunbutter pretty hard again, and given into my Swedish Fish cravings a couple times...mmmm, sugar. I missed you, and now that I've had you again, my brain wants more!

But more important than the scale, my stomach feels SO much better - my little dairy reintroduction experiment in December (mostly in the form of powdered cheese snacks and chocolate) has re-strengthened my resolve to avoid ALL dairy (not even a cheese ball here and there). And I feel like my body has tightened up a lot again. Of course, now I wish I did take weights and measurements back in January. I also had some great improvements in my HDL since the blood work I had in October (from a very low 39 to a respectable 66). Triglycerides also dropped 10 points to 44.

And did I mention that I got a 15# PR on my back squat?! Up to 230# now! One of my coaches (and box owners), Rich, showed me what a difference it makes to lean back with the bar since I always seem to lean forward which puts the emphasis on my quads - when I leaned back, I was able to engage my glutes so much more, and powered right up. Probably could have done more with his help holding the bar back where it should be! However, I just read an interesting article stating that my body mechanics are simply working against me on the squat because I have longer than average femurs (normal femur length is about 23-27% of your total height, and my 18" femurs are almost 31% of my 5'9" height), which causes me to pivot forward in order to maintain my balance. This makes sense since all the best squatters I know have little short legs and long torsos - they are built for squatting. So, squats will always be a struggle for me. #damngenetics

Over the last year, my daughter has developed the love for roller skating that I had as an 80s kid, and has recently joined the local figure skating club. After going to several open skate sessions with her and watching her at practices, I figured; why not join her myself?! So now we're both in the figure skating club, and I'm learning some new tricks (and some grace!). I was so proud of myself for not falling during all the open skate sessions over the last year, and then I fell not once, but TWICE at my first practice! UGH. I went down backwards really hard the second time and my left bothered me for a solid 2 weeks (not the greatest timing with the CrossFit Opens going on!). So now I'm a little freaked out about falling again...it's a long way down for adults vs kids! But the coach I decided to team up with seems to have a sensible view of how to progress into various moves appropriately, so hopefully, there won't be many falls in my future.

So, like I said, it's CrossFit Opens time, and I think it's my least enthusiastic year yet since I just don't feel my performance is where it was the past 2 years. But I'm still giving the Opens WODs a go. So far, I've had to do 16.1 and 16.2 scaled since I didn't have all the movements (chest to bar, toes to bar). I was a little disappointed in both scores, but, whatever, still got a good workout in. Our new box, Charter Oak CrossFit, is having an in-house team competition for the Opens. Among other ways to earn points for our team is to dress in the weekly theme, and this week, it was super heroes. I am just loving this picture of our "SuperFam!"

I've added a few new supplements to my day, so we'll see if these make a difference:

• Probiotic (HyperBiotics PRO-15) - 2 pills/day
• Magnesium (Doctor's Best High Absorption Magnesium - this is glycine-based, which should be more easily absorbed than the Natural Calm citrate) - 2 pills/day
• Linum and Rhubarb - it was sent to me by mistake, but it's supposed to help with digestion and skin health, so I'll try it for a month - 2 pills/day
• Also began drinking 2 teaspoons of Bragg's apple cider vinegar with a teaspoon of honey each morning

Still taking the following:

• HemeVite (increase iron): 2 pills/week  (3 during period)
• D3 : 3 drops/day 3000 IU)
• B12 : 1mg methylcobalamin/day under tongue 
• Lurong: 2 pills/day