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.
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
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