Day 5 of Keto - Ketosis Day!

Big day today - finally hit ketosis this morning according to my test kit. I am officially carb depleted! Was bummed to not see the scale budge for a second day in a row though. But I am feeling a little leaner. This is the second day in a row that I worked out and had a total calorie burn for the day around 3000 calories, while only eating about 2100. I'm curious to see if my body will prefer the next couple rest days coming up instead, where I'm eating much closed to my total burn. Maybe my calorie deficit has been too big these last couple days.

My daughter wanted to make some homemade Paleo chicken nuggets that I made several months ago. So glad to have found a healthy version that her picky palate liked! After soaking the chicken chunks in some brine, you roll them in spiced up arrowroot and give them an egg wash, and then fry them up in some lard or coconut oil. And the best part - it only amounts to about 1-2g of carbs/nugget!

My Food

Breakfast: bacon & sausage 3 eggs scrambled topped with Red Hot sauce
Lunch: Steak curry with broccoli
Dinner: Chicken nuggets w/ arrowroot powder
Snacks: 3 TB SunButter 1/3c Thai Kitchen full fat coconut milk

3% Net Carbs / 32% Protein / 64% Fat

Day 3 of Keto

Down another 2 pounds this morning! 201! So close to ONEderland I can TASTE it! I am psyched to get there by the end of this week (and no, I don't care that it's just water weight!)!

Finally got back to CrossFit this morning after a week off due to schedule conflicts. I was hoping the week off would let my left wrist finish healing from that stupid rollerskating fall 6 weeks ago, but it still hurt doing snatches today. That movement, in particular, aggravates it - it doesn't like the wide snatch grip. I worked up to some squat snatches at 65#, and had to stop there. My coach said I was catching the bar totally crooked too, probably because I'm favoring my left wrist. UGH! I did buy some wrist guards to wear skating from now on since I'm so freaked about taking another big fall, although I'm gonna feel a little dumb wearing them. Oh well, better safe than sorry. Maybe I'll transition into roller derby. ;) 

I was a little hungry after lunch today, so I had a few spoonfuls of full fat coconut milk - so yummy and creamy! Seems like such a forbidden treat! That seemed to hold me over through dinner (another steak curry - so delicious!). My Fitbit thinks I'm going to burn 3000 calories today between CrossFit and all the trips up and downstairs doing laundry (and scrubbing out some carpet stains - that's work!). However, after dinner, I'd only eaten 1800 calories and was a little short on protein. So, I ended up having a shake before bed so I wouldn't be hungry all night. I used some unsweetened chocolate mixed with full fat and light coconut milks, some Healthy & Fit Egg Protein powder, with a tiny bit of erythritol to mask the bitterness - not bad!

My Food

Breakfast: bacon 2 eggs scrambled topped with Red Hot sauce
Lunch: Blackened pork chops sauteed in coconut oil with some coconut milk/chicken broth gravy Broccoli
Dinner: Steak curry with broccoli
Snacks: 2 TB SunButter some spoonfuls Thai Kitchen full fat coconut milk 3 baby carrots protein shake w/ chocolate

						3% Net Carbs / 30% Protein / 67% Fat

Day 2 of Keto

Another successful day! And down 1/2 pound this morning - I'll take it! No positive readings on my Ketone Strips yet though...maybe that takes a couple days. 

I was happy to find that I really wasn't hungry and craving snacks between meals at work today. Having all the extra fat at breakfast really makes a difference in keeping me satiated. I had been eating a pretty low fat breakfast with some grapefruit, and was hungry again an hour later, so I'd have an apple to tide me over until lunch. No desire for all the fruit today! 

I checked out the nutrition facts at Chipotle.com today to see how many net carbs were in my favorite bowl - only 10! Even scored free double meat today - cha ching! So glad I was able to keep the onions & peppers and salsas on top - I was afraid they would be too many carbs. I haven't been getting rice or beans (or that delicious bag of lime-salted chips) for so long that I don't miss them anymore anyway. And I don't think the salads need the dressing with all the yummy salsa (and I actually prefer my homemade version of the salsa anyway). 

I wasn't even hungry for a spoonful of SunButter before I left work, however, I was a little hungry before I took my daughter to her Brownies meeting, so I dug a spoon in then. When I got home for the meeting, I threw together another quick curry (so tasty!). 

So, pretty happy so far!!! We'll see how I feel tomorrow during my first CrossFit workout in a week. 

My Food

Breakfast: 6 oz homemade turkey/pork sausage 2-3 eggs scrambled with some green peppers topped with Red Hot sauce and 1T coconut oil
Lunch: Chipotle's bowl - Double Steak/chicken, Guac, Fajita Veggies, Mild + Med Green Salsa, No Dressing
Dinner: Steak curry with broccoli (just sirloin tips and broccoli sauteed in coconut oil, with some salt, pepper, blackening seasoning, full-fat coconut milk, and red curry paste stirred in)
Snacks: 2 TB SunButter

						5% Net Carbs / 33% Protein / 62% Fat

Day 1 of Ketogenic Way of Eating

Day 1! I'm very excited that my sister is doing this with me! I hope we both find success! Weighed in at 204 this morning - can't wait to finally get back to ONEderland soon! I'm planning to follow it perfectly for the next 3 weeks...then I'm heading to a conference in Washington, DC for 3 days. Although I will try to continue eating low carb/high fat, it will be tougher while eating all of my meals out (not to mention the temptation to have a couple drinks with my friend who's going with me). But that's ok - back on the wagon when I get back! My first test will be this weekend - we're spending the day in NYC for my niece's baptism, and having lunch at some restaurant afterward. I will have to figure out some snacks to bring. 

I don't feel very well prepared though. I was in NYC Friday and Saturday for a Girls' Weekend with my family from update NY. We had a blast, but I was beat after getting home after midnight Sunday morning, so I never got to the store to stock up on good stuff like avocados and lower carb veggies (after seeing them off after breakfast, I took a 2 hour nap, and then slept like a rock for 8.5 hours overnight!). But at least we have plenty of SunButter and coconut milk! And we still have some sirloin tips and chicken grilled up from last week. That will get me through for a little while, anyway. Yesterday, I finished off some leftover gf/df pancakes so I could top them with my aunt's homemade maple syrup that she brought for us - yum! 

It is a strange shift to be loading up on fats instead of carbs. For so long, I've tried to keep my fats under 70g/day, and now I'm striving for twice that! Although they say that I probably won't be as hungry once I hit ketosis, and especially once I'm fat-adapted, so maybe I'll eat less then. But my body does keep telling me it's hungry today - must be looking for carbs! For breakfast, I had some bacon and scrambled eggs cooked in some of the bacon grease (yum!), topped with Red Hot sauce, of course. For lunch, I made a delicious steak curry with broccoli - I do enjoy having the full fat coconut milk again! For a snack, I had a couple TBs of SunButter and a little more coconut milk. I was feeling pretty guilty about the lack of fiber I had today, so I made my favorite salad for dinner, including a little of my very favorite homemade salad dressing, which does have honey in it. Totally nailed my macro ratio today! 

It SNOWED ALL DAY (hello, it's APRIL!!!), so I didn't feel like driving over to CrossFit class. I'm looking forward to getting my CrossFit enthusiasm back after I drop a few pounds - I think the extra weight is messing with my head, and making me less excited about striving for my goals of a pull-up and improving on gymnastics moves. I actually skipped the last WOD of the Opens - it was a repeat of 14.5, which was a descending pairing of thrusters and burpees over the bar which I never intended to to again after struggling through it the first time - still, I never would have skipped it if I thought I could beat my old time. I'm also going to miss Oly class this week since it conflicts with my daughter's Brownies - boo. I might be going a full week between WODs. Well, at least I got lots of steps and flights of stairs in over the weekend. 

I busted out my old pill box since I'm taking more supplements again and am tired of fussing with all the bottles. There seems to be a lot of emphasis on ensuring you are getting enough magnesium and potassium (and sodium, but I can handle that with salt). Here's what I'm taking now:

• Lurong Deer Antler - 1 pill 2x/day
• Hyperbiotics PRO-15 Advanced Strength - 1 pill 1x/morning
• Prescript-Assist Probiotic & Prebiotic - 1 pill 1x/night
• Linum & Rhubard - 1 pill 2x/day (until it runs out)
• Doctor's Best Magnesium Chelated - 2 pills 2x/day (400mg)
• NOW Potassium Citrate - 2 pills 2x/day (400 mg)
• Apex Energetics Hemevite - 1 pill 2x/week
• Metagenics D3 - 3 drops/night (3000 IU)
• Vitamin Shoppe B12 - 1 dropper dose/morning (1000 mcg)

My Food

Breakfast: 4 slices of bacon 3 eggs scrambled in bacon grease, topped with hot sauce
Lunch: Steak curry with broccoli (just sirloin tips and broccoli sauteed in coconut oil, with some salt, pepper, blackening seasoning, full-fat coconut milk, and red curry paste stirred in)
Dinner: Chicken salad with Honey Chipotle dressing
Snacks: 2 TB SunButtery 1TB Coconut Milk

						4% Net Carbs / 31% Protein / 65% Fat

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

It's been a while... Time for some 2016 goals to get back on track

Neglected blog, neglected body. It's been a long time since I've posted and took care of myself. I kind of lost my enthusiasm while careening toward my 40th birthday in August as I came to the realization that it wouldn't be the grand "Fittest by Forty" victory that I'd hoped for when I started this blog. But time to get back with the program here. "Fittest by Fifty" will be here before I know it!

I feel like I peaked in July 2014 when I had my first place win at a CrossFit competition. Although I don't want to focus on scale weight as a defining factor any more, I was a very lean 183# and felt great while just eating intuitively and following a more whole foods-based diet. While I've continued to gain strength since then, I've slipped into some bad eating habits that caused me to put some weight back on (I was back to flirting with 200# during a lot of 2015). Having a little more weight on has slowed me down in my CrossFit metcons involving body weight movements (REALLY back to hating burpees again), and that is making me cherry-pick WODs to avoid nasty metcons involving burpees...and this behavior has resulted in a downward spiral in my stamina (that's a vicious cycle). It's also interfered with my first pull-up goal (whether it's just mental or physical). 

I tried following IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros) in the early summer, and a coach set a limit of 1900 calories for me to do a cut. After a while of eating at that number, I had NO energy for WODs - it simply wasn't enough calories to support my activity. I decided that my performance and building muscle were more important than fat loss, so I started eating the number of calories that my Fitbit said I burned each day, tracking diligently in My Fitness Pal. While my performance did increase again, so did my weight, although not vastly. I think a big mistake was eating a lot of processed cards in order to make the high carb requirements to meet my calorie goal each day, which was sometimes upward of 3000 calories (so many bowls of frosted flakes...). I wanted to do a cut at the numbers that Eat to Perform recommends (which are higher than the IIFYM numbers), but they want you to be eating at your full maintenance calories for at least 2 months before doing a cut (they theorize that your body needs to be well fed at a maintenance level for a while before it's willing to release fat), so that's what I did for a while...and then vacation time hit in mid-November. 

I haven't tracked a thing since mid-November. And I think that would have been ok if I didn't do one other thing: reintroduce a dairy into my diet. It started as a couple cheese puffs here and there, which didn't seem to affect me. So, had a few more... And then a scoop of a cheesy dip at a book club night...and then several scoops at another party...and then several bags of cheesy popcorn/puffs & Doritos throughout the rest of the year. I never went so far as to have a bowl of real ice cream or a slice of cheese, and I still strictly avoided gluten (although I have had some tapioca products, which I know affect me too). But now I am so bloated a puffy that I am petrified of what the scale might say. Every part of me has expanded - even my boobs, which I do not like!!! I look like I'm pregnant. And my gut has been gassy and churning as ever. It's been over 2 years since I felt this way. My body is obviously inflamed again. Suffice to say, apparently dairy truly is an issue for me, so it needs to go. 

Also, our first CrossFit home at South Windsor CrossFit closed in November, which I found hit me pretty hard. I miss the coaches, programming, and all of my friends there. Most of our friends went to another box in South Windsor, but we ventured over to one in East Hartford: Charter Oak CrossFit (Brian is hoping to get a CrossFit Kids class started up there - he got his Level 1 cert in November!). The coaches there are great, and it's a really nice, clean facility. But I've had trouble getting into a routine there, which I primarily blame on my poor nutrition - if I'm eating like crap, I don't feel like working out (another vicious cycle).  I also just miss the camaraderie since we haven't gotten to know everyone there yet. Need to get back on track and make the most of our new membership.

So, starting Monday 1/4/16, Brian and I are starting a Whole30 (always so nice to do this together). I'm also going to start taking RepairVite again since I obviously have some inflammation to treat again. I'm planning to track my nutrition using the following Eat To Perform "PFFL" numbers (Performance-Focused Fat Loss), using sweet potatoes and fruit to meet my carb requirements. I am REALLY looking forward to watching all of this "fluff" come back off again, and just feel better again.

	HIGH WOD Days	MEDIUM Rest Days	LOW Used Sparsely
Calories:	2200	2000	1800
Protein:	160	160	160
Carbs:	233	183	133
Fat:	70	70	70

And here are my 2016 goals (which look a lot like my 2015 goals):

• Still get that damn strict pull-up - commit to a pull-up program 3x/week
• WOD at least 4x/week, unless I'm really feeling like I need more rest
• Drink 3 liters of water/day
• Do some mobility every day (especially for lower back)
• Remain gluten/dairy/tapioca-free
• Focus on a whole foods-based diet, minimizing processed foods

Here's to a better 2016!