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Friday, November 12, 2010

Attacking Low Carb! Oh the Misconceptions!

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=590

I have been a member of Spark People for many years.  I love the support of my LC forum, the Thyroid Team and my Paleo Team (when it is active).  Unfortunately, I have some serious issues with their other aspects, especially their insistence on clinging to old ideas that have been refuted over and over again.  They refuse to acknowledge new research or other lifestyles that can be beneficial to people.

So, here is my response to the above linked article about carbohydrates, specifically the section about low carb diets.


To make this easier, let's adress each point individually.


What You Should Know About Low-Carbohydrate Diets
Following an extremely low-carbohydrate diet is disastrous, dangerous, and above all—boring! Carbohydrates are NOT the enemy. Including the appropriate amounts and types of carbohydrate-rich foods in your diet is essential for long-term health and weight loss/maintenance. 

I actually agree with part of this.  Carbohydrates are not the enemy, especially for people with a healthy metabolism.  I enjoy my veggies, fruits and nuts just like anyone else.  But, for some people over doing these foods can be disastrous and dangerous too!  My diet is considered by some to by very low carb (VLC) because I only get about 20% of my calories from carbohydrate. But, the way I eat is anything but boring!  I actually find my low carb way of life more exciting, and nutritionally dense than my eating was when I was following the SP recommendations!

The enemy is too many of the wrong types of carbs.  The SP diet is based on 50-70% of your calories coming from carbs, and still says 6-11 servings of grains, which even the USDA food pyramid has revamped to say only 6 servings of grains for the average person.  Still entirely too high, but better at any rate.

Note how there is no reference to proof that LC diets are dangerous, just the opinion on the author if there are no references.

There is plenty of literature out there to support a LC lifestyle, see the links I have provided at the end of this post.  See, I want to show this isn't just my opinion, but actually supported by medical research, with control groups, etc.  Not just observational studies like those that Spark People bases their guidelines on. (1), (2), (3)  Unfortunately, there are not studies on healthy individuals.  But you can go here to see some fantastic results of people that eliminate grains from their diets. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/3-more-primal-blueprint-tales-of-transformation/

The Body’s Immediate Reaction to Very Low Carbohydrate Diets 
When there is a severe deficit of carbohydrates, the body has several immediate reactions: 
  • With no glucose available for energy, the body starts using protein from food for energy. Therefore this protein is no longer available for more important functions, such as making new cells, tissues, enzymes, hormones, and antibodies and the regulation of fluid balance.
  • When carbohydrates are lacking, the body cannot burn fat in the correct way. Normally carbs combine with fat fragments to be used as energy. When carbs are not available, there is an incomplete breakdown of fat that produces a by-product called ketones. These ketones accumulate in the blood and in the urine causing ketosis, which is an abnormal state. Ketosis does cause a decrease in appetite because it's one of the body's protection mechanisms. It's an advantage to someone in a famine (which the body thinks it's experiencing) to lack an appetite because the search for food would be a waste of time and additional energy.
  • Due to the lack of energy and the accumulation of ketones, low-carb diets are often accompanied by nausea, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, bad breath, and dehydration.
  • Because of dehydration and a lack of fiber, constipation can result.
  • Exercise and fitness performance is reduced on a low-carb diet. Do not be surprised if your energy level is so low that you cannot make it through your normal workout routine.

    Okay, this is where the author goes off the deep end in my opinion.  I see some of these symptoms and I think to myself, "Those sound like the symptoms of withdrawal."  What do people complain of when they quit drinking coffee?  Headaches, fatigue. dizziness and nausea. (5) How about those going through nicotine withdrawal? SOur stomach or stomach pains, irritability, headaches and tiredness. (6)

    To me this speaks volumes.  If cutting something out of your diet causes you to experience symptoms of withdrawal, wouldn't that make you think twice about the effects that substance has on your body?  If you need to go through withdrawal, and then feel better once you allow your body to detox, doesn't that mean you should continue to avoid it?  Would you tell someone who was trying to quite smoking to just go ahead and light up so they feel better?  I sure wouldn't!

    LIke a smoker trying to quit there are ways to avoid this problem.  Smokers use patches and gums to help them taper off the nicotine and feel better about quitting.  You all know i am anti-grains.  But, you can have carbs in other versions.  Lots of vegetables, fruits, some tubers, nuts and seeds.  Eat enough of these healthy options to stay out of ketosis, or just barely in ketosis so you don't suffer from withdrawal.  It is as easy as that.  I have never had any of the problems listed above, yet I have reaped the benefits of eating low carb by having plenty of vegetables and some fruits.
The Long-Term Effects of Low Carbohydrate Diets 
When you severely restrict carbohydrates, your consumption of protein and fat increases, which has several long-term effects: 
  • The risk of many cancers increases when fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, and beans are eliminated from the diet.
  • Protein foods are also high in purines, which are broken down into uric acid. Elevated levels of uric acid in the blood may lead to needle-like uric acid crystals in joints, causing gout.
  • Kidney stones are more likely to form on high protein, ketosis-producing diets.
  • Over time, high protein diets can cause a loss of calcium and lead to osteoporosis.
  • The risk of heart disease is greatly increased on a low-carb diet that is high in protein, cholesterol, fat, and saturated fat. A temporary reduction in cholesterol levels may be experienced, but this is common with any weight loss.

    Well, the first statement says it all, doesn't it?  There is not one low carb diet that I have studied that espouses complete restriction of fruits or veggies.  Yes, some have an induction phase that requires a strict initial carb restriction.  One is to 20 NET carbs a day.  Do you know what that means?  It means to take the number of carbs in the food and subtract the fiber.  This gives you the net carbs for that food.  Did you realize this would allow you to eat about 45 CUPS of fresh spinach? Heck even if you didn't go with net carbs, you could still eat 20 or so cups of fresh spinach.  Yeah, that is a lot of veggies.  I don't think I have ever seen any diet that says zero carbs.  I know people who chose to eat that way, but even Atkins allows for 20 carbs in phase one.  As you can see even a person like me that is considered VLC can easily eat the proper servings of veggies and fruits while remaining low carb.  Well, there goes my risk of cancer.  I don't need whole grains to stay healthy.

    Point number two.  Well, I don't eat a super high protein diet, although there is good reason to believe that the USDA recommended level of protein is too low. (4)  Yes, I eat high fat.  But, because I eat only a normal range of protein I am not at risk for the things mentioned in points 2-4.

    So that leaves us at fat.  Has this dietitian not been paying attention to the research over the past 5-10 years.  Fat has gotten a bad rap, but fat is not bad for you.  There has been research that proves we NEED saturated fat in out diets.  There is also no proof that dietary cholesterol causes high blood cholesterol.  (7) (8)  Since I switched to a high fat diet my cholesterol has gone down, I have lost weight and I have kept it off.  Where is the harm in that?  Oh, and the most amazing thing?  I have lost most of my abdominal fat, you know the bad kind that increases your risk for heart disease?  When I followed the sparkpeople diet, if I was lucky enough to drop a few pounds it would come from everywhere except my waist.  You can look at my photos and tell that was the only place that really mattered!  Now?  I can't seem to get the fat to move from my hips, but my waist is shrinking and shrinking!  Gotta love it!

    I see someone else is going against the low carb bias too:  http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/lipid-hypothesis/rooting-out-more-anti-low-carb-bias/

    Oh, and a cardiologist that is on my side!  He actually prescribes a grain free diet for his patients, and they get better!  Imagine that!!!  http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/

    I need to address some of the things  mentioned in the long term section a little more in depth, but right now i need to get ready to take P to swimming.  I will save that for another day :)

References:




5) http://coffeefaq.com/site/node/11

6) http://www.quitguide.com/nicotine-withdrawal.html

7) http://www.marksdailyapple.com/saturated-fat-healthy/

8) http://www.marksdailyapple.com/cholesterol/

http://lowcarb4u.blogspot.com/2010/08/low-carb-versus-low-fat.html

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Success? Success!!!!

It dawned on me today, that I am a weight loss success story.  Have I reached my end goal?  Heck no!  I still have a bit of extra fluff around the middle that I am working on.  I still would prefer to have a little extra muscle on my 'chicken legs'.  But, I have lost a significant portion of my additional body fat.

At one point I was about 45% body fat using an impedance scale.  Now?  I am 29%.  At 210 pounds I was carrying a full 95 pounds of body fat on my body!  95 pounds!!  At 158 pounds I am carrying 46 pounds of body fat.  I have lost more pounds of fat than my body now contains.  Holy crap, that is a lot of fat!  I wonder what I will have accomplished when I reach my goal?  If I get to 20% and weigh about 135 pounds I will have lost 65 pounds of fat.  If I weigh 128 (my lowest adult weight) it will be about 70 pounds.

I have lost about 25% of my initial weight in the past 5 years or so.  In the beginning from Dec 2005 until Aug 2009 I lost 6.65 of my body weight.  Since August 2009 I have lost 19.3% of my body weight.  I have kept off the initial weight for over 5 years.  And the second portion I have maintained for almost a year.

Do I think I will gain it back?  Heck no!

Am I bragging?  YES!  Why?  Because I hadn't really sat down and figured out those numbers.  And when I did, even I was surprised at what I saw.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Thoughts

I am averaging about 1 pound a week of weight loss.  I have built some lean mass.  I am really happy about that!  In the first challenge I lost some lean mass, my guess is it was mostly glycogen and water, but still it looks a bit scary to see that.  I am overjoyed that this time around I gained some lean.  So my overall weight loss was not as dramatic, but do I care?  No, not really.

I am hoping that by keeping the weight loss to 1-2 pounds a week I can allow my skin time to shrink down a bit.  It isn't looking so hot with the extra sagging :(

So, the biceps.  Maybe they didn't grow because of the body fat loss.  Fat puffs things up too.  They LOOK better, which is the important part I think.  I will keep working on it.  I don't need them to be huge, I just want them to get bigger than 11 inches...lol

I had a good workout today.  I messed it up since I wanted to do 2 exercises for each target area and forgot a second upper body thing.  So, maybe some dips or something tomorrow to make up for it.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

End of Challenge II

So, I didn't make a bunch of my goals.  Blogging was not up to par for sure, nor was tracking some of the stuff I wanted to track.

My successes.  I did get to bed very close to 11 most nights, some nights even before 11.  I did exercise, but not according to my plans because of my injuries :(

So, the results are in.  Are you ready?!?


September 22 stats:

 thigh fullest part: 22.5
thigh: 17.5
calf: 14.25
ankle: 7.75
wrist: 6
forearm: 10
biceps: 11
waist: 34.5 (NW), 37 (AF)- my way of measuring, not sucking in like I do for 'official' tapings 
hips: 38.5 
chest: 35
neck: 13.5


October 28, 2010
thigh fullest part: 21.75
thigh: 17.5
calf: 14.5
ankle: 7.5
wrist: 6
forearm: 10
biceps: 11
waist: 32.5 (NW), 34.5 (AF) !!!!!!!
hips: 38
chest: 34
neck: 13.25


total inches lost= 8!  holy cow!


So the BF is harder to know for sure.  The tape site I normally use doesn't take into account the waist measurement, so it doesn't show that I have lost any body fat.  I found another site that says I am 30.4% now, and I was 32.8 with my last measurements, so it gives me a loss of 2.4%, which I like.  The scale at the gym that uses impedance says I have lost 1% of my body fat since Sept 22, from 29% to 28%.  I think I will stick with that one from now on.


I am down a total of 4 pounds, but I don't know the breakdown in fat percentage.


So my next 'challenge' ends on the day before Thanksgiving.  Still have the same end goals: reduce body fat, increase biceps.  I will do it!




So, I just re-did the one body fat percentage using the website I normally use.  At work it was giving me 26%, the same as it was in September.  Now it says 24.8%.  I am guessing because of the parts of the inches i wasn't using before?


So that stats for that:
24.8% BF ( 38.6 Pounds of fat and 117.4 Pounds of lean (muscle, bone, body water) - 10/29/10


September BF%- 26 (40.8 fat, 116.2 lean)


Down 2.2 pounds of fat and up 1.2% lean!  That is some good stuff!!!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Running Strikes again!

So, now my knee hurts AGAIN from Squadron PT.  I can't wait until Wednesday so I can get on profile and maybe get this knee to finally feel better.

Eating was good today, I had a couple of times where I was super hungry, but was able to stay primal for 90% of the day :)  I ate one bite of the shell from a taco salad and 1/4 of a piece of Ezekiel bread, so not bad at all.

I was down another pound this morning.  I don't expect that to keep happening, but if it would like to I wouldn't mind.

We had pizza soup for dinner, yummy!  Then David brought home some Taco Bell, I ate the guts of a steak taco and some of a chicken taco salad, but not the beans or rice.

Exercise today:
walk/run for about 20-25 minutes
cool down 5 minutes (walking)
squats on TG
calf raises on TG
fitter: 1 min
elliptical: 3 minutes
rebounder: 2 mins
SLR for my knees

Tomorrow I was going to run, but with my junked up knee I may do the elliptical instead and let the knee rest a bit more.  I should do a tabata dumbbell thrusters session too.

I guess that is all for now.  Have a good night all!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Working It!

I waited until the last minute, but I finally got in some upper body stuff.  I did 2 sets of pull-ups on the Total Gym, 1 set of low rows on the TG, 3 sets of over head presses with 8# dumbbells (need more weight).  Then when I got home I did 3 sets each of diamond wall push-ups and regular close arm push-ups.  It isn't much, but it is better then what I normally do, which is nothing...lol.

Food was great today.  I was really hungry this afternoon though, I need to pack better for snacks at work.  Nah, I really just needed meat, beef today.  I was totally craving it!

I did some measurements this a.m. and it looks like i might have lost some more inches.  I am going to wait until next week, the end of the second 30 day challenge.  I was totally not as good this time around, but still not terrible.  I don't know if I will make my goals, but I might be closer than I originally thought.  After that I will do one more.  Basically 25 October until 24 November.  That way I can go 'off plan' for my birthday on the 25th.  So, next week I will re-do all the original measurements from 22 September.

I guess that is all for now.


Breakfast: almonds, coconut milk, green tea
lunch: 2 eggs, brie, sausage, carrot, coconut milk, red peppers
snack: almonds, pistachios
snack: string cheese, beef jerky, dark chocolate
snack: 1/2 banana, carrot, green tea with coconut milk
dinner: 2 slices bacon, asparagus and cheese fritatta
snack: dark chocolate

took supplements: magnesium, fish oil, Vitamin D3

Tomorrow is squadron PT, bleh...lol  Friday I will go run on the indoor track, double blah!

I posted the above blog, and then saw off to the side that I had not updated the weigh-in section in a while.  So, I added the weigh-in for today, 157.4.  And then I realized that I lost 2.7 pounds since September 29, which is only 3 weeks ago.  That averages out to .9 pound a week.  Basically I have lost a pound a week, for someone as close to goal as I am, that is excellent!  I really need to quit being so hard on myself!!!!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Great Day!

At least foodwise.  I probably had too much cheese, but how can I not eat my own yummy chile relleno casserole?  It was so good.  I also had some leftover ribeye, grassfed yummies.

The dog has learned how to open the back door!  She got out the other day and was missing for a few hours.  We thought the kids let her out, but not... she opened the door herself!

I am hoping we can find out for certain what is going on with my knee.  I have my doctor's appointment on Wednesday next week.  It has really been swollen a lot lately, and spin class on Friday made it a LOT worse, not good.

Because of the knee, and partially my still sore shoulder, I have not been doing the workouts I need to do to build more muscle.  It might take longer to get to my goals because of this.  It also means I need to be better about what I eat.  No more treats on weekends.  I need to bring primal foods with me to friend's houses.  Hopefully they don't get to offended.  I know most of them won't care.

We did circuits at Squadron PT today, and I did some leg strengthening stuff to help my knee.  Tomorrow I will do some upper body stuff at lunch time, I NEED to get that part under control.

Plan:
pull-ups on Total Gym
low rows
bent rows
over head press

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Fitness Update!

Well, today was my fitness test. I did not do as well as I would have liked, my run time was down, but I did pass. So I am good for another 6 months. I will do better next time! Considering my knee issues lately, I am not too upset with my run, I actually 'whooped' a little when I was finished...lol

Stats:
abdominal circumference (measured around the waist at the level of the right ASIS) 33.5 
sit-ups: 33 (my goal was 30+)
push-ups: exempt (bum shoulder, which surprisingly is aggravated by sit-ups  )
run 1.5 mile: 15:25 (was shooting for 15 or less, but was happy as long as it was under 15:30)


My score was 78.7 (I think)  But, it was 78-something.  We need a 75 to pass, so I did just 'okay'.  My goal is an 85 next time!


I am not sure exactly WHAT I need to get an 85, but right now I am saying these are my goals:
decrease run by 1-2 minutes
do 43 sit-ups
decrease AC by 1 inch.


If that isn't enough to get 85 I will adjust :)


I plan to use Friday afternoons to practice the running.  I am going to do 12 laps (1.5 mile) on the indoor track alternating running as fast as I can and active rest with jogging (walking if I have to) until I can run the whole thing at a faster pace.


I am also going to increase my weight lifting for legs.  I think that will help too.  I need to make sure I stretch enough.  mY inner thighs are extremely tight and I think that is adding to my knee problems.


I have been good about getting in bed by 11 :D
I have been okay with tracking my treats, I think I forgot something yesterday.
I am not sure where I am with my fitness goals for the week.
I think I need to keep track better...lol


Oh, I was 159 this morning, so back down a bit from where it got to after this past weekend.  No more adult beverages for me until this month is up.  I really want to decrease my body fat, so I have to get serious!!!!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Kicked its ASS!

I overcame this morning. The little bugger in my head was TRYING to get me to skip the elliptical this morning. I left my medication at home, so it was telling me I should go get it, that I wouldn't have time for both. I have my fitness test on Thursday, so it was telling me i should rest and not overdo it. It talked me into the locker room after our morning routine. And I kicked its ASS, told it to stuff it, grabbed my Ipod and did it anyway! I only did 18 minutes. I normally do 30, but I did need to go home and get my medication. But, some is better than none and i can get in 12 minutes at the end of the day here in the clinic. I did HIIT for the first 15 mintues. So even thought it was less time, it was still a great workout.

We did 'circuits' for squadron PT. Sprints/running, crucnhes, planks, squats, bicep curls with bands, push-ups, ball toss (partners with medicine ball), lunges and a rest. It wasn't so bad. I really prefer that workout over others we do because there is more variety. I like having more than jsut 3-4 stations. Especially because I can count it as a LHT workout 

Food so far:
b-fast: 2 eggs, sausage patty, brie, hot sauce
sanck: 10 almonds
lunch: 4 large strawberries, .5 cup Greek yogurt. (had salad with chicken and bacon planned, but I ate -b-fast late and wasn't hungry for it), 1 square dark chocolate
snack: apple
snack: 3 dates, babybel cheese, bacon (let me tell you this was AWESOME)
dinner: flank steak, coconut flakes, tea with coconut milk
snack: a few bites of apple dessert my son had (it was sweet and sticky and gross  )


More on life in general, not just diet/nutrition and the challenges.

How did it happen that we are now parent's of busy kids? We went from 1-2 activities per YEAR to more than one per season! Are we nuts?!? I really think we are trying to prepare for the winter, knowing there won't be as much outside play so they will need structured activities to keep them active.

We have swimming, basketball, acrobatics, bowling (for the three oldest), cub scouts, boy scouts and daisy scouts. And I am thinking of coaching the 7-9 y.o. basketball if they don't have a coach. The only one that doesn't have any activities is the 2 y.o. But, since my hubster is back to work in the a.m. and on Saturday's, she will be at the daycare 4 days per week. That will keep her engaged.

Now I just need an activity to keep my from going crazy this winter. I might join a bowling team. I enjoy bowling, so it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe I should try out the Zumba class at the Youth Center or something. Any suggestions?

I do plan to start swimming when I take my son to his swim team practices, the coaches said there in plenty of room in the pool. THis will be cool because I have always wanted to participate in a triathlon, this will get me in shape for the swim portion 

Now, if I just had more interesting stuff to blog about. Bleh, sometimes I feel so boring....lol I mean I don't in WHO I am IRL, but when I try to write stuff out I feel stifled or something. Anyone care to hear about my supervisor and I sining "Lily the Pink" in the clinic on Friday? Yeah, we are a bit crazy, but loving our job and working so well together.


Monday, October 4, 2010

I know, I know!

I really started the challenge on Tuesday last week, but I really, really didn't start until Wednesday, but I was 'good' on Tuesday so I went with it.  Well, I find it easier to keep track from Monday to Monday, so that is how I am doing it.  It means I couldn't reach all of my first week goals, but that is okay.

I picked up my new medication today for my thyroid.  It is a natural thyroid medication.  It should help to balance out my T4/T3.  I think it will help me feel better and help me lose weight.  I am pretty excited about it.

My fitness test is Thursday.  Nail biting!!

Food today:
breakfast- 10 almonds, tea with coconut milk
coffee with half and half
lunch: 2 eggs, 1 sausage patty, 1 serving brie, asparagus
snack: 5 almonds, 1 square dark chocolate
snack: 5 cashews
dinner: fried chicken with skin removed, 1 piece of bacon



Not the best since i usually like to have more veggies, but eh, it will do.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Bleh

Feeling a little blah today.  Not sure exactly why, but I am, so there :P

I didn't do my workout today and I don't really feel like it.  I know I need to, but the motivation is lacking.

So far my 'treats' today are: brie and dark chocolate.  We had some nitrate free hot dogs, not sure if that is a 20% or not...lol.

We are having some shrimp for dinner and I think I will cook some flank steak very rare, yummy!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Woot! Woot!

Woot, woot!!!

Doing great. I ran today, did I mention I hate running? Yeah, I do, but since it is a condition of my employment, I do it. We did about 2.2 miles today. I started walking for a bit because my knee was feeling puffy, hate that. It is better now, but I need to take my meds. After Thursday when I take my fitness test I will be able to go to the doc and get a waiver from running for a while.

I also got my strength training in  I was putting it off, but that won't help me reach my goals. I did arms and core today. Tomorrow will be legs and that will get me my two strength workouts for the week. I really can't count the stuff I do at squadron PT because it is always the same stuff and I don't feel like I am making any gains with that. Sunday I will head to the gym and run on the indoor track just to see where I am. I need to be able to run the 1.5 in under 15 minutes. I need to be able to do 32+ crunches in one minute. I think I can do it, but those stupid tests make me so nervous.

So, I was a little 'bad' with my eating. I had some fried mozzarella sticks for lunch, they were so good and worth it. They also had the first grains I have had all week. I guess it isn't horrible. I think I still ended up with under 20% of my intake being non-primal stuff. I always have trouble with deciding if I consider cheese to be a 20% or not. Eh, either way, my 'treats' today were; 1 tsp honey powder, 2 slices provolone cheese, 3.5 mozzarella sticks and 1 square of dark chocolate (serving size 6 squares), about 2 tsp mayo.

Food:
2 eggs, sausage patty
mozzarella sticks, sweet potato fries, 1/4 cheese burger (no bun), lettuce
cheese steak with provolone, beef, onions and peppers
4 tablespoons coconut milk in my tea
8 almonds

Hmmm, I really didn't eat that much today. Guess I didn't need it. 

Looking forward to the weekend. Hopefully it isn't too rainy.


P is really enjoying swim team.  They don't compete, but they are learning a lot, so it is a good no pressure environment.  I used his practice time to run to the commissary and to do my strength training.  I am hoping I can get David to use the gym while he takes P to practice on occasion :)


P has a trip with the Scouts tomorrow, and if he gets home in time we are going to go and practice swimming.  Since I want to do a triathlon it makes sense for me to start getting in the pool too.  P actually said he wants to try one too, but it will take a while to get him where he can run far enough.


M wanted to do basketball, but it looks like practice will be at the same time as Cub Scouts, so he might have to pick a different winter sport.


How did this happen?  How did we go from parents that had run of the mill kids to kids that are so involved?  Have we lost our minds?!?!?!  Or are we just worried that the winter will be so cold and long we need them to have something other than T.V. and video games?

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Keeping it real!

So today was basically day three, it was supposed to be day one, but of course I started early.  So far so good.  I still need to figure out what I am going to do for strength training.  I am so having trouble motivating myself to do it.  I am technically doing some strength stuff with our Squadron PT, but not nearly enough so I can reach my goals.

The eating is great though. I love that I don't feel hungry all the time and my food is so yummy!  We had salmon cakes for dinner, they were so stinking delicious!  I pan fried them for a few minutes in bacon grease and then finished them in the oven.  We also had turnip greens, first time I have cooked them.  For some reason I thought they would be bitter, but they have a very mild flavor.

I am totally loving the extra workout after PT in the morning.  I got in the 30 minutes on the elliptical and felt great all day.  It make me laugh to think that people that eat 'low carb' have no energy.  That is so far from the truth for me.  I mean a person without energy wouldn't be bouncing on the trampoline at work, now would they? And my poor, poor, underfed brain.  It is just going to shrivel up and die....not!

Today was just a great day.  C and I worked on her rollie pollies for acrobatics.  Tomorrow we need to work on stretching.  I need to do this too!  And P has his second swim team practice.  Crazy how we went from the non-participators, to an activity just about everyday!!!!  It is fun though, and seeing the progress C is making with acro is awesome.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to put up my BF%:  29% as of today.

My goal for this challenge is to get it down to 27% or less, without losing lean mass.






I did okay today. 

My 10%: 
dark chocolate- 1 square 
Avocado Ranch salad dressing .25 serving 

Exercise: 
20 mins jogging (last man ups) 
10 mins walking 
2 sets wall push-ups 
50 crunches 

elliptical x 30 mins: some intervals not HIIT 
fitter x 5 mins 
bouncing on trampoline x 3 mins 

Daily goals: 
take supplements- check 
90% primal- check 
track treats: check 
bed by 11- planning on it :)

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

End of Day 2

Not too bad today.  I was able to stick closely to my eating plan with only 2 treats; dark chocolate and Tyson Pepperoni Any'tizers.  I did not do my workout though, which I really need!  I need to do the strength training if I want to build muscle.  So, now I need to fit it in somewhere, I guess Friday and Saturday.  Well, unless I lift tomorrow and then do the elliptical on Saturday.  Something.

I weighed in this a.m.  I was 160, blah.  Not sure why since I still wasn't 'bad' since the last challenge ended.  I did miss my thyroid meds twice and was not using any coconut milk, could either of those have made that much difference?  I don't know.  But, it is still less than two pounds up from the end of the last challenge.  Downward from here!

I will use the scale at the gym tomorrow to measure my body fat percentage.

Getting to bed by 11 is such a challenge for me.  I wish it wasn't because I know it will help me lose weight and just feel better in general.

Anyway, that is all for now.  I need to get my stuff ready for tomorrow.

Daily Goals:
in bed by 11 p.m.- yes
take supplements: Vit D, magnesium, fish oil- yes
track non-primal foods- yes

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Day 1 a little early :)

Yes a bit early.  A few friends had started a challenge yesterday, inspired by my first challenge :)

So, I decided to join them, it is always more fun to do it with some buddies!




I will weigh  myself tomorrow and do the BF% at the gym on Thursday.  I will do my measurements on Thursday so I can calculate the BF% with both methods to see if one or the other seems more accurate.

30 Day Goals:
drop BF% by 2+ points
increase lean body mass
take 1-2 minutes off 1.5 mile run
have noticeable changes in before/after pictures
increase biceps size


Daily Goals:
in bed by 11 p.m.
take supplements: Vit D, magnesium, fish oil
track non-primal foods

Weekly goals:
2 tabata sessions
2 elliptical sessions
2 strength sessions
Blog 3x a week


******Stats 9/28******

10%: 1 square dark chocolate, cheese stick, 1 teaspoon ice cream
exercise: circuits x 40 mins, HIIT on elliptical x 20 mins (5 min warm-up/5 min cool down)
supplements

Monday, September 27, 2010

Challenge II

So, I was really happy with the results of my first primal challenge.  I do good with 'competition' even if it is just with myself.  So, I am doing another one :)

Last time I lost 6.6 pounds of fat.  I am hoping to repeat that loss, or even do better.  Last time I lost 1.4 of lean mass, which could be muscle, water, glycogen or bone.  My guess is water, but you can never be sure.

So on 30 September I will start.  I picked that day because I don't like starting things in the first of the month, yeah I know I am a little silly like that.  I also will have Squadron PT, so I will be at the base gym, there is a good quality scale with a body fat percentage calculator, the BF% has been pretty similar to what I get with measurements.  I like it because it is easier to track, it spits out a paper with all my stats on it :)

I am adding a running portion.  I will do a practice 1.5 mile either Thursday or this weekend.  My goal will be to take 25-45 seconds off my time.  I will work on this goal by doing HIIT and endurance cardio 1-2 times a week using the elliptical.

So I will make easier to achieve goals.  And will work on blogging it at least every other day.

I am not sure what my daily/weekly goals will be but some ideas:
in bed by 11 (so hard for me)
elliptical for 30 minutes 2 times per week
tabata 2 times a week
lift heavy things 2 times per week (full body)
90% primal
track 'cheats'- I have decided tracking everything is too tedious.  I might do a full track one week day and one weekend day.  But, I NEED to keep track of my treats to make sure I am staying in my 90% primal mind set.

My overall goal is to improve my BF% and build muscle :)


I wonder what is a reasonable goal for my biceps measurement if I start at 11 inches? 11.5? 12?


So, who wants to join me?  Even just one person gives me someone to 'compete' with :)

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

The Moment You Have Been Waiting For!!!!

That's right, the results of the 30 Day Challenge.  A little late, but better late than never, right?

So Sept 18 marked the end of my 30 day 'primal' challenge, it went well I think.

I am currently 157.6 pounds- down 7.1 pounds 

Here are the measurements from Aug 18:

thigh fullest par: 22.75 inches
thigh: 17
calf: 14
ankle: 8
right wrist: 6.25
right forearm: 10
right biceps: 11
waist: 36 (NW), 39 (AF)
hips: 40 
chest: 36.25
neck: 14

September 22
thigh fullest part: 22.5
thigh: 17.5
calf: 14.25
ankle: 7.75
wrist: 6
forearm: 10
biceps: 11
waist: 34.5 (NW), 37 (AF)- my way of measuring, not sucking in like I do for 'official' tapings 
hips: 38.5 
chest: 35
neck: 13.5
It looks like I lot an average of two inches off my waist and hips 

Total inches lost? About 8  I am not counting the gain in thigh or calf because those are most likely muscle gain- I was working legs a lot 

August BF %- 28.8% (47.4# fat, 117.6 lean)
September BF%- 26 (40.8 fat, 116.2 lean)
Lost 6.6 pounds of FAT!!!!  Lost 1.4 of lean, will need to work harder to maintain that next time.
Difference -2.8% I'll take it