Whole 30, #3 -- The Goal is to remain in Ketosis page 13

[Louisa655]

Serious apologies to everyone for my absence. I'm back into a course and trying to juggle that, with working full time is no easy task. I have/we have now completed this full month of Whole 30 (insert applause). Congratulations to all of you/us.

It's been an interesting month for me with a few family stresses (I'm sure the same is for all of us). My youngest daughter relocated from Toronto to London, England and ended up in the hospital for 12 days with a severe lunch infection, which resulted in a collapsed lung. Being so far away from her (she is only just turned 21), was very difficult and stressful. She has just been released and is on the mend. She works as an AuPair in London, and thankfully the family that she works for has been very, very kind to her. I throw out a big thank you to the universe for all the kindness the caregivers have provided my daughter. Where would we be without kindness in this world? (these are some of my ruminations this month).

Okay, on to the business of the body, the weight, the progress, the highs, the lows and the complete package.

I personally found this Whole 30 months to be my toughest to date, perhaps because of some major stresses, or it may be that I've completed Month 3 and some boredom has set in? In any event, I had occasions of consuming some sugar (piece of blueberry pie and 1 piece of pumpkin pie). Immediately following the consumption of these two items, I felt really sick and then promptly fell asleep for a few hours. Wow, what a waste of a day when the sugar rush makes you feel as though you are having a heart attack, followed by the waste of time when I'm in a complete comatose sleep. Bad news all round this sugar stuff.

Here's the positive news:
1. I moved from being stuck at a 150lb weight to being consistently in the 140's. I have yet to reach my goals of 143 yet, but I hope this next month will see that loss realized.

2. I shopped for clothes this month in a way to celebrate my accomplishments and I purchased the following:
A. All new bras. I was for a proper fitting and tried on about 18 different types of bras and now I feel that my new bra size has been assessed properly and makes my silhouette appear even nicer.
B. I purchased TWO (2) Victoria Secret bikini's and the bottoms are a medium. I don't like bragging, but I'm THRILLED because I look fantastic and the ladies in the store also think I look amazing. This is no small feat, given that I'll be 50 in two more years.
C. I bought a beautiful kilt (they are really hot this year), with matching thigh-high socks. I look and feel hot and my husband nearly lost his eyeballs when I stepped out in this little outfit to go to brunch this morning
D. ......DRUM ROLL PLEASE........here comes the best news of all: I have officially moved from a size 12 into a Size 10 and I'm now OFFICIALLY WEARING A SIZE 8!!!!!! This is my BIG NEWS this month. At the beginning of September, I was wearing a 10 but am OFFICIALLY INTO A SIZE 8. I'm smitten with these results. I hope I don't come off sounding too big on myself here -- apologies for that, but I'm really thrilled.

I believe the real gains this month came from me 'upping the ante' on the exercise. On MOST evenings, I leave my home at 7pm to begin my 10km, race-pace walk. I walk around our block which is measured as exactly 1-mile in circumference. And I just walk that block round and round and round. I do this route out of safety and in case I need the washroom partway through.

In addition, I've been doing more convict conditioning exercises on a weekly basis --- I just throw my yoga mat down in our family room and while my husband is watching tv, I either stretch or do body weight exercises. I figure I'll keep the body moving which is preferable to sitting on the couch and doing nothing, right?

The food/menu has been the same --- Daily 16hour IF, with a feeding window of 8 hours. I prepare a bullet coffee each morning and then off to work I go. Lunch and dinner are between 12 noon and 6pm and no snacking at all after dinner. I'm in bed by 9:30pm. I've found the IF to be easy as I'm rarely hungry before noon and it's nice to not have to bother with the preparation of breakfast.

Energy levels continue to be beyond anything I might have dreamed of. I'm often up at 5am and try to get some studying in before work. My evenings walks are something that I look forward to as it's 'time for myself' and I have the opportunity to think/ruminate about my studies, work or life in general. The sharp autumn air clears my brain and I feel invigorated.

Finally, my husband is beginning to see the light on all of this. He cannot believe my results, and he quite proud of me. He has begun to embrace this lifestyle and sees the merit in it. I can understand his hesitation at first, because he is a doctor, and he is conservative in his thinking until he conducts his own research and sees results for himself. He is fully ON BOARD with this lifestyle. He ran a 21km trail race yesterday and did not consume any sugary drinks or gels and he felt fantastic. I've been sharing with him many articles and research on fat-adapted marathon runners and he is re-thinking his approach.

Although I am happy that my husband is opening up to this concept, I also would like to say that his participation, acceptance or endorsement is not necessary to my success or happiness in the paleo lifestyle. Although I ready many postings on husbands/wives/partners who are not on board, this should never stop anyone from adopting a healthy lifestyle. Some individuals just need a bit more time to see results before making changes. There's nothing wrong with that approach.

Sorry that this post is becoming too long now.

I will post my weight tomorrow once I officially weigh myself.

GOING FORWARD:

I am commencing my next Whole 30 *(4th month) and nothing changes. The goal continues to be remaining in Ketosis with the priority on building more muscle & strength through continued daily exercise. I will be in a hotel for a week for a conference and that will present a bit of a challenge, but I'll go prepared with tins of smoked oysters, sardines etc.

My last comment is meant to leave you with a smile: I visited my fish monger yesterday and treated myself to 12 fresh Oysters. Hubby quickly opened them! Nice that my hubby is world's best shucker!

Can't wait to catch up on all your successes this past month. Please let me know who's moving forward on this train into the next 30 days!

/louisa

[Louisa655]

This is an interesting thread and it's fascinating to follow someone's experiment with breaking a weight loss plateau. Tomorrow marks the two week point since I started tracking calories and macros on "Lose It". I had a feeling I was eating too much protein, but I typically keep carbs adequately low. I am guessing based on calories tracked so far that I used to eat 1800-2100 most days. I have lost at least 40 pounds since starting Primal Blueprint in January. Currently I am averaging a loss of 5 pounds per month and I would love to step up the pace a bit. That's why I decided to experiment with my ratios. Based on this two weeks, I don't see any difference plus I am trying to hold myself to 1500-1900 calories with most days in the 1600-1700 range.

I will say that today, day 13, I am feeling extra sharp and alert and it even seems like my eyesight is clearer. Maybe that's my imagination. I am holding off on lunch since I'm not really hungry yet. Typically I am hungry after 4-5 hours past my last meal. Since going Primal, hunger is never that painful, gnawing feeling. More of an emptiness and mild discomfort.

Misunderstood: In the beginning, I was also consuming too much protein. I re-ran my numbers and am conscious of my macros on a daily basis. I also pulled out of my cupboard a small scale and I'm actually weighing my protein, to be sure that I'm not over or under guesstimating. As it turns out, my guesstimates were often wrong and I've not got a firmer hand on what 4ozs of cooked meat actually looks like. It's quite easy to over eat, isn't it? I find that I'm eating less in ketosis. It's easy for me to stay between 1000 - 1300 calories per day with the ratios as follows: F/P/C 70%/20%/10%. My bone structure is petite although I am 5-10 & 3/4" tall. I cannot fathom eating 2000 calories per day --- not on the paleo lifestyle anyway. I can see how I could easily consume that much if I had piazza or other carbi foods. It's very difficult to eat 2000 on the paleo plan (for me, anyway).

Wait to go on the significant weight loss -- you seem to be on a very positive path currently.

[Louisa655]

I know it's a total bummer! I was looking forward to doing a little shopping and to see family. Oh well.

But you're right, Vienna is lovely. And Fall is my favorite season, and I was not looking forward to missing Fall in Vienna. It's really very nice here. Street fairs, and fall leaves, and quiet streets, and brisk cool air. It's heaven.

Hoping Louisa is okay. hopefully life just got really busy and she doesn't have time to check in.

Vienna! Oh, how amazing! I'm jealous as all get out. Sorry for the absence -- my daughter became seriously ill and with her being in another country, things were a bit nuts there for a while. I'm back and will be consistent in keeping up with you and your success. Again, apologies.

[Louisa655]

Wanted to say that I woke up feeling incredible this morning. I'm on day 16 of ketogenic eating, and I'm feeling fabulous! I feel strong, I feel buzzed, I haven't even eaten breakfast yet. Good times, good times.

I love the high-energy feeling....there are times my husband just shakes his head, but it's hard to be anything but happy, positive and high energy! I love it!

[JudyCr]

So happy to see you back.. Scary news about your daughter!! I'm so glad she's on the mend..that had to be very stressful for you.
Very cool about your new hot self. It is such fun to shop or even dig deep back in your closet and discover how beautifully smaller sizes fit now. I'm in for Oct., already started with IF, nothing since 11am today, next food 6pm Mon, next wk shooting for 48 hrs.

[Louisa655]

So happy to see you back.. Scary news about your daughter!! I'm so glad she's on the mend..that had to be very stressful for you.
Very cool about your new hot self. It is such fun to shop or even dig deep back in your closet and discover how beautifully smaller sizes fit now. I'm in for Oct., already started with IF, nothing since 11am today, next food 6pm Mon, next wk shooting for 48 hrs.

Thanks, Judy -- appreciate your kind words. Wow, that is some serious IF'ing --- I think we'll have to call that an "IFF'ing' --- my hat off to you ----- I'd probably be gnawing off my right foot. I'm comfortable with my daily 16/8 splits but don't think I could go longer.

[JudyCr]

lol. Have slight headache but sleeping soon so it'll go away. 4 friends and I fasted for 5 days once, no coffee or tea, nothing but filtered water, lots of it, light walking on the beach, we all stayed together in my neighbor's beach house, it was so much fun, we complained like crazy but no one had a bad time of it. None of us were fatty fat and all lost about 10 lbs each.

[Miss Understood]

Misunderstood: In the beginning, I was also consuming too much protein. I re-ran my numbers and am conscious of my macros on a daily basis. I also pulled out of my cupboard a small scale and I'm actually weighing my protein, to be sure that I'm not over or under guesstimating. As it turns out, my guesstimates were often wrong and I've not got a firmer hand on what 4ozs of cooked meat actually looks like. It's quite easy to over eat, isn't it? I find that I'm eating less in ketosis. It's easy for me to stay between 1000 - 1300 calories per day with the ratios as follows: F/P/C 70%/20%/10%. My bone structure is petite although I am 5-10 & 3/4" tall. I cannot fathom eating 2000 calories per day --- not on the paleo lifestyle anyway. I can see how I could easily consume that much if I had piazza or other carbi foods. It's very difficult to eat 2000 on the paleo plan (for me, anyway).

Wait to go on the significant weight loss -- you seem to be on a very positive path currently.

I give you a lot of credit for figuring out what works for you and doing whatever it takes to reach your goal. We're all different and I have heard a few other ladies state that they need to maintain their weight or lose by eating a low level of calories. That said, it seems like you are doing an awful lot of daily exercise especially on those few calories. According to my calorie tracker program my maintenance calorie level for my 5'6" frame is around 1900 calories per day. Bulletproof coffee alone is over 500 calories. It's not hard to eat over 1500 calories per day. That's only 500 calories per meal times three meals. A piece of cheese is 100 calories and a tablespoon of olive oil on a salad is 120. A large egg is 90. I really am interested in what your meals look like to be high fat but so few calories. My ratios are the same as yours the last couple weeks: 70 fat, 10 carbs, 20 protein.

[Miss Understood]

Just for fun, here is my breakfast and lunch which is already more calories than you eat all day, and I haven't had supper yet! Breakfast was a frittata made with a double yolk egg, only one sausage link, onions, mushrooms, Swiss chard and 1 oz of cheese. Also had half a grapefruit and two cups of coffee with heavy cream. Total 596 calories. Ate at 6:00 AM. Lunch at 1:00 was a grass fed ground beef patty with a slice each of mozerella and tomato on top. Two ounces of Greek Yoghurt since the container was almost empty. Romaine lettuce salad with olive oil and apple cider vinegar dressing, half an ounce of blue cheese crumbles. One square dark chocolate. Total 633 calories. Both meals come to 1229 calories. Dinner won't be large but just about anything that resembles a meal is going to be 300-400 calories.

[Louisa655]

I give you a lot of credit for figuring out what works for you and doing whatever it takes to reach your goal. We're all different and I have heard a few other ladies state that they need to maintain their weight or lose by eating a low level of calories. That said, it seems like you are doing an awful lot of daily exercise especially on those few calories. According to my calorie tracker program my maintenance calorie level for my 5'6" frame is around 1900 calories per day. Bulletproof coffee alone is over 500 calories. It's not hard to eat over 1500 calories per day. That's only 500 calories per meal times three meals. A piece of cheese is 100 calories and a tablespoon of olive oil on a salad is 120. A large egg is 90. I really am interested in what your meals look like to be high fat but so few calories. My ratios are the same as yours the last couple weeks: 70 fat, 10 carbs, 20 protein.

I guess I kinda get used to eating some 'routine meals' and I duplicate this every week. I have my 'stick' figured out and I'm okay with duplication week after week. I need little variety. In terms of energy -- I've always been a very 'high energy' individual. I have trouble sitting still or relaxing: This is not to be confused with nervous -- I'm not a nervous person. When I'm out for my walks -- I could go forever and they often turn into some good sprints. I feel an abundance of energy daily and never feel 'low energy'. I'm not sure if that is genetics + a good food programme or what but I'm wired this way. Interesting point to consider on further. I'll post some daily food plans if I can figure out how to do a copy paste from FitDay.com. Appreciate your comments. /louisa