Week 3 results are in, and I have to say that I was dreading getting on the scale this morning. Over the past week I missed 3 of my 5 workouts, and had two different days where I ate significant amounts of carbohydrates - one day it was snuck into my food (through my own ignorance of carb levels in certain foods), and one day where I knew that I was eating them. It was a special occasion, and we went out to a nice restaurant where I ate some some bread, and ate a meal that I'm pretty certain contained a lot of carbs. The morning after our night out, I took three capsules of Keto by Design (as discussed during Week 0) So, I stepped up onto the scale, and was surprised by the results.
That said, here are the numbers:
Day 0 - 197 lbs, 35% body fat.
Day 7 - 195.5 lbs, 33% body fat
Day 14 - 194.5 lbs, 32% body fat
Day 21 - 192.5 lbs, 31% body fat
On Day 0, I weighed in at 197 lbs with 35% fat, which equates to 69 lbs of fat. (yuck).
On Day 7, I weighed in at 195.5 lbs, with 33% fat, which equates to 64.5 lbs of fat.
On Day 14, I weighed in at 194.5 lbs, with 32% body fat, which equates to 62.24 lbs of fat.
On Day 21, I weighed in at 192.5 lbs, with 31% body fat, which equates to 59.68 lbs of fat.
Last week, I lost 2 lbs of weight, and 1% body fat. That means that while I lost 2 lbs of overall weight, I actually lost 2.56 lbs of fat. So, exercise is helping me not only minimize lean muscle loss, but is in fact, helping me to gain muscle mass. One thing that is hard for me to get my head around is that while I've lost a total of only 4.5 lbs of weight, I've actually lost almost 10 lbs of body fat in just three weeks!
Here's my typical workout:
20-25 of high-intensity interval training. I do an elliptical (normally) routine where I do low-medium intensity warmup, then go hard and fast for however long I can, which is usually 20-30 seconds, and then go back down to the low-medium intensity until the next 5 minute interval. I do this up to 20 or 25 minutes, depending on what my body tells me.
After that, I do resistance training. Typically, I do a light-to-medium light weight for a high number of reps per set, for two sets. This is where I change things up. Sometimes I will increase the weight, and do the same, high reps until failure (or near failure). I do this weight for two sets. I'll increase again, and do the same. I usually see a decreasing number of reps with each increase in weight. I will go up to where I can only do 6-8 reps per set - again for two sets.
Sometimes, I'll do the opposite after my two warmup sets, and go straight to the higher weight, and do two sets of each weight as I decrease the weight. My number of reps will increase, but so does the muscle burn. I feel like I'm getting more of an energy-burning workout when I do this, rather than a muscle-building one, as I do with the increasing weight. That's just how it feels to me, and may not be accurate. Suffice it to say that I feel like I get a good workout either way.
One thing that I've noticed is that it's difficult to shake years of being told to avoid fats at all costs. I find that when I look for chicken to cook, I keep looking at low fat chicken breasts, rather than thighs. I also found it hard to add fats like ghee (clarified butter), coconut oil, etc. to my meals to get the needed fats, but am starting to come around. This past week I made a batch of Chocolate Peanut Butter Fat Bombs, as well as some Cream Cheese Stuffed Mini Sweet Peppers. I had made a batch of these with spicy peppers previously, but I think these actually turned out better, as I roasted three whole heads of garlic, and mashed that into the cream cheese with chives, minced onion, and Himalayan sea salt. These are a very tasty way to get a bit of vegetables and some fats.
Scott
I don't have any recommendations on any good keto books this week, as I've been reading and compiling recipes from my previous suggestions. See my previous posts here, here and here.
#keto #ketolife
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
Keto Weight Loss Update - Week 2
In two previous posts (HERE and HERE), I discussed a supplement that I was starting, along with migrating to a keto diet. I've taken my '2 weeks later' weight and body fat numbers, and here they are in summary:
Day 0 - 197 lbs, 35% body fat.
Day 7 - 195.5 lbs, 33% body fat
Day 14 - 194.5 lbs, 32% body fat
As I mentioned last week, the numbers don't look all that impressive until you do some math:
On Day 0, I weighed in at 197 lbs with 35% fat, which equates to 69 lbs of fat. (yuck).
On Day 7, I weighed in at 195.5 lbs, with 33% fat, which equates to 64.5lbs of fat.
Over the first week, I lost 4.5 lbs of body fat.
More math gives us this:
194.5 lbs x 0.32 percent = 62.24 lbs of total body fat. The previous week, I had 64.5 lbs. That's a loss of 2.26 lbs of fat. Pretty good in my book. I only lost a pound of total weight, which means that muscle mass didn't decrease.
So far, on the ketogenic diet, I've lost 2.5 lbs of weight, but I've lost 6.76 lbs of body fat. Nice!
As previously stated - it's recommended that in general, 50 (net) grams or lower is better, with less than 20 (net) grams being ideal. I drank a half a cup of coffee yesterday with splenda and a dash of sugar to cut the artificial sweetener taste, and then added 3 g worth of half-and-half carbs. Other than that, I have pretty much stopped drinking coffee to reduce my carb intake.
This week, I've been compiling recipes from this book I found. The recipes are great, and arranged by meal or type:
The Wicked Good Ketogenic Diet Cookbook: Easy, Whole Food Keto Recipes for Any Budget
#keto #ketolife
Day 0 - 197 lbs, 35% body fat.
Day 7 - 195.5 lbs, 33% body fat
Day 14 - 194.5 lbs, 32% body fat
As I mentioned last week, the numbers don't look all that impressive until you do some math:
On Day 0, I weighed in at 197 lbs with 35% fat, which equates to 69 lbs of fat. (yuck).
On Day 7, I weighed in at 195.5 lbs, with 33% fat, which equates to 64.5lbs of fat.
Over the first week, I lost 4.5 lbs of body fat.
More math gives us this:
194.5 lbs x 0.32 percent = 62.24 lbs of total body fat. The previous week, I had 64.5 lbs. That's a loss of 2.26 lbs of fat. Pretty good in my book. I only lost a pound of total weight, which means that muscle mass didn't decrease.
So far, on the ketogenic diet, I've lost 2.5 lbs of weight, but I've lost 6.76 lbs of body fat. Nice!
As previously stated - it's recommended that in general, 50 (net) grams or lower is better, with less than 20 (net) grams being ideal. I drank a half a cup of coffee yesterday with splenda and a dash of sugar to cut the artificial sweetener taste, and then added 3 g worth of half-and-half carbs. Other than that, I have pretty much stopped drinking coffee to reduce my carb intake.
This week, I've been compiling recipes from this book I found. The recipes are great, and arranged by meal or type:
The Wicked Good Ketogenic Diet Cookbook: Easy, Whole Food Keto Recipes for Any Budget
#keto #ketolife
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Keto Weight Loss Update - 1 Week
In a previous post (HERE), I discussed a supplement that I was starting, along with migrating to a keto diet. I've taken my '1 week later' weight and body fat numbers, and here they are:
Day 0 - 197 lbs, 35% body fat.
Day 7 - 195.5 lbs, 33% body fat
On the surface, that doesn't look all that impressive. So, I did some math:
On Day 0, I weighed in at 197 lbs with 35% fat, which equates to 69 lbs of fat. (yuck).
On Day 7, I weighed in at 195.5 lbs, with 33% fat, which equates to 64.5lbs of fat. See where I'm going with this?
Over 7 days, I lost 4.5 lbs of body fat. That seems pretty impressive to me. Admittedly, I exercise 3-5 times per week, which hasn't really changed, so more exercise isn't the cause. My diet, on the other hand, has changed. I am probably not in full-blown ketosis at this point, having just decreased my number of daily carbs over the course of the week. On top of that, I'm still getting 100 grams of carbs per day, which is at the high end of what is understood as getting the body into ketosis.
It's recommended that in general, 50 (net) grams or lower is better, with less than 20 (net) grams being ideal. I'm nowhere near that, as my morning coffee was usually on the order of 30-40 grams of carbs, due to 2 tbsp of agave syrup and 2 tbsp of half and half I put in it. I just started using half the amount of agave and supplementing it with a packet of sucralose, thus bringing that number down to around 20, but that's just what's in my coffee. I'll likely drop my morning cup of joe altogether as I continue the process on keto. This should get me into full-blown ketosis
Net carbs? Simply, net carbs are calculated by the number of carbs minus the fiber in the food you eat. Since my coffee has no fiber, I don't subtract any. The 100 grams number above is a general number that is used without factoring in fiber in the food you eat.
I've found a couple more really good keto books on Amazon as well:
Keto: The Complete Guide to Success on The Ketogenic Diet, including Simplified Science and No-cook Meal Plans
This is one of the highest-rated keto books on the market right now, and is one of my favorites as well!
The Keto Diet: The Complete Guide to a High-Fat Diet, with More Than 125 Delectable Recipes and 5 Meal Plans to Shed Weight, Heal Your Body, and Regain Confidence
This book is filled with really good recipes, most of which use fairly common ingredients, although sometimes it's nice to try something you've never had, or haven't had in a while.
#keto #ketolife
Day 0 - 197 lbs, 35% body fat.
Day 7 - 195.5 lbs, 33% body fat
On the surface, that doesn't look all that impressive. So, I did some math:
On Day 0, I weighed in at 197 lbs with 35% fat, which equates to 69 lbs of fat. (yuck).
On Day 7, I weighed in at 195.5 lbs, with 33% fat, which equates to 64.5lbs of fat. See where I'm going with this?
Over 7 days, I lost 4.5 lbs of body fat. That seems pretty impressive to me. Admittedly, I exercise 3-5 times per week, which hasn't really changed, so more exercise isn't the cause. My diet, on the other hand, has changed. I am probably not in full-blown ketosis at this point, having just decreased my number of daily carbs over the course of the week. On top of that, I'm still getting 100 grams of carbs per day, which is at the high end of what is understood as getting the body into ketosis.
It's recommended that in general, 50 (net) grams or lower is better, with less than 20 (net) grams being ideal. I'm nowhere near that, as my morning coffee was usually on the order of 30-40 grams of carbs, due to 2 tbsp of agave syrup and 2 tbsp of half and half I put in it. I just started using half the amount of agave and supplementing it with a packet of sucralose, thus bringing that number down to around 20, but that's just what's in my coffee. I'll likely drop my morning cup of joe altogether as I continue the process on keto. This should get me into full-blown ketosis
Net carbs? Simply, net carbs are calculated by the number of carbs minus the fiber in the food you eat. Since my coffee has no fiber, I don't subtract any. The 100 grams number above is a general number that is used without factoring in fiber in the food you eat.
I've found a couple more really good keto books on Amazon as well:
Keto: The Complete Guide to Success on The Ketogenic Diet, including Simplified Science and No-cook Meal Plans
This is one of the highest-rated keto books on the market right now, and is one of my favorites as well!
The Keto Diet: The Complete Guide to a High-Fat Diet, with More Than 125 Delectable Recipes and 5 Meal Plans to Shed Weight, Heal Your Body, and Regain Confidence
This book is filled with really good recipes, most of which use fairly common ingredients, although sometimes it's nice to try something you've never had, or haven't had in a while.
#keto #ketolife
Thursday, September 6, 2018
Keto by Design Weight Loss Supplement
Due Diligence:
I received a complimentary bottle of Keto by Design. The company 'Created by GOD, LLC', asked me to try it out, and give them an honest review of the product. I started the supplement on Tuesday, September 4, and plan on taking weight and body fat measurements weekly on Tuesdays to check my progress.
I've done a keto-based weight loss program, and lost some 16lbs a year or so ago. I've managed to keep most of that off, but the weight slowly started coming back on after I fell off the wagon, so to speak. This couldn't have come at a better time! I've started back on a low-carb, Keto diet, and if this product will help with my weight loss, I'll be a fan for life. The regular price is a little steep, at ~$25 for a month's supply, but if it works, it'll be worth going on as a regular supplement. Currently, I weigh 197lb, and have 35% based on my bodyfat scale. Accurate or not, that at least gives me a quick and easy way of testing to see any changes that might be occurring.
What is Keto:
Keto is short for ketogenic. In a nutshell, it's a different metabolic path by which your body gets its energy. Currently, most of us are on a glucogenic (sugar-based) metabolism where carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars that can be directly used by the body. In keto, your body switches to a ketogenic (ketone-based) one, where your body breaks down fat into ketone bodies to use as fuel, rather than carbohydrates. The NIH (National Institutes of Health) state: "..there is no clear requirement for dietary carbohydrates for human adults", and there is clear evidence of ketosis as being better for long-term health aside from weight loss. It has been shown to help with seizures, it has been show to slow Alzheimer's Disease progression, and a number of other issues, including aiding in cancer treatments. Also, many metabolic disorders like diabetes are directly tied to sugar metabolism (or lack thereof), and thus are helped out with keto as well.
Weight Loss Background:
What is Keto:
Keto is short for ketogenic. In a nutshell, it's a different metabolic path by which your body gets its energy. Currently, most of us are on a glucogenic (sugar-based) metabolism where carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars that can be directly used by the body. In keto, your body switches to a ketogenic (ketone-based) one, where your body breaks down fat into ketone bodies to use as fuel, rather than carbohydrates. The NIH (National Institutes of Health) state: "..there is no clear requirement for dietary carbohydrates for human adults", and there is clear evidence of ketosis as being better for long-term health aside from weight loss. It has been shown to help with seizures, it has been show to slow Alzheimer's Disease progression, and a number of other issues, including aiding in cancer treatments. Also, many metabolic disorders like diabetes are directly tied to sugar metabolism (or lack thereof), and thus are helped out with keto as well.
Product Background:
BHB
The product is based on medical and supplement research going back a number of years. One thing I noticed immediately is the similarity between the active ingredient, BHB (beta-Hydroxy Butyrate), and HMB (beta-Hydroxy, beta-Methylbutyrate), a product that has been used for decades in athletes:
BHB
HMB
With the slight difference being two additional methyl groups on the left side (ignore the jargon), there shouldn't be much difference in the activity of the compounds, but I wanted to research them to be certain. What I found is that there's been extensive study of both. The compound of interest, BHB has been in at least 2 NIH studies, and a number of consumer studies as well, and safety and effectiveness have both been shown at the concentrations available for supplementation.
You simply take 2 pills on an empty stomach 20-30 minutes before a meal, once a day. I chose breakfast, as that's the only meal I can regularly plan, so it's the easiest for me. I started, and will post some results in a couple of weeks!
Aside:
On a side note, the company donates $1 of every sale to Big Oak Ranch, a Christian-based organization in Alabama that adopts abused, neglected, and abandoned children. Since 1974, they've helped over 2000 kids, and are currently support 140 as of today, September 6, 2018. That makes them okay in my book.
Pick up a bottle of it here: https://www.amazon.com/Keto-by-Design/dp/B07FS3GYK8/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=
As a side note, there are a number of great books on the ketogenic diet, including meal plans, etc. available. Some of my favorites are below:
The Complete Ketogenic Diet for Beginners: Your Essential Guide to Living the Keto Lifestyle
This book is my Keto Bible. Written by Amy Ramos, an expert on Keto. I prefer the spiral-bound version, but for cost-saving, I recommend the softcover book.
The Keto Instant Pot Cookbook: Ketogenic Diet Pressure Cooker Recipes Made Easy and Fast
I am also a huge fan of the Instant Pot, or in my case a less-expensive brand of electric pressure cooker, but the recipes included here work very well!
#keto #ketolife
As a side note, there are a number of great books on the ketogenic diet, including meal plans, etc. available. Some of my favorites are below:
The Complete Ketogenic Diet for Beginners: Your Essential Guide to Living the Keto Lifestyle
This book is my Keto Bible. Written by Amy Ramos, an expert on Keto. I prefer the spiral-bound version, but for cost-saving, I recommend the softcover book.
The Keto Instant Pot Cookbook: Ketogenic Diet Pressure Cooker Recipes Made Easy and Fast
I am also a huge fan of the Instant Pot, or in my case a less-expensive brand of electric pressure cooker, but the recipes included here work very well!
#keto #ketolife
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)