plans derailed, current status
when last we heard from out plucky hero, she had grand plans to do a 3-day juice fast, start a low-carb diet, run a 10k, and check out the pilates class at the work gym. well, the diet is going at least...
the juice fast was derailed when geoff got hit by a car on day 2, which meant i spent that evening at the ER with him, and then had about three times as much to do between then and leaving for the greg campout on friday as expected, so i ended up needing food thursday evening in order to function.
i did start the diet-to-go meals on october 23, and they actually ended up being not bad, though not as many calories as i'd like. they're mostly only 300-500 calories a piece, which means i have to scramble for snacks in order to eat enough (which i'm only defining as over 1500 calories, which isn't that much!)
the ease into 10k program was going well until about three weeks ago, when i ended up straining my left hip. i'm not sure exactly how, but probably a combination of running and starting to do kettlebell goblet squats. so now i'm in PT for that, and i'm on running (and squatting) hiatus for at least another month. i should be able to do the race at the end of january, but probably not the 10k distance!
interestingly, this monday i slightly strained my left bicep just doing my regular rows and lat pulldowns, so i started thinking and researching, and i believe the strains are due to my diet change. my theory is that i've been lowish on the carbs, but not low enough to keto-adapt, and not high enough to fuel my regular level of exercise, which means i just haven't been getting enough usable fuel to my muscles. i haven't quite decided what to do about this; i'd like to try going to superlow carbs for enough time to keto-adapt and see if i can manage that, but i don't think i want to try that before the new year. for now i think i'll just try make sure i'm getting enough total calories and take it much easier when i'm working out. i also just started reading the art and science of low carbohydrate performance, which focuses on how to eat low-carb while exercising at a high level. i'm no performance athlete, but the low-carb reading i've done so far hasn't had anything at all to say about exercising while cutting carbs. apparently moar research is required so i don't further break myself...
on the meal front, i'm continuing with diet-to-go for a bit longer. i'll probably discontinue that the week before christmas. in the meantime i need to do a lot more reading on low-carb menus. i've actually found it relatively easy to eat at the lowish carb level i have been, which has been around 75-100 g/day. (mark sisson suggests that 50-100 g is the "primal sweet spot for effortless weight loss" and that this level will minimize insulin production.) initially i was having my breakfast protein shake with a banana, but i cut out the banana since bananas are pretty high carb and that would sometimes push me over 100g. for now while i'm not trying to do ketosis level low carbs, i think i'll add back at least half a banana in my smoothies. i surprisingly haven't really had carb cravings at all. apparently carbs are just a cheese delivery mechanism for me, and i don't really need the bread and pasta as long as i have some tasty vegetables to cover with cheese.
i tried to go the pilates class once, but it was full. i'll try again when i am less broken. i really need to stop breaking myself. i'm not even 40 yet!
i have lost about 10 lbs from my high of 185, so there's that.
p.s. in case anyone is wondering why i'm trying to do this low-carb thing, and why i would continue even when it seems to be having an unpleasant side effect, it's not just for the weight loss or the fad, but because i'm actually concerned about my triglyceride and glucose levels, and i want to make sure i don't become insulin resistant (assuming i'm not already somewhat, which i'd like to know, but i haven't had any insulin levels done yet).
the juice fast was derailed when geoff got hit by a car on day 2, which meant i spent that evening at the ER with him, and then had about three times as much to do between then and leaving for the greg campout on friday as expected, so i ended up needing food thursday evening in order to function.
i did start the diet-to-go meals on october 23, and they actually ended up being not bad, though not as many calories as i'd like. they're mostly only 300-500 calories a piece, which means i have to scramble for snacks in order to eat enough (which i'm only defining as over 1500 calories, which isn't that much!)
the ease into 10k program was going well until about three weeks ago, when i ended up straining my left hip. i'm not sure exactly how, but probably a combination of running and starting to do kettlebell goblet squats. so now i'm in PT for that, and i'm on running (and squatting) hiatus for at least another month. i should be able to do the race at the end of january, but probably not the 10k distance!
interestingly, this monday i slightly strained my left bicep just doing my regular rows and lat pulldowns, so i started thinking and researching, and i believe the strains are due to my diet change. my theory is that i've been lowish on the carbs, but not low enough to keto-adapt, and not high enough to fuel my regular level of exercise, which means i just haven't been getting enough usable fuel to my muscles. i haven't quite decided what to do about this; i'd like to try going to superlow carbs for enough time to keto-adapt and see if i can manage that, but i don't think i want to try that before the new year. for now i think i'll just try make sure i'm getting enough total calories and take it much easier when i'm working out. i also just started reading the art and science of low carbohydrate performance, which focuses on how to eat low-carb while exercising at a high level. i'm no performance athlete, but the low-carb reading i've done so far hasn't had anything at all to say about exercising while cutting carbs. apparently moar research is required so i don't further break myself...
on the meal front, i'm continuing with diet-to-go for a bit longer. i'll probably discontinue that the week before christmas. in the meantime i need to do a lot more reading on low-carb menus. i've actually found it relatively easy to eat at the lowish carb level i have been, which has been around 75-100 g/day. (mark sisson suggests that 50-100 g is the "primal sweet spot for effortless weight loss" and that this level will minimize insulin production.) initially i was having my breakfast protein shake with a banana, but i cut out the banana since bananas are pretty high carb and that would sometimes push me over 100g. for now while i'm not trying to do ketosis level low carbs, i think i'll add back at least half a banana in my smoothies. i surprisingly haven't really had carb cravings at all. apparently carbs are just a cheese delivery mechanism for me, and i don't really need the bread and pasta as long as i have some tasty vegetables to cover with cheese.
i tried to go the pilates class once, but it was full. i'll try again when i am less broken. i really need to stop breaking myself. i'm not even 40 yet!
i have lost about 10 lbs from my high of 185, so there's that.
p.s. in case anyone is wondering why i'm trying to do this low-carb thing, and why i would continue even when it seems to be having an unpleasant side effect, it's not just for the weight loss or the fad, but because i'm actually concerned about my triglyceride and glucose levels, and i want to make sure i don't become insulin resistant (assuming i'm not already somewhat, which i'd like to know, but i haven't had any insulin levels done yet).