Let the Ketosis Begin...
Its been a while since I have posted, as I have been busy with life with a 3 year old... the gym, work and all the fun-ness of life. I have however started a new "treck" and I wanted to write about it in the case that anyone is interested in reading. Honestly, not even sure if anyone follows my blog anymore... but if anything, its for me to be able to look back on.
I have had much success over the last year using Avatar Nutrition (avatarnutrition.com) as a guide to counting macros. Avatar is a flexible dieting tool that recalculates your macros weekly based on your goals. Its really nice because it adjust as you adjust and if you want to change settings from "weight loss" to "lean muscle gain" you can do it with the click of a button. The system knows where you have been and where you are going... so it adapts. In the year I was on it, I have been able to loose, gain and maintain when appropriate for me. My body has really responded to the way it works. I would consider it a huge success. Additionally, I have been able to guide a few of my friends in the right direction... helping them to understand how important food is to us and that eating less, is not always going to give you the results that you are expecting. That in fact, your body needs food more when you are working out... and so on.
Anyway. While I have been on this adventure with Avatar, Hubs has been on a little adventure on his own. He started following Keto. I hate calling these things "diets" because I dont feel that is what they are. I feel they are important lifestyle changes we take on to enhance our lives and make ourselves feel better and be healthier. In the last few weeks... while he has been doing this, I have noticed that he has lost some weight, his mood has increased and he has become much more focused at whatever task he is focusing on. He seems a little less short tempered and he is actually going to bed at a reasonable hour... thus making him less cranky because he is sleeping more. All in all, he is showing all the "signs" of a Keto lifestyle that you read about. From my perspective, the changes in his mood even outweigh the weight loss... though I am sure they are aiding each other.
He mentioned to me that he wanted me to give it a go. I have been reluctant, as I have been having success with Avatar. I didnt want to mess with a good thing. I like the flexibility of Avatar and macro counting. In the event that I want to have an ice cream with Z, I am not at risk of knocking myself out of Ketosis. Now, back years ago... when Hubs and I lost a ton of weight with Paleo, we were just the two of us. It was pretty easy to purge the house of everyone non-paleo and just deal. Now, with Z... not so much. I will not restrict my sons diet. I do want him to eat healthy, but I will not not give him a popsicle on a hot day... or goldfish for a snack. He has no health issues... and I dont want him to have any issues with food as he grows. The hard part... handing over a popsicle, and not taking a lick... cutting the crust off the PBJ and not taking a bite (Im a snacker) before throwing the rest away... and not having some of the popcorn he is eating when watching a movie... because sometimes, he just wants to share.
Having said all that, its clear that I have decided to give Keto a shot. It will be 1 week on Keto as of today. I have to be honest and say, I am still not sure about it. Probably because I am not "fat adapted" yet... I think that is what they call it.... and a little because I am still actually trying to understand it myself. Avatar was clear and directive... eat these macros (total carb, total fat, total protein and total fiber) for the day... I dont care how you do it. If you want a popsicle, track it and work it out. Keto is not that simple. In order for it to work, you have to put your body into ketosis... so you have to reduce your carb intake down to minimize your glucose levels. "In the absence of carbs, the liver takes fatty acids in the body and converts them to ketone bodies, also none as ketones, as an energy source. This process is know as ketosis" Basically, when you are in ketosis, the body is running on, and burning, fat.
We went to the Nurtishop in Fitchburg yesterday... and had a InScan body scan done. These are my results.
I have had much success over the last year using Avatar Nutrition (avatarnutrition.com) as a guide to counting macros. Avatar is a flexible dieting tool that recalculates your macros weekly based on your goals. Its really nice because it adjust as you adjust and if you want to change settings from "weight loss" to "lean muscle gain" you can do it with the click of a button. The system knows where you have been and where you are going... so it adapts. In the year I was on it, I have been able to loose, gain and maintain when appropriate for me. My body has really responded to the way it works. I would consider it a huge success. Additionally, I have been able to guide a few of my friends in the right direction... helping them to understand how important food is to us and that eating less, is not always going to give you the results that you are expecting. That in fact, your body needs food more when you are working out... and so on.
Anyway. While I have been on this adventure with Avatar, Hubs has been on a little adventure on his own. He started following Keto. I hate calling these things "diets" because I dont feel that is what they are. I feel they are important lifestyle changes we take on to enhance our lives and make ourselves feel better and be healthier. In the last few weeks... while he has been doing this, I have noticed that he has lost some weight, his mood has increased and he has become much more focused at whatever task he is focusing on. He seems a little less short tempered and he is actually going to bed at a reasonable hour... thus making him less cranky because he is sleeping more. All in all, he is showing all the "signs" of a Keto lifestyle that you read about. From my perspective, the changes in his mood even outweigh the weight loss... though I am sure they are aiding each other.
He mentioned to me that he wanted me to give it a go. I have been reluctant, as I have been having success with Avatar. I didnt want to mess with a good thing. I like the flexibility of Avatar and macro counting. In the event that I want to have an ice cream with Z, I am not at risk of knocking myself out of Ketosis. Now, back years ago... when Hubs and I lost a ton of weight with Paleo, we were just the two of us. It was pretty easy to purge the house of everyone non-paleo and just deal. Now, with Z... not so much. I will not restrict my sons diet. I do want him to eat healthy, but I will not not give him a popsicle on a hot day... or goldfish for a snack. He has no health issues... and I dont want him to have any issues with food as he grows. The hard part... handing over a popsicle, and not taking a lick... cutting the crust off the PBJ and not taking a bite (Im a snacker) before throwing the rest away... and not having some of the popcorn he is eating when watching a movie... because sometimes, he just wants to share.
Having said all that, its clear that I have decided to give Keto a shot. It will be 1 week on Keto as of today. I have to be honest and say, I am still not sure about it. Probably because I am not "fat adapted" yet... I think that is what they call it.... and a little because I am still actually trying to understand it myself. Avatar was clear and directive... eat these macros (total carb, total fat, total protein and total fiber) for the day... I dont care how you do it. If you want a popsicle, track it and work it out. Keto is not that simple. In order for it to work, you have to put your body into ketosis... so you have to reduce your carb intake down to minimize your glucose levels. "In the absence of carbs, the liver takes fatty acids in the body and converts them to ketone bodies, also none as ketones, as an energy source. This process is know as ketosis" Basically, when you are in ketosis, the body is running on, and burning, fat.
We went to the Nurtishop in Fitchburg yesterday... and had a InScan body scan done. These are my results.
Probably super hard to read... but it basically tells me that right now (yesterday) I weighed 169lbs and have a BF% of 19.8. There is a lot of other data on there as well. My plan is to follow Keto for the next few weeks (with no cheating... so I remain in Ketosis) and see where I land when I "retest" on June 24th. Im not sure what I am looking for here. It would be nice to lose some of the fat that I have to lose... but I am not hell bent on that. I really woudnt like to lose any strength. My goal with writing this is to log how I am feeling through the process. So here goes.
Week 1: Not great. Understand that I my calories have pretty much remained the same (1800ish) as they were on Avatar, but I was eating gummy bears before my workout, oatmeal and bananas for breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner and another snack before bed. Now... I have nothing before my workout, breakfast when I return home from the gym, lunch and then dinner. Saturday I did a little intermittent fasting so I had breakfast and than nothing (but coffee, thank god for coffee) before dinner at 7:30... I was STARVING. At this point, I miss the flexibility of Avatar. I got my son an ice cream on Saturday and couldnt take a bite (or even a lick off the spoon). He had popcorn watching a moving and wanted to share with me... and I had to decline. It kinda broke my heart. I feel tired and sluggish a little... and this mornings workout was kind of a catastrophe. Maybe that means I am in ketosis... and I have to get over the hump. At least that is what I am hoping for.
Plus sides... the food is delicious. I mean, you cant really go wrong when you add cheese, oil and butter to everything and eat fatty cuts of meat...
We are on to week two. Trying to remain positive. I can do this.
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