Round 2 - From 315 to 215

[IMAPACKERFAN]

I did a 15 week atkins/keto diet, and recently came off of it for 4 days. I feel so bad, no energy, brain fog, etc., that I'm getting back on the horse tomorrow.

I'm going to log my results here. I'm going to do my best to count calories/macros a little more consistently than last time. The first go round I went from 350 down to 309. I'm at 321 this morning, but I know a ton of that's water weight/glycogen from eating carbs for 4 days, so I'm estimating 315 is my actual starting weight this time round.

Wish me luck.

[StlBarbie]

SUBBED and BEST of LUCK!!! :)
I know when I went to the Arnold Classic I was off and running for five days ...... what a shock to the system to return to keto!!! :eek:

[IMAPACKERFAN]

shock in a good way or a bad way? I hope it's not worse than I'm feeling with the carbs.

I'm hoping I get back into ketosis quickly and get things rolling. I've got to this extra bloat off me, and get my clear head back.

[IMAPACKERFAN]

Well everything is on track so far today. For breakfast I had 3 scrambled eggs and about 6oz of ham. Lunch was 1 chicken breast. I'll be eating a ground beef concoction for dinner.

Had a pretty good back workout last night. I'm going to get some ketostix tonight to see how long it takes me to get back in. I'm hoping its only a couple days. I'm already feeling slightly less bloated, so things are looking up.

Really going to try to get motivated to do some cardio tonight. Just hard to get excited about walking on a treadmill or riding a stationary bike.

[IMAPACKERFAN]

Just finishing up cooking 3lbs. of what I call slop. It's basically hamburger, red, green, yellow bell peppers, green beans, tons of spices, and then I top it with cheese and sour cream when I eat it. It's incredibly tasty. This 3 lbs. should last me for a few days.

No problems so far getting back into the swing of things. I need to up my fat intake a little today, the slop will help, and I'll top it olive oil as well. Other than that, piece of cake so far.

[IMAPACKERFAN]

Well things are looking good so far. I weighed in at 311.7 this morning. That's about 10 lbs. in the first day. Thank god the water came off quick. I feel a lot better already. I don't think I'm ketosis yet, but I'm feeling better after day 1 of no carbs.

Just ate some slop for breakfast. Brought some more to work for lunch. Dinner will likely be either slop or chicken. Depends on how I feel.

Tonight will be legs/shoulders at the gym. My knees have been sore for a few weeks because I seem to have a flaw with my squat form. Hopefully they won't bother me to bad tonight.

No cardio yesterday. I just can't get motivated for some reason. I wish I had an excuse other than being lazy. Unfortunately I don't.

[timmymayes]

Welcom back man. Hahaha I remember reading you were going off the diet and I was like dang we lost one. Dont' be too down on yourself about the cardio it happens and its in the past just try to do better in the future. We all ahve off days.

[IMAPACKERFAN]

Thanks. Didn't lose me for long. I forgot how bad I felt eating carbs. I never reallized I felt so bad my whole life until I started eating no carbs.

[timmymayes]

I had cake on sunday and had the same realization

[mar999]

dont sweat the cardio man... using weights will do a lot more for you

[IMAPACKERFAN]

Legs/Shoulders

Squats:
2x12x45(bar)
2x10x135
7x5x225

Leg Press (weight does not include sled):
1x10x200
2x10x290
2x10x380
2x10x470

Lying Leg Curl:
1x12x50
1x10x70
1x15x50

Seated DB Military Press:
12x25
10x35
10x40

Side DB Raises:
2x12x15

Front DB Raises:
2x12x20

Overall it was a pretty damn intense workout. I never do leg press, but man I got an insane pump from doing it. I'm keeping my squats pretty light for right now. I'm having some knee pain that I'm trying to work through, and I don't want to take any chances. Plus my form was going to **** when I was lifting heavy(for me), and hence why my knee hurts.

Anyway, I rested less than 90 seconds between all sets, and less than 60 between most. I was really planning to do some cardio, no really I was, but I was so gassed by the end of the workout I just couldn't do it.


The diet was fine today. I didn't eat anything other than my slop for 3 meals, a chicken breast, and a PWO whey/calorie countdown shake. No doubt I kept it below 20 carbs even with the whey shake. Got plenty of fat from olive oil, hamburger, cheese. I'm feeling a little weak, so I hope that goes away in a day or so as I get back in the groove. I've had that keto taste in my mouth since about 2:00pm this afternoon, but I haven't been able to get any ketostix as of yet. Pretty sure I'm in though, but it seems a little quick.

[timmymayes]

To give you an idea I ate A TON of carbs on sunday. (Cake, quzinos sub, del taco) and fasted till i went back to keto. So I fasted all of Monday and tuesday and was finally back into keto on wed. Since I was eating zero food i am pretty sure I go back to keto about as fast as possible. Oh and I was measuring 2x a day with keto stix to verify.

[IMAPACKERFAN]

That sounds more reasonable, and I was expecting 3 days or so. But I've got that keto taste in my mouth. I think I'll stop at walgreens tomorrow morning on the way to work and get some sticks.

[IMAPACKERFAN]

Chest and Triceps:

Flat DB Press:
20x20
12x30
12x40
10x50
7x55
6x55
5x60
8x45
8x35
12x25

Machine Fly (Peck Deck):
15x40
12x50
12x70
10x90
8x90

Incline DB Press:
10x35
7x45
7x45
12x20

Tricep Rope Pushdowns:
12x30
12x30

V-Bar Pushdowns:
10x50
10x60
8x70
20x30
20x30

Cardio - Spin bike - 30 min. HR 140-160 YAY I DID SOME CARDIO.

Pretty good workout tonight. Felt like I had a lot of energy throughout (which is rare lately). Flat DB Press felt really strong. My left shoulder gets fatigued really quickly or I could probably up the weights by 10lbs. However, it was certainly stronger than my previous chest workout, so that was nice. My triceps also fatigue quickly, so I tried to focus mainly on higher rep sets for those, with a couple heavy sets. By the end of the workout my chest and tris were trashed.

At the end I got my ass on a spin bike and did 30 minutes of moderate intensity cardio. Actually felt good to do it.

Diet was fine today, nothing but trace carbs in green beans and almonds (other than my whey shake in calorie countdown milk). Forgot to stop at walgreens to get my stix, but I'll go tomorrow.

[IMAPACKERFAN]

Got my ketostix today. I'm urinating ketones! I knew I was in ketosis, but it's nice to get some confirmation.

[IMAPACKERFAN]

Back and Biceps

Standing DB Rows:
10x40
10x50
8x50
10x55
8x60
8x65
8x70

Seated Cable Rows:
10x110 (stack)
15x110 (stack)
15x110 (stack)

Lat Pulls:
10x50
8x70
8x70

Standing BB Bicep Curl:
10x45
10x55
10x65

Seated Bicep Curl:
10x20
8x25

Pretty awesome workout. I had tons of energy, really focused on my form and worked my butt off. This was the first time I've ever done DB rows. Fantastic exercise. I rarely feel anything in my back workouts, but I could tell they were doing their job. I was pretty gassed by the time I got to biceps, so I only did 2 exercises and 5 sets. It was one of the better workout s I've had in a while.

Prior to the workout I rode the recumbent bike for 35 minutes at a moderate intensity. I typically like to do cardio after weights, but the gym was freaking crowded when I got there, so I did cardio first. Worked out really good actually. I had a lot of energy for weights, so that was nice.

Diet has been fine today. So far 3 chicken legs and 15 almonds. After my workout I had a whey/calorie countdown shake. I'll eat some more chicken in an hour or so, then more chicken for dinner. I'll have almonds with each meal as well. I'll also throw in some broccoli for good measure.

Feeling a lot better since I'm back on keto. I'm thinking more clearly, have plenty of energy, sleeping better, in a better mood, just all around better quality of life.

[IMAPACKERFAN]

I went to the gym last night and did 45 minutes of moderate intensity cardio on the stationary bike. The cardio seems to be melting the fat off my body at a pretty spectacular rate. I'm looking much leaner than the last few weeks.

The scale is also being kind. I weighed in at 308 this morning. Before my 4-day hiatus my previous low was like 309.9. I was stuck between there and 315 for 4 or 5 weeks. Looks like the litte break reset something, because my body seems to be giving up the fat at an alarming rate.

It's good motivation to continue doing the cardio. I'll probably do legs and shoulders tonight. I also have to post my chest workout from 2 days ago, I keep forgetting.

[IMAPACKERFAN]

Posting a couple days late.

Flat BB Bench:
15xbar
8x115
8x135
5x155
5x165
3x175

Incline BB Bench (Smith Machine) - weights only include plate weight:
10x70
6x90
6x90

Flat DB Bench:
12x30
6x50
5x55

DB Flys:
10x15
10x20
10x25

[IMAPACKERFAN]

Back and Biceps

Pendlay Rows:
3x8x135
2x6x155

DB Rows:
8x65
8x70
8x75
8x80
6x85

Seated Cable Row:
3x15x110 (stack)

Lat Pull downs:
12x40
8x60
8x70

Standing BB Curl:
10x45
2x8x65

Cardio:
20 minutes moderate intensity - recumbent bike

Pretty good workout. Felt strong doing both types of rows and the seated rows. My lats were pretty exhausted by the time I got to pull downs. My biceps were also pretty fatigued, so I just did one set of BB curls.

I had planned to do 30-45 minutes on the bike, but my calves started cramping really bad. I'm guessing I had the seat adjustment a little off the mark. So I toughed it out 20 minutes and decided to call it a night.

Diet was also fine today.

[IMAPACKERFAN]

Legs and Shoulders:

Squats:
10x45
8x135
8x185
5x225
5x225
5x225

Leg Press: (weight is plates only)
10x200
10x290
10x380
10x470

OH Press:
10x45
3x5x95

Front Raises:
10x10
10x15

Side Raises:
10x10
10x15

Cardio - 35 minutes - moderate intensity - upright bike

Pretty crappy workout today. I wasn't real motivated, didn't have a lot of energy, and my knees pretty much hurt throughout the workout. Unfortunately I think I'm going to have skip leg workouts for a few weeks. My knees aren't getting any better. It sucks but I don't really mess something up.

The good news is that I had a good cardio session. Maybe a little higher intensity than usual, but not too much.

My diet was fine today, no issues there. Considering have a cheat meal on Sunday for easter. Going to some friends for dinner and they're preparing the meal. We're supposed to bring dessert. Haven't decided yet.

[IMAPACKERFAN]

I'm doing my official weekly weigh ins on Friday. Well, today is Friday.

Weight - 307.4

I'm not sure what's going on, but I like it. Either my 4 day break was what I needed to break my plateau, or the cardio is what I needed. Either way, I'm having no trouble dropping the fat now.

I'll be taking pictures today. Not sure if they're getting posted or not, but I'm hoping there's a noticeable difference from last week.

[IMAPACKERFAN]

I've tweaked my workout plan a little. I'm changing to a push/pull type of split instead of specific body parts. I'm also going to stop isolating my arms, because at this point it seems stupid to be doing curls. Anyway, today's workout wasn't ideal because I did a little shoulder work yesterday, but I made the best of it.

BB Bench Press:
2x10x45
1x5x95
1x5x35
3x5x165

DB Bench Press:
1x5x35
1x5x45
2x5x65
1x4x65

BB OH Press:
2x5x45
1x5x65
1x3x95
3x5x115

DB Shoulder Press:
2x5x25
1x5x35
1x3x50 (felt some pain - stopped)

Cardio - 30 minutes - moderate intensity - upright bike

I've decided to keep my reps at 5 and will do 3 work sets. This worked well for me when I was doing starting strength, so I'm going back to it. I'm also going to focus on compound exercises.

Overall it was a pretty good workout. Felt a lot better than yesterday, so that's good.

I'm pretty damn thrilled I've been consistent with my cardio. It's starting to feel like I'm in the groove with it, so it should be smooth sailing from here.

[IMAPACKERFAN]

Well, I woke up this morning craving oatmeal again. It's so out of character for me to crave stuff, that I figured my body was telling me something. I decided to just eat the damn oatmeal. I had a lean porkchop, bowl of oatmeal, and two pieces of toast with PB for breakfast.

Then I went shopping with my wife, and we had Chilli's for lunch. I had a bowl of soup, 2 chicken tacos, rice and beans, about 6oz of her ribeye, and.... a freakin delicious chocolate molten cake with a big scoop of ice cream on top. I probably ate a little over 1/2 the dessert.

Had some homemade pasta for dinner and 2 slices of bread. Also had 1 cadbury egg.

Overall I actually felt pretty good. I didn't get real bloated or sluggish or anything. I'm hoping it shuts up my cravings.

Tomorrow I'll be having a "normal" easter dinner with some friends. It will include some mashed potatoes and I'm making an apple/cherry crisp for dessert. Yummo!

So basically I did an impromptu carb-up, but no where near as many carbs as usual. I think I'll just call it a cheat, call tomorrow a cheat, and get on with life.

No workout today. Giving my knees a break because they're really starting to be a pain in my ass. It's getting painful just to stand up. Not good. I'm planning on doing cardio tomorrow and possibly doing day 2 of my new routine, with will basically be a back day, because I'm not going to start deadlifting until my knees are better.

[IMAPACKERFAN]

Took 3 days off the diet for easter. Didn't really binge or anything, but didn't really worry about it either. Back on plan today.

Unfortunately I have an infection in my groin and can't workout for a few days. Hopefully it gets better soon.

[IMAPACKERFAN]

Push Day

BB Rows:
6x135
6x155
4x5x175

DB Rows:
5x70
5x80
2x5x90

Seated Cable Rows:
3x15x110 (Stack)

Lat Pulldowns:
15x40
2x8x60
8x70

Standing BB Curls:
10x45
10x65
10x75

Standing DB Curls:
10x20
10x25
10x30

Cardio - 25 minutes - moderate intensity - Upright Bike

Groin was feeling better, so I decided to go ahead and workout tonight. Pretty good workout. I'm still not deadlifting because of my knees/groin, so it was basically a back workout. Decided to add a couple bicep exercises tonight. I had a little energy left, so I did them.

Felt good to get back in the gym after a few days off.

[Ouchburns]

Looking good man keep it going!! Just remember that its small amount of time that you have to put in got a lifetime of change!! I started at 320 and Im down to 230 so I know where you are at right now! I will be watching you closely!

[IMAPACKERFAN]

Looking good man keep it going!! Just remember that its small amount of time that you have to put in got a lifetime of change!! I started at 320 and Im down to 230 so I know where you are at right now! I will be watching you closely!

Thanks! I've been on this journey for 4 months, and for the most part it's going great. I'm just really impatient and want to see results faster (don't we all).

Great to here you had so much success. I'm down 43lbs. since I started, 60lbs. from my all-time high weight.

Thanks for stopping by, and I can use all the support I can get.

[IMAPACKERFAN]

Push Day:

BB Bench Press:
12x45
8x95
8x115
5x135
3x5x175

DB Bench Press:
3x5x70

DB Flys:
12x25
2x12x30

OH Press:
8x45
8x65
5x95
3x5x120

Side Raises:
3x12x10

Front Raises:
3x12x10

Cardio - Treadmill - 6% incline, 3.0mph, 30 minutes - Moderate Intensity (HR 150-160)

Great workout tonight. Felt really strong in all my lifts. I was able to increase the weight on all my compound movements, while maintaining my form. Cardio was really good too. I think the bike is what's been hurting my knees, so I'm moving to the treadmill for a while. Hopefully this will let me get back to doing legs once a week. I'm planning on doing them tomorrow if my knees feel up to it.

Diet has been fine since Monday. I'm still holding onto a lot of water from my 3 days of eating carbs, which is very frustrating. Hopefully I can get rid of all of it by the end of the weekend. My plan for the weekend is to do cardio both tomorrow and Sunday, and probably legs tomorrow and possibly a pull day on Sunday.

On a side note, I'll be BBQing some ribs tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to that!

[IMAPACKERFAN]

Tried to do legs tonight, but my knees still hurt too much. I made through my squat warm-ups okay, but as soon as the weight got a little heavy the pain returned. Really sucks.

So I just did cardio. 30 minutes on the TM. I actually jogged about 8 minutes and walked the other 22. I'd jog for a minute or so, then walk for a couple. First time I've ran in I can't tell you how long. Felt pretty good.

Diet was fine today, but I'm craving oats again. I'm pretty close to giving in.

I've also been considering changing diets again. I just wish I didn't feel so crappy on carbs. Lately I'm not feeling great on no carbs either. My workouts have been good, but my energy throughout the day has been sucking. Feeling a little lethargic for some reason. I've been eating plenty of calories.

I also read "burn the fat, feed the muscle" a couple times in the past 10 days. So I'm thinking of doing something like that.

As I look back over the past 6 weeks or so I've realized my progress has really sucked. I'm only down about 7 lbs. during that time. I realize that a lot of people will say a little more than a pound a week is great, but for someone my size, it's not. So I may just take a break and give something like a 40/30/30 diet a go. Still keeping carbs relatively low, and hopefully my body will adjust to the carbs.

That's all the rambling I'm going to do for now.

[IMAPACKERFAN]

So I've decided that I'm switching diets. I've been flip flopping with keto/non-keto for a couple weeks now. My macros will be something close to 40/30/30 (P/C/F). I'm going to give it 1 month and see I'm responding.

Thanks for the support so far. I've got a long way to go. I'll be starting a new log in the losing fat forum, since it doesn't make much sense to keep it in here.

[vonhismean]

Congratulations