Sami's 1st CKD Log

[Sami76]

I was keeping a log in the fat loss section, but decided to come here since my needs and goals have changed. After tweaking my diet, I've come up with a 1,490-calorie plan that has 58% fat, 37% protein, and 5% carbs. It's not the ideal 65/30/5, but it's going to have to do. I already had to add 3T of olive oil just to bring it up to 58% fat and I'm grossed out just thinking about eating the extra grease.

Keto may take some time getting used to, but I am determined to see it through. In addition to wanting to lose a lot of fat from my body, I'm also motivated to do this diet long-term to hopefully reduce my risk of cancer. Everyone in my family (except a couple unlucky victims of a car wreck) has died of cancer. I read that cancer thrives on sugar, so maybe keto will be the thing that breaks this yucky family tradition.

Here's the menu plan for this week, starting on Monday. If I can hack it, I'll be skipping the carb up for this coming Saturday to ensure ketosis.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 6T egg whites, 1/4c mozzarella, 2 slices turkey bacon, 1T olive oil
(330 calories, 18g fat, 2g net carbs, 42g protein)

Lunch: 85g romaine, 1 chili lime chicken patty, 1/4c mozzarella, 1T olive oil
(250 calories, 11g fat, 4g net carbs, 29g protein)

Dinner: 1 buffalo burger, 1 mild cheddar cheese stick
(360 calories, 19g fat, 0g net carbs, 48g protein)

Snack: homemade vegetable soup, 3oz grilled chicken strips, 1T olive oil
(135 calories, 2.5g fat, 8g net carbs, 20.5g protein)

Snack: 1/3c strawberries, 1c green tea
(25 calories, 0g fat, 5.5g net carbs, 0g protein)

Supplement: 3 fish oil/flax seed capsules
(30 calories, 3g fat, 0g net carbs, 0g protein)

[Sami76]

Yesterday went okay. I had an extra cheese stick after working out last night, though, because hunger got the best of me. Totals ended up being 1,570 calories, 100.5g fat, 19.5g carbs, and 147.5g protein.

For exercise yesterday, I did chest and back. Three sets each of flat bench, incline bench, stiff leg deadlift, bent over rows, and lat pulldowns. Also did 50 minutes on the elliptical and 20 minutes of stretching/yoga.

Yesterday my weight was 187.5 lbs. Today it's at 186. Can't complain about that. Now if only I could get used to eating olive oil on my food. Between the weird flavor and the yucky grease it leaves on my lips, it's not my idea of tastiness. But if it helps me stay in keto, then it's very much worth it. Good-bye, fat!

As for this whole keto diet thing, it's a little hard being around people who eat carbs. I do all the cooking for my husband and kids. Making chocolate blueberry pancakes yesterday morning was not ideal, but guess I've got to get used to it. There's also ice cream, yogurt, and lots of baked goods in the kitchen to avoid.

[Sami76]

Ate according to plan yesterday. Did shoulder and arms. Three sets each of presses, upright rows, side/rear/front raises, v-bar tricep press, skull crushers, hammer curls, high cable curls, and wrist rolls. Had a good workout, did everything in either supersets or tri sets. Even upped the poundage in high cable curls, wrist rolls, and tricep press.

Cardio was short, only 15 minutes. I think the weights tired me out some. Ended up doing 4 cycles of pushups, roundhouse kicks each leg, and some exercise I don't know the name for, it's where you lie flat on your stomach, get to a standing position and jump up. Followed each cycle with jogging in place to catch my breath. Did 10 minutes of stretching and yoga afterward.

Today I weighed in at 184.5 lbs. That's cool. Water weight, for sure, but it's a boost to see the numbers on the scale going down. Diet today was a little different. Didn't have any more burgers, so ate 2 deviled eggs for lunch. Also had a mozzarella cheese stick and extra cup of green tea with a packet of stevia. Didn't eat the strawberries. Macros came out to 1,515 cals, 100.5g fat, 15 net carbs, 111.5g protein.

Did 70 minutes on the elliptical. Only 5 minutes of stretching--slacking.

Tried to make keto fudge, but messed up royally. Added twice the cream cheese and way too much stevia. Better luck next time, right?

[Sami76]

Weighed in at 182.5 lbs this morning. 5 lbs less of me in 3 days. I'm liking keto!

This morning I did have a strong urge to drink a Myofusion chocolate mint shake. Mmm....even with water, it's a tasty PP. But I'm resisting. I've been off the artificial sweeteners for 17 days so far and have seen a couple of positive changes I wasn't expecting (whites of my eyes are actually white and my faces is nearly wrinkle free). My original intent is to see if I can get this chronic muscle and joint pain to go away--has come and gone for years without rhyme or reason--and I really want to see if ditching the artificial sweeteners will help any. My little experiment, heheh.

[Sami76]

Ended today with 1,570 cals, 102.5g fat, 15 net carbs, and 118.5g protein. A little higher than expected. Gotta remember that fat gives more calories. I'm finding that my sugar cravings for the most part are dulled--very cool! And since day one on keto, my thirst is up. Instead of 3-4 glasses of water, I've been getting in 5-6 a day. One more step in the right direction.

Did legs and abs tonight. Three sets each of bench step ups, squats, leg press, lunges, and jackknifes on a swiss ball. Kept the poundages up. I don't know if I should be lowering them because of keto. Also wondering if I need to do high reps for cutting. I prefer low/med reps per set, though. Will look up the info later. So much to learn.

Did 20 minutes on the elliptical after weights. The first 10 minutes seriously sucked, but then it got better. Also got in 10 minutes of yoga and stretching.

Felt kinda blah today, like I wanted to take half a dozen naps. Thinking of doing a moderate carb up this Saturday, but I'll wait until that day comes. Maybe my energy will be back up by then. I'd like to do keto for 2 weeks before a carb up.

[Sami76]

Weighed in at 181.5 lbs this morning. Calories were kinda low yesterday because I forgot to eat lunch. Weird since at noon I was in the kitchen making lunch for everyone else. And I was in there for an obscenely long time, since everyone wanted something different. Silly me. Ended up with 1,280 cals, 85.5g fat, 14 net carbs, and 93g protein.

Did weights last night. Went for higher reps (10-12 range) and tried my best to keep the usual poundages, but had to go a bit lighter for a few exercises. Three sets each of flat bench, incline bench, stiff leg deadlift, lat pulldown, bent over rows, shoulder presses, straight bar tricep pressdown, bicep curls, and hand gripper. Using the hand gripper was a last minute thing. At the end of the workout, my wrists were awfully sore. The hand gripper worked like a charm to get rid of the bulk of the soreness. Go figure, huh?

Did cardio afterward. 25 minutes on the elliptical. Felt like my quads and calves were going to burst into flames for the first 10 minutes. What's up with that? Guess it has something to do with not getting carbs in. I hope it's a good sign that fat is being burned and not my muscles wasting away.

[Sami76]

Weighed in at 181 lbs this morning. Down 6.5 lbs in 6 days. Me likes! I figure once the scale has moved for a couple of days, then it'll be time for just a weekly weigh in or so. For now, it's motivation.

Did 50 on the elliptical last night. Again, my legs were screaming for the first 10 minutes. Hell, the whole workout felt hard. I hope LISS is compatible on keto, it's always been a stress reliever for me.

I ended up not doing a carb up yesterday. I'll wait like good girl until next weekend. Macros were 1,505 cals, 102.5g fat, 25.5g net carbs, and 119.5g protein. Made that cauliflower pizza for the first time, and it felt like I was totally cheating. Meant to save some for my family, but damn if it all went in my tummy. It was so yummy. (Ha, maybe I should make this a rhyming log...er, maybe not. )

The best about keto is that my sugar cravings are waaaay down. There's been a gallon of my favorite ice cream sitting in the freezer, untouched for this whole week. I'm not even tempted. I've been fixing ton of carb laden meals for the family, but rarely get an urge for something. And yesterday I went to Subway to pick up dinner for them, they wanted cookies too. Got the cookies, didn't eat any, and actually saved myself two for the carb up next week (the only dirty foods I'll be having).

Damn, I write too much. Guess it'll get shorter as I get further into CKD.

[Sami76]

Weighed in at 180.5 lbs. A half lb loss from yesterday, which is awesome considering that I had too many carbs AND overate. Macros were 2,000 cals, 120g fat, 105.5 net carbs, and 114.5g protein.

What happened? Well, this whole 1st week of keto I've been experiencing bouts of fatigue throughout the day. Yesterday that fatigue caught me going up on the steps while carrying laundry. Couldn't quite muster enough strength to get my foot over the last step and I tripped, nearly fell. Carb time! 2 Subway cookies and a cup of ice cream--yum.

For cardio yesterday I did 65 minutes on the elliptical. Legs felt heavy as hell but I kept the intensity up. At least something went right.

I'll see how today goes. If my energy is still seriously lacking, I might try doing a mini carb up on days before working out.

[RockPower11]

Sami, you're doing a great job. The only future problem I see, is you're looking at the scale too often. Watching your weight is a sure way of being unmotivated and cause you to crash off your plan.

Your weight is going to fluctuate updownupdownupdown-down down down-up and back down. So I wouldn't get on the scale but about once a month or once every other month. Your clothes will let you know you're losing inches. And since muscle weighs more than fat, you shouldn't let the scale tell you if you're losing fat. Water weight will be the first loss. And in your foods or snacks, I would supplement the carbs with 2 tbsp peanut butter.

Continue to strive toward your goals.

[Sami76]

Thanks, Tasha. Yeah, the scale is a bit of an obsession for me. Right now it's just motivation, but I can see how it'll be a downer soon, so Ill pick a day and do weekly weigh-ins instead. Peanut butter sounds good, especially now that I'm going to experiment with TKD. I'm thinking that it'll fit in as part of my pre-workout meal.

[Sami76]

Yesterday I started TKD, with carbs as part of my pre and post workout meals. Actually had a protein shake (Myofusion mint chocolate--YUM) with skim milk. So there goes my great "no artificial sweeteners" experiment, lol. Weird thing is, this morning I'm craving diet pop.

Macros ended up being 1,735 cals, 92g fat, 112.5 net carbs, and 112g protein. Didn't mean to have so many calories and carbs. Weighed myself this morning and didn't gain, though. Will start weighing weekly now instead of daily.

Did chest and back last night. Three sets each of flat bench, incline bench, SLDL, bent over rows, and lat pulldowns. Lifts were pretty good, overall. Strength was back up on flat bench, but inclines could've been better. I'm excited about bent over rows--now up to 35-lb plates (don't have dumbbells that wgt) for 6 reps. Hate it that my chest is weaker than my back. Old injuries suck!

Did 50 minutes on the elliptical afterward, with the 1st 12 being HIIT.

Measured myself today and the results were mixed. Lost an inch around my waist and half an inch on my arm, but gained a quarter inch on my calf and half an inch on my thigh. Oh joy, if this trend continues I'll be shaped like an upside down ice cream cone.

[RockPower11]

Peanut butter sounds good, especially now that I'm going to experiment with TKD. I'm thinking that it'll fit in as part of my pre-workout meal.

As far as a pre-workout meal, I believe Peanut butter will be too slow to get into your system. You'll need something faster like a protein shake. Peanut butter is a great before going to bed snack. I read in one of the threads, that if you have to eat your food, it's not a pre-workout meal (because food takes time to digest would be my guess).

[Sami76]

As far as a pre-workout meal, I believe Peanut butter will be too slow to get into your system. You'll need something faster like a protein shake. Peanut butter is a great before going to bed snack. I read in one of the threads, that if you have to eat your food, it's not a pre-workout meal (because food takes time to digest would be my guess).

So that's why I didn't feel any more energy before my workout last night. Guess I'll save the PB for afterward. Thanks for the info.

[Sami76]

Yesterday's diet was out of whack: 1,760 cals, 99.5g fat, 141.5 net carbs, and 87g protein. I haven't gone that low in protein since November. Starting to think that I may not be equipped to handle carbs in moderation every day. The carb cravings are back. But I'll ride this week out and try to get my act together before going back to CKD.

Part of me is wondering if a keto diet is even right for me. My energy level just sucks. I can't be nearly falling down steps when my children are depending on me to take care of them. But damn this diet does work when nothing else has. So I'll keep on going, tweaking it as necessary.

Last night I ended up having to do cardio first. 40 minutes on the elliptical, that's all I had in me. Then I did shoulders and arms. 3 sets each of presses, upright rows, side/rear, front raises, v-bar tricep press, skull crushers, hammer curls, and wrist curls. Decent workout, increased poundage on skull crushers (25 lbs) and tricep press (60 lbs). I want to start increasing the wgt on shoulder presses, but don't have the right sized dumbbells. What to do, what to do. ???

[RockPower11]

Yesterday's diet was out of whack: 1,760 cals, 99.5g fat, 141.5 net carbs, and 87g protein. The carb cravings are back. I want to start increasing the wgt on shoulder presses, but don't have the right sized dumbbells. What to do, what to do. ???

You can get rid of your carb cravings by taking in more fat. Your fat is too low. Fat kills carb cravings. I'm sure you already know, you should be taking in 65% of your calories in fat, 35% in protein and 5% in carbs. 1,760=1,056 calories in fat, 616 calories in protein and 88 calories in carbs. Before you get hungry, take in 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. First thing in the morning, take in 2 tbsp evoo, with your meals take in evoo. This will eliminate your carb cravings thus give you energy. Getting your 65% of your fat calories and 35% of your protein calories will reduce your carb cravings by 100%.

At times while the body is making its change you may get tired. I take a fat burner with my protein shake in the morning and in the beginning when I started, some days I needed 2 and now I don't need one but I still take it because I like it.

As for a great shoulder press exercise, so as long as you don't have a shoulder injury, do up-side-down push ups leaning up against a wall. Body weight can be killer, this may be too difficult. You'd probably be best buying a set of dumbbells if you can.

Best wishes in your journey

[Sami76]

Okay, I'll up the fat. Thanks. And that shoulder exercise--wow! Sounds wicked, but I think I'll need to work up to that one, especially at my bodyweight. (Where's the embarrassed smiley when I need it, lol?)

As for the fat burner, I'm still breastfeeding my toddler so I don't want to take supplements (beyond protein powders, if they count). Hoping to wean very soon, though.

[Sami76]

Didn't count macros yesterday, but I know I went over on calories and carbs. Busy day and I stupidly didn't plan ahead with the keto meals. Got in 80 minutes on the elliptical. Snuck on the scale this morning and surprisingly no weight gain. Won't press my luck again, though. I stayed up late last night and made a big batch of cauliflower pizza.