JaxLifter's Keto Log

[JaxLifter]

So I've been reading about the keto diet for a little while and decided to dive in this past Monday, November 26, largely because I felt, well, LARGE after Thanksgiving weekend where not a single fcuk was given regarding diet. I work out regularly and do Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 program 3-4 days a week with a buddy of mine at work. I'm on cycle 6 of that program now and I've been loving it. ZERO cardio is in my program now, and I'd like to keep it that way or as little as possible because, well, I don't enjoy it and I'd rather save all my energy for my weights! This is my first true go at keto so I bought the stix and have read small amounts of ketones since Wednesday, my second day in! I drink a lot of water, so that may be keeping me out of the purple, but a positive reading is a positive reading! On the right track!

Stats/Background:
Male 28 years old (29 next month)
Barbell training since Feb 2012. Prior training was nearly 10 years ago and I was STACKED back then! I let life, work, grad school, and divorce get in the way of me handling my ****. NOW, I'm re-married to a wonderful woman who supports my workout plans!

6ft 0in
Nov 26 Starting weight: 240lbs
Dec 01 Current weight: 236lbs

Supplements:
ON Amino Energy Pre-WO
SNS DAA one serving/day
SNS Inhibit-e
SNS Tribulus
ON Gold Standard Whey
GNC Ultra Mega SPORT Multi
GNC Triple Strength Fish Oils

Lifting Schedule:
Monday - Overhead Presses and accessory work

Tuesday - Deadlifts and accessory work

Thursday - Bench Presses and accessory work

Friday - Squats and accessory work

I currently estimate my bf% at approx. 25%. I was at 21% in August, but I've managed to pack on 15lbs since then, though not all of it was fat as my lifts have SOARED!!! (for me at least!) When I started barbell training back in February of this year, I could only bench 155lbsx8. Two weeks ago, I did a set of 8 at 220lbs. It's been slow and steady progress, but it's been progress. I haven't stalled out yet on any lifts, though I took time off from squatting due to a hip flexor injury and have since switched to box squats with success.

That being said, I calculated my TDEE to be 2900cals using the lightly active multiplier because I have a very sedentary desk job, although I do lift intensely 3-4 times a week. I've set my daily calorie goal at 2200cals and I track using myfitnesspal.

Macro's:
Fat: 147g
Pro: 193g
Cho: 28g

Goal is to lose fat while maintaining/building muscle. I also want to keep gaining strength in the gym and any significant drop in strength will have to be addressed by diet. I always train fasted (with the exception of my morning cup of coffee and coconut oils and heavy cream).

That should about cover it! I spend a lot of time in front of a computer so I'll be able to update this log frequently. If you'd like to check out my diet from this last week, check me out on MFP. Also, I log my weight training sessions on Fitocracy if you'd like to see what I've been up to there. I will be posting detailed info for both here.

Social Media Usage

MyFitnessPal: brkemmerer

Fitocracy: Hulk-Smash

[jcpryor3]

Your off to a good start. I would increase your fat intake to around 170g-185g. Play with it a little bit. I'm currently eating 187g f and 194g p. It's been working really well. I'll be following you.

Just added you on MFP. My username is: jpryor3

[JaxLifter]

Your off to a good start. I would increase your fat intake to around 170g-185g. Play with it a little bit. I'm currently eating 187g f and 194g p. It's been working really well. I'll be following you.

Just added you on MFP. My username is: jpryor3

Hey bud! Thanks for the add! I set my macros at the 60/35/5 ratio and that's what I came up with at 2200cals/day. Would you recommend upping my calories to accomodate more fat? Except for my weight lifting, I'm pretty sedentary during the day. That's why the calorie count is so low. I've read your whole log and I'm inspired by your early success! Keep it up!

[jcpryor3]

Hey bud! Thanks for the add! I set my macros at the 60/35/5 ratio and that's what I came up with at 2200cals/day. Would you recommend upping my calories to accomodate more fat? Except for my weight lifting, I'm pretty sedentary during the day. That's why the calorie count is so low. I've read your whole log and I'm inspired by your early success! Keep it up!

Your welcome. Set your fat intake to 65% and your protein at 30%. Since your fairly new at keto like myself, having a higher fat intake makes keto a lot easier (speaking from my own experience). I divide my macros into three meals, and with the higher fat intake, it gives me greater satiety. I'm able to go without eating anywhere from 5-8hrs long. The numbers you have will work, but I'd recommend upping your fat intake a little.

Thank you. I'm glad you found my log helpful. Stick to what your doing and you'll have great results. Remember, slow and steady wins the race. Keep your eye on the prize!

[JaxLifter]

Your welcome. Set your fat intake to 65% and your protein at 30%. Since your fairly new at keto like myself, having a higher fat intake makes keto a lot easier (speaking from my own experience). I divide my macros into three meals, and with the higher fat intake, it gives me greater satiety. I'm able to go without eating anywhere from 5-8hrs long. The numbers you have will work, but I'd recommend upping your fat intake a little.

Thank you. I'm glad you found my log helpful. Stick to what your doing and you'll have great results. Remember, slow and steady wins the race. Keep your eye on the prize!

I have the macros at those ratios so I should be good. I've been doing IF (16/8) for almost a full year. So I usually eat 2 large meals. Right now, I'm able to eat 2, 1100 calorie meals a day and hunger isn't an issue. Weighed in at 235.8lbs this am, so another day of downward movement on the scale! Today is all about maintaining my diet and hitting my macros. I'm taking the wife out tonight for a Christmas event and I'm unsure what food will be available. If I have to, I'll eat a salad with lean meat and ranch. Will likely have a beer or 2 also...

Back to the weight lifting grind tomorrow. I have a busy week at work so I'm hoping to keep my usual training times, but I'm going to have to be flexible about it. Overhead presses tomorrow, followed by deadlifts on Tuesday!

[JaxLifter]

I've hit around 2300 calories both yesterday and today. Had a beer last night too! As soon as I got home, I tested for ketosis and got a positive reading so that was nice. Had a rough night sleep but weight in at the same 235.8lbs. My gym partner/co-worker and I found an all you can eat BBQ buffet today. He's on a bulk (Paleo) and I'm on Keto. We were both very pleased with the food and options to stay on diet! I had at least 12 oz chopped pork Carolina style so it was low carb/sugar an had some heat to it. Had some Brussel sprouts Sauted in butter as the side! AWESOME!!! Hit overhead presses today and CRUSHED it!

OHP
Warm ups
65x8
85x5
95x3

Work sets
115x5
135x5
155x9!!! New PR at this weight

Superset Chins (fatty can't do too many of these)
5,3,3,3,3,3

Standing Dumbbell OH Presses SUPERSET with Close grip pull downs
35x20
45x15
50x12

Seated DB presses also superset
55x10
60x9

Close grip pull downs
130x20
140x15
150x12
170x10
170x10

Standing Lateral Raises superset w/Dips (chest version)

4x25x15

Dips
12,10,9

Killer workout. Had the energy to go all damn day if I wanted! Tomorrow is deadlift day. Pepper thine angus.

[JaxLifter]

Stayed up and watched my Resskins WIN last night! Lost some shut eye as a result, but it was worth it. Had my coconut oil coffee this morning and weighed in at 236.4lbs. Thought I'd be much lower actually, but my cals were slightly higher yesterday and I'm quite sore after yesterday's workout. Today will be much MUCH worse! DEADLIFTS!!! Can't wait! Will go for an evening walk with the wifey tonight also!

Had Outback Strakhouse last night and managed to stay on diet. 9oz special with house salad with ranch dressing, no croutons, and steamed broccoli as my sides. Macros for yesterday came in at 2634cals, 158g fat, 60g carbs and 243g pro! Lol! Yay steak! May fast all the way up to my workout today. Will be in the early afternoon (around 2-3ish) which I can do easily. Not used to lifting with food in my belly like I did yesterday. Will update again tonight!

[JaxLifter]

Good day BB wise. Hit 2215 calories, 156g Fat, 36g Cho and 163g pro. Made a MASSIVE 6 egg ommlet for dinner with maple sausage. Covered it in chili sauce and buttermilk ranch! DE-Lish!!!

Workout was rough after yesterday's session. I also fasted until the workout at 130pm. Deadlifts went down like this:

Warmups
145x5
185x5
215x3

Work sets
235x5
265x5
300x6

Good mornings Superset with Hanging Leg Raises

45x12
65x12
75x12
85x12
95x12
I've never done this exercise before so I just felt my way into the proper resistance level.

Hanging Leg Raises
5x15 reps.

Reverse Pec Deck Flys
2x90x12

Face Pulls
70x15
90x15
110x15

That's it! Was burnt by the end but felt good. I had a few more deads reps at 300lbs, but I didn't want to compromise form. I felt drained going in, so to hit 6 reps when I needed 5 is really icing on the cake.

[Cowmustard]

I'm jealous of that overhead press bro, I seem stalled in the 150s.

Good job men, and how did you get does macros with chili sauce and maple syrup?"?? very jelly!!!

[JaxLifter]

I'm jealous of that overhead press bro, I seem stalled in the 150s.

Good job men, and how did you get does macros with chili sauce and maple syrup?"?? very jelly!!!

Thanks man! Like all lifts, it's slow Ns steady progress. You'll bust that plateau soon!

To clarify, the sausage had maple flavoring in it. No syrup was used. So that's how I pulled that off. Jimmy Dean has a number of prepackaged breakfast sausage flavors to choose from! Yay meats!

[JaxLifter]

Hit 234.8lbs this am! It's wooooorkinnnng!!! Today is a scheduled rest day from lifting. I'd like to get some cardio in. Likely just walking but something is better than nothing!

Question for the forum:

I'm nearing my first carb-up and need guidance. I'd like to carb-up from Saturday through Sunday. I'm not exactly clear on how many carbs to eat though. I've seen tips like "just flip the macros, 60% carb, 30% pro and 10% fat." Is that the prevailing how-to? Thanks in advance!

[k3n12ock]

From what I've read, you shouldn't do any kind of carb up until around 3-4 weeks into ketosis.

[jcpryor3]

Thanks man! Like all lifts, it's slow Ns steady progress. You'll bust that plateau soon!

To clarify, the sausage had maple flavoring in it. No syrup was used. So that's how I pulled that off. Jimmy Dean has a number of prepackaged breakfast sausage flavors to choose from! Yay meats!

Jimmy Dean has some great sausage's right? I fried me 4oz up last night. Ate a cup of chorizo and 4 bacons with it.

Hit 234.8lbs this am! It's wooooorkinnnng!!!

Great job bro, keep it up! Will you be posting any progress photos? Before & currents?

[JaxLifter]

Jimmy Dean has some great sausage's right? I fried me 4oz up last night. Ate a cup of chorizo and 4 bacons with it.


Great job bro, keep it up! Will you be posting any progress photos? Before & currents?

Thanks bud! I probably wont post any photo's until I reach my goal (which is at least 20-25lbs away).

Today is a rest day so I'm just making sure my fat intake is high enough to fuel my workout tomorrow. At 107g fat so far and I still have dinner to eat. Need a fatty dinner...any suggestions?

[jcpryor3]

Thanks bud! I probably wont post any photo's until I reach my goal (which is at least 20-25lbs away).

Today is a rest day so I'm just making sure my fat intake is high enough to fuel my workout tomorrow. At 107g fat so far and I still have dinner to eat. Need a fatty dinner...any suggestions?

Well I'm looking forward to seeing you reach your goal, along with progress pics.

Try Johnsonville's Brats. Ground beef. Extra virgin olive oil/coconut oil. Pecans. Those are all high in fats.

[JaxLifter]

Weight this am was 235.6lbs. So up from yesterday. Here's to seeing a pattern of 2 lbs down, 1 lb up from here on out! lol

Today was a lifting day. I had the right focus and mental acuity to have a beastmode day in the gym. However, my physical energy levels were the lowest they've been in the gym since I started back in February. I know it's the Keto doing this and I believe I've reached a point in the training/keto cycle that a carb refeed is needed. More on that later. Hit bench and back today as follows:

Warmups
105x5
125x5
150x3

Work Sets
165x5---> I do the first two work sets with a pause at the bottom, holding the bar on my chest for a tick, then explode up. It's very controlled and is the powerlifting style of bench pressing.
190x5
215x7---> I could have likely squeezed out an 8th rep, but I don't like forced reps on bench. I have nagging shoulder pain that shows up when I do that, so I did the smart thing and ended the set a 7 reps. Also to note, in the last cycle, my 5+ bench day was at 210 and I did 8 reps at that weight and I recall that day being an amazing lifting day. Today was NOT a great day with the iron.

I did sets of chin ups/negatives (too fat to do too many still) in between the warm up sets and the first 2 working sets:

Sets of 4,3,3,3,3

Dumbbell Incline Bench Press Superset w/Bent over Dumbbell Rows
60x15
65x12
70x10
70x10
70x10

Bent over DB Row:
75x15
80x12
85x10
85x10 I was physically drained after this set, so I dropped the weight back down and did some higher reps
70x20

Preacher Curl Machine
80x12

MEGA DROP SET
80X12, 50X12, 30X12

I was completely wasted after this work out. Tomorrow is lower body squat day and I hope I feel better tomorrow than I did today. I had some good sleep, so I can pretty much narrow this all down to the diet causing the lack of energy. Which leads me to my next topic: CARB LOADING.

I intend on starting my carb load tomorrow after squats. This will be the first time I do this and I'd like for it to last me 10-14 days. Any of you experienced CKD'ers have any advice? I'm probably going to crush a burrito and wash it down with a coke on my way back to work to get the ball rolling. Should come it at about 200g cho, 100g pro and 50g fat just from that first meal. I'm going to keep the carb up going through Saturday night as I have a special family dinner planned, and I'd like to eat whatever I want during that meal, and not be in too much trouble afterward. I guess I'll aim for roughly 500g carbs day one and half that day 2? Keep protein the same and reduce the fat a bit and back to keto style Sunday. Does that sound reasonable? I've been looking at a number of different sources for adequate carb loading levels and found one that went as high as 900+g carbs!!! When will it be my turn for that???

[Cowmustard]

I hear ya on the shoulder problem, ever look up cuban rotations??? they make a world of difference for me.



as far as carb up man, if its your first, you might wanna do a 4 hour or something short, I wish I had, just my two cents.

[JaxLifter]

as far as carb up man, if its your first, you might wanna do a 4 hour or something short, I wish I had, just my two cents.

My hope is that I can load up enough to go two more weeks without one. I'm not sure I can accomplish that in 4 hours. How did you do your first carb up? I suppose I could do one weekly, but I'd rather stay in ketosis and keep melting fat. I don't think my fat intake has been too low. I've hit about 150+g per day. I'm ONLY worried about fat loss and gym performance. If I could keep my gym strength up and not do a carb load for another week or so, I would, but I hit a wall today. It was ugly. I pushed through it, but I won't make it through next weeks training without a carb up.

Chipotle is my vice. My muse. I crave it and I WILL have it tomorrow after squats. This much I know!

Any thoughts or suggestions on cardio in conjunction with frequent heavy lifting while on CKD? Ive read mixed reviews. Save the glycogen for my weight workouts is my current position.

[JaxLifter]

236.6lbs this am..... :-/ ...... I honestly attribute this to solid water weight from eating an entire kilbasa last night! lulz. Sodium FTW!

Today is squat day, followed by my first attempt at a carb load. That "Special Family Dinner" may go in a different direction. My wife's grandmother fell and broke her hip yesterday and the dinner was supposed to be with her! So now, my father in law is flying in tonight, so we'll have dinner with him instead. Circumstances couldn't be worse, but my wife is happy to see her dad so there's your silver lining. Any happy thoughts/prayers you could send her grandma's way are appreciated. She's in her mid 80's and before yesterday, didn't have a single health probelm and had been VERY active! She fell while getting ready to put christmas lights on her house. We appreciate the prayers!

I will update again this afternoon after squatting and feasting on Chipotle!

Goal calories for today will be 3400. I'll try and get in at least 500g carbs, 200g protein and less than 100g fat. All of which (excepting my morining coconut oil coffee) will be consumed post work out. 3400 cals is based on my TDEE of 2900 plus an assumed burn of 500 calories (will certainly be more than that) during today's work out. My burrito will come out to 1180 cals, 125g carb, 35g fat and 95g protein. Add to it a Cherry Coke and I'm already at 200g carbs within an hour of the work out! Does this sound alright to you experienced CKD'ers?

[k3n12ock]

Great job so far bro. It's been 5 weeks for me and finally getting my carb up in. McD's Steak Egg & Cheese bagel FTW.

[JaxLifter]

Great job so far bro. It's been 5 weeks for me and finally getting my carb up in. McD's Steak Egg & Cheese bagel FTW.

Thanks boss! Repped for the encouraging words! Keep up the solid work yourself!

Squat day is in the books! Weekend rest up and carb loading is under way!!!

Workout looked like this:

Box Squats:
Warm ups
135x5
155x5
175x3

Work Sets
190x5
220x5
245x7

Leg Presses
290x15
340x12
380x10
430x10
430x10 First time doing leg presses as a main assistance lift so, again, worked my way up to a weight that was challenging for 10 full reps.

Leg Curls
90x15
4x110x12

Superset with...

Leg Extensions
5x90x15

The leg extensions were BURNERS! Broke the sets into micro sets of 5 regular reps, then 5 reps with a full lock and pause, then 5 more regular reps. Weight was light on purpose as the goal was pump pump PUMP!!! Mission Accomplished.

Glycogen stores adequately depleated from today's work out, and the burrito is in front of me as I type this! Washing it down with more simple sugars in a 32oz Mr. Pibb! Final post-wo meal macros: 1568cals, 227g carbs, 38g fat and 94g protein! CARB LOAD FTW!!!!

[JaxLifter]

Just crushed a bowl of Rice Crispy's and a pint of B&J Froyo Half Baked! A protein shake in a bit and I'm good for the day! FINAL MACROS: 3340cals, 78g fat, 469g carbs and 184g protein. Feels good! Feels FULL! Lol! I'm just hoping that this will fuel the next 2 weeks of training. That's my goal. I needed this refeed. Yesterday's workout was horrible. Today's was a bit better, but I was feeling drained so it was time.

[Cowmustard]

box squats and froyo half baked.... I sense an epic log!!! Subbed, repped, and a lil jelly of the carb meal.

[JaxLifter]

box squats and froyo half baked.... I sense an epic log!!! Subbed, repped, and a lil jelly of the carb meal.

Thanks for the sub and reps my friend! This WILL be epic! I ended up going to a college basketball game here in town and had a couple hand fulls of pretzels and a few beers that were not accounted for in the macros....

Results: 236.4lbs!!! DOWN 0.2lbs from yesterday!!! I'll likely have one more carb infused meal today for lunch (that will make it a full 24 hours as I'm doing this IF style and don't typically eat anything other than my coconut oil coffee before noon-2pm) and then right back on the keto wagon! Loving it so far! In the first almost 2 full weeks (will be 2 FULL weeks on Monday) I've dropped about 4 lbs and set some new PRs in the weight room. You won't hear me complain about that!

Lessons learned from this week include:
-Listen to your body. I felt completely burnt out on Thursday during my work out. At that time, I made the decision to carb up after squat day and it was a good one so far.
-Add cardio to the mix. I'm going to reach out to the keto community here and see what the prevailing thoughts are concerning LISS vs HITT while lifting heavy/intensely 4x's per week. My thoughts are 30 mins of LISS cardio in the am on my workout days, and a full 60 mins on my rest day. Just to get the extra calorie/fat burn once in keto. Thoughts? I am still 20%+ bodyfat, so it's not like I don't have the weight to lose, but I guess 2lbs a week on avg isn't bad either. I was hoping to have dropped a full 10lbs by Christmas, so I still have about 3 weeks to do this! Should be doable for sure!

[JaxLifter]

Had another burrito almost identical to the one from yesterday, but with brown rice instead of white. The carb up is now officially over. :-( back on the Keto train! I'm excited to see how my training goes this week now that I have refilled my glycogen stores! May try a (GASP!) cardio session tomorrow and accelerate the ketosis process a bit. We shall see.

[JaxLifter]

238.0lbs this am. So up a bit from yesterday and all of last week. I know I didn't exceed my calories yesterday as I only had that burrito (YUM) and a salad with double grilled chicken and honey mustard dressing and a protein shake. That was my intake from yesterday. Best guess is that all that brown rice is holding some h20. No worries. I'll be back below 235lbs this week for certain! Excited to be heading back to the keto world for at least another week until I need a refeed again. My legs are still VERY sore from Friday's work out so I'll be taking it easy today, enjoying time with family and hopefully catching some NFL on tv!

[JaxLifter]

Ok, 239.4lbs this am! lol. I had an entire Kilbasa last night for a MASSIVE sodium bomb. I was 242lbs before bed! Goal this week is to get into Ketosis as fast as possible. Any help in achieving this (cardio tips?) will be appreciated. Yesterday's macros looked like this:

2210cals
155g fat
53g carb
143g pro :-(

Kilbasa alone had 1260cals, 105g fat, 28g carb and 42g pro. Also had over 3400mg Sodium! YIKES! Glad that was the last one in the house! Won't be brining home any more of those!

Prior to this weekend's carb/unintentional sodium up, I had been down around 236lbs which would be a 4lb drop in 2 weeks. Or, 2lbs per week, which is ideal! My goal of 25lbs lost is looking to take around 12-13 weeks if I can keep that pace up. I'm willing to add cardio to the mix, but I'd rather keep that card up my sleeve for when I need it to break a plateau which WILL happen at 230lbs, and at every 5lb incriment (I know my body pretty well...). Happy Keto-ing!

[Cowmustard]

Prayers for your fam bro!!!

So any lift template your following??? Always nice to log with another power lifter fueled by keto!!!

[JaxLifter]

Prayers for your fam bro!!!

So any lift template your following??? Always nice to log with another power lifter fueled by keto!!!

Hey boss! Thanks for the prayers! Gma is doing MUCH better! She's scheduled to be released from the hospital to a skilled nursing facility today for a week or so of rehab/physical therapy! Then she goes home! Crazy to see how an 81 year old woman can have a partial hip replacement and then just get up and get going. Also a testament to consistent exercise! She goes to 2 cardio classes for seniors each week! That has 100% made an impact on her recovery time! God is GREAT!

I am running the 5/3/1 program with a psuedo-triumverant/bodybuilder template. So I lift 4 days a week. Split is Monday=OH Presses, Tuesday=Deadlifts, Wed=Rest, Thursday=Bench and Friday=Squats. Weekends are for rest and recovery since the training is heavy every lifting day. To give an idea of progress, I started 5/3/1 back in June/July, and looking at my logs from that time, my rep maxes, for comparison purposes were 220lbs for 4 reps. Now I'm at 235lbs for 4 reps while on a keto cut. It's slow and steady progress, but it's progress! My goals are in my sig below and they're attainable. They assume 5/10lb increases for upper/lower for each of the next 3 months. That's been the progression to this point and it's been working! The current training is geared more towards hypertrophy than just strength increases. So more sets/exercises with reps in the 10-15 range. Typically, we pyramid down, so first set is 15, then 12, then 10, 10 ,10 with the weight increasing as the set progresses, hence the lower reps. More dumbbell work than just barbell work for added intensity. Trying to lose 2lbs of fat a week and gain/maintain muscle by lifting heavy and allowing periodic refeeds to fuel workouts and muscle growth.

[JaxLifter]

***TRAINING UPDATE***

Hit OHPs today and this is how it all went:

Warm Ups
75x8
95x5
110x3
125x3
145x3
160x5 Went for 6 and form completely broke down.

Standing Dumbbell Presses
45x15
50x12
55x10
60x8----> Got a Fitocracy achievement badge for this That was the only reason I did them standing! lol

Seated Dumbbell Presses
60x10

SUPERSET With V-Bar Pull Downs
150x15
160x12
170x10
180x10
190x10

Bent Over Dumbbell Flys @ approx 65-75 degree bend
5x25x15

Hammer Strength Behind Neck Presses
90lbs (45lb plate on each side)
x20
x20
x18
x18
x15

The objective of the HS presses was just to get some more volume in and totally burn out the delts. Behind the neck presses like these incorporate more of the mid and rear heads, which was the goal in the first place and why I superset them with bent over flys.

All in all this was a good work out. Performed this fasted so hopefully it brought me slightly closer to entering ketosis that much sooner. If it didn't work today, it should tomorrow as we have heavy deadlifts on tap! Deadlifting 320lbs x3+ THREE WHEELS BABY!!! 4 is right around the corner!

Also, I feel as though my carb load worked wonders. I was tired after this workout, but not gassed like I was at the end of last week. I had more in the tank today, and I was below "E" last week. In my mind....CARB LOAD:MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.