My Keto Journey, Meal Plan, weight check, etc...

[shan1784]

Down a little over 8lbs and dropped 2% bf in less than two weeks...MY MAN!

Keep it up!

Thank you much!

I know initially it's a lot of water drop, I expect that and also expect it to slow down.. The bodyfat measure may not be the most precise but using this handheld monitor for the time being for consistency and to set a baseline.. I'll probably invest in a skulpt as I lose more or maybe even look into a DEXA scan later in the summer..

[GaryC10]

Following with interest mate [same age etc...]. Excellent work so far. I sometimes worry about eating too much protein; in that excess amounts at each meal might be stored as fat...

[shan1784]

Following with interest mate [same age etc...]. Excellent work so far. I sometimes worry about eating too much protein; in that excess amounts at each meal might be stored as fat...

I had the same concerns with the protein as well.. I did have it dropped pretty low for the second week I think but started reading alot of info over at ketogains.com which seems to aim at people that are active in weight lifting and doing keto... Used their calculator to get my cals and macros set...

Their way of looking at keto is:
Carbs are the limit - less then 30g net carbs daily
Protein is the rule - must hit your daily goal, .8-1g per pound of lean weight
Fats are adjustable - you can add or take fats away to hit cals or put yourself in a higher cal deficit

They have a lot of good articles, one being about protein not causing weight gain, as well as a very active reddit and ******** groups...

I've been running on this cal and macro plan for a lil over a week and my weight after 3 weeks in is still dropping.. I do my week check tomorrow but I should be another 2-3 pounds down from last Friday. Clothes are fitting way better this week.. Waist is getting smaller, legs leaning up a lil, along with arms, shoulders, chest, and getting them veins poppin in the biceps... Feeling great.

Check out ketogains.com... Excellent info over there...

[shan1784]

Been a little while since my last update... The weekend was a struggle, I didn't eat as much as I should have, mainly breakfast and dinner with a small snack mid-day. Here's to catch up -

Friday 4/22/2016 Summary

Cals -1945
P - 174
F - 128
C - 17
Fiber - 7
Net Carbs - 10



Saturday 4/23/2016 Summary

Cals -1794
P - 104
F - 138
C - 23
Fiber - 13
Net Carbs - 10



Sunday 4/24/2016 Summary

Cals -1729
P - 142
F - 120
C - 20
Fiber - 4
Net Carbs - 16



Monday 4/25/2016 Summary

Cals -1900
P - 172
F - 126
C - 13
Fiber - 5
Net Carbs - 6



Tuesday 4/26/2016 Summary

Cals -1864
P - 174
F - 118
C - 11
Fiber - 6
Net Carbs - 5



Wednesday 4/27/2016 Summary

Cals -1868
P - 176
F - 122
C - 11
Fiber - 5
Net Carbs - 6



Keeping with the 1 gram per lean body weight rule... Weight still dropping pretty good, update tomorrow. Workouts are going as planned.. Missing the endurance that I use to have but trusting it will come back.. I did, as of yesterday, change up my preworkout suggested on another keto site. Using ON Pre-Platinum along with Dymatize creatine.. Hoping this will make a difference...

[danfleysher]

I did, as of yesterday, change up my preworkout suggested on another keto site. Using ON Pre-Platinum along with Dymatize creatine.. Hoping this will make a difference...

I use C4 which is pretty good. Ever try?

[shan1784]

I use C4 which is pretty good. Ever try?

Never, heard good things though... I'll have to take a look...

[shan1784]

Thursday 4/29/2016 Summary

Cals -1741
P - 173
F - 119
C - 12
Fiber - 5
Net Carbs - 10


Slightly off due to not having my half avocado for dinner last night.. It was in my meal plan but we only had one left and it was very mushy... So skipped it... Numbers were ok though...

[shan1784]

Updated weight, bodyfat, and blood ketone... Ehhhh...

Weight - 216.2 lbs
BodyFat - 19.6%
Blood Ketone - .5

So I dropped a little over 2lbs, BF% dropped .1% (according to my crappy monitor I use), and ketones are staying the same. Doing the math it looks like I lost muscle but honestly I don't really trust the bodyfat analyzer I use since it's shown to be off by 1% plus or minus. I am leaning up, noticed that alot this week by the mirror test and the way my clothes are fitting... Not to mention earlier this week I weighed in at 215lbs so I think I may be holding some water. I just started on Creatine this week so suspect that may have something to do with it...

Keeping meal plan the same through next week and see how numbers look next Friday...

[danfleysher]

Updated weight, bodyfat, and blood ketone... Ehhhh...

Weight - 216.2 lbs
BodyFat - 19.6%
Blood Ketone - .5

So I dropped a little over 2lbs, BF% dropped .1% (according to my crappy monitor I use), and ketones are staying the same. Doing the math it looks like I lost muscle but honestly I don't really trust the bodyfat analyzer I use since it's shown to be off by 1% plus or minus. I am leaning up, noticed that alot this week by the mirror test and the way my clothes are fitting... Not to mention earlier this week I weighed in at 215lbs so I think I may be holding some water. I just started on Creatine this week so suspect that may have something to do with it...

Keeping meal plan the same through next week and see how numbers look next Friday...

Something I've noticed is that the more I weigh, the easier the lift will be. So squatting 185 when I weigh 220 is easier than squatting 185 when I weigh 205.

While the lifts during my cuts are harder, I noticed that there is much better neural adaptations. This also helped me correct some form issues because muscles weren't being activated when others could do the job for them. The struggle of the lift caused more muscle engagement and I feel like I'm working the muscle more thoroughly (that mind-muscle connection!) instead of just moving weight around aimlessly. I did have to increase rest times though because otherwise my legs would be way too tired.

[shan1784]

Friday, Saturday, Sunday summary...

Friday 4/29/2016
Cals -1922
P - 173
F - 128
C - 14
Fiber - 5
Net Carbs - 9


Saturday 4/30/2016
Cals -1908
P - 172
F - 126
C - 12
Fiber - 5
Net Carbs - 7


Sunday 5/1/2016
Cals -1891
P - 176
F - 119
C - 13
Fiber - 6
Net Carbs - 7


Feeling good all weekend.. Great fasting workouts both Sat and Sun morning. Elevated mood as of late as well... Clothes are fitting so much better, seems better and better each week, this is crazy the rate that I feel like I'm losing. Definition is definitely coming back I've noticed.... Hoping the creatine will get some more fluid back in my muscles and fill out more while leaning up. At this rate will be more then ready for the sun and beach when the time comes... Boom!

[repower]

Beach, here we go haha.

[shan1784]

Monday 5/2/2016 Summary

Cals -1835
P - 173
F - 119
C - 12
Fiber - 6
Net Carbs - 6


Monday was back day at the gym... First workout session at lunch was amazing... So much energy. I've been having 8oz of deathwish coffee with 3 tablets of MCT oil disolved in it. Hit core along with some great sets of deadlifts.. Didn't go to heavy due to lower back issues but my form is really coming along and getting much stronger it feels... The afternoon workout was ok, not as much energy but got it all done...

[shan1784]

Tuesday 5/3/2016 Summary

Cals -1894
P - 175
F - 122
C - 12
Fiber - 6
Net Carbs - 6


Another day in the books... Checking weight daily and seeing it staying still the past few days... Thinking next week I may drop 100 cals of fats and see what that does...

[shan1784]

Wednesday 5/4/2016 Summary

Cals -2057
P - 178
F - 137
C - 20
Fiber - 8
Net Carbs - 12

So went over on cals and fats yesterday... My daughters bday and she wanted to go to this specific restaurant. I ordered roasted chicken thighs without sauce and cauliflower mash/mushrooms and instead ordered side of brussle sprout and bacon dish... Well when I got it everything was covered in this sauce so instead of sending it back and draw attention to myself infront of my whole family and wife's side of the family I decided to just eat... Was good but nervous of what was in the sauce.. So totals above were without the sauce figured in since I have no clue what it was.. It was more like a gravy I guess... Idk... But at any rate this morning I have very strong ketone taste in my mouth so I'm assuming I'm still in ketosis so happy about that... Weight is spiked up a little bit but it's been jumping up a lil and dropping a lil so who knows what my week check is going to be tomorrow..

[shan1784]

Thursday 5/5/2016 Summary

Cals -1806
P - 176
F - 112
C - 11
Fiber - 5
Net Carbs - 6


Nothing crazy today... Decent workout, good energy...

[shan1784]

Updated weight, bodyfat, and blood ketone...

Weight - 215.2 lbs
BodyFat - 19.2%
Blood Ketone - .6



So not much of a weight drop buuttttt the body fat dropped .4% so that was a surprise... So doing the math on this I lost weight and maintained lean mass... So this 1 pound gone this week is fat loss... I'll take it...

So starting today I'm dialing back fats by about 100-150 cals... Basically I'm not putting butter in my morning coffee and using 1 TBSP of mayo instead of 2 for my chicken at lunch... Also going to look at tweaking dinners to try and get fats from whole foods rather then condiments like sour cream, mayo, butter, etc...

New Macros -

Cals - 1700
P - 40%, 170g
F - 55%, 104g
C - 5%, 21g


So this is just guidelines setup in MyFitnessPal... I'll most likely be shooting for proteins in the mid 170g's, Fats 90g-100g, and carbs as low as possible, usually <15g...

Will see how this plays out..

[danfleysher]

Also going to look at tweaking dinners to try and get fats from whole foods rather then condiments like sour cream, mayo, butter, etc...

Avocado's are my go to

[shan1784]

Avocado's are my go to

Yes, adding them in daily now...

[shan1784]

Friday, Saturday, Sunday summary...

Friday 5/6/2016
Cals -1692
P - 175
F - 103
C - 13
Fiber - 5
Net Carbs - 8


Saturday 5/7/2016
Cals -1715
P - 182
F - 94
C - 17
Fiber - 8
Net Carbs - 9


Sunday 5/8/2016
Cals -1847
P - 119
F - 131
C - 30
Fiber - 11
Net Carbs - 19


So dropping daily cals by 100-150 or so.. Cutting fats to do so. This weekend was a little tough. Saturday was a normalish day but decided to try a new restaurant... This place is ranked in the state for desserts, awesome, lol... But I did get a nice 16oz Ribeye with a bluecheese sauce.. Not sure what was int he sauce but lordy it was the best steak I've ever had... Was amazing. Then on Sunday (mothers day) we had another dinner out with my wife's family and it was a pizza buffet, then ice cream later grrrrr.... I ordered a cobb salad off the menu and went with sour cream instead of dressing... So I put this in MyFitnessPal as it was actually listed for the restaurant but I'm assuming macros for it included dressing so I don't believe it was that many carbs... Actually the same for the ribeye on Saturday night, have no idea on specific macros so as far as totals for Saturday and Sunday I would say it's in the ball park but not to accurate...

I did do a weight check this morning to see if I did any damage to myself over the weekend and to my surprise I was 212lbs on the dot... WTH, didn't expect that.. I don't know how I had a 3lb drop over the weekend but I'll take it... Had great fasting workouts Sat and Sun mornings but nothing different was done... I did donate blood Saturday, maybe that has something to do with it.. How much does a pint of blood weigh???

[psalms1441]

nice log bro

[isldurdrake]

you gluten free? MCT oil helps give me alot of focus

[shan1784]

you gluten free? MCT oil helps give me alot of focus

I guess I'm gluten free due to the foods I'm eating... I use MCT oil in my coffee before workouts...

[shan1784]

Monday 5/9/2016 Summary

Cals -1585
P - 175
F - 88
C - 16
Fiber - 9
Net Carbs - 7


Good day... First real day of cutting fats back... Was looking to stay under 1700 and actually looks like I'll be about 1600 which is more of a cut than I was thinking but will be a good test to see how it does. Worse case I add in half an avocado daily or something... Workouts were great, I can tell my endurance is coming back.. Strength seems to be coming back as well... Definition is definable being noticed looking in the mirror especially in my shoulders and traps...

[shan1784]

Tuesday 5/10/2016 Summary

Cals -1636
P - 174
F - 94
C - 16
Fiber - 10
Net Carbs - 6

Another day in the books...

[shan1784]

Wednesday 5/11/2016 Summary

Cals -1551
P - 177
F - 84
C - 19
Fiber - 10
Net Carbs - 9

Low cals for Wednesday but wasn't hungry enough and felt ok so couldn't justify adding more fat to dinner just to get cals up... Less fat eaten means more fat stores used for energy... Leaning up pretty good per the mirror... Can't believe the difference from a month ago.. This WOE was meant for me I swear...

Great workouts Wednesday, was chest day and blew it up nicely... Felt pretty strong and was able to hit 2x10 with 110lbs dumbbell presses.. Never did that before... Also was able to hit 300lbs for a double on paused bench press... Going for 3 next week...

[danfleysher]

Wednesday 5/11/2016 Summary

Cals -1551
P - 177
F - 84
C - 19
Fiber - 10
Net Carbs - 9

Low cals for Wednesday but wasn't hungry enough and felt ok so couldn't justify adding more fat to dinner just to get cals up... Less fat eaten means more fat stores used for energy... Leaning up pretty good per the mirror... Can't believe the difference from a month ago.. This WOE was meant for me I swear...

Great workouts Wednesday, was chest day and blew it up nicely... Felt pretty strong and was able to hit 2x10 with 110lbs dumbbell presses.. Never did that before... Also was able to hit 300lbs for a double on paused bench press... Going for 3 next week...

I know where you're coming from. I had days where I ate 1300 and still killed it in the gym. Felt totally fine.

The lifts are impressive. I love lifts go up while cutting.

[shan1784]

Thursday 5/12/2016 Summary

Cals -1560
P - 176
F - 83
C - 15
Fiber - 8
Net Carbs - 7


Decent lunch workout, hit forearms and middle delt... Tuesday and Thursday workouts are the workouts where I'll hit a muscles I want to improve upon.. Right now it's Bi's on Tuesday and middle delt on Thursdays... Thursdays are also reserved for forearms so what I do is just superset forearms with whatever muscle group I want to get extra work on... Usually it will be lower weight higher volume, 4 sets of 15-20 just to get some blood into the muslce and feel a decent pump... So did that yesterday but after my energy took a nose dive... Went to my son's baseball scrimmage and was dosing off... Not sure what that was about... I'm sure I'm still adjusting so not worried...

[shan1784]

Updated weight, bodyfat, and blood ketone...

Weight - 212 lbs
BodyFat - 18.4%
Blood Ketone - .8


So I think dropping fats down 100-200 cals like I did and utilizing better sources of fats seems to be working... I check my weight every day... I've immediately dropped to 212lbs a couple days after starting and have just stayed.. I can't remember the last time I hit the exact same weight on a scale for consecutive days in a row... I always bounce around... This was very strange to me but I'll take it... Also close to a 1% drop in bodyfat (for whatver it's worth using that monitor I have)... Doing the numbers my lean mass is staying pretty much the same so very very happy with that... Losing fat and sparing muscle.. Who would of thought that was a possibility??? Fasting blood ketones also increased which I was surprised to see that... Last weekends kind of erratic eating with unknown cals and carbs (while I'm sure still in keto range) had no affect.

It's crazy to me how fast I am seeing my body lean up... Last year I did before and after pics and update pics every couple of months.. I could tell the difference that way but it was such a slow process of getting leaner I couldn't really tell looking in the mirror.. Now it's a totally different story. The rate at which my body is changing, getting leaner, more vascular is nuts.. I'm seeing changes in the mirror on keto in one month that took at least 3 months of strict dieting and workouts last year.

Pretty pumped..

[shan1784]

Friday, Saturday, Sunday summary...

Friday 5/13/2016
Cals -1620
P - 174
F - 93
C - 18
Fiber - 9
Net Carbs - 9

Saturday 5/14/2016
Cals -1738
P - 173
F - 100
C - 19
Fiber - 9
Net Carbs - 10

Sunday 5/15/2016
Cals -1782
P - 179
F - 101
C - 17
Fiber - 9
Net Carbs - 8


Good weekend... Saturday morning had a good gym session, then yard work for a few hours after... Then the wife and I went to a new brewery for dinner with her sister and husband... Had a very very small sip of a beer just to get a taste of it. Was such a small sip wasn't worth even considering it anything bad... Had a nice ribeye topped with a fried egg and side of asparagus.. Pretty good... Then Sunday started with gym in the morning and then took sons to a movie... I admit it sucked not having any movie popcorn but it's whatever... Not saying never, just saying not now.. This morning I saw what I think could be abs trying to poke through. I mean the lighting has to be just right, I have to be in the right position, etc but it's starting to happen... It's amazing after only 1 month and 1 week of eating like this...

[shan1784]

Monday 5/16/2016 Summary

Cals -1590
P - 176
F - 88
C - 17
Fiber - 9
Net Carbs - 8

Made alot of progress on deadlifts... Started using a belt to help with lower back issues and pulled 315 for 3 easy reps.. Never done that before.. Only have ever got it for one rep and regretted it... Using that belt, keeping forward abdominal pressure and keeping it tight on lower back really helped out.. Excited what it can do with my squats now... So had good workouts yesterday. Gym owner came and asked how my diet was going... Told me to be sure I'm not losing any more then 2lbs a week or I'm going to be wasting muscle... He must be seeing a difference in my appearance.. I tried talking to him in the past about Keto and he didn't really get what I was explaining to him... He's old school... Said to cut I need to go 230g-250g protein, lower carb, lower fat... Then to put size on stay with 230g-250g protein, high carbs, lower fats... Don't think he's into the science behind keto... lol