PP's Ketogasmic transformation!

[phabphour20]

Hello all,

I have decided to start a ket log thread since I have been doing this for a little while now and it seems to be having the desired results and I can use all the motivation and advice I can get.

A little background... always been overweight. My first college experience led to obesity. Yo-yo'd a bit since then, down to 220 at one point when I was landscaping and doing Atkins, then back up when I went back to school. I think I maxed out at 322 this past Christmas, although there is a chance I was higher when I was afraid to weigh myself.

In mid-January I started on a traditional 40-40-20 type diet with lifting and cardio 4-5 times per week. I got down to about 295 at the end of February, but felt like I had probably lost some muscle in the process. Anywho, at the beginning of March I fell off the wagon, stopped working out, started eating crap and drinking a lot of booze and got back up to 307 again by mid-April.

At that point I started working out again and figured I would give keto a try since Atkins had worked so well for me in the past. I have been making steady gains (or losses, actually) ever since. I had one binge weekend where I had a massive party at my house and drank my face off while eating garbage for 2.5 days and so that set me back a week or so. Oh well. I got right back on the wagon again and have gotten back below my pre-binge weight.

My official weigh-in/measure day is Tuesday, so I will have my first "official" weigh-in tomorrow. I was 297 last Tuesday, but a bunch of that was water from my binge, so I expect to be around 290. We'll see tomorrow. I am also measuring my waist with an Accu-Measure MyoTape to have another benchmark.

I guess this first post is going to be a long one...

Generally this is my diet during the week:

7:30 - Ham, sausage and cheddar omelet, cup of green tea, fish oil pills, multivitamin, water

9:30 - Two hard-boiled eggs, one strip of bacon, cup of green tea

11:45 - Two cups of broccoli dipped in blue cheese dressing, an ounce or two of feta cheese and a hard-boiled egg, water

2:30 - a chicken breast and an ounce or two of cheddar cheese, fish oil pills, multivitamin and more water

5:00 - same as 2:30 meal minus the supplements

7:30/8:00 - (with the girlfriend, so I keep it lower in fat) lean protein (turkey burgers, chicken breast) or sometimes steak or pork with a green vegetable and a salad. Fresca or water and more fish oil (2 pills at each serving for a total of 6 a day).


My workouts are always evolving, but I am trying this approach... 2 different routines, alternating every week.

Week 1 will have fasted morning cardio at 5:40 am, Monday through Friday and then lifting after work at about 6:30 each night. I have 3-day splits with the three days being chest/triceps/shoulders, biceps/back and legs/abs. I rotate through the 3 lift days and take a night or day off from lifting when I need it. On the weekend I usually hit the gym both days in the morning and usually do cardio and maybe some lifting if I feel like I have recovered.

The alternate week I skip the morning cardio and do it after my lifts in the evening and try to get more sleep.

I usually have a whey in water shake after the lifting sessions.

So, any advice/help/support is more than welcome here!

I will try to update this daily, for better or worse. Maybe I will even take some pictures, but that is a big step, so we'll see...

Thanks for stopping by!

-PP

[sarahalyse]

Thanks for stopping by.

My wedding is 2.2.08 and I'm so excited!

I've only commited to keto for 4-6 weeks and then I'll see where I go from there. Basically I'm trying to get off that last stubborn fat before I get measured for my wedding dress.

Good job on the weight loss! Keep it up and best of luck to you!

[phabphour20]

Thanks for stopping by.

My wedding is 2.2.08 and I'm so excited!

I've only commited to keto for 4-6 weeks and then I'll see where I go from there. Basically I'm trying to get off that last stubborn fat before I get measured for my wedding dress.

Good job on the weight loss! Keep it up and best of luck to you!

No, thank YOU for stopping by!

February huh? Not as much time as I have. And not nearly as much fat to lose either!

Keep up the hard work and you will look amazing on your wedding day.

-PP

[phabphour20]

Hello 280's !!!

I weighed in at 289 today, which was about a pound lower than I expected. All the water weight came off from my binge weekend and I dropped a few pounds of fat as well. Rock and roll. 33 pounds gone since I started this adventure.

My waist was 48.75 or so, down from 49.15 two weeks ago.

I feel good.

Had a good keto day yesterday. Ham and bacon omelet for breakfast, hard-boiled eggs for a mid-morning snack, broccoli and feta cheese for lunch, then two afternoon meals of chicken and cheddar cheese. Dinner was a turkey taco salad that I make with ground turkey in taco seasoning (my own, all the prepackaged ones have maltodextrin and MSG), shredded iceberg, shredded Mexican cheese, some organic salsa and full-fat sour cream. Delicious and reasonably (<12g) low in carbs. I drank a ton of water and had at least 3 cups of green tea.

My evening workout (this is the week where I do lifting and cardio at night) was good.

5-min warmup on the bike
Bench press
tricep rope pulldowns
overhead shoulder press
flys
tricep bar pushdown
standing lateral raises
seated chest press
skullcrushers
30-min on the elliptical

Sweated like a pig, felt good. I have been trying to go really slow with my lifts and focus on proper form. It burns this way and I think it has to be beneficial despite the lower reps I can accomplish.

Felt good with the scale and measuring tape this morning, so I have all the motivation I need to have a balls-out workout tonight!

-PP

[phabphour20]

Argh, work is killing me...

I start the day all psyched about the gym, but after 11 hours of sitting at my desk trying to be engaged in what I am doing, it kills my momentum.

I am still going to the gym, as I am dedicated to this transformation. I am getting married in September 2008 and I am going to be in the best shape of my entire life on that day.

I need a job that still pays me a lot of money but doesn't suck all my lifeforce.

Maybe I should try to mentally take out my frustrations in the gym. I wish I were a naturally angry person. That might make it easier for me to vent in the gym. I am a lover, not a fighter, so I vent here instead.

[phabphour20]

Good morning anyone who reads this!

OK, workout last night went pretty well.

6 minute warmup on the bike.

seated bicep curls
seated row
lat pulldowns
preacher curls
high pulldowns (not sure what these are really called)
Barbell curls
back extensions

20 minutes on the elliptical. this was a struggle, kept wanting to quit, but kept at it.

I ate fairly well yesterday, the normal meals throughout the work day. Ham and cheddar omelet for breakfast, meal 2 was a hard-boiled egg and two small strips of bacon, lunch was broccoli, blue cheese dressing and feta cheese and one egg, then 4 and 5 were a chicken breast and 2 slices of cheddar cheese each.

Went out to dinner with my fiancee and had a delicious Cobb Salad. It included romaine lettuce, bacon pieces, cheddar cheese, grilled chicken, an egg and an herb vinagrette. Probably a few too many calories as it was a large salad, but should have been within macros. I also had a glass of Pinot Noir which was very good.

This is something I would like some opinions on. I am a big fan of red wine. I think it is overall very beneficial for your health to have a glass a night. So, I think I am going to try and do this. Maybe not every night, but maybe every other night or so. I want to see if I can stay in ketosis and still lose weight while including this in my daily routine. What do you guys think?

Until next time...

-PP

[phabphour20]

Oops. Fell off yesterday. Felt like crap. I ate some pretzels and it degenerated from there. Skipped the gym and ate some spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner. Throw in about 3 beers and 2 glasses of wine...argh.

Anyway, struggled this morning too. Had a good keto breakfast and was feeling good, then a friend at work invited me to Subway for lunch, so of course I ate a footlong and some Doritos since they are so delicious.

I need to get back on right now. I figured I would come here and face the music and try to get to the gym tonight despite feeling like crap from eating crap. I cannot let this go on any longer. I am going to do legs in the gym tonight to try and burn the calories and get rid of the water weight. ARGH. I am angry at myself. I have been making such good progress.

This is my life. I need to stay in control and not let this happen.

Gym tonight, keto tomorrow and all weekend and all next week. I want to be back in ketosis for Sunday morning.

Don't think anyone is reading this, but it is probably better that way.

I need to go read the "Were you treated differently after losing weight" thread now.

-PP

[phabphour20]

I think I will do legs tonight and make myself pay.

Then, I think I will have a protein shake and do one hour of cardio. I will do the elliptical-step mill-bike rotation, 10 minutes each, twice a piece. It is probably not effective and I will be burning muscle, but maye the protein shake and the lifting will help spare my muscles. I just feel the need to burn a massive amount of calories.

I want to be near-puking at the end of my workout.

Time to make up for my own weakness and stupidity.

I know I am being too hard on myself, but I was making such good progress and just need to get some water weight gone. I will sweat it out.

-PP

[phabphour20]

Well, I didn't puke, but I went hard nonetheless.

8 minute warmup on elliptical
leg press - 8 plates per side - all below 3 sets of 8-10 reps
weighted ab crunches (bringing legs and elbows together) - 90 lbs
weighted other type of crunches (upper torso bends down only) - 170 lbs
leg extensions - full rack
hamstring curls - 150 lbs

30g whey in water

Step mill 8 minutes
bike 10 minutes
step mill 6 minutes
bike 6 minutes

Sweated like a pig. Hopefully I sweated all the cheating out of me for a while. The last two days of eating were pretty bad. Keto diet tomorrow and more working out.

Afraid to weigh myself tomorrow, so I won't. Not until Tuesday. Hopefully the water weight I put on will be gone by then. I want to be 288 on Tuesday. Actually, I want to be 287, but that might be a pipe dream.

-PP

[phabphour20]

Man, I am glad I went to the gym last night. I was feeling so crappy until I got in a good workout. Then I had a little cheese and peanut butter for dinner. Just a little fat and protein to start trying to get back on ketosis. I think it is certainly going to take a few days. Hopefully by Sunday morning...

This morning is going well so far. Had a nice keto breakfast of a ham and bacon omelet with cheddar cheese. I have had a cup of green tea and a liter of water already.

Going to keep the diet on track through this weekend and maybe I will carbup next weekend as my friends are having a party on Saturday night next weekend.

I feel so much better about myself when I go to the gym and eat well.

-PP

[rj1992]

Don't think anyone is reading this, but it is probably better that way.

I've subscribed. I like to follow others progress as a way to keep myself motivated. Keep it up, you're doing fine.

Ron

[phabphour20]

I've subscribed. I like to follow others progress as a way to keep myself motivated. Keep it up, you're doing fine.

Ron

Nice! Now I can feel responsible for someone else and not just myself. Every little bit of motivation helps!

-PP

[phabphour20]

Everything is progressing nicely as planned.

Went to the gym Friday night and did chest, triceps and shoulders. Then I did some cardio too.

Worked out Saturday morning, biceps and back, no cardio since I was in a hurry. Went into the city (NYC) afterward and did a lot of walking for the afternoon, so I think I burned some good calories by doing this anyway. Went up to my alma mater and my things have changed. Haven't been back since graduation (Spring '05) and it is amazing how the area has changed in 2 years. I can't imagine what it must look like to people who graduated 20 years ago.

Sunday morning did a half hour of cardio and took the day off from lifting to rest. 10 minutes bike, 10 minutes step mill, and 10 minutes elliptical. I like the rotation thing. If the goal is shorter (like 10 minutes away instead of 30), then I am much more likely to make it to the end successfully.

I ate very well all weekend. Stuck to my keto and tested positive again on the test strips Sunday morning as planned. Had lots of tuna, nuts, peanut butter, cheese, salmon, pork and green vegetables, despite eating out once and eating at my mother's another night.

I think I will be able to make my 288 goal tomorrow a.m, but the 287 (2 lbs of fat lost) might be too much to ask for since I cheated pretty good in the middle of the week. We'll see. Either way, I will be pleased that I made progress and even more pleased that I was able to get right back on track so well after falling off the wagon pretty hard (Skittles...argh).

For my wedding, in September 2008, I am going to be in the best shape of my life. Period.

[phabphour20]

Well, today is Tuesday, official weigh-in and waist measurement day.

Weight: 288 (-1 pound from last week)
Waist: 48.5 inches (down about a quarter of an inch)

It is slow going, but I am glad to see progress.

Had a good workout last night, legs and abs. I am feeling it today. Recovery is definitely slower after this workout compared to the leg workout that I did on Thursday. The further I get from carbup, the slower recovery is.

I am going on a short business day trip tomorrow, so I might have to do a mild carbup tomorrow. They are going to be serving us sandwiches, etc. I can't be taking the meat off and stuff in front of clients. So, big workout tonight of chest, triceps and shoulders and then mini-carbup tomorrow, followed (hopefully) by biceps and back tomorrow night if I get back in time.

Feeling pretty good.

In September of next year, I am going to get married. On that day, I am going to be in the best shape of my entire life.

-PP

[phabphour20]

OK, I did another dirty carbup (cheat).

I started Tueday afternoon when I was feeling crappy. I just had some pretzels and it was over. On Wednesday I had a business trip, so keto was going to be tough anyway.

Over the course of 36 hours or so, I ate pizza, roast beef sandwich, 6 Samoa girl scout cookies, a Snickers bar, some potato chips, a small bag of Sun Chips, a bagel with cream cheese, 2 beers and pizza again.

My back was bothering me the past two days, so I skipped the gym as well.

Today, I am back in it. I will just say this was a carbup and leave it at that. Keto breakfast this morning, took my fish oil and multi and I am drinking only water and green tea again.

Going to go hard in the gym tonight too. Chest, triceps and shoulders. Definitely cardio too. Need to sweat out some water.

Hopefully I can manage the same thing I did last week, which is a 1 pound loss by Tuesday. I think I put on about 4-5 pounds in the past two days, so hopefully most of that was water. 287 is the goal for Tuesday, with 286 as the real-secret-goal/pipe dream.

-PP

[phabphour20]

Darn it. Fell off for 10 days or so here. Bummer. I ate like crap, starting keto, going good for a day, then screwing up. My mother had emergency surgery, so I spent like 4 days in a row visiting her in the hospital, etc. Not really an excuse to eat poorly, but one of the reasons why I haven't been to the gym.

I'm sure I put on 7 or 8 pounds, hopefully a few of that is from water, we'll see. I am going to try and go good today, tomorrow and Monday and then weigh in on Tuesday morning. Hopefully I won't be more than 3 or 4 pounds higher than I was last official weigh-in.

I am pissed at myself. This is getting to be a recurring theme. I am weak.

Had some cheddar cheese and chicken breast for breakfast this morning, along with 2 fish oil pills and a multivitamin. Good start. I am going into the city for a concert tonight, and I am going to try and avoid any form of consumption... bad food, booze, etc. I can't afford it, both financially and physically. I am about to go to the gym in a few minutes and then I am going to go again tomorrow.

I want to be in the best shape of my life for my wedding in September of 2008. Can I actually do it? Or am I going to keep screwing up?

[phabphour20]

Had a good day yesterday. Went to the gym, hard. Triceps, shoulders and chest. Followed with 20 minutes of good cardio.

I ate well, stuck to the keto, except for a few drinks at night. I went to a concert in the city and had 3 rum and Diet Cokes. Obviously alcohol is not good for burning fat, but I think it shouldn't really slow my progress towards ketosis too badly.

Gym this morning. Did legs, hard. It was good. Eating well.

Progress.

[phabphour20]

Man, my legs are sore today. I haven't felt this in a while. I guess that means it has been too long since I did legs (or went to the gym for that matter, lol).

I think the weight will be 291 or 292 tomorrow, which is sad, but not the end of the world. At least I know that even after a week or two of doing badly, I won't see 300 again. This is good news for Christmas week which is always a tough time to be healthy around my family.

Today is going well so far. I had a ham and cheddar omelet for breakfast with some fish oil, a multi and a cup of green tea. I had a snack of two hard-boiled eggs a few minutes ago.

Can't get to the gym tonight because I am going to another concert in the city... fun, but tough. I will try to stay away from the alcohol tonight, but we'll see how it goes. Definitely no beer. Maybe a rum and diet or something, but I'll try to stay away. It is better on my wallet this way too. I am going to another show on Thursday night in the city, so I am going to try and be good then too.

It is my birthday on Wednesday, so my fiance is taking me out for dinner on Friday. I will make that my carbup and get back to the gym on Saturday morning before heading up to Fenway for Saturday night's game (and a sausage and pepper hero without the roll). Hopefully I can get into ketosis before then. I think I should be able to if I can stay away from the alcohol for a few days. It is a tough week to test my mettle though, what with all the social activity and stuff.

Gym tomorrow night and Wednesday night and Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.

Anyway, I am going to be in the best shape of my life for my wedding in September '08 and I am going to keep repeating this until it is true.

-PP

[phabphour20]

288. Ahhh.... good news. I am back to where I was. If I put on any fat, I guess I burned it off in the last couple of days.

I was at a concert in the city last night, and it was outdoors. I had one rum and Diet Coke and then quickly switched to water. It was too bleeding hot out to drink anyway and I didn't want to spend the money. It was so hot that I was sweating the entire time. I was outside from like 5:15 to 10:30 amd was just plain soaked. I think that is why my weight was back down today, definitely lost a LOT of water weight last night. But the show was fun.

So, woke up this morning, weighed and measured myself. 288 pounds, 48.75 on the waist, up a quarter inch, bummer. This does fluctuate some, I guess that is normal, depending on what is in my stomach at the time. I assume by next Tuesday I can get it back to the 48.5 or below. I came out dark on the keto strips this morning, which is good and bad. Good to be back in ketosis, but bad to be dehydrated.

Anyway, eating like a keto champ today and hitting up the gym tonight. Biceps and back. I am also in full rehydrate mode. Going to get a cup of green tea right now.

For my wedding, in September of 2008, I am going to be in the best shape of my life.

-PP

[phabphour20]

Good day. Feeling good. Ate very well. I just had a hamburger on the grill with some asparagus sauteed in butter for dinner. It was delicious. Chased it down with a pint... of water.

I had a good trip to the gym. Lifted my biceps and back. Then I did a solid 20 minutes on the elliptical for 350 calories burned according to the silly little calculator on the machine. Anyway, I was dripping in sweat and feeling good before I had my dinner.

So, this was my food for the day, please let me know what you guys think...

7:15 am - Ham and cheddar omelet
9:30 am - 2 hard-boiled eggs and one strip of bacon
11:45 am - Cup of raw broccoli dipped in blue cheese dressing (some cauliflower too), 2 cubic inches of feta cheese and a HB egg
2:30 pm - a medium chicken breast and 2 slices of cheddar cheese
5:00 pm - a medium chicken breast and 2 slices of cheddar cheese
8:15 pm - hamburger and asparagus cooked in butter

Probably drank 3 quarts of water and 3 cups of green tea during the day. I took my multivitamins and 6 fish oil pills (2 x 3 a day).

All in all, a solid day. I hope to have many more of these days going forward.

In September of 2008, I am getting married to the love of my life. On that day, I am going to be in the best shape of my life. Period.

[Cerrav]

Argh, work is killing me...

I start the day all psyched about the gym, but after 11 hours of sitting at my desk trying to be engaged in what I am doing, it kills my momentum.

I am still going to the gym, as I am dedicated to this transformation. I am getting married in September 2008 and I am going to be in the best shape of my entire life on that day.

I need a job that still pays me a lot of money but doesn't suck all my lifeforce.

Maybe I should try to mentally take out my frustrations in the gym. I wish I were a naturally angry person. That might make it easier for me to vent in the gym. I am a lover, not a fighter, so I vent here instead.

I know what you mean about the work thing. I'm alway so excited to start my day focusing on the things that will improve my life. However, after sitting on my arse 8+ hours looking into a computer screen, it's a bit hard to muster up that enthusiasm.

One day at a time, right?

[phabphour20]

I know what you mean about the work thing. I'm alway so excited to start my day focusing on the things that will improve my life. However, after sitting on my arse 8+ hours looking into a computer screen, it's a bit hard to muster up that enthusiasm.

One day at a time, right?

Hey, thanks for stopping by.

Absolutely. I do 11 hours a day on a good day, so yeah, it is hard to muster up the enthusiasm. After I get to the gym, get home and cook dinner, it is time for bed.

But I guess if I really want the life that I say I want, I have to do this.

I turned 26 today, so I am not getting any younger. I have the sneaking suspicion that losing this extra body fat will not get easier as I get older. I want to do this now, once and FOR ALL before I get married next September.

Once I am in shape, I think it will be easier to maintain now that I know more about proper nutrition. I really do love playing tennis and hiking and biking, etc, but I have neglected those things over the past few years, feeling too fat to try. I have started playing tennis again (my other true love) and it feels great, despite the fact that I stink compared to how I used to play. I think it will come back and as I play better, it is more motivation to get in better shape.

Well today I am going to try and be good, despite it being my birthday. I had a sausage and cheese omelet for breakfast this morning and have my usual 2 HB eggs and a strip of bacon lined up for my snack at 9:30. Lunch should be the usual raw broccoli, egg and cheese. Afternoon snacks, chicken and cheese. Then the gym. After that, my fiance is making me dinner. I asked her to keep it keto-friendly and she said she would, and she also said it would be "special." We'll see what that means. I am excited.

Anyway, I am going to stay strong today and tomorrow and then carbup/cheat on Friday when we go out to a restaurant I really like.

In September of 2008, I am going to be in the best shape of my life.

-PP

[frolik]

Happy birthday!

[phabphour20]

Happy birthday!

Why thank you! And thank you for stopping by! It gets lonely in here...

[phabphour20]

Just got back from the gym. 35 minutes of good, mixed cardio. Elliptical and bike. I was sweating up a storm. Then the power went out at the gym so I came home.

My fiance is cooking me a surprise keto-friendly birthday dinner tonight! I am excited.

Bye for now!

-PP

[Earl10022]

Keep it up. Stay focused on that weight goal for your wedding and Happy Birthday too.

[phabphour20]

Keep it up. Stay focused on that weight goal for your wedding and Happy Birthday too.

Thank you for the support! Yeah, I am going to try as hard as I can to be in the best shape of my life for my wedding. I am going to do it. I have been fat for a long time and it stops now. I will never see the 320s again, the 310s, the 300s or even the 290s. I am done with those numbers.

Thanks for stopping by!

-PP

[phabphour20]

Dinner was a fresh lobster and Caesar salad! OMIGOD delicious. I dipped it in butter and it was sooo good and I didn't even have to cheat (lobster is keto-friendly, right?) to have a fantastic birthday dinner!

I love lobster. Since my birthday is in the summer, my father used to ask me what I wanted for my birthday present as a kid. I would say a 5 pound lobster since I love it and we never got to have it during the rest of the year. He would always get it for me and I would eat only a claw and then be stuffed and he would laugh at me. Sometimes we'd be on Cape Cod and sometimes we'd be home, but it would alway be summer.

Well, I haven't had lobster for my birthday since I went off to college and so this was a special treat.

For my wedding, in September 2008, I will be in the best shape of my life. Period.

-PP

[phabphour20]

OK, feeling good today. Only had one drink last night (Bacardi and Diet Coke, my keto drink of choice), which was a decent showing. I also tried to keep my calories in check, but it is pretty hard when you are eating lobster and dipping it in melted butter...

So, today is going to be a day off from the gym so that I can go to yet another concert in NYC tonight. I am starting to get a little sleep deprived...lol. I am going to keep my diet on point today and going to try and limit myself to one or two drinks again tonight. Ideally I wouldn't drink anything, but this is a fun thing for me and I enjoy a drink or two. We'll see how it goes.

I am going to keep the diet clean keto through tomorrow evening. I am going to do a solid leg workout tomorrow after work before I go out to dinner with my fiance. I am going to have a cheat meal and then get back to the gym on Saturday morning before leaving for Boston and FENWAY PARK! I get to see Dice-K pitch and I am fired up.

I will be in the best shape of my life when I get married in September of 2008.

-PP

[ashley2212]

HI!

This thread is making me hungry... LOL

You didn't have birthday cake?!?!?!