PP's Ketogasmic transformation!

[phabphour20]

Weighed myself this morning... not great.

270

Up a couple of pounds from the last time I weighed myself. I am pretty sure it is just water and maybe some food still in my system. I ended up eating way more than I planned this weekend. It ended up being somewhat celebratory in nature.

Sunday morning I went to the gym, fasted. Went about 10 am after my last meal was about 9 pm Saturday night, so approximately 13 hours without eating. I did pushups (3 sets), and assisted chins and dips (3 sets of each). I also did a few sprints on the basketball court. Felt good.

I got home and felt hungry. So I ate a bunch of eggs with cheese and some bacon. After that I got to making my chili. I let that simmer for about 5 hours and boy, was it ever good!

Another friend came over to watch football so I also managed to take down nearly an entire bottle of red wine over the course of the day. Needless to say, this day did not go exactly as planned, but thats ok. Hanging out with friends is one of the things that makes life worth living. So, I expected to be a bit heavy today. No biggie.

Today I am fasting until dinner. I try to do this most Mondays since my weekends tend to be a little more full of food and wine.

Have a great day everyone!

-PP

[phabphour20]

So yesterday I got hungry around lunch time and ate a small chef salad. After work I went home and had dinner... 4 scrambled eggs with melted cheese and 4 strips of uncured bacon. I also took my fish oils and vitamin D.

This morning I woke up and had a most delicious breakfast... a serving of full fat F A G E Total Classic Greek yogurt. I have probably mentioned this way too many times already, but it is delicious and full of yummy saturated fat and a goodly amount of protein. In this I put a big handful of mixed nuts. So good.

I skipped lunch today and am having leftover chili for dinner tonight. I love chili.

I will probably try and get to the gym tomorrow night for some deadlifts and sprinting.

Have a good night.

-PP

[phabphour20]

The chili was absolutely delicious last night. I think it gets better after a day or two in the fridge. Reheated it in the pot for 15 minutes and then topped it with some freshly shredded grassfed cheddar and a dollop of sour cream. So good. I want it again tonight but I think I'll save whats left for lunch tomorrow.

I got a solid 8 or 8.5 hours of sleep last night. This is so crucial for health, recovery, hormones, everything. With a new baby coming in June I am trying to get extra sleep now while I can... at least to get "caught up" before I go into a deficit again.

Breakfast this morning was the yogurt and nuts again. I am addicted to this stuff. I also took two fish oils and 2,000 IUs of Vitamin D3. I keep reading stuff about high vitamin D levels helping prevent the flu to go along with all the other positive benefits. It seems like a no-brainer this time of year. A full quarter of my coworkers are out sick today.

I am skipping lunch again today so that I can be about 10 hours fasted when I go to the gym tonight. Deadlifts and maybe a few sprints. If I can still walk I'll probably add in some lunges.

Have a great day.

-PP

[phabphour20]

Last night was great. I got to the gym around 7 pm, about 10.5 hours after my last meal. I was feeling light and energetic. I shot the basketball around for a bit (and aggressively chased down the rebounds) and then did a few full court sprints to get fully warmed up.

After that I went up to the weight room and did some deadlifts. I was getting a lot of looks. Not sure if it was because they never actually see people do deadlifts there or because I was wearing my Vibram Five Fingers...lol. Anyway, I did 4 sets of 6 reps at 145 lbs. Sweating bullets by the end. Then I went home. That is it. A very short, very intense workout. Total time in the gym was less than a half an hour.

After working out I ate dinner which was a dry-rubbed roast pork tenderloin and some asparagus sauteed in butter. So good. I took my fish oils and vitamin D and chased it all with about half a serving of dark chocolate (86%). Then I got 8 hours of sleep.

Today I had my standard weekday breakfast of full fat yogurt with mixed nuts. This time I threw in a few (10 or so) blueberries for the antioxidant boost... it is flu season after all. For lunch today I had the last of my leftover chili with some sour cream (and some more fish oils). I also had three cups of green tea today.

Today is basically a full recovery day for me. I am eating three square meals and not doing any exercise, other than maybe walking the dog after dinner tonight. I think tomorrow I will probably fast all day and then squeeze in a sprint workout after work. We'll see how it goes though. I prefer to put loose plans in place and then play it by ear (or by stomach, really).

Have a great day everyone.

-PP

[phabphour20]

Very quick this morning... not too much to say.

Dinner last night was a delicious grassfed T-bone and some spinach sauteed in butter. I took 2 fish oils, vitamin D and then chased it all down with some dark chocolate. I would have had a glass of red wine, but I ran out.

Skipped breakfast this morning. Might skip lunch too as I am not really hungry. Going to go get my second cup of green tea in a few minutes.

I might do some sprinting after work tonight, or I might not. We'll see. After that I am going to take the wife out to dinner... much cheaper now that she is pregnant and can't drink.

Happy Friday.

-PP

[phabphour20]

Happy Saturday everyone!

So I fasted yesterday until dinner, about 24 hours. I was hungry when I got home so I decided to go out to dinner instead of the gym.

We went to our local pub which also has good food. I had a steak salad with blue cheese and grilled red onions. So good. Definitely higher in carbs than the steak and spinach I had for dinner on Thursday, but for my one meal of the day, no biggie. As long as they are all healthy, natural ingredients, I am not going to freak about a few extra carbs. I am doing this for the rest of my life... not some short term weight loss thing.

I also had two glasses of red wine at dinner and some dark chocolate when I got home. A great Friday night of eating.

Then get this... I slept for 10 and a half hours! From 10:30 to 9 am this morning. It felt great.

The wife and I woke up on this rainy Saturday morning in the northeast and made a delicious breakfast. Scrambled eggs straight from the farm and uncured bacon. What could be better? I also took 2,000 IUs of D3 and some fish oils. Now I am relaxing with my wife and dog and a big mug of green tea. Life is good.

Gym tomorrow.

-PP

[phabphour20]

Slight change of plans. I was feeling restless this afternoon so I went to the gym.

I was going to play some basketball and do some sprints... but there were some people hogging the basketball courts and sprinting area. So I hopped on the treadmill. I ended up doing 25 minutes total with mostly walking uphill, a few minutes of sprinting sprinkled in and a few minutes of very steep walking too... an incline of 12 on the treadmill.

After this I went home. For dinner we made a family tradition from my wife's side... pork tenderloin with sauerkraut in the slow cooker. I added in kielbasa and a sliced apple. So good and relatively low carb. All natural.

Then I had two glasses of red wine. It is the weekend after all.

Cheers.

-PP

[sable4_]

Slight change of plans. I was feeling restless this afternoon so I went to the gym.

I was going to play some basketball and do some sprints... but there were some people hogging the basketball courts and sprinting area. So I hopped on the treadmill. I ended up doing 25 minutes total with mostly walking uphill, a few minutes of sprinting sprinkled in and a few minutes of very steep walking too... an incline of 12 on the treadmill.

After this I went home. For dinner we made a family tradition from my wife's side... pork tenderloin with sauerkraut in the slow cooker. I added in kielbasa and a sliced apple. So good and relatively low carb. All natural.

Then I had two glasses of red wine. It is the weekend after all.

Cheers.

-PP

Just a quick question....why do you chose to fast?

[phabphour20]

Just a quick question....why do you chose to fast?

The most basic reason is for my health. There have been quite a few studies done showing potential health benefits to fasting.

You have heard of "caloric restriction," right? The idea behind caloric restriction, which has been tested on quite a few different animal models with great success, is that when animals eat about 25-30% less food than they would otherwise have eaten on their own, they live up to 30% or sometimes even 50% longer. Apparently when calories are scarce, most animals that have survived and evolved for this long have certain genes and genetic pathways that get turned on. This process recycles some of the junk cells that have accumulated in your body and appears to slow down the course of aging.

Caloric restriction is not easy for humans... we get hungry. One method of potentially recreating this environment without being constantly hungry is through intermittent fasting (IF). The idea here is to have periods of no calories where the caloric restriction processes get turned on and then having periods of eating to give your body all the nutrition it needs, allowing your muscles time to grow, etc.

There are a couple of other reasons as well. For me, health is the ultimate goal. I want to increase the length of the healthy portion of my life. I am not interested in bodybuilding in the ultimate sense of the word, but rather longevity. I feel that lifting weights is definitely healthy and good for longevity, but I will gladly trade in huge muscles for better health. I think it makes sense to give your body periods of rest from eating. During these periods of rest is when you can actually burn the stored fat calories you have on your body.

Another reason for me personally is just getting control over food. I like the feeling of not being required to eat every few hours. If I am going for a plane ride, I am not worried about bringing on snacks or what the meal will be... I just don't eat. Having been fat for most of my life, this is a good feeling.

One more reason has to do with hormones. Apparently some research has shown that through fasting and then lifting weights you can achieve a very anabolic hormonal environment with a strong growth hormone output, etc. I am not a scientist, so I can't really tell you if this is true. I can tell you that my workouts don't suffer if I am fasted and I feel much better than when I have eaten beforehand. I never have to worry about an upset stomach in the gym.

I'll try and get some good links for you to read if you are interested:

From the LA Times: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/feb...th/he-fasting2

Some blogs and the like:

http://ouroboros.wordpress.com/2009/...-to-longevity/
http://www.eatstopeat.com/
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/fasting/
http://conditioningresearch.blogspot...tent%20fasting
http://freetheanimal.com/intermittent-fasting
http://leangains.blogspot.com/

Hope I made some sense.

Cheers,

PP

[phabphour20]

I woke up this morning with a big cup of green tea after another 9 hours of sleep.

The wife and I went to the gym around 10:30, so probably about 12 hours since my last consumed calories. I warmed up on the basketball court, breaking a good sweat shooting, dribbling and chasing down my errant shots for about 15 minutes.

After this I went up to the weight room and did some pushups, assisted wide-grip chins and assisted dips. I am using pushups as a measure of my progress in the gym and physical fitness. One of my goals is to be able to do 100 consecutive pushups. This is going to take a lot of time for me to accomplish, obviously. Years probably. In the mean time, in order to work up to that, I am measuring my progress doing three sets to near failure with about 30 seconds of rest in between.

Keep in mind I still weigh about 270 pounds...

Set 1: 12 pushups
Set 2: 8 pushups
Set 3: 7 pushups

Total: 27

Last week my total was 23, so this is a solid improvement despite still being pretty pathetic. There was a time when I could drop and do 25 straight without any training... and I am going to get back there and beyond. I want to be healthy and fit. I think bodyweight exercises are a good way of determining fitness. Can you climb over a wall if you have to? Or up a rope? I want to be able to do these things.

After the gym I had a nice, big brunch. A serving of F A G E full fat Greek yogurt with a large portion of nuts. My wife was making eggs and bacon, so I couldn't resist. I had one strip of bacon and fried two eggs in the bacon grease... so tasty. I also took two fish oils and some vitamin D.

After lunch we took the dog to a park and he played for a few hours with other dogs, swimming, etc. Labs love the water.

For dinner I made some homemade chicken soup. All kinds of vegetables like carrots, celery, peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, etc and a bunch of chicken legs that I cooked in the broth and then pulled off the bones. Add spices and voila. Delicious. My wife made us a salad with a bacon and scallion vinagrette that she saw on the food network today. Also very, very good. Again I took 2 fish oils and 2,000IUs of vitamin D3.

Now I am going to relax and watch football and then go to bed.

It was a nice weekend. We'll see what the scale has in store tomorrow.

-PP

[sable4_]

The most basic reason is for my health. There have been quite a few studies done showing potential health benefits to fasting.

You have heard of "caloric restriction," right? The idea behind caloric restriction, which has been tested on quite a few different animal models with great success, is that when animals eat about 25-30% less food than they would otherwise have eaten on their own, they live up to 30% or sometimes even 50% longer. Apparently when calories are scarce, most animals that have survived and evolved for this long have certain genes and genetic pathways that get turned on. This process recycles some of the junk cells that have accumulated in your body and appears to slow down the course of aging.

Caloric restriction is not easy for humans... we get hungry. One method of potentially recreating this environment without being constantly hungry is through intermittent fasting (IF). The idea here is to have periods of no calories where the caloric restriction processes get turned on and then having periods of eating to give your body all the nutrition it needs, allowing your muscles time to grow, etc.

There are a couple of other reasons as well. For me, health is the ultimate goal. I want to increase the length of the healthy portion of my life. I am not interested in bodybuilding in the ultimate sense of the word, but rather longevity. I feel that lifting weights is definitely healthy and good for longevity, but I will gladly trade in huge muscles for better health. I think it makes sense to give your body periods of rest from eating. During these periods of rest is when you can actually burn the stored fat calories you have on your body.

Another reason for me personally is just getting control over food. I like the feeling of not being required to eat every few hours. If I am going for a plane ride, I am not worried about bringing on snacks or what the meal will be... I just don't eat. Having been fat for most of my life, this is a good feeling.

One more reason has to do with hormones. Apparently some research has shown that through fasting and then lifting weights you can achieve a very anabolic hormonal environment with a strong growth hormone output, etc. I am not a scientist, so I can't really tell you if this is true. I can tell you that my workouts don't suffer if I am fasted and I feel much better than when I have eaten beforehand. I never have to worry about an upset stomach in the gym.

I'll try and get some good links for you to read if you are interested:

From the LA Times: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/feb...th/he-fasting2

Some blogs and the like:

http://ouroboros.wordpress.com/2009/...-to-longevity/
http://www.eatstopeat.com/
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/fasting/
http://conditioningresearch.blogspot...tent%20fasting
http://freetheanimal.com/intermittent-fasting
http://leangains.blogspot.com/

Hope I made some sense.

Cheers,

PP

Wow! Thanks! That's really interesting. I had no idea. Doesn't fasting slow your metabolism?

[phabphour20]

Wow! Thanks! That's really interesting. I had no idea. Doesn't fasting slow your metabolism?

I have seen more than one study that seem to prove that as long as you keep the fast below about 36-40 hours, it doesn't slow your metabolism down. I usually keep it between 18 and 24 hours so I am not really worried.

I doubt it would have a long-term effect as it isn't too long before I am eating again. And on top of that, any short-term reduction in metabolism will clearly not be enough to offset the fact that I am not eating any calories. People are always telling me... eat breakfast so your metabolism gets going if you want to lose weight. For me, common sense would dictate that I'd have a better chance to lose weight if I just didn't eat the 300 calories in the first place.

You can see from reading my log here that I eat plenty of food. I just like to have times of eating and times of not eating.

Thanks for stopping by!

-PP

[phabphour20]

Weigh-in day today...

268 pounds.

2 or 3 pounds down from last week. Hopefully I am under 270 to stay this time. I think I will see the 250s before the 270s again.

No breakfast today, just tea. We ate dinner early enough yesterday that by skipping breakfast and eating lunch around 12:30 or so I can squeeze in an 18 hour fast. I brought some of the leftover pork in sauerkraut for lunch today. Pretty excited about that.

Feeling pretty good today. A decent reading on the scale will usually do that for me. I try not to let it change my mood to the downside, but I don't think there is too much harm in feeling good about myself for a while. I got a good 8.5 hours of sleep last night, so I feel somewhat rested and ready to start the week.

No gym today. Probably not tomorrow either. I believe that full-body systemic recovery is important. Two days in a row without any high impact exercise is good. I'll hopefully still walk the dog for half an hour tonight and maybe tomorrow.

Have a great day everyone!

-PP

[phabphour20]

Quick update... not much going on.

Had a nice rest day yesterday. Dinner last night was my version of taco salad. Basically brown some grassfed ground beef, toss in my homemade taco seasoning (chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, salt). Serve on a plate topped with heaps of sour cream, shredded cheese and fresh salsa. Delicious.

I was still feeling hungry later during House so I made some dessert. Full fat Greek yogurt with a few chopped strawberries and slivered almonds tossed in. Delicious.

For breakfast this morning I ate another serving of the yogurt with a big handful of mixed nuts. Took a couple of fish oils and another 2k IUs of D3.

Now I am enjoying a cup of green tea at my desk. It's a living.

-PP

[phabphour20]

Another quick update...

Yesterday I decided to have lunch... a big salad with a couple eggs, two different types of cheese, walnuts and some pepperoncini. I dressed it with olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar. Took the fish oils and vitamin D as well.

For dinner last night I had another big salad. Went out with my wife and got the same steak and blue cheese salad I got this weekend. It is good. A little high on the carbs with the big grilled onions and balsamic vinagrette, but mostly natural stuff. I also had one glass of red wine.

I had a respectable 8 hours of sleep last night.

This morning I some more yogurt with nuts for breakfast. I'll probably skip lunch as I have plans to go the gym for my deadlifts after work tonight. I'd like to be at least 10 hours fasted or so by that point... which I will be if I don't eat any more today.

Have a great day everyone!

-PP

[phabphour20]

After work I went to the gym last night... around 7 pm, so over 10 hours fasted.

I played basketball to warm up for about 15 minutes and then did deadlifts. 4 sets of 6 at 155 pounds. I was dripping afterward and ready for dinner.

For dinner we had leftover chicken soup (I piled on the chicken) and a spinach salad with a couple of eggs and a little bacon. Delicious.

I was still hungry a little later so I made some dessert out of yogurt and blueberries.

I am probably going overboard with the Greek yogurt... but man... so good. I had it again for breakfast today and might have it for lunch today as I have some at work and don't feel like buying lunch.

Feeling good.

-PP

[phabphour20]

Ate the yogurt again for lunch yesterday... with nuts. So good.

Dinner was a sausage and kale soup that my wife made. Very good. As the weather gets cold up here in the northeast, hearty soups with lots of meat and vegetables are a great dinner option.

Today I am not going to eat until dinner. I haven't done a 20+ hour fast this week, so today is the day. I am going to grab dinner out with a friend, probably around 6:30 or 7. I would estimate it will have been a 22 hour fast.

Happy Friday everyone!

-PP

[phabphour20]

Happy football day!

So Friday night I went to a pub with my friend for dinner. I had prime rib with some coleslaw and a side salad. It was decent. Then I started drinking red wine. A lot of it. Rioja. It was good, and I got drunk.

So... woke up with a bit of a hangover on Saturday. I made my hangover remedy breakfast... a big cup of green tea and scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese and bacon. That had me feeling better so I took a 45 minute walk with the dog.

Dinner on Saturday was some delicious grassfed ribeyes and a big Greek salad (feta, olives, green peppers, red onion, cucumber). Then more red wine.

Gym today.

-PP

[phabphour20]

I got on the scale again this morning: 266 pounds.

2 pounds down from last week and 2 pounds below my most recent low from last spring. Feeling good. I am hoping to keep it going for a long time as this is definitely a lifestyle for me, not just a short-term diet.

Yesterday I went to the gym fasted in the morning. Pushups, pullups and dips plus some sprinting/basketball in for a warmup. Felt good.

Then I ate a lot of food.

Breakfast - scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese and bacon
Lunch - Yogurt with nuts (big meal)
Dinner - sausage and peppers

It was great.

Today I did not eat breakfast. I'll probably get a salad for lunch.

Have a great day!

-PP

[phabphour20]

Good morning everyone.

My meals for yesterday:

Breakfast - Nothing
Lunch - Big salad with cheese, walnuts, eggs and olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar
Dinner - Grassfed cheeseburger (no bun, obvi) and a big Greek salad... so good.

I also took 2 fish oils and 2,000 IUs of D3 with each of my meals. I think I also had 3 or 4 cups of green tea as I do nearly every day.

I find this style of eating to be healthy, delicious and maybe most importantly - sustainable. Yesterday, for example, I had eggs, grassfed beef from a local farm, spinach, lettuce, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, walnuts, cheese, olives and cucumbers. I just don't understand how someone could think this is unhealthy.

I understand that my intake of fat is much higher than most people's and certainly higher than the government would recommend... but it is all from natural sources. I get a very good mix of vegetables (yes, yesterday was a higher mix than most) and I eat lots of nuts, different meats, occasional berries, and yes, high fat dairy... butter, cream, cheese, full fat yogurt, etc. My meals are delicious and I plan to eat this way forever.

One of the more quirky aspects of my diet is the occasional short fast of between 18 and 24 hours. I have explained the logic behind this before and I refuse to think that allowing your body some time off from digestion to devote energy to other things can be an altogether bad thing.

Most importantly I feel great. I sleep well, rarely feel or get sick and just enjoy life.

I am also losing weight which is clearly good for my health as I am extremely overweight. I don't plan to stop this lifestyle when I reach my goal weight though. I think it will help me to live a long, healthful, disease-free life. Why would I ever want to stop?

Have a great day everyone!

-PP

[sable4_]

After reading your logs, I've decided to start fasting every couple of days. I love it! I ate my last meal last night at 9pm(i know, pretty late) and didn't have anything to eat until 1pm today(16hrs). I'm not finding it hard at all. I don't even feel weak. You said that it has health benefits? I hope so, because I am loving it. I feel I have more control of what I'm eating throughout the day by cutting out my morning meal. Would it be the same to miss dinner instead of breakfast? Also, I'm going to stop eating after 7pm. I will try to eat between 1pm and 7pm and still remain on the keto diet.

Good morning everyone.

My meals for yesterday:

Breakfast - Nothing
Lunch - Big salad with cheese, walnuts, eggs and olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar
Dinner - Grassfed cheeseburger (no bun, obvi) and a big Greek salad... so good.

I also took 2 fish oils and 2,000 IUs of D3 with each of my meals. I think I also had 3 or 4 cups of green tea as I do nearly every day.

I find this style of eating to be healthy, delicious and maybe most importantly - sustainable. Yesterday, for example, I had eggs, grassfed beef from a local farm, spinach, lettuce, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, walnuts, cheese, olives and cucumbers. I just don't understand how someone could think this is unhealthy.

I understand that my intake of fat is much higher than most people's and certainly higher than the government would recommend... but it is all from natural sources. I get a very good mix of vegetables (yes, yesterday was a higher mix than most) and I eat lots of nuts, different meats, occasional berries, and yes, high fat dairy... butter, cream, cheese, full fat yogurt, etc. My meals are delicious and I plan to eat this way forever.

One of the more quirky aspects of my diet is the occasional short fast of between 18 and 24 hours. I have explained the logic behind this before and I refuse to think that allowing your body some time off from digestion to devote energy to other things can be an altogether bad thing.

Most importantly I feel great. I sleep well, rarely feel or get sick and just enjoy life.

I am also losing weight which is clearly good for my health as I am extremely overweight. I don't plan to stop this lifestyle when I reach my goal weight though. I think it will help me to live a long, healthful, disease-free life. Why would I ever want to stop?

Have a great day everyone!

-PP

[phabphour20]

After reading your logs, I've decided to start fasting every couple of days. I love it! I ate my last meal last night at 9pm(i know, pretty late) and didn't have anything to eat until 1pm today(16hrs). I'm not finding it hard at all. I don't even feel weak. You said that it has health benefits? I hope so, because I am loving it. I feel I have more control of what I'm eating throughout the day by cutting out my morning meal. Would it be the same to miss dinner instead of breakfast? Also, I'm going to stop eating after 7pm. I will try to eat between 1pm and 7pm and still remain on the keto diet.

Yeah, the health benefits could be great, could not be. The scientific jury is still out. I feel great when I do it and so do a lot of other people.

I skip dinner occasionally, but usually like to eat with my wife since we don't have a ton of time together during the day. Breakfast and/or lunch works best for me.

I find the freedom from needing to constantly be eating great. It just makes sense from an evolutionary perspective as well. A constant food supply was never really the case through our history as a species. We have not evolved to eat every 3-6 hours.

I hope you like it as much as I do. I find that the sweet spot seems to be when you get to 18 hours. That is when I start to feel warm and an odd sense of mental clarity. I think that is when things start to happen physically.

I am glad to see you are eating keto when you try it. Part of the problem why most people (carb eaters) need to graze all day is to keep their blood sugar even throughout the day. Keto eaters don't have to worry about that as we aren't spiking blood sugar all the time with carbs. So the fasting will be much more comfortable for you.

Enjoy! And best of luck.

-PP

[phabphour20]

After reading your logs, I've decided to start fasting every couple of days. I love it! I ate my last meal last night at 9pm(i know, pretty late) and didn't have anything to eat until 1pm today(16hrs). I'm not finding it hard at all. I don't even feel weak. You said that it has health benefits? I hope so, because I am loving it. I feel I have more control of what I'm eating throughout the day by cutting out my morning meal. Would it be the same to miss dinner instead of breakfast? Also, I'm going to stop eating after 7pm. I will try to eat between 1pm and 7pm and still remain on the keto diet.

Just saw this link... the mainstream media is picking up on this... at least in the UK... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/ar...-brainier.html

-PP

[phabphour20]

Happy Wednesday everyone!

My meals for yesterday:

Breakfast - full fat yogurt (20g fat) with nuts, fish oil, vitamin D
Lunch - nothing (some green tea)
Dinner - BIG spinach salad with feta, bacon and grilled chicken, some dark chocolate for dessert, two glasses of red wine

Feeling good.

I would normally go to the gym and do my deadlifts tonight. Given that tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a big eating day, and my gym is open tomorrow morning, I am going to do the deadlifts fasted tomorrow morning. That way everything is ramped up and primed for a big day of eating. I will stay away from all grains tomorrow, but may eat some potatoes and other starchy vegetables if I feel like it. They are natural for the most part.

So, breakfast of yogurt and nuts today. I'll probably skip lunch because we are doing breakfast for dinner tonight and I like to go big with eggs scrambled in pasture butter... cheddar cheese, bacon, etc. Then I'll sleep and do my deadlifts in the gym tomorrow morning.

I love the freedom and flexibility I have with this lifestyle.

Have a great day and a great holiday everyone!

-PP

[sable4_]

Just saw this link... the mainstream media is picking up on this... at least in the UK... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/ar...-brainier.html

-PP

WOw!! That's incredible! There are so many more benefits than I would have ever thought. I wish people were more aware of this! I will definitely be following this and supporting whomever else choses to follow this lifestyle! Thanks so much for the info!

[phabphour20]

WOw!! That's incredible! There are so many more benefits than I would have ever thought. I wish people were more aware of this! I will definitely be following this and supporting whomever else choses to follow this lifestyle! Thanks so much for the info!

My pleasure. Just be careful around these parts (BB.com). You'll get a lot of pushback from the "you need protein every 3 hours" crowd. I personally am not a bodybuilder in the traditional sense of the word. I do want to be strong and have a good physique, but I have way more interest in health and longevity than in being huge.

-PP

[phabphour20]

So, Thanksgiving went ok. I definitely went a little higher on the carbs than planned, but that is ok.

I woke up and went to the gym in the morning. Warmed up on the basketball court with some shooting and a bunch of sprints. Then I did deadlifts. A warm up set of 4 reps at 135 and then 4 sets of 6 reps at 160. Felt good.

After that I drove to my relatives' house and the unhealthiness ensued. Basically I was partly compliant. I drank at least a bottle of red wine, maybe a bottle and a half. I ate some sweet potatoes with maple syrup, some glazed carrots and a few other sweet things. I did not have any wheat though. That is one thing I just cannot deal with. I also avoided any desserts.

I tried to fill up on the turkey... had about three huge servings. I also ate a bunch of broccoli, some turnips and a few peas. And a lot of cheese and pepperoni. Wasn't too bad all told. But I definitely feel a bit off this morning.

Having some tea now and then going for a walk with my father and my dog.

-PP

[phabphour20]

I will catch you all up now...

Friday:

Some bad hotel eggs and sausage for breakfast. After that I picked a bit over the rest of the day... some shrimp and some prosciutto and cheese... and A LOT of red wine. Friday night was my ten year high school reunion. My wife is pregnant and was my designated driver all weekend... so I drank.

Saturday:

Actually got a little bit of exercise on Saturday morning. My father and I took my dog for a good walk, probably a mile and a half or so, but it was up a big hill. After this we went out to lunch with my family. My family likes to drink... so I had two more glasses of red wine at lunch. I ordered a huge blackened chicken salad. Lots of chicken, eggs, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. I also had an appetizer which was a few skewers with grilled shrimp, chicken and steak.

Then it was nap time. A few glasses of wine at lunch will do that to you.

Saturday night we had a big party for my father's 60th birthday at a steakhouse. I LOVE steakhouses. Unfortunately the steaks are all grain-fed and hormone and antibiotic laden... but they are delicious. I had a shrimp cocktail appetizer and then dinner was a filet mignon and lobster tail. Pretty good. I also ate asparagus, a little creamed spinach and some sauteed mushrooms. And then there was the wine. Nothing goes better with steak and seafood than red wine. And I had a lot of it. I drank at least a bottle on my own.

This morning (Sunday) we drove back home, about 2 hours, and then I went to the gym. I did my pushups, pullups and dips after some basketball and sprints to warm up.

I just ate a big meal of eggs with cheddar cheese, a handful of nuts and one of my made-to-order You Bars. If you haven't heard of them, check them out. You choose your own ingredients and they custom make protein-type bars for you. Not perfectly keto, but pretty close and tasty and nutritious.

I may not eat the rest of the day. Going to a concert tonight and won't be home for several hours. I am going to try and stay away from the drink since I had a seriously debaucherous drinking weekend.

Going to clean it up tomorrow. I am a little worried about the scale tomorrow, but we'll see. Whatever happens I am confident in my eating and exercise plan, so I know it isn't permanent. This is a lifestyle. I think even with the drinking I probably did better than most this holiday weekend. I didn't eat any desserts or drink any beer or eat any bread.

Have a good day everyone.

-PP

[phabphour20]

So, hopped on the scale again this morning... 265

A pound down from last week, which frankly is surprising. I guess I did eat clean most of the week and really just drank a lot of alcohol. It is a nice way to get through the holidays... keep the diet tight but allow myself to overindulge a bit with the wine. That way I don't feel too cheated, but also don't really derail my progress too much. Also, going to the gym on Thanksgiving morning probably softens the blow of all that food a bit.

I ended up having a couple of drinks lat night at a bar before the show (Bacardi and Diet Cokes). I stopped drinking at about 7 and didn't consume anything during the concert. The last food I ate was around 4 pm yesterday I think, but the real time of my last calories was 7. I am skipping breakfast today to have a mini-fast. If I eat lunch around 1, that should be about 18 hours of fasting.

Didn't get home until after 2 am last night and had to get up for work at 6:30 this morning. So that is not good. Sleep is really important for health. I'll try and be in bed by 9:30 tonight and get a solid 9 hours. We'll see what happens though.

Have a good Monday everyone.

-PP

[phabphour20]

Had a salad for lunch yesterday around 1. Mixed greens with mozzarella, blue cheese and eggs. Olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar for dressing.

For dinner I had another salad of spinach with some avocado and a little red onion. It didn't have any protein so I also had three scrambled eggs with some cheddar cheese. Delicious and nutritious dinner.

Then I slept 9 hours. Probably need another 9 tonight.

I wanted to have some Greek yogurt for breakfast today but realized at the last minute that I didn't have any. So... unscheduled fast today. Might just go without food until dinner, probably about 24 hours. I'll see how I feel as the day progresses.

Another day off from the gym today. Rest and recovery is important.

Have a great day everyone.

-PP