Barb’s BodyBlog

OK folks… I’ve been on the meal plan now for close to 3 weeks. I’ve been through a high carb day and have now reduced my fat calories to begin stripping body fat. Here are my observations about the meal plan so far…

1. The first 5 to 8 days were a bit tough, with nagging headaches and some lethargy. But, it was no worse than coming off of caffeine cold turkey… actually it was easier.

2. Breath is fresher than usual.

3. I have no cravings and do not get hungry between meals, even after a significant 500 a day drop in calories. Keep in mind that the initial 2 weeks were spent at higher calorie levels of 2500. I guess they figure that you don’t need to be hungry while you are trying to make a metabolic shift.

This lack of appetite is a welcome change, and is so nice after the years spent being food fixated, especially in recent years when I became much more interested in physique competitions.

4. Blood glucose levels have dropped and leveled off to the point where I may consider decreasing or discontinuing meds. I have a new GP who is willing to supervise this, and has counterparts at U of A who may be able to use some data in a current study… (wow, fame… LOL!!!). I’ll post more info on this as I get it.

5. Energy levels are high and stable, without that afternoon "wiped-out" feeling that I was attributing to "aging"… I’m only 40… that’s the "new 25"… isn’t it?? LOL!

6. Skin is clear and firm … great news for a "25 year old"…

7. Along with energy levels, moods are stable as well.

All in all, to quote a famous restaurant, "I’m lovin’ it"… with the exception of one thing… the high carb day. I’m hatin’ that. A real shocker to anyone who knows me really, really well. I can eat an entire box of chocolates or a whole liter of ice cream. Cheesecake… not a food group?? So, to hear me say that the high carb day came and I REALLY didn’t want this stuff would seem really odd, especially after being "denied" anything that even resembles sweetness for 2 weeks.

However, the meal plan dictates that I have at least 1 high carb meal per week. After this intake of carbs, my energy was gone and I felt lethargic. Within hours I felt dehydrated with awful dry mouth and had high blood glucose (expected). On the bright side, the next morning there were no carb cravings… bonus.

OK… so this is the way it is supposed’ to work… you do 12 days of low carbs, high fats, moderate protein. This is supposed to get you fat adapted. Then, because this is a CKD (cyclical ketogenic diet), you need to eat a carb rich diet for 12 to 48 hours to cycle yourself in and out of ketosis.

So, this was the high carb day. I feel awful. I am so dehydrated that my mouth feels like a desert inside… I won’t even describe the taste in there… LOL! I have the famous carbohydrate lethargy that I have heard about. My blood glucose has risen to 8.5 at last reading. This is about 153 for my American friends. If you have been following the blog, you will see that that is MUCH higher than it has been over the past 12 days. I am told that this carb lethargy is completely normal and expected and happens to both diabetics and non-diabetics alike. Funny… carbs are supposed to give us energy, not suck it away… fascinating. I’m curious to know what the average person’s blood glucose would be right about now…

Anyway, I am looking forward to falling into bed and having my sugar coated body go to sleep. Tomorrow begins the fun stuff…. the stuff that I have been waiting for.

Days 11 and 12 have gone well… I have adapted well to the diet and feel wonderful. Lots of energy and that energy stays consistent. Skin is clear, which is often a problem for me. Just to be safe, I have had some testing done to establish baseline values, and those are in good ranges. I’ll do more testing to keep an eye on stuff… a sage recommendation.

As time goes by, I feel better and better! This way of eating definitely agrees with me. I am still not looking forward to the first carb-up, but I will get through it!

Well, I have made it to Day 9! I am feeling quite good… still have nice even energy throughout the day with nice stable and LOW blood sugars. I am almost through the 12 days of ’start up’ and will be lowering those fats and calories soon. Believe it or not, I am actually NOT really looking forward to my first carb up on Saturday, only 3 days from now. I am delighted to say that I am not craving carbs at all, even though people have placed temptations before me, almost as if to see if they could solicit a response. DENIED!!!!

I have been told that after burning ketones for energy, when carbs are re-introduced for a day that that good old "carb lethargy" can kick in and drain you of all energy; making you feel like a general sack of c%@p… this will remain to be seen. I plan to be very careful with the carb load and not do something stupid and ruin a great 12 day run!

This blog was transferred over from another host…

Day 8
October 20th, 2008 by driven100
Day 8 was pretty uneventful. Energy is nice and consistent, and there is no hunger between meals or during the evening. Headaches have subsided and I have been showing consistent trace levels of ketones, showing that fat burning is occurring. Right now, the fat that is being burned is likely coming from my diet, but in about 5 days, the level of dietary fat will be cut, forcing my body to look for other sources of fat… I can think of a few…

Days 6 & 7
October 19th, 2008 by driven100
Day 6 and Day 7 (the weekend) - The headaches seem to have subsided…. thankfully! I have noticed on this meal plan that you simply do not get hungry. Even first thing in the morning, you are not ravenous, like usual when on the higher carb diets.I’m still not tracking weight, as the prime focus of the first 12 days is to make the metabolic shift. In theory, I’m not even supposed to be counting calories for the first 12 days. But I still am as I do know what my limit is before I will start storing those calories!Later on in the day of Day 7, I really began to feel as though I was running out of steam… so I ran a KetoStix test and found that I was nicely in keto… more than just a trace amount of ketones are registering.  

Day 5
October 17th, 2008 by driven100
Day 5. So far, headaches seem to be the prime complaint of the 12 day start up phase. I have been checking with KetoStix, but so far am showing no signs of being in ketosis. On the other hand, I am also reading that it is not uncommon to not show anything on the sticks, and not to get too wrapped up in those results.  However, I stopped taking my regular chewable Vitamin C’s… maybe they have too much sugar and are keeping me out of ketosis? I’ll have to find another type. Wow, I hope I’m not THAT sensitive to carbs! Morning blood glucose is 4.4, so still holding nice and low and steady there… I woke up with the slightest hint of a headache, so rather than wait until it turned into a monster, I took some Advil. I hate using that stuff, but I need to function, and I know that the headaches are only temporary.UPDATE!! I finally hit ketosis this afternoon! The headaches seem to have gone and I feel really quite good! YAY!!

Day 4
October 16th, 2008 by driven100
Day 4 and counting…

Had some trouble sleeping last night… awoke at 1:45 a.m. and pretty much stayed awake the rest of the night.

7 a.m. Morning blood glucose is 3.7 mmol/l… I am very pleased with that!!

9 a.m. Morning energy levels are good with no “brain fog”. I have no headache this morning, so that’s a bonus. This is Day 4 and I am still awaiting the really awful, however temporary side effects… are they on the way, or will I be one of the lucky people who shifts over with little to no problems? I hope so!

Noon- yesterday’s headache returns with a vengeance. Maybe I am dehydrated? I’ll drink more water. Before lunch blood glucose is 4.4 mmol/l … still nice and… no big fluctuations.

Days 2 and 3
October 15th, 2008 by driven100
Day 3… I think something is beginning to happen… Yesterday (Day 2) I felt fine. But this morning around 8 a.m., I developed a nice, nagging headache. It could be coincidence, but then again, I’m not a “headachy” person (meaning that I seldom if ever get them).

By 10:00, and with the help of some Advil, the headache is gone. So now I feel quite well, with no signs of  the ‘brain fog’ or disorientation that I have read about. I’m feeling quite satisfied in terms of my food intake, with the only exception being between my afternoon snack and dinner. I get a bit hungry then, but nothing that I can’t wait through.

All in all, I am finding the meal plan quite enjoyable and very tasty. I am not yet missing the carbs. I am expecting to use up all of my stored carbs sometime tomorrow, so am expecting to be more symptomatic tomorrow. I have KetoStix and plan to begin using them tomorrow. I have been monitoring blood glucose levels as well, and they are staying between 4 and 5 mmol/l (that is 72 to 90 mg/dl for my American friends) throughout the day, so I am VERY pleased with that!!! I have also noticed that I feel much less bloated and waterlogged on this plan. I usually am pretty sensitive to carbs, and can almost appear pregnant due to abdominal swelling at times after eating carbs.

I have kept my workouts standard up to this point, but will change them when I go to the cutting phase in about 10 days or so… I will post the workouts then.

Day 1 … Textbook Perfect
October 14th, 2008 by driven100
Well, I survived Day 1 without incident. However, I have discovered that I really don’t like sardines…. they were suggested as a good source of protein and healthy fats, so I tried them…. 3 cans. I choked them down and then proceeded to burp up “that taste” for hours after! No more sardines!

Just so you can all see what the meal plan actually looks like, here is what I ate yesterday… with some variations, this is what my meal plan will look like for the next 11 days…

Breakfast: 4 whole eggs scrambled with 10 g butter (no margarine allowed!!)

                  8 slices of bacon

Morning Snack: 3 ounces of Havarti cheese

Lunch : 3 cans sardines

              1 cup of carrots

Afternoon Snack: 1 scoop of whey protein powder, made with 2 TBSP heavy cream and water

Dinner: 10 ounces turkey breast

              large Romaine salad with 1 TBSP olive oil and vinegar to taste

              1 cup carrots

Bedtime Snack: 2 cups sugarfree jello with 2 TBSP heavy cream

This provides 2500 calories, but less than 30 g of carbs. Keep in mind, this is my maintaining level of calories for my body composition. The purpose of the first 12 days is not to lose or gain weight. The idea is to maintain your weight while you make the metabolic shift to burning fat rather than sugar. After that, calories and fat intake is adjusted  to suit your goals.

It is now 11 a.m. on Day 2, and I am still feeling very well… good energy and good mental functions. My blood sugar this morning (before breakfast) was 4.0 mmol/l, so that is EXCELLENT! Nice and low… lower than I used to be on my former higher carb plan. I am expecting to reach a state of ketosis on about Thursday (October 16). At that time, I am expecting to see some temporary effects.

Starting Up on The Anabolic Diet
October 13th, 2008 by driven100
Well, I’ve just finished my first breakfast on the AD…. 4 whole scrambled eggs (cooked in 10g of butter), and 8 slices of BACON!!!! This seems so weird (albeit, so tasty!!) to me… for the past 7 or 8 years, foods like this have been ‘off limits’ on my low fat, “typical bodybuilding diet”. I walked around the grocery store like an idiot, not knowing what to buy. Pork chops? Full fat cheeses? Avocados? Heavy cream??? I’ve read that the first week can be pretty nasty while your body makes the switch to burning fats for fuel rather than carbs. Brain fog, irritability, flu-like symptoms… these are the things that will knock people off of the plan before they give it a fair chance. Apparently, after the first week, you feel great. I have quite a few friends who are waiting to see “what happens to me” before they consider giving it a try. I don’t blame them.

T Minus 2 Days
October 11th, 2008 by driven100
Well, I’m two days away from try a radically different meal plan… the “Anabolic” diet… also known as a CKD or “Cycling Ketogenic Diet”. I’m not happy with the results that my current higher carb, moderate to low fat diet is giving me, and I’ve heard amazing things about CKD’s. I won’t go into that here… if you want to know more about it, research it. There is TONS of information on the net about it.In a nutshell, it is a way of eating that will turn you from a sugar (carb) burner to a fat burner. While the diet is controversial, once you start reading about how your body processes carbs and what it uses for fuel it does make a lot of sense. I should note that this is NOT the Atkin’s Diet. If you want to research it, look up “Anabolic Diet” or “Cycling Ketogenic Diet”.I am excited on one hand at the prospect of trying something new, and apprehensive on the other. However, I have been on wicked contest prep diets (so wicked that the average donut chugging ‘joe schlub’ could not even fathom it…), so this can’t POSSIBLY feel any worse than 1000 calories… zero starch, zero fat (aka, chicken and broccoli) 2 hours of cardio, 1 hour of weight training plus pose practice mixed in with full days at work…. tomorrow we shop for groceries!!!