I don’t feel bad for my (uh, has it been a year already?) inconsistent posting, I’m pretty sure I write this blog just for me, but I want to start using it in a slightly different way so it’s imperative that I create a new baseline post.
Since the last few posts, I’ve made some massive progress resulting from massive shifts in my life. I’m 135.6lbs (which kind of blows my mind just writing that), I’ve lost 32.4lbs since i started this journey in August 2015. Despite the immensely slow progress, I’m thrilled. I can’t wait to see what I look like in another 10lbs... which may not be something I get to see until November, at this rate, but whatever. ;)
I want to start posting my recipes and ideas and stuff that I’ve been doing so that I don’t forget how much work it took to get here... so I never let myself lose control again. After the jump is a summary of my journey over the last year. tldr: I full on embraced keto (seems inevitable when I think on it, considering the title of this blog) and I’m doing Olympic weight lifting 3-4x weekly plus 30 min cardio every morning. I’m not a morning person but now I’m in love with morning workouts. Seriously, I don’t think I could have predicted this. WTF, fam.
Weight chart, July to December 2016 - feat. slowest moving weight-loss on planet earth
July 2016: Went to Paris for 10 days, ate whatever I wanted and walked everywhere. Felt no guilt around food, didn’t binge eat, just paid attention to my body and got tons of exercise. All the chocolate croissants were mine and I loved every second. Weight at end of July: 153.4lbs / 69.6kg
August 2016: Went home to Utah for two weeks, chaotic road trip and visiting of family. Drove back to LA and my grandmother died the same week. Flew back to Utah. Grief eating, that’s a thing. Kept it in check and resolved I was going to take care of myself so that complications from back surgery never had to be something I’d worry about dying from. Motivation that had been slacking for a few months got restored. Weight at end of August: 151.4lbs / 68.7kg
September 2016: Things were OK, weight loss was still in this slow downward trend. Desperate to mix it up, I start researching different ways of eating. Two-thirds of the way through the month I decided to try keto. (Check out r/keto if you want more info.) Easing into it was a good idea, starting with Low Carb High Fat and then slowly radically changing my eating. I loved keto because I was already about the sugar-free life, but I had some habits and food I had trouble transitioning away from. I probably could have lost weight faster initially had I fully embraced keto but I am just too stubborn. I started tracking on these spreadsheets: TDEE Calculator (found on Reddit), Weight Loss Tracker (made this one myself). Weight at end of September: 150lbs / 68kg
October 2016: Started going harder towards a lower-carb lifestyle. Weight loss stalled out again. Frustration, despite having broken into the upper 140s for the first time in 3 years. At this point I had pretty much stopped lifting 3x weekly. I just went to the gym for cardio and an occasional dumbbell workout. This is probably what contributed to the plateau. Weight at end of October: 149.4 lbs / 67.8kg
November 2016: Went to Utah again. Broke through another plateau to a new low weight of 148lbs, tried Crossfit mostly for Olympic lifts and got addicted. Found the top box in Los Angeles and joined after I returned to LA / after an epic Thanksgiving where I baked the most delicious keto-ish cheesecake on earth. The scale still wasn’t moving like I wanted it to... I’d say a rate of the slowest molasses in the universe. Got another dexascan: 34% Bodyfat is a win, but lost bone density. Resolved to lift more. Weight at end of November: 148lbs / 67.1kg
December 2016: Decided Crossfit is second fiddle to weightlifting. Resigned myself to the fact that I really should only expect to lose 1-1.5lb per month according to the scale. At this point I was starting to believe that I was some freak of nature who can’t abide by the laws of thermodynamics. Maybe I was really probably just holding onto a lot of water weight, but I still kind of think I might be a freak. I was weighing and tracking all my food obsessively. I was back in the gym 3-4x week. Scale still in the parallel molasses universe. Just can’t win with it.
Then the holidays happened, I traveled to Utah again, and I just kind of let myself live. I stayed pretty keto, all things considered. I know that if I am overly restrictive when it looks like other people are enjoying themselves I will only fail in the long run, so I went over my calories, drank the champagne, and didn’t feel bad at all. Despite the dgaf attitude in the last two weeks of the month, I saw the same amount of loss relative to other months and still hitting new lows (in the middle of many fluctuations). Weight at end of December: 146.2lbs / 66.3kg
End of 2016 Progress: 21.8lbs lost since August 2015
Weight chart, January to Present 2017 - finally picking up speed
January 2017: I started the year with a new, clear goal in mind: workout 5x week, no matter what. This was an awesome way to start the year after returning to LA and has really set me up for the success I’m seeing now. It was nice to have a goal not centered around weightloss. I wanted to hit 145lbs by my birthday but it just didn’t happen. I got really close, though. I also decided to move away from the beach and into a more positive environment. Did a lot of skiing, visited Mammoth, almost met Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), got snowed in. Weight at end of January: 145.6lbs / 66kg
February 2017: Month of moving and shaking and shifting of things. More skiing. Fell off the workout bandwagon because of all the moving; pretty sure I only averaged 4 workouts per week, but was moving my body a lot almost every day. Went to a black tie industry awards for World of Dance. Felt super gorgeous and sexy. Indulged mindfully and dropped 2lbs, biggest amount lost in one month since May 2016. Weight at end of February: 143.6lbs / 65.1kg
March 2017: Fully moved into my new place and really happy about it. Dexascan is showing progress at 32% Bodyfat and improved bone density. Boyfriend’s cat died, which was incredibly sad. Some grief eating, but under control. Two ski trips: one to Utah, another to Mammoth. Definitely starting to look different and clothes aren’t fitting the same anymore, Boyfriend is even noticing (and enjoying ;) ) the changes. End of March I decide to go for broke and start doing Cardio in the mornings (every day, no excuses) and Weightlifting at night (min 3-4x weekly), to be carried into April. Weight at end of March: 142lbs / 64.2kg
April 2017: I order new clothes to the tune of low low prices from my best friend, Amazon. These are huge hit with the boyfriend. It’s a rush. I’m feeling more comfortable in my skin for the first time in 10 years. I ate at maintenance for the whole month because I was mentally exhausted caring about staying around 1200-1300 calories. Despite knowing I was eating maintenance, I was still frustrated with the slow weightloss. Roommate declares I’ve lost “like 20lbs” since I moved in whenever I complain about the weight coming off slowly. Before the end of the month, I begin taking on intermittent fasting. I can’t make it through a month without traveling so, Boyfriend and I go north to his family’s hometown for Easter. I work out every single day in April (morning cardio, at least) and then drive to Utah (again) at the end of the month. Weight at end of April: 141.2lbs / 64kg
May 2017: The month starts me off with a really wonderful surprise whoosh down to my new low, 137lbs. I haven’t broke through the 130s since high school (10 years ago). Such a rush and I literally feel on top of the world, even though it’s really just weightloss and I should calm the fuck down, I feel like I’m finally conquering my demons of binge eating by embracing intermittent fasting and paying closer attention to self-care on a daily basis. I’m getting noticed, flirted with, and complimented on the street. I love (but also don’t know what to do with) the attention. I get some inappropriate attention, too, which definitely boggles my mind. Boyfriend and I drive back to LA after the first week of May. I broke my workout streak of 49 days when my best friend came into town the next week and was kind of OK about it. Back on track by the end of the month but no more lovely whoosh... more riding the frustration train to weight fluctuation land. At least I look pretty good. Weight at end of May: 137lbs / 62.1kg
June 2017 (so far): I decided to take weightlifting to the next level and get into the gym 4x week minimum alongside cardio 5-7x week. Time to add some weight to the key weightlifting movements and stop relying on Squats and Deadlifts to get me heavy PRs. I’m still perfecting technique because my upper body is atrociously inferior in strength to my lower body, but there’s slow (as usual) progress. I tried the egg fast plateau killer last week and it did break through my plateau to a new low of 135.6 (!!!). Huge win for me. I haven’t weighed this since I was 17. Going to do a 3 day egg fast at least 2x monthly to keep the water weight down, since that seems to be the evil behind all the weight-fluctuation. Starting second round tomorrow and have another Dexascan on Wednesday. Excited to see the results!
2017 Progress: 32.4 lbs since August 2015
The next post I want to make is going to be about what the round trip journey back to feeling like myself has been about, why it happened, and what I might have done differently (thought the journey I took was perfect for me, there’s always ways to improve). I’m going to post some recipes and pictures and bullshit like that in the mean time, but might as well put all this stuff banging around in my head somewhere.
Ground turkey garlic tomato sauce + zucchini medallions for lunch today! I am loving the whole replacing pasta with zucchini thing. I love the texture of pasta but I honestly never miss it if I have fresh zucchini around.
Progress pics so far! From right to left: 162lbs, 153lbs Sorry for the different poses but you can definitely see the difference in belly fat and arm fat. And a little on the hips!
As of today, I've officially lost 15lbs! As you can see from the graph, it's taken me a long time to get here, but sometimes the slow path is just the kind of journey you need. I've always been really slow to start building momentum but once I get past the hump of "I'm doing it wrong"-itis I tend to build momentum fast. I've always struggled with having low initiation energy, but this journey has helped me recognize that. Starting in March, I began tracking my food and hitting macros based on what my trainer generated for me. I've been working out at least 4x/week since August, so it was obviously the nutrition factor I was missing. I was in an epic plateau from the end of April to the end of May so to have 5lbs come off in the last 4 weeks is really exciting. I still have 13 more lbs to go, but I'm really really excited for this milestone. I'm not looking to look like I'm a pro body builder, but it's pretty fun to see a nice bicep emerging! Starting weight: 168lbs (August 2015) Current weight: 153lbs Goal weight: 140lbs 🔥🔥🔥
It's hit me like a ton of bricks. It's the one time where I get the most unmotivated but it's also the one time I should NOT get unmotivated. It doesn't help that I had surgery Friday, have trouble controlling my impulse eating on all of this medication, PLUS MY PERIOD IS HERE because life happens and doesn't gaf about your menstrual cycle. I'm staying within my calorie limits, but my psyche is not doing so great. This happens when my routine gets disrupted and I have no idea how to eat anymore. Please send sugar free cookies and cheese - I want to eat it ALL. Just have to hang in a few more days. It will be fine soon. Things will return to normal SOON. *fingers crossed*
I’ve been MIA for a while (so lame) but I’ve finally climbed to my feet and can start focusing on side projects again. Time to get healthy, bitches.
I’ve logged into myfitnesspal going on 36 days now. I’ve lost 7lbs so far over the last 4 months. Going to start posting about it more here so the internetz will know the inside of my brain a little better, I guess?
I’ve also been training the strongman lifts at the gym and that’s way more interesting than what I’m eating. My life in LA is actually pretty lonely so I’m hoping this exercise in sharing will help me feel like I’m connected to people.
Diet specs:
1270 kcal
35% protein / 35% fat / 30% carbs
Body specs:
156-158lbs (depending on the day)
- Goal 137-140lbs
38-40% Body Fat
- Goal 31-32%
27in waist
- Goal 24in
42in hip/booty
- Goal 37in
Progress pics weekly! Not promising glamor shots or anything. These are going to be raw, shitty mirror selfies. Will be perfect for demonstrating progress and not much else. 😉 Looking forward to sharing the journey.
8 smallish potatoes
1 small-med yellow onion
As many cloves of garlic as you want (I used ~5 cloves)
Scoop of coconut oil
1/2-3/4 tsp kosher salt*
1/2-3/4 tsp black pepper*
1/4-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes*
Canned sweet corn**
Canned green beans**
*you can use more or less depending on taste
**can be substituted for a lot of different veggies, have fun!
WHAT TO DO.
PEEL & ROUGHLY CHOP:
Garlic
Yellow Onion
After you're done sobbing over cut onion fumes, throw those suckers in the bottom of your large soup pot with a scoop of coconut oil and cook until the onion is getting transparent-ish. Your kitchen should fill with an amazing aroma of you being an awesome cook.
WASH & QUARTER:
Potatoes
Once those onions are nice and juicy and clear-ish, pour in 4-6 cups of water, bring to a simmer. Toss in potatoes, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes like you mean it. Simmer until tender. Should be about 10-15 minutes.
GENTLY PULSE BLEND SOUP UNTIL DESIRED CONSISTENCY. Hot soup has a tendency to explode all over your kitchen. Please be careful. When done return it to the pot.
OPEN & DRAIN:
Sweet Corn
Green Beans
Add canned veggies to soup. Cook a little longer so that everything is the same temperature.
EAT & ENJOY YOUR CREATION.
This recipe is altered from the one at Forks Over Knives.com because I didn't have Kale and Kidney Beans. So I improvised a little, and I felt like a kitchen goddess so I shared it with you. (It's even better the next day at work, so make enough for left overs.)
