Phew! Week 3 and 4 are complete. I have no idea why I found them so challenging but I am so excited they are over!!!!
So let’s make up a little recap, shall we?
| Variable | Start | Finish | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | 104.1 kg | 102.0 kg | -2.1 kg |
| Hips | 117 cm | 113.5 cm | -3.5 cm |
| Waist | 102 cm | 96.5 cm | -5.5 cm |
| WHR (waist hip ratio) | 0.87 | 0.85 | -0.02 |
Movement:
Karate Training:
I managed to pack a lot of karate training these last two weeks. Some days less than I wanted to. There were a few days where I was under my 30 minute goal but more often than not I was well over it. Especially if you added in teaching.
Steps:
I got my minimum 10,000 steps in every single day!
Walking:
I did not accomplish as many outdoor walks as I had hoped. I hit my goal, but really I wanted to get a daily dose of outdoor walking. I am going to consider this in the coming weeks. Find a way to add a quick little walk at lunch time maybe. There is no need for me to get all 10,000 steps in a single go.
Jogging Intervals:
I shocked the sh*t out of myself with how often I did this in the last two weeks. It’s been pretty impressive. For me, who hates jogging.
Stretching:
What a fail! Re-adding again. Time to create a plan!
Strength:
I actually missed a work out this week. My schedule was all out of whack and I found myself pretty low energy. I think adding in the jog intervals so frequently messed with my energy levels and screwed over my strength training.
Fuel:
Fasting:
I successfully fasted every day. Minimum 20 hours.
Calories:
I counted them as I was counting the macros. There was a deficit everyday.
Macros:
My body did not like this distribution too much. I don’t know. I had energy provided I did some sort of workout, that gave me fuel to get through the rest of the day, I guess? More on this below.
Meatless Meals:
Pleasantly surprised how this came together and was not as challenging as I thought it would be. Thank you TVP. I think without it though, it would have been a nightmare.
Water:
So much fail. Redoing during the next weekly goal.
Full Recap Table:
| Task | Goal (for 2 weeks) | Actual Number |
|---|---|---|
| Karate Practice | 7 hours | 14 hours 24 mins |
| Steps | 140,000 | 172,862 |
| Strength Training | 6 | 5 |
| Stretching | 2 hr 20 min | only logged 15 min |
| Walks | 28-70 km | 63.12 km |
| Jogs* | see notes | see notes |
| Water | 42L | 14.8L |
| Fasted | 280 hours | 312 hours |
| Proteins | 35% | 1529 g |
| Carbs | 40% | 1758 g |
| Fats | 25% | 488 |
| Meatless Meals | 6 | Lots |
| Calories | 43,673 (rest and active calories) | 16,039 |
Final Thoughts:
Low fat is stupid. Look, I get it, it increases the number of calories you consume quick. Maybe if I was not doing IF, it would have been less of a drain on my body. Cause it was a drain on my body! Week two was MISERABLE, even with the days of randomly found energy.
Jogging does not replace walking. I thought it would, it was a great way increase my steps over a shorter amount of time. And I f*cking did it. However, it was rough on my joints, not so rough I stopped, but I could definitely feel it. My calves are constantly on fire. That is neither here nor there. Steady state cardio is super important. The walks are super important for me, and I should not be replacing them with some jog-walk intervals. On top of is perfect. But it is not a replacement. I have to treat them as separate entities because they are. I think future walking plans should include some more day time activity. Like midday strolls. Get the walk in, no pressure. Save the pressure and body stress for other activities.
The majority of the weight change happened in the first week. I kind of feel that that was residual from the week before when I was eating the different distribution. The last week, I had basically stalled for the whole time. Even though I was pushing myself equally hard, if not harder. So we circle back to the low fat thing… I would not blame the higher carbs percentage as the culprit, but who knows. I slept through any carb burning so I never got to feel the effects.
Meatless meals were surprisingly easy to put together. The volume is significantly higher, I mean, I was eating entire packages of tofu and was still needing to add more. That was rough. The TVP (texture vegetable protein) certainly helped. I think my body just really like meat. It lasts longer. I feel more energised throughout the day especially while fasting. In using this discovery, I will strive to add meatless meals but be more conscious about their timing. Meaning, not days where I am doing strength training.
F*cking water…. How is it you are my arch-nemesis during this journey. I don’t understand that at all. I don’t drink my calories even when not fasting. So I don’t really understand how this is a struggle. It’s not like I am thirsty, but I know my body needs more water than I have been giving it. So we will repeat this again, adding it into the Week 5 and 6 Plan.
I need a better daily method to tally up all my numbers for the recap. That took way way way too long. I will start putting something together daily. A spreadsheet it is.
Another value to use. I have been focused on the weight loss, but I now have a fancy scale that will do body fat percentage, so I will be tracking that in the future. It says metal in the body can screw up the readings, but I only have a little bit, so we’ll see.
You may have noticed that I have the next plan already figured out. So check it out. I will be doing a first month recap as well.
The Big Take Away:
The big take away coming from these last two weeks… Higher carbs is not right for me. Even eating super good carbs, quinoa, barley, all that, 40% is just too high for me. Carbs were invited to the party and they didn’t want to leave. As I sit here finishing off my final massive bowl of barley, I am grateful to lower the percentage tomorrow.