Another solid drop this morning, with my weight down to 78.7 kg from 79.3 kg, which means my first target has been comfortably achieved. BMI’s 24.8 so I am no longer considered overweight!
According to Garmin Connect and MyFitnessPal:
Calories Burned – 3,302
Calories Consumed – 1,268
Net Deficit – 2,034
Calories, fat and protein numbers were close to target. Macros were :
Carbs – 19 grams (including 3 grams of fibre, so 16 net grams)
Fat – 97 grams
Protein – 86 grams
Again managed to observe the 16/8 rule, although again it was over 17 hours by the time I got around to eating. Discipline’s been good on this front.
As mentioned yesterday I suspect my true weight was a fair bit lower than the starting 81.7 kg so the fairly rapid loss has quite a bit of ‘normalisaton’ in it. I have definitely seen a change in my midrift, though, particularly around the ribs, so something is going on.
I would normally ride with my Saturday morning group, but with my regular riding partner cancelling through illness, and me facing an early start to go run 10 km tomorrow with the Brisbane Road Runners and then going to work, I elected to take a bit of a sleep in and ride from home.
I had a bit of a fitful night’s sleep, not unusual when I’ve started swimming again, and really wasn’t feeling it but made my way out the door a little after 6:30 am into a bright and humid morning.
I rode into Toowong, did the northern half of the River Loop (reversed), crossing back over the river at UQ, and headed to Toowong and then home. It was a bit of a low HR grind for 42.90 km in 1:37:42.
I have a sneaking suspicion I’m running out of glycogen reserves and was burning fat reserves through much of the ride. I never really bonked, unlike a ride a while ago where, early in the keto process I definitely tanked mid ride.
I had a feeling this might come up for the run tomorrow, but I guess I’ve got to fat adapt at some point!
I was contemplating a weights session this afternoon but I’ve hit my 500 calories of exercise target for the day and I’d like to have something in the tank for tomorrow. It might be an option for after work tomorrow or Monday.
A surprisingly large drop this morning, with my weight down to 79.3 kg from 80.2 kg – so close to my first target!
According to Garmin Connect and MyFitnessPal:
Calories Burned – 3,081
Calories Consumed – 1,155
Net Deficit – 1,926
Calories, fat and protein numbers are closer to target. Macros were :
Carbs – 26 grams (including 9 grams of fibre, so 17 net grams)
Fat – 75 grams
Protein – 83 grams
Also managed to keep to the 16/8 fast/feed window, although it was actually 17 hours from Thursday’s dinner to Friday’s first meal.
My calculations based on calorie deficit suggest there’s around 750 grams worth of weight loss there, so a 2.4 kg loss roughly lines up with my earlier estimate of around 1 – 2 kg’s of water weight to be lost as the body transitions to ketosis.
After setting everything up last night (work clothes and gear in car, towel, food lined up in fridge, running gear set up in bathroom) I managed to lever myself out of bed at 4:40 am, successfully get dressed and collect everything, retrieve my car from the back of the garage, feed the cats and get going.
This was no mean feat. I have a spectacular record of failure for pre-work training. Doesn’t help when I start at 6 am!
The plan was to park near where I was working today (an industrial estate in Berrinba), run 20 to 25 minutes or so, then shower and get changed. Got rolling at 5:18 for a pretty easy 4.51 km at 5:05 m/km pace in 22:56. A little sluggish after leg weights yesterday. HRM went a bit funny with a bit of time showing north of 180 bpm, which it definitely was not – more likely around the 140 – 150 mark.
I then punched through to 11 am before eating, keeping the 16/8 (well, 17) intact, although it was a bit of a struggle in the last 20 minutes or so.
Got home mid-afternoon and after some pottering around the house headed over to Dunlop Park Memorial Swimming Pool and pushed out a quite slow 1,000 metres in 26:01. I’m not a fan of lap swimming but I find if I can get in a mental place where I’m just turning the arms over and get a little kicking going the time passes quite serenely. Triceps were initially a little sore but came good after a couple of hundred metres.
Those activities put me past my 500 calories of exercise a day target, so nice to have that in the bank.
Just thought I’d share a handy snack recipe I hacked up (I’m no chef, that’s for sure).
This is for what I call keto muffins, which is essentially an egg and cream mixture whipped up and put into a cup cake baking tray with a little ham inside and sharp parmesan cheese on top. Takes about half an hour to put together including cooking, which is about as long as my cooking attention span lasts.
Firstly, preheat the oven to around 175-180 degrees C.
While that’s getting to temperature, get a silicon cup cake tray (as pictured above) and put in on a flat metal baking tray. I learnt that one the hard way (saved about half of it). Spray the tray liberally with olive oil spray to help get the “muffins” out later.
Pour 100 ml of cream (in Australia we would call it Pure Cream, I think our American friends call it Whipping Cream) into a bowl, and then crack open and pour the contents of 12 large eggs into the bowl. Whisk it up until all of the yolks have been broken and you have a consistent yellow colour.
Pour the mixture into each of the cup cake sections in the silicon tray. Then cut up around 100 grams of bacon or ham (if you can’t be bothered frying up some bacon) and drop that into each of the “muffin” mixtures. Drop some parmesan cheese on top (they’re a little bland otherwise) and then into the oven for 20 – 22 minutes.
They will rise up a little out of tray whilst hot, but will collapse as they cool. Once it’s cooled down a bit, use a small plastic knife to run around the edges of the “muffins”, and they should pop out of the tray nicely.
According to MyFitnessPal, a single “muffin” should be around 132 calories, with 9.6 grams of protein, 10.5 grams of fat and 1.1 grams of carbs (0.1 fibre, 0.6 sugar).
I use them as a post-work out snack, and as a bridge between meals if I’m trying to push through to dinner without another full meal. They refrigerate quite well and can be microwaved if you want them warmer. I will often keep two in my work lunch cooler in case work runs late.
As per my earlier post regarding weight training, I got the gym after work and finished off the second part of my program. The place was busy but just at that level where people are around but you can still get the machines you want when you want, no mean feat when you’re pairing sets.
I wasn’t really feeling it when I got home, so it felt like a bit of an achievement to get there. I must remember to keep a gym kit ready to go in the car to ensure I go directly to the gym rather than tempt fate by going home first.
The DOMS has come off a fair bit and I was able to get through one legged leg press and walking lunges comfortably.
I also managed to keep to the 16/8 eating pattern and a low calorie input with net carbs comfortably below 20 grams, so we’ll see how that goes. The first week of keto can be a battle adjusting to low calories and moving to fat burning but I know from previous experience it pays off.
As anticipated a fairly solid drop today, and I suspect we may see something similar again tomorrow as the body processes what it has and settles into the ‘new’ normal. I’m not going to enter the Current rate number until the first week is done.
According to Garmin Connect and MyFitnessPal:
Calories Burned – 3,665
Calories Consumed – 1,552
Net Deficit – 2,113
Consumed figure’s a little higher than I was looking for but it was the first day and there was a fair chunk of exercise there! Macros were:
Carbs – 25 grams (including 11 grams of fibre, so 14 net grams)
One terrible discovery I made a couple of years ago is that the idea that you lose strength in your 40’s is not false. It involved my first weights session in a couple of years and attempting to bench a couple of kilograms less than what I had been lifting previously. It did not go well…
So, I have been doing weights sessions a bit more regularly of late and, combined with being a bit smart with the knowledge gained through regular pilates classes, I’ve set up sessions that cover most my needs. Of course it’s problematic given I want to run, ride and swim more, but I figure if I get in there three or four times a week, I’m good to go.
This is the current set up. I did the Abs, Shoulders Back session this afternoon, figuring the legs had had enough abuse for one day. I run the sets in pairs, so for the first pair of the Abs Shoulders Back session it would be one rep of the Swiss Ball Roll Out and then one rep of the Seated Cable Row, repeated two more times, and so on
Being mid-week and targeting the Brisbane Road Runners 10k event on Sunday I was looking to prove that I could at least run 10 km, and preferably manage an hour.
I had managed to cover 10.5 km at 4:51 m/km pace back on December 24 during our Christmas stay up at Caloundra, running the flat route from the park at the eastern end of The Esplanade down past the bridge into Golden Beach and back, plus a couple of runs since.
Date
Location
Distance
Time
Pace
Dec 24
Caloundra
10.46 km
50m 44s
4:51 m/km
Dec 25
Caloundra
6.19 km
30m 22s
4:51 m/km
Dec 29
Brisbane (Pooh Corner)
7.17 km
35m 24s
4:56 m/km
Dec 31
Brisbane (Pooh Corner)
3.88 km
18m 41s
4:49 m/km
I just had the run from Dec 29 in mind which felt like a bit of a grind. Admittedly it was hotter (late morning) and Pooh Corner is physically a bit harder to run (gravel surface, more elevation changes) but from a psychological point of view I wanted to try and push to run for an least an hour and at least 12 km.
I have been happy to run from home but I am managing calves at the moment so trying to avoid hills. The local area also features footpaths with notable side angles on them and I’m keen to avoid those as I suspect they contribute to hip and back issues.
So, for a change this morning I drove to Toowong and parked next to the Regatta Hotel, running the Bicentennial Bikeway path into the city, turning around near the ferry terminal on the City Reach Boardwalk, taking in the new walkway extensions near QUT and linking the northern end of the Botanic Gardens to the City Reach Boardwalk, avoiding the mess with Alice Street and the ramp.
I was very DOMS‘d up from an EMS session I’d done on Monday (the classic “I feel fine the next day, until the evening when everything tightens up), particularly in the glutes and upper ITB attachments. I was also feeling a little “full” from NYE celebrations the previous evening…but no Purple Heart for self inflicted wounds, I guess.
And so, it was a pretty slow grind in humid conditions giving 12.29 km in 1h 1m 46s at 5:02 m/km pace. 1km splits were generally in the 5:03 – 5:06 m/km range until the 10 km mark where they slipped under 5:00 m/km including a 4:52 12th kilometre.
That’s fine. Longest run in quite a while whilst not physically at my best in tough conditions. That’s a “banker”.
Also pleasing was bringing my New Balance Vazees back into the shoe roster. I have been doing pretty much all of my running in Nike Pegasus Zooms and was looking to run in more aggressive shoes with a bit less lift. I managed to do my shorter run at Pooh Corner in some old New Balance Minimus trail shoes and that went satisfactorily so I’ll gradually expand the roster as we go.
So, I’ll do a shorter run, probably a single 3.9 km lap of Pooh Corner most likely Friday morning before work and I’m good to go for Sunday. It also gives me a marker for progress towards my goal of the BRRC Half Marathon on May 3 – I would certainly like to cover the distance before the event.
2020 Hindsight 