I don't think I've posted in here. The weird thing is, I thought you had a journal. I thought I had posted there. LOL I guess that it must just be due to the fact that I've seen your posts in many of the journals I frequent.

I hear you on being more exercise focused than diet focused. Such as always been the case for me. I have a hard time sticking to diets, and given the choice, I would prefer to keep my weight down with exercise. Unfortunately, it just isn't enough! Curses!

I also relate on the LC bit. My BP was always okay, and that part hasn't changed much. My triglycerides went down, which was also good. But my cholesterol went UP, and I just wasn't happy eating exclusively LC. I started adding a few things here and there, and then I totally fell off the wagon. I'm going to have to reassess my next step. Do you have any idea what you're going to do next?

*sigh*

I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm re-reading books right now to try to gain some insight, and doing my best to stay sane in the process.

I've also managed to sabotage my gym goings. I had a total of one workout this week. Just one. I feel like a sloth.

The husband unit has anmnounced that he wants to try Atkins. Of course, back when this woul have been convenient four months ago, he couldn't be bothered. But now, apparently, he can. I love him, but there are times when I'd like to club him over the head with one of his own tonfas. This is one of those times.

And I'm skipping the gym again today. There's a birthday party in the U-District and a old-school funk show in Magnolia with my name written all over them.

Oh, and just to prove I could, here's a picture of me *not* looking over my glasses.

Yay! Very good! Now I have to ask: what IS that development on top of your head?

I've been sloppy on the workouts as well. I took some time off when I needed to get a big paper done for school -somewhat excusable- and then I didn't get going again! I've only gone once in the past week. We must get off our butts and go!

It's my attempt at being a walking-talking piece of modern art, of course. I'm only going to wear black and white clothing and bright red lipstick. I'll be like one of those paintings with black boxes and stripes on white canvas with one carefully placed red dot. Um, yeah.

I picked up a copy of Body Rx this weekend. I'm very much tempted by it. More thought must go into that before I make a decision, though. Also, I should be hearing back from my doctor tomorrow re: blood tests, so I'll have to take into consideration those results as well.

I did manage to get back into the gym today. I decided to try out one of the Body Rx workouts. I honestly thought I would feel unproductive at the end of it, but that wasn't the case at all. I can definitely feel it in my chest. I did throw in fifteen minutes of cardio at the end, though--mostly as a time filler while I waited for the husband unit to finish his workout.

Anyway, the log:
Warm-up
- Recumbent Bike, 5 min
Weights
- Dumbbell Chest Press 2x20x12.5, 3x6x27.5
- Incline Press (Hoist) 2x20x20, 3x6x40
- Flyes (Flex) 2x20x20, 3x6x60
- Dumbbell Curls 2x20x12.5, 3x6x25
- Preacher Curlls 2x20xbar, 3x6x20
Cardio
- Elliptical Trainer, Hill Climb #2 - Res 5, 15 min (277 cal, 2045 strides)

According to the doc's office, it ain't pretty. Blood pressure and cholesterol are up, blood sugar is about the same. *sigh*

So, I'm smaller and lighter, but I'm technically less healthy than I was four months, and about thirty pounds, ago. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.

Words can not even express my frustration level right now--which I'm sure is just great for the blood pressure situation (because it is now officially "a situation", according to the doc). I'm near tears and ready to throw a fit of monumental proportions.

I don't even want to think about this right now, but I feel like I have no choice but to think about it.

I'd go for a walk with one of my cameras to take my mind off of it, but I'm waiting for FedEx and can't really leave the house. So, here I sit, trapped with my frustration.

Yup, I hear ya...

How much worse was your cholesterol? How bad was it to begin with? Surely your triglycerides went down--didn't they mention that?

I have naturally low BP, so I don't have to worry about that one...but I do have slightly elevated cholesterol, and the LC diet made it slightly worse. Not exactly encouraging.

Triglycerides are down slightly, but they were in the normal range before so it's small comfort. Ya know?

My cholesterol has also always been just on the high side of normal (mid to high 190's), and while it's still not outrageously high, it's up (221 - HDL: 54, LDL: 167...those are roughly the same proportions as before, so it's just generally up). That combined with the elevated blood pressure has the doctor ready to give me a serious dressing down re: diet. I think the fact that I was near tears after I got the news was the only thing that kept the lecture at bay for now. (He can be very grandfatherly that way, I've noticed.)

I'm still pretty generally pissed about all of this.

I've been re-reading various sections of Body Rx today--in between bouts of wanting to throw something through the window. I think I may go ahead and try it. I mean, at this point, it can't really hurt anything.

The biggest struggle will no doubt be finding a way to eat all of that protein--235 grams/day in Cycle 1 for me. I can't even imagine. Fiber shouldn't be a huge issue--30 grams/day--but I really don't think I'll even be able to approach the allowable yellow carbs limit--400 grams/day. I'm thinking the eating is going to end up being a little Schwarzbein-like. We'll see.

Ramble, ramble...

I think I'll go clean a camera and try to think about something else. (Something like, "Where the hell is the FedEx guy with my friggin' package?")

Yeah, that's almost exactly the same as my last test. Eerie. It really isn't a bad ratio though, so try not to get too upset over it. This is not the end of the world!

I haven't read BodyRX so I don't know anything about that...but 400 grams of any carbs is definitely NOT like Schwarzbein. It is nearly as LC as the rest of them...standard is something like 60-75 grams per day (somewhat higher for more active people).

I just meant Schwarzbein-like in the sense of tons of veggies and more whole grains. When I figured out my carb allowances from Schwarzbein (using Overwight, Excessive "Insulin Meter", and Active from the chart on page 260 of the first book) it put the numbers at up to 120 a day spread out over three meals and two snacks (15-30 per meal, 0-15 per snack). I suspect that I'll end up somewhere in the 150-200 range over six meals a day with Body Rx (which is actually in line with the Cycle 2 numbers, which I would consider jumping to, but it entails even more protein and since I'm already questioning my ability to get in as much as Cycle 1 requires, that seems like I would be setting myself up for failure). The upper limit of 400 just sounds unreachable to me right now, especially in the presence of all that protein.

I'd really be surprised if I'm able to get close to even the 200 carbs mark. I've noticed that I'm a little carb-phobic these days, and even when I want to make a concerted effort to eat more carbs I struggle to overcome the last four months of "re-programming". Some of that is that since I overcame my potato chip addiction it's just plain hard to find carby things (other than rice) that I really love.

I think I am going to let back in more rice, whole sandwiches made with my beloved Ezekiel 4:9 (instead of the one slice open-faced ones I had on occasion), beans, oats, hummus, and the occasional bit of whole wheat pasta. Instead of the "only every once in a great while" status those things had for me before, they'll show up with a bit more regularity.

Carbs from what he (he being Scott Connelly, the author of Body Rx) classifies as "green carbohydrates" aren't to be counted, and honestly that's where most of my carbs now--outside of Wasa crisps and the Ezekiel--come from. So, I'll get in more of those and eat a few of the other things when I please. (Green carbohydrates are pretty much the equivalent of Schwarzbein's "non-starchy vegetables" with a couple of additions.)

The only thing that I eat semi-regularly now that I see on his red list (red, meaning "Stop, this isn't so great") is nut butters. The plan is rather anti-saturated fats, so that's no big surprise. *shrug* I'll re-learn to live without the regular doses of almond butter.

Bah. I didn't want to think about food, and that's exactly what I'm back to doing again.

.
I know I'm having a little bit of an over-reaction, but it's just tough to swallow right now. Other than my weight--and the knees I trashed in high school--I've never had health "issues" in the past. For them to start showing up now, when I've been actively trying to improve my overall health, just feels like some colossally bad joke is being played on me...a bit of a kick in the 'nads, if you will.

I'll buck up and get over it eventually. I'll just have to do a lot of whingeing over it first.

Also, the FedEx guy has still not shown his face, so that's no help to my generally whiny state today.

Amazingly, my local library actually has Body Rx (along with The Personality Type Diet, which Digwig recommended). So I can read them and decide if they're worth buying. I've seen Scott Connelly's name elsewhere, and the book does sound interesting. Is it low fat or just low saturated fat? Are you going to follow it to the letter or just use some of the principles?

As for problems just coming up when you start trying to improve your health...well, there is this unpleasant little detail called AGING, and it brings out all sorts of problems. My little sister, who has always been a twig, just started putting on weight. Much as I shouldn't think this way, it amuses me.

I'm a little more rational today...still kind of annoyed, but more rational. I think is due in large part to my spending much of last night cleaning and coddling my cameras.

He doesn't come right out and say it's low-fat, but it reads as such. A few points from the one part of the book that specifically addresses fat:
- ...(being careful not to eat too many high-fat proteins) and don't consume too much added fat in your food, you will be eating a healthy level of fat.
- Always order salad dressing on the side.
- Cook without added fat: Invest in a good set of non-stick cookware.
- Stick to healthy fats -- olive oil and omega-3 fatty acids.
- Avoid trans-fatty acids, which are found in fried and processed foods and some types of margarine.

There are a couple of others, but you get the idea. The fat advice is not too dissimilar from most "typical" diet books. He doesn't place a hard and fast limit on fats, just those guidelines--along with the repeated message to try to avoid saturated fats.

As for myself and Body Rx, I've decided to really give it a try. I will accept that I may not even get close on the carb counts, but I will make every effort to get in all that protein (beginning with a breakfast that included 67 grams of the stuff), and try to eat the six meals a day. I'll also cut back on the fats--I'd pretty have to in order to accomodate the protein counts and the added carbs, lest I take in upwards of 3000 calories a day, which would probably render me utterly useless for anytihng besides restful digestion (that's code for laying in bed with a tummy too full to even think about moving). But, I won't be giving up the small amounts of coconut oil--partly because of taste, and partly because I've bought into the hype for now.

The lifting workouts will be followed, but I'll probably add in the occasional small bit of cardio (15-20 minutes). By the book, it's four workouts a week, weights only, five exercises, each workout lasting about an hour--splits: chest and biceps, back and triceps, legs, shoulders and abs. Michael wanted to cut back to every other day at the gym anyway, so the timing is good for that.

Every day brings a new adventure around here.

Gym stuffs: Back and Triceps
Warm-up
- Recumbent Bike, 5 min
Weights
- Lat Pulldown 2x20x40, 3x6x90
- Seated Row 2x20x50, 3x6x90
- Wide Row 2x20x70, 3x6x140
- Tricep Pushdown 2x20x20, 3x6x60
- Dumbbell Tricep Extension 2x20x10, 1x6x17.5, 1x5x17.5, 1x4x17.5

Notes:
I've been using numbers from previous workouts to estimate weights. Looks like I finally started guessing "right" toward the end of tonight's workout. While I'll have to go up on all of the rows, I think I'll be able to keep both of the tricep exercises at the same weights. Yes, *technically* I completed 3 sets of 6 on the pushdowns, but the last rep in the final set was pretty sloppy, so I think I'll keep it there for now.

On the food front, here's the numbers for the day.
Calories Eaten Today
source grams cals %total
Total: 2194
Fat: 89 804 38%
Sat: 41 368 18%
Poly: 7 61 3%
Mono: 25 222 11%
Carbs: 103 297 14%
Fiber: 29 0 0%
Protein: 247 989 47%

So, I got in all the protein (plus a bit), missed the fiber count by one (*shrug*), was a little high on the saturated fat probably, and didn't even come close with the carbs. Ah, well. Tomorrow is another day.

Interesting tidbits I read today on another forum re: Body Rx and coconut oil:

...and later in the same post


Looks like I can release any guilt feelings for slipping the coconut oil into the routine. Nice. Odd that he didn't explicitly include that information in the book, though--other than it being contrary to his saturated fat generalizations. There was a brief mention of MCT oil for Cycle 3 in the supplementation section of the book, I think. I just skimmed it when I read it the first time, I'll have to go back and read that section again.

Today's food numbers:
Calories Eaten Today
source grams cals %total
Total: 2089
Fat: 65 586 30%
Sat: 32 284 14%
Poly: 11 103 5%
Mono: 11 100 5%
Carbs: 154 447 23%
Fiber: 42 0 0%
Protein: 237 947 48%

Today was, admittedly, a weird day. I stayed up all night to watch season four of Sex & the City, and subsequently slept all day. I've included numbers for one more protein shake that I'll probably drink in the next hour, or so. Then, I'll take a sleep-aid and try to be asleep by 4 a.m. to start re-setting my schedule to something a little more approaching "normal".

I'm going to be really curious to see if you keep losing weight with this many calories AND carbs. Have you thought about that? Seems like a lot. Does Body Rx give calorie guidelines?

Body Rx has no calorie guidelines or restrictions in the book. I've so far only found one place online with people actively discussing their experiences on the program, and so far haven't seen any references to calorie restriction.

I really haven't thought about it much, to be honest. Weight loss still isn't my primary goal, so far I've just treated like a side-effect of altered eating and stepped-up gym doings. Really, I just want to feel better and be physically stronger. If I could attain some intimidatingly buff arms, that would be a happy bonus.

I'm one of those much-scoffed-at fat people that actually doesn't care about being fat. Being conventionally "thin" isn't a possibility for me--a fact I came nose-to-nose with in high school--so I don't dwell on it.

I came to LC originally because, after reading up a bit, it seemed like a healthy way to eat. I figured there would be some weight loss, and I decided that while losing was fine, it wasn't something I was going to concentrate on. I still don't doubt it's health benefits, but think that <i>for me</i> eating in a strict low carb manner may not be the best thing. *shrug*

I will keep an eye on the weight, though. I'll be pretty curious to see how the change of food effects the numbers, too.