When I grow up, I want to be an Alicorn

Training Training Logs
1324

Monday 7/15
JN Essentials W10D2

Slight Incline DB Bench
5, 5 x 50, 15 x 40

RDL
12, 12 x 140

Machine Pulldown
Dropset - 12,15x 100-50, 12,12x 100-70

DB Bulg Split Squat
10, 10 x 25

Tricep Pushdown (drop set)
15, 15, 15, 15 x 90-70

Machine Lat Raise (drop set)
12, 12, 12, 10(30-17)

Hip Abductor
17 x 70, 20 x 60

Later, after dinner
2.25mi walk outside

Really good day, mind muscle connection on everything. Felt heavy, but like I was working hard, not a high gravity day. Reps or weights all went up.

Tuesday 7/16
Weigh-in

143.4, -0.2lbs

Macros for the week:

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Total steps: 64k

Scale didn’t do much this week. However, considering how sore I am today and I am on another surprise/early shark week, there is definitely water retention.
I never did feel any keto flu symptoms. A bit of light headedness and nausea the other day at most. Maybe carbs are still too high? I have been hydrating well and supplementing with electrolytes. Perhaps I avoided it.

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1325

A bit part of “keto flu” is that, along with transition fuel types from carbs to fats, your body will use it’s own fat for fuel. The issue many people run into is that they take on keto as a fat loss protocol after a life of nutritional neglect.

Our liver filters toxins and shuttles it into our fat stores. What this means is, if you’re eating toxic foods, that gets shuttled to your fat. If you hop on keto to undo a lifetime of eating toxic crap, when your body switches to it’s own fat for fuel, you’re burning “toxic fat” as your primary fuel source to start. That is going to feel pretty awful.

You’re coming from this from a position of eating healthy and living well. You didn’t have a lot of toxicity to burn off. You transition to pretty clean fuel. Combined with the electrolyte supplementation, it checks that you’re not going to feel too awful. And you’re transitioning gradually, rather than jumping straight into the 0-20g carb range.

That whole “fat toxicity” thing is the same reason why animals fed their natural diets tend to be the priority when eating a high animal fat diet. As delicious as a wagyu steak may be, no animal will naturally develop marbling like that. THAT is the sign of an animal that is sick and dying. It’s why their fat has less omega 3s than a grassfed steak.

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That is a very interesting thought and clears things up. Not that I wanted keto flu, I had just herd so many cautions of it.
My transition was very gentle compared to most. It was just the “next level” rather than a complete diet shift.
So many good examples of why not eating like and a**hole serves you in life.
Thanks for stopping by again, it’s been awesome to have you here so often!

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Believe me, it’s always a delight for me. There are SO many good folks in the training logs here, and I wish I could spend even more time communicating with everyone, but I’ve appreciated your journey very much and am grateful whenever I can play any small role in it.

@ChongLordUno went through a similar experience as well. He effectively went carnivore overnight and experienced no ketoflu whatsoever, and we deduced it was for similar reasons: he was already coming at it from a place of health and fitness, and had simply transitioned to another level. It’s really quite an experience when you’re burning clean fuel vs not. And it works the other way too: I’ve done carb refeeds that were junkfood and they hit me like a bomb. I fall into a coma, I start sweating profusely, I get bloated and feel sick. Meanwhile, last night I had a few generous servings of my Valkyrie’s tuna casserole and her homemade cookies with some raw local honey and I didn’t skip a beat. Felt just as good as I do with animal foods, slept well, woke up feeling fine/no inflammation and ready to perform.

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lets not let this pass without a ‘hell yeah’.

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1329

Thanks Simo! Made for a nice gym session for sure.

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1330

Thursday 7/18
JN Essentials W10D2

Pendulum Squat
(Plate weight only, machine didn’t list empty weight)
6, 8 x 45, 10 x 25

Standing Arnold Press
10, 10 x 30

Seated Ham Curl
10 x 126, 10 x 130

Meadows Row
12, 12 x 25
Plate weight only

Zottman Curl
Dropset - 12, 12, 12, 12 x 15-10

Pec Deck
Dropset - 12, 12 x 50-30

10 minute walk

After dinner:
2 mile walk- 13k steps total for the day

Awesome pump through-out. Can’t get over how much I like this new rotation, just connect with everything well.
Working those steps up. Legs are feeling tired walking. Might be the first signs of a recover hole?

Friday 7/19
Sprints

10 min walk/jog warm up
5 x 60yd Hill sprints
20 minute jog walk cool down

Forgot how hard these are! Felt good to just unleash all of the new power in my hips and legs. Really noticing the weight loss hauling my butt up the hill as well.

Great pump and light at the gym!

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That is so perfect! Goals!

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Sunday 7/21
JN Essentials W11D1

Slight Incline DB Bench
6, 6 x 50, 10 x 45

DB RDL
12, 12, 5 x 55Dbs

Machine Pulldown
Dropset - 12,12 x 110-90

DB Bulg Split Squat
10, 10 x 30

Tricep Pushdown (drop set)
15, 15, 12, 12 x 95-75

Machine Lat Raise (drop set)
12, 12, 12, 12(30-17)

Hip Abductor
17 x 70, 20 x 60

15 minute walk outside

Really great day. Slept 8.5 hours and woke up ready to go. Increased weights or reps on everything except hip abductors. Might need to lower the weight on those, I am struggling to get the reps. Or just do them on both days. Probably that, this butt needs to get more perky anyway.

There were diet hiccups this weekend, very non-keto. I won’t call it off the rails, because I wasn’t exactly chugging Twinkie’s. On the way home from work on Friday I happen to mention to hubby that what we still had for meal prep dinners sounded awful and I was craving a bunch of different restaurants. Well, he was driving and pulled into one of the places on the way home. One of those “Mexican food” build your own whatever places. I got a double steak bowl with rice and black beans, no tortilla, extra fajita veg. Really quite clean, but lots of carbs. I’ve been having a ton of cravings during the week and I didn’t have will power left over to not get what I wanted, then down the whole thing. The rest of the night I was still hungry, but resisted eating anything else.
Then yesterday all I wanted for breakfast was French toast with a pile of eggs. So I had it. Home made Sourdough, plain yogurt and protein powder added to the batter. Still a 50 gram protein breakfast. Left me not feeling like a zombie all day. Last night I got back on track, had a steak, and huge pile of broccoli. I was still hungry an hour later, so a big bowl of yogurt and homemade, keto protein granola followed. Ended up at 2200 calories. Could have something to do with the fantastic sleep, then workout this morning.
Summary is, I kept things reasonable, but I was HUNGRY this weekend, and completely out of willpower. I’m not ever craving cookies, donuts or potato chips. My cravings these days are usually beef, rice and oatmeal. I could go for a huge bowl of plain oatmeal right now


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1334

Hot damn girl.

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1335

You know what to say to brighten a Monday morning!

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He’s right, though - BIG changes! Be patient with yourself, okay? It’s all working.

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Monday 7/22
Sprints

10 minute walk/jog
5 x 60yd Hill sprints
1 mile jog
15 minute walk

Woke up naturally at 4am again, though there is nothing natural about that time.
I could feel the lifting fatigue going into this, I think I was moving slower on the hills than last week. I don’t care to time these though.
Left quad felt a bit twingy on the last couple, but fine on the easy jog.
A part of me is actually enjoying running again. The endurance athlete I once was is probably still there, just buried.

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So much this!

And really nice work in here—I agree with @simo74 and @EmilyQ. Keep it up!

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1339

I struggle with this, always a welcome reminder!

Absolutely, and it’s amazing. So rewarding to really SEE the work I am putting in.

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1340

Thank you @SvenG great to have you stop by between crushing your bazillion workouts a day!

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1341

Well I am very glad I had that effect on someone.

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1342

Tuesday 7/23
Conditioning

5 Rounds:
200m run
25 KBS
15 Goblet Squats
10 KB OHP

Something simple. Didn’t want to sprint two days in a row but I wanted to get some movement in this morning.

Weigh-in
147.8, +4.4lbs

Macros for the week:

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Steps: 61k

Two things this week:

  1. As shown in my macros, I have been eating extra the last few days and having a carb party.
  2. I started taking Creatine.
    So this jump was anticipated, a bit higher than expected, but I can’t be upset or surprised. Things are back in-line. There is still more cut phase to go. I don’t have any excuses, flat out ran out of willpower to deal with hunger for a few days.
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I’ll be curious to hear your impressions of the creatine, because of course I’m considering it, too, lol. (I can’t wait until it’s finally phone call time!)

I’m taking collagen, which I’ve come to love in my first cup of coffee. I’m not sure the impact because the dietary changes had already impacted my hair and nails (which surprised me), but at this point I resent how often I’m having to cut my fingernails, which I keep short. I did appreciate that they didn’t get as split-y during the zero humidity of winter, though. I’m on my second tub of collagen, so probably started it in May.

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