IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN - My 35lb Cutting Journal

[Tennisgal33]

She's back! So feeling better. Monday (Week 2, Day 9) was a semi-write off. I'm guestimating around 1500-1700 cals when I was eating because it was a pb (healthy pb) and honey sandwich when I got my appetite, some soda crackers, some home made veggie soup, 1/2 cup (oops) of dried unsweetened coconut, greek yogurt and fruit, etc. Kinda like a day of snacking with no structure while in bed with stomach pain.

Get my thyroid blood work back tomorrow. Spoke with a trainer who I respect who gave me some free advice today based on my extreme frustration. She looked at my logs and actually said my schedule and what I was doing with macros, etc. looked better then some of her clients that were training for competition and personal training certification. Funny and not. One pressing concern (with the stop of the scale loss for now over 7 weeks) is the no sleep factor. I get 2-6 hours a night, not sound sleep. This is an on going concern I continue to try to fix. I knew sleep/cortisol, etc. play a major role but perhaps more than I knew. Looking into it further.

 

[Tennisgal33]

Monday was day 8...typo above.

TUESDAY - DAY 9

11:45
1 orange
1/2 small banana
1/4 cup almond unsweetened milk

2:00
1 cup frozen berries
2 tbsp oatmeal
1 tbsp hemp seed
1/2 cup egg white
splenda

4:30
2 tbsp psyllium
8 strawberries
whey
2 cups spinach
1 tsp flax oil

*started to have the stomach pain again. Not hungry.

8:00
1/2 cup cooked cabbage
1/2 tsp butter

11:00
1/4 cup tuna
1/2 tbsp mayo
1/2 piece celery, 1/2 tbsp light cream cheese and 4 raisins


WINDY BIKING OUTDOOR -- 11.70m 65 min. (mostly liss, except for against wind for a good 25 minutes)

12 glasses water (8 oz/serving)

793 cals
23g F 89gC 64g Net 61gP

 

[Tennisgal33]

Wednesday - Day 10

12:00
4 cups coffee
3 tbsp half and half

1:00
scoop of whey
8 strawberries
1/4 almond milk
psyllium 2 tbsp

2:15
small coffee with half and half (take out coffee)

GYM

Hills/some jog/mostly walk - treadmill - 90 minutes - 5 miles (testing foot and new taping method)

4:15
whey
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 banana (small)
1 cup almond milk unsweetened
1/2 cup cooked beets in beef (lean) broth

6:15
3 oz chicken breast
2 oz dark meat
2 tbsp cranberries, ocean spray
6oz cauliflower mash, 1/2 tsp butter
6 oz wine

GYM #2
ELLIPTICAL - LISS - varied resistance level 8-15 60 minutes
12:00
4 crackers

*AND A NIGHT OF INSOMNIA - UP RIGHT THROUGH UNTil TOMORROW.

1205 cals

30gF 101gC 78g NET 100gP

12-14 glasses of water

 

[Tennisgal33]

Thurs - Day 11

6:00 am (still up)

3 cups coffee, 1/2 cup almond milk

12:30
blueberry, whey, banana, dry oatmeal and hemp shake (with almond milk) my usual)


GYM

Circuit - full body

2 sets, same body part 12-15 reps super set
12 exercises, medium weight (50 minutes) Not totally out of breath - being careful due to no sleep

7 min. 10-15 sec sprints, then walk and recover. Just .5 miles

4:30
whey
xtend

5:00
take out coffee with cream (medium)

7:15
2 oz chicken
6 oz cauliflower mash 1/2 tsp butter
1 tbsp ocean spray cran
1/2 cup cooked beets, broth, 3 tbsp cooked navy beans

* maybe another shake tonight

823 cals
21g F 80gC 66gN 82gP

Stay with me here...read up on VLCD for short periods to speed up a plateau. I know I know...frustrated and felt better the past two days as such.

 

[psizzle_8]

You doing/feeling ok with that calorie intake? That's like...my weekly cheat meal lol

 

[Tennisgal33]

You doing/feeling ok with that calorie intake? That's like...my weekly cheat meal lol

Ya feeling really good, thanks for asking! I don't want to jinx it but my cals were somewhat around this on KETO that first month and I felt great and got results. That being said...as an experiment, if I find out I lose on this but not on 'normal' range cals...wtf? Been reading so much around thyroid and adrenal gland stuff and low appetite is common side effect. Don't get me wrong, I have my days where I want more, but maybe the 7-10 day cheat day on a VLCD could work.

This is not a lifestyle at this cal range, obviously.

 

[psizzle_8]

Have you had all your various levels tested? Sorry in advance if you've already answered this

 

[caligirl85]

It's not uncommon for sleep to go on VLCD!! Most competitors start to struggle with sleep a few weeks out from the stage. It's your body sending you a message...I promise you! That's what happens on messed up diets, low cals for extended periods of time. I "get it" in what you're doing but the scale will jump again when you eat more. It's a never ending cycle. Hopefully, it'll give you what you need. Good luck!

 

[psizzle_8]

Yeah...it might bring quick results but you'll gain what you lost and then some

 

[Tennisgal33]

Hey ladies, thanks for the feedback. I do hear you. And thanks for being supportive even though I know you want to reach out and slap me through the computer! lol Insomnia for over 5 years, had a few OK months in there where it was regular sleep with a sleep aid, but I don't like meds/pills, so stopped. I may try one again though.

Caligirl, I didn't quite understand: "It's not uncommon for sleep to go on VLCD!! " Did you mean with the low cal/training, you have trouble sleeping? Yes...I know. However, I've had trouble sleeping when eating more, not dieting, not worrying about training/weight loss/gain. I just suck at sleeping. Working on it more aggressively now. Shift work-like hours hasn't helped over the years. I know (or trust) the scale will jump back. I have a pressure situation about my 'image' in a few months, so that's why I'm trying this method. I don't like it from a 'health' perspective, but it is what it is right now. From there I will slowly increase cals and know some weight will come back, but work on that balancing act.

Psizzle. Yes, just got my results back today. They missed a few tests they still need to check. I am working with a moron for a doctor since moving across the country but have just found a metabolic specialist and another doc who practices alternative medicine. The T4 and T3 are "something to be concerned about", is what I was told. I've also been told I need to do swab saliva tests for my cortisol levels. At the beginning of the 'weight gain' after a great deal of extreme life stress followed by the marathon I was told by the doctor I'd been seeing for years that adrenal fatigue was quite likely and/or maybe my hypo was back or not totally fixed.

Just curious since I have never competed. It is a possible goal of mine wayyyyy down the road once I get this medical related stuff figured out, but is it common for people competing to be really stressing out their bodies too? Thinking pre-contest shredding, etc. It's such a cycle of extremes (from some of the info I've read) and then some people just eating protein, veggies and a bit of fat for 6 weeks out, working out 3 times a day plus posing... then cutting out salt, then cutting/lowering water, etc. It sounds really challenging, obviously...but also a real strain on the body. Or is this just how some do it, and there are other methods? Just curious.

So the low cal thing is not going to help the adrenal issues. It will just add more stress, but I take a crap load of vitamins and I'm trying to stick in the 1000-1200 cal range.