154.8
This May fitness update starts with the number I read on the scale this morning. Essentially I reached my pre-pregnancy weight goal of 155 (again). However, I still look a few months pregnant 2 years postpartum due to my diastasis recti. Additionally, I bailed out of my weight training workouts for the past three weeks and feel flabby again. The old me would have just made excuses and given up at this thought of “failing” myself. However, I have matured in this area and know better. The situation has been acknowledged and accounted for; now I will pick up the ball and keep things moving. Let’s go!
Fitness
My last fitness update can be found in this post. Since I have not worked out formally in the gym for over three weeks, I plan to pick up on my same weight training routine on Monday but with less weights on each workout. I will note that with the nicer weather, I have been out walking/biking with my family a couple times each week. However, I need to re-incorporate the strength component in my regimen because my left knee feels better when I do. I am hoping to prevent/reduce heredity knee pain down the line so training my body is critical here. I would like to focus more over the next months on flexibility, core engagement, and pelvic floor strengthening (to help heal my diastasis recti). The issue I have is balancing the time to add all these elements without burning out too quickly. I will first focus on consistently making my workouts more time efficient but effective so I can have time to gradually add the other physical aspects in my routine.
Nutrition
Despite falling off with the physical aspect of my health, nutritionally, I have been doing consistently okay. I am still doing Keto (probably more like low carb on some days where I eat a little too many Keto treats…lol) except for one week last month. We visited Chicago the week before last and I chose not to skip on the deep dish pizza and Ghirardelli sundae (twice!) during our vacation. I know one week off Keto would not kill my progress and had absolutely no regrets. My “scale” weight blew up to 158.2 pounds upon my return home. I left prior to the trip around 153.5. After a week and a half back on Keto, I am now 154.8 as mentioned above. The numbers are dropping considering much of what has been “lost” was water weight so far. I do not really have a specific weight number goal anymore now that I have reached my pre-pregnancy weight. I just want to strengthen up considerably and eat accordingly to fuel my body. Admittedly, I have been getting bored with basic Keto meals of eggs, avocado, smoothies, chicken, and veggies. I plan to utilize Pinterest for more Keto casserole type meals.
Intermittent Fasting (IF)
After doing a 24 hour fast this past Saturday to reset my system from Chicago eating, I decided to start intermittent fasting on Sunday. My plan is to do the 16/8 fast: 16 hours of fasting (from 9p-1pm) and 8 hours of feasting (1pm-9pm). Essentially I am skipping breakfast. I am on day 6 and do not find IF to be as dreadful or torturous as one may think. With Keto, I actually do not feel hungry on the regular because the higher fat contents of my meals keep me satisfied longer. Therefore, I feel fine fasting longer than my usual 12 hours. I can see how IF + Keto can work hand-in-hand. Around the 14-15th hour though, my mind does become aware that I am feeling hungry if I am not busy. My solution then has been to drink some water and get more productive until it is time to feast. Then would I eat a large lunch meal followed by another large meal for dinner before settling with a small snack before 9pm. My goal is to do IF until mid-June and re-evaluate.
IF + Weight Training
Admittedly at first, I was apprehensive about how to go about intensive workouts while in a fasted state. It is not like I have not done it before but not after such a long period of not eating. Whenever I worked out in the early mornings, I usually do not eat anything before but I would eat right after. However, early morning workouts do not seem ideal with the time frame of my fasting. I feel I would be super hungry for another 6 hours after my early morning workout. I found a very thorough beginner’s guide on NerdFitness all about intermittent fasting. It addresses IF and working out in a fasted state and how it is ideal to work out this way because more fat is burned at this point of fasting. Ideally, this means I would likely have to workout during my lunchtime so I can have my biggest meal of the day right after around 1PM. I will see how this goes when I start back weight training next week. Trial and error.
May Fitness Update Progress Pictures
I will do another progress picture update in July. I wanted to point out how diastasis recti
