A week in…

It’s been one hell of a week. I started Leangains last Saturday, with a ton of curiosity as to if I could even stick to it, let alone see results. First two days, I went in bright eyed and bushy tailed to the program, like a shiny new toy had arrived. I was meticulous to track everything that I ate. I took close attention to what was a carb, protein, or fat, even though I was having a hard time holding out to eat after 1pm. It was really difficult to stop myself from overeating once the feeding window was open. Having held off the entire morning sort of created this ravenous beast that felt deserving of any food she wanted. Stopping at 8pm was even harder. The first day, I cut it close, ending my last meal at 8:15. Second day, I ended way too early with a tap out time of 6:35.

By day 3, I was drained, tired, and grumpy. I was certainly going to quit. This wasn’t getting me anywhere but hungry, and depleted. On the third morning, I was so hungry that I made a snap decision to open the feeding window from 16:8 to 14:10, and start my first meal at 10am. After eating and having time to realize that this IF schedule isn’t about deprivation, but eating more so intuitively than just adhering to a strict schedule. Once I saw that I could be flexible on a daily basis, still maintain full control, and follow the IF guidelines, I got my second wind. No way I was quitting.

The thing I’ve noticed most about week one is that my body a short reboot, and did so by fluctuating my hormones and energy. I started out full of gusto, and by day 3, I was barely dragging. Now, day 4…Oh, wonderful day 4, I had so much energy that I went back to 16:8, and got to focus on my macros a bit more. I researched alot about fasted and fed strength or cardio training, bcaa supplementation in a fasted state, and why minimal preworkout supplements are so handy prior to runs. With all this info, I was ready to finish out the week.

Moving into day 5, the energy was still bubbling and I had so much mental clarity. I felt positive and confident. I wasn’t hungry. I ate when I was hungry, which fell shortly after the feeding window had begun. By this time I had figured out to eat a “craving” based meal as my first meal, then eat according to my macros for the rest of the day. This way I could reevaluate what I’ve eaten and what macros need more attention than others, so I can hit my macro goals. It had become fairly easy and almost effortless. Speaking of effortless, drinking water was a breeze. I’ve started downing 2 -2.5 liters a day, and now, I just grab and drink without thinking since I have my giant water bottle filled for the day.

During day 5, it was time to release some of that energy and workout. I took my c4 (preworkout), and got to it. I hit some amazing lifting records and even ended the routine with a nice 1 mile run. The combination of good feels from IF (Leangains) and the Cellucor C4 really threw me into a highly focused zone.

This carried out into day 6, with all the energy and good vibes! The groggy part of my transition was officially over. Now, yesterday ( day 6) would have been an active recovery day, BUT I felt so good and wanted to get a run in. Zombies, run is the most fun I’ve had running! I’ll have to write a post about it on its own. Haha. Anyway, I ended up running 4.5 miles in 33.47 minutes! The longest and fastest run I have ever completed. I wasn’t even exhausted after. I was sweaty, tired, and expecting to be sore, ofcourse!  I’m still in shock of how well I did and how far I have come.

This morning was a weigh in.
It’s been 7 days since I starts Leangains. 10 months since I started this leg of my weightloss journey.

3lbs down this week!!!
35lbs down total 🙂

I’m more than happy with my results, and honestly, even though it’s only been a week, I can see major benefits to starting intermittent fasting via the Leangains program. I’m going to continue on and push through! I hope this post helps any of you reading to gain an idea of what to look forward to during the first week of starting intermittent fasting, Leangains, or any major nutritional schedule.

Best of luck!

Best of luck.

Better sore, than injured.

Today is my 4th day taking on the Leangains nutrition schedule. I must say that this morning was difficult. I knew it was coming, though. For.the last three days, I have followed an 16 hour fasted state, along with an 8 hour feeding window. This was going pretty alright the first two days, but yesterday I was beginning to feel a little bloated during my feeding, and counting the minutes until the end of my daily fast.

Today I woke up with full intention to continue going about it this way, but around 9am, hunger hit. It hit hard. So hard I felt like I was depriving myself of nurishment.  It’s not like I was craving fries and a latte. I wanted clean, nutritious food. And water.

After debating if changing my course was a cop out or not, I strongly decided to open my feeding window, instead of giving up. I’m going to try a 14 hour fast with a 10 hour feeding window. This is sometimes recommended for Leangains or intermittent fasting females, anyway, so why not try it. I enjoyed a healthy early lunch at 10:15 a.m. and was satisfied until about 2p.m. I continued to follow the rest of the guidelines, and even stick with my recommended dose of additional fiber. Opening the feeding window took some stress off the timeframe, and gave me more time to actually enjoy and eat intuitively. I like 14:10 ALOT MORE.

Things are getting easier to plan, ahead of time. I am even getting better at identifying fats, carbs, protiens, and my micronutrients, to better reach my daily goal. Macros are getting pretty easy. Even if I don’t stick with intermittent fasting for the long haul, and give it up one day, I really want to keep a macro goal style of diet. I’ve heard alot about IIFYM, but hey, one thing at a time!

Today was a scheduled strength training day. My body is sore. I was sore hours after Mondays workout. I was sore alllllll day yesterday. And I’m sore now. I’m not crazy enough to force a workout with a body that just is not ready to give it’s all. Training for weightloss, or anything for that matter, is a very tricky thing. You want to continue with the momentum, but sometimes it’s smart to hold back until you can really provide the right intensity, stamina, or endurance. With my legs feeling like ice picks, there was no way I would have been able to properly deadlift, or power squat. No way! Injuries can happen. Sure, I could have put up and half ass it, but that’s not what I’m here for. It’s all or nothing! That attitude has propelled me into shedding 33 pounds, and finally with a mindset to keep it off.

My arms weren’t nearly as sore as my legs, back, and midsection, but it’s just smart to keep the workout intact, and not chop it up too much.

So I skipped a workout.

Tomorrow will be the day. I’ll bring my A game. I’m actually excited because I truly look forward to strength training days.

Here’s a look at today’s nutrition stats:

I was golden for calorie consumption, fiber, and water intake. I came up short on carbs… which is not a bad thing, especially since I was invited to dinner at Olive Garden tonight with my family. Protein could have been better

Overall, since I altered my feeding window, went out to dinner( during the feeding window), and didn’t work out, I’d say it equals out just fine.

Holy moly, I’m tingling!

Today was day two of the Leangains eating schedule. Despite my curiosity before bed, I woke up refreshed and more than ready to knock out my work out.

Ofcourse, I handled my early morning mom duties as chef, stylist, hygenist, driver, and all together professional, then I was back home to start day two!
Today is my first official fasted strength training workout, with a preworkout supplement. I’ve completed workouts prior to my first meal before, but not with as much thought into as I did this morning – Everything was planned. I created a schedule to keep me on track: a.m. preworkout, a.m. workout, shower, errands, reminder to drink water, water, water! This could seem excessive to some people, but I actually enjoy the structure of creating and maintaining the plan. I know exactly when I’ll need to prepare my meal, when I’ll be eating, when I’ll be working out (which helps me commit, even more, because it’s like an appointment), and it just seems to have a good flow- but I digress. Let’s rewind.

Fasted workout. 20 minutes before my workout, I took my mixture of cellucor c4 preworkout. I was waiting for some magical zip to let me.know that it was time to start- tingles. I got this sharp burst of “let’s do thissss!”, and these nice little tingles all over my body (the company informs you of this in the details due to an ingredient that causes this sensation). I was ready. I seriously think I had more intense lifts than I’ve had in awhile. 50lbs deadlifts were making me warm, and it was giving me the go ahead to amp it up. I really enjoyed taking the c4 supplement. It’s going to be a staple on my weightlifting days.

Moving on to 1pm- the start of my feeding window. I didn’t feel famished like I did yesterday. I felt calm and easy going into my meal because I guess the unknown was over, and I knew breaking my fast was going to be easily enjoyable if I incorporated foods that I truly enjoy. I noshed down my eggs, cucumber & grapes tray, drinking a protein shake to aide in upping my macros. Later, I enjoyed a fresh berry fruit parfait. For dinner, I had another protien shake with salmon, grapes, and green beans. -I also like to log my multivitamin… for the nutrient values- . I had my daily intake of additional fiber, also.

It’s exactly 8:09pm, as I type this, and my feeding window has officially closed for the day. I feel full, but not bloated at all. I’ve had more water than the ocean, today, so I’m quite proud of that! My macros are actually wayyy more on point than yesterday and my calories are quite lovely! A good day, indeed.

For anyone wondering what my workout looks like, here’s a sample:

As for my day 2- leangains nutrition:

Here’s to tomorrow! \* _*/

16:8 Update; Day 1 of Leangains

You don’t exactly know how quickly you can get hunger pangs until you purposefully deprive yourself of food.

8:00am
I’m going to start today fresh and this will be a breeze. I never eat “breakfast” (my first meal) until 11:00am or noon, anyway. LET’S DO THISSS.

10:00am
Hmm. Bean soup will be so yummy for dinner. I already know I’ll eat that so I’ll log it now!

10:15 am
Bean soup?! Damn. It’s only 10:00. Better guzzle some water to fill my belly, then.

12:00pm
This was soo easy! I’m out and about grocery shopping, which could have been a bad idea, but I’m holding off pretty well. Not too hungry. The thought of food has come up a few times, but I can make it home. I’ll eat then. Around 1:30.

1:00pm
Stomach- You better feed me. I’m done playing with you, girl!
Me- Ok. Ok. Put the knife down. I’m almost home.

1:30pm
This.

Mmmm. Devoured!
(2 Boiled eggs, 2oz. Cucumbers, 4 oz grapes, and 2 tbsp of balsamic glaze)

This should hold me off for another couple hours, then I’ll eat again. I have until 8pm! 🙂

5:00pm
FEEDING FRENZZZZZY

Small children should not pet me. I may mistake the hands for bbq.

In the end, I hit my carb intake, and came up short on fat. I realize I need to eat way more protein, and my caloric intake was one point. I did very well for day 1.

Although, this will take a couple days to get use to, I think I’m going to benefit from it. It’s not intensely difficult, and once the feeding window is open, calorie and macro counting is a breeze. Til tomorrow!