The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Karli]

Okay, just no Britney buzz cuts!

hee hee... no Britney buzzes for me, thanks . But, okay, I did get my hair cut already now and I love it .

Lauren, I very much appreciate your post. I actually have been inwardly pleading that somebody would step in here and help me out a bit. Yeah, your post affirms some of my thoughts and I realize that, in a sense, I have been letting myself "indulge" a bit with the bars because I know I need more calories and I love them. But, even that is just not worth it (plus, I actually get kind of tired of them).

So, yeah, I am going to cut down on those and today I have had only one and I plan to keep it that way. I have actually upped my protein in the past week, it is currently at twice as much, plus a 1/2 c. of cottage cheese. I have been eyeballing yogurt lately, because I think that would keep me in ketosis, and fulfill some of my hunger needs. But, the ones I have seen have a lot of carbs, and almost all of those being sugars (and too many calories to have it be like a regular supplement), so I have just not wanted to go there. I think the one exception that I have seen is goat milk yogurt. I will look for the stuff that you have suggested.

Today I am basically doing a 5/1, as it turns out -- though we'll see what the evening brings. I definitely feel a little lower on energy, but, I still just don't want to give up on that goal of 155. Or, at least 160.

Yes, I was thinking about it on my hike with doggy, I consider myself to be in full athletic training right now. Training for what ? Just to be the best athlete I can be right now. I just have to do it, I owe it to myself. I am doing full-on power-lifting with about 12 or 15 different lifts, power hiking, power everything. My goal is to gain strength, speed, and agility -- and I am actually accomplishing this goal. I am definitely gaining a lot of muscle, and I know because I can see it. My legs, arms and buttocks are currently the most obvious to me right now, but I know I am gaining it *everywhere* that I am working (which is pretty much my entire body). My overall shape is changing.

Btw, these days in my life I would never try to do a workout completely empty, and I hadn't been. But, I was only having a regular suppy when I wake, then an additional bar to prepare for my workout. But, once I started hitting 600-700 calories gone, I would feel my body bonking and either need to add more mid-workout, or stop. There is no way I can do 800-1000 on an oatmeal packet and a bar. So, I tried having my L/G of the morning before I worked out (normally my post-workout meal), but that was just a load of burps waiting to happen. So, something like the yogurt sounds like it could be perfect.

Anyway, I really do appreciate your post and appreciate any insights you feel like dishing my direction (or anybody else, too). You are right, I can't let my caloric frets rule my workouts. It's just that I still want to lose a little weight, so I feel I need to be conscious of it and I am really trying very hard to learn what I am doing here. It just doesn't seem obvious. I have decided to try to stay emotionally detached, though, because why should I let myself get all emotional about this ?

Okay. Cheers !

Karli

[nickieluv]

Karli;

I hope you do continue to find a balance between your eating and your workouts. The posts you've been making lately are really going to be helpful to many people as they near transition time. And it gives me hope still, especially in terms of the career end of things, that I can find the strength and courage within myself to step things up as time goes by.

We are not in an area where I will ever be called upon to give a solo concert, but I am hoping to get my name out there more as far as lessons and accompanying. Who knows, maybe along the way I will decide I want to do more. In fact, just now I had the thought of maybe playing a concerto with the high school band, if there existed such a thing (we only have wind ensemble, no strings, so that might be difficult - but fun!). I get complacent, especially at the primary level, where all the songs are boom-chick I-IV-V-I accompaniments. I think my fondest dream would be to move to a college town and be the staff accompanist at a music school. I was a pretty sought-after accompanist in my college days, if I do say so myself. I love it so much more than solo work - the give-and-take, the nice moments for the piano to really be lyrical, but then you can spend a lot of your time in the background so to speak. Again, maybe that will change and I will crave the spotlight more!

I always seem to get off the subject when I post in your journal. It's just nice to have someone to talk to about musical things - again, in the building I'm in now, I'm the ONLY music person and it gets lonely. It's nice to have someone I can say 'I-IV-V-I' to and have them know what I mean!

OK, I said in my journal 30 minutes ago that I was going to bed. But I wanted to check in - I've been following your posts but at a loss for words - so I decided to just make some up!

[Karli]

Nickie, thanks for stopping by and checking in . You could move here and you would be an accompanist in demand .

166.5 again this morning, at 4:44 am. I am as okay with it as I think I can get for now, because I look at myself and I know I am not gaining fat. As a matter of fact, I think I need to accept that there might be more gain in my future . And, this is something I felt uneasy about even if I were to reach 155, take all my careful time in transition, and then get into the gym. Right now I am just trying to focus on eating right and getting into shape.

Okay. Yesterday did not stay a 5/1. There was no way, no how, unless I was willing to lay flat on my back from about 4pm on. I was bonking, bonking, bonking ... very big time. So, I added an extra suppy, and I had my real L/G in the evening. Altogether, I had about 1250 calories yesterday, and I burned off about 800-900 in my workouts. So, I am not going to get all freaky on myself because I know that I am eating right and that I am exercising and living a good life. I only had one bar yesterday.

I could not find "Fage" yogurt with the kind of nutritional info that you talked about, Lauren. The only Fage stuff I found was very similar to all the other mainstream yogurts, but I did find Dannon "Light and Fit." It has 60 calories, 3 fats, 3 carbs and 5 proteins per serving. I am going to sandwhich my workout today with a serving of that on either side. I had an oatmeal as my first meal of the day, and then my one bar of the day as a pre-workout boost (only about 20 minutes apart), and I will have a serving of yogurt on either end (plus a 70's shake on the other side, too). I am going to try to get away with not having my morning L/G, but if I find that setting me up for doom as the day wears on, I am going to have to change my plans.

So, here's to another day !

[bikipatra]

Good luck, Karli Karl. Stay nourished!

[Tawanda]

Karli, just wanted to pop in and wish you a great day.

[Lauren]

Hey, Karli! Go to fageusa dot com and see if they might help you find a retailer. The Dannon light & fits are fine, I just have found that the Fage has SO much more protein that it really hits a spot. And it's live active cultures, so it's really good for the digestive system. No biggie, but I've started a cult over here in NYC for it, so I thought I'd spread the wealth! :-)

You're doing great. And while I totally understand that you don't want to start "transition" until you've reached goal, you also CAN NOT continue on a standard 5/1 MF plan when you're exercising at your level. It's not okay, it's not healthy. If you are eating 1250 calories, and burning 900 calories in your workout, then you're only getting 350 calories to "live" on, and that, Karli, is not enough. You really are probably not losing weight right now because you're not getting enough calories. I know we all get this "starvation mode" intellectually, but that it's difficult emotionally to eat more, but, Karli, you really have to. If a standard 5/1 plan, at 800-1000 calories is just enough to sustain life and a tiny bit of exercise, how on earth would your exponentially increased exercise be accomodated by only a few hundred calories more?

YOU MUST EAT MORE. :-)

Lauren

[bikipatra]

I agree with Lauren. The days I walked 3 hours in Hong Kong I GAINED weight. I was starving myself.

[JonnaD]

Lauren said exactly what I was thinking, the math just doesn't add up. With your exercise routine, you need to add more fuel or your body will shut down in starvation mode.

Enjoy your life, but feed your body! Don't punish it for having been fat. It's not fat now, it's hungry. Your gas tank is running on empty.

[Karli]

Okay, ladies. Thanks for stopping by, and you are right. That math does not add up and I knew it didn't, I just felt drastic yesterday (and that was mainly only yesterday). But, I also paid for that drasticness with having absolutely no energy yesterday and I felt pretty lethargic this morning, too. I did get in some major(ish) working out today, though, and that felt pretty good.

Now, on the food front, I am doing a lot better today (but, there's always that pesky scale to deal with in the morning ). I went to another grocery store and found fage 0%, so I was pretty stoked. Also, I decided that I do need to have more of a meal in the morning after my workout(s). So, after I got done with my hike with doggy (after my smaller cardio and weightlifting earlier), I was craving smoked salmon and raw broccili. I decided that when I went to the store to find the fage yogurt, that I would pick some of what I was craving up, too. I also got myself a jar of "kombucha" tea with cranberry (which would not be a good drink for strict 5/1'ers, btw). The tea has a little bit of carbs (7 per 8 fl oz), but not very many calories and is pack-full of great enzymes, probiotics and detoxifiers.

Anyhoo... again, I am really trying not to freak out about all of this and stay a bit detached. I am going to work on eating very healthily today, and try to have my caloric math add up to what would leave me with a normal day (but on the upper end) of 5/1 MF'ing (which is what I had been doing last week, until I messed myself up). I am not sure how I will feel if I see the scale go up tomorrow, though, but I guess I will just deal with things as I need to.

Thanks very much for all of your support, everybody !! I *really* appreciate it. And, if you see me getting into starvation mode again, please do speak up. I need to keep a close eye on some things as far as that goes, and even if my pride reacts, I know that you are my friends and that you only want to help, so I trust you.

Cheers,
Karli

[Karli]

WOW, yesterday was absolutely *AMAZING* . My morning started off as is usual for me lately; I went to the gym and did my smaller cardio pre-weightlifting. Then I did my power-lifting. Then I went home, scooped up doggy and went for our hike. I did a little running on that, but not much because I was pretty tired and thought that I had reached the end of my energy for the day.

Well, a friend of ours came over and my husband and he were planning to go for a mountain bike ride and I didn't have much of a plan except for to do random things around the house -- and other chores (I have had this week off from work). Anyway, I found myself really wanting to go with them, but I was hesitent because they are both really, really good. But, as I expressed my desire they both encouraged me to go with them and I found myself excitedly getting ready to go on my first bike ride of the season.

Now, I had a goal that I wanted to reach sometime this summer, but I actually surpassed that yesterday -- ON MY FIRST RIDE OF THE SEASON AND AFTER MY OTHER WORKOUTS !!

I have to say, I am so incredibly pleased. It was not a monster ride for them, and we did not burn up the mountain, BUT -- I actually did it with relative ease , and having done only this activity for the day would have amazed me, still, but, I did it even after my heavy workouts in the morning. I just can't believe it ! I guess some things are really paying off.

The only problem is that we were out there for awhile, burning up calories (for me) like there was no tomorrow. I brought what I could of MF, which was a bar and an RTD (which with the RTD, is too heavy to take in the future), but that just didn't cut it. I was not going to make it through on that and so I ate whatever they had to offer me. We did 12 miles of mountain biking 'round trip, 6 of which were over 1800 feet of elevation gain (and then back down for 6) and just that trip alone burned about 1500 calories for me (not including what I burned in the morning). I did end up knocking myself out of ketosis.

I am not going to worry about that, though. Right now this is going to be a math game for me, and I am just going to thoroughly enjoy my life as I am discovering it. I have seen new muscles grow in my legs overnight. I burned about 2400 calories between all of my workouts yesterday (I just happened to have more carbs than proteins, and more fats and calories than I had wanted)-- and though I am a bit on the sore and fatigued side this morning, something in me is just as happy and as satisfied as can be.

Today and tomorrow I am planning to 5/1 it, as long as today I don't feel the need for anything strenuous (still a little undecided about that). Something in me is waking up, for sure, and I love it !! I can't believe that I could actually decide on the spur of the moment to go on a ride like I did yesterday, with my hubby and our friend, and have it be as enjoyable as it was for all of us. I kept going to my next goal for my ride, and when we got there I felt like I had no idea how I got there, but I did. I just kept waiting to hit some wall, but I never did, and we headed back down before I got too slammed.

Anyway, I am sleepy and fatigued and in some kind of bliss and I have no idea if I am making any sense, and I am not going to go back and edit my post right now.

I have had my morning MF oatmeal and coffee and some water, and I am going back to bed !


Cheers,
Karli

[bikipatra]

Karli, you amaze me!~ The way you are training you could get to be in the Olympics! I could say I knew Karli Karl when...

[Karli]

Hi, Biki. Thanks very much. Sometimes I really wonder what 'could have been' if I had taken my athletics more seriously when I was younger. But, there is no use in that now, is there ? So, I am happy --very happy-- to be doing what I am doing now, it feels just right for me.

I have had some epiphonies regarding all of this. For one, I realized how silly it is that I burned about 2400 calories yesterday in my workouts, but was scared to include a piece of fruit or bread in my diet and instead fuel myself with only MF and meat and dairy (just to keep me in ketosis). That is just not right. And, I have realized how silly it is to think that I am going to continue working out as hard as I am and think that I cannot include fruit and bread in my diet. So, I am not going to add grain just yet, but I am going to go ahead and keep myself out of ketosis and I think that today I will have an apple and PB !!

Also, hubby and I did indeed get me a new bike this morning. I just woke up this morning and realized it was the right thing for me. Our friend was pretty convincing on our ride yesterday as he said it was an investment in my health; that I could be buying all sorts of drugs later on in life, or I could buy a bike now and keep myself healthy. That just really rang true for me. Hubby and I had refinanced our house last Fall because we needed to, and buying this bike used the rest of that money. I was not sure if this was the way we should spend it, but, I know it's the right thing.

So, along those lines.... I am pretty convinced that I am going to continue making my workouts a priority in my life. Not that I won't have times when it doesn't happen, but I will always come back to it; and throughout the years, I always have come back to it. But, since I started MF I have realized even more clearly just how important being able to workout is to me and it is moving up on my list of "must do's" during the day.

Because of this, and because I am considering myself as an athlete again (which is like having some void in my life/soul that I have had for years be filled), I have realized that it's time to switch mental gears. I am no longer going to concentrate on a diet for weightloss -- though if that happens, fine -- but I am going to concentrate on a diet for my fittest self/athletes. This is just who I am, and I have to say, I am pretty excited about it.

We are going to order a scale that will measure my muscle mass by sending some kind of pulse through my body when I stand on it (hubby read about this), that way I can concentrate more fully on muscle toning and fat loss, and less on weight itself. I need this for my mental sanity.

So, that's the deal for now, folks. What a wonderful world

[nickieluv]

Congratulations, Karli! I feel your bliss and your glow is coming through even online. You definitely need to be an MF success story - I mean, I know you ARE - but the world needs to hear what this program can help awaken in people!!! You are an inspiration - I know my version of success will not be the same as yours, but your happiness is attainable for everyone and I look forward to following in your footsteps.

[bikipatra]

I just don't have it in me to be an athlete. I have very bad hand-eye coordination, poor balance and am afraid of any type of sports ball. Last time I rode a bike I was really heavy, I would say 250+, and fell down so hard some good samaritans had to help my husband lift me off the sidewalk. The problem is I get so overly stimulated I forget how to brake and run into things. Like I said, I suck.

[Karli]

Thanks, you two, for stopping by . Biki, I bet you could do it ! And, Nickie, thanks so much for being so supportive.

I weighed in at 165 this morning, and I will admit that I am pretty happy about that (since it indicates a continuing downward trend). Back to my workouts today, so we will see what happens with the scale tomorrow, but I am not going to rest my life on what it reads. For the next while I am going to rely mostly on my head (and fitday.. hee hee) to keep me sane.

I have been doing *really well* eating-wise, and that is what matters to me. My head knows that I am keeping a very good balance, and that is going to have to be enough for me for now.

As you can see, I moved my goal weight to 160. Not sure I will even get there, but, you never know. I am indeed transitioning off the 5/1, but I am not necessarily done with my weight-loss. I am still eating lots of MF (as is normal for a true transition ), but I realize that with my level of activity, trying to stay in ketosis is just silly (and really hard). It is such a relief for me to have that pressure gone. So, I have been having a lot of stuff going through me about being at this point in my journey. I feel like I learned SO MUCH from my months on --and trying to be on-- the 5/1, and I am really pleased with that.

Onto the next adventure, I guess !

More later,
Karli