Taking Off The Hand Wraps Of Moderation

[The Mouse]

 
 

Mouse Is Gettin' Srs Biz Guise
Let's lay this down straight - there's one big goal: Weigh in at <120lbs by Feb 16
 

---

UNWRAP ONE: EAT
[CHA +3, STR +1, DEX +1]
Charisma for the aesthetic results, Strength for dat protein, Dexterity for the increased movement thanks to less weight
As per usual, I will be sticking to a ketogenic (<25g net carbs) diet at a -19% deficit (1410cal at light activity, switching to moderate starting Jan 15 for 1590cal).
As for free meals, I will earn two over the course of this challenge - but only if I eat within keto for 3 weeks straight.
Grading will follow on a percentage of days in keto or not: so a score on 40, essentially.
 
UNWRAP TWO: WORKOUT
[CHA +1, STR +1, DEX +1, STA +2]
Charisma for the lovely muscles, Strength for the lifttttts, Dexterity for all that bobbin' and weavin', Stamina for the sustained bobbin' and weavin'
I've done something stupid, gais. I've totally taken the hand wraps of moderation off. My workout schedule is kinda hectic, with Mondays being Kickboxing followed by Deadlifting, Tuesdays as Karate, Wednesdays as Bench Press plus Rock Climbing, Thursdays as Rest, Fridays as Squats and new Karate club (more intense dojo!), Saturdays as Karate and Sundays as rest.
However, I will really only need a minimum of the following to count myself successful just in case I need to call it a rest on some days:

• M, W, F - lift in Reverse Pyramid Training style (which has so far proven lovely in results!)
• M - Kickboxing (1.5hrs)

Grading will be by week - a possible for four points per week for a total score of 24 (A+ earned if most other workouts above minimum are also done). If I do workouts above and beyond, those will also be awarded one point, so I may have a point score over 24 by the end of the challenge.
 
UNWRAP THREE: REST
[CON +2, WIS +2, STA +1]
Constitution for the obvious health and recovery benefits, Wisdom for finally learning this lesson, Stamina because I'm sure it'll increase in proportion
Taking cue, finally, from my buddy Zuel, I'm going to be aiming for at least 6 hours of sleep a night. I will keep track using SleepBot on my phone. This is probably going to be the hardest goal. I will allow myself 6 mistakes, for a total possible score of of 36.
 
UNWRAP LIFE: UNFUARK THE WARDROBE
[WIS +3, CHA +1, DEX +1]
Wisdom for learning to let go of things I don't need, Charisma for the inevitable increase in fashion sense, Dexterity for... a lighter on-my-feet wardrobe?
I want to organize and clear out my wardrobe. I've unfuarked my built-in closet already, so I just need to do my stand up wardrobe. I have no specific structure in mind for this goal, so it'll be more or less "pass fail".

---

FIGHTER STATS: MOUSE TO SOON-TO-BE MIGHTY

Weight: 123.8lbs (may be inaccurate, as I was bloated)

Neck: 

Bust: 

Arm:

Stomach:

Waist:

Thigh:

Deadlift: 95lbs

Bench: 80lbs

Squat: unknown (injured, previously 95lbs)

[Leonine]

Whoo-hoo, off with the gloves! These are some great goals you have Mouse, can't wait to cheer you on.

 

Also, love love love the wardrobe challenge! If you want any advice/opinions on clothes, you know where to find meh. *eyebrows*

Anyways, go get 'em!

[Kishi]

Whoa. Not that you didn't look serious before, but if the handwraps are coming off, it means you 'bout to lay the smack down on someone.

 

Reverse pyramid training for the win! Get it, and get back in the dojo!

[The Mouse]

Whoo-hoo, off with the gloves! These are some great goals you have Mouse, can't wait to cheer you on.

 

Also, love love love the wardrobe challenge! If you want any advice/opinions on clothes, you know where to find meh. *eyebrows*

Anyways, go get 'em!

Thanks, Leo~! >w<

Ohhhhh~! Fashion advice! Much needed! I'm honestly having the hardest time settling on a personal style. I want to try my hand at capsule wardrobes (ideally three, maybe four - one for spring/fall, one for winter and one for summer) plus about five pieces of active-wear. My biggest problem is I have kinda two distinct styles - a more formal/feminine one and a more casual/active one. At least, that's what I think.

 

And scarves. I love me scarves. >w< Thankfully they don't take up too much space.

 

Whoa. Not that you didn't look serious before, but if the handwraps are coming off, it means you 'bout to lay the smack down on someone.

 

Reverse pyramid training for the win! Get it, and get back in the dojo!

Ha ha, I'm really tired of not squatting/running and while I'm still not cleared to do either, I can at least do some other things, right? Plus, making progress with my bench is really making me quite happy. :3

 

For sure! Although, I feel a little conflicted - I'm not entirely sure which guild I should be a part of. Since I'm doing kickboxing + joining another karate club, I figured it places me firmly in here, but most of my structured "training" goals are closer to Warrior/Ranger/Adventurer kinda structures. I don't have any particularly monk-ish goals, but I do view my weight loss and strength building activities as benefiting my ability to fight. 

 

Advice? Oh, Guild Leader? (Or dare I say Guild Sensei? Do we say that? I'm not sure...)

 

 

UNWRAP DAY: ONE

DEADLIFTING

Monday was a good lifting day - the gym was crazy packed, so I did my 10 mins of biking to warm up and then went to go lift... No space. Did 10 knuckle push ups in frustration. Then 10 regular push ups. Then 6 close-together push ups. Then failed at doing 3 regular push ups and did some planking. Checked again. Nothing. Went to my powerlifting club's room - with some confusion and questions, they set up me on a platform alternating with this other guy doing DLs. 

 

Thought I did math right. Ended up lifting 2 sets of 8 for what I thought was my working weight of 95lbs. Felt strong. Did 2 sets of 10 at what I thought was 85ish lbs (couldn't go down for the last set any further because that would have meant finding every single training weight in the area and I figured I didn't want to look like any more of a weakling - I'm cutting, gorrammit!).

 

Turns out my heaviest was 57.5lbs. ;A; 

I calculated for the 20kg bar and used a 15kg bar without adjusting my weights. I have now made a conversion list of my DL (my Bench is too light to do anything but my work set in there and still not squatting). I will tame it next week, I swear. And, no, even though I'm short, I'm not using that 15kg bar. I wanna 20kg. 

 

KICKBOXING

Signed up for my class! Part of why I'm calling this taking off the Hand Wraps is because we got some hand wraps with registration and they look surprisingly intense. I'm hoping that the class is as hard and gruelling as I'm imagining. I tend to have little faith in group classes - the last thing I want is some tai-bo-ish cardio kickboxing thing with box steps. If we use hand wraps for that, I swear, I'm punching a wall. I'm putting my hopes in the fact that it's a co-ed class. I feel like if there's a group fitness class restricted to women, it tends to be some cardio-crap that's filled with cheery instructor messages that really put me off.

 

I hope to kick things. Lots.

[Kishi]

Well, now, hold on a minute. You said you did all these push ups and things beforehand, right? Isn't it possible that you might have depleted yourself and made this a lot harder than it normally would be?

 

I mean, shoot, that happens to me all the time. I don't think about what a workout costs me from day to day, and then when my numbers mess up, I'm like, "Why." And usually, there it is.

[The Mouse]

Maybe, but I made sure not to really do anything that would strain my back and hamstrings too much. I didn't feel extremely tired, either.

 

I think I did a lot of good stuff with the lifts, and 2 sets are better than 1, but I was more disappointed by how badly I messed up on my math, ha ha!

 

 

Also, SLEEP for day one: 8hrs

 

SCORES

DIET

1/42

WORKOUT

2/24

SLEEP

1/36

 

 

 

Now off to karate~!

[The Mouse]

UNWRAP DAY: TWO

DIET

I'm trying something new - I'm posting my MFP food logs. Please tell me if they're too big/obtrusive or if you have a better idea for posting them. I may just end up having it up as an imgur album or something.

1448cal, 90g fat, 31g net carbs (adjusted because the Chocorite info is wrong on MFP), 113g protein

 

 

WORKOUT

Karate completed! We did fundamentals and movement drills. I did something to my right hip (that muscle in the front... I've no clue how to explain it - it's the one that's engaged when you lift your leg up or control its descent down from a kick) and it's hurting mad so I'll do some extra stretching and foam rolling tonight. Hopefully it gets better quick. 

 

REST

Yesterday I slept 8hrs! And had a nasty wake-up when I accidentally kicked my laptop off my bed... I have a terrible habit of watching anime/reading articles in bed at night. That should stop, as it keeps me up later than I should be up. 

 

SCORES

DIET: 2/42

WORKOUT: 2/24

SLEEP: 1/36 (I guess I oughta make that 35, but bah. Whatever - more motivation to do well on it!)

[Kishi]

Looking good, looking good. Also, totally dropped the ball: you were asking for advice earlier:

 

 

Ha ha, I'm really tired of not squatting/running and while I'm still not cleared to do either, I can at least do some other things, right? Plus, making progress with my bench is really making me quite happy. :3

 

For sure! Although, I feel a little conflicted - I'm not entirely sure which guild I should be a part of. Since I'm doing kickboxing + joining another karate club, I figured it places me firmly in here, but most of my structured "training" goals are closer to Warrior/Ranger/Adventurer kinda structures. I don't have any particularly monk-ish goals, but I do view my weight loss and strength building activities as benefiting my ability to fight. 

 

Advice? Oh, Guild Leader? (Or dare I say Guild Sensei? Do we say that? I'm not sure...)

 

In general, my advice is to consider your mission, the overall end result of your training that you are working toward. If your end game is you being a martial artist - if that's the thing that drives you and ultimately informs your training decisions - then you're a monk. If your end game were to be an absolutely expert powerlifter, you'd be a warrior who simply did martial arts on the side.

 

It's not exactly a perfect way of looking at things, but I find it helps. Most of my training is hybrid Ranger/Assassin-y type stuff, and it's the best way I've figured to account for the dissonance.

 

(Don't you dare say Guild Sensei! We have actual sensei in the guild! Do you know the level of dead I would be if I claimed the title? D: Dead Kishi is a sad Kishi).

[RisenPhoenix]

Your challenge looks farking badass, Mouse!  I remember when you started - that Mouse would be running scared!  Nice!

[The Shogun]

Subbing to the awesomness. 

 

I hope your laptop is okay... the old grumpy man in me commands me to tell you something along the lines "it serves you right for watching anime/reading articles in bed at night".. but you slept plenty of time so, just ignore it.

[The Mouse]

Looking good, looking good. Also, totally dropped the ball: you were asking for advice earlier:

 

 

 

In general, my advice is to consider your mission, the overall end result of your training that you are working toward. If your end game is you being a martial artist - if that's the thing that drives you and ultimately informs your training decisions - then you're a monk. If your end game were to be an absolutely expert powerlifter, you'd be a warrior who simply did martial arts on the side.

 

It's not exactly a perfect way of looking at things, but I find it helps. Most of my training is hybrid Ranger/Assassin-y type stuff, and it's the best way I've figured to account for the dissonance.

 

(Don't you dare say Guild Sensei! We have actual sensei in the guild! Do you know the level of dead I would be if I claimed the title? D: Dead Kishi is a sad Kishi).

I see, I see. That makes sense. Hrm... I'm kinda in a weird spot - I love powerlifting and would love to compete in a meet next year or the year after, and I view Ranger-ish stuff as a fantastic way to build muscular and cardiovascular endurance - but I view both as being a sort of "oh, this looks like something fun to try, let's set a goal and hit it and go back to karate" kinda thing. I feel like once I reach my powerlifting goals (all lifts above 100lbs and then to "trained" standard), I'll shift my goals to bodyweight and running accomplishments, but karate will always be there.

 

(Yikes! Mouse doesn't want Dead Kishi! ...Guild... Senpai? Leader. Guild Leader.)

 

Your challenge looks farking badass, Mouse!  I remember when you started - that Mouse would be running scared!  Nice!

Ha ha, really? I still have trouble seeing the progress in the mirror sometimes, though it is there. 

Thank you, Phoenix!

 

>w<

 

Subbing to the awesomness. 

 

I hope your laptop is okay... the old grumpy man in me commands me to tell you something along the lines "it serves you right for watching anime/reading articles in bed at night".. but you slept plenty of time so, just ignore it.

Wohoo~! *high fives to the subber*

It worked okay this morning - I haven't really used it since, though. I may have to take to reading an article I'm required to read in bed, though... WAIT! NO! I can read it before my class! I can get my 6 hours of sleep! >w<

 

...And you're right - it is kinda deserved for watching anime late into the night. Fortunately, nothing seems to be updating for my favourite shows, so I get bored and figure I oughta just sleep.

 

UNWRAP DAY: THREE

DIET

I kinda feel like I'm certainly not eating enough. Either that, or I really need to fix up what I'm eating - today I was really tired and I've got a headache now, late at night. That could also be due to terrible glasses and having to read articles on the computer for school. Grargh. 

1418cal (give or take - give, most likely), 100g fat, 22g net carb, 84g protein.

 

Could probably use more protein.

 

I'm also considering switching to a Cyclical Ketogenic Diet once I hit 120lbs - or earlier, depending on the feeling of doing kickboxing and everything else. Again, I'm not sure if it's stress, bad glasses or food, but I'm not liking it. I figure I'll give it the first two weeks of start of term - give myself time to get into the swing of things, hopefully the guy will stop being so stressful (he's been having some emotional issues recently), try out a week of the kickboxing class and also try everything out with some new BCAA powder I got recently. See if that has a significant effect on my recovery times, which it is advertised to do, and I'm also wanting to get used to it for when I begin Leangains and do fasted training. 

WORKOUT

Bench day complete! I swear to Brodin, my gym needs to buy more 10lbs plates and collars. There were none, but an abundance of 5lb plates, so I looked silly stacking 15lbs on there. RPT style training: 80lbs > 75lbs > 70lbs. It was pretty tough today. Arms and shoulders still sore from my frustrated push ups from Monday and some movement techniques from yesterday.

Also, went climbing! It was really packed, so we (my guy and a coworker of ours - the one who booked a trip to Everest "on a whim") only got 4 routes in each while bouldering. I did the first three fairly easy, but the last one I tried twice and just couldn't do. My toe was cramping bad from the shoes, and I was definitely feeling the bench press while trying to haul myself up there. Got to one where if I had the confidence and a bit more endurance, I could push myself up and to the right to make it to a hand-hold, but I felt like I'd fall off the wall and clip myself or really jam my toe, so I bailed. Kinda gracefully.

Felt great, though. Will go every week that I can. :3

 

SLEEP

Day Two's sleep was just over 6 hours. Kinda fitsy and I had a hard time falling asleep due to some back pain and a bit of a deep talk with the guy, but it was a nice and restful sleep. I do feel like 6 hours isn't enough with my level of activity, though. But with my courses pouring in with their loads and three guaranteed late nights a week, I'm not sure I can get more than 6 hours. Maybe I can nap during the day, though. 

 

SCORES

DIET

3/42

WORKOUT

3/24

(2/24 actual points, 1 bonus)

REST

2/36

[Leonine]

Thanks, Leo~! >w<

Ohhhhh~! Fashion advice! Much needed! I'm honestly having the hardest time settling on a personal style. I want to try my hand at capsule wardrobes (ideally three, maybe four - one for spring/fall, one for winter and one for summer) plus about five pieces of active-wear. My biggest problem is I have kinda two distinct styles - a more formal/feminine one and a more casual/active one. At least, that's what I think.

 

And scarves. I love me scarves. >w< Thankfully they don't take up too much space.

 

Sounds like my wardrobe!! I have two pairs of jeans, 5 shirts, 4 sweaters, some light jackets, 2 heavy jackets and BOATLOADS of scarves. :3 I started doing capsule wardrobes over the summer, and oh my goodness, getting dressed is such a walk in the park now. Laundry's done more often, but so worth it. Totally recommend! I think the biggest challenge will be catering to both your styles, but I know you can do it!

 

Boulder's so fun, I'm glad you liked it. I've only been a couple times, but I have having such a ball I didn't even realize I was working out, really.

 

...What anime are you watching? :3

[The Mouse]

Sounds like my wardrobe!! I have two pairs of jeans, 5 shirts, 4 sweaters, some light jackets, 2 heavy jackets and BOATLOADS of scarves. :3 I started doing capsule wardrobes over the summer, and oh my goodness, getting dressed is such a walk in the park now. Laundry's done more often, but so worth it. Totally recommend! I think the biggest challenge will be catering to both your styles, but I know you can do it!

 

Boulder's so fun, I'm glad you liked it. I've only been a couple times, but I have having such a ball I didn't even realize I was working out, really.

 

...What anime are you watching? :3

Sounds lovely! Have any tips for paring down or establishing a style? Or how to use what you've got to not just keep wearing the same things over and over? I feel like that'll be my biggest problem - I'm not creative with my wardrobe at all, ha ha!

 

Yeah, I love climbing! I used to go all the time when I was younger with my dad, but then I got lazy. XD

 

I've got a few - Toriko and Log Horizon are my favourites right now, though I prefer Log Horizon. I'm kinda watching Coppellion (sp?) and this other series I forgot the name of, but not as much as I harp for new episodes of Toriko and Log Horizon. I'm liking how Log Horizon is taking a more sociological and economic view of what would happen in the "caught in VR" concept - a lot more realistic and engaging to me than what Sword Art Online is doing. Kinda like how I remember .hack// to have been. ... I honestly didn't know I had such a strong opinion of anime, ha ha! Well, TIL.

 

Do you watch? 

[The Mouse]

Sometimes I hate my job... I'm not getting 6 hours of sleep tonight, that's for sure. ;A;

 

I'll be back to post my UNWRAP DAY: FOUR results in a moment.

[WarfighterKev]

Hey Mouse,

 

Just dropping in - I'm a fellow martial artist who enjoys moving weight around in the gym. I've gotta say, I'm super impressed with the training plan you've set up. How are you enjoying the reverse pyramid training? I pretty much stick to sets of 10-12 reps on light days and 3-5 reps on heavy days, increasing the weight each set (3-4 sets per exercise). It's worked well for me, but I've heard people really rave about the reverse pyramid. 

 

In any case, keep up the good work! All that lifting and rock climbing will make you a beast in the dojo!

 

All the best,

 

WarfighterKev

[The Mouse]

Kev! I see you! I'm just gonna write this out before I forget everything, then I'll respond to ya. :3

 

UNWRAP DAY: FOUR

DIET

1160cal (approx, probably a bit higher), 65g fat, 25g carbs, 82g protein

I know, I know. I had a fair breakfast, but I think it was just way too early in the morning for me. I wish restaurants served breakfast all day, 'cause I love me eggs and bacon at lunch time. I'm just not sure if scrambled eggs reheat well...

Also, the Broccoli Bread recipe I tried from ProteinPow.com really sucked... Made me sad. ;A;

I bought Pea Protein just for that recipe, so I'll have to experiment around with it a lot to make it work - I think adding some cream and some sweetener or salt and maybe broth would work well.

WORKOUT

Well-deserved rest day today, I think. Though I will do 15mins of stretching, my physio exercises and will be icing my knee and heating up my shoulders. 

I feel very, very dead and almost fell asleep in my afternoon class - I don't usually hit a wall at that time. Could've been because of lack of food, lack of sleep, stress or keto transition. We'll see.

 

REST

6hrs of sleep last night, and a few catnaps during the day. Personally, I feel I could use more, though.

 

SCORE

DIET

3/42

WORKOUT

2/24 + 1

REST

3/36

 

Also, I feel like I can look forward to the weigh in on Sunday. :3

Kinda 'cause I'm no longer so bloated.

[The Mouse]

Hey Mouse,

 

Just dropping in - I'm a fellow martial artist who enjoys moving weight around in the gym. I've gotta say, I'm super impressed with the training plan you've set up. How are you enjoying the reverse pyramid training? I pretty much stick to sets of 10-12 reps on light days and 3-5 reps on heavy days, increasing the weight each set (3-4 sets per exercise). It's worked well for me, but I've heard people really rave about the reverse pyramid. 

 

In any case, keep up the good work! All that lifting and rock climbing will make you a beast in the dojo!

 

All the best,

 

WarfighterKev

WarfighterKev! Great to meet ya!

Really glad to hear from another weightlifting monk! >w<

 

That sounds like a nice structure to me, actually. Might have to give that a shot sometime, ha ha!

I really like RPT actually. I used to do Starting Strength, and when I was researching IF and Leangains, I came across Reverse Pyramid Training. When I did the Starting Strength format, my lifts stalled at DL 95, Squat 85-90? (can't remember, it's been a while due to injury), and Bench at 70-75. 

 

I took a break before starting RPT and my lifts had fallen to: DL 90 and Bench 70. It was really hard for me to do either when I started with those weights as my work sets. But I loved how it felt and made a 5lbs gain in both lifts that week. I feel I can do 100lbs on the DL next week and, if I stick to the Bench for a week or so and don't tire my arms out at karate the day before, two Wednesdays from now I might make a gain on Bench again.

 

So, strength-wise, I'd say it works better for me than SS. It also works better timewise, as my lifting takes 15 mins in its entirety and gives me the time I need to stretch and do physio on my knee at the gym when I can find a band. Mind you, as I've been on a fair cutting diet since April, I expected to stall my lifts. It could be that switching things up has been the factor that's pushed out a bit of a strength gain.

 

I plan to continue RPT, at least until I get on Leangains and improve my lifts to all 100+ or whatever the "trained" standard is - I keep forgetting. XP

 

Hope that helps!

 

And thank you! I'm hoping that it'll all help, ha ha! We have a belt test coming up the third week of February, so this challenge is a perfect chance to motivate me to train for it. :3

Also, gonna go hop over to your thread for a quick look-see! >w<

[Kishi]

Ooh, eek. Hitting the wall in the middle of the day. Not cool. But as you said, your body's in a great deal of transition at this point. I'd chalk it up to that, myself. No reason not to be optimistic, right?

[The Mouse]

Ooh, eek. Hitting the wall in the middle of the day. Not cool. But as you said, your body's in a great deal of transition at this point. I'd chalk it up to that, myself. No reason not to be optimistic, right?

I'd say it would be transition, yeah. It's similar in feeling to when I first tried the keto diet.

Monday, kickboxing starts, as well as the Friday karate classes, so I figure I'll try two weeks at that. If the Standard Keto Diet doesn't work, I'll try Targeted Keto (basically have some quick carbs - easily digested, like gummies or Shot Blox) just before working out. We'll see how everything works.

 

Awright, gonna upload my food diary and write up my daily summary.

[The Mouse]

UNWRAP DAY: FIVE

DIET

1487cal+ (had some snacks - bites of some protein bars, and bites of some treats which I didn't count), 104g fat, 26g net carbs, 102g protein

WORKOUT

I felt super tired today, damn. Like, fall asleep on a recumbent bike kind of tired. Despite a cup of coffee this morning.

I also cut my workout a bit short today - half because of time constraints (hating how cardio is packed) and half because of my knee not used to using an elliptical. I figure, better safe than sorry.

I did 20mins on the elliptical, 1:30 of planks (3x30s), 3x10 regular sit ups, 3x10 weighted Russian Twists, 3x10 reverse sit ups and a butt-load of stretching and foam rollering.

 

My forearms are still sore from climbing...

 

REST

I didn't sleep 6 hours - I came in at 4.4 hours, but I added a 1.7 hour nap to that, bringing the total to 6.1 hours over the day. I'll count this as a success, I guess, as I usually don't nap.

 

SCORES

DIET

5/42 (added an extra point 'cause I think I forgot Monday)

WORKOUT

3/24, +1

REST

4/36

[Kishi]

Well, it's the weekend now, so you can get some rest in addition to everything else. Hopefully that helps.

[The Mouse]

So, got the rest Kishi was talking about. But at the same time, I broke my keto/1410cal diet rules today. I still ate under or at maintenance (can't be sure of the exact nutritional values of stuff, but I think I estimated higher than they are).

I don't have too many good reasons for breaking my diet, but I've been having the worst day in a while with two breakdowns and some definite physical tiredness. However, I broke the diet with a treat (Pinkberry frozen yogurt) with the boy while on a date namely because even thinking about it, the idea scared me. And I don't think it serves me to be scared of carbs or of treating myself - especially when I'm not eating above my maintenance calories in any case.

Also, having some mussles Gorgonzola at a friend's birthday party - counting this as a bit of a "free" meal namely because of the small amount of bread it comes with and the fact that I've no clue about the actual nutrition for it.

[Kishi]

Yup.

 

This is why I'm all for strategic use of breaks from the regular diet. It's not just the food. It's the psychology of it. Setting yourself at a lower caloric intake requires willpower. Keeping there requires a constant infusion of willpower. And you want to keep that going during the weekend? That's even more. On the weekend at a social engagement? Even more.

 

And if you're doing all of that from a place of no rest and a pair of breakdowns? Then not only are you dealing with a severe handicap on the amount of willpower being drawn - you're also dealing with a huge handicap in terms of how much willpower you have to draw on.

 

I'd say you made the right call. You get a mental break today, and you get a leptin reset, which in turn should boost your results going forward, for the next couple days at least.

 

Don't worry! Remember, any good plan of eating is successful without a 100% commitment. You're doin' fine and on track to rock, so keep it up!

[The Mouse]

Leptin reset? Tell me more - that sounds interesting!

 

Thanks, Kishi. I am getting concerned with how I'm beginning to treat food - I do have a bit of a naturally obsessive mindset, and I want to avoid building unhealthy habits. I'm not sure if tonight's insecurities were due to the beginnings of bad mindsets to food, or because I was already really emotionally messed up from other issues, but cutting loose was a good call. 

 

Although the dinner choice I made wasn't exactly what I had in mind - I ordered mussles gorgonzola, which I thought was mussles siciliana... Didn't like that at all. Gorgonzola came out in a cream sauce. I'm used to "gorgonzola" meaning a clear broth-like soup with tomatoes and a whole whack of awesome tasting spices, but that's what it's called at a different restaurant (which went by the same name, strangely). So... basically mussles in alfredo. Really didn't like it and I felt it was something of karmic justice for not ordering a salad - probably not a healthy way to view that mix up. 

 

But got home and had some berries and that feels cleaner on my stomach and palette. 

 

UNWRAP DAY: FIVE

DIET

As outlined above, definitely a break today. Unplanned, but necessary.

1840cal (still below my "maintenance" levels if I estimated my calories right), unknown macro breakdown. Defs not enough protein.

WORKOUT

Rest day, karate was cancelled. Did a walking date with the boy at the mall, including playing some video games which were namely stand-up shooters at the arcade plus some air hockey. Not a workout, but not a sedentary date either.

 

REST

Slept, like, 9 hours. Lovely. >w<

Had a nice and restful day, too.

 

SCORES

DIET

5/42 (0pts today)

WORKOUT

3/24, +1 (0pts today)

REST

5/36

[Kishi]

Sure! So, the idea behind a leptin reset goes something like this:

 

Leptin is a hormone that is contained within your fatty tissues. When leptin is at a high level in the body, it regulates other hormones like thyroid hormones T3 and T4. Higher presence of these two hormones allows you to burn fat faster. This high presence can either be a natural result of obesity - lots of highly developed fat cells - or a manipulated result due to caloric intake. The higher your calories, the higher the presence of leptin. The lower your caloric intake goes, though, and the more fat you burn, the less leptin you have in your body, which means less T3 and T4, and less fat burning.

 

Fantastic, you know, for survival's sake, but not so good if you're trying to burn fat off.

 

So, one way to make sure that leptin remains in a relatively elevated state is to strategically boost your caloric intake to jack the levels back up again temporarily, then going back to the deficit. Typically, this takes the form of a 'cheat day' or 'cheat meal' that shouldn't extend beyond a day or so. Typical recommendation is for this to be once per week, but there is a thought that some more lean trainees can go for twice a week without consequence.

 

Hopefully that gives you another avenue to explore, and maybe relieve some pressure without feeling guilt.