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April 2018 Challenge

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  • Mrs_Hoffer
    Mrs_Hoffer Posts: 5,194 Member
    I'm so glad that I found this group! I love reading through all of your posts and trying to get to know some of you and your victories as well as your "tests". I started back on MFP on 3/18 and began just wanting to try to give up sugar. Then I ran across an article in a magazine about a Keto Diet.... So I actually didn't start doing keto until March 20 - (Wow, I just realized it's been 1 month already! So I've officially lost 10.2 lbs my first 4 weeks.

    I love that I'm not bloated and uncomfortable after meals... I'm not sleepy in the afternoons... I'm not starving all of the time.... and when I watch my macros closely, I have no problem staying around 1430 cals per day (and I'm not counting cals at all - just carbs, fat, protein).

    I know I'm late to the party, but I hope you'll let me join this challenge for April!
    (I have been keeping track of my weight loss on my calendar, so here are my numbers below).
    My goal is to lose 3 more lbs in April and end the month hopefully down a total of 6 lbs. for April.

    WE CAN DO THIS!! (My SW on 3/18/18 was 223.4)

    Sunday 04/01 - 216.8
    Sunday 04/08 - 214.0
    Sunday 04/15 - 213.2
    Sunday 04/22
    Sunday 04/29
  • eggfooyamyam
    eggfooyamyam Posts: 196 Member
    edited April 2018
    @stormywxs288 That's awesome!!! You've been such an inspiration! I agree with you all the way about this not being a diet but a continued path to healthy and vibrant living. I just exited the "obese" BMI range and I'm so proud of myself, and everyone who is part of this group.

    Welcome @Mrs_Hoffer, nice progress so far!!!
  • chinatowninchina
    chinatowninchina Posts: 1,279 Member
    Hi All. as ever you are posting such great stuff here and as I am on holiday right now and just up after far tooooo many carbs in the shape of ice cream last night oh and wine, some of these posts about not beating ourself up but moving right on were just what I needed, that doesn't mean to say I won't have more ice cream today, it's stinking hot and only 10am......... >:)
  • chinatowninchina
    chinatowninchina Posts: 1,279 Member
    JoannaVenuto wrote: »
    My lab results are back, and my body is basically attacking my thyroid which in turn is causing all my hormones to be out of whack and causing me to feel extremely exhausted just minutes after waking up. This also slows down all the processes in my body, including my metabolism.

    I have a sensitivity to carbs and my doctor said that my fasting blood sugar would have been higher if I wasn't on keto.

    My insulin resistance is a concern too; according to my doc, my insulin is storing all the food I eat as fat instead of letting me use it as fuel, which adds to my feeling low on energy...I hate you right now, insulin.

    So, essentially, my body is a fat storing beast from hell. I am glad my weight situation isn't worse.

    My triglycerides and cholesterol are excellent, though :) gotta thank that bacon and butter, keto is amazing!

    @eggfooyamyam, I know you had asked about my results, here they are!
    I am so relieved to finally know what the issue is with me. It's not the end of the world, just something else I will conquer.

    Hi Joanna, at least you know it's not something you aren't doing and that the way you've stuck to it has actually helped with some of the results. Keep us posted about the next stage for you and what your doctor suggests to help. You've been doing amazingly with the 'beast from hell' working against you now hopefully you will find a way to make it work for you. It may take some time but at least you have the knowledge now and can start checking out what will help. Hugs! <3<3
  • rae1388
    rae1388 Posts: 45 Member
    Last night it just accured to me that I might be focusing on the wrong thing....
    When you tract your macros, do you just focus on the % between carbs/fat/protein, or do you actually try to reach the suggested grams per c/f/p? Technically if you are hitting the grams on all of them then you are hitting the % too, but I usually just typically focus on the % over all of them, not going over 15g in carbs, and getting close to my target of about 1200 calories. But that doesn't always mean I am hitting the suggested grams target in fat and protein, although I do try not to go over the suggested amount, but I rarely get to that point because my calorie target kind of keeps that from getting too high.

    Has anyone done it both ways? Just focused on the % for a little while and then just focused on hitting the grams target? Did your body react differently to the 2?

    Should I switch my focus a little? Or should I keep what I'm doing for now since I've only been on Keto since the end of March to wait to see how my body is really is reacting to what I am doing, and if I get to a point to where I'm not seeing results, then switch my focus to see if that helps?
  • NikkiJRM
    NikkiJRM Posts: 328 Member
    @rae1388 I don't look at % at all. For a long time I was just tracking carb grams, but my protein wasn't where it needed to be. Now I mostly track protein 100-120g minumum, and carbs around 40g (25net). I let fat fall where ever it wants to as long as I'm not going over my daily calorie goal. Sometimes I fall at around 1400 calories, other days it's 800-1000. Depends on how lean my meat is for the day and if I cooked stuff in butter.
  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,103 Member
    @rae1388

    I think a lot of us get caught in the trap of making this harder than it has to be.

    If this are currently working for you, keep on working that aspect, learning more, and only change when you need to change something to keep momentum/progress going...

    When we try to fine tune things to boost existing progress, try to do better/faster losses, etc., we often screw up what was actually working!
  • eggfooyamyam
    eggfooyamyam Posts: 196 Member
    edited April 2018
    @NikkiJRM Thanks for sharing your history. I think I'm also going to try a higher protein and carb intake and see how my results go.

    I have been very focused on fat, so much so that I eat cream cheese to boost my calories or fat intake which is currently set at 117g for a 1389 calorie diet. My protein is set to around 65g and I wonder if that's too low. Today I intentionally ate carbs in the form of pastry for the first time in 7 weeks, but generally, my carbs are very low at 20g net. My metabolism is very sluggish (I also haven't started exercising yet) and I'm ready to try higher protein to see if that helps. But wondering if a higher protein is for people doing HIIT. Any feedback is welcome, and I think needed....
  • cgcrutch
    cgcrutch Posts: 223 Member
    I dont post my progress update if I've gained since the previous week... I don't need that kinda negativity being recorded LOL! I only wanna see a downward trend o:)
  • NikkiJRM
    NikkiJRM Posts: 328 Member
    @eggfooyamyam There are several keto-friendly macro calculators you can use so it's not a guessing game. My scale says I'm at around 117lbs lean muscle, so I try to get around 100g protein to ensure I'm not losing muscle. I lost about 6 lean lbs between October and March. Since I've increased my protein (kept calories the same) my lean mass has stayed the same, but I've continued losing fat. At my current height & weight the calculator has me set at 93g protein, 25g net carbs and 86g fat. It works out to 30/8/62 at 1250 calories. This is just me and it works for me, for now. That may change. What was working for me 6 months ago isn't working now.

    https://ketogains.com/ketogains-calculator/
  • xDaniDragonflyx
    xDaniDragonflyx Posts: 201 Member
    @rae1388
    I never even thought about tracking the %... I didn't even know that I could switch views on MFP until this week and then I was like, what good is that for? :lol: I don't even know what my macros look like as a %, but that is something to think about.

    On another note, I'm trying IF today. OMG, I had to keep myself so busy so I wouldn't think about food or being hungry. I drank two bottles of water, and got done all kinds of meal prep stuff (so difficult when hungry), but it has worked out so far. Interested to see my weigh in on Sunday. ^_^
  • eggfooyamyam
    eggfooyamyam Posts: 196 Member
    @NikkiJRM The calculator you linked to gave me very different results than the one I was using from Ruled Me. I'm going to try it, Thanks!

    Whose working out? How often? What do you do? How did/does it change your Macros? How do you find the time? Etc...

    I keep very busy some days. I walk often. But, with the exception of one attempt to start running, I have yet to start "Working Out". When I do get a window to do it I'm so happy to have alone time I just sit and watch Keto videos or a show.

  • stormywxs288
    stormywxs288 Posts: 811 Member
    edited April 2018
    I feel lucky to be a guy. I use the MFP calorie calculator set at lightly active and 1 pound a week loss. It tells me my calorie target is currently 1790 per day. I usually use % for macros but I have used grams as well. I also like to use the nutrition tab on my phone version of MFP to see how my menu looks on the pie-chart. For me I hardly ever have to adjust my carbs or protein. However, I find I have to adjust my dietary fat often.

    It used to freak me out to add fat because it seemed counter intuitive to add fat to lose weight. However, I’ve gotten over that and have found delicious ways to add dietary fat to meet my macros. Here’s another reason I think I may have guy privilege. Eating only two meals a day I hardly ever even approach my 1790 cals/day. In fact, most days I’m way below and it has resulted in steady weight loss for most of my 15 weeks on keto.

    One thing I think we can all agree on is that we are all different. We are experiments of one. And I feel lucky to be a guy who can eat 1790 cals/day and still lose weight.
  • Freischuetz
    Freischuetz Posts: 147 Member
    edited April 2018
    i lift regular and also do endurance sports, male, 6.0‘, 174 lb

    i started with 0.8 gr / lean lb... and i really tried not to do over with protein. WAY to less

    i tried with 1.0 / 1.2... still not enough (i tried all of them for 3-4 weeks)

    1.5 gr / lean lb and lowering my fat intake seems to work for me at maintainance or call it recomp. (thats around 230 gr of protein)

    carbs are around 20 - 25 gr / day and fat i eat sometimes to reach my goal, if i eat less fat, it seems no problem at all. just hungry next day...

    edit: my wife is doing same sports, and she had similar troubles with protein as i had
  • mznik114
    mznik114 Posts: 82 Member
    chinatowninchina wrote: »
    [quote

    stick on in there it will come off, lots of us do this down and up down and up but as long as the trend is down it may take a while but you'll get there <3

    Thanks so much! I'm hanging in there!!
  • rae1388
    rae1388 Posts: 45 Member
    eggfooyamyam wrote: »
    @NikkiJRM The calculator you linked to gave me very different results than the one I was using from Ruled Me. I'm going to try it, Thanks!

    Whose working out? How often? What do you do? How did/does it change your Macros? How do you find the time? Etc...

    I keep very busy some days. I walk often. But, with the exception of one attempt to start running, I have yet to start "Working Out". When I do get a window to do it I'm so happy to have alone time I just sit and watch Keto videos or a show.

    @eggfooyamyam I am obsessed with Zumba. I do it about 3 times a week, and then I walk or sometimes play Just Sweat(Just Dance) for like 20 minutes. Haha. I just try to do some kind of workout of some kind everyday to get my steps in. I will even jog in place while watching TV. I might eat a little more the days I do a lot, but otherwise I don't typically change my macros.
  • shizzlebeef
    shizzlebeef Posts: 26 Member
    edited April 2018
    SW: 256.4 1/06/2018

    4/01/2018 222
    4/08/2018 221
    4/15/2018 218
    4/21/2018 218

    What in the heck. April is not turning out like I want to. Either I’m started to put on some muscle or not. Gotta start measuring myself cuz I had to make a hole in my belt and that is starting to feel loose. Maybe 214 is achievable.

    I wonder, I’m doing OMAD. Should I be eating all the protein and fat amounts or is it good if I stay under? I wonder if not eating my daily amount is hindering my weight lose. Thoughts?
  • AliEmoXxOo
    AliEmoXxOo Posts: 18 Member
    SW:240
    Sunday 04/01- 223.4
    Sunday 04/08 220.4
    Sunday 04/15 217.6
    Sunday 04/22 216.8
    Sunday 04/29

    Kinda bummed that I’m losing weight so slowly. I’m not super strict on my carb intake, I have my macros set to 44 grams of total carbs per day (10% for me) but I rarely get that high or go over, and I’ve been at or under my calorie limit most days. I’m still going to keto on because I feel better and don’t feel super hungry all the time, I just feel like in the past when I cut calories but ate whatever I want I initially lost weight faster. I guess I’ll try to get more strict and see what happens.
  • rae1388
    rae1388 Posts: 45 Member
    mznik114 wrote: »
    **Happy Dance** :p;) Getting better and better at pushing forward! This week I was faced with a work birthday party with my FAVORITE cake! I cannot believe I didn't indulge. Later in the week I was faced with pizza...again...my FAVORITE! I'm so glad I chose to say no and turn my attention to something else! Not sure that it will ever get easier...but one day at a time!

    @mznik114 That's so awesome that you stayed strong and turned away from PIZZA and CAKE! I know that wasn't easy. Way to go!
  • Mehs
    Mehs Posts: 73 Member
    edited April 2018
    I wasnt super strict with my carbs this week but unlike last week, this time I tried. Gonna keep trying because it did pay off somewhat.
    4/6- 198.7
    Sunday 04/08: 197.6
    Sunday 04/15: 197.8. (+0.2)
    Sunday 04/22: 196.2. (-1.4)
    Not a huge drop but it went down :)
  • rae1388
    rae1388 Posts: 45 Member
    shizzlebeef wrote: »
    SW: 256.4 1/06/2018

    4/01/2018 222
    4/08/2018 221
    4/15/2018 218
    4/21/2018 218

    What in the heck. April is not turning out like I want to. Either I’m started to put on some muscle or not. Gotta start measuring myself cuz I had to make a hole in my belt and that is starting to feel loose. Maybe 214 is achievable.

    I wonder, I’m doing OMAD. Should I be eating all the protein and fat amounts or is it good if I stay under? I wonder if not eating my daily amount is hindering my weight lose. Thoughts?

    @shizzlebeef I don't know anything about OMAD personally, but I've heard that regardless of how many times you eat a day you still should try to hit your calorie and macro goals.
    I think it's better to see your pants feeling looser and having to tighten your belt, than the # on the scale. That's awesome! You should be happy about that. Unless you have a scale that is checking your fat & muscle % and are keeping up with those numbers, (I have one and watch them but don't 100% trust that it's completely accurate,) but just because your total weight didn't go down, doesn't mean that you didn't lose body fat. Way to go! I definitely think that is a win.
  • stormywxs288
    stormywxs288 Posts: 811 Member
    edited April 2018
    Keto week 15 was not good for me. What I should say is KetoISH week 15 was not good for me. By ketoish, I mean high fat and high sugar (Not a good combo). I didn’t just over indulge in keto food, I caved to plain old sugar. Two nonketo (NK) luncheons and two NK dinners kind of set the stage for my bad week. I could have faired fine if I just managed those 4 occasions better but I didn’t.

    Instead I used the old, I’ve blown it already - I might as well write off the rest of the day, excuse to indulge in other NK things. Results – for the only the second time in my 15 weeks of keto I gained weight. No worries though! I’m back on the real deal keto trail with no distractions in the for seeable future.

    Here’s another thing I’ve noticed happens to me on ketoISH days/weeks. I have cravings that I struggle to fight off. When I’m keto clean I don’t seem to have cravings. When I do cave it seems to lead to another caving, then another, then another…….. I’m not trying to make excuses, but I think 4 NK eating events in one week overwhelmed the good habits I’ve been trying to build with keto. It has shown me that my old bad habits are out there just waiting for a crack in my keto plan to rush back in.

    This week I gained 2.0 pounds putting me back to 166.4lbs and under 39 lbs lost again. I’m NOT going to set outcome (weight or BF%) goals for the rest of April or May. Instead my goals will be performance (keto clean or tracking) goals. That way my goals will be on me to accomplish, instead of me hoping the scale will have an outcome I desire. If you don’t play you can’t win! That said, my goal is to eat Keto Clean and track every day until May.


  • phytogurl
    phytogurl Posts: 671 Member
    SW: 183
    CW: 175.5

    Sunday 04/01=180
    Sunday 04/08=179.5
    Sunday 04/15=177.7
    Sunday 04/22=175.5
    Sunday 04/29

    Happy with my weight progress this week, however i received my blood work and it's not the greatest. It's expected after a year of eating junky carbs and whatever i want. My doctor was debating on whether to put me on cholesterol meds, but we are going to wait until the next blood test in 6 months. He told me to stay away from sweets and carbs and is all on board with a low carb diet!


  • NikkiJRM
    NikkiJRM Posts: 328 Member
    @shizzlebeef I read recently that your body can only absorb so much protein from each meal. I'm not sure what it does with the rest after it's absorbed what it can but that's something I'm still looking into. If you're strength training you can fuel yourself pre & post workout to ensure your muscles are getting the protein needed to build. More lean muscle means more calorie burning. Maybe try something new and see if it works. If not you can go back to OMAD, or do OMAD on rest days.

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