Time to assess where I’m at with exercise, and with eating in a way that raises my ketones but is not strictly ketogenic i.e. I’m eating high protein and not the high fat of that diet.
Prior to February last year I was doing 6 hours of weight training in the gym each week, along with three or four combinations of walking and jogging over a few miles. The latter, without getting into technicalities of VO2 Max, was because I knew I wasn’t getting out-of-breath enough. One of the realities of exercise I’ve learned that it is often what you want to do the least that you need the most. At the time I wasn’t paying much attention to my carbs and as a result, even though I put on a lot of muscle, I ballooned to 200lbs. I saw that on the scale on Feb 25th, noted the acquisition of an extra chin and decided that wasn’t good enough.
Starting out with a couple of fasts I ate my way through remaining carbs in the house and bought no more. Prior to coming to Crete I ate my way though remaining food so on the last day had something like a couple of eggs and a handful of nuts. I arrived in Crete during Easter and, the shops being closed, I ate tinned sardines and some chickpeas over a few days. Then when I could shop I bought only meat, eggs and veg. I’ve detailed in other posts what happened thereafter: constant high ketones, an initial big drop in weight followed by a steady loss of a couple of pounds a week. During Spring into Summer as I my garden started producing I lived on salads with the addition sardines and boiled eggs, followed later by a second small plate of nuts, cheese, sausage and pickles in the evening. Meanwhile I hit the gym here doing the usual 6 hours (but in temperatures much higher) and started walking and jogging in the mountains – substantially different from Essex with slopes that are in places as much as 45 degrees.
Weight loss has continued but has been slowing down while muscle has increased. My average weight last week was 174lbs – so a 26lbs loss – while my waist measurement around at the level of the belly button has gone down from 40” to 34”. The latter is a great look in a T-shirt but not so appealing without, since I have wrinkled skin on my belly because of all the fat that has disappeared. The same applies to my arse, which I am now down on the bones of while being able to pinch up an inch or more of skin. So where do I stop?
According to even the inaccurate measures of BMI I am now in the healthy range. However, I’m aware that by no means have I shed my accumulation of fat and, more importantly, insulin-resistant fat, of the last 30 or so years. My ‘fighting weight’ when I was in my mid twenties was 154lbs (Shotokan karate, 2-3 lessons a week prior to club competitions at Crystal Palace), but getting there would be ridiculous. I do have a lot more muscle than I did then so maybe at 20lbs heavier I’m about right? I’m not sure. It could be that my perception of fat around my middle is all due to the amount of loose skin I now have, though there is still a lump of something under it around the belly button. .
Damn it. As part of my gym routine I’m now doing 150 sit ups on an inclined bench and other abs exercises. I will keep going as I am until I can actually see the abs I’m building. Only then will it be time to assess matters and maybe increase my calorie intake. However, with the results I’ve had I’m never going back to eating processed carbs. Maybe some fruit or sweet potatoes as a treat, but that’s all.
