Kettlebells kicked my a$$!!!

I've been less sore after marathons!

And this was only an introductory class!

My next class in on Wednesday. Then next Saturday. I'm determined to learn the correct technique. This afternoon I'm going for a hike, I'll be going very very slow.

Today begins week 2 of my 16/8 fasts. Kettlebells may take some getting used to but fasting 16 hours a day is very easy for me. I was planning on doing it for 6 weeks, then re-evaluating but I think I'll stop counting the days. This is the way I'll be eating indefinitely. It's like how I felt with eating LCHF. At first it was a test, now it's what I do everyday.

My next experiment will be how long I can stay in Nutritional Ketosis. Seems as if I can stay above .5 for a couple days, even a week, then I'll slip back down to .3 or .4. I know the reason is too many carbs, even when I'm only eating in an 8 hour window. It's so easy to eat extra nuts or berries in the afternoon.

I'm waiting on more ketone strips, as soon as they arrive I'll begin my NK streak.

Day 6

and I'm out of ketone strips! ACK!!

My order from the Canadian pharamcy should be arriving any day now. Until then, I can only test my glucose.

Here's today's numbers..

Fasting glucose  100 (I don't believe this is a true number but I'll put it down anyway)
Ketones   .7
Eating window, the usual 11am to 7pm.

Tomorrow I'm going to my first kettlebell class. ACK!!

Day 5

Despite saying the contrary, I decided to check my numbers today. I was with my boss at 11am so I checked my blood late this afternoon. My numbers were taken about 3 hours after a lunch comprised of a mushroom, cheese omelet with a side of salsa (delicious!).

Glucose  71
Ketones  .8

I knew that yesterday's triple digit glucose number was wrong. It's nice to have it confirmed.

Despite being with my boss all day, I was able to stick with my 16/8 plan. I had a big cup of coffee for breakfast, then we had lunch around 11:30. This way of eating is very easy for me, I don't experience any hunger pangs. Being in nutritional ketosis rocks!

Day 4

I think my glucose meter is playing a trick on me.

I fasted from 7pm last night until 11am today. I took my glucose reading before my first meal of the day. It was 111.

111!!! WTF!!

I re-tested a few minutes later and the reading came down to 101. It's still too high, I think it's not correct. I didn't want to use another precious glucose strip so I'll just see what happens on my next reading.

On a happier note, my ketone reading was 1.3.

Tomorrow I'm working all day with my boss. He already thinks I'm weird by not eating grains or sugar. I don't want to add fuel to the fire by taking blood samples at 11am. I'll skip a day and resume on Friday.

Day 3

Fasting Glucose   87
Ketones  .7
Eating window  11am to 5:30pm

I was working out of town yesterday and ordered room service for dinner. I had a caprese salad with a steak. I ate too many tomatoes and the dressing probably had too many carbs.

I'm back home now, hopefully my numbers will go back up tomorrow.

Day 2

of the 16/8 experiment.

The ketones are rising!

Fasting Glucose  77
Ketones  1.6
Eating window   11am to 7pm

Onward to Day 3...

Another experiment

this time with intermittent fasting.

I usually do Brad Pillon's Eat Stop Eat plan. Two days a week I fast from dinner to dinner the next day. Two 24 hour fasts.

I decided to switch things up and do a 16 hour daily fast. I've been doing some research on this type of fasting and am interested to see how it will work for me. I'm going to eat from around 11am to 7pm.

Before I eat my first meal, I'll check my blood. I'll be very curious to see how this type of fasting affects my ketones. My schedule has been eating breakfast around 9am, skipping lunch because I'm not hungry, then testing my blood around 3pm. My ketones have ranged from .8 to 1.4. I'll be interested to see if a daily fast changes my numbers.

I plan to do this experiment for 6 weeks. I'll post my numbers on a daily basis.

Today is Day 1. I finished eating dinner last night around 6:45. It's 10:40am, just coffee until 11. Time to prick my finger...

Fasting Glucose  63
Ketones  .3

Aaarghh...my ketones suck.
Let's see what this daily fasting does to them.

My 24 hour experiment

Inspired by Jimmy Moore, I decided to test my ketones and glucose several times over a 24 hour period. Here's the numbers..

9pm   Glucose  77  Ketones 1.0    Dinner was about 3 hours earlier
7am   Glucose  68  Ketones  .2     Before breakfast
6pm   Glucose  71  Ketones  1.7   Last meal was breakfast at 9am

In about 2 hours I'll check my numbers before I go to bed.

UPDATE...about 2 hours after dinner my glucose was 87 and ketones were .6
My numbers bounce all over the place!

One week of no baking

and one week of staying in Nutritional Ketosis.

Coincidence? I don't think so!

My blood ketones have stayed in the mid 1's for most of the week. Yesterday I dipped to .8.

My NK mentor, Jimmy Moore, recently tested his blood ketones every hour for one day. It was really interesting to see the fluctuations, depending on the time of day. I don't think I could do an hourly experiment but I may do a 3 times in a day one.

It's time for another race! Actually a couple of them. In March I'm doing a half marathon in Las Vegas. A couple weeks after that, I think I'll be heading to Moab, Utah to do a 12 hour one.

Time to get off the couch!

UPDATE...I just signed up for kettlebell classes....ACK!!

Day 1 done

Having a low ketone number yesterday gave me the resolve to say no to making keto-cheesecakes. I did spend some reading keto-chocolate mousse recipes...

LATER THAT DAY...ketones are up from .4 to 1.0. I'm moving on up!

It's Groundhog Day!

A perfect day to begin my no sugar-like substitute challenge.

I changed the rules a bit. My challenge will be No Dessert Baking for 4 weeks. That's where I get into trouble. Too much tasting batter and licking bowls.

If I don't bake, my sugar substitute consumption plummets. The only dessert I buy is these petit-fores. I'll still have an afternoon fat bomb. The ones I make are with 100% chocolate, no sugar substitutes.

I packed away my muffin tins and moved the Swerve and Xylitol to the back of the pantry. Maybe I'll go for walks instead of baking...

UPDATE..I tested my blood for the first time in a`week. I was braced for a bad reading and I got one. I was .4, just a measly .1 above being out of ketosis. I'm determined to get the number back up.