Week 2 Weigh-In! | Day 15 of 90
The week 2 weigh in is here. And I am on my period. GREAT.
Weigh ins will happen every Friday and I will be comparing my Friday to Friday stats. Last week I did my Friday to Thursday stats but then today I realized that wasn’t truly a full week since I weigh myself in the mornings. Anyway, here are the updated results!
WEEK 2 WEIGH IN:
This week I lost 1.8 lbs and 0.3% body fat! YAY! PROGRESS!
If I am to hit my goal of 120 lbs and 20% athlete level body fat in the next 10 weeks, I need to lose about 1.05 lbs a week and 0.35% body fat per week.
Week 1, I definitely hit that in both categories. But week 2 I only hit it in the weight category, not body fat.
It seems strange to me, especially since I am doing cardio and weight lifting – which means I should be burning fat during my workouts and during rest. So could it have something to do with my period? Hmm.
I use a scale that utilizes BIA or bioelectrical impedance analysis for assessing my body composition. Maybe the extra blood and water retention somehow affects my body fat? I found a published article in the International Journal of Exercise Science literally on this topic: “The Effect of the Menstrual Cycle on Body Composition Determined by Contact-Electrode Bioelectrical Impedance Analyzers.”
The article says that “Manufacturers of BIA technology recommend to avoid testing women when they perceive to be retaining water during the menstrual cycle.” But…in the end, researchers found that “Regardless of the BIA analyzer used for the assessment, no significant differences in body composition measures were found between cycle phases.”
GREAT. So it’s not that…
Now, I need to figure out how I can begin to lose body fat at a faster rate while also retaining or gaining muscle mass. My workouts are balanced between cardio and weightlifting so I highly doubt it’s that. It’s not like I’m running half marathons everyday, so it’s gotta be the food, or when I am eating the food?
I’ve read a ton of articles defending both sides of the argument – “eating late makes you fat” vs “doesn’t matter when you eat.” But since I’ve been skipping breakfast and eating my dinners around 8pm or 9pm – maybe there’s something to the timing?
This Health article says that “your body is more prone to burn fat at certain times of day and store fat at other times.” Interesting. Supposedly the calories you eat during the day are used by your brain and your muscles. Excess calories get stored in your liver as glycogen. When you’re sleeping, your body converts the stored glycogen into glucose, and releases the glucose into your bloodstream to keep your blood sugar levels steady. Then once all the stored glycogen has been converted into glucose, the liver begins to burn fat for energy. The catch is that it takes a few hours to use up the day’s glycogen stores so that’s why late night eating doesn’t help if you also eat an early breakfast.
That’s the thing though. I don’t eat breakfast because I am still full from last night’s late dinner. So technically, shouldn’t my body be burning fat anyway, regardless of the time?
My dinner is around 8-9PM and I don’t eat lunch (my first meal) until 12 or 1PM the next day. So that’s a 15-16 hour fast. I mean – I’m not trying to do intermittent fasting, but I guess naturally I’m doing it because I’m just not hungry in the morning.
Hmmm…
Not sure exactly what to do here. I think I’ll continue to do what I am currently doing and check back again next week. But I’ll keep the whole eating late thing in mind…
Oh I also don’t take multivitamins or supplements (except for the collagen once in a while). Everything I consume is real food. I wonder if taking something extra would help? Will need to do some research. What do you guys think?
DAY 14 RECAP:
It’s the first time I have filled out the super unhappy face. Since getting my period 1 days ago, I’ve been getting these crazy headaches. And I’ve been feeling super sluggish. I took one rest day and then the next day I went back to working out. But I still feel not myself. It’s odd because periods never usually affect me, especially not when I am being super active like I’ve been lately. Perhaps it is something else. I don’t usually like taking medicine but just took an Advil. Need the headache to go away.
Breakfast was eggs with cheese, a sausage, and pico de gallo.
For lunch, one of my friends invited me and Sam over to try a restaurant he recently became involved in! The place is called “The Joint” – a seafood resaturant in Sherman Oaks, CA and OMG. IT WAS SO GOOD. We told our friend Benny that on a hungry scale of 1-10, we were only a 5. But ummm…we ended getting served on the 10!
See those scallops there? ONE OF THE BEST. I’ve only had scallops this good one other time in my life. At BOA in Beverly Hills. This one came with mushrooms on top and the scallops were seared to PERFECTION. AHHHH I need to go back and have more immediately.
These were the shrimp! Also very flavorful! I only had one because I ended up devouring the rest of the scallops.
Sashimi plate. But not your typical sashimi. These fishes have been “dry-aged” – which is a Joint specialty. What is that you ask? I didn’t know either. I thought they were going to serve us fish jerky that was going to taste super salty or something. But actually by dry-aging your meat (basically hanging your meat upside down in a controlled environment like a fridge) you remove the blood, moisture, and slime from the meat and you’re left with just the fat and the protein, so the meat ends up tasting way better. Apparently, the fish can be dry-aged up to 40 days!!! WITHOUT GOING BAD! That is insane. The chef told us that since he has perfected his dry aging process for fish, he runs a ZERO FOOD WASTE restaurant because he doesn’t have to throw out rotten fish. Whoa. That’s revolutionary.
Oh and taste wise, some of the best sashimi I have EVER had. SO buttery and so soft. Yea, that’s old fish I ate. And today I am fine. Weird huh!!!
Then we had dry aged cooked salmon. This was also very very good. But I liked the sashimi better!
For my veggie, I had green beans. These were excellent.
Sam and I ate so much that we could not even fathom having dinner. But then when 9:30PM rolled around we both were a little hungry.
I had cottage cheese with blueberries – first time I ever tried this creation. OMG you guys – this was actually SO GOOD! The blueberries exploded in my mouth like sugar bombs! SO YUMMY!
This is my week 2 reflection. I want to stretch more and basically try new food combos next week! Will go grocery shopping later this weekend and keep you posted!
Oh, also – ready to hear who the winners of the Fit Journals are!!??
Congrats to:
@lyricaldancer10
@janakolarxx
CASIDY_S from blogilates.com!
Yay! POPFLEX will be reaching out to you guys to get your addresses. If you want one, you can purchase one in my shop here!
97 thoughts on “Week 2 Weigh-In! | Day 15 of 90”
There are 97 comments posted by our users.
YES! That’s good progress. Maybe it’s the late eating thing? Or eating more than usual during your period? I have no idea… Aww the sad faces! Hopefully it will get better.
Your lunch, I want it!!! The cottage cheese and blueberries combo sounds interesting. I love it too when food “explodes” in your mouth!
Keep going don’t worry, I think JANICE is right
I think you should keep an eye on the numbers for a few more weeks. I suspect, as with most long term goals, you’ll have high weeks and low weeks but your average will be where you need it. I admire your drive to find in-depth research and explanations to your questions, but this update sounds stressed. Don’t let making physical Cassey healthy cause mental Cassey to suffer. You got this!
I would say a “Heart Healthy diet” would be worth trying for a week. The extreme kind LOL my Mom has had four heart attacks and without ever being hungry while staying to help her after she broke her back without any effort at loosing weight I dropped just over 5 pounds by no salt, no butter, no beef, BUT I never went hungry. Cereal with non fat milk for breakfast, P&J on wheat with a banana for lunch, and chicken either baked or bbq but only spiced with Mrs Dash no sodium or bouillon no sodium. I never felt hungry the meals were satisfying and I was surprised when my clothes started fitting looser because I’d been worried about the lack of exercise.
I usually don’t have anything in the evening (something light like fruit or joghurt before 7pm is all I get), so breakfast is my thing:) That’s how I lost extra killos back in a day and has been maintaining the same weight ever since.
I follow blogilates because it inspires, motivates and pushes me to be the best person I can be! I have been following for a long time now, but at first I was obsessed with losing weight and tried following a lot of fitness people online, but blogilates helped me to achieve more than that! Through all those workout videos, challenges, food recipes and tips, I was able to learn more about body positivity and now I’m striving to be healthy and happy, not only following harmful fads. Thank you Cassey, you’re my role model and I look up to you a lot. Love you lots blogilates ❤️✨💪💪
Hi Cassey, about your body fat measurements: Do you know, how exact your scale can measure body fat/muscle? The method isn’t too exact and it might be possible, that those small changes and short measurement intervals are not very reliable data. I think you should stick to your eating schedule and will see the effects after a few weeks 🙂
Hey Cassey, i love reading your blog posts about your journey! As a sports scientist, i work in a fitness center and we aren’t allowed to measure clients during their periods because of the water retention. And regarding that article you shared, even though they didn’t find significant results, it still means there were some differences, they just hadn’t been big enough. So it makes a little difference.
You were also talking about the fat your losing. What i experience a lot is that people who starting to get back on track with their fitness journey eat too few calories, even unintentionally. And the fewer energy the body gets, the more it tries to hold all the fat you have (it’s still in our genes; to prepare for an upcoming starvation). I know you are doing a keto-friendly diet, but our body literally runs on carbs. Every cell in our body needs glucose. So maybe try adding just a little amount of whole grains to your diet. Your body gets more energy out of these and that might turn on your metabolism a bit more. 🙂
Sending lots of love from Germany!
I take a maca root and Vitex berry supplements. Both help with regulating my hormones and making my period less of a big deal, and they are both plant based. They were suggested to me by my midwife and I highly recommended them. Good luck with your fitness and weight loss journey! I love your workouts and your positive attitude. And don’t worry if it takes longer than you planned, it seems like most things usually do😉
Hey Cassey, I used to have the same eating schedule as you but I started to do some research into circadian rhythms because I’d been sleeping poorly. Late dinners mess with your body’s ability to make melatonin, so I’ve been having dinner earlier and it has helped me get sleepier sooner, and I am hungrier earlier in the morning and don’t feel weighed down by having eaten late.
Hi Cassey! I really not following your journey and a huge thank you to your for putting your thoughts, doubts, and opinions every step of the way. You’ve always seem real and relatable to me, which is the whole reason why Blogilates is so great. I don’t feel intimidated by you because you seem like my super fit friend rather than and idol (you are of course my fitness idol but you get what I mean). Maybe I’ll try to challenge myself for 90 as well and document my experience too! Love ya girl, I’m rooting for you always 💕
I’m really enjoying seeing the behind the scenes of how an already fit person gets in even better shape. In my experience, most people that share their fitness stories are over weight and it can be easier for them to lose. I guess I just figured most fitness bloggers had their own secret nutritionist and personal trainer on speed dial😂. Also, the food looks great. Thank you so much for being brave enough to share and be honest.
Hey Cassey, I’m sharing this only because it worked for me. Try finishing your dinner early say by 6 P.M. The logic is that your food has already had a chance to digest before you go to sleep since metabolism slows down when you sleep. Another thing is to not eat meat for dinner as meat takes a bit more effort by the body to digest. I have also been doing intermittent fasting for health reasons and I saw greater weight loss and enjoyed better sleep when I moved up my dinner time and stayed off meat for dinner. This was basically advice I received from my 80 year old spry grandfather. Again, I am just a homemaker sharing my experience. Also, I love love love your workouts and thank you so much for everything you do.
Cassey, I have loved your work and have followed you for 7+ years. But I have to say that I am really disappointed by your blatant disregard for how triggering this series of posts is for many of your readers. I still don’t understand your need to do this publicly and am so disappointed that you refuse to address the specific comments that ask why you feel this is necessary? I would very honestly love to hear your thoughts on this.
I feel the opposite, I feel like she spent the entire first week addressing people’s concerns in almost every blog post, and I almost thought it was too much, since I just enjoy reading the 90-day journey part. What else has she not addressed? She replied to many articles of criticism and outlined her thoughts on why she is doing this.
Since so many of us try to do work-out/diet plans like this anyway, it’s nice to see how a fitness professional does it. I don’t get what is triggering? If you’re not a fan of this type of plan then you don’t have to do it. She is not even telling anyone to do this with her, she’s just showing her own journey.
what if you consult a nutritionist who’s specialty is diets for athletes or something like that?
I also need to unsubscribe after six years. You are right that it is your body and you should do what makes you happiest, I support you in that pursuit. But I’m uncomfortable now that there are constant diet updates rather than the usual body positivity, and as someone who has recovered from an eating disorder, it isn’t safe to stay. Best of luck on your journey!
I support you on your journey, but I unfortunately have to unsubscribe from your e-mails, because these constant posts about weight and body fat and dieting trigger my anxiety and make me feel guilty. Good luck 🙂
Losing weight isn’t complicated. It’s all about calorie deficit. Find out your maintenance calories subtract 500 calories to lose 1lb per week. Track your calories and you will shred the fat! Make sure you are getting enough protein to ensure you are not losing muscle.
Try watching Gingers Keto in the U.K. on YouTube. She has some great info on eating protein and carbs for breakfast when we have natural insulin high from cortisol and stopping eating 3 hrs before bed.
Loving your 90 day plan, stay true to yourself lovely lady xx
Hmmmm… I´m not super good at diet things, but I do usually hear that eating smaller portions and more often/regularly helps? But then, everyone´s metabolism is different. You probably just have to find out what works for you. Might take a while, but at least you´ll know yourself better after! Good luck with you journey either way, and don´t be too hard on yourself if the progress isn´t very fast. At least it is there! 🙂
Congrats to the winners! And stay the course Cassey–Im sure week 3 will give you some more insight to your diet, timing and exercise!
You also went from eating carbs to almost Keto diet so you are hitting the normal Keto flu. Just have to ride it out.
Sounds like you’re experiencing Keto flu. Push through!
Hey Cassie!
So from my own research, classes I’ve taken in college, and personal experience, you probably need to add more protein to your diet and save the bulk of your carbs for your first meals. My BFP wasn’t decreasing at a rate that made sense with the amount of weight I was losing so I started tracking my macros and realized I wasn’t eating enough protein. Protein uses a lot more water to digest and metabolize than carbs do which can help you lose more water weight and bring down your BFP. Any late night simple carbs that don’t get used and turned into glucagon also hold onto a ton of water. So morning weigh-ins and measurements would probably cause a higher BFP than evening, even though morning is the best time for measurements. And from seeing what you eat, you’re definitely not eating too many carbs, but they may just be timed in a less efficient way for your body to metabolize. Try keeping track of macros and figure out a carb cycle that works best for you. Tracking macros is a pain, but I use MyFitnessPal, and it makes it a lot easier. Hope that helps!
Hey Cassie,
Just want you to be aware that when doing research, don’t immediately trust an article simply because it has “Health” in it. The Health article did not list any references that I could see. And the best kind of unbiased research you can find are Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (they will usually say in the title), which review/compare multiple research articles at one time. Regardless of whether the information is correct or not, it’s best to not stop after reading just one article–keep searching! You want to be sure you can trust the information you’re reading.
Best of luck
Hey, just wanted to recommend that you don’t pay too much attention to your scale’s measurement of BF%—they’re notoriously inaccurate, especially if you don’t control for a lot of little things (eg moving around too much beforehand, eating, inflammation, water retention…). Even if you do control for those factors, scales and inbody tests are regularly 3-5 percentage points off, and definitely won’t accurately reflect changes in BF% from week to week. General recommendations are to do a DEXA or water displacement test for the most accurate results, and then test AT MOST once a month (controlling for time of day, intake—ideally you’d be fasted, bowel movements, etc). Long story short, I wouldn’t get too hung up on a negative change in your BF% readings from week to week, and I might suggest getting a DEXA since improving your body composition is central to your goal!
Also, fwiw, I have found Renaissance Periodization to be effective—it caters to athletes and times macros to optimize gym performance. That said, macro timing is less important than a caloric deficit that responds to your changing size and decreased NEAT, and the overall distribution of proteins, fats, and carbs. So probably don’t stress too much about when you’re eating what, focus on getting enough protein, and maintain a caloric deficit—and you should be fine!
I have mega weight gain/water retention around my period AND ovulation (lucky me!). I intentionally don’t weigh myself during my period now, after I once had an 11 pound fluctuation within 3 days. Bodies are crazy! Don’t let it dampen your spirits. You are making great progress and are really inspiring me to make positive changes! Also the sashimi from the joint looks fantastic- I live near Sherman Oaks and I definitely am going to try it!
I wake up at 5:45 am
My eating schedule is MSM+electrolite water at 6am (this has removed my headaches), then stretch. At 7am small portion breakfast with scrambled eggs, oatmeal, and one tiny slice of bacon… jeje, oh and a small glass of kefir.
At 10 I have a protein drink with my own mix rice protein, pea protein & collage
At noon I have a portion controlled lunch, mostly with protein and veggies and a little rice or a whole wheat toast.
At 3:30 I have another protein drink like described above
At 6pm I have dinner, also with portion control, but mostly veggies or legumes.
At 7:30 I have a little bit of yogurt with camomile tea and bluberries and take some vitamines so I can be sleepy a night, including folic acid, magnesium and vitamine D+K.
I stop drinking water at 8pm, so I don’t have to go to the bathroom at night.
I have been able to lose weight this way. Always being just a little bit hungry, and drink filtered water when I feel “hungry”, which is usually thirst, at least for me.
I don’t really have a lot of sugary deserts or sugary drinks with dairy. But I do like a bit of honey in hot milk once in a while.
Good luck on your journey, I have really enjoyed doing your workouts!
Love,
Amy
Honestly, I wouldn’t worry. You are TWO WEEKS in and getting great results. Your body has this.
Also there’s a lot of fearmongering around women and IF but if you look at the evidence it’s actually quite reassuring. The evidence against us eating frequently, however is damning. ‘Breakfast is the most important meal of the day’ was invented by cereal manufacturers.
Gin Stephens has a lot on this, check out her website or the intermittent fasting podcast.
Personally, I feel ill and get blocked up and spotty without tonnes of veggies and fruits but I know lots of people who swear by low carb so do what feels right for your body. It has this.
I will say I believe eating late does make one heavier on the scale. I try to eat dinner by 5:30 and go to bed hungry. If I don’t I always weigh more and my belly puffs out.
Hi Cassey! Yes definitely try in corporating vitamins. Obviously everyone is different but I think my body likes to naturally be more on the fatty side (even if i was a size 3, i have more fat than someone else a size 3). Maybe take zinc, iron, and d3 at least (most humans are deficient in d3) if you consume a lot of beans perhaps you wouldn’t need the iron but i noticed it makes a great impact with me. i take them 1.5 before my period and during. also have you ever had a food intolerances test done? or even a thyroid test (i’d suggest a homeopathic doctor)?
keep up the great work! get it girl!
Hey! I’ve been on keto for 2 years and combined with your workouts I’m 10 lbs away from my goal:) lost 80 lbs. The headache is from the hormone balance with keto and DRINKING SOLE WATER makes a HUGE difference as well as Gatorade zero! Your body flushes out sodium super fast so that causes the intense headache 🙂 HTH God bless on your journey! Thanks for all your great workouts for years:)
I’m sure you know more about keto than I do, i’ve never done a full on keto diet. But in terms of fat maybe try to focus on having more mono & poly unsaturated fats rather than saturated fats? I know the latter always make me feel more sluggish. Avocados all the way – am I right? Good luck on the journey!
This is super interesting, I have this urge to give advise, but I assume you know much more about this than I do and I know you know more about your body than any of us, so just keep at it💪🏽 you’re awesome! I hope the headaches go away and next week is another one filled with smiles
In regards to the eating late, i eat late all the time too. Being a bartender, my schedule is later then everyone elses. I tend to go to bed around 4:30am and wake at 11:30am. I have been doing timed nutrition, where you eat every two to three hours. It has helped me lose those last stubborn 5lbs and has helped me control the late night (as in 2am munchies). Time nutrition might help you with the body fat burning. Cant hurt to check it out.
Dear Cassey, I love that you are sharing your journey with us!! I am currently also trying to bring more healthy eating and exercising in my life and the information you are giving is amazingly helpful! I love your writing style also! Good luck with your journey and keep us posted 🥰
Just one thing, every person have different cicles of metabolism. I red that in the morning the metabolism is faster than in evening. Maybe try to svitch your meals. Get good morning breakfast with eggs etc.. And then in the evening try something lighter like salad with tuno etc… Little bit earlier. Like 2hr before you go to sleep. I’m no expert in this, but it seems logical. Maybe it will work for your body better.
But you are perfect anyway 😉
Thank you for your workouts 😘
Cassey,
You are bound to have a rough period this tune round when you look at what you are going through: 90 blog has evoked a lot of reaction, not all positive, and that affects the body. I have always eased off heavy exercise for first couple of days. Slow and steady wins the race 😄
Keep at it Cassey – you got this! 👍🏾💜
I had the same problem with the BIA at my gym. I weight in the day before my period and the scale said I had lost muscle and gain fat while maintaining the same weight. The next week, when my period stopped I did it again and I gained a lot of muscle mass and lost a bunch of fat, so maybe it’s real that period can affect the BIA exam.
I have read a lot of books/ research on obesity, and the timing of the day matters when it comes to glucose metabolism. We tend to have higher insulin secretion and resistance if we eat around 8pm and less secretion if we eat in the day time. This is kind of similar to what you said earlier. I do think though it’s sometimes hard to eat early if we have late days. But it’s something to keep in mind as insulin secretion/resistance leads to more fat storage overall. 🤷🏽♀️ I also think two weeks is still a lot of fluctuation despite what that period article says lol. I think you’re doing great and will continue seeing progress 🙂 You’re inspiring me to start a 90 day challenge. I currently weight 128 and would like to get to 118, which is normal for my height.
When I did nutrisystem I was supposed to not skip meals even if not hungry. Maybe try a protein shake in the morning?
Hey girl, sounds like you’re low on electrolytes! That goes hand in hand with a low card diet. Make sure you’re getting enough through food or supplements 🙂
I know there’s a lot of divergent opinions on vitamins but I don’t think it can hurt. As a vegan I do take a daily B12 supplement but I choose to take extra things like zinc and iron just in case my daily needs aren’t met. I don’t want to become anemic! I also can go without breakfast if I’ve had a big dinner the night before but I don’t think it’s until noon the next day that I eat. Maybe more like 10am, so never more than 12 hours between meals it seems. But my progress so far is two weeks ago I was at 130 and this week I’m at 127.6 with 34.6% muscle mass and 23.1% body fat!
Great advice. Also heard that if you shift your eating to breakfast and lunch, then skipping dinner, you will fair better. Keeping eating window to 8 hours is best. Also try to keep fat to 75g a day and getting lots of leafy greens for potassium.
Maybe give Intermittent Fasting a try? The science suggests that it helps reduce body fat and maintain muscle mass as you gain it. Apologies if you’ve already tried and it doesn’t work for you!
Have you ever heard of the channel “Fit and Nerdy”. Melissa shares a TON of research backed information, so I recommend checking her out. She’s very thorough and shares her resources, and she has such a fun personality!
Dear Cassey, please read The Plant Paradox by Dr Steven Gundry. It will explain to you why you had been exercising so much but your weight is still high. This book will help more than your weight loss goals. It is the ultimate guide to being old age without diseases, chronic illness and pain.
From a scientific perspective, I would assume that the reason your body fat percentage did not go down was because of water retention. When you’re on your period you hold water and that water is normally stored in your fat cells. Personally, when I eat too much salt or I’m on my period or I’ve had too many carbs the scale shows an increase in body fat. I use an electro scanner scale. Don’t take that number too seriously, it should decrease after your cycle is over.
I tried intermittent fasting, keto, low fat..every diet under the sun. The only thing that works and is backed by science is unfortunately calorie counting. I make sure I hit my protein macro targets and I leave fat and carbs for the rest of the calories. It really doesn’t have to become obsessive and if you have an app that saves all your meals then you just tap and go. Especially if you prepare your meals and eat similar things. If you don’t go crazy with the deficit it’s actually the easiest thing in the world to stick to. Also a month isn’t that long. I’ve found that if I don’t give myself strict time limits I’m a lot better off. Good luck I’m sure you’ll blitz it.
This might sound dumb, but maybe the body fat has something to do with following a high fat diet? 🤷🏼♀️ Thanks for the great posts!
I think it’s smart to keep doing what you’re doing and see what happens next week. Periods really wreak havoc! Thanks so much for blogging every day, I’m in the second week of my own journey and it’s nice to know others are also making changes, because they are not easy!
Your period affecting you weird could have something to do with going keto. I’ve been keto since the beginning of the year and I noticed mine got totally out of whack… so I googled it and sure enough, it looks like it’s a thing. (I’m still keto and I love the results it’s given me, so I don’t plan to stop. I’m sure our bodies will figure it out!)
Also, I just bought the scale you linked in this blog post – I’ve been looking for a new one. Thanks!
I’m no doctor but I have heard that a woman can gain up to 7 lbs while on her period. It has something to do with your hormones going crazy and iron fluctuations. While you are on your period your body will hold on to all of the liquids it can get because you are losing liquids at the same time. So I wouldn’t worry about the numbers when you are on your period but would rather worry about balancing hormones, getting enough water, and making sure that you are getting the vitamins and minerals your body needs.
I bet next week you will be so happy with the results. I believe your period has everything to do with it. I used to gain up to 5lbs.
My guess is that your daily calorie deficit may be too small. I’d suggest calculating your BMR and TDEE and counting calories additionally to noting down the food. This is easy if you’re preparing the food yourself, but there’s also ways to estimate calories if you’re eating out. It’s worth a try, I think. A week ago, I started keto with one meal a day and a calorie deficit and it’s been working. In the end, it’s always comes down to a caloric deficit. Most sources I read recommended a 20-25% deficit, others suggested a 500-100 kcal deficit. I think it depends on how fast you’d like to go and what you can maintain in the long run.
I’m so happy everything is going well for you! I’m about to embark on my own weight loss/fat loss journey. I don’t have much to lose, just 5-10 vanity pounds but I have a history of crash dieting so doing it slowly and healthily will be a challenge for me! You’re inspiring me to love my body every step of the way and treat myself right.
“I should be burning calories at any moment of the day”… How can you be burning calories when you are sleeping? We eat in the morning and the use it through the day, if you are eating late at night, your body will send it to storage. I’ve seen this in myself, in other people… Don’t know where you got the notion that our bodies consume calories equally at any moment but please stop!! Less in dinner, more on breakfast, there’s no other way to go! Or at least, eat your dinner earlier so your body has time to digest it!!
Also that’s another thing, no matter how technology has changed things, we need to sleep at night to be in our better shape. If you are going to bed at midnight… Girl… You are setting yourself up for failure and nobody wants to see that. Sleeping matters! Getting hours starting at 10 pm is a lot better than 8 hours starting at 12! Go make changes girl you can do it!!
The food from that restaurant looks INCREDIBLE. I hope you’re feeling better tomorrow!
Both keto and intermittent fasting can REALLY mess with your hormones and it sound like you’re doing both. It can help to avoid intermittent fasting during the two weeks before you get your period (aka luteal phase). And resume once you’re off your period. As for keto, just makes sure you’re eating TONS of non starchy veg and fruit just before and during period.
Hi Cassey ! I used to do intermittent fasting with a low carb diet too, but I had to stop because it was messing up with my hormones like CRAZY.
I used to have headaches, feel sluggish around my period and my overall mood was just weird, some day I’d feel great but some other days I’d feel really anxious for no reason.
And I wasn’t especially lean either haha. My boobs were gone but I couldn’t get rid of my belly pouch and thigh fat no matter what type of exercise I did.
At the start reintroducing carbs felt really weird and I only had a small breakfast but after a transition period I felt much better in my body overall, no more crazy moodswings and that stubborn fat around my belly and thighs started to melt away. I was even exercising less but I had much better and stable results.
It is just my experience but I really think hormones play such a huge part in weight gain/loss for womeno that it could be interesting for you to look into that.
Cheers !
Hey Cassey, I think these are a really good whole foods multi vitamin
https://truenutrition.com/p-4804-whole-food-multivitamin-90-caplets.aspx
Hi Cassey, I’ve been following quite a few trainers, plus a doctor, who really know their stuff nutrition-wise. They say you it’s very hard to both lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, unless you’re very overweight and unfit to start with, because for gaining muscles you need a calorie surplus and for losing fat a calorie deficit. Also, if you had lunch at the restaurant the day before your weighing, that could also be a cause, i. e. too much salt and/or calories. Also, I read from multiple sources that these kind of scales are not accurate at all and give very different results from day to day when the reality is not so.
I get headaches during my period if I skip a meal or have a meal late. Usually I skip lunch or eat it late because it’s around my sons naptime and I end up with a horrible migraine in the afternoon. Try and see what you have been doing differently this period. It could also simply be your body adjusting to the changes you are making.
I wouldn’t worry to much about your progress slowing down this week. On my period when I was trying to lose weight, my weight would increase as much as 5 lbs. It was discouraging but I always rebounded the following week. Don’t let your self imposed time constraints overshadow the progress you are making! Secondly, the headache and sluggishness may be caused by the low carb diet? Aka keto-flu. Another possibility that happens to me is low iron anemia which I’m particularly susceptible to during my period. Don’t let it get you down!
I don’t eat breakfast either and I think it may be part of why I can’t get rid of that ‘food baby’ belly. But I am like you and simply not hungry in the morning. I also tend to eat dinner between 6 and 10 depending on which jobs I have that day. Maybe that should be the next lifestyle change to work on for us both to see if it helps!
It’s kind of fun that weigh-in is on Friday.
Wondering if you’ve explored all of this with a physician? That is, are medications potentially leading to weight gain? What about thyroid function – perhaps yours (thyroid) isn’t functioning optimally and is causing slower metabolism and/or fat storage. What about cortisol levels (stress hormone leads to increased abdominal adipose tissue storage)? I’m curious, from biological standpoint because you are truly such a disciplined, conscientious and consistent fitness expert. I can’t help but wonder if it’s something MORE that diet and exercise. Also, is it harder to lose weight when body has experienced eating disorder in past (that is, the body is In protective mode).
It seems like you’re not eating enough food (or the right kind). Watching Remi and Alisha’s videos where they consult a nutritionist has really helped them to lose weight and gain muscle, and they eat three meals and snacks in between a day.
Long story short, you should consider consulting a nutritionist.
I agree, it does seem like not enough food and the wrong kind of food.
A nutritionist (I’d recommend a plant based nutritionist) could really help – carbs are nothing to be scared of 🙂
Cassie I don’t know what to do? I have gained weight from medication and my doctor said I need to lose weight because its affecting me organs. I went from not exercising at all and eating whatever I want to cooking and eating healthier, drinking only 1 coke a day instead of like 3-4, and have been exercising atleast 4 days or more a week (doing ur playlists). I’ve done this the last 3 weeks and i have only lost ONE POUND!!! I have alot of fat to lose so what’s wrong??? It’s getting too depressing now 🙁
I’m not a nutritionist but one coke a day is probs too many. Maybe see a nutritionist- they can show you what to eat to loose weight in a healthy way. (Make sure you are eating lots of fruit and veg!)
Stop drinking soda completely!
What you break your fast with and how long you wait after a fasted work out to break it are important as well. If you want to keep it simple and just do your thing fasting 16 hrs a day just remember that you’ll be more insulin sensitive. I fast a lot and have for a long time and have been using it to try and loose weight lately. I broke through my plateau after I accounted for how my body behaves in an insulin sensitive state. Try having green tea in the mornings before a fasted work out for deeper ketosis and turmeric tea in the evenings as it’s supposed to help white fat turn to metabolically active brown fat.
Cassey, if you are feeling sluggish and weird, it might be the keto flu! It’s just your body adjusting to your lower carb diet!! Drinking lots of electrolytes will help based on my experience! I am currently doing strict keto and I felt very sluggish and grumpy at the start. Nothing that some lemon water with a pinch of no-salt couldn’t fix though!!!
I think you should try eating breakfast daily. Up to you of course, but I think it may help.
You are probably right about the timing of the meals affecting progress, but also your progress is super fast and I’m so impressed with how well you are doing this?? All the love for your journey, it’s super inspiring. 💕
Honestly, I think the hiccup lies in your long lapse between dinner and breakfast. You wake your body/metabolism up with breakfast in the morning. Maybe eat a smaller dinner so you’re hungry when you wake up? You’re dinner is a little on the late side, but I don’t know if that’s my opinion or true. Good luck figuring it out!
Does anyone know about how many calories she’d be eating? I’m trying to drop about ten pounds from my current 120lb, the most I’ve ever weighed, and I’m really similar to her in terms of exercise schedule and whole foods diet (paleo inspired rather than keto). But I’ve been eating 1400~1500 cal a day and I have not lost any weight for three weeks. I’m afraid I might be eating too little, but if I eat more I’m afraid I’ll just gain more weight 😣
You have to be really honest with yourself on a) how many calories you need, that is your total calorie need = your BMR plus the calories you burn through lifestyle, exercise etc. and b) how many calories you actually consume. I do get the criticism with regard to calorie counting, but I’ve found it’s really hard to judge your daily intake if you don’t even know how many calories those 300 g of spinach have (almost none 😄) and that one table spoon of peanut butter (a lot more than I would have guessed 😆). Once you know, you don’t need to count religiously in my opinion though. I’m coming from a different direction – I want to build muscle, and that’s pretty hard without a caloric surplus – but I do think even for losing weight it’s highly probable that those 1400 calories are too little to be healthy for you. I don’t know your height though. I think I weigh about 124 lbs and – with trying to be active and going to the gym – I need about 2.200-2.400 calories to maintain my weight. To lose, I wouldn’t go lower than a 10-20% deficit, at least that’s what I learned from reading up on it 🤔. Don’t be afraid to eat! 💜
I think that the long 14 hour fast you do between your last and first meal of the day could have something to do with the tiny hiccup in your progress. A nutritionist I used to see (and who really helped me lose weight) had me eating 5 meals a day (3 main meals, 2 snacks)! She told me that this speeds up your metabolism, helping you lose weight, and telling your body it doesn’t need to cling on to the fat. After all, stores of fat in the human body are something linked to survival; the body stores fat when there is an abundance of fat, as a reserve when you don’t have any. I have also heard you should eat protein 30 minutes after a workout to help maintain and build muscle. Maybe you can try this and see if it works for you 🙂 it sure helps me!
No judgement here, but it does seem that majority of your food consumption is animal product based and that your food is cooked in refined oils. I highly recommend the book “How Not to Die” by Dr.Gregar. The title is a little intimidating but it’s light hearted and talks about the huge data base of information surrounding the amazing benefits of a plant-based diet in terms we non-doctors can understand.
Best of luck!
This! The majority of the plate should be plants not meat, fish, eggs and dairy. No matter if you are eating an omnivorous diet or not.
How come that you said you don’t eat breakfast but is logged breakfast in your journal is kind of your lunch is your breakfast and you still do three meals and snack but a different times?
I see a difference in min body fat when I’m retaining water, so I’ve learned not to measure it that week! Also, I do take supplements and feel like they help bc it’s so hard to get all I need with just whole food.
I recently lost about 15 pounds this summer and i realized the only thing I changed from before the weight loss to after the weight loss was the eating time. I used to eat only at night because I didn’t have time in the morning and afternoon, and when I wake up the next morning I would feel BLOATED or even a bit sick. I exercised every single day during that time too but it just made me feel worse because I would feel so stuffed. Also keep in mind that I didn’t eat alot for my meals either! BUT when I finished my rehearsals and I transitioned to eating during the day, I immediately lost the weight and the bloated feeling. I’m not saying that this will definitely work for everyone but just wanted to share that this worked wonders for me both weight wise and health wise!
Sorry! I didn’t mean to reply to the comment… It was meant to be a stand alone lol!
Casey, you might want to look at the effects of intermittent fasting on women’s bodies. I know you’re not fasting intentionally, but you’re going without eating for over 12hours. Is it possible your body is holding onto the fat instead of burning it?
tbh I don’t think keto is all it’s cracked up to be.
Try drinking a large amount of water, then see if your bodyfat goes up, because mine measures water as fat.
Hey angel! Your period really does contribute to your body fat, as the BIA scales aren’t excellent at the whole thing. Plus you’re typically still your most waterlogged on days 1 & 2. Tbh I wouldn’t worry and I think if you weighed yourself in Day 3 or 4, you would be much more satisfied. 💖
Hi Cassey. I’m so happy that you are achieving what you set out for. I am not an expert or professional but it is a common guideline to not have heavy meals after 7 p.m. If we feel hungry later than its advised to eat some fruits. I hope this helps.
And keep doing the amazing work that you’re doing 😊😊😊
I’d suggest not skip breakfast. Don’t need to eat a lot but at least something to have your metabolism start going. Keep up the good work!
It could be with how late you’re eating. While calories are burned when you’re at rest, it’s not a whole lot. So if you’re eating late, and then not doing much before going to bed, its gonna take longer to digest, which would also explain why you aren’t hungry in the morning. Maybe see if you can eat earlier than you do, even if it’s just an hour.
Wouldn’t it be an idea then to eat slightly less in the evening so you can start your day with breakfast? I remember that I read somewhere that having breakfast starts up your metabolism!
Don’t worry too much about it. Baby steps!!!
Also, it’s not about the ending, it’s about the journey?
I wouldn’t pay much mind to the little details of BF% in the very beginning. Generally I’ve known it to be a month before your body adjusts to your new habits (eating, exercising etc), and immediate results or concerns aren’t necessary. You’re also bound to lose some muscles mass when dropping weight too, more protein is said to help with keeping muscle and still dropping weight, thus changing your BF%. I love the accountability of the stats tho!