I didn’t think I’d have to do this. | 41 + 42 of 90
Realness ahead. Don’t read if you think you’ll be triggered.
So, for the past 2 weeks, I’d had some weird digestive issues. My weight and body fat stalled at first, but now everything is steadily climbing up. If I told you that I don’t care and that all is rainbows and unicorns in the Land of 90 Day Journey, I’d be lying.
Now, I don’t want to sound negative, but I do want to share my REAL, honest feelings with you. Most people won’t want to share that side of themselves with you for fear of sounding like they’re “obsessed” or “relapsing” or have “disordered thinking.” I’m telling you the truth – things that I usually only tell my actual friends (aka people who I love and respect and who love and respect me back) – because I want you to know that this journey isn’t easy. Even for a fitness professional like me with over a decade of experience in exercise health – EVEN I have trouble figuring out what works for my body. I want you to see that.
Having a goal, working super hard towards it, seeing immediate results, and then continuing to do the same thing, and then seeing what you’ve worked so hard for unwind right in front of you is FRUSTRATING. And I am not just talking about weight loss or fat loss, this applies to ANY journey. Be it career, academics, a sports competition, or whatever – you just kind of feel exhausted when your hard work doesn’t continue to “pay off”.
Looking in the mirror though, I do see a stronger, more confident, and leaner version of who I was about 5.5 weeks ago! Looking back to where you started is such an important practice for gratitude – without that, you’d never appreciate where you are now.
Anyway, for the past 2 weeks I have not seen any progress, so I’ve been strategizing my next move in order for me to still hopefully hit my goals (in HEALTHY WAYS ONLY!!!)
STATUS OF GOALS:
- Starting (August 12): 136 lbs and 24.4% body fat
- Current (September 26): 129.4 lbs and 23.3% body fat
- For reference, last week I was at 129.2 lbs and 23.2% body fat
- And the week before that, I was at 128.8 lbs and 23.3% body fat
- Goal (to be hit by Nov 14): 120 lbs and 20% body fat
STATUS OF PROGRESS:
- Percent achieved towards weight goal: 41% lost in 42/90 days (47% of timeline )
- Percent achieved towards body fat goal: 25% lost in 42/90 days (47% of timeline)
As you can see, my progress is lagging behind the allotted time frame. No I’m not panicking or freaking out, but like I said above, knowing these data points allows me to make a plan.
So here’s the realness. I am hypothesizing that I’m no longer seeing progress because I’m most likely snacking too much. Like all those nuts I eat? I don’t measure them. And to be super honest with you, I eat them throughout the day – not because I am hungry, but for fun.
The first few weeks of the 90 day journey were so motivating because I didn’t have to measure anything and I didn’t have to count anything because my body was shocked by the type of food I was eating that I lost weight and body fat pretty “easily” – well, if you call working out 6x a week and eating low carb easy that is 😛 But like I mentioned in my first blog post, the first month of any eating plan I follow will allow me lean out by about 5 lbs no matter if it’s vegan, paleo, Whole30, low carb etc. Then after that, it’s a totally different ballgame.
So now, we’re in that 2nd ballgame, still using tactics from the first ballgame. That doesn’t work. Not for my body anyway. It needs more attention. So, after talking to a nutritionist, he advised me that there was no “sexy way” to hit my goals. I would have to track and measure my food to really see what was going on.
Well guys, it’s time to take this 90 day journey to the next level! I just downloaded MyFitnessPal and will be tracking my macros (protein, fat, carbs) for every meal I have. I think this will allow me to be a lot more conscious of my snacking. Also, my friend Drew and the author of Complete Keto, said I should be at around 75% fat, 20% protein, and 5% carbs for daily intake. I had only been visually guesstimating here so I am not actually sure how close I had ever been to those percentages. He also advised that I be more focused on hitting my macros instead of worrying about calories.
Tracking food meticulously doesn’t get me excited, but looking back to the two times in my life where my body did change drastically – once in Boston when I started weight lifting and eating high protein for the first time (healthy amount of calories), and second when I prepped for the bikini competition (unhealthy amount of calories) – the one thing I had in common was that I was tracking my food both of those times. I really wanted to avoid measuring and tracking this time around (it is so tedious and time consuming), but eating when I am hungry and stopping when I am full really doesn’t work when you have a second dessert stomach 😛
Anyway, my point is – it’s time to get even more serious. And I’m up for the challenge, no matter how tedious. I have a goal to hit on Nov 14 and I am going to try my best to get there. If I fail, I fail, but at least I will know that I gave it my all.
So, with that said, day 42 is the new day 1 of my 90 Day Journey – Level 2!
PS: Sorry for combining 2 posts in one! Last night I legit fell asleep on my laptop on my couch and thought to myself, sleep is more important than blogging – GO TO BED!!! I was so exhausted. I even slept in today. My body really needed it.
PPS: Also, I decided to skip what I ate in this post because my old food habits are changing as of today, so I want there to be a clean slate for new beginnings!
PPPS: Saying this again for anyone new – my focus on numbers is purely for progress tracking. Please do not be concerned that I am “relapsing” into an unhealthy relationship with my body. I have goals I want to hit and the numbers help me gauge if I am getting farther or closer to my goal. Purely simple. That is it! You don’t need to do what I am doing. Do what works for you. This is my own personal journey that I just happen to be blogging about publicly. I am glad that those who are following along are feeling inspired and getting meal ideas!
83 thoughts on “I didn’t think I’d have to do this. | 41 + 42 of 90”
There are Array83 comments posted by our users.
hi Cassie – can you share what your macronutrient ratio was? Thanks!
Hello! I am using myfitness pal and really like it, but I am struggling to figure out how to log your work out videos in the app. Could you point me to a guide for that? Thanks so much!
I’ve been using an app called Carb Manager for the low carb life and it’s been amazing! I started with MyFitnessPal but figuring out net carbs was harder there. Just a suggestion! <3
Cassey, thank you for your HONEST blog! I wish you nothing but the best, but it is nice to hear of “real people” struggles. So much in life can be tough and it’s nice to know we aren’t alone. I know the only way I can actively lose weight is to record and count food intake. (SO unsexy like you said, lol!) I have loved your 90 day journey because YOU are shining through. Again, best of wishes along your journey and much love and light your way.
Thanks!! I am feeling so good!
Long time follower, rare commenter.
I am so glad you’ve chosen to do low carb / keto! A friend of mine recommended The Obesity Code for me to read in March 2018. I read it and was convinced. I’m now down 54 pounds and way more inches! I was a size 20 and now a 12. My husband has lost about 55 pounds and is off 7 medications! He went from a size 40 to a 33.
The more I read about it, the more I’m convinced that this is the proper human diet. I’ve never felt better.
One suggestion, Carb Manager may be a bit easier for tracking carbs / macros than My Fitness Pal.
Thanks for the suggestion!!
Hey Cassey I really admire your grit and determination! Plus love your workout videos and no doubt you’re the queen when it comes to workouts (I do your videos all the time at home). On food, I’m not sure if you came across the term calorie density? Basically the stomach has stretch sensors which sends the satiation signals to your brain. Things like nuts, avocado, dates sure are yummy yet super high in calories but doesn’t necessary keep you full which makes you continue eating and can’t blame any of us for overeating them really. And of course salt, oil and sugar makes all things hyper palatable which makes us eat them even more without realizing we’ve eaten a tonne 🙁 I know this from doctors, dieticians and chefs whom I work with to help women over 40 lose weight (menopause makes weight loss even harder) but you’re lucky coz you’re still so young and so much ahead of you. Perhaps for crunch try to eat less calorie dense food (eg crispy air-fried potatoes without butter and oil seasoned with smoked paprika) and for sweetness maybe frozen grapes and banana nice cream. And yes you are right sleep sure is important so you’ve definitely got your priorities right. Take care and rooting for you till the finishing line!!!!! <3
Thanks!!
Hello, Cassey.
I hope you read this. As I said in another blog post, I honestly honestly think those % are insane (75% fat, 20% protein, and 5% carbs). I have no idea about paleo, but there is no possible way you reduce body fat with those intake levels, even if they’re good fats (lox, avocado, nuts…) and even if you do cardio every day. You really need more carbs to have energy for you whole day. I’d seriously reconsider those paleo macros and just stick to a regular balanced pattern of 50% carbs, 20% protein, and 30% fat from good food in general. If I had 5% carbs a day, my body would become totally crazy.
I wish you the best 🙂
Sorry, I meant keto, not paleo 🙂
I’m doing higher than 5% carbs now. That is crazy!
Yep, you still inspire me and motivate me to get back on track with my nutrition!!! My body has been feeling that need (urge!!!) to eat better, healthier foods that make ME and MY STOMACH happy. Now I’m dying to finally have your Fit Journal and Meal Planner shipped to me. I am seriously excited and so ready for that journey 🙂
Please take care of yourself, Cassey. I hope you don’t get too overwhelmed with tracking your food and macros!!! (On the other hand, it might just be what you actually need)
Love your blog! I think we have somewhat similar body responses based on reading all your posts. I personally find it very hard to put on muscle while losing fat. I have had more luck doing 3 weeks of super hard workouts (while eating normally and I can feel my jeans getting tight in the legs ) then one week of very healthy eating and light cardio to drop a pound or two. Plus measuring the nuts – I limit them to 200 calories a day as I could easily eat cups of them. They are so dang easy to grab!
Cassie I’m so so proud of the progress that you’ve shown until now. However have you considered what thoughts you’re having about this journey deep down inside and how they might affect you?
I’m currently reading the power of your subconcious mind. There’s a fave TED talk of mine out there that also addresses how your thoughts have extremely significant effects on how your body responds according to the thoughts you’re thinking.
In this one experiment people consumed a milkshake which had the exact same amount of calories. However according to the information given to them by the researchers, their body significantly responded differently to the exact same milkshake. This also goes for another experiment regarding excercise and administering medicines.
My point is: your thoughts will cause your body to respond in a certain way. Regardless of your concious efforts. If deep down inside you have even a limited amount of thoughts that your journey might hurt other people’s feelings resulting in people not liking you (affected hy the negative comments), and you already said you’re a people pleaser, then your subconcious will 100% make sure that you don’t loose weight or even gain it. That way it’s fulfilling your subconcious belief that everybody should like you and the pain of being rejected by some people is to be avoided by all means. Even if that means sabotaging your progress.
Please watch this TED talk to understand more: https://youtu.be/0tqq66zwa7g
Your concious physicals efforts only matter up to a certain degree. The biggest part of your physical functions is controlled sunconciously (heartbeat, regenerating of cells etc). The exact wording of your thoughts about this journey are an integral part of this journey, whether you want them to be or not. If you really want to change and see dramatoc effects you nee to pay attention to tour exact thoughts and change them where necessary.
I genuinenly hope this info helps as I’m rooting for you! Biggest hugs and blessings for you
I have been following you for about a year and 3 months. Before your videos I did not work out but I needed something to burn energy to help with my anxiety and it did. I do it 6 days a week now. I lost about 5 lbs not out of trying just out of working out. Then I started eating salads daily some times twice a day lost another 2 lbs and Kept at it for about another 2 months did not lose any more weight. Now I eat what ever still same so I figure if gonna stay same should just eat what I want. Either way I feel so much better and healthier. I thank you for being you no matter what journey you are on you keep me on track with your calendars and videos. I would like to see some full 30 min video that is 30 min with out warm up and cool down I give my self so much time daily before work and sometimes on calendar if one day is much longer then another I have to break it up for after work
Hey….even i am on a weight loss joirney and your post has genuinely helped me pay heed to something i was takign lightly uptill now. I am grateful to you for sharing such an insightful comment. Thanks a lot ! ❤️
I’m glad you’re taking matters into your own hands and taking things to the next level. You’re 2nd obsessed. You’re dedicated. 🙂
Cassey being on a low carb diet is why you can’t move on and have a healthy relationship with food. Carbs are the food of the brain, and also fat burns in the flame of carbs. If you are restricting your calories and not eatting enough calories, your body goes into starvation mode and it stores fat. If you eat enough calories and carbs which tie to the fat, the energy your body will use will break down the fat and your body will become a fat burning machine. It is not about the calories but the amount of fat in foods, and seeing you have recommended 75% of fat in your diet is not good. You need to educate yourself on these things if you want to find your freedom. I am eating all the time, as much as I want, and I have never been leaner. This is my experience, hopefully it will help you. Good luck!
My mom is a clinical dietitian and she says the same thing. Carbs are necessary- it is energy for your BRAIN. Unfortunately there’s so much quackery in nutrition, so many people give advice that aren’t qualified to do so. Food science is so important to understand how the food interacts with your body and helps it function.
I tried that once. I didnt really need to do it so I stopped but I think it can be beneficial. Especially what you said about snacking on nuts I do that too and its so easy to overeat. I really think tracking everything will help you
Yes! Me too! I am gonna start tracking my food too! I’m on the keto wagon but I had a cheat meal last night! Haha I truly enjoyed it and even with the carb coma, it just made me feel like keto is the way to go! Hahaha Jia you! Ganbatte! Let’s do this! 9lbs!
I personally can’t track or it really hinders my mind and causes me to relapse and eat even worse because I feel so deprived. But I can totally see why you want to, I know it is good when you want to see what is causing your plateau or your progress to stall. You’re totally going to reach your goal!!!
Hey Cassey! I had a friend who use MFP to track calories and she did great on it…until she started stalling and stopped losing weight. She actually added back about 100 calories per day and started losing weight again! She attributed to her metabolism slowing down..anyway, maybe something to consider?? More food would be the best solution imo 🤷🏼♀️. Best of luck!!
I definitely agree that eatting when I am hungry and stopping when I am full. I think the balance is very important. For example, life and work eatting and workout movement and rest etc. I had been a eatting disorder. After struggling with food and workout for several years I have found a fit way to me. That’s your videos. Thank you for teaching me haha. I’d like be friend with you. Thank you so much again.
I love following your journey! I am in the throes of losing the dreaded ‘last 10 lbs’ and it is terribly frustrating and downright disheartening when it seems I’m trying EVERYTHING but NOTHING is working!! I just recently decided to go lower carb (since that’s what helped me initially lose 60+ lbs! ) but I’d forgotten how *hard* it can be. Still, my goal is to lose 10 lbs before Christmas…. we’ll see. It’s been my goal for the past year and a half. 🙁
You’re a legend, Cassey! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I use MFP, too. It is a great app. Tracking my macros and cals was always the only way for me. I hope it will help you! Keep going, girl, we love you 🙂
I actually really needed to read this post – knowing that Cassey hits barriers in her fitness journey too is really helpful. I recently started an exercise to music instructor course intending for it to be my first step to being a fully qualified instructor, studied the theory for weeks before going to my first practical day – only to absolutely hate it. So much that I opted out of the practical assessment. It was nothing like what I want to teach and felt very outdated and impersonal. It was so disheartening to have this sudden setback when I thought I was finally getting somewhere. Its reassuring to hear others openly talk about dealing with setbacks in their fitness career/personal goals, thank you cassey!
Emma, look into Les Mills or Zumba or Strong by Zumba
I just wanted to let you know that I stopped following you a while back because everything got so… typical. You weren’t the same, from what I saw, from when I first found you years ago. I’m so glad that you showed up in a random tunnel of IG and saw you were doing this challenge for yourself. I feel like the fearless Cassey is back, you’re speaking your mind which I personally find the most inspiring and helpful! I love that you’re doing this to help free yourself, you’re teaching us all how to deal with haters, and you’re getting goals you want cause you want them! So thank you! I’m happy you’re back to being you openinly again!
My friend and I were talking the other day about how, in France and in Japan, people have a set time for when they eat their meals and don’t snack in between. You have breakfast, lunch, snack (in France it’s at 4, in Japan it’s at 3) and dinner. After dinner, you don’t eat. There’s a documentary called “Fasting” on Amazon Prime, and the first part of it is on intermittent fasting, which basically follows that same train of thought. You restrict your eating time to a certain number of hours a day (say 10 hours, or 6 hours if you want to be hardcore) and you also regulate when you eat those meals in the allotted time frame so you don’t snack constantly and give your body a chance to rest. Constant snacking and eating keeps our insulin levels up, and eating late at night before we go to bed makes it so our bodies have to process the food instead of repairing and restoring cells, etc. Not eating for longer periods lets our bodies heal and rest. I think in the US we’re just used to eating throughout the day and even into the night. Basically, the premise of intermittent fasting is that it’s not just about what you eat but when you eat it that matters. Like, people back then didn’t use to eat constantly like we do now, with our abundance of available snacks. I started about a month ago, and not only have a lost weight, but I sleep a lot better, and I’m less hungry throughout the day. I used to get low blood sugar and just HAVE to eat or I wouldn’t feel good, and once my body adjusted, I can go for longer periods of time without eating. I also have way more energy and don’t have crashes like before. I don’t think I’m eating any less than before, either. (I eat less snack food, and just eat more of my meals). Anyway, I know you are super busy, but if you have time, you should look into it! Not because I’m trying to sell you on something, but because I think it’s super fascinating and you are someone who strikes me as always wanting to find out more about nutrition and food.
Anyway, been reading your blog posts every day! Keep it up!
Thanks for the advice! I’ve heard both sides to the IF way of eating but I am so glad it works for you! I’ll see how macro tracking goes and then do IF more seriously if the tracking doesn’t help!
I feel like the emotional eating (eating for fun, or your bored, in my case) could be the reason for the regression in numbers. I love food, but had to learn to realize that eating for emotions is not the same as eating for fuel. Tracking your macros and portion size could help you tremendously. It did for me. Now I’m able to tell the difference between, I’m hungry because of fuel and I’m hungry because I’m bored.🤯
Yes, I do eat when I am bored!
I used My Fitness Pal a few years ago to help me track my intake. While I don’t use it any longer, it made me a lot more aware of the calories and nutrients in food that I eat regularly, so I can still mentally keep track of what I’m eating and how much. Like another user said, I try to hit a certain number during my workday and leave a reserve for dinner, since I know I like to eat a larger meal then. I also try to not eat after 8:00, which helps a lot too. Being more aware definitely helps me stay on track in my day to day. Good luck, Cassey!
Wanted to say I’ve been a silent follower of your journey and it’s been so inspiring! Really appreciate how honest you’ve been about the entire process. I’m starting my own journey and setting goals while trying to be realistic about my eating and workout habits. Reading your journey has been so helpful and motivating so thank you!
Glad you are inspired!
I disagree with your nutritionist. It is a well known fact that CALORIC DEFICIT is the only way to lose fat. You must be eating 500 calories less than your TDEE every day to lose 1lb per week. Trust the science! If you want to see weight loss results this is the ONLY way to get them.
That is basically what he was saying.
I just want to give you my support 🙂
Virtual hugs for you <3 !
How do you even track macros??
It’s tracking your fat, protein, and carbs by grams or percentage in the MyFitnessPal app.
Thank you for sharing Cassey! One thing I’ve been thinking…in the past, I’ve noticed stalling and even reversal in progress when I am working out way too much. The body becomes exhausted and literally starts holding onto reserves because it’s conserving energy. Our bodies are smart that way 🙂 Also I found when I significantly dialed back my workout duration and intensity throughout the week, my body began THRIVING not just because of that but also because I was no longer constantly STARVING. I started eating significantly less just because I was less hungry, my body regulated itself, and honestly looked way better than when I was working out like crazy 6x/week. Just some food for thought 🙂
I love this post. I was actually concerned when I didn’t see a day 41 post, hoping you were doing alright, and I’m glad it was because you were giving yourself the care you needed! I’d also count any posts on IG “blogging” as well for you!
The reevaluation and looking analytically at your goals is amazing and not a lot of people do. They just set up a plan for 90 days, thinking that’s short term enough and push through, but for you to pause and look at things and how they’re going, is so inspiring!
If you don’t like myfitnesspal, “LoseIt” is another great app for tracking calories/macros.
Keeping on being amazing, Cassey!
Haha for some reason I don’t think IG captions count as blogging but they totally do!!
Two things (first for other readers and then for Cassey directly): 1. I’ve been using MyFitnessPal + my Fitbit watch to track my calories in/calories out balance for a little over the past 2 years. Using these tools (with the help of a food scale – they’re only about $10 at Walmart or Target for anyone who’s interested!) has helped me to lose and maintain a 60 pound weight loss in that time frame (with plenty of maintenance weeks thrown in there). While I’m slowly tapering off tracking my CICO ratio so that I can maintain my current weight/fitness level without using them, I cannot advocate enough to anyone who wants to either lose or gain weight how useful tracking calories is. Of course there are people for whom it’s not mentally safe, but if it is for you, it really will help streamline the process and reduce the guesswork.
2. Although I’m sure they’re only a minority of the general population, but I genuinely do think that a lot of the people who insist that you’re relapsing are doing so because they either can’t or don’t want to understand that healthy weight loss + maintenance is possible. In my experience with people asking me about my own weight loss, there have a fairly big number who can’t believe that I’ve lost so much weight and maintained it without developing disordered habits. IMO, you thoroughly documenting your own fitness journey and showing results is forcing some people to see that yes, you actually can take control of your weight and no, it’s not impossible because of age/gender/genetics that apparently only developed in the US population in the past 50 years. Keep up the great work, Cassey, and remember that the majority of your readers are behind you every step of the way!
Wow! Congrats!! 60 lbs is a huge deal! So proud of you. Thank you for understanding me.
Even though you have a 90 day-goal, I believe that what you are trying to achieve is a life style. What I mean is that if you have to measure what you eat now to reach your goal, you will have to do the same to maintain this goal. So I hope for you that you are enjoying your journey as there is no point of doing it if you bounce back to your old habits (which wasn’t maybe not that bad) after November 14… I’m not trying to discourage you, just being real as well. I think it all starts in the mind, but it must be lead by the heart. Enjoy your journey and it’s wonderful that you are staying honest with us. Take care. xx
For sure. I need to train myself to not eat emotionally, so tracking will help I think.
Thank you for being REAL, Cassey!
You are so welcome!
Hi Cassey-I’ve followed your blog for a long time for the pilates videos but admittedly have cringed and drifted away when it’s seemed to heavily focused on appearance (thigh gaps or the bikini-body building contest). At first I was disappointed to see your 90 day weight loss challenge but I’ve been reading along and appreciate your thoughtful approach in trying to understand what works or doesn’t for you. Honestly its refreshing to see that you have the same struggles–it’s NOT easy to lose weight. I’m 43 and have been trying to lose 20 lbs for 4 years! Like you, I want to feel good in my skin and clothes and feel energized and healthy. Your meticulous analysis and tracking has brought you to a place that it’s taken me several years to get to–that diet matters more than exercise, and calories/quantity matters too. I hate tracking my food but when I do I stay on track and lose weight. Being consistent about it is the hard part, but what has made the difference. Tracking macros is a pain but I know feel better when I pack my diet with nutritious foods and a good amount of protein. I don’t follow a low carb diet (that makes me crazy) but I try to get most carbs through fruits and veg for good nutrition. If I just estimate mentally it’s too easy for me to over indulge and cancel out my progress–doesn’t take much. Good luck on your quest!–you’ve re-inspired me to keep myself on track and I feel good. My weight loss has been slow but steady since and have made progress on my weight loss in a healthy and practical way.
Thank you for continuing to follow along. Yeah, I think it’s important to show everyone that it’s not easy. No matter who you are. And yeah, I have to be meticulous if I want to see results. So that’s this part of the journey!
I’ve tracked my food with MyFitnessPal for almost a year now and what helps me is I plan the day’s food in the morning after I get up. I start with food I know I’m going to eat (like meals) and then add snacks if I have any calories leftover. If I’m going out to a restaurant, I’ll try to leave about 600-800 calories for that meal. It might be tedious at first, but eventually, it’ll turn into a habit and it’ll get easier. You got this!
That’s good that you plan it out right before!
Hi Cassey! I totally agree with you about looking back to where you started. For all walks of life. I always quote you when you’ve said “Change doesn’t happen overnight!” and I think back to the timid person I used to be and how she would be so impressed with the much brighter person I am now! Every day is a new day to try your best, but most importantly, to do what makes you happy 🙂 Xx
Yay!!! So glad you finally figured out the snacking thing and have decided to track. I was low key cringing at some of this stuff! Why do you eat when you’re not hungry? I try really, really hard to not judge other people’s food intakes, but diets that eliminate vegetables and fruits make me nervous. Especially with all of your digestive issues and bloating; the fiber in veggies would probably help that a lot. I find it so helpful to look back over my food intakes (I keep a notebook and write down what I ate and at what time) so I can look for patterns. I don’t like tracking numbers either, but a few months ago I gained some weight and I went back and calculated what I’d been eating and it was way more calories than I needed (even though it was mainly healthy stuff). I realized I was trying too hard to eat less at mealtimes and then would subsequently snack like crazy. Not saying that’s what you need to do (although it does seem like you’re snacking constantly), just that that’s what helped me. Good luck on the rest of your journey!!
Yeah, if I am honest with myself, I snacked constantly!
I’ve been using MyFitnessPal for over a year and it’s made a huge difference. (I wasn’t eating enough protein to meet my fitness goals.) One thing that makes tracking easier for me is prepping snacks and as many lunches as possible on the weekend. Every morning I can just grab a bunch of containers and head out the door!
Go Cassey! I was worried something was wrong when I didn’t see a post yesterday but I’m so glad you’re OK! ❤️
I had so much trouble with low-carb – I found I didn’t have enough energy to sustain me with my intense workouts and felt really ill, so now I’m eating carbs after I’ve worked out (so if I exercise in the morning I’ll have carbs with my lunch) and it’s AMAZING. I’m losing weight consistently – though I don’t have loads to lose so I expect that will halt soon. I have energy, and I don’t feel like I’m missing out on yummy foods (hello baguette!). Could be something to try if you don’t feel keto & tracking are sustainable in the long-term?
Anyway, good luck with the new start – I’m looking forward to seeing your food pics again and getting some inspiration!
Will be posting food today!!
I was thinking it was the nuts too, as a serving size for a nut snack for me is 15 grams, that’s like 7 macadamia nuts, and almost 100 calories if that puts things in perspective.
I was doing 5% carbs, and my energy was drained. I couldn’t hardly lift let alone do high intensity cardio. My weight loss RD said to move it to 10% carbs and I saw BETTER results as my workouts improved as did my mood. The brain and body NEED glucose. But if you feel 5% is best for YOU , then you do you. As soon as I increased carbs some though after hitting my goal weight, weight came on quickly and inches too and there are no studies showing the long term health effects of keto, especially the saturated fat a lot of people do, which I know you been more mindful of lately, so good for you.
I also have an Ed history, and do get hung up on calories and such, but I want the bit of weight I gained this summer off too. I’ll feel better about myself. But I just wanted to voice that 10% carbs worked better for me than 5% and I feel it’s healthier. Just my two cents, but you do what you have to do. Give yourself credit, you are still doing GREAT! Plateaus happen. Best of luck!
Honestly 5% seems really low esp. for the level of activity I like to be at. But let’s see what happens!
I use to track my food with Lifesum app, works well for me and it’s quick, even though you have to pay to set your macros. If you don’t feel like tracking every day, you could do a 5/6 days a week tracking to keep your mind free 😉
You’re doing an amazing job, fat loss is not a straight line, just keep up and trust the process!!!
Thanks!
Good luck with macro counting! As someone with a history of bad relationship to food and body image it was utterly devastating for my mentality. :/ But it works for some people, I hope it works for you too! Just please be careful! ❤️
I was eagerly waiting for your post. And I’m glad to see that you’re such a strong and beautiful person, Cassey. You’ll achieve all the goals you set your mind to!
Excited for your level 2! ♥️
Snacking, especially nuts (so many calories in there, and fats!), isn’t great for your body. It doesn’t allow you to recognize if and when you’re hungry, or thirsty, or full, because your stomach is basically always eating. I’d never ever recommend snacking, except if you’re a pregnant woman or a growing teenager of course 😀 Again, if you have whole meals, you DON’T NEED to snack! If it’s just for fun, maybe you should interrogate that ‘need’ to snack: do you compensate for something? do you ‘fill yourself up’ because you feel you lack something in your life? Many, many people unfortunately eat their emotions, my boyfriend used to be like that… it’s not easy to admit, but once you do, it’s life-changing!
Sleep deprivation is also really bad, your body needs 7-8 hours (at least :)) to rebalance hormones (your hypothalamus works wonders at night!), repair your muscles, and let your brain register new paths, new goals and new settings. Studying how sleep works is truly amazing, and it’s a miracle for our bodies, really 🙂 So I’m very happy you didn’t blog and you went straight to bed!! 🙂
All the best for your tracking calories, it sure doesn’t sound like fun, but I believe in you for not relapsing in an eating disorder 🙂 And again, thank you for your honesty and your sharing. I hope my comments can be helpful to you in some ways, if you want the source for all these scientific facts, I’d be happy to find some studies in English 🙂 Let me know! xx
👍 this is exactly what I wanted to say.
Very helpful! I am so glad I went to bed too! And yes, I think I ate A LOT of nuts.
You can do it!! Don’t get discouraged! I am not a huge fan of tracking either, but I think I may have to follow suit with my diet as well. It helps me to stick to something. If I don’t have numbers, I allow myself to eat a lot of many things because they are healthy. But too much of anything is never good! I love that you are so open about what is going on! Keep being you! 🙂
I’ve been following the blog these past few days and feeling your frustration come through the screen: “am I not in ketosis? is it my gut? is it the dairy?”. One thing I much prefer about tracking vs any other “diet” is that while it’s tedious, it demystifies the process. It’s just a mathematical equation, and I can treat it like making a budget. Some things are “expensive”, which doesn’t mean I can’t eat them, I just have to save up somewhere else so I can spend later.
When you’re moving from one area of the healthy range to another one, the calorie deficits involved are really quite small, especially as a woman – about 500 calories a day for a sustainable rate of weight loss. That can be wiped out so easily! 70g of nuts. Two slices of toast with butter/peanut butter.
I commented on another post with a snack suggestion for when your brain is craving salty/crunchy. I LOVE cornichons, the french tiny pickles that are all vinegary, but any pickle will do really. I get them in 200g jars and THE WHOLE JAR is about 50 calories so I can munch the whole thing if I want.
Excited to see the next stage of your journey!
Agree with the demystification!!
Thank you for sharing all this. I feel like hitting a plateau is common for a lot of people who are trying to lose weight, so it’s really helpful to see what you are doing to accomplish your goals! I recently started doing a low-carb diet (sort of also lazy keto I guess), but my main concern is how sustainable this is…I don’t know if I can eat like this for the rest of my life. I really want to know what your plan is after the 90 days are over…will you continue strictly following “lazy keto”/macro tracking? I’ve used MyFitnessPal on and off while trying to lose weight and I do find it helpful, but like always I eventually fall off the wagon and stop. I have a long way to go to be at a healthy weight again but I really find reading your posts motivating!
I don’t think I’ll continue strict keto after unless I haven’t hit my goals. I naturally eat and cook more whole30 but I’ll allow matcha milkshakes and blue velvet cakes once in a while!
I don’t think I will continue super keto after this, maybe lazy keto or whole 30 ish. And no I don’t plan on tracking after. UNLESS I don’t make it to my goal and want to keep going. We shall see!
I wondered where you went! Yay I love tracking and am really interested in your macros. I have been thinking you were not hitting your fat goals, but maybe so with all the nuts 😉 Yiu can do this! I feel like such a voyeur because I have not been doing a good job of tracking lately or resisting treats.
I don’t know if you’ll read this but I wanted to voice my support for your 90 day journey 🙂
For me personally, lifting weights (especially powerlifting) has changed the way I look at my body; nowadays I don’t really care about my weight unless I’m calculating how much I can lift relative to body weight. There’s no point in weighing less if it makes me weaker; there’s no shame in weighing more if it’s muscle (in fact, more muscle mass = burn more energy in a day = can eat even more yummy foods!! which is a good thing).
There’s a lot of understandable negativity associated with our weight / size / food intake – I’m really happy that you’re using them as tools in a positive way. For me, it was really freeing to have my weight go from being something to be unhappy about to a tool to measure my (lifting) progress. It’s sort of like conducting a scientific experiment on yourself! Hope everything goes well – I’ve really enjoyed reading these blog posts 🙂
That’s exciting! Lifting more weight is always so empowering!!!
I don’t have a problem with numbers, however, the keto diet messed with my hormones and gut… I think it work for some, and that’s great. If you’re having gut issues though, maybe keto is a root cause. I started eating nuts and some “healthy” carbs and feel so much better!
My bloat went away a couple days ago so I’ll check to see if it happens again. I’m sorry it messed with you! Are you better now?
When I snack on nuts day to day, or natural peanut butter, even in small amounts, I start to get bloated and my tummy aches too – I read that vitamin E for some people, in large amounts, can cause these exact issues as well as fatigue and other things. I stopped eating them on consecutive days and the problems went away… Could be coincidence and every stomach is different but that is my experience. I still have nuts, just not every day.