Shark Sandwich

[Z]

I was laying down in bed on my side watching a movie today, when I realized that for the first time in a long time, my legs were in contact all the way down. That might sound a little weird, but it used to be that my thighs were too fat for my knees to be able to quite touch. This made lying on my side quite uncomfortable. It's a small but undeniable sign that I'm moving in the right direction.

This next weekend, I've decided to fly up to Seattle and see my wife for the weekend - mind you - she doesn't know that yet.

I've got it all planned out. I'm going to get her a gift, and package it in a UPS box... label it and everything. Then I'm going to show up at the house and ring the doorbell and leave the box on the porch. She'll have to get up from the couch to check the mail - during which time I'll run around to the back of the house and let myself in. when she comes back, I'll be sitting on the couch in the living room - as though I was there all along.

What can I say? I love a dramatic entrance.

[makrida]

You have to love a guy that can plan a thoughtful surprise Just say casually " who was that at the door ? " As if you had been sitting there the whole time

Mind you, she might not recognize you !

[luvmybabyhead]

I was thinking the same - your wife might not instantly recognize you. So watch out! You might find out she has a great left hook!

So romantic though!

[janetsbreeze]

Sounds like a very sweet surprise

[BellaRose]

Be sure to duck when she thinks
there's a strange man in her house!
Wasn't she coming down to you this month?
Things got changed?

Have fun in Seattle. It will be cold for you
now after living in the desert for awhile.

I like your new picture. In your old new
picture you looked "angry". Happier now!

Congrats on your victory..lying on your side.
It's the little things like that keep us going.
Only gets better!

[Z]

Originally Posted by BellaRose

I like your new picture. In your old new
picture you looked "angry". Happier now!

Yeah - the last shot did come of a little creepy.

The old picture was more difficult to take, because I was using the camera on my phone, which didn't handle low light situations well (requiring a longer exposure), and had to be handheld to take a picture. a long handheld exposure makes it very difficult to get a shot that isn't blurry. I picked up a cheap point and shoot (Canon AS4000 IS) which has a timer on it, and a multishot setup so I can snap 10 in-focus shots, with a timer, while standing back from the camera, with the camera set down on a surface, and make 10 different faces. Without the stress of trying to hold perfectly still with my arms akimbo, while staying in focus and in frame, getting a decent shot was a lot easier.

Then I just tried as much as possible to steal Gaily Gail's pose (I'm afraid I don't quite pull it off)

[BellaRose]

Gail has blonde! That's why
picture/pose not the same!

Have a Great Weekend! Don't forget
to give us the details, well most of them!

[Z]

Left eyebrow arched, towards camera... - it's not a bad facsimile, for what it is. ;^)
(also, I'm totally kidding - her avatar is killer.)

[AnnF]

Amazing photos, Z! And I love your surprise visit plan!

[Z]

Originally Posted by AnnF

Amazing photos, Z! And I love your surprise visit plan!

Thank you AnnF

I just called my wife and pleaded with her to consider coming down for the weekend ("c'mon round-trip is only $850, it'll be worth it... I can recover the hit to my savings and it'll only throw off the move date a month or two...")

The reality is the round trip is going to cost me $150, because my friend is helping me to split the cost.

She's going to be mopey about it, all day.

[janetsbreeze]

Can't wait to hear the details about your surprise

[Z]

Showmanship is all about managing expectations: Set low expectations, and then deliver magnificence.

It won't hurt that I'm about 64 pounds lighter now than I was the last time she saw me.

[LiterateGriffin]

Gee, I go away for a little bit, and come back to a new face on Z, and a new "evil" plan for the wife! Hope it goes according to plan -- and wish I could be a fly on the wall to catch the first 6 seconds of her reaction! (I figure anything after that will be "fade-to-black" and none of my business, but would SO love to see that initial look on her face, as she processes that you're there, and it's YOU!)

~grin~

Enjoy your reunion. Can't wait till it's permanent!

[Z]

I would categorize my trip as about 85% on plan.

I did have an alcoholic drink that included half a shot of buttershots. I also had some cashews, and at a different point sour cream.

That said - While I exceeded my planned carb count I did not take license to eat anything that was utterly verboten. No bread, no corn, no pizza, no rice, et cetera.

It looks like I'm only 2 pounds off the mark - well within the anticipated variance.

Tomorrow marks the beginning of work, and the return to my focused fitness routine. If I have indeed fallen out of ketosis I don't expect it will take more than 4 days to be back on the hunt. As I've mentioned before the lifting and cardio helps to burn off any excess glycogen.

It was nice to visit home, but I'm glad to be back to my new home. After only a few days in Seattle, my back hurts and my knees are starting to hurt.

All that working out is starting to have real world impact. I walked through the airport with a very heavy load (backpack, suitcase, and guitar) and I was able to shoulder the burden for a sustained amount of time with ease. I don't even know how this is possible, but my legs 'seemed' disappointed at the lack of a proper challenge. As I walked (and walked and walked...), instead of getting tired, they amped up and hit their stride. I became the opposite of tired - whatever that is.

It was pretty sweet.

Now I'm back in the land of eternal sunshine - just in time for the heavy winter storm warning.

As for my time with my wife - it went quite well. She was well pleased to see me.

[janetsbreeze]

I'm so glad your trip went well!

I have to ask - was your wife appreciative of your surprise?

[Z]

Originally Posted by janetsbreeze

I'm so glad your trip went well!

I have to ask - was your wife appreciative of your surprise?

Sure was. I had already played it off like I was disappointed that she wasn't coming down. I spent an hour "trying to convince her" to come down for a weekend visit. So she was pretty surprised to see me.

[janetsbreeze]

I'm so glad to hear it

[LiterateGriffin]

~chuckles~ Best surprise in the world.

[BellaRose]

Glad you had a great visit and
stayed pretty well on plan. Only
2lbs up! Congrats!

[Z]

I'm back to my lowest ever - 280.6

[BellaRose]

WEIGH TO GO!

[Z]

thanks!

[Z]

I am curious to see, now that I am exercising regularly, how my body will react to a carb refeed - and the impact that will have on my weight, and rate of loss in the coming weeks.

It has been proposed that this can actually help with weight loss, by resetting the clock, so to speak. Others have said this is foolishness.

Proponents of both sides of this argument have brought evidence to the table, but it's hard to separate the signal from the noise.

Naturally, the only solution is to plan ahead, and track the results.

For the next 24 hours, I'm going to eat in a completely unrestricted manner. Starting with a 16" pizza that is speeding its way to the house even as I type this.

I will continue with my daily weight and cardio training, and I will return to plan in the next day. I will document the entire process, and its effect, if any.


As of today I weigh 279.0 pounds.



[Later]

The pizza was disappointing. I think they must have diced a single mushroom onto the entire pie, and added about 3 pepperoni per slice.

I ate half of the pie, and put the rest in the refrigerator.

I would have been better off to go with Dominos. The pizza is better, and it doesn't cost as much. Still, my ketosis should be well disrupted. After 8 PM tomorrow night, I'm back to normal. This next week we'll track the process of undoing the damage and returning back to my pre-refeed weight.

In the following weeks, we'll track the effects of the refeed event on weight loss trajectory (rolling average of the weekly delta).

You might be wondering - "Why are you doing this?"

Three reasons:

1. There exists a controversy for which I do not have an answer. People are quick to dismiss or accept it, but it seems like the only way to find the answer for myself, is to perform the experiment myself.

2. Because carbs happen, and people on the boards are always wondering how long it takes to recover. The same questions over and over... How bad is it for you, how much weight do you gain, how long does it take to lose weight again... Whatever happens, from here on out, you'll have a thread to point them to. Whether it is planned or unplanned, LC people eat HC foods, every now and then.

3. Because I like pizza.

Ultimately I am a man of science. I can't wait to see the results of this experiment.

[LiterateGriffin]

And here's part of why I like you: You take nothing "on faith".

Yesterday, I scheduled 2 hours for my kids at "Rebounderz" -- picture a room full of trampolines, including trampoline walls. Kids went nuts... And after one hour, predictably, were sweat-soaked and exhausted. So I took them to the snack bar for water and ice cream, to let them cool off and get their energy back... And we ran into a friend from school.

This friend is the gluten-intolerant one whose mom was so excited that I made gluten-free cupcakes for my son's Birthday party (AND his at-school treat). She had ONE gluten-free "peanutbutter and jelly" flavored muffin. It meant a lot to her that I be "able" to have this. What'er ya gonna do?

I'm supposed to be doing clean induction again. The darned thing had a JELLY BELLY on top. ~shrugs~ I took a spoon, cut it in half, offered half to each of the kids... My daughter wanted half (but ONLY half), my son didn't.... So with the mom watching, I ate the other half. (She would have been badly hurt if I didn't.)

Sometimes, it happens.

Knowing how to handle what happens to your body when it happens, is a big part of making this work, long-term.

[Terri B]

love me some pizza, Z. . . I've had a couple of pizza pig outs but found out that I was only able to eat 3 pieces at the most. Before, I could finish more than half of a large pizza by myself. I would usually gain 2 lbs right away, but it went away the next two days typically.

It gave me comfort to know that I could eat like this every once in a while and be able to get back on plan. Used to be, when I "blew it" it was like "oh well, i blew it, so that's the end of the diet!!"

[DairyQueen]

oops!

[DairyQueen]

So are you in a stall and trying to jump start your weight loss?

PS -- There are many of us right cheer on this board who do not let carbs "happen" -- period. Just saying.

[Z]

I think your original point was valid, DQ. And I fully cop to it. I listed it as reason 3 (e.g. "I like pizza").

I stay completely on plan when I'm on, and when I go off I go completely off - but within a strictly delineated timeframe. Though I have to admit that I didn't make it the full 24 hours before I had to go back to meat and onions. On a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being Pointless Dietary Anarchy and 10 being Militant Hardline LC Fundamentalist, I'd say I run my diet at about a 9. Completely on plan for about 360 days a year.

That said, Cyclic Ketogenic Diets are one of the many flavors of low carb. There's more than a little conflicting information on this. Maybe there is something to it, and maybe there isn't. Whether it's by resetting leptin, or simply by creating a new mark for ketogenesis to start from, there may well be something to it. And it may be totally bunk.

If asking this question accomplishes nothing save to provide a convenient context for a planned day off, then at least it is a question that won't need to be asked twice.

I'm not claiming to know either way, but the major difference between this refeed and previous ones is my weight training and cardio routine. I'm able to burn a lot more glycogen a lot faster these days. It would be nice if I could get back to losing 15-20 pounds a month, instead of just 10.

That said, I'm not complaining about 10.

[Melle's_Sweetheart]

I learned long ago that there's no point in being "militant".

As long as your carb loading is controlled, then why not use your body as a scientific experiment?

Personally, your results won't mean much to me because I've found that men tend to lose faster than women AND they tend to bounce back from carb loading quicker than women. My husband being the perfect example--he ate a muffin last week and had keto breath the very next morning. A muffin would kick ME out of ketosis for 4-5 days, minimum.

Keep us posted, Z.

[SkepticalMe]

I'm loving your journal.