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These days are not the easiest for me. Due to normal hormonal changes, I am craving carbs, and my body retains more water as usual. Physically more or less I got used to it, and it is not a big deal, because I recognized the exact same problem before. But mentally, when I am counting calories and trying to do my best to lose fat it is a pressure on me. I am trying to keep my carb numbers relatively low (usually under 150 grams per day) and my protein and fat intake higher, but these days I just cannot make it. Tried to look up for some answers, just to convince myself what I feel, how I react is normal, both ways physically and mentally too. I found this:
"During menstruation, a woman’s serotonin levels are at their lowest. And because carbohydrates (via insulin) increase the availability of the premier amino acid precursor to serotonin (tryptophan), craving carbs during your period is totally natural. It probably just means that you are low in serotonin (which, according to the research, you likely are) and your body wants to make more of it.
As for whether or not this is problematic, sports science offers another clue: during the mid-luteal phase (the two weeks leading up to menstruation) when estrogen dominates, the potential for glycogen storage is maximized. What that means is that for two weeks before your period rolls around, your muscles are primed to accept and store carbohydrate as energy (rather than as fat)."
OK, so I am still at the right place, it looks like I am not lost. I am ding what I supposed to do (even if my carb consumption increased in the last couple of days, and of course my calorie intake too), I am still within my RDI range. I cannot wait for the normal days, just to see more progress.
Today my body fat percentage is 28,4%, and my weight is 196 lbs. I know measuring my body fat percentage with an OMRON body fat monitor cannot be accurate, although I test myself under the same conditions each and every time. The more readings I do at the same time, the more different numbers I get. It is not so great and really confusing, because I get very different readings within the same minute. In the past I used a Tanita digital scale, and I had the same problem with it. I don’t really like their method either, as I find the numbers that both spit out to be horribly inaccurate; because they send an electrical current through my body, the amount of water I am carrying can drastically adjust this number.
I might need to get a fat caliper too, but they are not so accurate either. Some of my friends told me that in their experience it under estimated their body fat percentage with 2-3%. There are more accurate options out there, but they are pretty expensive and hardly accessible, plus they cost around $75 to $250 per testing session. Maybe I need to take multiple tests with my preferred methods and understand that even then it might be off by 1-3% in either direction.
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196.0 lb
Lost so far: 6.0 lb.
Still to go: 17.0 lb.
Diet followed reasonably well.
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Diet Calendar Entries for 21 January 2014:
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1757 kcal
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Fat: 74.29g | Prot: 124.16g | Carb: 141.75g.
Breakfast: Forrest fruit and cherry yogurt drink, Bavarian Organic Smoked Cheese, Nescafe Nescafe Gold, Kruger Stevia Sweetener Tablet, Lidl half fat milk. Lunch: Yellow Sweet Corn (Kernels Cut Off Cob, Frozen), Vegetarian Soy Balls, Forrest fruit and cherry yogurt drink. Dinner: Poppy Seeds Grounded, Rhubarb compote, Forrest fruit and cherry yogurt drink, Lidl half fat milk, Nescafe Nescafe Gold, Kruger Stevia Sweetener Tablet, Vegetarian Soy Balls, Marketside Organic Arugula, Pork Chops or Roasts (Loin Blade, Bone-In). Snacks/Other: Body & Fit Whey Perfection Protein Powder. more...
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2816 kcal
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Activities & Exercise:
Circuit Training - 20 minutes, Shopping - 1 hour, Housework - 1 hour, Desk Work - 5 hours, Resting - 8 hours and 40 minutes, Sleeping - 8 hours. more...
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losing 0.6 lb a week
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