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I haven't posted this morning's weigh in yet, but figured since I'm up early and have a rest day today, which of course means a lots of "NEAT" exercise and a nice long walk - I will take advantage of this time to do a post.
Needless to state - this girl's scale weight is up!
Oh, my gosh! LOL
And, I confess in the beginning there was a lot of talking this mind off the ledge when it started happening.
Was this water, fat, muscle?
Geez, since I've implemented recovery scores - I've not only excelled in training - there are weeks when I'm burning more cals than I ever have in my life like a couple of weeks ago when the weekly burn hit over 16,852 cals out.
And, bet your bottom dollar there were not as many cals going in. Try to the tune of 14,140. Either way you round it, I left that week in a deficit.
Man O' man, it was an amazing week of athletics.
However, there are also some very notable changes happening in this body.
I definitely feel and look "thicker", but it's not fat. This butt is filling out! My t-shirts actually have a shelf to sit on when I put a shirt on.
Mama say, "dang girl, if that butt get's any bigger you may have to buy bigger jeans!"
I didn't take this as an insult at all! How can I after leaning against a wall one morning and realizing when my glutes hit the wall, they actually bounced right off because the muscles back there have become some taught. And, the loose skin in that area is not as prominent.
I've got a bit of a "boob lift" as well.
To be sure - all I have left is a mammary glad of an actual breast. But the peck muscles have really expanded around the length of my chest and underneath my arm pits so even if I'm "technically" a double AA - the muscles at least give the illusion there's a little more there. It's honestly weird to put pressure on that area because you just feel something hard and tight instead of soft and cushy - but heck I'll take what I can get!! LOL
My quads have notably increased in size, the right of course is always bigger than the left due to the spasticity from the MS. And, I now have notable protruding lower abdominal muscles which sit taught and tight underneath the loose skin that has unfortunately become more prominent.
It has come to my attention I have what they call a mild case of “Diastasis recti”. It basically means my ab muscles separate slightly. It can be caused through weight training, but the likely culprit in my case is due to years of obesity and a VERY poorly conditioned core. It can also be caused in pregnancy as well.
I likely never noted it before because I was overweight and there was already a large amount of fat in that area in addition to poorly developed core muscles.
There are some exercises that can help, but one has to sacrifice their core work for weeks and even in that case it doesn't mean the "protrusion" will go away. It's not dangerous, just more of a cosmetic thing - So, I'm sticking with core work.
All this being stated - I can confirm that 2 lbs of muscles was not gained in the past 6 weeks, nor is it the reason for the 2 lb increase on the scale.
The culprit lay in the one thing that is definitely helping me excel beyond couching in recovery days...
otherwise known as-->H2O
Looking back at the happy scale app, the average scale weight started increasing by about about 2 lbs, literally 3 days after I started diligently getting in 32-64 extra ounces of water a day.
After the BUN/Creatine ratio on the metabolic panel revealed I was mildly dehydrated - I don't mess around and have stuck to my cardinal rule that 32 ounces of water must be ingested before I get to have my first cup of coffee and another 32 taken in before the day is done.
Some days, especially during this recent hot spell I've hit the 96 ounce mark. So, this girl is literally taking in 112-130 ounces of liquid per day if coffee, BCAA's, water, and that 7 ounce of cup of warm almond milk before bed time are included in the mix.
The average adult human can only pee out around 67 ounces/day and 32 ounces of water weighs about 2 lbs.
Lemme just state for the record it feels like I'm letting loose that much after I get down the first 32 ounces. Soooo, that leaves on average around 54 ounces of liquid left in this girls system at any given point, which is indeed a little over 2 lbs.
And, ironically coincides with just how much I'm up on the scale.
It does try the mind, I'm not going to lie. I feel bloated for a good portion of the day. And, on a 5'2 113 lb body - bloat is notable. I frequent the bathroom a whole lot more than I used too and with my newly protruding lower abdominal muscle - I often feel like an inflatable raft floating merrily down the river.
On the other hand, the wise Buddhist heart in me says
"honey, all that is cosmetic b.s. You are also excelling in ways you never dreamed possible in the gym. Your urine isn't foamy anymore, you're no longer dealing with chronic low back pain because your kidneys are struggling. When you get a cut or a scratch IT HEALS QUICKLY and doesn't become infected, you're not bruising at the drop of a pin, and your sleep is wayeeeee better. So, suck it up buttercup and embrace your inner floatation device!!!"
...LOL - have I ever said how much I love this wise Buddhist heart. I can't tell you how many times it's had to talk this mind off a ledge.
And, it's true. I've hit a point in this journey as one of my favorite cross-fitter's Kristi Eramo stated where one has to keep in mind what their goals are. Is it physique or performance and athleticism.
And, hands down without a doubt in the world it's performance and athleticism for this gal. The gym is not a "means to an end" to me. It truly is part of the bliss because I am doing things in that space I never thought possible. These muscles are defying gravity in ways this mind never dreamed. And, the rush, the high, the feeling of bliss that comes from the work itself is what I love and compels me to keep going to the greatest measure of my health and vitality.
It's about what this body shows me it can do, what it looks like is the smallest measure of what constitutes the potential of this form.
To that end, I've also decided to follow suit with something Kristi has recently implemented in her own nutrition regimen. It's something I never thought in my whole like I would do.
I-->am--->increasing and tracking--->CARBS!!!
Now, this is truly a personalized process. Well...it all is but when it comes to carbs. Everyone's sweet spot is different.
Kristi increased hers to around 440 grams/day. I don't train 4-6 hours/day or have a consistent daily burn of 3000 cals/day.
However, I do workout about 2 hours at a time and anywhere from 4-5 days a week. Sometimes more depending on recovery scores. There are weekends in the summer where I train 2X/day when swimming is involved like Friday where I biked 14 miles and swam a mile leaving me with a 900 cal burn and a total of 2750 cal burn for the day.
So, on workout days I now make the effort to ensure I get in at least 200-220 grams of carbs per day and if I have to sacrifice protein to do it then I will. And, yes this has made a world of difference in endurance and stamina alone.
On rest days like today I go back to making protein the priority. In fact, today I'll be ending the day on about 173 grams of protein. Needless to say my average protein is down by about 10 grams, but it's worth the exchange. Note: All of this is adjusted to meet caloric targets of course.
So, yeah...things are changing. I'm not certain what all that will "look" like, but there's no denying what I'm feeling and doing in the gym. I'm honestly fitter and more athletic than I have ever been in my whole life and with marketable increased energy and strength to boot!
What I do know for certain is the current weight range will need to be adjusted to reflect the average, because I'm not quitting the H2O.
Based on the current average, I'm adjusting the new maintenance range to 114-116 lbs. All measurements have remained the same. Still 25" around the waist and 31" around the hips, although I have to pull the measuring tape tight because there is now about 1.5 inches of loose skin in the upper abdominal area and about 2 inches worth around the hip. It just is what it is...
Anyhow, I hope everyone has a wonderfully blessed Sunday and a blissful week wherever your endeavors take you. I will try to catch up on the next rest day! :-)
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