Weight Loss Wednesday 1.24.18

It's been over 7 months since my last Weight Loss Wednesday post and I've spent that time on a reverse diet. My goal during this period was to be compliant to my macros and gradually increase them. If I gained 0.6 lbs or less a week, the Avatar Nutrition would increase my macros. If I gained more or was non-compliant, the system would hold my macros steady. My macros have gone from 137 P 194 C 63 F to 118 P 305 C 101 F. It's been both fun and challenging. 

Photos from my last dunk test on January 6.

Thanks for taking these Florie!

I've much fluffier than I'd like to be but I'm thinking long-term goals.

Today I weighed in at 152.4 lbs and 25.5% body fat. I lost weight at the beginning of my reverse diet. I have steadily gained since December and this tells me it's time to enter into the post-reverse maintenance phase. Today I clicked maintenance and I gave myself the greatest possible window that the system would allow. I must keep my weight between 148 lbs and 158 lbs or my macros will adjust. The maintenance phase will allow my body to find it's actual maintenance calories and adjust before I enter a fat loss phase.

As you can see in the chart below, my weight decreased initially. I was eating 2,000 more calories a day and losing weight for the first time ever. My weight started to remain more consistent because I began using a weekly average for my weigh-in information rather than that day's weight. My weight can vary greatly depending on the amount of sodium or carbs I've eaten the night before or where I am in my cycle. I highly recommend using your weekly average for weigh-ins because it made me less neurotic about Weigh-In Day.

My body fat percentage has been all over the place. I use the Omron handheld device because it's convenient but I get wildly different readings. I try not to get caught up in the number, but it's hard. I used to think that weight was king. Then I just wanted to hit a certain body fat percentage and stopped worrying as much about weight. Now I try to put more of a focus on how I feel and photos.

The lean body mass number doesn't mean muscle. It just means not fat. Mine has steadily increased, which is a good thing. Unfortunately injury and travel prevented me from lifting as much as I wanted during my reverse. I wanted all of the gains but hopefully eating more allowed me to retain muscle I might have lost otherwise.

I'm back at CrossFit and trying to get my strength numbers back up. I've been sticking to 95# for squats and deadlifts and 55# for cleans and snatches. Our strength portion on Tuesday was 1x8 at 50%, 1x6 at 60%, 1x12+ at 65%. I am proud to report that I did 8 reps at 95#, 6 reps at 105#, and 13 reps at 115# without pain. That's like 53% of my old 1 RM, but it's heavier than I've been able to lift since September. I will take it!

The Avatar Success team told me that since I've been out of commission for a while that I may be able to make newbie muscle gains during my maintenance phase. Fingers crossed.