Stephanie
March 31st, 2022

Vlog #13: My KETO Experiment & Physique Update 

For my Cycle Syncing, ‘Cut Phase’ experiment, it’s no secret that I’m going to extreme measures to find out whether or not eating a variety of macro ratios throughout the month will work for safe, stage preparation, rapid weight loss. Have I lost any weight so far during the cut phase? Yes. I’ve lost 2 pounds (from 133, but I'm still within my average weight range since the beginning of this transformation series). This has kept me optimistic about my experiment considering it’s the most extreme menu change I’ve made in almost a decade. But as I go deeper into my Keto diet experiment, the Trophy Gods have better plans in store for me...and to my suprise...it's not because of the meat.

Breakfast - Keto Day 1 

Dinner - Keto Day 1

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Food intolerances I experienced during my Keto diet experiment may or may not happen to every individual. There also could be other factors involved that may be responsible such as allergies, genetics, supplements, my current hormone markers and/or my current body fat levels. I am not advising nor discouraging the experience of trying new foods like I did, but do so at your own risk.

Allow me to take you through Day 1 of my Menstrual/Keto Phase Menu and experience:

I started day 1 with a hot cup of 'half caf' coffee that held me over until 11am. My Breakfast that day is pictured above: 3 Pieces of Bacon, 2 Eggs, mixed veggies, 1 serving of Kite Hill Plain Almond Yogurt and 1 Strawberry (for presentation). I initially felt good after this meal, but I soon started to feel just slightly nauseated. 3 hours later (which I noted was a pretty good stretch of time without eating for me), I had a handful of dry roasted nuts and 1 oz of unsweetened chocolate (Yummy)!! About one hour later, I had a second Bowel movement (somewhat typical since 2x a day can be common), but it wasn’t healthy to say the least. I noticed I lost quite a bit of water in that moment as I was also peeing A LOT that day. I was making an effort to stay very hydrated, but my pee was flushing big time. My snack before dinner was herbal tea with coconut cream, then for dinner I enjoyed some Rib Eye Steak with mushrooms, olives and lettuce (pictured above). Simple and satisfying. 
That night, I felt my heart was just pounding and pounding. Not necessarily racing (it was definitely elevated) but pounding. It felt like my heart was in the gym, (or Cellercising lol) but I was completely calm and resting. I didn’t feel anxious at all, I just had a pounding heart. I googled it the next morning and figured I had lost electrolytes and had maybe missed out on necessary salts, but I didn’t eat low salt by any means. Google also told me that fats are harder to digest which may cause symptoms such as this. Long story short, it happened again and again, and as I began to tweak things (switching to plant based being one of the things I tweaked), it felt like it got worse.

Now, there's something I haven’t mentioned yet. I started taking a BCAA supplement on Day 1 of this experiment (the timing of this was a total coincidence). After a few days of my elevated, thumping heart beat, I targeted my ‘stimulant free’ BCAA supplement and figured that it definitely had something to do with these symptoms (most likely from the 50mg of Capsimax Cayenne). As the days without BCAA's went on, I finally narrowed it down to the culprit: too much fat! Yep. Every single time I ate a meal that was super dense with fat, I reacted. I am believing that BOTH the excess amounts of fats and the BCAA’s were ultimately to blame for my pounding heart, so this experience in itself was enough to shift me back to not only a Plant focused diet, but a lower fat diet. I'll also add that when I was eating the animal products specifically, my body odor went from nothing to horrible overnight. Haha. I don't want to stink! 


All said and done, I thought my pounding, elevated heart rate came specifically from the meat, or high protein, or the high calorie density foods, or loss of electrolytes, dehydration, all of it, but little did I know it really was all that heavy, harder to digest, dietary fat. All that matters now is that I'm done with Keto, high fat and heavy amounts of meat. For my specific goals and honest macro preferences, eating upwards of 70% of my calories from dietary fat along with stinky armpits and a pounding heart just isn’t for me.

Dinner Part 1 & Part 2: Separating Starches (Sweet Potato) from Proteins (Tofu)

As my Follicular Phase approaches, I'll begin Intermittent Fasting as well as increasing my Carbohydrate intake. My fats are obviously coming down (from 70%) and I foresee them landing at around 25-40% of my total calories throughout the month. My newest, FINAL macro structure for this transformation series will look like this:


Menstrual Phase = 40% Carbs, 35-40% Fats, 20-25% Protein

Follicular Phase = Transition

Ovulatory Phase = 50% Carbs, 25-30% Fats, 20-25% Protein

Luteal Phase = Transition


Honestly, I don't see this changing again anytime soon. I've tried it ALL and this is what's left. I'm still cycling my macros, I'm now hitting my Bikini Competitor protein targets, I'm enjoying a moderate, hearty amount of fats and the rest goes to carbs. Let's see what happens to my body for the rest of this Cut Phase.

My #1 favorite Unsweetened Chocolate!
Mug Cake (made with Oats), Almond Yogurt, PB2, Strawberries & 1 tsp of that weird, sugar free syrup lol
Avocado, Spinach, Protein Powder, Almond Milk, Hemp Seeds Smoothie
Salmon, Sweet Potato, Steamed Cabbage, Olives & Lettuce (not pictured)

Physique Update:

Measurements: (1/1/22 Measurments)

Glutes- 36.75" (36.75")

Hips- 35" (35")

Belly- 32" (33")

Waist- 28.5" (29.5")

Inner Thighs- 20.25" (20.75")


Body Fat Percentage: Latest Scan read 16.1% (March 28th 2022), but I think it was inaccurate. I did step on the scale twice just to see if it changed and it did. The first reading was 15.6% and the second was 16.1%. Looks like it's lower than 18.3% (my last reading on 2/19/22), but I don't believe I've dropped 2% in just 1 month.


Weight: 131lbs (March 28th, 2022)

My Fitness Log and Posing Practice:


3/24: 1 Hour Indoor Bike Ride & Steps: 8,000


3/25: 90 Minute Low/Moderate Intensity Jumping Session & Steps: 21,000


3/26: 40 Minute Bike Ride, Posing Practice & Steps: 14,400 (Started Cycle today, Day 28)


3/27: 50 Minute Bike Ride, Posing Practice & Steps: 10,000


3/28: 45 Minute gentle bounce/light Flexing session + Foam Rolling + Posing Practice & Steps: 11,300


3/29: 1 hour moderite intensity, Interval Flex bouncing session + 15 Minutes Lay bouncing & Steps: 10,000


3/30: Posing Practice, 20 Minutes light flexing session on my Jumper & Steps: 10,800 


Mindset Focus: Let's get this SHOW on the road. What am I waiting for? I'm READY! LET'S DO THIS!!!



Next Week I will be diving into my Intermittent Fasting experience and revealing my latest news! 

1 comment

  • Keto put me into severe arthritis (within 3 weeks time). I could barely move. Took me a 3 day juice fast to get out of pain. Thanks for keeping us updated. I am currently doing your Level 1 training and enjoying it everyday. 🙂

    Kelli

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