My newest "dilemma" is that I am worried I am going to wake up too fat pretty much any morning. It's funny because I have never been one to be anxious about this sort of thing, though I do admit that I always want to be lean and in good shape these days. Still, I have never fretted over condition like I am now.
In my defense, I think it is just because it has been only 2 weeks since transitioning from "get lean" mode to "build some damn muscle" mode. With that transition, obviously my calories are up (as detailed in my last coach log) and I know how this can sometimes go - you think you aren't getting bigger and growing and everything is awesome and then BAM, you wake up one morning and finally realize, "I'm fat. Yay me."
Let me expound because it isn't the regular diet during the week that is directly a concern. The increases that I have made in calories and the timing has been very well thought out - that isn't my concern, really. My concern is that I am not going to be AS depleted coming into the weekend after a full week of training so the Skipload has to be adjusted to compensate for the changes.
I am still "depleted" to some degree after training 5 straight days during the week with one of those days a repeat of the same muscle groups worked on Mondays. It just isn't the level of depletion that I am used to experiencing while in a restricted caloric state while trying to get leaner. So, the Skipload is still a necessity but certainly to a lesser degree. My thoughts now for the Skipload are that I still need enough calories to fill out and offset my metabolism for the week, but certainly not so many that my weight goes up too much, either.
So far, what I have seen looks like this:
I went into the first week of the "gain" phase at 218 before a Skipload and then prior to the next Skipload I was up to 221. I like that weight jump because I was flat and depleted after dieting for 12 weeks so a gain of 3 pounds is almost certainly simply from being fuller as opposed to gaining any real amount of body fat. I am certainly not "fatter" with this initial weight gain.
Now, at 221 and being fuller and not as flat, this is where my brain says, "if you go with the same skipload and you aren't anywhere near as depleted, you could now start to convert those added calories to body fat vs. just filling out depleted muscle like last week.
I looked at 2 main options:
1. the most obvious - cut the skipload time back. Kind of a no-brainer.
2. Keep the same Skipload time but change the foods to be more filling and not as nutrient dense from a macro and carb standpoint (more vegetables, fiber, etc.)
I decided to opt for the second option primarily due to the fact that I am not as depleted right now, so I am not as hungry for heavy carb foods as I would be when really depleted. I also have been craving different foods like vegetable salads, fruits, quinoa salads, etc.. It should also be noted that I have not tried this approach before so anything I have not tried is always going to be something that will entice me to see how it might work.
In short, it worked very well. I did jump up in weight with the same pattern of weight gain after the Skipload but dropped back relatively quickly, didn't hold a lot of water (from not as many carbs) and didn't feel as "heavy" the day after the Skipload, in the gym, either. The weight gain after the full week was only 1 pound so I feel pretty good about this approach, so far. Still, it has only been 2 weeks so the verdict is certainly not in, yet.
Here is what the Skipload looked like:
Saturday night before bed:
Fresh Market "salads" -
some Farro and chickpea salad
some "big apple and cranberry" coleslaw (instead of cabbage in the coleslaw they use shaved apple)
some broccoli and pear salad (my absolute favorite form Fresh Market)
pre-cooked turkey burger with feta and greek spices
Cranberry and almond bread for toast
Sunday noon breakfast:
Lox and Bagels (cream cheese with smoked salmon, capers, tomato and onion)
Fresh squeezed orange juice (a South Florida thing)
About 2 hours later I had some very heavy blueberry banana bread from Fresh Market while at our daughter's volleyball tournament. This was basically just to get me through another game until we get could get away to get another meal.
Burrito bowl at Chipotle
I am not usually a Chipotle fan, but with sports tournaments sometimes I get stuck with what is available especially if we are in a smaller town.
Chicken, rice, black beans, salsa, sour cream and light cheese
I came away satiated and not stuffed so that was a bonus.
After the tournament (roughly 4 hours after the last meal)
Had another turkey burger with all 3 of the salads that I listed above, plus one more that was a greek vegetable salad including artichoke hearts and kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes and feta.
Did have 2 sweet potato biscuits with butter and syrup, as well.
Was pretty full after this meal but due to the salad foods, was hungry again in another 4 hours before bed.
Had more salads again and a homemade burger.
One more sweet potato biscuit with butter and syrup.
Keep in mind that this might not be a "light" Skipload to you, but it was to me. I usually eat a lot more carbs and just "heavier" meals than this.
So far, this approach shows promise and I am going to stick with this until I can get a good read on how my weight is progressing and how my condition is holding. I am very happy with my condition right now, but again, I don't want it to slip and not notice it until it is too late.
The PRs are coming. The increase in calories is already showing in the weights and reps I am getting in the gym and this is very motivating and keeps my training fun right now. I am getting to that point now where I know going in if I am going to hit a PR or not, instead of going in thinking, "I hope I can get this weight."
I should also point out that I am not on this kick of trying to PR everything I can and pushing as fast as I can to get my weights up. I am taking a very cautious and smart approach and pacing myself, I guess you could say. I could have gone up on an exercise yesterday for back, but decided to stay at my top weight that I did last time but for all 3 working sets. That way, next time going up in weight will be the logical progression.
I don't need huge incremental jumps. I am good with baby steps that are consistent.
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