The Angry Typist

PROGRESS:

After 152 days of VERY hard, tedious, and conscious efforts, I am finally seeing some results in my weekly progress photos! My typical sport bra and shorts were no longer squeezing me like a sausage! This small progress gives me a second wind to forge on. My monthly Fit3D body scan comparing from April to current – about 7 weeks when we entered cut phase of body recomposition showed a total of 3.3 lbs loss. But perhaps the most important number was the reduction of Fat Mass by 1.3lbs. The most challenging about body recomp is to lose fat without losing muscles and that is why nutrition is so important.

NUTRITION:

The pre-logging is a complete game changer because now I can just adjust the remaining calories as needed – whether that’s a snack or a treat. Perhaps the even bigger mindset changer is that I just needed a Starbucks on Friday and wanted to try the Milkshake Factory Sat and although I was over in my allotted calories both days, I did not fret one bit. I had to learn that occasional treats is A-OK!

PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES:

I started to be more selective about which WODs to participate and which one to substitute with some 5-3-1 Strength App doing rounds of deadlifts since my new focus is to lift heavy more often than cardio. It was my first time successfully completing my first lifting complex of Power Clean + Push Press + Push Jerk and finished at 80# which is a feat considering my 1RM clean is 85#. One of the MetCon for the week included 21-18-15 deadlifts and those were SUCH big numbers I panicked and opted for 95# instead of what Coach A had suggested (60% @ 105#). Afterwards, I knew I could have completely do 60%. I must start leaning in to overcoming that initial knee-jerk freak-out and ‘trust the coaches & the process.’

SLEEP

I honestly don’t know why I used to struggle with getting minimum of 7 hrs of sleep! I don’t know why it was SO foreign to me and why it was SO difficult in the beginning. This seems SO easy now. My average this week is 8h with 6 out of 7 days with a minimum of 7 hrs … but its largely because I got to have 2 days off which was a much-needed break from work.

Q&A WITH NUTRTION COACH

QUESTION: Why do some days the same weights feel so heavy?

ANSWER: Not only is this super normal during the cut phase but here’s a few reasons why this happens:

• -Central nervous system fatigue (especially after heavy lifting days)
• Stress accumulation (even if you’re getting good rest now, life stress adds up)
• Hormonal Shifts 
• Under-fueling or lower glycogen availability (depending on when your last few meals were). Your body stores CARBS as glycogen in your muscles. It’s your main fuel source for lifting and workouts. When you’re in a calorie deficit or eating fewer carbs (like you are right now), your body doesn’t store as much of that fuel.

So practically this may feel:

• Slower off the floor
• Like your muscles aren’t firing the same
• Or just more fatigued than usual

This doesn’t mean you’re getting weaker. It just means your “fuel tank” isn’t as full that day. A simple carb snack before class (like a banana or rice cake) can help, especially on days when you’re lifting heavy or doing longer metcons.

You’re learning to feel the difference between “my body’s not ready today” vs. “I need to warm up more” vs. “I’m just mentally not in it”….and that is a huge thing to celebrate. On those days, scaling down but staying in the work is a win.