
At the very top you will see my Week 17 Reverse Diet progress pictures as compared to Week 1 (directly below that set of pictures).
Date: 2/22/16
Height: 5’8 3/4″
Weight: 132.1 this morning (134.5 at my week 14 recap / 134.8lb at end of cut 10/26/15).
My weight has been a bit all over the place for the last three weeks. It was as high as 137.6 and as low as 127.8. One week I was experiencing some Rhabdo symptoms and could feel myself retaining water (137.6) and by the end of the week with rest and a ton of fluids my weight went down to 127.8. In the midst of this I caught the flu and was out of commission for 3 full days, but I made myself eat the vast majority of my macros despite not having an appetite and I think that proved helpful in the end.
Last Week of CUT Macros:
Monday -Thursday & Saturday 1555 calories 125C / 140P / 55F
Friday 1792 calories 190C / 150P / 48F (heaviest weight lifting day)
Sunday 1562 calories 106C / 145P / 62F (rest day)
Week 14-16 Macros:
Monday -Thursday & Saturday 1875 calories 200C / 145P / 55F
Friday 2085 calories 270C / 150P / 45F (Refeed day)
Sunday 1849 calories 180C / 145P / 61F (Rest day)
*I was traveling for work during week 16 and don’t generally like to do macro increases when I travel because I am not always completely in control of what I eat while out of town.
Week 17 Macros:
Monday -Thursday & Saturday 1913 calories 215C / 135P / 57F
Friday 2123 calories 285C / 140P / 47F (Refeed day)
Sunday 1887 calories 195C / 135P / 63F (Rest day)
*I reduced my protein by 10g per day to help my kidneys since I was experiencing some Rhabdo symptoms.
Week 18 Macros:
Monday -Thursday & Saturday 1951 calories 220C / 135P / 59F
Friday 2161 calories 290C / 140P / 49F (Refeed day)
Sunday 1925 calories 200C / 135P / 65F (Rest day)
*UPDATE – I forgot to mention that I was pretty HANGRY last night before my increase today. Please know that I am not always able to follow the plan I lay out. My son got his driver’s permit this past Thursday evening and Friday we decided to drive to a fun candy store where I allowed my refeed for the day to get a bit out of hand! By last night I was warning my husband that I was hungry-grumpy and finally just decided to go to bed to spare everyone my mood. In general I have been great sticking to the plan this past 17 weeks, but not always. Overall I have been very consistent and that allows for a few slip-ups here and there. I was definitely ready for the macro increase this morning.
TOTAL MACRO INCREASES TO DATE:
Monday -Thursday & Saturday +396 calories +95C / -5P / +4F
Friday +369 calories +100C / -10P / +1F (Refeed day. Heaviest Lifting Day)
Sunday +363 calories +106C / -10P / +3F (Rest Day)
Workout Plan:
While out of town I purchased a Groupon to the pilates studio I used to go to 5x per week when I lived in Orange County. It was fun to take classes from some of my old instructors as well as instructors that were new to me. I highly encourage you to check out fitness Groupons in any area where you will be traveling…for $50 I was able to take 5 classes!
Prior to going out of town I completed week 7 of Jessie Hilgenberg’s Muscle Building program. Now that I am back home and over that terrible flu I am back on track with week 8.
Comments:
As I mentioned, I went out of town for both business (a photoshoot) and pleasure (my cousin’s baby shower).
While out of town I was not on top of my water consumption (especially during the shoot) and that is the first time that has happened since my bout with Rhabdo. I didn’t realize just how much that would affect me. By the time I got back home and began workouts again I was really feeling the tightness in my forearms, overall exhaustion, and unexplained weight gain in the form of water retention. I have learned to recognize those symptoms and take it easy. Once I realized what was going on I began drinking 1.5 gallons of water a day and did not do any upper body weight workouts. As I mentioned, I also reduced my protein macros to give my kidney’s some extra rest and I plan to keep my protein macros where they are.
I also did some research and found that there is some compelling evidence stating that use of the far infrared sauna for hyperthermic conditioning can be helpful to Rhabdo patients. I am lucky enough to own a far infrared sauna plan on using it as often as I can. This morning I did a 30 minute session in it after my workout and got in a good sweat. If you are interested in reading how the sauna can be helpful for Rhabdo patients, click HERE.

I hope all of you have a great week. Stay healthy…this flu is a nasty one!!!
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Click HERE to see the weekly logs of my 8 Weeks to 40 Cut
Click HERE to see the recap of Week 1 of my Reverse Diet
Click HERE to see the recap of Week 2 of my Reverse Diet
Click HERE to see the recap of Week 3 & 4 of my Reverse Diet
Click HERE to see the recap of Week 5 of my Reverse Diet
Click HERE to see the recap of Week 6 of my Reverse Diet
Click HERE to see the recap of Week 7 of my Reverse Diet
Click HERE to see the recap of Week 8 of my Reverse Diet
Click HERE to see the recap of Week 9 & 10 of my Reverse Diet
Click HERE to see the recap of Week 11 & 12 of my Reverse Diet
Click HERE to see the recap of Week 13 & 14 of my Reverse Diet
Professional photographs by Noble Andrews