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CUT Phase Week 2

Updated: Sep 23

By Amber Ellis Johnson



One full week plus a couple days of this deficit is down! Beginning week 2 now and feeling okay. Week 1 photo was day 1, and today's blog photo is day 7. I began the Cut at 140# (my weekly range then was 138-140# but I am noting the highest number reached as my beginning weight). This week I weigh a range of 138.5-137.2#, so clearly I'm losing some weight, mostly water as my carboHYDRATES are so much lower, but likely a little fat too! It is normal for weight to fluctuate a few lbs up and down throughout the week, and I know that my body reacts with weight spikes to higher sodium intake and I saw that happen this week.


I am visibly losing some puffiness already and feeling leaner and more comfortable. I actually felt confident enough to workout in a busy gym wearing this ( my bra, showing my middle), which I don't normally do, but my shirt got really sweaty 30 min into the WO and began to bother me, so off it went!


Yes, I have a lot of loose skin around my belly button and below, you can see it even though I also have visible and strong abs. All that loose skin covers my abs down the middle section but I don't care! That is the reality of a 43 yo mother of many.


The scale only reveals one small part of the progress I am making, so I did some extra things to be sure I can track my true progress, things like take body measurements with a tape measure, and try on and take photos in my smallest pair of pants. These yellow pants are one of my fall favorites, but they are FAR too snug to wear comfortably right now, although I can button them. They are only slightly stretchy, mostly not, so if I want to wear these, I do need to lose body fat. I am hoping they fit well by the end of this cut! A little reward I get to look forward to.


Photos are super helpful when you are working HARD because sometimes weight stays elevated due to many factors, and it is hard to see the forest for the trees. Here are my sweet yellow pants for reference.



Energy and Workouts

Some days are harder than others. My two low carbs days weekly felt pretty intense this first week, and I definitely felt wiped by 6 pm, but I made it through and the next low days won't feel quite so rough as my body will adjust quickly to this level of intake.


WOs have still been great though! Even after a low day, 1/2 a banana, a go macro bar and coffee fueled me for 1.5 hours of intense Snatch doubles, 6 heavy sets of Sumo deadlifts, weighted 1 min planks, Cable Rows, DB Rows, DB shoulder raises and OH press. Woo! It's kind of tiring just listing it for you, but I felt awesome. I also ran a mile slowly (!!! for the first time in months) and sweated in the sauna.


I am VERY excited about all the muscle progress I've made!


Macros and Food

My lowest carb days have 80-90 C right now, and I end up eating a ton of watery, high volume vegetable those days, plus extra fat. Yesterday I'm sure I consumed carrots, beets, a whole zucchini, onion, mushrooms, cabbage...anything and everything I could shove in, hahaha! 😃


I definitely have to eat Air noodles (Konjak Noodles like It's Skinny Pasta) to help fill the void, too.


The protein bars I eat on low days are FEEL bars: high protein, moderate fat, low carb. Perfect for outings. I also bring OWYN shakes with 32 g protein and Vermont Smoke and Cure meat sticks.


I eat brothy soup of all types, and eggs and veggies almost every meal 🍜 🥓 🍳 . No I don't really get tired of them, they are fuel and I'm grateful for the food. I'm also so hungry that all food is amazing!


When I reach the end of the day, I make sure to make up for any macros I'm low on. If fats could use a little boost, I almost always choose HU refined sugar free, DF chocolate. Mmmmm.


Mood and Mindset


I am still doing okay, my outlook is good and positive, my energy is alright most days, but on very busy days where I don't eat regularly enough I feel quite low energy, maybe hit a slump or two. Caffeine usually helps, so I have a cup of tea. If i can manage to, I rest. Rest is best of course but not always possible, so I just do the best I can. I am not feeling irritable, but I do have less patience and feel a little more drained of my energy already.


Major Meals


This week I've been SUPER busy, so my meals have not been as varied as I prefer, but I remind myself that I really just NEED this fuel, I don't have the time to make special or more multistep meals right now, and I'm fine with that.


**For folks who don't know, I have an autoimmune disease and must not eat highly inflammatory foods. You will notice that my diet is more limited than most people, and it is because of how my body overreacts. I avoid All grains but white rice, all beans but lentils and some chickpeas, I avoid cow dairy, most goat dairy, soy, corn, nuts, and all nightshades like white potato, tomato, eggplant, and peppers. I cannot eat refined white sugar.


Proteins: I make skinless chicken tenderloins and breasts twice per week and eat them daily. Some days I get to eat lean beef 93% lean, fish, and frozen shrimp. I eat eggs daily and added whites.

Carbs: I make big pots of white rice and eat a small amount with each meal. I also bake whole sweet potatoes, steam beets, and sometimes will add GF rice noodles into my soups. I eat bananas and grapes daily, and berries occasionally.

Fats: I do not need to add much fat into my day as my proteins all come along with fats, but sometimes I get to add goat butter, coconut oil or lard to my meals! I also add seeds like pumpkin, sunflower and chia.



Above you can see two meals from my week, one was a medium carb day and one was a high carb day. The difference being, when I have less carbs to work with, I have to choose different carb sources to fill up on. Medium carb day meal 1, I chose starchy roots and lean chicken, then threw in a bunch of kale and greens. I added a little butter to my beets to make this meal macro balanced and satiating. On my high carb day, I can be a little less conservative with my carb sources and I choose a GF roll for my egg sandwich, with added egg whites to boost the protein content, plus a protein shake i used in my coffee. Both meals are colorful! And full of nutrition.


RECIPE





Steak and Eggs with a Twist


For this one get creative with your carb source! I LOVE mixing it up and instead of potatoes again, try peach, pear or apple; plantain or beets! Fried slices of butternut squash and rounds of delicata squash are brilliant for breakfast, too. Maybe a sprinkle of blueberries would make this even MORE amazing!










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