Introduction

Exactly 1 year ago I had just come across Kiefer’s Carb Nite and was so inspired that I designed an n=1 experiment and followed it for 10 weeks.  When I began the experiment I weighed 185.6 lbs and my abdominal circumference measured 35.5 inches.  At the end of the 10 weeks I weighed 184 lbs and my abdominal circumference was 33.75 inches.

A few months later I devoured Kiefer’s Carb Back-Loading 1.0 and again was so inspired that I adopted it for 14 weeks.  At the beginning of this experiment I weighed 192 lbs with an abdominal circumference of 35.25 inches.  At the end I weighed 189.6 lbs and my abdominal circumference was 34.25 inches.

This was followed by my attempted mixed Carb Nite and Carb Back-Loading experiment, when I began at 189.6 lbs and 34.5 inches and embarrassingly got a fatter after 8 weeks, weighing 191.6 lbs with an abdominal circumference of 34.75 inches.

Most recently, as I wrote in the Carb Nite Redux Preface, the BJJ Cavewife and I traveled to Europe and ate lots of delicious food… and here I am… weighing 197.4 lbs with an abdominal circumference of 36 inches!

I’ve steadily gotten fatter in the past 12 months and I’m committed to drawing a line in the sand here.

Why Carb Nite?

I’ve chosen Carb Nite as my template because of everything I’ve tried in the past, it was the easiest and most enjoyable for me to follow.

For me, I think strict nutritional ketosis is too restrictive.  I know I need to have a treat every now and then, and I believe in both Kiefer and Tim Ferriss research showing that the body does need an occasional jolt of carbs and calories to prevent the body from slowing down its metabolism.

I don’t think Carb Back-Loading is appropriate for me for a few reasons:

1. I’m not an athlete:  I don’t think I train hard enough.  Kiefer himself has said that it’s most appropriate for body-builders, power-lifters, MMA fighters… and basically folks that are actual atheltes.  I’m just an average joe that likes to pretend that I’m an athlete every now and then.
2. Too much temptation:  Following a program that encourages eating carbs after every workout makes it too easy for my inner fat kid to go nuts.  Trying to only eat 75-100 gm of carbs quickly spirals out of control to 300-400 gm when I want “just one more taste” of whatever junk I’m eating.

Following the Carb Nite template of going low carb during the week and eating carbs for one afternoon and evening during the weekend is something I can do… and it gives me something to look forward to during the week.

Tracking

Since I seem to do the best when I’m tracking things, I’ll be tracking:

• Weight
• Abdominal Circumference
• AM Blood Ketones
• AM Blood Glucose
• PM Blood Ketones
• PM Blood Ketones
• Food eaten

Supplements and Tools

You can read about all of my favorite tools and primary supplement stack on my favorite tools page.

Here is a list of the supplements I’m adding to my current regimen.

[ultimatetables 8 /]

Of course I’ll be tracking everything I’m eating on myfitnesspal.com.  Feel free to add me as a friend if you want to see exactly what I ate.

I’ll also be continuing to track the correlation between blood ketones and the Ketonix Sport and Ketonix Standard, so you’ll see references to these every now and then.  I promise I’ll do a full Ketonix Sport Review post separately.

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WEEK 1

10/17/14

Weight: 197.4 lbs
Abdominal Circumference: 36 in
Carbs: 48 gm
Fat: 154 gm
Protein: 103 gm
Calories: 1954
AM Blood Glucose: 93
AM Blood Ketones:
PM Blood Glucose:
PM Blood Ketones:
Exercise: Walked and lightly jogged

Notes:

Bad starting point after month of travel and letting things go.  My inner fat kid came out… and has managed to become an outter fat kid.  Jeans that were one baggy are now tight!  Time to get serious.  Always curious that despite eating a total of 48 gm of carbs, 13 gm were from leafy greens, 10 gm from athletic greens, and 4 gm from tomatoes, so my total non vegetable related carbs is actually 21 gm.

Didn’t start measuring ketones quite yet since I know that I’m not in ketosis.

10/18/14

Weight: 195.6 lbs
Abdominal Circumference: 36 in
Carbs: 43 gm
Fat: 171 gm
Protein: 90 gm
Calories: 2046
AM Blood Glucose: 91
AM Blood Ketones:
PM Blood Glucose:
PM Blood Ketones:
Exercise: Overhead Press 110 lbs 5×5, Barbell Row 155 lbs 2×5, Benchpress 205 lbs 3×5, Lat Pull-downs

Notes:

The keto-rash appeared in the afternoon… which means I’m in ketosis!  Didn’t do Stronglifts because I did legs a few days back.  Focused on upper body today.

10/19/14

Weight: 196.7 lbs
Abdominal Circumference: 36 in
Carbs: 42 gm
Fat: 177 gm
Protein: 101 gm
Calories: 2214
AM Blood Glucose: 95
AM Blood Ketones: 0.6
PM Blood Glucose: 98
PM Blood Ketones: 0.4
Exercise: Walked 2.5 miles.

Notes:

Rash getting darker.  PM blood glucose and blood ketones were measured 2 hrs after finishing dinner, and 1 hr after 2.5 mile walk.  I expected the ketones to be higher and blood sugar to be lower, but forgot to consider effects of recent dinner.  Started my first dose of doxycycline for the rash today.

10/20/14

Weight: 196.4 lbs
Abdominal Circumference: 36 in
Carbs: 60 gm
Fat: 208 gm
Protein: 81 gm
Calories: 2364
AM Blood Glucose: 97
AM Blood Ketones: 0.6
PM Blood Glucose: 89
PM Blood Ketones: 2.2
Exercise:

Notes:

Second dose of doxycycline, caused a little GI upset when taken on empty stomach in the morning. Rash already starting to fade! Surprised by how many carbs are in Piada sundried tomatoes!  How bout those PM blood ketones?  Tells me I’m doing a good job with the macros and that the carbs in the sundried tomatoes didn’t screw things up.

10/21/14

Weight: 196.4 lbs
Abdominal Circumference:
Carbs: 43 gm
Fat: 187 gm
Protein: 135 gm
Calories: 2433
AM Blood Glucose: 96
AM Blood Ketones: 0.4
PM Blood Glucose: 97
PM Blood Ketones: 0.2
Exercise:

Notes:

Interesting that despite my blood ketones last nite being 2.2, they dropped back down to 0.4 today. I guess that’s the circadian rhythm cortisol spike that occurs upon waking that’s occurring. The Ketonix sport however has gone UP to Red x 2 from Red x 1, probably indicating that my body is still in deep ketosis, despite being so low this morning. Also, it looks as if the rash is almost gone. The doxycycline works fast!

Explanation for PM Blood Glucose 97 and PM Blood Ketones 0.2 is probably due to the teriyaki chicken I ate.  I think it may have been the hidden sugar in the teriyaki sauce and/or the huge protein load from the 72 gm of protein in the monster pieces of teriyaki chicken that pushed my sugars so high and depressed my ketones.

10/22/14

Weight: 195.8 lbs
Abdominal Circumference:
Carbs: 63 gm
Fat: 229 gm
Protein: 100 gm
Calories: 2661
AM Blood Glucose: 93
AM Blood Ketones: 0.4
PM Blood Glucose: 90
PM Blood Ketones: 1.7
Exercise: Walked 2.25 miles

Notes:

Rash continuing to fade. Again felt a little upset stomach after dose of doxycycline after taking it in the morning on an empty stomach.  Forgot how calorically dense those Maggiano’s sausages are.  I have a weak spot for Italian sausages though, yum.  Despite eating total carbs of 63 gm, ketones were back up to 1.7 in the evening.

10/23/14

Weight: 195.6 lbs
Abdominal Circumference: 35.75 in
Carbs: 23 gm
Fat: 237 gm
Protein: 152 gm
Calories: 2815
AM Blood Glucose: 96
AM Blood Ketones: 0.6
PM Blood Glucose: 93
PM Blood Ketones: 1.4
Exercise: Backsquat 255 lbs 5×5, Deadlift 215 lbs 5×5, Overhead press 110 lbs 5×5, Barbell row 155 lbs 5×5, Benchpress 215 lbs 3×5

Notes:

Rash all gone, only some residual hyperpigmentation left, after only 5 doses. Was fasting all morning because of a blood draw (will go into results on a separate post). Ended up going straight to the gym after the blood draw. Had some of the Thorne Amino Complex pre-workout, but that’s it. I was expecting to hit the wall or even get light headed during the weightlifting because of the lack of food AND all the blood they took from me (6 tubes worth!), but I ended up having a great workout! I wonder if it’s the Amino Complex?

10/24/14

Weight: 195.8 lbs
Abdominal Circumference:
Carbs: 24 gm
Fat: 167 gm
Protein: 87 gm
Calories: 1976
AM Blood Glucose: 97
AM Blood Ketones: 0.6
PM Blood Glucose: 95
PM Blood Ketones: 0.6
Exercise: Walked 2.75 miles

Notes:

Got off a 7p-7am shift. Sleep schedule off, only had 5:45 hrs sleep. Today was day 6 of Doxycycline. No upset stomach when taken a few hours after meal. Seems to be worse when I take it on empty stomach, first thing in the morning.  Not sure where the PM numbers came from.

10/25/14

Weight: 196.4 lbs
Abdominal Circumference:
Carbs: 104 gm
Fat: 175 gm
Protein: 154 gm
Calories: 2586
AM Blood Glucose: 92
AM Blood Ketones: 1.0
PM Blood Glucose: 95
PM Blood Ketones: 0.4
Exercise: Walked 1 mile

Notes:

Only got 5 hours sleep. Shift work really screwing my sleep schedule up this week. Felt like a zombie all day. Didn’t get much time on the treadmill. Ate too many carbs at lunch which is probably why my blood ketones went down in the evening… didn’t realize there were so many carbs in BBQ Baby Back Ribs… I always seem to forget about the amount of sugar in the sauce! Oh well… tasted delicious! PM BG 95 and PM BK 0.4. Both Ketonix remained red.

10/26/14

Weight: 196.2 lbs
Abdominal Circumference: 35.75
Carbs: 41 gm
Fat: 173 gm
Protein: 83 gm
Calories: 2041
AM Blood Glucose: 94
AM Blood Ketones: 0.6
PM Blood Glucose: 100
PM Blood Ketones: 0.4
Exercise: Walked 2.5 miles

Notes:

Day 8 of taking Doxycycline. Starting to wonder how my gut biome is doing with all this. PM BG 100 and PM BK 0.4. Both Ketonix standard and sport are now yellow, telling me that lower acetone production compared to earlier today and past few days! Looks like I’m still paying the price for the Baby back ribs from yesterday!

Thoughts

I’ll do a complete write up at the 4 week mark.  I wanted this first week (actually 10 days) to be the induction period and meant to be ultra low carb the entire time.  I think I was pretty successful in achieving this as evidenced by my blood ketone readings despite a few accidentally ingested hidden carbs… need to watch out for those sauces!!

Let’s see what happens next week after the first Carb Nite…