Peter Beck Kim's Other Blog

Chronic Tacos low carb tostada bowl for #4HB Slow-Carb lunch...and Gumby

Never gets old:

• chicken
• lettuce
• pinto beans this time
• ladle thwock of guac
• cilantro, onions, pico de gallo and medium green salsa
• no tostada shell, chips, rice, tortilla, etc.

For breakfast, had a quick 3 egg in-skillet scramble, after sauteeing 2 clawfuls of organic spinach in a glop of olive oil with a little Dairygold butter. No added salt, lots of ground pepper, and some leftover black beans heated up with some sprinkled cayenne pepper on top. Protein, potassium, magnesium, fiber, and testosterone enahncement all in one.

Hibiscus tea through the morning.

Still exploring the exercise options...will be studying Tracy Reifkind's DVD, Programming The Kettlebell Swing, this weekend. Have a line out to a local kinesiologist for an exercise physiology update. Both should help direct the next phase of personal testing: which exercise types are either blood pressure neutral, or hypertension reducing.

One senior RKC gave a shout out to Gumby: get flexible like Gumby before focusing on any other moves, if you've got elevated BP. I was more flexible than most, though no pal to Pokey, when my BP was 30 points higher a month ago, but I see his point. Hard to lower your pump pressure if you're tight and clenched all the time.

Love the KB swings, but miss the adeptness of moving up, down, and around. Even if they don't lower the BP, it's time to re-introduce the joint mobility and movement training.

#4HB fat loss stall? Probably not, but just in case...

No protein shake for breakfast this time:

• 3 organic eggs
• 2 hand claws worth of organic spinach
• about 1/3-1/2 can of organic, no salt black beans
• dash of red pepper powder

Scale weight seems to be hovering about 201-203 lbs...201 this morning, up from the last pre-cheat day's 199. I suspect a little hover due to some minor muscle pickup: the kettlebell swings I've been doing twice weekly, 75 two-hand swings with a 24 kg 'bell.

Some is undoubtedly fluid retention from the sodium-rich seasoning in meats and beans  -- the downside of eating out, even at recommended Mexican restaurants like Chipotle Grill or Charro Chicken.

And some may be from an insulin spike.

• Quick off the shelf protein powder from CVS pharmacy: 4 gms of carbs per two scoops
• Zico coconut water: 11 gms of carbs per 8 ounces

More than half of all that is sugar, and though the total comes out to a measly 60 calories, that's half a can of regular Coke.

So until the fat loss is more certain (and things may well swing down later this week), ixnay on the quick-but-sweet protein ake-shay.

Quick proteinaceous breakfast shake, #4HB style...sort of

• 50 grams of whey protein via powder
• 2 handfuls of organic spinach
• 4 inches of organic carrot
• 1.5 cups of coconut water, for an extra potassium boost
• a smidge of ice chips to chill

Yum.

Shot myself in the foot with water: on #4HB Slow-Carb diet, not enuf, then too much fluid

After coming home this evening, I drank 4 pounds of water -- 4 glasses of 16 fluid ounces, each.

Not surprisingly, my weight rose. Scrambling upstairs, I first checked my weight post voiding variously: 200.2 lbs, just like when I woke this morning. A bit unusual, I'm used to gaining water weight during the day, from carbs or sodium. My first clue to a potential problem.

Later, get a call on some labs I had drawn shortly before the end of the workday, with good news and bad news.

The good news: my potassium level is perfectly midrange normal. I'd been wondering if my ACE inhibitor BP medication might be setting me up for a potassium level spike -- something this medication class is known to do on rare occasion. With all the potassium-rich veggies I've been eating, especially spinach, this number comes as a relief.

The bad news: my serum creatinine is up by about 10%. This translates into an estimated kidney function that is in the mild-to-moderately depressed zone. Suddenly, I've got CKD, stage 3 on paper: chronic kidney disease. Whaaa?

My brain goes into hyper replay-and-review mode, and I immediately realize:

1. I had a mouthful of water accompanying my 2 hardboiled egg, sprint out the door breakfast.
2. I had maybe 12 oz. of water with lunch, a nice chicken bowl sans rice and starch from a local Mexican restaurant.
3. I'm on a diet that's well known for stimulating fluid loss, and have been peeing like a racehorse despite my lack of fluid intake.
4. Ergo, I'm something like at least 64 ounces of fluid behind. And low fluid intake drops the kidney test numbers.

And I don't want to even consider the possibility that there's something weird going on due to my BP medication, a kidney stone recurrence (have been having a bit of a flank ache, but did slip on the stairs the other night), etc.

Fast forward: reality check. Get out of my head, be sensible -- and out comes the measuring cup. 16 ounces of water, 4 servings, and a couple bladder voids later: 203.2 lbs.

And curious as to how much I'll weigh and measure tomorrow, at the start of Cheat Day, and for the next day or so.

The water will come off eventually, no worries there. The kidney function dip is very likely artificial, from decreased fluid in the plumbing, and can be easily rechecked Monday with a repeat lab set. Have gone fluidless for a whole day many times before, just never knew what the lab values were while doing so. I hope.

Sometimes, there's such a thing as too much information.

But you'd better believe I'll be drinking above normal amounts of water, regularly. Another Harajuku moment -- reality can be sobering, as well as encouraging.

And tonight, dropping to the next lower dose of my BP medication :)