About 1.5 years

Hi Joanne, First my apologies for my long absence. No specific reasons more than too much time online. I too am struggling with staying committed to tracking. I find myself doing it at the end of the day and I prefer to do it progressively through the day and use it to help me make decisions on what macros need to be adjusted for the day. I’m about halfway through my losing journey and down about 45 pounds. I broke a 3 month plateau and lost 6 pounds in the last month but also still find myself thinking it is not enough each day and fearing another plateau. You were helpful in recommending I increase my calories and my dietician concurred. That and I’m sure the last 4 months of strength training helped. I also went up from 7.5 to 10 in my Mounjaro dose. One thing I did in a prior time when losing was buy a lifetime membership to Loseit. I figured it would help keep me committed to tracking. It didn’t and I fell off but I did come back to it and appreciated already knowing the platform and having my usual foods and recipes previously entered. I do believe tracking is the most effective tool I have ever used over my ups and downs with yo yo dieting prior to getting on Mounjaro. Now I believe tracking, exercise and the medication are running neck and neck as my best tools. Does my fitness pal tell you the length of your streak? I’m a sucker for that motivation and will go back and fill in the day before to not lose a streak in the past. That doesn’t help with using the information to make real time decisions though so I’m trying to track in real time. Carla

On my strength training days I want to maximize leucine. I already have the habit of doing 2 days a week strength training and having yogurt after. I’ve had some AI learning and dialed in better protein choices for these days. I am going to change up my choices to include foods with leucine which maximizes muscle repair and building. Timing also matters so I will include pre and post workout foods. I will add a 3rd day of strength training which I have been attempting but need to commit to and it will also be at the same time so I can stack that as a habit. It will be on Friday or Saturday. If interested here is the conversation I had with Gemini to work this out. Excellent question. Fairlife low-fat milk is a fantastic choice for a pre-workout beverage as it contains a good balance of protein and carbohydrates, and it can also provide a buffer for the coffee's acidity. Let's adjust the plan to incorporate the Fairlife milk and whey protein pre-workout, and then rework the post-workout meal to still hit your leucine goal. Leucine Content per Ingredient (New) • Fairlife Low-Fat Milk: One cup (8 fl oz) of Fairlife low-fat milk contains 13g of protein. Based on the amino acid profile of milk protein, this equates to approximately 1.2 grams of leucine. Revised Plan to Reach 4g Leucine This plan uses your new ingredients and still centers around your 11:15 AM workout time, with the goal of getting a significant leucine dose both before and after your session. Meal • Why: This mix delivers caffeine for performance, a quick hit of leucine from the whey, and a sustained release of amino acids from the milk's casein and whey proteins. Here are a few options for how to combine them to get a good pre-workout leucine dose: Option A (Lower Leucine Pre-Workout): • Coffee: Brewed coffee, as much as desired. • Fairlife Low-Fat Milk: 1 cup (8 fl oz). • Leucine Contribution: ~1.2g • Levels Whey Protein: 1/2 scoop (approx. 15g). • Leucine Contribution: ~1.27g • Total Leucine Pre-Workout: ~2.47g