Category: Nutrition/Weight Loss

Categories
Primal/Paleo Recipes

Guacamole Is As Paleo Low Carb Delightful As It Gets

The other night my wife and I went to this Mexican restaurant where they charged ridiculous prices for just okay food that was so tiny in portion size it was laughable. But the margaritas kicked ass. It was fun.

The one dish we had there that was really, really good was the freshly made guacamole. The waiter just made it tableside and I got to watch the process. I know it sounds stupid but I guess I never really thought to make it myself before, even though I love it, and I knew avocados were a superfood.

Tonight, I attended an excellent Paleo 101 seminar at the CrossFit box. It was taught by Laura Pappas, who really knows her stuff. She mentioned avocados a number of times and it got me to thinking that I have, especially since starting CrossFit, been struggling with my energy levels the day (or two) after a hard workout. I’ve been thinking it is the lack of carbs (you’d think I’d kno better) but I’m wondering if that old nemesis – not eating enough fat – is nipping me in the ass again. Not nearly as badly as last Summer, but enough to hold back my energy levels. Towards the end of the seminar I asked about pre/post-workout foods and she recommended sweet potatoes, which I’ll continue to do for really hard metcons. But I’m also going to make a concerted effort to just eat more fat. I haven’t shied away from dietary fat in a long time now, and should know by now that I need to consciously eat more of it, but I need to consciously eat plenty AND THEN SOME. And not just the bacon in the morning.

This stuff kicks ass.

Kerrygold Butter

One of the best tips I got from the seminar – Laura mentioned that some of the folks at the box love Kerrygold butter, a high-quality butter from grass-fed cows. I’d heard of it online but never thought my local Acme would have it so never bothered looking. Between that and the avocado talk making me think back to that Saturday night tableside Guacamole, I headed straight for the grocery store once the seminar was finished. And guess what I found, in plain sight, but had never noticed before? Kerrygold butter! And I must say, it tastes incredibly good. Noticeably better than any other butter. It’s $3.95 for the equivalent of about 3 sticks of regular packaged butter, but I don’t think that’s too high. I also picked up some avocados and other stuff to make the homemade guacamole (recipe below!). It’s probably silly to post a recipe for such a simple thing, but had any of the blogs I subscribe to posted it I likely might have tried it sooner, so here it goes.

Guacamole Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 Ripe Avocados
  • 1 Tomato
  • 4 Small Cloves of Garlic
  • Sea Salt
  • Lime

Preparation

  1. Dice the tomato.
  2. Cut up the garlic cloves into small bits (I just sliced them ala Pauly from Goodfellas while in jail)
  3. Cut each avocado lengthwise, separate the two halves, and then pluck out the big ass pit.
  4. Schuck (i.e, scoop out) the avocado (everything except the skin) with a big spoon. If the avocado is ripe then it should pop out pretty easily.
  5. I forgot to buy one but I recall the waiter at the restaurant squeezing a half a lime into the mix. I made mine without it and it was 98% there. The lime was missing, but not crucial.
  6. I don’t remember for sure but I think they put in some salt. I used sea salt.

That’s it. And no, you don’t pair it up with tortilla chips and Dos Equis like this guy. Eat it like a man – with a spoon. Straight.

I always eat guacamole and when I do, I avoid the fattening chips. And you should avoid the cervesa, punk!

Seriously thinking about doing a Whole30. Anyone want to give it a shot with me?

Categories
Daily Update

Recap of Beginning CrossFit, and Paleo Low Carb Weight Maintenance

This is more of an update on how I’m doing post, as it’s been a while.

Weight has gone up some since starting CrossFit. I’m around 195, up from 191. I would be concerned about that if it weren’t for the noticeable loss of body fat as well as the addition muscular definition and lean mass. That’s after just a couple of weeks of CrossFit, doing two WODs per week. I’ve surprisingly ‘leaned out’ pretty quickly – noticeably in my belly. My shoulders have toned up as well. I had some folks who haven’t seen me in a while come up to me recently and comment that my overall build has transitioned to more of an athletic one, versus just a ‘not fat anymore’ one.

But it’s not all been positive. I’ve struggled mightily with aches and pains. And I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’m concerned that during one of these WODs I’m gonna pop a tendon or dislocate a shoulder or something. After not doing anything physically active for the majority of my life to then, over the last year and a half doing the occasional medium-intensity/cardio stuff like orienteering, or running in that 5k, my body just isn’t able to cope yet with the rigors of a hardcore CrossFit routine. I think I’ve been too ambitious with regards to my approach to the WODs and activity outside of the WODs. My body was so sore and I just felt lethargic and shitty in-between WODs. That’s not cool. But the strained hamstrings, starting with just one and then the other, were the final straw. To the point where I had to take this past week off from CrossFit. I didn’t want to, believe me. Admittedly, my brain was telling me to lay off, but my ambition was telling me to push through and go, even though BOTH hamstrings were stinging and obviously strained. Fortunately, the decision was made for me as a relative asked me to help him work on remodeling his kitchen, so I took a couple of days off from work and spent them tearing up a combination tile (including concrete backerboard and old linoleum underneath) and hardwood floor. It was pretty arduous work. Then the family was off to Hershey Park for a couple of days (no, I didn’t eat much of the chocolate). Then back for another day of kitchen remodeling, this time removing 30+ year old wallpaper. Anyone that’s ever done that knows it absolutely sucks. But it wasn’t all that physically demanding compared to the other stuff. There was no way I could fit a WOD in this week even if my hamstrings weren’t yelling at me.

Yesterday I was tempted to go running or do some type of workout, but decided to take one more day to let the hamstrings heal. Plus, honestly, I was burnt out. So today I’m doing absolutely nothing, as evidenced by two blog posts in one day!

Tomorrow I’ll start back up again and do the WOD, and then tomorrow evening there is a nutritional seminar at the box. I’m pretty sure it will likely be an intro to Paleo, which I certainly don’t need, but I am the type that learns something no matter how many times I go to a class, listen to a topic, etc. Plus, I love meeting other people who geek out on this stuff like I do. I will have some questions regarding ‘fueling up’/post-workout recovery strategies, etc. But my guess is that the other participants will be completely new to paleo and thus I’ll step aside and let them ask the, “But don’t you need healthy whole grains for fiber?” and “Don’t you need to eat pasta or oatmeal before a 5k?” type questions.
So that’s where it’s at these days in regards to CrossFit and my weight. This coming week will be pivotal – I am hoping that this week will see a reduction in the time it takes to recover from the WODs. If not, I’ll question whether it is worth it. I am also going to start trying to think through the approach so that I’m not dying one round in anymore. I’m so weak and inflexible (physically!) compared to everyone else at the box that I have been reluctant to scale *too* much but I’m going to take it easier this week as much as is possible given the situation.
Lastly – I’ve secured a new domain name: paleolearning.com
It makes sense. With the transition from fat guy to not fat guy to now athletic/CrossFitting guy (hopefully, eventually), I am squarely in the Paleo (really Primal, as I still do some dairy) camp and ultimately I think that’s where everyone should be aiming to be diet-wise. Not to take anything away from the pure low carb approach – it is absolutely essential to losing and maintaining weight loss and overall health. But, for me, food quality is now as important as carb counts.
Categories
Inspiration Miscellaneous Ramblings Nutrition/Weight Loss

An Update on the Fit2Fat2Fit Guy

Remember that personal trainer who made the news a number of months ago for purposely gaining a ton of weight, just so he could ‘walk in the shoes’ of a fat person? At the time, I thought it was a complete farce. And, quite frankly, I still do. I won’t go into why again – my reasons are in my original post on this topic and have not changed.

I’ve been meaning the last few weeks to check on his progress. I have no doubt he’ll ‘miraculously’ return to Jersey Shore shape quickly. And, as I suspected, he’s got all the ‘As Seen On [insert TV show]!’ ads lined up already for his future benefit on his site, which, let’s be honest – that’s what this is all about. A publicity stunt.

But, here’s where it gets interesting….I just looked at some of his daily meal plans on his site, that outline what he’s eating every day in order to get back to his ‘fit’ state. And guess what? He’s not only doing low-carb….he’s doing VERY LOW CARB. Isn’t that interesting? Looks like he knows how to lose weight very effectively.

Here is a typical day’s worth of food for this guy. It’s super low carb. Full of processed junk, but if your only goal is to lose weight then there’s nothing wrong with eating shakes, ‘protein bars’, etc.:

From https://www.fit2fat2fit.com/Post/667/day-182 –

*****************

DAY 182

First thing upon waking up is to chug a 16 oz bottle of water

Meal 1 approximately 375 calories- Spinach Shake without the ½ banana–  (1 scoop of IsaPro Vanilla Whey Protein (or whatever kind you decided to use), 3 cups of spinach, 2 tbsp. of peanut butter, ¾ cup of unsweetened almond milk, 2 cups of ice

-Men’s Essential with Product B from Isagenix (or other multivitamin after your shake)

– 1 serving of Ionix Supreme (For those that bought it. If you did NOT then don’t worry about taking it)

Meal 2 approximately 350 calories (Approx. 3 hours later) – 1 can of tuna with 2 tbsp. of mayo with olive oil, 1 handful of almonds

Meal 3 approximately 500 calories (Approx. 3 hours later)  – 2 cups of leftover Low Carb Turkey Chili with 2 cups of kale/broccoli mix with zero calorie butter spray.

Meal 4 approximately 250 calories (Approx. 3 hours later) – 2 scoops of WholeBody Green (or protein shake of your choice) mixed with 1 scoop of Vanilla Whey Protein with water and 1 packet of naturally sweetened powdered drink mix

Meal 5 approximately 500 calories (Approx. 3 hours later) – Caramelized Onion Glazed Salmon- 4 filets of salmon, 1 white onion, 8 slices of turkey bacon, 1/3 cup low calorie brown sugar. Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the onion into small slices.  Cut the slices of turkey bacon into thirds.  Spray 9×13 pan with cooking spray.  Place filets of salmon in the 9×13 pan.  Place slices of onion on each salmon.  Next, layer each salmon with turkey bacon.  Then, sprinkle the low calorie brown sugar on top of each salmon.  Cover the top of the pan with foil and cook for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for 10 more minutes or until salmon is cooked all the way through.  Eat 1 Filet tonight with about 2 cups of steamed green beans on the side. Save the other filets for tomorrow.

Meal 6 approximately 250 calories – (This meal will be used as your pre and post workout meal depending on when you work out during the day) – 2 scoops of Isagenix Vanilla Whey Protein. Drink ½ of your shake 30 min. before your workout and the other ½ immediately after

************************

The above daily meal plan is typical, based on the handful of other days I looked through on his site. Aside from some misguided, senseless decisions he’s making (egg whites instead of the whole egg), he’ll surely drop lots of weight on that plan, and if that’s how he’s directing his clients to lose weight, then I’m all for it. I applaud the guy. And I sincerely hope that that is truly how he’s been telling his clients in the past how to lose weight, instead of the ‘low fat, calories-in/calories-out’ mantra that Conventional Wisdom dictates.

Of course, his current diet is not a practical long-term way of eating, in my opinion, unless he wants to eat Quest Bars and protein shakes every day for the rest of his life. But for an initial phase of a diet, it’ll do. And do well. Of course, he could be eating tons more dietary fat and be feeling more full/satiated and lose weight just as quickly yet more comfortably, but that’s his business…

I gotta admit – I’m both very disappointed and encouraged at the same time. On one hand, I wanted to see him go on a low-fat diet, do lots of chronic cardio, count ‘points’ or some other assenine diet, etc. But when push came to shove and he knew he had to lose weight, he’s doing it – low carb.

He’s set to ‘unveil’ his new-found body on national TV in a few weeks. And, I’m sure he’ll say it was all about watching calories, etc. instead of the real reason he’ll inevitably return to Mr. Atlas form – he’s doing a very-low carb diet. Will he be allowed by the network to admit that? Will he call it something else? We’ll see!

 

Categories
Crossfit Primal/Paleo

CrossFit on a Low Carb Paleo or Primal Diet

      “If you are going to do high-intensity exercise, you should eat the carbohydrate that goes along with it.” – Matt Lalonde

<UPDATE – 05.28.2012 1600>

DISREGARD THIS POST UNTIL AFTER YOU READ THIS THREAD:
https://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread56077.html

Notice that the one reply mentions that Mat Lalonde eventually came to the conclusion that carbs were necessary to sustain CrossFit workouts. I will look for the podcast that the thread mentions to confirm, but in the meantime, I am going to either increase my daily carb intake or do carb ‘refeeds’ a couple of times per week to ensure I don’t ‘bonk out’ doing CrossFit.

</UPDATE>

<UPDATE – 05.28.2012 1600>

I found the podcast in which Matt discusses the ramifications of going low carb while doing CrossFit. You can listen to it here:

https://robbwolf.libsyn.com/webpage/the-paleo-solution-episode-68

The relevant section where Matt speaks to when he finally ‘bonked’ (my term to describe it, and based on his telling of what happened to him, an understatement) starts at 44:07. Key summary:

    • “If this article had been a published piece of scientific literature, I would have retraced it….it was foolish, stupid, and naive….and no one should attempt what I did…”
    • Was seeing results improve, but after writing that up “I completely crashed”
    • A workout consisting of rowing and sumo-deadlift high-pulls caused him to fall to the floor and go into and out of consciousness. He realized his brain was running out of glucose.
    • He composed himself and quickly went to the nearby Ben & Jerry’s and picked out 3 pints of gluten-free ice cream. He ate all three right at the counter “in a matter of minutes…and I could feel my body soaking up the sugar”

Bottom line from Matt – “Don’t do that.” “If you are going to burn carbohydrate, eat carbohydrate.” He recommends starchy stuff like yucca root, peeled potatoes for this. “If you are going to do high-intensity exercise, you should eat the carbohydrate that goes along with it.”

As for me….once I heard this you know what I did? I went to the local store and bought a pint of Ben & Jerry’s “Everything But The…” (Kitchen Sink), gave 1/3rd of it to my wife, and then ate the rest in anticipation of tomorrow morning’s CrossFit. And, so long as I am still seeing the muscle definition/toning as a result of the super-intensity CrossFit, I will continue to indulge in a super-sugar treat like this once a week if I feel it’s necessary : ) Otherwise, it’ll be a mashed large sweet potato (with butter, heavy cream, and cinnamon) per day to supplement.

</UPDATE>

So I’ve finished week one of CrossFit and, so far, am experiencing some amazing changes already. I’m very surprised to see a ‘V’ shape starting to form from my chest/arms down to my ‘still-10-extra-pounds-around-it’ of gut. The strength training from the two sessions, which admittedly weren’t really full WODs even, have been enough to stimulate some serious and noticeable changes in my body already and I’m really stoked about that. Yesterday I did 50 air squats consecutively (was easier than I thought it would be), as well as some shoulder dislocations. I’ll continue to do that through this weekend minus Monday, so my body is well rested for Tuesday’s CrossFit session. I gotta admit, if it’s not obvious already – I’m already obsessed with CrossFit and I haven’t even done a group WOD yet. I have my final Fundamentals personal training session on Tuesday, which should be a real monster of a session since my coach is fixing to fit in Fundamentals 2 and 3 into a single session. From there, she said I would be ready to join the group sessions for WODs. I don’t think I’m ready, but what the heck.

Back to the topic of this post. A very important topic that has never been answered fully. At least not that I can find. Conventional Wisdom on diet/nutrition/fitness is dead wrong on most things, so I can’t turn there for any legitimate, research-backed advice on this simple question:

Can I Do CrossFit While Continuing on a Low Carb Paleo/Primal Diet?

With the exponential increase in physical activity that something like CrossFit (or P90X, etc.) incurs, is a low carb paleo (or primal) way of eating still ideal? I know it’s ideal for the day-to-day, and I know it works for active weight loss if one restricts carb intake appropriately. And for those not looking to lose weight, I know that a Paleo/Primal diet will result in that person feeling better overall, with more energy.But what about when one decides to make the jump from a reasonably fit (for a 40-something year old) person to a hardcore athletic training program such as CrossFit?

Do I need to carb-load before or do carb refeeds or just generally increase my carb intake daily to supplement?

Or do I up the fat and protein? Or just the protein? Natural gluconeogenesis, theoretically, should be enough to replenish my glycogen stores without adding any extra glucose (i.e., sugar aka carbohydrate) back to my diet.

This article by Mat Lalonde is the best source on the subject I’ve found:

CrossFit On a Low Carb Paleo Diet: Mat Lalonde Reporting

The summary:

I felt a little sluggish for the first two weeks and CrossFit metcons really kicked my butt. It seemed like I had to work twice as hard only to come up a few seconds, sometimes a few minutes, short of a PR. However, my energy levels returned between the second and third week of low-car paleo eating. At this point I felt no energy slump in the afternoon (a problem I had previously) and I was having much less of a problem matching my PRs on CF metcons. Most important were the noticeable increases in strength and loss of body fat around the abdomen.

Mat goes on to say:

So where to go from here? I’m going to keep this up because I know I’ll be healthier in the long run by consuming fewer carbohydrates. Does this mean that post workout carbohydrates are bad? Absolutely not! In a situation like the CrossFit games, with multiple workouts throughout the day, PWO carbs are essential. Replenishing glycogen stores takes approximately a day on a low carb diet whereas wolfing down some mashed sweet potatoes will get the job done in a few hours. In addition, the fact that fat slows down gastric emptying probably means you don’t want to be eating a whole lot of it during competition. Easily digestible protein and carbohydrates are still the way to go in a games setting. However, I think my experiment highlights the fact that PWO carbs are a powerful tool that should be used sparingly under the right conditions. Avoiding a carb load after a workout will allow you to hold on to the insulin sensitivity you gained from exercising. This is a huge boon, especially for clients who are trying to improve their body composition.

 

I urge you to read the full article! It’s well done and gives the proper context.

My Conclusion (For What It’s Worth)

So what does Mat’s experience tell me? I need to stick it out for a couple of weeks eating the way I’ve been eating for the past year and a half, which has been successful for me and, most importantly, I *feel best* day to day as a result of.

But last night I went out to eat with my family with the sole purpose of doing something I haven’t done in months – eat a high-carb, junk food meal. Thinking it would ‘replenish’ the glycogen stores. It resulted in a shared appetizer of nachos piled on with cheese, peppers, chicken, guacamole, etc., one of those big ass cheeseburgers with fries, a ‘Kolsch’ beer (I think Rock Bottom Brewery’s beer generally sucks, and this one didn’t change that opinion) and then a kid-sized TCBY  Greek Yogurt (garbage worse for you health-wise than straight-up ice cream). Felt like shit afterwards (physically, not mentally – I know I can absorb meals like that without issue). Very sluggish, and my heart was racing as a result of the influx of sugar from the carbs. We ate at ~7pm and my heart didn’t stop until ~10pm.

And, quite frankly, the meal wasn’t all that good. I only ate half the fries. When you eat healthy, consistently, for as long as I have now, stuff like that loses its appeal. Especially the fries. The burger was decent.

So, I’m gonna try to stick it out and hope that, after a couple of weeks, my body will adjust to the rigors of working out hard and legit while still eating healthy. I just want to avoid getting on the hamster wheel – eating bread, rice, and other poisons only to *have* to workout just to mitigate the effect. That’s not a way to live, but unfortunately it is Conventional Wisdom’s prescription – eat shitty food under the pretense of ‘Healthy Whole Grains’, etc., and then burn it off on a treadmill. How’s that working out for ya?

I’ll be sure to post often as I continue through the CrossFit experience. Jumping into it has reinvigorated my focus on sharing my story via this blog.

Categories
Daily Update Uncategorized

Update – Changed Gyms, Then Quit Gyms

It’s been a month since my last post, and I apologize for that!

So what’s been happening?

Well, let me start by saying that I have not regressed, and have noticed a marked improvement in my overall health, as judged by the simple question I ask myself multiple times per day now – “How do I feel?”

The answer? I have been feeling GREAT! I have been for well over a year now. But I assure you it’s not just because I dropped ~65 pounds and have effortlessly maintained it for the past 6 or 7 months. It’s because I’m constantly tinkering and improving my lifestyle choices around:

  • Diet/nutrition
  • Fitness activities
  • Daily activities
  • Sleep
  • Stress levels

A month ago, I was focused 100% on really hitting the weight room hard. I cancelled the membership to a nice but pricey local squash club (I was playing squash for a while but my partner, once I got good enough to start winning more than half the time, punked out on me and decided he didn’t want to play anymore). I switched to another local gym that was half the price and offering a 30 day trial. The weightlifting area of this new gym was far superior, and I was very enthusiastic to start doing the Stronglifts routine. Problem was…I learned that I just can’t do a barbell squat. I know the proper form, but physically my body is not flexible enough to do it correctly, or even close. It is downright painful. So I switched to doing body squats, under the guidance of Mark Sisson’s site/fitness recommendations. While I don’t get as low in the body squat as I’d like, it’s getting better. And what I found was that, particularly with the mostly great weather here now, I just don’t need a gym. With constant baseball/softball games (3 days a week) that I have to bring my kids to at a local park with an awesome track, fields, etc., there’s just no reason to pay money to a gym.

So I canceled the membership trial (had to jump through some hoops – boo to you, SWEAT Fitness). I’ve been more active the last month just keeping busy with the usual stuff. So much so, that I try to avoid just ‘sitting at a computer’ much. Hence, no blogging. And my day job has been so hectic, so busy, that I can’t even sneak in a post during the day.

Enough with the Whining…What Have You Done This Month?

Sleep – I’ve been making sure to get to bed by 10pm. Usually I can’t sleep until closer to 11, but that’s okay. I’m getting 8+ hours per night. I’ve noticed a definite better overall feeling when doing this.

Introduced “Safe Starches” and Greek Yogurt – when I was still weightlifting, I introduced a routine of eating a big ass sweet potato within an hour of finishing a heavy lifting routine. That infusion of quality starch/carbs did wonders and my body tolerated it just fine (gas aside). Since I’m not doing the heavy barbell work anymore, I don’t need to eat them and haven’t, but have added more quality carb sources like greek yogurt (the Fage brand, with some honey squeezed into it, is incredibly good). It’s hard to find the full fat greek yogurt (or any full fat yogurt for that matter), but it’s worth the hassle. It is great tasting stuff – with the honey it is basically a desert and tastes like ice cream. Love it.

My weight is at 193. I’m guessing I’m in the 16% bodyfat range, but have no way to test that. I haven’t weighed myself very often – maybe once every 10 days. I am so active, and so in tune with my body, that I just don’t worry about it. At all.

So that’s the latest.

Categories
Daily Update Fitness

Success in Using Performance-Enhancing Drugs

Just kidding, but perhaps, based on Dr. Attia’s latest post, where he asks the question, “What do anabolic steroids, EPO, and carbohydrates have in common?”, I think he’s onto something.

Do we need carbohydrates to sustain an exercise routine?

The above question is what this post is about. And, for me, I must sheepishly admit that, yes, I have to ingest complex carbs in order to sustain a workout routine. Particularly an anaerobic (i.e., resistance) routine. After a year of stopping and starting a resistance routine, and having to always stop within a week not due to lack of drive but due to lack of energy, it turns out that I am one of the unlucky ones that cannot replenish glycogen reserves either enough or quickly enough to sustain a routine. I’ve tried numerous times a simple, relatively easy full-body resistance program consisting of just a handful of compound movements, only to feel completely exhausted after the first or second set of chest presses, or, if lucky, it wouldn’t hit me until soon after the workout. And then the next workout (3 days later) was worse in terms of the lack of energy.

While I have repeatedly stated the fact that working out and losing weight are mutually exclusive, there is no doubt that working out is both good for you and, more importantly to me – I just feel much better when I do it.

It appears, based on the countless discussions on the topic of glycogen reserves/replenishment, that the vast majority of people can do fine without having to resort to ‘carb refeeds’ after a workout. Unfortunately for me, I’m not one of them. How do I know?

Well, as my prior recent posts outline, I decided to try a new approach and took the risk of adding some complex carbs, in the form of sweet potatoes and greek yogurt, back into my diet on weightlifting days. I started this a week ago and, so far, it is more than just working. I’m feeling phenomenal. I did my second weightlifting routine this week today and am energized. I am following the typical advice and making sure to do the ‘carb refeed’ within an hour of the workout, in order to replenish my glycogen reserves.

My Weightlifting Routine

So that no one thinks I’m over-training and hence that’s what caused the need for the post-workout carbs, here is the routine so far:

  • 3 x 8 Chest Press
  • 3 x 8 Squat (not real squats though, for now as I ease back into it – I’m using a Precor squat machine)
  • 3 x 8 Back row (the machine thing with the cables you pull straight back)
  • 3 x 8 Lat Pulldown
  • 2 x ? Crunches

That’s it. All compound stuff, and believe me – not extra heavy weight as I’m a weakling. Trying this same routine before adding the extra carbs in would always cause a crash.

My Weight Is Back Down

My weight is back to 195.5 today. I had put on a few pounds earlier in the week, likely as a result of the increased water weight from the added carbs. I expect, and hope, that with the added energy and confidence to really start pushing the workouts that I’ll start gaining some serious muscle now and will begin to ‘lean out’ in terms of bodyfat over time.

As a nice bonus – a year ago it was hard for me to fit into size 44 pants/shorts. I was at the ‘no-man’s land’ of needing to go to the ‘Big & Tall’ section/shop to get some trousers. Tonight I ran over to JC Penney to grab some shorts and I now comfortably fit into size 34 Dockers : )

I’m sometimes hitting 100+ grams of carbs daily now, particularly on the lifting days. But I will keep it to under 100 for sure. And make no mistake – I’m avoiding the simple carbs still. While I never resist stealing some of my kids’ french fries or snagging a bite of their ‘kid meal’ pizzas while we’re out to dinner, or the occasional ice cream/frozen yogurt trip, these are incidental indulgences and never planned.

So watch out. I may start exhibiting ‘roid rage’, uh, I mean ‘carb rage’.

Categories
Daily Update Fitness

Phase 3 Update: As Expected, I’m Getting Fatter

So, as I worried would happen is happening. I’m gaining weight. I hope it’s just water weight from the increased carb intake, but that remains to be seen.

NOV 1, 2010 WEIGHT = 258 lbs
PHASE THREE START WEIGHT = 194.6 lbs
TODAY’S WEIGHT = 197.7 lbs 

I’ve gone from a svelte 194.6 to 197.7 in the past week, but at least a pound of that is due to the beers I drank last night while at a party, so I expect within a day or two that should drop down to ~196. So here’s what I’ve done this week:

  • Increased carb intake quite a bit by adding in 1 to 2 bananas per day
  • I also, started eating potatoes this week. So far, aside from a couple small ones last night at dinner, the main focus has been to eat a sweet potato within an hour of lifting weights, to replenish glycogen levels
  • I’ve been working out every day, which of course has resulted in my appetite increasing
  • My sleep has improved – I’m sleeping more soundly. I attribute this to the working out.

So, the real results are this:

I’m feeling very “soft”. Definitely notice my gut has increased and overall body fat feels like it’s gone up quite a bit, along with the weight increase. This tracks with what I expected/was told would happen – that the increased carb intake would result in initial weight gain of ~5 pounds, and then, so long as I keep up with the working out, I would start to ‘lean out’ over time. I sure hope it’s true for me, as I enjoy the working out or I wouldn’t bother, but the problem before was always the glycogen depletion.

Please note: I am, apparently, pretty unique in this ‘defect’. My body just doesn’t seem to replenish glycogen quickly enough, so while I could always do as much aerobic exercise as I wanted (within reason), the problem hit as soon as I did even one heavy anaerobic (i.e., weightlifting) routine – I would quickly feel ‘depleted’/lethargic, and then just feel generally not as energetic after for at least a few days. I had read a long time ago that some people have to replenish their glycogen levels (i.e, stored sugar) through ingesting carbs. But most people don’t have to do this. I would avoid it like the plague if I could, but I can’t if I want to achieve my fitness goals. Most people, it seems, don’t need to ‘carb refeed’ after a weightlifting session. Unfortunately, I do.

I’ve completed 3 heavy weightlifting sessions this week, as planned, and am still feeling good. After each session I come home and eat a large sweet potato (usually with cinnamon and butter on it). That seems to be doing the trick for replenishment. Earlier in the week I also picked up and ate, on consecutive days, some full-fat Greek yogurt (unfortunately though the best option was the kind with a sugary fruit or honey added).

All in all I’m feeling pretty good still, though I am feeling ‘fat’/bloated. It doesn’t help that last night I drank 3 or 4 beers, and a shot of vodka or two. :  ) But, my energy levels are definitely not going in the tubes this week as they used to when I tried weightlifting heavy. So the sweet potatoes are doing the trick. I will keep an eye on the scale and report back with a fresh post in a few days with another update. I’m optimistic that I will start leaning out further, that this was just an initial ‘bloat’. We’ll see.

Another note: I finally broke down and bought a copy of The Primal Blueprint. I’ve been meaning to get this for a LONG time, but with most of the info on marksdailyapple.com, I just never bothered. But, after posting some queries on that site’s forum regarding glycogen and carb ‘refeeds’, etc., the general response was a simple, “Didn’t you read the book?” So I better read the damned book : ) Got it for an awesome price, to boot. In case you’re interested, here’s a link.

 

Categories
Fitness Nutrition/Weight Loss

Feeling Okay So Far

So, as I stated in my last post, I decided to switch things up pretty drastically and add some targeted carbohydrates to my diet, as well as be more conscious of protein intake. I still need to read through the LeanGains program some more – it seems awfully over-complicated, and some of it doesn’t pass the ‘smell test’. I’ve read enough about diet and real nutrition over the past year or so to know what to question (mostly everything), and I’m not sold on the strict protocol of LeanGains, particularly the fasting and the seemingly opposite macronutrient intake depending on whether you’re weightlifting or not.

I’ve been consuming most of my calories from fat for so long that it’s hard to find a lot of ‘healthy’ carbs (there aren’t many decent sources other than what I ate). Yesterday, I ate a LOT (at least it felt that way), but when I put in my info into FitDay.com, it really wasn’t all that much. So part of my problem may simply be that I only eat when I’m hungry, and I’m not hungry all that often now. That would be fine if I didn’t workout, but with my fitness goals I need to make sure I eat more. So yesterday and today I’ve done just that.

Today was my first weightlifting day on the new protocol. If following LeanGains, I would have eaten mostly carbs today, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. It just doesn’t seem right/healthy. So I’m going to go with more of a Primal Blueprint approach, with a couple of major exceptions from what I’ve been doing for so long:

1. On days where I’m lifting weights, I’m going to make sure to eat a large sweet potato or two within an hour of finishing the weight routine. Also on those days, I’ll add in one or two of ‘nature’s Snickers bars’,  those lovely yellow sugar bombs – the banana! And I’ll make sure to up the protein, with an eye more towards leaner meats. BUT, unlike LeanGains, I’m not going to do low-fat on lifting days. I just don’t see why it would be necessary. It just runs counter to logic. We’ll see.

2. On non-lifting days, I am going to stick to a very low carb diet. I will likely add a sugar bomb (i.e., apple or banana) or something just due to the increased endurance cardio I am going to start doing, too, as I need to start training for a couple of 5k’s that I’m signed up for. I’m certainly no runner, but my daughter has been training as part of an after-school activity called Girls On the Run. It amazes me that 3rd graders can run 5k races! So later this month there is one and then another next month. I am certainly going to be the slowest there, but I don’t want to totally embarrass my daughter by walking the whole thing : (

So I started this program yesterday. Didn’t workout yesterday (by plan) but lifted weights today. I felt really weak – not ‘glycogen depleted’ weak though, which is good. I just clearly have lost muscle mass due to not working out much the last few months. I was struggling with some pretty wimpy weights today, but that’s cool. Aside from the dude with tourette’s hogging up the power rack (or whatever the barbell squat machine is called), it was a good workout to start, consisting of:

  • treadmill warmup (10 mins walking fast)
  • 3 x 8 chest press
  • 3 x 15 crunches
  • 3 x 10 squats
  • 3 x 10 wide grip lat pulldowns
  • treadmill cooldown (10 mins walking moderately)

For diet, here’s what I ate today:

Breakfast

2 eggs, 2 all natural sausage patties (the awesome ones that Costco sells for cheap!)

Mid-Morning Snack

Banana (I said I would up the carbs on lifting days!)

Lunch

Had a lunch + all afternoon meeting that was catered with the usual garbage – ‘healthy whole grain bread’ turkey sandwiches as the centerpiece, etc. I stuck to just a half a turkey sandwich but ditched most of the bread, and added a small side salad, and an apple. I then grabbed a bag of trail mix (not the healthiest stuff I know) from the vending machine).

Dinner

I’m still stuffed from dinner! I came home from the gym and rushed to cook dinner so as to adhere to the ‘carb up’ within an hour of lifting. I grabbed the largest sweet potato ever from my cupboard and microwaved it for 3 minutes while the ole Weber grill was heating up. I then sliced it up into 3/4″ thick slices (about 6 total slices) and threw em on the grill.

I then threw a package of 4 chicken legs (minus the packaging!) onto the grill. The LeanGains protocol would frown upon the skin on the chicken but I left it on. I also added some melted butter to the sweet potato slices, along with some cinnamon. Awesome.

So how do I feel? I feel good. But the real test is how I feel in a few days, after the next lifting day. Tomorrow I’ll do some hard cardio and play time with the kids. Then on Friday I’ll do another compound lifting day (will likely add some to the routine though). If I’m not bloating up with belly fat from the added carbs and calories, and I’m still feeling good, then I’ll know I’m doing it right.

Categories
Fitness Nutrition/Weight Loss

Time for Phase 3: Fitness and Muscle-Building (Here come the carbs!)

So, as I’ve mentioned a number of times in prior posts/comments, the primary problem with eating low-carb for me has been that I cannot workout ‘hard’ – particularly weight training – consistently. I assure you it’s not a motivational issue. It’s a sustained energy issue. Up until now, it’s not been a big problem. For obese people like I used to be, the focus needs to be on fat loss and worrying about the other stuff (‘toning up’, ‘building muscle mass’, ‘eating clean’, etc.) later.

So, I’ve been thinking about my progress over the past ~16 months now and I’m looking at it in phases. As much as the ‘phase’ approach is overused in the diet book industry, it makes sense. For me, the phases have been:

Phase One: Fat Loss

This took me from November 2010 through October 2011. The focus here was to lose weight. I started at 258 pounds and got down to 198 pounds. For most men, 198 pounds is still way fat, but I have a wierd body type – large thighs and calves. So 198 works well for me. I am not delusional though – I could stand to use another 10 to 20 pounds of fat, particularly in my gut as I have some flab there for sure. But, in clothes, I am right where I need to be. Naked is another story. And let’s face it, everyone wants to look good naked.

The pillars of what I did to be successful on my Phase 1:

  • Primary macronutrient  breakdown: majority of calories from fat (particularly saturated fat), medium protein, very low carbohydrate
  • No grains whatsoever (breads, corn, oats, etc.)
  • Little in terms of starch – occasional carrots, etc.
  • Lots of green vegetables
  • Lots of fatty meats (steak, beef, bacon)
  • Lots of eggs
  • Moderate cheese, nuts, dairy

I did not exercise at all during the first half of this phase, during which I lost about 40 of the 60 total pounds lost during phase one. It got to a point though where I had so much excess energy that I joined a gym and started working out, aerobically, like crazy. I found that I immediately stopped losing weight as quickly as I had been, and my appetite increased dramatically. I then tried lifting weights, which we all know (or should) is the best way to build muscle, and I almost immediately hit a wall. I now recognize this as the depletion of my glycogen reserves. At the time I had no idea and was concerned. I basically stopped lifting weights because of it. Kept up with some cardio but not more than a couple of times a week. Keep in mind that I still was active – I don’t watch much TV, sit at the computer for hours on end wasting time, sleeping all day, etc. I’m always looking for things to do to keep physically active, and with two young kids, I have plenty of opportunities in that area. Once I hit my goal weight of 200lb, I moved to ‘Phase Two: Maintenance’.

Phase Two: Maintain Fat Loss

Once I achieved my weight loss goal, a fear/letdown came over me. I was really scared that I would gain the weight back if I let up even a little. In hindsight, that fear was not necessary, but at the time it was my reality. Along with the goal of simply staying under 200lb, I also started thinking about increasing my fitness level, especially pure muscle gain. This process/phase started in October 2011. For the first few months I just did some cardio here or there, not chronically though. Tried weight lifting off and on with always the same result – would quickly feel drained either during or for days after the lifting. So, as before, I quickly gave it up. My rationale was (and is) – better to maintain not being fat than to be a weightlifter.So I did an experiment: I stopped working out, for the most part, to see if I could maintain the weight loss for a while and see if working out had any effect. So I stopped doing the cardio completely, aside from a once every few weeks trek to the gym.

I not only maintained, but I lost another 5 pounds, down to 194 pounds.

In January, with the new year arriving and resolutions in mind, I decided 2012 would be the year to ‘get buff’. So far, it’s been a total fail.

I started off with good intentions, tried weight lifting at the beginning of the year, and ran into the same ‘energy wall’ as before. So I stopped. Continued to maintain the weight loss, really quite easily. In fact, I upped the frequency of ‘cheats’ (I hate calling them that because I don’t have any food deprivations at all – honestly – I don’t secretly wish I could eat toast, etc. If I did, I would indulge once in a while. I do with pizza, for example. And ice cream now.). A ‘cheat’ to me is never planned but simply an indulgence here or there.

Phase Three: Fitness/Muscle

So now it’s time to move past “Maintenance” and go to what I’m calling Phase Three. The focus of this phase is to get back to the fitness and, in particular, weight lifting, in order to build muscle and start working towards some sporting goals I have in mind. I do it now with the knowledge that I am certain I know how fat is accumulated and ‘burned’ from my body, having lost the weight and successfully kept it off with ease. If my approach fails (and I am unsure whether it will or not), I am confident that I can lose the weight again.

Why would it fail? Because, after a lot more research, I am convinced that I need to ‘carb up’ after these weightlifting sessions. After so much focus, the primary focus of this blog, being on how nasty carbs are for many of us, myself included, it is somewhat scary to start eating them again. But, now that I’m metabolically healed and no longer insulin resistant, it’s time to start moving forward with adding back carbs to aid with recovery from weightlifting.

Let me be very clear: I would not be eating carbohydrate (aside from the carbs I get from leafy green vegetables, etc.) if not for the fitness/muscular goals. They’re not necessary.

So, for this phase, there are numerous approaches to this: LeanGains, etc., but that seems like it takes way too much analysis/effort to follow. And I’ve been successful in fat loss by taking a very simple approach of eating high-fat, low-carb, not measuring food portions or any of that stuff. So, with that principle in mind, during Phase Three I am going to follow this basic approach:

On non-lifting days I will:

  • Continue eating as I do now: very low carb, high fat, moderate protein
  • For fitness I will do as I usually do: play with the kids (I’m talking *real* play – running, jumping, biking, sports, etc. Not playing checkers. And add back the cardio if I feel like it

On weightlifting days I will:

  • Take a reverse course and eat a very low-fat, high protein, medium carb intake from non-processed carbs to restore glycogen reserves and help with recovery:
    • sweet potatoes
    • quinoa
    • rice
    • fruit

I think at first I am going to try to stick to just eating a high-carb meal right after working out (within an hour), and eating more fruit throughout the weightlifting days.

So, that’s the plan for now. I will post my progress. I will allow for an initial 5 pound weight gain due to the addition of carbs back into the diet, but will expect to start ‘leaning out’ soon after and of course, build muscle mass.

One of the biggest problems I’ve run into lately has been that, with our hectic/busy lives, preparing meals at home has been difficult for my family. We’ve been eating out way too much, and with me being the only one in my family that cares about eating healthy, it can be difficult at times to eat right when you’re going to restaurants all the time. So, I’ve been meaning to start grocery shopping for myself and cooking my own meals for some time. It’s time to get to it. To that end, I’m in the process of putting together a shopping list in a Google Spreadsheet.I’ve made it publicly available here, if interested. I welcome any feedback on it, particularly as I continue to look for ‘safe starches’ for my post-workout meals.

Adding back the carbs, aside from weight/fat gain, has me concerned for another reason: will my HDLs drop? Will my triglycerides rise? My lipid profile, blood pressure, etc. are top-notch now. It will be interesting to see, in a month or two when I go to the doc for a physical and surely another lipid test, to see how the results compare to my previous tests.

Wish me luck. This is new, uncharted territory for me.

References/Link Love

https://oldfashionedupgrades.blogspot.com/2012/02/leangains.html

https://www.leangains.com/2010/04/leangains-guide.html

https://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-101/#axzz1qKQYdEXh

https://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread42517.html

Categories
Daily Update Miscellaneous Ramblings

One Problem with Being So Healthy – It Takes A While To Know You’re Sick!

Just a quick post to update my status.

I’m sick. Feel like garbage.

It started last Saturday, which happened to be a big day for a basement finishing project I’ve been working on the past couple of months (see below). My brother, an electrician and all-around guru, came over to do the circuit design and ‘home runs’, switch wiring, etc. I felt ‘out of it’ all day – couldn’t concentrate, and just didn’t have much energy. I’ve been drinking 2 coffees per day, up from my usual single Starbucks Grande Americano’ with heavy whipping cream that I have Monday thru Friday as the price of admission for leeching a seat/table and wifi from Starbucks while working. Lately I’ve upped that to a Venti (that’s the largest size) and sometimes later in the day I’ll have a Kuerig at home. Gotta cut back on the caffeine.

So last Saturday went well – my brother hooked me up, then the next day I started finishing up the wiring of the receptacles and recessed cans, etc. So far, unlike when I tried finishing my basement in a different house about 11 years ago, when I was all stressed/nervous about it and it seemingly took forever to make any progress (and it turned out to be a mess at the end), this project has gone super well and has been fun. But this week it was hard to get motivated to work on it. Didn’t know why. Until Thursday, when I woke up with a nasty upper respiratory infection. I had apparently had it for a week but didn’t realize it. In prior years, when I ate like shit and felt like shit, I would have known I had a URI within hours of its onset. And would have sat on the couch for 2 weeks as a result. Now I can still function just fine. Just feel like shit doing so.

I get these URIs at least once per year, sometimes twice. Been getting them since my late teens. It was to a point where the last 3 or 4 times, the doctor has been very reluctant to give me antibiotics to knock it out – I have become immune to the one he was prescribing. And, without antibiotics, these things never go away – I always waited a minimum of 2 weeks of pain and suffering before I would break down and go to the doc. The last visit I had a new doctor (I go to one of those ‘Medical Associates’ places where you can choose from a few different doctors, all in the same office). This new doctor told me to try this natural ‘NeilMed’ thing from the drug store, I did, and within 2 days I was cured! The procedure is really gross so I’ll leave the details out, but it worked.

I was *hoping* that, with my newfound health I would not be getting one this year, but I think the huge amount of work-induced stress I’ve been under the past few months is really wreaking havoc with my immune system.

Regardless, back to the purpose of this blog – I’m down to a steady 195lbs now. I don’t weigh myself very often these days – maybe once a week. I’ve definitely noticed my belt getting looser too. This is surprising because, quite honestly, I have been slipping lately and eating some junk here or there. In fact, the other day at SaladWorks with a co-worker, I even ate a whole ‘Healthy Whole Grains!’ roll. I smothered it with butter to counteract the ‘Healthy Whole Grains’, but still. I guess I’m so active now that I can eat some junk and still burn them off. That said, it’s amazing how radically different my day-to-day is now versus just a year ago or even 7 or 8 months ago, while I was losing so much weight.

For example, yesterday I ate McDonald’s for the first time in a LONG time. When I was really dropping weight (the first 4 months of last year I dropped about 40 pounds) I was going to fast food joints at least 3 times per week. No, I’m not lying.

  • Twice per week for lunch, to Wendy’s to eat either a BLT Cobb Salad (yum!) or I’d get the Chili and a side salad (I used to live on the Chili but haven’t had that in many months)
  • Once per week with my son, who is addicted to junk food, I would give up and take him to McDonalds to satisfy his McNuggets fix. I would always get the Grilled Chicken Caesar or Ranch salad, which sucks, but it’s the best option there.

The last 4 or 5 months I’ve basically, unconsciously, just not gone to fast food places. Yesterday, it hit me that I have not been to a McDonalds in months. How cool is that? I just realized this yesterday morning when my son started begging me to take him to McDonald’s so he could personally taste test the all-new McBites that were unveiled by the illustrious chefs/chemists that McDonald’s employs. (That job ranks right up there with working for RJ Reynolds, but that’s a post for a different blog….). Incidentally, I had the Grilled Chicken Ranch BLT salad. It was okay. I also partook in some of those new McBites. They’re kinda blah. If you haven’t seen the commercial for McBites yet – imagine if you were the deep fry chef at McDonalds and you had cooked up literally 1,000,000 McNuggets for a year in the same deep fat fryer vat, without changing the grease during that time. Then, you went and changed out the vat grease by draining it out. After it’s all drained out you have a bunch of crunchy, sludge-like ‘mini nuggets’ that are mostly just ‘breading’ at the bottom of the vat. Those are the McBites! : )

That’s all for now. I’ll be glad when this URI is gone so I can start working out again. Haven’t been to the gym much lately (which is another reason why I’ve lost a couple more pounds!). In another few weeks, hopefully with this URI behind me, it’ll be time to start getting in shape for the Summer. Thinking about quitting my gym membership and doing pure Primal workouts in natural terrain – monkey bars, trail running, etc.