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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.

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Uncategorized

Update – Still Going Strong

So the past week has been a big success. I’ve been VERY physically active along with what I’m so happy about – I have been able to sustain a weightlifting routine with no ill-effects. No loss of energy, etc. This confirms, at least for now, that my theory of low glycogen reserves was the cause of my prior weightlifting failure.

Yesterday morning I woke up at 6am. Knowing there was no way I was gonna get back to sleep, and having the kids’ baseball/softball practices from 9 – 12 that morning, I figured I’d go to the gym and do my routine early. Got there and…they were closed : ( Until 8am : (

I recently joined a new gym on a 30-day trial. The weight room is 1000x better than my other gym, which is really a squash club with some fitness areas. I liked the atmosphere of the other place better, and the class schedule at this new place is a joke (average one class per day, whereas the other place averaged 3 or 4 per day, but the problem is that the non-spinning classes only attract women, which is kind of awkward for a tough, heterosexual male like me : ) Regardless, I’m going to stick with the new gym and cancel my membership at the other place. The weight setup at the new place, SWEAT Fitness, is just way better, plus it is half the monthly cost compared to what I’m paying at the squash place. The downside is that there is a 1 year contract, but it’s not a ‘will I use it?’ situation. I’ve certainly established that over the past year. Even when my energy levels weren’t good and couldn’t lift weights, I still at least did light cardio.

So, the sweet potatoes seem to be doing the trick. Of course, yesterday and this morning I felt a bit lethargic because right after the weightlifting routine yesterday morning I had to rush the kids to the softball/baseball practices, did some walking and light jogging while they practiced, along with literally standing in the windy cold watching their back-to-back practices for 3 hours : ( Then, we went to another park to participate in a friend’s new business venture – basically a mini-orienteering thing. That was an hour+ of walking the park.

I was beat, but in a good way. Still am. Will take it easy to day and just do a Primal ‘play’ day. Will post back later in the week with something more than simple rambling, I promise : )

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’.

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Uncategorized

Today I’m Feeling Awesome!

Today was a great day, for a number of reasons. Felt great, even with a major slip last night of Kiwi frozen yogurt (a Dad’s gotta do what he’s gotta do…).

Upping the total calories and adding in some complex carbs has been good so far. Yesterday I reported some weight gain/bloat, which I had felt most of the week. This morning when I woke up, and throughout today, I felt like I was starting to lean out again, which is cool.

Yesterday and today were ‘play’ days – after doing my weightlifting routine on Saturday, I was pretty sore and felt a little rundown yesterday so I stuck to just ‘moving slowly’ most of the day and also took my son to the soccer field for some goofing around with the soccer ball.

Today, I took the kids and dog to a local nature preserve for a hike, and then played some more soccer later in the day.

Tomorrow is a heavy weightlifting day, so I will cut some fat intake (not much though…I mainly just won’t over-do it on the bacon/sausages in the morning like usual), and will eat some bananas and my post-workout big ass sweet potato, which seems to be doing the trick.

If, after a few more days, I continue to feel this great and feel the progress in my body, and do not gain more weight, then I’ll definitely feel like I’ve found a breakthrough.

On a related note….I started reading The Primal Blueprint the other day. I’ve been meaning to buy this book for over a year, but figured I knew everything in it. And, well, so far I basically do. Nothing new thus far (though I haven’t hit the detailed chapters yet), but the way it is written is really interesting, and I’m surprisingly digging the Grok/paleolithic ‘day in the life’ chapter. It definitely helps to put things into perspective. I didn’t realize how much our brains have shrunk since then, which is quite sad….

As for practical application of the book so far – I made it a point to *try* to go to sleep earlier last night, but it didn’t work. Well, it did a little – I wound up falling asleep around 10:30, which is an hour earlier than usual. Tonight my now 9-year old daughter (tomorrow is her ‘official’ birthday!) is having a big sleepover, so there are a bunch of little kids running around and will likely be making noise all night. So not sure I’ll be successful getting sleep tonight.

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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

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What I Eat

Someone on the Fat Loss 101 page left a comment that they would like to see my food journals, menus, etc. If keeping a food journal or pre-planned menus work for you, then go for it. But, for me, I never did that. I guess I approached weight loss a little less organized than some but, in my opinion, more realistic for the long-term. Here are the key things I’ve done to lose the ~65 pounds and maintain that loss successfully (so far, without any major effort):

Continue reading “What I Eat”
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USDA “Guidelines” Forced on Parents

Just saw this story and, sadly, am not surprised…

The girl’s turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice did not meet U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, according to the interpretation of the agent who was inspecting all lunch boxes in her More at Four classroom that day.

Continue reading “USDA “Guidelines” Forced on Parents”
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Some Great Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) Links

Found these two great resources this weekend and wanted to share them. While I am constantly on the lookout for quality sources of information and inspiration, I am not usually so enamored with what I find that I bother to post it to my blog. Let’s face it – the thing that I think makes an LCHF diet (or Paleo, or Primal, or Low Carb, or whatever you want to call it) doable and successful is that it can be done simply and without a lot of research. Then again, considering that 99% of what is out there on TV, the web, etc. regarding nutrition and diet is misleading or incorrect, I guess it does…anyways, on to the links:

The War On Insulin, by Dr. Peter Attia

This fairly new blog by Dr. Peter Attia is *fabulous*. It is both well-written and really informative. After reading a number of his posts I learned a number of new things like:

  • Watching your protein intake is important; he mentions a ‘zone of misery’ which is basically anything over 50g of carbs per day AND/OR 150g of protein. The theory is, and it makes total sense, is that too much protein will convert to glucose and move you out of ketosis, which we know is to be avoided. I never really paid too much attention to protein intake before but will start looking at that now.
  • I have been staunchly anti-supplement/vitamins. It goes against the primal/paleo principle, and more importantly: I’ve tried some and got no benefit. Not to mention that opinions/research on most are very conflicting. About the only vitamin/supplement that seems universally supported as being beneficial is fish oil, and that is only if you don’t eat enough fish. I am the only one in my family that likes to eat fish, as my wife and young kids won’t even try it or be around it, so the only time I get any is on business trips, which isn’t very often anymore. I’ve tried the fish oil capsules in the past and noticed no effect. Dr. Attia uses a liquid concentrated form, which makes sense. I will give it a try. If any of you have a recommendation on a brand, let me know.
  • As for supplements – I dabbled in Egg White Protein-based shake mix (the Jay Robb stuff) last year but stopped due to cost and I just didn’t like them that much. Only reason I tried them was to get an energy boost pre/post workout but I felt no effect. I’ve noticed a number of blogs mentioning the benefits of liquid MCT oil. Dr. Attia takes a couple of teaspoons daily as an energy boost. I will definitely give this a try.

I urge you to check out his blog. It’s a great read. It is also now my new favorite blog.

Ask The Low Carb Experts

The second really great resource I found recently is a new podcast by Jimmy Moore. It’s not really a podcast – it’s a live call-in show. But it is also available for subscription and listening just like any other podcast. It’s called Ask The Low Carb Experts. I have only listened to the latest one, where Mark Sisson responds to many questions.

These newfound resources are awesome. Having been successful in losing the majority of my excess body fat and maintaining the loss for months now, I didn’t really think there was much more to learn but I still learn new things from the community.