Log 03/06 - 03/12

Another week of food and stuff:

Sunday 03/06

• 190.0
• Went for 3 mile walk and worked on the airplane
• Food: 1) A pound of beef with onions and squash 2) Tin of sardines and oysters.  Estimate 150 grams protein

Monday 03/07

• 186.2
• WOD at CFR
• Food: 1) A pound of beef and a pound of sweet potato 2) 2 Tins of sardines and 1 tin oysters.  Estimate 180 grams protein

Tuesday 03/08

• 186.2
• Worked on the airplane all day
• Food:  1) 16 ounces tuna steak and 2 grapefruit.  2)  Fritata with 6 eggs, 4 strips of bacon and an onion.  Estimate 160 grams protein

 Wednesday 03/09

• 185.6*
• WOD at CFR
• Food: 1) 1.5 pounds of beef and a pound of sweet potato.  Estimate 170 grams protein

Thursday 03/10

• 186.8
• Worked on the airplane all day
• Food: 1) Pound of fajitas at Blue Goose.  Went off diet, and had several handfuls of tortilla chips.  This was the first time during this 45 day challenge that I failed to meet my commitment to diet.

Friday 03/11

• 188.2 (bloating from the chips the night before!)
• Traveling to New Mexico to go skiing
• Food: 16 ounce steak in Raton with a baked potato and a little sour cream. 

Saturday 03/12

• No weight measurement while out of town
• Skiing for 4 hours until Katie got a concussion.  Doh!
• Food: 1) Curry chicken with extra chicken.  It was just chicken and vegetables.  2) 6 oz beef jerky

*=new low weight

Interesting time with diet while traveling.  I get very spoiled being able to cook my own food most of the time.  Skiing was fantastic at the lower body weight, but I didn't get to do much of it since Katie got hurt.  One week left.

Log 02/27 - 03/05

Another week of food and stuff.

Sunday 02/27

• 190.2
• Rest day
• Food: 1) 12 ounce beef , 6 egg fritata with whole onion, 2 ounces beef liver, 8 ounces salmon.  Estimate 200 grams protein

Monday 02/28

• 189.6
• Couldn't make CFR, so did Helen subbing 50 squats for the runs and ring pushups for pullups because I hurt my wrist in the garage, used 35 pound kettlebell.  7:15
• Food: 1) 18 ounces beef, pound of sweet potato, 6 ounces beef liver, 1 tin sardines, a grapefruit and an orange.  Estimate 200 grams protein

Tuesday 03/01

• 187.2*
• Rest day (though worked all day on my airplane)
• Food: 1) 4 ounces beef liver, fritata with 6 ounces fajita meet and 6 eggs, 10 ounces tuna steak.  Estimate 180 grams protein

Wednesday 03/02

• 186.8*
• WOD at CFR
• Food:  1) 16 ounces ground beef, 16 ounces sweet potato, shrimp cocktail at Rockfish and 8 ounces salmon.  Estimate 200 grams protein

Thursday 03/03

• 188.4
• Rest day (though worked on airplane)
• Food:  6 egg onion and bacon fritata, 1 pound beef and 1/2 a sweet potato.  Estimate 160 grams protein.

Friday 03/04

• 188.0
• Rest day (worked on airplane)
• Food: A pound beef with onions and 12 ounces of lobster tail with butter.  Estimate 200 grams protein

 Saturday 03/05

• 188.4
• Rest day (worked on airplane)
• Food: 1) 12 ounces steak meat with gaucamole at Chipotle  2) 1 pound beef fajita meat and guacamole at Blue Goose.  Estimate 200 grams protein

Another week.  Set a new low weight of 187.2 on Tuesday, then another new low of 186.8 on Wednesday.  Been very busy building the RV-10 with 8-10 hour days in the garage.  Several days where I only ate one large meal in the evening, and that just made everything easier.

With 12 days to go on this 45 day challenge, my goal of getting to 180 is obviously not going to be reached by that point.  I do still have hopes that I'll get to 185 or less by then though.  Then I'll reset my target to 178 pounds.  That will be fun.

Log 02/20 - 02/26

Food, exercise, weight log

Sunday 02/20

• 191.6
• Rest day
• Food: 1) 3 sides steak and gaucamole from Chipotle 2) Shrimp cocktail and half pound beef fajitas at Blue Goose.  Estimate 180 grams protein

Monday 02/21

• 190.8
• WOD at CFR
• Food 1) 4 ounces beef liver and 4 eggs 2) 1 pound grass fed beef and a pount of sweet potato.  Estimate 190 grams protein

Tuesday 02/22

• 191.0
• Rest day
• Food: 1) Homemade paleo burgers.  About a pound of grass fed beef, 4 eggs, 5 strips bacon, sauteed onions.  Estimate 180 grams protein

Wednesday 02/23

• 189.8
• WOD at CFR
• Food: 1) 5 ounces beef liver with 4 eggs and a whole grapefruit 2) Pound of beef and pound of sweet potato and a shrimp cocktail at Blue Goose.  Estimate 210 grams protein

Thursday 02/24

• 191.8
• Rest day
• Food: 1) 12 ounces beef, 5 ounces beef liver with onions, homemade crab cakes, a tin of sardines.  Estimate 200 grams protein

Friday 02/25

• 190.0
• WOD at CFR
• Food: 1) 17 ounces beef, 1 pound sweet potato, 2 tins sardines, 1 grapefruit.  Estimate 180 grams protein

Saturday 02/26

• 188.6*
• Rest Day
• Food: 1) 1 pound beef fajita meat and gaucamole at Blue Goose, some Tilapia, 8 ounces smoked salmon, and a handful of Brazil nuts.  Estimate 190 grams protein.

Fifth week of logging, and I'm only averaging about a pound less than 4 weeks ago.  Oh well.  I know I've leaned out from 4 weeks ago, based on nothing more than easily  wearing clothes now that I couldn't wear 4 weeks ago.  I've had a pair of waist size 32 Dockers that I got in 2008 in anticipation of wearing them once I leaned out.  I never could wear them then, even at 186 pounds, but I can now at 189-190 pounds.

This is also the longest I've gone without a free meal since I had the concept of a free meal.  In fact, this is almost assuredly the longest I've ever gone without ice cream in my adult life.  When I finally do have a free meal I'll probably have some, but it isn't at the top of the list.

And at this point, I don't intend to end this 45 day challenge with a free meal.  I just don't like the idea of associating that with the end of the challenge.  I'll let myself at some point, but it will be at least 4-5 days after the challenge is over.  And it may be longer.  I'll see how I feel in 3 weeks.

Final point, there were several days this week where I only had one meal, late in the evening.  I just happened to not be hungry by lunch time, and I pushed eating until it seemed more reasonable to just wait and eat later.  I did that on Friday, and worked out essentially after a 24 hours fast.  I felt great.  In fact, I'll be looking to repeat this soon and see if the fasted state wasn't a contributor to how good I felt.

Log 02/13 - 02/19

Food, exercise, weight log.

Sunday 02/13

• 192.0 (kinda bloated after the salty food on Saturday)
• 3 mile walk with no weight
• Food: 1) 5 eggs fritata with an onion and 7 ounces of beef fajitas  2) 1 pound beef.  Estimate 200 grams protein

Monday 02/14

• 190.0
• Deadlift/pullup/press weights at CFR
• Food: 1) 4 eggs, tin of oysters, tin of sardines, grapefruit 2) 1 pound beef, 1 pound sweet potato.  Estimate 190 grams protein

Tuesday 02/15

• 191.0
• WOD at CFR
• Food: 1) 5 eggs onion and bacon fritata, grapefruit  2) 1 pound beef, 1 pound sweet potato.  Estimate 180 grams protein

 Wednesday 02/16

• 190.8
• WOD at CFR
• Food: 1) 4 oz salmon, 1 tin sardines, 1 grapefruit 2) 1 pound beef 1 pound sweet potato.  Estimate 180 grams protein

Thursday 02/17

• 189.4*
• Complete rest day
• Food:  1)  17 oz top sirloin steak, 9 eggs, grapefruit, 8 oz asparagus.  Estimate 180 grams protein

Friday 02/18

• 189.0*
• WOD at CFR
• Food: 1) 6 eggs and a grapefruit 2) 1.25 pounds beef and 1 pound sweet potato.  Estimate 180 grams protein

Saturday 02/19

• 189.6
• Rest day
• Food: 1) 4 egg fritata with onion and 8 oz chopped meatballas 2) 14 ounces steak and asparagus  3) Couldn't sleep, so started eating Macadamia nuts.  A jar and a half, to be exact.  :)  Estimate 180 grams protein

This makes 4 weeks of logging my weight, food, and workouts.  My last free meal was during my ski trip on January 15th. so 5 weeks with no free meal. 

I've noticed the occasional craving for ice cream is less frequent now. 

I've also noticed my average blood pressure has dropped.  Again.  The highest I've seen in the last month is 125/70.  That was after two cups of coffee.  The lowest I've seen is 104/53.  That is the lowest reading I can remember ever having, and this at an age (43) where most people are seeing these numbers increase rather than decrease.

Perhaps there's something to this diet and exercise thing.  :)

On Thursday I pushed my lunch off so late that I decided to have a 24 hour fast.  It felt easy, and there wasn't much hunger prior to eating.  In fact, I had intended to eat at 6:30 which would have been 24 hours, but I was busy flying and then decided to pick up some groceries and cook, so I finally ate around 8:00pm.  I did not decrease the amount of food I would normally eat, I just ate it all in one sitting.

Log 02/06 - 02/12

Another weekly log.

Sunday 02/06

• 190.2
• 3 mile walk with no weight
• Food: 1) 4 egg, 4 oz beef fritata  2) 20 ounces of meatballs, chicken, and misc protein sources.  Estimate 200 grams protein

Monday 02/07

• 190.6
• Squat/Bench weights at CFR
• Food: 1) 4 eggs, tin of oysters, tin of sardines  2)  20 ounces of meatballs, a pound of sweet potato.  Estimate 200 grams protein

Tuesday 02/08

• 189.8
• Complete rest day
• Food: 1) 6 eggs, 8 oz meat fritata, 10g 85% dark chocolate 2) 4 ounces beef liver, 4 ounces of meatballs, 2 tins sardines and 1 tin of oysters.  Estimate 210 grams protein

Wednesday 02/09

• 190.6
• WOD at CFR
• Food: 1) 5 eggs, bacon, 8oz sweet potato fritata 2) 21 ounces of meatballs and some pure potato chips.  I know, not ideal but I didn't get carbs cooked before hand so I just enough baked potato chips to give me 20g of carbs and washed it down with 30g of carbs from coconut water.  Estimate 190 grams protein

Thursday 02/10

• 190.2
• WOD at CFR
• Food: 1) 6 oz liver, 5 egg fritata  2) 1 pound beef fajitas and guacamole at Blue Goose.  Estimate 190 grams protein

Friday 02/11

• 190.6
• WOD at CFR
• Food: 1) 5 egg fritata, 1 tin sardines, 1 tin oysters  2) 1 pound of beef fajitas at El Norte.  Estimate 180 grams protein

Saturday 02/12

• 190.6
• 3 mile walk with 40 pound backpack
• Food:  1) *Fajitas and a burger plus some cooked dates and goat cheese.  2) 1 rice-free sushi roll and some salmon sashimi.  Estimate 220 grams protein.

*I was craving some foods I haven't had in months, so I decided to play a bit.  I didn't go bonkers, but I did make an exception to the no-dairy rule and had some cheese.  First I made some paleo pancake batter (coconut flour, eggs, baking powder, dash of coconut milk) very thin and poured it in a large pan and let it flatten out.  I cooked that into the equivalent of a tortilla, then took 8 ounces of leftover beef fajita meat and made an excellent fajita with guacamole.  It was awesome.

Then I took the batter and thickened it up with more coconut flour and made two very large pancakes as a substitute for a hamburger bun.  8 ounces of grassfed beef with spices made my hamburger patty.  I sauteed onions in a little coconut oil and put them on top of the burger with some crumbled bleu cheese.  Oh...my...goodness.  I missed ketchup at first, but mustard wasn't bad at all.

I got the cravings out of my system, LOVED my burger, but probably won't do it again for a while, and not very often.  I prefer what I call real food, and strange concoctions with coconut flour don't really qualify as far as I'm concerned.  Sure, it's not way off the wagon, but I don't think it's a great plan seek to recreate traditional foods with paleo-style substitutions very often. 

I also baked some medjool dates stuff with different types of goat cheese.  Those things are like candy, so limited myself to 3 of them.  I could  easily eat a pound of stuffed dates. 

Anyway, another week, and this time my weight is up a bit.  Not sure why since the splurge in food occured after my last weighing, but I'm not really too worried about it.  My pants are just as loose, and I feel good, so I'll see what next week brings.

I am the tiniest bit tired of stuffing myself to get 190-200 grams of protein.  I may take 2 weeks and just eat enough to be satisfied and see what happens.  If my strength numbers don't continue upwards for those 2 weeks, I'll return to the larger protein consumption.  If they keep going up, I'll probably just try for a minimum of 150-160g/day.

Here's some pictures of the fun stuff:

Buns (really thick pancakes) are cooking on one side, and the hamburger patty has just started sizzling.

Onions are getting brown.

Here it is before the bleu cheese crumbles. If you're strict no-dairy paleo, just stop right there and start eating!

This was an awesome hamburger.

Log 01/30 - 02/05

Here's my second log of measurements, this time tracking food as well. 

Sunday 01/30

• 190.8
• 3 mile walk with 25 pound backpack.  Wow, 25 pounds is light!
• Food: 1) 11 oz brisket, 1/2 onion, 6 egg fritata 2) 11 ounces of salmon.  Estimate 195 grams protein

Monday 01/31

• 192.2
• Deadlift/shoulder/back weights at CFR
• Food: 1) 4 eggs and 4 oz beef  2) 1.25 pounds of grassfed meatballs and .75 pounds of spaghetti squash.  Estimate 200 grams protein

Tuesday 02/01

• 190.4
• Walk on elliptical-it was 18 degrees and icy outside!
• Food: 1) 12 oz brisket, 7 eggs, onion and spinach fritata  2) 2 tins sardines, 2 tins oysters, 10g 90% dark chocolate.  Estimate 205 grams protein

Wednesday 02/02

• 189.6
• 100 Burpees at home.  8:23 
• Food: 1) Bacon, Onion, 7 egg fritata 2) Pound of grassfed meatballs and a pound of sweet potato.  Estimate 188 grams protein

Thursday 02/03

• 189.8
• 3 mile walk with 40 pound backpack.  In snow and ice at 20 degrees. 
• Food: 1) Bacon, Onion, 7 egg fritata with 10 ounces of chopped meatballs 2) 2 tins of sardines, 1 tin oysters, and a little beef/zuchini in coconut milk.  Estimate 195 grams protein

Friday 02/04

• 189.6
• Pullup skill work, 250m row sprint and Tabata row
• Food: 1) 1.25 pound beef, 1 pound sweet potato  2) 2 tins sardines, tin of oysters and a handful of Brazil nuts

Saturday 02/05

• 190.0
• 35 minute walk with 40 pound backpack
• Food: 1) 4 egg, 11 oz beef, onion and spinach fritata 2) Shrimp cocktail and 1/2 pound beef fajita meat at Blue Goose

Another week logged.  I ended the week at eactly 190, but was just under that for 3 days.  That's the least I've weighed since 2008.

The urge to pig out for comfort while stuck in the house due to weather was greatly offset by a new sense of being on auto-pilot in the area of diet.  I remember eating 5-6 meals/day and ALWAYS thinking about food.  These days, I almost always eat twice a day, and I don't give it a lot of thought.  I'm about to undertake an extremely large project that will take a vast amount of my time for the next year or two, so it's very important that I don't feel like my diet and exercise require a lot of my time. 

I will continue to follow the routine I'm on as it feels pretty effortless at this point.  One pure weight/strength day a week.  Two CrossFit days a week.  Two or three walks a week.  Once I get down to 180 pounds I will make some changes to that routine.  Mid-March, right?  :)

Giving up free meals

2 weeks ago, I decided to stop my weekly binge that I called a free meal.  I may have them occasionally once I can maintain the body composition I want, but for now they're not an option.  The earliest I'll have anything like my old free meal will be March 18th.  Tracking my weight helps in this area because I can see snapshots like this, in which I drop more than 5 pounds in 2 weeks. 

If I go back 4 weeks, you can see a similar trend, so I think my overall diet is working well.  That initial low reading of 195 is anomalous.  I had just spent 24 hours vomiting and not being able to eat.  All the other values are normal.

Even if I had gone from 195 to 190 in 4 weeks, I would consider that great progress.  I'm still getting stronger while I drop weight, so I don't think it's coming off too fast.  If I start to see some strength decline I'll try to slow down the rate of weight loss.

And finally, my weight from 1/25 to present, overlaid on the goal I set on 1/25 to be 180 pounds by 3/18.

Looks doable, but now it's obvious why I don't intend to have any free or binge meals. 

How would you like an arranged marriage?

What's your gut reaction to that question?  Does it sound good?  What if I told you that your future spouse is really great and you're going to have a great time?  I bet you still aren't convinced.  Would you like the details about this person, or better yet, would you like to choose the person for yourself?

So why do so many people buy packaged food at the grocery store without even looking at the ingredients?  I've seen people buy boxes of total crap and when I ask why they would eat it they say "But it says it's low-fat!" or "It has the heart-healthy symbol on it."

Wow, that's all it takes?  Then why can't I just say you're going to have a great marriage and hook you up with some person you know nothing about?  The reason is because you know that going into that relationship you want choice, and you want to know the details.  I suggest that divorce is a solution to a failing marriage but the crap you put into your body may be carried around with you for much longer than you'll have to wait to get divorced.

I now recommend this as the first change to your diet:  Know what your diet actually is.  It isn't "Chicken-Beak Flavored Wheaty Bits", it's all the consituent parts.  And in that made-up example, it's not the chicken beaks that are the probelm.  It's the wheat flour, the hydrogenated oil, the high fructose corn syrup, and a myriad of additives, preservatives, and nasty chemicals.  Step one in making a change is to just become aware of what you're actually putting in your body.

The next step may be to choose what to eliminate.  I recommend you ditch wheat, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and hydrogenated oil in one step.  And I believe once you realize how much of that crap you're eating you'll feel motivated to do that.  But first just realize it.

Start now.  Forget the front of the box, read the ingredients.  In time, as you care more about what you put into your body you'll find that less and less of your food will come from a box because it won't meet your requirements to be food. 

Eventually, you may get to quit reading labels, but that day will only occur when you are eating real food.  Buy a steak, grill it.  Buy some veggies, cook them too.  Nothing came from a box, and there were no labels that you even needed to read.  You may have a few things that still have a label, such as the jar of coconut oil or stick of butter, but most of what you eat shouldn't need an ingredients list.

Try it.  You'll be shocked at what you find, and it just might be an easy first step towards changing your diet and thus your life.

Log 01/23 - 01/29

Here's my first log of measurements and food.  Unfortunately, I don't have food logs for this week, but I do have my weight and activity.

Sunday 01/23

• 191.0
• Rest day
• Food: Not logged

Monday 01/24

• 191.8
• Squat/chest weights at CFR
• Food: Not logged, but normal pound of meat pound of sweet potato PWO

Tuesday 01/25

• 192.2
• 3 mile walk with 40 pound backpack
• Food: Not logged

Wednesday 01/26

•  191.8
• WOD at CFR
• Food: Not logged, but normal pound of meat pound of sweet potato PWO

Thursday 01/27

• 191.8
• 3 mile walk with 45 pound weight vest
• Food: Not logged

Friday 01/28

• 191.8
• WOD at CFR
• Food: Not logged, but normal pound of meat pound of sweet potato PWO

Saturday 01/29

• 190.8 - Lowest since July 2008
• 3 mile walk with 40 pound backpack
• Food:  1) 8 oz brisket and 5 egg fritata with onions and spinach.  2) 2 tins of sardines and 5 eggs over medium 10g  of 90% dark chocolate.  Estimate of 185g of protein for the day.

And so concludes my very first weekly food, weight, and activity log.  I started the week weighing the least I had since July, and ended with another low.  Good stuff.  Now for 7 weeks of good food, hard work, and good recovery.

Body Composer - Or it's about to get serious

If a composer creates a composition, then I have just gotten serious about being a Body Composer.  I'm going to create the body composition I want.

My gym, CrossFit Richardson is having a 45 day paleo challenge.  At first, I decided I was not going to participate.  My reason for that is quite simple:  Sometimes structured competition triggers the anti-authority button in me and I rebel against the process I CHOSE to be part of.

I know, that sounds a bit crazy.  I'm okay with that.  I just have a very strong reaction to being told what to do in any form.  I have, on more than one occasion, felt myself rebelling against the process I freely chose to sign up for because somehow it felt like the rules themselves, or perhaps the organizers themselves were telling me what to do.

So at first, I was going to pass until John Marshall said (jokingly I believe!) "You're just scared."  I laughed, thinking there wasn't much that I'm scared of so the statement seemed a little funny.  But in truth, it's obvious I'm scared that I will not handle the anti-authority rebel response that a competition sometimes triggers for me.  Well, that, and I'm scared of needles, but that has nothing to do with this post.

I realized that I was, indeed, scared.  Damn!  John's a good coach and a good friend, so on the spur of the moment I decided to compete.  The competition is twofold for me.  First get rid of fat, build muscle, stay paleo with no cheats for 45 days, and kick ass in the gym.  Second, use it as a tool to temper my anti-authority bullshit.  If an automatic response isn't serving me, then it serves me to learn to exercise control over it and not have it be automatic.

Which is all a VERY long way to say that I'm now enrolled in this 45 day paleo challenge.  I was already eating strict paleo, and haven't had a cheat meal of any sort in 15 days.  That's gotten me from about 194 to 191 in those 15 days. 

Now to get really serious for a while, I'm committing to having no cheat meals whatsoever during the next 45 days.  I probably haven't gone 45 days without ice cream in my life, so this will be kinda cool.  Heck, including the last 15 days as well, this will create 60+ days without ice cream or candy.  And to keep me honest I will post weekly updates on Sunday that will list my daily weight for the previous 7 days, a brief description of my activity for each day, and a food log.

At the end of the 45 days I will have a daily log of my weight, exactly what I ate, and I will have some "after" picures to go with the "before" pictures John took today.

Since paleo can mean different things to different people, here's my food requirements for myself.  I will eat some or all of the following:   meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts.  In addition, I will allow myself 70% or greater dark chocolate as a fat source, up to about 250 calories/day.  Argue whether or not it's paleo if you want, but it's a useful source of fat and sometimes just 50 calories of dark chocolate is useful to keep me from totally derailing.  I will minimize it during the 45 days though.

Most of my protein will come from beef, sardines, and salmon.  I will target a minimum of 190 grams of protein per day.  Most of my starchy veggies will be sweet potato, and only consumed post-workout.  I will cycle the carbs.  On intense workout days, such as weightlifting or CrossFit I will have a PWO meal with protein and 100+ grams of carbs.  On rest/active recovery days I will restrict carbs to less then 40 for the day.

I have not kept a food log, but my first log of weight entries will go up this Sunday.  After that, I will post each Sunday with all the data for the preceding week.

Thanks, John, for the push.  It's just what I needed.

The best reason to be lean

Okay, I'm finally going to be completely real about my reasons for pursuing a lean, fit body.

At times I've said I do it because it makes everything else better. Everything from skiing to sex is better when I'm lean and in shape.  But certainly that can't be the real reason.

I've also said I want to be active and do things with my kids that they want to do.  Sometimes I'm the one pushing them to do things as well, and being fit enough to crawl over things, climb things, and jump off them just makes it all more enjoyable.

Now, with my older son at 22, and my younger son about to turn 18, and two girls behind them growing up quickly I realize I'll be a grandparent someday.  Sure, I want to be active and physically fit to play with grandkids.  Secretly, I might have a goal of being in better shape than my kids and having my grandkids ask me why their parents can't keep up with me.  :)  Maybe.

But all of those are just little things.  I mean, they're not really THAT important.  The best reason, and perhaps the driving motivation is this:

I hate cleaning my belly button.

Yep, it's that simple.  When I'm lean, it stays clean in the normal course of taking a shower.  When I weighed 239 pounds, well, you can imagine.

So stay lean, and your belly button is flat, and you don't have to clean it.  Now THAT is the best reason to be lean.  By far, right?

Adventures in dieting

I have followed many diets over the years, and by "diet" I simply mean way of eating.  It all started back in high school trying to lean out by a few pounds so I had definition in my shoulders.  I read Dr. Haas and tried low-fat.  Then I read Pritikin and decided Haas wasn't working because it wasn't strict enough.  I went lower fat, less animal products.  At the time it made sense to me.  Wow, I feel foolish even saying that.

I could never really maintain that diet for long, and just gave up after school.  I just followed a typical Standard American Diet (SAD) and by the time I was in my late 20s I was rather heavy.  I had a belly.


Shortly before I turned 30 I decided to do something about it, and I lost a LOT of fat following my "sludge" diet.  It was completely vegan.  It was also completely awful.  I'm prone to some pretty extreme behavior and this diet was a great example. 

I studied some vegan literature and decided I could do it even better.  If low fat was good, then I'd go as low as possible.  If low sugar was good, I'd go as low as possible.  And so I created my own diet. 

I took different types of legumes, typically black beans and lentils, and cooked those in a giant pot along with brown rice.  After it all cooked together it would congeal into a gelatin-like goo which I called sludge.

It was damn easy to calculate how many calories it all contained.  I didn't add anything other than water so I just added up the calories from the packages of beans, lentils, and rice.  I recall making it in batches of 2000-4000 calories at a time.  I would then pour it (while still warm, before it congealed) into plastic containers, each with 1000 calories.

My plan was to eat one container a day.  Super simple, and easy enough.  Well, easy at first.  The first few days I felt incredible!  I felt light, energetic, vibrant!  I thought I was a genius.  On that last part I wasn't wrong, but this experiment came closer to disproving it rather than supporting it.  :)

I bragged about my sludge to anyone patient enough to listen.  And within a week I had taken my belt up a notch.  The weight was coming off, to the tune of about 5 pounds the first week.  The following week I took off about 3 more pounds, and on week 3 I only lost 2 pounds.

So down 10 pounds in 3 weeks seemed good to me.  But I had quit bragging about my diet.  Sure, I had lost close to 3" off my waist in 3 weeks, sure I was wearing a loose size 36 instead of tight size 38 jeans.  But I had lost that vibrant feeling.  I had lost the energy.  I had noticed a drop in my sex drive, and this was at the age of 29!  I'm surprised I didn't start losing my hair.  I had certainly lost my mind.

The fourth week my weight loss stalled and I felt even worse.  Dragging to do anything, I had lost all drive to exercise in any form.  Nothing.  And around then I chatted with my dad about Atkins.  I had always considered it something of a trick diet.  I thought it was a way for very overweight people to take off some weight quickly, but certainly you couldn't actually get trim from it.  I clearly remember asking my dad if he thought that someone could actually go all the way to six-pack abs on Atkins.  He said he didn't see why not.

And so, having switched from a SAD diet just 4 weeks prior to a strict vegan sludge diet, I decided to switch instead to a strict Atkins diet.  I bought the book, and the next morning I dumped out two containers of sludge and cooked some bacon and eggs.

So close your eyes, and try to imagine this scene:  Heaven.  Heaven exploding.   Heaven exploding...in your mouth. 

It was that good.

No, really.

And suddenly I felt like I was superman again.  My energy rebounded.  I felt vibrant.  I had gone from strength of a kitten to eye of the tiger in about 4 hours.  I was curious what would happen though, since I remembered feeling that good when I started the sludge.

But 4 weeks later, and many MANY pounds of bacon, eggs, hamburger, steak, and lobster later I still felt great.  And I lost another 10 pounds!  I had my drive back.  I mean my sex drive, my drive to workout, my drive to do...well, anything! 

I started my sludge diet at a weight of about 220 pounds.  I started my Atkins diet at a weight of about 210 pounds.  And in 4 months I was down to 178.  I was lean, with a six-pack.  I was wearing size 32 pants for the first time since about 9th grade.  It was cool.

My wife was pregnant at the time, and I still remember her last weigh-in at the OB-GYN.  She was up to 172 and I stepped on the scale (dressed) and weighed 178.  I told her that if she could just gain 3 more pounds and I could lose 3 more in the two weeks before her due date that for one day we'd weigh the same! 

It turns out I wouldn't get the chance.  The nurse took her blood pressure, the doctor checked her out, and they said she wasn't doing well and they were going to induce labor.  And they meant right then!  We went from the office to the hospital, and my youngest child was born less than 12 hours later.

Somehow I got off track diet-wise in the aftermath, and never got back on track.  It felt effortless to get to 178, and then the weight crept back up.  And it kept creeping.  And at some point about 10 years later I stepped on the scale and read 239.  Wow!

And so I started reading again, and in the last 7 years I have played with Body for Life, Atkins, NHE, Zone, and Paleo.  At this point, I think I'll be eating Paleo for life.  When I'm strict I have great results, feel great, and perform well. 

Most of the time when I stray from my diet, it isn't due to some cravings.  It's almost never because I feel deprived.  I just have some emotional eating patterns that I have not handled yet.  From time to time food is anesthesia for me, as opposed to fuel. 

As I continue to get better at handling those times, I full expect to return to the same lean levels I had on Atkins 14 years ago.  I have much more muscle now, so don't know if I'll ever get to 178 again, but I don't see any reason to be over 185.  Right now I'm about 10 pounds heavier than that, but I have the components of my diet completely dialed in.

My focus right now is on getting to 185 or less by the end of March.  I'm going to create a few challenges for myself, and some rewards to move towards and penalties to move away from.  I'll post some updated pics as soon as I reach my goal.

Sayings I hate, Part 3

"All things in moderation"

Really?

I mean, really?

I mean John Marshall of CrossFit Richardson style "Really!?!?"

Okay, I'll bite.  So you believe in moderate amounts of rat poison?  You endorse moderate amounts of infidelity to your spouse?  Moderate amounts of rape, robbery, and kidnapping are okay with you?

I'd love to see the reaction if this saying was used for things unviversally acknowledged as bad.  Imagine the following exchange when one notices that his friend is upset:


"Hey Joe, what's bugging you?"

"Well, my car was stolen this morning!"

"Oh.  I see.  Well, just how many times have you had a car stolen?"

"This is the only time!   Why does that even matter?"

"Well, all things in moderation.  I mean, I'm sure it wouldn't be good if it happened every day but this is just one time.."


No, dummy, it's not good if it EVER happens!

When I hear it said it's usually in response to my decision to not eat grains.  It goes something like this:


"Hey, Joe told me you don't eat any grains.  How come?"

"I believe they're bad for me."

"Don't you think that's a little extreme?"

"Uh...no.  If it's bad for me then I think it's smart to not eat them.  Avoiding bad things equals smart, not extreme."

"Oh.  Well, all things in moderation.  I'm sure a little bread or pasta isn't going to kill you."

"Neither will a bee sting to your scrotum, jackwad."


I think people say this because they don't want to consider that it might really be bad for them, or they know it's bad and they justify it with a saying they've heard before.  I have friends who know grains are bad, and they just say that they're not willing to give them up completely.  Accepting some occasional bad effects is quite different from sweeping it all under the table with a nice pat "All things in moderation."

It's a deflection, and for whatever reason it pushes my buttons.

If you find yourself saying "All things in moderation" a lot, perhaps the real problem is your moderate intelligence.

Ask your doctor if PFERLIS is right for you!

Now THAT is what the Paleo community needs!  The drug companies spend a small fortune advertising crap on television because they know that advertising works. 

I can't imagine going and asking a doctor if a drug is right for me.  How would that exchange even go?  But in the population at large medication is not only accepted it is sought after!  People are seeing ads on television and then asking a doctor if they might need that.  Total insanity.

Which is why I'm announcing PFERLIS(tm).  Paleo Food, Exercise, and Rest, Leading to Insulin Sensitivity. 

Here's the ad copy:

"Do you sometimes feel like crap or feel tired all the time?  Maybe you have a hard time picking up heavy objects, or moving quickly when needed.  You might have noticed that you have to eat all the time and snack to keep from having blood sugar crashes.  If so, you may have symptoms of TFM, otherwise known as Totally F'd up Metabolism."

"TFM affects most Americans, though most are unaware of it.  If you feel you may be suffering from TFM, ask your doctor if PFERLIS is right for you.  PFERLIS has been shown to work best with intelligent, open-minded individuals but is probably applicable in other cases.  To prevent and perhaps even reverse the damage from TFM,  PFERLIS may be right for you.  You won't just feel better, you'll actually be better."

"*Warning:  While proper dosage of PFERLIS has been shown to be 100% effective, there are many reported side effects.  If you find that you have increased energy, greater strength, and the ability to fit in a normal size airline seat, you may be experiencing some of the common side effects.  Some men report firmer erections, erections lasting longer than an hour, or nearly painful morning wood.  If you experience any of these symptoms, notify your doctor immediately so you can high-five him on your next visit."

I need to make a YouTube video.  This is sounding like a good commercial.

Finally, an all-natural way to raise blood pressure

Feeling faint?  Do you get dizzy when you stand up?  Maybe you suffer from low blood pressure.  Finally there is an all-natural cure for it right here.  Just watch this video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOsuSaK8Tpc&feature=channel


See, wasn't that easy?  The government is going to make sure that our kids get their BMI checked.  Michelle Obama said that her pediatrician said to keep an eye on her daughter's BMI and she "wouldn't have known to ask for a screening on my own."

Hmmm.  One of the things I like to do is translate the B.S. out there into what it really means.  Here goes, Michelle, free of charge.

"My doctor said my daughter was getting fat, and I am too stupid to observe that on my own.  In fact, I wouldn't have ever noticed if it had not been pointed out to me."

What the...?

I recently posted my before and current pictures here.  Take a look at my then-current picture.  Yeah, you can kinda make out my abs.  BMI in that picture?  28.1!  According to the BMI standards, I am seriously overweight, and just 1.9 points away from OBESE!

According to the BMI I would need to get down to 173 pounds to drop out of the overweight category.  So take a close look at that picture and ask yourself if I really look 23 pounds overweight in that picture.

The BMI is useless, especially for kids!  But luckily our government is going to take a useless standard and make it a guideline for action.  Google around and you'll find the video of Michelle Obama saying that she wants to encourage doctors to not just measure BMI, but to start writing prescriptions.

Great.

Really, just great.

I may have to go see a doctor, I have blood squirting from my ears at this point.

K-Starr knows his stuff

Ever had any pain in a joint?  Any problem with flexibility or mobility?

My wife and I attended a Crossfit Mobility Certification given by Kelly Starrett in California early this year.  Kelly is a genius and gave us some stuff to work with that has changed our flexibility and pain in our shoulders in particular.

We learned the joys that a properly applie Lacrosse ball could create.  We learned stretches that we had never seen before.  We learned that Kelly has an offbeat but awesome sense of humor.

And now Kelly has a daily WOD (Workout of the Day) just for mobility!   Check it out at mobilitywod.blogspot.com. 

Need some structure to get all those knotted-up muscles working properly again?  Check out Kelly's awesome, free, daily post.  Start today.

Before and current

Well, it was bound to happen.  Eventually I'd post an old picture with a current picture.  Below are two pictures.  The first is from almost exactly 5 years ago, during a family vacation in 2005.  The second picture I took just before my daughter and I went on a 6 day trip together about a week ago.  I went off diet and pigged out with her for most of the trip, so I'm about 3 pounds heavier, but never mind that.  It will go away within another week.  Heck, I'll even post a newer pic sometime in October to prove it!

I think I've actually improved in 5 years.  Well, It would be even better if I smiled in the more current picture, but at least I'm not risking harpoon marks like I was in that first one! 

I was walking out of the water in that picture, and shortly after I reached shore a group of volunteers arrived and tried to drag me back in!  They kept saying "Splash water around his blowhole and keep his skin wet till we get him back in the water!"  Once I convinced them I wasn't beached they left me alone.

I like to think that I'm a pretty trim guy who just went through a heavy period.  That period lasted from, oh, about high school graduation until I was 40.

Please show these pictures to anyone who questions whether or not a high fat diet works.  In the picture on the left I was eating a pretty typical Standard American Diet.  In the picture on the right I'm eating about 70% of my calories from fat.  A typical lunch is a pound of grass fed beef with some veggies.  I eat between a pound and pound and a half of meat every day, and cook things in butter and coconut oil. I'm not strictly low-carb any longer, but a high carb day is about 100 carbs unless I'm having a free meal/day.  And on those days anything goes.  Well, anything except grains and legumes. 

Get your degree at ACCU!

Welcome to ACCU!  We only have one curriculum here, and it's the study of how things relate to each other. 

That's it.

The Association Correlation Causation University was founded a few minutes ago when I decided to compose this post.  In that short period of time, we've educated no one.  But we have high hopes for the future.  VERY high hopes.

I hope that once you earn your degree at ACCU you will recommend it to your friends.  Now let's get started:

First please notice that the name, ACCU, is the same as the first four letters in "accurate".  That's a complete accident, and I just noticed it myself so I thought I'd point it out.  But it does bring us to the "A" in ACCU, which stands for Assocation.

Assocation is the state of being associated.  Not too helpful, but it's a start.  Associate means to join or connect together.  So to say two things are associated says they are connected somehow.  It doesn't say anything more or less. 

Let's look at an example:  Drinking water is associated with living.  In other words, there is a connection between drinking water and living.  But only a connection.  To say they are associated doesn't imply that more water makes anyone live longer.  Nor does it say less water will make someone live longer.  In fact, drinking water is also associated with dying.  Most people who die have at some point had a drink of water.  Not all, but most, so it's fair to say they're associated.  Again, just association.

Now if you start noticing trends in your associations then you might have a Correlation.  Correlation is a step beyond association. Merriam Webster said it beautifully:

"a relation existing between phenomena or things or between mathematical or statistical variables which tend to vary, be associated, or occur together in a way not expected on the basis of chance alone."

You're only seeking a Bachelor's Degree at ACCU, so let's keep it simple.  If one thing correlates to another, it means they vary positively or negatively with each other.  As one increases, the other increases is a positive correlation.  A negative correlation means one goes up the other down, etc.  An interesting example is the presence of fire trucks and fires.  There is a strong positive correlation between fire trucks and fire damage. The more fire trucks present at a fire scene, the more damage done at a fire scene.

Now, this is an accurate correlation.  The two things vary positively with each other.  But are the fire trucks causing the fires?  No!  Notice that a correlation only shows that two things vary together in a way "not expected on the basis of chance alone."  Correlation does not show Causation. 

Oops, it appears we're nearing the end of our curriculum, because that's the final C in ACCU!  Causation is the act or process of causing.  It's important to realize, as the example shows, that two things which correlate may or may not indicate causation.  It is a common mistake prior to attending ACCU to naively accept causation when all that has been observied is correlation.  In some cases, even simple assocation is enough to convince some people of causation.

I once had a friend who said that milk couldn't be bad for you because there were people who lived more than 100 years and they drank milk.  Pop quiz, what is this relationship?  It's just association.  Some people who drink milk live longer than 100 years.  It isn't even a positive correlation, which would take the form of evidence that lifespan increases with increases in milk consumption.  Yet this simple assocation convinced this person of causation.  Don't fall prey to the same error in thinking.

Which brings us to an additional point (don't worry, I'm only going to cover two of them) which is the idea that all of these relationships are assumed to be taken on average.  The presence of exceptions at the association and correlation level doesn't necessarily invalidate the relationship though it may shoot some holes in causal relationships. 

As an example, consider that higher IQ correlates with higher net worth. In other words, the smarter you are, the more wealth you accumulate.  There may be rich idiots and broke geniuses, but ON AVERAGE there is a trend in the association between IQ and wealth that is greater than can be explained on the basis of chance alone.
Let's just hit that next point as well and be done with it, which is the idea of a confounding variable.  Up till now our examples have only included two variables.  It is quite possible to establish a false correlation via confouding variables.  It is even possible to become convinced of causal relationships by ignoring confounding variables.

So just what is a confounding variable?  Let's imagine that we have a theory that drinking in night clubs causes lung cancer.  So we create a poll of 10,000 people and we ask them these two questions:  1) Do you frequently have drinks in a nightclub?  2)  Do you have lung cancer? 

Now let's imagine that 5000 people say they DO have drinks in a nightclub and of those 5000, 500 of them have lung cancer.  Of the other 5000 people who said they DO NOT have drinks in a nightclub, 100 of them say they have lung cancer.

The math is simple.  500/5000 people who drink in nightclubs have lung cancer and 100/5000 people who don't drink in nightclubs have lung cancer.  The next step is a headline on a newspaper or magazine which reads "Nightclub drinking makes you five times more likely to get lung cancer."

That's where those bizarre headlines come from, but it doesn't necessarily mean that because of two things.  First, this is a correlation based on observation, it does not prove causation.  Second, there might be confounding variables.  It might be that if we added a third question to our poll, "Do you smoke cigarettes?", then we might find that what we thought was a correlation between nightclub drinking and lung cancer is really a correlation between nightclub drinking and smoking, and it is the smoking that correlates to the lung cancer.

So it's time for your graduation from ACCU.  I'll deliver the commencement speech.  Here it is: 

Go forth and use what you've learned to listen critically to the flow of B.S. that occurs in the media, in books, and in conversation.  The next time you hear a headline that reads "Study shows that increased camel feces consumption lowers heart attack risk." find out if the study really showed causality or if it just observed a correlation.  Read the actual text of the study and see if causality is demonstrated or if correlation was observed.  Ask yourself what confounding variables the researchers might not have considered.  And just in general, don't be a dolt.

Throw your little square hat thingy in the air now and you don't have to come to class any longer.

Sayings I hate, Part 2

"Isn't that a little obsessive?"

To be more accurate, I hate that phrase when it is the response to my statement that I don't consume grains. 

To be fair, for a while I wondered if these people were onto something.  Maybe life would be simpler if I didn't hold such high standards for doing what I was convinced was best.  I tried it for a couple of weeks and they turned out to be the most expensive weeks of my life:

First, I got tired of filling the tank for my exotic saltwater fish* with fresh water that had been dechlorinated and purified.  In fact, it was much easier to just fill the tank with leftover bottles of Diet Coke** that I had quit drinking.  I figured it was a good way to use them up and not let them go to waste.  Imagine my horror when all my tropical fish died in a bath of carbonated water and Aspartame!  Dangit!

So I decided I'd jump in my big yellow truck to go get some fish to replace the dead ones, but the truck was almost out of gas.  I was in a hurry so I just filled it up with water from the hose by the driveway.  I only made it to the end of the alley before the truck quit running and wouldn't start!

All those years of being obsessive about putting only gasoline in my truck might have been the best plan after all, but I didn't want to stop my experiment too early.  I pushed the truck back to the house planning to have it towed to the dealer to have the tank drained and lines flushed to get it back in working order.  By the time I got home though, I was incredibly sore from pushing (it's a big truck) so I decided to take a few Advil*** for my sore muscles.

I opened our medicine cabinet but couldn't find the Advil anywhere!  Assuming my wife must have taken them, I looked at what else might be available.  I certainly wasn't going to be obsessive about finding a particular drug!  Finally, I just took a few swigs of children's cough syrup, a couple of old antibiotics that someone hadn't finished, and a few of Aerial's (my Portugese Water Dog) hormone pills.

When I woke back up 3 days later I reconsidered how the little details count. 

Fact is, exotic saltwater fish don't live long on diet coke.  My truck won't run on water...or diesel...or propane.  It runs well on 89 or higher octane unleaded gasoline. 

Interestingly enough, my body runs MUCH better without grains.  The effects aren't as acute or immediate as they are when I try to use water in place of gasoline, but they exist.  And I have a basis for thinking that this is the case that is not only based on science, but also confirmed by experience.

Yet the same people who would tell me I'm obsessive for not eating grains would tell me I'm an idiot for putting water in my gas tank.  So, just like I did on my last "Sayings I hate" I'm going to translate this idiotic saying:  "I don't want to investigate the details to see if your choice has validity, especially since I would be faced with what I consider a difficult choice if I come to the same realization as you.  Instead I will avoid awareness of my own ignorance by insulting your knowledge-based choice."

There you have it.

*I don't really own exotic fish.
**I don't drink diet coke...well, maybe 2 or 3 a year when the mood strikes me.
***I don't take Advil if I'm sore.  I either rest, stretch, or workout more.

Why your low-fat, vegetarian diet is really a high animal fat diet

What?  How does that even make sense, right?  I also considered another title:

"Why your low-fat vegetarian diet works..for a while"

or

"Why any successful weight loss diet is an animal fat diet"

Figured it out yet?  Let's have some fun with numbers and you'll see what I mean.  Take for example a typical adult male who needs about 2000 calories a day to exist. Let's assume he's overweight and The China Study (thorougly debunked here) finally convinced him to start 'eating healthy' and become a vegetarian.

So our example new vegetarian starts chowing on broccoli, brussel sprouts, and spinach and just in general eating like a goofball.  Without being smeared or cooked in butter, that stuff all tastes like crap.  Trust me, I tried it years ago.  Eating steamed broccoli without butter (and preferably Kerry Gold at that!) is not too yummy.

As a result, he manages to squeeze in 800-1000 calories a day and the weight starts coming off.  In fact he loses about 2 pounds a week!  Success!  And after a bit of adjustment he claims to feel great and have more energy.  How can that be?

Simple:  He's getting about half his calories from animal fat!  Still haven't figured it out?  IT IS HIS ANIMAL FAT!  That's right, if he needs 2000 calories to cover his energy expenditure and he only gets 1000 from his veggies, the other 1000 has to come from somewhere.  It comes from his fat stores (and some from breaking down muscle as well) and that means he's getting 50% of his calories from animal fat.

But ask ANY new vegetarian how they feel, and they will tell you they feel fantastic.  Well of course they do, they're finally getting adequate amounts of saturated fat.  Now that works for a while, but then what happens when they lose the weight and their body starts becoming increasingly insulin resistant from the constant exposure to carbs as the only source of food and fuel?

Well, for that you can just ask Lierre Keith.  Or read her book, which you can read more about on her website.  In a nutshell, if you don't give your body what it needs for long enough, your body won't work well.  Seems to make sense.

So what to eat?  Well, the new vegetarians who claim to feel great and lose weight aren't lying.  So instead of getting a high animal fat diet from your own fat, buy some tasty animal and eat it's fat instead.  Some avocado and some coconut oil wouldn't hurt either, but make the source of your fat healthy saturated fat, preferably from grass fed beef or other natural sources.

Start getting 5-20% of your calories from plants, preferably slowly absorbed veggies.  Get 15-25% of your calories from protein.  Finally, get 55-75% of your calories from good fats.  'Good' means that the vast majority of it will come from animal fat.

Take the vegetarian's brussel sprouts, steam them, slather them in butter, and eat 3 or 4 along with a pound of grass fed beef.  Sounds like a lunch I could be okay with.