Dave's Fall Journal: Losing the Gut

[Kaido]

Daily Update: Wednesday, 2-July-2008

Sick day today again. Whee! I started feeling a lot better about an hour ago, so I'm jumping back into the swing of things tomorrow. Pretty terrible first week

 

[Kaido]

Shopping List:

Breakfast:
Oatmeal
Raisin Bran
Wheat Chex
Shredded Wheat
Grape Nuts
Cheerios

Fruit:
Berries (Strawberry, Blueberry, Blackberry, etc.)
Apples

Veggie:
Broccoli
Brown Rice
Asparagus
Salad
Red Potato
Tomatoes
Sweet Potato
String Beans
Cauliflower

Meat:
Chicken
Lean steak
Sliced Turkey
Sliced Chicken

Fish:
Tuna
Tilapia
Salmon
Cod

Condiments:
Honey
Soy sauce
Ketchup
Mustard
Lite Mayo
BBQ sauce
Sweet & Sour sauce
Lemon Pepper sauce
Honey Mustard sauce
Thousand Island dressing

Whole Wheat:
Bread
Wrap
Pasta
Sub
Kaiser roll (burger bun)
Pita bread
Pancake mix

Misc:
Protein shake (chocolate, vanilla)
Natural Peanut Butter
Rice Cakes
Baked Chips
Rice Milk
Season-All
Lemon Pepper powder
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
Margarine
Cinnamon

 

[Kaido]

I think I hit everything on the meal plan above. The focus is basically veggies + lean protein, i.e. fish, turkey, lean steak, chicken. I only use enough sauce to dip the meat in; stuff like chicken can get boring fast unless you spice it up with some different flavors.

 

[Kaido]

Daily Update: Tuesday, July 15th, 2008

I fell off the wagon for a couple weeks. I am ashamed. In light of my weakness, I am re-committing myself to my plan. My goal is to hit 175 pounds within 3 months by doing heavy cardio (45 minutes a day, 6 days a week) and strict dieting (6 healthy meals a day). After that, I am going to pick up running and begin Starting Strength. I've been putting off running because I'm overweight and I don't want to stress my ankles and knees more than necessary, but now that I've lost a fair amount of weight I would definitely like to give it a shot to add more variety to my cardio routine. I would also like to get into some light bodybuilding and SS seems like the best way to start!

I recently read an article that helped me out a lot. I have a severe all-or-nothing approach to things; if I mess up or miss a day or two, I have a really hard time not calling it quits on the whole program. I'm not really a perfectionist, but when it comes to committing to new things, I tend to over-commit and set myself up for failure. Anyway, I found a great article that clearly identifies the process that occurs and made me think about how I was dealing with things. It's a 2-part article:

http://www.howtobefit.com/curse-of-perfectionism.htm

http://www.howtobefit.com/95-percent-rule.htm

The author says something very profound: the ultimate result of perfectionism is failure. He suggests allowing yourself some leeway for the days when you are weak and slip and don't hit your goals. This has always been something I've struggled with on personal projects, like this "getting healthy" kick I'm on. Anyway, I'm sucking it up and getting back on track, despite skipping a few beats there. Wish me luck!

I picked up a few more wheat-based cereals today, I'll report back later this week if they are any good or not. Also went on a quick 3.5-mile bike ride. I'm amazed that I still have it in me after being lazy for like a month (super taper? haha), although biking 30 minutes after dinner was a terrible idea lol. It felt really good to get back on the bike and be out pumping, though.

Lately I've been screwing around with a FoodSaver my mom "donated" to me If you're not familiar with them, they are home vacuum sealing machines for food and other items. They can extend the shelf life of food by up to 5 times, especially if frozen. My plan is to start making frozen meals up to a month in advance in order to reduce cooking time on a daily basis. This should cut down morning prep to just 10 or 15 minutes, time enough to make a fresh sandwich, salad, and put all of the supplies together. If you're interested in "freezer cooking", here are a few links:

http://www.frugalmom.net/once_a_month_cooking.htm

http://www.once-a-month-cookin...k=view&id=12&Itemid=28

http://www.thesimpledollar.com...-once-a-month-cooking/

http://organizedhome.com/freezer-cooking-guide

http://members.aol.com/oamcloop/

http://www.realfood4realpeople.com/oamc.html

Once-A-Month-Cooking, or OAMC, is great for a few reasons:

1. Reduces time spent daily on preparing food
2. Tremendously helpful when trying to eat healthy every day (homemade TV dinners!)
3. Saves a ton of cash

I'll be experimenting with this in the future and will post my results as I learn more!

 

[Kaido]

Daily Update: Friday, July 18th, 2008

Found a few more wheat-based cereals:

1. Weetabix (Organic Whole Grain Biscuit)
2. Uncle Sam Original (Toasted Whole-Wheat Flakes & Flaxseed)
3. Quaker Oatmeal Squares

This adds a little bit more variety to my morning breakfast choices, which is nice. The key for shopping for fiberous cereals is to see if the first ingredient is whole wheat (or a similar type of grain or bran) and has low sugar content. For example, the first ingredient of Weetabix is Organic Whole Wheat, for Uncle Sam Original, it's Whole Wheat Kernels, and for Quaker Oatmeal Squares it's Whole Oat Flour followed by Whole Wheat Flour. Although the Quaker Oatmeal Squares have about 10g of sugar, which kind of makes me feel a little queasy. Again, anything more than a small amount of refined sugar in the morning makes feel not feel too great - most of the other cereals only have 1-2g.

I've got a bunch of meals sealed up in the FoodSaver. I'm going to keep them in the freezer for a few weeks to see how they turn out. I'm particularly interested in how the rice reheats; it shrunk the most in the vacuum-sealed packages. I've also discovered that vacuum-sealing dehydrated food can extend the shelf life by several years, which is awesome. Luckily it's summer, so there's an abundance of apples, strawberries, and other berries to try. Pretty soon, the only thing I'll be shopping for fresh is lettuce and tomatoes!

 

[Kaido]

Daily Update: Friday, August 15th, 2008

Had a death in the family and had to leave town unexpectedly for awhile, kind of threw a wrench in my plans. Been eating pretty well while I was out though, and used a treadmill where I was. Anyway, I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow and starting the training/blogging 3-month plan again on Monday.

Basic Plan:
1. 45 minutes of cardio, 6 days a week
2. 6 meals a day
3. 8:45pm bedtime (except 2-3 days a week, 10:00pm bedtime due to late school classes)

I've set a goal to follow this for 3 months (twice the 6-week plan I initially followed, where I lost 23 pounds). I've promised myself that if I can follow it for that long, I'll get myself a good barbell set (bar, barbell, power rack, bench, etc.). I'll also start jogging once I lose the rest of the weight.

Anyway, back home and back on board :thumbsup:

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Awesome job. I'm no fitness guru (far from it) but the work you have done so far is great. I couldn't plan my diet if my life depended on it.

So anyways, keep it up!

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Scholzpdx
Awesome job. I'm no fitness guru (far from it) but the work you have done so far is great. I couldn't plan my diet if my life depended on it.

So anyways, keep it up!

Hah thanks! I still have a lot to learn. I totally blew summer and I keep having to restart my "Phase II" plan due to traveling, but I'll get there. I'm keeping up the diet where I can and exercise when I have time though. School just started and my schedule will be settling down over the next couple of weeks so that I can get back on track.

The hardest thing I've found is simply sticking with it. Making a plan is easy, especially if you start with someone else's plan like I did initially with the diet. You learn about your body and what works and what doesn't as you focus on it over time, and then it's easy to adapt the plan to your personal needs and desires. Once you have that plan, again, the most difficult thing is sticking to it.

I'll be back in here doing daily updates in a week or two once I get my schedule nailed down. My goal is to begin Starting Strength in December. I want to focus for 3 months on losing fat and getting in really good shape, and then move on to weight training. After Starting Strength, I want to focus on bodybuilding and endurance training. My goal is to get ripped and to prepare for Ironman. They may not exactly mix since most Ironman participants I've seen are pretty twiggy, but I'll make it work

 

[Kaido]

Found a good homemade Chinese Beef & Broccoli recipe, only takes about 10 minutes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft5ePAvoPBc

Ingredients:
[1/2 Pound] Beef (flank steak)
[1/2 Pound] Fresh Head of Broccoli
[1-1/2 Tablespoons] Oyster Sauce
[1 Tablespoon] Soy Sauce
[1 Tablespoon] Cornstarch
[1 Tablespoon] Sesame Oil
[1 Tablespoon] Sugar
[3 Cloves] Garlic
[3 Tablespoons] Vegetable Oil

Tools:
Wok and Spatula
Knife
Cutting Board
Mixing Bowl
1 Tablespoon
1/2 Tablespoon

Directions:
1. Chop the beef into 2" x 1/8" slices, chop the broccoli into bite-sized pieces, and crush and chop the garlic
2. Marinate the beef in the mixing bowl with the soy sauce and cornstarch for 15 minutes
3. Put your Wok on high heat, add 2T veggie oil, mix in the garlic for about 10 seconds, and add meat for 2-3 minutes. It doesn't have to be completely cooked when you're doing, just mostly cooked, since we'll be adding it to the wok again later.
4. Wash out the Wok (OK if it's hot, won't break), put on high heat, add 1T veggie oil, add broccoli for 1 minute.
5. Add in meat and stir
6. Add in Oyster Sauce and stir
7. Add in Sesame Oil and stir
8. Add in Sugar and stir
9. Serve when satisfied (usually 1-2 minutes after adding meat)

Notes:
1. Don't leave the oil heating up for too long in the wok or it might ignite and fill your house with black smoke. Don't ask how I know this.
2. The broccoli is good and crispy, but I kind of like it a bit mushy like at my local Chinese place. I might try steaming it first next time, then stir-frying it, or else stir-frying it first and then steaming it for a bit.
3. Optionally add Ginger if you like the flavor.
4. The sugar is optional. It adds a strong hint of "sweet" to the dish. I think I'll so 1/2 Tablespoon next time and add Ginger.

Overall a fast, excellent dish without any of the extra MSG and other crud your local Chinese shop may add. One step closer to making 100% of my food at home

 

[Kaido]

On the above recipe, flank steak was $14 for about 2 pounds at my local grocery store. So that's about $3.50 in meat per serving (1 pound = 1/2 pound meat + 1/2 pound broccoli). That's a pretty decent-sized bowl; I can eat about 1/2 pound in one sitting, so it's good to toss in the fridge or freeze to eat for leftovers later in the week.

I am also dumping my cereals in favor of making all of the breakfast meals at home. I am going with 4 meals:

1. Steel-cut oats
2. Muffins
3. Whole-Wheat Pancakes with Honey
4. Whole-Wheat Waffles with Honey

Oatmeal is one of the best things for you and doesn't come pre-manufactured like cereal. Personally I detest regular mushy oatmeal, but I've found I can tolerate steel-cut oats. I get the small white tin of John McCann's Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal from my local grocery store; it's expensive but that little tin can lasts forever. You can add strawberries, apples, honey, cinnamon, etc. to spice it up a bit, but if I'm distracted I can eat it plain (like if I'm surfing the net or watching TV while eating it, haha).

Muffins seem like a good way to do breakfast. You can make them at home easily and can do either whole-wheat or bran muffins, and optionally include bits of fruit like berries, apples, and bananas. A large muffin with some fruit on the side or baked inside can easily count as your first meal and is easy to eat on the go. I'll test out how well they freeze, but I'd imagine they freeze as well as bread does. There are also some recipes for 6-week muffin mix that sits in your fridge; I'm interested to try out a whole-wheat version of that to see how well it keeps.

I've found I really enjoy whole-wheat pancakes and waffles with honey. It's a different flavor than white flour-pancakes with syrup, but I actually really like it. I'm in the market for a new waffle iron and saw one at the mall that was pretty neat - it had a flip handle so that the batter gets mixed all around it:

http://www.amazon.com/Presto-0...&qid=1220361490&sr=8-1

Waring also makes one, haven't decided which I'll go with yet:

http://www.amazon.com/Waring-W...&qid=1220361490&sr=8-2

The nice thing about Waffles is that you can freeze them, so you can make a bunch at a time and store them so that you just have to toss them in the microwave, toaster, or toaster oven to reheat. The trick I learned from my grandma is to freeze them on a cookie sheet first, then wrap them in Press-N-Seal wrap and stack in a Ziploc Freezer bag. Then you can pull them out individually and they don't stick together.

Right now I'm using Aunt Jemima's Whole Wheat Blend mix for the pancakes and waffles and it's pretty good, but I'm going to try some DIY recipes. Hopefully I can make a mix that I can store in quantity for cooking, but if not, I'll just do the freezer trick and cook up a bunch at once. Right now I store my rice, flours, and mixes in these great containers from Target called "Click Clack" containers. I got the ones from the Michael Graves collection. There are two kinds - one with a butterfly hinge and one with a push-hinge; the butterfly model is great but the push-hinge is pretty terrible and doesn't really work all that well. The containers are expensive, but they're heavy-duty plastic and give you a 1-second airtight seal, so it makes storing powders and grains really, really nice - no bugs get in them, no messy bags, and wide enough at the top to stick a measuring cup or spoon in.

 

[Kaido]

Ended up going with the Presto Flipside Waffle Maker because of the better reviews. It works very well and is 1/2 the cost of the Waring, which is nice. I did some whole wheat blend waffles from Aunt Jemima:

http://www.auntjemima.com/aj_p...keMixes/wholeWheat.cfm

Keep in mind there is a waffle recipe on the back of the box, so don't use the pancake recipe (waffles are 1-1/4 cup mix, 1-1/4 cup milk, 3 Tbps Oil, 1 egg). The waffle iron calls for 3/4 - 1 cup of batter; the whole wheat mix needs at least 1 cup to fill the iron - one cup plus a bit more made perfectly-sized waffle. The trick is to pour in the batter, let it spread for a few seconds, then close the lid and flip. Best waffle maker I've ever owned...cooked the whole thing evenly, on both sides! Whole wheat waffles are a bit weird to cook because they're already brown, so when fully cooked they actually have a darker brown color that usually signifies that the waffle is burnt. It looks like this when fully cooked:

http://i37.tinypic.com/2hgbbkk.jpg

I used tongs with plastic tips to pull the waffle out...that way, it doesn't scratch the surface like a metal fork could and it was easier to grip and slide out. I tried using oil and a paper towel to oil the surface initially (didn't have a pastry brush handy), but that didn't really work that well so I just sprayed on some Pam after that and it worked fine. You only have to oil it once, then all of the waffles will slide right off. One batch of the Aunt Jemima stuff makes 3 full-sized waffles. For a topping, I used honey. I also tried some agave nectar, which was good (cactus sugar, probably less bad for you than refined sugar). Syrups are good too, especially pure maple syrup.

 

[gramboh]

Looking forward to when you start lifting Kaido, you have good resolve and are organized with your planning.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: gramboh
Looking forward to when you start lifting Kaido, you have good resolve and are organized with your planning.

Thanks! I've read most of Starting Strength and picked up Practical Programming and have been going through that. My plan is to spend until December on my fat loss program and then to build the Starting Strength weight set in my basement. Once I get that down, I want to focus on bodybuilding and endurance training - get ripped and get ready for Ironman

I basically want to start from scratch - nice skinny body to start running with and start building muscle on. I know it's a different path than most bodybuilders and weightlifters would take, but I'd rather feel like I've hit a milestone (weight loss) than start while still flabby. In my previous thread, I said I wasn't that interested in bodybuilding, but now that I've obtained real results and feel lightyears better I've changed my mind - it's a real confidence booster to see real changes! I don't want to get huge or anything, but I would like to get lean and muscular. It's not like it'd be a big change, either, especially after doing Starting Strength...I've already got the diet nailed down and once I get the basics of weightlifting covered, it shouldn't be too hard to transition into sculpting my body to where I want it. It's actually pretty fun getting results...that initial hump of changing my lifestyle was really hard to get over, but now it almost feels downhill...I know I can do it!

 

[gramboh]

I understand the fat loss/muscle thing, you are on a path that is working for you and adding something that will change your body in another direction could confuse the process. I think you'll find with a protein rich diet you will put on a lot of muscle on SS within 6 months if you lift hard and heavy. Good luck.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Found a good homemade Chinese Beef & Broccoli recipe, only takes about 10 minutes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft5ePAvoPBc

Ingredients:
[1/2 Pound] Beef (flank steak)
[1/2 Pound] Fresh Head of Broccoli
[1-1/2 Tablespoons] Oyster Sauce
[1 Tablespoon] Soy Sauce
[1 Tablespoon] Cornstarch
[1 Tablespoon] Sesame Oil
[1 Tablespoon] Sugar
[3 Cloves] Garlic
[3 Tablespoons] Vegetable Oil

Tools:
Wok and Spatula
Knife
Cutting Board
Mixing Bowl
1 Tablespoon
1/2 Tablespoon

Directions:
1. Chop the beef into 2" x 1/8" slices, chop the broccoli into bite-sized pieces, and crush and chop the garlic
2. Marinate the beef in the mixing bowl with the soy sauce and cornstarch for 15 minutes
3. Put your Wok on high heat, add 2T veggie oil, mix in the garlic for about 10 seconds, and add meat for 2-3 minutes. It doesn't have to be completely cooked when you're doing, just mostly cooked, since we'll be adding it to the wok again later.
4. Wash out the Wok (OK if it's hot, won't break), put on high heat, add 1T veggie oil, add broccoli for 1 minute.
5. Add in meat and stir
6. Add in Oyster Sauce and stir
7. Add in Sesame Oil and stir
8. Add in Sugar and stir
9. Serve when satisfied (usually 1-2 minutes after adding meat)

Notes:
1. Don't leave the oil heating up for too long in the wok or it might ignite and fill your house with black smoke. Don't ask how I know this.
2. The broccoli is good and crispy, but I kind of like it a bit mushy like at my local Chinese place. I might try steaming it first next time, then stir-frying it, or else stir-frying it first and then steaming it for a bit.
3. Optionally add Ginger if you like the flavor.
4. The sugar is optional. It adds a strong hint of "sweet" to the dish. I think I'll so 1/2 Tablespoon next time and add Ginger.

Overall a fast, excellent dish without any of the extra MSG and other crud your local Chinese shop may add. One step closer to making 100% of my food at home

You can soften the broccoli by adding a small amount of water after stirring for 1 minute and putting a cover on. You basically turn the wok into a temporary steamer.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Howard

You can soften the broccoli by adding a small amount of water after stirring for 1 minute and putting a cover on. You basically turn the wok into a temporary steamer.

Yeah I discovered that when I used frozen mixed veggies the other day...the veggies had been frozen awhile in a regular back and were ice-encrusted. The ice turned to water and steamed the veggies (I have a wok lid too) and it came out pretty good :thumbsup:

Going to try it with lime instead of sugar today to see if I can cut out excess refined sugar. I don't like this dish reheated in the microwave since it's not covered in sauce (doesn't taste too good), only "glazed" in sauce, but I'm going to put 1/2 of the next batch into a FoodSaver bag and see if it's any better vacuum-sealed. Overall a quick and tasty dish to make and none of the extra MSG and other crud I'd get from a Chinese restaurant

 

[Kaido]

Uploaded a document containing the Rules, Menu, and Shopping List on Scribd, available for online reading and printing:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/6001510/14-Day-Menu

The shopping list may not be 100% accurate but it's pretty close; you can choose a different salad dressing and whatnot. I'm working on learning how to cook more whole-wheat breakfast foods and also perfecting the Chinese Beef & Broccoli recipe, so once I get everything nailed down I'll post an updated document, complete with recipes.

 

[Kaido]

Daily Update: Monday, September 15, 2008

Stats: 202 pounds

Wakeup: 9:53am
PT: 15 minutes PT + 45 minutes Cardio (exercise bike)
Meal 1: 1/2 cup Steel-Cut Oatmeal with Agave Nectar, 1/2 cup Strawberries, Small cup Rice Milk
Meal 2: Chinese Beef & Broccoli, 1/2 cup Brown Rice
Meal 3: Chocolate Protein Shake (2 scoops [28 grams] + 16oz Rice Milk)
Meal 4: Salmon fillet, 1/2 cup Asparagus Spears, 1/2 cup Brown Rice
Meal 5: Skipped
Meal 6: 2 Tbps Natural PB, 3 Apple-Cinnamon Rice Cakes
Bedtime: 9:40pm

Notes:

Back on the plan today, whoohoo! I let 4 months slip by from when I started the first phase of my program to today (Phase I: April 1st - May 15th), but I was able to maintain my weight at about 200 pounds (202 lbs as of today), so I'm pretty pleased about that. By the middle of December, I will be 175 pounds (or less!) and in much better shape than I am now. My goal is simply to get to my target weight - no more being chubby! I'm only going to weigh myself once a week...I don't really care about daily variance, just overall progress. I'll post my weight every Monday next to the Stats, like today.

I'm letting myself sleep in this week to catch up on my sleep deficit. For me, sleep is the most crucial part of the program - if I'm tired, it's nearly impossible to muster up the willpower to push through an hour of exercise a day and focus on my work and school activities. I have terrible sleeping habits, but starting today I'll be having "lights out" at 8:45pm. I do have two days a week at school that I stay until 10:00pm, but sometimes the teacher lets us out early so hopefully I'll make it in bed before then. I am extremely fortunate in that I can set my current work schedule in the morning, so I'm free to sleep in as long as I need to, provided I complete my workload for the day, and I don't have to leave for school until 10:00am. My goal is to be able to fall asleep within 15 minutes of lights out; coupled with a good diet, an hour of exercise a day, and staying on top of my priorities, I should be physically ready to sleep as well as mentally ready to sleep.

I tried making the Chinese Beef & Broccoli with lime today, don't really care for it. The meat has too much "bite" to it, even with only 1/2 a lime, plus a funky aftertaste. I'm going back to sugar. Or maybe I'll try agave nectar...

Very inspirational transformation thread here:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/...thread.php?t=108359701

Wow...just finished Meal 4, forgot how much eating this was! Gotta cut down my portions a bit and start the furnace again I know it's past 5pm, but I want to get all of my meals in today so that I get my metabolism rolling quickly again. I will also probably have to stay up a bit later tonight due to homework, got a big test and large homework assignment due tomorrow.

Nevermind, I didn't make it to Meal #5. Ended up going on a walk for about an hour and a half, whew! Having Meal #6 now though. Also, my school project is taking longer than I thought and I'll probably be up late. Luckily it's a one-time thing (i.e. I screwed around, procrastinated, and won't do it again ).

 

[Kaido]

Daily Update: Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Stats:

Wakeup: 4:09am
PT: 30 minutes Cardio (5 minutes Elliptical, 25 minutes Exercise Bike)
Meal 1: Raisin Bran, Dried Apricots, Rice Milk
Meal 2: Sliced Chicken Sandwich with Lettuce & Tomato, Lay's Baked Chips
Meal 3: Vanilla Protein Shake
Meal 4: BBQ Grilled Chicken, 1/2 cup String Beans, 1/4 Sweet Potato
Meal 5: Skipped
Meal 6: 2 Tbps Natural PB + 3 Apple-Cinnamon Rice Cakes
Bedtime: 11:09pm

Notes:

Ugh, I should NOT have eaten so late, despite my enthusiasm for getting back on my program. I woke up dehydrated with a big headache, plus feeling really nauseous with a lot of acid. I don't know why I woke up around 4am; I went to bed at 9:40pm but didn't fall asleep until after 11:20pm. That's probably less than 5 hours of sleep I managed to get through 30 minutes of cardio, but the nauseousness was too strong and kept kicking up acid so I decided to take a break. I'll see if I can throw in 15 more minutes of cardio plus my PT later on...it's already been 2 hours since I woke up and I'm still really acidy. I didn't have any Tums, so I stuffed down some Raisin Bran in hopes that it would cause my stomach to chill. Not gonna quit though!

Ahah, I think I've discovered the source of the acid...hot sauce! I had cooked up some bbq chicken yesterday, but was only able to eat a few bites before calling it quits on Meal #5 because I was so full. However, I made the chicken with 1/2 bottle of hot sauce to help the flavor of the bbq sauce (partially grilled, then cooked in a dutch oven with 5 bottles of bbq sauce + 1/2 cup of hot sauce, along with 14 chicken breasts). I'm 99% sure this is the cause...man, my chest is burning! Oye! No more hot sauce! My list of foods to avoid is steadily becoming more clear: no dairy (food allergy), nix the preservatives (MSG etc...headaches), avoid sugar as much as possible (puts me to sleep), and don't touch hot sauce (bad acid reflux).

I skipped Meal 5 again and just had Meal 6 at about 5:30pm. The acid has finally (mostly) settled down, yay. Also, I think the apple-cinnamon rice cakes has dairy in them...it said "natural flavors" in the ingredients, which 90% of the time means dairy, but it also said it was made on equipment that processes dairy (which has never bothered me before) instead of "contains dairy". So I'm dumping those and going back to the plain ones, oh well. Never got in my PT + remaining 15 minutes of cardio because it took all day for my stomach to settle down, but I'll nail it tomorrow.

 

[Kaido]

Daily Update: Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Stats:

Wakeup: 9:31am
PT: None
Meal 1: Cherrios (ran out of Wheat Chex, d'oh!)
Meal 2: 1/2 Tuna Sandwich, Baked Chips
Meal 3: Chocolate Protein Shake
Meal 4: Thai food (Chicken, Rice, Veggies, Mango)
Meal 5: Skipped
Meal 6: 2 Tbps Natural PB & 2 Plain Rice Cakes
Bedtime: 8:47pm

Notes:

Got home a little late. Woke up every hour and then was wide awake at 3:00am. Luckily I was able to fall back asleep this time and slept in until about 9:30am. I feel a lot better today...bit of a bumpy start here

Hmm, getting back into my routine isn't quite as easy as I thought it would be. I really need to buckle down. I haven't had 6 meals a day all week - just 5, but I'll fix that once I get caught up on my sleep. I also completely missed my PT, and there's no excuse for that. I simply got busy and didn't make time for it. Still working on my time management problem!

 

[Kaido]

Daily Update: Thursday, September 18, 2008

Stats:

Wakeup: 8:11am
PT: 30 minutes cardio (10 minutes Elliptical, 20 minutes Exercise Bike)
Meal 1: Oatmeal
Meal 2: Tuna Wrap, Baked Chips
Meal 3: Chocolate Protein Shake
Meal 4: Sweet & Sour Chicken, Broccoli, Whole-Wheat Pasta
Meal 5: Skipped
Meal 6: 2 Tbps Natural PB + 3 Rice Cakes
Bedtime: 11:07pm

Notes:

Woke up at 4am but slept in until 8am. I'm feeling waaaaaay more rested today. Amazing how you just get used to living with a sleep deficit and how much better you feel getting enough sleep for a few days! I'm still a bit tired though, so I'm really going to focus on hitting the hay early this weekend. Going to sleep early is probably my biggest struggle in this program. I don't really have a problem with the food because I get hungry and feel like eating and the exercise helps me sleep better, but I always feel like there are so many other things I want to be doing than sleeping lol. Night Guy definitely has a louder voice than Day Guy!

I am considering cutting down my cardio as well...45 minutes is actually kind of overwhelming. I don't really want to go down to 15 minutes a day, although that worked for me before, so maybe I'll try 30 minutes a day. Some days it's super hard to work up the motivation - every second I'm using my bike or elliptical, my brain is telling me how boring it is and how badly I want to get off and do something else. Which is surprisingly, now that it's "easy" for me to workout for 45 minutes - when I started last April, I couldn't do 10 minutes on the bike without getting nauseous. I need to find some better entertainment to help me stop focusing on the exercise...

I am also discovering the battle between Convenience and Preparedness. Ideally I would like to prepare the majority of my food at home to avoid preservatives and other chemicals, and to help me avoid foods that I'm allergic to or that bother me. However, due to a lack of being prepared to do that, I'm finding myself going for the more convenient foods like boxed cereal. Without a plan and action on it, I kind of seem to drift to whatever the default is, in this case factory-made food instead of homemade food.

Going back to exercise, I loaded up my iPhone with the HTguys podcast. It's not the most riveting stuff, but after about 10 minutes I mostly quit focusing on the bike and started paying attention. Here's a link, it's good stuff if you're into Home Theater:

http://www.htguys.com/

Regarding food, I microwaved 1/2 cup of the steel-cut oatmeal I cooked on Monday. Dare I say, it's even better a week later...it's solidified, or rather gelled up, a bit like Jello but thicker. Instead of mush, you slice it with your spoon like cheesecake. I wonder how long this stuff can last in the fridge...I probably shouldn't keep it more than a week, so I think I'll switch to having oatmeal every other day for Meal #1. It's pretty dang good with Agave Nectar (I don't get a sugar fade from that like I do with syrup or sugar). I found a good-looking oatmeal pancake recipe here: (be sure to checkout the link for the chunky peach pancake topping too...looks like a delicious way to add fruit into the meal)

http://www.thekitchn.com/theki...en-oat-pancakes-022127

In other food news, I did some googling for how to cook pasta in a rice cooker, just to see if it was possible. I found this link:

http://martinaquino.wordpress....a-using-a-rice-cooker/

Tested it out and it worked great! I filled my fuzzy-logic rice cooker up 1/2-way with water, added the 1/2 cup of penne pasta and a couple squirts of extra virgin olive oil, and put it on the porridge cycle (I believe that's the shortest cooking cycle available). I tested it partway through and it was cooked perfectly, but I let it finish the cycle just to see. I think a full cycle is too long, it came out borderline mushy...it still held together, but it was pretty "inflated" and a tad too soft for my tastes. Luckily my rice cooker has a timer, although I'm also going to experiment with other settings like "Quick Rice" to see if I can just hit a button and walk away and have perfect whole-wheat pasta.

My homemade food goal this week is to test out my grandma's whole-wheat bread recipe, then convert it to a bread machine recipe. I've been meaning to do this since forever ago, so I'm finally going to do it on Saturday. If I'm successful, I'll post the recipe here. I'm also looking for a better bread machine...I have 2-pound Breadman which cooks bread perfectly, but it makes really tall loaves, which isn't exactly conducive to cutting into sandwich slices. I'm looking for one that does longer, flatter loaves...this Zojirushi looks good, but it's $200+:

http://www.amazon.com/Zojirush...&qid=1221748939&sr=8-3

Things I'd like to make at home in the future: (to avoid preservatives)

-100% whole-wheat bread
-Muffins (whole-wheat, bran, etc.)
-Pancake and Waffle mix (whole-wheat, oatmeal, etc.)
-Condiments (Ketchup, Mustard, Mayo)
-Sauces (BBQ, Sweet & Sour, etc.)
-More dehydrated fruit (pears, kiwis, etc.)
-Whole-Wheat Tortillas
-Whole-Wheat Pitas
-Whole-Wheat Pasta

Tried some new rice cakes today, a different brand. So far so good...eh, nevermind, had some stomach issues after eating them. Back to the plain ones I guess

 

[Kaido]

Daily Update: Friday, September 19, 2008

Stats:

Wakeup: 6:56am
PT: None
Meal 1: Oatmeal
Meal 2: Chicken Sandwich, Baked Chips
Meal 3: Vanilla Protein Shake with Strawberries
Meal 4: Skipped
Meal 5: Tuna Wrap
Meal 6: Skipped
Bedtime: 12:30am

Notes:

Still having trouble falling asleep, I don't think I fell asleep until 1:00am or so I'm chaulking it up to general sleeping problems. Bleh.

The strawberry soy shake is pretty terrible stuff, so I made my own today with vanilla soy protein powder and fresh strawberries. I used less this time, only about 5 medium ones, and the flavor was pretty good. Too many strawberries and it has too much bite to it. For anyone interested in soy protein, I like the Whole Food's brand Soy Protein Powder with Spirulina. The Spirulina powder only has about 1/2 the protein of the non-Spirulina powder, but the plain stuff is like powdered cardboard - pretty nasty. They have chocolate and vanilla, although the chocolate is only sold in small containers, which is dumb because it's the better flavor. Note that the vanilla powder with spirulina turns green when you mix it, so don't be alarmed - it's just the green bacteria stuff. It does have a slightly funky taste, but it's better than sucking down cardboard. The strawberry shake I tried is Spirutein-brand "meal" shake and it's not so hot. Too thick and the flavor was pretty low on the taste scale, ugh. If you have to mix it on the go, again I definitely recommend the BodyBuilding.com shaker bottle, it's only $1.95:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/shaker.html

I use those for water and for protein shakes since it has that little grid thing to break up the powder when you shake it, works surprisingly well! It's also a screw-on lid so it doesn't spill easily and has an indentation on the bottom so it fits in standard cupholders in your car. My only complaint is that their logo printing on the cup is cheap and if you leave it wet it will get sticky and rub off on your hands - forever and ever. I had to wrap one of my cups up in tape because it's like a neverending pit of ink transfer. If you need a good blender, I heartily recommend the Blendtec model from those "Will It Blend?" commercials:

http://www.blendtec.com/TotalBlender-Black.aspx

It's ridiculously expensive, but after going through 3 other blenders, this is the only one that hasn't broken. I think I've had it about a year now and use it at least once daily. Great for making green drinks too, if you're into that.

Had another long day at work, didn't get home until after 7:00pm. Result, didn't eat too well. Decided to take my cheat night tonight and had some Burger King...wow, talk about instant regret. Within 15 minutes I had acid...yuck. My stomach is rolling. Bleh! Fast food = always a terrible idea lol.

 

[KoolDrew]

Any reason you ate only one thing yesterday?

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

you should try some crystal delight or whey in your oats. Or sweet n low + cinnamin.

maybe look into getting some ambien if you really can't sleep. Or try some over the counter stuff first.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew
Any reason you ate only one thing yesterday?

Oops had the date wrong for today's post