Thought For Food

So I'm not feeling all that great today.  I don't mean physically, I mean mentally/emotionally.  I want to try a 24 hour fast, but truthfully am scared of being hungry for that long.  Really, I would rather not fast.  As great as the proponents make it sound, you still have to go all that time without eating.  I tried the leangains 16/8 fast, and I couldn't keep it up.  I have never even tried a 24 hour; it seems so daunting it scares me from even trying it.  So for now, I won't.  My eating is still unstructured, but not completely ad libitum.  I want to try a low carb again, and am thinking about trying it after Peachtree.  My diet is a work in progress.  I don't like the confines of a strict diet, proved by my rebellious cheat meals.  I enjoy the freedom of eating what I want, but know that that will lead me to weight gain, even with heavy exercise.  So what is the answer?  I think I will work on my food plan some more.

 

 

Right now, I am planning on going on a moderate-carb diet starting on 7/10/09.  A moderate-carb diet will be a daily carb intake of less than 150g.  I will try that for a while, and see how it goes.  I will still have whatever on my free meals, but try to keep them to 2 a week.  

 

As much as I don't want to, I believe that I must track my calories if I am not going to gain weight.  I would love to not count calories, but I think that would require great restriction on what I could eat.  I have time on my workdays before work to track my calories.  I should do this as much as I can.  On free meal days, I will just watch what I eat for the rest of the day.  I need to work on not eating if I'm not hungry.  This would help me at least maintain my weight. 

 

You know, I'm sitting here thinking about trying to not count calories for several weeks, and see if I gain weight.  I will be tracking my body composition weekly, along with taking weekly pictures.  Screw tape measurements.  I will continue with my Sunday weigh-in, and see if I am gaining body fat.  Gaining muscle mass wouldn't be such a bad thing, but I can't believe that I can eat freely and not gain fat.  I guess I am going to put to the test the whole homeostasis thing.  Well, maybe 3 or 4 weeks won't be long enough for my body to work toward a stasis.  But I am tired of counting calories for now, and am definitely tired of dietary restrictions.  

 

I feel I should eat more vegetables, but I ate so much of them during my fat loss phase, I am a bit tired of brocolli and cauliflower.  I will eat up the ones I have in the freezer, and then just eat salads for a while.  Or soups, like my Pritikin vegetable soup. 

 

I wish I could eat whatever I wanted.  But I know that would make me fat.  I need to fine the balance between eating what tastes good, and what is good for me.  I do get tired of trying to find a diet that is sustainable.  I keep thinking it is out there, I just have to find it.  I do enjoy reading about low carb, for some reason.  It just seems like a healthy diet, and yet tasty and satisfying.   More on this later.

 

My Current Weightlifting Program

Copy from ShedderSphere:

Wow. So, I took a week off from the Sphere, to relax, recover nd reset myself. I must admit though, that I did indulge myself in more than a few reward meals. I won't go into details, but let's just say I ate like a horse! I gained a few pounds, gained a few more in water weight, but now am back on my brand new diet and workout plan. So without further delay, I will lay out what I am now doing, my new "mission", if you will. I officially began on Sunday, 6/21/09. Summer Solstice!

Preface: I thought long and hard about exactly what I was going to do with my new diet and exercise program. I laid it out in my main blog, if you want to check it out.

Here is my exercise program:

Weights 4 days a week

Sunday
Lower A

Squats 4 X 12, 10, 8, 6 (ALL the way down!)
Walking Lunges 3 X 12
Romanian Deadlifts 3 X 12, 10, 8
Donkey Calf Raises 3 X 20
Abs (Upper, Lower, Obliques) RTP Style


Monday
Upper A

Bench Press 4 X 12, 10, 8, 6
Bent Over Barbell Row 3 X 12, 10, 8
Standing Military Press Barbell 3 X 12, 10, 8
EZ Bar Biceps Curl 3 X 12, 10, 8 (Slow negatives)
Triceps Push Down Rope 3 X 12, 10, 8


Wednesday
Lower B

Deadlifts 4 X 12, 10, 8, 6
Front Squats 3 X 12, 10, 8
Lying Leg Curls 3 X 12, 10, 8
Standing Calf Raises 3 X 20
Abs (Upper, Lower, Obliques) RTP Style


Thursday
Upper B

Pull-Ups 3 Sets to Max (Alt. Grips: Wide Front, Chin-ups, Neutral Grip)
Dumbbell Incline Bench Press 3 X 12, 10, 8
Seated Dumbbel Shoulder Press 3 X 12, 10, 8
Crouching Rear Delts 3 X 10
Standing Alt Dumbbell Biceps Curl 3 X 12, 10, 8
Dips 3 Sets to Max

On the ones with decreasing reps I increase the weight each set. I will increase the weight by 5 or 10 pounds each week, depending on the exercise.

For Cardio:

Tuesday: Run 5K
Wednesday: Bike 1-2 hours
Thursday: Run 10K - 16K
Saturday: HIIT Outside, Different Each Week
Sunday: Bike 1-2 hours

All my cardio is down at a fairly easy pace, with some faster parts if I'm feeling strong. Sunday will sometimes be a bike club ride, and Saturdays will sometimes be a running road race. For July 4th, I will be doing the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, the biggest 10K in the US! 55,000 runners!


Friday is my Off Day, on which I either take it completely off, or do my stretch DVD or try to do a yoga session.

So that is my workout plan. I will stick with this for 6 weeks, and then move to a 5X5, I'm thinking.

That's enough for now; my next post will be all about my diet. I'll include a current pic, too. I'll be browsing the blogs the next couple of days, checking ya'll out and maybe posting a few comments. Until next time, keep on Shredding!

80/20 Rules!

1st day back on the clean eating wagon.  Started the day with tired at a 5am alarm to get me to the gym for my only 5am weights workout.  I had a bad night of sleep last night, due to all the bad food and Coke Zeros I ate and drank yesterday.  I figure it will take about 3 days to get out of my system, and then I will start feeling better.  I am also pretty sore from Sunday's lower body workout, so being tired and sore is always a combination for me feeling bad!  But I did stay around 2400 calories for the day, with a carb count of about 160g I think. 

 

I want to experiment more with the low carb diet.  I will finish my bread and oatmeal, but I don't think I will buy any more grains.  Oh I will continue with my fruit though.  That will last for a while.  I'll give up the grains first and then work on limiting fruits and vegetables, maybe.  Maybe I should buy Protein Power and see how they say to go about it.  But all this is still in the future.  For now, I have a big can of oatmeal and a whole loaf of bread to go through first.  Baby steps.  I will still eat carbs on free meals, tho.  Not willing to give up pizza! 

 

I read Mark Sisson's 80/20 post today.  It was one of the better ones, because I can totally apply it to my diet right now.  Instead of doing the daily grade like I originally planned, I will just try to adhere to my diet as best as I can, and use the 20% as a cushion.  20% is much easier to maintain than 10%.  It really takes the edge off.  I can maintain a good, clean diet 80% of the time easily.  I will move to low carb slowly.

 

I think I will try to eat less on calorie count and more on hunger.  I will try this tomorrow.  Today, I had my recovery drink, protein shake, my banana and my oatmeal and I felt like I was stuffing it down.  Screw that!  I am not going to eat tons in the morning just because some say it is better.  I think I will ditch the recovery drink thing, and just drink Gatorade after runs.  Yep, I like the sound of that.  I think I need to start listening to my body more on how and when I should eat, and heed less to what I read on the blogs.  Low carb is appealing, and I will continue to consider it and experiment with it.  I kind of want to try the zero carb deal for a week to see what happens.  I also think I may try to give up dairy, specifically milk.  Just kicking it around. 

 

No matter how I eat on a daily basis, I will (for now) still have my 2 free meals a week where I eat whatever, however much I want for one meal.  That means one meal, desert if I want, and an appetizer if I want.  I will not go stupid, and I don't go to buffets, so I can keep it relatively sensible.  And if not, and I totally gorge myself, I will pay for it.  Hey, it's a journey.  What I need is the freedom to eat anything, in moderation.  And 2 meals a week is totally moderation.  And, I will give up a couple days like when we go to Atlanta for Peachtree.  Or if we go to NOLA, or to FWB.  That completely fits in the 80/20 rule.  Sounds good to me!

 

 

Office Food, Desires

 

So I am happy to be off of RTP and eating how I want.  I am, though, ready to get back on the clean eating wagon.  So I plan on today, Friday, to get on with counting calories and trying not to eat total junk.  I plan my meals on Fitday, and space them out to 5.  First two meals, all good.  Then I get to work, and it turns out to be one of our bosses' birthday, with a huge spread and cake!  I decided to eat some of what was offered.  It make me happy; to be able to join in with my co-workers in a meal and not hide at my desk eating my super clean foods.  So I had a little of a few things, not going crazy or anything.  One chicken finger, a little jambalaya, one wing, and 2 oatmeal raisin cookies.  Everything was good, but the cookies were awesome!  After that, I decided to have a slice of cake.  It looked homemade, and after enjoying so much the cake I had yesterday, I went for it.  As awesome as the cookies!  Unfortunately, my meal first made me lightheaded, and then drowsy as can be!  I know it wasn't my usual overdose of coffee, because I only had one travel mug instead of my normal two.  It must have been the sugar.  I did have my ham and cheese sandwich about an hour before the meal, so my fullness contributed to it a bit, I'm sure.  But I really was wiped out!  So I skipped lunch, and went home to try for a power nap.  I didn't really sleep, but got some good rest in.  My watch alarm woke me up, I grabbed a Coke Zero, and headed back to work feeling refreshed. 

The moral of this story is: Sugar is okay, but I must keep it in moderation.  One cookie, and the cake, is plenty.  And I really need to curtail the sugar intake.  A once-in-a-while is fine, but my near-daily such as this past week is playing havoc on my system.  No worries though; a couple weeks of normal 90% clean eating will get me back on track.  And I do get to eat at either maintenance or surplus!  Much much better than deficit.  My body will adjust to this new diet, but there will be a transition period, since I have been on deficit for so long.  But it will adjust.  I just have to stick with my weekly measurements to make sure I'm not putting on too much BF, like I did in the spring of '08.  I will.  I am confident this will work out.

 

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What do I want?  This question constantly plagues me.  I feel I must answer this question before I can truly set goals.  Or maybe, my desires change with time.  What I wanted at one time may not be what I want in the future.  Bah!  This is not productive.  Just because I want something, do I really have to know the motive for wanting it?  My instinct says yes.  Case in point:  I want to look like a fitness model.  Why?  So I can be attractive.  To whom?  Females of course.  Men only to create envy.  Because if I look good on the outside, I will have more "confidence" like Adam says.  Maybe, but I am actively working on a spiritual program which works on my insides, and will translate into, or render less important, my outsides.  After all, beauty is skin deep.  Why do I want to be big?  Just so I can be big?  Really?  What is the point in that? 

 

Wouldn't a better goal be to feel the best I can?  Hell, I've been pursuing that goal for as long as I can remember.  I have just used chemical means for most of my adult life.  But now that that is over, I am working on my program to help me with the spiritual, mental, psychological, emotional, aspects of my health and well-being.  But is the physical that detached?  A simple visual inventory says that spiritual health does not directly relate to physical health.  I believe it is intertwined, but straightening up spiritually will not make you fit.  I know what make one physically fit.  However, "fit" can mean many things.  Let's start by eliminating what I don't want.

 

I don't want to compete as a bodybuilder.  Easy.  This means is should not train and eat with a bodybuilder plan/goal in mind.  Specifically, I should not try to build mass just for the sake of getting big.  I should not train just to look good, which is another vital part of bodybuilding.  Health should be a higher priority than appearance.  I like looking good at the gym, but really that is vanity.  I would rather feel good than look all studly.  Being healthy should make me feel good, right?

 

Do I want to powerlift?  Do I want to be strong?  Strength has its advantages.  But other than being able to lift heavy weights, not a whole lot of practical applications in my world.  So no to powerlifting.  But, if I continue to life with a general strength training program, which I like doing, then I will get stronger.

 

Crossfit?  Well, although it is appealing, not practical.  I like Gold's, I like traditional weightlifting.  Crossfit is more "functional" fitness, and it just doesn't fit into my world well. 

 

So what do I like to do?  I like to run.  I like to ride my bike.  I like to lift weights.  I like to go out to eat and have free meals.  The question is, how do I merge what I like to do into what would make me feel the best? 

 

So doing things I like make me feel good.  That is easy.  But where is the goal?  The goal is to do what makes me feel the best.  So I need to find the diet/exercise plan that makes me feel the best.  Can I really use how I feel as a measurement of "right" or "wrong" action?  Hmm.  I know basics, and can start there.  Then I can tweek based on how it makes me feel.  Does it make me feel good or bad?

More to follow!

One More Day

Well, I am nearly done with my week of ad libitum eating. It has been nice eating whatever, whenever I want. I have felt full on a constant basis, which is much better than being hungry on a constant basis. Only problem is, I have had frequent nausea. Not terrible, just like indigestion. The price of eating so much junk! My body got quite used to a regular stream of clean, healthy food. Not a bad thing at all, really. But now, I am ready to return to eating right. One more day of eating free, and then Friday I start cleaning up. I have set some guidelines for my diet until Peachtree, and also for my mass gain phase. I'll post that at a future date. Basically, the plan is to eat at maintenance calories (about 2400) until Peachtree, to stabilize my hormones. Then, I start my calorie surplus diet. I am looking forward to eating more than I need. That will keep me from being hungry, for sure!

We got our Peachtree numbers in the mail today. It's on! I was going to wear my RTP shirt, but since I dropped out of the program, I don't think it would be appropriate. I need to find another shirt to wear. Hmm. I'll give it some thought. I'm excited about the race, though! I've taken a week off of running, along with taking off of the gym. That starts back on Friday, with an easy treadmill run on Friday morning. Then HIIT on Saturday, with weights on Sunday. I'm looking forward to getting back to working out and eating right.

That's about it for now. See ya tomorrow!

Ruminations

In the spirit of "Do What I Want", I am taking this week off of weights.  I will start working out next Monday, with a 4 day split, two upper and two lower.  I will do different exercises on each of the days, focusing on compound and select isolation.  I know enough about working out that I can plan a basic, simple workout routine based on what I have learned.  I will run 3 days a week, 1 long, 1 HIIT, and 1 easy.  If I want to ride on Sunday, I will.  I will focus on making the plan work to my life, not the other way around. 

As far as my diet goes, I am on an ad libitum diet for a week or so.  Then, I will clean up more or less, and count calories to keep at maintenance level.  I will do this until I get back from Peachtree, and then go on a mass gain diet.  I'll go into detail about that as it gets closer. 

I will get back to the weights on Monday.  I like lifting, and I'll play around with the exercises so I can find good starting weights.  I will increase the weight weekly, using good judgement.  With the dumbbells, I will have to increase the reps if 5lb increase is too much.  I know what I'm doing!  The whole 2% is a good rule, but I am getting too bogged down with program rules.  I just need to consistently train, and work my diet like a hawk.  Diet is the key.

Diet is the key, but I really have to work to find the balance.  I need to find what is the best diet for me.  I read this blog post from a yoga site that talks about eating healthy, yet listening to your eating desires.  It must be in harmony and balance.  I like that.  My first thought is to eat in a calorie surplus, with 2 reward meals a week, placed on surplus days.  You see, I'm planning on doing 3 surplus days, 1 maintenance day, 2 surplus days, 1 maintenance day.  That will keep my metabolism from adjusting, just like on BFFM/RTP.  And with my reward meals on surplus days, I don't have to worry about the calories.  I can and will eat whatever I want, in whatever amount.  If it is a huge meal, I will just adjust the other meals.  Or skip one.  Since I don't have to worry about all the points thing in RTP, I can skip a meal if I have a large reward meal.  That sounds awesome. 

I was thinking about doing intermittent fasting this week.  I have changed my mind.  I will just eat what I want, and starting on Friday 6/19 start counting calories on FitDay and shooting for 2400.

I need to balance the days so I can put sleep at a high priority.  Sleeping in just until 530a or 600a can really make a difference in my sleepiness.  I do find that if I drink a great deal of coffee, I'll get drowsy.  But it usually doesn't last, as long as I am getting 7-8 hours a night.  Gee, where have I heard that before?  Like from EVERYONE!

I have broken my no-soda resolution.  But it is only for this week.  Once Friday hits, it's back to soda-free.  It is truly more healthy.  

Just for starters, my schedule could be weights M, T, R, F.  I could run on W, Sa, and then maybe T.  Yeah, T.  That is a better balance for the week.  Plus, I can sleep in on W.  Sweet.  So weights M T R F, run T W Sa.  Rest day on Su!  I like it.  I will wake up at 500a on M and F, which are both coming off days off. T too, but I will get to sleep NLT 1000p on M, easy since I don't have to run or do RTP blogging.  I can sleep in on W and R, and do weights later in the day on R.  So I can sleep until I wake up on 4 days and up at 500a on 3.  Hmm.  If I put my workout days on Su M W R, and still run on T W Sa, F would be my rest day, and I would only have 1 500a day, M.  Hmm. There are definite advantages and disadvantages to this, but it does put natural sleeping as a high priority.  Plus, it has me doing weights later in the day on 3 days, which I prefer anyway.  I will think about this some more.

 

This post was originally written on 6/15/09, but posted today.  Sure, a bit rambling at the end.  But I must say I am on the writing kick!

The Journey, Not The Destination

Copy from ShredderSphere:


The Journey, Not The Destination
Posted Today at 08:41 PM by Mikero1999
As promised, here is what happened yesterday.

I was going to run in the morning at dawn, but woke up at 5am, and after being up for a while I decided just to run at my normal time, around 9am. I knew it would be hot, but at least it would be a little less humid. Humidity was at 95% at 6am! That's pretty muggy.

So I hydrated like a madman before I hit the road. It was bright and sunny, and hot, but not killer hot. Temp was about 85%. I settled quickly into a good rhythm, and tried to take it as easy as possible. Fortuantely, I had 2 water points along my route. Go public water fountains! It was hot, and I was running at about 9:30 miles, but I felt pretty good. I really felt like a runner! Ran 8.5 miles, 1:20.

When I finished, I was craving some sushi. So I went and got some Publix sushi, and it was good! Then I had the idea to go see the Wolverine movie, so I went. I don't go to the movies very much, so I decided to cheat a little on my diet and get popcorn and soda. I did get a coke zero, and of course no butter on my popcorn. But I love popcorn and a movie, so I ate it with pleasure! BTW, that Hugh Jackman has some pretty ripped shoulders! He is pretty cut. I would be very happy if I looked like Hugh at his age. No, I actually want to be a little bigger than that!

So I get home, and have a normal meal of turkey and broccoli. My brother comes home, and wants to go to Mellow Mushroom. We go, and I decide to go ahead and blow out with a whole small pizza. It was delicious! Well, the beef topping was little burnt, but it still was good. Now, I was starting to get full after eating half, but I went ahead and finished all of it. Too much? Yes. Feeling guilty? Only a little. I need to remember that 10% is not going to make that much of a difference one way or another. And right now, I'm sporting 97%. The way I see it, that still gives me 7% for the rest of the mission, a month and a half. I know, I should try to adhere as best I can and use the 10% rule to account for unintentional losses. But from what I understand the point of this whole thing (which I include to be what I take from BFFM and RTP) is to create a lifestyle that I can sustain for life. Not a strict diet that I dream about going off of. Not a crash diet. Not a lifelong "contest" diet. A diet I can do on a constant, regular basis. And yes, that does include having a big meal every now and then. I realize this may slow my fat loss, but as long as I keep the big meals infrequently, then we are only talking about a very small amount. I am in complete agreement with Tom and Adam on reward meals, and this seems to be agreed upon in bodybuilding circles. I guess my point is: this is my diet, this is my life, this is my mission. If I want to eat big now and again, I will! Now, for this mission, and for the rules of this contest, if I do eat big, of course I will take off points. But in theory, I could lose several points a week and still get 90% overall, due to my wicked compliance in the first month.

Now, I don't want people to get the wrong idea. I am NOT recommending this for ANYBODY. This is my mission, this is my journey, and I will be the one who will have to live with the consequences. But I believe that there will not be a significant difference between getting 90% and getting 97%, at least for me, since I am already so lean. But who knows? Maybe my numbers will reflect the 7% difference, maybe not. I may never know, and it really doesn't matter. There are more important things than a few percentage points.

Now, I am not going to burn points until I get down to 90%. All I am going to do is not freak out if I skip a meal, or if I have a big meal one weekend. I will just keep on staying on track, spending the majority of time on diet. (I should mention here that my exercise is flawlessly compliant, except maybe for doing extra! The exercise is the easy part. I love working out!) This mission will end, and I am completely confident that I will have at least 90%, probably closer to 95%. And I will be shredded!

So that's where I am right now. I am really trying to find my balance, my sweet spot between hardcore and free range. I'll find it. The true experience is in the journey!

Here's me right after my run. Did I mention it was hot?