January 8th, 2010

Soup And Salad

Today was a much better day. My kids let me sleep in a little, 8 AM is sleeping in to them. And, I woke up with a lot more energy and a lot less crappy head cold.

Breakfast was my wife's left over chicken fried steak with two freshly cooked eggs. I'm not going to say that the chicken fried steak was a great decision, but it was too delicious to let go to waste. For lunch I made Watercress and Bacon Soup from Mark's Daily Apple. Let me tell you it was one of the most delicious things I have ever cooked. Even my 1 year old could not get enough. It was like I was feeding her chocolate cake, only healthier.

Recipes: Watercress and Bacon Soup

1x bunch of Watercress
1x chopped Red Onion
3x chopped Garlic Cloves
4 cups Beef Stock
4x Celery Leaves
8x chopped slices of Bacon

Directions:

Start by frying the bacon in a large, deep frying pan. Then remove the bacon, chop it up and set it aside; use the bacon grease (or olive oil if desired) to sauté the onion and garlic until browned. Then add the watercress stems, crumbled bacon, stock and celery leaves.

(If using cream or potato, add now) Simmer for at least 30 minutes with a lid on then add the watercress leaves and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.

Pluck out the celery leaves. Add salt and pepper if needed, but the watercress and bacon should already provide adequate seasoning.

I used uncured Pepper Bacon from Whole Foods. This dish really required very little effort for a big payout. There was no need for additional seasonings. The author suggests adding cream or a russet potato for a thicker soup, but it is really unnecessary.

I highly recommend this recipe to anyone who likes a savory meal. For some reason it reminded me of the flavors of really good sushi.

My wife took the 2.5 year old shopping today. It was just me and the 1 year old. We had a blast; reading books, watching Yo Gabba Gabba, and eating delicious soup. When her sister is not around, she is the most well behaved little girl. She even let me take a small nap when she was down for the count at 4 PM until 5:30 PM. She never takes those kind of naps when sister is up and making a ruckus.

I had so much extra energy that I decided to start working on my push-ups. I would do a set of 5 followed by the Front Leaning Rest Position for as long as I could hold it. I do believe that one of the best reasons for smoking privates in BCT is to improve their push-ups. Holding a plank for extended periods of time will work all of the muscles that assist with push-ups, including all of your abs and even your legs. So much for the idea that push-ups are only upper body.

I found this on a pretty solid blog, Fitness Spotlight, and I thought it was worth re posting to supplement my own set of rules:

Eliminate (Just Say No)

• No sugars (yes even artificial sweeteners)
• No processed foods (including canned items, frozen dinners or anything that is not in its most natural state - read the label ingredients as it should not have any additives/additional chemicals)
• No pasta, breads, crackers, baked goods, muffins, bagels
• No cereals, grains, breads, wheat (allergenic, take time off to clear your gut/system)
• No fast food, no burgers, no hot dogs, no fried foods, no deli meats
• No dairy - mainly milk, yogurt, and cheese (allergenic, take time off to clear your gut/system)
• No vegetable oils - ditch the margarine and any veg oils for cooking (see healthy cooking oil post for alternatives)
• No soda, diet soda, fruit drinks
• No coffee/espresso (cut out the high caffeine for 2 weeks, drink tea instead if you like)
• No alcohol (wine, liquor, beer)

Say Yes to:

• Eat Real Foods only (real means in it’s original packaging and source, like an apple and not apple juice). This means such things are all kinds of fruits, vegetables, meats (beef-steak, chicken, fish-salmon/herring), eggs, nuts/seeds, healthy fats (butter, olive oil, coconut oil). If you need more lists then download and use our “real food” shopping list (click here)
• Don’t worry about ratios of protein/carbs/fat, feeding windows (this means no “IF” focus right now) or counting calories
• Drink water (and plenty of it), lemon in water, tea
• Move/Exercise for at least 30 min a day (do something/anything to get the blood moving such as walk, jump rope, resistance bands, lift weights, shadow-box, dance or whatever you enjoy)
• Get to bed early and sleep 8 hours

They are hosting a 30-day weight loss challenge to their readers. I thought it fitting to re post their rules since they are so similar to mine. I agree with all of it. Even the part about dairy with no cheese makes sense. Dairy is just such a touchy subject. Cheese is just so... cheesy... it's hard to resist. It compliments so many other foods so well... and the fact that it is technically a fermented food makes me feel a little more accommodating to cheese.

My Meals Today:

Breakfast:
Chicken Fried Steak w/ Country Gravy
2x Eggs, sunny side up, fried in Butter

Lunch:
1/2 Watercress and Bacon Soup (minus the contribution of my 1 year old)

Dinner:
Roasted Chicken Leg Quarter (seasoned with salt and pepper)
B.A.S. (Big Ass Salad w/ Lettuce, Spinach, Grape Tomatoes)
3x tablespoons of Marie's Ranch

Review:

1. No Sugar. I will give myself an A. I had nothing sweet, or even fruity today.
2. No Grains. I will give myself a D. My breakfast was not at all Primal. Breading plus country gravy? Not gravy at all.
3. Move around a little every day. I will give myself a C. I played with my 1 year old and rolled around on the floor a lot, but I could have taken her for a walk in our new single jogging stroller and I did not.
4. Move really fast every once in a while. I will have to pass on this one again. Tomorrow is my deadline for some sprints. I will get out of the house and work on this one.
5. Lift heavy things. I will give myself a C. I worked on some push-ups and some planks. I threw in a few sets of body weight squats as well. Not a bad start, but it was also not very intensive.

Overall Grade: C+ I am definitely doing better than yesterday.

January 5th, 2010

Induction Flu!

I know I went overboard the last few months. Cakes, pies, cookies and candy were plentiful and frequently tempted me to indulge. I know my waistline shows this trend.

The last time I drastically changed my diet was in the winter of 2008. Since then I have had brief moments of low-carb eating, but overall I've been a bad egg. We do not have a functioning scale, so I have no idea the exact amount of weight that I have gained over the past 18 months, but I would estimate 60 to 80 lbs. Most of it is around my mid-section, which is new for my body. I used to carry my weight more evenly and I rarely looked as heavy as I was.

Now, with barely more than 48 hours of trying to eat paleo-friendly I have the worst case of "induction flu" to deal with. I am borrowing a term from Atkins. My lethargic, sniffly, achy body is dealing with the metabolic transition from carbohydrate metabolism to ketogenic fat metabolism. Since my carb load was so great over the past three months I imagine this is a serious shock to my system.

I was keeping a very low-carb count, partially out of a personal need to speed up the transition phase and partially as a holdover from my previous low-carb attempts at weight loss. I realize that Primal nutrition does not require draconian carb reduction. It is quite possible to lose weight at a steady pace in the 50g to 100g per day range. But, with so much weight to lose and with a desire to feel capable of really running again, I would like to maintain ketosis for at least one to two months.

Call it weakness or call it a craving. My body had to eat an orange. I could literally smell the sweet, juicy fruit from my kitchen counter. It was sour and sweet at the same time, and oh so delicious. Fruit is not processed, and I know primal eating encourages fruits and vegetables, but modern fruit is not the same as paleo fruit. We have genetically bred fruit for sweetness and increased fructose load. I need to remember to incorporate lower-carb fruits like berries into my diet.

Recipes: Bacon-Portobello Carbonara

6 oz. Uncured Bacon, sliced thin
4x Garlic cloves, minced
2x Large Eggs
1 cup Romano / Parmesan Cheese
2x Portobello Mushroom caps, cubed
2x Zucchini, shredded

Tonight, I faced my first significant hurdle. I had decided that I was going to make Tyler Florence's carbonara for dinner. My plan was to provide pasta for my wife and two kids, while I chowed down on a bed of shredded zucchini. Turns out, you cannot cook the egg / cheese sauce without the heat from the cooked pasta. So, we all ate some rather tasty bacon / mushroom carbonara with pasta. I'm not happy with having to eat the pasta, but my headache is mostly gone now and I would have had to fix an entirely separate meal for myself. The trick is finding ways to cook the same main course for everyone, but adding things like rice and potatoes for the family.

I added sauteed portobello mushrooms and shredded zucchini to the pasta. Even after cooking, the mushrooms brought a lot of added moisture to the pot, which made the sauce a bit thinner than I would have preferred. The pasta was a bit undercooked, but given the fact that the pot I was using to cook with decided to start literally sticking to the burner, I figured turning off the heat a bit early was better than breathing more of the noxious fumes coming from the melting metal. I still don't know what the hell happened there, I've been using the same pot to make Crab Boils for a few months now with no problems.

My Meals Today:

Breakfast:
2x Eggs, sunny-side up, fried in butter
1/2 Green Bell Pepper
1/4 White Onion

Snack:
1 Orange

Dinner:
Bacon-Portobello Carbonara w/ Pasta
Chopped Lettuce Salad w/ shredded Zucchini and 8 Grape Tomatoes
2 tablespoons of Ranch Dressing
Hefeweizen beer
2.5 oz. Dark Chocolate (67%)

Review:

1. No Sugar. I am going to take a C on this one today. I ate an orange and some dark chocolate.
   
2. No Grains. I will have to give myself an F today. I ate pasta and drank a beer.
   
3. Move around a little every day. I will give myself a C today. I cleaned the house a bit, and took out the garbage. While I did not spend any significant time just sitting, I also did not take any lengthy walks.
   
4. Move really fast every once in a while. I will give myself a pass on this one again. Tomorrow, I will have to do something about this one or face a negative grade.
   
5. Lift heavy things. I will give myself a B today. I am taking breaks at work every hour to work on push-ups. Between having almost no energy from induction flu and having not done a push-up in about four months, I am not doing so well.
   

Overall Grade: D+ Wow, this was a bad day.