Thanksgiving was awesome. As duly expected, I ingested copious quantities of food, in particular sweet potatoes and stuffing -- both of which I heart with an undying passion. Yay for carbs. As I promised myself beforehand, however, I can't (and won't) let this escalate into a binge-fest spanning the entire period between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.
So it's back to clean eating tomorrow! I'm planning to try out the PSMF (protein-sparing modified fast) beginning tomorrow (Sunday, November 30) and lasting for 12 days (ending Friday, November 12, which is also the day my family gets into town). According to the PSMF guidelines put out by Lyle McDonald, I ought to be consuming 204 g of protein per day, and very low amounts of carbohydrates and fat. It's definitely going to be useful after that mega carb blow-out over the last two days!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
For those who are concerned about blowing their diet during the holidays, here's Lyle McDonald's 10 Tips on Dealing with Holiday Weight Gain.
Alternatively, just eat up and enjoy. It's only one day out of the whole year! (Actually, two for me... it looks as though I'll be indulging in TWO Thanksgiving dinners, today and tomorrow). This definitely necessitates damage control. I'm doing IF (Intermittent Fasting) to soften the blow.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Count your blessings and give thanks! And in the words of my buddy Jay Cohen (who eats organ meats like no others and is currently sitting on 300 lbs of dead animal flesh)... Chow On!
Image courtesy of SomeECards.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Don't Keep Junk in your House!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
11/22/08
WOD
35 of each using 65#
Dead lift
Hang Clean
Push Press
Overhead squat
Back Squat
O-Bar rollouts
I am going to attempt to participate in the push up challenge of 100 push ups everyday for 50 days. Today is my second day and my goal is to be able to increase the number of continuous reps by at least two each day. I don't have much trouble knocking out 10 reps at a time but over 15 reps at a time is a real struggle. So here we go, day 2 and so far so good. Hopefully, with a little motivation and the support of others engaging in this challenge I will be able to stick with it.
I am still struggling with the no refined sugar/carbs way of eating (not going to use the word diet as this is really a life style change). I made the mistake of making cookies for my staff and of course had to try one, well it was actually three. But I am back on track and I think for me this is what I need to be able to do, meaning indulge every now and then but still stick to healthier eating patterns on a whole.
35 of each using 65#
Dead lift
Hang Clean
Push Press
Overhead squat
Back Squat
O-Bar rollouts
I am going to attempt to participate in the push up challenge of 100 push ups everyday for 50 days. Today is my second day and my goal is to be able to increase the number of continuous reps by at least two each day. I don't have much trouble knocking out 10 reps at a time but over 15 reps at a time is a real struggle. So here we go, day 2 and so far so good. Hopefully, with a little motivation and the support of others engaging in this challenge I will be able to stick with it.
I am still struggling with the no refined sugar/carbs way of eating (not going to use the word diet as this is really a life style change). I made the mistake of making cookies for my staff and of course had to try one, well it was actually three. But I am back on track and I think for me this is what I need to be able to do, meaning indulge every now and then but still stick to healthier eating patterns on a whole.
Friday, November 21, 2008
What's your Kryptonite?
I'm a huge carb addict. My sweet tooth is relatively mild compared to others (i.e. the other poster on this blog), but I have a severe weakness for doughy, yeasty goodness. In other words, bread. I find Chinese baked goods particularly irresistable.
C'mon, how can you ever say no to this?
... or this? (for the record, I could just eat the tops off those buns in the second photo. They are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. I'd go as far as to say that they're better than s... alright, let's not go there).
Well, if you haven't already realized, I find it extraordinarily, agonizingly difficult to display resistance in the face of these golden beauties, even though these suckers are loaded with a million calories apiece (alright, I exaggerate, perhaps about 300-400 each). If you haven't tried buns like these yet, I caution you against sampling them, because your tastebuds will sing like no other from the sweet, crusty, fluffy loveliness and they'll be all you think of in your dreams for the next few nights.
Chinese bakeries are readily available everywhere in Singapore. There's typically four or five good old-fashioned, mom-and-pop affairs in each residential neighborhood, where you can get as many as 6 good-sized buns for something like USD $1.00. There's been a recent proliferation of bakery chains just about everywhere back home as well. The undisputed leader is BreadTalk , but I actually prefer the chains that sprung up on the heels of BreadTalk's success (somehow I think the quality of their baked goods is higher, perhaps because they've had to compete with BreadTalk and one another, and also probably because they use more butter in baking. Dang.).
Anyway, carbs like these are my kryptonite. They make me go weak in the knees. I'd gladly subsist on them for the rest of my life (except that it probably wouldn't be long before I keel over from having ingested a glut of white flour, shortening and sugar).
But I'm proud to say that I've been free from processed carbs for 8 days and counting now. I'm hoping to keep this up (obviously, all bets are off when it comes to next Thursday), and continue following a Paleo/Primal-style diet.
Photos courtesy of ieatishootipost and Rasa Malaysia.
C'mon, how can you ever say no to this?
... or this? (for the record, I could just eat the tops off those buns in the second photo. They are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. I'd go as far as to say that they're better than s... alright, let's not go there).
Well, if you haven't already realized, I find it extraordinarily, agonizingly difficult to display resistance in the face of these golden beauties, even though these suckers are loaded with a million calories apiece (alright, I exaggerate, perhaps about 300-400 each). If you haven't tried buns like these yet, I caution you against sampling them, because your tastebuds will sing like no other from the sweet, crusty, fluffy loveliness and they'll be all you think of in your dreams for the next few nights.
Chinese bakeries are readily available everywhere in Singapore. There's typically four or five good old-fashioned, mom-and-pop affairs in each residential neighborhood, where you can get as many as 6 good-sized buns for something like USD $1.00. There's been a recent proliferation of bakery chains just about everywhere back home as well. The undisputed leader is BreadTalk , but I actually prefer the chains that sprung up on the heels of BreadTalk's success (somehow I think the quality of their baked goods is higher, perhaps because they've had to compete with BreadTalk and one another, and also probably because they use more butter in baking. Dang.).
Anyway, carbs like these are my kryptonite. They make me go weak in the knees. I'd gladly subsist on them for the rest of my life (except that it probably wouldn't be long before I keel over from having ingested a glut of white flour, shortening and sugar).
But I'm proud to say that I've been free from processed carbs for 8 days and counting now. I'm hoping to keep this up (obviously, all bets are off when it comes to next Thursday), and continue following a Paleo/Primal-style diet.
Photos courtesy of ieatishootipost and Rasa Malaysia.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Coming Clean
I titled this blog "Getting off the Crack", and aptly so.
This is going to be a frank, unabashed account of my journey towards healthy eating and escaping food addictions. I'll track the trials and tribulations I face daily, my struggles with disordered eating, how I attempt to quash the demons in my head, and (hopefully) the positive strides that I make towards gaining a firm grasp on my dietary behavior.
I've decided to set up this blog (separate from my workout log) to enable me to track my cravings, my moods, all the feelings that can be dimly associated with food, on this blog. It'll help me remain honest and accountable. One time too many I've sat down with a jar of Trader Joe's Almond Butter in one hand and a spoon in the other, solely with the good intention of imbibing a single spoonful for my daily dose of good fats -- lo and behold, five minutes later, half the contents of the jar have mysteriously vanished (into the depths of my gullet, no less). It doesn't even occur to me until I notice that ten minutes have passed as I've sat there, mindlessly shoving almond butter into my piehole. And then guilt and loathing washes over me, which is frankly, quite foul, and something I've had quite enough of. Oh, and for the record, almond butter is a relatively tame example.
I struggle when it comes to food. A lot. More than anyone'd ever think or imagine I do. With portion control, with food choices, with weight, with body composition, with expectations. I don't think anyone has any idea just how much I've wrestled with these issues. I seldom (if ever) broach these issues with others, because I don't like to appear weak. Furthermore, a lot of times people dismiss it as paranoia or unnecessary worrying on my part, since I'm so dialed in and disciplined with regards to CrossFit and performance training, that they figure my food issues are just a figment of my imagination or something I've blown way out of proportion. Truth is, I've faced very real issues, and won't deny them, much as I'd like to myself.
Of late, however, I've actually opened up about some of these issues with a few of my closest friends. They've helped me start on the path towards reevaluating my relationship with food and nutrition, and provided me with the support to tackle this nemesis. I owe it to them to make the effort to effect a positive change in my life. More than anything, I owe it to myself.
In this blog, I'll attempt to tackle head-on the myriad of eating issues that I've struggled with, go into a bit of detail regarding my childhood history as a rotund, haplessly unathletic youngster, and talk about the positive and negative milestones in my life with regards to nutrition habits. More generally, I'll also discuss the proliferation of diets and nutrition advice in popular culture, wax lyrical on the importance of determining the proper macronutrient ratios based on individual goals and pursuits, and ruminate over the concept of food as fuel for our bodies.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
This is going to be a frank, unabashed account of my journey towards healthy eating and escaping food addictions. I'll track the trials and tribulations I face daily, my struggles with disordered eating, how I attempt to quash the demons in my head, and (hopefully) the positive strides that I make towards gaining a firm grasp on my dietary behavior.
I've decided to set up this blog (separate from my workout log) to enable me to track my cravings, my moods, all the feelings that can be dimly associated with food, on this blog. It'll help me remain honest and accountable. One time too many I've sat down with a jar of Trader Joe's Almond Butter in one hand and a spoon in the other, solely with the good intention of imbibing a single spoonful for my daily dose of good fats -- lo and behold, five minutes later, half the contents of the jar have mysteriously vanished (into the depths of my gullet, no less). It doesn't even occur to me until I notice that ten minutes have passed as I've sat there, mindlessly shoving almond butter into my piehole. And then guilt and loathing washes over me, which is frankly, quite foul, and something I've had quite enough of. Oh, and for the record, almond butter is a relatively tame example.
I struggle when it comes to food. A lot. More than anyone'd ever think or imagine I do. With portion control, with food choices, with weight, with body composition, with expectations. I don't think anyone has any idea just how much I've wrestled with these issues. I seldom (if ever) broach these issues with others, because I don't like to appear weak. Furthermore, a lot of times people dismiss it as paranoia or unnecessary worrying on my part, since I'm so dialed in and disciplined with regards to CrossFit and performance training, that they figure my food issues are just a figment of my imagination or something I've blown way out of proportion. Truth is, I've faced very real issues, and won't deny them, much as I'd like to myself.
Of late, however, I've actually opened up about some of these issues with a few of my closest friends. They've helped me start on the path towards reevaluating my relationship with food and nutrition, and provided me with the support to tackle this nemesis. I owe it to them to make the effort to effect a positive change in my life. More than anything, I owe it to myself.
In this blog, I'll attempt to tackle head-on the myriad of eating issues that I've struggled with, go into a bit of detail regarding my childhood history as a rotund, haplessly unathletic youngster, and talk about the positive and negative milestones in my life with regards to nutrition habits. More generally, I'll also discuss the proliferation of diets and nutrition advice in popular culture, wax lyrical on the importance of determining the proper macronutrient ratios based on individual goals and pursuits, and ruminate over the concept of food as fuel for our bodies.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
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