Bad Run

This afternoon I went for a run at lunch time, and it was simply horrible through and through. At first, I tried intervals, meaning I run hard for a set period, then not so hard, in order to increase my speed. I was going to do 5-4-3-2-1 intervals (5 minutes fast, 5 minutes jog 4 fast, etc.) for a nice half hour workout, but there were many problems in conception and execution. I started out too fast, tried to do timing on my analog watch, didn't have a set program, was stuffy from the allergies, and then I changed the program to a 2.6 mile circuit run, but had no goals as to how fast I should be running at any time. At the end, I finally settled on working my calves on the last half of the run, and that felt good, but throughout it was a total mess.

I discovered a run is like your brain and body entering into a relationship. If you start out too fast, it is over before you even start, because the body will get repulsed by what the brain is trying to do to it. The brain needs to be strong, and take the lead, prepare, and set a clear agenda, or the body will be confused. Once you lose the body, the mind gets bored, and then they start fighting with each other. Soon enough, they make a Lifetime movie about your run starring Meredeth Baxter as your body and James Brolin as your brain, and nobody wants to see that movie. That painful vision was my run today.

I went out today and bought a arm strap for my phone so I can run with it. It is the Google phone and I have one of those nifty apps that can track my run, and a giant stopwatch too. That should help me keep better tabs on my run, and okay my horrible horrible music to boot. More math, more obsessive potential - we all win! Woo hoo!

Cedar Fever

I have had horrible allergies my whole life, which have surprisingly subsided in the past 5 years or so since we've moved to Austin. This is unusual because most people have it the other way around - people without allergies suddenly develop them when arriving in Austin, especially during tree pollen season. This is commonly known as "Cedar Fever".

Well, it is tree pollen season, and it appears as if my luck has run out. Coinciding with the spike in Oak pollen recently, which is high due to a wet winter, I have started to develop a consistent sore throat, and other unpleasant allergy symptoms. Spending more time outside exercising exposes me to more pollen to be sure, and since I basically spent all day Sunday outdoors, my allergies were rough yesterday. Unsure whether they were allergies or the onset of a cold, and having business travel on tap this week, I took no chances and gave myself an extra day of rest.

For dinner, I made an eggplant and garbanzo chili that was, well, spicy. I used the normal tried-and-true Texas beef chili technique, and added the eggplant and garbanzos (at the risk of offending the local chili police). Recipe as follows:

1 lb beef stew meat (1000 calories)
1/2 small onion
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced chipotles in adobo (may be a lot of heat, consider scaling back)
1 can peeled tomatoes (300 calories)
3 tbsp chili powder (consider scaling this back too, substituting cumin)
2 tbsp cumin
1 dark beer (150 calories)
1 can garbanzo beans (350 calories)
1 Japanese eggplant, diced (100 calories)
2 tbsp cilantro, roughly torn.

Season the meat with salt and pepper, and sear until brown on all sides, and add onion and garlic, cooking until translucent. Add chipotles, tomatoes, beer, and 1 tbsp of chili powder, and let simmer (stirring occaisonally) for an hour. Add 1 tbsp chili powder and 1 tbsp cumin, stir, and let simmer another hour, and then add the final tsp chili powder and cumin, stir, and add the garbanzos. Let simmer for 30 minutes, and then add the eggplant and cilantro. Add salt to taste. Makes 2 650 calorie servings with one bowl for leftovers.

Scallops with Cannelini Puree

Today was pretty insane end to end. My boys went with me to Home Depot to get some plants for the garden, and then to the grocery to get overdue provisions for the home. I then got home in time to say goodbye to my wife, who left for her sister's baby shower, and left her niece here with the boys and the baby. So my dad (who isn't exactly Mr. Mom) an I were alone with 4 kids 5 and under. Much running around and chasing, and in the meantime I decided to plant the garden, and I am pretty whipped right now. Workout? Please. It was supposed to be my day off, but I probably burned 1000 calories running around today.

Dinner tonight was seared scallops over a cannelini puree with a side of broccolini pasta. Recipe:

1 lb scallops (400 calories)

1 can cannelini beans (440 calories)

1 stalk broccolini, cut into large pieces (40 calories)

2 servings pasta (400 calories)

1 orange pepper, roasted and julienned (25 calories)

1/2 head roasted garlic

9 kalamata olives (75 calories)

1 tsp olive oil (40 calories)

1/2 cup vegetable stock

1 tsp marjoram, minced

1 tsp lemon thyme, minced

touch truffle oil

few drops aged Balsamic vinegar

grating fresh Parmesan cheese

pinch fennel pollen

Sear the scallops in a pan in the olive oil, and then remove them to rest. In the same pan, deglaze with stock, and add broccolini and 1/2 of the roasted garlic, mashed into a paste, and cook on high. Start cooking the pasta at this point. Cook broccolini for 5 minutes and then add 3/4 of the peppers and olives and all the herbs. When pasta is done, add to the pan and toss to coat, seasoning with salt and pepper. Finish with a splash of truffle oil.

Meanwhile, add the beans to a small pot, and add the rest of the garlic, olives, and peppers, and heat. Add a touch of stock to liquefy, and puree with a hand blender. Add the juice from the scallops to the puree after the scallops have rested.

Plate the pasta, and then on the side place the puree on the dish, and scallops on top of it. Finish with a light dusting of fennel pollen and a dot of aged balsamic, and then coat everything with cheese. About 700 calories.

Gooooooooooooal

Yesterday I went to the gym right after lunch, and hopped on the scale before I workout as per my usual custom. Having just eaten, I didn't expect a good number, and I was shocked to see it come up as 220.0, which is exactly my goal weight. In 2 1/2 months I have lost the 22 1/2 pounds I wanted to, and got myself in much better shape as a result. Yay me.

So where to from here? This whole program is more of a journey than a destination, so I know I have to continue. How do I keep my motivation and continue to improve my health? My friend with whom I had the bet has already put on some weight again having lost the impetus from the wager itself. How do I keep plowing through and continue to turn fat into muscle while resisting the temptation to balloon again?

In that spirit, I will set the following goals for myself:
1) Dunk a basketball. Done it before, and at my height, there really isn't an excuse for me not to be able to do it. I can already see where a number of my exercises have improved my leaping ability, mainly by making me, um, less attractive to gravity.
2) 8:00 mile for 5 miles. My five mile run is getting a little dreary for me. When I posed this to my wife, she said something to the effect of "duh". Doing the exact same distance on the exact same path over and over will get boring, and I've been pushing myself hard making it painful on top of repetitive. As such I need to mix it up a bit.
3) Bench 225. I don't even bench all that often at the gym, instead doing dumbbell bench, but the NFL acid mark can be a good goal for me. I've done it exactly once exactly once in my life, so no reason I can't do it again.

I think I'll start with these three and see where those take me.

I had a great workout on Saturday, by the way. Started on the elliptical where I "ran" the first mile in a 7:30 minute pace, then the next two in exactly 7:04 and the final one in 6:42. Of course, those times mean absolutely nothing when translated to running times, but I was pushing myself the entire way and got a pounding sweat going, which felt good. My lung capacity has definitely improved. I then did the chest-arm-back-abdominal workout afterward, and was a little enervated at the end to be sure. I definitely need to work on my stamina.

Last night I made semi-thai stir fry. Recipe:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed (360 calories)
2 stalks broccoli (100 calories) cut into florets
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced (40 calories)
1 stalk lemongrass, minced
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp chopped kaffir lime leaves
1 tbsp coconut oil (120 calories)
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tbsp Sriacha
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup light coconut milk (120 calories)
juice of 1 lime

Brown chicken, and add ginger, lemongrass, garlic, and red pepper to the pan. Add everything else and cook until broccoli is done, about 5-10 minutes. Finish with lime juice and thai basil/cilantro if you have it, and Sriacha and soy to taste. Serve over 1 serving basmati rice (1/4 cup, 180 calories) per bowl, 550 calories total per bowl.

Special day

Yesterday was a special day in our house. It was my wife's birthday, but it also marked the 10th anniversary of when we became engaged to each other. Note that on that special evening as I popped the question, I didn't get a "yes" or a "no". I got a "if you're joking I'm going to kill you." Such is the life of the wise guy.

Anyway, I gave my wife a day off from her job watching the kids, and needed both of our mothers to help manage the kids. I have no idea how she does it - she is truly amazing. Anyway, coordinating a special dinner and tending the kids, while doing my job, I didn't have time to go to the gym or workout, and I was pretty beat up, so it was good to rest a day.

Dinner was also excluded from the diet program for the day in order to celebrate. As a side effect of this program, I am completely conscious of the caloric content (at least in a general manner) of what I eat, so I can usually keep a meal within the parameters of healthy. But I didn't want to do the math so we could have a nice meal that was completely enjoyable.

I made a lobster and shiitake risotto, with a fennel and truffle crusted lamb chop topped with shiitake marsala sauce, and a side of brussels sprouts in marsala. And opened a 2000 Calon Segur, which unfortunately did not survive the test of time as well as our love has. Very enjoyable evening.

Today I got back into it with a 5 mile run, today in 47:20 (under a 9:30 mile!). I pushed hard, and had absolutely nothing left at the end - I don't do well with the 5:00 run at the end of the day when I'm at a minimal energy. That being said, that was the best time I ever ran for that distance, which felt good.

Dinner was turkey and butternut squash burgers with a spicy applesauce sauce, and a side of plantain fries. If you're anything like my wife, you're thinking "that sounds disgusting". But it was actually quite good. The butternut squash mixed in the burgers kept them moist and provided extra nutrition, while the applesauce sauce balanced out the flavors and added moisture without fat. Recipe:

Burgers

1 small butternut squash (120 calories for about 1 1/2 cups)

1 pound ground turkey (640 calories)

2 tbsp chipotle peppers in adobo, ground

1 small shallot, minced

1 tbsp minced ciantro

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

1 tbsp salt

fresh ground pepper

Roast squash in 400 degree oven until completely tender. Scoop out flesh and mix with everything, and make patties and grill them. They will be somewhat wet, and will stick to the grill if you don't lubricate the grates. Makes 4 nice sized patties.

Applesauce sauce

1/2 cup applesauce (50 calories)

2 tbsp Frank's Red Hot

pinch salt

dash cinnamon sugar

1/2 tsp ground chipotle pepper

1/2 tsp allspice

Mix together and spoon over burgers, best if applesauce is cold for a temperature contrast. Served over the burgers leads to a 410 calorie per serving meal (not including bread, which isn't really needed)

Plantain "fries"

Cut plantains down the middle lengthwise, and grill in skin fruit side down until lightly carmelized. Flip and grill until fork tender, about 10 minutes total. Remove from skin, cut into nuggets, and toss in 1/2 tsp olive oil, chipotle pepper, salt, pepper, and allspice. About 250 calories per serving, 1 plantain per serving. Riper plantains yield a sweeter dish

Hooked on Tabada

Earlier today my wife appeared in my office and asked if I wanted to do a Tabada workout. I was originally planning to go to the gym and work out, and the baby was fussy all day, so we didn't go through the routine in the afternoon. Work drug on, and then I took the boys out to feed them, so I figured working out was not going to happen today.

My wife usually puts the kids to bed while I make dinner, and tonight was no exception. When she was done, she came downstairs and wanted to do the Tabada workout. Apparently, she enjoyed it the last time, and felt good results, and now she's hooked on it. I was a little reluctant to do it, being in the middle of dinner preparation and, ahem, maybe sneaking a margarita when I took the boys to dinner. But heck, I figured I'd give it a go. So in the middle of dinner prep, I worked in a work out that was vigorous and worked my muscles hard. Mixing squats, incline pushups, jumps, and bicycle crunches and I was pretty whipped, and ready for dinner.

Dinner was a simple pasta dish. Took 1 pound of hot turkey Italian sausage (720 calories), and browned it in a pan with 2 tbsp of garlic. I added sliced mushrooms, spinach, mustard greens, and a can of San Marzano tomatoes (210 calories), and cooked it into a sauce. Meanwhile, I boiled two servings of pasta (400 calories) until about 2-3 minutes short of done, then finished it in the sauce. Note that it is during the finishing stage that I started the workout, which gave dinner good time to season the pasta, and a 650-700 calorie huge bowl of pasta was ready.

By the way, yesterday I gave another shot at a "race paced" 5 mile run. My gluteus maximus was the sore muscle during the run, from my Sunday or Monday workout, but I didn't think it was a big deal. Turns out it is a real pain in the... well.... to run with sore glutes. I started off really fast, between 8-9 minutes per mile for the first two, but really faded at the end. I still came in at 48 mins 20 seconds, including the 20 seconds I spent running into a friend and inviting her to dinner.

For dinner last night I made short ribs, which are delicious (about 400 calories per 1/2 pound serving cooked). Slow cooked a big pot of them for my friends and all the kids - simple and easy. Sear the ribs and then add tomatoes, carrots, onions, celery, stock, garlic, fennel seed, and a touch of molasses. A simple salad and a side of polenta (with a touch of cheddar for love, about 150 calories per serving) and I still had a 700 calorie meal that was a little decadent and kid friendly.

Sweet potato pho

I was surfing the web last night while blogging and saw a contest for the best sweet potato recipe, and you have to blog about it in order to win. Since I'm always looking for challenges and ways to keep dinner and this blog fresh, I decided to take them up on the bet.

I went through the easy uses of sweet potatoes. Gnocchi. Can I do anything original to that? Likely not. Maybe I could turn them into a pizza, or maybe use them as lasagna. Dozens of recipes for each all over the web. I had to come up with a non-traditional use for the deliciousness of a sweet potato that would take it in a different direction.

Pho. I'm a big fan (phan?) of pho, as evident from the other blog entries devoted to it, and as evident from my wife's saying "you're making pho again?" when I told her what was for dinner. I figured I could replace the creaminess of the coconut milk I sometimes put into the pho with pureed sweet potato, adding another level of flavor, and some good nutrition to boot.

Thinking of the spices that work well with sweet potatoes, I thought Thai seasonings would pair nicely with it. And as it turns out, it did work pretty well. The key was to keep the pho from getting too thick from the puree, and to put a good balance of acid in there against the natural flavors of the sweet potato. All in all, it was a pretty darn good dish.

Recipe as follows:

1 lb shrimp, shell on and deveined (360 calories)

1 tbsp coconut oil (substitute sesame or canola if you don't have coconut oil, 120 calories)

1/2 cup diced carrot (25 calories)

1/4 sweet onion

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp minced ginger

1 large stalk lemongrass, minced
2 tbsp chopped kaffir lime leaves (optional)

3 fresh curry leaves (substitute 1 tsp curry powder)

2 cups vegetable stock (or seafood stock)

4 cups water

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced (150 calories)

2 servings spaghetti (400 calories)

1 cup sliced mushrooms (15 calories)

2 large jalapeno peppers, sliced (more or less as you dare)

2 cups mustard greens, roughly chopped in large pieces

2 tbsp fresh cilantro, torn

1 tbsp thai basil, chiffonaded (optional)

1 tbsp Sriacha hot sauce (substitute Tabasco or omit)

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1/2 tbsp agave nectar (substitute honey, 30 calories)

juice of 1 lime

Sautee the shrimp in coconut oil on high heat in a deep sided pan until just barely cooked, turning once, about 2 minutes a side. Remove from pan, and remove from the shells. Caramelize carrots in pan until they just start to brown, remove and reserve. Add onion, ginger, lemongrass, and curry leaves, and sautee until they start to brown a little, making sure nothing in the pan starts to burn. Deglaze with stock and water, and stir to get the tasty bits off the bottom of the pan. Add diced sweet potato and lime leaves, and boil covered until tender, about 10-15 minutes.

With an immersion blender blend the soup until smooth - add more water if too thick - you want it to have a brothy consistency, not thick like a traditional sweet potato soup. Add pasta and cook per package directions, about 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and jalapenos at this time. When there is about 5 minutes left on the pasta, add the mustard greens and cooked carrots. With about 2 minutes left add the cooked shrimp, herbs, vinegar, soy sauce, hot sauce, agave, and lime juice. Taste soup for balance - add soy sauce, hot sauce, herb, and acid (more vinegar or lime) as desired. Serve immediately after the pasta is fully cooked. About 550 calories per serving, serves two very large bowls.

On the exercise front, today my wife wanted to do Tabada with me, so we did. She is a much better athlete than I am, so it would be a good test for me to see what it did to her. We did burpees, step ups, pushups, and some pilates poses she had been doing. It was difficult for her, and she is under the impression she got a good workout, which is good validation for me to be sure.

Sunday Special

As I took yesterday off, today was a mandatory gym day. I had less time than my normal Saturday morning when I went this afternoon, so I had to push myself extra hard.

I can really feel my strength going up. My usual workout is becoming easier to do the full 12 reps per cycle of everything I do, despite the fact I'm increasing my weights. I did the usual Saturday chest, back, shoulder, and bicep routine, and then mixed a little Tabada in the end, doing one set on the seated row machine (that was brutal), one set of bicycle crunches (that was worse), and one set of sprints at 9.5-9.7 mph (that nearly killed me). I entered the gym today feeling fresh and with a lot of energy, and now I'm thoroughly beat down again, so it was a good day.

My weight loss has slowed to be sure - I've been the same weight for a week now, which isn't a bad thing. Consider I had the mexican buffet at the rodeo and pizza and beer on poker night, I'm pretty happy to be breaking even (even with the less than optimal meals I was making sure to watch my caloric intake). I'd still like to drop 2-7 pounds, and then turn fat to muscle more slowly. I feel the Tabada routine is working my muscles harder but burning less calories, which is definitely okay in the long run.

Dinner tonight was simple. Italian herb and garlic rubbed whole chicken on the rotisserie, with a sie salad and an ear of corn. The chicken meat was about 300 calories, the corn 120, and the dressed salad about 100. Add 60 calories for the olive oil (and non-caloric Frank's Red Hot) on the corn, and maybe another 50 calories for the small amounts of tasty crispy chicken skin I ate, and it was a good balanced meal.

Cauliflower Soup

I woke up today with every muscle group still sore, so I decided to move my off day from Sunday to Saturday this week. This means I have to make time to go to the gym tomorrow and abuse myself as I normally do on Saturdays.

Today was spent largely watching the baby, allowing my wife time to work out and do family things. It was chilly here after a violent storm rolled through last night - not good times if you're a skittish Chihuahua. We also watched a little basketball - I love the NCAA tournament. Didn't do a darn thing to get healthier other than get some much needed rest, unless you count bjorning the baby around the grocery store for half an hour, which was awesome.

Tonight's dinner was a little experimental. Okay, every dinner is experimental around here, but I mention this fact because I tried something that didn't exactly work tonight. So I'll eliminate it from the menu recap in an effort to vindicate myself and re-write culinary history to reflect my actions in a more favorable manner. Hey, my blog, my rules.

Cauliflower soup:

1 huge head of cauliflower (200 calories)

4 cups stock (40 calories)

1 tsp oil (40 calories)

1 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 medium onion (20 calories)

splash sherry

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 fresh wasabi root, grated (sub 1 tbsp horseradish)

1 tbsp agave nectar (60 calories)

Salt and pepper to taste

Slice and carmelize onion in the oil, and add fennel seeds toward the end to toast them. Deglace with a splash of sherry. Add stock and roughly cut cauliflower, and boil until tender and the liquid has reduced some. Puree until smooth with immersion blender, and finish with vinegar, wasabi, agave, salt, and pepper as needed to achieve the correct taste. 180 calories for an enormous bowl.

I added some pan fried parsnips to this for texture, but they were all wrong, so don't do that. If you want to add some crispy bacon bits at the end, who am I to judge?

I served this with veal cutlets (1/2 pound serving = 240 calories). Pan fried them in a teaspoon of oil, and then made a pan sauce with some shallots, sherry, milk, paprika, and fresh nutmeg. Probably added 50 calories.

It's a thin meal calorically without the parsnips, so if you're replicating, serve a potato or something on the side.

Sore all over

Its been a few days since I've been able to blog. Wednesday we went to the rodeo and to a concert, and last night it was poker night. Two late nights in a row, and no homemade dinners.

Wednesday and Thursday were Tabada days. It is amazing how much pain you can inflict on yourself in 16 minutes. After three days of experimenting with this I was limping around today, sore in every part of my body. Clearly, something is working, so I'll keep working on this as part of my regiment.

Wednesday I went to the gym to do pullups, rows, bicycle situps, and sprints as part of my Tabada routine, along with some chest and bicep workouts. Each was uglier than the next, and I could really feel a good burn after I was done. I started with the sprints after loosening up with a light jog on the treadmill (my quads were pretty sore after doing squats the previous day). Cranked it up to 9.0 mph and ran pretty hard for 20 seconds at a time. What's funny is that some people run entire marathons in a pace less than what I consider "sprinting". But then again, I'm not exactly Usain Bolt. Pullups were assisted to reduce my mass to about 120 pounds so I had a fighting chance of finishing.

Thursday I did Tabada boxing, pushups, and situps. I did the pushups against the counter so, again, I had a fighting chance of completing the set. It worked my back well, and I definitely felt it this morning.

Today I decided to "race" my five mile circuit. My quads were still sore from Tuesday and Wednesday, but I wanted to push myself, and it was a perfect day for a run. Walking with a cowboyesque limp all day, it probably wasn't the best idea to run that hard, but then again, I'm not known for my awesome decisionmaking. I could definitely feel my quads were tight throughout the run, and I had to baby them a little, but still I refused to quit and did the whole 5 miles.

I mentioned before how I've been working on my running technique per advice of my brother in law. Avoiding the same mistake I made last time running too far up on my toes and destroying my calves, I found a better foot landing which was quite comfortable. I also shortened my stride, especially on the uphills, per his advice, which worked great for me. Taking large strides forces my legs to do a lot of work pulling the big dumb land animal over a greater distance. Like my Tabada workouts, I can do more reps if I make the work per rep easier, and so increasing my pace and decreasing my steps made me do less arduous work.

I ran my 5 miles in 48 minutes, 2 minutes below my best time, and that on sore thighs. I had to walk a little at the beginning to work out that pesky back cramp I get, but my wind was good throughout and I was able to push myself as hard as my thighs let me. I was even able to maintain a quick and steady pace through the uphill segment of the run. I felt fast and good, right up to the point where the 50-60 year old man flew by me like I was standing still. Someone check the old dude for steroids!

Tonight for dinner I made pistachio crusted sole with yucca fries and mango-mustard greens. Yeah, I was in a funky mood at the grocery store, and it is fun to experiment with new things.

Fish:

6 filets of Dover sole, 1 lb total (500 calories total)

1/4 cup shelled pistachios (170 calories)

1 tsp cumin seed

1 tsp fennel seed

1 tsp dried jalepeno

1 tsp garlic powder

S&P

Crush pistachios in a mortar & pestle or food processer or, heck, use a hammer on a plastic bag full of it. Add the rest of the spices to it and lightly crush the seeds to release the aromatics (sounds fancy, don't it?). Put fish on a cookie sheet covered with Reynolds Release so you don't need oil to prevent it from sticking, and roast at 500 degrees for 3-4 minutes.

I also took 1/4 cup of mango (25 calories) and cooked it with some minced garlic, agave nectar, white vinegar, clove, and allspice until it was almost candied. I threw some of that on top of the fish for some sweetness and sourness and texture contrast, making the fish 370 calories or so a serving.

For the Yucca, I took one 1.5 pound root, peeled it, and chopped it into fries. I boiled it in water for 10 minutes to make it tender, and then tossed it in a teaspoon of oil, salt, pepper, and chili powder, and roasted that in the oven at 400 for about 15-20 minutes until it got a crispy exterior. Yucca is similar in caloric content to potato, so the fries were all-inclusive about 250 calories per serving. They tasted very light (no heavy oil feeling in them) and clean, and with a little Frank's Red Hot splashed over them, they were perfect.

For the greens I took 1/2 tbsp olive oil (60 calories) and cooked 1 tbsp of garlic in it. When it started to brown, I took 1 cup of mango (100 calories) and softened that, then put 2 cups of mustard greens (40 calories) in the pan to reduce down. Total of 100 calories per serving for just over 700 calories for the meal.

Tabata!

I started this morning reconnecting with an old friend who happens to be one of the loyal followers of this blog. He is an incredibly interesting guy, and when he decides to do something he does some fascinating research into whatever it is, and comes up with non-traditional answers that always seem to work. He has recently dropped 30 pounds on a much smaller frame, so he definitely had some good counsel for me.

As you can probably tell, I'm making this life-and-exercise regiment thing up as I go along. My friend gave me his perspective on fitness programs, some of which I knew, and some of which was new to me. One of the pieces of advice was something that is a new good/bad word in this house: Tabata.

Tabata is basically kicking your own butt for 20 seconds, resting for ten, and repeating that eight times total. Do four sets of these, resulting in 16 minutes of exercise in a day, and you've got a great workout for the day that allegedly delivers a much better workout than long runs or swims I've been doing. Apparently Tabata was tried on already-fit athletes and it demonstrated a 28% increase in anaerobic capacity and a 14% increase in the ability to absorb oxygen. I have no idea what those numbers mean, but they sound pretty impressive. So it was Tabata today instead of a run!

You think "heck, I can do anything for 20 seconds" and you're right. But try doing it eight times, only resting for 10 seconds per time. The key is finding something to do that is absolutely brutal that forces you to work hard, struggle, pant, and scream for the whole 20 seconds. I chose burpees, situps, squats, and stair jumps. In case you're unfamiliar with the "burpee", it isn't the seed packs, and it isn't releasing carbonation from drinking beer too quickly. It is standing, then squatting, then shooting your legs out, then doing a pushup, then standing up and then jumping. Lather rinse repeat. Simple? Do four right now. It isn't.

So how did I feel after my 16 minute workout in my office vs. an hour in the pool or on the road? Tired, tingly, numb, and like I had a heck of a workout. I've had a post-workout muscular buzz all day, so something happened. I'll adopt this as a standard part of my routine for a while and see how this goes.

Today's dinner was simple. I made shrimp "cocktail", green beans, and rice. Pan fried a pound of shrimp for the two of us (200 calories per serving) - make sure you sear shell-on because that adds great flavor. I made the best cocktail sauce ever - ketchup, fresh grated wasabi, scriacha, and cumin powder as a dipping sauce (adds about 20 calories for a tablespoon). A serving and a half of rice (300 calories) and some green beans dressed lightly in oil and saba (50-100 calories total, generously), and I had an easy and balanced meal.

One thing I've noticed about calorie counting at dinner: lean food has fewer calories per ounce. Really? Yes, it is true. Actually, more specifically when talking about the protein, if it is something nearly fat-free like shrimp, it is 200 calories per 1/2 pound serving (I usually try to keep the protein at half a pound). If it is heavy like red meat, it is 400 calories per 1/2 pound. Everything else is in between. Good rule of thumb guide for those that can't get online and google their caloric content but still want to watch their intake.

Slow Days

Sunday was my off day, and I decided to take today off as well with a sore neck and general fatigue. Not a huge fan of this whole Daylight Savings Time voodoo - all this shifting around of times disrupts my family's sleep cycles and makes the days weird for about a week. Tomorrow should be a pretty strong day with the extra rest, so I look forward to whatever manner of torture I decide to lay upon myself.

By the way, I'm open to feedback about what people would like to see in this blog. My wife told me last night she enjoys the blog so she can see what she ate for dinner that night. Who knew.

Yesterday I decided to use my Big Green Egg for dinner. I haven't used it for a while - our patio lighting is poor, so with the time change I was able to see what I was cooking out there. Hey, a benefit for the time changes! I believe the BGE was invented specifically to cook pork tenderloin, because the flavor and texture it imparts on them is spectacular. Recipe as follows:

1 pound pork tenderloin (800 calories)

1 tbsp mustard

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp garlic

Mix all the ingredients save the olive oil into a paste and rub it on the tenderloin. Cook on the BGE at 350-400 degrees on direct heat for 20-30 minutes until done. Note there is enough marinade to make two tenderloins, and they usually come in a twin pack, so make two and have leftovers. 400-425 calories per serving, depending on how much of the rub sticks, serves 2.

To glaze the pork, I toasted some fennels seeds in a pan, then took a tablespoon of apricot preserves and added them to the pan. A touch of stock, some soy sauce, and a few sprinkles of seasoned pepper, then reduce it down to a glaze, adds about 25 calories and a lot of tastiness.

I made brussels sprouts and acorn squash with it as well, both on the egg. I made one pack of the sprouts, seems to be about 3 cups for 120 calories total, and tossed them in chili paste, diced fennel, garlic, and 1/2 tbsp olive oil (60 calories). I tossed everything together and then wrapped them in foil, adding a splash of sherry before I sealed it. I then put it on the BGE next to the pork, cooks al dente in 30-40 minutes, 90 calories per serving for a lot of sprouts.

For the squash I cut them in half and added a teaspoon of olive oil, a splash of sherry, and some allspice, clove, and cinnamon, and then sealed them with foil and put them on the BGE. Cooks in about 30 minutes, about 120 calories per half. 650 calories total for the meal.

Tonight I made my soon-to-be-world-famous Pheaux with turkey meatballs. It was a little spicy, okay, a lot spicy. Adjust temperature to your own tolerance. I also had to make do with what was in my pantry, and I was out of lemongrass. Boo.

Meatballs:

1 lb 93/7 extra lean turkey breast (720 calories)

1/4 cup panko (50 calories)

1 tbsp Schriacha

1 tbsp garlic

1 tbsp Thai basil, finely chopped

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (50 calories)

1 tbsp minced ginger

Mix together and roll in small meatballs. Sear in 1 tbsp coconut oil (120 calories) in high walled pan (you'll be making the soup in it later) until brown on all sides, and remove from pan. Be careful not to burn anything, because you're going to make the soup right in this pan to retain all the flavor you just created.

Soup is as follows:

1/4 cup diced red onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp minced ginger

1 cup carrots cut into large cubes (30 calories)

1 cup baby portabella mushrooms, quartered (25 calories)

1 cup eggplant cubes (20 calories)

2 tbsp kaffir lime leaves, strips

2 tbsp thai basil minced

2 large serrano peppers, sliced

1 tbsp chili paste

1 tbsp cilantro, roughly torn

4 cups stock (40 calories)

2 servings pasta (400 calories)

Splash rice wine vinegar

1 lime

In the same pan the meatballs were made, add the onion, garlic, carrots, and ginger, and cook until soft. Use a little stock to deglace the meat so it doesn't burn to the bottom. Add mushrooms, serranos, and lime leaves, and then stock. Add thai basil and chili paste, and meatballs, then boil for 15 minutes or so. Add pasta (spaghetti preferred) and cook per directions on pasta, for spaghetti about 10 minutes. Finish with cilantro, vinegar, and the lime, and soy sauce as needed. Serve immediately, 800 calories total for an enormous bowl of soup - reserve a few meatballs to keep caloric content in the 600-700 calorie target range.

Matheletics

It was a perfect Saturday in Austin today. 75 degrees, and not a cloud in the sky. Great day to lock myself in the gym for two hours masochistically abusing myself.

This was the first Saturday in a while I could work as long as I wanted, and decided to take advantage of it. With a nice set of blueberry pancakes providing me fuel, I did indeed spend nearly two hours in the gym this morning, and I had a great workout.

One of the drawbacks of calorie deprivation is that you are short on energy when exercising. Today I made sure I had good fuel in me in order to make the most of my day, and it paid off. The hour I spent on the elliptical was good - I averaged 8 1/2 minute miles for the first 6 miles I did, then did the seventh mile in 8 minutes. I'm not sure what those numbers translate to in street-running-large-land-animal time, but I was moving, and pushing myself to keep the pace. It was hard but I did it.

So how do I keep from going positively insane standing in one spot for 60 minutes doing nothing but churning in a circle? Math. Watching the time tick away, I divide out the clock into 5% segments, so I have goals. 10% tells me if it is going to be a good workout or not, 25% is usually when I start to settle into the routine, 50% is over the hump, 75% is "I can quit now if I want to", which I don't let myself do, and so on. Setting little milestones and finish lines for myself keeps me churning, and lets me know how far into my workout I am. I also do the math on my pace and caloric content in order to keep my mind cranking at all times, so it doesn't realize I'm intentionally inflicting pain on myself.

After I got out of the gym, I took the boys out to enjoy the day (they were out in the AM with mom and grandpa). We played mini golf, and they rode cheap carnival rides. Good times were had by all. On the way home, I found fresh live crawfish at the grocery store. Score. So I made a cajun paella-risotto fusion. Recipe as follows:

2 pounds live crawfish (yields .3 pounds of meat about 100 calories)
1 cup arboro rice (600 calories)
1 cup frozen peas (120 calories)
1 small red bell pepper (30 calories)
1 tbsp olive oil (120 calories)
3 scallions
1 tbsp garlic
2 stalks celery
lots of cajun seasoning
splash sherry
lots of hot sauce, preferably Frank's Red Hot
1 tbsp cilantro

Add a lot of cajun seasoning and hot sauce to 6-8 cups of water and bring to a boil. Runse crawfish thoroughly in colander and then add to pot once water boils. Cook for 4-5 minutes and then remove crawfish and save water. Allow to cool, and remove the tail meat, saving the heads and returning them to the brine. Boil heads in brine for half an hour or so while you prepare the other ingredients.

Cut scallion bottoms, garlic, celery, and pepper into small cubes, and then add to high walled flat bottom pan with oil and rice. Cook until vegetables start to clarify and rice starts to brown, and then add the stock from the crawfish to it a ladle at a time. Keep stirring and adding stock as t gets absorbed like you're making risotto, because you essentially are. When rice is barely al-dente and just about done, add final scoops of stock and then add the peas, minced cilantro, minced tops of green onions, and crawfish tail meat, and then then cook down until done. Taste and add more cajun seasoning and hot sauce until the flavor is right. About 500 calories for a large bowl.

Note I'd probably add more crawfish to this to get the caloric content and crawfishy flavor up. I assumed when buying them it was 2 pounds crawfish for 1 pound meat. Ha. It's actually 6 pounds for one pound. Live and learn.

Pie are not square

I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday. Went out with my brother-in-law to help celebrate his 40th birthday. The only thing of note that happened yesterday was that I had to bust out the geometry to figure out how many slices of 12 inch pizza were in the one 24 inch mega slice that the local pizzeria serves, so I could eat a reasonable lunch. Answer at the bottom of the blog. I didn't eat all that healthy, but I'm okay sinning for a night with my diet. As the great philosopher William Joel once said: I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.

Today I got up early to run with my friend that I discussed earlier in the week. We are good training partners - of similar height and weight, and both somewhat attention deficit and in need of support to retain focus. His house is the starting point of "the part that really sucks" in my 5 mile run, so I figured if we started there we could get that out of the way first, and finish strong on a nice downhill run.

The weather was a perfect 50 degrees, and I had good energy for my run today. I used to have serious biological problems exercising in the morning, but it seems like I have somehow solved those, which is good. I've been trying to mix up my workout times (a) to keep my body guessing at what madness I am throwing at it and (2) to make sure that I maintain flexibility in my times when work and life demand it.

My friend has downloaded an app on his iPod which does essentially what my brother-in-law's Garmin does, namely track pace, route, distance, and the amount of pain you experience. Well, the Garmin gives you a lot more data, but all I'm really interested in is pace. We made a pretty good pace, never doing any mile over 10:40 (even the uphill ones where we had shoe issues) and we crushed that last downhill mile in 8:49, which was awesome. Just a hair over 10 minutes a mile first thing in the morning, and I had something left in the tank.

I've really come a long way to be sure.

We had a good chat too. We both ran a marathon once in our lives, both in the 4:40 range plus or minus a minute or two. And the pace was right for both of us, so as a training and race partner we should be a good pair. We're running a 10K together in a month, and if we can beat a 10 minute mile pace in that, I'll be quite pleased.

Tonight's dinner was steak. Steak is delicious, not as healthy as leaner meat to be sure, but a good change of pace. To keep it leaner I substituted celery root for a starch (only 60 calories per cup of celery root), and grilled everything (even put a little zucchini on the grill too). Split a porterhouse with my wife, and it was completely delicious and within my 600-700 calorie target dinner range.

One thing that helped the veggies was a good spice rub. I used Penzey's Northwoods seasoning, which has a woodsy aromatic quality that matches great with grilled meat. A touch of oil to coat and get the spice to stick and keep the veggies from sticking to the grill, and you've got a light, flavorful, and delicious side dish.

Math answer: even though pizza pies are round, pi r squared is the way to go here. Twice the radius = 4 times the area, so my giant slice was equivalent to half a pizza. I cut it in half, and added a salad for a 600 calorie lunch.

The Sweet Taste of Defeat

Remember earlier when I discussed winning two bets last week in regards to weight loss? It appears I was a little quick on the draw calling one of them a victory.

Turns out my friend in Austin, silent about his weight loss activities, had not as I previously surmised failed in his quest to beat me in our contest. On the contrary, he was completely dedicated to the program, surreptitiously, and working his way toward impressive weight loss achievements on his own.

His initial plan of attack was as I had surmised - wait for me to get bored and then eventually win, maybe. But somehow he figured out I was serious about this whole thing (I don't know how he did that, maybe because I blog about it or something) and decided he wasn't going to be beat. And he didn't let himself lose.

We met at the gym this morning, me for my normal Wednesday weights-then-cardio routine and him for his apparently normal cardio routine. We then weighed in - I was at 222.4, or exactly 20 less than when I started this program (17.6 from the start of the bet) and he then revealed he'd dropped 19 pounds since the start of the bet. As it turns out mu claims of victory last week were very premature, and I lost.

I've never been happier to lose a bet in my life.

To be honest, there isn;t much more I could have done to lose more weight. Maybe skip a glass of wine or so, but I did everything I could to lose weight the right way. So I have no shame in my loss. It was especially rewarding to me to lose though as my friend described to me his journey.

He had been spending an hour a day at the gym, working to keep his body in fat burning mode. At first, it was only so he wouldn't lose to me, and it was only because of the bet, and because I demonstrated a seriousness to succeed that he got into it so hard. But then he started to transform, adopt the lifestyle, and he really wants to make the transformation permanent. He's incorporated exercise and diet consciousness into his daily life as a result of this. He wants to carry this forward and be healthier permanently, which is awesome. I'm proud that he did this, and it looks like I now have another running partner who wants to take on new challenges.

Good day all around.

By the way, working out in the morning is a new thing for me. In the past, I've had issues getting up early to exercise. I've had physical issues, and I've had a hard time peeling myself off the sheets. Today, however, it seemed to work pretty nicely. Energy was a little low, but I got through it, even spending a half an hour on the dreaded stairmaster.

Dinenr tonight was turkey tenderloin penne with eggplant and zucchini. Recipe as follows:

1 turkey breast tenderloin (400 calories)
1/2 large eggplant, cubed (40 calories)
1 large zucchini, cubed (50 calories)
1/4 red onion, cubed
1/4 cup roasted tomatoes roughly chopped (100 calories or so)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tbsp olive oil (60 calories)
3-4 piquillo peppers roughly chopped
Splash sherry
Splash balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp thyme, minced
basil, italian parsley, and fennel chiffonaded
2 servings penne (400 calories)

In cast iron skillet brown turkey tenderloin covered in S&P on one side until nicely brown, then flip and transfer to oven set at 400. Roast until done, about 12 minutes, manbe longer - poke test to feel for firmness.

In nonstick pan roast eggplant over medium heat without oil until it browns and starts to collapse (add a pinch of salt to assist). Add zucchini to pan and brown until it goes from white to yellow/brown and is softer and nicely done (cooked, not mushy). Remove from pan and set aside. Add the olive oil and then cook the onions, garlic, and thyme until the onion is translucent. Add sherry, balsamic, tomatoes, and peppers, and then add the eggplant and zucchini. Toss together and incorporate.

Boil pasta in salted water a minute or so shy of doneness according to box. Transfer the pasta to the pan with the eggplant, etc. and toss together, adding about 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Slice the rested turkey breast into thin segments and add ot pasta, toss to incorporate makign sure to add all the juices from the cutting board to the pasta

Makes 2 healthy sized servings, 550 or so calories per.

Buddy System

Today my brother in law was kind enough to come over and run with me. As I've mentioned before, he's a much better athlete than I am, so it was definitely generous of him to scale down his workout to my pace for my five mile run. Granted, he did a bike workout prior, and ran two miles to my house, and then two miles home afterward, but still...

It was good to have someone to talk with (although I wasn't talking much toward the end while gasping for oxygen, more listening) and someone to offer me advice. He also has a pretty sweet Garmin thing that keeps track of route and pace, and I could see our run on the web afterward and relive the pain and worse pain. Being one for math (i.e. a giant dork), I like seeing the metrics of the run.

During the run, I pretty much knew I was going to go faster than usual. My brother in law was awesome at letting me set the pace, but still I subconsciously tried to up the pace so I wouldn't slow him down too much. Besides, when you're socializing, time goes faster and you don't focus as much on the pain.

For the first mile and a half we went out (according to the website) in under a nine minute mile pace. That is way fast for me, and the site even has us going a moment at a 7 minute mile pace. I don't remember falling off a cliff or finding a skateboard, but apparently I did. We then kept it at a 9:00 - 9:30 pace (outside of a second where I stretched out a cramp in my back) right up to the point of the run that really sucks, the uphill mile. As it turns out, the hill is a mile and a half long, and has an elevation delta of 100 feet. Not much of a hill for some, but for a big lumbering beast like myself it is quite a strain. The pace drug down to 10:30 to 11:30 a mile at this point, and then my legs gave out on me and I needed to walk for two stretches. After the walks, though, we made great time - 8:45 to 9:30 pace for the last mile, mostly downhill of course. Overall I did the course seconds under a ten minute mile pace, which is quicker than I've ever run it, and I pushed myself harder than I normally do too. Good run all around.

Big problem today was the heat. It was 77 or so and we were in the sun so it felt warmer. After months of running in the 40s and 50s I thought this would be quite pleasant. It wasn't. Note to me: you live in Texas dork, it's going to get much worse.

Tonight for dinner I made an Indian poached Red Snapper. Made some jasmine rice (170 calories per serving) as a side dish - confession, I really goofed it up somehow - and then sauteed some red onions, spinach, and shredded raddichio in a teaspoon of sesame oil with ginger, tamarind, a touch of agave nectar and a pinch of curry powder (about 100 calories a serving). Then I prepared the fish as follows:

1 lb red snapper filet (400 calories)

2 tbsp chopped onion

2 tbsp minced ginger

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp sesame oil (120 calories)

1 cup light coconut milk (240 calories)

1 cup stock

1-4 tbsp chili paste, as you dare

1 tsp tumeric

1 tbsp soy sauce

good handful fresh curry leaves (find them at a local Indian market. Do it now. They are awesome.)

pinch of fresh cilantro

In a tall sided pan, soften ginger, onion, and garlic in oil, and then add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, and let the flavors incorporate for a while, 10 minutes or so. Add fillet skin side up, poach for 6 minutes or so, flip, and poach for another 6 minutes (depending on the thickness, poke to test doneness). Remove from poaching liquid and reduce until it is thick, and then pour over fish. About 400 calories per serving.

The Rut

I'm in a transition period in my program. I've lost most of the weight to get to my goal, only 3 or so pounds to go, and while there is some major firming up to do, I'm really pretty pleased with where I am. Athletically, I have a good way to go - still slow as heck on runs, still not as strong or as firm as I want to be, still don't have the endurance I want, but in reality I don't need any of those things to be healthy. I got my weight to a healthy state and my diet in good balance, so I don't have any cosmic imperatives.

Workouts are starting to bore me. Swimming yesterday for 40 minutes was a struggle, like I was dragging some sort of huge anchor behind me. I'm still committed and addicted to the process, so quitting isn't an option yet, but my overall motivation seems to be waning, and combining motivation and metrics was how I was able to succeed in the first place.

So what to do? I think the 10K and then the triathlon are good motivators for me, so whereas I originally was going to do them to amuse the readers of the blog, I now see them as ways to motivate myself to continue to get better. I can now see why people do these things for "fun" and hobbies - they seem to be good ways to motivate yourself to continue to get in shape and continue to be healthy. And this whole thing is about embracing a new lifestyle.

One thing I did realize yesterday during my swim is that I'm still slow as heck. There were guys in the pool that were crushing me even with my new stroke, and when I upped my pace to keep up with them, I noticed they were holding one of those floaty things in their legs. In other words, they were just training their arms, and I was swimming with everything I've got. Yikes. Still got a good workout in though - swimming faster is a lot more work, and I feel it when I get out.

Dinner last night was simple and extremely low calorie. So much so that I was looking to add calories. Roasted an ear of corn, and splurged with some butter on it (150 calories). Steamed some broccoli and cauliflower and tossed that in half a tablespoon of olive oil with S&P (100 calories). And then made a phenomenal seared scallop with Caribbean black bean sauce. Recipe as follows:

1 lb large Sea Scallops (fresh is better, frozen works) (375 calories)
1/2 tbsp olice oil (60 calories)
Jerk seasoning
2/3 can black beans (200 calories) - gave the other 1/3 of the can to the kids
1 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp or more habanero sauce to taste
1 clove garlic (used pickled habanero garlic)
1 tsp agave nectar
1 tbsp molasses (50 calories)

Coat scallops with jerk seasoning and sear in large non-stick pan in olive oil. Meanwhile heat beans in pot, and then add everything else, including more jerk seasoning. Blend with immersion blender until smooth (make sure you blend the garlic clove good so there are no garlicky surprises). Plate bean puree under scallops. About 350 calories per serving, serves 2.

The Basics

I didn't do much today. Watched my 4 year old play soccer in the rain which was, well, interesting. Had a pretty basic filet mignon with brown rice and roasted asparagus dinner, 700 calories, no recipe needed. Took a day off from the gym, somewhat to rest after Saturday and somewhat because I was busy all day with the nothing I had to do today. So be it.

As such I figured I'd talk about all the things that I find important to my regiment. Basic necessities that really help me succeed with my plan.

1) Quality non-stick pans. Oil adds a significant amount of calories to a meal, and the more you use, the less you lose. Sorry, that sounds corny as heck. I did that earlier today watching Iron Chef - I think I said something to the effect of "that is an impressive reinterpretation of a classic dish". Really? I'm that guy now apparently, the guy that says corny and stupid things. Wait, where were we? Pans. Yes pans. Good non-stick pans are critical - make sure you have them. Well seasoned cast iron pans are important too, as you shouldn't heat non-stick too high or put it in the oven.

2) Good running shoes. This is something I don't have, and I regret it. My running shoes are at least 7 years old, and even though they are low mileage, they're old. When I bought them I went to a running store in Chicago that tested my running style and balance and got me the right shoes. But now, who knows if the rubber is still good, or if my feet and body have changed. All I know is my toes sometimes hurt after a run, and I may be out of balance which messes up my whole body. I should go fix this ASAP.

3) A good gym. I'm a huge fan of my gym, Lifetime Fitness. They have a lap pool, which is nice, enough equipment so that even at the most crowded times you can do pretty much whatever you want, and a cafeteria so I can get a healthy smoothie after a workout. Plus, their trainers have been friendly and supportive, without being obnoxious and pushy. I used to belong to Bally's which was exactly the opposite - overcrowded and uncomfortable. It is nice seeing people of all fitness levels walking around too, not just roid infested robots. And no, they didn't pay me to write this.

4) Frank's Red Hot. I love this stuff. You can put this on a shoe and it would be delicious. Before I went on the diet, I was experimenting to see if there was any kid food (pizza, mac n cheese, chicken nuggets, etc.) that wasn't rendered absolutely tasty with the simple addition of Frank's Red Hot. There wasn't. It has a good balance of heat, vinegar, and flavor, which improves any food that is lucky enough to be slathered with its spicy goodness. And as you reduce the fat, heat and vinegar are great ways to bring flavor to the party, and Frank's makes a lot of food taste better.

5) Grapefruits. There was a fad diet out there that insisted if you ate grapefruit you would stimulate your body to lose weight and simultaneously encourage the karma and harmony of the world to align to create a universal and lasting peace across the planet. Or something like that. Anyway, I don't buy any of that, consciously at least, but I do enjoy grapefruits. A half to start the day provides good nutrition and a half to end the day gives your mouth something better to do than mauling an innocent brownie. My wife makes fun of me for my grapefruit thing, but it helps me get by.

6) www.caloriecount.about.com. How do I know a kumquat has 13 calories in it? Because I look on this website. It has a great database of foods that even includes the caloric content of such delicacies as Arby's Sauce and Horsey Sauce, in case you want to know that, pus it allows you to adjust the serving size to get proper information. Great source of information.

That's what comes to mind right now.

Back in the Saddle

After spending four days walking like an old cowboy I made it back to the gym yesterday. Felt good to get a full workout in, and even though my energy wasn't great, I was well rested and able to put in a good effort.

One thing I recently learned was the value of doing weights before cardio at the gym. Apparently your body uses the energy that is freely available during the weightlifting, and then is forced to get into the fat reserves during the cardio. I figure this is why my Saturdays are always so productive.

Have I mentioned what a fan I am of the elliptical yet? Okay, so I'm not as big of a fan of that as I am of the Cleveland Browns, say, but for something that's sole purpose is to deliver pain to me, I kind of like it. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure how that distinguishes the elliptical from the Browns in any way...

I only had a half an hour where I could do the cardio, and with my calves still tender I figured I'd give the elliptical a shot (as opposed to the sinister stairmaster, which I in no way could have done). I cranked out the first "mile" in 10 minutes and then did two more at a sizzling 9 minute mile pace, and it felt good on my calves. Got a great sweat going and a nice caloric burn, and it was pretty effortless to go that fast, all without a lot of impact on my knees, etc.

Last night we went over to a friend's house for dinner. I shared the cooking duties with him, and since he too is on a low-calorie diet, we were both able to be conscious of what we cooked and ate. He made a nice Italian soup for an appetizer, which is great diet food as it is filling and not dense in calories. I made a crab pasta - recipe as follows:

1.5 pounds King crab legs, shelled and cut into large bite sized chunks (640 calories)
4 servings pasta (880 calories)
2 cups fresh English peas (240 calories)
1 tbsp olive oil (120 calories)
1/4 large red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 cup sweet pequillo peppers (small little sweet peppers found in the olice section, with just a hint of spice. Delicious, substitute red bell for these if you can't find)
1 tbsp capers
2 Meyer lemons, juiced
Splash of Marsala or Sherry of some sort
1 large green tomato diced
1 tbsp minced oregano
sprinkle of crushed red peppers as you dare
S&P to taste

Soften the onion and capers in the oil until the onion is translucent and add garlic and peppers. Deglace with Sherry and lemon juice. Boil peas and pasta together until al dente. Toss in tomatoes, crab, oregano, and red pepper to warm the crab (seconds of time) and then immediately toss in the boiled pasta. Serves 4, about 485 calories per serving (I gave everyone a serving and a half of pasta to bring it to 6000 calories or so).

Bizarro World

My calves are still in bad shape from my run on Tuesday, which is starting to tick me off a little. One of my primary values in this regiment was to protect my legs, and I have violated that badly. It has slowed me down this week, and with limited exercise I'm actually feeling my mood and energy sour a little.

So still walking like the love child of Mr. Magoo and Abe Vigoda, I did what any sane person would do: go for a run. Or a waddle. Whatever. At first, hey, it wasn't so bad, but very quickly my calves told me that this was a very bad idea. I had delusions of going 4 1/2 miles, but I had to cut it to 3 miles because of the pain. Still got a good 45 minutes of exercise in though.

Here's the weird thing about the run: the downhill segments were painful, and the uphill bits were pretty good. Apparently on a downhill run you use your calves to control your pace down the hill, which is extremely painful when your calves feel like they're being beaten with a cane. I ran the mile and a half or so out at my usual blazing terrapin-like pace, but had to walk the downhills on the way home.

I got a sweat going which was nice, and worked out some lactic acid which was important. Or so I'm told. I may have done permanent damage to my ankles, hips, back, shoulder, spleen, pancreas, and likely even my uvula overcompensating for the pain in my calves during my run. But I got a workout in.

Speaking of fried calves, tonight I made veal chops for dinner. Yeah, I used that joke before, but you probably missed it the first time. And as long as there's juice in the orange, I'm going to keep squeezing it.

Veal Chops

2 veal chops, bone in (about 320 calories each for 1 pound raw)

Salt and pepper

Pan sear one side, flip, and then roast in 450 oven for 10 minutes. Flip again and then roast until done.

I topped it with a blackberry pineapple reduction which wasn't that good. It was okay, but unnecessary. Probably would have been better with some truffle salt.

Spinach and Radicchio

1 bag spinach (40 calories)

1/2 head radicchio (10 calories)

1/2 tbsp olive oil (60 calories)

1/8 cup chopped onion

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

S&P

Caramelize onion in oil in non-stick pan. Add thinly sliced radicchio, balsamic, and s&p, and toss until radicchio is wilted. Add spinach and toss until wilted. About 55 calories per serving

The Best Beans Ever

A little decadent, but they taste more decadent than they are. Basically you add the best things ever in just enough quantity to add the flavor without adding significant calories.

1 can Great Northern or Cannelini Beans (280 calories)

1 thin slice pancetta (50 calories)

1 tbsp bleu cheese (80 calories)

1 tsp olie oil (40 calories)

2 tbsp finely chopped onions

1 tsp truffle oil (40 calories)

1/4 cup stock

In nonstick pot fry pancetta until crisp, remove from pan, and put on towel to drain fat. Add olive oil and onion, and caramelize on low heat. Add beans, stock, and bleu cheese, and bring to a boil. Let boil until thick. Stir in truffle oil, and then serve with crumbled pancetta on the top. Serves 2, 250 calories per serving.

Fear

I think I'm going through a less healthy evolution in my dietary phase: fear. At first, I embraced my new diet, and with a nothing-to-lose-but-fat attitude eagerly attacked my new lifestyle. It was fun, and I was making real strides that kept me motivated and enthusiastic.

Over the past two nights, I had eaten out with business colleagues. Two dinners and a lunch, and suddenly my well-controlled diet where I can google every calorie I eat is now at the whims of the chefs behind a wall. What do these madmen put in my food? Butter? Lard? Sugar? I have no idea. How many calories in an enchilada? Should I go with a burrito? Pork or steak?

I've made real gains that I don't want to give back. I fear I can revert easily and pack on the flab as easily as I took it off. I'm even afraid to take my caloric content back up to a level plan because I don't want to go too far. I've become afraid of food.

A little fear is healthy, but a lot of fear is unhealthy. Rationally, I know one steak isn't going to put 15 pounds on me. I know that a single glass of wine or a single missed workout isn't going to spiral me out of control. I was doing some fundamentally unhealthy things prior to this regiment, and I know I'm going to be more aware of them, and be much more balanced in the future.

But how do you make peace with that, especially since I've been pretty strict with myself during the past few weeks to make my strides? I'm going to have to learn to deal with this somehow.

Tonight, I was safely back home in my kitchen able to control my diet once again. I made a sausage pasta. Recipe as follows.

4 hot Italian turkey sausages, removed from casing (720 calories)
1 orange bell pepper, diced fairly large (25 calories)
1 small onion (used a large Cippolini) diced (25 calories)
1 baby fennel bulb, diced large (25 calories)
1 bunch broccolini, cut on bias to 1 inch pieces (60 calories)
1/4 cup roasted tomatoes (easy to do in oven) (30 calories)
2 servings pasta, I used rotini (400 calories)
2 tbsp cut pepperoncini
1 tbsp garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup stock
1 tbsp tomato paste
chiffonade of fennel tops, basil, and Italian parsley

Brown sausage in pan. Once nearly done push to side and cook pepper, onion, fennel, and garlic in oil until soft. Add stock, pepperoncini, and broccolini, and cover for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile cook the pasta 2 minutes short of done and drain. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs, and pasta, and cook for another 2-3 minutes on high to reduce the liquid and finish the pasta. Serves 2, 650 calories. Add a dusting of Parmesan cheese if desired, and more crushed red pepper if you're crazy. the large chunks of various vegetables should make each bite taste different.

The Best Thing I Ever Ate

Yesterday was a busy day. Early face-to-face meetings that lasted longer than anticipated which merged into lunch meetings, and then became dinner meetings. I know my mantra is "no excuses" but that is tertiary to my other two mantras: "don't get fired" and "don't tick off your wife". I could absolutely have snuck in a quick workout, and neglected all the familial responsibilities for the day, but I absolutely didn't want to do that, so I spent what little of a hole I had in my day taking care of my baby.

Besides, my calves were way too fried to consider any sort of workout. I could have done a pure upper body weights day at the gym, and considered doing that, but in the end giving my muscles and back an extra day off will probably be good for me.

As for those calves, yeah, they're not good. I am walking like a penguin in an effort to use them as infrequently as possible, mostly because they seem to be frozen solid. No running today, and I can't even swim with them so wrecked, so it looks like a little boxing is on tap later today. I'll do something to loosen them up tomorrow, however painful it may be.

Last night for dinner I ate probably the best thing I've ever eaten: the signature pork chop from Perry's Steakhouse. Oh, my. They bring it out to the table and carve it for you, because it is about 5-6 inches thick, literally. They carved it into three sections: the ribs, the excellent bit, and the mindblowingly phenomenal bit. I have no idea how they got a lean loin cut to be fall off the bone fork cut tender, and I also have no idea what they did to put that insanely flavorful crust on the outside. All I know is that I was transformed to another world by eating this thing.

Pork chops actually have a good protein-to-fat ratio in them, and aren't highly caloric. I ate about half of it, bravely suppressing my canine instincts to eat the whole thing, and brought the rest home to my wife (who was having a late dinner). She was skeptical that I was being hyperbolic about the greatness of the chop until she ate it, and she became a believer. All in all, I think my segment was in the 500 calorie range, which was pretty good discipline in the out-to-eat-at-a-steakhouse business dinner.

Smoked Calves

Tonight I had business colleagues from the Northeast in town, so of course they wanted good Texas BBQ, and can you blame them? For my money, there is no better dinner than a big plate of smoked beef, especially if it is completely unavailable in your home town with any sort of quality. We went downtown to the Iron Works, a BBQ joint I haven't tried yet which is extremely casual and very highly rated. It did not disappoint in any way.

I'm not exactly sure the caloric content on BBQ - the long low and slow cooking process is designed to render the fat down in not-so-lean cuts of meat to the point where it melts and lubricates the meat to deliciousness. So some of it melts away, and some of it doesn't. I'm pretty sure I exceeded my 700 calorie target even by avoiding the potato salad, but again I'm more than okay doing that on occasions. I got a nice plate of sausage, beef rib, and brisket that wasn't too much food (in the old days I would have got another plate to fully satisfy myself), and left feeling okay.

Dinner ended early and on the way home I felt like Tiger Woods alone in Las Vegas. Do I call up the boys and go to Pluckers for some wings and beer? Call up other friends and go to Z Tejas for margaritas? Hey, the Hot Doughnut sign is on at Krispy Kreme! Ooo, there's a Baskin Robbins right here I can just duck into. But bravely I resisted temptation and got home early.

Prior to dinner I went on my 5 mile run circuit. My brother in law sent me a video that showed proper running technique, which I had watched and studied, and realized that I was running in bad form as well as swimming in bad form. Who knew? So I adopted the new technique and went for a run.

It felt a little weird to start, but once I got the hang of it it felt pretty good. Going uphill especially was much better and smoother, and my times over the first 2.7 miles were really fast. I was going uphill fast, and non-laboriously, which was awesome. But I noticed around mile 1.5 that my calves were starting to stiffen up, and by the time I reached 2.7 (or the start of the time that really sucks) my calves were done. I plodded on, finished the run in 54 minutes, but I've been walking funny ever since.

There are a number of theories as to what happened. I'll list them in order of likeliness:
1) My calves are weak and out of shape, and the added work was way too much for them. This is obviously the most logical theory for reasons I don't need to explain - it would be like explaining why it gets warmer when the sun comes up.
2) I was doing it wrong. The theory behind the technique is to run more on the balls of the feet, which absorbs shock better, and keeps my stride in check so I don't overstride. If I overdid it by going too far forward on my toes, I could put undue strain on my calves. Also if I continued to overstride I would likely do the same. Being not what you would call a "natural athlete" I can easily see myself screwing it up.
3) The technique is bad and I should return to the old heel-toe. This is what my wife told me, and she's an avid runner. I'm willing to work with it for some time, because worst case is I get a great calf workout, and knowing (1) is true, who cares if it is wrong as long as I'm getting stronger. But the science makes sense, and my brother in law knows what he's talking about, so I'll give it time to make it work.

We'll see how this goes.

Victory at Sea

Not so long ago just after I first started this program, a friend wagered that I would not be able to lose 15 pounds faster than him. He had every right to make this bet, as my history of being unable to stick to a diet and exercise regiment, along with my gluttony, was well documented. He figured at best he wouldn't lose, and could only win, save me accidentally losing a limb or something.

Little did he know I was already inspired. As I mentioned in my first post, my earlier problems were I relied less on math and more on something akin to voodoo to lose weight. Shockingly, that wasn't effective. Once I figured out mathematically what was wrong, it was over before it started.

I took his bet and then offered it to another friend locally, who also banked on my failure and took the bet. Both bets were made when I was 240 pounds, and with my program I figured I'd lose a pound every 3 days and be done in 45 days.

33 days later, which was today, I had dropped the 15 pounds. Somehow I was able to burn 50% more calories per day than the 1,200 deficit I had planned. Still not sure if I was eating less or getting more exercise than planned, but who cares, it all worked.

Before I started the program I was 26% body fat at 242.4 pounds. Today at 224.0 pounds I'm 21% body fat and I've lost 6 inches off my gut. All in about 40 days so far. My goal weight is 215-220, and then I'm going to up the calories and keep up the exercise to turn the fat into muscle. Visible results will be slower then, but I'll be healthier and build strength and stamina better as I'll have good fuel in me, which will be good.

So how did it happen today? I was going to run but it was raining, so I decided to go to the gym and swim. After my off day, I always weigh in good, and today was no exception - I got on the scale and saw 225.4, which was lower than I expected. I knew then I wasn't going to leave there until I was under 225.

Off to the pool and I noticed a guy that I call "the Terminator" was in the lane next to me. Different from Speedo Guy, the Terminator doesn't appear to be in great shape, but he crushes laps at an incredible pace and never takes a break. He just keeps going and going, and it is pretty humbling to swim next to the guy. So he's there and he's crushing me, when one of the lifeguards comes over to me and offers me advice on my stroke. Sure enough as I had thought earlier, there was something wrong with my stroke, and in about a minute he showed me what it was and I was back in action. My brother-in-law tried to correct this earlier in the summer, but I never figured out what he was trying to tell me until today (I need to be a better listener - no smart alecky comments appreciated on this point please). With my new stroke, I was more effective and a faster swimmer, if occasionally struggling with the whole "not drowning" thing. I was actually able to keep pace with the Terminator, which was a good feeling (I have better turns than him, he was better on the straightaways).

I did my usual 2x3x10 workout of free and breaststroke, and my new stroke made me work a little harder so I got a better workout. When I got out I wondered if I had done enough to burn the .4 pounds, and saw that I burned 1.4 pounds. Awesome. Yeah, I know I'm not *really* 224 pounds because I was down water weight after the workout, but I hit it on the scale and dang it that's good enough for me.

Dinner tonight was Thai flavored stir fry. I found some jarred kaffir lime leaves and Thai basil which I've been itching to try. Recipe as follows:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (440 calories)
1 tbsp sesame oil (120 calories)
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 green onions, sliced thin on a bias
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 small stalk lemongrass, minced fine
2 plantains, cut into thin chips on a bias (440 calories)
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced on bias (60 calories)
2 cups snow peas (80 calories)
1/4 cup stock
1/4 cup light coconut milk (35 calories)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp kaffir lime leaves
1 tbsp minced Thai basil
juice of 1 lime
1-whatever you dare tbsp Schriacha

Brown chicken in oil. Once fully cooked on outside, add lemongrass, garlic, carrots, and ginger, and cook until garlic starts to brown slightly. Add plantains and toss, and then add all the other ingredients, save the snow peas. Cook until plantains are almost soft (taste test) and tender, and add snow peas. Cook for an additional 5, adding more liquid if needed. 550 calories per serving.