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Monday, March 21, 2011

Day 32-35

So I've been a bit behind on my blogging.  The end of the challenge has taken a bit of wind out of the motivation sails.  I've kept up with my workouts, but I must admit that I've made a few more diet transgressions that I would have liked. Without further ado, here is an uber update to lump together the last four days:

Thursday (Day 32)
I only made one diet slip up today, but it was a big one - Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Pop-Tarts.  So good! Other than that, today was a planned rest day so that I could take on the baseline workout on Friday well rested.  Friday is also the day for a Paleo Potluck that the gym is planning.  I found a recipe for Paleo chocolate truffles and I made a huge batch of them.  I made four varieties in all: dark chocolate pecan, dark chocolate almond, orange and dark chocolate, and dark chocolate peppermint.  Who cares if I was up past midnight making them.  They taste incredible and although they are Paleo-ish, I'm sure they still have plenty of calories. 


Workout: Rest Day
Food Journal:
Breakfast: Chicken & Apple Sausage, Scrambled eggs
AM Snack: BBQ Baked Lays
Lunch: Qdoba Naked Salad with Chicken & Guacamole
PM Snack: Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Pop-Tarts
Dinner: Shrimp Wrapped in Bacon
            Green Beans
            Mixed Green Salad with Tomato and Mushrooms
Evening Snack: Raisin Bran cereal and Milk 
Midnight Snack: 3 chocolate truffles and milk (I had to make sure they turned out o.k.)



Friday (Day 33)
Today was a day of field testing and I fared well until the final hours of the testing.  That's when the pizza that the team ordered for lunch started calling to my hungry belly.  I ate two slices :(.  After work I stopped by the gym and redid the Crossfit Baseline workout since my Wednesday performance was off.  The good news was that I completed the WOD in 3:45 which was a huge improvement from the start of the challenge.  After the workout, we attended the Paleo Potluck where I overate a bit and had far too many Paleo truffles.

Workout:
WOD
“CrossFit Baseline”
For Time:
Row 500m
40 squats
30 sit-ups
20 push ups
10 pull ups

I did the Crossfit Baseline today in 3:45 (33 seconds faster than at the start of the challenge). The form on my pull-ups could have been better.

Food Journal:

Breakfast: 2 bowls Raisin Bran cereal w/ milk, 1 slice of toast
AM Snack: Leftover Shrimp Wrapped in Bacon
Lunch: Mixed greens salad with tomato, mushrooms and avacado
           Apple
PM Snack: 2 slices of pizza
At Party: Strawberries, Grapes, Pineapple, Rotisserie Chicken, Asparagus, Pork Tenderloin wrapped in bacon, Paleo Chili, too many Paleo Truffles


Saturday (Day 34)
We ended up leaving a car at the gym when we went to the Paleo Potluck last night; so I decided to run from my house to the gym before the 10AM workout.  The total run was just over 7 miles and it took me about 57 minutes.  It was very hilly in a few sections but I had my fancy new iPhone and Nike+GPS running app that kept me grooving the whole time.  The rest of the day was spent cleaning the house so I'm sure I burned several more calories in the evening.

Workout: 7.1 mile run in 57 minutes ~ 8:10 min/mile pace
-Buy In-
Overhead Squat Skill Work
“Bulger”
Ten rounds of:
  • Run 150 meters
  • 7 Chest to bar pull-ups
  • 135 pound Front squat, 7 reps
  • 7 Handstand push-ups
-Cash Out-
30 GHD Sit Ups

I completed this WOD in 21:13 not Rx’d.  I did 95lbs on the front squats because my knee was bugging me a bit and I used a box for the HSPU’s. My pull-ups were very legit, though. I had a rough time on the GHD sit-ups as my lower back started hurting after the first few.  I ended up finishing the sit-ups on an Ab-mat.

Food Journal: 
Breakfast: Eggs and ham
Lunch: Tuna Salad, Paleo Truffles
PM Snack: 1 bowl Raisin Bran cereal w/ milk, 1 slice of toast w/ crunchy PB
Dinner: Brussel Sprouts w/ Bacon and Country Green Beans w/ Ham



Sunday (Day 35)
Nothing like a 17 mile run though the windy hills of Pittsburgh to start your day.  I ended up waking up a bit late and didn't have time to prepare the sweet potato hash that I've been using as pre-long-run fuel.  Instead I had a bowl of Kashi Go-Lean and a piece of toast with almond butter.  I must admit that I felt energetic throughout the entire run.  I was glad when we reached the finish line but I could have gone another 3-4 miles today without too much pain.  After the run one of my buddies was kind enough to host a pancake breakfast at his place.  There were even several Paleo options: sausage, oranges, bananas, eggs.  I stayed pretty well within the Paleo limits, but I did end up trying two small silver dollar pancakes before departing.  After the run we took a family trip to Soergel's Orchard and got some more produce and a bunch of apples.  I also downed a decent sized container of apple cider because I was feeling dehydrated from my run.  It is a fun place to visit.  In addition to the orchard they have a small petting zoo where I was able to introduce Annabelle to some goats, a pony, some sheep and a gigantic pig.  A good time was had by all.

Workout: 17.1 mile long run in 2 hrs and 30 minutes ~ 8:45 min/mile pace
Food Journal:
Breakfast: Kashi Go-lean, Milk, Whole wheat bread, almond butter, OJ
Post Run: Orange slices, half of a banana, 5 breakfast sausage links,  2 eggs, 2 pancakes
Afternoon Meal: Apple Cider, 1/2 slice of supreme pizza
Evening Meal: 3 slices of Ezekiel Bread with Sunflower butter and Apple butter, 2 egg omelet

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Reflections on the first 30 days:

This post is primarily to provide information to anyone curious about trying this diet/lifestyle.  I'm not claiming that your results and experience will be similar to mine, but I'm not trying to sell anything so you can trust that my reflections are candid and honest.  I've had a lot of questions from friends and family that were interested in adopting this diet, so here is my take on my experience thus far.

The positives:
One of the nice things about this diet is that you get some pretty immediate results as your body is adapting.  I dropped 7 lbs in the first week and kept if off the remainder of the challenge.

You know it is bad when there are certain pairs of jeans that you avoid putting on.  After the holiday season I noticed that some of my clothes were getting a bit tight around the waistline.  I ended up losing two inches off my waist and now even my skinny jeans fit comfortably.

Although yesterday's benchmark was a bit disappointing, I think it was the result of non-dietary factors.  Overall I've noticed considerable improvements in several exercises from presses to pull-ups.

I know this probably sounds silly, but I've become an expert at cracking eggs.  No more shell fragments in the bowl.:)


The negatives:
Let's face it, this diet is very restrictive.  Unless your family and friends are all gym rats and are following a similar menu, there will be many sources of temptation in social settings.  You will get a lot of people that are curious about why you are eating what you are - sometimes to the point of being almost confrontational.  There will be moments that you will need to choose between sticking to the diet or enjoying important life experiences.  Lucky for me, there wasn't anything major going on for these thirty days, so I was able to stick to it.

As an endurance athlete, having enough fuel to burn is critical.  After the first week of the challenge, I had a few awful distance workouts.  I'm not sure if it was because I was adapting to the new diet or because I wasn't eating enough.  Regardless, I continually felt better after the first week of the challenge.

Sticking to this diet will require a time investment.  It takes time to plan our your meals and go shopping.  Many of the best recipes require fresh ingredients that you will not likely have on hand without prior planning.  Generally the prep times for the meals wasn't any longer than for non-paleo meals. I also found that cooking and dining at home for most of the challenge resulted in many more dishes to wash.

Expect to spend slightly more on groceries especially if you are seeking very high quality proteins.  Wild caught fish and grass fed beef are often hard to come by and you pay a significant premium for them.  I'm not saying that you can't eat Paleo on the cheap, but your menu will be much more restricted.


Dining out Paleo style is a bit pricey (sorry, no sammiches) and it is always a bit hard to tell what you're eating without sounding like the Gestapo (what is that cooked in? What is in that sauce? Is that all natural?  Is any sugar added to that? etc.)

Things I would have done differently:
Although my vegetable intake was significantly higher on the diet, I think I could have done better.  Being the winter time there isn't really an abundance of yummy fresh vegetables here now - not that that is a very good excuse.  Next time I think I'll focus on having about 5-6 servings of veggies per day and not plan my meals around the proteins as much.  I also found eating veggies at breakfast time to be nearly unpalatable - I'd sneak some salsa or peppers and onions into eggs, but that was really all I could stomach.

I probably didn't eat enough during the first week, hence the dramatic weight loss.  I assure you that my body was telling me I was full so I wasn't feeling terribly hungry during that time.

Around week two I began consuming too many nuts.  One of the richer foods you can eat on the diet is nuts.  They seem to always taste pretty good and work well for snacks or desserts.  They also have a pretty high caloric content and in moderate quantities can be rough on the digestive system.  I think one of the reasons my weight loss plateaued was because I started eating them often after the first week.

Towards the end of the challenge, I started to get really tired of drinking ice water at every meal.  Sure I'd have some tea every now and again, but I drank mostly water.  Near the end of the challenge I started squeezing a lemon wedge in my ice water (just like one of dem fancy restaurants) and I found that much more enjoyable to drink.

Over the course of the challenge, I think I ate more than the recommended amount of eggs.  I would easily go through a dozen eggs in a week. Most of this was from eating them at breakfast. I found them delicious and filling but I probably could have benefited from more variety.

Remaining Questions: (I hope to have answers to these soon)

If I switch to a less restrictive Paleo diet, will the results I've obtained start to erode?Will my blood-work come back and show my cholesterol through the roof?

Day 31:

Wha-wha-what?  31 > 30. What gives?  Well as you might have inferred from my previous post, since I'm going to be continuing the diet for another few days, I've decided to keep the blog going as well - at least until I get the results of my blood work back.  That way I can present an honest and candid assessment of the diet including its impact on my body chemistry.  Since I made it through the entire challenge I'm allowing myself a day of slight leniency.  Although I did stray from the diet just a bit today, I didn't end up getting the pizza that I so crave :(.

Despite the extension, I do think it is a good time to post some pictures and current results, so here goes...

Metrics:Weight: Before 186.5 lbs After: 180.0lbs
Body Fat: Before 13.5%  After 10.5%
Measurements:
  Chest Before 40"      Chest After 39"
  Waist Before 35.5"   Waist After 33.5"
  Hips Before 37"        Hips After 36.5"

Pictures:
Note that in both the before and after shots, I am not "sucking in"or flexing or anything like that.  I wanted the pictures to be as natural as possible and keep the results honest.
Left = Before, Right = After
Left = Before, Right = After
All in all I've definitely toned up on the diet.  The profile picture probably shows that the best. But I can tell when I look in the mirror that there isn't much flab left :).  I've also noticed that any old pants with a 34" waist size don't fit me any longer.  All pairs with a 32" waist fit very comfortably.

Workouts:

-Buy In-
3 Rounds:
10 Lateral Burpees
20 Double Unders
WOD
“CrossFit Baseline”
For Time:
Row 500m
40 squats
30 sit-ups
20 push ups
10 pull ups

So the results on this workout were supposed to get better over the course of the challenge.  Sadly, mine did not (4:18 vs 4:28).  I attribute this to three things:
  1. I was well rested the first time I did this WOD, this time it has been over a week since I've had a quality rest day.
  2. I attacked the rowing way too hard.  I did the first 250m in under 45 seconds.  This killed me for the rest of the workout.
  3. The buy in for this WOD was much more exhausting than the one for the original baseline.  Lots of burpees = fatigued chest muscles.
I'm going to tackle this on Friday after a rest day and see if I fair any better.

Feeling a bit bummed after the baseline workout, I opted for a Tempo Run to get some aggression out.  I did a fast five miler in just under 39 minutes - about a 7:35 pace.


Food Journal:
Breakfast: 2 eggs (scrambled)
                1 1/2 Chicken & Apple Sausage Links
AM Snack: 1/2 BBQ Chicken Breast (I was craving protein, okay?)
Lunch: Wendy's BLT Chicken Cobb Salad
PM Snack: 1/2 BBQ Chicken Breast
Post Workout: Protein Shake
                      Banana
                      Cashews
Dinner: Sauteed Spinach and Mushrooms
            Salmon Patty
Dessert: Small Bowl of Kashi Cereal
             3 Bite-size chocolate hearts that my awesome nephew gave me for Valentine's Day that I could finally eat guilt free

Sleep:
8.5 hours

Day 30:

Today is the official last day of the challenge.  It has been an interesting experiment and one that has had some pretty remarkable results.  In order to see how much the diet has impacted my body chemistry, today I scheduled a physical so that I can get my blood work done.  I have a reasonable baseline for my cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, and blood pressure from when I picked up some life insurance right before Annabelle was born.  My appointment is 8 days from today so I've decided to allow myself a slice or two of victory pizza tomorrow and then I will be back to sticking on the diet until the exam.  This only seems fair in the name of science :)


As far as foods today, I tried a new breakfast recipe: Chicken and Apple Hash.  This seemed like a good choice because I had some leftover chicken that was on the verge of going bad within the next day or two and I have been enjoying Chicken & Apple Sausage for breakfast for a great many days throughout the challenge.  The recipe was simple: dice the apple, shred the leftover (already cooked) chicken, cook in skillet with almond oil, add a dash of cinnamon when it is warm throughout and the apple has gotten a bit soft.


 
Dinner tonight was not terribly adventurous, I had some frozen salmon fillets thawing in the refrigerator as well as some nice fresh asparagus.  I decided to "bread" the salmon in a crust of almond flour and fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, parsley) and spices (black pepper, garlic powder).  For the asparagus, I made more use of the fresh herbs.  I lined the asparagus up on a baking sheet and drizzled the spears with olive oil. I then dusted them with fresh herbs, a bit of kosher salt and pepper and let them roast in the oven.


You might be able to guess who helped eat the asparagus



Final Results:
Metrics and pictures tomorrow.


Workout:
-Buy In-
Squat Clean Skill Work
“Elizabeth”
21-15-9
Squat Cleans  135/95
Ring Dips
-Cash Out-
Muscle Up Progression

I completed this workout in 10:00.  I intended to use 105lbs for the weight, but I accidentally cheated and used only 95 :(.  Ah well, it was still a good workout so I can't complain.

Food Journal:
Breakfast Chicken & Apple Hash (you thought I was going to write Sausage, didn't you?)
               1/2 Mango
AM Snack: Leftover Acorn Squash Dessert 
Lunch: Final Remains of Paleo Pulled Pork
           1/2 Mango        
PM Snack: Carrot Sticks
Dinner: Salmon
            Asparagus

Sleep:
8 hours

Monday, March 14, 2011

Day 29:

Today was an early day due to work commitments and daylight savings.  I peeked at the Crossfit workout just after I got out of bed and decided it would be best to tackle it in the evening.  The workout involved a 5K run for time.  Since I had just run 15 miles yesterday, even a few additional hours of recovery time were important before tackling this one.


Breakfast for two - if you look closely you might find one of our cats


Food-wise it was an anticlimactic penultimate day for the challenge.  The only burst of excitement was a bit of dessert I made using an acorn squash.  Since I'm not a huge fan of butternut or spaghetti squash, I was a little leary of using an acorn squash.  But I bought an acorn squash for this challenge and I was determined to use it.  I adapted a few recipes I found online and actually came up with what I would consider to be a winner.

Ingredients:
1 Acorn Squash
1 tbsp Almond Oil
1/3 cup of Chopped Pecans
1 tbsp Almond Butter
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut squash into quarters and remove seeds and membrane. Brush almond oil on meat of the squash and place each quarter onto a baking sheet meat side down.  Bake for about 30 minutes and flip so that the other side of the meat is down.  Remove squash from oven and separate the meat from the skin.  Place the meat in a bowl and combine with remaining ingredients.

Take a Good Look at My Nuts

The result was sweet and filling.  It could be enjoyed as a breakfast or as a dessert.

Workout:
-Buy In-
3 x 8 Reps Of Back Squat, Front Squat and Deadlift
WOD
Run 5k
-Cash Out-
30 Med Ball Cleans

I held a pretty nice pace considering yesterday's long run.  I finished in 21:48 which was a nice 7min/mile pace.
Metrics:
I know I'm a bit behind on these, but at this point we might as well wait for the big finish.

Food Journal:
Breakfast: 3oz. Ham Steak
                2 eggs (scrambled)
                1/2 Apple
AM Snack: Leftover Paleo Pancakes
Lunch: Chicken Salad and Mixed Greens
PM Snack: Macadamia Nuts
Dinner: BBQ Chicken
            Deviled Eggs
            Acorn Squash Dessert

Sleep:
8 hours

Day 28:

I started today off with a long run.  The last two long runs were extremely smooth because I woke up early and had a decent breakfast before starting the run.  Not only was today was daylight savings, but since brunch plans dictated an early finished I started the run at 7:30AM.  This was not conducive to an early rise and proper fueling.  I hastily ate an orange as I raced out the door to meet a running group. 

I completed the run with a group from our neighborhood running store: Fleet Feet.  My intent was to run a solid 15 miles but a slight navigation error had me do about 13 and once I realized my error I ran an additional two by myself.  There was a pretty nice turnout for the run and although several people were running different distances, the courses were all intertwined so one always had a sight line to a fellow runner gutting it out on the hills of south Pittsburgh.  The run was well supported with a few water stations along the route.  This was really nice because I usually either carry my own water or go without.  I'll definitely join this group again whenever I need to get my run in early. 

Unfortunately brunch plans were canceled because one of our friends came down with the plague, so we decided to have some lunch with my brother, his wife, and my super awesome little nephew.  One of the more useful strategies in keeping a Paleo diet while not missing out on social activities is to invite people over to your place.  That way you can prepare both some Paleo food and some non-Paleo food.  We had some leftover Paleo BBQ sauce from earlier in the week so the menu plan was the following: BBQ Chicken breasts (Paleo sauce for me, homemade Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce for everybody else), brussel sprouts and bacon (Paleo), steamed broccoli (Paleo), and corn bread (not Paleo).  This worked out quite well for everyone although I must confess, the sweet and spicy Dr. Pepper BBQ was calling to me...so was the corn bread.

Dinner was a simple dish of homemade chicken salad served over a bed of mixed greens.  One of the fun experiments with this dish was making our own mayonnaise - something I've never tried before.  The result was a little bit scary - far more yellow (from the olive oil) than store bought mayo - but it tasted fine and I haven't gotten sick yet.  A second adventure for me this evening was trying deviled eggs.  I've never been a very big fan of mayonnaise and the fluffy whipped yolks always gave me the heebie-jeebies.  I don't care how much paprika you sprinkle on them, it is still yolk and mayo.  The lovely wife, however, is a fan and we are considering taken these to an upcoming Paleo-Potluck so it made sense for me to give them a try.  They weren't too bad.  I wouldn't say that I'm eager to eat them again right away, but my mental wall against them is starting to crumble.

Two days to go in the challenge and I'm going to miss it.  Not the actual diet: I've decided to continue the diet in a less restrictive form after the challenge is over.  I'm going to miss jotting down daily notes on life, thoughts on fitness and nutrition, and aspirations and goals.  I've been kicking around some ideas and I suspect that I'll continue journaling in one form or another after the challenge is over.   Looking back at these thirty days several years from now will be quite humorous, I reckon. Perhaps years from now Annabelle will read through this and get a good chuckle from her old man.

Workout:
13 mile run with a short rest and then an additional 2 miles

Food Journal:
Pre Run: Orange
Post Run: 2 Chicken & Apple Sausage Links
                 3 eggs scrambled
                 1 Apple
Lunch: Paleo BBQ Chicken Breast
           Roasted Brussel Sprouts w/ Bacon
           Steamed Broccoli
PM Snack: Orange
                  Macadamia Nuts
Dinner: Chicken Salad on Mixed Greens
            Deviled Eggs

Sleep:
7.5 hours (stupid daylight savings :p)

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Day 27:

The last weekend of the challenge has started and I chose to begin the festivities with a double workout.  I started by doing a six mile trail run and followed it with an infamous Crossfit WOD known as "Fight Gone Bad".  At the completion I had an awful side stitch and was left gasping for air - but it was the nice kind of pain.  The kind that reminds you what you are capable of accomplishing.

One of the additional rules that the gym has instituted for the challenge allows competitors to acquire bonus points.  This week's bonus was to try a protein source that you have never tried before.  I chose something that I've been curious about for a while, but a little afraid to try: sardines.

I felt a bit like a hobo when I opened this can...get your hands off of my gunny sack!

I opted to buy two tins, the first were skinned and boned fillets and the second were some strange package from Spain whose contents were vaguely specified.  After the workout that left me exhausted, I opted for the skinned and boned fillets.  As I warily opened the can, I quickly discovered that the cats would love to help me consume them should they not be to my liking.  I tried one fillet by itself and actually found it to be quite tasty.  It was a lot like tuna but with a milder flavor.  I served the rest in a salad of mixed greens and tomatoes with a lime vinaigrette. 

They taste a lot like tuna, I swear!

The weather was absolutely beautful today.  It seems that it has done nothing but rain and snow for the last 4 months but today was warm (about 60 degrees) and sunny.  We ended up running a lot of miscallaneous errands today including going to the grocery store.  It was a bit weird because I was faced with buying some food items for after the challenge.  For the last 30 days trips to the store involved going to two departments: produce and meats (with the occasional trip to the interior for canned or frozen veggies).  It is pretty astounding how many aisles are devoted to completely processed foods.  If nothing else, the challenge has opened my eyes to that fact.

Workout:
Ran 6 miles @ 8min/mile pace
-Buy In-
Group Med Ball Warm Up
“Fight Gone Bad”
Wall-ball, 10 ft target (Reps) 20
Sumo deadlift high-pull (Reps) 75
Box jump (Reps) 20 Inch Box
Push-press (Reps) 75
Row (Calories)
All movements are performed for 1 minute , moving from one to another. After all five movements are completed, a 1 minute rest is taken. 3 Rounds are to be completed.

I completed the workout with 284 reps.

Food Journal:
Breakfast: 2 poached eggs
                  3oz ham steak
Post Workout: Whey Protein Shake mixed with water
                          Orange
Lunch: Sardine salad
             Cashews
Dinner: Roasted Turkey Breast
              Grilled Veggies
              Grapes, Pineapple, Melon
Late Snack: Cashews
                    Celery with almond butter

Sleep:
9 hours - I'm not sure I can afford to keep this up

Day 26:

Somehow I managed to sleep 9.5 hours last night.  Normally I need to make a conscience effort to get all 8 hours in but I guess Angie took her toll yesterday and I paid with an extra hour and a half of sleep.  Having a baby that is now sleeping through the night is a wonderful and miraculous thing.

Workout:
Rest Day - double workout tomorrow

Metrics:
Food Journal:
Breakfast: 2 Eggs (scrambled)
                 1 Chicken & Apple Sausage
                 Berries and Cantaloupe
AM Snack: Almonds
Lunch: Paleo Pulled Pork
           Salad
PM Snack: Walnuts
                    Orange
Dinner: Natural Rotisserie Chicken
              Cashews
              Orange
Sleep:9.5 hours (Thanks, Angie)

Day 25

The challenge is winding down and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to last for the remaining five days.  I must admit that as the end of the challenge approaches, I'm finding myself more and more tempted by non-Paleo foods.  I think this is because there has been ample discussion at the gym about the first thing we are going to eat after the challenge is over.  This question gets me thinking of three things: pizza, cereal w/ milk, and chocolate.  A big delicious sandwich on some nice crusty bread is also sounding quite tempting.  Today at work there were leftovers from a meeting.  This included a boxed lunch from Panera.  I admit, I peeked at the contents.  It was a tuna salad sandwich and I summoned the willpower to pass.  Had it been something like a panini or their delicious turkey bacon bravo, I'm not so sure I would have.

In the evening I went to the gym and the workout of the day was one of the more standard Crossfit workouts known collectively as "the girls".  Tonight was Angie which consists of four exercises: Pull-ups, Push-ups, Sit-ups and Squats each with 100 reps.  At first I suspected that I would be unable to complete 100 Pull-ups without assistance (the gym has elastic bands that you can loop over your feet to reduce the amount of weight you need to pull up).  However I was able to do the first seventeen without taking a break, and then another ten.  Before I knew it I had reached the fifty mark.  The final fifty were slow with several sets of threes and fours, but I finished the pull-ups in about seven minutes without assistance.  The push-ups were next and they were equally challenging.  Again, finishing the first fifty wasn't too bad.  I managed it in four sets.  At that point my chest was fatigued and I had to finish the 100 in five rep increments.  The sit-ups were deceptively hard.  Doing too many of them left me breathless.  I was relieved when I reached the squats and I completed them in four sets to finish the workout.  This was my first dance with Angie and I surprised myself by doing the workout as prescribed.

Dinner was another slow cooker recipe: Paleo pulled pork.  The recipe for the BBQ sauce was lifted from Son of Grok.  The result was a reasonable substitute - probably the best you can do while keeping things Paleo - but I definitely missed the sweet tang of molasses and brown sugar.

All this dish needed was a bun and some sweet tangy BBQ sauce


Workout:
-Buy In-
Row 750M
“Angie”
100 Pull Ups
100 Push Ups
100 Sit Ups
100 Squats
-Cash Out-
15 DB Overhead Squat Each Arm

I completed this workout as prescribed in 19:35.

Oh and by the way:


Annabelle Still Adores Asparagus

Food Journal:
Breakfast: 1 1/2 Chicken & Apple Sausage Links
                  1 1/2 Eggs (scrambled)
AM Snack: Almonds
Lunch: Salmon Patty
             Salad
PM Snack: Salmon Patty
                  1 orange
Dinner: Paleo Pulled Pork
            Asparagus
            Cantaloupe

Sleep:
8 hours

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Day 24

I started today feeling rested knowing that my workload will be returning to a more normal state for a while.  I hit the gym at 6AM and had an awesome workout in which I smashed my personal record in the shoulder press by 10 lbs.  I realize that this accomplishment is probably meaningless to most of you, but for me it is another way of tracking improvement. 

Tonight was also the night that I decided to take the lovely wife out for a nice family dinner.  We decided on the Outback Steakhouse because well...steak is Paleo.  I know, how suburban of us, but it was an excellent meal and a great time to reconnect with each other.  We followed this up with a trip to the bookstore and called it a night.  Annabelle tagged along, too.  We are blessed in that she is very well behaved in public and charms every passerby.


Workout:

-Buy In-
30 Ring Rows
-WOD-
Shoulder Press 3-3-3-3-3
-Cash Out-
As Many Rounds As Possible In 10min Of:
7 Jump Squats
10 Knees To Elbows
12 Wall Ball  20/14

My results were: 115-120-125(2)-125-130(2)-135(1)PR-140(1)PR for the shoulder press and 7 rounds + 7 jump squats for the cashout.

Food Journal:
Post Workout: Whey Protein Shake
Breakfast: Salsa Eggs (3)
                1 Chicken & Apple Sausage Link
AM Snack: Bag of Pecans
Lunch: Mixed Green Salad w/ Turkey, Mushrooms, Tomatoes and Avocado
           Orange
PM Snack: Carrot Sticks
Dinner: Outback Steakhouse
            1/2 order Shrimp on the Barbie
            12oz top sirloin + Broccoli + Green Beans
            Cashews & Blackberries

Sleep:
8 hours

Day 23

Today was the final day before the software release.  This entailed an early rise to get to the field for testing, a huge amount of stress, lots of tempting bad food in the field, and of course uncooperative robots.  By the end of the day, we were able to validate everything and the release was sent on its way.

Today also ended up being an unintentional rest day simply due to lack of time and mental exhaustion.  The good news is that things should be calming down significantly and I'll make up the missed workout later in the week.

Today was also Shrove Tuesday so we opted for pancakes for dinner.  But not just any pancakes, Paleo pancakes (and bacon).

Let the Lenten Season Begin!


Workout:
Not enough time today - something had to give :(  I'll make it up. I promise.

Food Journal:
Breakfast: Blueberries
AM Snack: Bag of Almonds
Lunch: Orange
           Leftover Paleo Chili
           Raspberries
PM Snack: Carrot Sticks
Dinner: Paleo Pancakes
            Bacon
            Blueberries

Sleep:
8 hours

Day 22

Today was devoted primarily to work as the software release is only one day away.  Luckily it was also a rest day and that saved me enough time to get in a good night's sleep.  We finally bit the bullet last week and let Annabelle cry herself to sleep one night.  It was an excruciating 45 minutes, but every night since she has slept through the night.

As far as food, there was nothing fancy about today's breakfast and lunch.  Dinner on the other hand was pretty fancy: Almond crusted baked sea scallops.

Coming up with pithy and humorous captions is hard

For this recipe we just adapted a breaded baked scallops recipe and replaced the breadcrumbs with ground almonds.  We threw in a bunch of fresh herbs that we had on hand and called it a dish.  We added a side of steamed broccoli and a spinach and mushroom salad and our Paleo dinner was complete.


That kid sure likes her veggies

Workout:
Rest Day

Metrics:
Weight: 180.0 lbs [-6.5lbs]
Body Fat: 11.0% [-2%]
Measurements: Chest 39.5" [-.5"] Waist 34.5" [-1"] Hips 37" [Unchanged]

Food Journal:
Breakfast: 3 Eggs & Salsa
                1 Chicken & Apple Sausage Link
AM Snack: Orange
Lunch: Mango Salsa Chicken Breast
           Brussel Sprouts w/ Bacon
PM Snack: Carrot Sticks
Dinner: Scallops
           Broccoli
           Strawberries
           Macadamia Nuts & Blueberries

Sleep:
8 hours

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Day 21

Well folks, we are in the home stretch here.  Today is Sunday and that means I attended the "Sunday Morning Church of the Long Run".  I think I finally figured out this Paleo fueling thing.  I woke up a few hours before the start of the run and made up a batch of the sweet potato and apple hash.  This is a fairly carb dense meal for a Paleo dish and it seemed to be the perfect anti-bonking fuel.  I also added two chicken & apple sausage links to round out the meal.  The run for today was petty intense.  The only thing more demanding than running up Mt. Washington during a long run is running up Mt. Washington twice.  I made it through 16.5 miles and although tired at the end I didn't feel miserable.

Needless to say, when I got home I was starving.  Now was the time to try out that mango salsa I purchased last week as a chicken marinade.  The lovely wife was kind enough to start making this while I was driving home from the run.  By the time I got home and showered, the chicken was ready.  I really enjoyed this dish; the mango provided a little bit of sweetness while the peppers in the salsa gave it a nice kick.  The lovely wife tried a bite and decided to pass.  She has never been a fan of combining sweet flavors with protein.  Ah well, more for me. 

Mango Goodness

After scarfing down the chicken, I was still pretty hungry. Since I was feeling a bit veggie deprived, we made up some awesome brussel sprouts and bacon.  We followed this recipe except we added the sprouts directly to the pan with the bacon fat in it and put the whole thing in the oven.  The lovely wife complained that she didn't like brussel sprouts, but I convinced her to give them a try.  I piled my plate full and she opted to take only one...and then another...and another.  "They taste like the inside of an eggroll", she beamed.  And that is how 1/3 of the brussel sprouts disappeared.

"It tastes like the inside of an eggroll"

For dinner we used another of Nicole's recipes - this time for Paleo Chili (the girl knows her soups/stews).  I never really considered eating chili without beans before the challenge.  I won't say that I didn't miss them, but the bacon really makes up for their absesnce.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeehaw!

Workout:
16.5 mile long run with insane hills

Food Jorunal:
Breakfast: Sweet Potato & Apple Hash
                   Chicken & Apple Sausage
Post Workout: Orange
Lunch: Mango Salsa Chicken
             Brussel Sprouts w/ Bacon
             Orange
PM Snack: Raspberries & Blueberries
                   Macadamia Nuts
Dinner: Paleo Chili
              Blueberries

Sleep:
8 hours

Day 20

I started this morning refreshed after a good night sleep and proceeded with a very light breakfast and a very hard workout.  We had made arrangements to meet the grandparents in Slippery Rock so that they could get their granddaughter fix.  Dining out is always a bit problematic because 95% of most menu items are not Paleo and having some deep fried pub pretzels or cheese fries right in front of you is a bit much to resist.  My strategy for dealing with this temptation was to eat a small lunch before going to the restaurant so I wouldn't be too hungry.  So after my workouts I created the GLBT salad.  That's Guacamole, Lettuce, Bacon, and Tomato.  It used up a lot of leftovers from last night's taco salad and put a serious dent in my appetite.

Always be careful when tossing the GLBT salad

Lunch was at the North Country Brewing Company.  It was a pretty cool place -  possibly the best that Slippery Rock has to offer.  I was able to find a nice Paleo option in the rosemary chicken breasts.  I ditched the coleslaw and fries for sides and got sliced apples instead.

Since I ended up with two lunches in one day, dinner was just a few eggs mixed with salsa and scrambled.  I also downed some more pineapple and called it a night.

Workout:
I ended up more or less doing a running/Crossfit brick workout.  I met a bud at the gym an hour before the WOD and did a 5.5 mile run.  (He is signed up for the marathon relay and wanted to get his legs ready).  The WOD itself was a hero workout - dedicated to the memory of a fallen hero - which almost always means a tough one:

“Blake”
-Buy In-
Row 500M
“Blake”
Four rounds of:
  • 100 foot Walking lunge with 45lb plate held overhead
  • 30 Box jump, 24 inch box
  • 20 Wallball shots, 20 pound ball
  • 10 Handstand push-ups
I finished the WOD in 25:28. Not too bad considering the run before hand. The walking lunges were a huge pain. I did everything Rx’d except the HSPU’s because I knew I would be able to get full ROM if I were doing 40 of them – doing them on the box is still no joke. On an addition high note, I think I finally figured out the mechanics of the kipping pull-up during the warm up today. I was able to do 10 of the easiest pull-ups I’ve ever done in my life.

Food Journal:
Breakfast: Pear
                  Carrot Sticks w/ Almond Butter
Post Workout: Whey Protein Shake
                          Pineapple
Lunch #1: GLBT Salad
Lunch #2: Chicken breasts w/ Garlic, Rosemary and Olive Oil
                  Apple Slices
PM Snack: Cashews
                   Macadamia Nuts
Dinner: Eggs and Salsa
              Pineapple

Sleep
8 hours

Day 19

Today was another busy day at work.  I'm glad that the weekend is here but it is definitely going to be a working weekend.  I'm thankful for the lovely wife as she put together an incredible dinner for me tonight, unassisted.  I owe her a nice evening out after this upcoming software release. 

We tried a new recipe for breakfast this morning: sweet potato and apple hash.  This is a nice meat free breakfast that didn't involve sausage in any way.  It is pretty simple to make:  just cut up a sweet potato and an apple into small cubes;  put a little grass fed butter or coconut oil in a pan; and let it cook until the sweet potato is nice and soft.  Then sprinkle some cinnamon and nutmeg on the top.   I found that it works best to cook the sweet potato a bit before adding the apple.  That way the apple isn't mush by the time the potato is cooked.  If it starts to stick, just add a little water to keep it from burning.  I found that one large sweet potato and an apple were enough for two servings.

Although hash, this dish contains no cannabis - if it did, it might still be Paleo.

Today was another day in the field at work.  These are usually long days of extensive testing but it is nice to get outside.  It is one of the perks of the job.  The only problem with it is that the sponsor often buys lunch for those in the field.  The selection this fine Friday was from Primanti Brothers.  Although a Pittsburgh staple, their menu is far from Paleo.  Luckily I brought myself a nice serving of last night's chicken soup and some left over sweet potato and apple hash so temptation was averted.

By the time 6 PM came around, I was starving.  Lucky for me I have the lovely wife who after a hard day of work herself, kindly began making dinner for tonight: Paleo Taco Salad.  The Paleo version of this recipe is about what you'd expect: bed of lettuce, seasoned ground beef,  huge dollop of homemade guacamole, and homemade salsa.  This might be my favorite dish so far in the challenge.  It was also nice because the lovely wife was able to enjoy traditional tacos while I was able to feast on my salad.


El guapo taco salad

Workout:I ran out of time and energy today - I'm planning a double workout tomorrow to make up for it.

Food Journal:
Breakfast: Sweet Potato and Apple Hash
AM Snack: Big Bag of Almonds and Walnuts
Lunch: Chicken Soup
             Sweet Potato and Apple Hash
PM Snack: Carrot Sticks
Dinner: Taco Salad
              Banana, Walnuts and Almond Butter

Sleep
8 hours

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Day 18

The two idioms of this morning were:
Always look before you leap
-and-
Necessity is the mother of invention

I woke up a bit groggy and was trying to cook something new for breakfast.  It was a recipe for salmon scramble from Robb Wolf's book.  The instructions were to heat some frozen veggies in a sauce pan with the lid on, add canned salmon and spices serve with some eggs and voila.  Things started out just fine.  I had the veggies going on the stove and I cracked open a can of wild caught Alaskan salmon.  I dumped the can of salmon into the pan when I realized there were a fair amount of skin and bones below the pristine surface.  I know, I know, they are edible but ewwww.  No thanks.  As I valiantly tried to scoop out all of the salmon to remove the gross parts, I failed to turn off the burner.  By the time I returned to the pan, my veggies were nicely charred and stuck to the bottom of it.  At this point, I may have slammed shut one of the kitchen cupboards in frustration...not my finest moment.  However with a deboned can of partially warm salmon and eggs at the ready I proceeded with reckless abandon.  I scrambled the eggs and then I added the salmon, some dill, dried shallots, and pepper. The result was quite delicious and filling.

Dinner tonight was also some new Paleo fair.  Tonight we did successfully make the chicken soup.   I thought it was most excellent.  The lovely wife had a hard time getting over the fact that the noodles were replaced by cabbage.  If Nicole were present, she would have told the lovely wife to suck it up :).

Don't feel bad for the lovely wife because I'm picking on her.  She is taunting me with French toast and syrup and butter right now.  The house smells like a freaking bake shop. :-/

Workout:
I did another Crossfit WOD today.  This one was interesting and unlike most other WODs.

-Buy In-
40 Back Extension
-WOD-
12 Rounds For Time Of:
1 Rep Deadlift (75% of your 1 Rep Max)
50M Farmers Walk As Heavy As Possible
-Cash Out-
30 Dumbbell Thrusters

I completed the 12 rounds in 23:12.  I used 225lbs on the dead lifts (I probably should  have gone heavier, but it has been a long time since I've tested my max) and 70lb dumbbells in each hand for the farmers walk.  The tricky part with this one was the farmers walk.  By the end of about the 5th round my grip started to wear out.  It ended up being a great test of endurance to carry the weight in the later rounds.  I'll be ready to crush coconuts with my bare hands soon.

Food Journal:
Breakfast: Salmon Scramble
AM Snack: 2 Hardboiled Eggs
Lunch: Leftover Pot Roast and Veggies
            1 Orange
Dinner: Chicken Soup for the Paleo Soul
              Applesauce & Walnuts

Sleep:
8 hours

Day 17

Sometimes the best-laid meal plans oft go awry.  The plan for tonight was to dine on a delicious and hearty chicken soup - recipe courtesy of my gym friend Nicole.  Unfortuantely, neither I nor the lovely wife made it home before 8:30 in the evening (Fear not. We did not forget to pick up Annabelle from daycare.  She was with the lovely wife).  By that time, neither of us were terribly hungary - I had numerous Paleo snacks at my office - and the though of eating soup at 10PM when we both had been up since 5AM didn't sound that appealing.  So the soup is on hold until tomorrow night.

Other than that, there today was pretty uneventful on the Paleo front.  I woke up, I worked out, I ate Paleo, I went to work, I worked, I ate more Paleo, I worked more, I worked even more and I ate Paleo.  The good news is that the work schedule should be calming down in the coming week.  There are still dozens of recipes I want to try out before the challenge is over :)

Workout:
-Buy In-
Hang Squat Snatch Skill Work
-WOD-
21-15-9
Hang Squat Snatch
Calorie Row
Chest To Bar Pull Ups
-Cash Out-
3 x 30 Sec L Hold

I completed the workout in 11:45 Rx’d (used 65lbs on the squat snatches).  My pull-ups are slowly getting back to where they were at the end of the summer.

Food Jorunal:
Post Workout: 1 Whey Protein shake mixed with water
Breakfast: 2 eggs (scrambled)
                3/4 Chicken & Apple Sausage Link - yup that was the very last of 'em :'(
                1 orange
AM Snack: Walnuts, Almonds and Pecans
Lunch: Leftover Paleo Pancakes
PM Snack: Leftover Pot Roast and veggies
Dinner: 1 Hard boiled egg
            1 Orange

Sleep:
8 hours - just barely

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Day 16

I'm still fighting this cold quite a bit.  The worst is the feeling when you wake up in the morning and it feels like there is a Chinese throwing star lodged in the back of your throat.  A hot shower and two cups of tea with lemon eased the sensation enough to allow me to function for the day. 

For lunch I revived one of the dishes from week one: cabbage, tuna and sesame oil.  It is pretty simple but very satisfying.  I combined half of a small head of cabbage, a can of wild caught (high omega 3) tuna fish and a generous drizzle of sesame oil in a lunch bowl and tossed everything around to coat.  I ate about half of the bowl at lunch time and finished the rest for an afternoon snack. 

Dinner tonight was courtesy of the Pioneer Woman.  If you aren't familiar with her blog, I recommend you check it out.  Most of her recipes are very un-Paleo (cinnamon rolls...mmmmmm cinnamon rolls) but the lovely wife spotted this one and it fit the bill perfectly.  We made two changes to the recipe:
  1. Instead of serving it with a side of mashed potatoes, we added cauliflower right to the mix.
  2. We seared everything as called for, but then used a slow cooker to cook the roast while we were at work.
The result was beautiful to both the eye and the palate.



I decided to do a light workout this evening and I ran an easy 5 miles just to get the blood flowing.  Tomorrow I'll rise with the sun and hit the gym for my first Crossfit workout this week.

Food Journal:
Breakfast: Ham steak
                  2 eggs over medium
                  Blueberries
AM Snack: Orange
Lunch: Cabbage w/ Tuna Fish and Sesame Oil
Dinner: Beef roast with Carrots, Onions and Cauliflower
              Orange

Sleep:
8 hours

Word to the Wise:
Whenever you are eating blueberries and you picked through all of the delicious ones with nice firm skin, stop there.  Do not decide to chance it with one of the old wrinkly ones.  It will leave you with a mushy sad taste in your mouth.  You may even need to wipe your tongue off with a paper towel.  Just saying...

Day 15

So the bad thing about long runs is that they totally wreck your immune system for several hours after your footfalls come to a stop.  This is especially bad when there is a twenty pound lovable germ bag just waiting to cuddle you at home.  Needless to say, I have a doozy of a cold.  Sore throat, sinus congestion, you know what I'm talking about.

The good news is that I've made it through half of the challenge and I haven't slipped up yet.  I'm not even craving any sweets right now, except for a nice tall glass of O.J. to try to shake these sniffles.  I decided to take an ad-hoc rest day today to give myself a better chance to fight this off.  I'd love to show you fabulous pictures of new and exciting meals, but today was a day for cleaning out the leftovers in the fridge.

Food Journal:
Breakfast: 2 Chicken & Apple Sausage links
                2 Eggs scrambled
AM Snack: Almonds
                  1 Orange
Lunch: Leftover Pork Roast & Veggies
           Leftover Smothered Green Beans
           Leftover Indian Style Broccoli Slaw
Dinner: Leftover Jambalaya
            Blueberries

Sleep:
8 hours