Blogger doesn't seem to be very photo friendly. Here are some pictures I took along the way. Just a few shots. Check out those waffles. Watch for those out and about in your favorite breakfast joint.
Friday, May 11, 2007
THE END
Written, directed, and produced by
Myles Murphy
Starring (in order of appearance)
Myles Murphy
as
M#
PB & J as themselves
To be continued...
May 6th - 9th Day 13 - 15
May 6th - 9th Day 13 - 15
Weight....
I'm gonna cut straight to the chase scene...variety is the spice of life. Apply it liberally and be thankful for that.
I knew this, but it was great to feel it again even more than ever before. I can only imagine what it must be like for the millions of other people in this world who eat the same exact thing nearly each and every meal of everyday (if they are in fact lucky enough to be eating). Wow. I might just have to check that out myself someday before too long. We have everything we need at our fingertips. Convenience, quality, and variety abound.
This PBJ idea of mine led to some interesting conversations and good pbj recipes so, it was worth it. PBJ cinammon waffles w/ fresh fruit and a light maple syrup drizzle are now one of my favorite breakfast foods when I'm taking the time to prepare something more than the usual American breakfast on the fly. Dinner I don't like to cook so much, but breakfast is something entirely different to me for some reason. Maybe my parents instilled the value of starting the day off right in me many years ago or maybe it was that "you are what you eat" fruit guy/cartoon that I remember so well. Thank you television. You are pretty much worthless otherwise.
I know, the suspense is killing you huh? Did I lose weight on this "diet?" Well, I started off at a pretty lean 158 pounds with my body fat at 6-7% (hydrostatic weight). On day 14, the last day that of this venture, I tipped my tanita scale at a slightly leaner, but certainly no meaner 155 pounds. By the numbers, that was 3 pounds loss in 2 weeks time. It seems that my theory is indeed working. Of course, my weight would go up on some days, but the overall trend was definitely on the way down. 155 is really light for me. At 5' 10", that's getting down close to what is called "essential fat" in the fitness community.
Am I going to keep going in this direction? Hmmmmm....we'll see. Some days, I feel like pushing my luck to see just how close to 150 I could get, but after thinking it through a little more and running some numbers, I'm not sure if that weight is really possible for me without a slow loss of some lean body mass (I may not have 5 more pounds of body fat to lose). I wouldn't really care if I lost a little lean mass right now since running a marathon fast really doesn't require much lean body mass (just look at the best African marathoners...super svelte). I think I'm going to continue to try to lose a little more weight in the 3 weeks I have remaining, but not with 150 being my goal. Anything under 155 is going to be lighter than I can ever really remember being aside from back in the days of Now & Laters, bounce and fly, and knock hockey at Longfellow center. Regardless of weight, I plan to throttle this 26.2 mile effort while I'm young and full of energy...bet I say that same thing 33 more years from now! Bet.
So, it's back to my normal diet which I'm really looking forward to. Hey, I am my diet and you are yours. Please don't ever forget that. The choices we make each day shape our physical, mental, and spiritual fitness whether it's the foods we eat or the activities we do (or don't do).
WE ARE WHAT WE EAT. MOS DEF.
If you want to know how my marathon ends up playing out, drop me a line at mindseye2020@hotmail.com after June 3rd. Thanks for checking this out and for keeping your mind open and a little left of center. You may now rejoin your regularly scheduled broadcast which is already in progress...hopefully. ENJOY in joy.
M#
Weight....
I'm gonna cut straight to the chase scene...variety is the spice of life. Apply it liberally and be thankful for that.
I knew this, but it was great to feel it again even more than ever before. I can only imagine what it must be like for the millions of other people in this world who eat the same exact thing nearly each and every meal of everyday (if they are in fact lucky enough to be eating). Wow. I might just have to check that out myself someday before too long. We have everything we need at our fingertips. Convenience, quality, and variety abound.
This PBJ idea of mine led to some interesting conversations and good pbj recipes so, it was worth it. PBJ cinammon waffles w/ fresh fruit and a light maple syrup drizzle are now one of my favorite breakfast foods when I'm taking the time to prepare something more than the usual American breakfast on the fly. Dinner I don't like to cook so much, but breakfast is something entirely different to me for some reason. Maybe my parents instilled the value of starting the day off right in me many years ago or maybe it was that "you are what you eat" fruit guy/cartoon that I remember so well. Thank you television. You are pretty much worthless otherwise.
I know, the suspense is killing you huh? Did I lose weight on this "diet?" Well, I started off at a pretty lean 158 pounds with my body fat at 6-7% (hydrostatic weight). On day 14, the last day that of this venture, I tipped my tanita scale at a slightly leaner, but certainly no meaner 155 pounds. By the numbers, that was 3 pounds loss in 2 weeks time. It seems that my theory is indeed working. Of course, my weight would go up on some days, but the overall trend was definitely on the way down. 155 is really light for me. At 5' 10", that's getting down close to what is called "essential fat" in the fitness community.
Am I going to keep going in this direction? Hmmmmm....we'll see. Some days, I feel like pushing my luck to see just how close to 150 I could get, but after thinking it through a little more and running some numbers, I'm not sure if that weight is really possible for me without a slow loss of some lean body mass (I may not have 5 more pounds of body fat to lose). I wouldn't really care if I lost a little lean mass right now since running a marathon fast really doesn't require much lean body mass (just look at the best African marathoners...super svelte). I think I'm going to continue to try to lose a little more weight in the 3 weeks I have remaining, but not with 150 being my goal. Anything under 155 is going to be lighter than I can ever really remember being aside from back in the days of Now & Laters, bounce and fly, and knock hockey at Longfellow center. Regardless of weight, I plan to throttle this 26.2 mile effort while I'm young and full of energy...bet I say that same thing 33 more years from now! Bet.
So, it's back to my normal diet which I'm really looking forward to. Hey, I am my diet and you are yours. Please don't ever forget that. The choices we make each day shape our physical, mental, and spiritual fitness whether it's the foods we eat or the activities we do (or don't do).
WE ARE WHAT WE EAT. MOS DEF.
If you want to know how my marathon ends up playing out, drop me a line at mindseye2020@hotmail.com after June 3rd. Thanks for checking this out and for keeping your mind open and a little left of center. You may now rejoin your regularly scheduled broadcast which is already in progress...hopefully. ENJOY in joy.
M#
Saturday, May 5, 2007
May 3rd - 5th - Days 10 - 12
May 3rd - 5th - Days 10 - 12
Weight on May 4th 156.5 (missed doing this on the 5th)
Ready for the fast track?
I took a bit of a "holiday" from measuring on the 3rd, but kept my good habits in mind throughout. I trained twice on the 3rd and surely bumped up my intake to account for that. I expect my defecit was still within my range, but it's hard to say that for sure. No worries. I'm certainly not worried anyway. Sorry kids. I haven't been putting time into being strict with this venture recently. I've been eating in line with this "diet" overall, but giving myself a little extra room probably with my overall defecit to this point in mind. I'm happy with my progress so far overall and have learned some things along the way no doubt.
I had a great run on the 4th where I ran 6 miles at my fastest training pace so far. My running continues to improve slowly, but steadily so, my nutrition or "diet" must be working for me. I forgot to weigh myself on the 5th yet again. I just don't care too much about scale weight ultimately aside from a weekly check on Mondays that I'm accustomed to. Weighing daily can be good for some people and too much for others particularly if someone can't keep daily water fluctuations in mind. Always focus on your overall trend over larger periods of time. Think about the stock market and how it "ebbs" and "flows" going up, up, up, and then down, but then up and up again. The occasional "down" is bound to happen and is probably even good for us overall when you think bigger picture.
It's cinco de mayo and san diego is in full support. Pacific Beach was stirring with spring break like energy on our 30 "transition" run today (a short run done immediately after a bike ride to teach the body to run efficiently off a bike ride for triathlon racing). We rode 1:30 so, I trained 2 hours today and burned about 1,600 calories. If I want to have a 750 defecit today, I can eat about 3,580 calories! That would give me an energy supply of 3,580 calories and an energy demand of 4,330 calories. I'm sure I'll get close to that intake today with a few cervezas along with my sound nutrition plan. I'll do my best to keep count of everything that goes in today...
Overall, I plan to keep checking in with this blog for a little longer, but I plan to simplify things and move away from the pb and j centric eating I've been doing to this point after day 14. From there, I'm still going to try to lose the weight I want to for my marathon, but I'm going to move back into my normal eating patterns (with some new great pb and j recipes added to the mix). I'll give you the broad strokes and my weight change so you can see what ended up happening to this project. Stay tuned.
Weight on May 4th 156.5 (missed doing this on the 5th)
Ready for the fast track?
I took a bit of a "holiday" from measuring on the 3rd, but kept my good habits in mind throughout. I trained twice on the 3rd and surely bumped up my intake to account for that. I expect my defecit was still within my range, but it's hard to say that for sure. No worries. I'm certainly not worried anyway. Sorry kids. I haven't been putting time into being strict with this venture recently. I've been eating in line with this "diet" overall, but giving myself a little extra room probably with my overall defecit to this point in mind. I'm happy with my progress so far overall and have learned some things along the way no doubt.
I had a great run on the 4th where I ran 6 miles at my fastest training pace so far. My running continues to improve slowly, but steadily so, my nutrition or "diet" must be working for me. I forgot to weigh myself on the 5th yet again. I just don't care too much about scale weight ultimately aside from a weekly check on Mondays that I'm accustomed to. Weighing daily can be good for some people and too much for others particularly if someone can't keep daily water fluctuations in mind. Always focus on your overall trend over larger periods of time. Think about the stock market and how it "ebbs" and "flows" going up, up, up, and then down, but then up and up again. The occasional "down" is bound to happen and is probably even good for us overall when you think bigger picture.
It's cinco de mayo and san diego is in full support. Pacific Beach was stirring with spring break like energy on our 30 "transition" run today (a short run done immediately after a bike ride to teach the body to run efficiently off a bike ride for triathlon racing). We rode 1:30 so, I trained 2 hours today and burned about 1,600 calories. If I want to have a 750 defecit today, I can eat about 3,580 calories! That would give me an energy supply of 3,580 calories and an energy demand of 4,330 calories. I'm sure I'll get close to that intake today with a few cervezas along with my sound nutrition plan. I'll do my best to keep count of everything that goes in today...
Overall, I plan to keep checking in with this blog for a little longer, but I plan to simplify things and move away from the pb and j centric eating I've been doing to this point after day 14. From there, I'm still going to try to lose the weight I want to for my marathon, but I'm going to move back into my normal eating patterns (with some new great pb and j recipes added to the mix). I'll give you the broad strokes and my weight change so you can see what ended up happening to this project. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
May 2nd - Day 9
May 2nd - Day 9
Weight ?
Damn. Off to my run too quick again to get this number for you folks. It was a beauty of a morning here in "PB"...interesting...abundant sunshine for all.
Meal #1 Breakfast...slow actually
I took the time this morning to make some a pb and j cinammon pancake sandwich with some fresh strawberries and a light maple syrup drizzle along with some low fat cottage cheese. This is quickly becoming my morning favorite.
= 710 calories of sweet goodness
I'm not sure how much longer I'm gonna do this for. I've committed to finishing a second week up to 14 days for sure. From there, if I scale back on the PBJ bit, I plan to continue my marathon "diet" plan as long as my workouts continue to go great. I love the pb and j items I've been eating, but a little more variety would be nice for several reasons. However long I keep pb and j in the foreground for, it's been interesting and worthwhile just as I hoped it would be. Writing everything in this blog has also been great, but I need to put this time towards other things right now. We'll see. It could just be where I'm at today. Stay tuned.
Snacks and lunch today were nothing to speak of really.
Meal #3 Dinner
A "Cafe Intermezzo" style dinner salad with kidney beans and just about everything but the kitchen sink when it comes to veggies along with a grilled pb and j sandwich on the stove. If you take a little butter (or flax oil spread in this case) and spread it on each side of a sandwich, it grills up really nicely just like a grilled cheese. The pb doesn't melt out of the bread at all and you end up with a really warm treat like the one I made on the bbq grill not too long ago, but even better. Try that out sometime if you're curious. Solid.
Daily total = 2,580 calories and a negative energy defecit of about 900 calories after an easy hour run taken into account. I've been running a defecit on most days of 500 to 1,000 calories and my health and performance have both been top notch. While this has been slightly greater than the typically recommended defecit of 750, my running workouts have been some of my best ever and I'm faster and more fit overall right now that I have ever been in my life...at 33 years young. My weight isn't coming down quite as quickly as I would guess it would with that sort of sustained defecit, but I feel that could be mostly due to an increased stress load that I have been under recently. The body (and mind) really don't enjoy stress (or certainly not more stress than we are each accustomed/adapted to). When this happens, hormonal shifts occur in the body that can effectively tell the body to hold onto weight and conserve. We'll see about this. Perhaps my defecit is slightly too great. My instincts say that it isn't, but it's possible. A little more time should help me figure that out. 9 days is the blink of an eye in terms of how the body operates.
Nothing major going on really in terms of stress. Just trying to shift my work into a new direction. Small stuff really. Woosah...
Over, but not quite out just yet.
Weight ?
Damn. Off to my run too quick again to get this number for you folks. It was a beauty of a morning here in "PB"...interesting...abundant sunshine for all.
Meal #1 Breakfast...slow actually
I took the time this morning to make some a pb and j cinammon pancake sandwich with some fresh strawberries and a light maple syrup drizzle along with some low fat cottage cheese. This is quickly becoming my morning favorite.
= 710 calories of sweet goodness
I'm not sure how much longer I'm gonna do this for. I've committed to finishing a second week up to 14 days for sure. From there, if I scale back on the PBJ bit, I plan to continue my marathon "diet" plan as long as my workouts continue to go great. I love the pb and j items I've been eating, but a little more variety would be nice for several reasons. However long I keep pb and j in the foreground for, it's been interesting and worthwhile just as I hoped it would be. Writing everything in this blog has also been great, but I need to put this time towards other things right now. We'll see. It could just be where I'm at today. Stay tuned.
Snacks and lunch today were nothing to speak of really.
Meal #3 Dinner
A "Cafe Intermezzo" style dinner salad with kidney beans and just about everything but the kitchen sink when it comes to veggies along with a grilled pb and j sandwich on the stove. If you take a little butter (or flax oil spread in this case) and spread it on each side of a sandwich, it grills up really nicely just like a grilled cheese. The pb doesn't melt out of the bread at all and you end up with a really warm treat like the one I made on the bbq grill not too long ago, but even better. Try that out sometime if you're curious. Solid.
Daily total = 2,580 calories and a negative energy defecit of about 900 calories after an easy hour run taken into account. I've been running a defecit on most days of 500 to 1,000 calories and my health and performance have both been top notch. While this has been slightly greater than the typically recommended defecit of 750, my running workouts have been some of my best ever and I'm faster and more fit overall right now that I have ever been in my life...at 33 years young. My weight isn't coming down quite as quickly as I would guess it would with that sort of sustained defecit, but I feel that could be mostly due to an increased stress load that I have been under recently. The body (and mind) really don't enjoy stress (or certainly not more stress than we are each accustomed/adapted to). When this happens, hormonal shifts occur in the body that can effectively tell the body to hold onto weight and conserve. We'll see about this. Perhaps my defecit is slightly too great. My instincts say that it isn't, but it's possible. A little more time should help me figure that out. 9 days is the blink of an eye in terms of how the body operates.
Nothing major going on really in terms of stress. Just trying to shift my work into a new direction. Small stuff really. Woosah...
Over, but not quite out just yet.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
May 1st - Day 8
May 1st - Day 8
Weight ?
I missed my weight this morning on my way out really early to run some metabolic tests at a club that I work for. Sorry! I know the suspense was killing you...
Meal #1 Break-really-fast
5:10 am rise and shine...sort of. Damn that snooze button! Who's "brilliant" million dollar idea was that anyway?! If I'm gonna come up with maybe just one truly unique and great idea in this lifetime, I sure hope it's not the equivalent of the good ole snooze button. It's something we all know very well isn't it? How'd you like to be responsible for making people late and slow to get on with their day? No thanks. Those extra ten minute sure do feel like heaven though don't they? Interestingly, I nearly always end up dreaming very intensely during this short period of paralyzed sleep. What's up with that? I can practically live an entire lifetime in my mind in those ten minutes. Maybe that's why I'm so tired when I try to get up after hitting the snooze....I was on a train of some sort that was going 180 mph from what I remember...no roof of any sort overhead...just the sky blazing by at light speed...and I was rushing to the side of the car to protect a young child who I thought might get blown off the train into the abyss...mission accomplished...only without the self destructing message.
Oh yeah, back to break-really-fast. Cinammon raisin toast with pb and j with a banana...to go. This was a small meal for me and I felt it soon thereafter in my stomach.
= 495 calories (I'll have a bigger snack at work to make up the difference)
It's day 8 and I wonder how much longer I'm gonna do this. To be honest, the hardest thing about this "diet" so far is this blog! I hope you're enjoying it for whatever it is. Skim it. Skip every other word. Hey, read it backwards with duct tape around your head if you like. What? Is this microphone actually on? Just checking.
Snack #1
I had to go with an energy bar by Promax. Almond toffee. I asked the girl at our club's front desk which one she liked the most and that was it. I'm always up for new and different. It sucked, but it was 290 calories and enough to tie me over. Far from great quality nutrition, but done.
Meal #2 Lunch
Classic pb and j on a toasted bagel with some roasted peanuts tossed in the mix for a major crunch. Gotta love texture. Thick and hearty. Give me that life please! I had a piece of deep dish peanut butter and jelly pizza to go along with my sandwich from Lefty's Chicago style pizza here in San Diego (minus the peanut butter and jelly). Nice. My next "cheat" (dinner out) from this voyage is already set...Phil's BBQ last friday night and Lefty's STUFFED pizza this week. Maybe I'll try a little pb and j on the crust. Honey is good for that if you haven't tried it yet.
Snack #2
I had lunch late and opted to skip this one kids. Slap me on the wrist.
Meal #3 Dinner
Nothing exceptional. PB and J tost-dillas (is that what we're calling them?) with a big dinner salad full of veggies and kidney beans. Water and nothing more tonight.
Daily total - 2,265 calories. With a one hour aerobic ride today in my class, I'm close to a 1,000 calorie defecit today. That's about as much as anyone should have on any given day. Research supports the belief that the optimal calorie defecit on any given day should be in the range of 500-750. 1,000 is possible if you have a fairly high RMR, but not if you're a smaller person or have a naturally lower RMR to start with.
Weight ?
I missed my weight this morning on my way out really early to run some metabolic tests at a club that I work for. Sorry! I know the suspense was killing you...
Meal #1 Break-really-fast
5:10 am rise and shine...sort of. Damn that snooze button! Who's "brilliant" million dollar idea was that anyway?! If I'm gonna come up with maybe just one truly unique and great idea in this lifetime, I sure hope it's not the equivalent of the good ole snooze button. It's something we all know very well isn't it? How'd you like to be responsible for making people late and slow to get on with their day? No thanks. Those extra ten minute sure do feel like heaven though don't they? Interestingly, I nearly always end up dreaming very intensely during this short period of paralyzed sleep. What's up with that? I can practically live an entire lifetime in my mind in those ten minutes. Maybe that's why I'm so tired when I try to get up after hitting the snooze....I was on a train of some sort that was going 180 mph from what I remember...no roof of any sort overhead...just the sky blazing by at light speed...and I was rushing to the side of the car to protect a young child who I thought might get blown off the train into the abyss...mission accomplished...only without the self destructing message.
Oh yeah, back to break-really-fast. Cinammon raisin toast with pb and j with a banana...to go. This was a small meal for me and I felt it soon thereafter in my stomach.
= 495 calories (I'll have a bigger snack at work to make up the difference)
It's day 8 and I wonder how much longer I'm gonna do this. To be honest, the hardest thing about this "diet" so far is this blog! I hope you're enjoying it for whatever it is. Skim it. Skip every other word. Hey, read it backwards with duct tape around your head if you like. What? Is this microphone actually on? Just checking.
Snack #1
I had to go with an energy bar by Promax. Almond toffee. I asked the girl at our club's front desk which one she liked the most and that was it. I'm always up for new and different. It sucked, but it was 290 calories and enough to tie me over. Far from great quality nutrition, but done.
Meal #2 Lunch
Classic pb and j on a toasted bagel with some roasted peanuts tossed in the mix for a major crunch. Gotta love texture. Thick and hearty. Give me that life please! I had a piece of deep dish peanut butter and jelly pizza to go along with my sandwich from Lefty's Chicago style pizza here in San Diego (minus the peanut butter and jelly). Nice. My next "cheat" (dinner out) from this voyage is already set...Phil's BBQ last friday night and Lefty's STUFFED pizza this week. Maybe I'll try a little pb and j on the crust. Honey is good for that if you haven't tried it yet.
Snack #2
I had lunch late and opted to skip this one kids. Slap me on the wrist.
Meal #3 Dinner
Nothing exceptional. PB and J tost-dillas (is that what we're calling them?) with a big dinner salad full of veggies and kidney beans. Water and nothing more tonight.
Daily total - 2,265 calories. With a one hour aerobic ride today in my class, I'm close to a 1,000 calorie defecit today. That's about as much as anyone should have on any given day. Research supports the belief that the optimal calorie defecit on any given day should be in the range of 500-750. 1,000 is possible if you have a fairly high RMR, but not if you're a smaller person or have a naturally lower RMR to start with.
Monday, April 30, 2007
April 30th - Day 7
April 30th - Day 7
Weight 156
It's very hard to say how much of my weight loss so far is water and how much is body fat or even lean body mass, but I am 2 pounds lighter than where I started under a week ago so, let's just leave it at that for now. One week is really nothing when it comes to changing the body in any meaningful way.
I'm getting some great PB and J ideas from some of you out there who are checking in on me. THANKS for that. I plan to put them all to good use. For sure, I like the regular inclusion of pb in my meals. I always have love peanut butter. Except that it used to be Jiffy or Skippy or some other sugar and hydrogenated oil laiden crap. My dad's house in colorado always had the real deal (Adam's natural), but that was way too advanced for this kid at that point. Especially with dessert, when in doubt just add peanut butter and bam, you're good. Chocolate and peanut butter together...who invented that anyway? Brilliant! If I can just have one truly original idea in my lifetime that is as great and widespread as that one was! (did you catch that one?) Pun always intended. Mos def.
SERIOUSLY, DOES ANYONE OUT THERE KNOW WHO PUT CHOCOLATE AND PEANUT BUTTER TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME? Was it Sasha or Digweed? ;) Probably neither.
Meal #1 Breakfast
I just had to go back to my favorite creation so far...the PB and J cinnamon waffle sandwich with fresh strawberries and a light maple syrup drizzle. It's the shizzle! Along with some cottage cheese (low fat please), I'm right at my target and loving it all of the way.
= 682 calories (including my morning brew with a little coffee friend/mate)
Snack #1
A big, shiny, plump, juicy, scrumptious, natural fruit of the earth...granny smith.
= 75 calories
Meal #2 Lunch
Classic pb and j on whole wheat bread. Organic smooth pb with red raspberry j. I can have two of these and be right at my target. I was in a rush today so, simplicity was welcome.
= 660 calories
Damn! It's 5:44 pm as I write to you now and I haven't had a snack, but no worries. My body is performing optimally as far as I can tell. I spent the afternoon looking out my window from my home office at the gloom that has settled seemingly permanently over pacific beach recently. ly ly ly. There. Take three more of those if you like them so much.
Meal #3 Dinner
Not sure what's coming my way tonight...I haven't had time to think about it, but I probably need to jaunt over to the store to get some things for this week. Eating fresh and natural is great, but it usually requires going to the store more often. Thankfully, we're just 3 blocks from the nearest Vons. Can you imagine the olden days...wooden shoes and all...and all those layers of clothes and proper speaking...
I decided to have pb and j in my appetizer tonight and go for a more traditional meal. Did you know that celery has "negative" calories? Well, it takes more energy to digest celery than you can derive from it. So, celery sticks with smooth pb and blackberry j became my appetizer. Nice. Really nice actually. It made for a good photo too. Main course was grilled veggies and tofu seasoned up nicely served over some rice. Healthy eatin' fo sure. I was amazed at just how much volume this food was due to the low calorie density of all the veggies no doubt. Veggies are good like that and they're packed with nutrients that keep us going strong.
= 730 calories
Total for day = 2,287 calories (call it 2,300). -443 calories based on my resting metabolic rate (give or take a bit). Supply 2,287. Demand 2,700.
Overall update:
It's been a week pretty much and I'm cool with this plan so far. Sign me up for another week of this madness. I have recipes to put to use. Check this one out.
PB and J granola bars
2 cups uncooked oats (not instant)
1/3 cup organic peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
1/2 cup all-fruit grape jelly (or your favorite sugar-free Smucker's® preserves)
Makes 8 Bars
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In medium bowl, mix all ingredients together thoroughly. Spread in lightly greased 8-inch square pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before cutting.
Per Bar: 195 Cal; 6g Total Fat (1g Sat Fat); 6g Protein; 28g Carb; 56mg Sodium; 0mg Chol
Sounds like a good snack to me. Maybe even something I could take on a training ride...
And now, for something completely different...but good. Read on if you're up for that. If not, see you tomorrow.
"GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL?"
Subject: Fwd: Fw: this is so how my day goes!! Date: Sat, 28 Apr 2007 16:40:05 -0700 (PDT)
Recently I was diagnosed with A. A. A. D. D. - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. This is how it develops: ------------------------------------------------------------------------
I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide my car needs washing. As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mailbox earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.
But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox, when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first. I take my checkbook off the table, and see that there is only 1 check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke that I had been drinking. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. I see that the Coke is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.
As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need to be watered. I set the Coke down on the counter, and I discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote Someone left it on the ki tchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.
So, I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill. Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do. At the end of the day: ----the car isn't washed, ----the bills aren't paid, ----there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter, ----the flowers don't have enough water, ----there is still only 1 check in my check book, ----I can't find the remote, ----I can't find my glasses, ----and I don't remember what I did with the car keys. Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all d ay long, and I'm really tired.
I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail. Do me a favor, will you? Forward this message to everyone you know, because I don't remember to whom it has been sent. Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!
GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL. LAUGHING AT YOURSELF IS THERAPEUTIC.
P.S. I just remembered. I LEFT THE WATER RUNNING IN THE DRIVEWAY
YOU MIGHT WONDER WHY I'VE PUT THIS IN MY BLOG AND THAT'S VERY REASONABLE.
In nutrition just as in life, keep it real and keep it simple. Make more from less.
Weight 156
It's very hard to say how much of my weight loss so far is water and how much is body fat or even lean body mass, but I am 2 pounds lighter than where I started under a week ago so, let's just leave it at that for now. One week is really nothing when it comes to changing the body in any meaningful way.
I'm getting some great PB and J ideas from some of you out there who are checking in on me. THANKS for that. I plan to put them all to good use. For sure, I like the regular inclusion of pb in my meals. I always have love peanut butter. Except that it used to be Jiffy or Skippy or some other sugar and hydrogenated oil laiden crap. My dad's house in colorado always had the real deal (Adam's natural), but that was way too advanced for this kid at that point. Especially with dessert, when in doubt just add peanut butter and bam, you're good. Chocolate and peanut butter together...who invented that anyway? Brilliant! If I can just have one truly original idea in my lifetime that is as great and widespread as that one was! (did you catch that one?) Pun always intended. Mos def.
SERIOUSLY, DOES ANYONE OUT THERE KNOW WHO PUT CHOCOLATE AND PEANUT BUTTER TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME? Was it Sasha or Digweed? ;) Probably neither.
Meal #1 Breakfast
I just had to go back to my favorite creation so far...the PB and J cinnamon waffle sandwich with fresh strawberries and a light maple syrup drizzle. It's the shizzle! Along with some cottage cheese (low fat please), I'm right at my target and loving it all of the way.
= 682 calories (including my morning brew with a little coffee friend/mate)
Snack #1
A big, shiny, plump, juicy, scrumptious, natural fruit of the earth...granny smith.
= 75 calories
Meal #2 Lunch
Classic pb and j on whole wheat bread. Organic smooth pb with red raspberry j. I can have two of these and be right at my target. I was in a rush today so, simplicity was welcome.
= 660 calories
Damn! It's 5:44 pm as I write to you now and I haven't had a snack, but no worries. My body is performing optimally as far as I can tell. I spent the afternoon looking out my window from my home office at the gloom that has settled seemingly permanently over pacific beach recently. ly ly ly. There. Take three more of those if you like them so much.
Meal #3 Dinner
Not sure what's coming my way tonight...I haven't had time to think about it, but I probably need to jaunt over to the store to get some things for this week. Eating fresh and natural is great, but it usually requires going to the store more often. Thankfully, we're just 3 blocks from the nearest Vons. Can you imagine the olden days...wooden shoes and all...and all those layers of clothes and proper speaking...
I decided to have pb and j in my appetizer tonight and go for a more traditional meal. Did you know that celery has "negative" calories? Well, it takes more energy to digest celery than you can derive from it. So, celery sticks with smooth pb and blackberry j became my appetizer. Nice. Really nice actually. It made for a good photo too. Main course was grilled veggies and tofu seasoned up nicely served over some rice. Healthy eatin' fo sure. I was amazed at just how much volume this food was due to the low calorie density of all the veggies no doubt. Veggies are good like that and they're packed with nutrients that keep us going strong.
= 730 calories
Total for day = 2,287 calories (call it 2,300). -443 calories based on my resting metabolic rate (give or take a bit). Supply 2,287. Demand 2,700.
Overall update:
It's been a week pretty much and I'm cool with this plan so far. Sign me up for another week of this madness. I have recipes to put to use. Check this one out.
PB and J granola bars
2 cups uncooked oats (not instant)
1/3 cup organic peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
1/2 cup all-fruit grape jelly (or your favorite sugar-free Smucker's® preserves)
Makes 8 Bars
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In medium bowl, mix all ingredients together thoroughly. Spread in lightly greased 8-inch square pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before cutting.
Per Bar: 195 Cal; 6g Total Fat (1g Sat Fat); 6g Protein; 28g Carb; 56mg Sodium; 0mg Chol
Sounds like a good snack to me. Maybe even something I could take on a training ride...
And now, for something completely different...but good. Read on if you're up for that. If not, see you tomorrow.
"GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL?"
Subject: Fwd: Fw: this is so how my day goes!! Date: Sat, 28 Apr 2007 16:40:05 -0700 (PDT)
Recently I was diagnosed with A. A. A. D. D. - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. This is how it develops: ------------------------------------------------------------------------
I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide my car needs washing. As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mailbox earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.
But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox, when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first. I take my checkbook off the table, and see that there is only 1 check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke that I had been drinking. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. I see that the Coke is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.
As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need to be watered. I set the Coke down on the counter, and I discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote Someone left it on the ki tchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.
So, I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill. Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do. At the end of the day: ----the car isn't washed, ----the bills aren't paid, ----there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter, ----the flowers don't have enough water, ----there is still only 1 check in my check book, ----I can't find the remote, ----I can't find my glasses, ----and I don't remember what I did with the car keys. Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all d ay long, and I'm really tired.
I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail. Do me a favor, will you? Forward this message to everyone you know, because I don't remember to whom it has been sent. Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!
GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL. LAUGHING AT YOURSELF IS THERAPEUTIC.
P.S. I just remembered. I LEFT THE WATER RUNNING IN THE DRIVEWAY
YOU MIGHT WONDER WHY I'VE PUT THIS IN MY BLOG AND THAT'S VERY REASONABLE.
In nutrition just as in life, keep it real and keep it simple. Make more from less.
April 29th - Day 6
April 29th - Day 6
Weight 158.5 (before run)
So, 1.5 pounds "lost" pretty much overnight? Water weight for sure. Today is Sunday and we have a big training run to do today. I'm training to race 26.2 miles at a pace of 6:40 per mile and today is set to be 20 miles at that goal pace. Not an easy workout by any stretch of even the wildest imagination. GREAT. I love these runs. Bring it (whatever "it" is!).
Meal #1 Breakfast
I should be well fueled for today's run already from what I've eaten in the last 24 hours or so, but a small breakfast an hour or so before a long workout is always a good idea to get the body's systems woken up and elevate blood glucose levels. I opted for pb and j on toast with a banana. Simple and easy to digest. With my morning coffee, I was buzzing with energy and ready to tackle this run.
= 485 calories (under my target of 700, but I'm about to go run and this is about as much as I want to put in my stomach before I basically jump up and down for a few hours)
The run...booked it. I ran 23 miles total with 20 of them right on pace. I was pleased especially just one week after a half marathon race where I surprised myself by running 1:20 and change (a new PR for me). My legs got a little heavier than normal, but that's last weekend's race for sure still hanging around. It takes the body some time to recover from big efforts like that. I wasn't sure how today would go, but I was able to cruise steadily on pace ticking off 20 miles in 2:14. At this pace, I should nail my race goal of 2:55 or better.
What did I eat/drink during this run? I took in 4 energy gels (GU) and only a few mouthfuls of water from water fountains along the way. That's one gel (100 calories) for every 30 minutes of running starting at minute 45. This formula works very well for me and for many. Careful experimentation tells me this...just like "dieting" with a certain calorie target. Always work to discover your limits, but do it carefully. Only a few sips of water? Yep. I've always been good at going long without much water, but this is something that the body can learn to do over years of endurance training. It was pretty cool outside so, my personal needs were also a little lower.
This is probably not a hydration "plan" that would work for many people. I've arrived at this through years of careful practice. The trouble with running is that your body is like a moving washing machine. This makes is difficult for the stomach to empty anything you put in it. Blood is also predominately in your working muscles so, digestion is far from efficient. For me, I need to error on the lighter side of things to make sure I don't have any stomach issues...been there and done that many times before...at Ironman especially...great memories though!
Weight 154.5 (after run)
That's 4 pounds of water loss on my run today. Perhaps a little too much water loss, but I had a stellar run so, I don't think so even if the formula for optimal hydration would say so. Again, I know what my limits are in most conditions. The trick here is that I need to replace all of those fluids. 16 ounces of water for every pound lost = 64 ounces. No problem. I got on that right away after my run along with a recovery drink and a pb and j sandwich...complex carbs mostly with a little protein...that's the "best" way to restore glycogen (the storage form of carbohydrate). The 30 minutes or so immediately after any long and or hard workout is when our body is most receptive to doing this. It's called the "glycogen window" for this reason. Done.
Rest of meals for day...nothing really to add.
End of week 1 (day 6 actually). So far, I think things are shaping up nicely. All systems GO. Let's see where my weight goes tomorrow. Usually, after a long run like today's, my weight will be up higher probably because my body is "holding on" trying to deal with the big stress that has just been put on it. This is something that happens at least some of the time. Stress puts the body under, well, stress and it takes some time for that to "correct." Patience isn't a virtue, it's a prerequisite.
See you next week...thanks for reading! I hope my style is alright. It's pretty much a stream of consciousness coming straight from the source of the river! Fishing anyone? I think I got me a marlin!
Weight 158.5 (before run)
So, 1.5 pounds "lost" pretty much overnight? Water weight for sure. Today is Sunday and we have a big training run to do today. I'm training to race 26.2 miles at a pace of 6:40 per mile and today is set to be 20 miles at that goal pace. Not an easy workout by any stretch of even the wildest imagination. GREAT. I love these runs. Bring it (whatever "it" is!).
Meal #1 Breakfast
I should be well fueled for today's run already from what I've eaten in the last 24 hours or so, but a small breakfast an hour or so before a long workout is always a good idea to get the body's systems woken up and elevate blood glucose levels. I opted for pb and j on toast with a banana. Simple and easy to digest. With my morning coffee, I was buzzing with energy and ready to tackle this run.
= 485 calories (under my target of 700, but I'm about to go run and this is about as much as I want to put in my stomach before I basically jump up and down for a few hours)
The run...booked it. I ran 23 miles total with 20 of them right on pace. I was pleased especially just one week after a half marathon race where I surprised myself by running 1:20 and change (a new PR for me). My legs got a little heavier than normal, but that's last weekend's race for sure still hanging around. It takes the body some time to recover from big efforts like that. I wasn't sure how today would go, but I was able to cruise steadily on pace ticking off 20 miles in 2:14. At this pace, I should nail my race goal of 2:55 or better.
What did I eat/drink during this run? I took in 4 energy gels (GU) and only a few mouthfuls of water from water fountains along the way. That's one gel (100 calories) for every 30 minutes of running starting at minute 45. This formula works very well for me and for many. Careful experimentation tells me this...just like "dieting" with a certain calorie target. Always work to discover your limits, but do it carefully. Only a few sips of water? Yep. I've always been good at going long without much water, but this is something that the body can learn to do over years of endurance training. It was pretty cool outside so, my personal needs were also a little lower.
This is probably not a hydration "plan" that would work for many people. I've arrived at this through years of careful practice. The trouble with running is that your body is like a moving washing machine. This makes is difficult for the stomach to empty anything you put in it. Blood is also predominately in your working muscles so, digestion is far from efficient. For me, I need to error on the lighter side of things to make sure I don't have any stomach issues...been there and done that many times before...at Ironman especially...great memories though!
Weight 154.5 (after run)
That's 4 pounds of water loss on my run today. Perhaps a little too much water loss, but I had a stellar run so, I don't think so even if the formula for optimal hydration would say so. Again, I know what my limits are in most conditions. The trick here is that I need to replace all of those fluids. 16 ounces of water for every pound lost = 64 ounces. No problem. I got on that right away after my run along with a recovery drink and a pb and j sandwich...complex carbs mostly with a little protein...that's the "best" way to restore glycogen (the storage form of carbohydrate). The 30 minutes or so immediately after any long and or hard workout is when our body is most receptive to doing this. It's called the "glycogen window" for this reason. Done.
Rest of meals for day...nothing really to add.
End of week 1 (day 6 actually). So far, I think things are shaping up nicely. All systems GO. Let's see where my weight goes tomorrow. Usually, after a long run like today's, my weight will be up higher probably because my body is "holding on" trying to deal with the big stress that has just been put on it. This is something that happens at least some of the time. Stress puts the body under, well, stress and it takes some time for that to "correct." Patience isn't a virtue, it's a prerequisite.
See you next week...thanks for reading! I hope my style is alright. It's pretty much a stream of consciousness coming straight from the source of the river! Fishing anyone? I think I got me a marlin!
April 28th - Day 5
April 28th - Day 5
Weight 160
Hey, honesty is the best policy right? Well, I'm certain that this weight gain is water. Probably a function of eating out/more salt last night. No sweat. ;) I bet this bounces back down quickly...let's see.
Sorry people out there, but I got a little behind on blogging over the weekend. I'm gonna hit fast forward a little to get us up to speed giving you the high (and low if needed) lights...
It's Saturday and the weekend is usually a little harder to stay on any "diet" whatever that word means. This is when we all usually have more time to eat whether it's for better or for worse and I am certainly no exception. These are good things to keep in mind. My plan is to stay the course overall giving myself a little breathing room here and there while I enjoy myself...always a top goal in my life!
Meals today:
I spent the day at a training seminar in orange county so, I got up bright and early (not so bright really right now in San Diego with this April gloom?) and made a bag lunch for later in the day. Just like mom used to send me off to Longfellow grade school with! Breakfast is always easy to get on target with. Easy and quick to get done too. Yes, PB and J on toast with some cottage cheese and a banana. Simple and pretty wholesome if you use whole grain bread and organic products. Lunch was a toasted bagel with PB and J with another banana. Hey, I said quick right? I had a granola bar and a V8 to finish out lunch. I'm shocked too that V8 actually tastes good to me now as an adult. Virgin bloody mary mix on the airplane ain't so bad either.
We had dinner with some friends tonight so, I got creative. They were grilling some chicken and having a nice little dinner...I opted to create grilled PB and J. A new idea for me personally. I toasted some bread, added the pb and j, wrapped them in foil, and then put them on the grill to melt gloriously into harmony...they turned out really good! Completely warm uniformly throughout. A very nice feeling going down. We snapped a few candid photos of my creation and had a nice time joking around as always. I had a dinner salad and some of that tasty bbq chicken to make sure I'm eating "right" along the way to wherever it is that I'm going with this "diet."
An average, but very good day I'd say. Turn the page.
Weight 160
Hey, honesty is the best policy right? Well, I'm certain that this weight gain is water. Probably a function of eating out/more salt last night. No sweat. ;) I bet this bounces back down quickly...let's see.
Sorry people out there, but I got a little behind on blogging over the weekend. I'm gonna hit fast forward a little to get us up to speed giving you the high (and low if needed) lights...
It's Saturday and the weekend is usually a little harder to stay on any "diet" whatever that word means. This is when we all usually have more time to eat whether it's for better or for worse and I am certainly no exception. These are good things to keep in mind. My plan is to stay the course overall giving myself a little breathing room here and there while I enjoy myself...always a top goal in my life!
Meals today:
I spent the day at a training seminar in orange county so, I got up bright and early (not so bright really right now in San Diego with this April gloom?) and made a bag lunch for later in the day. Just like mom used to send me off to Longfellow grade school with! Breakfast is always easy to get on target with. Easy and quick to get done too. Yes, PB and J on toast with some cottage cheese and a banana. Simple and pretty wholesome if you use whole grain bread and organic products. Lunch was a toasted bagel with PB and J with another banana. Hey, I said quick right? I had a granola bar and a V8 to finish out lunch. I'm shocked too that V8 actually tastes good to me now as an adult. Virgin bloody mary mix on the airplane ain't so bad either.
We had dinner with some friends tonight so, I got creative. They were grilling some chicken and having a nice little dinner...I opted to create grilled PB and J. A new idea for me personally. I toasted some bread, added the pb and j, wrapped them in foil, and then put them on the grill to melt gloriously into harmony...they turned out really good! Completely warm uniformly throughout. A very nice feeling going down. We snapped a few candid photos of my creation and had a nice time joking around as always. I had a dinner salad and some of that tasty bbq chicken to make sure I'm eating "right" along the way to wherever it is that I'm going with this "diet."
An average, but very good day I'd say. Turn the page.
Friday, April 27, 2007
April 27th - Day 4
April 27th - Day 4
Weight 157 lbs
Alright. I might have a trend on my hands, but it's a little too early to tell for sure. My weight is coming down technically so, I'm onto something for sure at least. Whether it's body fat loss or not is tough to tell, but I bet I'm headed in a good direction. I always weigh myself in my bday suit first thing in the am after going to the bathroom if I need to. It's very important to repeat the same exact conditions as much as possible when you want to make any meaningful and accurate comparison. I was lighter than 157 a few weeks ago before my race last weekend so, getting back down to 155 isn't going to be hard. I often find that my body weight is a few pounds higher after a big effort or race like a half marathon. Racing puts a lot of stress on the body and it seems that the body often "holds onto" weight or even adds a little (probably hydration changes) after a big stressor like a race. This response to stress is sometimes why some people actually lose weight and maintain a lower weight if they're not training so much...too much stress on the body means not enough rest and recovery and that means less results. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU'RE GETTING ENOUGH, TRULY ENOUGH, REST BETWEEN HARDER WORKOUTS. WITHOUT PROPER REST, WE NEVER ADAPT AND IMPROVE. LESS CAN BE MORE. QUALITY FIRST.
Note from a friend that I'd like to include:
Question:
Why wouldn't you just eat something a little healthier than bp and j? Isn't it possible to eat more balanced meals and still have the same results???
"Answer":
PB and J can be "healthy" if used in moderation just like anything else. There's nothing "wrong" with eating peanuts or fruit is there? If your PB product has a simple ingredient list like...PEANUTS...for instance, it's probably natural and "good" overall. As long as you don't eat too much jelly, you won't eat too much sugar...but what is "too much?" That really depends on the individual, but the simple rule of moderation tends to work in this world. Thanks Aristotle...the "golden mean."
From Wikipedia about the "golden mean":
In philosophy, especially that of Aristotle, the golden mean is the desirable middle between two extremes, one of excess and the other of deficiency.
To the Greek mentality, it was an attribute of beauty. Both ancients and moderns realized that "there is a close association in mathematics between beauty and truth". The poet John Keats, in his Ode on a Grecian Urn, put it this way:
Beauty is truth, truth beauty, that is allYe know on earth, and all ye need to know.
The Greeks believed there to be three concomitants of beauty: symmetry, proportion, and harmony. This triad of principles infused their life. They were very much attuned to beauty as an object of love and something that was to be imitated and reproduced in their lives, architecture, Paideia and politics. They judged life by this mentality.
I am eating balanced meals. I had a marvelous medley of grilled veggies and tofu last night in fact. I'm just including PB and J in some form of "sandwich" in each of my meals. Now, what is a sandwich? ...now you're catching onto what's really going on here...question reality...think critically...think about what we eat, what it's made of, what it provides for our body, how much our body really needs...a "sandwich" is in the eye of the beholder.
Meal 1 Breakfast:
I was eager to put a friend's suggestion to work and so I did. After a beautiful 60 minute run down the oceanfront along Pacific Beach (I live here!), I opted to create my first PB and J recipe. It was delicious and pretty nutritious too. I'll share the main points with you.
Peanut butter and jelly cinnamon waffle sandwich with fresh strawberries:
Waffle mix (whole grain)
1% organic milk
Egg white
Ground cinnamon
Vanilla extract
PB and J (organic - for between the waffles)
Fresh strawberries
Lite syrup (optional)
WOW. This was really good. Thanks for inspiring this creation Lorrie! I was loving every bite. The trick is to have everything else ready to go so you can build the "sandwich" when the waffles are still hot. Get right into 'em and enjoy in joy! That's twice. ;)
My breakfast came in a little over my calorie target at 82o calories, but that's only because I had a serving of cottage cheese (100 calories) to keep my protein intake up where it needs to be for my activity level. Smart move. This one is sure to be on the menu at the micro house cafe here in PB. Come and get it!
Meal #2 Lunch
I skipped my snack today to balance out my breakfast a little since it was a little more than my target.
For lunch, I went pretty classic and had a BIG CRUNCHER PB and J sammy with a little low fat plain cream cheese and some roasted peanuts tossed in the mix to make it extra crunchy. Nice touch. Love that crunchy. I used some "texas toast" bread that's been hanging around for french toast usually. Whole wheat bread would be "better", but this is pretty "small stuff" in the big picture if you eat whole grains most of the time so, don't sweat it! Along with a glass of milk (1% organic for all of you natural foodies out there), I was right at my target and just full enough to call it a meal.
= 780 calories of mm-mm goodness
Good rules of thumb to eat "right":
One good rule of thumb in eating is to eat just a little less than what makes you feel full. A good way to help you achieve this is simply to s l o w down. It takes time for the brain to tell the stomach that you have eaten enough. If you eat fast, you'll end up eating more than you needed to. Just like a lot of other things in the "American way", we tend to eat too fast...drive too fast...and yes, live too fast. Of course, that's "just" an opinion, but it's a pretty smart one at that. So, eat more slowly and I bet you find that you'll actually get "full" by eating less. Less IS more. Consider that proof. Feeling hungry or full is regulated by hormones in our body. Eating more slowly allows those hormones the time necessary for your brain to make us feel full.
Hey, slow down out there on the highway too while you're at it. You'll save a lot of money by making your fuel economy a lot better (mpg) by driving 65 mph instead of 75+mph. Life in the slower lane...just watch everyone rushing by you...madness everywhere...hurry up and wait people! I bet driving slower could also help some of us learn to eat slower.
Another good rule to keep in mind is to use a smaller plate or bowl. This tends to control portion size which can help us prevent overeating. If you tend to have a "see food" diet where if you see food you eat it, try this little trick. Sure, you'll still be in the clean plate club, but you'll be using a kid sized plate. Don't forget the purple plastic cup to go along with it too!
Meal #3 Dinner
So, it's friday night and that usually means we eat out somewhere. I could stay home and really stick strictly to what I'm doing or, I could take a little break from the action and eat out with my sensible targets in mind. Drum roll please....Phil's BBQ won out and boy was it good. It's good to take a "break" from anything in life that we're doing that could be considered as being a little "restrictive." Now, I don't really feel like this PB and J thing is very restrictive because it's a pretty balanced "diet" when you really look at what I'm eating most of the time, but I opted to enjoy an evening out with my girlfriend at a spot we haven't checked out yet.
= ? calories, but I can tell somewhat by how full I was after dinner that I didn't go too much above my meal target of 700...probably closer to 900 or so, but I know that my body won't gain weight with that many calories from experience. Even if I did eat enough in this meal to potentially gain a little weight, no worries. I'm on track 90% of the time and that's what really matters. :)
Weight 157 lbs
Alright. I might have a trend on my hands, but it's a little too early to tell for sure. My weight is coming down technically so, I'm onto something for sure at least. Whether it's body fat loss or not is tough to tell, but I bet I'm headed in a good direction. I always weigh myself in my bday suit first thing in the am after going to the bathroom if I need to. It's very important to repeat the same exact conditions as much as possible when you want to make any meaningful and accurate comparison. I was lighter than 157 a few weeks ago before my race last weekend so, getting back down to 155 isn't going to be hard. I often find that my body weight is a few pounds higher after a big effort or race like a half marathon. Racing puts a lot of stress on the body and it seems that the body often "holds onto" weight or even adds a little (probably hydration changes) after a big stressor like a race. This response to stress is sometimes why some people actually lose weight and maintain a lower weight if they're not training so much...too much stress on the body means not enough rest and recovery and that means less results. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU'RE GETTING ENOUGH, TRULY ENOUGH, REST BETWEEN HARDER WORKOUTS. WITHOUT PROPER REST, WE NEVER ADAPT AND IMPROVE. LESS CAN BE MORE. QUALITY FIRST.
Note from a friend that I'd like to include:
Question:
Why wouldn't you just eat something a little healthier than bp and j? Isn't it possible to eat more balanced meals and still have the same results???
"Answer":
PB and J can be "healthy" if used in moderation just like anything else. There's nothing "wrong" with eating peanuts or fruit is there? If your PB product has a simple ingredient list like...PEANUTS...for instance, it's probably natural and "good" overall. As long as you don't eat too much jelly, you won't eat too much sugar...but what is "too much?" That really depends on the individual, but the simple rule of moderation tends to work in this world. Thanks Aristotle...the "golden mean."
From Wikipedia about the "golden mean":
In philosophy, especially that of Aristotle, the golden mean is the desirable middle between two extremes, one of excess and the other of deficiency.
To the Greek mentality, it was an attribute of beauty. Both ancients and moderns realized that "there is a close association in mathematics between beauty and truth". The poet John Keats, in his Ode on a Grecian Urn, put it this way:
Beauty is truth, truth beauty, that is allYe know on earth, and all ye need to know.
The Greeks believed there to be three concomitants of beauty: symmetry, proportion, and harmony. This triad of principles infused their life. They were very much attuned to beauty as an object of love and something that was to be imitated and reproduced in their lives, architecture, Paideia and politics. They judged life by this mentality.
I am eating balanced meals. I had a marvelous medley of grilled veggies and tofu last night in fact. I'm just including PB and J in some form of "sandwich" in each of my meals. Now, what is a sandwich? ...now you're catching onto what's really going on here...question reality...think critically...think about what we eat, what it's made of, what it provides for our body, how much our body really needs...a "sandwich" is in the eye of the beholder.
Meal 1 Breakfast:
I was eager to put a friend's suggestion to work and so I did. After a beautiful 60 minute run down the oceanfront along Pacific Beach (I live here!), I opted to create my first PB and J recipe. It was delicious and pretty nutritious too. I'll share the main points with you.
Peanut butter and jelly cinnamon waffle sandwich with fresh strawberries:
Waffle mix (whole grain)
1% organic milk
Egg white
Ground cinnamon
Vanilla extract
PB and J (organic - for between the waffles)
Fresh strawberries
Lite syrup (optional)
WOW. This was really good. Thanks for inspiring this creation Lorrie! I was loving every bite. The trick is to have everything else ready to go so you can build the "sandwich" when the waffles are still hot. Get right into 'em and enjoy in joy! That's twice. ;)
My breakfast came in a little over my calorie target at 82o calories, but that's only because I had a serving of cottage cheese (100 calories) to keep my protein intake up where it needs to be for my activity level. Smart move. This one is sure to be on the menu at the micro house cafe here in PB. Come and get it!
Meal #2 Lunch
I skipped my snack today to balance out my breakfast a little since it was a little more than my target.
For lunch, I went pretty classic and had a BIG CRUNCHER PB and J sammy with a little low fat plain cream cheese and some roasted peanuts tossed in the mix to make it extra crunchy. Nice touch. Love that crunchy. I used some "texas toast" bread that's been hanging around for french toast usually. Whole wheat bread would be "better", but this is pretty "small stuff" in the big picture if you eat whole grains most of the time so, don't sweat it! Along with a glass of milk (1% organic for all of you natural foodies out there), I was right at my target and just full enough to call it a meal.
= 780 calories of mm-mm goodness
Good rules of thumb to eat "right":
One good rule of thumb in eating is to eat just a little less than what makes you feel full. A good way to help you achieve this is simply to s l o w down. It takes time for the brain to tell the stomach that you have eaten enough. If you eat fast, you'll end up eating more than you needed to. Just like a lot of other things in the "American way", we tend to eat too fast...drive too fast...and yes, live too fast. Of course, that's "just" an opinion, but it's a pretty smart one at that. So, eat more slowly and I bet you find that you'll actually get "full" by eating less. Less IS more. Consider that proof. Feeling hungry or full is regulated by hormones in our body. Eating more slowly allows those hormones the time necessary for your brain to make us feel full.
Hey, slow down out there on the highway too while you're at it. You'll save a lot of money by making your fuel economy a lot better (mpg) by driving 65 mph instead of 75+mph. Life in the slower lane...just watch everyone rushing by you...madness everywhere...hurry up and wait people! I bet driving slower could also help some of us learn to eat slower.
Another good rule to keep in mind is to use a smaller plate or bowl. This tends to control portion size which can help us prevent overeating. If you tend to have a "see food" diet where if you see food you eat it, try this little trick. Sure, you'll still be in the clean plate club, but you'll be using a kid sized plate. Don't forget the purple plastic cup to go along with it too!
Meal #3 Dinner
So, it's friday night and that usually means we eat out somewhere. I could stay home and really stick strictly to what I'm doing or, I could take a little break from the action and eat out with my sensible targets in mind. Drum roll please....Phil's BBQ won out and boy was it good. It's good to take a "break" from anything in life that we're doing that could be considered as being a little "restrictive." Now, I don't really feel like this PB and J thing is very restrictive because it's a pretty balanced "diet" when you really look at what I'm eating most of the time, but I opted to enjoy an evening out with my girlfriend at a spot we haven't checked out yet.
= ? calories, but I can tell somewhat by how full I was after dinner that I didn't go too much above my meal target of 700...probably closer to 900 or so, but I know that my body won't gain weight with that many calories from experience. Even if I did eat enough in this meal to potentially gain a little weight, no worries. I'm on track 90% of the time and that's what really matters. :)
April 26th - Day 3
April 26th - Day 3
Weight 157.5 lbs
I'm a half pound lighter today, but that is most likely due to hydration levels (water) and not body fat loss just yet although, I am certainly feeling like my calorie target is starting to kick in already. A little bit of hunger is probably "necessary" when weight loss is of interest. The body is simply trying to ask us to eat a little more to meet energy demands. The "trick" is to stay hungry to a certain extent from my personal experiences. If energy supply is lower than energy demand, it stands to reason that I'm going to be a little more hungry than I would be if I wasn't restricting my calories slightly to create an energy defecit. There are other factors that go into this dynamic, but there sure to be some truth to this. No problem. I expect this when I'm eating less than my body wants to maintain the same weight...when your car's gas tank is getting close to empty, doesn't an indicator light come on? Well, I consider a little bit of hunger generally to be similar to that indicator light. The question is...can you continue to drive this car safely and efficiently with less than a full tank of gas in it? Of course you can especially if you know how to eat wholesome foods and train/exercise properly/optimally.
Meal summary:
Nothing radical today. Just simple meals and snacks using my calorie targets and of course, PB and J in every meal. Usually, I'm just using 1 TBSP of PB and 1 TBSP of some sort of jelly with each meal. My most notable meal today was a double decker PB and J sandwich (2 sandwiches stacked on top of each other) with a honey drizzle to top it off. I heated this up in the microwave slightly for about 30 seconds to make it a little warm and moist. With a tall glass of ice cold water, this was all I needed to hit my target of 700 calories. Brilliant. Granny smith apples and naval oranges were my snacks today. Thanks mother earth! Natural is always good. Keep it simple. We are what we eat mos def! ;) Dinner was interesting...I had a few "mexican" PB and J sandwiches on whole wheat tortillas along with grilled veggies and tofu. Hey, I'm eating a healthy diet here that includes PB and J in every meal...not a PB and J ONLY diet. THAT would be dumb. I had a few fig bars with some PB and J as well for dessert to finish the day off.
Total calories today - 2,540
I trained twice today. Once in my spinning class and again later in the day when I went out for an easy 45 minute run on Pacific Beach. Stellar run. My energy levels were low, but that's probably because I'm still pretty tired and sore from the half marathon race I did last Sunday. Racing 13.1 miles all out takes a lot out of the body. I ran my best time ever by a few minutes placing 9th overall so, I expect to be lower energy than normal for up to a week while my body is recovering. Our bodies get stronger/faster/better when we are resting and not when we are training. Training basically breaks the body down. Resting (sleeping particularly) is when our bodies try to catch up on things and adapt to the demands of our day. I was talking to a student after my spinning class about this just today. When in doubt, if you're training often/a lot, rest a little more and I bet you improve faster. Less can and often is more.
Energy balance today = -1,500 calories meaning that I burned 1,500 more than I ate in total today. Well over my target of 416-750 per day. 2 aerobic/moderate workouts today made that possible, but this is too great a defecit. I'll be better about that moving forward. I'm not sure that my metabolism will truly slow down as much as some might with this great a defecit, but I should be careful and keep a lower defecit moving forward.
Some of you have written to me with some PB and J suggestions. Here are a few of those messages. Thanks! I plan to put them to use straight away. People connecting thanks to peanut butter and jelly...the lowest common denominator in the American diet...a food "language" that each and everyone of us can easily understand. I knew it!
Recent messages from friends out there:
ok! looking forward to having a pb&j with you! : )
I love crunchy wheat bread, Trader Joe's Organic PB, a sliced banana and honey (so good after a run). My friend and I were checking out "Fluff" the other day (my kids are obsessed with it) and it actually has less sugar than jam (I broke down and tried some yesterday and it was pretty damn good). I look forward to reading your blog through your journey. Good luck.
I have always been a fan of peanut butter, sliced banana and honey on awhole grain waffle. You can always go with a PB and berry, protein powder,milk and yogurt smoothie ... again a departure, but you may be interested inthat after a couple weeks of PB&J sandwiches.
I haven't checked the website out yet but what about fiber, phytonutrients and vitamins from fruits and veggies? You may never eat another PB&J in your life after this.
GREAT POINT ABOVE. I'M EATING OTHER FOODS TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS. WE'LL SEE IF I LOSE THE TASTE FOR PB AND J...THAT TASTE GOES BACK TO CHILDHOOD SO, IT'S PRETTY ROOTED!
I'll be watching. You are one interesting dude Myles. Love ya brotha.
LIVING AN INTERESTING LIFE IS ONE OF MY GOALS EACH DAY. THANKS FOR THAT.
Weight 157.5 lbs
I'm a half pound lighter today, but that is most likely due to hydration levels (water) and not body fat loss just yet although, I am certainly feeling like my calorie target is starting to kick in already. A little bit of hunger is probably "necessary" when weight loss is of interest. The body is simply trying to ask us to eat a little more to meet energy demands. The "trick" is to stay hungry to a certain extent from my personal experiences. If energy supply is lower than energy demand, it stands to reason that I'm going to be a little more hungry than I would be if I wasn't restricting my calories slightly to create an energy defecit. There are other factors that go into this dynamic, but there sure to be some truth to this. No problem. I expect this when I'm eating less than my body wants to maintain the same weight...when your car's gas tank is getting close to empty, doesn't an indicator light come on? Well, I consider a little bit of hunger generally to be similar to that indicator light. The question is...can you continue to drive this car safely and efficiently with less than a full tank of gas in it? Of course you can especially if you know how to eat wholesome foods and train/exercise properly/optimally.
Meal summary:
Nothing radical today. Just simple meals and snacks using my calorie targets and of course, PB and J in every meal. Usually, I'm just using 1 TBSP of PB and 1 TBSP of some sort of jelly with each meal. My most notable meal today was a double decker PB and J sandwich (2 sandwiches stacked on top of each other) with a honey drizzle to top it off. I heated this up in the microwave slightly for about 30 seconds to make it a little warm and moist. With a tall glass of ice cold water, this was all I needed to hit my target of 700 calories. Brilliant. Granny smith apples and naval oranges were my snacks today. Thanks mother earth! Natural is always good. Keep it simple. We are what we eat mos def! ;) Dinner was interesting...I had a few "mexican" PB and J sandwiches on whole wheat tortillas along with grilled veggies and tofu. Hey, I'm eating a healthy diet here that includes PB and J in every meal...not a PB and J ONLY diet. THAT would be dumb. I had a few fig bars with some PB and J as well for dessert to finish the day off.
Total calories today - 2,540
I trained twice today. Once in my spinning class and again later in the day when I went out for an easy 45 minute run on Pacific Beach. Stellar run. My energy levels were low, but that's probably because I'm still pretty tired and sore from the half marathon race I did last Sunday. Racing 13.1 miles all out takes a lot out of the body. I ran my best time ever by a few minutes placing 9th overall so, I expect to be lower energy than normal for up to a week while my body is recovering. Our bodies get stronger/faster/better when we are resting and not when we are training. Training basically breaks the body down. Resting (sleeping particularly) is when our bodies try to catch up on things and adapt to the demands of our day. I was talking to a student after my spinning class about this just today. When in doubt, if you're training often/a lot, rest a little more and I bet you improve faster. Less can and often is more.
Energy balance today = -1,500 calories meaning that I burned 1,500 more than I ate in total today. Well over my target of 416-750 per day. 2 aerobic/moderate workouts today made that possible, but this is too great a defecit. I'll be better about that moving forward. I'm not sure that my metabolism will truly slow down as much as some might with this great a defecit, but I should be careful and keep a lower defecit moving forward.
Some of you have written to me with some PB and J suggestions. Here are a few of those messages. Thanks! I plan to put them to use straight away. People connecting thanks to peanut butter and jelly...the lowest common denominator in the American diet...a food "language" that each and everyone of us can easily understand. I knew it!
Recent messages from friends out there:
ok! looking forward to having a pb&j with you! : )
I love crunchy wheat bread, Trader Joe's Organic PB, a sliced banana and honey (so good after a run). My friend and I were checking out "Fluff" the other day (my kids are obsessed with it) and it actually has less sugar than jam (I broke down and tried some yesterday and it was pretty damn good). I look forward to reading your blog through your journey. Good luck.
I have always been a fan of peanut butter, sliced banana and honey on awhole grain waffle. You can always go with a PB and berry, protein powder,milk and yogurt smoothie ... again a departure, but you may be interested inthat after a couple weeks of PB&J sandwiches.
I haven't checked the website out yet but what about fiber, phytonutrients and vitamins from fruits and veggies? You may never eat another PB&J in your life after this.
GREAT POINT ABOVE. I'M EATING OTHER FOODS TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS. WE'LL SEE IF I LOSE THE TASTE FOR PB AND J...THAT TASTE GOES BACK TO CHILDHOOD SO, IT'S PRETTY ROOTED!
I'll be watching. You are one interesting dude Myles. Love ya brotha.
LIVING AN INTERESTING LIFE IS ONE OF MY GOALS EACH DAY. THANKS FOR THAT.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
April 25 - Day 2
April 25 - Day 2
? pounds
I forgot to weigh in this morning when I woke up, but that's ok. I doubt anything other than water weight has changed in 24 hours. Just another day in paradise here in San Diego. I woke up, had my coffee and went out for an easy 45 minute run with my girlfriend Maggie. We raced a half marathon in La Jolla last Sunday so, my legs are really sore. I could only run very easy and just take in the majestic sights along Pacific Beach where we live...only?! We live here!
Meal 1 Breakfast:
Crunchy PB and strawberry J on toasted french toast bread with some strawberry light cream cheese with scrambled egg whites (1 yolk) with onion and tomato and pineapple salsa to finish it off. Water and my daily vitamins.
= 745 calories (including coffee from before my run)
Right on target of 700 calories per meal and damn good. The egg scramble really brought things to life. This ensemble makes an interesting, but tasty sandwich if you put the eggs on the toast with the PB and J. I'll have to think of a name for that one...
Nothing shocking to report. I feel good.
Meal 2 Lunch:
Toasted cinamon raisin bagel w/ PB and J (just one tbsp of each to make it official) with banana slices and some chocolate whey protein powder with 1% organic milk. Definitely not bad. Not quite a Salvaggio's famous sub sandwich, but it'll do. Incidentally, they make THE best sandwiches I have found anywhere and that includes Chicago where I grew up. Where are they? Boulder Colorado! I was shocked too.
= 725 calories
I missed my snacks today because I was busy getting into other things. I'm sure I could have found my way to an apple or orange as usual, but I wasn't really hungry and it just didn't happen. I got a new idea for dinner including PB and J from my good friend B while she was cutting my hair yesterday though. We haven't quite dialed in the name for it yet, but here are some of the "ingredients" we're using to come up with one: manteca de cacahuete (peanut butter in spanish) and jalea (jelly) "tostida" (a combo word arrived at by merging tostada with tortilla...now that's a mouthful.
Meal #3 Dinner:
I ran out to the store to pick up some new materials for tonight. My friend B was onto something that I had to try. Nothing shocking, but it was actually pretty good for what it is. Whole grain tortillas (50 cal each) warmed on the stove until slightly crispy with a little of the magic PB and J spread on each. Inspired by the good ole cheesey quesadilla. To go with the main course, I opted to grill some fresh veggies and season them up along with a nice dinner salad (a staple in my dinner menu most nights). Now, I promise you that I really don't have a beer every night, but I did again tonight. This was a BIG meal volume wise full of foods that are mostly low calorie for their volume/size (low calorie density). I felt like I ate closer to 1,000 calories, but nope...not even after my homemade dressing and all.
= 680 calories
After dinner came a cup of Starbucks decaf with a little coffee mate cuz I'm really not that hard core. Just a warm cup of something.
In total today, I ate 2,255 calories. That's pretty low for me and my activity level. After taking my easy 45 minute run into account, I should be at a negative energy balance today of about 1,095 calories. At this rate, I should definitely be able to lose the weight I'm curious to see if I can, but it's hard to say for sure that I will. This is again a little on the high side of my defecit goal (above it technically), but I'm experimenting with my numbers a bit right now. The human body is very complex and there are many factors that affect how the body responds to changes in nutritional strategies.
Today was a good day for the PB and J. All systems go. Typical confidence early on...let's see what happens next.
I've been getting some interesting emails from friends and family about what I'm doing so far. Great to hear from all of you. Bring on those recipes! If they're pretty wholesome, I'll give them a try. Mos def. Here are some good ideas from a friend of mine in Georgia:
"I have always been a fan of peanut butter, sliced banana, and honey on a whole grain waffle. You can always go with a PB and berry, protein powder,milk and yogurt smoothie ... again a departure, but you may be interested inthat after a couple weeks of PB&J sandwiches."
Thanks Lorrie! Please say hello to my crew chief! Lorrie's husband Patrick was our team's crew chief for 6 and 1/2 days during the bicycle Race Across America in 2003. 4 guys, 24 hours non-stop riding in rotation, no shower for nearly a week, and a few PB and J sandwiches for sure...and at the strangest hours in some of THE strangest places in our country between San Diego and Atlantic City, New Jersey. PB and J on crumpets was one of my favorite fuels for that adventure.
See you tomorrow.
? pounds
I forgot to weigh in this morning when I woke up, but that's ok. I doubt anything other than water weight has changed in 24 hours. Just another day in paradise here in San Diego. I woke up, had my coffee and went out for an easy 45 minute run with my girlfriend Maggie. We raced a half marathon in La Jolla last Sunday so, my legs are really sore. I could only run very easy and just take in the majestic sights along Pacific Beach where we live...only?! We live here!
Meal 1 Breakfast:
Crunchy PB and strawberry J on toasted french toast bread with some strawberry light cream cheese with scrambled egg whites (1 yolk) with onion and tomato and pineapple salsa to finish it off. Water and my daily vitamins.
= 745 calories (including coffee from before my run)
Right on target of 700 calories per meal and damn good. The egg scramble really brought things to life. This ensemble makes an interesting, but tasty sandwich if you put the eggs on the toast with the PB and J. I'll have to think of a name for that one...
Nothing shocking to report. I feel good.
Meal 2 Lunch:
Toasted cinamon raisin bagel w/ PB and J (just one tbsp of each to make it official) with banana slices and some chocolate whey protein powder with 1% organic milk. Definitely not bad. Not quite a Salvaggio's famous sub sandwich, but it'll do. Incidentally, they make THE best sandwiches I have found anywhere and that includes Chicago where I grew up. Where are they? Boulder Colorado! I was shocked too.
= 725 calories
I missed my snacks today because I was busy getting into other things. I'm sure I could have found my way to an apple or orange as usual, but I wasn't really hungry and it just didn't happen. I got a new idea for dinner including PB and J from my good friend B while she was cutting my hair yesterday though. We haven't quite dialed in the name for it yet, but here are some of the "ingredients" we're using to come up with one: manteca de cacahuete (peanut butter in spanish) and jalea (jelly) "tostida" (a combo word arrived at by merging tostada with tortilla...now that's a mouthful.
Meal #3 Dinner:
I ran out to the store to pick up some new materials for tonight. My friend B was onto something that I had to try. Nothing shocking, but it was actually pretty good for what it is. Whole grain tortillas (50 cal each) warmed on the stove until slightly crispy with a little of the magic PB and J spread on each. Inspired by the good ole cheesey quesadilla. To go with the main course, I opted to grill some fresh veggies and season them up along with a nice dinner salad (a staple in my dinner menu most nights). Now, I promise you that I really don't have a beer every night, but I did again tonight. This was a BIG meal volume wise full of foods that are mostly low calorie for their volume/size (low calorie density). I felt like I ate closer to 1,000 calories, but nope...not even after my homemade dressing and all.
= 680 calories
After dinner came a cup of Starbucks decaf with a little coffee mate cuz I'm really not that hard core. Just a warm cup of something.
In total today, I ate 2,255 calories. That's pretty low for me and my activity level. After taking my easy 45 minute run into account, I should be at a negative energy balance today of about 1,095 calories. At this rate, I should definitely be able to lose the weight I'm curious to see if I can, but it's hard to say for sure that I will. This is again a little on the high side of my defecit goal (above it technically), but I'm experimenting with my numbers a bit right now. The human body is very complex and there are many factors that affect how the body responds to changes in nutritional strategies.
Today was a good day for the PB and J. All systems go. Typical confidence early on...let's see what happens next.
I've been getting some interesting emails from friends and family about what I'm doing so far. Great to hear from all of you. Bring on those recipes! If they're pretty wholesome, I'll give them a try. Mos def. Here are some good ideas from a friend of mine in Georgia:
"I have always been a fan of peanut butter, sliced banana, and honey on a whole grain waffle. You can always go with a PB and berry, protein powder,milk and yogurt smoothie ... again a departure, but you may be interested inthat after a couple weeks of PB&J sandwiches."
Thanks Lorrie! Please say hello to my crew chief! Lorrie's husband Patrick was our team's crew chief for 6 and 1/2 days during the bicycle Race Across America in 2003. 4 guys, 24 hours non-stop riding in rotation, no shower for nearly a week, and a few PB and J sandwiches for sure...and at the strangest hours in some of THE strangest places in our country between San Diego and Atlantic City, New Jersey. PB and J on crumpets was one of my favorite fuels for that adventure.
See you tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
In the beginning, there was peanut butter and jelly - Day 1 of The Peanut Butter and Jelly Diet
Important note:
The information contained in this blog does not reflect the opinons or beliefs of any entity other than me, myself, and I (Myles Murphy). This "diet" is not intended for others to attempt. It is merely an exercise in learning designed to help people think critically about what they eat each day in their own diet. Furthermore, it is not really a special diet at all. The foods we all choose to consume each and every day of our lives comprise our diet. In fact, we are all on a diet today, tomorrow, and every day into the future. Making good choices about what we put in our body is something that we all must arrive at on our own terms. The PB and J "diet" is nothing more than a careful, interesting, and entertaining examination of the key factors that go into any sound nutrition and weight loss plan. I came up with this idea solely on my own am not representing the beliefs of any other person or company. This is not how I normally eat day after day although each individual element of this "diet" is certainly fair game in a basic and nutritious "diet." Please exercise good judgement and enjoy these readings if you have an open mind.
THIS "DIET" IS NOT INTENDED FOR ANYONE ELSE TO ATTEMPT DIRECTLY OR IN PART. IT IS MERELY A DEMONSTRATION OF HOW WEIGHT LOSS IS ACHIEVED THROUGH PROPER KNOWLEDGE OF PERSONAL METABOLIC INFORMATION GAINED IN PROFESSIONAL TESTING UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF A PROFESSIONAL.
April, 24th 2007
Day 1
My current weight: 158 pounds.
My goal: reach 153 pounds by June 3rd just six weeks from now.
Motivation: 1. prove that what matters most in weight loss is simply creating a sustained calorie defecit (eat less than your body "burns" each day) while eating wholesome and natural foods. 2. prove to that i can stay the course and exercise self-control seeing a simple goal through all the way to the finish. 3. lose 8 pounds so i'm super light for the Rock and Roll Marathon in San Diego on June 3rd...8 pounds less means a lot of "free" speed and a faster time for sure. 4. help others see this simple truth and transcend people's mindset to bring about meaningful and lasting change in their personal fitness.
GO!
Keep it real and keep it simple. I believe this to be true in most things. Nutrition and exercise are no exception most definitely. After working in the health and fitness industry for over 10 years now as a personal trainer and fitness coach, I have come to this earthshaking conclusion. It all starts where it began. The simplest answer tends to be the correct one.
I've seen thousands of health club members come and go day after day and very few of them have ever truly brought about meaningful change in their life until they start practicing this simple realization on a daily basis. While training/exercising right is important, I have to say that eating right is at least 51% of the equation. Until we can exercise some simple self-control over the amount of food we are eating, we simply cannot lose weight consistently and meaningfully.
Of course, eating the right kinds of foods is important when it comes to being optimally healthy, but I want to introduce you to my own personal experiment that I am hoping will prove the point that what matters most is simply eating fewer calories than your body needs each day. By doing this, you'll create a calorie defecit where food supply is less than the energy demands of your body. As a result, your body will use energy stores that you already have on standby...body fat...something most of us have a lot of.
I'll spare you most of the advanced science that goes into making this happen in the interest of keeping it real and simple and well, really simple. I know that my resting metabolic rate currently is about 2,100 calories from having a resting metabolic rate test done recently. This is how many calories my body wants each day to simply be alive without any significant movement or activity. Now, I don't simply sit on the couch all day and watch the paint dry so, I have to add an estimated number of calories on top of that number to account for my daily activity (work, errands, etc.). I'll use 30% or 630 calories in this instance based on currently accepted standards from the latest research. There's grey area here for sure because my activity is not the same each and every day, but let's keep it simply and move forward. This brings my total energy need up to 2,730 calories WITHOUT any actual exercise.
Since my goal is to lose 5 pounds in 6 weeks, I'll target a loss of .83 pounds per week (to be exact for illustration of how this works). Since 1 pound of body fat equals 3,500 calories in energy storage, I'll have to burn 2,916 more calories per week than I eat or 416 calories per day. I can do this either by eating 416 less than my need on a non-training/rest day of 2,730 (2,314 calories) or I can attain a -416 calorie energy balance by eating my daily need of 2,730 and doing a 416 calorie workout. I'm an endurance athlete so, I train a lot (running, cycling, strength training). As a result, I'll be burning at least 416 calories a day in my workouts. I know exactly how many calories each of my workouts uses because I've done metabolic testing to determine those numbers. Assuming that I'll burn at least 416 calories each day in a workout of some type, I can attain my weight loss goal by eating 2,730 calories. In this case, my energy supply (total calories I eat) would be less than my energy demand (calories my body needs) by at least 416 calories each day resulting in at least my target of a negative 2,916 calories a week or .83 pounds of body fat used to make up the difference. If I don't burn 416+ calories on any given day because I took the day off or opted to do a shorter workout, I'd simply have to eat a little less on that day to keep my energy defecit goal.
Ultimately, we should each modify how many calories we eat each day depending on our total activity for that unique day. I'm going to use a simpler approach with the same target calories for each rest/non-training day and for each training day. If my workout is going to burn more than 416 calories, which most of them certainly will, I'll just bump up my eating a little depending on how much I feel is needed to manage a defecit goal of 416+ calories. Current research suggests that most people can "stomach" a defecit of 500-750 calories each day. Any less than this might not be enough stimulus for some to lose weight while more than this might slow some people's metabolism down actually (too large a gap = too much stress = body adapts to create less stress/gap). The body is amazing. Don't take it for granted.
On rest/non-training days, I'll eat 2,300 calories (a 430 calorie defecit). On training days, I'll increase my intake by enough to keep a defecit of 430-750 calories. If my body responds well, this should get me to my goal on race day.
Eating to live vs. living to eat...there's certainly a major difference here and this exercise I'm going through right now should clearly demonstrate that food is meant to be consumed for energy and nutrients instead of pleasure or other emotional reasons. While I certainly enjoy some of the "finer" things in life, for the most part I consider eating a means to an end and not the end itself. Always keep that in mind and be honest with yourself when you do find that you're eating for some other reason. Enjoy what you eat most definitely, but remember that it all comes down to calories as far as your body is considered...the mind is a little different in this respect.
Basic rules of diet and foods/beverages allowed:
A peanut butter and jelly "sandwich" of some sort must comprise the main course of each meal. Different types of peanut butter and jelly may be used including the possibility of other nut butters like almond or cashew. Jellies, jams, and preserves are all fair game. A "sandwich" can be made of any type of bread or other carbohydrate food that can be used creatively to create a sandwich. Any type of beverage may be consumed just as in a "normal" diet. All fruits and vegetables are ok and highly recommended with each meal. I plan to eat a big dinner salad each night with lots of vegetables using olive oil and balsamic vinegar or other organic salad dressings. Grilled veggies are sure to hit my plate often as well. Other spreads like flax oil butter, cream cheese, honey, and even the occassional marshmallow fluff are fair play in moderation as long as peanut butter and jelly are present. Creativity is good. As for protein, I've decided to allow eggs, protein powder supplements, and cottage cheese into the action so far along with kidney beans for my salad if I'm in a pinch and perhaps even some tofu. While peanut butter does have some protein in it, I won't get enough of the right protein/amino acids from PB alone since it is a vegetable protein. Other animal protein sources are possible I suppose, but I plan to keep it simple and limited to these sources to start off at least. As an endurance athlete, my protein requirements are quite a bit higher than "normal." I certainly don't want to jeopardize my overall health or fitness while I'm training to run my best marathon ever this June. Stay tuned for more on this as things evolve. That's about it. I expect that a little dessert item will sneak under my radar here and there, but that's fine too as long as it's considered and included in my dietary "budget" with my daily energy balance goal in mind.
Health considerations and questions:
Why peanut butter and jelly?
Remember back when you were 10 and your mom sent you off to school with your favorite transformers lunchbox and goodies for lunchtime? I bet that included a peanut butter and jelly sandwich pretty often. Mine certainly did. Now, I'm an adult so I don't want that 5 hour old PB&J sammie that's been smashed, heated up, and tossed around the classroom by the bully who threatented to steal your lunch...where the jelly has started to show through the wonder bread! I want a freshly made, innovative, but classic PB&J of the future. You see, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is the lowest common denominator in the language of american food...something we all know and can understand and agree upon universally. It's also easily measurable, quick to make, and hard to mess up unless you buy that product that combined the "church" and "state" of the nutrition-playground together in one jar...which I still have not tried to this day yet. Because it's simple, fairly balanced nutritionally, and pretty damn good crust or not.
Isn't that going to be a lot of fat with all that peanut butter?
Yes, it could be if I use too much peanut butter, but I plan to keep that in check by usually having just 1 tablespoon of peanut butter with my meals (1/2 serving). This equals just 100 calories and 8 g of fat (1.5 g saturated). Of course, organic peanut butter has mostly unsaturated fat so, it's much less of an "evil" than some might think. All of the peanut butter I use will be organic and free of any hydrogenated oils or other strange additives...just peanuts. The bottom line if I want to lose weight is going to be calories in vs. calories out so, that's what my primary focus is on.
What about all of that sugar in jelly?
This is definitely something to consider. Sugar is not a great energy source for the body except during higher intensity exercise. The body prefers to use fat for energy while using protein to rebuild and maintain tissues. Limiting sugar intake overall keeps energy levels steady and moderate while eating a lot of sugar usually spikes energy levels way up and then way down not to mention the long term adverse side affects that come with a diet that is too high in sugar (diabetes for instance). As an athlete, my body can handle more sugar naturally than someone who is less active. This is just something the body learns to do better by being trained. However, I do want to keep this diet within reasonable standards when it comes to sugar so, low sugar jellies or jams could be used to do this. Again, everything in moderation is a rule to keep in mind. The breads and carbohydrate foods I plan to use will be mostly whole grain instead of white/refined. This is a smart move on any "diet." One serving of jelly has about 13 g of sugar in it. That's less than what's in a cup of milk or certainly most breakfast cereals today.
Am I going to get enough protein?
I'm allowing additional quality protein sources to make up for this. Without enough protein, my body will be forced to break down muscle to get the amino acids it needs to maintain functions properly. Endurance athletes need as much as 1.4 g of protein per kg of body weight so, I need to make sure I'm getting about 100 g of protein each day (158 pounds/2.2 = 72 kg x 1.4 = 100 g protein). This should help me eat a little better variety of foods since PB&J can only get so creative!
What other supplements are you going to take?
A high potency multi-vitamin and omega-3 supplement. Simple and smart for anyone.
That's not just a PB and J diet!
You're right, but PB and J most certainly are the defining elements in each meal's main course and they were the inspiration for this endeavor so, they have to be the headliners.
I'll track my weight daily so you can see where I'm headed and see how this all works out. If I'm maintaining my targets consistently, we should see my scale weight drop slowly, but surely towards my target. Of course, this doesn't take lean body mass gains or losses into consideration, but that's a topic for another time. My goal is to lose overall weight with most, if not all of it coming from body fat hopefully although being a mesomorphic/naturally "built" person, I wouldn't mind losing a little lean body mass to be honest. At ~7% body fat currently, I'm already quite lean so, I really just want to get my scale weight down because it will allow me to run faster for longer as if I was flying over the ground for 26.2 miles...
Day One
158 pounds
Meal #1 Breakfast:
Creamy peanut butter (organic) and strawberry preserves on whole wheat bread, a banana , and 8 oz of orange juice and a cup of coffee with coffee mate to make it taste extra nice.
= 795 calories total
Wow. That was easy and quick. It was also very close to my meal target. I took in a total of 690 calories and my meal target is 700. Real, simple, time efficient, and effective! How did it taste? Pretty damn good. I always liked pb and j especially the "p" part of that equation. Often, I put peanut butter on other things to liven it up. Bananas, apples, and celery for instance...and don't forget the occassional sweet thing like ice cream or a cookie. Hey, dessert can be managed in a good diet just like any other food can. I'll definitely share that with you along the way here.
Snack:
Granny smith apple = 70 calories
Something small, easy, and natural to keep the metabolism happy. Mom would be proud.
Meal #2 Lunch:
Crunchy peanut butter (organic) and raspberry jam on a toasted cinamon raisin bagel with 8 oz of 1% milk (organic) and whey protein = 690 calories
After teaching my spinning class, I trained a client and then toured a small health club in the area that I haven't been to yet. I was pretty hungry already...a sure sign that my meal calorie target (energy supply) is lower than my body's needs (energy demand). Normally, I would probably have lunch out and simply try to eat something good that is close to my meal target calories, but I was on a mission to stay the course and kick this pb and j thing off right. So, I stayed hungry for a little longer while I met with the club's owner and made my way home at speed for my next pb and j experiment. Lunch at 2:30 is too late, but I'm still right on target for the day. Let's see just how creative I can get with this simple diet!
Snack:
Orange = 80 calories
Meal #3 Dinner:
You'll love this one...crunchy PB and raspberry jam on toasted sourdough french bread with a large dinner salad filled with lots of veggies (I don't even really count these calories since it's minimal and so good for me) with a homemade salad dressing (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, course grain spicy mustard, lots of fresh garlic, salt and pepper, fresh lemon). To round things out, I had a Dos Equis Amber beer with plenty of water as usual with all of my meals (the water that is). I even managed to sneak a little dessert into my calorie budget today...a Cadbury carmel egg at 170 calories...just a small treat. Again, think moderation. Dessert is not evil. Too much dessert probably is.
= 830 calories + 170 dessert = 1,000 calories
This is a little higher than I wanted it to be, but it still achieves my daily defecit goal. I won't have a little dessert every night. It just sounded good. No biggie.
Daily summary:
2,635 calories IN vs. 3,510 caloris OUT = 875 negative energy defecit (a little on the high side for my target, but ok for now)
I ate 2,635 calories and burned 3,510 (2,730 is my regular daily need + 780 from my 1 hour spinning workout - 60 minute of riding x 13 calories per minute known from my VO2 testing done recently). Mission accomplished...and it was pretty good overall.
The information contained in this blog does not reflect the opinons or beliefs of any entity other than me, myself, and I (Myles Murphy). This "diet" is not intended for others to attempt. It is merely an exercise in learning designed to help people think critically about what they eat each day in their own diet. Furthermore, it is not really a special diet at all. The foods we all choose to consume each and every day of our lives comprise our diet. In fact, we are all on a diet today, tomorrow, and every day into the future. Making good choices about what we put in our body is something that we all must arrive at on our own terms. The PB and J "diet" is nothing more than a careful, interesting, and entertaining examination of the key factors that go into any sound nutrition and weight loss plan. I came up with this idea solely on my own am not representing the beliefs of any other person or company. This is not how I normally eat day after day although each individual element of this "diet" is certainly fair game in a basic and nutritious "diet." Please exercise good judgement and enjoy these readings if you have an open mind.
THIS "DIET" IS NOT INTENDED FOR ANYONE ELSE TO ATTEMPT DIRECTLY OR IN PART. IT IS MERELY A DEMONSTRATION OF HOW WEIGHT LOSS IS ACHIEVED THROUGH PROPER KNOWLEDGE OF PERSONAL METABOLIC INFORMATION GAINED IN PROFESSIONAL TESTING UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF A PROFESSIONAL.
April, 24th 2007
Day 1
My current weight: 158 pounds.
My goal: reach 153 pounds by June 3rd just six weeks from now.
Motivation: 1. prove that what matters most in weight loss is simply creating a sustained calorie defecit (eat less than your body "burns" each day) while eating wholesome and natural foods. 2. prove to that i can stay the course and exercise self-control seeing a simple goal through all the way to the finish. 3. lose 8 pounds so i'm super light for the Rock and Roll Marathon in San Diego on June 3rd...8 pounds less means a lot of "free" speed and a faster time for sure. 4. help others see this simple truth and transcend people's mindset to bring about meaningful and lasting change in their personal fitness.
GO!
Keep it real and keep it simple. I believe this to be true in most things. Nutrition and exercise are no exception most definitely. After working in the health and fitness industry for over 10 years now as a personal trainer and fitness coach, I have come to this earthshaking conclusion. It all starts where it began. The simplest answer tends to be the correct one.
I've seen thousands of health club members come and go day after day and very few of them have ever truly brought about meaningful change in their life until they start practicing this simple realization on a daily basis. While training/exercising right is important, I have to say that eating right is at least 51% of the equation. Until we can exercise some simple self-control over the amount of food we are eating, we simply cannot lose weight consistently and meaningfully.
Of course, eating the right kinds of foods is important when it comes to being optimally healthy, but I want to introduce you to my own personal experiment that I am hoping will prove the point that what matters most is simply eating fewer calories than your body needs each day. By doing this, you'll create a calorie defecit where food supply is less than the energy demands of your body. As a result, your body will use energy stores that you already have on standby...body fat...something most of us have a lot of.
I'll spare you most of the advanced science that goes into making this happen in the interest of keeping it real and simple and well, really simple. I know that my resting metabolic rate currently is about 2,100 calories from having a resting metabolic rate test done recently. This is how many calories my body wants each day to simply be alive without any significant movement or activity. Now, I don't simply sit on the couch all day and watch the paint dry so, I have to add an estimated number of calories on top of that number to account for my daily activity (work, errands, etc.). I'll use 30% or 630 calories in this instance based on currently accepted standards from the latest research. There's grey area here for sure because my activity is not the same each and every day, but let's keep it simply and move forward. This brings my total energy need up to 2,730 calories WITHOUT any actual exercise.
Since my goal is to lose 5 pounds in 6 weeks, I'll target a loss of .83 pounds per week (to be exact for illustration of how this works). Since 1 pound of body fat equals 3,500 calories in energy storage, I'll have to burn 2,916 more calories per week than I eat or 416 calories per day. I can do this either by eating 416 less than my need on a non-training/rest day of 2,730 (2,314 calories) or I can attain a -416 calorie energy balance by eating my daily need of 2,730 and doing a 416 calorie workout. I'm an endurance athlete so, I train a lot (running, cycling, strength training). As a result, I'll be burning at least 416 calories a day in my workouts. I know exactly how many calories each of my workouts uses because I've done metabolic testing to determine those numbers. Assuming that I'll burn at least 416 calories each day in a workout of some type, I can attain my weight loss goal by eating 2,730 calories. In this case, my energy supply (total calories I eat) would be less than my energy demand (calories my body needs) by at least 416 calories each day resulting in at least my target of a negative 2,916 calories a week or .83 pounds of body fat used to make up the difference. If I don't burn 416+ calories on any given day because I took the day off or opted to do a shorter workout, I'd simply have to eat a little less on that day to keep my energy defecit goal.
Ultimately, we should each modify how many calories we eat each day depending on our total activity for that unique day. I'm going to use a simpler approach with the same target calories for each rest/non-training day and for each training day. If my workout is going to burn more than 416 calories, which most of them certainly will, I'll just bump up my eating a little depending on how much I feel is needed to manage a defecit goal of 416+ calories. Current research suggests that most people can "stomach" a defecit of 500-750 calories each day. Any less than this might not be enough stimulus for some to lose weight while more than this might slow some people's metabolism down actually (too large a gap = too much stress = body adapts to create less stress/gap). The body is amazing. Don't take it for granted.
On rest/non-training days, I'll eat 2,300 calories (a 430 calorie defecit). On training days, I'll increase my intake by enough to keep a defecit of 430-750 calories. If my body responds well, this should get me to my goal on race day.
Eating to live vs. living to eat...there's certainly a major difference here and this exercise I'm going through right now should clearly demonstrate that food is meant to be consumed for energy and nutrients instead of pleasure or other emotional reasons. While I certainly enjoy some of the "finer" things in life, for the most part I consider eating a means to an end and not the end itself. Always keep that in mind and be honest with yourself when you do find that you're eating for some other reason. Enjoy what you eat most definitely, but remember that it all comes down to calories as far as your body is considered...the mind is a little different in this respect.
Basic rules of diet and foods/beverages allowed:
A peanut butter and jelly "sandwich" of some sort must comprise the main course of each meal. Different types of peanut butter and jelly may be used including the possibility of other nut butters like almond or cashew. Jellies, jams, and preserves are all fair game. A "sandwich" can be made of any type of bread or other carbohydrate food that can be used creatively to create a sandwich. Any type of beverage may be consumed just as in a "normal" diet. All fruits and vegetables are ok and highly recommended with each meal. I plan to eat a big dinner salad each night with lots of vegetables using olive oil and balsamic vinegar or other organic salad dressings. Grilled veggies are sure to hit my plate often as well. Other spreads like flax oil butter, cream cheese, honey, and even the occassional marshmallow fluff are fair play in moderation as long as peanut butter and jelly are present. Creativity is good. As for protein, I've decided to allow eggs, protein powder supplements, and cottage cheese into the action so far along with kidney beans for my salad if I'm in a pinch and perhaps even some tofu. While peanut butter does have some protein in it, I won't get enough of the right protein/amino acids from PB alone since it is a vegetable protein. Other animal protein sources are possible I suppose, but I plan to keep it simple and limited to these sources to start off at least. As an endurance athlete, my protein requirements are quite a bit higher than "normal." I certainly don't want to jeopardize my overall health or fitness while I'm training to run my best marathon ever this June. Stay tuned for more on this as things evolve. That's about it. I expect that a little dessert item will sneak under my radar here and there, but that's fine too as long as it's considered and included in my dietary "budget" with my daily energy balance goal in mind.
Health considerations and questions:
Why peanut butter and jelly?
Remember back when you were 10 and your mom sent you off to school with your favorite transformers lunchbox and goodies for lunchtime? I bet that included a peanut butter and jelly sandwich pretty often. Mine certainly did. Now, I'm an adult so I don't want that 5 hour old PB&J sammie that's been smashed, heated up, and tossed around the classroom by the bully who threatented to steal your lunch...where the jelly has started to show through the wonder bread! I want a freshly made, innovative, but classic PB&J of the future. You see, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is the lowest common denominator in the language of american food...something we all know and can understand and agree upon universally. It's also easily measurable, quick to make, and hard to mess up unless you buy that product that combined the "church" and "state" of the nutrition-playground together in one jar...which I still have not tried to this day yet. Because it's simple, fairly balanced nutritionally, and pretty damn good crust or not.
Isn't that going to be a lot of fat with all that peanut butter?
Yes, it could be if I use too much peanut butter, but I plan to keep that in check by usually having just 1 tablespoon of peanut butter with my meals (1/2 serving). This equals just 100 calories and 8 g of fat (1.5 g saturated). Of course, organic peanut butter has mostly unsaturated fat so, it's much less of an "evil" than some might think. All of the peanut butter I use will be organic and free of any hydrogenated oils or other strange additives...just peanuts. The bottom line if I want to lose weight is going to be calories in vs. calories out so, that's what my primary focus is on.
What about all of that sugar in jelly?
This is definitely something to consider. Sugar is not a great energy source for the body except during higher intensity exercise. The body prefers to use fat for energy while using protein to rebuild and maintain tissues. Limiting sugar intake overall keeps energy levels steady and moderate while eating a lot of sugar usually spikes energy levels way up and then way down not to mention the long term adverse side affects that come with a diet that is too high in sugar (diabetes for instance). As an athlete, my body can handle more sugar naturally than someone who is less active. This is just something the body learns to do better by being trained. However, I do want to keep this diet within reasonable standards when it comes to sugar so, low sugar jellies or jams could be used to do this. Again, everything in moderation is a rule to keep in mind. The breads and carbohydrate foods I plan to use will be mostly whole grain instead of white/refined. This is a smart move on any "diet." One serving of jelly has about 13 g of sugar in it. That's less than what's in a cup of milk or certainly most breakfast cereals today.
Am I going to get enough protein?
I'm allowing additional quality protein sources to make up for this. Without enough protein, my body will be forced to break down muscle to get the amino acids it needs to maintain functions properly. Endurance athletes need as much as 1.4 g of protein per kg of body weight so, I need to make sure I'm getting about 100 g of protein each day (158 pounds/2.2 = 72 kg x 1.4 = 100 g protein). This should help me eat a little better variety of foods since PB&J can only get so creative!
What other supplements are you going to take?
A high potency multi-vitamin and omega-3 supplement. Simple and smart for anyone.
That's not just a PB and J diet!
You're right, but PB and J most certainly are the defining elements in each meal's main course and they were the inspiration for this endeavor so, they have to be the headliners.
I'll track my weight daily so you can see where I'm headed and see how this all works out. If I'm maintaining my targets consistently, we should see my scale weight drop slowly, but surely towards my target. Of course, this doesn't take lean body mass gains or losses into consideration, but that's a topic for another time. My goal is to lose overall weight with most, if not all of it coming from body fat hopefully although being a mesomorphic/naturally "built" person, I wouldn't mind losing a little lean body mass to be honest. At ~7% body fat currently, I'm already quite lean so, I really just want to get my scale weight down because it will allow me to run faster for longer as if I was flying over the ground for 26.2 miles...
Day One
158 pounds
Meal #1 Breakfast:
Creamy peanut butter (organic) and strawberry preserves on whole wheat bread, a banana , and 8 oz of orange juice and a cup of coffee with coffee mate to make it taste extra nice.
= 795 calories total
Wow. That was easy and quick. It was also very close to my meal target. I took in a total of 690 calories and my meal target is 700. Real, simple, time efficient, and effective! How did it taste? Pretty damn good. I always liked pb and j especially the "p" part of that equation. Often, I put peanut butter on other things to liven it up. Bananas, apples, and celery for instance...and don't forget the occassional sweet thing like ice cream or a cookie. Hey, dessert can be managed in a good diet just like any other food can. I'll definitely share that with you along the way here.
Snack:
Granny smith apple = 70 calories
Something small, easy, and natural to keep the metabolism happy. Mom would be proud.
Meal #2 Lunch:
Crunchy peanut butter (organic) and raspberry jam on a toasted cinamon raisin bagel with 8 oz of 1% milk (organic) and whey protein = 690 calories
After teaching my spinning class, I trained a client and then toured a small health club in the area that I haven't been to yet. I was pretty hungry already...a sure sign that my meal calorie target (energy supply) is lower than my body's needs (energy demand). Normally, I would probably have lunch out and simply try to eat something good that is close to my meal target calories, but I was on a mission to stay the course and kick this pb and j thing off right. So, I stayed hungry for a little longer while I met with the club's owner and made my way home at speed for my next pb and j experiment. Lunch at 2:30 is too late, but I'm still right on target for the day. Let's see just how creative I can get with this simple diet!
Snack:
Orange = 80 calories
Meal #3 Dinner:
You'll love this one...crunchy PB and raspberry jam on toasted sourdough french bread with a large dinner salad filled with lots of veggies (I don't even really count these calories since it's minimal and so good for me) with a homemade salad dressing (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, course grain spicy mustard, lots of fresh garlic, salt and pepper, fresh lemon). To round things out, I had a Dos Equis Amber beer with plenty of water as usual with all of my meals (the water that is). I even managed to sneak a little dessert into my calorie budget today...a Cadbury carmel egg at 170 calories...just a small treat. Again, think moderation. Dessert is not evil. Too much dessert probably is.
= 830 calories + 170 dessert = 1,000 calories
This is a little higher than I wanted it to be, but it still achieves my daily defecit goal. I won't have a little dessert every night. It just sounded good. No biggie.
Daily summary:
2,635 calories IN vs. 3,510 caloris OUT = 875 negative energy defecit (a little on the high side for my target, but ok for now)
I ate 2,635 calories and burned 3,510 (2,730 is my regular daily need + 780 from my 1 hour spinning workout - 60 minute of riding x 13 calories per minute known from my VO2 testing done recently). Mission accomplished...and it was pretty good overall.
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