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01/14/2012 Paleo Challenge Day 8, rethinking Calories-In Calories-Out for Weight Loss

01/14/2012 Paleo Challenge Day 8, rethinking Calories-In Calories-Out for Weight Loss

After a full week of the Paleo Challenge, with the exception of one diabetic fit, it has gone well, proving to be surprisingly effective, without hunger or major lapses of energy.  My diabetic issues the other night proved to me that my body is becoming more sensitive in insulin and starting to know what to do with it. 

Everyday that I stepped onto the scale to see what was happening, I was surprised and confused by the rapid weight loss.  Through the morning of January 15^th 2012 I’ve lost 11 pounds since the 7^th of January.  This got me thinking about my time in Malibu at Fat Camp and the theories that they teach about weight loss.

The first thing they teach you about is the calorie equation, and how to balance it.  Which when you are programmed for years that you’re fat because you eat too much, and never once given the idea that you might eat too much because you are fat, meaning that it’s quite possible that your fatness is a manifestation of some pathological issue.  These are not my ideas but ones expressed in Gary Taubes Why We Get Fat.  Beginning chapters are spent attempting to debunk the theory of weight loss purely being a condition of Newton’s 1^st Law of Thermal dynamics.  Weight loss and weight gain are purely the result of energy transfer.

A key argument used by Taubes is a scientific experiment done on female rats, who surgically had their ovaries removed.  One group of rats who had them removed ate voraciously and gained weight rapidly.  The other group of rats, the control group was given a strict diet, with a restrictive caloric intake, yet these groups of rats gained weight rapidly, but also became sedentary.  This a drastic oversimplification of what Taubes writes about, but one can’t help to wonder how that happens.  It was later found that once the rats were injected with estrogen that both groups lost weight and returned to normal levels of rat activity. 

Clearly in regards to weight, there are other factors involved including chemical and hormonal systems and response that regulate whether or not we gain weight.  In this experiment the scientist conducting it concluded that the absence of estrogen after the removal of the rat’s ovaries changed the body’s cellular response to fat regulation and that regardless of the conditions that the body found a way to retain fat whether it was through overeating, or reducing the activity level of the rats in order to maintain more fat.

Couple this section of the book, and my rapid loss of 11 lbs without much effort.  Meaning I wasn’t killing myself with 3 and 4 workouts a day, nor was I starving myself and putting my mind in state wanting to commit homicide.

So I did the math.

I’ve consumed over the last week 16,773 calories give or take a couple of hundred because the food diary I am using could be wrong with the numbers, to be safe let’s just say its 17,000 calories consumed.  So 17,000 is my calories in number.    

If I have a resting metabolic rate of say 3,000, which I did when I was over 300 lbs, that would mean I burn 21,000 calories a week in just daily activities and breathing.  Now this past week I worked out at Crossfit 5 times, each time for an hour.  I have no idea how many calories I burned, but for purposes of this argument let’s say I burned at a maximum level of caloric burn possible.

According to shapefit.com a person when running for an hour at a speed of 5.5 miles per hour will burn about 8.17 calories per hour per pound of body weight, so at 270 lbs I would be burning roughly 2200 calories per hour of exercise.  This is a ridiculous number because I’m not running, and during a Crossfit WoD you don’t spend the entire 60 minutes moving at a pace of 5.5 mph, but for purposes of this mathematical equation lets say that’s what I did, which means I would have burned 11,000 calories from working out.

So my “caloric balance” looks like this:

			Calories In		Calories Out		Net Cal
Weight Loss Calorie Balance			17000	-	29000	=	-12000

Which means that 12000 calorie deficit equates to 3.42 lbs lost, one pound equaling 3500 calories.  When I first did the math I thought to myself, what the fuck have I been doing this entire time?  It’s a futile existence when thinking about your weight this way, because you either have to eat nothing, or workout until the point of exhaustion. 

I have done both, and been pissed off about both.

I looked at this week another way.  If you take the 11 lbs I’ve lost and multiplied it by 3500 calories per pound, I would have had to have burned 38,500 calories in excess of what I ate, which would have meant I would have had to have had a daily caloric deficit of 5,500 calories a day double what I was eating. 

Is this conclusive data…NO.  It’s an individual perspective on the issue, but if you’ve read my blog then you know the struggles I’ve have over the last year, and probably as a result will get you to at least rethink the notion that weight loss a simple process of balancing your intake and output.  There was a point last summer were I was spending 15-20 hrs a week in the gym, it’s clear for me why even during those weeks I was only losing 5-6 lbs at most.  This past week I spent 5 hours in the gym, and ate more then I did a year ago and lost 11 lbs, how do you explain it? 

Regardless of the answer you may have I think you can eliminate the idea that I was able to achieve this loss because I expended more energy than I ate, because the numbers are impossible to achieve.

My final note, is to anyone who has been to the Biggest Loser Resort in Malibu formerly known as Fitness Ridge, having been someone who has been down that road, and done the work, probably at a level higher than yours (I can say that without feeling like an asshole), there is a better way.  Read Gary Taubes “Why We Get Fat”, and then you decide whether or not what they prescribe is for you, I no longer think their programming is rooted in sound scientific knowledge, but a system predicated on years of bad information.

Birthday Day

I started my 33^rd birthday off with a WoD at Patriot Crossfit with a good friend of mine Gustavo.  He’s in his first month of Crossfit but is enjoying it.  We’ve done a couple of Saturday WoDs and it’s kind of cool to do something physical with a high school friend. 

The WoD involved finding your one rep maximum of a Clean and Jerk, then the WoD “Nasty Girls”.  Nasty Girls as prescribed is 3 rounds of 50 air squats, 7 muscle ups, and 10 hang power cleans at 135 lbs. 

I partnered with Gustavo for the Clean and Jerk, I was able to get up to 155 lbs, I know I could have gone heavier but I ran out of time.  For the Nasty Girls Metcon I had to scale the 7 muscle ups to 14 pull ups with a black and green band, and 14 ring dips with a green band.  I finished the WoD in 12:52.  I decided that I want to stick with the 135 lbs for the power cleans, and scale down the pull ups and ring dips because the clean is something I want to get stronger at, and the pull ups and ring dips I need to work on lesser bands for less reps to build more raw strength.

When we finished the WoD Gutsavo and I went to Rockland’s where I got some naked beef ribs which tasted awesome, in fact if my wash was closer I would go there right now for some more.

I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, ended up going shopping with my girlfriend, which I can’t stand but this day it didn’t bother me all that much.  It was nice to just be off on a Saturday. 

In the evening I went out to dinner with my brother and a couple of friends, poor planning resulted in changing plans 4 times this week, so I really was ok with whatever.  At Bobby Vans I was able to stay Paleo by having an unadulterated Delmonico Steak and some steamed spinach. 

Birthdays the past 8 years have sucked because I’ve been very depressed on those days, because of how obese I was, and not being where I want to be in life, this year I’ve made significant progress in the one thing that bummed me out, and the other part about where my life is and where it’s headed have also changed, they’ve changed enough I didn’t want to hang myself on my birthday. 

So in that light, it was a good birthday.  Thanks again to everyone who posted birthday wishes on my facebook page, or sent me text messages.  

Paleo Meals

Paleo Meals Day 8

01/07/2012 Day 1 of Paleo Challenge

01/07/2012 Day 1 Paleo Challenge

Today was the first day of the Paleo Challenge.  It was insane the number of people who showed up, it’s unfortunate most of them will only know defeat.  My first day of going Paleo didn’t workout to perfection, but it was surely better then most.

What I thought was Paleo, and what is Paleo are different, in that the true Paleo is essentially Meat, Fat, Veggies.  So for the next five weeks I’ve eliminated all forms of sugar including Fructose found in fruits.  This morning when I woke up I had bloodshot eyes, and my body felt like it did after the third day at the Biggest Loser Resort in Malibu. 

Yes people even with avoiding sugar, refined carbohydrates such as bread, rice, noodles, I am stilling struggling through sugar withdrawal.  All I can say is what the fuckity, fuck?

I think one of the main culprits of my sugar crash is the discontinued use of my Nuun Hydration tablets.  I’ve never the labels on these things, because even with my new found vigilance to ingredients and food labels, I never took the time to read the label.  They sold these at the Biggest Loser Resort, where Sugar is a no-no, so I assumed it was all good.  Turns out these things have dextrose.  I have been using these fuckers throughout the day, sometimes 8 times in a day after an intense workout. 

Who the fuck knew I’ve been basically sucking on a sugary tit?

The packaging of these tablets and the use of the name “Natural Hydration” had me fooled, I am such a sucker.  The truly good news about discovering this early on is that all other Paleo Challenge contestants can eat it, because it is officially over for you!

As result of the turnout we broke up into teams of 4, I ended up with Matt R., Tim A, and John A., who happened to also be part of a small cult who is having a cow slaughtered for our own devices.  I also think that Matt is a closet wicken so I’m sure he’s going to use some pig blood in a freaky way…you sicko. 

The first WoD involved a minute each of pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups, and air squats.  I went first and ended up scaling my pull-ups to ring rows, everything else was as prescribed.  This is progress because when I started Crossfit I could barely do a push-up.  I ended up with the following scores:

• Ring Rows – 26 (20.8)
• Push-Ups 27
• Sit Ups 28
• Squats 43
• Total Score of 124
• When scaling number applied  118.8

After the first WoD we spent an hour listening to Brian lecture about the Paleo Diet.  Brian for being a smart ass, even tempered Ex-Marine turnouts to be a descent public speaker, all I thought Marines could say was “Hoorah”, and “Get Some” as they mow down unsuspecting Asian People.  It was clear after his presentation the only way to win this thing is to not veer off the reservation and just stick to the staples of the Paleo, Veggies, Meat, and Fats.  I made a decsision yesterday to stick with this plan.

The second WoD involved doing Power Cleans to reach a one rep max.  Here is some video below of myself and my partners working on power cleans.

My three partners and I were in the same ball park in terms of weight, we each warmed up with 135 lbs, then moved onto 185 lbs.  This was a crucial mistake. 

When working on your one rep max, you really have to build up to the weight which will be your 1 rep max attempt.  A 50 lbs jump is too much.  After we stepped back down to 155 lbs, and then 175 lbs, I realized had we done the progression as you normally should that I would have gotten the number without a problem.

Here is video of John A, then Tim A. doing Power Cleans, and myself doing 175 lbs. 

  

 

 

The third and final WoD was a bitch, a 6 minute AMRAP of 5 burpees, 10 kettlebell swings with 53 lbs kettlebell, and 15 push presses with the bar. 

Here is some video of Tim A. in the foreground, and Matt R. in the background.  There wasn’t much time to setup a tripod, so I didn’t get my own video, but I finished doing 5 rounds plus 9 reps, for a total rep count of 159.   In the battle of ancient skills know as rock paper scissors, I lost and ended up doing the swings with a 55 lbs dumbbell instead of the kettle bell, it's a different experience. 

  

 

 

My total weighted score was 443 (combing the total from each of the three rounds), after the scaling deduction it’s 437.8 but we’ll see how they actually score these, not bad for a start. 

Challenges of Going Paleo

Going Strict Paleo is tough.  There are quite a few food items, and types I have to avoid for 5 weeks.  This was put to me in ever so polite terms by Brian Wilson.  Every time I would ask him something he would say “Do whatever you want I have your money”.  Then if I asked can I have this, he would say something like sure, “Eat Meat and Veggies”. 

In the end I eventually figured out for the challenge, I have to eat Meat and Veggies.  My first day of Paleo did not go so successfully.  I had to eat two Quest bars which are made of Milk and Soy Protein, and have sucrose to sweeten them, I had to eat these because I didn’t plan well for the Paleo Challenge time, and started the morning with the wrong idea of what I can and can not eat.  I had to eat these things because between the choice of starving my body, and giving it something I chose to eat something, which wasn’t a pile of shit. 

After I picked up my dog, which was about an hour after the Paleo Challenge kick-off event ended, I went to Trader Joe’s, and bought some eggs, carrots, celery, spinach, and arugula.  I want my fridge full of shit I can eat, and I wanted to pack carrots, celery, and hard boiled eggs with me. 

My concern is now that I’ve eliminated all of these convenient ways of adding calories, and proteins that I have to make an extra effort to make sure I eat enough.  I am also going to buy some sliced deli meat, making sure the labels only have ingredients of Paleo Friendly foods like, Beef, Water, Salt, and Seasonings.  This is going to be my replacement for convenient bars. 

On a scale of 1 to 10 on my first day of attempting to eat paleo it was a solid 7.  Didn’t go of course in terms of what I ate other than the two quest bars, but clearly lacked proper preparation for the day, I feel I get a bonus point for not drinking my protein shake after the WoDs. 

12/11/2011 Quick Note on Nutrition, Random Shit

Working on the Nutrition

Ian pointed something out to me a couple of weeks ago, which has helped to move the scale, and make me feel better.  He cautioned his statements, by making it clear to me that it’s possible the scale will temporarily head in the other direction.  It has moved upward a couple of pounds yet it’s nothing that would cause concern or make my head want to implode.

During this same conversation he told me it was necessary for me to approach my nutrition the same way I approach my workouts.  An idea that was planted two weeks ago, and is now only starting to sink in, my melon like cranium is clearly of a thicker gauge of bone, and my ear canal apparently deflects sound in a manner that causes thoughts to dissipate before reaching my cortex. 

I broke up with food not too long ago (click here for that post), it was an end to using food as a means to satisfy or pacify my emotional swings.  Which is why today I feel strange as a newly food neutral guy, trying to redefine what food means to me, and reshaping my habits and approach to how I eat in general.

For most people who don’t have issues with weight, or body composition this notion of trying to figure out portion control, or volume of food one should could consume, it’s innate for most people, but for the unfortunate minority (which is unfortunately becoming a majority) the dynamic between food, body, and mind is impossible to resolve. 

For the most part I have been eating a Paleo Diet since October, with my lunch and dinner delivered via Catalyst Meals to PCF.  I read Robb Wolfs book and found it informative, and the book is the main reason I decided to head into the Paleo lifestyle.  On the rare occasion I’ve had a taste of bread, or rice (give me a break I’m Asian), or any refined sugars.  In each circumstance it’s always been an Amuse-bouche size morsel of food, a good deal of the time it was eaten in order to recall if it was as good as I my memory holds it. 

I do have to say of all the things that I no longer choose to eat that ice cream is the heroine that could take this guy back on the road to Sumo.  Fortunately ice cream isn’t an acceptable form of daily substance, or I might be on a plane to Japan to start my new life as the American Yokozuna.

What’s the point of all of this rambling you ask?

Starting yesterday I have really started to look for reputable resources on nutrition.  I will continue to eat the Paleo Diet, but I want to learn more about how food affects the body, and how different types of consumption during specific times can change, increase, or hinder my weight loss. 

As this is not a fucking journey…I hate this idea and I think it should be abolished from the English language when referencing weight loss, or body transformation.  It’s the kind of touchy feely shit that keeps people in their comfort zones, and ultimately puts them back on the “Journey” to being fat again. 

This is not a fucking journey, if it was it would end.  If your ultimate goal is to lose weight, then go back to your life of eating shit, not sleeping, not working out, then please stay on your journey. 

I’m involved in a personal evolution.  This is as Darwinian as you can get, creationist eat my stinky poop after I’ve eaten a dozen hardboiled eggs, evolution is real, and it is happening before my own eyes.  I have no choice but to evolve the way I live my life, and who I am as a person, otherwise this adaptation to poor health is going to last. 

Back from my angry tirade, the point of today is I need to learn more about nutrition, and understand what I need to put into my mouth in order to maintain the present arc of work, and make progress towards my long term goals. 

I am going to pursue the nutritional aspects of my evolution like I do the workouts, this the AMRAP of my life, so I have to treat it as such.

End boring rant here…

Random Shit

Summer 2013 I will summit this bitch.

http://www.climbalaska.org/mtc-denali-prep.html

June 1 - 10 2012 anyone want to go with me?

http://www.gymjones.com/knowledge/article/25/

I want to work up to being able to handle these workouts.

Article on attitude, here's a snipet:

"A bad attitude or unsettled mind destroys focus but our definition of a bad attitude doesn't necessarily bear semblance to general usage of the term. Rage, despair, insecurity and a host of other psychological issues can drive an athlete to work harder. The bad attitude is the one that prevents the athlete from realizing his or her desires, or the state of mind that an individual refuses to accept.

A "good" attitude allows and spurs the athlete to conceive and achieve a goal. Such a psychological state does not have to be positive or balanced; personal torment has inspired great efforts. Confusion and questioning, anger and doubt may be fountains of creativity and initiative. What an individual finds dissatisfactory about him or herself is often the bridge to something greater. When combined with the self-discipline required to maintain momentum any motivating state of mind can produce an astounding work of art and action."

http://station515.blogspot.com/p/inspiration.html

 

 

 

11/29/2011 Rethinking My Nutrition, Thanks Ian

11/28/2011 Rethinking My Nutrition

I had an extended conversation with Ian last night, after I texted him in the morning for help.  He was pretty nonchalant about meeting up with me, he did not question why, or offer assistance, it was as if he already knew the problem and solution…

We met up around 5 pm in Shirlington Village, we talked a bit about his business, I am keenly interested in what his company does, and wish it much success because he has great ideas and clearly understand his industry.  When the subject of my issue came up, I was a bit uncomfortable, because I normally don’t like to talk about myself, but also have a hard time being told that I’m the cause of my own problems.  Perhaps this is not uniquely an issue related to my personality, but I’m sure most people don’t like being told dumbass, get out of your own way.

Contrary to the beliefs of Annoyed Shady, Shay Shay Shady, and White Shady (who are all the same person), I don’t eat like shit, in fact my problem which I had to be told 1000 x by Ian is that I’m probably not eating enough.  When I was working out with Ian on a regular basis he would tell me that my workout is not done until I ate some good clean protein, some carbs, and a fat after a workout to give my body the macronutrients it needs to rebuild itself.  

He also told me some time ago, that I should eat approximately 1 gram of protein per pound of weight I want to weigh in the future, which means I should eat about 200-225 grams of protein on a daily basis, this is a tough concept to grasps, because at 4 calories per gram that’s already 1000 calories of my daily intake, and when attempting to eat only 1800-2000 calories a day to optimize my weight loss, there isn’t much room for anything else. 

It is at this point he got a little annoyed with me, having told me the same thing for the thousands time, he again reiterated with the vigor of a football coach, I now paraphrase for effect, fuck nuts stop eating like a fat guy trying to be thin, and eat like an athlete.  This is hard for me to grasp, because I don’t feel athletic or even remotely resemble an athlete; I’m a fit fat guy. 

The kind of guy you look at and say he probably played sports in high school, and maybe college but clearly enjoyed pot and beer more than athletics, not that this happened, but when your college and you have friends who get the best pot you have smoked Fedex’ed to you, it’s kind of hard not to smoke up, play Mario Cart, and max out your meal cards flex points in an hour…not that I now what that’s like…pot is bad, it’s for hippies.

What he was telling me didn’t start to click, until he told me to look at the past 4 months.  The workouts have been consistent, if anything I was over training, then look at my sleep, and rest, and the only variable that was not altered to match my work load was my food consumption.  He said that it should be even more apparent now because I have picked 1 methodology of working out.  Ian views Crossfit objectively, he feels it’s far better than most methods of “exercise” but it has its limitations.  He’s not a hater, and he’s not a kool-aid drinker, he even thinks I should stick with it to prove to myself that the issue is my food consumption, or lack thereof.

When I started this evolution in March I was eating 1200 calories a day, so an increase to 2000 felt like I was over eating.  So his suggestion to eat closer to 2500-3000 or not even care and to focus on the macronutrient profile is a scary fucking thought. 

I feel like a guy who is climbing a mountain, a difficult mountain, and every pound lost is a step towards the summit and up until July the less I ate the more steps I was taking towards to the summit.  Today it feels like if I eat more, then I am sliding backwards, because I will gain weight. 

Ian further explained the point to me that if I don’t give my body the nourishment it needs to rebuild itself, it will find this energy on its own, namely in my muscle tissue.  I may be getting all this wrong, but he said after a workout I have damaged muscle tissue, and that the body needs protein to recover and rebuild tissue.  When I under nourish myself and then ask it to build muscle, it’s going to choose survival over building new muscle, so it will just consume the damaged muscle tissue, because it’s easier than trying to mobilize stored fats. 

He told me I could choose to not eat, and continue doing what I’m doing, and that if I ate less that I probably would lose weight, but that over the larger scope of time I would have lost far muscle tissue than fat, and end up being a thinner fat guy. 

I don’t want to be a fit fat guy, nor do I want to be a thin fat guy.  I have a clear picture of what a man should be physically, and that’s what I’m striving for, it has nothing to do with the bullshit marketing that’s out there, but more about feeling more rugged, masculine, and ultimately powerful.

In the interest of testing this theory, and possible get out of this plateau I made a decision to see how long I can go trying to eat 225 grams of protein a day, so I am going back to a food journal.  I’ve given myself a 5 lbs window, so if I go back up to 280 lbs as a result, I will continue to see it through, if I get above that number I know I’ve fucked this up somehow. 

I also have a 30 day window.  I said I would see Crossfit through the month of December, and I plan on sticking to that plan, now I am adding a 30 day window of eating enough protein to sustain muscle mass at a lighter weight.   

I was also given a token, the extra cardio he says is probably not doing much for me, but if it makes me feel better I should keep doing it, he called it my placebo, I call it trying to find my dark place. 

I never thought I would reach a point where I would have to eat more to lose weight, we shall see if this is the right plan.

(NOTE: Anyone who is considering Crossfit, and unsure about the Crazy people throwing barbells around, and feel intimated by what you preceive, read the following post, and then read all the remarks from people I have met through Crossfit, it's the community that brings you back to ednure the pain.)

07/25/2011 Nutritional Pimp Hand and Daily Recap

Bad Information

While doing some cardio this morning I briefly watched the Today show with Kathy Lee Gifford and some named Hoda, isn’t that the name of an energy supplement?  I think that’s about as likely to be her actual first name as I am going to be a ballerina. 

Maybe I have this visceral response because I think Kathy Lee Gifford is the antichrist, I actually revel in watching that yenta age, note to Kathy Lee you have a turkey neck now and shouldn’t wear outfits that expose your neck and chest line.  I was fixated by her neck, I think what drives me insane about her was the holier than thou attitude she used to have when she was partnered with Regis Philbin. 

I think Kelly Ripa is obnoxious yet I enjoyed the fact that when she replaced KLG that the show’s ratings increased, good job skinny hot lady with large Asian head.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have surprised that Kathy Lee and Her new partner Hoda would have a nutritionist on who was about as bright as my dog after drinking the leftover beer in my recycling bin.  Before I get into my rant here, I think nutritionist should tell everyone that what they do isn’t scientific and is basically shit that was made up by other nutritionist.  They also somehow believe that the food pyramid is a healthy way to eat food.  Thanks George McGovern.

In any case I think if any of you out there have a very attractive daughter who may be a crayon or two short of a full box, yet has a fantastic disposition, you should steer her towards becoming a certified nutritionist.  This entire field seems to be run by “nice attractive people” who continue to preach principles which are based on shoddy theoretical principles somehow these fake scientist apparently tell us what to eat, and how to eat it. 

I know I’ve defamed an entire profession and like my own business I’m sure there are some really good nutritionist who don’t fit the profile I’ve defined and that some individuals take what they do serious enough that they study their discipline critically and don’t regurgitate shit.

Going back to this bobble head on the today show, Hoda asked this nutritionist about certain foods and the cost of foods.  Ms. Bobble started to talk about eggs, and how that white eggs and brown eggs have the exact same nutritional value, and that brown eggs just cost more, and the reason they cost more is because the grains they feed the hens which lay the brown eggs more grain so that additional cost is passed onto the consumer…

While the above statements maybe true when solely talking about factory farmed white or brown eggs.

I wanted to become Don the Magic Juan and lay my strong pimp hand across this woman’s dumb mouth.  What the fuck is the difference?  Being a nutritional bobble head of course she just regurgitates what the American Egg Board spouts out. 

What a real professional would have said was that the color of the egg is insignificant to the nutritional value of what you eat that the question consumers should ask how were the hens reared which laid the eggs? 

The reality of egg color is apparently purely a matter of the types of hens that lay them, the most common hen which is used is a White Leghorn which lays white eggs, and the brown eggs are laid by New England Red Hens.  The color of the egg is about as important to its nutritional value as is the color of your car to performance.

When comparing the mass produced industrialized eggs and those of pasture raised free range eggs the nutritional difference is significant.  According to a study published in the Animal feed Science and Technology journal the eggs that come from hens that are deprived of greens, and spend their entire lives indoor are deficient of Omega-3’s, in fact pasture raised hens lay eggs which have 10 times more Omega-3’s than those produced in factory farms.

Further pasture raised eggs have 4-6 times the Vitamin, contain 1/3 less cholesterol, ¼ less saturated fat, 2/3 more vitamin A, and 7 times more beta carotene than eggs from factory raised farms. 

Knowing all of this information above do you still care about the color of your eggs? Would you be willing to pay an extra couple of dollars for a dozen eggs that are pasture raised regardless of the color knowing that each egg packs anywhere from 2-3x the nutritional value of the cheap factory eggs? 

Most things in this world are “cheap” for a reason.

It’s no wonder that we are sicker, fatter, and going to have the first generation of children which are expected to have a lower life expectancy than their parents; it’s the first time in 200 years.  With all the crap that is sold to us, and all the bad information preached as gospel by the nutritionist, and at times even our own doctors is it any wonder that today being fat is normal? 

So I guess my ultimate point is the next time a pretty, nice lady starts talking to you about nutrition and tells you that she’s a nutritionist run like, or use your best Don the Magic Juan pimp hand and set her straight. 

Daily Recap

I worked out at Crossfit this morning, it was my last session with Liz for a couple of weeks, she’s going away to get hitched, so congratulations Liz I hope you guys have lots of “fun”, with lots of “bonus” activities, and feel “great” the entire time.

Out of all things I expected this morning the workout she had planned wasn’t what I anticipated.  The warm-up involved volume training which involves doing a set number of reps at the beginning of each minute for a series of minutes prescribed by the coach.  If you finish early you prepare for the next minute, in today’s case I had to do 4 ring rows then finish the minute doing jump rope.  We did this for 8 minutes.

The warm-up wasn’t what was unexpected, but the resistance training today involved bench pressing, which I didn’t realize is part of the Crossfit model.  It seems to be too much isolation work to truly be part of Crossfit, or maybe I’ve misunderstood the philosophy, in any case I was happy to oblige.  Doing chest work for me is something that I truly hope for, as I am desperately trying to reshape the man boobs. 

Being obese sucks in every way possible, but being a male who is obese who packs pounds on in the chest is like having to dig your own grave, it’s difficult and humiliating.  Not that anyone has ever made a pass at me, or tried to snap my bra in the back, but it is emasculating to be a guy and have a chest that doesn’t sit up but sags outward like saddles on a horse, putting on any shirt over the last 8 years was like having my balls cut off each and every day, if I could imagine a hell in Dante’s world it would be to have these man boobs forever and having to take my shirt off at a pool or the beach with a crowd full of women over and over, this particular hell would be silent just looks glances, double takes, and the internal thoughts that would run through my head. 

Yes everyone I have better cleavage than any woman I know.

The only remotely fun part of man boobs is being able to pull a Peter Griffin from Family Guy and pick up the entire mass of meat and lick my own nipple…not that I’ve ever done that…

 

Doing the bench press Liz planned 3 sets of 3 reps.  We ended up doing a few warm up sets with the bar and light weights.  I started my work sets at 165 lbs, and then moved up to 175 lbs for the second and 185 lbs for final set.  It felt good; the last time I benched over 175 lbs I was in college. 

Following the bench press we worked on the overhead squat.  We didn’t use weight but spent more time reviewing the overhead squat technique, doing them with just the bar.  After the first warm up set I needed to stretch and was put through a few positions which made me want to cry.   The only reason I didn’t cry was that every instance of my “ow” turned into an on button for Liz’s laughter.  She’s the best!

The session ended with something called Tabata.  Until today I was reading that word as Tabatha, and thought to myself what did this woman do to someone to have a workout named after her, she must really be a bitch, not realizing it’s actually Tabata the last name of a doctor who came up with this type of training.  I guess the theory behind the work is that doing 20 seconds of intense work followed by 10 seconds of rest followed by 20 seconds more of the intense work is the most efficient way of burning fat.  You can read more about it here.

My workout involved doing push-ups, squats, and push presses.  I had to do each exercise for 4 minutes, following the Tabata pattern of 20 seconds on 10 seconds off, and didn’t take any extra time between exercises.  It doesn’t seem like much but it’s an ass kicker.

 

With the push-ups I was able to do about 3.5 rounds doing regular push-ups; the final 4.5 rounds were done on my knees, by the end of the final round I could barely get my chest off the ground from my knees.  I found that over the 4 minutes I was able to complete 50 push-ups.  The squats followed immediately after the push-ups.  In 4 minutes I did 81 squats.   The last thing I did was 78 push-presses. 

 

Its incredible how much shorter those 10 second breaks get as the workout continues.  I think by the last set of push-presses it felt as if I didn’t’ take a break at all.  It was a nice way to start the week, and I wouldn’t have expected anything less than Liz to burn her laugh in my mind for two weeks with Tabata, a nice parting shot.

When I walked home I felt like I had a good workout but I wanted to go back and try today’s prescribed workout at Potomac Crossfit, I chickened out partially because I didn’t want to be told I’m stupid for over training, but I know I could have done the squats today, and the Metcon at the end but chose not to and do some extra cardio.

With this extra drive left in me I did some cardio in the gym in my building.  I did a treading session on the Elliptical trainer, following the treading I did 5 sprints on the treadmill to make sure I got 50 full minutes of cardio.  The sprints felt great, I was doing 1 minute sprints on, and 1 minute of walking.  I did most of the sprints at 7 mph, and did the final one at 8 mph.  It feels good to be able to run, as much as I dislike it, I appreciate the fact that I can do it. 

End of business day.

07/20/2011 Flavor in Food

Flavor in Food

At Whole Foods today I saw that they had some Harpoon Caught Swordfish so I bought a fillet which was just less than a pound.  Whole Foods had a flyer on Swordfish which showed several recipes and 5 cooking techniques for the swordfish, so I picked it up and decided that the Pan-Seared Swordfish with Summer Salad and Arugula was the simplest and the fact that I had most of the ingredients at home already made it a simple choice for dinner. 

Here’s the recipe:

2 nectarines or peaches, diced

½ Cup diced red onion

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

3 tablespoons lime juice

½ teaspoon se salt

6 cups baby arugula

3 ½ teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 (6-ounce) swordfish steaks, about 1 inch thick

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Using the nectarines, red onion, cilantro, ¼ teaspoon of salt and lime juice you toss in a mixing bowl to create a “summertime salsa”.  Then take the arugula and 1 teaspoon of the olive oil, and toss in a separate bowl. 

I took my one fillet and cut them into two pieces each weighing about 7 ounces.  I used a dry rub, on both sides which was a habanero based fish rub; I also lightly salted and peppered the fish.  The recipe calls for searing the swordfish in a pan for 6-8 minutes.  I decided to use dry heat and broiled the fish.  The Whole Foods Card calls for 7 to 8 minutes for 6 oz steaks, I cooked them for 9 minutes in the broiler. 

The arugula olive oil mix serves as the base to your plate, which is topped by the summertime salsa, and the swordfish the cherry on this yummy dish.

What I found incredible out this meal was how simple the preparation was and how much flavor I tasted in the salad, and fish.  Lime juice is a great tool in cooking, coupled with cilantro it taste fantastic.  The arugulas slightly bitter flavor created a nice counter balance to the salsa.

I’m recently learning that food doesn’t require heaping mounds of sauce, in fact in the past food was more of a sauce delivery method.  I don’t think I could have distinguished the difference between chicken, pork, or beef because it would be consumed with so much sauce it might as well have been sauce with a side of protein.  The same went for salads; I would have to add so much dressing to the salad that the greens in it would wilt, looking like wet pieces of paper. 

The biggest change in my life over the past three plus months is my eating.  Without this change I would not have lost the amount of weight which I have, I’m sure that if I had continued to eat the way I used yet kept up this present workout regime that I would have lost only a fraction of the weight which I have lost, the workouts involve such small periods of time.  Over the course of my life I’m sure the time spent preparing, thinking, and eating food dwarfs the amount of time spent working out, yet too often people only focus on the physical aspect of creating motion and trying to “burn” away the weight.  We are so confused about what you actually need to lose weight.

It’s an emotional change which triggers a conscious change in what you decide to put into your body that makes the difference.  This is something that has taken me a long time to figure out, and it is something that Fitness Ridge helped me start in terms of day to day activity but this understanding that I had to change myself and how I viewed food was something that I can only be discovered on your own through difficult times.

It’s frustrating to know that I have spent most of my life not really eating food, but just devouring calories.  Meals in the past were more about satiating a bizarre addiction to large amounts of empty calories.  That term didn’t register with me until about a month ago.

I’ve heard it all the time “empty calories”, what they should be called is useless calories.  They were worth calories because they didn’t give my body what it needed to function.  The worst part about it is that I really didn’t even enjoy the taste of what I was eating, it was a compulsive drive. 

Today I find myself finding joy in a simple dish of broiled Swordfish, arugula salad and summertime salsa.  Simple components put together to provide my body the nourishment it needs, and satisfies my emotional need to taste something.  When things taste good it’s incredible how much more satiated I feel overall.  I think 4 months ago 3 out of every 4 meals ended in being full but not satisfied with what I ate, I now find the only time I’m not fulfilled with my food is when I choose to eat out, and that choice is at a place that only serves crap.

Lime juice, cilantro, red onion, and nectarine bits were like having a taste bud orgy in my mouth.  I am looking forward to discovering more flavor combinations like the one I learned today.  How much better is life when you not only eat enough, but eat well…

Daily Recap

9:30 AM Crossfit Session

This morning Alison the coach for this session showed up a bit late, so the actual class was shorten by a few minutes.  We started with a 5 minute pre-warm up for jumping rope. 

The jump rope time was supposed to be broken up with variations of jump rope.  It was a players choice of either the standard jump, one legged, double-unders, or “running man” which I have no idea what that’s all about.  In any case I stuck with doing just regular jump rope; I’m just beginning to feel comfortable jumping, and find it amazing how quickly I can go from feeling light and nimble to feeling like a big fat ogre.  My goal was to go for as long as I could, take short 10-15 second breaks and then pick it up for more time jumping.  My coordination was a bit off, as I kept dropping the rope, and had a hard time getting started.

This five minute jumping rope was followed by a Crossfit warm-up doing a few reps of 5 different Crossfit motions.  We were told to use a light weight bar, and do 3 Shoulder Presses, 3 Push presses, 3 Push Jerks, 5 Good Mornings, and 5 Squats.  This was done for 8 minutes.  The prescribed warm up time actually was 10 minutes, but I think Allison cut back so we had more time to do our weighted push presses.   I finished about 10 rounds during this part of the warm-up.

When the 8 minuets was over Allison led us in a bit of stretching, preparing our bodies for the push jerks and eventual Metcon.  We had about 20-22 minutes to complete 4 sets of 3 connected push-presses.  What I mean by that is we could rest between sets but during a set we could not rest, which meant as soon as we reached the top of the press we would have to return the bar back to that starting position, and immediately push again. 

 

This video is not from today, but I wanted to put one in to show a push press.

My work set started at 125 lbs, eventually working up to 145lbs on my final set.  It felt good; a few times I could feel my right shoulder hinder the use of a heavier weight.  In fact as the weight got heavier I’m almost certain my right said trailed my left to the top of the motion.

The final part of the workout involved our Metcon of the day.  On the surface it appeared to be really easy.  5 Burpees, 10 box jumps, for five minutes.  To put it succinctly it sucked.  I was shooting for 6 rounds, but ending up doing 5. 

The first two rounds I felt good, and could feel how strong my legs and body have become.  Beginning with the third set of burpees I was looking for mommy.  Doing the box jumps on the middle level stand turned out to be harder than I expected.  This is the highest that I’ve worked with box jumps, so in terms of technique they looked like shit; I just couldn’t keep it connected.  I should have started with the lower stand.

As soon as Crossfit ended, I had ate an apple, a piece of Mahi Mahi, and drink a quart of water before my 11 AM session with Ali, I did this while walking to Washington Sports Club.

11:00 AM WSC Ali

In mentally preparing for my workout with Ali I had to tell myself I wasn’t tired, and that I was ready to punch the lights out.  The reality of how I felt was, a baby who wanted lunch, and a nap.

We started with Kettle bell swings, doing two handed Russian Kettle bells, and one handed figure eight kettle bell swings.  The video below we actually shot at the end of the session because I forgot to record it during the beginning.  You will see the video is longer than it needed to be because failure has a price.  Every time I dropped it Ali had me go for another 30 seconds.

 

My first round of boxing after the kettle bell swings was weak.  I don’t think my legs were ready for boxing.  I had to push myself hard to get the energy to pop the gloves.  In between boxing stints Ali had me do crunches, and planks to work my core.

He also had me to a really crappy set of work involving squats, and flipping the heavy bag across the aerobics floor.  You can watch the video below, the expression on my face should tell you how bad it sucked.

 

Ali also worked some chest work into the session.  I did a bit of chest the day before, but I think Ali wants to see how much weight I can push.  Before doing the dumbbell chest presses, he had me go through a cycle of a 45 second push-up planks, then 10 reps of falling forward with a medicine ball toss and push-up, another 45 second push-up plank, 10 assisted push-ups pressing down on the medicine ball, and resistance band flies on one knee. 

 

After the cycle above we went right to the bench.  I did 1 set of 10 reps using 55 lbs, and tried to do 6 reps at 85 lbs dumbbells.  I was able to get 3 reps in with the 85 lbs dumbbells before my right side failed, I actually got a 4^th rep in with my left side, but the right shoulder just couldn’t’ handle it.

He had me move from this position to a lying back on the resistance ball, where I did 20 reps at 35 lbs.  Ali then had me go through another cycle of planks, medicine ball toss, plank, push-ups, and flies. 

The rest of the session involved more boxing, more core work, and a final set of kettle bell figure eights.  When we were finished I was ready for lunch, and a nap.  Yes I have been complaining for lunch and a nap most of the day.

Originally I had planned some cardio in the evening, yet I decided I needed to take care of some personal things.  I do plan on adding another workout tomorrow to make up for today.  Crossfit workouts are turning out to be more draining than I originally anticipated.

I took some time for me today, and don’t have a problem with it.  This is a marathon for the rest of my life, and not a sprint to some arbitrary number that I have in my mind.    

06/18/2011 Fat is Not the Enemy

Fat is Not the Enemy

The more I read and learn about diet and nutrition, the angrier I am becoming, and the more disheartened I feel about my place in society.  For years I ate low fat, or fat free foods thinking that these foods were helping to keep me thin, or prevent me from gaining weight.  The reality of it is that there is a high probability that these types of foods were actually helping to perpetuate a path which lead to obesity.

For years you and I have been told that eating foods which are high in fats puts us at greater risk for coronary heart disease, raises cholesterol and contributes to weight gain.  Here is the truth; there are only two studies which make a direct connection between saturated fat consumption and increased risk of coronary heart disease, the majority of research shows no connection at all. 

In fact in a recent article published by a group of scientist from the Harvard School of Public Health, titled “Types of Dietary Fat and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease, a Critical Review”, deconstruct piece by piece the arguments which created the false link between fat consumption and Coronary Heart Disease (CHD).  In fact in the article the authors actually make the statement that the “low fat campaign has been based on little scientific evidence, and may have caused unintended health consequences.”

This same article found that a weak and non significant correlation exists between dietary cholesterol and the risk of CHD.

Another study done in 2006 published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, revealed research done on 48,835 women based on diet, the group was divided into two groups one group ate a low fat diet, while the other ate their normal diets.  After 8.1 years of following these women, the study found that low fat diets didn’t reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, and even in the health of women who had heart disease the study didn’t find improvement. 

Ultimately the amount of saturated fat consumed probably has little or no bearing on heart disease.

The Journal of the American Medical Association also published information derived by Doctor David Ludwig of the Harvard School of Public Health which found that “dietary fat is not a major determinant of body fat”.  What Doctor Ludwig’s research found was that people who secreted high levels of insulin had the most amount of weight gain, which supports Gary Taubes’ assertions in “Why We Get Fat” that controlling insulin levels is what determines whether or not we gain or lose fat.  In fact Ludwig points out that insulin in the body does two things, first stimulates hunger, and second is a fat storage hormone which makes you store belly fat.  What he found was that patients who ate a low-glycemic diet lowered their bad cholesterol while raising their HDL (good cholesterol), and lowered triglyceride levels. 

Another study by the Women’s Health Initiative found that 50,000 women on low-fat diets had no significant weight loss. 

Why all this bad information? 

Most of the problem stems from poor government policy created in 1977 when Senator George McGovern’s committee attempted to create “Dietary Goals for the United States” a ridiculous notion of trying to create a national food ideal, at the heart of their goals was the lipid hypothesis, which held the notion that the consumption of fat increased levels of cholesterol which lead to the rise in heart problems.   Much of the information they used to support their beliefs was from a single study done on the connection of red meat, and certain types of poultry with the rise in cholesterol, and triglyceride levels.  When word leaked about McGovern’s work to the beef and poultry lobby, they applied pressure which forced McGovern’s group to change the wording of their publication from beef, and poultry to a less innocuous word which didn’t have its own lobby and settled on the term dietary fat.  So hence a simple game of semantics has formed over 40 years of dietary misinformation. 

Couple that with 40 plus years of marketers attempting to capitalize on this new dietary paradigm, selling us “heart healthy” margarine instead of butter, which by the way, when contains trans fats is significantly worse than butters saturated fat.  Further the natural health benefits of butter far outweigh margarines “vitamin enriched” crap.  I have spent years following the marketing bullshit, buying foods which I thought were better for me when in reality these foods were part of the problem. 

Still another study from the Harvard School of Public Health found that when fats were replaced by carbohydrates there was a direct connection to the increase in fat.  Essentially the fat free, and low fat food movement is at the core of the increase of obesity in this country, all the low fat, fat free food that is being sold tends to replace fat calories of carbohydrate calories, and they are carbohydrates not of the slow kind but the kind that helps keep our insulin levels high.

Basically any food labeled with the words “heart healthy”, “vitamin enriched”, or “healthier” is probably a bunch of over processed crap that has had the nutritional value sucked out of it, and a few minerals thrown back in to make it “enriched”.  “Enriched” in terms of “healthy” foods is like the phrase “kicked in the balls” to define a relaxing day. 

Most of the foods we should be eating can be found in the produce department, meat, and seafood departments.  Unfortunately for us they don’t have a marketing department to tell us how great they are for us; you have to just find out for yourself.    

I am pissed off, and angry that food education is so poor in the United States that we learn what is “healthy” from overpaid marketing agencies.  What further upsets me is that our federal government which is supposed to protect the consumer, is part of the problem first for not having the strength to stand up to the lobbyist, and second is full of such bureaucratic bullshit they can’t publish and provide us the general public valid uncorrupted information. 

End Saturday evening rant here…

Bitch Slap Dwayne

Last week Dwayne, who I met at the Biggest Loser Resort in Malibu, hypothesized an idea for us to have a competition to see who can reach 250 lbs first.  He didn’t actually challenge me, and to be honest I wasn’t sure if I wanted to challenge him.

I’ve decided that now I am ready to throw down the gauntlet, with my proverbial bitch slap…

 

Bring it on big boy.  I am going to whoop your ass so bad you’ll put on lipstick, and high heels, and start calling me daddy.   It won’t even be hard for me to kick your butt.  In fact I might just stop working out all together, and start taking knitting classes in lieu of exercise so I can make it fair.  Are you sure you want to take on this challenge?  Because I actually fear for your psyche, I’m just not sure if it will be able to handle the constant weekly abuse from my receding waist line, while you stay in the same place.

So bring it on, the white glove has been smacked against your face and dropped to the ground so what of it Dwayne?  It’s time to rumble.

End crazy trash talking here…

06/06/2011 Fuck the Journey, Evolve

This morning’s workout was a nice way to start the week.  I woke up about 20 minutes later than I wanted, which meant that by the time I got to the gym I only had about 5 minutes for a warm up.  We mainly focused on chest and triceps exercises. 

We started with dumbbell bench presses, using an incline bench to start, doing three sets of presses super-setted with three sets of dumbbell flies.  From the incline bench press Ali moved me over to the universal weight stack, to do one armed cable fly, and a one armed standing cable press.  There was some work on the TRX for both the chest and triceps.

Overall the chest work was using weights which were about 15% lighter than I had in the past, but the movements were more varied, and including a decline bench press.  I think because of the variety of motions I worked more of my entire chest.  Because the weight had been lower, I thought I didn’t get a good workout, so at the end I asked to a burnout or a pyramid.  In attempting a pyramid I grabbed a 55 lbs dumbbell which normally I don’t have a problem lifting, but when I lied back to press the first one I just couldn’t get it up.  I had to move down 10 lbs to a 45 lbs dumbbell which I was able to do 5. 

At the end of the workout my chest had reached the point of failure, although the road to failure was one I hadn’t been on before, so I didn’t even realize I had done that much work.

After the session I moved to the treadmill to my first session of Mountain (12 increases of intensity every 3 minutes)on a treadmill.  I started at a speed of 3.5 mph, and raised the incline by one every 3 minutes.  At about the 10^th increase I realized I had only burned 125 calories, and my heart rate hadn’t gotten any higher than 120.  So after 35 minutes ( a 5 minute warm up too)on the treadmill I felt like I wasn’t getting what I needed so I hopped on the Arc Trainer and did another session of mountain.  By the end of my gas tank, I had gone for 45 minutes on the Arc Trainer.  In total I spent just around an hour and half of cardio after my session with Ali.

 

Working out in the morning I think is more in line with my biological make up.  All day today I’ve felt great, and the feeling of accomplishment I felt this morning was equally as significant.  I think moving into next week I am going to do most of my workouts in the morning. 

The entire day I felt fantastic.  I didn’t have a sense of fatigue, or exhaustion, and each meal I ate felt as if I was recharging my body. 

At lunch today I was reading a menu, as I scanned it I realized there were only two items I was willing to eat.  I had a choice between a steak salad or a chicken salsa salad.  I was unsure which one I wanted so I asked the server if the beef was grass fed, and she looked at me like I was speaking to her in Korean (was not in a Korean restaurant).   She went back to the kitchen to ask, and came back to the table to tell me they sell regular beef.  I laughed, thinking in my head good for you ditsy one. 

So I ordered the chicken salsa salad, of course to be difficult I asked for no cheese, the dressing on the side, and oh yeah don’t out any oil on my shit.  As I ate the salad I started to think did I really make a better choice?

If their beef wasn’t grass fed this restaurant’s chicken was probably purchased from a mass wholesaler as well.  After lunch while driving I started to think about everything I read in Omnivores Dilemma, and the documentary Food, Inc.  

In 1950 it took a farmer 70 days to take a chick to full grown broiler size for slaughter.  Today it takes 48 days, with the chickens being more than double the size, further as a result of the premium on white meat these newer bigger birds have most of their mass in the breast.  While scientifically altered breast might be great at Spearmint Rhino in Vegas, I don’t think I want it in my chicken.  

I reflected further on the documentary and thought about my own research a few years back on becoming a chicken farmer.  This was an attempt to devlop ideas to udilize the 40 acre tract of land my family owns in Virginia which now I believe we will convert to a sustainable farm.  It used to be the farmers would rear their own chicks and sell them to a processor or wholesaler.  Today the chicks are owned by the corporations, so a company like Tyson actually owns the chick and outsources the farmer to care for them.  By doing so Tyson controls all aspects of not only what and how the chick is fed, but how the farmer farms. 

By virtue of Tyson’s corporate policies, and the contracts the farmers enter into with corporations like Tyson, these mega corporations work to keep farmers in debt whereby keeping them in a perpetual state of fiscal stress.  The worst thing to happen to a franchisor in the business world is for the franchisee to reach a point of no longer needing the master,  which is why most franchisors work very hard to keep their partners in a state of constant need by either strengthening brand recognition or bettering the operating method.    

In the world of industrialized chicken production it appears the rules are the same, but rather than building a traditional franchise type structure were farmer and company become partners.  Companies like Tyson see it in their best interest to keep the farmer as their indentured servant, or chicken growing surrogate. 

Chicken Farmer from Food, Inc.

 

It ultimately made me realize that I can’t become a strict local eater.  It’s too hard may almost be impossible, but I can choose to frequent more establishments which have the a belief system more inline with my own, that food not only tastes better when care is taken in production but's healthier for us. 

Why is that we can spend hours upon hours trying to find someone to help us with our car, or insurance, even cleaning our homes, yet when it comes to choosing where our foods come from we don’t give it a second thought. 

As Americans we have become conditioned perhaps even developed a sense of entitlement to believe that our food comes from safe places, and that there is no need to question who is producing it.  I think if we spent a little more time choosing not only what we put in our mouths but where it comes from we will be significantly happier and healthier.

Do I blame mass corporations for my initial weight gain? No, because I am a rational human being who can think and make choices for myself.  Am I pissed that their practices probably helped contribute to keeping me in poor physical health?  Yes.  Fuck them for putting shit in our foods to maximize corporate profits, and not consider the ramifications on the end consumer. 

I’ve said this before but weight loss is not a journey.  A journey would indicate that there is some end point.  This is not a fixed path.  If we think this way then gaining the weight back will be easier, and more rapid.  The destination is living life better.  Making better more informed choices like choosing to dine at restaurants which are conscious of where the food comes from, if the Silver Diner can start a policy of Farm to Table I think most other establishments can try a little harder.  

Weight loss is not a journey but more an evolution to creating a better life for yourself.  By developing better habits, a more positive state of being we will become happier and more productive human beings.  So all the other fitness and weight loss gurus can keep their journey, because this kind of journey sucks, I am living through the evolution of my life style.  I choose to evolve. 

06/04/2011 Eat Locally Fat Boy, Polyface Farm Style.

I’ve on occasion seen a bumper sticker on a car that says “Eat Local”, it’s typically plastered on a car of someone that you would deconstruct in an instant, a couple of piercings, probably a vegetarian, or vegan, definitely a tree hugging, socially conscious, pot smoking, protest attending, intellectual elitist, who still probably wears Doc Martins, and participates in drum circles. 

Until reading the Omnivores Dilemma, I never understood what the “Eat Local” meant.

(Douchebag 1,2,3) VS.

The sad part of the type of person, who would place that bumper sticker on their car, is that they turn off the vast majority of us to their message.  The evangelical nature with which they approach moral injustice is easily comparable to the religious fervor of the New American Christian.  Only difference is that moral superiority doesn’t have tidings, so their message can’t fill former football stadiums on Sunday, and the cost to broadcast that message via Satellite unreachable.

(Douchebag number 4)

I am becoming that deconstructed hippie in regards to food.  I won’t ever become a vegan or a vegetarian, as I love meat too much.  Taking a bite out of any piece of protein gives me something my body and brain truly need, not to mention regardless of your beliefs the human intellectual capacity has provided us the ability to overcome the instinctual defenses of most animals, which is why I feel it is completely in line with evolution that we has humans are the highest rung on the food chain.  Our ancestors used spears, then arrows, and eventually guns, yet in previous generations the demand drove supply.  When a hungry tribe needed food they hunted.  They lived amongst their prey and respect was shown for how the animals lived, and how they treated those animals in death showed a deference we only show for the loss of one of our own.

 Unfortunately intellectual superiority usually breeds a type of hubris typically driven by some outside desire which is not an integral force in the situation at hand, in this case the drive of financial gain outweighing the simple need to satiated hungry.  Today we no longer see the blood which pours out when killing an animal, we no longer look in the eye of a pig or cow before it takes its last breath.  Most of us will never kill an animal; we are so far removed from our foods we no longer give a moment of thought of how the food we eat was raised, or the consequences of how rearing and farming practices will have on the animal, on our planet, and ultimately to our bodies. 

I had an opportunity when I was 16 to participate in the slaughter of a chicken.  I held the legs of the bird while my partner placed the chickens head between nails on a wood stump.  When his clever cut thru the head of the chicken I had to brace for dear life, as the involuntary muscle reaction had the chicken flopping in my hands for a few minutes.  It is the “realist” thing I think I’ve ever done.  I am not by nature a violent person so that moment is like a splinter in my mind. 

The next video don't watch if you are squeamish, it's from Polyface.  Chicken's get slaughtered.

 

Our collective apathy towards how and where our food comes from has allowed big conglomerate corporations to write all the rules, and make it impossible for small farmers to be profitable without the hand of the big companies.  Companies you never knew existed like Monsanto, Cargill, and ADM control our food supply, and the USDA which is supposed to protect the American Consumer.  Our ignorance has allowed these companies to write farm policies which create oversized feed lots where cows for 3 months prior to slaughter literally stand, eat, and live in their own shit.  Mad Cow disease is a direct descendant of these practices, further the environmental fall out is so bad that the water table in the communities that surround these feedlots have high traces of hormones, and parasiticides in the drinking water.

Don’t let the labels fool, and the cute logos are all there to distract you.  The reality of it is most of the foods we get are from large national corporations, who give two shits about what you or family eat, as long as we keep buying with blind ignorance.   The supply will control the demand, the marketers behind large food companies find new ways to process and package the foods which makes us want to buy more shit.   Until we demand better, the supply will drive our demand. 

What can you do?  It’s quite simple. 

You and I are the most powerful people in this equation from farmer, to food conglomerate to end consumer.  It is us that control the market.  Every dollar we spend in blind ignorance with these nameless faceless companies is another dollar justifying their practices.  We are the single greatest power in our country; the American Consumer is like a Roman Soldier standing beside Julius Caesar, the only problem is we don’t realize that we have the superior weapon against these companies.  Our pocket books are what they want, and if we choose to spend it somewhere else because we won’t eat their crap then they will make the changes which make our world better. 

Farmers like Joel Salatin are the future of how we should eat.  It’s ironic that his method of farmer is today considered “alternative farming” when what he does used to be the norm by generations of farmers all across America.   He is a self proclaimed grass tender.  By using the lands in harmonious balance with nature he is able to produce an uncanny level of food production from a 100 acre pasture.  In a given season he will produce 40,000 lbs of beef, 30,000 pounds of pork, 10,000 broilers, 1200 turkeys, 1000 rabbits, and 35,000 dozen eggs which Chef’s will tell you are the BEST eggs ever produced. 

How is this done?  By doing what is done in nature.  The birds follow the herbivores.  A given part of the pasture will first be mowed with the shavings of grass used to create bails hay to feed the animals in the winter.  This is followed by his cattle which will graze the pasture.  After the cows he brings in the chickens which provide an “ecological service” they are sanitation crew for the field as they will pick out the grubs and fly larva from cow patties, by doing so they remove parasites from the grass at the same time helping to spread the manure around.  

The chickens further eat the shorter grasses left behind by the cows, and will produce several thousand pounds of nitrogen via their own poop, and when returned to the chicken coop they will produce several thousand eggs. 

This symbiosis which Salatin exercises on a daily basis is a small part of what Polyface Farms does to produce better higher quality food.  He is a firm believer in eating locally, and sourcing foods from someone you can actually meet face to face.  His farm is open to tours, and the days when chickens are available for purchase and pick up people can arrive early and watch the slaughtering process. 

He won’t ship meat anywhere, but does visit farmers markets up to 2 hours away in Northern Virginia where I live.  In fact my favorite restaurant Liberty Tavern sources meat from Joel Salatin’s farm.  My favorite dish is the skirt steak salad, and I recall eating this salad at Liberty tavern for the first time and thinking “WOW”! That’s the best damn piece of beef I’ve ever had.

 To ship meat across state borders contradicts his principles of sustainability.  In our present system of food consumption it costs 7 calories of fossil fuel energy for us as people to eat 1 calorie of energy.  Think about the inherent waste in such an equation, and how over the long term it is impossible to sustain such an equation.  Salatin’s methods not only create harmony among the animals and land, but his fields actually get healthier with each passing season.   The high levels of earthworms help create a soil which is the Godzilla of green pastures.  If you think about what industrialized farms do to the soil, which is to drain every bit of life out of it, Salatin’s practices seem almost genius.

All the information I’ve posted above comes from Michael Pollens book Omnivores Dilemma.  I feel as if I’ve awoken from the energy fields of the Matrix, and Morpheus has just shown me what the real world is.  In this case Pollen being my Morpheus.  I can’t ever go back to the world I once knew as “real”.  Will I be able to eat 100% of the time from locally sourced food…NO the system is not setup that way.  In fact it’s setup to be ultra convenient to buy their crap, but impossible to buy the good stuff.  Farmers markets have to by my source of personal revolution.    

In creating new habits for myself, for the better well being of my body, eating locally seems to be the safest avenue towards this long term physical symbiosis.  It was Jean Savarin who said “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are”.  So is it now wonder why when we eat foods produced in a manner which contradicts the natural order of the planet, and filled with pesticides and herbicides, and hormones all used to either enlarge the yield of anything produced or offset the side effects of the industrialized farming methods it is no wonder we are getting bigger and fatter, yet feel worse. 

But how different would we be and feel if we ate foods which are in harmony with nature, cows that get their nourishment from grass fed by the solar energy of the sun.  In essence we would be eating solar energy, the single greatest source of energy in our universe.  There has been enough research on beef to show that grass fed pasteurized beef actually has higher levels of the Omega-3 fats which our bodies need and less of the Omega Fats which are toxic for our bodies, where as the industrialized feedlot beef has an inverse relationship of Omega Fats. 

In being released from my energy pod, I can’t go back to my old reality.  I choose to eat locally, and will do so as best I can.  Thank god for people like Joel Salatin and Polyface Farms as he is a lone crusader trying to change one of our most fundamental needs in life which is to eat.  He has inspired me enough I am going to make trip to Swope Virginia this summer to learn more about what he does, and talk to him about finding a farmer to share crop 40 acres of land my family owns in Thornbug, VA.  It sits idle today, and I can’t imagine it not being used by another Crusader like Salatin.

From the crusader himself.