Saturday, June 30, 2012

My Diet the Last Few Weeks


Almost three weeks ago I decided I would try changing my diet and eliminate grains, legumes, starches.  I am not willing to call it a Paleo Diet because it's not, it's my own exploration and experiment. It is close to a Paleo Diet, and actually more strict than your typical Paleo Diet, if I actually adhered to it the entire time that is!

As I mentioned previously, there are many "camps" in the Paleo world. The "godfather" of Paleo believes you should eat lean meats, most Paleo "hunter/gatherers" think full fat (and the more the better) is the ticket. This can be a problem as our ancestors didn't have fatty animals available year round did they? Much of the year the animals they ate were extremely lean. So eating fatty meats all the time may not really be as beneficial as many people think it is. It all depends on the time of year, the hunting season...the fat in the animals and the other foods available...... I mean it gets a bit odd doesn't it? We are no longer "hunter-gatherers" so we really cannot live just like that, we do need to make some concessions......Some say no potatoes, yet others eat them at every meal. Alcohol really is a no-no, yet many drink on a regular basis.

I am experimenting to see how I feel, how I perform and how I look ( in that order!). I suspect I will end up eating more in the "Zone" diet (I will discuss that another time).

We all need to find the diet that makes us feel satisfied and full of energy, one we can live with and not feel like we are deprived of anything. Luckily I have no gluten intolerance (seems to be the "in" thing these days doesn't it?), I can eat almost anything I want, except many dairy products.

I also do not have a weight issue, a body fat issue nor do I have a cholesterol problem, as a mater of fact, I am extremely healthy so this is all just a lark for me, no pressure at all.

In the last three weeks I have chugged along on a fairly good course. I had four detours, but each was planned and not regretted, so I am OK with that. 

One day I went to lunch with a friend to a Japanese restaurant and had two breaded fried prawns (breading). 

Then one day I had a small taco (2 tiny homemade corn tortillas).

I had a burger (on a very big bun).

I had a lunch of several courses that included a deep fried slice of avocado (fried batter-flour); a couple bites of farro (grain); a small roll (bread); and a BIG chocolate brownie (flour).

My weight always fluctuates a bit, but after three weeks I am down 3 pounds. The thing is, I am not trying to lose weight right now, so I am not sure if this is a good diet for me or not! I am trying to gain lean mass......I am eating a good amount of fat and more protein, not hungry most of the time, but there are periods of the day when I am, I always seem to be hungry then anyway. So I thought I would show you what I eat on a typical day when I train at night with Roy. My meals change on the days I lift in the mornings on my own.

I have been eating more foods that David and Cooper do, such as fattier meats and it seems to be fine with the rest of my diet. I still plan to monitor how I feel and look before I make any other changes.

Up at 4:00 am and my first meal is what you see above, I have cold left over coffee in the shaker cup and just before I drink it I add a mixture I have pre-made of a whey protein/carb powder (a meal replacement), glutamine, creatine, BCAA'a and a bunch of supplements (supps are taken orally not mixed in the drink!).

5:00 am is the gym for an hour where I do cardio and calves- not really "lifting" in my book.

Next at about 7:30 is breakfast, I make this at home and eat it room temperature at my desk as soon as I arrive at work.  This is 1 1/2 cups vegetables (broccoli, broccoli rabe and tomatoes), 1 cup egg whites and one whole egg. Fats are the egg yolk and the olive oil I cooked it in.


Lunch at 10:00 a.m is 6 ounces (cooked weight) 100% grass fed ground beef, 2 cups of vegetables. Today I have zucchini and cauliflower. Fats are CLA and Fish tabs.


1:00 (lunch #2) is 6 ounces tilapia (it's the Basque Fish recipe from yesterday's post), 1 1/2 cups asparagus, 1/3 avocado. (Fats are the avocado). 


4:00 is a big salad made with Super Greens, mint and basil from my garden, carrots, tomatoes, cucumber, sugar snap peas, a whole semi hard cooked egg and 5 ounces broiled shrimp. Fats are the egg and 1 teaspoon olive oil added (along with balsamic vinegar).


5:30 I train with Roy, I finished at 7:00 p.m. I always have a fast digesting carb after training so I have a shake. I make the shake ahead of time at home in the morning, 2 cups water, a handful of ice and a very small frozen banana. I blend it all up and then leave it in my freezer at work for a few hours, I allow it to melt a few hours before training. As soon as I finish with Roy I add my pre-made protein mixture of 1 1/2 scoops whey (no carbs), creatine, BCAA's, and glutamine. Shake well and enjoy in the car on the way home.


I am usually in bed my 9:00 pm. so will have a cup of tea before bed. If I am super hungry I will eat some egg whites before bed. 


On the days when I lift in the morning and do not train at night, I have this shake immediately following my lifting (instead of the egg and vegetable mixture) and then at night, usually about 8:00 pm I will eat a meal of egg whites and vegetables. So I swap the morning and evening meals.








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