As you can see - I am not afraid of having short hair! :-)
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Week 2
68 days left til the wedding. I am not sure if it is good news or bad news.
I spent all day Sunday in the kitchen. I made Salmon, Chicken and my sides. I had steamed broccoli and stove top squash. I am really enjoying the ready-made meals for the week.
I do need to tell you about my Saturday, aka Binge Day.
Quoting this from what the book says:
Sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner or butter cookies at Christmas?
Sounds like a binge. That, in and of itself, doesn’t need to mean horrible guilt and extra fat
rolls afterward. If you plan ahead of time and understand a little science, it’s possible to
minimize the damage. I eat whatever I want every Saturday, and I follow specific steps to
minimize fat gain during this overfeeding.
In basic terms our goal is simple: to have as much of the crap ingested either go into muscle
tissue or out of the body unabsorbed.
I do this by focusing on three principles:
PRINCIPLE #1: MINIMIZE THE RELEASE OF INSULIN, A STORAGE HORMONE.
Insulin release is minimized by blunting sharp jumps in blood sugar:
1. Ensure that your first meal of the day is not a binge meal. Make it high in protein (at least 30
grams) and insoluble fiber (legumes will handle this). The protein will decrease your appetite
for the remainder of the binge and prevent total self-destruction. The fiber will be important
later to prevent diarrhea. In total, this can be a smallish meal of 300–500 calories.
2. Consume a small quantity of fructose, fruit sugar, in grapefruit juice before the second meal,
which is the first crap meal. Even small fructose dosing has an impressive near-flat-lining effect
on blood glucose.7 I could consume this at the first meal, but I prefer to combine the naringin in
grapefruit juice with coffee, as it extends the effects of caffeine.
3. Use supplements that increase insulin sensitivity: AGG (part of PAGG) and PAGG (covered in
the next chapter). The example intake in this chapter is quite mild, so I dosed only twice. If I’m
going whole hog, I will have another PAGG dose upon waking. This reduces the amount of
insulin the pancreas releases in spite of mild or severe glucose surges. Think of it as insurance.
4. Consume citric juices, whether lime juice squeezed into water, lemon juice on food, or a
beverage like the citrus kombucha I had.
PRINCIPLE #2: INCREASE THE SPEED OF GASTRIC EMPTYING, OR HOW QUICKLY FOOD EXITS THE STOMACH.
Bingeing is a rare circumstance where I want the food (or some of it) to pass through my
gastrointestinal tract so quickly that its constituent parts aren’t absorbed well.
I accomplish this primarily through caffeine and yerba mate tea, which includes the
additional stimulants theobromine (found in dark chocolate) and theophylline (found in green
tea). I consume 100–200 milligrams of caffeine, or 16 ounces of cooled yerba mate, at the most
crap-laden meals. My favorite greens supplement, “Athletic Greens” (mentioned in the schedule)
doesn’t contain caffeine but will also help.
Does this really work? Taking the goodies from taste buds to toilet without much storage in
between?8
More than a few people have told me it’s pure science fiction.
Too much information (TMI) warning: I disagree, and for good reason. Rather than debate
meta-studies, I simply weighed my poo. Identical volumes of food on and off the protocol. On
protocol = much more poo mass (same consistency, hence the importance of fiber) = less
absorption = fewer chocolate croissants that take up residence on my abs. Simple but effective?
Perhaps. Good to leave out of first-date conversation? Definitely.
On to one of the cooler aspects of this whole craziness: GLUT-4.
PRINCIPLE #3: ENGAGE IN BRIEF MUSCULAR CONTRACTION THROUGHOUT THE BINGE.
For muscular contractions, my default options are air squats, wall presses (tricep extensions
against a wall), and chest pulls with an elastic band, as all three are portable and can be done
without causing muscle trauma that screws up training. The latter two can be performed by
anyone, even those who have difficulty walking.
But why the hell would you want to do 60–90 seconds of funny exercises a few minutes
before you eat and, ideally, again about 90 minutes afterward?
So anyway..........I did do the AGG and the grapefruit juice and the squats. But I sure did enjoy my carbs on my binge day! :-)
Morning: 27 grams protein drink....coffee with milk AND sugar.
Breakfast: Migas, potatoes, beans, waffles and iced tea. HEAVEN!
Lunch: Rosa's cheese enchiladas, rice and beans PLUS a Dr. Pepper. AAAAAAAAHHHHHH
Dinner was just some tuna with veggies and popcorn during the movie.
I felt like crap at night - but it is totally worth it. Hahahahaha!
Sunday was back to the grind. Feeling great today!
More later,
Eldahg
I spent all day Sunday in the kitchen. I made Salmon, Chicken and my sides. I had steamed broccoli and stove top squash. I am really enjoying the ready-made meals for the week.
I do need to tell you about my Saturday, aka Binge Day.
Quoting this from what the book says:
Sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner or butter cookies at Christmas?
Sounds like a binge. That, in and of itself, doesn’t need to mean horrible guilt and extra fat
rolls afterward. If you plan ahead of time and understand a little science, it’s possible to
minimize the damage. I eat whatever I want every Saturday, and I follow specific steps to
minimize fat gain during this overfeeding.
In basic terms our goal is simple: to have as much of the crap ingested either go into muscle
tissue or out of the body unabsorbed.
I do this by focusing on three principles:
PRINCIPLE #1: MINIMIZE THE RELEASE OF INSULIN, A STORAGE HORMONE.
Insulin release is minimized by blunting sharp jumps in blood sugar:
1. Ensure that your first meal of the day is not a binge meal. Make it high in protein (at least 30
grams) and insoluble fiber (legumes will handle this). The protein will decrease your appetite
for the remainder of the binge and prevent total self-destruction. The fiber will be important
later to prevent diarrhea. In total, this can be a smallish meal of 300–500 calories.
2. Consume a small quantity of fructose, fruit sugar, in grapefruit juice before the second meal,
which is the first crap meal. Even small fructose dosing has an impressive near-flat-lining effect
on blood glucose.7 I could consume this at the first meal, but I prefer to combine the naringin in
grapefruit juice with coffee, as it extends the effects of caffeine.
3. Use supplements that increase insulin sensitivity: AGG (part of PAGG) and PAGG (covered in
the next chapter). The example intake in this chapter is quite mild, so I dosed only twice. If I’m
going whole hog, I will have another PAGG dose upon waking. This reduces the amount of
insulin the pancreas releases in spite of mild or severe glucose surges. Think of it as insurance.
4. Consume citric juices, whether lime juice squeezed into water, lemon juice on food, or a
beverage like the citrus kombucha I had.
PRINCIPLE #2: INCREASE THE SPEED OF GASTRIC EMPTYING, OR HOW QUICKLY FOOD EXITS THE STOMACH.
Bingeing is a rare circumstance where I want the food (or some of it) to pass through my
gastrointestinal tract so quickly that its constituent parts aren’t absorbed well.
I accomplish this primarily through caffeine and yerba mate tea, which includes the
additional stimulants theobromine (found in dark chocolate) and theophylline (found in green
tea). I consume 100–200 milligrams of caffeine, or 16 ounces of cooled yerba mate, at the most
crap-laden meals. My favorite greens supplement, “Athletic Greens” (mentioned in the schedule)
doesn’t contain caffeine but will also help.
Does this really work? Taking the goodies from taste buds to toilet without much storage in
between?8
More than a few people have told me it’s pure science fiction.
Too much information (TMI) warning: I disagree, and for good reason. Rather than debate
meta-studies, I simply weighed my poo. Identical volumes of food on and off the protocol. On
protocol = much more poo mass (same consistency, hence the importance of fiber) = less
absorption = fewer chocolate croissants that take up residence on my abs. Simple but effective?
Perhaps. Good to leave out of first-date conversation? Definitely.
On to one of the cooler aspects of this whole craziness: GLUT-4.
PRINCIPLE #3: ENGAGE IN BRIEF MUSCULAR CONTRACTION THROUGHOUT THE BINGE.
For muscular contractions, my default options are air squats, wall presses (tricep extensions
against a wall), and chest pulls with an elastic band, as all three are portable and can be done
without causing muscle trauma that screws up training. The latter two can be performed by
anyone, even those who have difficulty walking.
But why the hell would you want to do 60–90 seconds of funny exercises a few minutes
before you eat and, ideally, again about 90 minutes afterward?
So anyway..........I did do the AGG and the grapefruit juice and the squats. But I sure did enjoy my carbs on my binge day! :-)
Morning: 27 grams protein drink....coffee with milk AND sugar.
Breakfast: Migas, potatoes, beans, waffles and iced tea. HEAVEN!
Lunch: Rosa's cheese enchiladas, rice and beans PLUS a Dr. Pepper. AAAAAAAAHHHHHH
Dinner was just some tuna with veggies and popcorn during the movie.
I felt like crap at night - but it is totally worth it. Hahahahaha!
Sunday was back to the grind. Feeling great today!
More later,
Eldahg
Thursday, March 17, 2011
The Diet
So my fabulous friend, Wanda, is getting married in May. Exactly 72 days from today - not that I am counting or anything... Why is this important? Because it is in L.A., as in California. My friend has a show on TV, she knows Hollywood people. These people I speak of are going to be at her wedding. YIKES!
I also have a coworker that has been on a super strict diet for a couple of months now, and he swears by it. I must admit that he looks fantastic. His wife also looks amazing. I had to get the information on how to make this work for me.
Step one: get the book.
I went to Amazon.com and got the 4 Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss. Said book is 594 pages long. I am dead serious. I just about fell over when I got mine. I was so relieved when i read this:
quoting from the book:
RULE #1. THINK OF THIS BOOK AS A BUFFET.
Do not read this book from start to finish.
Most people won’t need more than 150 pages to reinvent themselves. Browse the table of
contents, pick the chapters that are most relevant, and discard the rest … for now. Pick one
appearance goal and one performance goal to start.
The only mandatory sections are “Fundamentals” and “Ground Zero.”
Whew. I don't have to go hunting for my reading glasses.
Step two: find supplements.
They call them PAGG, here they are:
Policosanol: 20–25 mg
Alpha-lipoic acid: 100–300 mg (I take 300 mg with each meal, but some people experience
acid reflux symptoms with more than 100 mg)
Green tea flavanols (decaffeinated with at least 325 mg EGCG): 325 mg
Garlic extract: 200 mg
This is way harder to find than it should be...BUT, if you ask the experts at Sun Harvest - they do it for you! YAY!
Step three: shop for diet food.
DIET FOOD? Don't panic. This is the easy part. Take a look at your options:
Proteins
*Egg whites with 1–2 whole eggs for flavor (or, if organic, 2–5 whole eggs, including yolks)
*Chicken breast or thigh
*Beef (preferably grass-fed)
*Fish
*Pork
Legumes
*Lentils (also called “dal” or “daal”)
*Black beans
*Pinto beans
*Red beans
*Soybeans
Vegetables
*Spinach
*Mixed vegetables (including broccoli, cauliflower, or any other cruciferous vegetables)
*Sauerkraut, kimchee
*Asparagus
*Peas
*Broccoli
*Green beans
You get to eat as much as you like of the above food items, but you have to keep it simple.
I went to Sam's Club and got canned goods for these: green beans, asparagus, peas, black beans, and salmon. I decided to eat fish and try chicken to make it easier on me for the demand in protein. I got boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 lbs) package, frozen salmon patties, frozen edamame, 18 count eggs (organic), fresh spinach, alfalfa sprouts, broccoli, tomatoes. I had uncooked beans and lentils at home, so I was set!
Step four: preparing the food.
I would say this is the hard part, but I love cooking! I spent all day in the kitchen preparing the meat and legumes.
My way: Being raised vegetarian, I am no expert in preparing meat - so thank you google! I ended up making my own marinade but I did learn that chicken will cook for 40 mins at 400º.
Eldahg Chicken Marinade: Soy Sauce, Balsamic Vinegar, crushed pepper flakes, garlic salt, onion flakes, and pepper (fresh ground). Amounts are based on preference of flavor, so this will never be exactly the same for me... next time I am going to add some thyme and whatever other spices I come across in my spice cabinet. :)
I put the chicken (after I cleaned it and took all the fatty pieces off - yuck) in a big bowl and added the marinade, let it sit for a few minutes (about 20) lined my glass baking dish with foil, drizzled oil on bottom of it and put the chicken in there. The amount of chicken I bought was enough for two batches of these, luckliy I do own two dishes. They fit side my side in the oven - so I saved time.
The beans I put in the crock pot in the morning so they would be done in the late afternoon. i don't have measurements for these....sorry! The lentils were stove top - I put carrots, tomatoes, chopped onion, celery, salt and pepper and cooked for a few hours.
Having everything done, I divided in portions that are suitable for me. Piece of cake!
Step five: getting it done.
I actually started this diet on the 13th of March - Sunday. It is Thursday the 17th - my 5th day in. This is the schedule I have been on:
Meals are approximately four hours apart.
6:30 A.M.—AGG - Breakfast
10:30 A.M.— AGG - Lunch
2:30 P.M.—Smaller second lunch
5:00–7:00 P.M.—Something active - I do bootcamp or walking
7:00 P.M.—AGG - Dinner
8:30 A.M.—Glass of red wine every other day
9:30 P.M.—PAGG and Bedtime
I have noticed I am NEVER hungry and have unlimited amounts of energy and I am motivated to do more and am overall happier.
Wish me luck! I will blog more later!
Eldahg
I also have a coworker that has been on a super strict diet for a couple of months now, and he swears by it. I must admit that he looks fantastic. His wife also looks amazing. I had to get the information on how to make this work for me.
Step one: get the book.
I went to Amazon.com and got the 4 Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss. Said book is 594 pages long. I am dead serious. I just about fell over when I got mine. I was so relieved when i read this:
quoting from the book:
RULE #1. THINK OF THIS BOOK AS A BUFFET.
Do not read this book from start to finish.
Most people won’t need more than 150 pages to reinvent themselves. Browse the table of
contents, pick the chapters that are most relevant, and discard the rest … for now. Pick one
appearance goal and one performance goal to start.
The only mandatory sections are “Fundamentals” and “Ground Zero.”
Whew. I don't have to go hunting for my reading glasses.
Step two: find supplements.
They call them PAGG, here they are:
Policosanol: 20–25 mg
Alpha-lipoic acid: 100–300 mg (I take 300 mg with each meal, but some people experience
acid reflux symptoms with more than 100 mg)
Green tea flavanols (decaffeinated with at least 325 mg EGCG): 325 mg
Garlic extract: 200 mg
This is way harder to find than it should be...BUT, if you ask the experts at Sun Harvest - they do it for you! YAY!
Step three: shop for diet food.
DIET FOOD? Don't panic. This is the easy part. Take a look at your options:
Proteins
*Egg whites with 1–2 whole eggs for flavor (or, if organic, 2–5 whole eggs, including yolks)
*Chicken breast or thigh
*Beef (preferably grass-fed)
*Fish
*Pork
Legumes
*Lentils (also called “dal” or “daal”)
*Black beans
*Pinto beans
*Red beans
*Soybeans
Vegetables
*Spinach
*Mixed vegetables (including broccoli, cauliflower, or any other cruciferous vegetables)
*Sauerkraut, kimchee
*Asparagus
*Peas
*Broccoli
*Green beans
You get to eat as much as you like of the above food items, but you have to keep it simple.
I went to Sam's Club and got canned goods for these: green beans, asparagus, peas, black beans, and salmon. I decided to eat fish and try chicken to make it easier on me for the demand in protein. I got boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 lbs) package, frozen salmon patties, frozen edamame, 18 count eggs (organic), fresh spinach, alfalfa sprouts, broccoli, tomatoes. I had uncooked beans and lentils at home, so I was set!
Step four: preparing the food.
I would say this is the hard part, but I love cooking! I spent all day in the kitchen preparing the meat and legumes.
My way: Being raised vegetarian, I am no expert in preparing meat - so thank you google! I ended up making my own marinade but I did learn that chicken will cook for 40 mins at 400º.
Eldahg Chicken Marinade: Soy Sauce, Balsamic Vinegar, crushed pepper flakes, garlic salt, onion flakes, and pepper (fresh ground). Amounts are based on preference of flavor, so this will never be exactly the same for me... next time I am going to add some thyme and whatever other spices I come across in my spice cabinet. :)
I put the chicken (after I cleaned it and took all the fatty pieces off - yuck) in a big bowl and added the marinade, let it sit for a few minutes (about 20) lined my glass baking dish with foil, drizzled oil on bottom of it and put the chicken in there. The amount of chicken I bought was enough for two batches of these, luckliy I do own two dishes. They fit side my side in the oven - so I saved time.
The beans I put in the crock pot in the morning so they would be done in the late afternoon. i don't have measurements for these....sorry! The lentils were stove top - I put carrots, tomatoes, chopped onion, celery, salt and pepper and cooked for a few hours.
Having everything done, I divided in portions that are suitable for me. Piece of cake!
Step five: getting it done.
I actually started this diet on the 13th of March - Sunday. It is Thursday the 17th - my 5th day in. This is the schedule I have been on:
Meals are approximately four hours apart.
6:30 A.M.—AGG - Breakfast
10:30 A.M.— AGG - Lunch
2:30 P.M.—Smaller second lunch
5:00–7:00 P.M.—Something active - I do bootcamp or walking
7:00 P.M.—AGG - Dinner
8:30 A.M.—Glass of red wine every other day
9:30 P.M.—PAGG and Bedtime
I have noticed I am NEVER hungry and have unlimited amounts of energy and I am motivated to do more and am overall happier.
Wish me luck! I will blog more later!
Eldahg
This is me, Eldahg
Hello I am Eldahg , you can say it like: L-dog. My name is Elda. Oh and yes, I always have to spell it out. Every introduction is always something like this: "Hi, I'm Elda," pause - confused look from other party, then: "E-L-D-A". It's quite alright, I am used to it! So, aside from having a unique name (not in a weird way, thankfully), I was raised vegetarian. Interestingly, I am Mexican. So the combination of my heritage with the lifestyle of being vegetarian is rather confusing, for some. I love it. I am Ovo-lacto Vegetarian, not a vegan. Elda minus cheese, is not a happy one.
I was born in Mexico in a small town in the southern part of the state of Guanajuato. Acámbaro is just a darling little town that I love to be in. My parents are still there, so I visit a couple of times a year. Yes, we drive. That will be a whole different blog as I get into details of our 15-17 hour drives - one way.
I was raised in West Texas, Midland to be exact. I honestly don't miss the place, just the people. I moved to Mexico the summer after my freshman year. Talk about culture shock! I am grateful today for the opportunity, but the 15 year old Elda is still pretty upset!
I am a mother to a wonderful son. David Alan is 14 and has started to become an adult. This scares me more than I wish to share. I love him and am proud of the man he is turning into (my constant battling and pushing and threats help) He is a musician and is quite talented. He is going to be a freshman in the fall, boy he is looking forward to high school! Me, not so much....
I have been in a relationship with Sean for almost ten years now. Off and on we make it work. He is amazingly funny and loves me just as much as I love him. We have so much fun together and learn things together. Some of these things could be considered silly or boring, but who doesn't love the History Channel??? He is my best friend, and that is all that really matters.
My hobbies are pretty basic: Gardening, sewing, salsa dancing, scuba diving, and wasting endless hours on FaceBook. I am trying to learn how to knit - but I am not succeeding at this!
I love shoes, coffee and working out...yes, in that order.
I think I covered most of the basics of who I am. Just a vegetarian Mexican in Austin, Texas. :)
I was born in Mexico in a small town in the southern part of the state of Guanajuato. Acámbaro is just a darling little town that I love to be in. My parents are still there, so I visit a couple of times a year. Yes, we drive. That will be a whole different blog as I get into details of our 15-17 hour drives - one way.
I was raised in West Texas, Midland to be exact. I honestly don't miss the place, just the people. I moved to Mexico the summer after my freshman year. Talk about culture shock! I am grateful today for the opportunity, but the 15 year old Elda is still pretty upset!
I am a mother to a wonderful son. David Alan is 14 and has started to become an adult. This scares me more than I wish to share. I love him and am proud of the man he is turning into (my constant battling and pushing and threats help) He is a musician and is quite talented. He is going to be a freshman in the fall, boy he is looking forward to high school! Me, not so much....
I have been in a relationship with Sean for almost ten years now. Off and on we make it work. He is amazingly funny and loves me just as much as I love him. We have so much fun together and learn things together. Some of these things could be considered silly or boring, but who doesn't love the History Channel??? He is my best friend, and that is all that really matters.
My hobbies are pretty basic: Gardening, sewing, salsa dancing, scuba diving, and wasting endless hours on FaceBook. I am trying to learn how to knit - but I am not succeeding at this!
I love shoes, coffee and working out...yes, in that order.
I think I covered most of the basics of who I am. Just a vegetarian Mexican in Austin, Texas. :)
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