Nourish

Experiment #2 and it's outcome

2010-01-15T11:34:00.000-08:00

Ok, so for a variety of reasons, I have yet to create more tomato sauce in order to balance the acid, but I did have some turkey stock that was pretty acidic for some reason I cannot fathom. I put the stock into the freezer right out of the pan, so it was fermentation. Anyway...

I made chicken noodle soup the other day, but as I said, the stock was too acidic, so I decided to play a bit. I added a tablespoon of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to the soup and then realized that this was an energetic chemical reaction! I will need to get a camera for future experiments, but lets just say that a hot acid will cause quite a bit of bubbling, even if 2 liters of stock receives just one tablespoon of a base.

The neutralization worked quite well in this instance, but I want to remind you about another feature of acid/base neutralization: salt. When an acid and a base meet and dance, the outcome is bouncing baby salt molecules. What this means from a cooking perspective is that you ought not add salt until you've balanced the acid. Also, keep in mind that the term "salt" means any number of different compounds, not just NaCl. While these other salts have been used for seasoning since ancient times, they DO taste a little different.

Now, what did this experiment teach me? The answers are manifold, but here are the three that matter to most people:

This will be an energetic reaction...be prepared for bubbles and potential boilover
The reaction is immediate...start off slowly (a teaspoon) and adjust to taste rather than dumping in a tablespoon or more and finding you've over-done it
Neutralizing acid will create salt as a chemical artifact, so don't season the food until the neutralization is complete

This technique WILL work, but you do have to pay attention so as to keep your kitchen clean, your food palatable, and your mellow un-shaken.

So, now that I know that I can balance the tomato sauce, I'll attempt to do so this weekend and see if I can come up with a good, reduced fat recipe and I'll publish it on Monday!

Experiment One: The Outcome

2010-01-09T15:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I said that I would try making a classic Italian red sauce by using the microwave to soften the veggies prior to sweating them. Dutifully, I diced the onion and shredded the carrot, just like Mario says, but then I gave them the radar love for five minutes, which is a LONG x-ray, but I wanted to make sure that I got fully softened veggies. Then I added the veggies to a pan with about a tablespoon of olive oil. The original recipe called for a quarter-cup (or FOUR tablespoons) of olive oil, but I the cold war treatment helped reduce the amount of olive oil, but retained the spirit of the veggie sweat.

I followed through with the rest of the recipe, but the final product was much sharper than I'm used to. Herein lies the next challenge. The extra fat helps mute the tomato acidity. Without the fat, the result was MUCH harsher acidity. The "classic" answer is to add sugar to the mix as a balance, but I'm trying to make this healthy and adding spoonsfuls of sugar are for medicine, not for savory sauces.

In fact, the problem here is that the normal tools for this situation are carbs or fat, both of which I'm attempting to REDUCE. I'm going to do some more research today and see if I can find a good alternative.

I've been thinking more about iconographies today. Should I be so lucky as to have a reader, I wouldn't mind some pointers to papers on iconography in sociology in particular, and stereotyping in general. I'm sure there is nothing new or creative in my thought and would welcome some additional perspectives.

Right now I'm seriously thinking about iconographies applied to stereotypes of all stripes. More than this, I think I'm in a situation where I believe that iconographies really impact all aspects of perspective, regardless of validity.I'm thinking about MY perspectives in particular, which again will limit the creativity of my thought inasmuch as I'm using myself as the thought experiment and I'm hardly a disinterested third party subject...lol

Wow...from ashes, ?

2010-01-08T10:21:00.000-08:00

So, I began this blog for two reasons: because of a challenge I thought I took seriously and to practice my writing as I look toward my avocational desire to be a food writer. I took on this challenge in December after I'd lost my job, lost a good chunk of weight, and with the holidays running at full steam.

Then I dropped the ball and things got more intense in my personal life. Sorry.

Fortunately, I know of only one person reading my blog and since I stopped blogging on December 12th, I suspect he doesn't pay much attention anymore and I'm back to mumbling in the dark...

I had a real flash the other day about iconography as it relates to archeology and sociology. This insight was largely due to Neal Stephenson's book, Anathem. Now, the Wiki entry is pithy and fails to identify one of the most seminal aspects of the discussion, which is the training that each avout receives on the iconographies applied to the avout during various historical periods. This has really influenced me in a way I hadn't considered.

You see, how we perceive reality is what is real to us, and I've been at the wrong end of perceptions a lot lately, but over time as well, because I don't manage perceptions well.

How, you might ask, does this relate to a food blog? There are loaded terms that are inherently invited when you discuss food, at least in the US. "Foodie," for example, tends to require unpacking whenever it is used. Are you a pretentious hedonistic eater? Perhaps you are an obsessive hobbyist? Maybe you just like to eat? On the one hand, it tends to indicate a certain pretentiousness about food and on the other it seems to indicate a predilection for over-indulgence. How about "diet"? THAT'S a fully loaded set of iconographies all by itself, worthy of a ton of research and many, many intellectual papers.

So, now that this seminal concept has leaked into my brain, what does it mean? It means that I have a LOT of unpacking to do, both for myself and for my reader.

Here's the thing: I am a foodie in the same way as the Wiki article suggests. I'm also the foodie who got fat being apparently hedonistic, but not really recalling much joy in it. I'm also a science guy who is still trying to figure out how you sweat veggies without much oil...pans on stovetops are not ideal convection machines and veggies need conduction to sweat...oh, did I just prove my point?

So, I will begin to experiment with alternative prep techniques and let you know how they work here. My first experiment is that I'm going to see if nuking mirepoix/sofrito/holy trinity can reduce the need for oil, and tonight it'll be about a homemade marinara for my sick kiddo and me (the youngster is at the 'rents for a little grandma alone time).

The Return

2009-12-12T21:22:00.000-08:00

I think my back's finally healed. I haven't needed ibuprofen or slow movement now for a couple of days. Monday starts the fitness regime again and I'm very excited. I miss the soreness that comes with a good workout. I miss the accomplishment that is standing on a scale and seeing things improve. Let's face it, I miss the lifestyle I've embraced and adopted.

So, Monday is chest day. I'm going to start 20lbs lighter on press and see if I can focus on form. I KNOW I've become one of the cheaters that use their triceps and other cheats. I know this because chest day is almost always arm day as well. So, while I might be using appropriate weights, there's little doubt that my form sucks. Monday I'll be all about the form and low and slow.

What really interests me isn't Monday or even the week. What interests me is Saturday. Saturday (and Monday) I'll wake up in a different state. I'll be "vacationing." I'll be at a location and I have no idea what the workout rooms will look like, but I do know a couple of things: 1) I'll workout and 2) I'll go low and slow, which will fix any deficiencies in accomodations. My good friend Syd will be with me, and we'll workout together for the very first time. I'm honestly looking forward to that.

I also know that the level of stress in my life hasn't been higher since 2007, maybe even earlier. The diet and the workout will be my touchstone, not only for the weight loss, but also for the stress reduction aspects. I have a feeling that my whole life will coalesce within two months, for better or for worse. If I'm working on my nourishment, I'll be ok regardless...on the other hand, if I walk away from my nourishment, I know I'll be much worse off.

It's odd that this three months of lifestyle has so utterly changed me, but it truly has. I know that I need the daily sweat. I know that I need to pay attention to my diet in a way I never did before. However, isn't that the very definition of a lifestyle change?

Here's to a better 2010!

That's the breaks...

2009-12-11T21:53:00.000-08:00

So, I still haven't fully recovered from the back injury, so I'm not re-starting my fitness regime until Monday. What I will say is that the body blows continue, and I'm struggling to remain k-balanced, but I will overcome. My job is to get fit in the next six months. I've got 3 months and lots of success behind me, so the foundation is well and truly built.

Next will be a full three months of the performance plan. Six days of 40 minutes exercise along with food to match. The only thing missing is a job to contribute. But you know what? Either a job will appear or it won't. I can't afford to waste energy or time on what is outside of my control. I'm going to continue to get fit, feel healthy, and be a better person. The rest is wasted energy.

So, what have I learned so far? There are a number of things:

Lift lower and slower; I know this mantra, but the back injury just cemented the poing
No matter what, focus on eating right
Find a workout buddy; without one, no matter what you record, you'll be wrong

I KNOW that I've said you can do this alone...and you can...but your success will be limited by your own weakness. You cannot spot yourself; you cannot demand better of yourself. The liberty provided by a spot cannot be denied.

Listen, you will be fine without a workout buddy, but you will be much better if you can find someone to share your efforts. It isn't about showing off or competition, it's about safety and the freedom that safety provides. With someone to spot you, you can try that extra couple of reps.

While you can progress without a buddy, you'll progress much faster WITH a buddy. And you know what? Absent the spotting value, a workout buddy will hold you accountable not only for your plans, but also for your effort. Truly, we're better if we have a workout buddy everywhere in our lives...do you? Wanna be mine?

Body blows...

2009-12-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

So, I was SURE that things would work out. I didn't plan for it, but I had this hope, ya know? An old buddy wanted to interview me, but only after the first of the year, when he could hire an external candidate. I was so hopeful...

In case you don't follow the graphics card and computer gaming industry, that giant thud this weekend was my job disappearing. :( Now, AnandTech thinks it doesn't matter. I sure wish it didn't matter so much to my employment.

What does this matter in terms of my fitness?

Well, between back injuries and depression, I've got to really fight to stay on track. But staying on track is gonna help my mindset quite a bit. Now is the time when the cadence is tested and we see what this new lifestyle is really about. Now is the time to show what commitment means. Rah, rah, rah...

On the other hand, my back is finally feeling good, so I'll return to working out tomorrow. Shoulders and cardio, bread and butter. I KNOW the endorphins will kick in and I'll feel better. While it won't be a permanent salve on my anxieties, it will provide temporary relief and help.

Losing weight is likely the last thing I have to worry about, but fitness will be important during this period. That old saw about your health? Yeah...

Sorry today is such a Debbie-downer kind of day, but when the wind is completely gone from the sails, there's only so much you can do. BUT...

I did have an excellent phone screen last Friday and the only question that the hiring manager had was, "Will we get that much more out of a high performer rather than doing a direct replacement for the guy we're losing?" It's encouraging, but it's literally the FIRST return contact I've had. I've polished my resume so that it gleams; I've called all my old friends. Even where there are markers, there's only an IOU in the till, not the job I so desperately need.

This is where commitment meets reality and I have to dig in my heels and continue all that's important. My kids, my health, and my well-being are what matters. Everything else is idle dross in the end.

Am I full of BS platitudes and false bravado? You know what, if it keeps me awake and alive, so be it. Yawp...

Cadence

2009-12-09T04:26:00.000-08:00

If you look up the definition of cadence on wikipedia, you are presented with 21 possible definitions. If you delve a little further, you'll find that wiktionary has 10 entries for the word. While it's not nearly the broadest term in the English language, it does reverberate a bit.

We all have a cadence to our lives. It's the steady drumbeat of our activities, our thoughts, and our desires. We tap out the cadence in our activities. The daily habits that form over time, the people and places that we attend; those are where you will find our individual rhythm. In order for change to become permanent, we must adjust our cadence to this new rhythm and cleave closely for a long time to the new beat.

This all comes because we hear people say that so many weeks make a habit permanent or other such drivel. The truth of the matter is that until a new activity or action becomes integrated into our personal cadence, then nothing counts. It’s not about how long you perform an activity that matters; what matters is whether or not you’ve invested sufficiently in the activity that it’s part of your daily routine.

Perhaps it’s just me, but I hate the word routine. I never want anything to be routine. It just seems like the hard-scrabble labor of life. Life should be novel, interesting. Life should delight our senses and sooth our souls. Routine just doesn’t fit in. However, as I’ve grown older, I’ve learned that routine is the cadence that allows us to improvise and brighten life. Once you get a good routine going, you no longer have to think about certain aspects of life. The mundane attends itself and we are free to explore. It’s on this foundational cadence that more fundamental rhythms, the syncopation, and the experiments take place. Without the foundational routine, you’re just bashing at the kit.

How does this relate to eating and exercising? In order to make a lifestyle permanent, you have to make it part of your foundational cadence. But even more importantly, you have to be aware of what new beats you want to explore. Change for change sake is a waste. You’ll fail at it. You have to have a reason, a goal. Just shaking things up will lead to nothing more than a new mixture of the same old parts. This is why so many people start out so strongly on a path and slowly fade back into the grind. Don’t let yourself become one of those people who Thoreau identified as “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” When routine becomes grind, when routine becomes shackles, therein lays the end. Always find goals. Always move forward. Once you find the purpose, the cadence will come.

Injury and polenta

2009-12-08T21:10:00.000-08:00

So, I was on my back most of yesterday and a whole lot of today. I felt much better in the afternoon, so much so that I determined I'd make my newest published recipe. Not quite a big mistake, but my back let me know that feeling good all day whilst sitting and reviewing job opportunities is a whole lot different than cooking. I did cook, though, with help from my eldest daughter.

Unfortunately, I have ONE fillet of mahi mahi instead of the three I needed. Time to improvise. I got out my handy-dandy K-balance spreadsheet and figured out how much chicken breast would equal the mahi mahi. It turns out that one pound of chicken breast works, so that's what I did. The polenta was creamy, but needed another cup of liquid due to the long nature of the tomato sauce simmer. I added a full cup of liquid.

I hope you notice that I did NOT say water, right? I use chicken broth, which is slightly outside the plan, but well within the K-balance. I figure, if you need flavor, then by all means, add it! I rarely use water unless I want an absolutely pure flavor of a given ingredient. Otherwise, I'm totally about the chicken broth. I also made my own turkey stock after T-Day. How did I know it was stock and not broth? Well, I made it for one, but also, it set up like jello after cooling a day in the fridge. Mmmmmmmm....meaty jello!

Which brings me to the best movie I've seen in quite a while...and proof that a blog CAN become a movie: Julie and Julia. Let's just say that I'm inspired yet again to find balanced, YUMMY recipes. Don't get me wrong...the more butter (and/or bacon fat), the better...but let's focus on healthy, too!

The thing is, most of the time, the butter doesn't add much. Yes, there is a richness, but the truth is that without the fat, you wouldn't notice the difference unless you'd had it WITH the fat before. Polenta with reggiano is almost as good as polenta with butter and reggiano. If you hadn't tasted the latter, you wouldn't scoff at the former. It's TRUE!

Don't get me wrong, I KNOW that there are richer, more flavorful recipes out there, but if you can get 90% of the way to a recipe and still be healthy, why the hell not?!

Oh, did I mention that, prophylactically, I'm drinking wine for my back? =P

Injuries...

2009-12-07T20:58:00.000-08:00

So, I was sick the other day, and then yesterday I ended up finding a new flare-up of an old injury. I suspect it was the result of barbell squats and the fact that I had no one to spot me. I took the barbell off the rack, backed away 6 feet (to clear the rack), rotated and then squatted in front of the mirror to ensure my form was correct. I suspect the rotation was what strained my back. The hard part is that while I had some back pain earlier, the current, acute problem didn't occur for three days after the exercise. But now I find myself mostly immobile and in a LOT of pain should I aggravate the injury by doing such difficult things are sitting down, getting up, or otherwise existing in a non-horizontal environment.

Sigh...

This is what comes of doing things my way, right?

The performance program has the option of using leg presses and such rather than dumbbell or barbell squats. I knew this, but thought squatting sounded too macho and cool. The thing is, while the actual squatting was unlikely to be the source of the injury, it really doesn't matter. I injured myself sufficiently that I've lost at least a week's exercising, maybe more. All I had to do was focus on slower and lower for the squats, then I needn't have carried so much weight. While I did slow, I didn't go lower. As the link I provided the other points out, going slower, forcing every last ounce of effort from your muscles...that's the way to get stronger. Yanking large weights (or even using appropriate weights) doesn't help if your form isn't correct. Form counts.

Anyway, so I sit here is abject pain, depending on what I'm doing. I am not eating K-balanced per se because I can’t effectively cook. I can barely hold a bowl at present.  So, I’m now almost two weeks down on exercises because I’m an idiot. Don’t be like me…lower and slower…

Sick

2009-12-05T17:54:00.000-08:00

One of the nice things about having a defined lifestyle is knowing that you can slide a little, but since it's not a diet, you're ok when you do. Like the past couple of days, I've had a fever and just didn't feel like eating balanced...heck, technically I didn't feel like eating at all. I know I *ought* to eat more balanced, but my body rebelled against it.

Your body is like that sometimes, demanding and focused. Your body knows what it needs. You should listen to it when it complains that it can't handle any more protein today, for example. Nine times out of ten, you will NOT hear that message, but when you do, you really ought to listen. Let's say that I haven't been very balanced the past two days, but I've been listening and obeying.

Now, my feeling bad couldn't possibly have anything to do with the KAI yearly warehouse sale. Uh-huh...I DID stand in freezing temps for 4 hours without a coat. THAT might have something to do with it...lol

I know I need to get my head back in gear for Monday, but by listening, I'll shorten my convalescence and, hopefully, be ready on Monday for week 2 of the performance program.

By the way, I also hurt my back this week during squats, so there were TWO things that disrupted my lifestyle. I really didn't feel anything wrong with my back until about eight hours after the workout, but I've had a serious knot in my mid-back since then, making it hard to sleep. Yeah, that's me, Mr. Over-do-it.

But again, the cool thing about living a balanced lifestyle is the knowledge that you CAN have deviations, but when they happen, you aren't compelled to beat yourself up. I know I'll be better soon, working out, eating, cooking, and figuring out how I can do better.

Continuous improvement is good for the soul!

The other side of balance...

2009-12-04T09:56:00.000-08:00

I'm in love. I don't think I've mentioned that. I love food. I love the interplay of sweet, sour, salty, and hot in Thai food. I love the profundity that is an amazing piece of foie gras contrasted with a sauternes or more creatively, the way Gabriel Rucker can find a "trail mix" to coat the foie. I love the flavor of a true BBQ master's product. Heck, if it's good, I'll like it.

You didn't think I got this way eating McD's, did you?

The thing about balancing your life is that you ultimately must provide a counter-weight to the virtuous. You must give in to the beast. Balance requires BOTH sides be served. A lot of lifestyles discuss this need, but rarely do they put that into action. This lifestyle does. Twice a week, you have a five hour period to have whatever you want, as much as you want.

I'll give you a practical example: last night I had 3 glasses of wine and a nip of Scottish Whisky during the five hours. Yeah, my head hurts a little and my lips are chapped, but I am a big guy still. I didn't go crazy on food per se, but I shared more cheesy poofs than I've had in years. A bit of steak, too...mmmmm...steak is almost necessarily forbidden the rest of the week because marbling increases the fat percentage beyond reason.

Next week, I'll time my free target for something along the lines of chocolate truffles. I'm making a bunch for Christmas. I'll need to taste and verify, right? Grand Mariner, Kahlua, Bourbon, Irish Cream, Frangelico, and plain all need to be taste-tested for quality control, right?

Anyway, it's wonderful to have not only two targets, but the liberty, nee even the requirement to meet them. Over time, I'll evolve this to be two amazing meals a week, either prepared at home or somewhere wonderful.

I'll leave today's missive with a list of the most wonderful meals I can think of (well, at least the links to the restaurants).

St. Thomas, Patron Saint of American Gastronomy
St. Bruno, Patron Saint of Canadian Gastronomy

Now for something a little more realistic to my local peeps...

Grabriel's Joint
Naomi's Joint
Andy's Joint
Cupcake Jones
Helvatia Tavern
Syun Izakaya

Wait one second...you said TWO things...now there's THREE?!

2009-12-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

In the first of my blog entries, I mentioned that there were two aspects to getting fit, nutrition and exercise. In my last post, I mentioned THREE things by inference. W.T.H.!

Ok, I'm not trying to fool you, honestly. It really does come down to nutrition and exercise, but how do you know how you're doing? What is the method by which you measure progress? What are the success criteria? In other words, do you know where you are, where you're going, and what the final destination looks like? Simply put, you need a destination, a map, and a way to measure progress.

Here it is: you must have a measurable goal. One with well-defined success criteria. The goal must be written in such a way as to provide progress metrics. Oh.God...I sound like an Intel droid. And I should. You can't know how you're doing if you don't have progress measurements. You can't measure progress unless you have a goal. You can't have a goal unless you know what achieving the goal looks like.

So...

I have very defined goals. I want to reach between 8 and 10% body fat. I have a near-term target date of April 1st for this. It's an aggressive date. I might not make it. However, I also know that measuring my percentage body fat once a week will provide me an on-going progress metric. I also have goals outside of the general goal.

In fact, the body fat isn't really the point. It's the hard target, with success criteria and progress metrics, but the REAL goals are either ephemeral or atomic. My ephemeral goal is to be fit and healthy. Great. Figure out the success criteria for THAT! Moreover, my other goals are isolated activities that REQUIRE fitness, but have no real progress measures: climb Mt. Hood in March, ride various charity rides, etc. You can read them here. Yes, I do write over there as well...more focused on the community and the kinetix lifestyle.
Next, it’s, um…gee…journaling

There. I said it.

I'm NOT a diarist, nor do I enjoy recounting my past through words. In fact, I've been accused of being a diarist for many years because of my good memory and because I'm good at keeping email and such. The truth is, I don't like it, not one bit, I do not like writing daily spam...oops, sorry, my inner Dr. Seuss found the key again.

BUT...

The only way you know if you're progressing is to know what you did prior. There are some aspects of journaling I've already dispensed with. I DO know my K-count targets, but I might only record 4 of my 6 meals a day because I've become arrogant and proud of my ability to stick with K-balanced meals. K-balance is static for me, so recording daily application is merely drudgery for me. OTOH, I suspect that I'll always journal my exercise. I just can't always recall what last week looked like. I need a reference. I write it down.

Perhaps you're already a pro at nutrition and so you'll follow my pathetic, arrogant example and record only your exercise. Maybe you'll meticulously record every aspect of your routine, from soup to nuts to reps to ?! Maybe you're a born diarist. The key is that you need a record of the past on which to build the future. With travel, you have a map, be it mental or physical (or electronic). The map shows you, at a gross level, where you were, where you are, and where you're going.

Oh.wait.

I got so excited by talking about journaling that I forgot the more fundamental aspect of record keeping, the WHY. Why are you doing this? What are you doing? What is your destination? Fundamentally, you need to have an idea in mind. You can't just say, "I want to lose weight." These are completely amorphous statements that cannot be measured. Or better said, the practical measurement for these two goals is useless. You can pat yourself on the back for losing 5lbs and meet that goal; heck, you could lose 1lb and be successful, right?

This, finally, is the point: nutrition, exercise, and well-defined and recorded goals. These three aspects lead to the totality of fitness. You must journal in order to track progress. Some things are progressive at the start, but may become static later on. Some things are eternally progressive.

Eat right
Workout
Journal your progress toward well-defined goals

Welcome to how I choose to live my life. Join me if you would; Pity me if you must; ignore me to your peril.
How's that for my barbaric yawp?

Workout

2009-12-02T08:21:00.000-08:00

So, eating macro-nutritionally balanced meals is one-third of the process to being healthy. Next, you must consider your activity level. If you sit around all day and consider the trudge to the fridge for another beer exercise, you are likely going to have to shock yourself into understanding that humans evolved as hunter-gatherers, which has little, if any sedentary periods outside sleep. This does not mean that we all have to frenetic balls of constant motion, but it does mean that you'll have to get up off the couch.

There are TONS of theories about what activities are most beneficial. Is yoga the right exercise for you? How about pilates? Even though you do NOT want to look like the govenator, should you be lifting weights? Is running enough? ARGH!
Here's a truth: lean muscle heightens metabolism. Metabolism, in turn, fuels all activities, including weight loss. You WANT your metabolism operating at a high level as much as possible, not only so that you're ready for whatever the day throws at you, but also to get you to, and maintain, your ideal weight. There are two activities that fuel your: cardio-vascular work and resistance training. Let's examine each in turn.

Are you the person who gets to the gym and seeks to keep aerobic for your entire visit? Do you hit the streets proudly as you peg your heart rate at 80% or more for hours? Congratulations! You have an excellent foundation for SLOWING DOWN. You'll read all kinds of literature about the right cardio range for fitness, but there is generally universal agreement that weight loss activity should focus on the 65%-75% range. This means that for most of us, hitting THAT range will be most beneficial. If you're feeling constrained by that range, then I encourage you to research for yourself. If you're not an endurance athlete, then you're likely doing more harm to your system by going harder. What if you ARE trying to gain endurance, though? What then?

What's the number one best way to improve any kind of function, biological or mechanical? You increase efficiency, right? How does one increase the efficiency of the body then becomes the over-riding question. Simply put, you increase the capacity through exercises designed to build more muscle. This does not mean that you have to be a body builder, but it DOES mean that properly focused resistance training will increase your efficiency and allow you to do more work with less effort. Endurance athletes will protest the idea of increasing mass of any kind, but here's a universal truth to counter the argument: the more efficient the endurance muscle, the greater the overall endurance. So, if you're a runner or a cyclist, focus on your legs. If you’re a swimmer, you need to focus on both upper and lower body.

There is another aspect to lifting: form and style. If you’ve ever darkened the door of a “normal” gym, you’ve seen them, those hyper-muscled athletes who explosively lift enormous weights. It seems that guys almost universally attempt to be those guys. In 2009, a USC running back was critically injured during a bench press exercise, likely using explosive lifting techniques common to football players. Here’s the thing for the REST of us, though: slower IS better. See, if you think about it, there is logic to both methods, and you might need to balance both aspects if you have specific activity targets. Slower repetitions more fully work the muscle. You should give a four-count for flexing portion of a rep. You should hold in the fully contracted position for two counts. You should return to the neutral position with a two-count. This will most fully activate the muscle and get the best strength.

What about explosive lifting? Think of muscle as having two kinds, slow and fast twitch. Explosive lifting focuses on fast-twitch muscle, which is necessary for high-output, short-term responses, like in football or sprinting. Slow lifting focuses on endurance muscle building. Going slower will help you go longer.

Ok, how do you increase your heart's endurance, then? Interval training. Not only does interval training put some healthy strain on your heart, it does so without going into the dreaded aerobic zone for too long. Wait, did I say that? Aerobics are NOT dangerous, are they? They are if you want to keep muscle. Muscle eats muscle, so long periods of aerobic activity will cause you to LOSE muscle. Think of it this way, a professional cyclist in a three-week grand tour loses weight. However, NONE of the smart ones ever have much more than 10% body fat to start, so what could they possibly be losing? You got it: muscle. That's why freaks of nature win the Vuelta, Giro, or Tour...they lose LESS muscle because they're not aerobic for as long...

I've babbled too long here, but let's say that we've covered nutrition and fitness at a gross level. Hopefully, I've intrigued you enough to subscribe. There's MUCH more to come!

Everything in moderation, even moderation...

2009-12-01T09:50:00.000-08:00

Let's face it, eating "right" is often eating badly. We have an innate desire for the sweet, the unctuous, and the downright fatty. Our instincts teach us that food is scarce and we'd better get while the gettin's good. The fact that our instincts have not comprehended the reality created in our post-modern food supply creates in us a desire to horde, selecting the high-caloric foods, and making us all fat. Oh, and don't even get me started about the corn-based agriculture we've adopted in the US. Just watch King Corn and read The Omnivore's Dilemma for those details. So, what's a foodie to do when the metabolism slows?

It falls upon us to find a balance between pleasure and practice, between joy and pragmatism. In short, there are two very different ways of addressing the question, but both work in concert to ensure that we're not totally destroyed by our dietary decisions. On the one hand, we must find a way to eat "right" that doesn't cause us so much gustatory pain that we abandon the path and on the other, we must find a way to delight our senses periodically. These two strategies define how we overcome our instinctual desires and win better health.

Back when the US began examining and experimenting with odd dietary theories (think John Harvey Kellogg), the variety of food and the way to prepare them became greatly disjointed from what common folks ate. Let's face it, you can advocate vegetarianism and an ascetic diety all you want, but most folks are just interested in getting fed, and if possible, WELL fed. We still see these odd strains of diet and belief in the form of the raw-food movement amongst others. And while I'd love to say that there is a diet that is a panacea, the truth of the matter is that you'll eat what you can tolerate, preferring what you like, and desiring that which you believe you cannot have. Hey, like me, you're human and that's NOT a bad thing, no matter what some may tell you.

So, how do you reconcile your desires?

As mentioned before, you focus on making your daily intake as balanced as possible without becoming overwhelmed or disappointed. Watching your balance of macro-nutrients per meal, to ensure that you're getting what you need is a GREAT place to start. While there are various recommended ratios of fat, protein, and carbohydrates depending on various theories, including the famous Atkins Diet, I've become a fan of the 40/40/20 ratio (protein/carbs/fat) advocated by kinetix. I've found that, for me, if I follow the ratios and the grazing nature of the program, I'm rarely hungry and I've already lost over 35lbs. Actually, it generally is hard to eat the last meal of the day and I don't feel like eating much throughout the day. I'm sure that there are other alternatives to the 40/40/20 ratio that may work for you, but I'll throw my hat in for the 40/40/20 ratio.

The biggest "aha!" moment for me was the realization that we've become SO tolerant of dietary fat that our ratios are ALL whacked out. Grain-fed beef is almost impossible to balance due to that intense marbling that we've grow to desire so much. It DOES make eating red meat difficult, though not impossible. However, with some creativity and skill, you can eat almost everything you always ate, albeit with recipe modification. So far, the only food that has truly eluded me are cookies, but I won't give up the fight so easily. Check back in a few days to see if I finally conquer that beastie!

The other part of the balanced diet is knowing when you DON'T need balance. You even need to moderate your moderation! In the kinetix way of eating, you have 19 balanced meal targets a week and two "free targets." The reason this is good is that these are two five-hour periods where you can eat whatever you want, period. If you wanted to consume an entire side of beef, you could (good LUCK!). After a few weeks on the program, you begin to self-moderate here as well, not because you're somehow more virtuous, but you find yourself eating less in general. However, as you settle in, you'll find that you want to make free targets special. After all, if you're gonna eat only two free targets a week, why waste them? You miss steak? Hmmm...have at it! You have a desire for a saturnalian feast? Enjoy!

There is one other part of this dietary method you should know: it's NOT about perfection. It's the journey that counts, not the destination (yes, I can babble in cliches with the best of 'em!). The truth is, we all screw up. Moreover, sometimes it isn't even a screw up. I wantonly chose to eat unbalanced from the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving until Sunday night afterward. I did have some balanced meals in there, but I wasn't very careful. I'm even sure I gained some weight. However, come Monday morning, I was back on track and back to exercising. And though I disappointed myself a little, I didn't freak out or get dispirited. It was a silly expedition into unbalanced eating and now I'm back.

So, why does this work for me? Because eating balanced meals is not all that onerous, though it does take some effort in the beginning to learn the ratios and adapt. I have my whimsy in the form of free targets. I'm not hungry. It all works.

In fact, just for fun, I'm going to prove to you that you CAN eat a balanced meal that is pretty darn close to what you'd like. I now present the newest recipe to come out of this balanced mindset:

Ranch Chicken Salad

8 Tablespoons Light Ranch Dressing
20oz raw chicken breast
1 cup each: diced red pepper, diced onion, diced cucumber, broccoli florets, grated carrots, grapes cut in half
2 cups Romaine lettuce (can be doubled if desired without affecting balance)
2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs

Cook chicken until just done, roughly 5 minutes on a side at medium-high heat
Allow chicken to rest while assembling the rest of the ingredients
In a large bowl, add ranch dressing to bottom
Dice chicken breast into bite-sized pieces
Add all remaining ingredients except croutons and toss
Portion out six portions for a K3 salad, or four portions for a K4 salad, adding croutons at the end so they don't get mushy

Did I mention that I HATE ranch dressing, but since most of the rest of the world is in love with it, I thought I'd gift it today...

Welcome

2009-11-30T07:28:00.000-08:00

Hi, I'm David and I've been fat the better part of 18 years. Before that, I was insanely fit, but then I got a desk job and the slide began. I married a sedentary person and the transformation was complete, from Alaskan mountaineer and commercial fisherman to someone I didn't know and didn't care to know.

Ignorance is bliss, they say, and I ignored my physical condition, every once in a while attempting to get back to what I was before, but I always failed. I'd ride 1500 miles on my bike and lose maybe 20 lbs. Was I eating too much? Was I eating the wrong things? I began counting calories like a fiend and it didn't help. I intensified my workouts. I was the only 300lb person I'd ever heard of that could complete a 50 mile rolling, hilly bike ride. Hills KILLED me because of weight, but otherwise I was a paragon of fitness. Heck, my DOCTOR told me that I was the fittest fat guy he'd ever seen. Damning with faint praise indeed...

Then, a little over three months ago, I heard about this program. The founder explained, without me asking, how it was that I could workout so very hard and lose little weight, even GAIN it. He could explain WHY I was feeling like I did. I guess you could say that he was a guru to some extent and I'd encourage everyone to read about the program. Jaime and Meagan, the founders, had a remarkable story and their results were impressive. Here's the coolest thing, though: they offer every aspect of the program online for the reading. Their company's business model is corporate coaching, NOT the program itself.

So, what were the big a-ha moments? They boil down to two things:

Nutrition: Balance and grazing are the keys; ignore any of the three legged stool and you're overly hungry...ignore the eating schedule and you'll have the same kinds of problems...

Exercise: It's not about how much you do, but the quality and form

Now, the truth is, you'll be eating more than you feel necessary, but you'll likely actually be eating LESS overall. It's the balance and the grazing. It makes you feel like, well, a grazing cow, but because you're eating a little bit frequently, you're never really hungry, so you think you're over-eating. The other thing that the Kinetix program does is veils everything in "K-Counts" rather than calories, to make the process easier AND to keep people from obsessing on calories rather than nutritional balance. Yes, the K-Counts DO have caloric definitions, but you don't strictly NEED them. You calculate a K-Count target for each of three five-hour daily periods. I won't got into it all, but trust me, I've never been hungry when I've followed the program correctly. And I eat...In later blogs, I'll discuss the macro-nutrients and how I'm creating nutritionally balanced recipes, but for now, I'll again direct you to Jaime and Meagan's company site: www.kinetixliving.com; and the community site: www.kinetixcommunity.com

Did I mention you can join the community site for FREE and the community is uber-supportive?

And as for exercise, I've always been an aerobic freak. I'll sit comfortably at 75-85% of my max heart rate for HOURS. No wonder I couldn't lose weight. Go ahead and research this, but the truth is that at aerobic levels, you're burning more muscle than fat. In fact, your body can go into a kind of starvation mode where it eats your muscles FIRST and builds fat layers to attempt to keep you out of the red zone, nutritionally. Why? Your brain is much more like fat than muscle, so your body PROTECTS the brain by scavenging the muscle. This is how I could get fatter while being an aerobic junkie.

Ok, so this is the introduction to my blog, and a brief intro to the program. I've even included this little tidbit, I'm fat. How about quantifying that a bit so that you can track me?

Weight: 283.2
Lean Mass: 182.9
Fat Mass: 99.4
Percentage Body Fat (PBF): 35.4%

Target: 8-10% PBF
Don't ask a weight because I don't know the weight target, only the body composition. It may be 201, but if I gain muscle, it could be higher...even MUCH higher depending.

Oh, want a picture? This one was taken YESTERDAY, so it's completely accurate. Those pants? I hadn't been able to wear them in a YEAR...I've already lost 35lbs and intend to lose the rest by April...