Thursday, January 22, 2009

Progress Report: S&M Blitz

Some highlights from day 3 and 4...


Day 3

Fueled?:  My schedule for day three was almost exactly the same as for day 1 so I hoped to learn from my mistakes.  I fueled a lot better through the day...  LÄRABARs were the answer between meals and immediately post workout too.  They are totally awesome and sweet enough to satisfy that kind of craving too.



The ingredients (of my Cinnamon Roll flavour LÄRABAR):  

Dates, Walnuts, Almonds, Raisins, Cashews, Cinnamon.

That's it - totally natural, 100% healthy.  I wouldn't say it tastes EXACTLY like a Cinnamon Roll but it is pleasantly sweet (and "sweet" is tough to get on this eating plan), and it's tasty enough to eat that I had to stop myself from eating two in a row.

I also packed in a lot more protein with my lunch - two eggs and a heap of tuna on my salad.  Made it feel a lot more substantial.  (Note:  my cool "Spork" - half spoon, half fork....  you know you want one.)



I can't believe the amount of fruit I am eating...  3 pieces with breakfast, and I stopped by Whole Foods yesterday for a snack and took down a huge navel orange, a big bag of grapes and an apple.  Then more with "dessert".  Fruit is the "easy" alternative when I need food NOW.

Cravings:  My strategy with the cravings has been to not get hungry.  If I am even slightly hungry I eat a bit of fruit to keep it from getting out of hand.  The bars have also been a good option for times when I need "sweet".  

Committed:  Yep.  Learning a lot about fueling the body and finding all sorts of great ways to be healthier when this is done...

This was part of our dinner on Tuesday night.  Peppers stuffed with:  Chicken, kamut, spinach, grape tomatoes, black beans, corn, fresh oregano, salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon juice.

We also had an awesome Greek Red Lentil Soup with lots of garlic, fresh lemon juice, rosemary, and oregano...  We are eating well.  Sacha's rocking it...


Day 4

I'd say the hardest part of this is just changing habits.  You have to do significantly more thinking and planning because just 'grabbing something' is unlikely to pan out in a healthy manner.

Fueled?:  Yes.  Getting good at this.

Cravings:  Still having some but know how to minimize them.

Committed:  Yes.  Thinking about how to adopt as much of this as possible while reintegrating the other foods.

I kept that short because I wanted to tell you what I have learnt about bread...  you may know this already but I didn't.


Have a look at the ingredients of a regular loaf of 100% Whole Wheat bread (left) CLICK TO ENLARGE.  Brown sugar is the third ingredient and glucose-fructose/sugar the 8th ingredient.  And the last two lines are all things that sound like Chemistry 12.  I was a little surprised/disappointed by this....

Now look at Ancient Grains Bread.  No sugar and all natural (nothing that sounds like it requires a Haz-Mat suit.)

The Ancient Grains is remarkably similar to "normal" bread if you consider they have almost none of the same ingredients.  I really enjoy it with some almond butter or especially dipped in hummus.  Give it a try...  


Tweet this!

7 comments:

Vincent said...

Sure the acient grains bread may be more healthy for you, but it doesn't have any "Fancy Molasses", is that really something your willing to give up?

Ryan D said...

embrace it man! nice work though. fruit and trail mix are the ultimate snacks mid morning/afternoon!

Missy said...

I need to stop looking at all this food...you're makin me hungry for healthy shiz. C'mon man, lara bars are good, though.

Chloe said...

Oh man - you HAVE to share how you made the stuffed peppers. Those look amazing!

onelegmatt said...

Meyrick, watch out for those Lara Bars. They maybe on a recall.

http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/generalmills01_09.html

Unknown said...

I always get comments from coworkers that my desk looks like a produce counter. I guess I like fruit. Nice job with the eating.

jameson said...

way to stay strong dude... I am back on the plan next week!

larabars are awesome. You have to try the peanut butter cookie flavor... it tastes just like and otis spunkmyer cookie...almost.

if you like those bars I highly recomend Bora Bora bars. very good as well.

stay strong!