Outside the Box Isn't That Bad

Last night, I met up with my friend at the gym, afterwards she came over to my place so we could visit more. I needed to eat, but I did not want to eat out, nor did I want to ruin my diet but, I also wanted to make something that she might like and preferably not just the same ol salad with chicken. I know how much she likes tacos and I had taken out some bison intending to cook it up with some taco seasoning. So, I came up with a "creation" that I tested out on her. I had some rice in the fridge as well, so I topped 1/2 cup of rice with 100g of bison with taco seasoning, then about 1/3 cup of cottage cheese, shredded head lettuce, sliced black olives and salsa. It tasted similar to a taco salad, minus the taco. I quite enjoyed it and so did my friend. In fact, afterwards she commented that she was so full and satisfied, she was having a hard time believing we just had something that was healthy, low fat, good protein and carbs. Which BTW, is also the making of a great post workout meal. Even Wes tried a bite and wasn't disgusted by it. It got me thinking that I think some people get so stuck on "normal" foods that the thought that something is good for you, or "diet" food, should be bland and not overly satisfying. The problem here is if you want to continue to eat well and make a lifestyle change, you have to find alternatives. If all you live off of is plain salad with no dressing and dry chicken breasts, there is no way you will be able to keep that up, which is generally how yo-yo dieting ends up.



My sister does not eat gluten or dairy, some would automatically assume that a piece of toast for breakfast or a sandwich for lunch is out of the question. Or that she would never be able to have ice cream ever again, or pancakes, cookies, cake..... One would end up living off of only fruit, veggies and meat! You just have to think outside the box and experiment. If you want to make a lifestyle change, it has to be one that you can see yourself sticking with, find some alternatives to your favorites. Heck you might even prefer it. Granted, it will likely take more work then going through a drive through, but hey, if it was easy there would be no such thing as obesity.


My 'creation' may not taste exactly like a taco salad, but it is pretty darn close. And you know what? My sister does eat ice cream, pancakes, toast and cake, the only difference is she doesn't go to a store or open a box to have it.


Well, as I mentioned at the beginning of my rant, I went to the gym yesterday....

Workout

Bentover Flyes 10lbs x 12 x 2
Lying BB Protraction 25lbs x 12 x 2
Seated Scap Depressions BW x 12 x 2
Face Pulls 70lbs x 12 x 2

Military Press 45/50/55 lbs x 5 x 3
Chin Ups 1 band x 5 x 3
Seated Cable Row 75 lbs x 8 x 2
Incline DB Press 25lbs x 12 x 2
Lateral Raise 10 x 12 x 2

Process, Details and Fog

I recently had the opportunity to see Olympic medalist, Simon Whitfield, speak about his experience in the Olympic Games. He talked about staying focused on the process and the details required to achieve his goals. He said that many athletes are content to just compete, because by actually saying they want to win could mean they could fail. “You must put aside your fear of failing and focus on the process and details.” In order to do that, one must have a workable plan and ignore “the fog”; the fog being anything that distracts you from, or clouds your vision of, the process and details of your plan. Sounds easy enough, but unless you know what the fog looks like, you may not realize you are being led in a different direction. For example, if you were planning a road trip, you may buy a map and plan out your route. You may decide to stop at a few attractions along the way and you plan those out as well. But what happens if you lose your map? Or what if you are talking to someone and they tell you of a different way to go? What will you do? This is “the fog”. Ignore the fog and stick to the process you planned.

I am not a fan of counting calories; I just don’t have the time to plug numbers in to a computer everyday. However, until you know your route, you will have to refer to a map. So, if I am wanting to see more gains in the gym (and less on the scale), I am going to have to come up with a plan, something to focus on. As far as how many calories to consume or how much protein etc, everyone is different and there is no set answer. It is just a matter of trial and error. Some people do better with more fat or more carbs then others, some have such a messed up metabolism that they may have to start with fewer calories and slowly work their way up. The biggest mistake anyone can make is to not eat enough calories. If you do not eat enough calories, your body will try to hold on to whatever you give it in order to fuel your workouts (assuming you are working out). Your metabolism will slow down and eventually you will start to break down your hard earned muscle for fuel (a process known as catabolism). Consume too many calories, and well, we all know what happens then…..

There are many different methods of determining how many calories to consume, none of which are perfect. As I mentioned before, everyone is different, so it is just a matter of trial and error. To make things easy, I am going to determine my daily calories based on my level of activity and my current weight. Multiply your current weight by; 12 if you are sedentary, 13 if you are moderately active, and 14 if you are very active. Based on this, my daily caloric intake will be roughly 1650. Again, this is just a starting point and may be altered later, depending on my progress. Once I know how many calories I will have per day, I need to determine where those calories will come from. Since, everyone is different how you decide to split up your macros is up to you. I am going to start with a 40/30/30 split; 40% protein, 30% carbs and 30% fat. Therefore; 660 protein calories, 495 carbohydrate calories and 495 fat calories = 1650 Total. To break this down further, 1 gram of protein = 4 calories, 1 gram of carbs = 4 calories and 1 gram of fat = 9 calories.

660 / 4 = 165g of protein/day 495 / 4 = 124g carbs/day 495 / 9 = 55g fat/day

So, now I know that I will aim to plan my meals so that I am consuming 165g of protein, 124g of carbohydrates and 55g of fat per day. My preference is to consume 4-5 smaller meals per day, I find it works better for me as far as energy and hunger levels. Some people prefer to only have 3 meals a day, others prefer to spread it out over 6 or 7 meals. There is no definite right or wrong method, you could even have one large meal and use up all your calories in one sitting, albeit that isn’t the most effective choice. As far as I am concerned the best choice is which ever one you can stick to. If you can stick to it, you will have success; if your plan is just not workable for your lifestyle, you will most likely fail.