Ok, I'm late with this week's report. I apologize. You see I'm just not motivated to write it this week since it seems my consumption of salty foods has led to a small and temporary reversal on the scales. This is also why I didn't put the word 'progress' in the title of this post. The fact of the matter is that according to the scale there is no progress to report this week. Rather it shows I gained 3 lbs. I know it is temporary and that I can recover from this little bump, but it still makes me loathe to post about it.
On a different note, the national Bike Challenge starts on Sunday. It runs from May 1 through September 30. I made it my goal in 2014 to ride every single day during the challenge and I did. Last year I didn't ride but a handful of times. This year I hope to equal the frequency of ride that I accomplished in 2014, but I already know there will be some missed days as there is some travel planned in June and August which will preclude riding. Those days aside, I will endeavor to surpass at least my mileage total for the 2014 challenge.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Paleo Diet Food List
I was doing some research online about what I can and cannot eat as I am trying to follow a Paleo diet. I came across this list as part of a post over on PaleoDietPlusPlus.com.
Part of the list that felt even more important than what I can't eat, is what I can't eat. It is a much shorter list and easier to remember, I think:
Paleo Diet Food List
Protein
- Red Meat and Pork: Beef, veal, lamb, bison, ostrich, sheep, caribou, goat, venison (deer), pork. Try to get grass-fed and organic if possible.
- Cage-free Poultry: Chicken, duck, quail, goose, pheasant, pigeon, eggs from any of the birds just mentioned.
- Wild Fish and Seafood: Salmon, tuna, tilapia, anchovy, herring, yellowtail, mahi-mahi (dorado), trout, bass, halibut, sole, haddock, turbot, walleye, cod, flatfish, grouper, mackerel, white fish, shrimp, oysters, clams, mussels, sea urchin, lobster, scallops, crab.
- Nuts: Cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds (Pepita), pecans, walnuts, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, chestnuts, cashews, almonds, coconuts. Note: Peanut is not a nut, it’s a legume, thus it isn’t allowed on the Paleo diet.
Fat
- Cooking Oil
- Extra-virgin coconut oil: You never want to burn your oil when you cook and since coconut oil has a high heat index (making it harder to burn), it is the oil I recommend for cooking for most meals.
- Bacon Fat (lard): Bacon fat can be used as a cooking oil. It’s delicious (who doesn’t bacon?) and can be easily harvested from the grease of rendered bacon fat.
- Beef Tallow: Tallow, much like bacon fat, is a rendered form of beef fat. I usually get my beef tallow from the fat that floats on top of my beef bone broth which I make once a week.
- Salad Oil
- Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO): This is my oil of choice for most of my salads. EVOO is high in polyunsaturated fats (PUFA) so it’s very unstable under high heat and sun light, so I don’t recommend cooking with it and don’t leave it in direct sun light or storing it in a clear bottle. Keep it in a dark place and use a bottle that is tinted (similar to red wine bottles).
- Sesame seed oil: Adds a great Asian flavor to any salad, I recommend only a teaspoon per salad.
- Food with Good Fat: Avocados, butter (if you can eat diary), ghee (clarified butter), pork, beef, duck, veal, lamb, cold water fishes (sardines, mackerel, salmon, anchovies), walnuts, pistachios, pecans, Brazil nuts, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds (Pepita), pecans, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, chestnuts, chia seeds, cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, coconuts.
- Cooking Oil
Carbohydrates
- Starchy Roots: Sweet potatoes, yams, cassava, potatoes, purple yams, sweet yams.
- Nuts: Cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds (Pepita), pecans, walnuts, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, chestnuts, cashews, almonds, coconuts. Note: Peanut is not a nut, it’s a legume, thus it isn’t allowed on the Paleo diet.
Sugars
- Raw honey, maple syrup, palm sugar
Alcohols
- None
Vegetables
- Lettuce, butter lettuce, carrots, beets, turnips, parsnips, rutabaga, radish, artichokes, arugula, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, romaine lettuce, watercrest, onions, shallots, button mushroom, portabello, oyster mushroom, shiitake. Pretty much any green leafy vegetable. I also included mushrooms under vegetables even though it’s classified as a fungus, but most people usually cook mushrooms as if they were vegetables.
Spices and Herbs
- Onions, garlic, parsley, cilantro (coriander), thyme, lavender, mint, basil, rosemary, chives, tarragon, oregano, sage, dill, bay leaves, curry powder, all spice, five spice, paprika, chili powder, salt, pepper, cinnamon, vanilla extract (make sure it’s 100% pure), cloves, nutmeg, star anise, mustard seeds, cumin.
Fruit
- Apples, grapefruit, pomelos, oranges, pear, acorn squash, buttercup squash, butternut squash, pumpkin, spaghetti squash, yellow summer squash, zucchini,bananas, strawberries, raspberries, goji, cocoa, lemon, lime, tangerines, lychee, rumbatan, mangoes, grapes, papaya, plums, peaches, nectarines, blackberries, pineapples, pomegranates, cantaloupes, cherries, apricots, watermelon, honeydew.
Part of the list that felt even more important than what I can't eat, is what I can't eat. It is a much shorter list and easier to remember, I think:
Food NOT allowed on the Paleo Diet
- Refined carbohydrates: White bread, white flour
- Grains: Wheat, oat, rye
- Refined sugars: White table sugar, candy of all types,
- Legumes: Soybean, pinto beans, peas, fava beans, black eyed peas, lima beans, peanuts.
- Dairy: This is a point of controversy, as some people will say dairy is OK on the Paleo diet, while Paleo diet purist will argue otherwise. I say if you’re not lactose intolerant then eat dairy. But if you’re strict Paleo then stay away from the stuff! Dairy products: Cheese, milk, yogurt, butter, milk chocolate. Note: Ghee, clarified butter does not contain lactose nor casein, the proteins in dairy that causes harm to people who are intolerant to dairy. So enjoy ghee if you can afford it.
- Processed food: Anything that is in a can or bag and doesn’t spoil for months or years. You can bet it contains preservatives.
- All junk food: Chips, sweets, candy
- Hydrogenated Oils and Trans Fat: Vegetable oil, vegetable shortening, hydrogenated soybean oil, hydrogenated corn oil, margarine, shortening.
- Excitotoxins: Mono sodium-glutemate
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
I'm back and getting fit
Last week my wife and I spent a wonderful 7 nights cruising from Long Beach down to the Mexican Riviera on the Carnival Miracle. We stopped at the three ports of Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. We loved it! I highly recommend it!
That's not to say there aren't some things to watch out for on a cruise, when one is trying to get their body into a healthier shape. The two biggest threats to progress in this direction are food and drink.
OK, I know that these are daily obstacles and challenges one must contend with when on a journey to a healthier lifestyle, but let's just say they are magnified in the microcosm that is a cruise. Take Food, for example.
When you are home you can exert a pretty high degree of control over the food that you eat, primarily by limiting availability within your household pantry, or mostly by cost when you go out to eat. Not to mention that if you eat at home, there likely isn't a huge variety nor quantity. Not true on a cruise. Let's look at all of the food options while on a ship:
First and foremost there is the dining room. Its pretty straight forward with set times and menus to choose from. You have either Breakfast or Brunch, and then dinner. Where at home most people don't usually have multiple courses, every meal in the dining room consists of Starters, Main Entrees and Dessert. Add to that the fact that you can choose multiple items from each category if you so desire and you can see how this is a very dangerous place.
Just to illustrate my point, I'd like to share what I had on our first Formal Night of the cruise. For starters I had the Beefsteak Tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella and then the wild mushroom soup. My entree was the Prime rib of beef with baked potato and broccoli. Then there was dessert - Cherries Jubilee and date and fig cake. What is important to understand is this was just a typical meal.
Then there is the buffet which is open most of the day and evening. There were stations with rotating cuisine like Chinese, Italian and Caribbean. Then there were what I think of as the staples: hamburger, hot dogs, chicken finger and fries. Let's not forget the deli with made to order sandwiches, either. Most of these were open from the morning until 9:00 at night.
Add to all that the 24/7 options of soft serve ice cream cones, pizza and room service where there is a wide selection of starters, entrees, sandwiches and breakfast.
As you can see, if you are hungry on a cruise its your own fault.
Then there are the drinks. Everywhere you go on the ship there are bar waiters offering various mixed drinks or bear and wine. Sure you have to pay for them, but they are such and integrated part of the cruise. On sea days, when we headed to the show room early, we would often get a double Bloody Mary. at meals we drank water or iced tea, but then in the evening it was usually couple of beers or mixed drinks. Nothing excessive or out of the ordinary for a cruise, but it all definitely adds up.
All that being said the common belief is that people gain as much as 10 lbs. during a one week cruise. That is a lit for such a short period of time, I know, but with all of the food and drinks that are consumed, not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
One way to combat that is to have a plan - decide ahead of time what you are going to eat and stick to the plan. Every day you can go on your stateroom TV, or head by the dining room and see what the menu will be for dinner that evening. Stick to the healthier choices, or if you must try all of the great food, split the meal with someone or limit yourself to just half of the dish.
Another way is to utilize the exercise room on board or just get out and walk! The ship we were on is 959 feet long and 105 feet wide. It has 12 decks and lots of stairs. Just walking from end to end along one of the interior corridor would be about 900 feet. With 5280 feet in a mile, if you walk it 6 times you've walked a mile. If that isn't what you want to do, walk the stairs up and down from the lido deck (deck 9) to the restaurant/showroom on deck 2. Beyond that there is also a track you can walk or run up on deck 11. All of this is available even on sea days while you are moving from port to port.
Then there are the ports themselves - great opportunities to get out and explore another country or world and many of them involve physical activity. There is everything from snorkeling to horseback riding to a canopy adventure with a ropes course to just walking and sightseeing. Of course there are also the excursions where you ride a bus and drink tequila (mas tequila) which I have to say has been one of my favorites.
What I'm trying to say here is while a cruise for many (including me this time) can mean a bit of excess eating and drinking and lack of activity, it doesn't have to. There are opportunities galore to enjoy yourself and also burn off many of those possibly excessive calories.
MOVING FORWARD
So, the cruise is behind us and all that's left are the memories and the few extra pounds. Its now time to get my butt back to the task of getting myself in a better, healthier shape. To that end I have been thinking about what I want to do this year and have come up with several goals to move me in the direction I want to go.
First and foremost I need to lose weight. that is a given because the extra weight is really starting to take its toll on me and I'm tired of it. To this end I've adjusted my diet to a low-carb diet which I know will allow me to quickly get started on losing pounds. My goal is to be at 360 lbs. on January 1, 2016. I finally got the scale working this morning and it showed 463 lbs. so, 103 lbs. to lose.
Second, I need to get more active. Obviously the more active I am, the more weight I can lose. To this end I have established 4 goals. Two of the goals are for distance, two for frequency, Two for cycling, two for walking/running.
I plan on cycling at least 1500 miles this year in at least 300 rides with several key milestone rides mixed in: a 25 mile ride, a 50 kilometer ride, a 50 mile ride, a metric century and a century.
I plan on walking/running at least 300 miles this year in at least 180 walks/runs. I also have specific distances here: 5K, 10K and Half Marathon this year.
To keep track of all these goals and my progress towards them, I will be putting together a chart listing the goals and weekly progress and posting it in the right margin of this page. I know I can do this. I know I need to do this. I will do this.
What are you doing to get healthy in 2015?
As always, Get on your bikes and ride!!!!!
That's not to say there aren't some things to watch out for on a cruise, when one is trying to get their body into a healthier shape. The two biggest threats to progress in this direction are food and drink.
OK, I know that these are daily obstacles and challenges one must contend with when on a journey to a healthier lifestyle, but let's just say they are magnified in the microcosm that is a cruise. Take Food, for example.
When you are home you can exert a pretty high degree of control over the food that you eat, primarily by limiting availability within your household pantry, or mostly by cost when you go out to eat. Not to mention that if you eat at home, there likely isn't a huge variety nor quantity. Not true on a cruise. Let's look at all of the food options while on a ship:
First and foremost there is the dining room. Its pretty straight forward with set times and menus to choose from. You have either Breakfast or Brunch, and then dinner. Where at home most people don't usually have multiple courses, every meal in the dining room consists of Starters, Main Entrees and Dessert. Add to that the fact that you can choose multiple items from each category if you so desire and you can see how this is a very dangerous place.
Just to illustrate my point, I'd like to share what I had on our first Formal Night of the cruise. For starters I had the Beefsteak Tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella and then the wild mushroom soup. My entree was the Prime rib of beef with baked potato and broccoli. Then there was dessert - Cherries Jubilee and date and fig cake. What is important to understand is this was just a typical meal.
Then there is the buffet which is open most of the day and evening. There were stations with rotating cuisine like Chinese, Italian and Caribbean. Then there were what I think of as the staples: hamburger, hot dogs, chicken finger and fries. Let's not forget the deli with made to order sandwiches, either. Most of these were open from the morning until 9:00 at night.
Add to all that the 24/7 options of soft serve ice cream cones, pizza and room service where there is a wide selection of starters, entrees, sandwiches and breakfast.
As you can see, if you are hungry on a cruise its your own fault.
Then there are the drinks. Everywhere you go on the ship there are bar waiters offering various mixed drinks or bear and wine. Sure you have to pay for them, but they are such and integrated part of the cruise. On sea days, when we headed to the show room early, we would often get a double Bloody Mary. at meals we drank water or iced tea, but then in the evening it was usually couple of beers or mixed drinks. Nothing excessive or out of the ordinary for a cruise, but it all definitely adds up.
All that being said the common belief is that people gain as much as 10 lbs. during a one week cruise. That is a lit for such a short period of time, I know, but with all of the food and drinks that are consumed, not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
One way to combat that is to have a plan - decide ahead of time what you are going to eat and stick to the plan. Every day you can go on your stateroom TV, or head by the dining room and see what the menu will be for dinner that evening. Stick to the healthier choices, or if you must try all of the great food, split the meal with someone or limit yourself to just half of the dish.
Another way is to utilize the exercise room on board or just get out and walk! The ship we were on is 959 feet long and 105 feet wide. It has 12 decks and lots of stairs. Just walking from end to end along one of the interior corridor would be about 900 feet. With 5280 feet in a mile, if you walk it 6 times you've walked a mile. If that isn't what you want to do, walk the stairs up and down from the lido deck (deck 9) to the restaurant/showroom on deck 2. Beyond that there is also a track you can walk or run up on deck 11. All of this is available even on sea days while you are moving from port to port.
Then there are the ports themselves - great opportunities to get out and explore another country or world and many of them involve physical activity. There is everything from snorkeling to horseback riding to a canopy adventure with a ropes course to just walking and sightseeing. Of course there are also the excursions where you ride a bus and drink tequila (mas tequila) which I have to say has been one of my favorites.
What I'm trying to say here is while a cruise for many (including me this time) can mean a bit of excess eating and drinking and lack of activity, it doesn't have to. There are opportunities galore to enjoy yourself and also burn off many of those possibly excessive calories.
MOVING FORWARD
So, the cruise is behind us and all that's left are the memories and the few extra pounds. Its now time to get my butt back to the task of getting myself in a better, healthier shape. To that end I have been thinking about what I want to do this year and have come up with several goals to move me in the direction I want to go.
First and foremost I need to lose weight. that is a given because the extra weight is really starting to take its toll on me and I'm tired of it. To this end I've adjusted my diet to a low-carb diet which I know will allow me to quickly get started on losing pounds. My goal is to be at 360 lbs. on January 1, 2016. I finally got the scale working this morning and it showed 463 lbs. so, 103 lbs. to lose.
Second, I need to get more active. Obviously the more active I am, the more weight I can lose. To this end I have established 4 goals. Two of the goals are for distance, two for frequency, Two for cycling, two for walking/running.
I plan on cycling at least 1500 miles this year in at least 300 rides with several key milestone rides mixed in: a 25 mile ride, a 50 kilometer ride, a 50 mile ride, a metric century and a century.
I plan on walking/running at least 300 miles this year in at least 180 walks/runs. I also have specific distances here: 5K, 10K and Half Marathon this year.
To keep track of all these goals and my progress towards them, I will be putting together a chart listing the goals and weekly progress and posting it in the right margin of this page. I know I can do this. I know I need to do this. I will do this.
What are you doing to get healthy in 2015?
As always, Get on your bikes and ride!!!!!
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Reflections on my 51st birthday...
Its been over 3 years that I've been posting to this blog and honestly, I've not made much progress towards my title's goal of losing weight and getting healthy. In the last 3 years I have done some thing I never would have imagined.
I've completed a very challenging triathlon, I've ridden more miles than I can count, I've completed several group rides including Last year's Viva Bike Vegas, a metric century for Fatty's 100 MON 2013 and The previous year's Corporate challenge bike race.
Over the last 3+ years I've lost and regained over 200 lbs. I've restarted my efforts numerous times and am restarting again. Today.
More importantly I've figured out a few thing about myself and made a few friends through this wonderful medium of technology.
I've ridden along with so many other riders who have accomplished significant, awe inspiring things. I've also re-ignited my love of cycling fro when I was a kid.
As I reflect back on the these things, I also have to look forward and start to shape my future plans.
This Saturday I'm looking forward to an awesome ride with my dad in the Viva Bike Vegas.
Beyond that I'm doing the Bike MS Vegas Challenge in November, the Tour De Cure Las Vegas next April and I hope to complete Fatty's 100 MON next year as well with a true Century.
While those are personal goals, I have others as well. I want to encourage my grandchildren to ride more and take them on longer and longer rides. I am going to look into adding a different form of riding to my repertoire - Mountain Biking. As I become at least a little proficient in that, I'm going to look into the local MTB scene and possibly look at starting some type of MTB team in the local schools.
There is so much more I want to accomplish and I recognizer that I need to be healthy for many years to do it. Riding is just not enough. I need to tackle the food demon that has me constantly eating more than I should. I need to keep away from those foods I know that are bad for me and focus on the good. I need to also focus on portion control and impulse control. I can and will conquer this.
Funny, but it seems easier to me to ride 100 miles than to constantly focus on what I'm eating. I guess the reason is that when you are riding there is a set distance and a beginning and an end and the progress is very real and self evident. In the eating arena and losing weight, there really is no end to the eating right and the progress is so much slower that it is easily doubted.
I am using this occasion to get back on track and into the groove My goal is that on my 52nd birthday I will be at least 100 lbs lighter than I am right now.
As fizzhog so eloquently puts it.
Eat better.
Ride your bike.
I've completed a very challenging triathlon, I've ridden more miles than I can count, I've completed several group rides including Last year's Viva Bike Vegas, a metric century for Fatty's 100 MON 2013 and The previous year's Corporate challenge bike race.
Over the last 3+ years I've lost and regained over 200 lbs. I've restarted my efforts numerous times and am restarting again. Today.
More importantly I've figured out a few thing about myself and made a few friends through this wonderful medium of technology.
I've ridden along with so many other riders who have accomplished significant, awe inspiring things. I've also re-ignited my love of cycling fro when I was a kid.
As I reflect back on the these things, I also have to look forward and start to shape my future plans.
This Saturday I'm looking forward to an awesome ride with my dad in the Viva Bike Vegas.
Beyond that I'm doing the Bike MS Vegas Challenge in November, the Tour De Cure Las Vegas next April and I hope to complete Fatty's 100 MON next year as well with a true Century.
While those are personal goals, I have others as well. I want to encourage my grandchildren to ride more and take them on longer and longer rides. I am going to look into adding a different form of riding to my repertoire - Mountain Biking. As I become at least a little proficient in that, I'm going to look into the local MTB scene and possibly look at starting some type of MTB team in the local schools.
There is so much more I want to accomplish and I recognizer that I need to be healthy for many years to do it. Riding is just not enough. I need to tackle the food demon that has me constantly eating more than I should. I need to keep away from those foods I know that are bad for me and focus on the good. I need to also focus on portion control and impulse control. I can and will conquer this.
Funny, but it seems easier to me to ride 100 miles than to constantly focus on what I'm eating. I guess the reason is that when you are riding there is a set distance and a beginning and an end and the progress is very real and self evident. In the eating arena and losing weight, there really is no end to the eating right and the progress is so much slower that it is easily doubted.
I am using this occasion to get back on track and into the groove My goal is that on my 52nd birthday I will be at least 100 lbs lighter than I am right now.
As fizzhog so eloquently puts it.
Eat better.
Ride your bike.
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