Showing posts with label chicken. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chicken. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Slow-carb Diet Day 10: Settling In

My morning weigh-in was 150.7, down 0.5 kg since yesterday but still above my Saturday weekly weigh-in of 149.9. If I'm spending half the week gaining and then re-losing weight after my EWIW Day, that seems counterproductive. So why is this part of the 4-Hour Body Slow Carb Diet? According to Ferriss, "dramatically spiking caloric intake in this way once per week increases fat-loss by ensuring that your metabolic rate (thyroid function and conversion of T4 to T3, etc.) doesn't downshift from extended caloric restriction." Honestly, I'm not sure my caloric intake is restricted enough nor prolonged enough to worry about reductions in thyroid hormones, but I'm going to look into it.

Breakfast this morning was the usual eggs and beans (602 calories), and lunch was a grilled chicken breast, with a mix of lentils (1/4 can) and veggies (350 calories), and dinner was the same, with the addition of a few scrambled eggs (525 calories). I also had a few cups of coffee, a couple of cups of tea, and a handful of cashews, for a daily total of 1915 calories.

Exercise today included four 15-minute sessions, plus one 10-minute session on the cross-trainer, for a total of 1140 calories burned. My net calories for today was 775.

Overall, I'm still feeling pretty good, although I'm a little concerned about the fact that today is Tuesday and I weight more than I did on Saturday, three days ago. I'm still confident that by Saturday, I'll be at my lowest weight since starting Weight Watchers, but at this rate, I'll be lucky if I get below 148.7, a 1.2 kg loss for the week. Sure, it's still over a kilo, and nothing to sneeze at, but I've done that before without eating such a restricted diet, and without exercising an hour or more every day.

At this point, I'm thinking that I might try to exercise some semblance of self-control this Saturday. Surely I can enjoy eating some of the things I'm missing out on during the week, without going completely bat-shit crazy and scarfing down five or six thousand calories. It really shouldn't be that hard. But then again, that's what I thought last week, too.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Low-carb Diet Day 2: So Far, So Good

It looks like my cautious reaction to yesterday's weigh-in numbers was justified. Today's number indicated no change. Still 151.6 kg. I can hardly wait to see what happens tomorrow morning.

I'm not going to keep posting pics of the same meals over and over again, but I'll add more when something new makes it to the menu, or I want to share a recipe or something.

Breakfast was the usual eggs, beans, and salsa. And I decided to add a cup of coffee. Great decision! After that I went out for my morning workout, and did my first 10k. Not quickly, mind you. But I did the 10k and then kept going to finish the program section, for 10.2 km in 36 minutes. Then Later I did another 15-minute (4.3 km) session, which means that so far I've burned around 830 cals. I haven't entered everything to find out the calories in yet, so I'll post now and update later.

Update:  Jebus, that was a damned good lunch! Even though it was more chicken, it was different enough that it didn't feel like it was getting old. I ended up having a not-grilled chicken salad (with baby spinach, red capsicum (bell pepper), onion, grated carrot, black olives, sun-dried tomatoes, picked jalapeƱos, and some smoked ham and Spanish salami). It was hella good, and I figure if it wasn't filling enough to satisfy my appetite until dinner time, I can always make a little snack with the bean mix and some salsa, or something like that.

So that's 565 calories for breakfast and 360 for lunch, (Update: plus 310 for the chicken and avocado mid-morning snack and the after-lunch coffee) for a total so far of 925 1235. 830 burned means 95 405 net cals so far today.

One thing I've noticed on the cross-trainer is that I'm starting to have some pain in my right elbow. Didn't really see that one coming. When it hurts, I've been switching to legs-only, because while I can handle it if my muscles are sore, painful, inflamed joints are much more likely to put me out of commission, and for longer.

It's funny that my ankles and knees, which are all sorts of messed up, seem to be holding up alright (the cross-trainer, while heartless and cruel, is relatively low-impact), but the repetitive arm movements is apparently aggravating an old trombone-related injury (now there's a term you don't come across every day).

Another update: After lunch, I did another 10k (10.3 km in 36 minutes) on the cross-trainer (-586 cals), and after dinner I did another 8.7 km in 30 minutes (-489 calories). One new thing I tried out on both those sessions was that instead of listening to music, I watched TV. I mean, I've been putting the TV on without sound, then listening to music and watching whatever's on the screen at the same time (today that helped me get my exercise and watch the Super Bowl at the same time, but more often than not I watch foreign news).

This afternoon I watched Star Wars. I've got an old VCR hooked up to the TV in the garage because it gets better reception that way, and I've got the original Star Wars Special Edition Trilogy Boxed Set on VHS. Yeah, now I can be that guy. That guy who sits out in his garage trying to keep his old VCR and CRT TV working (while also adding another terabyte of storage to his home media server to hold more downloaded movies and TV shows because he's too cheap to pay $80 a month for satellite TV.)

Anyway, yeah, I think it kinda sucks for keeping up a good pace, but it's pretty cool for longer sessions. So it's good to have another thing to keep me going while the Cross-trainer from Hell punishes me mercilessly.

I got really hungry around 5:00, so I had a handful of nuts (almonds and cashews, 300 cals), and got busy making dinner. The boys had fried rice, and I had a big stir fry with chicken, ham, onion, garlic, red capsicum (bell pepper), carrots, green peas, broccoli, cauliflower, sugar snap peas, minced red chili peppers, and soy sauce.


That was 655 calories, and two after-dinner coffees (I know, at this rate I'll be drinking 9 coffees a day by the end of the week. Oh well, if that's the itch I scratch, I figure what the hell, right?) So all up I ate 2290 calories, burned 1905, and ended up with a net of 385 calories. And watched Green Bay beat Pittsburgh (suck it, Steelers!), hung out with my kids on the last day before they've got to go back to school, and had flashbacks to the first time I saw Star Wars, at the Almeda Mall in Houston with my cousin Marie and her husband Tom. Good times, good times. And now I think it's time to get my ass in bed, because no doubt the morning is going to be a little nutty. First day of school. Glad it's them, and not me. :)

Oops, one more update: The Weight Watchers numbers--breakfast was 12 ProPoints, lunch was 7, dinner was 12, the chicken and avocado was 6, the nuts were 8, and the coffees were 3, for a total of 46 ProPoints (out of a daily allowance of 66). The exercise gave me 45 Activity ProPoints. Okay, now I'm really going to bed. I mean it.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Let the Slow-Carb Diet Commence! Day 1

I had a nice, proper little Sunday morning sleep-in, and woke up around quarter to eight. I was sore, but not crippled, so I took that as a good sign. I got up, took care of the usual morning business, then got on the scales to get a preliminary damage report. I weighed myself undressed and then dressed (essentially the same clothes I wear to every meeting), and my numbers were 148.5 kg (327.4 lbs) undressed and 151.6 kg (334.2 lbs) dressed. If those numbers are right, then I lost 0.8 kg (1 ¾ lbs) since weigh-in yesterday. If that's true, then that's totally freaking awesome! But I'm not getting too excited until I've done a few more measurements over the next couple of days.

After that, I got started on my first full official day of slow-carb eating. Breakfast was fried eggs, and the bacon, bean, and corn and spinach mix. Damn, that's a good breakfast!

Then I headed out to the garage, to spend some time suffering on the Cross-trainer of Doom. I varied the resistance, sticking with the normal level 6 for the first 12 minutes, then upping it to level 7 (or whatever the hell 4 bars is) for 3 minutes, then level 9 (5 bars) for 3 minutes, then back down to level 6 for a final 3 minutes. 21 minutes total, with the first 3k in 11:10, and burning 340 cals. Later I got back on to do a 10 minute session, but had some weird abdominal pains and stopped after 5 minutes. Five minutes is better than nothing, right? And it burned another 80 calories.

Lunch was chicken breast (marinated in tamarind, Blue Kitchen Hot Chilli Sauce, and lime juice) and a lentil and veggies (carrots, peas, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach) and some salsa.

I'd hate a late breakfast (around 9) and I didn't eat until around 1:30 because I really wasn't hungry. And I only cooked 3 out of the 5 pieces of chicken I had marinating. After the way I stuffed myself yesterday, I didn't want to eat too much today, even if it's all slow-carb stuff.

Since lunch I've put in two 10-minute sessions on the bastard of a cross-trainer. The first time I did 3k in 9:40, and the second time I did it in 9:15 (on level 4). So according to CalorieKing, I've eaten 1130 cals, burned 750 cals, for a net of 380 calories so far today. Weight Watchers says I've used 21 ProPoints and earned 18 Activity Points.

A good start so far for Day 1.

Update to include dinner, etc.

Dinner was, BIG SURPRISE, some meat and some mixed veggies!

Ok, maybe not a surprise, but the steak was delicious, the veggies were okay, and it got the job done. At some point today I'd started thinking that I might give the veggies a miss and go with a salad and a half an avocado instead. But for whatever reasons, it didn't end up happening. The boys had the same (the three of them split the other steak), with the bonus of mashed potatoes and gravy. I was a little bit envious, but not much.

Dinner was 578 calories, coffee afterwards was another 23, so I finished the day with 1725 calories consumed.
I did another 10-minute workout around 5:00, then another one after dinner. And to end the day, I just finished a 30-minute session, and now I am one tired ass. That's a total of 1560 calories burned, for a net of 165. If I'd done one more 10-minute session at some point today, I would've had net calories of 0. Unless I used a different program to count everything, and then I'd end up with a different number. So what the hell, the numbers are really only good as ball-park figures, right?

Alright, that's it. What a helluva weekend. It's time for bed.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Still Slow-Carbing

I don't know if it was because I finished breakfast so early, or just because it was morning tea time, but by about 10 o'clock I was thinking it was time to nibble on something. Normally I'd have a piece of fruit, or maybe some toast and another cup of coffee, but as part of my warm-up for the slow-carb thing next week, I thought I'd try a slow-carb kind of snack. So I ate some beans with a little more of that homemade salsa. It was tasty, and it was filling. Three hours later and I'm not yet hungry for lunch. So that's not too bad. Maybe next time I'll go with a half a can. Oops!

But in any case, that little snack came it at around 400 cals (5 ProPoints), which brings my total for the day up to 840 cals (16 ProPoints). With two 15-minute sessions on the cross-trainer from hell, that's a bit over 500 cals burned (or 1400! if I listen to RunKepper), so for now my net cals is around 320. At this point, I'm thinking I'll just have chicken and vegetables for lunch, so that'll bring it up to about 880. The same for dinner, plus some beans, and I'm looking at something around 2200 cals (48 ProPoints) in, so if I get up off my ass a couple more times today, I might end up under 1200 net.

Oh, and just so I don't forget, my time for the first 3k in that session was 8:50, shaving 5 seconds off for a new personal best.

Friday, December 31, 2010

Weekly Menu Plan, 31 Dec - 6 Jan

Friday: Cheeseburgers & Chips
Saturday: Stir Fry Chicken w/White Rice
Sunday: BBQ - Marinated Beef Skewers, Grilled Zucchini, Baked Potatoes
Monday: Mexican - Nachos for the kids, Grilled Chicken Wrap for me
Tuesday: BBQ - Sausages for the kids, Steak for me
Wednesday: Spaghetti
Thursday: Chicken & Rice Casserole

Summer is here, the BBQ has been cleaned and is back in service. A couple of pieces disappeared when we moved, but nothing I can't get along without. In fact, I think I prefer having fewer bits to worry about. So I'll be out there cooking a few times this week, and I'm looking forward to it. On Sunday, we're having marinated beef skewers. I was thinking of going with the spicy Bufalo marinade, but in the end I went with a simple (booooring!) teriyaki to keep the kids happy. I think that next time I'll ask Jordo to throw in a few spicy ones. Then on Tuesday, I'll do some sausages (beef, tomato, and bacon) for the kids and a steak for me. After cooking my steak using the sear/bake method all winter, it'll be nice to cook one over a fire again. 

And when I'm cooking inside, it looks like I'll be eating chicken. Except for spaghetti night. Wow, I hadn't realised that until just now. The chicken for the stir-fry is marinated in a tamarind, lime & chilli glaze, which smelled great and hopefully will taste just as good. And it's much easier getting the chicken from Jordo when I get the rest of the meat, and as long as I stick to breasts, I can get free-range organic. Or non-organic free range if I want other bits (I like wings and thighs, James likes drumsticks).

So there's nothing exciting or adventurous, but it'll be tasty, healthy, and easy to prepare. Perfect vacation cooking. 

Friday, December 10, 2010

Weekly Menu Plan, Dec 10 - Dec 16

Nothing Fancy. My lack of inspiration and enthusiasm includes the kitchen.

Friday: Burgers & Chips
Saturday: Liver and onions, rice, veggies
Sunday: Fajitas, rice, beans, salad
Monday: Chicken & Potato Casserole
Tuesday: Meat loaf, mashed potatoes, green beans
Wednesday: Spaghetti
Thursday: Pies, potato wedges, veggies

I'm going to try the liver and onions thing again. Hopefully it works out this time. And the fajitas we missed out on, too. The chicken & potato casserole is new, and hopefully it'll be good. I'm following the recipe this time, and using frozen hash browns, but if it's good enough to make again, I'd rather make my own. And the meat pies are a repeat, except that instead of cheap frozen pies from the grocery store, these are Jordo's pies. We'll see if they're worth it.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Weekly Menu Plan, Nov 12 - Nov 18

If I had any damned sense, I'd get our weekly meal plan worked out before the morning I need to order the groceries. Some day, I'll be that organized. But once again, today was not that day. But now it's all done, and this week we're doing it this way:

Friday - hotdogs for the kiddies, steak and veggies for me

Saturday - Pork Chops With Apricot-Dijon Sauce and Lentils with Spinach

Sunday - Bangers & Mash (sausages and mashed potatoes) green peas, glazed carrots

Monday - Curry Chicken and Tomato Pilaf

Tuesday - Chorizo & Lentil Stew

Wednesday - Spaghetti Bolognese

Thursday - Tuna Noodle Casserole

Nothing revolutionary in there, but I think it's a good mix of new and familiar recipes. I've been thinking about that steak for over a week now, so I think it's time. :)

The pork chops are a little different, and I don't think I ever would've thought to serve them with lentils, but that's what's in the picture, and it seemed like a good idea, so I'll give it a try.

The sausages will be a nice, easy meal to prepare on a Sunday night (I was going to roast a chicken, but didn't really want two chicken meals in the same week).

The chicken pilaf was a request from Jack (not specifically, but anything with curry in it) and at first James objected, until I mentioned this one, which he's had before and he really likes.

The chorizo and lentil stew is because I've been wanting some chorizo, and I'm hoping Jordo's is as good as the rest of his meat has been. And I don't know if I've seen a recipe for it before, but putting chorizo and lentils together seemed like it should work pretty well, and I googled it and found out that a lot of other people thought so, too. I love teh internet.

Spaghetti because it's Wednesday, and even though Thursday night is usually the one night of the week I leave it to Karen to cook (for the kids, I mean; she cooks for herself every night), she's got a big week next week, so I thought that it might help her out if I put the casserole all together, so that all she had to do was pop it in the over for half an hour, then dish it up.

I picked up a couple of cookbooks from the library this week, so I might have some new ideas for next week. Maybe I'll be a clever, organized type of guy and get it all worked out over the weekend. Yeah, that'll happen. :)