Dave's 2011 Health & Fitness log (updated daily)

[Kaido]

Per my post in the 2011 Health & Fitness Resolutions thread, I'll be posting daily about my progress to help keep myself motivated. 365 days of posting is the goal :biggrin:

The goals:

Phase 1 - 3 months (fat loss)
Phase 2 - 9 months (beginning calisthenics program)
Phase 3 - 12 months (advanced calisthenics program)

Day 1: Not much to report today. This is my first day without sugar. I was fine until it got later, now I'm craving it. Curse you, habits and chemicals! Slept in until about 11:00am. Had a burger with fries for lunch and a PB&J for dinner. Going to bed at 9:00pm. Weight is 197 pounds.

 

[Kaido]

Day 2: Had a PB&J for lunch. Slept all afternoon. Recovering from vacation, haha. Back in town & going shopping tomorrow for some fresh food.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Day 2: Had a PB&J for lunch. Slept all afternoon. Recovering from vacation, haha. Back in town & going shopping tomorrow for some fresh food.

Hm, does the jelly contain sugar? Or artificial sweeteners?

 

[Kaido]

Hm, does the jelly contain sugar? Or artificial sweeteners?

It's the natural stuff. Fruit sugars are OK on my list (canned jam without added sugar or artificial ingredients, or fresh fruit, for example). I'm just cutting out refined sugars - candy, chocolate, soda, that sort of stuff. So my PB&J is wheat bread, almond butter, and natural fruit jam. Semi-healthy anyway :whiste:

I've had a real struggle staying motivated on a plan (any plan...lol), and I've boiled it down to one simple reason: staying up too late. It's not about how much sleep I get, it's about the hour that I go to bed. I have to go to bed early in order to have any motivation at all, otherwise I'm too drained. My dad has sleep apnea and I suspect that I probably have the same thing, so as long as I hit the hay early I should be okay.

My new work/school schedule starts this week and will let me go to bed pretty early, which is great. I have a real problem with energy and motivation when I stay up late...I just get completely exhausted and even stuff like doing the dishes or laundry is a bear. If I go to bed early, nothing is a chore. It's weird, I dunno. Between the food allergies and the sleeping problems, I think I've lucked out

On the plus side, I now know exactly what I have to do with my body in order to feel good. I have a management plan - early bedtime, regular exercise, what foods to avoid, how and when to eat (small meals every few hours, stop eating a few hours before bedtime, etc.). The end result is that I have energy, no migraines, no acid reflux, no asthma, no stomach problems, etc. It's been a big change but a good one. The road ahead is mostly just forcing myself to adopt new habits.

 

[darkdiablo]

What about artificial sugars? Like the ones found in diet coke.

 

[Kaido]

What about artificial sugars? Like the ones found in diet coke.

Cut those out too. No Splenda, aspartame, etc. No alternatives like Stevia or agave nectar either. Keeping the fruit intake low too - I should probably cut out jam/jelly. Trying to cut out all preservatives too, since those bother me (make me tired & make me feel cold, lol).

I need to fire up the grill...

 

[Kaido]

Day 3: Oatmeal for breakfast, chicken/pita/hummus for brunch, meatball sub for lunch, Japanese for dinner (seafood soup, sushi roll, and dumplings). Having regular meals helps to curve the sugar cravings a whole bunch. First night was pretty bad, second day was bad the whole today, today it's going down. Purging my system, whoo!

 

[Kaido]

Day 4: Hit bed at 9 last night, up at 5. 5 minutes on the elliptical - so out of shape, haha - but it's a start! Oatmeal for breakfast, mealball sub for lunch, turkey/pastrami sandwich for dinner. I tried a couple sugar-alternative snacks...cinnamon-baked walnuts (no sugar) and walnut baklava (no sugar, just honey). The honey seems like a decent sugar hit without being super sugary. Aside from that, it was a low-craving day for sugar...3 days seems to be the magic number to overcome the craving hump. Can't wait to get back into shape!

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Honey is sugar. Don't fool yourself If you're actually going to go without sugar, you have to take all processed sugars out. Given, honey is processed by bees, but it's still sugar (and a very high percentage fructose) and has the same effects as table sugar. It's a bit less calorie dense per unit volume so it's good as a sugar substitute for those individuals not on your quest. But for you... that's cheating

 

[Kaido]

Honey is sugar. Don't fool yourself If you're actually going to go without sugar, you have to take all processed sugars out. Given, honey is processed by bees, but it's still sugar (and a very high percentage fructose) and has the same effects as table sugar. It's a bit less calorie dense per unit volume so it's good as a sugar substitute for those individuals not on your quest. But for you... that's cheating

Yeah, I know - I had a weak moment and justified it I think I may dump honey/fruit/jelly altogether. I can't handle citrus or bananas anyway. If you're gonna go 100%, why not go 110%

Are there any benefits to eating fruit over a diet that only includes vegetables and no fruit? Well, vegetables/grains/meat/nuts. Would there be any detriment to cutting all fruit out of my diet? I don't really know if a fruit-free diet would be good or bad. Even though my goal was to eliminate refined sugars, like you said, honey is pretty close and fruit has a lot of sugar, albeit natural. Although it's not part of my original goal of eliminating refined sugars, why not go the extra mile and nuke honey/fruit - unless there's a compelling reason to keep one or both in my diet?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Yeah, I know - I had a weak moment and justified it I think I may dump honey/fruit/jelly altogether. I can't handle citrus or bananas anyway. If you're gonna go 100%, why not go 110%

Are there any benefits to eating fruit over a diet that only includes vegetables and no fruit? Well, vegetables/grains/meat/nuts. Would there be any detriment to cutting all fruit out of my diet? I don't really know if a fruit-free diet would be good or bad. Even though my goal was to eliminate refined sugars, like you said, honey is pretty close and fruit has a lot of sugar, albeit natural. Although it's not part of my original goal of eliminating refined sugars, why not go the extra mile and nuke honey/fruit - unless there's a compelling reason to keep one or both in my diet?

Certain vitamins and antioxidants tend to be more in fruits than in vegetables. Two pieces of fruit a day is beneficial because of that and the added fiber. There's no real reason to completely eliminate fruit, as they may be the thing that keeps you sane during your sugar fiending Don't go too extreme by cutting groups of food out of your diet. Cutting refined sugar is fine. Cutting all fruits out seems to be a bit much - little to be gained with more to be lost.

 

[Kaido]

Certain vitamins and antioxidants tend to be more in fruits than in vegetables. Two pieces of fruit a day is beneficial because of that and the added fiber. There's no real reason to completely eliminate fruit, as they may be the thing that keeps you sane during your sugar fiending Don't go too extreme by cutting groups of food out of your diet. Cutting refined sugar is fine. Cutting all fruits out seems to be a bit much - little to be gained with more to be lost.

I can live completely without it, I've done it before successfully. Just wasn't sure if there would be negative effects. Leaning towards nuking all natural sweeteners too. Why not, right?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I can live completely without it, I've done it before successfully. Just wasn't sure if there would be negative effects. Leaning towards nuking all natural sweeteners too. Why not, right?

Yeah, the natural sweeteners are just as bad for you, especially Agave nectar. It's all fructose, compared to table sugar, which is only half fructose. Per unit volume, Agave nectar is actually worse for you than table sugar. And you seem to have a psychological pull toward sugar, like many, many people. Bringing in a sub for sugar is like using methadone to wean you off heroin. It can work, but you'll likely just find a new addiction. It's a strong analogy, but suiting.

 

[Kaido]

Yeah, the natural sweeteners are just as bad for you, especially Agave nectar. It's all fructose, compared to table sugar, which is only half fructose. Per unit volume, Agave nectar is actually worse for you than table sugar. And you seem to have a psychological pull toward sugar, like many, many people. Bringing in a sub for sugar is like using methadone to wean you off heroin. It can work, but you'll likely just find a new addiction. It's a strong analogy, but suiting.

Yeah. Agave is out this year already.

 

[Kaido]

Day 5: 6 hours of sleep from midnight to 6am, bleh. Oatmeal for breakfast, PB&J for lunch, BBQ for dinner. Took a nap when I got home. Heading to bed before 9pm tonight.

 

[Kaido]

Day 6: Oatmeal for breakfast, meatball sub for lunch, Japanese food for dinner. Had a better day energy-wise, but still running low. I suspect high blood pressure + inconsistent sleeping patterns = energy like mud

 

[Kaido]

Day 7: (yesterday) Oatmeal for breakfast, meatball sub for lunch, pizza for dinner (vegan pizza with meat/veggies, since I'm allergic to dairy...lol). I took a quick nap around 5pm and ended up sleeping 11 hours straight, so now I'm up at 3am. I feel a lot better. Begone, jetlag!

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Are you eating a homemade meatball sub, or is it from subway? I wouldn't call the subway meatball sub very lean if that's what you're eating.

 

[Kaido]

Are you eating a homemade meatball sub, or is it from subway? I wouldn't call the subway meatball sub very lean if that's what you're eating.

A local shop makes it, but it's more or less homemade since they do it from scratch there. I wouldn't call it lean tho :biggrin:

I'm easing into the diet. I was kind of behind on my sleep from flying and being stuck at the airport for half a week when the blizzard hit...I think I finally got caught up last night (11 hours straight, whoo!). I haven't felt like doing much other than going to work and crashing. I miss having energy.

 

[Kaido]

Day 8: Oatmeal for breakfast, burger for lunch, hummus & naan bread crackers for a snack, and a big burger for dinner. Mmm, beef.

 

[Kaido]

Day 9: Oatmeal for breakfast, ham sandwich for lunch, turkey sandwich for dinner. Need to go shopping tomorrow and get the diet rolling now that I'm feeling better!

 

[Kaido]

10 days off sugar. Don't know if I'm going to continue - haven't really seen any major differences, and I'm still not eating that great, lol. I think I'll go back to the balanced diet version.

 

[Kaido]

Day 10: Oatmeal for breakfast, meatball sub for lunch, PF Changs (Chinese) for dinner. Had some sugar. I've come (again) to the realization that the real key factors are my bedtime and my exercise. I stay up too late to have the proper motivation and energy I need and I don't put in the time and effort to exercise to regular my blood pressure and keep my body feeling good. I've been off sugar 10 days but haven't made a real effort to keep a clean diet, workout daily, or go to bed early. Had a late one tonight, but I'll be getting onboard tomorrow night. Bleargh!

 

[Kaido]

I've reviewed my notes from my health logs. Over time I've learned that I have very specific sleep requirements. It boils down to 4 things:

1. My sleep window is between 8:20pm and 8:40pm. The next window is about 2am. I usually go to sleep around 11pm and it takes me awhile to actually fall asleep, because I'm not really tired at that time.

2. My wakeup window is between 3:30am and 4:30am.

3. I only require 7 hours of sleep to feel good, if I hit my sleep window and my wakeup window. 8 hours is overkill for me.

4. Per my doctor's advice, I need to unplug from flickering light sources an hour before bedtime (TV, computer, etc.) to reduce the stimulation to my brain/body, which is something that keeps me awake.

If I stay up late, I don't feel good. If I sleep in late, I don't feel good. I need "wind down" time before I go to bed - if I hop in bed at 8:20pm anyway, I usually don't fall asleep until past my sleep window, and then my second wind hits and I'm wide awake again.

The requirements are strange, but it's the difference between dragging all day and feeling super energetic. It is what it is and I just have to deal with it. I have extremely poor sleeping habits and that's the real root cause of my energy problems. I know what works for me and I need to stop avoiding it, embrace it, and move on. Starting tonight I am going to be making a huge effort to get myself into bed around 8pm so that I can fall asleep during my sleep window.

After 10 days off sugar and not really seeing a difference in my energy, I realized it was a type of avoidance behavior - the real key for my body is proper sleep hygiene, paired with exercise so that I feel good during the day and am tired enough to fall asleep at night. Time to man up! :thumbsup:

 

[Kaido]

Day 11: Meatball sub for lunch, cereal for dinner, some sugar. Terrible day for food, haha. For the record, I usually don't eat this many meatball subs or burgers, just been a busy week getting caught up from vacation and haven't been shopping. Went to bed at 7:45pm and slept until about 8am. Keeping on the 7:45pm "lights out" plan so that I can be asleep by 8:30pm or so.