Why do i eat carbs

So its been snowing alot here in Portland, OR the past few days. I’m from Florida so its all kind of new to me, plus it does not usually snow here in the city. They don’t salt the roads or have that many ploughs, so alot of stores are shut down and folks are staying home.

There was not much food at home, so Katie and i went out with a friend to find something to eat.  Not many places were open, so we ended up at this cafe/bakery that had sandwhiches and soup.  I opted for a cuban sandwhich with chips and a cookie.

Why do i let myself eat things like that.  For most of the past few weeks i have been eating pretty much paleo, the usual lots of meat and vegetables and fats, with a sweet potatoe if i need the carbs after a workout.  I have been feeling pretty good and even find myself less hungry than i used to be.  Well i was halfway into my cuban sandwhich meal when i started getting a headache and a gnawing hunger inside, even though i was eating.  I finished my meal, and an hour later still feel kind of crappy.

Maybe this will be enough of a lesson to not eat this kind of stuff.  I think i am going to try and eat at home more.  All i want is meat and vegetables and fats, and its hard to get that kind of stuff at alot of places.  When we eat out its mostly either thai or mexican food, as its easy to find paleo friendly choices.

Anton

Workout and Food logs

In the past i have been less than disciplined about keeping food and workout logs. I’ll go strong for a while, then stop doing it and slack for a while now. But no more of that. With this whole trying to eat healthier thing i need some data if i can ever expect to draw any conclusions on what foods work for me. Paleo eating has been going ok, but on some days i will be ravenously hungry and other days feel fine. If i kept better track of my food i could look back and draw some conclusions to what i could be eating more or less of. I use fitday to track my food but am also keeping a google spreadsheet with my moods/feelings after each meal. For example this morning i was still starving after breakfast, could it be because last night i had some rice and beans with my mexican dish?

I find google docs pretty handy for keeping track of food, workouts, or whatever. You can access them from any computer that has an internet connection, and to me its better than having sheets of paper lying around.

If you are not keeping a log then find a method that works for you and start doing it. Looking back and knowing how you performed or felt in the past can help you program for the future.

Anton

Week 2 of Paleo Eating

So its been almost two weeks eating Paleo style. Meats, veggies, fats,  a bit of fruit, and no processed carbs.  Overall i would say i have felt pretty good.  The first few days were rough, headaches and a feeling of constant hunger, even though i had just eaten.  Probably due to the fact that during my bulking diet my blood sugar was always high from the carbs and crappy food i was eating.  Starting the Paleo plan i made sure to take in plenty of protien from meats and healthy fats from nut butter, olive oil and meat.  I have been trying to average 2500 cal a day and 1.2 grams per pound of bodyweight in protien.

After a week of this i ended up at the Hawthorne Fish House with some friends, and was hungry.  Its a gluten free place, everything is fried in rice oil.  So i figured what the heck, and got a basket of chicken fingers and sweet potatoe fries (i don’t eat fish really).  Pretty tasty going down, but right after i felt a gnawing hunger in my stomach and just wanted to eat more, even though i had just consumed a bunch of food.  That was my reaction to all the carbs in my system after a week of being carb free.  And sweet potatoes are paleo approved.  Just not fried in rice oil.  So while the no gluten was definintely good, the carb bomb still was not.   I think the reason alot of this is hard for people in the beginning.  They are getting enough calories from Paleo food, but the body is used to that carb spike every few hours.  So after a few days of discipline you fall off the wagon and eat half a dozen doughnuts.  The key to this is eating plenty of fat and protien, which satiates your appetite.  And if you feel hungry wait half an hour.  Often that hunger is hormonal, as your body is craving the carbs.

After intense workouts or juijitsu sessions i make sure to take in plenty protien and often have a sweet potatoe, which minimally effects the blood sugar.  I like sweet potatoes, they are easy to nuke in the microwave and eat.

We’ll see how the rest of this goes.  After two weeks alot of people report they feel a mental fog being lifting and they have tons more energy.  Don’t think i have reached that point yet.  One thing i have noticed is my appetite the morning seems to have decreased.

Anton

Day 1 of Paleo Eating

Well i am back on a Paleo eating plan, unweighed and unmeasured for the moment.  I was dreading this after all the sugar and carbs i had been eating the past two months, but the first day was not awful.  Had three slices of bacon, three eggs and veggies for breakfast.  Pork carnitas with chard and green peppers in marinara sauce was my lunch.  For dinner it was chicken stir fry from New Seasons.  Over the course of the day i did feel some hunger and cravings, but plenty of fat from olives and nuts helped that.  Hopefully the next few days will be the same and then it can be smooth sailing.

Anton

More Novice Phase Wrapup

This past Friday i had Scott Hagnas do a Biosignature analysis on me.  Biosig is a method developed by strength coach Charles Polquin.  It involves a comprehensive body fat measurements at various sites on the body, which then correspond to various hormonal or dietary imbalances.  For example, i store a decent amount of fat in the sub-scapular region, which means i am not very carb tolerant. Analysis of the results can help to determine the most effecient path to ones goals.

In addition to all that my body fat was also measured.  Here is how it went down.

Beginning of Starting Strength program
160lbs 12% bodyfat
140lbs lean mass

End of Starting Strength Program
185lbs 17.5% bodyfat
153lbs lean mass

So that is 13lbs of lean body mass in two months. Not to bad for someone who is not a total rank beginner. I think alot of that was being relatively unadapted to the squat, and squatting three times a week put some muscle on my legs. I did gain 25lbs overall, so the other 12lbs was fat, probably not an ideal muscle to fat ratio for bulking. I may try it again next year eating better so as not to gain quite so much fat. Not eating buckets of doughnuts would probably help.

So now its time to get on the Paleo eating plan, drop the fat, and back into more regular juijitsu practice. The first few days are going to be hell as my body is used to all the sugar and carbs. But i won’t miss shitting three times a day, and getting more conditioning back on the mat will be nice.

Anton