29/04/11

Sleep: 8 hrs

Food:

3 boiled eggs with rye toast

Yoghurt with peanut butter & mixed nuts

3 strawberries

Chicken, mushroom & spinach italian with fries

Organic Fruit Smoothie

Yoghurt, passion fruit & mixed nuts

6 oat cakes with peanut butter

Mackerel

3 scrambled eggs

Water: 3 litres minimum

Energy Levels: Good apart from this...

Asleep for 10 minutes in Hyde Park whilst Will & Kate were saying their vows

Activities: Walked 9 miles

Temptation? Everything in Hyde Park - Fish & chips, hot dogs, crepes, hog roasts, steak baguettes, strawberries & cream, honeycomb ice cream, banoffee pie, waffles, cake cake cake!  Managed to abstain.

Mood: Good

Notes:

Royal wedding, everyone eating and drinking...  Really not fussed about booze at the moment, but seeing all the picnics and take away vans in Hyde Park got me salivating. Went in search of a 'Crussh' for some healthy options but it was closed, so we opted for an Italian.  Also got a delicious fruit smoothie mid-afternoon when my body was crying out for CAKE!!

Getting low on supplies now, well overdue a shop!  People often comment on how expensive it is to eat well.  This is a poor excuse, it's easy to eat well without increasing your food budget.  If you decide to eat organic and use some more exotic ingredients, then ok, it's going to cost you a bit more.  But if you want to look and run more like a sports car and less like a 20 year old banger, then you have to use premium fuel!  Besides, if you undertake a similar eating plan and cut out your weekly spend in the pub & premium coffee shops, you'll find yourself with plenty of spare cash.  Don't devalue the importance of what you put in your body, we're talking about short and long term health, it's everything.

28/04/11 - The Halfway Mark!

Sleep: 7.5 hrs

Food:

Yoghurt with banana & mixed nuts

Glass of fresh orange juice - after what I wrote yesterday!  I was in a coffee shop & it seemed like the healthiest option.

Handful of mixed nuts

Salmon, spring green, mushroom, celery & ginger stirfry

1 Mango

Slow cooked lamb shoulder with carrots, red pepper, swede, bay leaves and tomato, served with seven spiced rice

Water: 3 litres minimum

Energy Levels: Very good

Activities: Biked 7 miles

Temptation? Pitta bread at the Lebanese restaurant!

Mood: Ok

Notes:

I was starving late morning!  Headed home and quickly munched some nuts, then made a huge stirfry.  Lovely Lebanese restaurant for dinner, as I mentioned, the only thing I missed out on was dipping the steaming hot pitta bread in the humous and baba ganoush dips.

Lebanese Lamb Casserole

27/04/11

Sleep: 6.5 hrs + 40 minute nap mid morning

Food:

Chicken Leg & a handful of mixed nuts - Yes, this was my first meal of the day at 05:45

Porridge with coconut oil, peanut butter & cinnamon

2 x Handfuls of mixed nuts

Mackerel portion

Mackerel Salad (yellow peppers, mushroom, mixed leaves, cherry tomatoes, beetroot)

Winter Fruits

Protein shake with glutamine post workout

Almond Ball & Booja Booja ice cream - Yes ice cream, but not as you know it - see notes

2 x slices of rye bread, toasted with butter

2 x chicken breasts with spring greens & mixed nuts

Hot coconut milk with banana & sesame seeds - Delicious healthy dessert, cheers Pete!

Water: 3 litres minimum

Energy Levels: Good

Activities: Biked 22 miles.  45 minute gym workout - At the moment I'm working on a 3 day split routine, each workout consisting of 3 supersets.  So I generally do an upper body compound exercise, rest 30 seconds, then complete a lower body exercise, rest 30 seconds and go again.  The other supersets adhere to the same idea of challenging one area of the body and then another almost immediately after.  This is referred to as Peripheral Heart Action and requires the heart to pump a lot of blood to one area of the body (for example chest and arms) and then shift it to another (the legs).  This keeps your heart rate elevated and ensures a decent "cardio" workout whilst performing strength focussed exercises.

Temptation? Was pretty bleary eyed at 05:30, black coffee would have been nice.

Mood: Good

Notes:

The Almond Ball contains all natural ingredients, with protein and carbohydrates being the primary macronutrients, great post workout.  'Booja Booja' make dairy and gluten free organic ice cream combining just four ingredients.  I had 'Hunky Punky Chocolate" flavour which is made from agave syrup (a sweet plant that looks similar to aloe vera), cashew nuts, cocoa powder and water.  It was delicious, you pay a premium for it but I would highly recommend it as a healthy treat.  It's low GI and also low GL (glycemic load - more on this in another post).

The defendant pleads innocent

Ok so coconut oil, why is it so great?  It contains medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) that are not destroyed when heated.  MCFAs are rapidly absorbed by the body and quickly used as fuel by organs and muscles instead of being stored as fat.  They are popular amongst athletes looking to improve their energy levels and enhance endurance during exercise.  Furthermore, they enhance thermogenesis (fat burning).  If you're still not sold on coconut oil then head to this link and check out the benefits, about halfway down the page... http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/  And it tastes good too!  Coconut oil can also be used to treat dry skin, sun burn, mix it with water as an effective anti-bacterial mouth wash, the list goes on and on...

26/04/11

Sleep: 6.5 hrs

Food:

3 Boiled eggs & 1 piece of rye bread

1 Orange

Olives, 4 oat cakes with peanut butter, 1 avocado

Chicken, cold roast spuds, beetroot, spinach & lettuce with tahini & olive oil dressing

1 Orange

Winter fruits (blackberries, grapes, cherries & blackcurrants) 

Handful of mixed nuts

Buziball (cacao, fruit extracts, apricots, almonds, raisins, goji berries, maca, kelp, bee pollen, vanilla) - as close as I'm getting to an easter egg, it was delicious - thank you Martina!

Mackerel, spinach, cucumber, beetroot, celery, humous and olives.  1 Mango

Water: 3 litres minimum

Energy Levels: Consistent throughout the day

Activities: Biked 15.8 miles

Temptation? A giant billboard of a Magnum Equador, I'm not sure what flavour that is but I nearly fell off my bike rubber-necking at it!

Mood: Very good

Notes: I've been trying to keep my fruit consumption down to 3 portions a day.  I went over that today, the mango last thing was delicious.  This might sound a little strange, as people are always harping on about getting "5 a day", remember that this includes vegetables (of which we don't consume nearly enough of).  Fruit consumption is worth being aware of as it generally has a high 'GI value' - meaning it will raise your blood sugar levels quickly, so you have a smaller window to utilise this as energy and are more likely to store it as fat.  Fruit juices are even worse, a single serving of apple juice contains the juice of roughly 4 apples - when was the last time you sat down and ate 4 apples one after the other?  This is a huge blood sugar hit and NOT a great way to start your day!

I ate on 9 different occasions today, I was working from home for much of the day so this just confirms what I wrote about yesterday!

25/04/11

Sleep: 8 hrs - not bad on an airbed!

Food:

Porridge with mashed banana, peanut butter & cinnamon

Lime chicken in crayfish & peanut sauce, green beans with rice & fries

Apple and a handful of mixed nuts

Cottage Pie

Yoghurt with winter fruits & oats

Water: 2-3 litres

Energy Levels: The sun took it out of me, crashed out mid afternoon. Zzzzz

Activities: Biked 13 miles

Temptation? Carrot cake mid-afternoon would have gone down a treat!

Mood: Like a cranky toddler after lunch - until I'd had my nap!

Notes:

Ate a monster bowl of porridge to start the day off and that kept me well fuelled.  When I'm out and on the go, I don't think about food (until I get hungry), when I'm home it's a different matter, I'm much more likely to graze.  Looking back over todays intake, it was quite a good day.  I'm aware that I'm possible eating more starchy carbohydrates than I usually would, but if that prevents me reaching for a chocolate bar or slice of cake then I'll take it.  Measurements to come on Wednesday so it'll be interesting to see if there's been any change...

24/04/11 - No Easter Eggs for me...

Sleep: 7 hrs

Food:

3 scrambled eggs with mushrooms & spinach.  1 Apple

Vegetarian curry (last of the)

Oat cakes, celery, mushrooms, humous, olives

Apple

Plum

1/2 slice of rye bread with peanut butter

Mixed Salad

Roast chicken, roast potatoes, broccoli, spring greens & leeks - NO gravy!

Yoghurt, mixed nuts & orange - highly recommended

Water: 2-3 litres

Energy Levels: Pretty good, though I did fall asleep mid-afternoon - it was easter sunday, I think I'm allowed!!

Activities: Some high level frisbee and low level gymnastics in the park : )

Temptation? The sound of the ice cream van pulling alongside the park... My sister had a fruit pastel lollypop, my housemate a banana lolly - poor choices - mine would have been a white chocolate Magnum all the way.  They then had apple strudel with double cream after our roast.  Jealous.

Mood:  Very good.

Notes:  If I had a heading titled 'Flatulence' it would read 'High' for today.  Having initially blamed the rye bread, further investigations have identified chickpeas as the prime suspect - though I'm sure all the oat cakes didn't help either.

Today was a bit of a grazing day.  It was Sunday, it's Easter, I just felt like eating lots. Lovely free range chicken and the best roast potatoes I've ever made (I cooked them in coconut oil for the first time).  More on coconut oil soon, but for the moment, just get some, it's great!

23/04/11

Sleep: 7 hrs

Food:

Porridge with 2 plums, mixed nuts & cinnamon

Post workout protein shake with glutamine

Left over vegetarian curry

4 oat cakes with tahini

2 oat cakes with peanut butter

2 handfuls of mixed nuts

Turkey stirfry with egg fried rice

2 pieces of rye bread, toasted with butter

Chilli squid & chickpea salad

Yoghurt, mashed banana, mixed nuts & cinnamon

Water: 2-3 litres

Energy Levels: Good

Activities:  Biked 7 miles (walked a few too).  45 minute gym workout

Temptation?  Really fancied something sweet in the afternoon, made do with some rye bread in the end.  Rye bread has a much lower gluten content than wheat.  Gluten becomes sticky when wet and can be very hard to digest, causing problems in the digestive tract.  It forms a sticky mass and lines the stomach wall, thus hindering absorption in and out of the stomach.  It encourages the growth of unhealthy bacteria in the gut, which can lead to the bloating, flatulence and constipation that people can suffer from when consuming wheat.  Try eliminating it from your diet and see if you notice a difference.  Having said all that, I'm sat here and I'm feeling a bit bloated and gassy, I don't think I'll be rushing back to the rye bread any time soon.

Mood:  Good

Notes:  Great workout, was wiped out after it though.  Note to self - 2 plums are not enough to sweeten porridge!

22/04/11 - One Week In

Sleep: 7.5 hrs

Food:

4 scrambled eggs, broccoli and half an avocado

Banana and a protein shake post workout

3 oatcakes & guacamole

Beef stew

BBQ chicken & rib eye steak with potatoes & salad x LOTS!!

Yoghurt, banana, mixed nuts & cinnamon

Water: 3 litres

Energy Levels: Great

Activities: Biked 16 miles and 1hr gym workout

Temptation? Maryland cookies were being munched in front of me, but to be honest I wasn't that fussed.  I did get a sweet craving an hour or so later though - that's when I hit the yoghurt combo - lots of it too.

Mood: Good

Notes:

I finished eating early today, I ate at strange times of the day and got to the evening and wasn't really hungry.  I felt great during my workout and enjoyed my 16 miles on the bike in the sun!

I've been drinking a cup or two of peppermint tea every couple of days.  It's a nice substitute to tea or coffee and is great for digestion, can prevent heartburn (which I haven't had all week) and apparently it can prevent bad breath!

21/04/11

Sleep: 8hrs - Didn't have to get up early but accidentally left my 05:45 alarm on, soon got back to sleep.

Food:

Porridge with mashed banana, peanut butter & cinnamon

Rice, Hemp & Pea protein shake - Stomach was rumbling at the studio & I needed something.

Trout, new potatoes, watercress salad.  Roasted veg, cucumber & spinach side salad.  Apple. - courtesy of my sister : )

4 oat cakes with Tahini (nice change from peanut butter)

Left overs of my steak mince meal from yesterday - wasn't really hungry, just putting off work.

Homemade Vegetable Curry & Brown Rice

Water: Min of 3 litres

Energy Levels: Good

Activities: Biked 7 miles

Temptation? None

Mood: Good

Notes: The oats I bought were organic and I really noticed the difference in quality. Before I cook oats, I always put them in a sieve and run cold water through them. Usually there's a lot of residue that comes out of them, not with these one's, just large whole oats remained and there was no dust to be seen (some people are sceptical of the storage conditions of oats, but these looked and tasted great).

20/04/11

Sleep: 6.5 hrs - Awake before my alarm.

Food:

Smoothie - 1 banana, 2 eggs, scoop of oats, 2 tsps of peanut butter, 250g's natural yoghurt.

2 oat cakes

Steak mince, courgettes, red cabbage, onion, garlic, tomato, spinach & quinoa

Protein shake w/Glutamine post workout - Glutamine aids in muscle recovery & is thought to protect the lining of the GI tract, thus aiding absorption of nutrients from food.  Clinical studies have shown it to strengthen the immune system and reduce infections.  I take it occasionally just because it's there!

2nd serving of Steak mince, courgettes, red cabbage, onion, garlic, tomato, spinach & quinoa

Beef Stew with some mixed nuts

Plum

Water: Min of 3 litrs

Energy Levels: Terrible mid-afternoon, had a naff training session, felt tired before, during and after it.  Think this was down to my first session being at 06:45 though and dealing with a stressful situation mid-morning.

Activities: Biked 15.8 miles.  1hr gym workout.

Temptation? During that big lull mid-afternoon I usually would have headed to the nearest coffee shop.  Instead, I took myself off and closed my eyes for 15 minutes, woke up feeling a lot better.  I also had to pick chorizo sausage out of the beef stew : (

Mood: Stressed

Notes: Martina took my circumferences in the evening, not ideal doing them on day 5 but at least I already had my bodyfat and weight from before I started.  We measured upper arms, chest, waist, hips, thighs and lower legs.

19/04/11

Sleep: 8hrs - Up once to use the bathroom.

Food:

Mashed banana, natural yoghurt & mixed nuts

2 oat cakes

Trek Brownie Bar - Raw dates 40%, soya crispies 15% (soya, tapioca starch, salt), oats, raw raisins 13%, raw peanuts 8%, apple juice, cocoa 4%, maize starch, ginko biloba extract, ginseng extract, a hint of natural flavours.

Brown Rice w/tomato, garlic & onion (left over from last night)

Rib eye steak, broccoli, onions, tomato & cashew nuts

2 oat cakes with peanut butter & 1 banana

Grilled Lemon Chicken, new potatoes & salad.

Water: More than 3 ltrs

Energy Levels:  Consistent

Activities: Biked 13.3 miles

Temptation?  Went for dinner with a friend in the evening, they drank beer, I drank tomato juice.  No majors.

Mood:  Ok

Notes: 

  4 pints of water before noon helped with mid morning appetite.  Went to local butchers, it was all free range but not all organic.  Got everything on my shopping list from the previous day, just need to get some avocados in now and a jug for filtering water - more on this when I get one.  Body wasn't feeling great, I had felt a restriction in my neck and shoulders for a couple of days so I went for a MAT treatment with Michael over in the west end.  Read more about MAT here - http://integra-training.net/methods/mat.html

  I don't really feel like I'm on a diet, this eating plan is not about counting calories or eating a certain ratio of proteins, carbs and fat.  It's about cutting out food and drink that you don't really need and that aren't that good for you.

Barbecued Rib Eye Steak with broccoli, tomato, onions & cashew nuts

18/04/11

Sleep: 6 hrs - interrupted.

Food:

1 banana, portion of pineapple, 1/2 pot of natural yoghurt

1/2 pot of natural yoghurt with a scoop of protein powder

Cous cous superfood salad - From M&S, amazing how many of their 'healthy' options contain sugar.

Slow cooked pork, stir fried vegetables, brown rice, lettuce & guacamole

2 x Handfuls of mixed nuts

3 oat cakes with sliced tomato & black pepper

Pork Steak, brown rice, asparagus tips & green beans - Purely coincidence that this was so similar to lunch.

Water: 2-3 litres

Energy Levels: Good.  Saying that I fell asleep on the bus and missed my stop.

Activities: 1 hr gym workout

Temptation? Housemates shared a Galaxy Ripple in front of me.  Painful.

Mood: Bit cranky mid afternoon - This was post bus sleep, pre Galaxy ripple!

Breakfast was a nightmare, I was getting it on the go...  First place was 'Camden Food Company', promising 'Organic Fresh Food on the go' (or words to that effect).  Well the porridge was made with milk, the muesli had wheat in it and the yoghurt and fruit compote contained sugar, I nearly grabbed a salad (I've eaten much stranger things for breakfast as you will probably see over the next month).  I moved onto 'Eat' - "no we don't do scrambled eggs".  They had eggs benedict (which usually I would have devoured) - no good because of the hollandaise sauce.  Same problems with the yoghurt granola combo's.  Surely 'Leon' wouldn't let me down... 'Eggs, slow cooked tomatoes on rye bread' Perfect!  Or not, upon seeing it - me - "has that got mayo in it?" server - "No it's a yoghurt and cream cheese mix" Cheese! Damn Damn Damn!  Headed to the supermarket and bought a pot of natural yoghurt, a banana and a portion of pineapple.  Going to keep an eye on my yoghurt consumption.

I need to get some more supplies in, preparation has let me down a bit so far.  My shopping list currently reads:

PEANUT BUTTER - 1 ingredients - Peanuts.  Meridian do a good one.

TAHINI

NUTS

LEAN MEAT

EGGS

COCONUT OIL

OATS

I'm also considering getting an organic veg delivery once a week.