06:00 - BREAKFAST
Well thankfully the night before someone left me a few little surprises in my kitchen. Packets of dried fruit to put in my porridge of a morning. :D I wanted to go for simplicity instead of just throwing in a multitude of flavours, so I just went with the humble apricot (one of my favourite fruits). I put them in for the whole cooking process so they were nice and soft and the apricot flavour went right through whole dish. It was great and masked the flavour of the protein powder. Not that the protein powder is a bad taste, it was just getting boring.
10:00 - MORNING TEA
Ham and Salad wrap.
The ham I bought from the supermarket the other day needed to be used up. Bring on the soup making this weekend I say. I'm looking forward to something very quick and hot.
13:00 - LUNCH
Chicken and Sweetcorn soup
Chicken with Palace Sauce and Steam rice
Diet Coke
We had to go out for a team lunch. It was a Chinese restaurant and the lunch special is pretty standard. Couldn't make much of a choice here and to be honest, been ages since I'd eaten the stuff. Afterwards I remembered why it had been ages since I ate there.
NO AFTERNOON TEA
Was still feeling rather bloated from lunch.
18:00 - DINNER
Thai Fish Cakes with baked spud and vegies
The two left over fish cakes needed to be eaten. I really need to try and avoid the carbs outside of my training time.
NO POST DINNER
Fell asleep in the chair again.
SUMMARY
Another not so good day. :(
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Temptations
06:30 - BREAKFAST
Porridge with protein powder again but I'm getting bored with it already. Still don't have any dried fruits to mix in with it. I did think of mixing some dessicated coconut in it but then common sense prevailed...but I'm still curious. :P Also had a large lattee with 2 sugars from the cafe downstairs when coming in to work.
11:30 - MORNING TEA
Blanched veg with satay and tuna.
A late one today but it was due to a meeting gone overtime. However I was a little heavy-handed in making the satay this morning and added an extra teaspoon of peanut butter. Thsi was only because I added a little too much water to begin with. Luckly for me I like peanut butter.
13:30 - LUNCH
Ham and salad ROLL!!!
Yes I'm phucking weak. I went to JB at lunchtime and didn't buy anything from there, but walk past Baker's Delight and I just so happened to have $1.20 in my pocket which amazingly enough is the exact amount for a Hungarian Parmesean Roll. I hadn't had one in a week, so I figured I'd deserved it. For the record, it tasted bloody magnificent.
15:30 - AFTERNOON TEA
More blanched veg and satay
Well it was a large serving of the satay. Enough for two lots of veg. I should've left some in the container but just like the rest of the day, I figured it's not going to hurt.
18:00 - DINNER
Lamb chops with baked wedges and veg.
Banana bake and ice cream
Wednesday night fare at the house with Lucy. The banana bake was actually rather nice. Simply sliced bananas and a jam and coconut topping baked in the oven for about 20 minutes. Not much to it however there was plenty of sugar in that dessert. Something I shouldn't have eaten however Jen said that Lucy helped and what father could refuse something his little girl made.
NO POST DINNER MEAL
I arrived home and was absolutely stuffed. These post dinner meals are something I'm really going to have to sort out. Protein shakes with fruits or even make up some protein muffins.
SUMMARY
One thing I'm finding difficult is trying to stop myself from adding in those little extras to my food. An extra half a teaspoon of sugar to my coffee, or the slight increase in the butter for my roasted pumpkin mash, or the extra spoonful of peanut butter in my blanched veg and satay. It's these small things I have to watch, because if I don't then I'm going to find that that extra teaspoon of sugar has got me back to where I started.
Porridge with protein powder again but I'm getting bored with it already. Still don't have any dried fruits to mix in with it. I did think of mixing some dessicated coconut in it but then common sense prevailed...but I'm still curious. :P Also had a large lattee with 2 sugars from the cafe downstairs when coming in to work.
11:30 - MORNING TEA
Blanched veg with satay and tuna.
A late one today but it was due to a meeting gone overtime. However I was a little heavy-handed in making the satay this morning and added an extra teaspoon of peanut butter. Thsi was only because I added a little too much water to begin with. Luckly for me I like peanut butter.
13:30 - LUNCH
Ham and salad ROLL!!!
Yes I'm phucking weak. I went to JB at lunchtime and didn't buy anything from there, but walk past Baker's Delight and I just so happened to have $1.20 in my pocket which amazingly enough is the exact amount for a Hungarian Parmesean Roll. I hadn't had one in a week, so I figured I'd deserved it. For the record, it tasted bloody magnificent.
15:30 - AFTERNOON TEA
More blanched veg and satay
Well it was a large serving of the satay. Enough for two lots of veg. I should've left some in the container but just like the rest of the day, I figured it's not going to hurt.
18:00 - DINNER
Lamb chops with baked wedges and veg.
Banana bake and ice cream
Wednesday night fare at the house with Lucy. The banana bake was actually rather nice. Simply sliced bananas and a jam and coconut topping baked in the oven for about 20 minutes. Not much to it however there was plenty of sugar in that dessert. Something I shouldn't have eaten however Jen said that Lucy helped and what father could refuse something his little girl made.
NO POST DINNER MEAL
I arrived home and was absolutely stuffed. These post dinner meals are something I'm really going to have to sort out. Protein shakes with fruits or even make up some protein muffins.
SUMMARY
One thing I'm finding difficult is trying to stop myself from adding in those little extras to my food. An extra half a teaspoon of sugar to my coffee, or the slight increase in the butter for my roasted pumpkin mash, or the extra spoonful of peanut butter in my blanched veg and satay. It's these small things I have to watch, because if I don't then I'm going to find that that extra teaspoon of sugar has got me back to where I started.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The Good, the Bad, and the Downright Ugly
Another cold morning. It's so hard to get motivated and out of bed when it's absolutely freezing. So easy to just lay there for another 5 minutes which more often than not turns into 15. Up and out of bed and straight to the kitchen to get my cook on.
06:30 - BREAKFAST
Porridge with protein powder
I'm getting used to it however I'm going to have to get the dried fruit or something into it to be able to change it up a bit. I mean it tastes nice, but I'm going to get bored with it very quickly. I would never get bored of porridge with Golden Syrup though. :P
10:00 - MORNING TEA
Tuna and Salad
Lettuce, sliced onion, and a tin of seeded mustard tuna. BORING!!! However it meets all the criteria.
My sister gave me a cracking slow cooked soup recipe that I'm going to give a go on the weekend. The idea is to reduce it as much as posible so that all I need to do is mix in some hot water from the urn at work and I'll have a nice cup of hot soup for morning and afternoon tea. Lush.
12:15 - LUNCH
Caeser Salad with Sardines
The idea was there however Caeser salad with tinned sardines just doesn't work. It tasted frickin' horrid. So much so that I pulled the sardines out of the salad and ate them first, then ate the rest of the salad.
The actual salad part was rather nice. Lettuce, crushed boiled egg, bacon, some parmesean cheese, wholegrain croutons, and a dressing I made up. Traditionally the dressing is made with egg yolks but i had to try and make a 'lighter' dressing. It didn't turn out too bad actually and the thing with dressings is that you can change them to suit your own tastes. I didn't have any anchovies in the cupboard/fridge so I just used capers (the anchovies of the vegetable world)
I was rather suprised with the taste. Not a traditional Caesar dressing however for a quick knock-up it was pretty damn good. I think a dash of lemon juice next time might perk it up a little.
15:00 - AFTERNOON TEA
Corned beef and salad wrap.
This was supposed to be my lunch however I couldn't wait to tuck in to the Caesar salad. Besides, the wraps just don't satisfy my appetite for lunch.
21:00 - DINNER
Thai Fish Cakes with steamed veg
Dinner was so late beacause I had a weights session at 7pm. That finished at 8:10pm. I don't like eating so late and I have a fear that if I eat before a training session that I'm going to bring it back up. However this meal was worth the wait. I made Thai fish cakes and they were extremely tasty.
With a side serve of lighty steamed asian veg with some sweet chilli sauce stirred through this was a great meal. Something I will certainly try again but perhaps throw a few capers in for extra bursts of flavour. Tasty, and cheap. My kind of meal.
NO POST-DINNER MEAL
I only just finished dinner. :P
SUMMARY
Not a bad day. A few things I could've done without (dressing, croutons, etc) however as I've said before, the taste of food is important to me. I like to enjoy what I eat and if I don't it just becomes a chore. The way I look at it, small changes to my nutrition are better than none at all.
06:30 - BREAKFAST
Porridge with protein powder
I'm getting used to it however I'm going to have to get the dried fruit or something into it to be able to change it up a bit. I mean it tastes nice, but I'm going to get bored with it very quickly. I would never get bored of porridge with Golden Syrup though. :P
10:00 - MORNING TEA
Tuna and Salad
Lettuce, sliced onion, and a tin of seeded mustard tuna. BORING!!! However it meets all the criteria.
My sister gave me a cracking slow cooked soup recipe that I'm going to give a go on the weekend. The idea is to reduce it as much as posible so that all I need to do is mix in some hot water from the urn at work and I'll have a nice cup of hot soup for morning and afternoon tea. Lush.
*The Bad
12:15 - LUNCH
Caeser Salad with Sardines
The idea was there however Caeser salad with tinned sardines just doesn't work. It tasted frickin' horrid. So much so that I pulled the sardines out of the salad and ate them first, then ate the rest of the salad.
The actual salad part was rather nice. Lettuce, crushed boiled egg, bacon, some parmesean cheese, wholegrain croutons, and a dressing I made up. Traditionally the dressing is made with egg yolks but i had to try and make a 'lighter' dressing. It didn't turn out too bad actually and the thing with dressings is that you can change them to suit your own tastes. I didn't have any anchovies in the cupboard/fridge so I just used capers (the anchovies of the vegetable world)
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp capers
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp olive oil
I was rather suprised with the taste. Not a traditional Caesar dressing however for a quick knock-up it was pretty damn good. I think a dash of lemon juice next time might perk it up a little.
*The Downright Ugly
15:00 - AFTERNOON TEA
Corned beef and salad wrap.
This was supposed to be my lunch however I couldn't wait to tuck in to the Caesar salad. Besides, the wraps just don't satisfy my appetite for lunch.
21:00 - DINNER
Thai Fish Cakes with steamed veg
Dinner was so late beacause I had a weights session at 7pm. That finished at 8:10pm. I don't like eating so late and I have a fear that if I eat before a training session that I'm going to bring it back up. However this meal was worth the wait. I made Thai fish cakes and they were extremely tasty.
- 1 cup of mashed spud
- 200g tuna
- squeeze of lemon
- corriander
- salt and pepper
- fine dessicated coconut
- green curry paste
With a side serve of lighty steamed asian veg with some sweet chilli sauce stirred through this was a great meal. Something I will certainly try again but perhaps throw a few capers in for extra bursts of flavour. Tasty, and cheap. My kind of meal.
*The Good
NO POST-DINNER MEAL
I only just finished dinner. :P
SUMMARY
Not a bad day. A few things I could've done without (dressing, croutons, etc) however as I've said before, the taste of food is important to me. I like to enjoy what I eat and if I don't it just becomes a chore. The way I look at it, small changes to my nutrition are better than none at all.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Start of a brand new week
Monday morning and it was time to get back on track with my nutrition.
06:15 - BREAKFAST
Porridge with protein powder
I have to admit it wasn't as tasty as Golden Syrup however it was actually quite nice. The protein powder I use is a vanilla flavour (I get that because i can easily add my own flavours to it) and it had a bit of a natural sweetness about it. Even though it was still high in carbs, it was higher in protein than what I normally have.
10:00 - MORNING TEA
A bowl of blanched vegies with my low carb satay.
For the satay all I did was mix some vineger, peanut butter, water, chilli, and spring onions. Not as weet as the previous version however it still was very nice and went well with the blanched veg. I like this morning tea. It's quick and it's cheap. If I want to change the flavours I can switch out a satay for an Indian curried flavour or a mediterainian style sun-dried tomato and roast capsicum puree. Oooo, a roast pumpkin and sage sauce with a sprinkling of pine-nuts and basil.
12:15 - LUNCH
Corned beef and salad wrap.
I packed it out with a lot of lettuce this time however after eating just one of these I still feel unsatisfied with it. I didn't eat anymore and thought I'd just wait until afternoon tea. I managed to get through however I could've easily eaten a lot more.
15:00 - AFTERNOON TEA
Another serve of blanched veg and satay except this time I dumped 200g of tuna into it. Maybe I should've had this for lunch and had the beef and salad wrap for arvo tea.
18:30 - DINNER
Sausages and bacon, smashed roast pumpkin and peas, mixed veg.
Apart from the amount of fat in the sausages it was a pretty decent meal. Roast pumpkin lightly mashed is fast becoming a favourite of mine, and mixing in some peas made it very nice. A forkfull of pumpkin with these little bursts of flavour was really yummy. The bacon had to be used so it was just a mini-mixed fry-up.
21:00 - POST DINNER
Again, so tired and just wanted to go to bed. Had a slice of cheese and a milo. Lazy.
SUMMARY
Not an ideal day however overall not too bad. These changes are difficult to make as I'll sneak in a knob of butter to the pumpkin mash, or have the mindset that one slice of cheese isn't going to much of a big deal. I think I need to know the consequences of the little things.
06:15 - BREAKFAST
Porridge with protein powder
I have to admit it wasn't as tasty as Golden Syrup however it was actually quite nice. The protein powder I use is a vanilla flavour (I get that because i can easily add my own flavours to it) and it had a bit of a natural sweetness about it. Even though it was still high in carbs, it was higher in protein than what I normally have.
10:00 - MORNING TEA
A bowl of blanched vegies with my low carb satay.
For the satay all I did was mix some vineger, peanut butter, water, chilli, and spring onions. Not as weet as the previous version however it still was very nice and went well with the blanched veg. I like this morning tea. It's quick and it's cheap. If I want to change the flavours I can switch out a satay for an Indian curried flavour or a mediterainian style sun-dried tomato and roast capsicum puree. Oooo, a roast pumpkin and sage sauce with a sprinkling of pine-nuts and basil.
12:15 - LUNCH
Corned beef and salad wrap.
I packed it out with a lot of lettuce this time however after eating just one of these I still feel unsatisfied with it. I didn't eat anymore and thought I'd just wait until afternoon tea. I managed to get through however I could've easily eaten a lot more.
15:00 - AFTERNOON TEA
Another serve of blanched veg and satay except this time I dumped 200g of tuna into it. Maybe I should've had this for lunch and had the beef and salad wrap for arvo tea.
18:30 - DINNER
Sausages and bacon, smashed roast pumpkin and peas, mixed veg.
Apart from the amount of fat in the sausages it was a pretty decent meal. Roast pumpkin lightly mashed is fast becoming a favourite of mine, and mixing in some peas made it very nice. A forkfull of pumpkin with these little bursts of flavour was really yummy. The bacon had to be used so it was just a mini-mixed fry-up.
21:00 - POST DINNER
Again, so tired and just wanted to go to bed. Had a slice of cheese and a milo. Lazy.
SUMMARY
Not an ideal day however overall not too bad. These changes are difficult to make as I'll sneak in a knob of butter to the pumpkin mash, or have the mindset that one slice of cheese isn't going to much of a big deal. I think I need to know the consequences of the little things.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
The Weekend - Part II
My first thought of food was at 3:42am when Lucy tapped me on the head and told me that it was time to go and feed the chickens. Mmmmmm chicken. But she went back to sleep and we woke at a more acceptable time of 6:30.
07:00 - BREAKFAST
Bacon and eggs on toast with mum's tomato relish
Piece of toast with Dad's quince jam
High protein, high fat, high carbs.
NO MORNING TEA
We were on the road to Melbourne for the birthday BBQ.
12:00 - LUNCH
Ribs, sausages, steak, chicken satay rice, salad, scalloped potatoes, cheesecake pavalova, beer, softdrink, and icecream cake.
I didn't overindulge in anything. 1 glass of beer (cheers Chris), half a can of lemonade, 5 ribs, 1 small steak, 1 chicken satay, half of Lucy's left over sausage, a spoonful of rice, a reasonably large helping of salad, a rather large serving of scalloped spuds (not proud of that), a small slice of cheesecake and pav, and about a spoonful of ice-cream cake that lucy insisted that she feed me. Actually looking at all that it was rather a lot of food. :S
NO AFTERNOON TEA
Still full from lunch and we were back on the road to Seymour so that I could drive back to Albury.
19:00 - DINNER
This is something I'm not proud of however again it was because I wasn't prepared. Lucy and I stopped at Macca's on the way home to Albury. We were both hungry and it was quick and easy. I wanted to get home ASAP. I had a medium Big Mac meal with a coffee. I could've had one of their salads but they taste like shit and are extremely over-priced. I didn't even bother looking at what other options they had because I just wanted to get food and get back on the road. This was the low point of the weekend. I felt like crap on the way home.
21:00 - POST DINNER
I finally get home and have a Milo. That's it. Busy weekend and just flaked it on the recliner and fell asleep.
SUMMARY
A tough day where I totally fell off the wagon. However apart from the Macca's I enjoyed the food I ate as it tasted so good. I hate bland, boring food. But if something tastes really nice I find it hard to stop. So even though I ate some of the wrong things, I don't think I went too overboard on the amounts. Or maybe that's for someone else to decide.
07:00 - BREAKFAST
Bacon and eggs on toast with mum's tomato relish
Piece of toast with Dad's quince jam
High protein, high fat, high carbs.
NO MORNING TEA
We were on the road to Melbourne for the birthday BBQ.
12:00 - LUNCH
Ribs, sausages, steak, chicken satay rice, salad, scalloped potatoes, cheesecake pavalova, beer, softdrink, and icecream cake.
I didn't overindulge in anything. 1 glass of beer (cheers Chris), half a can of lemonade, 5 ribs, 1 small steak, 1 chicken satay, half of Lucy's left over sausage, a spoonful of rice, a reasonably large helping of salad, a rather large serving of scalloped spuds (not proud of that), a small slice of cheesecake and pav, and about a spoonful of ice-cream cake that lucy insisted that she feed me. Actually looking at all that it was rather a lot of food. :S
NO AFTERNOON TEA
Still full from lunch and we were back on the road to Seymour so that I could drive back to Albury.
19:00 - DINNER
This is something I'm not proud of however again it was because I wasn't prepared. Lucy and I stopped at Macca's on the way home to Albury. We were both hungry and it was quick and easy. I wanted to get home ASAP. I had a medium Big Mac meal with a coffee. I could've had one of their salads but they taste like shit and are extremely over-priced. I didn't even bother looking at what other options they had because I just wanted to get food and get back on the road. This was the low point of the weekend. I felt like crap on the way home.
21:00 - POST DINNER
I finally get home and have a Milo. That's it. Busy weekend and just flaked it on the recliner and fell asleep.
SUMMARY
A tough day where I totally fell off the wagon. However apart from the Macca's I enjoyed the food I ate as it tasted so good. I hate bland, boring food. But if something tastes really nice I find it hard to stop. So even though I ate some of the wrong things, I don't think I went too overboard on the amounts. Or maybe that's for someone else to decide.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
The Weekend
The weekend was like a fricking steeplechase. I was constantly on the go and didnt have a lot of time to prepare meals, so when a meal time came up I usually just smashed into the hurdle rather than trying to jump over it. Steeplechases are dangerous and cruel, but trying to stick to a nutrition plan when having a weekend away surrounded by excellent cooks and fresh produce is deadly.
07:00 - BREAKFAST
Cheesy scrambled eggs on toast.
Made with three eggs, a splash of milk, and about 1/4 grated cheese, this breakie was high in protein but also high in fat. I should've just had porridge.
NO MORNING TEA
Driving to Seymour and didn't have anything with me.
13:00 - LUNCH
Toasted ham sandwich. Again, not ideal but dad can make the simplest of foods into a gourmet delight. So after about half an hour running around with lucy, pushing her on the tyre swing and chasing the dog around the paddock, a seeded mustard and ham toastie was pretty hard to resist.
NO AFTERNOON TEA
We went shopping for ingredients for dinner and for the cheesecake I had to make for the family BBQ the next day. Then it was a lot of cooking in the afternoon.
18:00 - DINNER
I wanted to try cooking something a little different for Lucy to try. She likes tuna so I figured fish cakes would be ideal. Made with mashed potato, tuna, salmon, mustard, lemon, and fresh parsely for Poppy Bob's garden. Coated in breadcrumbs and shallow fried until golden brown. Served with baked mash, and smashed peas and carrots, it was an absolute treat. Tasted absolutely amazing and Lucy loved it. Definitely something I'm going to try again for my post-training meal, but with a Thai influence.
NO POST-DINNER MEAL
Was playing with Lucy until her bedtime at 8:20pm, and I promptly fell asleep in the recliner from 8:30 and woke at 11.
SUMMARY
Horrible day. Totally unprepared for it. But I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be worse.
07:00 - BREAKFAST
Cheesy scrambled eggs on toast.
Made with three eggs, a splash of milk, and about 1/4 grated cheese, this breakie was high in protein but also high in fat. I should've just had porridge.
NO MORNING TEA
Driving to Seymour and didn't have anything with me.
13:00 - LUNCH
Toasted ham sandwich. Again, not ideal but dad can make the simplest of foods into a gourmet delight. So after about half an hour running around with lucy, pushing her on the tyre swing and chasing the dog around the paddock, a seeded mustard and ham toastie was pretty hard to resist.
NO AFTERNOON TEA
We went shopping for ingredients for dinner and for the cheesecake I had to make for the family BBQ the next day. Then it was a lot of cooking in the afternoon.
18:00 - DINNER
I wanted to try cooking something a little different for Lucy to try. She likes tuna so I figured fish cakes would be ideal. Made with mashed potato, tuna, salmon, mustard, lemon, and fresh parsely for Poppy Bob's garden. Coated in breadcrumbs and shallow fried until golden brown. Served with baked mash, and smashed peas and carrots, it was an absolute treat. Tasted absolutely amazing and Lucy loved it. Definitely something I'm going to try again for my post-training meal, but with a Thai influence.
NO POST-DINNER MEAL
Was playing with Lucy until her bedtime at 8:20pm, and I promptly fell asleep in the recliner from 8:30 and woke at 11.
SUMMARY
Horrible day. Totally unprepared for it. But I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be worse.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Have I bitten off more than I can chew?
Well I was supposed to be up at 5:30 to do a weights session but I ran out of milk last night so I wasn't going to be having my porridge anyway. Will do weights this afternoon and then have the last of the paella for dinner.
06:30 - BREAKFAST
CARBS: 5g
FAT: 26g
Took a little longer than 4 minutes to prepare however making an omlette is something I do find enjoyable and easy. Let's face it, everything goes well with eggs. High on the fat scale, but low in carbs and high in protein.
10:30 - MORNING TEA
CARBS: 14g
FAT: 3g
OMG, I think my tastebuds just had an orgasm. A tastegasm. Flavourgasm. This was something so simple to make and I could prepare it at work in about 3 minutes. I had a lunchbox full of the chopped veg (got a heap at home in a container full of water in the fridge), put two handfull in a bowl, top with hot water from the urn in the tea room, then nuke it for about a minute. Tip the water out and then top with the satay sauce and some spring onions. Done. Amazing taste and so fresh. Someone came in and commented on how lovely it smelled. The satay sauce was simply peanut butter, vinegar, sweet chilli sauce, corriander, and water. Very low on the protein here and a little high in the carbs but that was due to the sweet chilli sauce. Will need to work on a low carb satay sauce.
11:05 - OUCH!
I felt really hungry very very quickly. It was a sudden hunger pain (didn't help that I was flipping through the latest issue of Delicious magazine while waiting for stupid servers to catch up), and it damn well hurt. Cracked out the protein shake that I was saving for the afternoon and that seemes to have worked. I think my body is saying "Oi dipstick, you forgot the protein in your last meal." And as my friend said, it could also be because all I'm thinking about at the moment is food.
13:30 - LUNCH
16:30 - AFTERNOON TEA
Again it's a bit late but it's the same as morning tea. Blanched vegies with the satay sauce. Still missing the protein in this meal.
19:00 - DINNER
The last of the paella. It's just so damn good. I added more chicken to up the protein level.
SUMMARY
I could feel the wagon wheels wobbling a little today. So many times I thought, "just one slice of cheese won't hurt" or "Phuck it I'm making SBC* tonight". I'm craving that comfort food that I normally have on a Friday night. This is a real test of my willpower. I think giving up smoking was easier than this.
Next week I'll be getting into full experiment mode. Going to mum and dad's this weekend and then to my sister's on Sunday. Looking forward to it....and their cooking.
*SBC = Simmo's Baked Chicken. Way better than that KFC shit.
06:30 - BREAKFAST
- 2 eggs
- 1 rasher of bacon
- Tomato
- Capsicum
- spring onion
- 1 tsp parmesean cheese
- Oregano
- Salt and pepper
CARBS: 5g
FAT: 26g
Took a little longer than 4 minutes to prepare however making an omlette is something I do find enjoyable and easy. Let's face it, everything goes well with eggs. High on the fat scale, but low in carbs and high in protein.
- 2 cups of sliced veg (cabbage, carrots, capsicum, broccoli, brussel sprouts, bean sprouts, )
- 2 tbsp satay sauce (homemade)
CARBS: 14g
FAT: 3g
OMG, I think my tastebuds just had an orgasm. A tastegasm. Flavourgasm. This was something so simple to make and I could prepare it at work in about 3 minutes. I had a lunchbox full of the chopped veg (got a heap at home in a container full of water in the fridge), put two handfull in a bowl, top with hot water from the urn in the tea room, then nuke it for about a minute. Tip the water out and then top with the satay sauce and some spring onions. Done. Amazing taste and so fresh. Someone came in and commented on how lovely it smelled. The satay sauce was simply peanut butter, vinegar, sweet chilli sauce, corriander, and water. Very low on the protein here and a little high in the carbs but that was due to the sweet chilli sauce. Will need to work on a low carb satay sauce.
I felt really hungry very very quickly. It was a sudden hunger pain (didn't help that I was flipping through the latest issue of Delicious magazine while waiting for stupid servers to catch up), and it damn well hurt. Cracked out the protein shake that I was saving for the afternoon and that seemes to have worked. I think my body is saying "Oi dipstick, you forgot the protein in your last meal." And as my friend said, it could also be because all I'm thinking about at the moment is food.
13:30 - LUNCH
- 200g tuna (curry flavour)
- Mountain Bread
- Salad
16:30 - AFTERNOON TEA
Again it's a bit late but it's the same as morning tea. Blanched vegies with the satay sauce. Still missing the protein in this meal.
19:00 - DINNER
The last of the paella. It's just so damn good. I added more chicken to up the protein level.
SUMMARY
I could feel the wagon wheels wobbling a little today. So many times I thought, "just one slice of cheese won't hurt" or "Phuck it I'm making SBC* tonight". I'm craving that comfort food that I normally have on a Friday night. This is a real test of my willpower. I think giving up smoking was easier than this.
Next week I'll be getting into full experiment mode. Going to mum and dad's this weekend and then to my sister's on Sunday. Looking forward to it....and their cooking.
*SBC = Simmo's Baked Chicken. Way better than that KFC shit.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
I need more food.
My apologies for the length of this entry.
06:10 - BREAKFAST
Here's the break down of my porridge breakfast:
FOOD PROTEIN CARBS FAT
-----------------------------------------------
Rolled Oats 7.5 35 5
Milk 4 6 5
Golden Syrup 0 10 0
-----------------------------------------------
TOTAL 11.5 51 10
*I use http://www.nutritiondata.com/ to work out what is in my food.
Now I'm way off the mark for the amount of protein I need to have for this particular meal and need to boost it by about 20g. I'm thinking a shot of protein powder will fix that, just not sure of the taste. The other thing I need to replace is the Golden Syrup. Dried fruits might be the best go. Some apricots, dates, sultanas, etc. Will get some various dried druits to see what combination works best.
The next problem is the amount of carbs that's in it. I can eat high energy carbs but only withing a 3 hour window of starting an intense training session. That's another rule I have to try to stick by.
So tomorrow morning is a 5:30am start with a half hour weights session, meaning I will be able to have my porridge with a protein powder boost. I still need to find a substitute breakfast for the non-training days though. It has to be hot, and it has to be quick.
10:00 - MORNING TEA
10:38 - HUNGRY
I'm actually feeling quite hungry now. I need to get that 2 cups of plant food into my morning tea somehow. I still think the soup would be OK but until I actually make it I can't be sure if it's going to meet the nutrition needs. Or had another idea of a bowl of blanched veg (cabbage, carrots, broccoli, sprouts, etc) with spring onions and chilli or a chilli and satay type sauce mixed through it. Fat content might be a bit high though. Will think on that one.
12:30 - LUNCH
FOOD PROTEIN CARBS FAT
-------------------------------------------
Baker's Delight 12 60 3
Mountain Bread 3 13 0.5
-------------------------------------------
DIFFERENCE 9 47 2.5
So for my actual lunch the break down today is this:
FOOD PROTEIN CARBS FAT
-------------------------------------------
Corned beef 15 0 15
Mountain Bread 3 13 0.5
Cheese 7 0 8.5
Tomato 0 0 0
Lettuce 0 0 0
Onion 0 0 0
-------------------------------------------
TOTAL 25 13 24
So this is probably more in tune to what I should be having however it didn't really satisfy my appetite. Bulking it out with a lot more salad might be the key.
14:05 - HUNGRY AGAIN
Definitely need to increase how much I eat at lunch. That wrap just wasn't enough or there just wasn't enough salad in it. Will hit the supermarket at 3pm for maximum veg overload.
15:30 - AFTERNOON TEA
-------------------------------------------
Celery 0 2 0
Sardines 20 0 3
-------------------------------------------
TOTAL 20 2 3
Simple but it tastes like crap. Celery and sardines aren't that great a combination, however it did meet all the key points for what I had to have in every meal. Mind you, a tin of Homebrand Sardines in Tomato sauce was only $0.65 and by themselves was quite a nice treat. Will have to revisit the sardine for afternoon tea again. Perhaps a Caeser style salad with sliced boiled egg.
18:00 - DINNER
19:00 - POST-DINNER
SUMMARY
Not a great day however I think I'm starting to take some small steps in the right direction.
06:10 - BREAKFAST
- Porridge with 1/2 cup of milk and 1 tbsp of Golden Syrup
Here's the break down of my porridge breakfast:
- 50g Rolled Oats
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1 tbsp Golden Syrup
FOOD PROTEIN CARBS FAT
-----------------------------------------------
Rolled Oats 7.5 35 5
Milk 4 6 5
Golden Syrup 0 10 0
-----------------------------------------------
TOTAL 11.5 51 10
*I use http://www.nutritiondata.com/ to work out what is in my food.
Now I'm way off the mark for the amount of protein I need to have for this particular meal and need to boost it by about 20g. I'm thinking a shot of protein powder will fix that, just not sure of the taste. The other thing I need to replace is the Golden Syrup. Dried fruits might be the best go. Some apricots, dates, sultanas, etc. Will get some various dried druits to see what combination works best.
The next problem is the amount of carbs that's in it. I can eat high energy carbs but only withing a 3 hour window of starting an intense training session. That's another rule I have to try to stick by.
So tomorrow morning is a 5:30am start with a half hour weights session, meaning I will be able to have my porridge with a protein powder boost. I still need to find a substitute breakfast for the non-training days though. It has to be hot, and it has to be quick.
10:00 - MORNING TEA
- French Vanilla protein shake
10:38 - HUNGRY
I'm actually feeling quite hungry now. I need to get that 2 cups of plant food into my morning tea somehow. I still think the soup would be OK but until I actually make it I can't be sure if it's going to meet the nutrition needs. Or had another idea of a bowl of blanched veg (cabbage, carrots, broccoli, sprouts, etc) with spring onions and chilli or a chilli and satay type sauce mixed through it. Fat content might be a bit high though. Will think on that one.
12:30 - LUNCH
- Corned beef, cheese, and salad WRAP!!!
FOOD PROTEIN CARBS FAT
-------------------------------------------
Baker's Delight 12 60 3
Mountain Bread 3 13 0.5
-------------------------------------------
DIFFERENCE 9 47 2.5
So for my actual lunch the break down today is this:
FOOD PROTEIN CARBS FAT
-------------------------------------------
Corned beef 15 0 15
Mountain Bread 3 13 0.5
Cheese 7 0 8.5
Tomato 0 0 0
Lettuce 0 0 0
Onion 0 0 0
-------------------------------------------
TOTAL 25 13 24
So this is probably more in tune to what I should be having however it didn't really satisfy my appetite. Bulking it out with a lot more salad might be the key.
14:05 - HUNGRY AGAIN
Definitely need to increase how much I eat at lunch. That wrap just wasn't enough or there just wasn't enough salad in it. Will hit the supermarket at 3pm for maximum veg overload.
15:30 - AFTERNOON TEA
- Celery stalks
- Sardines in tomato sauce
-------------------------------------------
Celery 0 2 0
Sardines 20 0 3
-------------------------------------------
TOTAL 20 2 3
Simple but it tastes like crap. Celery and sardines aren't that great a combination, however it did meet all the key points for what I had to have in every meal. Mind you, a tin of Homebrand Sardines in Tomato sauce was only $0.65 and by themselves was quite a nice treat. Will have to revisit the sardine for afternoon tea again. Perhaps a Caeser style salad with sliced boiled egg.
18:00 - DINNER
- Paella
19:00 - POST-DINNER
- A bucket of Coke Zero
- A shit load of popcorn
SUMMARY
Not a great day however I think I'm starting to take some small steps in the right direction.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Getting a feel for the challenge
Today I was concentrating on not so much making major changes, but more working out what I'm eating and where I could make improvements. So I just wrote down everything I ate and at what times into a small journal I made up. This will form the basis of the daily blogs.
05:45AM - BREAKFAST
- Porridge with 1/2 cup of milk and 1 tbsp of Golden Syrup
Ahh porridge how I love thee on a cold morn. Just brings back so many good memories of my youth. I really don't want to find a substitute for this. :(
10:00 - MORNING TEA
- Cuppa Soup - Cream of Tomato with croutons
12:30 - LUNCH
- Corned beef, cheese, and salad roll
- Small popcorn
- Small lemonade
The corned beef and salad roll was OK except for the bread roll. Too high in carbs when I hadn't done any exercise before hand. However it's a cheap and easy lunch for work. Perhaps lowering the carbs by having mountain bread instead of a roll from Baker's Delight will be a better, yet not ideal, option. I know I should simply have a salad however they just don't fill me up and I find myself spending twice as much on food just to satisfy my appetite.
The small popcorn and small lemonade was definitely avoidable however I took Lucy to the movies and being her first movie experience I weakened and bought popcorn and drinks. Absolutely no excuses here.
15:00 - AFTERNOON TEA
Yeah this didn't happen at all. :(
18:00 - DINNER
- Curried sausages and rice
Wednesday nights I have dinner with Jen and Lucy so I don't have much control over what is put on the table unless I start cooking for them on these nights that I visit.
22:45 - POST DINNER
The only thing I have in the fridge is corned beef, cheese, and left over paella. And to be honest it's too late for me to eat anything just before I go to bed.
SUMMARY
Not a successful nutrition day but I didn't expect it to be, but it does give me things to think about. The soup stuff I'm really keen to try soon. The porridge thing is going to be a big hurdle.
One small step for the fatman...
So I've been on the 'exercise wagon' for about six months now and have been pretty happy with the results. I could have been doing better if I had also jumped on the 'nutrition wagon' at the same time however having one foot on each would probably have seen me fall flat on my face. So it was my decision to tackle one thing at a time.
It's now time to reach out and grab hold of the nutrition side of my new lifestyle.
MY GOALS
Essentially I want to look and feel a lot better about myself. I also want to be able to see Lucy grow up and live longer and be healthy enough to fulfil my own ambitions and dreams.
My short term goal date has been set for the 12th of September 2010 (my 40th birthday). What do I want to acheive in that time? Lose fat and gain muscle obviouly, however I've been told I need to be more 'specific'. I'm unsure as to what is a realistic amount though. Is a 10% body reduction in body fat actually achievable and if it is, is that setting the bar too low? I guess it's someting to ask Paul at the next training session.
I really want to tackle this food issue in a way that I can have some control over what I can cook. I want that creative freedom and not be stuck to someone else's recipes. Don't get me wrong, I still need to conform to some rules and these being:
- Six meals per day with each containing:
- 30g of protein
- 2 cups of plant food
- Essential fats and oils (omega 3)
That's a lot of food but the idea is to keep my metabolism running so that it becomes more efficient in processing food (fuel).
Now I refuse to have shakes and what-not all the time. I'm not fond of having the same thing over and over again (unless it's something I absolutely love) so it's why I really want to retain my creative freedom in the kitchen. Plus I kinda like to actually 'chew' my food.
WHY A BLOG?
I need to keep myself on track and acountable. I want to be able to find tasty and creative ways to get my nutrition needs while still keeping the costs down. So I figure you the reader can share in my achievements and failings and maybe get a few cracking recipes from it as well.
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