Taking a Running Jump Off the Wagon

So the first lunch wasn't bad, and actually dinner wasn't either. The beer was though.

I went to the Petite Abeille, a Tribeca Belgian restaurant with a great burger. Its a big burger, plenty of protein, ok. However, the bun is probably all the carbs you need after that, the fries take it further, and the beers skew this meal towards 80% carbs.

I actually started drinking at the office after-hours and was definitely feeling it after two beers, although that's not completely unusual when I'm not eating. I had four or five at the office, another three or four at the restaurant, half a beer tower (beer towers are 100 ounces of beer) at the Mudville and I think I split a pitcher at the Patriot.

It was a lot of fun and I'm glad to be back in the drinking game. Drinking is fun, and although sometimes I'll make real sacrifices to pursue some fitness or dietary goal, I doubt I'll ever want to live a life without alcohol.

I don't know how late I drank or what time I got home, but I slept like a rock until 10 AM, which comes in as "quite late" for getting to the office. I was definitely still a little drunk on waking and have been dealing with that off-balance feeling all day. I don't usually get anything resembling a hangover, but a high-volume drinking night and waking up drunk usually makes me feel kind of out of it, like I'm not fully strapped in on a roller coaster or something.

Other than that, I really haven't felt any adverse effects from the change in diet. My alcohol tolerance is down a bit, but I don't think its affected nearly as much as most of my friends predicted.

Now I'm off to start a weekend of non-stop drinking and meat eating at Notre Dame. Should be fun.

The Irresponsible-diet October

Not the full month, just through the first weekend.

Yesterday's lunch was the first real meal off-diet. I went to Joe's, a great, local steam-tray pay by the pound style deli. I used to eat a Joe's all the time pre-diet; their stuff is good and seems like its prepared well, without a bunch of crap like HFCS and trans-fat oils.

It was weird. I laid down the ceasar salad base that I usually get--the vinegar in this would be my first highly acidic food. They were out of the salmon so I went with the sesame chicken for protein. I'm pretty sure there's some kind of sugar in the sesame glaze they put on this stuff, so that would be my first sugar.

Looking around I had a hard time finding other stuff to throw in; usually I'm piling on chicken salad and tuna. My eyes found the steamed broccoli and carrots and I literally got excited. This has never happened before. It was like finding something familiar that I knew I'd like, almost like comfort food. The same thing happened with the raw peppers, onions and strawberries. The real food just looked so good and appealing. I knew the other stuff was good--I've had it all before--but the fruits and vegetables just had that appeal.

Although Joe's has the best cottage cheese I've ever had, I decided to re-introduce these food groups slowly so I could see if they produced any interesting effects on my body.

Now I usually go for zone-like portions from Joe's, and I realized when I got back to my desk that this lunch was definitely not too close on the zone front. Way more than five ounces of chicken, and besides the sesame glaze, probably light on carbs. I don't know how much fat was in the dressing, but probably not enough.

I had a few surprises while eating; for one the croûtons were weird. Its hard to describe, they didn't really taste any different than I remembered and they were good, but they felt really foreign.

Also, despite getting close to a pound and a half of food, I felt hungry as I finished the meal. I think this was the insulin response (from the sesame glaze) that I've read about didn't fully understand until then. My stomach wasn't empty and definitely should not have been sending "feed me" signals to the brain. Maybe I just got really used to eating something north of six cups of raw vegetables and expected to be more full. What I think happened though was that my body kicked out insulin to deal with the sugar, which is known to make you feel hungry, even if you've just eaten. I'm not doing a great job of explaining this, but that reaction to the first meal has changed the way I think about dieting and insulin's role in it. I'll probably reread some parts of Mastering the Zone to expand my understanding, but I can really see how insulin can play such a major role in the metabolism.

The Morning After

I woke up to October today and started thinking about all the non-paleo food I've planning to eat, all the completely un-zoned meals, and all the booze I've been planning to drink.

This morning I felt no desire to eat anything other than what I've been eating for the last month. I've gotten great results (maybe not dramatic results though) from this month, and I've enjoyed the luxury of not having to worry about the effects of a single thing I ate. Once I figured out how to do it, it was really quite easy and I've eaten very well. Its really great to know that NOTHING you're eating has any ill effects on your long term health.

This morning sticking to the diet just seemed so much easier than going off. Its really become part of my lifestyle, and excluding social factors and possibly the huge lunch salad, I could live like this indefinitely.

I'll see how I feel when I'm facing sesame chicken and cottage cheese at Joe's buffet today. The next five days are probably going to be a dietary wash no matter what, but I'm forming an idea of how I'll live after that. Today I've got the drive to keep 90% of my meals clean and balanced; hopefully 5 days off the wagon doesn't diminish that.

The Last Day of September

Breakfast: the usual, bacons, egg, onions and I think only about three strawberries, so quite light on carbs.

Lunch: Ran out of chicken Monday, and Joe's was out of salmon, so I had eat the 4.8 ounces of turkey I had left for afternoon snacks. I prepared four blocks of the usual salad (spinach, green pepper, red onion, cucumber) but didn't have time to finish it before I had to run to an out-of-office work meeting. I ate an apple on the way, so carbs were probably close to five. Almonds and flax oil for fat.

Dinner: more steak and fried apples. Also a whole onion this time.

After work I picked up a new pair of jeans, my old pair--which was too small to wear comfortably to work a few months ago--are falling off me, literally. I almost need to punch a new hole in my belt to keep those on.

Before going to bed I shaved the beard I've been growing the entire month, probably the longest I've ever let it go. I went to bed and September ended, no cheats.

Steak and Fried Apples

Last night was kind of hard mentally. I was really wanting a beer and something easy for dinner, but managed to drag myself to Whole Foods to pick up some good whole foods for the last two dinners.

8 oz steak (8 blocks protein)/.5 onion caramelized (? blocks), 2 Gala apples, 'fried' in coconut oil with nutmeg and cinnamon (4 blocks)/olive oil, fish oil?

Slightly excessive in zone calories and too many fruits at the expense of vegetables.

Breakfast today:

2 slices bacon, 2 slices canadian bacon, 1 egg/~4 cups red chard (2 blocks), .5 onion, both sauteed in bacon fat/3 almonds, fish oil

Probably a block short of carbs, but I think right on for protein and fat.

Last Weekend

Zone adherence degraded over the course of the weekend, but I managed to hold onto strict paleo.

Friday night: ~10 oz steak/1 apple, 1 peach, .5 onion, half a bunch of asparagus/plenty of olive oil

Saturday morning: no breakfast, but FGB workout at the gym (score of 305)

Saturday post workout was the first time this month that I've eaten out. I realized sometime last week that I've cooked or prepared every single thing I've eaten this month, with the occasional exception of lunchtime salmon. I had half a mind to keep that streak going so I could say that I once went a month without dining out. This may not be much of an accomplishment in some locations, with some lifestyles, but for a busy person in New York, it doesn't typically happen.

After FGB everyone from the gym went to Maria's, a Mexican restaurant across the street for lunch. I checked out there menu and was able to find a few things that fit strict paleo. The place is actually great for paleo; they make almost everything they serve themselves using real foods. I decided to end my streak and eat there to round out the month and see what its like to eat strict paleo and attempted zone at a restaurant.

I ended up having a salmon fillet with a mango and jicama salad and orange sauce. I was pretty hesitant about the orange sauce, which I could just imagine being some kind of orange duck-sauce-like goo loaded with high fructose corn syrup. The waiter told me that they make it in-house with oranges and spices, so I went for it. The dish was pretty good, though not as good as the food I've been making myself this month.

For better or worse, the rest of the weekend also helped round out the experiment. Occasionally over a weekend, or a couple of week nights, I'll be extremely lazy; too lazy to go out and buy food or cook anything. I usually end up eating whatever I can find in the house after about twelve or so hours of this behavior, but this weekend I had nothing left that could form a paleo, zone meal. My other answer to this behavior is to order food from somewhere, which was clearly out of consideration.

So the rest of the weekend breaks down like this. I did go out to pick up some food later on Saturday.

Saturday dinner: .71 pounds skirt steak/half an onion, two apples (fried in coconut oil with nutmeg and cinnamon)/maybe some other fats, don't remember

With only two meals and no snacks, intake on Saturday probably didn't break 10 square blocks.

Then on Sunday, post-workout lunch: 3 slices bacon, 2 slices canadian bacon, 1 eggs/2 cups broccoli, 1 carton strawberries, half an onion/fish oil?

Not bad, but then that's all I ate Sunday. Not ideal after a FGB and heavy deadlifts. I did end up eating a handful of almonds after midnight--the only paleo thing I could find.

This morning I felt like crap: weak and tired with an empty fridge. I ran to the store and cooked the usual breakfast, plus one egg, minus broccoli and forgetting my APA, fish oil and almonds. I'm not sure if its the slightly short night of sleep or the insufficient recovery calories over the weekend, but I was definitely feeling it this morning. I wonder if that's what I have in store for the morning of October 2nd.

The diet reboot this morning did help though and energy is almost back to normal. Mental energy has been good throughout the weekend, but physically I haven't been feeling it. I remember the ride back from the deadlift workout being particularly difficult on my legs.

Today's lunch was the usual, with red onions and a peach to round out carbs and a flax oil and lemon juice dressing.

End of Week 4

I'm finished with all the tough (meaning at-work) meals for week four, and only two more of those to do next week. This week was pretty good (until today), but the zoning fell apart a bit. Improv and zone can be challenging; I think it probably takes a lot of experience and knowledge of what constitutes a zone block to get good at it. From what I've read, it seems like a lot of the people who get great results out of the zone have a very regular diet--eating almost the same thing every day.

My typical complaint with this is that its too boring to eat the same thing all the time. I realized though that I've done just that for months at a time without trying to. My second complaint is that I figure your vitamin and mineral profile could get a little lopsided if you're eating from a small group of foods. This isn't the end of the world, and could probably be evened-out with a multi-vitamin, but its kind of contrary to the spirit of paleo and optimal health. It might not matter much for optimal performance, but for health and longevity I doubt its ideal.

I started getting into food blogs this week, which was really tough at the beginning, since most of the great things they show and write about are completely unaccessible for me right now. By today it was a lot easier; it seems that exercising willpower does make it stronger.

I also found time to weigh myself yesterday. I was 187 pre-workout and 185 post-workout, which is weird because I didn't really sweat at all in the workout. Anyways, this amounts to a 4 or 6 pound loss from the Thursday before Labor Day, which was exactly four weeks ago.

A 6 pound loss is about what I expected. I don't feel much lighter and definitely haven't noticed anything bodyweight being easier in workouts, though I think I definitely look leaner. Of course, its possible--and probably--that I put on some lean mass during this month too. I still need to calculate my body fat percentage, but I'm pretty happy with how my body's behaving and looking right now. Going forward I'd be happy to maintain this level of leanness, possibly even add a little fat without worrying about it. I think if I ever want to get really lean, I know exactly what I need to do (zone) and I know that I can do it. Now, my new passion is increasing strength and hopefully adding some mass.

Salmon, Bacon, Pepper Salad

Last night:

.71 lbs salmon (too much) = >5 blocks protein
2 cups broccoli/.5 onion sauteed/~2 small bananas smashed and chilled with almond extract = at least 5 blocks carbs
kind of forgot the fat, maybe I grabbed a few almonds. I was going to make guacamole, but my avocado had gone bad.

This morning:

2 slices bacon/2 slices canadian bacon/1 egg = 5 protein, 3 fat
2 cups broccoli/.5 onion sauteed in bacon grease/maybe .5 cup blueberries = 3 or 4 blocks carbs. I need to figure out what these onions really are, I've been guessing for a while.
almonds and fish oil to round out fat.

I'm getting kind of sloppy with the blocks here...

For lunch today, I ran out of salad ingredients, so I improvised (by which I mean, I just threw in everything I had).

5.1 ounces chicken = 5 blocks protein -- couldn't find the pieces that would give me exactly 5.0 oz
2 cups red pepper (1.5 blocks)/2 cups spinach (.5 blocks)/1 cucumber (1 block) = 3 blocks carbs
1 macadamia/~9 almonds/'Russian' salad dressing = at least 5 blocks fat

I ran out of salsa so I had to go with the paleo-Russian dressing alone today. I don't like it much, the tomatoes make it too acidic. It reminded me of the tomatillas a bit (puke-flavored) and made my teeth feel sticky.

So, a bit light on the carbs today. It probably won't get any better with my typical Friday night steak-fest either.

Salsa Chicken Salad, Strawberries

The usual salad, almost forgot the almonds though, ate 16 for 5 blocks. The salsa has almost gotten better with age; that's probably because I threw in the rest of the anaheim pepper yesterday.

1 cup strawberries to round out carbs. Also, I went to a specialty/hippie food store that's closer than Whole Foods to refill on peppers and cucumbers--never again. $3.99/pound organic cucumbers are ridiculous; my two cost over $6.

Bacon-fried Kale with two kinds of Bacon

I didn't feel like going to the store last night, so I had to make due with my remaining kale this morning, instead of my usual broccoli.

Protein: 2 slices bacon/2 slices canadian bacon/1 egg = 5 blocks + ~3 extra fat blocks

Carbohydrates: half onion/at least 4 cups raw kale, both sauteed in bacon fat/1 pear = 4 or 5 blocks, I need to get more precise here

Fat: excess bacon fat/3 almonds/fish oil = 5 or 6 blocks

Zone-like precision and improvisation don't mix that well. I've definitely been eating zone-like meals, but there's usually a block or two margin of error for the fat and carbs.

A day of nothing exciting, followed by Sauteed Kale and Seared Salmon

Yesterday was the same old: bacon, canadian bacon, egg, peach, something else, something else for breakfast. Exact same salad as Monday with chicken for lunch. A not-so-great (aging) flank steak, peach and watermelon for dinner.

Today was a bit better. Two slices bacon creates a lot of liquid fat on the skillet; this is great for cooking the canadian bacon AND frying up a half onion. I might have mentioned this before, but I've learned this month that the key to sauteing an onion in a pan is to get all the pieces covered in fat. Its the hot oil that cooks the onion, not so much the onions contact with the pan. And the onions don't have to be swimming in fat, just a little bit all the way around each piece will go a long way. I've watched a chopped onion sit in a pan for half an hour and get no where near brown in previous years; now I know the secret.

So, since most things are better when cooked in bacon fat, I gave the onion a try. Couldn't really tell a difference, but it does use up that excess fat and makes cooking breakfast that much easier, so I'll continue this way.

Ended up a little light on carbs, I think I ate a peach on the way out, so probably 3 blocks or so. I was fine with that since I definitely needed to be alert this morning, and forcing 5 blocks of fruit in the mornings can cause problems for me.

Lunch was unremarkable, the exact same as yesterday. Still liking the salsa salad better. Need to pick up deli turkey for 5pm snack. I got some macadamia nuts the other week to try as snack fat; they're ok, but one macadamia definitely isn't as filling as three almonds.

Dinner tonight was great, a perfectly seared salmon fillet (~8 oz =~ 5 blocks), 1 red onion and 4 cups kale sauteed = ~2 blocks + ? blocks (I thought kale was 4 cups raw = 1 block, but now I can only find 1.25 cooked = 1 block). So if I call that three the small banana can bring me up to five. PLENTY of oil used to cook all of this, plus fish oil and 2 almonds = at least 5 blocks.

Then I tried to puree my remaining bananas in my smaller food processor, unfrozen this time. Still didn't work at all, it liquified a bit of the banana (which wasn't that appetizing) and didn't touch the rest of it. So I mashed them up pretty well in a bowl, mixed in some almond extract and threw it all in the freezer. There's a good chance its rock hard tomorrow (although I think something about the high sugar content might actually mean it doesn't freeze hard...), but I'm giving it another try.

Also, beef jerky was a huge hit with everyone who had it; I'll have to make it again soon. That reminds me, I have some steak odds and ends that have been marinating since Sunday night. I wonder if those are still edible...m

Salad, Salsa, Chicken

The usual salad, but with just salsa as a dressing, no fake russian dressing or flax oil/lemon juice.

4 blocks carbs = 4 cups spinach/1.25 cups green pepper/1 cucumber/~.5 cups salsa

I did squirt some flax oil on the salad to see what that was like, but couldn't detect it at all later. This salsa salad was definitely a nice change of pace from the usual flax oil/lemon juice dressing. One thing I'll definitely be jumping on post-paleo is vinegars. I'll probably start making my own salad dressing with a simple oil/vinegar pair.

I rounded out the carbs with ~1 cup strawberries.

5 oz chicken = 5 blocks protein. Cooked last night as usual; salt, pepper, olive oil and some garlic thrown in. I could definitely try to punch up this recipe a bit, but its fine for now. When you're working your way through what seems like half a cubic foot of greens (and isn't far off), each little morsel of protein is like candy.

I had to make up some fat because the salsa is carbs only, so I threw on a good 3-4 dozen pine nuts and a 2-3 blocks of almonds.

Then I ate a dozen or two pistachios because they were there and I couldn't help it, which easily puts me over any fat requirement.

Overall, the salsa is a great change of pace from the boring dressing before. Still a ton of greens to eat though. The jerky went over well at the office; I'll probably have to make this again soon. Meanwhile, some browsing on Mark's Daily Apple now has me curious about home brewing (beer). This do-it-yourself approach to food is addicting once you get started.

Pureed Frozen Bananas with Almond Extract, Real Bacon!

I aimed for zone this morning, but I have to do the math now to find out how close I was.

2 slices REAL bacon @ 4g protein, 5g fat each = 1 block protein, ~3 blocks fat
2 slices canadian bacon @ 11g protein, 1.5g fat each = 3 blocks protein, ~1 block fat
1 egg = 1 block protein

Now, in the zone, each block of protein is assumed to have 1.5g (or 1 block) of fat. You don't count this fat against your fat blocks though.

So 4 blocks of protein should be 28g protein and 6g fat. My meat this morning totals 30g protein and 13 g fat. So that's about 4 square blocks of protein and 4 extra blocks fat. Not too bad, going forward I can just add some fish oil to that and be at a good fat level.

For today though, I added 9 almonds (unnecessary) and fish oil, plenty of extra fat.

~2 cups broccoli = 1 block carb
1 peach = 1 block carb
3 small frozen bananas, 'pureed' and mixed with a dash of almond extract = technically, 9 blocks carbs. Bananas are listed as 1 block = 1/3 of a 3" banana, and on the less favorable source of carbs list. These bananas were small, but that's likely still excessive for carbs.

I heard from a friend at the gym that frozen, pureed bananas taste like ice cream, so I thought I'd give it a try. Unfortunately, my blender wasn't able to handle these bananas the way it needs to to get that texture. They ended up like lumpy chopped bananas, not smooth at all. I realized that the very powerful, very expensive food processor my friend has probably makes a big difference here.

Although frozen mangled bananas are good enough to eat straight, I tasted them with a few different flavors. I overdid the vanilla and they ended up tasting bitter. Nutmeg and cinnamon were ok, but almond extract kicked ass.

For the rest of this bunch I'll try the recipe recommended by the paleo book: blend the bananas and vanilla (or almond extract) first, then freeze a bit. Carb heavy, but still pretty good while being technically paleo.

Salmon and an Apple

Simple dinner:

~8 oz salmon fillet seared with olive oil, salt pepper = 5 blocks protein
1 cup watermelon = 2 blocks carbs
1 apple = 2 blocks carbs
1/2 onion sauteed = 2 blocks carbs?
9 almonds = 3 blocks fat
fish oil = 2 blocks fat
olive oil = more blocks of fat

I thought I might be under on the carbs, but that looks like plenty.

Also managed to cook my chicken for the rest of the week. Now to bed in hopes of making the early workout.

Homemade Salsa and Salad Dressing

Nothing special today, besides a lack of preparation. Woke up a bit late for breakfast, ended up with 5 protein (1 egg, 2 slices canadian bacon, 1 slice turkey bacon), but only about 4 carbs (2 cups broccoli, ~1.5 cups watermelon). Almonds and fish oil round out the fat.

I also didn't get around to cooking chicken for the week last night, so I had to get Joe's salmon for lunch, which I can't complain about. I tried to improve my usual salad with some homemade, paleo Russian dressing from the paleo site. Mostly olive oil, lemon juice and tomato, with some spices and stuff. Its all right, not fantastic.

What ended up being better was the 'Anaheim Salsa' I did make last night for nothing in particular. I saw some of the directions as unnecessary, so I went off-road and chopped everything and blended nothing. This was a mistake, the 2 cups of salsa the recipe promised was a lot close to 3 quarts. I blended it down, added some salt, and the salsa turned out not too bad (kind of bland before).

Today I actually found an Anaheim pepper to throw in at Whole Foods, and that may have helped a bit too.

So I threw both of these on the salad which definitely made for a better carb bowl. The rest of the salad was the same as usual (4 cups baby spinach, 1.25 cups pepper, large cucumber) except I kept out the snow peas. The zone block list says half a cup of salsa is one block of carbs, so thats what I went with, even though I could have calculated the blocks based on the recipe.

Also, an unforeseen turkey shortage kept me under my protein allotment, which rarely happens. Oh well.

Then, as I sit at work reading Serious Eats, quite disappointed that I have to miss snatching at crossfit tonight, I come across a terrible, terrible article for someone on week four of paleo about pepperoni pizza.

Ignoring the fact that the article maligns pepperoni pizza (blasphemy), that picture is devastating.

I've pretty much conceded that my first meal out will be a feast of pizza. There are a ton of things I could go for, but pizza has definitely lingered in my mind the most. On October 1st, I will be very grateful for the past month and the experiment that I've finished, but a life without foods like pizza is not really an option for me.

Beef Jerky and Genesis

The jerky's in the oven, looking great. I marinated it for a solid 24 hours, which might be excessive. I'm used the marinade recipe from Mark, and combining technique from Mark and the Paleo book.

Meanwhile, I've been needing to credit Mark Sisson's "Mark's Daily Apple", primarily for two key posts.

The 30-Day Primal Health Challenge - I read this while back, before I even started thinking about doing the Sober September. It wasn't until about a week ago that I found it again and realized how much it had inspired me in this. Mark's challenge here is right on; exactly what I was trying to do in September. The original concept was to be very healthy for a month to see what impact it had on my physical fitness. As September approached and I worked through the first week, it immediately became obvious that a month of no compromises would be the real challenge and benefit.

The Primal Blueprint - This boils down the 'evolutionarily correct' lifestyle into ten bullet points. I really like the first seven and have tried to incorporate them into my everyday life, both during and outside the Sober September. A few of them are obvious, but the advice to engage in lots of low intensity activity and getting some sun every day are great cues to give your body what it needs. (The last three are pretty non-optional for me, so not that helpful).

Mark's Blueprint is great, it helped me lay some groundwork for living as healthily as possible. Of course, we still have a lot to learn about optimal health, but this experiment has really advanced my understanding of my diet, and definitely taught me a lot about how to implement this understanding.

Chili Scallops, Paleo Guacamole, Fried Apples

Big change of pace tonight. I tossed a half pound of greenmarket scallops with some olive oil, chili pepper and black pepper, then sauteed with half an onion. I'd never cooked scallops before, but they ended up pretty well. I think I could do better, maybe something with garlic next time.

Half pound = 8 oz =~ 5 blocks protein

My avocado was finally ripe today after buying last Sunday, so it was time for guac! I started with my boss's recipe as best I could remember. I muddled two cloves of diced garlic, a good bit of chopped cilantro (i love cilantro), some non-jalapeno pepper (that farmer lied, it wasn't spicy at all) and pepper. Then I mixed that in with 1 mashed avocado and half a diced heirloom tomato.

At this point the guacamole was OK. I only started to like guacamole in the last twelve months, and I don't have it very often, so I'm no connoisseur, not at all. Fortunately my roommate was LA bred, she immediately recommended lime juice and much more salt. Big difference. In the end I think it was pretty decent guac. Next time, maybe onion and a real pepper.

Most of an avocado = at least 5 blocks, but probably pretty close, at 1 tbsp per block.

Finally, I decided to attempt part of a zone book recipe. I picked up some gala apples from the green market, so I cut very thin slices and 'fried', or slowly cooked them in plenty of olive oil with nutmeg and cinnamon. I ended up making four or five batches, playing with the method. Some of them I tossed with oil and cinnamon, some of them I just threw in an oiled pan and sprinkled with cinnamon. A longer cooking time at lower heat works well, it breaks the apples down and makes them soft, which takes longer than I had anticipated.

Completely paleo, but probably a bit high in fat and carbs. Hopefully close to 5 blocks in the end. Those apples would kill on vanilla ice cream by the way. Take them straight off the pan and throw them on a ball of ice cream and eat immediately. Hot + cold, cinammon apples + ice cream. Excellent.

Oh, and you really can't taste the olive oil at all. There's probably a better oil to cook them in though, but I didn't have anything else on hand. Coconut oil maybe.

Canadian Bacon and Watermelon

A little one-block breakfast 30 minutes before workout of ~1 oz turkey breast/.5 cup watermelon/3 almonds

Felt weak at workout today, perhaps because of recent effots, perhaps because of the quite un-zone-like meal last night.

Real 'breakfast' (at 2:30 pm) of 2 slices canadian bacon, 1 slice turkey bacon, 2 eggs (6 blocks)/3 cups watermelon (6 blocks)/12 almonds, 1 tsp fish oil (6 blocks).

A bit excessive in calories. I couldn't stop eating watermelon, so I just tried to balance it out with protein and fat.

Meanwhile I scored big at the Grand Army Plaza Green Market. Paleo guacamole and salsa coming up, as well as something involving scallops, and something else involving lots of apples.

23 oz Grass-fed Porterhouse, Sauteed Onion and Asparaus, White Peaches

Although quite paleo, this meal probably wasn't close at all to zone. If I ever let loose a bit, its usually Friday night, so I let this one slide.

I didn't eat the whole steak, and a good bit of it was bone and fat, but it was quite a bit more than the five ounces of steak I'm suppsed to eat in one meal. I'd say at least twelve, maybe a pound (I shared some with a friend).

I pan fried it with a light rub of olive oil and a good amount of sea salt and pepper, nothing more. Oven for a few minutes to finish. I've not had a porterhouse in my modern steak-eating career, but I learned today that it contains by tenderloin and strip meat. This was helpful to know going in, the tenderloin was the tenderest piece of steak that I've ever cooked. The strip was very flavorful.

As for the grass-fed aspect, it definitely tasted different from the typical steak I get at the store. Its a very deeply rooted difference in the taste; I have to admit that it feels like you can taste the difference in the cows diet. I'd quite easily be able to distinguish grass-fed and grain-fed in a taste test.

That said, I'm definitely used to grain-fed beef. Probably all of my great stead experiences have been on grain-fed and its what I've come to expect from steaks. This steak was great, but that flavor was a little something I didn't expect. Nevertheless, I love the idea of grass-fed for lots of reasons beyond just taste; I'll definitely be buying more from Grazin' Angus. I'd wager that after three or four more steaks, I'll more fully appreciate the extraordinary qualities everyone else loves about this beef.

The rest of the meal was 1.5 large onions and a bunch of asparagus, sauteed to near liquid-stage in more than enough olive oil. Followed by the last two great white peaches from the green market. After that I got drowsy watching the Bourne Ultimatum. First paleo-induced food coma?

Chicken/Turkey and Salad + Greenmarket Peaches

Same lunch as yesterday, and used exactly all of my remaining vegetables and chicken at the office. I couldn't have planned that better.

2.6 oz chicken, 2.4 oz turkey breast/4 cups spinach, 1.25 cups green pepper, .75 cups snow peas, 1 cucumber/flax oil, 6 almonds, handful pine nuts/lemon juice, pepper

I managed to ride into work today, which besides being a lot of fun, meant I was able to ride up to the Union Square green market and get a steak from the highly recommended Grazin Angus farm. He was out of my usual choices, flank and skirt steaks, so I decided to change things up and spring for a porterhouse. It wasn't cheap, but its 100% grass fed and finished, local, and supposedly excellent. At over 20 ounces, its more than a day's worth of protein, so I'm not sure how I'll tackle this. I'll save that decision for later tonight.

I also picked up some white peaches, presumably quite local. Way better than the ones I had yesterday, but also much more ripe. Smaller too, which I've read gives mature fruits and vegetables a denser flavor.

At about 8 minutes on the bike each way from Tribeca to Union Square, I might have to make my way up to this green market more often.

Porkchop and watermelon

Same as last night, 5 square blocks.

5 oz pork chop/2 cups broccoli, 1.5 cups watermelon, .5 onions/2 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp fish oil, 6 almonds, APA.

Falling into a rut, but its a pretty delicious rut. Although not strictly paleo according to the book, a little bit of kosher salt goes a LONG way towards making a great caramelized outer on the chop.

I may try to get a grassfed steak at the Union Square market tomorrow, work permitting. Despite completely agreeing with the principles of grassfed beef, I haven't done much to go for it.

The Usual Lunch, Liquid Smoke

5 oz chicken/1.75 cups peppers, 4 cups spinach, .75 cups snow peas, ~1 cucumber/1 peach/6 almonds, handful pine nuts, flax oil/lemon juice, pepper

I also picked up about 2.7 lbs of very lean top round steak and some liquid smoke. I'm thinking marinate over night, then dry for jerky saturday or sunday.

Also, although I've been eating in good block proportions, and even getting five blocks a meal, I haven't been paying much attention to when I eat, or snacks. Without the snacks I'm shorting myself two blocks a day. Since I'd rather gain strength than lose weight, this is counter productive. Going forward I'm going to be more consistent on the snacks and timing, starting with a nice one-blocker coming up soon.

Pork Chop and Watermelon, Canadian Bacon and Broccoli

Dinner last night was a solid 5 blocks:

slightly more than 5 ounces pork chop = 5 blocks protein
half an onion sauteed in 2 teaspoons olive oil = 1 block carb, 6 blocks fat
2 cups brocolli = 1 block carb
1.5 cups watermelon = 3 blocks carb

The zone book is fond of counting all your fat in the olive oil you cook with. However, when cleaning a pan used to cook with olive oil, its obvious that you're not actually consuming all of that fat. I'd say at best, it looks like half to three-quarters makes it to my mouth. With that in mind, I don't count 2 teaspoons of olive oil as 6 blocks of fat, but close to three. So I finished with 9 almonds for another three blocks, which should definitely put me over my 5 blocks of fat for the meal.

Breakfast today:

2 slices canadian bacon = 3 blocks protein - at 11g protein and 1.5g fat per slice, candadian bacon is very lean. The typical zone assumption is that 7g protein contains about 1.5g fat, then you add additional 1.5g fat blocks on top of that. So 2 slices candadian bacon = 22g protein or almost exactly 3 blocks, and 3 grams fat.

1 slice turkey bacon = 1 block protein
1 egg = 1 block protein
a lean 2 cups watermelon = 4 blocks carb
2 cups broccoli = 1 block carb

1 teaspoon fish oil = 4g fat or about 2.6 blocks fat. I called this
9 almonds = 3 blocks fat

So that should be about 5.6 blocks fat, but I still have a slight deficit from the canadian bacon. Probably should have had a few more almonds, oh well.

I'm thinking of investing some time and effort into home-making some beef jerky, maybe this weekend.

The Right Tool for the Right Job

Something I noticed today: proteins are usually measured by ounce, carbs by cup and fats by teaspoon.

Almost paleo foods will be measured this way (no high density carbs or liquid proteins). Nuts are the exception for fats. Even guacamole is measured in tablespoons at the block level.

Pepper Chicken, Salad, Peach

Yesterday's lunch, but with precision. I picked up a small food scale at J&R for $25 so I can weigh my protein, finally. It was about what I usually eat, maybe a little less. Good to know that I've been close with my eyeball protein (salmon may be a different story though).

Exactly 5 ounces chicken, cooked in olive oil, pepper, little salt = exactly 5 blocks protein

4 block carb salad: 4 cups baby spinach, 1.75 cups green and yellow bell peper, .75 cups snow peas, ~9" cucumber

2 blocks fat?: eyeball teaspoon sized pull of flax oil. 1 tbsp of flax oil = 11g fat or about 7 blocks fat. I aim for a teaspoon when I pour, which is about 2.5 blocks fat.
3 blocks fat: about 8 almonds and an amount of pine nuts

1 block carb: 1 under-ripe peach from a street vender. He insisted on throwing in a pluot so he didn't have to make change of a dollar for me. I won't be eating that because the last one knocked me out.

Pretty good deal, I'll have to check the glycemic index on peaches, but those are a great finish to a meal.

Porkchop, Broccoli, Watermelon, Turkey, Raspberries

Almost exactly the same as last night. About 5 ounces pork chop, a bit less than 2 cups broccoli, probably close to 2 cups watermelon, 1/2 an onion sauteed, 2 teaspoons olive oil, 1 pull of fish oil.

Also had a snack around 5 pm of an eyeball ounce of sliced turkey, about 1/3 cup raspberries and 4 almonds.

Then around 8, at least another ounce of turkey and some almonds. Not exactly zone balanced, but I was hungry.

Salmon, Salad, Watermelon

5 blocks as precise as I was able.

a very eyeballed 7.5 ounces salmon = 5 blocks protein

yesterday's salad of:
4 packed cups baby spinach (i hope that's accurate, no zone block guides include baby spinach, only chopped spinnach) = 1 block carb
1.25 cups green pepper = 1 block carb
~1 x 9" cucumber (or 80% of one huge cucumber) = 1 block carb
.75 cups snow peas (if you cut them in half, they measure much easier) = 1 block carb
eyeball .5 cups watermelon (i think this block was fairly accurate actually) = 1 block carb

eyeball 1. tsp flaxseed oil = 1 block fat (no idea, i should check that)
about 5 almonds and at least 15 pine nuts = more fats, hopefully about 4 blocks?

also included lemon juice, pepper, and a little red onion

I always feel like I'm adding plenty, if not too much, fat when I'm making these meals, but it always seems to come up short when I log them. I definitely need to get precise about fat.

Meanwhile, its become apparent to me that I can finish the month without difficulty. If you're not making 'zone meals', but rather eating a zone amount of protein with a zone amount of carbs and fats, the zone takes much less planning and effort. However, it is tricky to find enough delicious healthy things. I've got to find a way to make green things better at dinner time.

One other unexpected benefit I've noticed is that my teeth always feel clean, no matter what. Normally if I have clean-ish teeth, then drink a soda or something, my teeth feel sticky and definitely not too healthy. Most of the time, my teeth feel somewhere in between those two extremes. But lately, no doubt a result of completely eliminating sugars and high glycemic carbs, my teeth feel squeaky clean all day long. I have continued brushing them, though.

Also, carrots have a high glycemic index, the zone book told me yesterday. Who knew>

5 Square Blocks: Turkey Bacon, Eggs, Broccoli, Watermelon

5 square blocks

2 slices turkey bacon and 3 eggs, all in about 1 tsp olive oil = 5 blocks protein, ~2 blocks fat consumed
2 cups broccoli = 1 block carbs
1.5 cups watermelon = 3 blocks carbs
5 almonds = 2 blocks fat
~1 tsp fish oil = 1 block fat?
APA

Actually, that's about a block of carbs short, but my watermelon was a generous 1.5 cups, and I had pretty good energy after this meal, which isn't always the case with breakfast.

Half Done! Pork Chop, Broccoli, Watermelon, Fish Oil

Technical halfway point today.

A fairly accurate zone dinner tonight. Approximately 5 ounces of pork chop (5 blocks protein) with a dab of olive oil, kosher salt and plenty of pepper. Cooked next to half a sauteed onion (~1.5 cups raw = 2 blocks carbs) in 2 teaspoons olive oil (6 blocks fat). (Over) steamed a bunch of broccoli, 2 cups of which was another block of carbs. And what started out as a very generous .5 cups of watermelon (1 block carbs) turned into a bit more as I sliced the rest of the melon up to fit in the fridge.

So, probably a bit extra on each nutrient, but surprisingly less than I'd been eating before on just paleo. Good thing I decided to get serious about this; I was definitely over eating.

Finished up with APA and fish oil.

Meanwhile, I must say I'm pretty happy with how I'm performing at Crossfit. Today's workout was indeed a doozie:

Max rounds in 3 minutes of:
135 pound Power cleans, 3 reps
6 Push-ups
9 Squats

Rest 1 minute. Repeat for a total of 5 cycles.

I managed 4 sets for each round. This was much harder than it looks.

Turkey Bacon, Egg and Strawberries, Expensive Salmon and Salad

I'm definitely getting more disciplined about zone this week, but I didn't really prepare for it this weekend, so this morning wasn't too impressive.

3 strips turkey bacon ~ 3 blocks protein
1 egg = 1 block protein
1 'container' strawberries - hopefully about 4 blocks carbs?
fish oil and APA

Looking back, that might have been a bit light on the fat.

Lunch was much better. I bought a measuring cup for the office, which allows me to get precise on the carbs. Some things I was eating too little of, some too much.

~8 ounces of over-priced Whole Foods salmon = ~5 blocks protein

4 cups baby spinach = 1 block carb
1.25 cup green pepper = 1 block carb
1 cucumber = 1 block carb
.75 cups snow peas = 1 block carb
eyeball 2/3 cup raspberries = 1 block carb

some amount of flax oil, three almonds and maybe 10 pine nuts = hopefully 5 blocks fat

With meals like these, fat is the hardest to get straight. I should probably get a teaspoon or tablespoon to measure my flax oil. And while I'm still not actually at my ideal body fat percentage, I generally don't mind going a little over on fat.

Altogether, not a bad lunch. $22 per pound of salmon is excessive, so I've got to prepare some protein for this week. Also, the salad takes way too long to eat, I wonder if there's a way to get that down and keep with strict paleo foods.

Oh, and although snow peas are not strict paleo, they're fairly calorie dense (.75 cups = 1 block, although have you ever tried to measure .75 cups of snow peas? Their shape makes it impossible), and they're green and I imagine they have tons of fiber, so I'm sticking with them for now. I'll try to find a replacement when I have more time.

Steak on the Grill, Too Much Watermelon, Guac and Bike Ride

My first night out and about socially on a strict diet. Not drinking was surprisingly easy. I took a nice eight ounce steak to the grill, and had plenty of watermelon and carrots, and a little store-bought guacamole.

I also had a great time riding my bike around all day. There's not much that's better than the view approaching Manhattan on the Brooklyn bridge.

Got home very late just now, two slices of deli turkey and some paleo cole slaw (carbs and fat).

Flank Steak and Eggs, Watermelon

Probably about 5 ounces of flank steak, half an onion, very caramelized, two eggs sunny side up, the remainder of my watermelon and old mixed fruit. Followed with a swig of fish oil and an APA pill.

Meanwhile at the gym, today's workout was a bit easier than I expected. The effects of the diet? Or do I just need to re-max on deadlifts? Hopefully a lot of both.

Lately I can't get enough watermelon. Fortunately I have a barbeque coming up, so I can look forward to more steak and watermelon. Truly a winning combo.

Thoughts after Week 2

Although not technically over, the hard part of the second week is over. At this point, I have three weekends, two full work weeks, and two more weekdays ahead of me. I'm nearly halfway.

I think my reactions to seeing and smelling fatty, sugary, very-n0n-paleo-ly foods has definitely been different this week. I still want these things when I see them, but the desire passes much more quickly. Its become a lot easier to focus on the positive aspects of this diet, ie what I AM able to eat, as opposed to the negative aspects, ie the delicious foods that are completely forbidden.

That said, its not obvious whether this is a function of the mental effort involved in extended dietary discipline, or a function of changing my body over to strict paleo inputs. Probably a little bit of both, but I think the mental aspect is the major player here. Which is actually a great thing. Although when I started planning this month it was mainly for dietary and performance reasons, I quickly realized that this would be quite a mental challenge.

See, I tend to be a very compulsive eater. The least bit of stress sets me off, dreaming of unhealthy comfort foods (this compulsion is actually almost gone. hm..). Also, whenever I'm kind of hungry (ie not completely full) and I see or smell something kind of delicious, I want that food right then. If I'm hungry and I walk by a pizza parlor or bakery, I will think that pizza or pastries sound fantastic. This makes shopping very difficult when hungry.

Now, I'm usually fairly good at resisting all of these temptations, but that's kind of a relative term. I can justify eating deliciously pretty easily by telling myself its a one time, spur of the moment deal. Which it seems like it is, because hey, its right when I saw those pizza rolls and ice cream that I realized what I was really craving right now was pizza rolls and ice cream. What a coincidence! Surely this coincidence merits a bit of indulgence?

Like I said, frequently I resist this scenario, but not nearly enough. What's worse is that I don't feel that I have much control over it. Some weeks I'll just throw in the towel and not even try to eat well. I had one of those last month; it was disgusting.

So the first week was full of behavior like this, only without giving in. The rabid desire to eat cheese and cookies was still there, but it was a bit less distressing because I couldn't linger on it too long, knowing it wasn't an option. This second week has been noticebly easier in that respect. There have been temptations, including a cheesecake at the office, onion rings, pizza, brownies, a different kind of brownies, turkey burgers. The temptations have been on par for a normal week, but the time I spent obsessing about them was a fraction of what it usually is.

Hopefully this is a permanent power, something that stays with me for a long time. I think I'll still be able to get worked up over some really diet destroying food, like fried twinkies and frozen pizza rolls (so good, so un-paleo), but if I am less distracted by every little thing, maintaining a good diet will be that much easier.

Poblano and Carrot Salad with Salmon, Steak and Watermelon

The usual lunch, running low on assorted vegetables though, so only poblano, carrots and snow peas to top my baby spinach. Salmon from Joe's; I didn't feel like cooking chicken on a Thursday to let it sit in the fridge all weekend.

I'll probably get back on the chicken come Monday, but I'll also be doing much stricter zone then. I still have to think about how I'm going to execute that, and it will definitely require more planning than I've gotten by with so far.

The finally, steak again for Friday dinner. In the absence of drinking and pizza, this keeps me going. I picked up a top sirloin 8 oz steak from Whole Foods, a small sweet onion and a small Fuji apple. Sadly, I had no access to olive oil, so I had to cook this all with vegetable oil (better than the corn oil that was available). The steak was great, and I always love caramelized onions.

Just now I had a snack of three slices of deli turkey, six roasted almonds (are those roasted in oil?) and half of my remaining half baby watermelon. Watermelon is addicting.

Turkey Bacon! Egg, Onion, Blueberries

I made an awesome discovery last night: the Applewood Farms turkey bacon is almost exactly one zone block of protein per slice at 6g protein, 1.5 g fat. Its not the same thing as real bacon, but its a welcome break from ground turkey.

Three slices turkey bacon, two eggs, a quarter of an onion sauteed in olive oil, about 3 ounces blueberries, fish oil and an alpha lipoic acid capsule.

Definitely not too many carbs this morning.

Pork Chop, Ratatouille, Watermelon

I added a new simple meat dish to my repertoire: pork chop. Rub with olive oil, plenty of pepper and a little kosher salt, throw on the pan, done.

Also heated up some of the ratatouille and had half a tiny seedless watermelon. Maybe a little carb excessive overall.

Salmon, Illegal Snow Peas Salad

No chicken, so salmon from Joe's. Unless they cook it in butter, its got to be paleo. And its damn good.

Salad of baby spinach, poblano pepper, raw broccoli, snow peas, carrot, almonds, pine nuts, flaxseed oil, lemon juice, pepper.

I finally got to the actual "what you can eat" chapter in the paleo book, and there are a few surprises. Snow peas are technically legumes, and are out. They might have some lectins, which is paleo's main complaint, but come on. I'm eating them raw, in shell. That can't be bad for your right? Lots of fiber?

I'll finish off this bag and not buy more I guess. Too bad because they're a great, cheap salad filler that tastes pretty good.

After reading SO MUCH about omega-3s, I had to pick up some more fish oil to shore up my omega-6:omega-3 ratio. Although the paleo book doesn't actually discuss fish oil much (if at all), it goes on and on about the importance of omega-3 fats and what foods are good sources of them. Flaxseed oil has a good ratio, so I'm using that for salad dressing, and possibly making "paleo mayonnaise" later.

Anyways, I've basically read enough about omega-3s to take them seriously, and will be taking a shot of fish oil twice daily going forward.

Turkey, Blueberry and Almond One-Blocker

Only time for two slices of deli turkey, not enough blueberries, and 3 almonds. I'm guessing this is about a one block 'meal', but I need to get a food scale to train my eye for meat blocks.

Supplemental Salmon, Chicken on Salad, No Cheesecake

Typical lunch, supplemented with some salmon because I was low on chicken. Smaller, simpler salad than previous days, which took me much less time to get through.

There was a cheesecake in the office for a birthday today. Cheesecake is extremely un-paleo (diary, sugar, high fat), and I've been considering it for October 1, but I found myself surprisingly uninterested. Not that I wouldn't have liked some, but that it really didn't distract me much at all.

Way too many almonds and some blackberries for 'snack' around 6, no time for dinner, but some deli turkey, almonds and an apple around 1 am.

Just Strawberries

I only had time for some strawberries this morning, and now I am starving. Although strawberries are a healthy fruit (although I should probably check the glycemic index on them), its very un-zone to eat only carbs without any protein or fat. That's the trick with paleo, cold protein isn't easy to come by without dairy. I'm going to have to start buying pounds of deli turkey at a time for mornings like these.

Also, because my office is freezing, I'm not looking forward to warmed up chicken and a huge cold salad. What I'd really like is the "turkey chimichanga" from whole foods. Delicious, not heavy at all (its not actually fried), and not paleo with the tortilla.

Salmon and Ratatouille

The last half of today was a tough one. I wanted nothing more than pizza or a burger and fries or something fatty and unhealthy from about 3pm on. I was only slightly craving a beer, but the food was driving me crazy. Walking down West Broadway during dinner hours doesn't help.

Fortunately I managed to heat up some leftover paleo ratatouille and cook a filet of salmon. Both were much better than I expected. I'm getting in the habit of sauteeing, near carmelizing a quarter of an onion (sliced) in olive oil before I throw my meat on, and I love it.

It occurred to me today that I need to ratchet up th zone aspect of this experiment, and soon. Zone takes a lot more planning and effort, but I think it will help with my inconsistent energy levels during the day. More on that later.

Chicken Salad, Tomatillo,

Several pieces of the usual chicken I prepare in bulk for lunch at work and a huge salad that took me forty minutes to eat.

I've made this chicken for a few weeks, now. Its not totally amazing after sitting in the fridge for a bit, but it is really good straight off the stove. I cook about two pounds (raw weight) sliced into small strips and take it to the office for about a week's worth of lunch protein.

First I slice raw boneless chicken breasts into half-inch wide strips, then lay them all out on a plate and rub with some olive oil (not too much). Pre-paleo I threw on plenty of kosher salt and pepper, but now its tons of pepper and just a little salt. Throw these on a hot pan with a bit of oil and they cook up pretty quickly. I usually manage to cook all the chicken in under an hour on Sunday nights and take it to work on Monday.

The salad all comes from the paleo playground that is Whole Foods. In a large container, I lay a large base of greens, this week mescalin, sometimes arugula, baby spinach, or a combination. Then I throw in all the non-starchy vegetables I can fit sliced small enough to eat with a fork. I got a ton of supplies on Monday; today's salad included raw snow peas, cucumber, green squash, carrot and broccoli. I top with plenty of flaxseed oil, lemon juice, a handful of almonds and pine nuts and lots of pepper.

Its not the tastiest salad I've ever eaten, but its definitely decent enough to get through. Every week I try a few new vegetables to keep it interesting and to keep my sources of vitamins and minerals varied. I'd never had raw tomatillo before, so I picked on up yesterday. It was kind of good at first, but the acidic aftertaste reminded me way too much of vomit, so I had to throw it out.

Quick Breakfast

I normally manage to cook some ground turkey with sauteed onions, throw in some zucchini, add tomato puree and some cumin and serve over two sunny side up eggs for breakfast, and maybe some fruit and almonds. 

Not today though. I woke up tired despite a solid eight hours (solid = setting my alarm for 6:30 and snoozing until 8) without enough time or energy to cook that.

I ate about four ounces deli turkey, maybe a pint of strawberries (10 berries?) and a few blocks of almonds, probably about 10. No preparation needed, and actually pretty tasty, although eating straight-up turkey can get challenging after a few ounces.

My only reservation is that I don't know what's in the turkey. I bought "deli oven roasted turkey" from my Met foods, so I'm going to assume that's strict paleo and not ask questions.

After one week

Today marks seven days of legit, no cheats paleo. I've had no alcohol, no sugar, no grains at all. How's it going? Pretty well actually. Energy is good, I think body fat is coming off, and I've definitely managed to eat pretty well, not to mention quit health-il-y.

A lot of fascinating things have happened since I passed my typical three or four day limit to living like this. The first four days were actually pretty hard. Work can be stressful, and when it gets really tough, one of the first things I want to do is eat comfort food and watch tv. Sometimes that's how I'll end up at the end of the night. Knowing that I can't, that I have to keep focused and prepare something balanced and paleo has produced surprising results. I (eventually) stop obsessing about relaxing with comforting (unhealthy) food and accept that I have to eat well. Its surprising that I've been able to push through the temptation with relative ease, and kind of embarassing that I rarely do so.

At the end of the week came Friday, my usual kickoff for the weekend's drinking. I substituted a great meal of a big flank steak, asparagus and blueberries and called it a night early while everyone else drank and went out for the night. I knew it would happen, and it wasn't that big of a deal. I got lots of sleep and woke up earlier than I ever do on a Saturday.

Overrall the weekend was great. Paleo is great when you don't have lots of non-paleo foods distracting and tempting you. Actually, its pretty good regardless if you do it right, but it takes a lot more planning and effort than just buying a slice.

My energy has been pretty good all week, save the (natural) sugar crash from eating a plumcot (plum/apricot hybrids that are very sweet--I didn't know this). On Saturday I had an interesting experience. I was enjoying a pork dish at a friend's bbq and wasn't too careful about avoiding the special sauce that contained sugar. Having eaten nothing but lean meats and tons of fiber for a week, I felt different immediately after a little of that sauce. It wasn't a huge difference, but it just felt like a different kind of food, one that I hadn't had in a while. The mouth feel, the way it settled in my stomach, my body's reaction to it. Makes me interested to see I feel like eating non-paleo after a month of this.

The Meaning

I only realized a week before I planned to start the Sober September that September 1st was Labor Day. Although I didn't want to start out making shortcuts, I moved the start day back to the 2nd.

The way I see it, the beauty of September is that its free of tempting holidays (except for Labor Day apparently), the seasons change, kids go back to school and people are generally ready to start something anew with fresh energy.

Not that I was ever excited to go back to school, but when I was younger I always liked September at school because it was a chance to start fresh; it was a few good weeks before I fell behind in homework for the rest of the semester, never to catch up. There's something about not being behind in homework and being able to get everything done that's really refreshing. I had nothing to feel guilty about when I was caught up, no anxiety. And importantly, I didn't have to make crappy choices just to keep my head above water, like staying up late some nights or choosing one assignment to complete over another.

I realized today that that's what the Sober September will provide me this month. I won't have to choose between two different goals--between enjoying a cheat meal and pursuing my fitness and diet goals. Or between drinking and working out at full effort. Sure, passing up on those fun things will suck, but I'll get the rare luxury of having no inner conflict over those tough choices.

The Eating

Unfortunately, I didn't get all of my ideas in writing before the start of the month. September started on the 2nd this year by the way.

They say that diet is the foundation that fitness is built upon. I've had a growing interest in eating real "foods" for years. The idea that living as our ancestors did, something I would today call living "evolutionarily correct" has been growing in me for a long time. Michael Pollan's great article in the New York Times back in 2007 was exactly what I'd been thinking, but more so. I haven't thought about food the same way since I read that article.

Fast forward to today and the Paleo Diet. Paleo is best described as "lean meats, seafood, non-starchy vegetables, fruits, nuts and healthy oils," and I think paleo is the culmination of this trend. The hard thing about paleo, I'm finding, is no bread, no grains of any kinds, no refined sugar, no dairy, no extra sodium. Paleo is what you'd eat if you were a hunter-gatherer ten thousand year ago. There was no agriculture, hence no grains and no dairy. Obviously great stuff like ice cream, pizza, and twinkies are completely out. So is booze.

The healthy idea behind paleo is that its the diet your body is evolved to thrive on. Apparently, hunter-gatherers had pretty much no heart disease, cancer, cavities, or other "diseases of civilization."

So, paleo is fortunately quite easy in principle, and in some ways its easy in implementation. Its not too difficult to tell if a piece of food is paleo-qualified or not, think about if you could find it in nature or make it yourself as a hunter-gatherer.

For this reason, I'm setting a firm criteria of strict paleo for the month. Strict paleo is a simple criteria to judge: if I eat anything that isn't paleo, I fail.

The Zone is the other criterion I'm setting up for this month, but I'm not going to be as strict here. In brief, the zone means nothing more than getting nearly exactly 40% of your calories from carbohydrates, 30% from protein and 30% from fats. You generally eat something every four hours that you're awake, allocating calories, or zone "blocks" (one block is 7g protein/9g carbs/3g fat) in three meals and two snacks, always eating the same number of blocks of each nutrient at each meal.

Strict zone, in my mind, would be using a measuring cup and food scale to measure absolutely everything you eat. It also means eating every four hours pretty strictly and eating a LOT of food, especially when combined with paleo (I'm supposed to eat 17 blocks / day).

However, I've eaten plenty of very strict zone meals, so I'm going to do "eyeball" zone, erring on the side of too few carbs, and too much fat or protein. Its actually not that hard to get a good handle on the protein and judge your carbs and fats from there, so that will be my strategy. When time and energy allow, I'll cook zone-balanced paleo-compliant meals.

The two of these diets together form a rock solid nutritional foundation for human beings. The zone tells you when to eat and how much of each nutrient, paleo tells you what kind of food you can eat.

Over the past few months, as I've learned more about zone and paleo I've had intermittent success adhering to both, but I've learned a lot, lost a good bit of weight and have had some incredible energy when I nail it. I'm looking forward to seeing what dedication to these diets can do over a month.

The Drinking

Not drinking for the month of September is going to be hard. Fortunately, this is an easy goal to quantify: I will not drink anything but water in September.

Alcoholic drinks are far and away the biggest challenge here. I rarely drink sugar soda, juice, or even milk any more. However, if I cautiously estimate my typical "drink" consumption, I'd say at least 40 per week. At an estimated 100 calories per drink (which is fair for beer, but probably low for my vodka tonics), that's 4000 extra empty calories per week, which is easily an eighth day of eating. For another way to look at this, I can still get drunk if I don't eat one day a week.

So what effect do I anticipate from not drinking? The reduced calories should definitely help some weight come off. I'll be doing a weigh-in the last day in August to get legitimate feedback from this experiment.

The Idea

The "Sober September" is what I'm going to call a month-long effort at perfect health habits. Why September? Nobody wants to have to forgo partying on Halloween, and August is almost over.

What do I mean by perfect health habits? Broadly, eating, drinking, sleeping and exercising as nearly perfectly as my schedule and willpower allow. Think of it as the way you would live and take care of your body if you were trying to live forever, or make the Olympic team, or weren't obsessed with food.

For me, these mean very specific things, for you they're probably different.

• diet - strict zone and paleo
  

• drinking - plenty of water and not much else. most importantly (and most difficult) NO ALCOHOL
• sleeping - 7-8 hours a night

• exercise - crossfit at south brooklyn (no less than 4 workouts a week) and hopefully a higher activity level in general

This is a challenge; the goal is to complete it without cheating and without any asterisks.

There are a few things I want to get out of this. For one, consistently following a goal like this over more than about five days is hard for me; I want to see if I can do it for one month.

Another is to see what kind of affect this has on my physical condition and other aspects of my life. I assume I'll be more energetic, productive and perform better physically, but I'm interested in the degree to which those happen. I'm most interested in seeing what one month without my usual drinking (and then late night eating) calories looks like.

Lastly, I'm hoping that this sets a high water mark in healthy living for me. They say it takes four weeks to establish a habit, maybe this will last longer than just September.

However, I can guarantee that I'll be drinking and eating quite a bit October 1.