Lunch with my Brotha

My dear paleo pals,


Today I had lunch with my colleague who was a fan of eating. He eats everything, anything and finds all means of getting food to where he wants it. His uncle's a bodybuilder and my Brotha claims to learn all techniques under him. He loves to show off his biceps (erm ..where?) to me at work every alternate day. So much so that I gave him my Complimentary 3 months Platinum membership to Clark Hatch because he wouldn't be able to keep up with the competitive result-oriented Crossfit style workouts.

I shall call him my Brotha since we're pretty close.



Anyway, I was pretty hungry today after the mad workout yesterday.
And so, my lunch consisted of :-

2 pcs chicken
1/2 serving vege
1 glass of coke
1/3 choc slice
1 ice cream

Yeaa...kinda offsetted the better choices of food today with the intention to enjoy the company.

My Brotha's lunch consisted of :-
2 pcs chicken
1 slab of salmon steak
1/2 plate of vege loaded with salad sauces
2/3 choc slice
4 pcs of fruit
1 ice cream


He said, "This is the best ever lunch I've ever had...and, it's JUST nice!" I think it's freakingly too much for lunch since his godzilla belly is at least 10x the size of mine. If he were really hungry, he could have ate something the size of me. Scary but true. His belly. You should see it.

However, he said "Since we didn't have rice, then we can substitute rice with ice cream and choc slice"... which in fact is a total booboo.

Little did he know that it was a worse-off choice compared to rice. So I tried to pry his mind on his take on carbs and this is what I found out:-

• Carbs are rice, mashed potatoes, noodles, pasta.
• Ice cream is not carbs.
• If you eat meat with no rice, you can load up(compensate the calories) with any other foodstuff - ice cream, chocolate, beer, cakes etc.

Perhaps the majority may have this thinking about carbs.
Perhaps more education needs to go out to the masses about healthy living.
Perhaps it takes one person to start propagating healthy eating/living/lifestyle.

What are we doing today, that will encourage people to choose food wisely?

P/s. My Brotha already preplanned his teatime and managed to smuggle 3 Kit Kat Drumstick & 2 Crunch ice cream in his pockets out of the cafeteria for tea time. Talk about showing off biceps! Hah. :P

Hybrid of Zone Meet Paleo

Throughout of whole of today, despite moving from meetings to meetings, hearing different ideas from different voices and faces, i couldnt help but kept thinking about the 'encouraged food', 'food which you should take in moderation' or 'food you should avoid' and worst of all, the 'nightshade' food list. Is paleo diet ever feasible? Having great determination to resist all sorta tasty delicious, scientifically-proven healthy, packed with nutrients, or some even packed with anti-oxidants (in layman, make u look younger, ladies) food itemssssssssssss (notice the number of S-es).

Being a crossfitter, many of us have also come across another eating diet, the famous, Zone Diet. Zone Diet requires you to measure your food according to "blocks". A block is a simplified unit for measuring the 3 macronutrients in your food (protein, carbohydrate and fat). Thus, it requires some counting and measuring if one wishes to follow Zone Diet strictly.

Having exposed to these two diets and given my eating preference and habits:-

(1) Lazy, I am lazy in food. I don't cook and don't know how to cook, don't like to think much when comes to food, prefer hassel-free meals. Always visit the same eateries and rotate among them. At times, i find eating a chore.

(2) I don't like meat. I eat fish, some pork, not a lover to chicken and lamb, definate no to beef and shellfishes like prawn, crab, clam, mussel, oyster, etc.

(3) I need fibre, lots of them. For someone who has lazy bowel movements like mine, fibre is the magic potion to kick-start my day with a big grin. If u see me ordering salad most of the time, it's not that i'm soooo health concious, rather i really need it to ensure i have a smooth and easy day the next morning.

After due deliberation of the above, i've come up with a little diet crossover - a hybrid of paleo + zone diet. What does it mean? This is the formula which i have allegedly taken from Crossfit teachings.

"EAT MEAT AND VEGE, NUTS AND SEEDS, SOME FRUIT, LITTLE STARCH AND NO SUGAR"

This is the Rule No. 1 of Zone Diet, something which i have learned in Sydney. I find it extremely useful and easy to apply. No measurement of grams, oz, cups nor quantity, no counting of blocks. Simplicity is the key in life, i reckon.

Little deviation: I'll continue to consume eggs, cheese (in moderation), milk (in moderation) and beans for protein intake. (fyi, paleo diet restricts one to consume 6 eggs in a week, strictly no beans, dairy food nor tofu, meanwhile, for zone diet, eating cheese and other dairy products are not prohibited). Also, I'll consume more nuts in my diet to provide me with the energy that i need for my workouts.

Today, 30.09.09, is the last day of my sweet indulgence. I'm gonna say goodbye to my sweet indulgence to the below in the next 22 hours.

*gazing at all the desserts*

karen

Staggered Entry into Paleo World(2)

Am back home feeling great and kinda sore from today's workout:

21-18-15-12-9-6 for time of:

HSPU
Burpees
SDHP @ 16kgs
KB Swings @ 16kgs
Wall ball @ 5kgs
BB Thrusters @ 25kgs


49mins. FOUR NINE.


Anyway, dinner was only 10% paleo, thanks to the 3inch fish. Let's see what I had from my "chap fan" that was bungkused by my loving daddy:

Rice - 3 tablespoons.
Tempeh - processed(???)
FISH (yay - some good paleo food here)
Tofu - curried with some vege that I can't distinguish within the orangeness.
Tofifee - yummy chocs with hazelnut...so good you can't talk.
Marble cake/mooncake- a couple of tiny slices

I.was.super.hungry.o.m.g.i.could.eat.a.moomoo.



Once we go Paleoing 24/7, I'm sure there would be days like this...




Or like this...

Nevertheless, lets set the results with the end in mind. Visualise & write down your goals. What do you want to achieve in 30 days time?

The last meal - like you've never eaten in your whole life.

Are we ready???

Staggered Entry into the Paleo World

OBJECTIVE: Enter the Paleo World from 8am - 12pm (4 hrs).

We are supposed to start on the 1st October. However, I think my body would go into a slight carboman shock if I went cold turkey on carbs & dairy food. So lets see how 4 hours hold up!

1)9:30am.

I just had a piece of sambal chicken & a cuppa black coffee for breakfast. My options for breakfast are very limited whilst working for a company that provides breakfast to it's staff via pantry food delivery services. The staff actually push the food trolley across the busy road to arrive at my "beautiful building". This means exposure to more 'environmentally friendly air particles'.

Today, breakfast served was fried rice with tits and tots of mixed vegetables which seemed quantifiable by your 8 fingers & 2 thumbs, accompanied with a slosh of oyster sambal... And, a piece of evil sambal chicken. Not much choice for my Paleo Pals and me hey?

Find the sambal.

I didn't want the other option of microwaving an egg which will deplete my quota of 6 eggs per week. Why waste one egg for breakfast??

Anyway, that piece of chicken IS supposed to last me till lunch...*crossing fingers*

At 11am, I was getting hungry. So I stole a couple of working minutes on a couple of dried apricots to serve the desire for carbs...(no I didn't eat the fried rice!..oh maybe just a couple of grains stuck to the chicken. Does it count to the carb counter??By like...mm...1gm)

At this point, my black coffee has turned cold. Drink it, and you'll immediately have a constipated look. >.<

FINAL RESULT: SUCCESS! Made it through comfortably. :)

I feel good! :) I don't feel hungry yet. I'm feeling slightly thirsty from caffein OD. Energy levels are at 80% (post nagging-secretary conversation). However the quantity consumed is not enough if I were to train this evening. Will probably load up on a bit more 'healthy' protein & greens later.

It's all thanks to that 300calorie protein and ZERO-grams of sugarless caffein.

If you're in the same situation as I am:

1) Take one step at a time. Going cold turkey into a lifestyle change will only screw your mind and body up.
2) Do not be tempted by colleagues offering keropoks and chocs from their trips abroad and claim they are the best chips ever tasted in town. Have to be cruel to be kind to your body.
3) Drink water. Screw the sugarless coffee.

Since 3 hours is achievable, i'm gonna try extending till 3pm. Can't wait for the evil chips/chocs to come by. Black coffee anyone?

***Update***

Well, it's 3pm now. I had a chicken chop for lunch and a super plain iced jasmine tea. Timely enough - my colleague just came by an offered us some Nestle icecream for tea.

Reward by eating? Or eating well for a reward?

List of foods we can and cannot eat

My Paleo Pals here are some websites to help with what we can or cannot eat on our diet. Basically just think like a caveman/cavewoman. Eat like they did but we have the advantage of technology. We can steam, grill, bake, etc our food but keep to the ingredients that are as resh and natural as possible.

Websites:

Lowcarbdiets.com - there is a list of foods we shouldn't eat as well on this page

Paleo Foodlist - This one is very simple and easy to understand

Paleo Food - I think a good idea is to print out the list from the latter link and stick in on your fridge. Here is a link for recipes of what you can cook on the Paleo

"Nightshade foods" - Lastly, if you have read Byers Gets Diesel's blog you will have noticed that "Nightshade foods" have been mentioned a few times. Here is a link in understanding what they are and why they are harmful.

Something to discuss is that BGD (Byers Gets Diesel) consumes some nightshade food although we are not suppose to. So I guess we should use our common sense and choose for ourselves unless we all come to an agreement.

Have fun Paleo Pals. I look forward to taking on this challenge with you all =) remember there is no excuses now. You and you alone have the power to say NO.

Pledge

Name : Jonson Tan Cheng Sang

Age : 20 years old

Gender : Male

Country of Origin : Malaysia

Gym : Pushmore Malaysia

Favourite saying : 1) There is no such thing as DNF!!! 2) It's not about time, it's about the form.

Pledge : I, Jonson Tan Cheng Sang, hereby publicly proclaim that I will commit to my Paleo diet and will not DNF. Penalty for DNF from Paleo diet shall be diciplined by means of final decision of fellow Pushmore Malaysia members.

Commencement Date : October 1st 2009

End date : October 31st 2009

First Time

It's an honour to be invited by SzeNing to have my maiden blog and to contribute the little humble thoughts of mine on this Paleo project that we've hastily agreed over Twitter (of all means of communication) for the past few days.

Still not used to blogging *shy*

Anyway, i'm just gonna set my own target for these 30 days - to kill my sweet tooth!

As all of you know so well that, i have a terrible sweet tooth. During anytime of the day, i'll alwiz have insatiable sweet cravings to satisfy. Cakes, cupcakes (my recent addiction), chocolate, ice cream, etc, u name it, i'm probably a fan of it. That also explain my size and my never-seen-6-packs.

So, for the next 30 days, i'm gonna replace all the sweet cravings with fruits, fruits and more fruits.

Today, i have also just bought a brand new coffee from Cold Storage.

I'm saying goodbye to my 2-in-1 nescafe mix that i've been drinking for the past 2 years *sob sob* i'll miss u terribly. I'm also officially saying goodbye to my favourite Starbucks Skinny Grande Latte. I'll miss u terribly too.

*craving for sweets already*

karen