A boat full of carbs

AstraMonti · 27-09-2013 9:51pm

Haven't wrote much the last few days because I was feeling crap and haven't done much. I had fever on Wednesday but now I am feeling much better. Food wise I wasn't eating much all week but it was in the same lchf spirit wiith an exception a couple of nights of the added sweet potato. Tomorrow I am going for a 80k charity spin, I plan to take it handy and remain under Z3 to optimize fat burning. Weight is still 78kgs.

AstraMonti · 29-09-2013 10:19am

Zone3 my bottom. The spin started with a hill so off I went to avoid the guys with the gaa shorts and the flat pedals. A couple of others guys joined me and off we went to never see anyone again. Nice and fast spin but definitely not zone3. I managed to go through the 70k with just brazil nuts and a slice of ham and cheese. Breakfast was good with 2eggs, 4slices of bacon and few brie pieces. I had some cheese, ham and olives when I came back and later had two burgers with salad. Dinner was just some nuts, wasn't hungry.

On another note, I 've been trying out for the last couple of months the CycleOps Powercal "hr power meter". I 've bought a lot of useless stuff for the bike, but this tops them all by far. It makes no sense in so many levels. Even as an HR strap is bad, erroneous readings and it just drops off whenever it feels like. I don't know what algorithm it uses to calculate power out of hr but it doesnt make sense. I can't be cycling along at 25km/h and have reading of 300watts at 150hr.. it just doesn't make sense. Anyway, it's going to be returned back to wiggle.

AstraMonti · 29-09-2013 8:57pm

Apart from a 2hours walk there was no training today, legs felt relatively ok from yesterdays effort.

Breakfast today was scrambled eggs with bacon and grated parmesan on top. Lunch we had outside on a small Sicilian place which unfortunately had nothing but carbs, so I had the least bad thing I could get, lasagne with salad. I paid that again a couple of hours later. My digestive system doesn't like these stuff anymore, it kinda rejects them in a bad way. I had some cheese, salami and olives for snack and dinner is going to be two burgers with salad and sweet potato chips.

ROK ON · 30-09-2013 8:10am

Your daily consumption is beginning to seem very boring.

On the cheese - expand your horizons beyond Brie and Parmasan.
There are genuinely some fantastic Irish cheeses out there. Not sure if you like blue, but Cashel blue, Beara blue and Wicklow blow are all very different and yummy. Given that you like Brie so much try Cooleeny.
Also Durrus, Milleens and Coolea from west cork are simply stunning cheeses. Goats cheese - St Tola, particularly the ash covered one is one of the best cheeses in Europe IMO.

To get more greens and salads - incorporate your HF protein into the salad - warm salads are great and filling I think.
Make a ceasar salad without the croutons, add some streaky bacon.

The eggs - huevos rancheros. Onions, peppers, garlic, chilli and coriader stalks all fried until soft in cumin.
In the frying pan make holes in the above mixture and crack in four eggs.
Serve with sour cream and guacamole.
Stunning lunch for two.

I need to cook you dinner some night - we will working on expanding what you eat and maintaining your LCHF approach.

AstraMonti · 30-09-2013 8:34am

Thanks, I am up for more ideas. I like the brie for breakfast, but I do eat a lot of various type of cheddar, I have 6 different cheeses in the fridge, 4 types of ham and two 2 salami. It's very hard to find good cold cuts without a ton of preservatives inside.

My breakfast is kinda boring. It's either an omelet or fried eggs or boiled eggs, I need to invest some time in there. Today I am planning for a leg of lamb slowly oven roasted on a bed of onions.

ford2600 · 30-09-2013 8:59am

AstraMonti wrote: »

Thanks, I am up for more ideas. I like the brie for breakfast, but I do eat a lot of various type of cheddar, I have 6 different cheeses in the fridge, 4 types of ham and two 2 salami. It's very hard to find good cold cuts without a ton of preservatives inside.

My breakfast is kinda boring. It's either an omelet or fried eggs or boiled eggs, I need to invest some time in there. Today I am planning for a leg of lamb slowly oven roasted on a bed of onions.

Had small fruit salad with a generous portion of 10% fat yoghurt.
A plate of nuts with some chilli cheese from kilkkenny I think.
Coffee with cream

AstraMonti · 30-09-2013 5:46pm

I just had almost half of it.. and I am still drooling over looking at the pics. So.fecking.yummy.

colm_gti · 30-09-2013 7:12pm

Potatoes?! Shame on you :eek:

AstraMonti · 30-09-2013 7:18pm

colm_gti wrote: »

Potatoes?! Shame on you :eek:

Not for me, the missus wants them

AstraMonti · 30-09-2013 10:31pm

Just got back from the gym which today was kettlebells in every fecking possible way.. good workout, especially for the lower back.

AstraMonti · 01-10-2013 10:58am

As of this morning I am 77kgs. I haven't seen that since the trip in the Pyrenees, happy days and without much effort either.

The world is really fecking mental, how wrong is this pic:

http://www.dietdoctor.com/breakfast-europes-biggest-diabetes-conference

colm_gti · 01-10-2013 1:20pm

Yeah, the amount of people I see that pick up a bottle of orange juice, some cereal and a crossaint as a 'healthy breakfast' is astonishing....

AstraMonti · 02-10-2013 9:34pm

Today's breakfast was scrambled eggs with bacon and for lunch some of the leg lamb with salad and feta cheese. Dinner was tuna with mayo and some grapes.

I didn't do anything on the bike today as I had planned, but I finished putting my new tubs on the wheels so I might give it a try tomorrow. Apart from that I went for a half an hour running around the local park.

I also found two nice pages with desserts I could have, although one of them uses a bit too much artificial sweeteners.
http://www.mariannslchf.com/category/dessert-recipe/
http://dietketo.com/keto-dessert-recipe-recommendations/

ryan_sherlock · 03-10-2013 12:02pm

Just as an early heads-up. Barry Murray and I may be doing a seminar on a lot of the performance and LCHF type things for cycling. Probably towards the end of October and in Dublin.

AstraMonti · 03-10-2013 12:03pm

Awesome, keep us updated on dates Ryan

duffyshuffle · 03-10-2013 2:50pm

where will info be for this? twitter.. etc?

petethedrummer · 03-10-2013 3:22pm

duffyshuffle wrote: »

where will info be for this? twitter.. etc?

Smoke signals, like a proper hunter gather would do.

ryan_sherlock · 03-10-2013 4:28pm

petethedrummer wrote: »

Smoke signals, like a proper hunter gather would do.

Will have something here, twitter etc. (if it happens).

AstraMonti · 03-10-2013 9:43pm

Breakfast was an apple with brie and two slices of bacon. Lunch was two fillets of seabass with spinach and mayo. Before gym I had some cheese with ham and few nuts and nothing for dinner after gym, just a glass of milk with a scoop of protein.

Training was 1h in the gym, full core workout, painful but enjoyable. I understand that's the second time I am saying this, so I am a bit worried that I find this kind of pain enjoyable

. Tomorrow morning I plan an early morning ride around 50k, I hope it's dry

AstraMonti · 04-10-2013 11:47am

For The Love Of Bacon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaK9bjLy3v4

AstraMonti · 06-10-2013 8:34pm

Didn't do much regarding training friday and sat. Today I went to the first official orwell winter spin, bloody hell there were a ****load of people. I started with the fast group but it was obvious that my legs were not there so on the first hill I goodbye them before my HR exploded and waited for the less fast group which pace was acceptable. Still did around 70k at almost 28.something average and the 30k was by myself.

Food remains high fat, todays breakfast was eggs, bacon and gluten free sausage. On the bike I only had few nuts to eat. Lunch was just a bit of cheese and salami and dinner was steak with prawns and salad. I also had 2 scoops of ice cream after quite some time, it felt so but so sweet.

AstraMonti · 07-10-2013 2:40pm

The 30 bananas a day monkey is having a go on Lustig

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rO6K-GPP0Q

AstraMonti · 07-10-2013 5:00pm

All the common questions gathered for low carb diets with simple, easy to understand answers followed by sources.

http://authoritynutrition.com/10-things-dietitians-say-about-low-carb-diets/

AstraMonti · 09-10-2013 9:37am

I need to do something about my recovery. Last time I was on the bike was Sunday. It's now wednesday I haven't done any exercise the last two days and still my quads were sore getting up the stairs.

niceonetom · 09-10-2013 10:33am

I know you're very committed to the low-carb approach and I know it's paying off in terms of weight control and body composition etc. but...

The basic mechanism of low-carb diets is insulin control, specifically the avoidance of insulin spikes that signal cells to absorb blood glucose and (oh-noes) maybe lay down some dreaded adipose. But I think that's a bit too simplistic - insulin isn't just a message saying "get fat now" to your tissues, it's also a signal to heal, to grow, to recover.

I've been low-carb for a little while now (not generally as strict as you) and have done a fair few long spins (140km+) with little or no CHO. My body seems to have adapted fairly well to burning fat as fuel for long easy to moderate efforts but just because fat works as fuel doesn't mean it can work for recovery - re-fuelling maybe, but to trigger than cellular response and start that whole enzymatic process you need the insulin, and that means you need the carbs.

It makes sense to me in terms of the science (an accords with my reasons for avoiding carbs the rest of the time while not doing really intense training) and it has worked for me anecdotally. A long spin without a recovery shake of sugar and protein wipes me out for a day or two - tiredness rather than muscle pain, but if I have a 2:1 or 3:1 CHO:Protein shake with maybe 30g or 40g of sugars I recover better, have better energy level and feel ready to train again much sooner.

AstraMonti · 09-10-2013 12:30pm

Cheers Tom, I need to try that as it doesn't feel right to be tired 3 days later. I think I ll go back to the chocolate milk/protein combo after the exercise for a few days and see how it goes.

AstraMonti · 09-10-2013 3:12pm

FDA Finally Admits Chicken Meat Contains Cancer-Causing Arsenic

Even worse, the FDA says its own research shows that the arsenic added to the chicken feed ends up in the chicken meat where it is consumed by humans. So for the last sixty years, American consumers who eat conventional chicken have been swallowing arsenic, a known cancer-causing chemical

I am just interested to see what they'll find in the veg crops in a few years now that they are controlled by a handful of companies.

ROK ON · 09-10-2013 9:29pm

I had a hard training session last night.
3*8 mins at super threshold with some anaerobic intervals.

Today I treated myself to a lemon tart & hot chocolate in Paris Bakery.

I feel great.

AstraMonti · 10-10-2013 8:20am

Didn't do any training yesterday either. I wanted the muscles to fully recover before I head back to the gym tonight.

Breakfast yesterday was cheese, chicken and nuts, lunch was a small bit of pork with salad and carrots and for dinner I had chicken satay. Bit more carbs than normal.

Now, read a very interesting article about brain training: http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/how-to-build-mental-muscle?page=single

petethedrummer · 10-10-2013 2:49pm

Those sore quads of yours are the wrath of God. Not enough prayer in your recovery routine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xttOoQGtCIQ

MediaMan · 10-10-2013 3:32pm

petethedrummer wrote: »

Those sore quads of yours are the wrath of God. Not enough prayer in your recovery routine.

Yeah. After all, the menu at the last supper wasn't bacon and eggs...

AstraMonti · 10-10-2013 5:48pm

petethedrummer wrote: »

Those sore quads of yours are the wrath of God. Not enough prayer in your recovery routine.

I am glad that my religious beliefs are matched by my diet haha

AstraMonti · 11-10-2013 12:15am

So breakfast today was turkey with cheddar and brazil nuts. I had more hazelnuts later for lunch as I wasn't hungry. Around 5 I had eggs with sausages and went to gym at 8. I had protein with chocolate milk after, interested to see if there is going to be any difference.

I spent an hour in the gym doing 3mins intervals of various core/upper body exercise. Arms definitely feel tired now.

godihatedehills · 11-10-2013 9:59am

I've been following your log with great interest and thanks for sharing it with us! I just had one comment to make, if that's ok, that you don't seem to be eating very much. It's interesting that you've lost weight but I wonder if it is attributed to this diet or because you don't seem to be eating much at all....

AstraMonti wrote: »

nothing for dinner after gym, just a glass of milk with a scoop of protein.

AstraMonti wrote: »

no lunch (wasn't hungry)

AstraMonti wrote: »

Food wise I wasn't eating much all week

AstraMonti wrote: »

I had more hazelnuts later for lunch as I wasn't hungry.

AstraMonti · 11-10-2013 10:14am

Calories wise I am eating sufficiently, because I am eating a lot of fat. I am also eating a lot of protein. I think the combination of these make me full and keep me happy while before with the insulin spikes I needed a snack all the freaking time. It also depends on the day, some days I am eating a lot more, some less, I am just following what body asks for. For example this morning I was feeling hungry, so I had 3 slices of thick bacon, with 2 sausages fried in butter and brie chese. I would have an egg too but I didn't have one

For lunch I am going to have fish with vegs and see how the dinner will go, I might snack at dinner time with some cheese and salami and that could make me full for the rest of the night. Funny enough the weight is back up to 78 today.

petethedrummer · 11-10-2013 10:56am

It appears to people from the outside looking in that you are somehow starving yourself doing Paleo/LHCF, but it's not that. I don't have the mental fortitude to deny hunger. What happens is you get a proper sense of hunger and only really eat when you need to. You are not driven by 3/4 hour blood sugar dips.

Contrary to traditional eating advice, I eat enormous meals but don't eat that often. Well it varies. Some days I might have 4 or 5 meals. Some days I might have 2. Also contrary to most advice I eat much more at night than I do in the morning. But it's not a conscious effort. I just eat when I feel like it. I tend to eat more in the days after hard training or if I feel a slightly run down. I don't consciously eat a set amount of calories per day or maintain a calorie deficit as some days you need more food than other days.

So if I feel hungry, I eat. If I don't, I don't. Much simpler than counting calories or keeping a food diary.

ROK ON · 11-10-2013 2:19pm

As a parent to three relatively young kids (one aged 9 and two aged 5) is that that is similar to how kids eat.

They find it difficult to eat regularly.
Some days they have huge dinners and other days they eat relatively little.
Some days they snack other days try dont.

I have given up trying to get them to eat having realised it was stressful parties - I know that when they are hungry they do actually eat.

Maybe that is how it supposed to be?

petethedrummer · 11-10-2013 2:42pm

ROK ON wrote: »

Maybe that is how it supposed to be?

I also exercise more like a child now. i.e. only when I feel like it and not driven by a schedule. Though sometimes I'll be cajoled into it against my will.

Weight has never been as stable & predictable since I was a teenager. It's so easy it's laughable.

Planet X · 12-10-2013 5:49pm

:pac::pac::pac:
Looks tasty though........

AstraMonti · 13-10-2013 8:31pm

Bacon is grand

So yesterday's breakfast was a beef steak from the previous night dinner topped with a fried egg and some cheddar cheese. Lunch was IKEA meatballs with peas and dinner was just some cheese. Spending 3hours in IKEA is enough to call it training!

Today's breakfast was a pork chop with an egg and two sausages. Had a chocolate milk with protein after the spin and nibbled at ham and cheese until dinner was ready. Which was fried sliced zucchinis, sweet potato oven chips and chicken and pork casserole something.

Training was a flat 80k cycle at around 29kms/h. My HR was very high at a few points, still winter though, we ll see how it goes.

AstraMonti · 14-10-2013 11:21pm

Breakfast was lots of different hams and cheeses (bought some great Spanish ones), lunch was pork and chicken with sweet potatoes (yesterday's left overs). I had more ham, cheese and olives later. After the gym I had strawberry milk with protein.

A very hard session at the gym today. The warmup was around 50 press ups, both wide and triceps ones and then we had 3 sets of 2mins intervals of 8 exercises with the worst of all being the one with the huge ropes that you have to move up and down, no idea how it's called but it was brutal, it left me breathless in less than 30secs.

The carbs after the workouts now seem to work, my legs were in much better shape today than last week. It might also be that was on a high cadence for most of the duration of the spin, around 100.

AstraMonti · 15-10-2013 10:08pm

Hungry day today with lots of beef! 2 sausages, 2 bacon slices, 2 eggs and cheese for breakfast. Some brazil nuts before lunch which was sirloin steak with broccoli and carrots with butter on top. After around an hour I had jerky beef, more cheese and more nuts. Dinner was angus fillet steak with hollandaise sauce, salad and an apple.

No training today.

AstraMonti · 17-10-2013 9:37pm

So yesterday breakfast was cheese, brazil nuts, an egg and two slices of bacon. Lunch was smoked cod with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce and peas. For dinner I had chicken with spinach salad.

Training was 40k very slow spin.

Today's breakfast was 5 different types of cheeses and 4 different types of ham along with some nuts. Lunch was 6 angus beef sausages and then I fell off the wagon quite spectacularly, first time I started the diet like this. I had sugar cravings all week that I was trying to fight, I guess because I reintroduced chocolate milk and protein? Anyway, I had two chocolate brioche with nutella, a flapjack with marshmellows and a redbull before the gym. Now I am having milk with protein.. With that much sugar and the redbull after so long, I expect not to sleep at all today lol.

Training was an hour in the gym in a very hard session again, lots and lots of pullups, pressups and core work.

Ole Rodrigo · 17-10-2013 10:08pm

Have you noticed much difference since you started, in weight, strength, stamina etc..?

AstraMonti · 17-10-2013 10:12pm

Since I started the diet or since I started the gym?

Ole Rodrigo · 17-10-2013 10:31pm

Sorry I meant the diet

AstraMonti · 17-10-2013 10:45pm

Weight has come down 3kgs and has stabilized at 78kgs at the moment. Bodyfat is down 5% and I am looking more lean. But I wouldn't say I 've seen any difference in strength or stamina on the bike, I am only out 2 times a week, so I don't expect any miracles at this time of year. My cycling is still adapting on the fat burning, I have a lot of work in order to train it like that. Good news is that on the last Sundays spin which was 80k I didn't eat anything at all, although I had a massive steak and egg breakfast.

In other news I was supposed to have done blood tests last week, but my gp annoyed the hell out of me telling me that I am going to die from cholesterol and i only need to see HDL and LDL without even hearing my arguments, so I waved him goodbye and going to find another one who's at least willing to hear me out and do the proper testing. You know you 've gone too far when you argue with doctors about what's right and wrong

ryan_sherlock · 17-10-2013 11:19pm

AstraMonti wrote: »

I had sugar cravings all week

Clear out your PMs - am going to PM you something about that.

AstraMonti · 17-10-2013 11:22pm

Done

AstraMonti · 21-10-2013 6:16pm

Not much to update, after the carb fiasco I was back to my normal lchf stuff. I went to the cx race yesterday, I wasn't doing great not even before my crash, but was happy enough as I had fun.

Anyway, yesterday this was created in the house.. and I am not even sorry that I had 2 pieces.. Chocolate Soufflé, for some things you have to sin hehe

58913d1382375461-official-fagitothread-foodlab-soufle.jpg

58913d1382375461-official-fagitothread-foodlab-soufle.jpg

A boat full of carbs

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