Grogulay fights himself to the death! page

[grogulay]

Born large into a large family. Was able to fix some of my hormonal problems that while helping sometimes, hindered me most of the time. I have a large frame and one of the few fat people that really do have big bones though the fat deposits were always much bigger. I'm the third son of four and though competition for the better food at the trough was always high, there was always enough for a family with members that would be a perfect example of the "American family" as pictured by the rest of the world.

I have roller-coaster-ed through diets, usually because of emotional problems or stress from moving around as I do that every year or less in most cases. A few of the kinds of diets that I've been on:

The warehouse diet:
It wasn't so much of a diet as it was simply attempting to survive the stress of being a two man team that was supposed to have 5 on it and a picking up the slack for a sales team that was so lazy that had their parasympathetic nervous systems required effort they would have needed life support. To deal with the stress i would hit an elliptical machine for about three hours each night after work but eat as much as a 5,000 calorie load a day. Lost about 50 pounds in less than 5 months.

Lots of cardio through calisthenics coupled with a reduction of most processed food:
I did lose weight, felt better. Then I graduated from my community college and moved across state to my university where there was a discount (candy) store and not enough will power not to buy from there every week. Each time I went back to a plan similar to this, i would lose a little bit of weight, but go back to eating too much.

Cardio, calisthenics, and resistance training (3hours a day):
I started this about 6months after having moved to South Korea. I would do a 60minute video lead cardio tape in the morning, down a shake with at least 500 calories, jog 40minutes to work and then return at the end of the day to do a different video lead exercise with weights on it, down a shake while watching some TV and hit the hay. I kept this up for about seven or eight months. I lost about 30kgs in the first half and hit a plateau losing slightly as I was just barely going under a 100kgs. By the "end" of the diet I had almost gotten to 91kgs, a weight I hadn't been since I was in middle school. Moved across Korea while having a legal battle with my boss who by the time i left, hadn't paid me the equivalent to six month's pay. I guess i don't handle stress very well.


---
Now for the Paleo diet. I had been doing a lax form of it for the last few months and then a few big problems hit and I was eating like a ravenous dog that just found the butcher's garbage. Only it wasn't meat, it was all the sugars that i hadn't had in two months. This time I'm doing 30-days with almost no processed food and started with a 3 day fast with only chili peppers, ginger, and lemon juice to help get rid of the carb-binge related water I soaked up in the 3 days (5kgs).

I didn't post this online but have been keeping my journal offline since a few days ago. So here is the first few days of me and my fight against myself:

Starting point: 120kgs, about 28% body fat using a handheld electric body fat reader. Based on previous measures, my BMR is at least 2,500 calories but most likely over 3,000.

January 18
Just water and a tea made from chili peppers to help stave off hunger and give some vitamin C, ginger for inflammation from the copious levels of carbs from the last few days, and lemon juice because it made the brew that much more tolerable.
---abdominal exercises with stretching in between. 12minutes abs, 14minutes stretch, 8minutes abs, 8minutes stretch

January 19
Same as above but a lot more drool due to the smell of others' food as I accompanied some co-workers to the mall and they hit the food court.
---30minutes of calisthenics with no additional body weight

January 20
Didn't eat anything yet but decided that I had lost about 5kgs of water, inflammation and whatever else in the last three days that i could stop my fast the next day. Also, my girlfriend was stopping by and I was cooking for her. Went to the store again so that i could stock up on eggs and bought a box. Not a carton, but a 60 egg box and then a few others and proceeded to boil up eggs and put them in pickling jars afterwards.
---30minutes of what could almost be considered HIIT if not for the longer breaks. Stair sprints outside, about 100m plus of stairs while the -11*C with 20 km/hr winds shredded our group. After two days of not eating anything, you could imagine that I wasn't able to make it up the stairs more than once in a full sprint.

January 21
B - 4 eggs with Chinese mustard
L - 1c broccoli, one large filet of white fish, peppers cooked in a chicken fat and tomato sauce
D - 4 eggs with Dijon mustard

January 22
B - 4 eggs with hot mustard
L - chili coconut shrimp: about 300g of shrimp, 200ml of coconut milk (2nd press, 18g/100ml), some spice mix of coriander, chili, and paprika, eaten with celery stalks. One shot of tequila.
D (early) - chicken bit, pork bits,, celery, peppers
D - 3 eggs with 15g of smoked cheese
--- Just walking around a Costco-like warehouse store for about an hour looking for food I could cook and prepare that wouldn't stray from the diet
**I know having alcohol is bad when trying to adhere to the diet to begin with but that was the compromise with my Chinese friend for New Year's, one drink of hard liquor but no beer and or peanuts etc no matter what.

January 23
I went into OCD-mode last night when i couldn't sleep so i calculated what i ate and found it to be rather interesting, you know for being that bored/mental at 3am...

b - 3 eggs, coffee
prW - protein/meal replacement, 80ml coconut milk
poW - 2servings of protein powder (different from the one on top)
L - 300g beef, 1c onion, 40g chili peppers, 100g, peppers, edam cheese
D - 300g chicken wings
cinnamon sticks

without the chicken wings, about 1500 calories, 57g of fat, 31carbs, 162g of protein
with the chicken wings, about 2100 calories, 117g of fat, 31 carbs and 222g protein.

considering that if you drop too low below your BMR it could be bad i suppose it wasn't such a bad idea. Also, while trying to keep about 2g of protein for every kg (based on the .7-1g protein per pound) that was just the amount of calories and protein needed to keep me stable.

--- weight training, chest and calves - bench, dumbbell bench, flies, calf raises, alt-calf raises, dips



Jan 24 (day 7)

B - 4 eggs, Italian pepperoni-like sausage, cooked in the wing fat from last night with spices; coffee

... not there yet, I'll post later tonight or tomorrow

Got to get ready for the gym. Today it's legs. Later


End of the first week

So here I am finally posting all of this in the hopes that people will read what I've been doing and see that it's possible. I'll upload some pics later, camera's charging now. I'll upload some pics of what I've looked like i the past few years so you understand the changes I've intentionally and unintentionally put my body through. I'll answer any questions people might have and hope that I can be of service


*** Cinnamon sticks - caveman crunchy candy ***

If you're trying to count carbs, as you probably should be doing at the beginning of a low carb-style diet, you'll need some resources. Nutrition facts, calories in food, labels, nutritional information and analysis – NutritionData.com has been a great help for finding out the nutrition in food that i'm eating and food that i should be eating based on nutritional content.

Not sure if this is too Paleo, someone nudge me if I'm wrong but if you're counting net carbs, I think that cinnamon sticks or bark could be a real treat for the caveman community. The biggest problem I've had with going into ketosis is that there are very few low net carb, hell, low carb crunchy things. Nuts, yes, but strange as it sounds I'm trying to avoid all starchy and relatively high carb foods for the first month, even nuts and seeds. Cinnamon sticks are a VERY crunchy treat with minimal effects on your insulin as it helps regulate blood sugar levels and cravings for sugar. 3 small sticks of it are 6 carbs and 4 grams of fiber (making it net 2g complex sugars, not even simple sugars), something we can't get that much of while eating low carb. if you love the taste but you find the sticks are too hard you can always brew a tea first, then eat the stick.

[grogulay]

jan 24 Day 7 cont...

B - 4 eggs, Italian pepperoni-like sausage, cooked in the wing fat from last night with spices; coffee

PrW - protein meal replacement, one serving, with 80ml of coconut milk

PoW - 2servings of protein

L - 300g beef, 1c onion, 100g, peppers, 1C onion, 1C broccoli, spice mix

D - 2 chicken hindquarters

Work out - Legs: Deep, narrow stance squats, leg extensions (single leg), stiff leg dead lifts to failure super-set with leg curls to failure, hip adduction

I'm a little disappointed with myself today for not looking closer at what stuff i was adding to my lunch and ended up going over the 50 carb limit I had been really hoping not to go over at all for the first month. What did I learn? I really only have about 30 disposable carbs because of the protein shakes that i consume before and after. Once I've completed this workout for the first week, I'm not sure whether or not I will continue with the shakes. Also, despite being a non-starchy vegetable, onions are pretty high in carbs. Also, be wary of what peppers you buy as 100g of dried Ancho peppers would set you back a full 51 carbs (0g of sugar and 22g of fiber). I guess i was glad i didn't actually have those, though i suppose I could have used the fiber.

Day 8 Jan 25 (a lots of eggs and poultry day)

B - 4 eggs with 30g of smoked cheese, 2 sausage patties from McDs (went with friends, got a double sausage muffin, tossed the muffin), coffee

PreW - meal replacement shake (no coconut this time)
PostW - double serving of protein

L - 200g of cured turkey, 5 eggs, course ground mustard, hot mustard, and wasabi

D - 8chicken wings (the mini drumstick kind), 3 eggs

Work out (Arms): close grip bench, 21's (7 bicep curls, from top to midway, followed by 7 from bottom to midway, then 7 full bicep curls without resting), chin ups (or in my case, close grip pull downs, palms facing me), skull crushers, tricep pull downs to failure
(shoulders tomorrow, back Friday)


I decided to remove even more carbs from today because of the slip up yesterday. After looking back at how much I ate, I was never stuffed, but I should have not gone for the dozen eggs just to go for it. I ended up right at the high end of the acceptable calorie spectrum that i should be at when I'm trying to keep it below 2500. I'll need to add a few more vegetables to fill me up though i'm having a hard time trying to find something other than broccoli to fill that role. i suppose a cabbage and pepper stir fry using the leavings from the wings from tonight might work out. Not as many carbs and fairly filling.

I really need to keep drinking more water and fluids. I've lost too much weight for it to be healthy weight just yet. I know a lot of people say ditch the scales, but this is one reason I'm keeping mine. If I've lost a lot of weight in one day, I try to think back to see what have i expelled compared to what I've consumed. After weighing myself I can look back to see if it was lack of water, or the extra long trip to the bathroom (sorry if you're reading this while eating). If you don't have a problem like that, getting obsessed over a number won't help you very much.

[ELCO14]

Hey Grogulay- If I may offer a suggestion: I wouldn't worry about keeping your calories under a certain number and beat yourself up if you go over 50g of carbs a day. With this type of mental restrictions your putting on yourself it's hard for me to see how you could keep that up for any length of time.

Could you focus on eating quality whole beef products, eggs and some root veggies until you are full and not worry about how many calories it is?

Just a thought, don't like seeing people stress out over eating as the damage caused by the stress would outweigh any progress with such a restrictive diet. Good to see you here though and that's the best step you can take!

[grogulay]

Thanks ELC.
I've got a lot of time the next few weeks and for the first month I was trying to hit this thing hard. I know that I won't always make it, but I can try harder when i realize that i have. Once the initial 30 days are up, I'll be moving to the 50-100 carb zone because the range of rood will increase as well. One problem that I will have is being an hour out from downtown in a city in China. This makes the air cleaner and such, but access to fresh, clean meats a hell of a lot more difficult. With Spring Festival, 95 of local shops are closed. I know I won't make the kind of progress that others might but as long as I'm progressing, who cares. It's not a competition.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm not stressing over it too much

[grogulay]

Day 9 - jan 26

B - 200g of beef liver, 2 eggs w/ mustard

PreW - meal replacement shake
*ginger at the gym
PostW - double serving of protein

L - 400g of cabbage, shoulder 200g shoulder cuts of beef, cooked in various oils (coconut, sesame, olive) and a few chili peppers

S - 3 eggs, 15g of smoked cheese

D - 200g of beef pan fried steak

Workout - Shoulders: seated military press superset with lateral raises, seated row, front raises, lying row, upright rows
---
I felt a lot more tired today than i did even when i was fasting. I slept in real late because I needed it, then took a nap. The rest was great but I was still unable to break its spell over me.

***Carb dreams***
My friend told me that when he had tried the Paleo lifestyle a while back, he had "carb dreams." In these dreams he would do anything he could in order to obtain his sugar and processed starches. In one he held up a McDonald's in order to chow down. Last night I had one but it was about eating without thinking and noticing it as I've already downed half a sandwich or something (same dream, multiple set-ups for the same thing). But upon noticing what I was doing I would stop and spit up whatever I had in my mouth and put the food down. At least I know that I have will power in my dreams and in real life.

***note on ginger
*I've been using ginger before my workouts to settle any kind of upset stomach that I might have from downing a protein shake right before lifting. There are a few other benefits to having a nice, big bite of the stuff as well.
*I find it smells pretty good, even the"ginger burps." Ever had a spotter with bad breath? Ever spotted someone with bad breath? It really takes care of the foul breath that you can encounter, even for people that smoke.
*Ginger also has a strong anti-inflammation factor. One decent sized bite of it (1oz) has a rating of about 1800, a little better than 1tb of turmeric (not saying ginger is better, as the turmeric was dried and ground, etc, just giving a size comparison).
*Another reason for taking a big hunk of ginger before training? It gets your blood going. It's a fresh heat that emanates from your gut to your chest. It may make your eyes water or face turn red the first time you try it out, don't worry, that will go away.

[grogulay]

Day 10 - Friday, Jan 27

B - 200g pork liver

L - Chicken hindquarter with 2 slices of bacon on top, baked

PreW shake with coconut milk, ginger 1oz
PostW 2scoops vanilla

400g of cured turkey

skewered seafood (one octopus the size of two finger, 5 clams, one chicken roll thing, and some seasoned pork)

300g of rotisserie, 150g of skewered meat

cinnamon tea (then I ate the cinnamon bark)

Workout - Back: Dead lifts to failure, T-Bar rows, bent over row, lat pull down to failure

I can't seem to shake this lack of energy. I'm not very sore from the last few days but not sure when it will hit me. I'll probably do some HIIT on the hillside outside my place tomorrow.

If anyone has any idea of some upper body HIIT drills that could help me increase my upper body more than my lower, I'd appreciate it.

[ELCO14]

The lack of energy could be that you're not taking in enough good carbs to fuel your workouts. Maybe just adding a sweet potato would help with that?

Also- are you looking for upper-body HIIT exercises because you think that will burn the fat up-top first? You can't spot reduce if this is the case- focus your HIIT sessions using the entire body. Hillside runs are a good one. I use a bike for my HIIT most days, sprinting on flat surface all are good places to start.

[grogulay]

Thanks again ELC,

I know that spot reduction isn't really possible. There are some exercises people can do to build up certain areas to make them look less troublesome, but that's not what i was trying to do. Cardio weight trainging and HIIT all build up (or reduce) your body in different ways and I was thinking that if I could get some good HIIT training to improve my cardiovascular system yet focused on my upper body it would help me with weight training as well.

I was reading Managing Your Mitochondria: Exercise | Mark's Daily Apple a few weeks ago and was trying to allow for more mitochondrial bio-genesis in my upper body while weight training as it suggested that I would actually be reducing the density of mitochondria through weight training. My legs are fine and once I get back up to my old form from 2007-08, I could jog for about an hour if I needed to and I have enough endurance when lifting and running steps (though if you saw me last week you might not think so). I'm looking for more ways to build up my upper body as well as help with endurance. I really want to find a climbing net around here and go up that for some practical strength. I'm not quite fit enough to go mountain climbing yet and no rock walls in the area.

The problem isn't having low energy during my workouts, it's the rest of the day. I could sleep 12hours if I didn't make sure I maxed out at 10.
I guess I should say that I'm not following the Paleo Diet completely because I'm going under 50g of carbs a day intentionally longer than would probably be suggested. I'm not severely obese like I was according to a previous composition test in 2009. Since then I've dropped about 15kgs and 15-20% body fat. However, I still feel like keeping myself in this range 90+% of the time is best if I want to get into the healthier 5-15% body fat range. Two months or 15% body fat and I'll start adding another 50, 100 carbs to my range as it would still be in the Paleo Diet's range of "sweet spot" or "healthy maintenance." 30days isn't too long to really put my body through the wringer and keep up the 50carb limit. I carry some nuts in my gym bag just in case I get light headed though. Hasn't happened yet, but just in case it would be good to have just in case.

[grogulay]

Day 11 - Friday, Jan 28

B - 4 eggs, 6 egg whites, 2oz of Italian salami, a few peppers (sweet and hot), 1/2 a tomato, 1.5oz of Edam cheese

L - 750g (not quite that much because it wasn't thaw when I weighed it) of white fish, half pan fried with water and a tablespoon of chicken fat leavings, the other half baked in the oven with sea salt seasoning mix on it and some lemon
(The whitefish isn't as good as it could be because it had been frozen but there are limits to when and where you can buy sometimes.)
D - 2 chicken hindquarters.

Exercise: nothing - after completing 5days of a 5day split with minimum carbs, I have been beat. I lounged around but tomorrow I'll be taking a long walk so that i can purchase some fish from the market.

There are small shops around the area for fresh vegetables but when it comes to sources of protein, other than eggs, I haven't seen much. There's the seafood market which without set prices and me being the only white guy shopping from the locals, I'd be paying a load more than I can afford most of the time. I guess i'll have to work harder on my Chinese to get any reasonable price or use the all or nothing bartering technique my friend uses. Give them them price you want it for, if you don't get it, go. It's hard to do because you don't know the actual prices without eavesdropping or looking like a jerk most of the time but that's what it takes sometimes I guess. Though i do wish there was a place for fresh goat or lamb. you can only get frozen thin cut lamb 90% of the year it seems.

Any seafood you think I should be looking for or anything I should try to avoid (in general or just because i'm in China)? This is an open question for anyone out there reading this.

[grogulay]

Day 12 - Friday, Jan 29

B - 400g red cabbage, 100g peppers, 200g beef with tendons cooked with black pepper and chicken

Snack - 4 chicken wings (the arm, not the tip)

Snack - 150g beef

D - 500g chicken, rotisserie, whole bird, smaller bones eaten with it

I didn't go on that walk as planned and didn't really do much at all but I was resting and I guess I needed that before starting another 5 days at the gym and keeping up with ketosis. The good news is that i haven't been feeling as tired. I suppose I'm getting used to it.