Don't Eat Like a Geminorum Tribble

Everyone knows they're supposed to eat healthy, but a lot of people have a hard time either finding the time, or the right foods to eat.  I've experimented with different food combinations and different diets and nothing really did it for me.  I usually get home around 8-9 pm depending on activities, and the last thing I want to do is pull out ingredients and spend 3o minutes making dinner.   If you're looking to get healthy and more importantly, lose weight, you have to understand that your diet can be up to 80% of your results.  To clarify, not a diet; your diet.  A lot of people ask what I eat; assuming I eat freshly grilled chicken and garden salads made that morning.  

There's a lot of things I do to try and curb hunger, and to get the most out of what I do eat, because seriously, I could eat like a Geminorum Tribble.  I'm always hungry.  The more I do, the more I'm hungry, which is not bad!  Your body needs the noms and you must deliver!  So what do I eat then, if it's not Paleo?  I'll make another post on tips for staying full, but for now, here is a typical day for me:

For breakfast I usually choose from 1 of 3 things, depending on my activities and future plans: AaronMFJ's Shake of Immortals™, Eggs of Doom™, or Cheap-Ass Cereal.  Honestly, I usually go for the cereal because it's fast and I can play some pre-work Xbox at the same time, or read up on some Reddit news.  My second choice is eggs.  I crack open 2 eggs and add salt, cayenne, basil, fat-free cheese, pepper, on some coconut oil.  I don't scramble it, but I crash the yolk so I can make almost an omelet style egg-age.  Once her majesty is completed, I add it to multi-grain sandwich thins.  I'll cover the shake on a different post.  It's magical.

Lunch!  Probably my favorite part of the day.  I used to make my lunch earlier in the day and take it to work.  This got to be tedious.  I mean, I can't make lunch and play Arkham City.  I'm fortunate enough to have a fully stocked kitchen at work with a wide range of nom-ables that is palatable to my gullet.  Things which are easily accessible and cheap to most people, and can be bought/brought/prepared at work for your consumption.  A typical lunch for me will be Healthy Choice Rotini & Zesty Marinara Sauce, baby carrots, Chobani Strawberry yogurt, and a Hershey Kiss to top it all off.  "What's that Mr. Jones, I see jell-O in that picture.  You didn't mention jell-O."  That's because I didn't eat it!  Empty calories and artificial colors; get that shit outta here.  You see, that Zesty Rotini isn't enough to be my main entree, so what did I do?  That's right, I added some canned chicken to that bruv to get some proteins in there.  I know there's 20g of sugar in that yogurt.  Sometimes I eat the plain flavor and add some Bran Buds for flavor.  Taters gonna tate.

Save the NERF for dessert


Around 3pm I'm feeling hungry again.  To keep myself from eating Bantha fodder and just grazing on stuff that is terrible for me (we have lots of cookies), I'll pull out those sandwich thins, add some peanut butter, and toast that saucer in the oven for a couple minutes until melty-goodness. 

I made 2 but forgot to take picture until it was too late

Dinner is another beast altogether.  It varies a ton but probably my favorite is chili.  Sunday night I will make a pot of rice and pot of chili.  This pot-o-gold will usually last me the whole week.  I use 99% fat-free chicken, all organic-low sodium ingredients, and a dash of vegetarian sausage.  Add some spices, mix that shit up and whooooooooo it's delicious!  Add some whole brown rice to the bottom of the bowl and chili on top.  Goes together like lamb and tuna fish.  Almost completely fat-free and healthy.

They feed this to you on Risa

TL;DR: Use your common sense and don't eat a bunch of shit and you'll be good.

-AaronMFJ-

Reddit Secret Santa

I know you're out there.  Engaging in undercover, covert operations to decide what is the best course of action to take for this delightful Christmas.  What shall it be?  You have my email address right (one of many) and you may email me a fantastic gift; one that I shall be very thankful for.  One day I shall discover your identity and we will frolic in the plains together, singing like deranged lunatics   'Till next time, Secret Santa.

-Aaron Jones
http://www.reddit.com/r/secretsanta

I Just Felt Like Running p.4

Overall it was about a year of training from 0 to 26.2.  November of 2008 was marathon month.  I tapered my mileage, carbo-loaded a 2 days before race, and started hydrating a week before it.  I began the race along with the other 3 coworkers that were training.  We decided to start with run-a-mile, walk 30 seconds approach.  That technique was pretty successful until around 18 miles through Umstead.  Steve, who had been with me the entire way, fell behind with a little longer walk break.  I felt if I walked longer, I wouldn’t continue easy.  I pulled ahead, refilled my CamelBak, and made it through Umstead.  Emerging from the gravel trail of Umstead, I turned to the pavement where the sun kissed my face into an uphill section with no shade-22 miles or so.  Alas, the uphill was over and my body was really feeling it at this point.  Still though, keep a smile. 

Though I was fully energized, my muscles were pissed off.  My calves begin a mutiny and wanted to overthrow the brain.  My brain wanted to push forward but my calves did not.  First my right calf locked up.  If you have experienced this before, you can relate to what this means.  My calf was fully flexed and stuck like that.  I pulled off, massaged it a bit, and tried to force my foot up to release the muscle.  I created a little bit of relief but not much.  I took this opportunity to wait for Steve to catch up.  I gave it a rest while Steve caught up.  We ran together for a bit until my left calf locked up, and he passed me.  We’re around 24 miles at this point.  I know that if I stick to the run-a-mile-walk-30 deal I’ll never catch up.  I kick into overdrive doing the “marathon shuffle”.  I tried not to use my calves and instead pushed more off of my quads.  Running much faster than I had been in the last 5 miles, I caught up with Steve.  We continued side-by-side for 2 more miles.  The last .2 seemed longer than the whole race.  As we approached the last stretch we look at each other and Steve says, “together?”. “Yes” I said; “same time”.  I crossed the finish line at 4:11:57 and Steve with 4:11:58.  Margin-of-error I say.

Running has become a part of my life; an obsession.  I think about running quite often, “where will I go next?  Where is that person running to?  Do I have time for a run?”.   I would consider myself a runner.  A lot of people run as a form of exercise.  I think there is a difference though.  So what makes a runner?  It’s easy.  When you’re running down the road and you feel the rhythm in your stride.  Your heart is beating and your feet are hitting the ground and nothing matters anymore except you and the road.  The wind is on your face and the fresh air in your lungs.  Your legs hurt, it’s hot, you smell awful, and you love it.  You’re not running for weight loss.  You’re not running to get your 30 min of cardio in.  You’re running because you need it.  You run because it’s part of you and no one else can take it away.  Some call it an addiction – I call it a passion.

-Aaron

I Just Felt Like Running p.3

It wasn’t all running for me, though that was the bulk of my workout.  On the off days, I did do a little weight lifting and other types of cross training such as Yoga and Pilates.  I would give myself breaks but overall I was getting to be pretty active.  Not because I felt it necessary, but because I wanted to.  The better I felt, the more I wanted it.  


I like to play video games, so I decided to find ways to make working out fit into that hobby as well.  For example, my current obsession is Dark Souls – the spiritual successor to Demon’s Souls.  How can I make working out fit into a sit down activity?  As I’ve seen people do with other games, I started with 5 minutes of working out every time that I died in the game.  If you’ve ever played Dark Souls, you know death is often.  I would essentially be getting 30 minutes of workout in about an hour of play time.  This created a “oh no, I’m can’t die!” feeling.  When I did die, I would do pushups, sit-ups, and pull-ups.  Once the time was up Iwould rush back to play more.  It was an extremely rewarding balance that is unbeatable.  Another thing I would do was see how many sit-ups or push-ups I could do during loading screens of other games.  A favorite is to use a cycle trainer while playing, which can be found fairly cheap.  It’s pretty easy to add activity to daily routines.  Try parking your car at the back of lots when you shop and give yourself a little extra walk to and from the store.  Walk around when you're talking on the phone or when waiting for something.  While at work, I'll walk around the kitchen area essentially doing laps while waiting for my food to heat up.  Little things that don't seem like much really start to add up in the long run and gets your body used to moving.


-Aaron

I Just Felt Like Running p.2

Training for a marathon isn’t easy.  Something as huge as a marathon takes a lot of dedication, self-control, and spirit.  I ran in the cold, in the rain, during lunch at work, in a hurricane, and in 100 degrees.  It’s fairly easy to skip a couple runs and never get back into it.  My diet changed, my thought patterns changed, and my schedules changed.  Around senior year of high school my friends and I would ride our bikes to McDonald’s, eat a Double Quarter Pounded with Cheese, then bike around some more.  That eating habit did subside a bit, but you can see where I’m coming from.  My newer diet wasn’t aimed at making me miserable.  They key to sticking with something is to turn it into something you enjoy.  I stopped eating most fast-foods.  Not to say I didn’t eat it at all, but I made more conscious decisions about what I ate when I did.  I made certain exceptions and limited consumption to certain days.  For example, I could eat Chick-Fil-A but I would substitute the fries for fruit and drink for water.  Also limiting it to once a week at most.  Of course sometimes I would cheat and eat out with friends, but sticking to the guidelines really makes a difference.  Order something without the mayo, skip the cheese, grilled chicken instead of fried chicken, etc.  Writing things out will really help you see a difference in what you are eating/not eating over a period of time.  I did have my cheats though.  I would allow a half glass of Coke with a meal or during the day and I would eat a few Hershey Kisses as well.  I wouldn’t cut out everything delicious, I would just try to regulate it.  The mornings would be some cereal with skim milk or some egg whites on whole grain bread with fat-free cheese and cayenne.  Lunch would be a bit more boring since I was at work; plain tuna sandwich with beef jerky and some plain Greek yogurt mixed with fruit.  It’s surprisingly hard, at first, to deny a catered Pei Wei lunch and opt instead for Sweet Tomatoes soup/salad.  Once you get into the habit of eating better, it comes surprisingly easier to maintain.  I started to feel better about myself.  I felt more awake and more alert.  About 6 months into training, I had already seen a major difference in my body and my mood.  Running was starting to grow on me and I enjoyed it more and more.

In just six months I had already dropped 35lbs – from 165 to 130.  Results started slow in the first month or two which was expected, but definitely demotivating.  However, I knew my mileage was increasing and I had better endurance so I knew something was happening.  “Just stick with it” I would tell myself.  And it worked. 

6 months progress.  165 - 130lbs

I Just Felt Like Running pt.1

My running and weight loss journey started in late 2007.  When I graduated high school, I was the heaviest I had ever been in my life up to that point.  I grew increasingly unhappy with myself and the way I looked/felt but didn’t really do much about it for another year.  I decided to take a run one day at Lake Johnson in Raleigh – a 2.75 mile loop.  Wearing some skate shoes and baggy jeans, I ran nearly the entire thing in the worst form you could imagine and probably near death.  I mean really, you should have seen me out there.  I felt accomplished that I could do it, but really just lying to myself that I needed to do something about my health.  Walking around at work, a friend and coworker asked me as I was passing by, “so you’re going to do a marathon with me, right?”  I’m not one to back down from a challenge so I accepted; not really knowing what  marathon was.  After talking a bit about it, I realized I said yes to something completely absurd.  The following week I received my running schedule which started with “I’ve never run before” and ended with 26.2 miles.  I started the training, along with 3 others, weighing in at 166 lbs.

-Aaron

Garmin to Nike+ Conversion

So I found a tool that a guy in the UK made that converts your Garmin data to Nike+.  This is pretty awesome as I have 100's of miles logged with my Garmin watch, but only a few on Nike+.  Ideally, I want to compile them all together so I can continue to use the Nike+ features/challenges.  You can also convert tcx files as well. 

http://awsmithson.com/tcx2nikeplus/

It's pretty simple, so be sure to donate if you use it!

How to:

1. Get your activity ID you want to convert, from connect.garmin.com

2. Enter the ID into the conversion tool, as well as your Nike+ credentials. 

 3. Convert & Upload - DONE! You should now see your run on Nike+.  It keeps the date, and all GPS data too!

-Aaron Jones-

Thanks to Runnit for the original discovery!

Happy Dog is Happy

Seal of Approval, Approves.

Strategies for Better Body Composition v.1

Below are some small strategies that will help change eating patterns and reduce/make better use of caloric intake.  Some will help enhance training quality and get leaner as a by-product of improved running fitness.

Water

Replacing some or all of your beverage intake with water can help reduce caloric intake by a lot (assuming you consume a lot of non-water drinks).  An exception to this would be sports drinks during your workout/run.  The calories in sports drink will help you run at a higher level and allow you to workout at a higher performance level, which over all improves your body.

Breakfast!

Breakfast is often skipped by most people, but I can't stress just how important it is!  Morning is usually a high caloric demand, as you've gone upwards of 10 hours without anything to eat.  Eating breakfast is shown to reduce caloric intake later on during the day, and may also increase your activity level by giving you energy in the morning.  A University of Massachusetts study found that people who regularly skip breakfast are 4.5 times more likely to be overweight than those who eat it most mornings.  Your net benefit of eating breakfast should be fewer total calories consumed and more calories burned throughout the day.

Grazing and Smaller Portions

Eating 5 or 6 smaller meals a day is said to match food intake with energy needs.  Some people believe eating more frequently will boost metabolism which in turn helps weight loss.  Of course there are studies that back up those claims, just as there are studies that refute it.  The bottom line is, diet and exercise play a huge role in the maintenance of fat-free mass and resting metabolic rate during weight loss.

One study from The British Journal of Nutrition involved groups of overweight men and women who were randomly assigned to very strict low-calorie diets and followed for eight weeks.  Each subject consumed the same number of calories per day, but one group took three meals a day and the other six.  Both groups lost significant and equivalent amounts of weight.  There was no different between them in fat loss appetite control, or measurements of hormones that signal hunger and satiety.  As long as total caloric and nutrient intake stays the same, then metabolism, at the end of the day, will stay the same.

Proper Workout Fuel

One of the biggest mistakes runners pursuing weight loss make, is avoiding to take nutrition before and during workouts for fear of "nullifying" the calorie burning they are doing during workout.  Runners that don't fuel their workout/run properly via pre-workout meal or sports drink/gel and water during the run will consume an equal number of calories in other forms during the day.  So it's best to use those calories when they are most needed; during a workout!

AaronMFJ

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