BLOG: See Me Get Fit

Friend and fellow crimefighter Daina C has started her own nutrition blog:

• See Me Get Fit

She's a CrossFitter and faithfully studies human nutrition. Daina's blog is still in its infancy, but will surely grow in the weeks, months, and years to come.

Please click on the link and read about her. She's someone you too will trust with your food and diet questions...

The Hard Routine 2010: Nutrition

One thing is certain in the field of health: what is common wisdom today can easily become "misapplied science" tomorrow. What's "in" this year may be "out" next year. Often it's hard to arrive at the right answer.

--Mark Sisson of Mark's Daily Apple

For me, The Hard Routine is more about eating and fueling than it is about physical activity. I'm already doing damned near exactly what I want/need to regarding a fitness program. I follow a fitness model/philosophy that I believe to be "the best of the best." My activities change very little during these next two months of the campaign. My challenging adjustments come in the kitchen and the grocery store. That's where I push myself out of my comfort zone.

There are many current nutritional models gaining speed and popularity. Not as diets, but as lifestyles. Despite the word "diet" in their names, many of these are quite sustainable throughout life...at least that's what my friends say! While some plans have drastic or distinct differences, I believe they are more similar to each other than different. Here are some of them:

• Primal Blueprint (sister site of Mark's Daily Apple)
• Paleolithic Diet (also Paleo Diet)
• The Zone Diet
• "Shop the Perimeter" -- Google it yourself!
• Intermittent Fasting (Wiki link)

I only list a few sites above, on purpose. Flooding readers with information doesn't help. And I only want to share some of the plans that our friends are currently using as guidelines for their eating. They have and are seeing great results --- results seen in their mirror, in their waistline, in their gym and physical performances, in their sports, and in their overall daily feelings.

How can I summarize what "healthy eating" is for me?

• Limit: sugars, sweets, processed/canned/boxed foods, starches.
• Eat more: lean meats, leafy veggies.
• Grocery shopping: buy stuff that spoils, "shop the perimeter" of the store.

My Personal Commitment Contract specifies "sweets" and "potatoes" as Absolute Stop Consuming. While this might not be sustainable for my lifetime, it is certainly attainable for 60 days! So what do I substitute with those items?: healthier alternatives such as fruits/melon, and more vegetables. Life cannot be a list of foods to eat and foods to avoid. But for 6o days, you bet it can. I still have a lot of healthy habits that have stuck with me since The Hard Routine 2009. For example, I almost never go down the aisles of the grocery store. Almost ALL my shopping is in the perimeter of the store. I'm looking to jumpstart a few more healthy habits for the future using the campaign this year.

Lastly, for those of you CrossFit Journal subscribers, here is a quick link to all their articles on nutrition.

For your Personal Commitment Contract be sure to challenge yourself, but use nutritional challenges that are reasonable and sustainable for 60 days...if not longer!

EVENT: The Hard Routine 2010

By request, THE HARD ROUTINE is back in 2010. We ran the same fitness, health, and wellness campaign back in Fall 2009, during the same two months. We'll be back at it this year too!

• What is The Hard Routine? In a nutshell: It's a two-month campaign that jump starts positive behaviors in the areas of physical fitness and diet/nutrition. This is an online group that you commit to. There is no set program. YOU set the rules based on YOUR goals and needs. YOU sign a contract with yourself. I send out periodic email updates, some of which include YOUR testimony if you wish to share with the group. (Some of the stories are really inspirational!) Your email address and name remains private (except to me).
• Basics: So here is what OUR Hard Routine is all about. Pick some clearly defined behavior and habit changes within both DIET and ACTIVITY categories. Some of the changes will be to add certain foods and activities, and some changes will be to abstain from certain ones. It's completely up to YOU to make those rules and guidelines. I will be here to make some suggestions and help you articulate to YOURSELF what your rules might look like be based on your current lifestyle and body type.
• Why a formalized campaign? Because doing this by yourself is a real bitch. Doing this alongside a spouse, coworkers, friends, or family creates a postive support network to make healthier decisions TOGETHER for the two months. "Hey Joe, you want pizza?""No, how about grilled chicken instead." "Yeah, you're right....sounds better." Even if your support group is merely online or through emails, it holds you more accountable than going at it alone. Shared hardships.
• Why a specific two-month session? Because goal-oriented training and conditioning must be related to a TIME or an end date. There is a light at the end of this tunnel, and it is December 1st! On December 1st, we each can re-evaluate what went good and where we need improvement. We can probably all make difficult decisions regarding food and activity for two months....right? Is this crash diet? Keep reading....
• Should I keep a journal? Absolutely!! Keeping tabs on your food and your activity holds one more accountable. It can be as detailed as you are willing to make it...but keep it realistic. If weighing your food on a kitchen scale is your plan, that's a big commitment. Maybe tallying calories is even too much. Also, keep a log of your workouts. It keeps us all honest, and tracks progress too.
• Who participates? Well last year we had folks from ALL walks of life. The largest group by far was police officers. But we had grandmothers, housewives, military members, corporate businessmen, and everything in between. Health and wellness knows no bounds.

How did this start? I read an article called The Hard Routine by Jason Dougherty. Some of his points are as follows:

1. Recognize that there is a benefit to not getting everything you want.
2. Understand that mental toughness is born of adversity; that it will atrophy if not constantly engaged; and that it carries over to everything you do.
3. Objectively scrutinize one or a handful of things in your life that you think you need but could actually do without.
4. Deny yourself those exact things for a specified period of time.

I took his points to heart and suggested to some friends that we try some "hard living" for a few months. It turned into The Hard Routine 2009. We had a group of nearly 120 participants.

THE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

• What are the physical workouts? You decide. They are whatever you want them to be. For some of you, you are already doing some terrific exercise sessions. For others, you need to get off the couch. I can point you in the right direction. Some of you might start out by walking 30 minutes each day. Others might commit to a more strenuous workout program. I don't recommend joining a gym for this! Let's begin slowly if you are relatively inactive now.
• I need workout ideas. We have plenty of ideas based on YOUR goals and needs. Maybe you need strength workouts. Maybe you need cardio workouts. Maybe you need a beginner workout that is easy to follow. Maybe you have access to a gym or health club, or maybe you need to do the workouts at home. I will help you along based on what your physical needs are, as well as what equipment you have access to. Maybe the Prison Workouts (without kettlebell and with kettlebell) are a good start?? For some, walking a certain number of hours or miles each week is a great beginning.
• I have no idea where to start regarding workouts. I'll help you. Just ask. Don't let that keep you from participating. No one is too far out of shape to begin. Sitting on the couch is a one way street...getting fatter and more out of shape!
• I'm a woman and don't want to get bulky muscles. Many women are under a wrong impression that weight training produces bulky muscles. That is false. Women need weight training moreso than men. It would take a tremendous amount of serious weightlifting and protein supplements to get bulky. Likewise, the words "toned" or "toning" exercises are also false. There are only two ways to get so-called "toned." You must gain muscle, and lose the fat that surrounds those muscles. Weightlifting for women is a virtual MUST.
• I have a big butt/tummy/thighs. What should I do? Well, first off, there is a rumor that situps or ab workouts will flatten a flabby tummy. That is called "spot reduction." It's the thought that the ThighMaster gives you thinner thighs. It too is false. To get thinner thighs, you must lose the fat that has settled there. We each have a genetically predetermined place that our fat settles. For me, it's the "spare tire." For many women, it's "grandma arms" or "thunder thighs." If you attempt to target those specific areas, you will find it discouraging...it doesn't work. Never has....never will.

THE FUEL

• What is the diet? We each have different eating downfalls. For me, it's ice cream and baked potatoes. Healthy eating choices are critical to making body changes. The diet is what you make it. For me, I'm avoiding alcohol, ice cream, sweets, and chocolate all together. I am limiting starches such as pasta, pizza, and potatoes to only a few meals per week. I will also limit bread and fried food intake. I am also making efforts to add leafy vegetables and nuts every day. But those are MY rules. You need to come up with your own! I'll help you. Last year, one of our participants said "NO" to all fried foods. He was really surprised to see how much of restaurant food is fried, especially appetizers!
• This sounds like "crash dieting." Well it is, in a way. Strict dietary rules aren't a way to live your life forever, and certainly not love your life. However, after a couple of months of structured living, maybe keeping a moderate lifestyle will be easier for a bit longer. I'm only asking for two months!

If this is something you'd like to join, please email me at louis.hayes@comcast.net to be added to the email list (blind carbon copy). There will be plenty of email updates once October 1st hits. Until then, check back often! And check some of the posts from last season's campaign here.

Lastly, there is a Facebook "event" created for the campaign (click here). Invite others to participate and share in your hardship this Fall.

WEBSITE: NutritionData.com

NutritionData.com is a pretty decent website for analyzing food choices. They even include a bunch of restaurant choices. I have recently been much less concerned with low fat and low calorie foods. I have instead been choosing foods for their nutrients, glycemic index, and naturalness.

I captured the above screenshots during my analysis of kale, a spinach-like leafy veggie. The target map shows this as a highly nutritious AND highly filling food. The "Nutrient Balance" shows kale is a pretty complete food. Here are some other foods...be sure to check the serving size!!

• boneless skinless chicken breast
• apple
• canned tuna
• White Castle cheeseburger ..Mmm

Have fun and enter your lunch and dinner tonight...

The Hard Routine: Day 22, One-third done!

Day 22. We are one-third done....

Three weeks have really driven a wedge between two opposing groups in The Hard Routine. In one camp, there are those who are rock-solid. They've been strict with their "rules" and sticking with their new workout programs. Many of the committed ones have seen some great body changes already! On the other side....some have stumbled and totally given up. Doesn't seem to be much middle ground here. Either you've stuck with it, or you've thrown your hands up in failure.

If you have stayed the course....Great job so far. Stick it out, and we'll party in December. If you've made it through three weeks, another 6 or so is nothing. The hardest part is over. Share some personal victories in the comments below.

If you've fallen off the horse and haven't back on....why? Did you set out with unrealistic rules? Is your impulsive behavior too stubborn to control? Were you not seeing immediate results? There are plenty of acceptable reasons to stumble...but it is so critical that you get right back up and keep going in the right direction. This isn't called The Mildly Difficult Routine. It isn't The Sorta Challenging Routine. It's called The HARD Routine. Yeah, it's hard. Real hard. That's why we're doing this campaign as a group...shared hardships and support. Revise your Personal Commitment Contracts and finish this campaign. Set out with new rules, new activities, and a new mindset to complete this. Find a partner to hold accountable....who will also hold you accountable.

PERSONAL NOTE: In our house, The Hard Routines are rock solid. I'm down 8#. My wife is down 5#. Physical activity is what it was before -- no real changes there. The big change -- We're shopping the perimeter of the grocery store...rarely going down the aisles. This is a conscious effort. Staying with fresh meats, tons of veggies and fruits, and the rarest of starches. We're eating more volume than before, and definitely more often...but of good food choices. One of the biggest challenges so far is making the effort to prepare meals. The time necessary to clean, chop, cook, and pack some of the foods (and then clean the kitchen) is considerably more than the time it takes to rip open a box or bag of pre-made foods. We're finding it much easier to prepare much more food than we'll eat, then packing it away for follow-up meals.

What do I miss? Ice cream. Big time. On the CrossFit message board, there is a thread that now has the slang "Breyers Nightly," chronicling weight loss of a guy who eats ice cream every day!

Poll/Survey Results.

The most recent poll is closed. I asked readers to pick one of three options with regards to diet and activity.

I need the most help in what category...

1. 60% - Food / Diet Control
2. 36% - Both Food / Diet Control AND Physical Activity
3. 3% - Physical Activity

I can't believe that there were that many votes pertaining to nutrition and diet. I thought that physical activity would rank fairly high in comparison to the other options.

I guess I should be posting more on nutrition and food topics. Then again, there is so much conflicting information about what type of foods are best. I'll do my best to provide balanced information about nutrition. Can we at least agree that certain foods are generally bad, and most of us probably overeat?

In the meantime, vote on the new question in the right column.

With the onset of cold Chicago weather, how does your workout program change?

Nutrition: The Zone

I admittedly know very little when it comes to nutrition and dieting. I have long subscribed to many myths and theories about weight loss and proper body fueling. Thanks to constant bombardment from "Zoners" Mary L and Vinny P (scroll down), I am beginning to crumble.

During The Hard Routine, I have promised to learn more about The Zone Diet. I will be sharing videos and articles about The Zone, many of which are from CrossFit and their CF Journal. Dr. Barry Sears, the developer of The Zone, claims some rather strong ties between nutrition, performance, weigh loss, and overall health. Other "diets" do not make such claims. They base their results on a very narrow standard: body image.

With testimonials from my friends Mary and Vinny, my argument against it is losing ground. I have argued about the difficulty and complexity of the diet. I have stood firm that I really enjoy certain foods. But after seeing what Mary and Vinny have done for not only their BODIES but their PHYSICAL PERFORMANCES, I have to investigate more and give this a decent attempt. I promise not to be a Zone fanatic, but I do want to see where this takes me.

Based on the answers to the most recent poll question, I see many of you have dietary trouble as well....

Enter The Zone.