The following is the update of my second week going primal.
 

Nutrition

* 97% Compliant to Primal Blueprint nutrition (I took 3% percentage points off for having cream in my coffee daily). I ate nothing processed at all and stuck to vegetables and low glycemic fruit such as strawberries.
* Average caloric intake per day: 1712
* Macrobiotic percentage breakdown: 66% fat, 22% protein, 12% carbohydrate
* Average carbohydrate per day: 66g

Exercise

Once again, due to work constraints combined with low energy levels and in conjunction with “woman monthly issues”, my workout for the week was pretty light

* Monday: Bodyweight drills (25 mins total)
* Tuesday: Muay Thai (90 mins total)
* Wednesday: Rest
* Thursday: Muay Thai (90 mins total)
* Friday: Rest
* Saturday: Run for 25 mins + Muay Thai for 120 mins (145 mins total)—Not a good idea!
* Sunday: Walk 35mins/Run 10 mins (45 mins total)

Results

Once again, without trying that hard I went from 232lbs (July 8th) to 229lbs (July 14th) for a total of 3lbs lost in week 2. That is 12.5lbs lost in two weeks of primal living. Now that’s crazy…..
 
Random Thoughts

I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but I like it! What’s crazier is that I’m not even trying all that hard. My cravings for sweets and carbohydrates are almost non-existent but for some strange reason has been replaced by a craving for almonds.

I have had low energy levels in the evenings these last two weeks. It took every ounce of willpower and determination to make it to my Muay Thai sessions on Tues and Thurs. The good news is that by the end of the week and for no apparent reason, my energy seemed to start picking back up. I didn’t increase my carb intake either, it just happened and I welcome it. I am hoping that I’ll be fully adjusted to primal living by the end of primal week 3.

Stay tuned for week 3

(photo courtesy of http://combatfitness.us)
 
So I’ve started training with my new toy. Let’s just say that for a piece of low tech equipment, it delivers high returns. In other words, it continues to kick my behind, big time! I summoned my inner athlete and decided to try all the basic kettlebell movements. In a relatively short period of time, I was able to master the basics which are:

1. The Swing
2. The Clean
3. The Snatch (haven’t managed to master this one yet, my kettlebell is too heavy….but someday in the near future!)
4. The Clean and Jerk

All the above movements are really Olympic style lifts using a kettlebell. What I will say is they are very explosive movements will send your heart rate skyrocketing to high levels very quickly. I really enjoy the ballistic aspect of using kettlebells and I should see my speed and agility improve rather quickly if I keep this up. This is especially important for Muay Thai training which is a very explosive combat sport. All in all I think I’m headed in the right direction with this. It will be very interesting to see what progress can be made over the next few months. In addition, the progressions and routines for using kettlebells are endless. Boredom will not an option using these things. Here is the routine I did today (keep in mind that after kettlebells, I go for a walk/run around my neighborhood):

1. Double Clean and Jerk: 10reps x 2
2. Swing, catch, squat: 10 reps
3. 1 swing, 1 clean, 1 press: 5 reps each hand.

If you think this is easy. I say put your money where you mouth is, get some 18lbs or 26lbs kettlebells and get to work. Oh and good luck…..cause you’ll need it. For a beginner all I have to say is that my ass is officially kicked. What say you?

A week ago, I went primal. And no I didn’t become a Neanderthal, I just pretty much ate like one. Here are the results of my first week going primal.

Nutrition

I didn’t eat anything processed all week. I eliminated all grains, 95% of dairy (I had cream in my coffee almost daily), all processed sugar, white flour etc. I ate a lot of vegetables and low glycemic fruit such as strawberries, cherries and apples. Below is a a.) sample of a regular day’s macrobiotic breakdown and b.) The macrobiotic percentage breakdown for the entire week.

a.) Snapshot of a day’s nutrition
 

 
b.) Macrobiotic Percentage Breakdown over a 7 day period
 

As you can see from the averages, my diet has been quite high in fat, moderate in protein and low in carbohydrates. I held my daily carbohydrate intake to just under 100grams a day. You will also notice that my daily caloric intake varied from day to day, however the average caloric intake per day was around 1750 calories. Be assured that I am not starving myself one bit. I eat so many varieties of vegetables that I cannot possibly eat any more without having serious stomach problems. I am routinely forcing myself to eat just to meet a reasonable caloric minimum for my size and it’s usually a daunting task. I’m just full….all the time.

Exercise

Due to work constraints I wasn’t able to do my regular workouts. In addition, my body was readjusting to a lower carbohydrate intake and so I did experience low levels of energy in the evenings. Below are the days I worked out and the exercises performed.

Results

Surprisingly, with much less exercise than I usually perform every week I was able to drop from 241.5lbs (July 1st) to 232lbs (July 8th) for a total of 9.5lbs of fat lost. Truly amazing!. Now granted, I would say that maybe 5lbs out of the 9.5lbs was water retention and bloating from a weekend of eating massive quantities of processed carbs (the usual suspects: cookies, chocolate, cakes, chips, fries, burgers, ice cream etc). However, I feel compelled to give everyone the raw numbers.

Thoughts

I’ve realized that it is impossible to outexercise a bad eating plan. I truly believe that I am Insulin Resistant, and so I have to eat differently to get the results that I want. This way of eating is not optimal for every body type, and I highly suggest that everyone take the time to experiment and find out what works for them. As an example, for me to get to this point of breakthrough, I’ve had to sacrifice 12 weeks of any positive gains from a fatloss perspective. I’ve had to experiment with different eating patterns and rearranged my workouts. I’ve had weeks of 2-4lbs fat loss just to see it come back after a weekend of heavy carb binging all while working out like a crazy person.

Now all these things as painful as they are to bear, have been a worthwhile price to pay for getting the kind of results I got this week. I now have my own personal formula for fatloss at this very moment in time (as fat loss progresses, I may have to change things around). What I’ve discovered is it’s really not the high number of workout hours that I accrue in the from of HIIT, nor is it the heavy lifting, nor even Muay Thai. All those things are extremely important and surely help ffacilitate fatloss . However, what is now abundantly clear is that I can participate in all the aforementioned activities (which I’ve been religiously doing for the last 12 weeks), but if I do not aggressively control my carbohydrate intake it doesn’t mean a damn thing.

In a nutshell, nutrition is king! It really is not a cliche to say so, but a bonafide fact. Don’t say I didn’t tell you!

I’ve always aspired to be able to do 100 consecutive pushups one day. Well it’s easy to find inspiration when you are looking for it. There is a pushup website solely dedicated to teaching anyone how to do 100 consecutive pushups in about 6 weeks. If you are serious about increasing functional strength (which I am very very serious about), then doing pushups is a necessity.

Why Pushups

Push ups are one of the basic and most common exercises for the human body. Push ups are not only great for your chest, but do a tremendous job of defining your abs, triceps, shoulders and torso.

Push ups can be performed no matter where you are, and best of all, they are completely free – no expensive equipment or annual gym fees required! If you’re looking to develop a great chest and shoulders, you could do much worse than follow along with the hundred push ups plan. Your core strength will also go through the roof too!

I’m going to give it a go over the next couple of weeks and fill you in as I progress. Come on people, give it a go!

Mark at Mark’s Daily Apple has challenged his readers to go primal for the next 30 days. Since I’m one for challenges, I decided to take him up on his offer and so I’m going primal for the next 30 days.

What does going primal mean?

Well first of all go over to Mark’s site and read his Primal Blueprint. He discusses all things primal and how to apply it to modern living.

Yes we can!

I’m not talking about the Barack Obama campaign slogan here. I’m talking about things you can have from a nutritional standpoint. You can have plenty of meat, fish, meat and poultry and it doesn’t all have to be lean either. You can also have plenty of vegetables (non starchy) and fruit in moderation. Try to keep your overall carbohydrate intake to less than 100g. You have to eat real food for 30 days. Nothing processed and nothing that our ancestors who were hunters and gathers didn’t eat back in the day. In a nutshell, stick to the outside periphery of the grocery store for your food choices. No shopping within the aisles.

No you can’t

You cannot have anything processed. Which means white flour, sugar, alcohol, protein bars, protein shakes. All grains such as rice, corn, oats, potatoes etc should be avoided. All dairy such as cheese, milk, yogurt can be had in moderation. Fruit should also be in moderation and fit within the 100g per day window.

Exercise

The Primal Blueprint discusses exercise which is a combination of slow moderate cardio, fast sprints, heavy functional lifts.

So I’m going primal for the next 30 days as a challenge. I won’t be posting about every little detail, but I’ll be incorporating Mark’s principals into my nutrition and training over the next month.

I recently purchase a new toy. It’s a 26lb kettlebell and and instructional DVD from Dragon Door. It’s my new workout buddy for the summer months. I recently suspended my gym membership because I just want to be more imaginative this summer with my workouts.

What is a Kettlebell?

A ‘kettlebell’ or girya (Russian) is a traditional Russian cast iron weight that looks like a cannonball with a handle. The ultimate tool for extreme all-round fitness.

The kettlebell goes way back, it first appeared in a Russian dictionary in 1704 (Cherkikh, 1994). So popular were kettlebells in Tsarist Russia that any strongman or weightlifter was referred to as a girevik, or ‘a kettlebell man’.

Why train with a kettlebell?

a. Because they deliver extreme all-round fitness. And no single other tool does it better. Here is a short list of hardware the Russian kettlebell replaces: barbells, dumbbells, belts for weighted pullups and dips, thick bars, lever bars, medicine balls, grip devices, and cardio equipment.

b. The dynamic loading sets up the hip muscles for a powerful contraction. The kettlebell is the definitive tool for developing the hip thrust, the power generator in all athletics. Be it a jump, a kick, or a punch, when expertly performed, it comes from the hip.

c. The kettlebell will make your back resilient. Unique Russian exercises condition your back from every conceivable angle, statically and dynamically. One would have to take up powerlifting, yoga, strongman, gymnastics, and a couple of other things to half way imitate the benefits of kettlebell training.

d. Kettlebell’s offset center of gravity maximizes shoulder strength, flexibility, and health. Most Russians have never heard of ‘rotator cuffs.’ Save for combat wounds, shoulder injuries are virtually unheard in the Russian armed forces. They train and test their personnel with repetition one-arm snatches with a 53 lb. kettlebell rather than pushups.

e. The kettlebell is an outstanding grip, wrist, and forearm developer. A thick and smooth handle combined with the ballistic nature of many exercises loads the grip like rock climbing. Bottom up cleans and similar leverage drills unique to kettlebells take care of the wrists.

f. The position of the handle allows dynamic passing of the kettlebell from hand to hand for a great variety of powerful juggling type exercises strongly endorsed by the Russian Federation State Committee on Physical Culture. These drills develop dynamic strength and injury-proof the body in many planes unlike conventional linear exercise.

g. The kettlebell will give you infinite freedom of lifting. It has been said that kettlebells to traditional free weights are what barbells and dumbells are to machines. Taming a kettlebell is akin to medieval sword, spear, and battleaxe play, liberating and aggressive.

You can read more about Kettlebell training at Dragon Door. They have more articles than you can imagine and it’s a good place to start.

I haven’t really decided what routines to do with this new toy of mine. However I think it will be a combination of full body routines with some endurance cardio thrown in there somewhere. I’m actually excited to start playing with my new toy. Since the Kettlebell originated in Russia, I shall call my new kettlebell Igor the Great!

The scale is not an accurate measure of weight loss especially when you are combining weight training with cardiovascular exercise. In my attempt to lose weight in the past, I focused solely on cardiovascular exercises (2hrs on treadmill or elliptical daily) to achieve my weight loss goals. In my mind, I could “tone” my body after most of the weight was lost.

I would get on the scale every couple of days and live and die by the numbers on it. I managed to lose weight quite alright, but my bodyfat percentages didn’t drop much and I didn’t have the time nor the energy to go up 3 hours of exercise a day. It wasn’t till I made the connection that gaining muscle could actually help me lose unwanted fat that things started to change.

For someone with reasonable bodyfat percentages, it is actually possible to either gain weight or not lose a pound, but wear smaller sizes. If you don’t believe me, take a look at the picture of what 5lbs of fat compared to 5lbs of muscle looks like:
 

 
If I place one pound of muscle on a scale and one pound of fat on a scale, they will both weigh one pound. The difference is in total volume. One pound of muscle may appear to be the size of baseball; one pound of fat will be three to four times the size and look like a mushy, squiggly bowl of Jell-O.

Why is it that we can lose sizes, yet the scale remains the same? Because muscle weighs more than fat…

Muscle is a denser tissue and thus takes up less room than an equal weight of fat. That’s why it’s possible to lose inches but show no changes in scale weight. Having more muscle means you have a more desirable body composition, or fat-to-muscle ratio. You may still weigh the same, but your body will look different, smaller, better and tighter. Though it may take you a few weeks to see measurable changes, you begin to put on muscle and burn calories from the moment you start exercising.

The muscle weight you gain also beefs up your metabolism which in turn, helps you to burn off more fat. Talk about a win-win situation. It’s important to hit those weights hard.