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Ryan's Food Log

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Ryan T

Level 6 Valued Member
Certified Instructor
5/2/2018

Stats: 5'8", 41 years old, 28.3% BF 168 lbs

Goals: down to 15% BF by 1/1/2019. Simple standard by 1/1/2019. These are ambitious goals. I am hoping that they will not contradict one another; I'll have to assess that as I go. I will take my BF % and weight in 6 weeks for my current training cycle (3 days per week, S&S variable load and volume).

Proposed methods: I am partial to IF (18:6 or 20:4, and sometimes full 24 hours) simply because I like how I feel during the fasting time. If I'm honest with myself, I feel like right now I'm landing more in the IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros) combined with fasting. I've reached a point where I am not going to be too rigid about particular foods, but I plan to focus 80% on whole foods.

I will probably experiment with S&S training times and days, i.e., training on fasting days, non-fasting days, timing, etc... Now on to the food!

The proteins and carbs below are really estimates based on palm size.

Fasted from 7:30 PM to 4 PM today.

  • 4 PM-Broke fast with 10 oz bone broth and 2 tbls of apple cider vinegar.
  • 4:30 PM-6 oz of shredded pork, 1 oz of corn chips, 8 oz blackberries.
  • 5:15 PM-1 oz penuts
  • 5:45 Chicken Tikka Masala. Two servings brown rice. 4 oz chicken. Base was tomatoes, onions and peas.
  • Took the family to Dairy Queen to celebrate school event. Small Turtle Blizzard (610 calories).
Felt good and focused during the fasting window. Will try to make the bone broth a habit when breaking the fast. Nice way to ease back into food.
 
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5/3/2018

Fasted from 8:30 last night to 12 PM today.
  • 6 AM Juice of one line, 2 tbls of apple cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar, 1/8 tsp cayenne, 1/4 tsp pink himalayan salt in 12 oz cold water.
  • 4x6 oz coffee throughout the AM.
  • 12:00 10 0z bone broth with 2 tbls of apple cider vinegar
  • 12:30 4 oz shredded porkbutt and 6 oz blackberries
  • 4:40-5:15 S&S practice
  • 6:15 Whey protein shake with 16 oz coconut water (40g protein/32g carbs)
  • 6:30 Two slices of pizza.
Felt pretty good today. Sat more thank I like. I broke my fast earlier than usual as I wanted to get some nutrition/fuel in before practice but far enough in advance that I didn't get an upset stomach and perhaps have a chance at a little more fatty acid mobilization. I realize the risk of storing intercellular fat after opening up the insulin gates and eating pizza which had plenty of fat. But that's what we had on hand!

As you guys can see so far, my food choices are NOT the best, but just trying to be honest with where I'm at. I think the more I log my food, I'll naturally be more inclined to gradually make better choices.
 
I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination. I have my own dietary issues. But I see nothing wrong with what you are doing other than as you said "food choices". Ya, it would be nice to see a chicken breast and a cup of organic green beans rather than pizza but the key is to do what fits best with your lifestyle.

So unless the two slices were each 1/4 of a 16" deep pan it's all good. : ) One thing I would suggest is at least a two to three week period of zero sugar or as close to it as you can get. So the Blizzard was a no go.

I would also cut the corn chips all together and cut down on starches such as rice during that no sugar phase. After two to three weeks started adding them back slowly and see how you feel after grains, bread, potatoes and such.

A blood glucose meter isn't expensive but the measurement sticks or what ever they call them is a bit. Measuring your BG a half hour after a meal will give you a very good idea as to what is spiking your blood sugar. If you are like me it will be all the stuff you know you shouldn't eat.

I'm not sure if you have just started or not and just how much you are trying to loose. Based on the log I'm guessing that you just started.

Not sure where you are at with S&S either but keep it up. I don't know where your previous training was but I'm going to assume that you were. In that case try to get in 5 or 6 sessions per week. You may need to cut back on the weight of the bell to accomplish that. That is the way S&S is structured, so you are getting that movement in close to each day to help burn calories if that's what's needed. All of us need to move MORE. My experience with S&S is that everyone focuses too much on where they are at with the bell size. Your goal of simple by next Jan. is very reasonable. Along the way insure that you are meeting the 5 and 10 min. standard before moving up. My belief is that most only go by that and don't consider the other instruction in the book that you should be coming very close to 5 and 10 min. on the movements easily almost each session. So let's say you've done swings in 5 min. and get ups in 10 with the 20K. But when you do it and try to use the breath test it's taking 10-12 min. on the swings and 12 min. on the get ups. Temper that enthusiasm and try to get where you can do the breath test and do the swings in 9 or 10 min. and the get ups easily in 10. Then start adding in the 24K slowly, one set at a time. Wave the intensity so that there are some days where you are only using the 20K or even some with the 16. It is my thought that S&S should be done in an Easy Strength fashion. So if you get a chance pick that book up too. Just my opinion.

As with the diet it's not a race. Enjoy the process. Just my two cents and I wish you the best of luck.
 
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@banzaiengr Thanks for all the great feedback; what you say makes total sense. You are correct; I have just gotten started with logging my food. I've done it before, but with little success so this is another attempt. In the past I've been an all or nothing sort of guy and I'm trying to break that habit by making the changes gradual. I've cut out starchy and sugar carbs cold turkey before and then rebounded after a few weeks. I usually may have a beer or two once every couple weeks. But you're right, the sugars need to go and beer/hops have lots of other not-so-good impacts on testosterone and estrogen balance.

Tonight, I'm meeting some friends for dinner and beer and they chose a pizza place. Since I had pizza last night, I'll get a salad with proteins and vinegar/oil based dressing. I will likely have a beer 30 min or so after the meal, but that's probably it. Today's lunch is leftover Chicken Tikka again with a serving of brown rice, but breakfast was 3 eggs cooked in a pat of butter and no carbs (except for the miniscule amount from the eggs). I figure if the main source of carbs tonight is a beer then my total carb intake won't be terribly high compared to the rest of the macros. I know it's sugar, but that's what I've got for now. :)

I'm afraid that I may get a little lower on the calories than I should if I cut out the rice for today. Intermittent Fasting is very easy for me (18:6 or 20:4), but I want to keep it balanced with days of higher calorie intake (not above my current TDEE which according to a couple calculators is about 1700-1800 kcal) so my metabolism doesn't develop a new set point or slow down. I know there's lots of opinions on metabolic flexibility, but this is how I'm going to roll for now. If I keep myself in a caloric deficit overall for the week, maintain good protein intake paired with IF then I'm hoping to mobilize more body fat and preserve or even build muscle. I still think I have a lot of neurological adaptation (strength as a skill) and aerobic capacity to make before I really need to build muscle on my journey to Simple.

Until a couple elbow injuries 6 months ago I could do the Simple swing standard as written and I could do TGUs with a 24kg in 10 min easy. Currently, my S&S practice is 3 days a week with waving intensity and volume. 24kg is my main weight, 28kg is my heavy, and 16-20kg is my light. Doing a six week cycle. Goal for the first four weeks is to stay alactic. The last two weeks, I'll do some glycolytic peaking and do some testing to see where I'm at.

Again, thanks for the feeback and encouragement.

Cheers!
 
5/4/2018

6 AM-3 eggs cooked in a pat of butter.

1 PM-Left over Chicken Tikka with one serving brown rice. Estimate 4-5 Oz of chicken. Peas, tomatoes and onions are the base.

1:30 PM-20 min walk

6:15 PM Kind Bar (200 kcal). Chicken enchilada casserole. Est 6 Oz chicken. Had cauliflower, zucchini, corn, black beans. Shredded cheese on top, some cream cheese in the base.

7 PM piece of home made bread with a pat of butter and drizzle of honey.

8 PM 1/2 serving of popcorn.

Knowing I was going to post what I've eaten actually made me stop from eating some of the things I was considering. Still diet isn't perfect but maybe better than I would have chosen otherwise.

Cheers!
 
5/5/2018

7AM 3 eggs cooked in a pat of butter. 2 pieces toast with pat of butter and small drizzle of honey.

5:30 3 small pieces of pineapple. One 6 Oz patty of 73/27 ground beef with one slice of cheddar cheeze. One half russet potato grilled with about 1 tap olive oil.

7-9 PM 3 beers, one marshmallow, a few packages of fruit snacks (60 kcal each)

Some splurging tonight for sure. Lots of sugar. I haven't really done the math, but eyeballing it, I don't think I went over my TDEE. I did S&S practice and mowed the lawn today. I understand the what I eat needs to produce an optimal hormonal environment, but from a calories in/calories out perspective I think I did OK.

Sundays I'm usually back on track. There's going to be a dessert bar at church tomorrow eve and I'll say no.
 
5/6/2018

2 PM Handful of baby carrots, 6 oz of grilled asparagus with a tablespoon of olive oil. 7 oz kielbasa sausage. 3 oz fresh pineapple. One serving of popcorn.
 
@Ryan T, I am seeing a lot of carbs & sugars sneaking into your diet plan. Honey, along with bread, are probably more carbs than you expect. Pineapple, well fruit in general are sugar-laden, yes they are naturally occurring sugars, but they will spike your blood glucose all the same. Same with the fruit snack packages. Cream cheese has 3.5 g of cars per 3 g of cream cheese, 2.7 g of which are sugars. Baby carrots, these are considered to be healthy snacks, but they have sugars in them. Again, like the pineapple, they are naturally occurring, but they are sugars all the same.

How do I know all this? I know this because I am a Type 2 Diabetic. I am not trying to pick your diet apart, honestly I am not. I am trying to get you to be honest about your intake, and realize that even the things thought of as healthy, may not be for you at the moment. I know I need to honestly address my food choices, ironically I was just having that discussion over lunch. Then, I see your thread.

I apologize if I went overboard. I see my choices in your log, and think to myself, yeah, I don't need those either, yet I had them this weekend...along with 2 beers that turned into 6....
 
Ryan T, I am seeing a lot of carbs & sugars sneaking into your diet plan. Honey, along with bread, are probably more carbs than you expect. Pineapple, well fruit in general are sugar-laden, yes they are naturally occurring sugars, but they will spike your blood glucose all the same. Same with the fruit snack packages. Cream cheese has 3.5 g of cars per 3 g of cream cheese, 2.7 g of which are sugars. Baby carrots, these are considered to be healthy snacks, but they have sugars in them. Again, like the pineapple, they are naturally occurring, but they are sugars all the same.

How do I know all this? I know this because I am a Type 2 Diabetic. I am not trying to pick your diet apart, honestly I am not. I am trying to get you to be honest about your intake, and realize that even the things thought of as healthy, may not be for you at the moment. I know I need to honestly address my food choices, ironically I was just having that discussion over lunch. Then, I see your thread.

I apologize if I went overboard. I see my choices in your log, and think to myself, yeah, I don't need those either, yet I had them this weekend...along with 2 beers that turned into 6....

@Michael Scott I appreciate all the support and feedback! No way are you going overboard; I'm glad someone's reading this. It's helpful to me and perhaps helpful in general for other folks as well. Sad but true that my food choices would actually be worse. Like m&ms, more snacks etc... but because I'm posting them out here for all to read it has started to impact my choices. Last night I was able to skip the ice cream bar at church because I knew I'd have to come clean.

As far as the carbs go, I totally get what you're saying. I think there's something to be said for the glycemic load and not just the sugars in the item itself. Currently, I don't know that carbs are my enemy; uncontrolled caloric intake is my downfall. Little things and snacks add up bigtime. Ironically, tonight we're having Spaghetti and Meatballs with garlic bread for supper. Carbs much? That said, I think my calories will be modest today as it is an IF day so I went from 3 PM yesterday to 3:30 PM today without any real intake. I've broken my fast with bone broth and apple cider vinegar. I'll take some cinnamon a little bit before I eat as supposedly it's been shown to help control glucose spikes for carb consumption. I'll be posting the food later tonight.

Start logging your food here. I was also looking at at trend in the UK. It is/was called The Flash Diet. It's simply taking a picture of your food before you consume it. Most effective is posting it somewhere where others can see, but even the act of taking the picture before you consume may help to raise awareness. I don't remember if they had a forum or something set up. I also downloaded an app on my phone that I may try called Bitesnap. You take pictures of your plate before you eat. It has some food recognition software and some other features. I really haven't gotten into it yet too much but I will explore it tonight. If you're interested I'll let you know.

I have been toying around with the idea of integrating my food choices into my training log and putting it all in one spot. I've encouraged everyone to start logging their food and think of it as part of their strength training; perhaps it would feel more manageable to do it with the physical portion of training as well.

Keep chiming in folks. You're helping me and hopefully it can help you as well.
 
5/7/2018

Fasted from 3 PM yesterday to 3:30 PM today. Felt really good and energetic the whole day. Lots of water. Took a 25 min walk instead of lunch.

6:30 AM - Morning Fasting Drink : Juice of one line, 2 tbls of apple cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar, 1/8 tsp cayenne, 1/4 tsp pink himalayan salt in 12 oz cold water.

2 cups of coffee throughout the morning.

3:30 PM 1o oz bone broth with 2 tbls apple cider vinegar

5:05: One serving greek yogurt (3/4 cup 160 cal)

5:30: Spaghetti and meatballs with toasted garlic bread with butter. Didn't go crazy. I'm guessing here, but one serving of pasta, 3/4 cup sauce, 6-7 small meatballs, 1 tbls grated parm, red pepper flake. For the garlic bread, 3 very small pieces.

I'm guessing my total intake for the day would be around 700 kcal. I will come up with a more accurate way to track. Tomorrow is italian beef with green beans. Lower carb option for sure. I will have 3 meals tomorrow as I don't want to IF more than 2 days in a row. Intermittent stress so cortisol doesn't get chronically elevated.
 
5/8/2018

6:30 AM-4 eggs cooked in butter

12:30 PM-8 oz hamburger 73/27% lean. A little bit of onions.

5:30 PM - S&S Practice

7:00 PM-5 oz italian beef, 8 oz green beans cooked in olive oil.

8:00 PM-25g 70% Dark Chocolate. Believe it or not, I choose to eat this chocolate as it was a healthier dessert option and without it my calories really would have been too low for a non-IF training day. Or at least that's my take.

Weighing and estimating foods my caloric intake was approximately 1511 kcal: 122 g protein, 99 grams fat, 18 net carbs. I realize after all this, the a lot of common wisdom on carb cycling would actually suggest higher carb/lower fat on training days and higher fat/lower carb on non-training days. But again, that's just how things landed. I'm going to try to be proactive with next week's meal plan and consume higher carb meals on training days.
 
5 /9/2018

Fasted from 8PM last night until 5PM today.

6:30 AM - Morning Fasting Drink : Juice of one line, 2 tbls of apple cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar, 1/8 tsp cayenne, 1/4 tsp pink himalayan salt in 12 oz cold water.

Water and coffee throughout the AM.

5 PM-Broke the fast with 10 oz of bone broth and 2 tbls of apple cider vinegar.

6 PM 4 oz 73/27% lean hamburger and 6 oz green beans.

Tomorrow will be 3 meals with more carbs to support training.
 
Since you started logging things how do you feel your body composition has changed? Your food choices are looking much better, keep up the great work!
 
Thanks @ShawnM for checking in!

Since you started logging things how do you feel your body composition has changed?

I notice my abdominal fat doesn't put quite as much pressure on my waist band on my pants. My wife said she noticed a change as well. I'm down a few pounds but that could also be from a couple days of lower carb and fasting. I will take my actual BF measurements at the of my current training cycle.

Keeping the food log has helped with resisting cravings for snacks and sweets the most. My wife and I are meeting some friends for a couple beers on Friday. I will probably have one, possibly two and make sure solid food choices throughout the day.
 
5/10/2018

6:30 AM 3 eggs cooked in a pat of butter and half a medium sized avocado.

12:30 PM 6 oz kielbasa, 2 oz asparagus, 4 oz green beans.

4:30 S&S practice.

7:15 PM 40g whey protein shake with cinnamon.

7:30 PM one large slice of pepperoni pizza. I know it's pizza but it's what we had. Just a reminder that I need to be more proactive for next week's meal plan.

Going through an food app, breakfast was under 500 kcal. I would probably peg lunch about the same, and I'm guessing supper was somewhere between 500-700.

Hopefully the carbs and exercise will help with a good night's sleep.
 
5/10/2018

6:30 AM 3 eggs cooked in a pat of butter and half a medium sized avocado.

12:30 PM 6 oz kielbasa, 2 oz asparagus, 4 oz green beans.

4:30 S&S practice.

7:15 PM 40g whey protein shake with cinnamon.

7:30 PM one large slice of pepperoni pizza. I know it's pizza but it's what we had. Just a reminder that I need to be more proactive for next week's meal plan.

Going through an food app, breakfast was under 500 kcal. I would probably peg lunch about the same, and I'm guessing supper was somewhere between 500-700.

Hopefully the carbs and exercise will help with a good night's sleep.

Low Protein Intake


Based on the information that you posted, it appears that you protein intake maybe 60 grams for the day.

That is too low.

Recommended

The recommended protein intake varies from various studies.

However, it appears that 1.2 to around 1.6 gram of protein per kilo of body weight is effective.

Another factor is the...

Gram Per Meal

Research shows that that anabolic effect of protein is dependent on mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin). mTOR stimulate muscle growth.

Leucine, an amino acid, trigger mTOR, promoting muscle growth.

Approximately 30 gram of a good quality protein (Dairy and Meats) will provide enough Leucine to turn on mTOR, promote muscle growth.

Whey Protein

Whey contain the highest amount of Leucine.

40 gram of Whey (your drink) contain around 4 gram of Leucine.

2.5 gram of Leucine is the minimal amount required to turn on mTOR.

Breakfast and Lunch

You didn't consume enough protein in either of these meals to turn on mTOR.

You might want to re-evaluate your protein intake per meal.

Kenny Croxdale
 
@kennycro@@aol.com Thanks for the feedback!

Low Protein Intake

Based on the information that you posted, it appears that you protein intake maybe 60 grams for the day.

That is too low.

I estimate my protein for the day was around between 80 g. Eggs were 16-18 g protein, the 6 oz kielbasa was around 20 g (based on the package serving size and amount eaten), 40 g of whey, and I'm guessing I got a little bit (5-10 g or so) from the pizza.

Recommended

The recommended protein intake varies from various studies.

However, it appears that 1.2 to around 1.6 gram of protein per kilo of body weight is effective.

According to this my daily intake would need to be around 90-120, so still too low.

Whey Protein

Whey contain the highest amount of Leucine.

40 gram of Whey (your drink) contain around 4 gram of Leucine.

2.5 gram of Leucine is the minimal amount required to turn on mTOR.

Breakfast and Lunch

You didn't consume enough protein in either of these meals to turn on mTOR.

You might want to re-evaluate your protein intake per meal.

How do folks build muscle during IF if you need to get that protein requirement in for the anabolic effect? Does IF increase the efficience of protein synthesis? There are a lot of folks that follow IF schedules such as 16:8, 18:6, 20:4 even on this forum that seem to be able to build quality muscle and strength.
 
+1 to @kennycro@@aol.com , you need more protein. And to my knowledge, the rest of the info there is spot on as well. I'm starting to learn a lot more about protein and how it supports muscle protein synthesis.

I can't speak to the IF thing, I'm not a fan of it myself. But you can get a lot of protein without overshooting your overall calories by eating lean meat (tuna in water, chicken breast, lean cuts of beef), whey powder in shakes, and egg whites, among other things.
 
+1 to @kennycro@@aol.com , you need more protein. And to my knowledge, the rest of the info there is spot on as well. I'm starting to learn a lot more about protein and how it supports muscle protein synthesis.

Yeah I get that and I don't disagree with it. As you and @kennycro@@aol.com saidI should start consuming more, but I didn't think I was in a severe of a decifit for my daily requirement.

I can't speak to the IF thing, I'm not a fan of it myself.
The only reason I like it is the way I feel when I'm fasting. I have tons of energy and mental clarity and just feel "lighter" in general. I'm breaking my fast today with bone broth and about 30 min later some greek yogurt about 30-32 grams of protein. I'll have a regular meal later. So I can probably get somewhat close and not be in too bad of a deficit if any at all. There's probably a limit to how much protein your body can synthesis at one time, but I'm not sure on that either.

Approximately 30 gram of a good quality protein (Dairy and Meats) will provide enough Leucine to turn on mTOR, promote muscle growth.
My question to Kenny is, is it necessary to have at least that amount of protein per meal or at least get to the minimum daily requirement to activate mTOR for muscle growth. Plenty of folks have built muscle while intermittent fasting. I've read some articles that growth hormone increases protein synthesis, but I am not officially educated in this stuff as I think Kenny is (and other folks on the forum), so I only know what I've read in the interweb.

tuna in wate
I wish I could but my wife can't stand the smell. :)
 
I estimate my protein for the day was around between 80 g. Eggs were 16-18 g protein, the 6 oz kielbasa was around 20 g (based on the package serving size and amount eaten), 40 g of whey, and I'm guessing I got a little bit (5-10 g or so) from the pizza.

Correct

I didn't add in the pizza.

How do folks build muscle during IF if you need to get that protein requirement in for the anabolic effect?

Intermittent Fasting

Fasting promotes "Fat Burning". It increases nor-epinephrine and epinephrine (adrenaline) and cortisol; these hormones trigger lypolysis, fat burning.

Fasting produces a "Fat Catabolic State". Ketones (fractured fats) are utilized for energy, ensuring muscle mass is preserved.

Fasting does not produce an anabolic, muscle building effect.

Does IF increase the efficience of protein synthesis?

Great Question

Research show consuming protein/food every three hours is not optimal.

It has to do with what termed as...

The Refractory Period

Muscle Protein Synthesis is one of the keys to increasing muscle mass.

Research shows that consuming protein/food every 4 - 6 hours magnifies Muscle Protein Synthesis.

After an Intermittent Fast, Muscle Protein Synthesis will be optimized.

There are a lot of folks that follow IF schedules such as 16:8, 18:6, 20:4 even on this forum that seem to be able to build quality muscle and strength.

Food Is Anabolic

A well written eating plan combined with Intermittent Fasting can decrease body fat and increase muscle mass.

Think of Fasting and Eating as tools.

Fasting works for increasing lypolysis (burning fat). It does not increase muscle mass. Fasting is a "Fat Burning Tool".

Consuming food on a well written/executed eating plan will build muscle mass. Eating is a "Muscle Building Tool".

You want to use the right tool for the job.

Kenny Croxdale
 
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