CSta's workout log

[CSta]

P.S. Shortly after posting the above, my coffee no longer appealed to me. I craved water.

[Thomas Kurz]

One egg amounts to 6 g of protein. Is that enough for you?

[CSta]

One egg amounts to 6 g of protein. Is that enough for you?

I'm guessing it isn't. I'll try this tonight:

2 eggs (fried)
4 strips of low sodium bacon
1 cup of half and half.

Should give me around the following:

Calories: 668
Fat: 55g (492 calories; 74% of calories) (sat = 25g; mono = 20g)
Protein: 32g (131 calories; 20% of calories) (probably could still go up from here; 25% was upper range for panu.)
Carb: 12g (45 calories; 6% of calories)

[CSta]

Thursday (8/6/09)

1. Warm-up:
a. Very light isometric exercise for left quad/hip flexor. Supine, bring knee up to chest and press against palms. (I've been doing this one for some time, I think I forgot to mention it in previous posts.)
b. very light isometric exercise for my right arm/shoulder
c. exercise described in June 18 post.
d. very light isometric for right foot. Seated on floor, right leg bent 90 degrees, turn foot outward and press lightly on wall.

2. Main workout (all extremity exercises done one limb at a time; the weaker side (left) determines the weight and reps):
a. bicep curl (free weight): Left arm: 20/1X20; right arm: 20/1X15 (INCREASE OF 5 LBS, REDUCED REPS BY 5)
b. tricep exercise (with elbow at my side, I pull down on a handle): right arm 30/1X20; left arm 30/1X15 (INCREASE OF 5LBS FOR RIGHT ARM)
c. leg extension (quad): 20/1X20
d. hamstring curl: 15/1X20
E. HAMSTRING CURL (RIGHT LEG ONLY, foot is turned in, counterclockwise): 5/1X20 (INCREASE OF 2.5 LBS)
f. heel lift: used the seated heel lift machine: left foot: 1X20; right foot with foot turned inward: 1X20
g. ankle dorsiflexion: 9/1x20
h. back extensions on floor (holding up position for 8 seconds): 1X6 (arms at side)
i. crunches (arms extended over head rather than placed behind head (more difficult), eyes focused on ceiling; hold up position for 2 seconds): 1X30

3. Cool down: same as warm-up.

Bicep curl for left arm felt good again. Right foot is improving, but is still a long way from feeling normal. Due to the elimination of many isometric exercises, my workout takes much less time, which is quite a relief.

Nutrition: Last nights dinner was more substantial than yesterday's breakfast. I was hungry throughout the afternoon due to a drastic underestimation of my caloric needs. This morning's breakfast:

3 fried eggs (used a about a pat + 1/2 of butter and drained excess butter on eggs before eating)
12 oz. (1.5 cups) of half-and-half
0.5 oz of cheddar cheese
coffee later in a.m. w/ half n half

Caloroies: 799 (not counting the coffee)
Fat: 68g (35 sat; 21 mono; 5 poly) (Omega 6: 4257; Omega 3: 885--too imbalanced, gotta fix this) (598 calories; 75% of calories)
Protein: 33g (136 calories; 17% of calories)
Carb: 17g (65 calories; 8% of calories)

Observations: Felt much more satisfied than with yesterday's breakfast. No feelings of hunger, yet (it's 9:20). I'm a little tired right now, but my mind is working. I need to get more sleep. (Bed = 10:30; up = 5:45) Would like to get to bed by 9:30.

Interesting observation from yesterday: Every day (not an exaggeration) by 9:30 or 10:00 a.m., my forehead is shiny with oil. I usually have to wash my face two or three times during the workday. Yesterday, the oil did not appear.

[CSta]

Update: Started getting hungry at about 10:30, so I ate lunch, which was about the same caloric composition as breakfast. I ate breakfast at 6:30. It's 1:45, and I'm not hungry. Been drinking a lot of water--just thirsty. Very little oil on forehead.

[CSta]

Sunday (8/9/09)

1. Warm-up:
a. Very light isometric exercise for left quad/hip flexor. Supine, bring knee up to chest and press against palms. (I've been doing this one for some time, I think I forgot to mention it in previous posts.)
b. very light isometric exercise for my right arm/shoulder
c. exercise described in June 18 post.
d. very light isometric for right foot. Seated on floor, right leg bent 90 degrees, turn foot outward and press lightly on wall.

2. Main workout (all extremity exercises done one limb at a time; the weaker side (left) determines the weight and reps):
a. bicep curl (free weight): Left arm: 20/1X20; right arm: 20/1X15
b. tricep exercise (with elbow at my side, I pull down on a handle): right arm 30/1X20; left arm 30/1X15
c. leg extension (quad): 20/1X20
d. hamstring curl: 15/1X20
E. HAMSTRING CURL (RIGHT LEG ONLY, foot is turned in, counterclockwise): 5/1X20 (easy)
f. heel lift: used the seated heel lift machine: left foot: 1X20; right foot with foot turned inward: 1X20
g. ankle dorsiflexion: 9/1x20
h. back extensions on floor (holding up position for 8 seconds): 1X6 (arms at side)
i. crunches (arms extended over head rather than placed behind head (more difficult), eyes focused on ceiling; hold up position for 2 seconds): 1X30

3. Cool down: same as warm-up.

Bicep curl for left arm was a little difficult for last two reps but held good form. Right foot is about the same as it was last workout.

Nutrition: Meals have been similar to breakfast in Aug. 7 post

Caloroies: 799
Fat: 68g (35 sat; 21 mono; 5 poly) (Omega 6: 4257; Omega 3: 885--too imbalanced, gotta fix this) (598 calories; 75% of calories)
Protein: 33g (136 calories; 17% of calories)
Carb: 17g (65 calories; 8% of calories)

Observations: Yesterday, I was hungry about 3 hours after breakfast, so I snacked on some cheese. Lunch, I didn't have much of an appetite. For about 3 or 4 hours, I felt a little queezy and lightheaded. My heartrate was elevated about 10 beats per min. I layed down and took a short nap, then I mowed the lawn and I felt much better. Feel fine today. I notice that I have more energy. I've found myself doing household chores I don't normally feel like doing. I'm getting hungry to soon after meals, but I feel like I can't eat any more because I'll be consuming too many grams of protein. For lunch today, I ate about 30 colories of broccoli with a pat + 1/2 of butter. Still got hungry in about 3 hours. I seem to be losing a little weight. I'm normally about 164-165; I weighed myself yesterday and was down to about 162-163. Will have to think about what to do to increase the time before I begin getting hungry.

[CSta]

Tuesday (8/11/09)

1. Warm-up:
a. Very light isometric exercise for left quad/hip flexor. Supine, bring knee up to chest and press against palms. (I've been doing this one for some time, I think I forgot to mention it in previous posts.)
b. very light isometric exercise for my right arm/shoulder
c. exercise described in June 18 post.
d. very light isometric for right foot. Seated on floor, right leg bent 90 degrees, turn foot outward and press lightly on wall.

2. Main workout (all extremity exercises done one limb at a time; the weaker side (left) determines the weight and reps):
a. bicep curl (free weight): Left arm: 20/1X20; right arm: 20/1X18 (INCREASE OF 3 REPS)
b. tricep exercise (with elbow at my side, I pull down on a handle): right arm 30/1X20; left arm 30/1X20 (INCREASE OF 5 REPS)
c. leg extension (quad): 20/1X20 (COULD PROBABLY INCREASE WEIGHT)
d. hamstring curl: 15/1X20
E. HAMSTRING CURL (RIGHT LEG ONLY, foot is turned in, counterclockwise): 5/1X20 (PROBABLY GOING TO INCREASE TO 7.5 LBS)
f. heel lift: used the seated heel lift machine: left foot: 1X20; right foot with foot turned inward: 1X20
g. ankle dorsiflexion: 9/1x20
h. back extensions on floor (holding up position for 8 seconds): 1X6 (arms at side)
i. crunches (arms extended over head rather than placed behind head (more difficult), eyes focused on ceiling; hold up position for 2 seconds): 1X30

3. Cool down: same as warm-up.

Lacked energy. Didn't get enough calories at lunch, and the snack later in the day wasn't enough, about 250 cals worth of dark chololate (85%).

Nutrition: I tried 2 or 3 eggs plus two cups of broccoli and a tablespoons of butter for breakfast, but it doesn't last me more than 2.5 to 3 hours. Calories are below 500.

I started re-reading parts of the paleo diet page (see p. 10 of this thread). When reviewing the macronutrient ratios, I noticed he said that protein percentage could go as low as 15% and that there is no need to replace carbs calories (from sugar/grains) with other carbs (veggies), so I'm thinking I can simply eat 3 eggs worth of protein (about 24g) and lots more fat to get my caloric needs. I notice in Science of Sports training the admonition not to eat more than 500 cals per meal because it causes an insuline effect, even if carbs are kept low. (See p. 100 and 110.) Barry Sears (the Zone diet guy) is cited for this proposition. Perhaps (1) Sears is incorrect or (2) Sears is correct but the insuline effect is low enough not to be a problem. Regardless, I'm going to ignore the admonition because I can't last for 4 or 5 hours on 500 calories. The plan is to keep protein to around 25g per meal, for a daily total of around 75 to 80g. I'll eat at most a cup of a veggies (broccoli is my favorite), and the rest shall be animal fat. At some point this week, I'm going to buy some fish (trout) and have that for protein instead of eggs or whatever, so that I can boost my Omega-3s relative to my Omega-6s.

Incendentally, in my opinion Barry Sears grossly underestimates caloric needs. In the "Mastering the Zone" book, he give a caloric range of1000 to 1600 calories a day "for most individuals." (p. 29 at top.)

[CSta]

I notice in Science of Sports training the admonition not to eat more than 500 cals per meal because it causes an insuline effect, even if carbs are kept low. (See p. 100 and 110.) Barry Sears (the Zone diet guy) is cited for this proposition. Perhaps (1) Sears is incorrect or (2) Sears is correct but the insuline effect is low enough not to be a problem.

[THE FOLLOWING TEXT IS NOT RESPONSIVE TO THAT ISSUE. SEE POST BELOW.] Kurt Harris, MD, confirms: "Protein has insulin effects but if you are otherwise free of insulin resistance issues and are gluten free and low carb, I don't think getting excess protein from healthy sources [e.g., grass fed bovine] is an issue." (See response to Justin in post "Intermittent Fasting and Infrequent Meals")

[CSta]

Not sure what happened in that last post. Clearly the post has no relation to the part I quoted. The realization hit me as I was walking to lunch today. I guess I was a little mixed up upstairs. I hate to admit this, but that's pretty much the way my brain works: mistake, delayed realization, correction. Good thing I'm not a surgeon.

[CSta]

Will my body need time to adjust to my substantial change in diet?

Twice now, I've experienced heart palpitations, increased heart rate, and a little dizziness (my bloodpressure drops when I stand up) at around 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. The feeling I have is like pre-competition jitters. I'm alert, however, and able to think.

Lunch today was 2 hard-boiled eggs, a half-pint of cream (not half-n-half), and about two ounces of cheeze. Breakfast was 3 eggs fried in 1/4 stick of butter, half-pint of cream, and about 4-6 oz of half-n-half.

As of this morning, I'm down from 164-165 (see earlier post) to 161.

[CSta]

Will my body need time to adjust to my substantial change in diet?

Twice now, I've experienced heart palpitations, increased heart rate, and a little dizziness (my bloodpressure drops when I stand up) at around 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. The feeling I have is like pre-competition jitters. I'm alert, however, and able to think.

Question answered: "I[t] took days as I was about 35% carbs to start - [at] most [it will] take a week to 10 days to stop any hypoglycemia.
Carry around an apple or orange and eat a slice if you feel dizzy or weak."

[CSta]

Thursday (8/13/09)

1. Warm-up:
a. Very light isometric exercise for left quad/hip flexor. Supine, bring knee up to chest and press against palms. (I've been doing this one for some time, I think I forgot to mention it in previous posts.)
b. very light isometric exercise for my right arm/shoulder
c. exercise described in June 18 post.
d. very light isometric for right foot. Seated on floor, right leg bent 90 degrees, turn foot outward and press lightly on wall.

2. Main workout (all extremity exercises done one limb at a time; the weaker side (left) determines the weight and reps):
a. bicep curl (free weight): Left arm: 20/1X20; right arm: 20/1X20 (INCREASE OF 2 REPS)
b. tricep exercise (with elbow at my side, I pull down on a handle): right arm 30/1X20; left arm 30/1X20
c. leg extension (quad): 20/1X20 (WILL INCREASE WEIGHT ON SUNDAY)
d. hamstring curl: 15/1X20
E. HAMSTRING CURL (RIGHT LEG ONLY, foot is turned in, counterclockwise): 7.5/1X20 (INCREASE OF 2.5 LBS)
f. heel lift: used the seated heel lift machine: left foot: 1X20; right foot with foot turned inward: 1X20
g. ankle dorsiflexion: 9/1x20
h. back extensions on floor (holding up position for 8 seconds): 1X6 (arms at side)
i. crunches (arms extended over head rather than placed behind head (more difficult), eyes focused on ceiling; hold up position for 2 seconds): 1X30

3. Cool down: same as warm-up.

I was yawning a bit during the beginning of the workout.

Nutrition: I found a store selling heavy cream--pretty much pure fat. It's so thick, you have to suck it out of the carton. Not as tasty as light cream or half and half, but one gulp fills you up.

[Thomas Kurz]

Yawning, especially during a workout, may be a sign of metabolic acidosis. Metabolic acidosis occurs in diabetes, or starvation, or on the ketogenic diet. I suspect that the last one (or two) applies to you. I suggest you find an intelligent physician to advise you on your diet change. Reading Optimal Nutrition could help too.

[CSta]

Yawning, especially during a workout, may be a sign of metabolic acidosis. Metabolic acidosis occurs in diabetes, or starvation, or on the ketogenic diet. I suspect that the last one (or two) applies to you. I suggest you find an intelligent physician to advise you on your diet change. Reading Optimal Nutrition could help too.

I was yawning in today's workout as well. It occurs immediately after an exercise. I recall when I was doing taekwondo that I would yawn often during class, again right after a bout of exercise (not during the exercise or during or prior to the warmup). I also recall yawning and feeling like I could fall asleep before swim races in high school.

Sunday (8/16/09)

1. Warm-up:
a. Very light isometric exercise for left quad/hip flexor. Supine, bring knee up to chest and press against palms. (I've been doing this one for some time, I think I forgot to mention it in previous posts.)
b. very light isometric exercise for my right arm/shoulder
c. exercise described in June 18 post.
d. very light isometric for right foot. Seated on floor, right leg bent 90 degrees, turn foot outward and press lightly on wall.
E. JOINT ROLLS (I did these last workout, and I felt nautious immediately afterward.)

2. Main workout (all extremity exercises done one limb at a time; the weaker side (left) determines the weight and reps):
a. bicep curl (free weight): Left arm: 20/1X20; right arm: 20/1X20
b. tricep exercise (with elbow at my side, I pull down on a handle): right arm 30/1X20; left arm 30/1X20
c. leg extension (quad): 25/1X20 (INCREASE OF 5 LBS)
d. hamstring curl: 17.5/1X20 (INCREASE OF 2.5--GOOD WEIGHT)
E. HAMSTRING CURL (RIGHT LEG ONLY, foot is turned in, counterclockwise): 10/1X20 (INCREASE OF 2.5 LBS)
f. heel lift: used the seated heel lift machine: left foot: 1X20; right foot with foot turned inward: 1X20
g. ankle dorsiflexion: 10/1x20 (INCREASE OF 1 LB)
h. back extensions on floor (holding up position for 8 seconds): 1X6 (arms at side)
i. crunches (arms extended over head rather than placed behind head (more difficult), eyes focused on ceiling; hold up position for 2 seconds): 1X35 (INCREASE OF 5 LBS)

3. Cool down: same as warm-up, but no joint rolls.

[Thomas Kurz]

I was yawning in today's workout as well. It occurs immediately after an exercise. I recall when I was doing taekwondo that I would yawn often during class, again right after a bout of exercise (not during the exercise or during or prior to the warmup). I also recall yawning and feeling like I could fall asleep before swim races in high school.

Usual causes of yawning (other than seeing others yawn): anxiety, excessive fatigue, sleepiness, sleep disturbances, insufficient oxygen in blood, need to blow off CO2, rising acidity of the blood.