My Next N of 1 Trial

UPDATE 9/14: five days in and this morning my weight was 157. My BF was 13.2%. Not gaining weight yet *looks at watch*...wonder when those carbs are going to start their evil dirty work?



I enjoy experimenting on myself, especially in regard to diet. It was through experimentation that I learned that I do well on a plant based diet, and that low carb diets make me feel and look like utter crap. I spent 4 weeks recently on a strict paleo diet and was thoroughly unimpressed with the results. I've decided what my next case study will be.

I'm going to follow the USDA MyPlate guidelines for four weeks.

Why, you ask? Well, the USDA guidelines get a lot of flack from the blogoshpere. Diet gurus of all philosophies decry them as little more than a shill for the grain and dairy industries. The USDA's industry-friendly guidelines, they say, are responsible for our nation's obesity and subsequent chronic disease epidemic. Heck, even I have been heard to say that they are a little grain heavy. What will happen to me, you may wonder? Will I develop leaky gut syndrome from all the lectins in the grains I will consume? Disabling mineral deficiencies from the phytates? Will I gain weight uncontrollably as the carbs run amok inside my body, triggering insulin resistance and fat storage even in the absence of excess energy? It stands to reason, after all, that if I consume the diet that led to our obesity epidemic, I will become obese. Oh, the dangers are myriad, and terrifying! But throw myself upon the sword of MyPlate I shall, all in the name of scientific discovery.

Here are the basic guidelines MyPlate gave me based on my age, height, weight and activity level:


2600 calories, pretty decent. Not a starvation level diet, thank goodness. They even provide detailed guidelines for vegans:

2 cups of fruit, 3.5 cups of vegetables, 9 ounces of grain (wait, 9 ounces? That's not very much. I thought the grain industry was trying to force feed us massive quantities of grain?), 6.5 ounces of protein (yep, that's about right), 3 cups of 'dairy' (or soy/almond/hemp replacements in my case). This doesn't sound too terrible. Maybe a little less vegetables and protein than I am used to, but not fatal.

Care to make a wager on the outcome?

I'm starting on Saturday. I will post my beginning stats (weight, BF%, resting heart rate) then, and update periodically as the experiment progresses.

9/5 Log

Wow, it's been a while since I logged. Sorry about that! I fell off a bosu ball last weekend and did a number on my tailbone so I took a week off of workouts. That, and being super busy with the first week of school and work and everything else just kind of sucked up all my time. Gonna get back on it though! My tailbone is still very sore so I'm keeping my weights low until I heal up some more.

Workout:
Warmup: 5 rounds: 10 x 50# thrusters/max rep pullups
Work:
full snatch 5 x 5 @ 55#
bent over row 5 x 5 @ 100#
10 minutes working on free standing handstand
squat: 2 x 10 @ 95, 2 x 8 @ 105, 2 x 8 @ 115, 2 x 5 @ 120
Pullups, toes to bar, wall handstands, planks in between sets

Food:
B: green smoothie (berries, kale, spinach, cucumber, raw protein, avocado, almond milk)
S: watermelon
L: green smoothie (same as breakfast)
D: salad: greens, chopped veggies, olives, crumbled veg. italian sausage, goddess dressing
Dessert/snacks: peaches, apples, almond milk w/a scoop of raw protein

Cal: 2605 (I'm cutting, 2600 is weight loss level for me)
Carb: 312
Protein: 175
fat: 87 (little low today)

A recipe, for a change!

I haven't posted a recipe for a long time. I've been asked for this one several times though, so here ya go! it sounds a little gross (so I hear), but it's surprisingly tasty, think latkes with a little sweetness (from the beets) and a little bite (from the turnips). I am NOT a fan of turnips, but I had a whole bunch from my CSA box a couple months back and came up with this recipe to use them. Much to my surprise, not only did I like them, but my kids and my picky meat and potatoes husband liked them!

Turnip and Beet Pancakes

2 turnips, grated
3-4 beets, various varieties (I like golden and chioggia, but plain red beets are lovely too), grated
onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika, fresh herbs or whatever seasonings you like.
4-6 eggs (depending on how much grated veggies you end up with)

Drain grated veg in cheesecloth if possible for a couple hours. Not totally necessary but it does make the cooking a little less messy. Mix veggies, egg and seasonings together in a large bowl, then press about 1/2 cup of mixture into a oiled skillet. Cook until it begins to brown on the bottom, then flip and cook other side. Serve with whatever toppings strike your fancy. I really like them with avocado, my husband likes to spread them with hummus, and my daughter loves them with ketchup.

PS! Sorry about my crappy pictures. Photography is not my strong suit.

8/23 Log

I can't believe the final winners for the Fittest Friends contest haven't been announced yet! They said the 22nd, we're heading into the 24th now. I'm sort of a nervous wreck, lol.

I ate a dinner roll made with WHITE FLOUR (omg!) and a brownie this evening before my workout. Wow, all that sugar really revved me up! I had a great workout. Don't try this at home though, kids! Stick with real food. Wait, screw that. If you're moving around enough (and eating well most of the time), eat whatever the hell makes you happy.

Workout:
30 minutes on the spin bike including about 15 minutes of climbing and 5 minutes of sprint intervals.
5 rounds: 8 burpees (slolom jumping over barbell)/8 x 135# deadlift
several rounds of max rep kipping pullups/max hold handstand (didn't keep track)
20 minutes working on snatch form with 55# barbell

Food:
B: green smoothie
L: curried tofu, cashew and black currant salad
S: green smoothie, salmon jerkey (see, I'm not totally vegan, but it's too much of a mouthful to always be saying 'I eat a plant based whole foods diet and I can kick your ass')
D: aforementioned dinner roll, spinach and beet salad, brownie

No idea about calories, I'm guessing in the 3000 range.

8/22 log

I have a post about carbs and grains and kool-aid brewing, so stay tuned.

Workout:
Warmup: 1 mile run
Front Squats (cleaning barbell to start): 20@45, 12@65, 10@85, 6@95, 5@105, 3@110 (could have squatted more, but I was limited by how much I could clean with my injured back)
Overhead squats: 3 x 10 @ 65
5 x max rep kipping pullups, max hold handstands
Cleans: 15@65, 15@75, 10@80, 8@85, 8@95, 5@100
15 minutes of hill sprints

Food:
B: green smoothie (blueberry, spinach, cucumber, avocado, raw protein, almond milk)
S: cherries
L: salad (greens, cuke, bell peppers, radishes, olives, avocado, tofu, dijon vinaigrette)
S: clif bar on the road
D: almond milk, apricots, 2 veggie burgers
S: several large handfuls of trail mix (with chocolate!)

Calories: ~3000, didn't track today but kept a loose count in my head

How Can I Eat So Much and Stay So Lean?

Since I started posting what I eat each day, the feedback I get most often is surprise that I'm able to eat so much and stay so lean.

I have a secret for you (ladies, this is directed at you especially, because guys, by and large, already get it): I am lean BECAUSE I eat so much.

First, lets define lean. It's not thin. Lets get that out of the way. Lean and thin are not synonyms. Lean means not fat, and there's a big difference between 'not fat' and 'thin'. Fat and lean refer to body composition (body fat percentage), and thin refers to body size and shape.

I'm not interested in being thin or delicate or graceful or slender. My goal from the get-go has been to be lean and strong. There are two ways to get lean: lose fat by losing weight, or build muscle. I chose building muscle. Why? Well, for one I like to eat, and losing fat by losing weight requires an energy deficit best achieved by reducing food intake. And for two, I think strong women are beautiful.

Guess what? You need lots and lots of food to build muscle. Your body can't increase lean (or fat) mass in an energy deficit. It needs raw materials, and those raw materials are calories and micronutrients. If you're using all the calories you eat just to fuel your daily activity, there won't be any left to build muscle. So you gotta eat MORE than you need to fuel your activity, and you gotta be ok with gaining a little weight. Don't worry, once you gain a few pounds of muscle, you can always eat less and move more for a few weeks and drop some body fat weight. The end result will be a leaner you (more muscle, less fat). Worried about gaining fat? If you're lifting heavy things you will gain muscle (and ok, maybe a little fat, but you can lose that later!). I spend most of the time eating at a surplus (and slowly gaining weight) and every six weeks or so I spend a couple weeks eating at a (small!) deficit and get back to my 'happy weight' a little leaner each time. I don't have a 'system', and it happens pretty organically, most of the time without my even realizing it. I suppose if I really wanted to get all 'rocket science' about it I'd see faster results, but you know what? I have a job and kids and a house to manage and a freaking LIFE, so I'm not going there.

That's the jist of it. It's a little more complicated, but unless you're training for a bodybuilding competition, you really don't need to know any more than that. If you WANT to know more, message me and I'll send you some links.

And ladies. Please, eat.

My Thoughts on the Pacifica Pit Bull Fatality

I used to be Somebody in the pit bull community, and had I not had kids, I probably still would be. That said, I'm not using this post as a spring board back into that world. No, too much drama and politics there, Lord knows I have enough drama and politics here in the eating and moving community. But most people who know me know I have pit bulls (three of 'em at last count), and for many of those people I'm the ONLY person they know who has pit bulls, and not being plugged into the pit bull world, the only perspective those people are likely to get is the one the mainstream media decides will sell the most ad space. So I'm going to take a minute to share my thoughts, humble though they may be, on the horrifying incident that took place in Pacifica, CA last week.

There is still much we don't know about what happened that day. So I won't speculate as to what caused this dog to attack and kill his owner. What I keep coming back to as I mull this over in my head is the other dog that was there, in the house, in the ROOM, when the attack took place. She is a pit bull too. I'm hearing a lot of panic from the general community (understandable) and a lot of finger pointing at the breed. All pit bulls are time bombs that will eventually snap and attack their owners, they say. It's a behavior that is ingrained in the breed's psyche, they say. They were created to maul, maim, crush and dismember, they say. They are all killers, they say.

So why did the other dog not join the attack? Instead she hid in terror. If aggression is ingrained in the breed's psyche, why didn't pack instinct trigger an aggressive response in the other dog?

My opinion: because dogs are individuals. Every single dog should be judged on it's own behavior and it's own temperament, period.

And that's all I'm going to say for now.