Weight: 179.7
Exercise: Ran 3.47 miles along a relatively flat course bordering the California Delta in 37 minutes, 02 seconds.
Breakfast: Bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon.
AM Snack Shredded hash brown potacos on a bed of cabbage topped with cheese sauce #2, salsa roja and guacamole.
Lunch: Green salad with veggie mixture of tofu, cabbage and carrots layered with rice noodles topped with a soy vinaigrette.
PM Snack: Baked tortilla chips with salsa roja.
Dinner: Shredded hash brown potacos on a bed of cabbage topped with cheese sauce #2, salsa roja and guacamole.
Synopsis: Trying to finish my 20 day potato hack strong, but if I followed this program again, I would change the rules for myself and make it a bit more stringent, more comparable to Mary’s Mini or Maximum Weight Loss (MWL). With that said, I am still pleased with myself over the last 19 days. Foods like bread and tofu have been cut to a minimum, beer was eliminated altogether and I have found myself favoring much more salad during the lunchtime hours.
I don’t want to jump ahead too much, but Friday was a good day. I was able to get two meals with the shredded has brown potatoes, eating potacos for an AM snack, which was supposed to be my lunch and again for dinner. These are so tasty, especially with the fat free condiments I created. Okay, so the guacamole wasn’t fat free, I actually made it for my wife, but she had only a single bite, since I didn’t want it to go to waste I finished it off with dinner last night.
At work I ordered out for lunch from Four Seasons Roll at the Oakland Farmer’s Market. This company does great veggie rolls, as well as a tasty and big salad, which is what I opted to order today. It filled me up and was eaten early enough that I would have no endurance or strength issues for running when I got home.
After saying hello to the family, I hydrated myself, changed clothes and mapped out my run for the day. It was going to be approximately 3.74 miles, but issues again using Endomondo, which crashed on my mobile device caused me to cut my run short and restart the application twice. I was able to get in a 3.47 mile run in 37:02. Just wonder when I will start to see improvement on my times. I still feel as if I am sucking air going 3.5 miles. Maybe it’s just pushing myself too hard, too soon. Looking at the PDF for the training program, the first 2 weeks were walking, power walking and jogging, so I am well ahead of the game as a 3 mile run doesn’t start until the end of week 4.
I added a BIG goal to my agenda today. I made the financial commitment to participate in Tough Mudder this July in Lake Tahoe. If you have never heard of this event, Tough Mudder is a”hardcore 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie.” I will be one member of a 15-20 member team participating this year. I am looking very forward to the event!
After my run I cooled down and did some easy lifting in the power rack with an empty bar, more to work on form than actual strength training. I have been too involved recently in the Stronlifts Inner Circle Discussion Board as it relates to nutrition. While my voice is the minority when it comes to following a plant-based diet promoted by Dr. John McDougall, many others favor the Paleo lifestyle, which provides them what they need to make lean gains. It’s been a tough week, as I have read a fair amount of material in support of a Paleo lifestyle. All this not because I am planning on changing my starch based diet to a Paleo diet, but I was trying to keep an open mind and see where the arguments lie on both sides.
Many lifters I communicate with swear by their meat, dairy and fat diet, making lean gains and adding strength. I do have to question their inner health, just how healthy are they? All the data I have read from McDougall, Esselstyn and Campbell say otherwise. My personal experience had me losing 44 pounds and 134 points on my total cholesterol following this way of eating. I too have seen strength gains over the last 8 months following a plant based diet. So who’s right? I still don’t know, but I will continue to pass on the meat, dairy and oil as I have made too many positive changes in my life, but will still keep an open mind when it comes to this topic.
