Sunday, May 24, 2009

Week 2 - Nutritional Summary

Week2:

-This week I've been strict and keeping under 2000cal, until the weekend that is. By cutting out the peanuts I was able to keep the average fat amount to 23%. I could cut it less by switching to turkey bacon, but I use the bacon grease to cook the omlet.

Day 14

Today I had friends down and we split a bag of potato chips while we chatted. They were giving away free hamburgers at a local joint, so we went for one of those. Man this weekend was a steer clear away from the typical diet. Feelin guilty.

We got the groceries for the rest of the week and it came to just over $100. But then again we are only buying until thursday because we are going on a 4day vacation to go to a family wedding.

Day 13

Spent the day in the states shopping. No workout. Had left over curry for breakfast, and an olive garden entree for lunch/supper (split between the two).

Friday, May 22, 2009

Day 12

Today we switched legs with yoga, so it was yoga today. Me and my gf went to the park with the laptop in order to enjoy the sunset while doing yoga. It is much, much harder on uneven ground than on the flat floor of my apt. I am amazed that every time I do the dvd, I get stronger since the last time.

One thing I noted is that I hurt my chest quite bad yesturday doing the pullups. Best to take it easy for the next few days.

Dietwise: I made turkey burgers for lunch but everyone in the office pitched in $5 for pizza, so I had 2 slices instead. For supper I made tiki chicken marsala instead of the fish dish. I want something a little less bland

Day 11

Today i had volleyball for 2hrs after work. Got home at 10:30pm. Instead of doing yoga I switched to legs/back and will do yoga tomorrow. I found that I am much much stronger in the pull-ups and could do 8 or more (although I stopped at 8 because i didn't want to hurt myself). After working out my chest is super sore. I don't know why since there was no pushups.

Diet wise: I didn't eat from noon till 11:30pm. Supper was super good afterward.

Day 10

Went golfin today instead of working out

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Day 9

Today is Plyometrics. I have to say that yesturday I really worked out. My whole shoulder girdle is sore. It's even hard to use my hands to help myself stand up out of my soft couch.

Today I could barely get through half of the video. Plyo is definatly the most taxing on your body

Monday, May 18, 2009

Day 8

Today is chest and back. I notice that I much stronger in pullups than when I started two weeks ago. Before I wasn't able to do a full wide grip pullup. Now I can do 6. I did all my reps this week unassisted with a chair and feel great about it. As for pushups I always had difficulty with the diamond pushups. This time I was able to do at least 6 where I nearly touched the ground. I used to feel a twinge in my wrist when I started. Now it has gone away

As a nutritional cheat I had two small hamburgers rather than the fish for supper as I was invited for a bbq.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Week2 budget

This week's budget is slightly less because we had some left overs (extra canned goods, frozen chicken, wine) so this week's budget was roughly $130! I made a change for Sunday to make the dinner a taco kit instead of the lemon chicken.

Week 1 - Nutritional Summary

Starting on Tuesday I recorded everything I ate on Nutridiary.com. Below is my calories breakdown for the past week. As noted except for Friday (my cheat day), my calories intake for the week has been under 2000calories. As shown below the average for the week is broken down in as Fats:38% Carbs:28% Protein:31% Alcohol:3%


As I reviewed the Data I see that I have too many calories coming from fats and not enough coming from proteins. From there I wanted to look at my daily calorie breakdown.


May 12th:
-This day shows two items of high fat.
  1. The first was the (diet-busting) hotdog I ate to tie me over until a late supper.
  2. Peanuts, which are high in fat






May 13th:
-This day was an overall low calorie day with the exception of bacon at breakfast.











May 14th:
-This was another very high fat day with 47% of calories coming from fat.
-The high contenders being:
  1. sausage muffin
  2. peanuts for snacks
  3. peanut butter crackers for a snack after volleyball.
  4. baked french fries



May 15th:
-This was my so called "cheated day." This day I had a beer, a mixed tropical drink, and two servings of sweet potato fries at different times during the day. This was the one time I went over 2000 calories. Pictures speak louder than words.






May 16th:
-This is one whopped of a fat day with 53% of calories coming from fats. The two main problems are:
  1. the t-bone steak
  2. peanuts for snacks






All in all I am shocked on how many calories come from fat! My substitution of peanuts for other nuts has been a bad one. Therefore I have looked at the nutritiondata.com website for a nut alternative. Unfortunately I cannot find a low-cal, low-fat, high protein nut. Noteables include:
  • Nuts, pistachio nuts, dry roasted, with salt added (1cup) = 727cal, 59g fat, 27g protein
  • Nuts, almonds, blanched (1cup) = 842cal, 73g fat, 32g protein
  • Soybeans, mature seeds, roasted, no salt added (1cup) = 810cal, 43g fat, 60g protein
This week I will try to substitute soynuts for peanuts, and use low-fat mayo instead of regular mayo. When I get hungry I'm going to make a protein shake instead of making fries.

Phase 1 - Shopping List

Fruits
2 cup fresh strawberries
8 oz orange juice
1 grapefruit
0.5 cataloupe
0.3 cup lemon juice
2 banana
1 orange

Veggies
1 bunch asparagus
1 cup green beans
17 cups salad greens
1.25 cup zuchinni
1 cup peas
2.5 cup snow peas
0.027777778 bunch cilantro
5 roma tomato
0.5 cup celery
0.25 cup carrots
4 red peppers
3.25 cup red onion
0.5 tablespoon green onion
2.25 cup broccoli
1 cucumber
4.5 cup mushrooms
2 oz avocado
1 potato
2 cups butternut squash

Milk
1 kg cheese
2.5 L skim milk
2cup nonfat plain yogurt
4 doz eggs

meat
340g turkey
340g oz ground turkey
8 slices turkey bacon
4 oz turkey jerky

4 lbs chicken breast

450g oz pork tenderloin
4 top sirloin steak

4 oz sausage patty

3 oz tuna
170g oz turkey breast
170g oz ham

340g salmon
340g halibut
340g swordfish
340g oz shrimp

bread
2 english muffin

misc
14 protein bar
8 cup wild rice
12 oz nutz
2 cups miso soup
5.6 oz canned tomatos
0.333333333 cups white wine
0.041666667 cup tomato paste
0.6 cups tomato juice
0.888888889 oz tomato sauce
4 cups chicken broth
2.666666667 oz dried soba noodles

Random Thoughts - Individual Blender

In making the food under P90X I found that I use the Magic Bullet quite often. Making cucumber soup is easy in the bullet.

Day 7

Today is KempoX. I made a switch in the recipe guide to make Sunday Taco Day instead of lemon chicken. I'm getting sick of chicken.

Recipes - Tuna Salad

Serves 1

1 can of tuna
2tbsp mayo
1 tablespoon shredded carrots
1 tablespoon chopped celery
1 tablespoon chopped green onion

Combine and serve

Per Serving: Calories 580 - Total Fat 26g Saturated Fat 4g - Cholesterol 94mg - Sodium 1229mg - Total Carbohydrate 2g - Dietary Fiber 1g - Sugars 1g - Protein 81g

Recipes - Cucumber soup

0.25 cucumber
0.125 cup red onion
0.75 tablespoon dill
0.25 tablespoon mint
0.3125 cup plain yogurt
dash salt
dash black pepper
dash cayenne pepper
dash celery seed

Combine and blend. Chill and serve.

Per Serving: Calories 66 - Total Fat 1g Saturated Fat 1g - Cholesterol 5mg - Sodium 59mg - Total Carbohydrate 9g - Dietary Fiber 1g - Sugars 7g - Protein 5g

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Day 6

Diet-wise I have been sticking to it execpt for the supper where I was out of steak for the stirfry. Instead I had a t-bone steak and broccoli. Peanuts for the snack.

Again I decided not to do KempoX until tomorrow

Recipes - Island Pork Tenderloin Salad

Serves 2

1 whole pre-marinated pork tenderloin (easier than using the recipe)
4 cups salad greens
1/2cups baby carrots
1/2cups mushrooms
1 bell pepper (slices)
1/2 orange

Cook tenderloin till done, let cool and slice. Combine other ingredients, top with pork and serve.

Day 5

Slept badily woke up with extremely tight hamstrings and lower back. Today is Legs and AbripperX. After work I headed to the driving range for 1/2hr and waited for the GF to do the workout prior to a night. During the workout my back/knees were extremely sore so I only did half the legs workout and the full AbripperX.

Diet buster: Was good all week but after golf I enjoyed a Beer & Sweet potato fries. At the movies I had a mixed drink, chicken fingers, and sweet potato fries. Went over my calorie limits but was worth it at least one day. The rest of the week is back on the diet.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Recipes - Spinach Scramble

Serves 1

6egg whites
2tbsp frozen spinach/thawed
2tbsp parmesean cheese

Beat spinach and egg whites together. Fry. Flip and put cheese onto. When starts to melt, fold and serve.

Per Serving: Calories 146 - Total Fat 3g Saturated Fat 1g - Cholesterol 7mg - Sodium 475mg - Total Carbohydrate 3g - Dietary Fiber 1g - Sugars 2g - Protein 26g

Recipes - Turkey Burgers

Serves 1

1/2lb ground turkey
2tbsp breadcrumbs
1/4 egg
2teaspoon green onion
1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
dash Worcestershire sauce

Combien together and grill.

Per Serving: Calories 313 - Total Fat 12g Saturated Fat 3g - Cholesterol 84mg - Sodium 366mg - Total Carbohydrate 21g - Dietary Fiber 2g - Sugars 2g - Protein 27g

Recipes - Gazpatcho

Serves 1

1 canned tomato
0.3 cups tomato juice
0.25 cucumbers, peeled & diced
3 baby carrots
0.1 green & red bell pepper
0.05 red onion
0.2 garlic cloves
0.03 cup red wine vinegar
0.03 cup lemon juice
0.1 teaspoon paprika
0.025 cup fresh oregano, basil and italian parsley
dash Tabasco

Blend tomatos, tomato juice, cucumbers, carrots, green peppers, onion, garlic
Add vinegar, lemon juice, oregano, basil, parsley, and pepper to taste. Blend
Chill for several hours prior to serving.

Per Serving: Calories 60 - Total Fat 0g Saturated Fat 0g - Cholesterol 0mg - Sodium 175mg - Total Carbohydrate 14g - Dietary Fiber 3g - Sugars 9g - Protein 2g

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Day 4

Today was YogaX. The last time I tried I only got 35min into it. This time I was able to finish the entire tape! The poses use tiny muscles that I've never used before (and I used to do yoga). The second time around though, I think it is easier cause that mind-muscle connection has linked. I just finished and I haven't felt this good in a long time :)

Add 2hrs of Volleyball for fun afterwards.

Recipes - Breakfast Sausage Muffin

1 Breakfast Sausage Patty
1 English Muffin

Cook Sausage, add to muffin, enjoy!

Per Serving: Calories 218 - Total Fat 9g Saturated Fat 3g - Cholesterol 23mg - Sodium 418mg - Total Carbohydrate 25g - Dietary Fiber 3g - Sugars 1g - Protein 10g

Recipes - Steak Salad

6oz top sirloin steak
2cups salad greens
8 baby carrots
1/2 cup mushrooms

Grill steak until done, let cool. Combien remaining ingrediants and toss. Add steak on top.

Per Serving: Calories 413 - Total Fat 17g Saturated Fat 6g - Cholesterol 124mg - Sodium 199mg - Total Carbohydrate 11g - Dietary Fiber 3g - Sugars 5g - Protein 53g

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Day 3

I am amazed on how quickly my strength has increased since first starting this routine. I can now nearly make it through ab ripper x (taking a break from 15-20 count) :)

Recipes - Salmon Burgers

Serves 2

can of salmon (drained)
1 egg
breadcrumbs to suit

Combine egg and salmon in a bowl. Crumble and stir until mixed. Add breadcrumbs slowly until they get dry. Form into two patties and fry until done (10min)

Per Serving: Calories 576 - Total Fat 19g Saturated Fat 5g - Cholesterol 230mg - Sodium 1707mg - Total Carbohydrate 41g - Dietary Fiber 3g - Sugars 4g - Protein 56g

Recipes - Protein Shake

Serves 1

1scoop Protein Powder
4 medium Strawberries
1/2 banana
1cup skim milk

Add all together and blend.

Per Serving: Calories 274 - Total Fat 2g Saturated Fat 1g - Cholesterol 25mg - Sodium 178mg - Total Carbohydrate 31g - Dietary Fiber 2g - Sugars 10g - Protein 32g

Recipes - Mushroom Omlet

Serves 1

6 egg whites
3/4 cup mushrooms
1/2 roma tomato
1.5 oz cheese

Place mushrooms in microwave for 2min to drain out water. Fry mushrooms in bacon fat in order to brown. Add 6 egg whites, cook. Once set, flip then add tomatos and cheese. Once set, fold and serve.

Per serving: Calories 220 - Total Fat 9g Saturated Fat 5g - Cholesterol 27mg - Sodium 494mg - Total Carbohydrate 4g - Dietary Fiber 1g - Sugars 3g - Protein 30g

Phase 1 - Meal Plan

Day 1 - Breakfast - Mushroom Omlet - 3 slices of bacon - 1cup strawberries - 8oz cheese
Day 1 - Snack - Protein drink
Day 1 - Lunch - Chef Salad
Day 1 - Snack 2 - 2oz peanuts
Day 1 - Dinner - 6oz Tilapia - 1/2 cup asparagus - 1 cup rice - 1 cup Red Pepper Soup

Day 2 - Breakfast - Protein Shake
Day 2 - Snack - Protein Drink
Day 2 - Lunch - Shrimp Stirfry - 1oz peanuts
Day 2 - Snack 2 - 2 oz cheese
Day 2 - Dinner - 6oz Turkey - 1/2cup green beans - 1cup Butternut Squash Soup

Day 3 - Breakfast - Chicken Scramble - 3 slices of bacon - 4oz juice
Day 3 - Snack - Protein Drink
Day 3 - Lunch - Chicken Salad - Vegetable Soup
Day 3 - Snack2 - 2oz peanuts
Day 3 - Dinner - Salmon Burgers - 1cup rice - 1/2cup zucchini

Day 4 - Breakfast - Sausage Muffin - 8oz skim milk
Day 4 - Snack - Protein Drink
Day 4 - Lunch - Steak Salad
Day 4 - Snack2 - 4oz peanuts
Day 4 - Dinner - 6oz chicken breast - 1cup rice - 1/2cup peas (frozen)

Day 5 - Breakfast - Spinach Scramble - 8oz skim milk - 1/2 grapefruit
Day 5 - Snack - Protein Drink
Day 5 - Lunch - Turkey Burger - 1/2cup coleslaw - 1cup Gazpacho
Day 5 - Snack2 - 4oz cheese
Day 5 - Dinner - Tuna Burger - 1cup rice - 1/4 cantaloupe

Day 6 - Breakfast - Protein Shake
Day 6 - Snack - Protein Drink
Day 6 - Lunch - Island Pork Tenderloin Salad
Day 6 - Snack2 - 1oz jerky
Day 6 - Dinner - Beef and Broccoli Stirfry - 1cup Miso soup

Day 7 - Breakfast - Cheese Scramble - 3 slices bacon - 8oz skim milk - 1/4 cantaloupe
Day 7 - Snack - Protein Drink
Day 7 - Lunch - Tuna Salad - 1cup Chilled Cucumber Soup
Day 7 - Snack2 - 4oz cheese
Day 7 - Dinner - Taco Night! (taco kit) - 1cup Puree of Asparagus Soup

Recipes - Vegetable Soup

Serves 1

0.5 cups chicken broth
0.25 red potatos (1" cubes)
0.25 cups onions (quartered)
0.125 cup carrots (sliced)
0.125 cups celery (sliced)
0.125 cups zucchini (sliced)
0.44 oz tomato sauce (canned)
0.11 cloves garlic (mined)
dash parsley
dash cilantro

Combien chicken broth, potatoes, onion, carrots, celery. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatos are tender (30min)

Add zucchini, tomato sauce, garlic, parsley, and cilantro. Cook over medium-low until zucchini is tender. Serve.

Per Serving: Calories 88 - Total Fat 0g Saturated Fat 0g 1% - Cholesterol 0mg - Sodium 381mg - Total Carbohydrate 20g - Dietary Fiber 4g - Sugars 6g - Protein 3g

Random Thoughts - Calorie Counting

A large portion of the nutrition plan is calorie counting and portion control. I have been using nutridiary.com in order to analyse my meals and count calories. When I put in the meal info into the posts, the nutritional data is pulled from that site. I looked at FitDay and other subscription services but I am cheap and don't want to spend money on tracking calories. All in all, there is no perfect solution out there for counting calories based on a meal basis. Maybe I should start one...

Random Thoughts - George Forman

I have found that using a George Forman style grill to be super useful when cooking for P90X. I personally use a Hamilton Beach one because the faces are removable for easy washing (plus I found it for $20 in store). The main reason I like using it, is that it cooks the separate dishes from frozen in 10-15min while you cook the remainder of the meal.

For instance when making the chicken scramble, I put a frozen chicken breast on the cold grill, turn it to 15min and leave it going. In the mean time I cook the bacon, use the bacon fat as the grease for cooking the eggs, then once I flip the egg the chicken is done and ready to be diced and added.

It is surprising how much I am relying on it.

Recipes - Chicken Salad

Serves 1

1 chicken breast
1 tbsp mayo
0.5 tbsp dijon mustard
1 celery stalk
2cups salad greens

Cook chicken breast, cool down and dice. Slice celery, combien with chicken. Place on top of salad.

Per Serving: Calories 268 - Total Fat 15g Saturated Fat 3g 34% - Cholesterol 73mg - Sodium 280mg - Total Carbohydrate 4g - Dietary Fiber 2g - Sugars 1g - Protein 29g

Recipes - Chicken Scramble

Serves 1

6 egg whites
3 oz chicken (although I use a whole breast)
2tbsp parmesian cheese

Fry eggs together, and put chicken on a George Forman grill at the same time. Once the chicken is done, dice then fly the egg and put the chicken and cheese in the center of the egg. Wait until cheese starts to melt then fold and serve.

Per serving (incl whole chicken breast): Calories 278 - Total Fat 6g Saturated Fat 2g - Cholesterol 80mg - Sodium 511mg - Total Carbohydrate 2g - Dietary Fiber 0g - Sugars 1g - Protein 51g

Day 2 Exercise

Due to work and after work events I didn't arrive home until 1/2hr before bedtime, hence I was unable to do the plyometric workout :(

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Recipes - Butternut Squash

Serves 2

0.666 tablespoon shallots
0.666 clove garlic
2 cups butternut squash
0.333 cup chicken broth

Saute onions and garlic in water until translucent. Add squash and chicken broth and simmer for 20min. Blend in blender, serve.

Recipes - Shrimp Stirfry

Serves 2
12 medium sized shrimp
0.5 tablespoon soy sauce
0.5 tablespoon rice vingear
.25 cup chicken broth
.25 teaspoon garlic
.25 teaspoon ginger
.5 red onion (wedges)
1 cup broccoli florets
1.25 cups snow peas
1.5 cups mushrooms
1 yellow pepper (cubed)

Heat soy sauce, rice vingear, and 2 tablespoons of chicken broth in wok. Add garlic and ginere and saute until tender

Add all veggies and cook until 1/2 done. Add shrimp and cook until opaque.


Per serving - Calories 118 - Total Fat 1g Saturated Fat 0g - Cholesterol 51mg -Sodium 372mg -Total Carbohydrate 17g - Dietary Fiber 4g - Sugars 5g - Protein 12g

Day 2 Nutrition

Breakfast: Protein shake
Calories 274 - Total Fat 2g Saturated Fat 1g - Cholesterol 25mg - Sodium 178mg - Total Carbohydrate 31g - Dietary Fiber 2g - Sugars 10g - Protein 32g

Snack: Protein Drink
Calories 120 - Total Fat 1.5g Saturated Fat 1g - Cholesterol 20mg - Sodium 50mg - Total Carbohydrate 2g - Dietary Fiber 0g - Sugars 1g - Protein 23g

Lunch: Shrimp stirfry. I modified this as per my recipe so I can use whole veggies and not leave half cut up ones. The recipes is too large for a single serving and hence I cut it in two.
Calories 118 - Total Fat 1g Saturated Fat 0g - Cholesterol 51mg -Sodium 372mg -Total Carbohydrate 17g - Dietary Fiber 4g - Sugars 5g - Protein 12g

Snack: 1/2cup peanuts
Calories 386.4 - Total Fat 32.8g Saturated Fat 4.6g - Cholesterol 0mg - Sodium 4mg - Total Carbohydrate 12.6g - Dietary Fiber 4.6g - Sugars 2.8g - Protein 17.5g

Supper 1:Foot long hotdog & bun w/onions. Long delay before dinner, thought I should snack.

Supper 2: Tilapia, green beans, butternut squash soup

Monday, May 11, 2009

Day 1 exercise

Chest and Back day. It sure is a great pump today! With the pullups, I do the last two as negatives in order to build up strength. A negative is when you jump up to the top position, and slowly lower yourself back down to the hanging position.

Recipes - Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Serves 2

0.33 cups white wine
0.17 onion finely chopped
0.83 roasted red peppers
0.33 cups of celery
0.17 table spoon garlic, minced
0.33 plum tomatos
0.04 cup tomato paste
0.33 cups chicken broth
0.33 tablespoon dried tyme
0.04 teaspoon pepper

Roast red pepper under broiler until soft. In a heavy pot add wine, onions, red peppers, and celery. Cook for 3min. Add garlic, cook another 2min. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and simmer for 20min. Place in magic bullet and blend.

Per serving: Calories 93 - Total Fat 1g Saturated Fat 0g - Cholesterol 1mg - Sodium 174mg - Total Carbohydrate 14g - Dietary Fiber 3g - Sugars 8g - Protein 3g

Day 1 Nutrition

Breakfast: Simple to make-3 strips of bacon, 6 egg white omlette. Fried the bacon first to pregrease the pan. Microwave the mushrooms first for two minutes to drain the water out of it, then place into the bacon fat. Fry till browned, then add 6 egg whites. Flip, grate cheese on top. When cheese melts, fold and serve. Total cooking time was less than 7min
Nutrition Facts: Calories 341 - Total Fat 18g Saturated Fat 9g - Cholesterol 54mg - Sodium 1068mg - Total Carbohydrate 3g - Dietary Fiber 0g - Sugars 2g - Protein 38g

Snack: Dry protein drink in a sealed mug. During break add water and drink
Calories 120 - Total Fat 1.5g Saturated Fat 1g - Cholesterol 20mg - Sodium 50mg - Total Carbohydrate 2g - Dietary Fiber 0g - Sugars 1g - Protein 23g

Lunch: Chef Salad-Salad greens, 75grams of sliced turkey and ham, diced roma tomatos, shredded cheese. Put together in a large bowl. Drizzle Newman's Own Low Fat Sesame Thai Dressing on top.
Nutrition Facts: Calories 318 - Total Fat 14g Saturated Fat 6g -Cholesterol 91mg - Sodium 2491mg - Total Carbohydrate 12g - Dietary Fiber 2g - Sugars 5g - Protein 37g

Snack: 1/2cup peanuts
Calories 386.4 - Total Fat 32.8g Saturated Fat 4.6g - Cholesterol 0mg - Sodium 4mg - Total Carbohydrate 12.6g - Dietary Fiber 4.6g - Sugars 2.8g - Protein 17.5g

Supper: turkey breast, 4 asparagus spears, red pepper soup, 1 cup of white rice

Snack: 1 frozen yogurt cone





Week 1 - Nutrition Plan

This week I bought all the items on the list with the following modifications:

-0.5kg of cheddar cheese instead of 1kg. (Two large sticks of cheese seems like too much fat)
-regular bacon instead of turkey bacon (on sale)
-prespiced pork tenderloin instead of plain (easier to cook rather than custom seasoning)
-tilapia instead of sword fish
-canned salmon instead of salmon steaks
-canned tuna instead of halibut
-no shrimp as I already have some in the freezer
-regular rice instead of wild rice (too expensive)
-instand miso soup instead of individual ingredients
-12oz of peanuts instead of different variety of nuts
-drink protein shakes instead of buying protein bars (WAY TOO EXPENSIVE)
-roma tomatos instead of variety of different tomatos

The total outcome was $160 for two people which isn't too bad considering I bought a whole bottle of wine. Before going out shopping I asked around for the decent produce places around the city and found a discount grocier who had amazing produce for better than Walmart prices.

Phase 1 - Shopping list

I went through the entire Phase 1 recipe guide and divided the serving amounts out in order to buy just the bare essentials in order to minimize spoilage. Not listed are the spices as I already have them in my pantry. The amalgamation the ingredients is as follows:


Fruits:
2 cup fresh strawberries
8 oz orange juice
1 grapefruit
0.5 cataloupe
0.3 cup lemon juice
2 banana
1 orange


Veggies
1 bunch asparagus
1 cup green beans
17 cups salad greens
1.25 cup zuchinni
1 cup peas
2.5 cup snow peas
0.027778 bunch cilantro
5 roma tomato
0.5 cup celery
0.25 cup carrots
4 red peppers
3.25 cup red onion
0.5 tablespoon green onion
2.25 cup broccoli
1 cucumber
4.5 cup mushrooms
2 oz avocado
1 potato
2 cups butternut squash


Milk
1 kg cheese
2.5 L skim milk
2cup nonfat plain yogurt
4 doz eggs


Meat
340g turkey
340g oz ground turkey
8 slices turkey bacon
4 oz turkey jerky
4 lbs chicken breast
450g oz pork tenderloin
450g top sirloin steak
4 oz sausage patty
3 oz tuna
170g oz turkey breast
170g oz ham
340g salmon
340g halibut
340g swordfish
340g oz shrimp


Breads
2 english muffin


misc
14 protein bar
8 cup wild rice
12 oz nutz
2 cups miso soup
5.6 oz canned tomatos
0.33 cups white wine
0.04 cup tomato paste
0.6 cups tomato juice
0.89 oz tomato sauce
4 cups chicken broth
2.67 oz dried soba noodles

Budget Meal Planning - Phase 1

One of my goals of P90X is do to the nutrition plan on a budget. The first time I attempted P90X it wasn't the physical strain that lead me to quit, but the financial fustration.

The first time I attempted to follow the meal plan exactly and what happened was: 1) my grocery bill was $200-250 per week for two people, 2) the volume of the recipes did not match the weekly consumption, hence freezing soups were required, and 3) the time to eat the produce tended to become extended and I ended up throwing a portion of the food out because of rot.

Examples of the excessive recipe volume are many. (1 quart of cucumber soup when only a cup is required, 2.5cups of pesto sauce when a couple tablespoons is all that is required, etc).

Also several expensive items are required when cheaper substitutes are avaklable (Ie Salad Greens vs Arugula). I will endeavor to cut back the plan and offer substitutes.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Ramp up week - Day 7

The scheduled day is either a rest or a stretch day. I missed the last two days due to scheduling conflicts, hence I feel guilty. Today I decided to do the KempoX workout.

A word of warning: The instructions in this video are lacking in comparison to the other workout videos. I used to be an amature boxer as well as practicing Karate in my youth, so I understood the stance and movements but my girlfriend was extremely fustrated. I was able to show her how to stand/move, but the instruction based on the video alone is lacking. I will try to explain it more in future posts.

All in all, it's a decent workout. Not as demanding as the others. Looking back, the tempo of the workouts are in an Hard/Easy (Static/Dynamic) arrangement. This is a methodology that I have used in the past when training for boxing and is sustainable for a period of time (at least back when I was 20!). I'm looking forward to the next 90days.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Friday, May 8, 2009

Ramp up week - Day 5

Couldn't do P90X today. Mother's day took me out of the city.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Ramp up week - Day 4

Ok so I missed the workout yesterday due to golf and a lack of sleep. I woke up this morning at 6:15am and did the shoulder workout and ab workout.

alternating shoulde press 12/10,
in&out bicep curls 16/16,
two arm tricep kickbacks 12/10,
deep swimmers press 12/10,
full super...curls 10/12,
chair dips 17/15,
upright rows 12/10,
static arm curls 16/16,
flip grip tricep press 9/10,
two angle shoulder flys 12/12,
crouching curls 10/10,
lying down tricep extension 7/10,
ab ripper x (about half the workout but further than Monday)

I am using bands for the exercises because I live in an apartment and don't have access to weights. The shoulder and tricep exercises are fine cause I can shorten the bands to suit. But it seems like the bicep exercises do not work well with the bands for me. I don't get a pump like they say on the video. I definitely feel it in the other exercises though.

Diet buster: Quizos steak sandwich for lunch (reg size)

Yoga X is awsume. I used to do yoga a while back but would only do it for 20min or so. This DVD is and hour and a half and is great. At first the upward dog is hard cause your still but it quickly becomes the pose to rest in to recover from the other ones. I only did the first hour of it because I signed up for rec volleyball and had to leave.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Ramp up week - Day 3

Today is the shoulder workout. I have a tee time booked at a city golf course at 6pm so I don't think I'll be able to make it for the workout but here is hoping.

ADDITION: I ended up golfing then going to bed at 9pm. The next morning I woke up at 6:15am and did the shoulder workout. See the next day for details

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Ramp up week - Day 2

Wow am I sore from yesturday. Like aching. My inner thighs are sore from the dive bomber pushups. I didn't think they would be like this. Anyways today is Plyometrics and the timing is bad. I promised to go to the movies after work so I didn't get out to do the workout till 9:30pm.

I only did 1/2 the workout and that was tough in itself. My body is sore, my stomach is full, I'm close to bed, and my neighbors below me probably don't like me jumping around at 9:30 at night.

Dietwise: I had 1/2 a pepporoni pizza and a large coke at the movie theater. boo

Monday, May 4, 2009

Ramp up week - Day 1

Today I did the first day of p90X and boy is it a workout. I just kept my diet as trying to minimize fats whenever possible (but I still had bacon and eggs for breakfast).

Pushups 15/10,
Wide front pullups (with feet) 8/9,
Military pushups 10/5,
Reverse grip chinups (with feet) 7/6,
Wide fly pushups 10/8,
Decline pushups 8/3,
Heavy pants (bands) 10/12,
Diamond pushups 7/3,
Lawnmowers 12/15,
Dive-bomber pushups 7/4,
Back flys 7/7,
Ab Ripper X about 1/2 all the exercises

It was grueling. Diamond pushups were by far the worst. I could not go all the way down while on my toes. When I tried I collapsed and had to push up one arm at a time. For the pullups I bought a bar that hangs on the door and I put it on the kitchen door. I discovered by doing that I can put my feet on the kitchen counter and feel more stable.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

start P90X

Today I start P90X workout. This is an intense DVD workout that I attempted once in the past but couldn't last more than a couple weeks. It isn't for the faint of heart.

Here is my bio:
Male, 28yrs, 190lbs, 5'10"
My job is sitting in front of a computer and I do little else when i get home
My eating habits are whatever I feel like, with fast food generally once or twice a week.

My plan is to:
1) Ramp into P90x for the 1st week and start to watch what I eat
2) The 2nd week will be the start of p90X
3) Modify the nutrition plan to make it affordable (the first time I tried the food cost me $700/mth)
4) Try to include some fun activities besides the videos
5) Go the distance.