Mortimer's battle logs.

[Mortimer]

Thanks! 

 

Lunch:

Pasta with canned sardines in tomato sauce, green peppers and squid. (Get what I mean by I'd eat anything?)

 

Afternoon snack:

The zucchini I scooped out + curry powder and fish gravy. Waste not want not! 

 

Dinner:

Pork chop 

Mashed potatoes 

Some kind of salsa. 

 

Probably burst calorie budget today but eating out with a group of people(my BF and his friends) is a lil tricky. 

[Mortimer]

Weights:

 

50 lb shoulder press(x5),  first set done with 40 lb (x8), someone took the 50 lb barbell. 

 

Smith machine squat - 60 kg

 

100 lbs deadlift

 

10 push ups

 

10 bodyweight rows 

 

Chest press with 50 lb barbell 

 

50 lbs clean and press (x4)

 

Single arm rows with 10 kg dumbell(x12) (12 kg one in used) 

 

1 min plank 

 

4 sets total. Still not feeling fully up to scratch. I'm begining to wonder if I'm cutting myself too much slack or do I need longer to recover? Also last week was a rather busy week, on no days did I sleep more then 7h (according to fitbit). 

 

Sometimes I will vary my weights workouts due to necessity of machines/racks/barbells being in use. If its a barbell I will do more reps at a lighter weight. In case I don't state. 

 

Breakfast:

 

Black pepper pork zucchini boat

Milk with a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder added, and generous shaking of cinnamon powder (how much cinnamon powder do you need to shake for that delicious cocoa cinnamon milk?! Next time I'm using a teaspoon!) 

177g of hami melon

387.5g of jackfruit

 

[Mortimer]

Did about 50 min of piloxing in the gym. 

 

Lunch:

150g cauliflower

100g brocoli 

200g tau kwa

1 tablespoon singlong chilli sauce

 

Tea:

2 chocolate truffles

 

Joined the local run club to run, had 4 mini doughnuts, a love letter spread with chocolate on the way back. Still waiting on dinner. 

[Mortimer]

I'm a slow group 2 interval runner. Should drop to group 3 for sprint intervals. 

 

Dinner:

 

Seaweed soup with pork and fish paste balls

Fried omelet with shrimp 

Nai bai stir fried with around 70g fish 

A tablespoon of brown rice

 

[Mortimer]

Breakfast:

Curry chicken zucchini boat. I think the chicken turned out a bit dry and the French beans a tad overcooked(due to reheating issues) but otherwise good to go. 

Cinnamon cocoa milk. As in 1 teaspoon of cocoa, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon into my morning milk. Slurp! 

 

Went for 1h les Mills body combat at the gym. 

 

Morning snack:

An orange

125g blueberries. 

 

Lunch:

150g cauliflower

100g brocoli 

200g tau kwa

1 tablespoon singlong chilli sauce

Pulled out some of my black bean stew stash, I'm feeling particularly hungry this week. 

 

Did an hour of yoga. 

 

Afternoon tea:

An apple

 

As you can see, I have a hungry snack monster around lurking inside. That needs redirection. 

 

[Mortimer]

Dinner(eating out) :

 

Pasta

Baked salmon

Tomato salsa

Salad with lemon vinegerette 

150g cauliflower

100g brocoli 

 

I seem to be hungrier this week then last week =(

[Mortimer]

Breakfast:

3 eggs

266g hami melon (aunt didn't care for it, told me to clear it out of the fridge) 

250ml sweetened walnut milk(can't find unsweetened version) 

 

Walnut milk is thicker and creamier then Fresh milk, but also rather sharp tasting of walnuts. But I think I hit the jackpot after the teaspoon of cinnamon went into it. It was just thick, creamy and delicious after that. I didn't know that would happen! 

 

I skipped the spinach deliberately. With the amount of hami melon eating - I will run into a vitamin A overdose, which I still did, but not a biggie in the big scheme of things. 

 

Did 1h les Mills body combat before heading to work. 

 

Weights:

 

50 lb shoulder press(x5),   could only do x4 on last set

 

Goblet squat - bar +2.5 kg (x5) for 3 sets, then 50 lb barbell (x10) for 2 sets

 

100 lbs deadlift

 

10 push ups

 

Chest press with 50 lb barbell 

 

50 lbs clean and press (x4)

 

Single arm rows with 10 kg dumbell(x12) (12 kg one in used) 

 

1 min plank 

 

5 sets done total, the shoulder press I failed on the very last rep. Guess still not quite up to scratch, can't do 110 lb deadlift either. Did not do any body weight rows or hanging from bar as bars and Smith machine were both in use. Anyone wants to suggest alternatives to those? 

 

Lunch

 

150g cauliflower 

100g brocoli 

Black bean stew made with tomatoes and chayote (sprinkled the cumin liberally, it does beat drinking it in water form) 

60g chickpeas

90g sesame chicken 

 

 

Dinner will be:

150g cauliflower 

100g brocoli 

250g tau kwa

1 tablespoon singlong chilli sauce

[Mortimer]

Went for 2h of badminton with my colleagues last night, I am happy to nurture a new badminton squad(was really hoping that the office badminton fortnightly thing was going to go on as we had dwindling attendance due to family commitments) , even though we're not any where close to competition standards =) We just smack the shuttlecock around happily and hopefully try to make the other party run. 

 

Breakfast:

Curry chicken zucchini boat

Cocoa cinnamon milk (Yeah! I got the formulation perfect! 1 teaspoon cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 3 heaped teaspoons of powdered milk to a cup) 

 

There's a glut of oranges at the office so I will probably have an indulgence of them later. 

[aramis]

6 hours ago, Mortimer said:

We just smack the shuttlecock around happily and hopefully try to make the other party run

When sport is fun is way better than competition level in my book. Given enough time, people tend to optimize fun out of everything. Enjoy the fun

[Mortimer]

Morning snack:

Evaporated milk baguette (yes it was shiny new and only 100 cal, so I allowed myself to do some happy sampling) 

 

Lunch:

150 g cauliflower

100g brocoli

250g tau kwa 

1 tablespoon singlong Thai chilli sauce

 

I sprinkled a tablespoon of cumin seeds over the brocoli and cauliflower. I have come to the conclusion that cumin is better sprinkled over stuff as compared to me trying to drink cumin water and later eat the seeds for iron. Urk! 

 

Fennel tea on the other hand is pretty tasty. 

 

Did about 1h of zumba and half an hour of les Mills body combat at the gym, will head to hiit workout later. 

 

Afternoon snack:

An orange - didn't everyone see that coming? =P

And 15 longans

 

But seriously the orange saved me from some Really sinful pastries in the pantry that are like 450+kcal per pop. I popped the orange and now I feel full... 

 

Did eat a chocolate cookie before workout. 

 

After HIIT workout:

 

Urm, I failed a will save after seeing cut orange slices in the fridge. I confess I ate all 14 slices (1.5 oranges) up. Also drank 250ml of walnut milk up. 

 

Dinner(yes I actually had dinner after ^^) :

200g Bok choi fried with 40g of pork belly

120g of steamed fish with fish gravy and ginger 

Sweet potato and pork rib soup 

A tablespoon of brown rice

[Mortimer]

Breakfast:

 

Curry chicken zucchini boat

 

Cocoa cinnamon milk (Yeah! I got the formulation perfect! 1 teaspoon cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 3 heaped teaspoons of powdered milk to a cup) 

 

Weights:

 

50 lb shoulder press(x5)

 

Squat at squat rack, first set bar +30 kg, next 4 sets bar+35 kg

 

110 lbs deadlift (yeeeessss!) 

 

10 push ups

 

Jumping up then catching bar and holding for 15 secs before resting for another 10 secs and repeat for 12 secs(5 sets). 

 

Chest press with bar+5kg

 

50 lbs clean and press (x4)

 

Single arm rows with 10 kg dumbell(x12) (12 kg one in used) 

 

1 min plank 

 

Did 5 sets. Pretty much a perfect day at the gym with no one fighting with me for equipment. 

 

Morning post workout snack:

120g chickpeas with 1 tablespoon of cumin seeds sprinkled over

(Hey, I'm a poor bloke who doesn't want to spend on protein shakes) 

Also it's a principle kind of thing that I want to do this fitness regime without aid of any supplements. Or shakes. Hard mode =) 

An orange

Shared a sinful pastry with my colleague. 

[Elastigirl]

Much more economical to just eat food than protein shakes. Also some people say that  you absorb more protein that way

[Mortimer]

1h les Mills body combat in the gym. 

 

Lunch:

150g cauliflower

100g brocoli 

Tried 150g of matcha tofu, it didn't taste very like matcha. I suppose if I wanted it to taste better I could have put some brown sugar syrup/red bean paste on it, but meh. 

90g sesame chicken

 

Afternoon snack:

12 longans

 

Dinner I'm going to yummy food expo and growing horns ^^

 

I am going to be experimenting getting my iron from spices, then possibly taking soya products out of my diet. Cumin has already made the list, next to go will be oregano and thyme. Now to find a cheap source of that stuff.... 

[aramis]

2 hours ago, Mortimer said:

Now to find a cheap source of that stuff

If you can, check local farmer's market. Or healthy food festivals. In Poland, there are many little ventures who sell spices and herbs locally, often online. Or, there are stands in mall hallways. 

[Mortimer]

So well, I went to the yummy food expo, and grew horns. 

 

I ate:

One box of salted egg chicken 

One small lobster grilled with garlic and butter

One box of deep fried tiny crabs with salted egg seasoning 

And a box of beef cubes

 

Before I was satisfied. I enjoyed myself and since its weights day, I suppose the extra protein would come in handy. Now I know why I really need to pack my vegetables and beans. Feeding myself on carnivore mode is freaking expensive.  Again this is a once in a while thing....so..*shrug*

[Mortimer]

Last night I also ate the coconut after drinking the water up(waste not want not).Now THAT got me kind of bloated. I suppose if I wanted to fill myself up without spending too much dosh, buying a coconut, drinking the water then eating the flesh is an idea...

 

Park run results: 29 min 2 secs

Now that's more like it =) Though I'm aiming for 28 minish... So close! 

 

I  suspect my disappointing performance in the gym and park run(I mean, I haven't taken more then 30 min to run 5km for a while) was due to the lowered haemoglobin in my blood. Its not unexpected since I did read carefully the effects on donating blood and factored it into my workout plans. It seems that improving my iron intake (and also factoring the recovery time) has helped matters. 

 

Singapore farmers market is actually not cheap, but sometimes I go there for unique products. Like chufa and pesto sauce. 

 

Chufa taste like a granola mix made out of coconut and oats. Tasty but rather hard to find. 

 

Chufa: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyperus_esculentus

 

Breakfast:

Curry chicken zucchini boat

375ml walnut milk with a teaspoon of cinnamon

One egg

Half a mango

1 orange 

18 grapes

 

The mangoes bought at the yummy food expo(its a food fair) were delicious! Pricy though, $12/kg. I bought 2 and the store owner gave me a bumped one for free, which we ate this morning. 

 

Then had my cumin and fennel tea, eating the seeds as well, with yet another orange =) 

[Mortimer]

Lunch:

150g cauliflower 

100g brocoli

300g tamago tofu

150g matcha tofu 

1 piece cereal chicken from KFC. 

 

The tamago tofu tasted better then the matcha tofu but even though the cereal was fine, I find the chicken not quite enough cereal taste. Headed to blood donor carnival now. 

[aramis]

You know you can save 3 lives by one blood donation? You are the real hero

[Mortimer]

Thanks aramis! Met up with a fitness buddy at the blood donation carnival, we ate ice creams and he drew on pencil cases while I made key chains and had a good time. Also gossiped about the expertise on the various staff at various blood donation centres, apparently he had a bad experience at the one I was donating blood at. I also had a...not so pleasant experience in the sense I was trying to fill the bag but blood flow was slow, but after talking to him about it, there could be two possible causes, either the staff didn't get the vein location properly(happened in his case), or my low blood pressure was causing an issue(its a possibility too - his friend experienced the same problem). 

[Mortimer]

Dinner was:

200g of bok choi with 40g fried pork belly 

90g pork ribs with one cob of corn and half a carrot

120g steamed fish 

 

Today's breakfast:

Curry chicken zucchini boat 

Milk with cocoa and cinnamon 

15 cherries 

 

Drank a cup of 1 tablespoon of fennel and cumin tea. 

 

Then went for a rock climbing session, tried an old route for pink rocks only, got 4/5th way on the yellow Rock route. 

[Mortimer]

Did the starwars nerd fitness workout. 

 

Skywalker handstands: Padawan level planks it is. 3 breaks taken total. ( Was hoping to cut to two but no luck) 

 

Jedi high jumps:

 

Just jumped continuously. 

 

Jabba the hutt chokes:

 

Geez, what do you do when the squat rack, Smith machine are all in use and you need to find something to bodyweight row from? You use treadmill bars >< Took breaks between sets. 

 

Chewbacca carries:

Took 12.5 kg dumbell on each side but could only carry them for about 40 secs. Took a break, then finished. I really shouldn't be doing 12 kg. 

 

Han Solo shuttle runs:

 

Just used 2 pillars. Fitbit provided the 20sec count and 10 secs intervals.

 

Force push ups:

 

4 sets of 8 Knee Plyometric Push-ups - had to rest in between

 

Jedi force choke holds:

 

Full 60 seconds! 

 

I think since weekends I'm pressed for time, trying to squeeze in star wars workout instead of full weight routine is easier. Besides, I need some training in finger grip too. 

 

 

[aramis]

17 hours ago, Mortimer said:

I was trying to fill the bag but blood flow was slow

In my case, stress relief toy was very helpful. It's just a ball or some round shape (our donation places have them heart-shaped) made of rubber foam, the size between golf and tennis ball. When you squeeze them and release repeatedly the blood flows much faster. My common time to fill 450ml bag was 4,5 min, with record slightly below 4 min (nurse told me it was too fast and I shouldn't try t odo it again  ). And I'm rather low-blood-pressure guy. 

I don't know your regulations, but in Poland you are always examined by a doctor prior to donation. There is blood pressure and  hemoglobin percentage measurement and overall medical interview regarding health, medical history, recent travels etc. If someone's pressure is too low, they are denied due to their safety (or, if it's slightly below the threshold, is given pressure rising meds to allow the donation). 

 

57 minutes ago, Mortimer said:

went for a rock climbing session

I. AM. SO. JEALOUS.

I love rock climbing, but didn't have many opportunities for it. These walls look great! 

[Mortimer]

Haemoglobin was just above bare minimum (12.8, with 12.5 requirement). My blood pressure by the time I get there is always normal instead of low(since I seem to be perpetually in a rush to everywhere), and my walk speed is a joke. So if I need to cover distance quickly, yes, I'll run. 

 

We have squeeze toys too, I squeeze and release with my left hand, but it's still slow. The funny thing is that after I got fed up with the warning beeper and squeezed my left hand with my right hand (since my left hand was getting tired with all the squeezing), then the blood flow speed went up. 

 

Lunch:

200g chye sim

60g whole wheat pasta

70g fish

50g squid

4 zucchini scraps from making zucchini boats 

 

This weeks zucchini boats is cashew nut chicken. Totally no cheese. 

 

Adapted from here:

 

https://rasamalaysia.com/cashew-chicken/

 

Ingredients:

300g boneless and skinless chicken breast, cut into small cubes

5 slices peeled ginger

1 small red pepper, cut into small squares

200g button mushrooms, cut into small pieces

75g of unsalted cashew nuts

 

Marinade:

1 teaspoon corn starch

1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine, (optional)

 

Sauce:

1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce

3/4 teaspoon soy sauce

3 tablespoons water

3 dashes ground white pepper

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon rice wine

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon of salt

 

Instructions

 

1. Roast the cashew nuts in the oven. 180 degrees Celsius, 5 min, turn them, let them sit for 10 min, then toast another 2 min, turn them, let them sit for another 10 min then toast last 3 min. This step can be done in advance. 

 

2.Rinse the chicken breast with cold water, pat dry with paper towels. Cut the chicken into cubes and marinate with corn starch and rice wine (if using). Mix all the ingredients for the Sauce together. Set aside.

 

3. Wash and cut the zucchini into 2 and hollow it out to form a boat.  Add a bit of salt on the zucchini boats. Toast in oven at 170 degrees for 30min on the skin side, then turn to the other side and toast another 5 min. Then remove zucchini from oven. 

 

4.Heat up a wok or skillet with 1 tablespoon of the oil and stir-fry the ginger until it turns brown, then add in the mushrooms, followed by the red bell peppers. Add half a teaspoon of salt and half the sauce and stir fry until the mushrooms are cooked. Add the chicken and the rest of the sauce, stir until the chicken is cooked. Add the cashew nuts and do a few quick stirs. 

 

5. Spoon the cashew nuts, red bell peppers, chicken and mushrooms on top of the zucchini boats and serve. 

 

 

[Mortimer]

Dinner(eating out):

 

Prawn paste chicken (yep it's deep fried) 

Clams stir fried in curry powder

Sambal kang kong

Crab meat and fish maw soup 

Seaweed seafood soup

15 lychee, 155g jackfruit

[Mortimer]

Breakfast:

3 eggs 

2 sapodillas

200g jackfruit seeds

250 ml macadamia milk with a teaspoon of cinnamon. 

Had my cup of fennel seed tea and ate the seeds. 

 

Lunch involves blackbeans stew with carrots so nope I'm not using spinach. 

 

So strange. I like macadamia nuts but macadamia nut milk is just average. And does not go well with cinnamon. Walnut and cinnamon went better. Going for morning yoga. 

 

Today will be my first day of cumin seeds into black beans. The inner cook is telling me I added too much cumin - but I'm trying to get my cumin into my food rather then urking myself to drink cumin water and eating the seeds. If it doesn't work out then it's back to sprinkling it on my food.