My way towards (next) OCR

[aramis]

July 3rd:

 

Nutrition:

Breakfast - none

Lunch - chicken stew, grilled veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, carrot frozen mix) - 608kcal, 77g protein

Dinner - pork stew, pasta, stewed cabbage, fresh cucumber - 820kcal, 36g protein

Supper - frozen quark with protein powder and lots od blueberries - 414kcal, 54g protein

Drinks - black coffee, water. Morning coffee with 100ml whole milk - 60kcal, 3g protein

 

Total 1902kcal, 170g protein.

 

 

Workout (strength):

warmup - 5min elliptical

8 | 8 | 8  body rows from ground level

15 | 20 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15  squats with sand pillow (22,7kg / 50lb) /push-ups circuit

streching - bit of dynamic strech, bit of yoga poses

 

My weighted squats are challenging at last. Because of this, I wasn't able to squeeze any more push-ups in the circuit. But I think it's all about this - pushing my limits - right?

[Mortimer]

Wow that's a heavy sand pillow. I don't think I'd be able to do that many weighted squats, but at Spartan here you're supposed to haul things on your shoulder so all that weighted squat practice will come in handy. 

[aramis]

July 4th: 

 

Nutrition:

Breakfast - none

Lunch - chicken stew, grilled veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, carrot frozen mix) - 608kcal, 77g protein

Dinner - fried potatoes, sausage and egg, cucumber salad - 694kcal, 43g protein

Supper - quark with tuna paste, fresh tomato, home made rye bread - 542kcal, 46g protein

Drinks - black coffee, water. Morning coffee with 100ml whole milk - 60kcal, 3g protein

 

Total 1904 kcal, 169 g protein.

 

Oh, the bread. I missed you dearly  Dark, stiff, whole grain and raised on sourdough instead of yeast. Yummy!

 

Workout (running):

4.5km, 31min - 3min marching warmup, 11x (1,5min jog, 1min walk), 1.5min cooldown. Stretching afterwards.

[Mortimer]

I plan to bake this sat to finish up the last of my plain flour and some baking supplies. Why does whole wheat flour(half the size, 1.5 times the price) or the other flour alternatives have to be so pricy? =(

 

Do I miss bread? Eh, not really. Miss noodles/pasta I do, but I usually get some on weekends(need to help finish up that whole wheat spaghetti). 

[aramis]

July 5th:

 

Nutrition:

Breakfast - none

Lunch - chicken stew, grilled veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, carrot frozen mix) - 608kcal, 77g protein

Dinner - fried chicken breast in batter, potatoes, grilled zucchini - 357kcal, 25g protein

Shake - whey on water - 120kcal, 23g protein

Supper - scrambled eggs on fatback, rye bread with quark and tuna paste, fresh cucumber - 775kcal, 32g protein

Drinks - black coffee, water. Morning coffee with 100ml whole milk - 60kcal, 3g protein

 

Total 1920 kcal, 160 g protein.

 

Slowly reducing my protein intake. I need to find good balance between "fitness" and "medical"  ways of thinking. One side says "proteins are good, go get them", the other says "no, they are bad. Limit them for your safety". There are tons of people promoting one or the other view. I know how I feel eating 2.4g/kg. Now I'll check how I feel (and function) at... somewhere between 1.5 and 2g/kg. We'll see.

 

 

Workout (strength):

warmup - 5min elliptical

8 | 8 | 7  (all sets to failure) assisted chin-ups

5 neg. chin-ups

15 | 21! | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15  squats with sand pillow (22,7kg / 50lb) /push-ups circuit

streching - bit of dynamic strech, bit of yoga poses

 

Plus side - new personal record on push-ups! 

 

Minus side - looks like I can't do negative chin-ups. When I do, my right arm starts to sting. I noticed this last time, but this time it really hurt. The feeling was similar to blood collection - sting in the inside of elbow. I noticed the vein is pushed away by muscles and tendons, and I suspect it is the cause of the pain. Strangely - when I do full chin-up from bottom, it doesn't hurt. Maybe when muscles are flexed fully all the way from lower position, the vein is positioned differently and it isn't pushed or squeezed by the tendons. 

[aramis]

And next right away

 

July 6th:

 

Nutrition:

Breakfast - none

Lunch - fried eggs on bacon, rye bread, cucumber, bun with sausage  - 1162kcal, 65g protein

Dinner - fried chicken breast in batter, potatoes, grilled zucchini - 357kcal, 25g protein

Supper - grilled zucchini, quark and whey raspberry ice cream - 431kcal, 67g protein

Drinks - black coffee, water. Morning coffee with 100ml whole milk - 60kcal, 3g protein

 

Total 2010 kcal, 160 g protein.

 

I allowed myself extra 100 calories, because I swung pickaxe all morning. 

 

Workout (running):

4.5km, 32min - 3min marching warmup, 11x (1.5min jog, 1min walk), 1.5min cooldown. Stretching afterwards.

[Mortimer]

What was your issue when you showed up at the doctor after eating too much protein? Was it high purine level? Not all proteins are created equal, like fish and chicken don't trigger purine warnings. 

 

Sometimes when I do neg pull ups, my left shoulder will ache. It is caused by improper hand grip position in my case. Maybe when you do negative, your arms are spaced differently then when you do full chin ups? 

 

Grats on push ups! I'm still at 11 per cycle. 

[Mortimer]

Also, does your strength training help you with clearing trees/using daily tools? I know now for my storeroom (the shelves are solid and can support my weight), I don't bother to get a stool to get things on the top, I just shimmy up using rock climbing techniques. 

[aramis]

6 hours ago, Mortimer said:

What was your issue when you showed up at the doctor after eating too much protein? Was it high purine level?

No, all this was because I have an MRI scan scheduled soon and I need to bring creatinine blood level results to check if my kidneys can handle contrast agent. And this test results were way too high. This may be a pointer to kidney disease, but it may be as well caused by mundane things like dehydration, physical strain or high meat (or protein in general) consumption. It's because creatinine is a breakdown product of ceratine metabolism in muscles that occurs while muscles are regenerating. 

 

6 hours ago, Mortimer said:

Maybe when you do negative, your arms are spaced differently then when you do full chin ups?

Good point, I will check this next time doing chin-ups.

 

With push-ups, I can do 15-16 per cycle, maybe more IF I don't go overboard on first one. I suppose with my current muscles, I will be able to reach 3x20, but not much more. And to be honest, that would be good enough for me. I exercise to keep overall good shape, not to jump in some sort of competition (my goal to partake in OCR isn't about competition, it's rather about testing myself). 

 

5 hours ago, Mortimer said:

Also, does your strength training help you with clearing trees/using daily tools?

Absolutely. Yesterday my wife was flying a kite with kids, and of course the kite ended in a tree. I was really surprised how easy was climbing for me. I always liked tree climbing as a kid (and as adult too  ), but this time I felt like I weight nothing - pulling myself from branch to branch was so easy

Swinging pickaxe, shoveling soil or moving curbs is easier as well. All in all - being strong is way better in any circumstances than being weak  

[Mortimer]

Good to know the complications on high protein. I thought that high purine was the only issue that could crop up. 

 

Heh my fitness buddies were trying to get me to go for Spartan but I have a charity run (3.5km) scheduled on that day with my BF. I don't know if I could do Spartan since any swinging obstacles(like monkey bars or rings) would screw me over and it'd be 30 burpees. 

 

I don't know if I could climb a tree/lamppost. Never tried =o

 

Yeah I've got a pet peeve about people telling ladies not to weight train claiming it will make them muscular and bulky. Then who's going to be carrying the kids or those groceries? 

[aramis]

11 minutes ago, Mortimer said:

I don't know if I could climb a tree/lamppost.

To be honest I never tried either to climb vertical post (or a line). Climbing trees for me is just going from branch to branch. 

13 minutes ago, Mortimer said:

people telling ladies not to weight train claiming it will make them muscular and bulky

Yeah, metric crap-ton of nonsense. Worst part? Lots of girls actually believe this and won't train not to get "bulky". 

[aramis]

July 7th:

 

Nutrition:

Breakfast - none

Lunch - fried eggs, fried quark, rye bread, fresh tomato, leftovers after kids' breakfast, tasting stuff while cooking   - 968kcal, 55g protein

Dinner - turkey leg stew, pasta, grilled veggies - 369kcal, 27g protein

Snack - flat white with butter cookie - 177kcal, 7g protein

Supper - salmon in tomato sauce and quark paste, rye bread, fresh tomato - 342kcal, 32g protein

Drinks - black coffee, water. Morning coffee with 100ml whole milk - 60kcal, 3g protein

 

Total 1916 kcal, 124 g protein.

 

Yeah, no veggie with snack. I pledge guilty, but not sorry   Low on proteins, but as this is rest day, I don't stress myself about it too much. 

 

Workout (none): rest day.

 

I was active all day - from morning till dinner I was busy cooking (dinner, batch lunch for work etc), and after dinner (~3pm) we went to nearby city to see the exotarium. Kids loved reptile section, my wife was more parrot person there. After this, we w drove to cafe for icecream and a snack. Back home at about 6:30pm.

[Mortimer]

Usually my snack is a fruit so no veggies either =P

 

My nephew likes dinosaurs, I may have mentioned before =) 

 

Sunday is somewhat of a rest day for me since I need to spend the afternoon batch cooking. 

[aramis]

1 hour ago, Mortimer said:

spend the afternoon batch cooking

Same schedule here  This time I switched cooking to earlier hours when my wife was sleeping off her nightshift, so we could enjoy afternoon together. 

 

1 hour ago, Mortimer said:

My nephew likes dinosaurs,

Tell him both my sons greet him as fellow dinosaur fan 

[aramis]

July 8th:

 

Nutrition:

Breakfast - none

Lunch - chicken stew, grilled veggies  - 623kcal, 77g protein

Dinner - turkey leg stew, pasta, grilled veggies - 651kcal, 50g protein

Supper - rye bread with tomato, cheese and mayo, cottage cheese, some almonds - 595kcal, 33g protein

Drinks - black coffee, water. Morning coffee with 100ml whole milk - 60kcal, 3g protein

 

Total 1929 kcal, 163 g protein.

 

 

Workout (strength):

 

warm-up

8 | 6 | 6 assisted pull-ups

10 negative pull-ups

3 sets of 15 squats with sand pillow (22,7kg / 50lb) and 17 push-ups in a circuit

streching - bit of dynamic strech, bit of yoga poses

 

 

No pain in my elbow doing pull-ups. There has to be something in hand/arm placement when I do chin-ups that causes this stinging. 

[aramis]

July 9th:

 

Nutrition:

Breakfast - none

Lunch - chicken stew, grilled veggies  - 623kcal, 77g protein

Dinner - potatoes, fried eggs, tomato and carrot salad, two skittles - 503kcal, 22g protein

Supper - rye bread with butter, cottage cheese, cucumber, one cookie - 814kcal, 34g protein

Drinks - black coffee, water. Morning coffee with 100ml whole milk - 60kcal, 3g protein

 

Total 2000 kcal, 136 g protein.

 

My weight drops constantly so I raise my caloric target again. And due to possible medical condition I cut proteins.

New target will be 2000kcal and proteins in 120-130 range.

 

Workout (running):

~5km, 32min - 3min marching warmup, 11x (1.5min jog, 1min walk), 1.5min cooldown. Stretching afterwards.

 

I did some research and now I can see the problem with chin-ups is some small muscle pushing my Basilic (or Median Cubital, hard to tell) vein against tendons in the elbow. This pressure causes the stinging pain. With pull-ups this muscle is rotated further from veins, so he 's not a problem then. If I won't find other solution, I just switch from chin-ups to pull-ups. 

[aramis]

July 10th:

 

Nutrition:

Breakfast - none

Lunch - chicken stew, grilled veggies  - 623kcal, 77g protein

Dinner - potatoes, fried cheese, tomato - 652kcal, 33g protein

Supper - fresh cucumber, dry muesli  - 600kcal, 14g protein

Drinks - black coffee, water. Morning coffee with 200ml whole milk - 120kcal, 6g protein

 

Total 1995 kcal, 130 g protein.

 

Damn. I'm so used to eating protein-rich food, I really struggled to find something lighter on proteins for supper (and not being sugary treat). 

 

Workout (strength):

warmup - 5min elliptical

8 | 8 | 8  body rows from ground level

15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15  squats with sand pillow (22,7kg / 50lb) /push-ups circuit

stretching - bit of dynamic stretch, bit of yoga poses

 

I took it easy on myself this time. I need this bit of energy for packing for next four days' war games. 

 

Speaking of which - I won't report here until Sunday, so see you all till then. 

[Pecs]

Good luck with figuring out a new diet! I think you're the first person I've seen who needs to think about eating too much protein... and you only started this habit like a bit over a month ago? You're definitely going to crush this new plan too

 

Also... War games..? Eh, good luck with whatever it is and I guess we'll see you on Sunday then

[Mortimer]

If you can't get proteins try get more fibres in. Go apples and oranges! And good luck with those war games, we'll be rooting for you! 

[aramis]

Back on the roster. 

 

On 7/10/2019 at 9:19 PM, Pecs said:

War games..? Eh, good luck with whatever it is

It was three day LARP/airsoft game set in reality of Afghanistan conflict. I played as ISAF solider doing patrols, checking on civilians, hunting smugglers and terrorists etc. 

 

On 7/10/2019 at 9:19 PM, Pecs said:

I think you're the first person I've seen who needs to think about eating too much protein...

Yeah, but my blood test showed too high level of serum creatinine. This MAY be a clue to kidney damage or disease, so my doctor advised to lower a bit protein intake as protein metabolism is very demanding towards kidneys. This is only temporary (I hope), until we find out more about my kidney health (I have elaborate blood and urine tests and kidney ultrasound prescriptions). But I feel okay, I don't have any other symptoms, so I try not to stress too much about it. 

 

Report on last 4 days:

 

Thursday - Saturday:

Nutrition - about 2500 - 2800 kcal daily. My rations consisted pork stew, chicken with beans and spam, so it was okay in terms of proteins. 

 

Workouts - somewhere between 5 - 10km of rural patrolling every day (in ~15kg gear and with ~4kg rifle), with additional jumping, crouching, running to cover in firefights. Also did  3 x circuit of 10 squats and 10 push-ups on Friday (my strength training day). No longer runs - there was no time nor place for it. 

 

Sunday (July 14th)

 

I was on my way home from games, then spent rest of the day on drying, cleaning, organizing etc. my gear. That last part took longer than expected...

 

Nutrition - back on track with ~2000kcal, 110g protein.

No workout - rest day. 

[Mortimer]

Welcome back, Aramis, I've missed you! 

Eh... Total near 20 kg load for marching around 5-10km sounds like a workout all right! I haven't tried carrying a heavy pack for a while, though it could be argued that the food and gym gear I lug around everyday could be 3kg. But again I don't march kilometers with it. 

[aramis]

29 minutes ago, Mortimer said:

I haven't tried carrying a heavy pack for a while

Military gear is easier to carry, as it's distributed over your whole body. Some people use full vests with pouches, but I like battle belt with suspenders (similar to ALICE or MOLLE system). It puts most of weight on hips and shoulders, and doesn't pull you back like ordinary backpack. 

[aramis]

July 15th

 

Nutrition:

Breakfast - none

Lunch - chicken with spinach, rye bread  - 656kcal, 57.5g protein

Dinner - potatoes and red beans fried with mozzarella, chicken in batter - 804kcal, 42.5g protein

Supper - rye bread with sausage, cottage chesse with powidl (plum stew)  - 437kcal, 19g protein

Drinks - black coffee, water. Morning coffee with 200ml whole milk - 120kcal, 6g protein

 

Total 2017 kcal, 125 g protein.

 

For those interested, powidl is something similar to marmalade, but without additional sweeteners or gelling agents. It's basically plums slowly cooked for couple hours. Purely natural yummyness

 

Workout (strength):

warmup - 5min elliptical

7 | 7 | 6  assisted pull-ups

10 neg. pull-ups

15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16  squats with sand pillow (22,7kg / 50lb) /push-ups circuit

stretching - bit of dynamic stretch, bit of yoga poses

[aramis]

July 16th

 

Nutrition:

Breakfast - none

Lunch - chicken with spinach, rye bread  - 814kcal, 61g protein

Dinner - none - MRI required 6 hours without eating

Snack - two muesli bars after MRI (around 7:30pm) 254kcal, 3g protein

Supper - muesli with nuts, whole milk, protein powder and three nectarines - 874kcal, 42g protein

Drinks - black coffee, water. Morning coffee with 200ml whole milk - 120kcal, 6g protein

 

Total 2062 kcal, 112 g protein.

 

Workout (running) - NONE

I'm a little mad about it, because it's already my third missed running workout. Two earlier due to war games, and this one because I came back home at 9pm, my arm hurt from PV catheter and MRI tech told me to take easy on me after the scan (because contrast agent)... So many excuses, but I'm still not fine with missing the run. 

[Mortimer]

Well the only thing you could do possibly if it wouldnt interfere with your tests is to have done an early morning run before it. I can't really think of anything you can do leg wise without touching your arm except for maybe stationary bike/elliptical.