Legionary gives his bad habits a smack

[Legionary]

Gonna spend another month with y'all building on the foundations of last month. My work hours have stabilized for the most part so itll be a little easier (I hope). 

Good things I need to continue: drinking water isn't as much a problem so keeping that up will help. I workout fewer days a week now but they feel more productive (I lift noticeably higher volumes) so I'm going to try to keep that system up until I plateau again. 

Things that need work: I still eat small meals and sometimes skip meals altogether. I need to work up to higher calorie goals and hitting my macros. I'm going to keep tracking macros but overall calories I'll estimate for now (tracking every single thing got too much). 

I'll be back with more specific goals soon. 

[Grumble]

 

Missed your first foray into the warriors, but glancing through last challenge it looks like you're making good progress.

 

Have you put thought into WHY you're skipping meals?

[Legionary]

5 hours ago, Grumble said:

Have you put thought into WHY you're skipping meals?

I'm painfully aware of why. It's a combination of laziness, fatigue and poor mental states that makes the act of cooking a major chore (normally I really enjoy it, but...) I can see these factors easily but making lasting changes takes time. That's part of why going to work on prep/batch cooking this challenge. Can't be too lazy/tired/down to microwave something (I hope)

[Harriet]

2 hours ago, Legionary said:

I'm painfully aware of why. It's a combination of laziness, fatigue and poor mental states that makes the act of cooking a major chore (normally I really enjoy it, but...) I can see these factors easily but making lasting changes takes time. That's part of why going to work on prep/batch cooking this challenge. Can't be too lazy/tired/down to microwave something (I hope)

I'm throwing in a vote for Lasagne. One of the few meals that's better the next day. And it's not shy of calories. 

[Legionary]

4 hours ago, Harriet said:

I'm throwing in a vote for Lasagne. One of the few meals that's better the next day.

I used to work at an Italian Italian restaurant that would make their lasagna the day before than reheat it because it stayed together better. Fresh lasagna is too soupy. Personally I'm a big baked ziti fan,basically a lazier version

[Grumble]

8 hours ago, Legionary said:

I used to work at an Italian Italian restaurant that would make their lasagna the day before than reheat it because it stayed together better. Fresh lasagna is too soupy. Personally I'm a big baked ziti fan,basically a lazier version

Caseroles as a rule are lazy cooking and they often are both great for meal prepping and increased caloric density.

[Gemma]

19 hours ago, Legionary said:

I'm painfully aware of why. It's a combination of laziness, fatigue and poor mental states that makes the act of cooking a major chore (normally I really enjoy it, but...) I can see these factors easily but making lasting changes takes time. That's part of why going to work on prep/batch cooking this challenge. Can't be too lazy/tired/down to microwave something (I hope)

Brilliant plan. I also struggle with periods of "I like to cook but right now I just *can't* because bleeeehhhhhh... having something that I can just reheat usually works even in the worst of those cases.
 

4 hours ago, Grumble said:

Caseroles as a rule are lazy cooking and they often are both great for meal prepping and increased caloric density.

 

^Truth^ - my most successful meal prepping usually involves making two big casseroles on a weekend afternoon and freezing one for a few weeks hence.  Family favorites include bacon cheeseburger casserole and paleo shepherd's pie in addition to lasagna/ziti/chicken parmigiana variations.

[Legionary]

Thanks for the and suggestions everyone. I'm open to any recipes people will give me. 

This challenge is going to be more experimental that I first expected because I need to dial in how much food to make each week for the wife and I. Step one is try making something large and see how long it can last. Maybe a casserole. Maybe a pot of barbacoa. Not sure yet. 

On the fitness front. I am trialing karate dojos looking for one that works. I know it's not the best exercise for mass gain but it's my passion so deal with it.  I'm also still lifting and doing sprints with the dog. 

[Grumble]

12 hours ago, Legionary said:

Thanks for the and suggestions everyone. I'm open to any recipes people will give me. 

This challenge is going to be more experimental that I first expected because I need to dial in how much food to make each week for the wife and I. Step one is try making something large and see how long it can last. Maybe a casserole. Maybe a pot of barbacoa. Not sure yet. 

On the fitness front. I am trialing karate dojos looking for one that works. I know it's not the best exercise for mass gain but it's my passion so deal with it.  I'm also still lifting and doing sprints with the dog. 

Sounds like you have a quantifiable goal there. Tracking how much food you make, vs how much you eat, vs how much you should eat. Don't beat yourself up over numbers, make this analytical only. Keep a log, a tally, hash marks on your wife, whatever works.

[miss_marissa]

On 9/11/2019 at 9:13 PM, Legionary said:

Thanks for the and suggestions everyone. I'm open to any recipes people will give me. 

This challenge is going to be more experimental that I first expected because I need to dial in how much food to make each week for the wife and I. Step one is try making something large and see how long it can last. Maybe a casserole. Maybe a pot of barbacoa. Not sure yet. 

On the fitness front. I am trialing karate dojos looking for one that works. I know it's not the best exercise for mass gain but it's my passion so deal with it.  I'm also still lifting and doing sprints with the dog. 

Try poking around the "shit warriors eat" thread for ideas  

 

Happy to have you back with us again.

[Legionary]

my first batch cooking adventure. 3 different types of pierogies. Meat, potatoes and cheese

 And mushroom/kale/bacon. One batch made 16 (I ate 3) and I had lots of leftover fillings (see below). Next time I'll probably double the dough recipe and have even more to freeze. 

I mixed the leftover fillings together (potatoes on bottom) as a post workout meal and it was great, although I dont really have a pallet for fine dining so... 

On the training front. I have been working on regaining leg strength after injuring my knee months ago. It's coming along but I've noticed a consistent weakness in my hamstrings and my lower back takes some of the work that it shouldn't. I've been working postural exercises, hamstring, and lower leg exercises more to try to balance these issues out. Well see how those go. 

Until next time keep working hard everyone. 

[Harriet]

Oooh, those dumplings look tempting. 

[Legionary]

Check in/baseline 

Weight:163-165 depending on hydration. 

Bodyfat from taping: ~11% 

Average daily calories: 2500- 2700 as long as I get enough protein this range has worked for me so far. 

My lifts are pretty average so far and I haven't noticed too much difference at my higher weight, but I dont get as many headaches and my stamina is much better than my 155-158 starting weight. 

[Devlin]

Looks interesting. Following.

Must admit I've fallen prey to not being able to be arsed to cook quite a bit lately.

[Harriet]

17 hours ago, Legionary said:

My lifts are pretty average so far and I haven't noticed too much difference at my higher weight, but I dont get as many headaches and my stamina is much better than my 155-158 starting weight. 

Wait. That's a pretty significant change. Do you in fact drink enough water? Maybe you're getting a bit extra in your food or something. Or maybe you weren't getting enough carbs. Or something. But more energy and fewer headaches is excellent. 

[Legionary]

1 hour ago, Harriet said:

Wait. That's a pretty significant change. Do you in fact drink enough water? Maybe you're getting a bit extra in your food or something. Or maybe you weren't getting enough carbs. Or something. But more energy and fewer headaches is excellent. 

It's mostly the changes I made in hydration from last challenge (I think) as well as eating a whole extra meal per day (3 instead of 2) so my calories went up by almost 700. I gained a conservative estimate of 7-8 lbs over the last 7 weeks or so. 

[Scaly Freak]

On 9/16/2019 at 6:14 AM, Devlin said:

Must admit I've fallen prey to not being able to be arsed to cook quite a bit lately.

 

I find that a slow cooker (a.k.a. crockpot) is very helpful in these situations. It basically transforms the entire cooking process into three simple steps:

 

1. Put things in the pot

2. Stir things in the pot

3. Press button on the pot

 

Then leave it alone for however many hours you need to be away for, and all the cooking is done for you. Works best with stews, soups, and any kind of meat you want to shred.

[Legionary]

@scalyfreak

Crockpot work coming this week. There was brisket on sale so I'm gonna make a pot of corned beef and think up some ways to use it. Straight up, hash, sandwiches, etc. 

[Legionary]

Checking in, 

Weight 165. 

Food update: the corned beef was great I stewed it in the crockpot until it basically melted. 2 pounds of beef lasted us about 1 week but we didnt eat it every day. Im also working on a breaded fish recipe which had good flavor but tilapia (what I had) is not a great fish for breading. Maybe catfish next time. 

Training update: they fixed the boxing bag in my apartment gym which is good. Hitting that gives me good core training, and overall conditioning. My deadlifts are coming back, I'm about 75-85% back to pre injury levels but I'm still taking it slow. Karate was too expensive but I found a fencing school (something I've always wanted to try) that might be a good fit. I'm going to try it out starting in October. 

[Scaly Freak]

56 minutes ago, Legionary said:

tilapia (what I had) is not a great fish for breading. Maybe catfish next time. 

 

I've always been happy when breading cod. It's usually a bit thicker though, so it depends on how you plan to cook it. Cod is juicy.

[Legionary]

Another update: 

Weight: still 165, I think that this is my baseline healthy adult weight. So if I continue as I probably wont gain or lose any until my metabolism changes. I'm going to try to up my calories daily and see if I notice any changes. 

Food update: getting much better with time. Even when I get into that mood where I "can't cook or eat or move" I can usually convince myself to make some microwave rice, Eggs and mushrooms so that I have a simple meal to hit my macros,  it works. 

Puppy update. 

She's getting bigger but she's mad at me for getting her spaid. That's life though. 

[Scaly Freak]

Your puppy is adorable. And she has a big head compared to the body, it looks like... will she grow very big when she grows up?

[Legionary]

22 hours ago, scalyfreak said:

will she grow very big when she grows up?

She's a boxer, hound mix so the vet thinks maybe 60-80 pounds depending. She's grown a lot since we got her in june. 

[miss_marissa]

Those pierogis look quite delicious!

[Legionary]

Update: it's been a busy week and I've fell off the wagon for a few days. Not going to let it bother me because I needed the rest. 

Weight: 163. Pretty normal 

Food: I really need to get groceries but I've been trying to eat up all the random foods I have around the kitchen. Had a lot of stir fry and the like but I think I'm officially out of proteins. 

Training: I haven't made it to the gym in like 4 days which is abnormal. I needed the rest and I'm hoping I can get back into my habits soon. A problem is my lifting routine got really repetitive. I'm starting swordfighting classes on Wednesday so hopefully that gets me inspired.