Urgan Shows Up, Does the Thing

[CourtnieMarie]

5 hours ago, Urgan said:

I have determined the best way to avoid naps of derailing duration is to not even let myself lie down until dinner is in a pot, oven, or pan. So far that is working well.  I am getting better at this whole fooding thing. Not relying on pasta and bread to pull the lion's share of the weight makes things harder, but I am getting closer to my old numbers even with that restriction. I do want to continue minimizing wheaty things from my diet, but I think the huge reduction in symptoms is now at a level that is normal for the time being. In fact, I have swung to the opposite side of the spectrum of bathroom issues--as in, dietary fiber may come in demand. I presume getting rid of irritating foods has exposed an underlying need, but will hold fast until birth control kicks back in to return me to more moderate levels of B vitamins before making further changes (CHANGES ALL THE TIME). I want to make sure my level of supplementation is not the cause. Pretty sure #2 only happens in the presence of coffee/caffeine. Prolly not optimal. On the plus side, when it happens it's a healthier experience than in a high dairy/wheat situation and I realize I have just made a major dietary shift, which is no doubt a contributing factor and why I am not immediately doing Something about it. Progress, people. Someday the poop talk will end...or at least get less frequent....in life, there are no guarantees. 

i have had a similar experience when I eliminated gluten. at the same time i was trying to also cut back on fruit because sugar is obviously the devil. i am just now realizing how bad those few years probably were for my GI tract and trying to get back to normal with more fruits, same TONS of vegs, and actually, Mg. Are you still taking that? If you eliminated that around the same time as cutting back on wheat you might have pulled double duty... or ya know. Not.

[Urgan]

2 minutes ago, CourtnieMarie said:

i have had a similar experience when I eliminated gluten. at the same time i was trying to also cut back on fruit because sugar is obviously the devil. i am just now realizing how bad those few years probably were for my GI tract and trying to get back to normal with more fruits, same TONS of vegs, and actually, Mg. Are you still taking that? If you eliminated that around the same time as cutting back on wheat you might have pulled double duty... or ya know. Not.

 

I had stopped the Mag supplementation for the reason mag oxide is a laxative and I figured that my muscular issues have subsided (still true). I actually took it last night in a desperate bid to compensate and combined with caffeine the next morning yielded predictable results. I am relieved (the puns just keep on rolling.....) to hear this is quite possibly normal given the circumstances.

[ixaera]

1 minute ago, Urgan said:

I am relieved (the puns just keep on rolling coming out.....)

 

FTFY

[Urgan]

8 minutes ago, ixaera said:

 

FTFY

 

The sad thing is that phrasing occurred to me.

[Urgan]

Things that are true:

I am way debloated at 114.8 lbs and a current average of 2300 calories. Whether these dietary changes have fixed the original problem, it is looking good in the mirror. 

 

I have 300% more energy right now than any Saturday in the last 6+ months, probably. I am staring at the clock wishing it was go time vs prying myself off the bed tof hit the gym. Not that I ever don't want to lift, just that tired, you know?

[ixaera]

18 minutes ago, Urgan said:

Things that are true:

I am way debloated at 114.8 lbs and a current average of 2300 calories. Whether these dietary changes have fixed the original problem, it is looking good in the mirror. 

 

I have 300% more energy right now than any Saturday in the last 6+ months, probably. I am staring at the clock wishing it was go time vs prying myself off the bed tof hit the gym. Not that I ever don't want to lift, just that tired, you know?

 

hayyyy this is all excellent news! Hooray for Saturday energy \o/

[RedStone]

40 minutes ago, Urgan said:

Things that are true:

I am way debloated at 114.8 lbs and a current average of 2300 calories. Whether these dietary changes have fixed the original problem, it is looking good in the mirror. 

 

I have 300% more energy right now than any Saturday in the last 6+ months, probably. I am staring at the clock wishing it was go time vs prying myself off the bed tof hit the gym. Not that I ever don't want to lift, just that tired, you know?

 

HOORAYYYY FOR THE THINGS!!!! All good news ^___^

[Urgan]

1 hour ago, ixaera said:

 

hayyyy this is all excellent news! Hooray for Saturday energy \o/

 

1 hour ago, RedStone said:

 

HOORAYYYY FOR THE THINGS!!!! All good news ^___^

 

It could be the coffee + preworkout talking, but I feel pretty good right now. Gym time is best time.

[Jord]

On 9/30/2017 at 3:54 PM, Urgan said:

 

 

It could be the coffee + preworkout talking, but I feel pretty good right now. Gym time is best time.

 

QFT

[Urgan]

9/29/2017 - 10/1/2017

Getting It Done

 

Lift

 

Sleep

Curfew: 5/5

No naps: 2/2

 

Food

"Variety" breakfast: 5/5

CYCLE RESYNC: 10-01--DONE

 

Monday: Deli turkey + avocado

Tuesday: Babybel cheese + rice chips

Wednesday: Deli turkey

Thursday: Babybel cheese + rice chips 

Friday: Beanitos chips + deli turkey

 

Week 4 Averages:

          Cals   /   Carbs   /   Fats    /  Protein /  Sugar

AVG    2213        204        108          113             47

TGT    2350        260         90          116             50

 

 

Every day I'm stabilizin'.

 

Clean

Clean Something: 1/1

 

Aikido

Video review: 1/1

 

I barely remember Friday, except I did the gym thing, ate food, and survived the day. Saturday was glorious. I thought I was only going to do 160lbs and was sad, since I was bouncing around mentally, full of energy, what a waste of potential, right? So I decided F It, I'll lift 170 for doubles. That's low volume right?? Gonna do that for triples next weekend. Crushed the weights and ate everything in sight. Including cream cheese rangoons, three of 'em. I didn't die. They were totally amazing. 

 

Sunday I cleaned the bathroom counter + mirror and checked out a technique video, anticipated today's lifts so hard.

[Sam Ashen]

12 minutes ago, Urgan said:

Getting It Done

 

 

'dis me at work, except for the getting it done part......

[Mistr]

On 9/29/2017 at 11:01 AM, Urgan said:

Do you do this in addition or in place of a multivitamin?

 

I take a B complex (contains C) on low sleep days or just 500mg C on good sleep days. The C is because I work with people with kids who are plague carriers. I don't take a multivitamin. I started taking MgO and D in August. I have not noticed any GI differences, but my GI tract seems to be more sensitive to stress than food. My joints and muscles are vastly happier.

 

On 9/29/2017 at 11:01 AM, Urgan said:

We get a good LOL at people who do irimi instead of tenkan, what we've affectionately dubbed as irimikan (you prolly have this happen a lot, I would imagine. Start with the correct behavior for one and switch midstream to the other), or a totally different technique done correctly. Because who hasn't done one of these?

 

There is totally a real move called irimi-tenkan. One of the instructors this weekend taught a series of moves with the theme when you get stuck here, change to this. All standard aikido techniques. The idea is that if uke is stiff or nage is not quite in the right place and uke resists, nage smoothly changes to a different technique. Henkawaza is the proper Japanese name for doing this. It is usually not taught until the advanced level because nage has to already know how to do all the techniques.

 

Even more mind-boggling is kaishiwaza (sp?). That's where nage's technique is not perfect and uke takes advantage of the opening to become nage. The hard part is keeping track of who is playing what role when it keeps switching. Actually maintaining connection and feeling the openings is hard too, but not so mentally challenging.

 

Yay for having a great weekend! I hope your new regimen continues to keep you feeling good through the work week.

[Urgan]

20 minutes ago, Mistr said:

I take a B complex (contains C) on low sleep days or just 500mg C on good sleep days. The C is because I work with people with kids who are plague carriers. I don't take a multivitamin. I started taking MgO and D in August. I have not noticed any GI differences, but my GI tract seems to be more sensitive to stress than food. My joints and muscles are vastly happier.

 

I understand completely about trying to armor yourself against The Children. Just wondering since I'm essentially taking both at the moment. I would drop the multi, but I am terrified something important is in that thing that I'm not getting in my diet. No hard evidence whatsoever, just blind fear. 

 

21 minutes ago, Mistr said:

There is totally a real move called irimi-tenkan. One of the instructors this weekend taught a series of moves with the theme when you get stuck here, change to this. All standard aikido techniques. The idea is that if uke is stiff or nage is not quite in the right place and uke resists, nage smoothly changes to a different technique. Henkawaza is the proper Japanese name for doing this. It is usually not taught until the advanced level because nage has to already know how to do all the techniques.

 

We have practiced henkawaza after a fashion, often using ikkyo and kotegaeshi as the poster children since 1 - broad range of skill levels present, and 2 - it's usually around the idea of weapon takeaway and those are the most straightforward to pull off for said skill ranges. I say this like I am above this problem myself lol. I do love me some tenkan and will try to do it if not thinking and instructed to do irimi, because darnit tenkan is better in every way.

 

23 minutes ago, Mistr said:

Even more mind-boggling is kaishiwaza (sp?). That's where nage's technique is not perfect and uke takes advantage of the opening to become nage. The hard part is keeping track of who is playing what role when it keeps switching. Actually maintaining connection and feeling the openings is hard too, but not so mentally challenging.

 

Gettin' all judo up in here. Seriously, I have trouble observing grappling and figuring out who has the upper hand, so to speak. I feel like one of the secondary characters in DBZ trying to follow Goku and Frieza. #namekiantennismatch #notaspectatorsport

 

24 minutes ago, Mistr said:

Yay for having a great weekend! I hope your new regimen continues to keep you feeling good through the work week.

 

It was a good weekend and spoiler, but today started off in similar vein.

[Urgan]

I guess I'm taking a week break from dedicated goals? Just haven't had the time to do a dedicated update here because Life.

 

Well okay, so Monday I had a good gym session. Hit bench and OHP hard, scored new 3RMs on both. +1lb for a 92lb bench and +.5lb for 65.5 on OHP. I did not think I would be able to get more than a triple for bench, but I totally 3x3'd it. Aikido was good, I worked on yokomenuchi shinhonage, which is my favorite. I am not good at much, but I can do some shihonage and you don't wanna be my uke unless you need a wrist adjustment, in which case have I got a deal for you. Also, the gym is reno'ing the locker rooms next week (Monday and Tuesday), so both lockers and bathroom are gonna be off limits. This is annoying and I can't imagine it being that significant a reno if it only takes two days to complete, so this is my mildly miffed face.

 

Sorry if you were hoping the bathroom talk was over. It ain't. Tuesday I had not eliminated since Saturday and by this point things were getting Uncomfortable. I deployed emergency milk + lunchtime walk and that did the trick. Textbook normal bowel movement. I later administered medicinal Cheerios that evening and Wednesday morning, which netted me another poo (...yay, right??) this morning. 

 

Today was Put In the Time day for squats and deadlifts. Nothing remarkable except I miscounted reps for deadlift backoff sets and had to do a one-off rep to balance the Force. Sigh. Normal post-session gut gurgle, so between that and resumption of daily....turnover, I suppose things are getting back on track. I will monitor energy levels, but so far so good. Also, the sled arrived; now to Assemble. And figure out how to program it into my week.

 

 

So let's talk fiber. Dietary fiber, specifically. I understand probiotics might be nice, but I don't want another supplement (For the record, I am taking fish oil, multi, and B complex. That's it.) to have to keep track of. I'd like to figure out a means of making this something I take care of with meal planning once a week and don't have to think about it. I grabbed Cheerios because it was easy, plain and simple. I figured that would be a silver bullet of a sort and so far it is proving me right. In general, though, I do want to include whole foods in a regular rotation that address this need, preferably ones with some caloric heft to them because I'm always chasing the cals. Not sure how good Cheerios will serve me long term, either. I'll need to arrive at a baseline target and so far 20 seems like scratching the floor of good digestive health. 25 might be better and conveniently is the number MFP assigns this micro. Looking back in time, my weekly averages tended to hover in the 15-20 range. 16 has been a favorite. 

 

Assuming this is the case, if I can get this dealt with without rolling back the progress I've made so far, perhaps I'll finally have my shit together. * ba dum tssssh* Any specific advice on this subject is obviously welcome. Also I fear what else may happen directly after this, because things are looking too perfect. Perhaps I should watch my step??

[CourtnieMarie]

I'm going through the same struggle to up my fiber. i had ground flax seed in my freezer so i tossed some on my dinner. that and chia seeds have great fiber content and can dump on anything. salads, stir frys, smoothies, oatmeal, etc. they are not big calorie hitters by the tbsp though. a chia seed pudding topped with some flax though? made with full fat coconut milk? there's your cals! or a bowl of hot oatmeal topped with either seed, plus blackberries or raspberries (both high in fiber).

 

beans are cal dense too. i put lentils on my shopping list to buy this weekend. looks like there's a lot you can do with those.

[Kishi]

One thing that you might want to consider as well, since you want to tackle this with food, is to consider whether or not you're eating fiber hot or cold. Reason being that cooking food changes the nature of the fiber that you're eating, versus eating it raw and cold.

 

Not to drive you down the Raw Foods rabbit hole or anything, you understand. It's just that I had for a long, long time gotten what I thought was a lot of fiber. But the reality is, I was only getting cold soluble fiber from the occasional avocado; cold fiber of both soluble and insoluble types wasn't really a part of my diet for a long, long time. I wound up having to eat cold veggies as part of the nutrition plan for GB, and I personally feel like that made a difference for me.

 

So, you may want to consider what you're eating, when. I'm a big fan of cold veggies at lunch and hot at dinner, since I like ending the day with a warm meal. And like I said, this is pretty easy to pull off - bag of carrots that you pull from for lunch, and steamable bags for the microwave at night.

[ixaera]

Here to second oatmeal + seeds + fruit. I have on/off difficulty and nothing gets me going quite like some oatmeal with whey protein and some seeds n fruit

[CourtnieMarie]

 

[Urgan]

1 hour ago, CourtnieMarie said:

I'm going through the same struggle to up my fiber. i had ground flax seed in my freezer so i tossed some on my dinner. that and chia seeds have great fiber content and can dump on anything. salads, stir frys, smoothies, oatmeal, etc. they are not big calorie hitters by the tbsp though. a chia seed pudding topped with some flax though? made with full fat coconut milk? there's your cals! or a bowl of hot oatmeal topped with either seed, plus blackberries or raspberries (both high in fiber).

 

beans are cal dense too. i put lentils on my shopping list to buy this weekend. looks like there's a lot you can do with those.

 

I have eaten protein bars with chia and/or flax in them and had a bit of a reaction to them--I have a nut allergy, and this may be dancing too close to the line for my stomach's comfort? Cross-contamination? This is not to condemn either, but would require more research. I wonder if sesame seeds would do the same trick? * goes to look * Hrm. 1~g per Tblsp. Not bad for something that small, right? Thoughts.

 

Beans are my jam. 

 

8 minutes ago, Kishi said:

One thing that you might want to consider as well, since you want to tackle this with food, is to consider whether or not you're eating fiber hot or cold. Reason being that cooking food changes the nature of the fiber that you're eating, versus eating it raw and cold.

 

Not to drive you down the Raw Foods rabbit hole or anything, you understand. It's just that I had for a long, long time gotten what I thought was a lot of fiber. But the reality is, I was only getting cold soluble fiber from the occasional avocado; cold fiber of both soluble and insoluble types wasn't really a part of my diet for a long, long time. I wound up having to eat cold veggies as part of the nutrition plan for GB, and I personally feel like that made a difference for me.

 

So, you may want to consider what you're eating, when. I'm a big fan of cold veggies at lunch and hot at dinner, since I like ending the day with a warm meal. And like I said, this is pretty easy to pull off - bag of carrots that you pull from for lunch, and steamable bags for the microwave at night.

 

I am tossing in the occasional avocado in the interests of keeping my food mixed up. Fat source that balances out with cheese which I think I have officially confirmed is not bothersome to my gut because ZERO rumblings yesterday and I had milk and two forms of cheese as it so happened. I also have the not-at-all-healthy-but-f-it-I'm-clogged-up Cheerios and the healthier sunflower seeds in my arsenal. I also have cooked fiberrrrrrs from my dinners. I hate most vegetables raw, but can do a baby carrot. Breakfast fodder.

 

4 minutes ago, ixaera said:

Here to second oatmeal + seeds + fruit. I have on/off difficulty and nothing gets me going quite like some oatmeal with whey protein and some seeds n fruit

 

If I could only get past the milk thing, I would be all over that. Oatmeal + cinnamon sugar = yes. And I like my oatmeal on the al dente side, so no need to mushify it. Anybody know if coconut milk in oatmeal is edible? Shall I offer myself as taste testing tribute?

 

2 minutes ago, CourtnieMarie said:

 

 

MUSCLE FIBER COME ON. IT'S RIGHT THERE.

[CourtnieMarie]

41 minutes ago, Urgan said:

 

I have eaten protein bars with chia and/or flax in them and had a bit of a reaction to them--I have a nut allergy, and this may be dancing too close to the line for my stomach's comfort? Cross-contamination? This is not to condemn either, but would require more research. I wonder if sesame seeds would do the same trick? * goes to look * Hrm. 1~g per Tblsp. Not bad for something that small, right? Thoughts.

compared to chia at 5g fiber per tbsp? well... lol

but totally an improvement. you would want to gradually increase fiber anyway because WHO KNOWS what would happen if you went from 16 to 25 real fast

 

41 minutes ago, Urgan said:

Beans are my jam. 

do it up! even peas have 3g per half cup

 

41 minutes ago, Urgan said:

If I could only get past the milk thing, I would be all over that. Oatmeal + cinnamon sugar = yes. And I like my oatmeal on the al dente side, so no need to mushify it. Anybody know if coconut milk in oatmeal is edible? Shall I offer myself as taste testing tribute?

i would say coconut milk in oatmeal would be delicious. like putting cream on oatmeal. i mean people make oatmeal with egg whites these days! ...which i am planning to try within the week.

 

41 minutes ago, Urgan said:

 

MUSCLE FIBER COME ON. IT'S RIGHT THERE.

IKR?!

[Urgan]

2 minutes ago, CourtnieMarie said:

compared to chia at 5g fiber per tbsp? well... lol

but totally an improvement. you would want to gradually increase fiber anyway because WHO KNOWS what would happen if you went from 16 to 25 real fast

 

A harmless substitute if my body rejects the ch-ch-chia. Yeah, good point. Swinging wildly back and forth on the fiber could yield disastrous results. I might have to break down and make a plan or something.

 

3 minutes ago, CourtnieMarie said:

i would say coconut milk in oatmeal would be delicious. like putting cream on oatmeal. i mean people make oatmeal with egg whites these days! ...which i am planning to try within the week.

 

Hrm. You have a point. 

 

7 minutes ago, CourtnieMarie said:

IKR?!

 

Unless they failed to clarify, I so wish dietary fiber was in meat because I would be so very SET today. Meat goes into stuff where no meat was originally called for in recipes (and often doubled, tripled, etc. because have you seen these recipes designed for mice?? Who goes out special for only 4oz of sausage and calls that a meal? To SHARE?? WTF is this life? You had to do extra work to make that happen by a - going to a meat counter and asking or b - buying a 12 oz pack and splitting it, meaning you need to do something with the rest of it besides the only logical thing that is Cook It All) because I don't do meatless. I know, right? Shocking.

[Urgan]

Here is the offending recipe we made this week: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/smoky-sausage-peppers-cheddar

 

4 oz for FOUR SERVINGS. I totally bought 2 12oz packs and broke it into 4 servings, increasing vegetables as well, because I'm not a complete savage. 

[CourtnieMarie]

i am always doubling the meat in recipes! people be crazy. though 4oz for 4 serving is probably the worst i've seen! that recipe says each person will eat 1oz meat, 1/4 cup rice, and less than 1/5 cup of cheese.... cool. yeah. makes total sense.

 

[Urgan]

6 minutes ago, CourtnieMarie said:

i am always doubling the meat in recipes! people be crazy. though 4oz for 4 serving is probably the worst i've seen! that recipe says each person will eat 1oz meat, 1/4 cup rice, and less than 1/5 cup of cheese.... cool. yeah. makes total sense.

 

 

It is a darn good recipe scaled up to active adult human needs. The only thing that didn't get doubled was the cheese. That doesn't need a multiplier unless it is <1.

[ixaera]

1 hour ago, Urgan said:

If I could only get past the milk thing, I would be all over that. Oatmeal + cinnamon sugar = yes. And I like my oatmeal on the al dente side, so no need to mushify it. Anybody know if coconut milk in oatmeal is edible? Shall I offer myself as taste testing tribute?

I'm the wacko that uses quick cooking rolled oats and puts the hot water from the spiggot off of the office coffee brewer in it to "cook" it. I only put "milk" in there if I'm doing cold overnight oats (also very tasty), but I don't like cow milk so I use cashew milk or some such thing (cashew & flax milk are my favorites, macadamia nut milk is also way up there for me).