8:30am, 3 blocks
1 1/2 oz turkey
1 1/2 oz cheese
1 1/2 c grapes
9 almonds
12:30pm, 3 blocks
1 balance bar
1 oz jerky
1 apple
Comments: gonna start experimenting with the balance and zone bars because of my experience visiting my friends and not having my own kitchen control. So far so good.
3:30pm, 3 blocks
3 oz jerky
pb
1 rice cake
1 c grapes
The last couple days have been challenging, both in terms of eating well and because I’ve been busy enough so that I haven’t made time to post here. I’ve managed to stay basically in the Zone, but not in the most preferable way. I have been recording my intake on paper, which is good.
Monday I was traveling and busy all day, so I relied on bars rather than “real” food. Yesterday was better, but I’m still feeling famished and chomping on almonds between meals. Some of that definitely has to do with unpreparedness, some with the fact that I’m still not spacing my meals properly.
So I have learned some good lessons. First, when visiting someone else’s home, I need to pack in at least some meals, even if they’re bars. Second, when I am going to be gone all day, at work or wherever, I need to start bringing more food than I think I will need. Because it’s obvious that I am needing more than I’m bringing. And I’m still hoarding blocks at the end of the day. And third, I need to start eating by the clock. This is probably going to be the most challenging part on days that I work at the store. But that’s only 2 days a week, so even if I have to eat on the run those days, I can do okay the rest of the time.
YESTERDAY
Comments: I was crazy hungry yesterday for some reason. And I just went with it; I had significantly more fat than normal, though I probably didn’t need all that I ate. Live and learn. Part of it is that I ran out of nuts and had to rely on the low fat peanut butter, which has sugar in it, so that may have messed with me a little. I’m not being too hard on myself because this is the first time I was away from my own kitchen for a couple days. Plus, it gets TIRING to plan ahead, as evidenced by my meals earlier today (see below).
I’m also still having difficulty spacing my blocks appropriately. Gotta just sit down with a friggin’ clock and do the math, and when the clock strikes whatever, I eat my blocks. Hickory dickory dock.
9am, 2 blocks
1/2 c cottage cheese
2 c berries
6 almonds
1:30pm, 3 blocks
20 almonds
3 oz chicken
1 apple
tomatoes and lettuce
4pm, 3 blocks
3 oz turkey
1 c cereal
10 almonds
5pm, 10 almonds
7pm, 3 blocks
3 oz chicken
1 slice bread
1 T pb
9:30, 2 T pb
11pm, 3 blocks
1/2 c cottage cheese
1 oz turkey
1/2 c cereal
1 apple
2 T pb
TODAY
Comments: Got caught up short with the food because we got lost this morning/early afternoon while hiking. Came thisclose to running out of gas, too. So my choices weren’t terrific, but they were better than they would have been in the past. It was also a cheat meal day, and I’m noticing other interesting things about my reactions.
9am, 2 blocks
1/2 c cottage cheese
1 c berries
1 apple
1pm, 4 blocks
3 oz beef jerky
1 small granola bar
1 protein bar
4pm, cheat meal
1/4 lb pasta salad with smoked mozzarella
1 seeded roll
handful of potato chips
handful of chocolate covered trail mix (the last two were free samples at Whole Foods
I also have a vegan chocolate parfait that I haven’t eaten yet, as of 6pm. Maybe later.
Comments on the cheat meal: The roll was too sweet! Incredibly sugary. I didn’t look at the ingredients, but it’s supposed to be a whole grain dealie. And yet it tasted like someone had doused it in sugar. It was just interesting that I tasted the sugar when I never would have in the past. It’s the same thing that happened with the processed peanut butter. Plus, after I ate that meal, my heart started to race. It was like my body suddenly noticed that I was 6000 feet above sea level and reacted.
It also looks like I didn’t do terrible damage this time. I mean, I didn’t go crazy with fast food or really junky stuff, so that’s kind of cool.
9am, 2 blocks
1/2 c cottage cheese
2 c frozen berries
1pm, 3 blocks
9 almonds
3 oz chicken and bleu cheese
ton of veggies
Second trip to the salad bar. Went much better! And the salad was still damn good.
4pm, 1 block
25 almonds (been craving that extra fat)
1 oz turkey
1 apple
7:30pm, 3 blocks
20 almonds
3 oz chicken
1 c tomatoes
green beans, bell pepper, onions
9:30, 3 blocks
1 protein bar
1 oz turkey
midnight, 2 blocks
1 oz turkey
1 Balance Bar
So those Balance Bars are supposed to be Zone-friendly, or so I thought. But the ratio of protein to carb in them is only 1:2, not the 3:4 it needs to be. So I threw in a little turkey. Wanted to see how I react to the bars, whether they make me crave carbs. So far, so good.
3pm, 3 blocks
3 oz chicken
2 c tomatoes
1 pear
9 almonds
7pm, ~4-5 blocks
salad with chicken, a little cheese and tofu, spinach, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes
Comments: This was my first trip to a salad bar since starting the Zone. I definitely got too much protein, and still can’t eyeball the necessary amounts of carbs to go along with it. So I overate at that meal. And strangely, it didn’t even occur to me not to eat the whole salad; doing the Zone has put me back in the Clean Plate Club, because I eat everything I prepare for myself at each meal. But when I prepare meals at home I can measure. This was a good eyeopener for me, both to look more carefully at my protein amounts when I know what they are and to remember that when I don’t have control over portions, I’m going to have to think a little harder.
Still, it was a damn good salad!
To complicate matters further, I’m also visiting friends in Albuquerque right now, so I have to be extra vigilant. I have some staples for breakfast, and we’ll probably go back to Whole Foods, which is where I got the salad, for other meals. So I’ll have some opportunities to practice portions.
10pm, 1 block
1 oz turkey
1/2 t pb
1 apple
Comments: I decided to eat a block before bedtime even though I overate at dinner. Normally I’d worry about calories, etc, but this time I decided to just follow the “prescription” rather than beat myself up for making some mistakes. I figured one less than optimal meal shouldn’t keep me from getting back on track, and I’m supposed to eat something before I go to sleep to keep everything steady. Plus, I had been craving a Honey Crisp apple. Holy crap, they’re good.
Another thing: I can never go back to processed peanut butter. I have been eating the natural kind (the kind where the oil separates out), which is just peanuts, but the friend I’m staying with has Skippy. Boy is it SWEET! It was interesting—and gratifying—to notice how my palate has changed; before the Zone I never tasted the sugar in the processed PB. But now I can never go back. The natural stuff is just too good, and the processed stuff is just too sugary. I’ll have to figure out a different fat source; maybe I’ll just get some nuts.
8:30am, 1 block
1 oz turkey pepperoni
1 red bell pepper
11am, 3 blocks
1 1/2 oz turkey pepperoni
1 pear
1 Balance bar
Comments: Becca confirmed that you can modify your fat intake without messing with the insulin response, so I am increasing and decreasing with each meal depending on what I crave. Some of my proteins have more fat in them than others, which may have something to do with the cravings.
I’m headed out of town for the weekend, which = the first extended period since I’ve been Zone-ing that I won’t be in my own kitchen. That’s part of the reason I tried the Balance bar; I may be resorting to some of that kind of food to make sure I keep myself where I need to be. And I want to see how it works in me; so far no abnormal sweets cravings, which is a good sign. I’ll be staying with friends who will be fine with me stocking up on groceries, but you just never know.
5:30am, 1 block
1 oz turkey
1 rice cake
1/2 t pb
1 t dried fruit
9am, 2 blocks
2 oz mozzarella
6 almonds
1 pear (should have been two but forgot 1)
1 pm, 4 blocks
1 protein bar
1 oz chicken
12 cashews
5pm, 2 blocks
2 oz mozzarella
2 pears
6 almonds
8:30, 3 blocks
1 oz chicken
2 oz turkey peperoni
1 rice cake
1 1/2 t pb
1 c tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
1 T extra pb
Comments: That thing I said about not being hungry at night? Scratch that. I’m gonna eat all my blocks today. I also had some extra fat: a few extra cashews at lunch and a T of extra pb at dinner. I read that’s okay, although I’m not nearing a dangerously low body fat percentage. But this is a lifestyle change, so I’m gonna make adjustments over time, and if I need to adjust back, then I will. I’m craving the fat, so I figure it’s okay.
2pm, 3 blocks
1 oz cheese
2 oz turkey
9 almonds
1 pear
1 apple
1 c tomatoes
4:30pm, 2 blocks
2 oz turkey
6 almonds
1 apple
1 plum
9pm, 4 blocks
2 oz turkey
6 almonds
1 pear
1 plum
1 t pb
1/2 c cottage cheese
2 c strawberries
11pm, 2 blocks
2 oz turkey jerky
1 rice cake
1 t pb
1 apple
Comments: I need to do a better job of spacing my blocks. Too many of them get clumped together at night after I train. I’m hungry then, but probably not that many blocks’ worth of hungry. And I may be eating too many blocks each day. I think I’ll pare one down and see how that goes for a week or two and then adjust accordingly. So much of this is psychological; that’s why I probably hoard my blocks till the end of the day.
Confession: I had some Reese’s pieces today. I tried to combine them with a little protein, but I’m sure the ratio was off. Those cheat days are wreaking havoc. HAVOC. I have a little bit of sugar and I want a lot more, even if I’m full. And this week the craving spilled into the next day. My mood first thing this morning was kind of cranky, although that could have something to do with the fact that the traffic was so bad that I had to abort my CrossFit mission and head home. That means I didn’t get to see how sluggish/lively I was during the post-cheat meal workout. Could also have something to do with the fact that it’s Monday. I’m gonna do another cheat meal next weekend to continue the experiment (and because, like I said, I like to like sweets and am not ready to give them up), but maybe I’ll do it on Saturday and see how Sunday shakes out.
TODAY
5:30am, 1 block
1 oz mozzarella
1/2 t pb
1 apple
8:30am, 1 block
1 oz mozzarella
3 almonds
1 pear
12pm, 2 blocks
1 oz mozzarella
1 hard-boiled egg
1 t pb
1 apple
1 rice cake
3pm, 4 blocks
1 rice cake
2 t pb
1/2 c cottage cheese
2 oz turkey
1 c grapes
1 apple
5:30pm, 1 block
1/2 t pb
1 oz turkey
1 apple
9pm, 3 blocks
1 rice cake
1 1/2 t pb
1 1/2 c mushrooms
1 c cauliflower
1 c tomatoes
1 oz turkey
1 oz turkey pepperoni
1 oz mozzarella
10:30pm, 2 blocks
1 c yogurt
1 t pb
Comments: Sometimes I enjoy hard boiled eggs, but other times I think they are the devil’s testicles. I almost dry-heaved while eating one today. I don’t know what that’s about. Maybe I’ll lay off them for a while.
3 weeks on the Zone so far. It has been easier than I expected, especially since the cheat meal I had last weekend left me in a food coma—and may actually have contributed to my cranky mood and lousy performance on the workout the next day. I’m gonna experiment tomorrow.
I’m relying heavily on stevia to sweeten things like iced tea and nonfat yogurt, which I sometimes have for dessert. I also chew more gum than I used to. And I’m measuring things pretty carefully, but I can’t bring myself to eat half of a nectarine, for instance. So sometimes I may get a bit more carb than I need, but I’ll work on that. Well, one thing at a time. I’m making slow but steady progress. Thinking about food as the most important medicine you can take is really compelling.
According to the caliper test Andy did a couple days ago, my body fat percentage is 15. This means I get one more block per day than I thought I did! Hot diggity damn. Sometimes I actually find it difficult to eat all the blocks I need to; sometimes I want more. But for the most part I am okay. The timing is also a challenge because of training. I usually eat 1 or 2 blocks about 90 minutes before training, and then I don’t usually eat again for 5-6 hours, by the time training is over. So then I have to cram more blocks in later at night. Seems to be working okay for now, and I always wake up ready to eat again.
Yesterday:
5:30am 2 blocks
2 oz chicken
1 rice cake
1 t pb
1 apple
8:30 am 2 blocks
2 oz turkey jerky
2 apples
6 almonds
12:30pm 3 blocks
1 oz turkey
1 egg
1 oz mozzarella
1 rice cake
1 1/2 t pb
2 plums
