yes i am no i am not

Newark Sucks

I’m back in Katy today for the first time in what feels like forever. Technically, I came home last Monday, but in truth I only really slept here for the night; I drove home from Florida, slept and then woke up to go to the airport for UFC 159. 

And now UFC 159 is over, and I’m gone from Newark, and I’m so happy. Not just to be home, but just to be away from Newark. That’s the worst city in America. The media hotel was close to the airport, which is to say it was not close to the fighter hotel or anything decent of a food-related nature. 

Seriously: when the front desk “advises” you against going outside after dark, you know you’re not in a place you really want to be. 

Next time the UFC runs Newark, I’m staying in Manhattan. All of the fight week-related activities happen in NYC anyway, so there’s no point in staying in Newark. Especially since Newark is the worst place ever. 

A Complete Dismantling of Livestrong and Lance Armstrong →

This is an incredible read.

Whole30: Week 1 Reflection Worksheet

So I’m 7 days into my Whole30. I’ve made it a lot further than I thought I would, and certainly a lot further than others thought I would.

Things I’ve noticed thus far: I’m certainly smaller, though I don’t know how much smaller because I can’t step on the scale or measure myself during these 30 days. But I can tell all the same. My skin is also clearing up, which is awesome. I look younger. 

I’m supposed to fill out this “self-reflection” worksheet today, but I thought I’d just go ahead and post it on my Tumblr instead of keeping it private. Accountability is a great thing.

Here we go. The questions in bold are the worksheet questions, with my answers following:

I find myself craving sugar, bread or sweets when: I haven’t eaten anything at all in a few hours, and at night after 9 p.m. 

Sometimes, I think I’m hungry, but I’m actually just: Bored. Whenever I’ve been bored in the past, I snack, and this is a hard habit to break, even with healthy snacks.

When I’m craving sugar, I used to eat: Candy. Oreos. Any kind of high-sugar cookie.

During my Whole30, I’m going to reach for: Banana/Apple with almond butter instead

When I eat sweet food like fruit, I notice: Not much, really. I guess I haven’t paid attention

When I eat salty foods like olives, I notice: I feel satisfied

I thought I’d miss eating/drinking: Beer. And the first few days, I did miss it pretty badly, but now? I’m good. 

I didn’t think I’d like eating: Don’t have an answer for this one because I like pretty much everything.

I have the hardest time sticking to the Whole30 when I’m feeling: Again, bored. Boredom makes me snack and crave and whatnot.

I have the hardest time sticking to the Whole30 when I’m in this social setting: Out with friends. I haven’t done much of it thus far, but I WANT to, and I know it’ll be difficult to not have a beer. Because, you know, that’s what you do when you’re out with friends.

When I eat a good breakfast, I feel: Good. I have energy to start the morning off right.

When I prepare a healthy meal from scratch, I feel: Happy. And satisfied that I didn’t go out and buy Taco Bell for a quick fix.

Whole 30, Day 2

According to the email service I signed up for from the purveyors of the Whole 30, Day 2 is when things start to get harder. But for most of the day, I was fine. It wasn’t until I tried sleeping last night that I started waking up with dreams of unhealthy foods and drinks.

That’s normal, at least according to the day 3 email. Today is supposed to be pretty crappy. I’ll feel lethargic and generally downright blah, because my body is attempting to repair itself from years of processing bad food while also learning to use fat as its fuel source instead of sugar. Today’s email says to skip the gym and take plenty of naps, so I’m going to do just that. 

Right now, though, time for coffee. Thank goodness black coffee is paleo.

Whole 30, Day 1 Recap

This sucked.

It’s not that I can’t go a day without drinking beer or eating crap foods, because I most certainly can. It’s the knowledge that I have 30 days ahead of me where I can’t drink or eat crap foods that’s the hardest mental block to overcome.

I didn’t feel great this morning, but all of the Whole 30 literature says it takes 2 weeks to really clean out my system and start feeling great. 

All I know is that if I can get past this first week, I’ll be okay. 

Yesterday’s meals:

Breakfast: Eggs, chorizo, bell peppers
Lunch: Roasted sweet potatoes, squash, zucchini, bell peppers, organic chicken breast
Dinner:  Steak, grilled broccoli with garlic/rosemary/coconut oil, plum

And so it begins

Today is the beginning of my Whole 30. No idea how this is going to go.

The first thing to do today was to weigh myself. As part of the Whole 30 process, I’m not allowed to weigh for the next 30 days, but I’m supposed to weigh once before and once after. 

Current weight is 200 pounds, which is to be expected after I drank beer the past couple of days.

But the point of the Whole 30 is not to lose a numbered amount of pounds, but to completely change your life. I suspect I’ll lose the pounds as part of the deal, but it’s not the goal. I have 8-10 very specific written goals that I’m trying to accomplish over the next four weeks, and they’re going to be tough enough to do without worrying about actual pounds.

Anyway, here we go. Time to make a healthy breakfast and kick this thing off right.

It Starts with Food →

This is the foundation of the Whole 30 that I’m doing. It’s an awesome book that does a stellar job of describing things with a science background, but in a way that everyone can understand them.

Whole 30, Day Zero

My Whole 30 starts tomorrow. Today is a day of preparation, because there’s no way I can go into this with my eyes shut and still actually finish it.

To that end, today consists of:

• Cleaning out fridge/pantry. Throwing literally everything away except a few vegetables. Starting clean here.
• Filling out my Whole30  goal sheet. I did this first thing this morning. There are some very specific goals I’ve been seeking to accomplish for quite some time, and now is the time that they’ll finally happen.
• Grocery shopping. Going to HEB and picking up a lot of stuff. It’s going to be expensive, but this trip will lay the foundation for the rest of my month and hopefully for the rest of my life.

Whole 30

Next Monday (October 1st), I will begin my first Whole 30. 

For a description of the Whole 30, check this out. Essentially, what I’m looking at for October is a month of strict Paleo eating with zero sugars and zero alcohol. And that means zero of the delicious Octoberfest beers that bring me so much joy.

This isn’t going to be easy. But I’m telling as many people as possible so that I have some accountability throughout the month, and I’ll be writing about my experiences here on the Tumblr. I will include my starting weight and measurements on Monday, and then I’ll kick things off.

I’m excited to see how things work out and if I can go an entire month without awesome beers. I think I can. 

8/2/12

“Tumilson”

8 rounds for time
- 200m run
- 11 dumbbell DL burpees

Time: 24:56 (35)