PDP (Post Diet Plan)

Chapter 1: Diet

I have been making very bad food choices since my diet ended on Friday.  After today I plan on implementing a new eating strategy to regain control of the ship.

First let me give you my impressions from the diet.

I am pretty happy that I went through with it.  I think this diet will have a couple of long term benefits.  I grew to love a few very nutritious vegetables that I had previously only tolerated.  Sweet potatoes and kale are going to be on my plate more frequently from here on out.  I also have picked up some new snack foods.  I am perfectly happy to go with almonds and dried fruit in place of more sugary/bready alternatives.  I do want to continue eating more vegetables while cutting back on grains and dairy products.  I love my bread and cheese but I need to practice a little more moderation than I have in the past.

I feel like even after my body adjusted to the diet I was still short on energy.  Sweet potatoes gave me a little boost but eating grains again I realize just how much more energy they provide (for me anyway).  Even though I have been eating crap the last couple days I have felt pretty darn good when I go to the gym or run around.  Can’t keep eating like this though or I will have to get used to carrying around some extra weight.

My new plan involves starting with a simple breakfast.  Fruit smoothie if I don’t plan on working out before lunch and something like sweet potato and eggs if I am going to.  For lunch I will be a little more lenient and allow some grains and cheese.  This is where I am going to satisfy my cravings for breads, pastas, rice, and cheeses.  Then for dinner I am going to try and eat with the restrictions from the diet I just finished up.  No grains, added sugar, or dairy.  Lots of vegetables and some protein.

Hopefully this keeps my energy up while still limiting excessive consumption and keeping me from neglecting my veggies.

The plan is to try that out for a couple weeks and tweak it again if needed.  I am also allowing myself one dessert per week.  With all this heat I can’t just turn my back on ice cream.

Chapter 2:  Staying Active

It is becoming a lot easier to be active now that all that wretched snow is gone.  I know people can be active in the winter but I have reason to believe that I have bear DNA and can not be expected to ignore my natural instincts.

My friend and I have been walking a lot to get a feel for what El Camino de Santiago will be like (Spring 2013) and we walked about 12 miles on Saturday.  It was a pretty great adventure that involved a deer sighting, trail blazing, and free bread (Thanks Pigs Fly!).  I am psyched for the trip.  Unfortunately I am psyched 13 months too early.

Soccer league is starting in a few weeks!  Socks on Fire, the greatest division 2 adult soccer team ever assembled, will be taking the field again in April.  Awesome. (language is a means of conveying emotions and ideas Dave and that is the word that I feel will most accurately impress upon others what I am feeling regardless of if we are all wrong)

First day of pick up in Portland was yesterday.  We met on the crappy upper field at Payson Park to strap on the cleats and enjoy a little friendly competition.  We had around 23 people show up.  Amazing!

First tennis match yesterday before pick-up.  First trail run later today.  Tournaments and tryouts starting next month.  It is almost overwhelming.  Almost.

I had a bunch of coffee so the tone of this post probably reflects that.  Don’t expect this kind of exuberance from me too often.

Was just about to push the publish button then realized I had ZERO pictures in this post…

Here is a collection of pictures I have been saving for a post I was going to title “Around Portland” but would probably have never written:

Day 30: Steak to the End

I went out and bought myself a big hunk of flank steak the other day.  I am quite fond of flank steak so it was sort of a present to myself to celebrate the end of the diet (before I celebrate with ice cream tomorrow).  I cut it into four pieces and after cookie cooking and eating one portion I put the other three in different marinades.  Yep, really accidentally wrote cookie there first.

Zucchini, Roasted Rutabaga, and Flank Steak

Left to right: Coriander/Ginger/Lemon, Paprika/Cider Vinegar, Rosemary/Balsalmic

The vegetable of the week has been broccoli.  I did try roasting some rutabaga though.  It came highly recommended and I was pleasantly surprised by it.  I had never had it like that before and actually enjoyed it for the first time.

Some other meals:

Shredded Chicken, Broccoli, Sweet Potato

Scrambled eggs with some sweet potato and zucchini.

Broccoli and Kale

Broccoli and Kale + Steak

I also started eating even more sweet potato this week.  I noticed my energy levels were pretty low and sweet potato seems to give me a little boost.

I haven’t been snacking really because I felt like I was overdoing it with the almonds last week and wanted to cut back.  I think I will continue to use them as a snack post-diet though.  Certainly better than the usual.

Day 27: Red Meat and Roast Bird

Pretty much gave everything away in the title.  I don’t buy steaks to often so it is a bit of a treat when I do.

Broiled the steak and had a couple of my usual sides BUT I ate this for breakfast.  Didn’t see that twist coming huh?

For the roasted chicken I made a blend to coat the bird with.  Also loosened and spread some under the skin to make sure the flavor permeated the meat a bit.

Coconut oil, Olive oil, Paprika, Cumin, Rosemary, Salt, Pepper

Messy

Worth it.

Hosted a small tournament Saturday night at the Portland Sports Complex from 10pm-6:30am and it was a pretty good night.  It was nice to put on the cleats and play some full-field ultimate.  Have been doing a lot of mobility work and some agility stuff lately and I felt pretty good on the field.  Happy with my energy levels throughout the night as well.

Also, it was great to see how strong the Farmington team has become again.  They have picked up and cultivated some talented players since I left and it will be interesting to see how much damage they can do in the college series this year.

AND a big thank you to my friend Jessie (Medomak season 2) for making awesome muffins without using any forbidden ingredients (contained mostly almond flour, applesauce, rasberries, and coconut oil).  I think I had four before the tournament.

Day 24: One Week Left

One week left and I am already making plans in my head for what I am going to do when I lose these eating restrictions.

I have three containers of Ben and Jerry’s sitting in the freezer (there is a perfectly good explanation for that) and I will likely have one for breakfast.  After that I will probably just snack until dinner and go out to Minami with some friends where I will consume a ridiculous amount of sushi.  The following day I plan to address my pizza and chocolate chip cookie cravings.  After that I have to try and start eating well again.

Certainly don’t want to walk away from this with nothing.  I am hoping I will be able to continue to incorporate a good amount of nutrient dense foods and limit my intake of desserts, breads, and sugars.  That reminds me that I am going to have to grab some coffee with cream and sugar too.

I do have a week to go though.  I am on a bit of a kale kick and picked up another bunch at the store the other day.  Also grabbed a buttercup squash that has lasted me a few meals. Chicken has been pretty pricey so I opted for just buying one whole and processing it myself.

Kale +

Sweet Potato +

Egg = Most of my breakfasts.

Half bird roasted on summer squash.

Bones +

Roasting +

Water = Stock

I have always been a big fan of tomatoes but right now I am enjoying them even more.  Not sure if the sweetness is emphasized by the lack of sugar in my diet or it is some other reason but they are delicious.

Also I forgot to mention before that I tried the Bragg’s vinegar and water trick.  I can see how it would give some people a bit of a peppy feeling but it just made me feel a little queasy.

Have another overnight tournament tournament tomorrow from 10pm – 6:30am, should be fun.  Definitely feeling the itch to get outside and play on grass though.

 

Day 22: Best of Times/Worst of Times

I don’t ever keep a stocked kitchen.  I usually go shopping every few days and grab a few items that will cycle or be combined in different ways until the next trip.  This week kale or spinach has been involved in pretty much everything.  I am okay with that.

Crispy sauteed kale topped with some eggs.

Scramble with kale, pepper, and onion.

Tuna salad with spinach, tomato, and onion. Lemon juice and olive oil to dress.

I impulse bought some frozen fish at Walmart.  It was rather foolish and I ended up with a bunch of fish that was pretty unappealing.  I decided to  double pan fry it (fried, flaked, fried again) and mix in some curry spices to get a dish from it that I actually enjoyed eating.  The flakes crisped up a bit and it I ended up using it to top some baked sweet potato slices.  Not too bad actually.

I also made some coconut creamed kale to go with it.

Surprisingly not bad...

Another attempt to improve the fish.

Eric (Medomak Camp season 3) and I also made a curried haddock stew that I really enjoyed. Made the base with coconut milk, roasted eggplant (healthy way to give a soup or stew more body, surprisingly creamy), ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, fennel, and a bit of nutmeg.

I attempted another variation of the energy bars I had made earlier in the diet. First batch was dates, coconut flakes, and walnuts. Second batch I just used figs instead of dates. Definitely preferred the dates. This latest batch I tried apricots, cashews, and coconut flakes. It has been setting in the fridge for the last few hours so I am going to go give it a try right now…

Intermission

…damn that tastes good! Very pleased with the result but keep in mind that I haven’t had any sweeteners for the last three weeks.

That’s all for now. Feeling pretty good today, loving the warm weather.

Day 19: I Hate Winter

Not sure why I still choose to live in New England but every year I crawl into a cave of misery for 4-5 months and hibernate until Spring decides to show up.

This year was looking pretty good but with the recent snow storm all hopes have been dashed.  At least this diet is preventing me from consuming my weight in ice cream each week.

Looking at my photos from the last couple days the food isn’t too visual appealing.  Brace yourselves.

Sauteed and eaten while walking into down town Friday.

Broiled fish with some balsamic dressed spinach.

Coconut milk and strawberry smoothie with some eggs.

Over easy. Creamy yolk. Yummy.

Spiced ground turkey with tomato and spinach.

Almond joy minus the joy. I miss chocolate.

Roasted chicken dinner.

Eggs and sweet potato. Pretty dull breakfast, need to buy some more veggies.

Day 17: Finally Some Energy

Feeling pretty good this morning.  Probably from the coffee I had but maybe from taking a little break.  Tuesday into Wednesday was pretty rough on me and coming off a tournament last weekend probably didn’t help.  It is nice to go from the gym to boot on Tuesday nights, great for practicing playing tired but waking up at 5:30am on Wednesday to go to the gym again I was dead and didn’t have much push.

Feel like I have recovered now though and will hopefully make it back to the gym tonight to see how I feel sans coffee.

Yesterday was a very eggy day.

Breakfast:

Peppers, Onions, Chicken, Eggs

Lunch: 

Cardamom Sauteed Veggies, Sweet Potato, and Chili Brine Pork

Dinner:

Tomato, Onion, Spinach, and Tuna Frittata

Sometimes you just have to clean out your pantry and throw it all in a casserole dish.  Texture was perfect.  Tuna and eggs?  Probably won’t repeat that until I forget about this.

 

Day 15: Stranger Food

Managed to capture all three meals today.

Breakfast:

Onions and eggs on spinach. About as good as it sounds.

Lunch:

Brussel sprouts, pork, and leftover spaghetti squash. Pretty solid lunch.

Dinner:

Chicken and with a cucumber lime salsa on a bed of spinach, topped with some avocado (not pictured). Yum.

Went a little crazy and had a bit of dessert tonight too:

Coconut milk and berry smoothie. Not too shabby,

Almost forgot to explain the title of this post.

I went over a friends tonight and we made dinner for her grandparents.  Her grandfather commented “It’s great when strangers come over and make stranger food for us!”

I think it was a compiment…

Day 13: Spaghetti Squash

The weekend went pretty well.  My friends hosted us at their place on Friday night and the car I was in showed up a little later than we expected but just in time for dinner.  Dinner looked great, meatballs, pasta, garlic bread, salad.  Cookies AND brownies for dessert.  I had a bunch of salad.  It was really good salad but it sure as heck wasn’t meatballs (Gorgonzola in them) or garlic bread.

Breakfast was pancakes and eggs so I had a couple eggs and a banana.  The tournament went pretty well, we had a couple of tough games but ended up winning in the finals over the other Portland team.  Farmington is looking pretty good after a few rebuilding years.  I didn’t play very smart but by the time the finals came around I had reigned it in a little bit and was happier with my choices.  Some energy issues but nothing unexpected in February, certainly a lot of work to do before the big tournaments.

Spent Sunday walking around Boston with a couple friends.  Again tempted, Quincy Market displays large quantities and varieties of delicious looking food.  Went with a gyro salad that was pretty satisfying so not too much to complain about there.

I didn’t get to eat the pita that came with it but at least it was put to good use…

"Yeah! Those totally look like elephant ears..."

At the end of the post are some more pictures from the trip but I wasn’t being a very good cameraman so don’t expect much.

Up early this morning and had a couple eggs before heading to the gym.  When I got back I fixed some broccoli with a couple more eggs and some sweet potato rounds.

Lunch was leftovers but for dinner I had something new.  Spaghetti squash!  I am sure I have had it before somewhere but I can’t recall specifically ever eating it.  I roasted it then tossed it with some peppers and onions.  Topped it off with a chicken breast.  YUM!

That’s it for today, here is the bonus footage from Boston:

Day 9: The Bottom of the Bowl

Finished off the chili and stew today.  Probably overdid it a bit with those.  Going to need to get back to the sort of meals I was eating in the beginning.  Felt a lot better about that kind of eating.

Heading to another tournament tomorrow and won’t be back until Saturday night.  This tournament usually provides a PB&J table and I usually eat about 50.  Sorry to be missing out on that this year.  Staying with some friends and having a team dinner tomorrow night.  Lots of pasta and bread to resist.  I am in charge of meatballs though so I will probably just eat an unhealthy amount of those.

I do feel like I have a good amount of energy, unfortunately right now I could use a little less.  Need to be up in 6½ hours to go to the gym but don’t feel too sleepy.

Goodnight!?

“…yet I am sure that there is greater anxiety, commonly, to have fashionable, or at least clean and unpatched clothes, than to have a sound conscience.”