2014 - A New, New New Years Resolution

Happy New Year!

Yes, I'm a few days late at that start of my resolution, but I will tell you that I rarely ever do them - which means I rarely have something to regret when I quit.

If you have read the previous posts and the journey of the 28 Day Challenge, you will know that I had successes and failures. More failures than not, but I think I figured out why...

Our bodies are machines that run better when they have the correct fuel mixtures. If you put the wrong fuel type in your car, you notice a performance difference. Same goes with our bodies. After a year of research and a resolution to change my eating habits "by the math", I have rediscovered things that I did remember back in my nutrition class from 17 years ago. My diet has been all over the place, protein heavy, fat heavy, carb deficient. It's crazy how quickly an ounce of cheese can flip the scales to fat heavy.

Basically, we need to have carbohydrates (as not all carbs are bad), protein, and fat. The importance is the percentage of each that can make or break your eating habits and goals.

Here is a good source I found: http://weighing-success.com/NutritionalNeeds.html

If you go down toward Step 3, you will see a chart that shows the percentages of the popular diets and meal plan services. The average is almost all carb heavy, with the exception of Atkins and South Beach... which are just not good for you... I had to look up Ornish, it looks to be some new fad diet.

My goal is going to be 50%-Carbs, 30%-Protein, 20%-Fat AND maintaining a plant based diet for ONE YEAR! Keep in mind, that it isn't just percentages, but the grams of each that are important. On an 1,800 calorie/day plan, I am allowed:

Type	%	grams	calories
Carbs	50%	225	900
Protein	30%	135	540
Fat	20%	40	360

For example, the breakfast listed below has 34g (38%) / 17g (19%) / 17g (43%)... that's C/P/F. This means that I only have 23 grams of fat left for the day which would have gone WAY over the balance if I were consuming dairy... sad, because I do love cheese... and that explains the 40+ lbs I intend on losing.

This may be beyond the scope of an Engine 2 Challenge, but I will continue to post here until I come up with a name for my new blog. Besides, I'm getting visitors and I like seeing numbers.

Day 1 - Breakfast

Tofu breakfast sandwich - 34g (38%) / 17g (19%) / 17g (43%)

3oz. Broiled tofu slice seasoned with cumin and smoked paprika

2 slices of Milton's whole grain bread

1/2 avocado

1 cup cooked kale

Day 28

Done.

And the weight in is 203.5!!

I was hoping for 200 even, but I'll do that on my own time. This is 13 pounds lost in under a month.

What have I learned from this experience?

•  We (Americans) use way too much oil in cooking.  Look at the ingredients of anything near you. I was shocked how much oil there is in everything.  Why does there have to be additional oils in peanut butter? To make it spread better, that's why.  The convenience of the food has made it more unhealthy for us.  I can guarantee that the majority of the weight lost was due to the lack of oil.
• Vegan / Vegetarian alternatives are just as unhealthy as their counterparts (if not worse). Again with the addition of oils and other refined crap, you might as well just eat the real thing. Fake cheeses, spread and dressings are still oil based.
• Processed wheat products has the consistency of marshmallows.
• It is possible to create unique meals using only plant-based items. Maybe not for me since I kept making too much and having left overs, but for you it will work out.

Will I continue eating this way? I think I'll keep it going and explore more options of what I can add to my menu.  I don't know. I'll probably keep the plant-based for myself and be less picky when I'm out with friends. I want to say that I'll go plant-based and be done with it, but my last meal wasn't what I had hoped for. My palate has been cleansed and I can really taste the variety of what whole foods has to offer and I find that cool as well as depressing. For example, I was watching Chopped on FoodTV and one of the judged kept complaining about about the lack of salt. It was the same judge on almost every item that kept complaining about not enough salt. I don't think I would trust this guy as a cook, judge or food critic as his palate has been compromised. Salt is seasoning, yes, cooks out there, I am aware of that. Are you aware that food naturally has flavor? If we weren't so...

This blog wasn't meant to be a platform for anything, so forgive the rant. Everyone has their own opinions and lately it seems that food can join the category of "Things you don't discuss in public" with religion and politics.

It has been a fun 28 days and if anyone has been inspired by this challenge or others, post a reply.

Again, sorry for getting sick. My meal plan would have been more exciting and lengthy had I not been asleep most of the week.

Breakfast
Simple Cereal w/ Banana and blueberries
Vegan Pumpkin Muffin

Late Lunch
1 cup Soo-Foo grain mix
Avocado and Broccoli sprout sandwich
Spring Mix with Salsa


The End.

Day 27

1 day left. Do I celebrate with a cheese pizza?

Had I not lost a week with being sick, I probably would have been more active and been able to reach my goal quicker. Next time.


Breakfast
Simple Cereal w/Bananas & blueberries

Lunch
Broiled Tofu sandwich with avocado


Dinner
Left over Acorn Squash and Soo-Foo
Left over Miso Asparagus

Day 26

I'm feeling better now. Not at the top of my game as I should be, but I'm getting there. I slept in a bit longer than planned this morning and by the time I got moving it was around 10am, so I turned lunch into more of a snack time that meal time.



Breakfast
Simple Cereal
Vegan Pumpkin Muffin


Snack
2 Pita w/Hummus 
1 Celery stalk w/ peanut butter 


Dinner

Acorn squash w/SooFoo
Miso Asparagus

Dessert
Vegan Pumpkin Muffin 

Day 25

I was hoping by day 25 I would be showing some cool recipes and other things I have learned during this journey, but I am still sick. This illness has nothing to do with the challenge, being vegetarian or anything related. It is purely my own stupidity of donating twice the amount of red blood cells and running off to Disneyland where snotty kids wipe their snotty noses on everything.

I am beginning to feel better, but I still have that haze of ache all over the place. One thing that I have noticed is this feeling of a painful hangover floating over me and not knowing why.  It might be lack of caffeine over last few days and I'm feeling the effects of it leaving my system. I'll go decaf for a bit to see how that feels overall.



Breakfast
Green Smoothie

• 1 Bunch Rainbow Chard, washed and broken into small bits
• 1 cup of carrots
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
• 1/2 cup raspberries
• 1 banana

Lunch
Vegan Chili 
Pumpkin Muffin 
 
Dinner
Theraflu

Day 24

This mornings weight-in is 204!!

Holy crap! I'd like to take all the credit for this amazing change, but I gotta say the last few days have not been kind to me. Being sick, asleep and barely eating probably have a good hand in this weight loss. Or not. Let's keep in mind that I started at 214 lbs, so in 24 days I've dropped 10 lbs.

I'm hoping to hit 200 in 4 days. That will end up being a good round number for the end of this challenge. Lose 1 pound every 2 days.

I'm going back to bed.



Breakfast
Simple Cereal



Lunch
Banana, Peach, Plum
Theraflu



Dinner
Crackers

Snack
Theraflu

Day 23

I'm still sick. I've been asleep on of off for the about 30 hours. I do have to blame the blood donation and the kids at Disneyland.

I'm going back to bed...



Breakfast
TheraFlu


Lunch
Banana, peach, plum

Dinner
TheraFlu

Day 22

Oh day 22, why have you forsaken me! It appears that in my heightened state of mind from feeling good gave me a lapse in judgement regarding my own well being. What did I just say? I said, I should not have given blood and then gone to Disneyland just because I was feeling good. What goes to Disneyland? Kids! What are kids? Sick factories! So in my weakened state, I am now sick and stupid as a result. Stupid.

I'm going back to bed.


Breakfast
Coffee
Vegan Cookie
Almonds

Lunch
Veggie sandwich, dry, no cheese
Side salad, no cheese

Snack 
Carrots
Veggie "chicken" salad from Whole Foods 

Day 21

I think it was forgetting to post last night and having to write one this morning, but the remaining days are moving fast! I almost forgot to post this evening as well.

I think I mentioned that I went vegetarian as a test to see if I could do it for a month. I did and I didn't stop. I stopped eating fish last September and have been strickly "lacto-ovo" up until this challenge. Just because you're vegetarian, doesn't mean you eat well; Del Taco, eggs, cheese, pizza and the occasional salad is still considered vegetarian. I still smoked and drank often and didn't get too much exercise.

Let's go back to this time last year. I went to a local blood drive and donated with no complications, but they were concerned of my blood pressure. It was high... high enough to warrant a lifestyle change. As a result, I did nothing... as most people do. Last December, I donated a pint before the holidays and my blood pressure was still the same.  By mid-January, it was time to stop smoking anyway and drinking went along with it. So 4 months of no cigs and booze PLUS 21 days of a plant based diet dropped my blood pressure down to "safe" level. It still needs a little more to go, but I can honestly say, it only needs "a little" more to go! I feel freaking fantastic about that! I almost got a bit emotional when I heard that... then I realized that I don't get emotional over most things - I'll just pat myself on the back. Good job Ryan... good job!

This new knowledge has solidified the desire to go plant-based full time. At the very least, allowing oil into the diet every now and again because it's tough to go out and avoid it.

A friend heard that I gave blood and mentioned that I did it after going on a vegan diet. I did the donation while STILL on the vegan diet and it felt like it was nothing! I gave double the red cells too! I still took a nap because it was very easy to do, but I woke up after 30 minutes and went to Disneyland for a few hours. My energy level is still up and my brain is on overdrive!

Plant-Based Diet ≥ Flowers for Algernon

Because I didn't plan on being out as late as I was, I didn't bring snacks like I've been trying to do. After Disneyland, I stopped off at Whole Foods and then went to Native Foods to bring food home and wolf it down at 9PM. Eating late is never good.

 Here is my day.

Breakfast
Simple Cereal

Snack (post blood donation)
Orange juice
Trail mix

Lunch
Lavish bread wrap with seitan, guacamole and spring mix

Dinner
BBQ Seitan sandwich from Native Foods
Edamame 


Dessert
4oz glass of Almond milk
Vegan chocolate chip cookie

Day 20

Here is another late update.

Sorry, I was busy and couldn't get time to write. With roughly a week remaining, I am finding myself wanting to keep going. I feel great, I have energy and my creativity is flowing rapidly. I have no reason to not keep going, you know?  

Breakfast  
Buckwheat Pancakes

Lunch 
Lavish bread wrap with seitan and spring mix 

Snack
Whole wheat pita bread w/ guacamole

Dinner
Tofu burger on whole wheat bread 

Snack
Almond butter and banana sandwich

Day 19

It's day 19, officially down to the single digit days.  I wish I had gone to the doctor or had some sort of tests done to see the actual results of this challenge, but I will stick with my original plan of "see how I feel."

On top of being on this plant based diet for 19 days, I also quit smoking and drinking in mid January. I think this combination of things will make my over all goals much easier. The goal being, get in shape and be healthy.

I feel good. The Jeet Kune Do class I took was really fun and cool, but I tweaked my knee a bit. I'm not quiting... it's not the toe thing that I screwed me up from that last time I tried martial arts... Kuk Sool was such a fun class too. I feel strong and I feel quick. I'm probably none of those things as seeing my reflection in the mirror shadow boxing was a different image that what I had in my mind. Time... patience, effort and time. Ooh. I think I just found the recipe for "Life," write it down.

Tomorrow is more greens. I think I had more when I was juicing. 


Breakfast
1/2 serving Simple Cereal
Left over buckwheat pancakes

Lunch
Left over tofu burger on whole grain with tofu mayo and fat free bbq sauce

Dinner
Seitan o Greatness sandwich on whole grain

Snack
Carrots and peanut butter

Day 18

Sorry this one is late. I went to bed reading a book and totally forgot to write.

The day overall was good. Hell, 10 days into this mess and I would hope that the day would be good.
I recently acquired "The New McDougal Book" as payment for babysitting which has all sorts of recipes that flow right into this challenge. Most of the recipes are simple ingredients and can be made on the cheap. I'm all about "on the cheap" since the juicing idea was WAY out of my budget for the length of time I wanted to do it for.  In addition, I am feeling a bit more inspired to continue this during the final stretch.

Breakfast
Vegan Banana Nut Muffin
Coffee

Lunch

My father and I went back to Au Lac, because he's enjoying vegan food now!

BBQ Pork Roll

rice paper, barbecued soy pork, pickled daikon and carrot, chive, peanut sauce

Cơm Bò Bít-Tết (Beef Steak)

soy beef steak in garlic marinade, asparagus, with brown rice
Dinner
Tofu Burger on Sprouted Whole Grain bread

Day 17

I have this horrible habit of favoring the snooze button when it goes off. It generally goes off about 4 or 5 times before it finally says "To hell with you, it's my turn to sleep"... unless I have to be somewhere of course. Now this isn't saying much about energy levels and feeling great, but I will say that I used to toss and turn for a long time before finally falling asleep. I haven't had that problem too much in the past two weeks. I say too much because the weather is changing and it sucks not having air conditioning.

My line of work is changing fast and I'm not sure what I'll be doing in a month or even a week for that matter. One of the things that I am tackling head on is Voice Over. I have group training as well as private training and one of the things that helps is this plant based diet. I don't consume anything really that leaves a filmy, glutenous feeling like what you get from dairy and processed foods. If any of you do any vocal work, this might be something to try out. Maybe go plant based a few days before a performance?

I had a busy day and I did take the time to photograph the process of a few recipes. Let me know if you have enjoyed what I have been posting and if you would like to see more. The Seitan o' Greatness recipe links to another page until I can nail it down more. The latest batch came out good, but not enough to be proud of.

I'd love to read variations that you might have on these recipes.

Breakfast
Buckwheat Pancakes


Lunch
Smart Dog sandwich on sprouted whole grain

Dinner
Seitan o' Greatness lavish wrap with spring mix and soy mayo.  

Day 16

Going back to yesterday, I have no clue as to why I was so tired. I think maybe all of the days of working late on projects was taking away from the 8 hours my body needed. I have been averaging maybe 6 - 6 1/2 hours.

Today was good. I had a dental appointment which left my face numb for a few hours. In retrospect I could have done something, but instead I sat around and poked at my face. That being said, a good chunk of time is unaccounted for and I fear I was lost in TV land until my brain went into survival mode and turned the TV off. It (my brain), then turned on the 88.1FM (UCLB Jazz) and went into cleaning mode. Sadly, I don't recall when I regained feeling in my face. I was looking forward to that pins and needles feeling. It's okay, I'll have another shot next week! Deep cleaning the second half of my face.

Tomorrow I'm going to attempt the Seitan o' Greatness recipe a friend gave me. The last attempt was unsuccessful and looked more like an exploded cartoon cigar than anything edible.


Breakfast
Simple Cereal

Lunch
Lavish break wrap with spring mix and bbq seitan

Dinner
Lavish break wrap with spring mix and bbq seitan (So good, had to make it twice)

Day 15

Somewhere I did something wrong for my body is mad at me today.

Today is day 15 and I think all of the energy I have had in the last few days has finally been used up.

I have been tired, very tired and lethargic all day. Unmotivated and just overall lazy. I'm not sure where I went wrong with this, but if I can find something I did different from yesterday I could blame the pizza. The food from Au Lac was too good to be mad at, so I can't blame them. Z Pizza can bite my...

... where was I, right, lethargy. I even took a 15 minute 30 minute 45 minute 1 hour nap and still felt pretty lousy. By 3pm I decided that I was getting coffee, I needed to be productive and I had things to do. I walked to get a small coffee and then by 5pm I went to a free Jeet Kune Do class for an hour. Does it make sense to be lethargic but easily motivated? What the heck is broken today?

Breakfast

The Simple Cereal

Simple Cereal

Lunch
All American Sandwich from Veggie Grill
Steamed Kale salad

Dinner
Smart dog / Smart Chili

Day 14

Today is the half way point of the 28 day challenge.

I feel good, actually, I feel great. I'm not seeing the kind of results I want, but my energy level gets better each day. There's something fun about running experiments on myself. I'll have to look into doing more.

I decided to get a vegan pizza from Z Pizza. Granted it wasn't the one I saw in the menu, but what ever, it had more vegetables that I thought were going to be on it. However, I think I'm broken from even having fake cheese! Oily gross mass of stuff. I can go without. Now it's a texture and a flavor thing. The Daiya brand cheese creates a substance that I can only describe as being "a thick flavored glue" and comes off as being very much not natural.

I suppose the fine line between "Plant-Based" and "Vegans" can be drawn at the food chemistry labs. There's isn't any weird science going on with Plant Based eating from what I've seen so far. I won't call seitan a weird science as it is made up of pretty simple ingredients.

I had a craving for rich flavor and greens which brought me back to Au Lac in Fountain Valley. There I indulged in the BBQ "Pork" rolls and a fake chicken that came with brown rice and broccoli. Very good if you are ever in the area.

Breakfast
Tofu scramble & black bean burrito

Lunch
Z-Pizza personal vegan pizza.

Snack
Celery w/Peanut Butter

Dinner
Au Lac BBQ Pork Roll
rice paper, barbecued soy pork, pickled daikon and carrot, chive, peanut sauce

Roasted Chicken

soy chicken in garlic gravy, broccoli, tomato, with brown rice  

Day 13

I keep forgetting to take photos of what I'm cooking. I have about two weeks to get at least one finished right?

Today was all about new and improved Ryan. I signed up for a free 30 days at OC Kickboxing with the idea in mind of taking Jeet Kun Do. They had me do an intro class of Muay Thai Kickboxing which is structured a lot like regular boxing, but with kicks included. My next class will be Jeet Kun Do on Monday. The extra workout should (hopefully) boost me into a higher caloric burn.

I had a late lunch which begat a late dinner. I hate that phrase "Hindsight is 20/20" but I really do wish I was prepared for even a snack. Note to self: But carrots and celery and keep them with you... sheesh.

Breakfast
Tofu scramble and Black Bean Burrito

Snack
Hummus with Rice / Nut Flour Crackers

Lunch
Tofu / Veggie Skewer with a tomato chili sauce (at Disney California Adventure) 

Dinner
Tempeh BTL on Whole Grain

Day 12

This mornings weight-in is 210!

So all in all, being on this for just under 2 weeks and loving 5-6 pounds is pretty good. Any complaints that I've had before have gone a bit. I'm okay without cheese and other dairy, but eggs and oil are in everything that I perceive as being good... but processed foods aren't tasting good to me as much as they did.

My energy level is just good. I was up and moving from 7am to midnight. I did take a 15 minute nap, but only to see if that would boost my energy levels and it did. Naps are great! Coffee is still an addiction, but that is okay for now.


Breakfast
Simple Cereal


Lunch
Avocadilla (I think I'm out of avocado's now)


Dinner
TVP burritos w/ spring mix, salsa and black beans

Day 11

** I've added the Avocadilla to the recipes page **

I managed to go all day yesterday without coffee and today it was all I could think about. Crazy addictions I suppose.

Today was a test of wills by dinner time and I'm very proud to say that I was successful. While I still have the cookie cravings, the pizza cravings have kind of gone away and that makes me sad. I am quite fond of pizza... except that new monstrosity by Pizza Hut, Hot Dog Stuffed Crust with Mustard Drizzle. Are you f'ing kidding me?! Being breaded and deep fried are the only things missing from this slice of a quadruple bypass.

This is real because you can't make this stuff up!

After being on this plant-based challenge for what feels like a lifetime, things like this look like something on Funny or Die. I'm glad I became a vegetarian by the time KFC's Double Down came out.

Back to today.

Breakfast
Simple Cereal

Lunch
"Avocadilla"

Snack
Pita bread with Hummus

Dinner
Mother's Market "Tahiti Fusion Wrap"
Whole grain wrap, tempeh, green leaf lettuce, avocado, carrots, bean sprouts... other vegan stuff
Lemon Quinoa

Day 10

18 days to go and maybe I'll have a longer stretch without f'ing up the game plan.

What have I been saying since the beginning here? Ask. It never hurts to ask. I suppose there is that fear of "Never question the people that handle your food" that I have burned in my head... not from personal experience mind you, but just fear that someone will spit in my food because I asked too many questions or complained.

That being said... Perhaps I can consider today as my "Get out of jail free card"... they have those for health don't they? 

How do I feel after eating crap food? I feel like crap. I feel sluggish and cloudy. I like the feeling I get from good food more. Damn, I really was hoping I'd be able to celebrate the end of this with an extra cheese pizza, but it's looking like I'll be grazing instead.

Breakfast
Simple Cereal
Whole grain english muffin w/peanut butter

Lunch
Avocado on Whole grain tortilla "Avocadilla"
Spring Mix with salsa

Snack
Shaved Ice

Dinner
Tofu Pad Thai from Pick up stix