You really don’t notice that you’re not sick when you’re not sick. But take ill, and that is all you notice. I’ve been pushing life a bit hard of late and life in turn bit me right on the ass.

I had felt run down for a couple of weeks but late last Thursday, I felt simply awful. By midnight, my head was a hair from exploding. I knew I was out of commission for the next few days.

Friday was the worst. I could barely concentrate so I just slept. Sort of. I thought of the The Hot Zone and wondered if I was going to bleed out like an ebola victim. “Of course not,” I thought. Followed by a thought that none of the ebola victims thought they were going to die. I felt rotten.

Saturday, I slept nearly the whole day and all night. Tracy made chicken soup from scratch. That always brightens my outlook. I like chicken soup.

Sunday, I read a bit and slept. I’d like to believe this was a random illness, one to chalk up as luck of the draw but I don’t. I caused it. Stress. Poor nutrition. Lack of exercise. Inadequate sleep.

Of these, nutrition is the easiest to improve. I’m reminded of what the nutritionist Cliff Sheats wrote in the forward to his book “Lean Bodies Cookbook“.

“I entered the field of nutrition because I was intrigued with how it had everything to do with restoring my health when I was much younger.”
—Cliff Sheats

Cliff played tennis. He and his tennis buddies regularly ate candy bars to get a sugar boost with the intention of adding energy to their game. In the end, Cliff was a mess. Hypoglycemic, severe allergies, breathing difficulties… a real mess. He went on medications that seemed only to make things worse.

At the recommendation of a friend, Cliff went to a nutritionist who put him on a high-protein, high-complex-carbohydrate, high calorie diet. In two weeks, he felt much better and in nine months he was playing the professional tennis circuit. The rest is history.

I used the Lean Bodies nutrition plan thirteen years ago while training for a marathon. I wasn’t completely rigorous then but it did make a difference. I felt great. I haven’t felt good—much less great—in a long, long time.

Today, I recommit to the Lean Bodies program for the remainder of 2008.

Lean Bodies requires discipline. I recall how difficult it was to consume the prescribed number of calories that fell within the guidelines of Lean Bodies.

The Lean Bodies book outlines a gradual increase in calories over a seven week period for easing into the program. This is a high calorie program. How high? Betwen 2,300 and 3,500 calories per day. A couple trips to the local fast food joint takes care of that, you say? Ha! Lean Bodies stipluates you eat primarily complex carbohydrates, proteins and unsaturated fats. That’s not always so easy.

For example, here is the #3 burger meal off the standard menu of a local fast food restaurant. And believe me, I chose this restaurant because it was better than its competitors in meeting the Lean Bodies guidelines.

Calories from #3
         SUM  f   sc  cc  p
burger : 670 370 148  16 158
fries  : 400 160   0 216   0
cola   : 198   0 198   0   0
cola   : 198   0 198   0   0 (refill)
-------------------------------------
total   1466 530 544 232 158

f  : fats
sc : simple carbs (bad carbs)
cc : complex carbs (good carbs)
p  : protein

This quick lunch packs 1466 calories. Seems that would get you half way to the total calorie goal for the day. Not so fast. Lean Bodies prescribes between 65 and 70 percent of your total calories come from good carbs: unrefined, starchy carbs and leafy, fibrous veggies. Of the remaining calories, less than 10 percent from unsaturated fats and the rest from protein.

Since good carbs seem to be—for me, anyway—the hardest to eat enough of, let’s peg them as the basis for what a lean bodies meal might look like. Recall from the chart above that we have 232 calories of good carbs. If we low ball the carbs at 65 percent, then the total meal should have

LB Calories Based on Carbs
          cal   %cal
carbs   : 232    65
other   : 123    35
--------------------
total   : 355   100%

LB : Lean Bodies

Immediately we have a red flag. Based on the number of good carbs we are eating, the entire meal should come in at a mere 355 calories. We have an excess of (1466 – 355) = 1111 calories.

Now let’s get a split between fats and proteins. If we high ball fat at 10 percent, then the total meal breakdown is

LB Calories Based on Carbs
          cal   %cal
carbs   : 232    65
protein :  88    25
fats    :  35    10
--------------------
total   : 355   100%

Look where all those good carbs came from: french fries. Very few from the burger. Want another startling revelation? Skipping the cola (or drinking a diet cola) eliminates nearly 400 calories of bad carbs. All those jokes of people ordering the #3 with a diet cola… it actually makes a real difference!

Calories from #3 (no drink)
         SUM  f   sc  cc  p
burger : 670 370 148  16 158
fries  : 400 160   0 216   0
water  :   0   0   0   0   0
water  :   0   0   0   0   0 (refill)
-------------------------------------
total   1070 530 148 232 158

In the end, I’m not sure there is much you could do to shoehorn the #3 into Lean Bodies. Sure, drink diet cola, water or nothing. Even go Atkins and 86 the bun and fries.

Calories from #3 (Atkin-i-fied)
         SUM  f   sc  cc  p
burger : 670 370  28  16 158 (no bun)
fries  :   0   0   0   0   0 (no starch)
water  :   0   0   0   0   0
water  :   0   0   0   0   0 (refill)
-------------------------------------
total    670 370  28  16 158

Dropping the bun saved you from 120 bad carbs but you lost 216 good carbs in the process. 55% of the carbohydrates in the Atkin-i-fied version come from saturated fats, the bad fats.

If you choose to walk the Lean Bodies path, you will be hard pressed to stay the path. But it beats the hell out of being sick as a dog.

Buddha Belly Begone!

    ”THEME – Exercise and Nutrition”

    ”Seems like there are many ways we hear
     about improving our exercise and
     nutrition, from TV commercials for
     those perfect abs, to fantastic weight
     loss meal plans.”

    ”Even the Dr Phil show has a season long
     weight loss challenge.”

    ”There must be a simpler way.”

    ”Do you have a favorite nutrition plan
     that really works? Or perhaps you have
     an exercise routine that is effective? 
     Or what is a good suggestion to get
     into that routine or zone?”

My role this time is as a speech evaluator. As such, I need to send in a brief comment that would be used to introduce me to the group.

As I have studied and corresponded extensively on this subject. I think I could summarize my thoughts inside of 5,000 words; That’s a bit long for an introduction. So,… here was my stab at a brevity.

——

“The sporting world has many fine athletes playing a wide range of games. To reach world-class level in any of these contests, competitors have to achieve a degree of conditioning far beyond what most ordinary men and women can even imagine. … what defines fitness differs dramatically from game to game. Athlete train to develop specific physical capabilities, determined by the demands of their chosen sports.” [1]

The point is, you have to choose your goals and design your fitness program in context of those goals. **WHY** are you spending time and energy on fitness? Lose 10 pounds? Lower cholesterol? Feel better? Look better? Win on the sports field?

I’ve changed my fitness workout this year because my goals have changed. I used to run a lot because I ran marathon and half marathon. This year, I changed to boxing. Totally different. Totally.

Two weeks ago as Toastmaster, I quoted O-sensei

    ”Progress comes
     To those who
     Train and train;
     Reliance on secret techniques
     Will get you nowhere.”[2]

Therein lies the unspoken truth. To paraphrase Tony, we **CONSTANTLY** hear about tricks to easily lose weight and look great. Yet, …

    ”Progress comes
     To those who
     Train and train;
     Reliance on secret techniques
     Will get you nowhere.”

I’ve designed my fitness program from the ground up. No tricks. No secret techniques.

    ** Doctrine, Strategy and Tactics ** [3][4][5][6]

    An overall training doctrine.

    ** Nutrition ** [7]

    I’ve been increasing my daily
    caloric intake and stabilize
    at between 3,500 and 4,000
    calories per day.

    I’ve gradually moved to a
    diet of 65% carbohydrates,
    25% protein, and 10% fat.

    ** Aerobic Training ** [8][9]

    Careful timing of my food
    intake with exercise to
    maximize fat burning,
    develop slow twitch muscles
    and improve cardio condition.

    ** Strength Training ** [10]

    High Intensity Interval
    Training (HIIT) to develop
    fast twitch muscles.

    ** Boxing Workout ** [11]

    I’ve built a small boxing
    gym in my garage and work
    out on my own.

    ** Mental Training ** [12][13][14][15][16]

    The mind is part of the body.
    Fitness includes mental
    conditioning as well as
    physical power.

My “Body” workouts generally run about 2 hours. I workout 3 or 4 times a week.

    ————————
    - Current Workout Scheme
    ————————
    * VERY light stretch
    * Abs (6 types x 20 each = 120 reps)
    * Cardio (30 minute run)
    * Stretch
    * Abs (120)
    * Weights or Boxing
    * Abs (120) (total 360 crunches of various types)

But…, I’m thinking the cardio workout needs to follow the weights or boxing.

    ————————
    - Future Workout Scheme
    ————————
    * VERY light stretch
    * Abs
    * Light warm-up
    * Weights or Boxing
    * Abs
    * Cardio
    * Abs
    * Stretch

My “Mind” workout is more frequent, maybe six days a week. I’ll read and reflect about 30 minutes a day. I work on breath control, body alignment, and mental focus throughout the day.

All this seems rather longish so, here’s I ended with some sound bites.
You can quote me on these!

    * There is no substitute for doing. You
      cannot ‘think’ yourself fit. You cannot
      ’think’ yourself a fighter.

    * Be mindful at all times. When you are
      not mindful, you are asleep.

    * The mind and body are one. The body
      learns, it tunes by doing. The mind
      is part of that process.

————————————
[ 1] Morgan, Forrest E., “Living the Martial Way”,
Barricade Books, New York, 1992, pp. 199-200.

[ 2] Ueshiba, Morihei,
Translated by John Stevens, “The Art of Peace”,
Shambhala Publications, Boston, 1992, p. 106.

[ 3] Branden, Nathaniel, “The Six Pillars of Self Esteem”,
Bantam Books, New York, 1994.

[ 4] Morgan, Forrest E., “Living the Martial Way”,
Barricade Books, New York, 1992.

[ 5] Sleamaker, Rob,
and Ray Browning, “SERIOUS Training for Endurance Athletes”,
Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL, 1996.

[ 6] Hazeldine, Rex,
and Tom McNab, “The RFU Guide to Fitness for Rugby”,
A & C Black (Publishers) Ltd, London, 1998.

[ 7] Sheats, Cliff,
and Maggie Greenwood-Robinson, “Lean Bodies”,
Warner Books, New York, 1992.

[ 8] Bailey, Covert, “Smart Exercise”,
Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, 1994.

[ 9] Schreiber, Michael , “The Art of Running”,
John Muir Publications, Sante Fe, NM, 1982.

[10] Schwarzenneger, Arnold, “Arnold’s Bodybuilding for Men”,
Simon & Schuster, New York, 1981.

[11] Kotz, Cappy, “Boxing for Everyone”,
Amandalore Publishing, Seattle, 1998.

[12] Nelson, Randy F. (editor), “The Overlook Martial Arts Reader”,
Overlook Press, New York, 1989.

[13] Shaw, Scott (Ph.D), “The Warrior is Silent”,
Inner Traditions, Rochester, VT, 1998.

[14] Lowry, Dave, “Moving Towards Stillness”,
Tuttle Publishing, Rutland, VT, 2000.

[15] Wilson, Paul, “The Calm Technique: Meditation without Magic”,
Barnes & Noble, New York, 1985.

[16] Birx, Ellen (Ph.D., R.N.) “Healing Zen”,
Viking Compass, New York, 2002.

It deals with the issue of quitting. I’ve been pushing the workouts pretty dang hard and in new directions. It doesn’t happen often but sometime the routine pushes me right to the line of collapse or barfing. It’s at those times one must be especially mindful of creeping thoughts. It’s easy to rationalize a break or early finish to the workout.

I’ve included the poem here with a concluding quotation from O-Sensei.

Every time I think of quitting,
I think of that comedy jackass
jibber-jabbering his f***ing mouth off.

I pick up my stride,
cut a half minute off my pace
or go to the weight rack
to add some mo’ plates.

There is no quit
’cause there is no tomorrow.
There is nothing but right now,
nothing but pain and sweat and beauty.

The jackass’ contemptuous bray
fades from my mind,
washed away by salted sweat.

Training is prayer.

The following are words from O-Sensei (The Art of Peace)

The penetrating brilliance of swords
wielded by followers of the Way
strikes at the evil enemy
lurking deep within
their own souls and bodies.