August was a lot of fun. Great weather and a newfound love of mid-day running, turned out to be a lot of running miles last month. My previous high was 171 miles in May and March of this year. The best part, I’m injury free and still feeling fresh.

Note: The graph was taken from my dailymile online training log. The arrows really don’t mean anything.

Related posts:

1. Happy Anniversary Dailymile!
2. dailymile
3. Relay Iowa – 55 hours

The official description:

This is not just another diet and fitness book. The 4-Hour Body is the result of an obsessive quest, spanning more than a decade, to hack the human body. It contains the collective wisdom of hundreds of elite athletes, dozens of MDs, and thousands of hours of jaw-dropping personal experimentation. From Olympic training centers to black-market laboratories, from Silicon Valley to South Africa, Tim Ferriss fixated on one life-changing question:

For all things physical, what are the tiniest changes that produce the biggest results?

I read the entire book but really only focused on losing weight while still bingeing. Could it really be true?

My Background:

12 months ago, I switched to a vegetarian diet. My main reasons were to eat more vegetables and recover faster after workouts. Plus Bart Yasso is vegetarian and overall a badass dude.

Well, my plan didn’t go very well. Five months into vegetarianism, my energy level was low and my running was the same, if not slower. I could also tell me body was looking weak. I was still the same weight but it had shifted from my arms, chest and shoulders to my mid section. In other words, I was losing muscles and gaining fat.

The “Slow Carb” diet…

The book promotes the slow carb diet, which eliminates simple carbs and promotes more protein. The plan is fairly simple, below is a summary from the more detailed chapter in the book.

For six days out of the week (slow carb diet):

• No white carbs (bread, white & brown rice, flour, white and whole wheat pasta, starch, potatoes, etc)
• No simple sugars (sugar, all fruit, dairy and soy milk, syrup, jam, and ice cream)

For one day a week (cheat day):

• Anything is game! In fact, he says it’s good to overload on the forbidden food to “reset” your metabolism or reassure your body it’s not starving. In theory, without a cheat day, your body would start storing food as fat thinking you were starving and needed the extra supply. Plus, there’s no way I could could go without Pizza, French Fries, and Ice Cream for too long. As most dieters know, it’s impossible to stick to a diet for a good length of time. Sooner or later you end up at a birthday party with pizza, cake and ice cream.

So what did I eat for the slow carb diet?

Beans, Vegetables, Tofu, Nuts, Boca Burgers, Eggs, Protein Shakes and tons of Peanut Butter. It may sound less than appealing but after a couple meals the creativity kicked it. Here are a couple of my favorite meals that I would eat over and over. To this day, I still love them…maybe more than “normal meals”.

• Black beans, onions, shredded spinach, salsa verde and a bit of feta cheese
• Vegetable stir fry with tofu (curry for flavor, red pepper for a kick)
• Pinto and kidney beans, green peppers, onions, chopped up Boca burger and taco seasoning
• Scrambled eggs, spinach, red salsa and Boca sausage (eating this right now as I write)

On my cheat days, I downed cream-filled donuts, pizza, chips and ice cream. I made my self sick about every other week. It was awesome and awful at the same time.

So how did I measure the diet?

First, I tested my body composition. Weight loss alone would not give me a decisive answer because I could be gaining/ losing muscles as well as fat. I needed a test that would tell me how much fat vs. how much lean mass my body was losing. There are many methods out there to test your body comp or body fat percentage. I choose Bod Pod because it’s easy, cheap and readily available. Just put on a pair of tight shorts and swim-like cap before getting into the pressurized pod and 60 seconds later you have results.

March 2011

• Total Body Weight – 167.1 lbs
• Lean Weight – 141.0 lbs
• Fat Weight – 26.1 lbs
• 15.6% body fat

So how did the the 4-Hour Body and slow carb work?

Really, it wasn’t that hard to change my eating habits, once I got into the routine. Grocery shopping became simplified and so did cooking. Never once did I count a calorie. This was huge, because counting calories, eating timed meals is a pain in the ass and not sustainable. Instead, I just ate when hungry and made sure it fit the rules. Cheat days were amazing. I also took green tea extract, garlic tablets, and fish oil 4x a day. I don’t know if they helped, but they seemed like good supplements to have. And for the results…

July 2011

• Total Body Weight – 153.9 lbs
• Lean Weight – 140.0 lbs
• Fat Weight – 13.9 lbs
• 9.1% body fat

Overall, I lost 13.9 lbs, of which 12.2 lbs was fat. Really, this is quite remarkable to lose only fat and not much muscle. I credit the muscle stability to kettle bell workouts, 100 push-up routine and running. I did 2 one-hour kettle bell classes a week, push-ups maybe 2-3 times a week, and run 4 times a week.

Notes:

• I was really hesitant about sharing my experience. I’m not sure why, but after testing the results with others I decided to share.
• The before and after pictures will stay private for now…I’m not that conspicuous.
• Protein shakes in the morning was, by far, the biggest factor that produced the most change for me. I recovered faster from workouts and felt full throughout the day.
• Energy level was sustained, if not increased. I set new personal records in the 5K and 50 mile distance (my first true ultra marathon!)

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Shoal Creek Trail in Austin

Barton Springs Greenbelt Trail in Austin

Related posts:

1. Austin Running
2. Hydration showdown
3. Freezefest – 20:16

*Note: Not pictured was my restroom stop in the bushes on the campus of MIT…I decided to make it quick and not get arrested. They really should have more restroom options in big cities and especially on trails.

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My favorite is the top right.

Related posts:

1. Views from our Boston trip
2. Views from one of my favorite running routes
3. RAGBRAI 2009 Images

Related posts:

1. Views from our Boston trip
2. RAGBRAI 2009 Images
3. Running in Albuquerque

Endomondo…best running app ever!

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I first heard of the Ice Age 50 Mile trail run in Wisconsin about two years ago. I have had the idea in the back of my mind since. Well, today I finally pulled the trigger and signed up. The official date is May 14th, 2011. That gives me about 3 months of running my ass to complete the race. I don’t really have a training plan per se, mostly just run longer on Saturday and Sunday.

• If anyone has run a 50 miler, I’d like to know what you thought. Leave a note.
• If you think the idea is slightly insane, please hold your tongue until May 15th.
• If you’re up for a all day run, maybe we can car pool.

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via dale gillard

After several months of smoothie experimentation, I’ve discovered the perfect purple smoothie. They’re good in the morning or for a post-workout recovery drink. All the ingredients are very accessible at your local grocery store. I use Target and Hy-Vee’s Health Market because they tend to have better, less processed foods without breaking the bank. Here’s the short list of ingredients:

• 1 Banana
• 1/2 Cup Frozen Fruit
• 2 Ice Cubes
• 1 Cup Soy Milk
• 2 Tbsp Brown Rice Protein Powder
• 1 Tbsp Agave Nectar

And now for the tricky part. I’ve learned that the art to a good smoothie isn’t necessary finding the right foods but rather how to add them to the blender and mix them at the right times.

• Start by adding 1 Peeled Banana to the blender. I find it’s best to break the banana into four pieces. Adding the banana first helps avoid and clumping from frozen food getting lodged between the blender blades. In other words, add the banana first and you’ll never have to stop halfway through to push the mix towards the bottom.
• Next, add a 1/2 Cup of Frozen Fruit. I like buying the 5 lb bag of frozen Raspberries, Blueberries and Blackberries. They are all healthy and easy to find. This will also give the smoothie it’s purple color.
• Add 2 Ice cubes. If you want your smoothie more liquidity, add 1 ice cube. Or, if you want it super thick, add four cubes. Just remember, the more cubes, the longer you have to let it blend.
• Next, add 1 Cup Soy Milk. You can use a dairy milk if you want, I just prefer to keep it Vegan and dairy free. The milk will give your smoothie a good base to mix everything, along with providing essential vitamins. Note: Rice milk can be used, but since we are adding Rice Protein Powder later, Soy makes a good variety.
• Add 2 Tablespoons of Brown Rice Protein Powder. Here, you could also use a milk based protein if you want, I prefer brown rice for the reasons above. MLo makes a great Brown Rice Protein and is sold at Hy-Vee or Amazon (Click here for the link). It’s super healthy.
• Before adding the last ingredient, blend the above for about 20 seconds. I use a lower setting to break up the fruit and ice. This will help unify the ingredients together, without creating a frozen ball of protein of sweetener.
• Add about a Tablespoon of Agave Nectar. I was using honey, but found Agave Nectar just as good. (Click here to buy on amazon) Plus it comes in a “no-drip” bottle so you never have to worry about dripping extra in the cupboard or making a mess. Note: If making a smoothie shortly before going to bed, skip the sweetener/extra sugar.
• Lastly, blend everything for another 30 seconds or until smooth. You’ll probably end up with 16 oz. of smoothie. If you’re hungry, down it all. If not, then you’ll make a friend by sharing a little.

For all those counters out there, here are the nutrition facts per 16oz…

Calories – 450

• Banana – 120
• Frozen Fruit – 70
• Soy Milk – 90
• Brown Rice Protein – 110
• Agave Nectar – 60

Carbs – 87g

• Banana – 31g
• Frozen Fruit – 17g
• Soy Milk – 11g
• Brown Rice Protein – 12g
• Agave Nectar – 16g (all sugar)

Protein – 23g

• Banana – 1g
• Frozen Fruit – 1g
• Soy Milk – 6g
• Brown Rice Protein – 15g

Potassium – 850mg

• Banana – 500mg
• Soy Milk – 350mg

Enjoy! …and if you like it, pass it on

Related posts:

1. 4-Hour Body – my experiment and results

Running Total for 2010

1605 miles in 2010 according to my Daily Mile log.

or

4.4 miles a day.

February was a down month due to buying a crappy pair of shoes and hurting my Plantar Fascia (i had to look it up). August and September were the two highest months with longer races and building up for the fall marathons. I’m not sure if 2011 will be more or less. I would like to do more longer races (maybe a 50 mile) but also have an urge to try more triathlons…and the bike always sounds fun.

Related posts:

1. Ice Age 50 Mile
2. My Pre-Race Warm-up
3. Happy Anniversary Dailymile!