A Peek Inside (Part 14)
Hello loyal readers,
Ok, this might be the final peek inside post. Honestly, I'm stretched on ideas for following the career, especially with us not being in season. Perhaps I can pick this up again once things are relatively back to normal and we can do a peek inside on rigging, maintenance, and other fun things that happen around the boathouse.
Although now that I'm saying all of that, others ideas are coming to mind...
For now, we're going to dive into something that is a little less science, and a bit more experimentation/trial and error: Food and fueling for me. There's going to be a little daily intake, and a bit more flex about what I buy and why.
I know I've done an overview earlier, but this is a little more detailed into my diet and why I've made some changes.
A word of warning
* None of what I'm about to tell you is endorsed by any company.
* None of what I'm about to tell you is endorsed by any doctor or other medical professional, and you should consult your doctor/medical professional before starting any diet.
* None of what I'm about to tell you is FDA approved.
* None of what I'm about to tell you should be taken as a way to live/eat/thrive, etc.
* ALL of what I'm about to tell you is what I do, and I like how I feel, but it is constantly evolving.
So with that, here we go.
Overall diet
Nine to 10 months out of the year, mostly in season, I am nearly vegetarian/pescatarian. I made this choice for a few reasons.
* Cost and budgeting: When you're on a limited income or you're choosing to restrict your income, going mostly vegetarian and dropping animal protein drastically reduces costs.
* Weight: Combined with working out at least five days a week - I'm adding Saturdays in, and staying active on Sundays - a more vegetable centered diet has helped me reduce inches and pounds.
* Overall feel: Without wanting to get drastic here, making sure I eat plenty of leafy greens keeps my body operating better. Enough said.
* Wastefulness: I used to purchase a large pack of chicken thighs and boneless pork chops, cut them into smaller portions - three to five ounces - and freeze them, but what I discovered was that I always had some going bad - being covered in ice. Despite having a multitude of cooking options and recipes, I simply wasn't eating enough.
* Time: The last thing I want to do when I get home is spend a lot of time cooking. Even though I love to cook, and even on weekends, cooking simply became a chore. Going with more veg makes of quicker meals.
* Picky eater: I'm not a picky eater, but I'm also not a fan of leftovers. I've tried to prepare meals in advance, and it does not work for me. First, the fridge I have is tiny so there's only so much food you can get into it, and secondly, I get bored of eating the same thing. And after working all week, the last thing I really want to do on the weekend is spend a few hours cooking.
This doesn't mean that I've cut meat from my diet, but I do limit how much I have on hand. The only meat I usually have on hand is solid tuna in cans - water only, I can't do the oil. If I want to have meat, then I have to make a trip to the store to get some. This alone usually talks me out of having meat because grocery shopping isn't one of my favorite things to do.
If I'm going to get meat, I'll usually spend a little extra and go to the counter vs. purchasing in a pack. First, the meat is usually a better quality, and it means that I can look over the cuts. This also means that rather than buying a pack and having extra, I can limit what I buy to a single serving, or two. And finally, because I'm choosing from the counter, I can find something that stays within the portion size that I prefer - three to five ounces.
Kitchen staples
If you open my fridge or come into the kitchen in general, you're guaranteed to find the following:
* Hearty green of some type: Chard, kale, mustard greens, etc.
* Interesting salad makings: Leaf lettuce, radicchio, arugula, cabbage (usually red), butter lettuce, carrots, celery, radishes, onions, dried fruit (no sugar added), nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds), fruit (oranges, apples, pears, berries) tomatoes (never in the fridge), avocado, mini bell peppers.
* Protein staples: Cheese (slices for portion control), cheese crumbles (feta), brown eggs (preferred over white eggs even though they are similar), cottage cheese, Greek yogurt (plain).
* Dairy: Kerrygold butter (European butter is a must), Almond milk (not dairy but it's what I use).
* Condiments: Olive oil mayo, regular mustard, dijon mustard, whole garlic, tubes of lemongrass and ginger, fish sauce, hot sauces (various), lemon and lime juice, curry paste, salsa.
* Starch: Sweet potatoes, basmati rice, pasta (spaghetti and a tubular variety).
* Carbs: Rice crackers, tortilla chips, corn and flour tortillas, whole wheat bread, and white (the only bread a grilled cheese should be made on).
* Misc. veg: Serrano and jalapeno peppers.
* Fruit: Apples, bananas, oranges, lemons, limes.
* Canned goods (all low sodium): Beans (black, garbanzo, green, and kidney), corn, beets, tomatoes, tuna (solid water packed).
* Stock (low sodium): Chicken stock (I've yet to find a veggie broth that I like).
* Frozen (low sodium): Broccoli, spinach, other greens.
* Tea: Green, peppermint, Moroccan Mint, Earl Grey, English Breakfast (Stash or Tazo).
* Snacks: String cheese, nuts.
* Breakfast: Various cereals (I buy what I want to eat, and that varies each time I go, but I'm not strict on brand), oatmeal.
* Other staples: Peanut butter (Jif, smooth), strawberry jam, honey, demerara sugar, kosher salt, sea salt, pepper.
* Coffee: I can make Folgers taste good. When I have more space I'll buy a burr grinder, and spend more time on coffee, but for now, budgets mean good bang for the buck.
Flavor enhancement: Balsamic reduction and cured lemons. Both homemade, both very easy.
I have a lot of other stuff that gradually makes its way into the kitchen. I usually have three oils on hand (grapeseed/avocado, vegetable, two olive oils for cooking, and dressings). I also have liquid aminos, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, more hot sauce, and spices, vinegars (balsamic and red wine, and white), and my personal favorite for quick pick me ups Trappey's pepper sauce. Takes me back to being a kid.
I also have two bars of dark chocolate on hand, broken into half servings to satisfy any sweet tooth.
Why vegetarian?
It began as a challenge to kick off 2019. I worked out regularly for all of 2018, but in November of that year, I got sick so I had to take two weeks off. I got well a few days before Thanksgiving, but because college dorms are petri dishes of disease, I immediately got sick again after a couple days of practice. This time, it knocked me out completely and I skipped Thanksgiving with the family and was out through the first two weeks of December. It wasn't until after New Years that I started feeling like my old self again. Around this time I was also cutting back on my budget and decided that I couldn't justify spending $64 a month for a gym membership after I'd just missed an entire month.
So having just canceled my gym membership, and still feeling only about 75 percent of the way back, I decided that I would challenge myself to go the first two months of the year vegetarian.
And I made it. It was close, and there was one break, but I excused myself because of circumstances. Let's say that it involved driving the team trailer, by myself, back from Seattle, nearly losing an eight on the way home because two straps came loose - my fault entirely - and then the trailer running lights zapped out just through Tacoma so from Olympia to Wilsonville, I was driving with emergency flashers on in heavy traffic. I allowed myself a cheeseburger then crashed at my parents place, leaving the truck in an RV store's parking lot overnight.
It wasn't a struggle until the third week. I hadn't planned ahead and when food began to run low, I was stuck trying to figure things out on the fly. The thing that really caught me off guard was a lack of quick snacks and dinner ideas. Usually if I got peckish in the night, I could get up and grab a piece of cheese and some lunch meat.
It was touch and go between week three and four, but I managed to get through. February wasn't as big a challenge as I'd anticipated, and while I added meat back into the diet in March, I liked how I was feeling without all the meat, and that my weekly budget looked significantly better without it.
The rest of the season I limited the amount of meat I purchased and ate. The biggest change I noticed after the challenge was that I felt lighter. Animal protein, while still tasty, made me feel heavy and sluggish. Dinners at this point were becoming easier - honestly, sometimes all I'd do is microwave a sweet potato, and cook some spinach or other greens down and call it a day - and because I was working out less without the gym, I decided to stick to more veg.
I know many people who go vegetarian do it for health reasons, or to feel better about their impact on the world, and I can absolutely respect that. My choice was mostly cost, with some health benefits thrown in.
What do I miss the most?
Like I said, I'm not fully vegetarian so I still eat meat now and then. I miss the taste, and smell of it. And the ease or convenience. It was easy coming home and making a sandwich. But the odd thing is that once I transitioned from not buying as much, mostly because of budgeting reasons, it's more difficult now for me to drop the money on it. Trust me, there are weekends where I will just stare at the chops and steaks at the counter and contemplate buying one. But the last time I bought a large hunk of meat for myself was Thanksgiving 2018 when I bought a small pork chop. Since then, budgeting has come first, and while the meat looks tasty, I also consider the number of items I can get for one good steak. Of course since I don't tend to eat much of it, I want to get the best steak I can - within reason - and dropping $15-25 on a beautiful NY Stripe or ribeye when I could load a cart with veggies simply doesn't do it for me.
Favorite go-to
Easy. Greens. I am very happy for dinner to be a large amount of quickly cooked greens with some yogurt or cottage cheese, maybe a poached egg over the top of the greens. I do like kale, but chard or mustard greens, or at least Italian kale are more interesting. I also love collard greens, and brussel sprouts with a little balsamic and some feta for salt.
Anything changing?
I'd like to find a good whey protein powder to use as a quick breakfast on the go, snack or recovery shake. And I'd like to find some greens powder as well to help boost things. So far I've not found any that I like, but I'm hoping that changes soon. There are a few online that I'm looking into.
Favorite tool
Blender bottles. I love them for several reasons. First, they blend things - go figure. Second, they're fairly durable, but cheap enough that breaking one or losing one doesn't hurt the heart like a Yeti or Hydroflask will. And finally, I like to track liquids using them. I know we've all heard about the 64 ounces of water rule since we were kids. I can tell you I drink significantly more water than 64 ounce. I have two blender bottles, each marked to 24 ounces, and I'll down at least five of these things a day, sometimes six or seven. I've never understood why people don't like water, and I truly don't understand when they say water tastes bad. First, if your water tastes bad, you should check your pipes and invest in some filters. Secondly, add some things to your water. I burn through lemons and limes for flavoring my water, and after a grueling cardio session or after a hot workout, I'll usually down water with lemon and a tiny pinch of salt. Makes me feel amazing. I'm not into this idea that Himalayan pink salt is somehow good for you with all the minerals and such. I add a tiny pinch of kosher or sea salt to help stay hydrated.
So I realize this is less about what I do in a day, and more a rundown on my fridge or kitchen and such.
The bottom line is that at my age - moving up toward 40 - I need to take care of my body. As I pointed out in an earlier post, self-care has not been something I've necessarily taken into consideration until recently. As funny as this might sound, being able to keep up with the "kids" so to speak is important to me. Our erg room is mirrored across the front. The last thing I want to see in the mirror is this really overweight coach trying to coach athletes on their nutrition and fitness. I also don't want to be that guy with the bad back and knees hobbling around after people. So taking care of the body is more and more important these days. And dropping inches and losing pounds certainly helps with that. And honestly, whether it's science or not, my skin and general body feel has certainly improved since dropping the amount of animal protein.
Do your research, do NOT take what I've said above as hard evidence, and care for your bodies.
Ok, this might be the final peek inside post. Honestly, I'm stretched on ideas for following the career, especially with us not being in season. Perhaps I can pick this up again once things are relatively back to normal and we can do a peek inside on rigging, maintenance, and other fun things that happen around the boathouse.
Although now that I'm saying all of that, others ideas are coming to mind...
For now, we're going to dive into something that is a little less science, and a bit more experimentation/trial and error: Food and fueling for me. There's going to be a little daily intake, and a bit more flex about what I buy and why.
I know I've done an overview earlier, but this is a little more detailed into my diet and why I've made some changes.
A word of warning
* None of what I'm about to tell you is endorsed by any company.
* None of what I'm about to tell you is endorsed by any doctor or other medical professional, and you should consult your doctor/medical professional before starting any diet.
* None of what I'm about to tell you is FDA approved.
* None of what I'm about to tell you should be taken as a way to live/eat/thrive, etc.
* ALL of what I'm about to tell you is what I do, and I like how I feel, but it is constantly evolving.
So with that, here we go.
Overall diet
Nine to 10 months out of the year, mostly in season, I am nearly vegetarian/pescatarian. I made this choice for a few reasons.
* Cost and budgeting: When you're on a limited income or you're choosing to restrict your income, going mostly vegetarian and dropping animal protein drastically reduces costs.
* Weight: Combined with working out at least five days a week - I'm adding Saturdays in, and staying active on Sundays - a more vegetable centered diet has helped me reduce inches and pounds.
* Overall feel: Without wanting to get drastic here, making sure I eat plenty of leafy greens keeps my body operating better. Enough said.
* Wastefulness: I used to purchase a large pack of chicken thighs and boneless pork chops, cut them into smaller portions - three to five ounces - and freeze them, but what I discovered was that I always had some going bad - being covered in ice. Despite having a multitude of cooking options and recipes, I simply wasn't eating enough.
* Time: The last thing I want to do when I get home is spend a lot of time cooking. Even though I love to cook, and even on weekends, cooking simply became a chore. Going with more veg makes of quicker meals.
* Picky eater: I'm not a picky eater, but I'm also not a fan of leftovers. I've tried to prepare meals in advance, and it does not work for me. First, the fridge I have is tiny so there's only so much food you can get into it, and secondly, I get bored of eating the same thing. And after working all week, the last thing I really want to do on the weekend is spend a few hours cooking.
This doesn't mean that I've cut meat from my diet, but I do limit how much I have on hand. The only meat I usually have on hand is solid tuna in cans - water only, I can't do the oil. If I want to have meat, then I have to make a trip to the store to get some. This alone usually talks me out of having meat because grocery shopping isn't one of my favorite things to do.
If I'm going to get meat, I'll usually spend a little extra and go to the counter vs. purchasing in a pack. First, the meat is usually a better quality, and it means that I can look over the cuts. This also means that rather than buying a pack and having extra, I can limit what I buy to a single serving, or two. And finally, because I'm choosing from the counter, I can find something that stays within the portion size that I prefer - three to five ounces.
Kitchen staples
If you open my fridge or come into the kitchen in general, you're guaranteed to find the following:
* Hearty green of some type: Chard, kale, mustard greens, etc.
* Interesting salad makings: Leaf lettuce, radicchio, arugula, cabbage (usually red), butter lettuce, carrots, celery, radishes, onions, dried fruit (no sugar added), nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds), fruit (oranges, apples, pears, berries) tomatoes (never in the fridge), avocado, mini bell peppers.
* Protein staples: Cheese (slices for portion control), cheese crumbles (feta), brown eggs (preferred over white eggs even though they are similar), cottage cheese, Greek yogurt (plain).
* Dairy: Kerrygold butter (European butter is a must), Almond milk (not dairy but it's what I use).
* Condiments: Olive oil mayo, regular mustard, dijon mustard, whole garlic, tubes of lemongrass and ginger, fish sauce, hot sauces (various), lemon and lime juice, curry paste, salsa.
* Starch: Sweet potatoes, basmati rice, pasta (spaghetti and a tubular variety).
* Carbs: Rice crackers, tortilla chips, corn and flour tortillas, whole wheat bread, and white (the only bread a grilled cheese should be made on).
* Misc. veg: Serrano and jalapeno peppers.
* Fruit: Apples, bananas, oranges, lemons, limes.
* Canned goods (all low sodium): Beans (black, garbanzo, green, and kidney), corn, beets, tomatoes, tuna (solid water packed).
* Stock (low sodium): Chicken stock (I've yet to find a veggie broth that I like).
* Frozen (low sodium): Broccoli, spinach, other greens.
* Tea: Green, peppermint, Moroccan Mint, Earl Grey, English Breakfast (Stash or Tazo).
* Snacks: String cheese, nuts.
* Breakfast: Various cereals (I buy what I want to eat, and that varies each time I go, but I'm not strict on brand), oatmeal.
* Other staples: Peanut butter (Jif, smooth), strawberry jam, honey, demerara sugar, kosher salt, sea salt, pepper.
* Coffee: I can make Folgers taste good. When I have more space I'll buy a burr grinder, and spend more time on coffee, but for now, budgets mean good bang for the buck.
Flavor enhancement: Balsamic reduction and cured lemons. Both homemade, both very easy.
I have a lot of other stuff that gradually makes its way into the kitchen. I usually have three oils on hand (grapeseed/avocado, vegetable, two olive oils for cooking, and dressings). I also have liquid aminos, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, more hot sauce, and spices, vinegars (balsamic and red wine, and white), and my personal favorite for quick pick me ups Trappey's pepper sauce. Takes me back to being a kid.
I also have two bars of dark chocolate on hand, broken into half servings to satisfy any sweet tooth.
Why vegetarian?
It began as a challenge to kick off 2019. I worked out regularly for all of 2018, but in November of that year, I got sick so I had to take two weeks off. I got well a few days before Thanksgiving, but because college dorms are petri dishes of disease, I immediately got sick again after a couple days of practice. This time, it knocked me out completely and I skipped Thanksgiving with the family and was out through the first two weeks of December. It wasn't until after New Years that I started feeling like my old self again. Around this time I was also cutting back on my budget and decided that I couldn't justify spending $64 a month for a gym membership after I'd just missed an entire month.
So having just canceled my gym membership, and still feeling only about 75 percent of the way back, I decided that I would challenge myself to go the first two months of the year vegetarian.
And I made it. It was close, and there was one break, but I excused myself because of circumstances. Let's say that it involved driving the team trailer, by myself, back from Seattle, nearly losing an eight on the way home because two straps came loose - my fault entirely - and then the trailer running lights zapped out just through Tacoma so from Olympia to Wilsonville, I was driving with emergency flashers on in heavy traffic. I allowed myself a cheeseburger then crashed at my parents place, leaving the truck in an RV store's parking lot overnight.
It wasn't a struggle until the third week. I hadn't planned ahead and when food began to run low, I was stuck trying to figure things out on the fly. The thing that really caught me off guard was a lack of quick snacks and dinner ideas. Usually if I got peckish in the night, I could get up and grab a piece of cheese and some lunch meat.
It was touch and go between week three and four, but I managed to get through. February wasn't as big a challenge as I'd anticipated, and while I added meat back into the diet in March, I liked how I was feeling without all the meat, and that my weekly budget looked significantly better without it.
The rest of the season I limited the amount of meat I purchased and ate. The biggest change I noticed after the challenge was that I felt lighter. Animal protein, while still tasty, made me feel heavy and sluggish. Dinners at this point were becoming easier - honestly, sometimes all I'd do is microwave a sweet potato, and cook some spinach or other greens down and call it a day - and because I was working out less without the gym, I decided to stick to more veg.
I know many people who go vegetarian do it for health reasons, or to feel better about their impact on the world, and I can absolutely respect that. My choice was mostly cost, with some health benefits thrown in.
What do I miss the most?
Like I said, I'm not fully vegetarian so I still eat meat now and then. I miss the taste, and smell of it. And the ease or convenience. It was easy coming home and making a sandwich. But the odd thing is that once I transitioned from not buying as much, mostly because of budgeting reasons, it's more difficult now for me to drop the money on it. Trust me, there are weekends where I will just stare at the chops and steaks at the counter and contemplate buying one. But the last time I bought a large hunk of meat for myself was Thanksgiving 2018 when I bought a small pork chop. Since then, budgeting has come first, and while the meat looks tasty, I also consider the number of items I can get for one good steak. Of course since I don't tend to eat much of it, I want to get the best steak I can - within reason - and dropping $15-25 on a beautiful NY Stripe or ribeye when I could load a cart with veggies simply doesn't do it for me.
Favorite go-to
Easy. Greens. I am very happy for dinner to be a large amount of quickly cooked greens with some yogurt or cottage cheese, maybe a poached egg over the top of the greens. I do like kale, but chard or mustard greens, or at least Italian kale are more interesting. I also love collard greens, and brussel sprouts with a little balsamic and some feta for salt.
Anything changing?
I'd like to find a good whey protein powder to use as a quick breakfast on the go, snack or recovery shake. And I'd like to find some greens powder as well to help boost things. So far I've not found any that I like, but I'm hoping that changes soon. There are a few online that I'm looking into.
Favorite tool
Blender bottles. I love them for several reasons. First, they blend things - go figure. Second, they're fairly durable, but cheap enough that breaking one or losing one doesn't hurt the heart like a Yeti or Hydroflask will. And finally, I like to track liquids using them. I know we've all heard about the 64 ounces of water rule since we were kids. I can tell you I drink significantly more water than 64 ounce. I have two blender bottles, each marked to 24 ounces, and I'll down at least five of these things a day, sometimes six or seven. I've never understood why people don't like water, and I truly don't understand when they say water tastes bad. First, if your water tastes bad, you should check your pipes and invest in some filters. Secondly, add some things to your water. I burn through lemons and limes for flavoring my water, and after a grueling cardio session or after a hot workout, I'll usually down water with lemon and a tiny pinch of salt. Makes me feel amazing. I'm not into this idea that Himalayan pink salt is somehow good for you with all the minerals and such. I add a tiny pinch of kosher or sea salt to help stay hydrated.
So I realize this is less about what I do in a day, and more a rundown on my fridge or kitchen and such.
The bottom line is that at my age - moving up toward 40 - I need to take care of my body. As I pointed out in an earlier post, self-care has not been something I've necessarily taken into consideration until recently. As funny as this might sound, being able to keep up with the "kids" so to speak is important to me. Our erg room is mirrored across the front. The last thing I want to see in the mirror is this really overweight coach trying to coach athletes on their nutrition and fitness. I also don't want to be that guy with the bad back and knees hobbling around after people. So taking care of the body is more and more important these days. And dropping inches and losing pounds certainly helps with that. And honestly, whether it's science or not, my skin and general body feel has certainly improved since dropping the amount of animal protein.
Do your research, do NOT take what I've said above as hard evidence, and care for your bodies.
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