Soliloquy of Eloquence

I'm on my Thermofuse/Napalm supplements and I've changed my cardio goal from a 9 minute mile and a half to a 5k on the elliptical at resistance of 20 at the end of my work-out immediately following my ab work-outs.

My results for the month:

Ellipse 3 miles @ 20R:  28 minutes
Timed Pushup: 52/min 
Timed Sit ups: 50/min 
Bench-press: 210lbs 
Squat: 405lbs 
Leg Press: 490lbs 
5'11" 150lbs 
30" waist

Finally polished off the last of my MOAB and NMDA, but I've got a little ways to go on my Napalm.  I'm gonna pick up Thermofuse again, but keep on the Napalm until I finish it off - then I'll finish off my Nuke and call it quits for the fitness supplements.  This stuff was great for getting me over the initial hump and plateau of working out, but it's been way too confusing.

In other news, the local gym changed their business hours, restricting my access to the gym (I work swing shift), so a lot of my exercises are going to become more primal in nature and/or require more dumbbells from this point on.  Starting Primal a little early, but whatever.  :) You can read about the change here.

Ellipse 1.5 miles Resistence: 20
Timed Pushup: 52/min 
Timed Sit ups: 50/min 
Bench-press: 200lbs 
Squat: 405lbs 
Leg Press: 490lbs 
5'11" 154lbs 
31" waist

I'm back to NDMA/MOAB/Napalm and I'm still working hard at it.  Previously though, I'd been using these products and just eating absolutely whatever I want and downing some BSN True Mass as well as eating the hell out of some Cliff Energy Bars whenever I got the munchies; in addition to my goal of eating an entire rotisserie chicken a day.

Now, however, I'm watching what I eat more closely. I'm still doing the 20 minutes at the end of my work out for cardio and abs. Here have been my results for this month:

Ellipse 1.5 miles Resistence: 16
Timed Pushup: 52/min 
Timed Sit ups: 50/min 
Bench-press: 195lbs 
Squat: 350lbs 
Leg Press: 450lbs 
5'11" 152lbs 
32" waist

Ultimately, one of the goals that all fitness enthusiasts (or anyone looking to live a healthier, longer life) seek to accomplish is to bring more vegetables and fruits into their diet.  However, making this choice can be extremely daunting when we're used to a high carb, high sugar diet.  Once you make the choice to actively start looking to introduce more vegetables into your diet, there are numerous benefits.

Monetary

The first benefit is one that not many people notice and is relatively simple:  Vegetables are one of the cheapest food groups that you can purchase.  "The USDA’s Economic Research Service looked at 94 vegetables and found that more than half of them – including red kidney beans, fresh sweet potatoes, and fresh, canned and frozen carrots -  cost less than 50 cents for a one cup serving.  Other vegetables like artichokes and brussels sprouts are more expensive, although all were less than $2.07 a serving" [forbes.com].  When you compare the price of a Big Mac topping out at over $3.00, you'll get more food and nutrition for your buck with vegetables.

Health

Nutrition and You had an excellent intro to some of the health benefits to vegetables:

Vegetables, like fruits, are low in fat but contain good amounts of vitamins and minerals. All the Green-Yellow-orange vegetables are rich sources of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, beta-carotene, vitamin B-complex, vitamin-C, vitamin A, and vitamin K.

As in fruits, vegetables are also home for many antioxidants that; firstly, help body protect from oxidant stress, diseases and cancers, and secondly, help body develop capacity to fight against these by boosting immunity.

In addition, vegetables contain soluble as well as insoluble dietary fiber known as non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) like cellulose, gums, mucilage, pectin...etc, that absorb excess water in the colon and retain good amount of moisture in the fecal matter, thereby helps its easy passage out of the body. Thus helpful in conditions like hemorrhoids, chronic constipation, rectal fissures...etc. 

The questions is, how do we decide how many vegetables we should take in per meal and per day?  There seem to be two theories that I've found:

The whole plate theory:

Which says that you should have, at least, 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables, and that at least half of each meal should consist of this food group.  There is also the Primal Theory:

 This, slightly conflicting, theory says that you can eat as many vegetables as you want (and should), to better provide your body with the nutrients it needs.  It doesn't place as much emphasis on keeping lean meats down to 25% of your meal though, and instead focuses on getting its subscribers to cut back on sugars and carbohydrates (The above picture is copyrighted by marksdailyapple.com.  You can subscribe to this amazing blog here).  This makes a lot of sense after a study about the health risks associated with red meat turned out to be a lot less than the risks associated with carbohydrates.

What these two theories have in common though, is that vegetables are a massive part of every healthy and sustainable dietary plan.  I tend to lean towards the primal theory, with some influence from the whole plate theory, so most of my meals consist of 50% vegetables, 40% lean protein and about 10% indulgences (grains, deserts, etc).  Speaking of primal theory, Mark Sisson has two great blog posts with some advice on how to increase your daily vegetable intake, and a list of must-avoid vegetables.  This man is a fitness genius, so if you're looking for some quick, easy, and intuitive posts on how to live a more natural and healthy life, look no further.

The one thing that he doesn't seem to catch onto in his posts was captured by the USDA:

According to Gene Lester, PhD, a Research Plant Physiologist with the USDA.  “Commercially sold fresh vegetables are generally picked while they are still ripening so that they are able to withstand the rigors of handling, transportation, storage and the retail display case,” says Lester.  “Whereas frozen vegetables are picked at the height of ripeness, which provides for the highest nutrient density, then immediately frozen which slows/ stops the loss of vital nutrients.”

So, while you're looking for organic/fresh vegetables, consider picking up some organic/frozen vegetables.  They come in little steamer packages that make cooking for a small group of people (or different vegetables for different people) a breeze.    If you need some help on deciding which vegetables are "in season" check out Mark's Fall and Summer posts on the subject and help yourself to a serving of vegetables, nuts and seeds for healthy snacks and sides!

I'm back to splitting my work-outs up by muscle groups (back/biceps, chest/triceps, legs, shoulders).  I'm also still doing the 20 minutes for abs and cardio though.  Here's my results for this month:

Ellipse 1.5 miles Resistence: 12
Timed Pushup: 52/min 
Timed Sit ups: 50/min 
Bench-press: 195lbs 
Squat: 350lbs 
Leg Press: 450lbs 
5'11" 148lbs 
32" waist