MDFTV: Donovan Clean and Jerk PR from saul jimenez
I can’t think of anyone more appropriate to start our new series of videos than Donovan. I think he started, on and off, about a year ago, but really started coming to class regularly this fall. Since then he has made HUGE progress and earned more than a few nicknames; however, none has really stuck. The door is open in many ways…
We are almost done with the Look Better (Almost) Naked Challenge. Here are some things that you need to know:
As described in the original post, you must have “after” pictures in for judging by Wednesday eve at 8 PM so that the participants can vote for the winner all day Thursday. No exceptions, seriously, we have to be on this.
Also we are having the MDF 4th birthday party starting at Thursday, March 4 at 8 PM, so bring a salad or something good. I will supply meat, utensils, plates, napkins, etc.
If you can’t make the party, voting will be available all day.
Finally, I got this email from Gwen who just finished doing her own Paleo Challenge in L.A. I would love to post your story so send it in!
hi saul, hope you’re well. i thought it would be cool to fill you in on some of my progress while on paleo b/c i was such a non-dieter in all my days in your gym.
first off, i lost 10 lbs in the first 7 days. this is coming from somebody who has been the exact same weight for like 10 yrs, even when i ran a half marathon and joined cf. i used to say “i am incapable of losing or gaining weight.” so much for that! i think i was eating waaaayy too much salt b/c i’m guessing it’s mostly water weight. but today is day #29 and i’m still 10 lbs lighter. i do look the same though (at least to me) so i don’t think i would win your challenge.
second, i rarely get sore anymore and i always sleep through the night now (used to wake up intermittently). i don’t quite have the “wow, my energy and strength levels are so much better now” claims of many people who go on paleo, but i think that’s prob due to the fact that my night-owl body is going to be eternally pissed at me for going to 630 am cf so many days during the wk, so i’m always going to be semi-tired.
lastly, and this is the crazy one, my cholesterol went down 32 points to 150 since august 2009 when i gave blood and it was 182 (i got it tested 2 wks into the diet as part of my yearly physical). this is the lowest cholesterol i’ve EVER had. just a few years back my cholesterol was as high as 293! kind of insane it dropped so much given that i’m eating about 10 lbs of meat a wk while on paleo, right?
oh and importantly, i can actually stand the diet now. it’s made me a much better cook and i’ve figured out ways to make asian food. i definitely use some salt and things with vinegar, but overall i try really hard to stay strict. to be honest i am looking fwd to 2/20/10 after our 40 days are up (i’m calling it my day of freedom), but i will prob stick to this as much as i can. my friends do all think i’m crazy and i get a lot of “what are you going to eat, dinosaur?”
jokes, but otherwise it’s fine. except the part where i think about food and eating enough to survive all the time …and that’s the update! say hi to everybody for me please … Gwen
See you at 12:30!
I have traditionally been a slacker on time and locations for the Saturday workout. This is the best solution (i.e. easiest for me) given so far…
You MUST become a fan of Mad Dawg Fitness on Facebook or follow maddawgfitness on twitter to receive Saturday workout times and locations.
If you have a major religious issue with either FB or Twitter but you still want to be notified, let me know and I will try to figure out a way, but no guarantees.
Competitor Counts
As of today, there are now 239 males and 106 females registered. It’s gonna be a big field!
Volunteer Counts
As of today, we have 89 volunteers. We really, really need as much help as we can get on the volunteer front. If you know anyone who can be of help to us (whether they’re trainers or clients), please have them register as volunteers on the Games site.
One of our MDF pipehitters, Tim, is off to Patagonia for the Wegner Patagonian Expedition Race! Check out the photos, it looks F-ing GNARLY (I don’t even like to do the 400 M run in the rain). Not sure what his team is but more news will follow.
Please wish him luck. We will miss him as we do Nasty Girls today. 
Apologies for being so late on this: This is the Google Group that you should put your food log for the LB(A)N Challenge. Remember that you have to post your food log to stay in the competition.
The Gym will be closed Friday, Feb 5 and Saturday Feb. 6 so that we can paint upstairs!
There will an nutrition event this Thursday eve. at 7:00 PM with Marlese Ramirez-Carroll. She will focus on chemistry of fats, how they function in the body, and their role in protein absorbtion. She is bring some treats. Please come early to workout.
Sectionals training: We will have our second training session this Saturday at 9 AM in the gym. This workout is combined with our regular Saturday workout and it is not for the faint of heart.
Please sign up for the CrossFit sectionals as soon as possible!
Quick Paleo/Primal Lunch from saul jimenez on Vimeo.
This is really unscripted, but that’s how it happens sometimes.
Erin, can you please post you aoli recipe to the comments?
There have been a number of questions about quantity of food that I would like to address in a quick post and a link to Robb Wolf’s blog/podcast.
First of all, check out Robb’s podcast episode 10. He talks about protein and food amount, at least for a person wanting lean out and gain strength (about 25:00, the Norwegian post).
Here are the gory details, let’s start with protein and work out from there. There are a number of recommendations for protein consumption they seem to range from about .66g to 1 (or more) g per lb of body mass per day. OK, fine so what does that mean in real life? Let’s do this for a few people and go for .85g/lb/day (there are 7 g of protein in an ounce of meat).
125 lbs: 106g or 15 oz of meat – 4 oz at each meal and 2 snacks
150 lbs: 128g or 18 oz of meat – 5 oz at each meal and 2 snacks
175 lbs: 149g or 21 oz of meat – 6 oz at each meal and 2 snacks
200 lbs: 170g or 24 oz or meat – 7 oz at each meal and 2 snacks
If you want to down to .66g/lb/day and you are 150 lbs, use the 125 lbs. Conversely, if you are 150 and want to use 1g/lb/day use 175 lbs recommendation. Interesting fact: Men and women will be eating similar portions.
OK, now, let’s continue down the road of how much food to eat in general. There are two methods:
1) Just guess, eat ’til you are full, then stop. In general, listen to your body. This way is pretty right most of the time.
2) Make an educated guess, then use calorie counter, web application to help you get closer. I found a calorie calculator on the Internet. It doesn’t really matter which one you use because you are just going to use it for a starting point. For me, it is somewhere around 2800 calories. Remember, you will start here, most of these web applications are about calorie counting and that is not what we are doing with this way of eating. However, we are trying to see if we are a magnitude off, we are not trying to fine-tune yet. (Protein and carbohydrates contain 4 calories/gram, Fat contains 9 calories per gram. Remember that most foods are made up of some of each). Let’s start with 2800 Calories total per day – 512 g protein (128g x 4) – 400 g carbs (try to keep below 100 g carbs/day). That means I need to eat about 1900 calories of fat/day. Some of that will be in the meat I eat, but some will have to come from external sources.
Coconut Oil: 14 g/1 Tbsn
Coconut Milk: 72 g/can
Almond Butter: 17 g/2 Tbsn
This is where a calorie counter web application like Daily Plate can come in handy. I can help verify that you are hungry for a reason, wither from hormonal hunger (i.e. too many carbs) or because you just aren’t taking in enough food).
I woke up this morning to an email from Dustin with a link to a Definitive Guide on Grains from Mark’s Daily Apple. The last paragraph follows:
Just as I choose to steer clear of grains as a regular part of my diet, I do occasionally indulge a bit. A tiny bit. And that’s where the Primal Blueprint enters: it’s about informed, not dictated choices. That French bread at an anniversary dinner, a sample of the pasta salad at your Uncle Billy’s steak fry, the saffron rice your daughter cooks for you when you visit her first apartment – they’re thoughtful, purposeful compromises. (And they’re perhaps very worth it for reasons that have nothing to do with the food itself.) The point of the Primal Blueprint if this: When you understand the metabolic effects of eating grains, you’re empowered to make informed decisions about the role grains will have in your diet. You’re free to enjoy good health and self-selected compromises with a clear conscience and full epicurean gusto!
Again, thanks for all your support in getting the LB(A)C going. The purpose of this diet is to get a solid understanding of what you eat and the composition of that food so that you can take ownership of your health and fitness, which for most people, are major drivers for happiness.
There have been many questions, but it seems like the one I hear most is, “I can’t have…!?!?!?” Let’s start with coffee since that seems to be pretty important but you can insert your favorite food/drink. I got all the food values from the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference or from package labels. (As a recovering software engineer, one of the things we like to say is: “Features, time to market, quality, pick two.” I know this reflects a zero-sum paradigm, but, in this case, there are some biological reasons for that context.)
The conversation starts like this:
Athlete: I tried black coffee and it sucks! I like sugar in my coffee.
Saul: How much sugar are we talking about?
Athlete: More sugar than you would think is necessary… and double it.
Saul: Ok… Show me…
Athlete spoons in the “appropriate” amount of sugar
Athlete: It takes like a coffee milkshake, taste it.
I do and, indeed, it it does taste like a coffee milkshake… We spoon out the same amount of sugar into a bowl and measure 3 tablespoons of sugar. The package of TJ’s Turbinado sugar says there are 4 grams of sugar/carbs in 1 teaspoon. There are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon, so that is 9 tsps x 4g or 36 grams of sugar/carbs in one cup of coffee. (FYI: Starbucks vente or medium Coffee Frappuccino® Blended Coffee has 48g carbs)
If you are trying to lose weight, and you are new to this way of eating, you should try to keep your carbs to below 100 g/day (This is from Mark Sisson’s Primal Blueprint, Robb Wolf says 75g/day and Josh G is going for 50g/day). Basically, this coffee milkshake is about 1/3 of your carbs for the day. With that information, you can make some informed decisions and work around some of the negative side effects of your coffee milkshake.
Step1: Your insulin is going to spike when you eat/drink this many carbs, make sure to eat some protein and fat with your coffee to mitigate that spike.
Step 2: Have some good fats or protein to eat around two hours after you drink your coffee. Your body will be craving carbs again, don’t perpetuate the cycle.
Step 3: You have about 50 more carbs, limit fruit appropriately (apple: 25g, orange: 12g, banana: 26g), and double down on the greens and other veggies.
Step 4: Enjoy your day as you remember that you are in control of your body.
The bottom line: Life is short. Find a way to be happy and make sure every thought, word and action moves you towards being happy. If a coffee milkshake in the morning makes you happy, let’s figure out a way to make that happen with a minimum of suffering. If losing fat and/or getting super strong makes you a little more happy than a coffee milkshake in the morning, let’s figure out a way to make that happen. While taking a hard look at our behavior(s) and our priorities and reconciling them is uncomfortable, I can’t think of a better group of people to be uncomfortable with.
Let’s Do This!
Pat’s Philly Steak: Brown an onion and crushed garlic in coconut oil. Add thinly sliced meat 5 oz of London Broil in this case) and sliced mushrooms, cook, on high, for 3 min or so. Add 1/4 head of cabbage and cook for about 5 more min or until the cabbage gets to the consistency you like. Add Avocado as necessary.
Approximate Food Values: 43 g protein, 21 g fat and 17 g carbs
Interesting Paleo reading:
Paleolithic diet is so easy, cavemen actually did it
The New Age Cavemen and the City
Smoking Candy Cigarettes
A HUGE thank you to all who attended the Thursday night first draft of Nutrition and Recovery at MDF. I think we have everyone enrolled, at this time we have 29 people, 16 men and 13 women participating! I will post a list at the gym and I would like you to check it and make sure that you are on it and if you need pictures or to pay do so as soon as humanly possible.
The Basics
This is NOT a weight loss challenge. When you are successful on this challenge, you will have learned a way of eating that enables you to look, feel and perform better. To do that, you must learn to gather (shop for), cook and eat real food like our ancient ancestors did. While I will go into this in detail later, that means limit any food that comes in a package or is processed (including shakes, “nutrition bars,” protein powder). The majority of the Paleo/Primal diet can be eaten raw, but don’t necessarily have to be eaten raw, and are found on the periphery of your grocery store or at your local farmers market. More on what foods will enable success later this this post.
This is NOT a weight loss challenge. The food log you will use has five areas to input food for each day and you should be using at least three of them and probably all of them. There are several reasons that you should not skip meals. I will discuss why you shouldn’t skip meals now on another post, but for now just believe me, you will reduce your progress, and increase your suffering, if you skip meals.
This is NOT a weight loss challenge. Some people will lose weight, some will gain and some will stay the same. The main thing that I would like to happen is that you gain a solid understanding of what you eat, what the composition of that food is and what you can do to improve your diet, one step at a time.
This is NOT a weight loss diet (am I making my point here?). You are training your body to use a different fuel source (fat). This takes between 2 and 4 weeks. There will be some rough days physically and mentally, plan on havng them and they won’t be as bad.
What Can I Eat?
This is the most concise description I can find:
Reduce intake of the following:
Eat The Following:
Yes, there are a number of different takes on the above description and many people, will be fine on milk, for instance, but others will notice a huge difference eliminating milk. In the coming weeks, I will post some links that explain why the author(s) includes some of the above mentioned foods on a limited, or maybe not so limited, basis. In the end, you will have to decide what works best for you because what works best for me, may not work for you at all. While you may see some differences in the different versions of the Paleolithic diets, all of them call for a significant reduction in grains, legumes and sugar and an increase in “good fat” consumption. More on good fats later.
Sample Menu
Here is a great sample menu that Susan put together.
Food logs
Use your log to keep track of everything you eat, every day. In addition to what you eat, record the quantity of each food and how you feel before, during, and after you eat it. The way foods make you feel is a really important piece of this exercise – you’ll gain insight into which foods work best in your body and those that might be good to eliminate from your diet.
Don’t beat yourself up if you forgot some of the details of the meal, just write what you remember and do a better job next time.
If you don’t like using computers, use this log that you can record with a pen and paper, old-school-style.
If you don’t mind using a spreadsheet, check this out.
I am going to save commenting on the online food logs until tomorrow; however, I think these are a good way to go for several reasons.
Finally, I am trying to find a place to store the food logs online. Bear with me for a few more days until I get some thing set up.
Please post questions or comments and I will get to them as soon as possible.
Unscripted Paleo Cooking – Episode 1 from saul jimenez on Vimeo.
Unscripted Paleo Cooking
This is the first installment in a series showing the gory implementation details of eating Paleo/Primal.
These videos are rough. I am not going to take much time planning them out, nor am I going to take much time to edit them. I think that matches the way we eat.
Through experience I have learned that it is not hard to stay on my diet when I have planned and shopped correctly. Staying on my diet is most difficult when I am tired and hungry and need to eat 2 hours ago.
These videos are an answer to that problem. I will demonstrate how to cook quick, dirty and effective pattern-based meals that are pretty good and pretty nutritious (at least more nutritious than the food you would eat if you didn’t eat at home).
As you can see, we have a new website. There were some major issues with importing and I am having to go through all the old posts by hand. All of 2009 has been published with comments.
If you have any issues with the new site, please send an email.
Recall that the Look Better (Almost) Naked Challenge is about the transformation to LB(A)N rather than actually LB(A)N. In that vein, I offer the terminally skinny, extremely disciplined, the sandbaggers and/or the non-believers that there is such a thing as LB(A)N (i.e. the form-follows-function crowd) the following post-workout shake recipe from 70s Big:
1. 2 cups of milk
2. 2 cups of ice cream
3. 1/2 cup of peanut butter
4. 2 scoops of protein powder
5. 4 tablespoons of chocolate syrup
Total Calories: ~2,090 kcal
Total Protein: ~104 g
Note that many Strength and Conditioning coaches, including Robb Wolf (in Paleolithic Solution – Episode 7 ) recommend that serious athletes eat about 1 to 1.5 grams/lb of bw of protein/day. I weigh about 170 lbs so that is about 175 to 250 grams of protein per day or about 60 grams protein per meal plus about another 60 grams divided by 2 snacks per day. I post this shake recipe sort of tongue-in-cheek, but this really isn’t that far off for a person weighing 170 lbs wanting to increase mass. If you are 70s big, like 200 lb or more, this is pretty much right on for gaining mass. (Depending on your commitment to mass, I would drink this every 4th day to every day.) You could make it more Paleo with coconut milk and no peanut butter but I am sure you get the point. Seriously, if you want to gain size/mass enough to forsake health and waist size temporarily, you need to eat big, 70s big! If you want to get stronger and leaner, that is different and we will tackle that issue at a later date (though I am sure you have a hint about what I am going to say).
Thursday, Jan. 7 to Thursday, March 4
How Do I Participate?
We suggest eating Paleo/Primal, but that is NOT required; however, you ARE required to submit a food log to a Google Group (more details on this at a later date) at least once a week.
A one hour presentation on Paleo/Primal eating will be held on Thursday, January 7th at 7:00 PM . Attending this presentation is NOT mandatory.
Cost is $30.00 to join the challenge. There will be two winners, one for men, one for women. Winners will divide the pool of entry fees and also receive a free month of training!
3 “Before” pictures taken: Front view, side view and back view. Men’s pictures should be taken in shorts and women should be in shorts and sports bra/bikini top. Pictures must be at MDF by January 7 at 8 PM. No Exceptions.
3 “After” pictures taken, in same clothes as “before” pictures preferably, between March 1 and March 3 and available for judging on March 4. No exceptions.
How Are The Winners Chosen?
The pictures taken are PRIVATE and seen only by the same gender participants. Saul and Susan will pick the finalists, the top 5 men and women whose body composition changed the most (based on pictures only)
. To be clear, participants should vote for the finalist who has made the most changes. Finally, on January 7, men participants vote on the man who has made the most changes in the group of finalists. Women participants vote on the woman who has made the most changes in the group of finalists. There will be no general viewing of photos.
Post questions and comments to the blog.
Several of you have requested that I post some travel workouts. These workouts include both body weight only WODs and a few with dumbbells. Hope you have safe travels!
