|| nutrition \\ stress

I think I nailed down my nutrition and fueling for daily life. I say this about every two weeks, but so far this new system is working well. In the mornings, I drink around 2 cups of coffee. Sometimes I drink it black, sometimes I make it a fat coffee by adding heavy cream, whole milk, coconut cream, coconut oil or butter...or all of the above. I also make a green smoothie/fat shake as well. Usually I make a big blender full and it lasts me at least 2 days. I sip on this in between meals slowly if I get a bit hungry but I know I don't need a full meal. This morning I made it with kale, a nectarine, some berries, hemp protein, coconut oil, peanut butter and maybe some other things. It's decent, but I need a better blender (Vitamix) so it comes out...well, smooth. Not chunky. The rest of the day I load up on fat with a side of protein, while sipping on my greens. I usually have a salad or broccoli with dinner as well, so I get a ton of greens in throughout the day. These are usually my only source of carbohydrates for the day with the exception of a handful of nuts every now and again. Keeps me full and away from bad food.

Here's some stuff I've cooked up/been eating recently. The green smoothie looks nasty, but it's actually really good. I promise. Those mozzarella balls are so good...and super filling. Helped me get over the plateau and back into ketosis.

Speaking of bad food, there's a lot of talk about advertising fake food for kids. The "food" companies say it's geared toward anyone...well, they are right. I was back in Michigan for a few days and walked in on my dad finishing out a box of "Kid's Krunch." I guess Mill's doesn't care if they are advertising to kids!

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I'm not a planner. My mom always was, but my dad and I didn't like planning as much. Plus, anything my mom does I pretty much do the opposite. Anyway, I had to send my passport into the Indian consulate which is pretty stressful because it involves UPS'ing my passport into the consulate. I was going to need it to get in Canada, but it turns out I do actually have an enhanced license. Issue solved itself, just like I planned.

I also shot my sister's senior portraits, and since I'm not really charging my family (just the cost of printing), I'm giving myself creative freedom on this one! Should be fun.

A lot of folks on the internet have been touting the benefits of a standing desk. I couldn't sleep the other night so I picked up a bunch of random stuff around my room and made myself a standing desk. It's not pretty, but it's stable and it works. So far, I really like it. I take breaks, but for the most part I stand for probably 6-10 hours a day now on average. It's also kept me more energized weirdly, and I've been more active as a result. Maybe it's because I get tired of standing, so I go to the Y more often (still no desire to get up early...all though after years and years of doing it for swimming.

Finally, here's a picture of Frank Sinatra disembarking a helicopter with a drink in his hand and of a McLaren MP4-12C, aka the McLaren MC Hammer. And as I was writing this I was listening to Bonobo radio on Pandora and "Lower the Heavens" by The Donkey's came on. I really dig it. Check it.

|| planning \\ weekend

Planning for India is going well. Will is doing most of the leg-work for it, but we have a hotel to stay in after we get in to Mumbai and we have our inter-country flights planned and bought as well. Now I just need to head to the Indian consulate downtown and get my visa. I'd mail it, but Trevor and I are headed through Canada to Vermont and I need my passport for that. Last time I was in Canada, Americans only needed a drivers license but that's all changed now.

I've also started podcasting thanks to the suggestion from Brett Blanker. I tweeted him about my trip to India and how I plan to use it to find some zen and compartmentalize my life and he suggested I take some audio. So I'm doing that now as I plan the trip, but I think I'll release it as a full podcast after the trip to see what it sounds like to go from the planning stages through the entire trip all the way back to Chicago.

My dad had to randomly fly to D.C. yesterday and packed in about 30 seconds at home, luckily I was up and around so I took him to ORD airport...it's really far away, about 5 minutes. Hopefully with yesterday's shooting, the airport security won't be too bad. I'm very glad they got the attacker. I think it's time for funding to combat these mass shootings on a psychological level. They are happening way too often and causing too much trauma to ignore. I don't think gun laws are the answer, either.

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My weekend was really fun. I went to Indianapolis, IN USA for a wedding of my former assistant coach at Valpo to a former teammate. It was a lot of fun, I had way to much to drink the night before and I realized I'm getting way too old for this! This is a detox week and weekend in preparation for homecoming in two weeks.

This is how I felt on Sunday morning post-rowdiness.

|| moderation \\ inexperience

People who know me in real life know I have an issue with moderation. I heard plants were the best thing to eat, so I went vegan for a few months. Then I heard about ketosis and thought, "that sounds good" and proceeded to try and fail many times to get the purple stick. I'm learning moderation and zen/inner peace. It sounds hippy-dippy and woo-woo, but it's something I need to learn and work on.

A recent victory for me is accepting the fact that I have to sit in traffic, wasting gas in my pickup truck. I spend anywhere from $40-$70 a week on gas alone. That's just the way it is.

Basically, I'm this guy (or at least I aspire to be). If you haven't seen the movie, stop reading this and go watch it now.


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I have a feeling I'm getting close to ketosis. I drank my coffee black this morning so I could eat breakfast, but I'm still not hungry and it's been 12 hours at least since I've eaten anything. Soon, I'll have to eat something but I like the accidental intermittent fasting!

|| lbs \\ niceties

Ok, I'm a huge supporter of LBS's - that is, your local bike shop. I work at REI, so I shop there mostly, but I still spend money at my LBS when I need to. Today, I needed an FR-4 freehub remover. "Bob's Bike Shop" in Park Ridge was closest, and I already tried a different shop yesterday - they didn't have one. So "Bob" just takes my wheel and pulls the hub off for me. Great! Most LBS's wouldn't charge you for that...they know you'll be back for an endless amount of overly expensive gear. Then he says gruffly, "Gimme 5 bucks for that."

Safe to say I won't be back there. If you're in my area, head over to Marty's bike shop. They spent 10 minutes with me yesterday trying to get the hub off. They had a tool (not for sale, but in the shop), but it was stripped so they couldn't do anything for me. Didn't even mention having me pay for it. They way an LBS should operate.

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I'm not hungry yet...big breakfast after my swim, and some coffee with HC should tithe me over until early afternoon. Hooray for fat-adaptation...it's the best.

Plus, my dad's office is LEED Gold certified. That's kinda cool.

|| mornings \\ breakfast

It's been a while since I got up at 4:30a and went over to the Leaning Tower Y with my dad and had a morning workout. I rowed 2 miles and swam about a 1000m, along with some weight lifting...nothing intense because my ankle is still messed up from rolling it.

Also, enjoy the fact that you are probably better than Jillian Michaels. In general, but also in your athletic endeavors. She recently did the Malibu Triathlon and placed dead last by more than 20 minutes in her division and whined about it to the cameras...good job "fitness expert"! Former pro cyclist Levi Leipheimer was on a relay ("DeSoto Sport") and they won the division by more than 13 minutes - he averaged 27.8mph on his bike...that's crazy fast. On the bright side, I could've beaten their swimmer by about 2 minutes for the 1/2 mile/825 yard swim. And just about anyone could've beaten Michaels.

Yes, that's really my YMCA.

Some crazy bruising and inflammation - eating extra fat and no carbs and some other anti inflammatory foods. Staying away from NSAID's. 

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Breakfast is going to be one or two eggs fried in coconut oil, with a bit of pepperjack, and coffee with heavy cream. My roommate from El Salvador was kind enough to bring me some coffee and it's really, really good. I'm also planning on spending some time drooling over Litespeed titanium bike frames. They're really expensive, but super light and supple. Think steel, but the frame only weighs 2.5-3 pounds/1-1.5 kilos. Then I'll head to the shop to get some work done before working at REI for a few hours later tonight.

Really nice sunrise this morning. View from my dad's car. 

Update - breakfast. Yum yum...you can tell I might be trying for ketosis again...

|| dinner \\ bicycles

Dinner tonight is going to be bacon, broccoli, big spinach salad and a heaping spoonful or two of coconut butter. Staying on the yellow side of ketosis for now, but still going for more fat than protein at this point, obviously very low carb.

Super simple recipe: bacon, broccolli, EVOO and pine nuts. Oven 400, 40 minutes - turn every 10 to avoid burning. Add some garlic, pepper and salt to taste. It's amazing. Just do it.

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Afterward, I think I'll continue getting my project bike apart for painting. I think the cables are next which is a bit scary since I've never re-cables a bike. I'm on a mechanics high, so I'll also probably partly rebuild and full on clean my dad's mountain bike. 

|| documentary \\ thoughts

While watching "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" it reminded me of interactions with people who don't care about health and will actually poke fun at us "health nuts". I don't have feelings so it doesn't bother me. 

Naysayer: "But, Steve, isn't it silly to say that you'll never have a doughnut again?"

Me: "I'm not saying I'll never have a doughnut again. I'm saying I feel so good that I don't even want a doughnut. Do I miss the taste? Yeah, who the hell wouldn't! But I feel too good."

It goes on and on usually. Sure, I slip every now and then and have a soda...or a slice - whatever. But the science says that your gut will change and your body will adapt - I.E. Once you are fat adapted, it's harder to get out of fat adaptation. If you're a sugar/carb operator, it's harder to break the cycle and become fat adapted. But looking at the screenshot below, you'll never become fat-adapted following this. Eggs once a week? Fat-free dairy Sugar bombs twice a week? Eggs are one of the most nutrient-dense foods out there.

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All that said, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" is an inspiring film. If a normal guy can drop 202lbs/91kg, I can certainly get rid of these pesky 10 or 15 from college and encourage those around me. The way isn't through "calorie-in, calorie-out", but rather eating clean, natural and unprocessed foods. 

Most of the food I now eat has only one ingredient. A sirloin cut piece of beef with a spinach salad full of tomatoes, peppers, maybe some cheese and blueberries with a balsamic/oil/vinaigrette dressing. Doesn't that just sound a lot more healthy than a TV dinner? And better? It does to me, but that's just me. I'm not here to tell anyone they should change or that they are wrong. Frankly, it's not my problem or concern. This is what works for me, that's all.

Happy trails, all!