Drill Down: Fritos

What's in a Frito? According to Frito-Lay, only three things:

Corn, Corn Oil, and Salt. 

This is quite remarkable, considering something similar like the Cheeto has 14 ingredients, not including the additional 14 or so additionally listed additives and sub-ingredients :

Enriched Corn Meal (Corn Meal, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Thiamin Monoitrate, Riboflavin, and Frolic Acid), Vegetable Oil (Contains one or more of the following: corn, soybean, or sunflower oil), Whey, Salt, Cheddar Cheese, (Cultured Milk, Salt, Enzymes). Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Maltodextrin, Disodium Phosphate, Sour Cream (Cultured Cream, Nonfat Milk), Artificial Flavor, Monosodium Glutmate, Lactic Acid, Artificial Colors (Including Yellow 6), and Citric Acid.

Simplicity is the Frito. It reminds me of a simpler time: the first time I consciously tried to lose weight. I was a senior in high school, thinking how my life would change when I entered college. All my current friends and classmates would become past-tense, along with their image of me. A whole new group of peers would be met and there would be an opportunity to define myself before anyone else got a chance to. What better way to redefine myself than as not-a-fat ass.

L: Fat Ass. R: Not-A-Fat Ass.

It was around age 17 when I started riding my brother's beat up Ross 10-speed and started experimenting with spandex. (Yes, I wore spandex shorts to school because....it was the 80s and I didn't care.) I had my dad take me to the Staten Island Mall and he bought me a set of free weights, which I still have in the back of the closet; they come in handy to add weight to dishes when I'm curing fish. At some point in my childhood, my parents swapped out whole milk with apple juice as my go-to drink, and realizing that was very caloric, I swapped it out myself for my dad's drink of choice, Diet Coke.

But the main thing I did to my diet my senior year was replacing lunch with a bag of Frito's. The salty savoriness was satisfying enough to get me from breakfast to lunch without powering down or feeling crappy. By dinner I'd be very hungry, but reasonably in control. I did not weight myself at the time, but I lost enough weight that by the end of the year, some people would remark on the loss.

Frito's were my first "diet food", and like any "diet", eventually I went off the diet and the weight came back...with a vengeance. I left Frito's behind, as something weirdly sinful/healthy, a relic of immaturity. In the past year, as I assembled my new diet (opposed to "diet", as this is supposedly for ever more) and looked at what I could eat, I needed balance. Sure, I take the weekend to indulge in anything and everything I feel denied to keep an even keel during the week, but even if my diet becomes 75% vegetable matter and 20% super healthy other stuff, I still need that 5% of something else to keep it happy and interesting. It has to work into the caloric load, but it has to feel....sinful/healthy. Frito's, welcome back. Now get in mah belly!

So Frito's have become my go-to end of day comfort food. It's fatty and starchy, but balanced out by my day's vegetables and quality proteins....and low lighted grains and carbs. Just as McDonald's purports it can be "part of a well-balanced diet", Frito's are made to fit. I've played around a bit with Cheesy Poofs and potato chips, but nothing gives me the visceral satisfaction of Frito's.

I'm in the process of reading "Salt, Sugar, Fat", which is a expose on the incredible work of food scientists to replace chefs and cooks as the designers of food, down to the molecular level. When you see the recipe list of the Cheeto, the fingerprints are kind of obvious. But the Frito? NPR did a nice piece on it's history. There was this guy, Chuck Doolin, who ran a confectionery in Texas during the Depression and wanted to do something to make mo' money. He saw some Mexican guy frying little corn chips at a road side, with masa dough being extruded from a machine. Chuck bought the patent for the machine, and the "Frito" (Spanish for "Little Fried Thing") was born. He tinkered with the recipe until he got it right. What caught my eye was something Frito-Lay does not go into when talking about the magical simplicity of this chip:

Along the way, Doolin started hybridizing his own corn. The secret ingredient in Fritos, Kaleta Doolin says, is her father's own, special corn. He hired farmers throughout Texas to plant his varieties until he found the taste he was looking for.

Sounds a bit like ol' school food science, even in the nostalgic golden glow of Depression-era boot-strap tales....

If it's so simple in the ingredients, it must be easy to replicate at home, right? The fine people at Frito-Lay sure make it sound so simple. So I did some internet-thinkin' and found numerous recipes to make them at home. Some made it fussy with lots of extra ingredients like whole wheat and buttermilk, but I found a recipe that kinda sticks to Frito-Lay's simplicity in an article about home-made junk food in the NY Times.

Time: 30 minutes

• 80 grams (about 1/2 cup) stone-ground or other fine cornmeal (do not use whole grain)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
• 1 teaspoon olive oil or vegetable oil
• Vegetable oil for frying, optional.

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cut 2 pieces of parchment the same size as a baking sheet and set aside. Bring about 3/4 cup water to a boil.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornmeal and salt. Add 1/3 cup boiling water and mix with a fork until smooth. Add 1 teaspoon oil and mix again. The batter should be thick and slightly runny; if necessary, add more boiling water 1 teaspoon at a time for the desired consistency.
3. Place one sheet of parchment on a work surface, and scrape the batter into the center. Top with the second sheet of parchment and gently roll out the batter to about 1/3-inch thick. Transfer the parchment and rolled batter to the baking sheet. Remove the top sheet of parchment and score the batter into small rectangles. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool and break apart. Sprinkle with additional salt, if desired, and serve. Or, fry the chips as described below.
4. Set aside a plate lined with a paper towel. Fill a small skillet with about 1 1/2 inches vegetable oil. Place over medium heat and allow to heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Test with a small piece of a chip; it should sink to the bottom of the pan, sizzle, float to the top and turn pale golden brown in about 30 seconds. Fry half the chips, using a metal strainer to transfer to the paper towel to drain. Repeat with remaining chips. Sprinkle with salt, if desired, and serve.

Yield: 2 to 4 snack-size servings.

And here is what I got:

Left: Homemade fried. Center: Store bought. Right: Homemade baked.

And in conclusion, my homemade (fried) Frito was....good. Not bad. I'm sure if I worked with the moisture content, oil temp and quality of the corn meal, I could do a lot better. However,

• the baked version was disgusting. Bland, tasted like corny card board.
• there is just no comparison. My version is the Ringo All-Starrs, Frito-Lay's version is the Beatles.

Oh, I'll never be a Frito!

Clearly there is a lot more going on at Frito-Lay than happy farmers picking corn, then making masa dough in an old stone mill and frying in copper kettle in back of grand paw's shack. Though everyone is hush-hush about it, NPR's hint at hybridizing corn species probably tells the real story. Every single element of this chip, the origin of the corn, the milling of the corn, the oil, the oil temp & time, the extrusion, the moisture of the dough, the salt, the molecular structure of the salt....every single element of the process of making this chip is measured, controlled, and scientifically tested to guarantee a perfect corn chip every time, over billions of bags over decades and decades. That's no small thing, and certainly can not be replicated at home, ever, without a shit-ton of expense, work, research and drama.

Make no mistake, after tasting my Frito's side by side with Frito-Lays, I can not help but think that the Frito is one very industrial food that serves it's purpose very well. Unlike some industrial foods, it's not as incredibly harmful as transfats or ecologically destructive as industrial meats, but in too large quantities can be just as terrible for the consumer. And due to it's perfect corny taste, it's really up to the buyer to be ware, because no one else is looking out for you.

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Thursday night I lost my mind a bit and went to town, inhaling over 1000 cal of junk food compulsively and with out regard to my health or how it would make me feel at any point other than in the moment of eating it. Rather than try to shrug it off, I ask myself here: why?

I see two pressures that are not typical of my daily life. On one side, I have my first longer-than-a-day in-office gig starting next week, going on for 2+ weeks, maybe longer (though if it goes well, will evolve into a regular at-home gig.) Other than the usual first-day-of-school fears, I'm also a bit worried how it will effect the control I have over what I eat. Another pressure is the arrival of some of my wife's family from out of town, a complicated relationship for all involved which has my life partner on edge, and of course effects me, too.

And a third pressure: looking at what I ate on Thursday, I ate few carbs. Breakfast was yogurt based, both main meals was a protein and a veg, and snacks were mostly veg. When I got to the end of day, those Frito's didn't just cap a good eating day -- they primed the pump for an eating day that was unexpectedly out of balance. Funny, had a conversation with my wife the same day about her not getting enough carbs. Huh.

I usually throw off the shackles of my recording and being so strict Friday evenings (it's close enough to the weekend!) but to compensate in raw calorie #s, I did not eat anything unrecorded until I woke up Saturday morning.  It was more difficult than I thought it would be, but I remembered a certain hill on my bike ride during the day in which I felt unexpectedly strong n' light, and with minimal effort passed the other casual riders on the same incline. That motoring was due to this past year's diet, and thinking of that good feeling, made it easier to not stuff M&Ms in my gob while I laid down and watched TV.
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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2380

Over all a good eating week, though I suspect my increasing amount of bike riding is supercharging my desire for carbs and, in effect, sweets.

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MONDAY COUNT: 2660

Oddly, still sore in the arms and shoulder's from last week's work out, perhaps because of the push-ups I did when Edie was on my back or because of my fired-up focus on doing more to make the pull-ups more consistent. Did not do a pull-up this morning due to soreness, but I did get close enough to feel honest that I could if I was at 100%.

Sugar cravings at end of day exploded the budget, but I take heart in knowing I took steps to manage the cravings, rather than give in to them.

AM SNACK: 8am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 10:45am, fruit smoothie, 400 cal

PM SNACK: 12:30pm, momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH: 1:30pm, gravlox, string beans, madras lentils, pickle, 590 cal
Left over brunch lox from the weekend, had to be eaten. Surprised how calorically dense it is, shouldn't be as the best salmon is fatty belly meat.

PM SNACK: 5:30pm, apple/carrot/beet/cucumber/celery/ginger/kale/cayenne juice, 170 cal

PM SNACK: 8:15pm, poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 8:45pm, stir fry with broccoli, snow peas, shitake mushrooms, shiritaki noodles, chicken breast, black bean paste & chili sauce, 700 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9:15pm, Frito's, 300 cal

EVENING SNACK: 10pm, cheesy poofs, 300 cal
Really strong sugar cravings, strongest I've had them in a long time. Maybe due to withdrawal from all the sugar I ate over the weekend? These poofs definitely made me more comfortable.

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TUESDAY COUNT: 2500

Another day that ended in not the greatest fashion. Lunch was designed to be portable, so there was grain and red meat involved, and due to familial obligations, dinner became disordered and didn't have the time to roast vegetables. Unsurprisingly, despite not being particularly hungry in the late evening, I was madly craving sugar....or even maybe just comfort.

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 9:30am, Fage whole yogurt with almonds, agave and vanilla, 310 cal

LUNCH: 1:30pm,, almond butter & jelly on whole wheat, momma salad, 590 cal

PM SNACK: 3:30pm, beef jerky, 160 cal

PM SNACK: 6:45pm, poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8:15pm, Frito's, 300 cal


DINNER: 9:30pm, chicken sausage, black beans, curried whole wheat cous cous, 740 cal

Edie wouldn't sleep and B was out, so I tried to delay dinner as much as possible, eating the snack early, but I started getting a little dizzy and nauseous, so I allowed Edie to sit with me while I made this quick meal. Originally gonna have brussels, but didn't want to take 30 minutes to make them properly.

EVENING SNACK: 10:30pm, cheesy poofs, 300 cal

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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2275

Cookin' da Fritos.

AM SNACK: 7:45am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 10:15am, steel cut oatmeal with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla & salt, 350 cal

PM SNACK: 12:30pm, momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, broiled flounder, roasted brussel sprouts, madras lentils, 560 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, apple/carrot/beet/cucumber/celery/ginger/kale/cayenne juice, 145 cal

PM SNACK: 8pm, poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 8:30pm, chicken meatballs, spinach, teff, kimchi, 720cal

EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, homemade Frito's & Frito-Lay Frito's, +/-300 cal
I tried to do an accurate calorie count on my own homemade, but I found after frying, the chips got lighter, not heavier, due to extreme moisture loss. Whoops.

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THURSDAY COUNT: 2195 +++

Fell off the wagon big time in the evening, need to think about why. Will write it up above.

AM SNACK: 7:45am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 11am, Fage whole yogurt with almonds, agave and vanilla, 310 cal

PM SNACK: 12:30pm, momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH: 2:15pm, shrimp in butter & garlic, roasted asparagus, 635 cal
Oh my, kind of a random meal, really good. Kicked it up a notch with a bit of fish sauce and siracha. Did 3 tbsp of butter, probably will do it next time with 2. Kinda mentally want to "paaaaasta!" but that easily could have made this a 1200+ cal meal.

PM SNACK: 4pm, seaweed sheets, 100 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 7:30pm, grilled chicken breast, roasted broccoli & cippolini onions, pickle,  650 cal


EVENING SNACK: 8pm, Frito's, 300 cal

OFF-WAGON FOOD: 10-midnight, frozen pizza, peanut M&Ms, small amount of kraft dinner, a bowl of cheesy poofs, +1000 cal

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BIKE CREDIT: 660 CAL
FRIDAY COUNT: 2270

Woke up feeling a little "hung over", bathroom took some extra time. Fortunately, circumstance allowed me a morning bike ride out to Coney.

AM SNACK: 8:15am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 8:45am, steel cut oatmeal with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla & salt, 350 cal

BIKE SNACK: 10:45am, home made granola bar, 300 cal

PM SNACK: 12:30pm, momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH: 2pm, double quarter pounder with cheese, 16oz diet coke, 750 cal

Out with a 9 year old who would eat nothing else. After ordering, noticed a new line of burgers with about 150 less calories. Oh well, not gonna beat myself up.

PM SNACK: 5:30pm, apple/carrot/beet/cucumber/celery/ginger/kale/cayenne juice, 140 cal


PM SNACK: 6:30pm, baby spinach with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 7pm, Stouffer's French Bread Pizzas, 860 cal


EVENING SNACK: 7:30pm, Frito's, 300 cal

BMI & Magical Canadian Eyebrows: Related

AREN'T MY EYEBROWS FANTASTIC?! OOT N' AHBOOT!

I'm almost at my 1st main goal: lose enough weight for my BMI index to go from "obese" (230s) to merely "overweight" (starting at 196 lbs). I'm starting to think of a second goal: reduce to get my BMI index down to the classification of "normal", which for me is a 164 lbs. To get to that weight would mean to lose over 30% of my body mass. (As it is, I've shed a little less than 15%) Which brings up a host of questions: Is this a healthy goal? Is it realistic? What should I weigh? Specifically, is the BMI index what I should be calibrating my goals to?

The eyebrows with the man attached to them in the picture above is a health & nutrition guru named Yuri Elkaim, one of the most aggressively opinionated Canadians I've ever listened to. He's a holistic nutritionist railing against a lot of the traditionally accepted ideas about nutrition through his blog, podcast, and a multi-media kit he sells on-line. I still haven't made up my mind about him, as he seems to teeter between selected scientific data, friendly enthusiasm and thinly disguised hucksterism, but so far there seems to be enough interesting content to follow his podcast on iTunes and occasionally check out his blog. One entry really resonated with me:  "How much should I weight?"

BMI is useful for most people. It’s really…it’s fine for the majority of the population. The only times it becomes a bit of an issue in terms of not being very reliable is when we’re dealing with athletes, because you might—this is actually very common with rugby players and football players—you might get a guy who’s, let’s say, 5’10″, 220 pounds, and if we’re to look at that according to (their BMI scores) —5’10″, 220 pounds—he would be considered just outside of overweight and just on the brink of obese.

So Yuri gives BMI a pass -- unless your really muscly and super fit, chances are the BMI index is fine. The Body Mass Index is simply a calculation of a ratio of height and weight. According to some internet thinkin', BMI is not very good for people of way-above-average height, as the formula acts in a straight line, making much heavier tall people fall into more moderate BMI classifications.

What is generally agreed upon is while BMI is a convenient tool for the majority of an adult sedentary population, the only accurate and important measure of weight in any person regardless of height, age or build is body fat percent, which can not be measured simply with a few numbers in a formula.

How an ugly lady becomes a man.

This image from Yuri's blog gave me pause. The man on the top left was who I was about a year ago, and I'm certainly nowhere near the Ken doll on the lower right. I guess with about 15% loss in weight, I'm somewhere between 25% (Mr. Tubbz) and 20% (Senor Jelly Roll.) (Freakier still, is how Mr. Fatty McFatfat has the same exact thin head as Mr. Male Model.) Regardless, it illustrates that fat percent is where it's at for a clear view of what's up with if you be a porker or you be a, ummm, norker?

How does one measure a fat percent? The best way involves being submerged in a tank full of water, and how much water you displace (i.e. how much you float) tells you your fat percent because fat is less dense than muscle, bone and other tissues. Other ways are callipers that pinch fat rolls, but it's not as accurate because you have to hit the exact same spot every time, and if your body is changing, then the spot is moving a bit -- it's more of an art than a science. The most common way is electrical impedance. Fat conducts electricity differently than other tissues when a current sent through the body is measured. There are devices, like the Tanita scale I use at home, which uses this method to give a reading of fat percent.

The problem with it, and the reason I gave up reporting on the fat percent readings, is electrical impedance measures of fat can vary wildly due to hydration. My fat percent will be very different before and after a bike ride simply because I'm dehydrated, or if I'm holding water because of excess salt consumption. If you measure at the same time of the day, after a few days of relatively similar activity and sweating and diet, the measure will be within a few percentage points. I think I'll give it a go again next weigh in -- my fat percent was dependably in the mid 30s when I was paying attention to the readings.

So in conclusion, if you're not too tall, not a kid and are relatively sedentary, BMI is fine as a general measure of fitness. If you really want to get a more accurate read, measuring fat percentage is the way to go.
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Salt has been in the news this week. Uhh, the other salt....

Up until this point, I've avoided addressing the issue of salt in diet because despite commonly accepted wisdom, my gut says salt is not the hobgoblin it's made out to be....but I haven't really done the research to get a grounded opinion, either way. However,  the NY Times recently reported on a massive new study that concluded that super-low salt diets are completely ineffective in terms of reducing stroke & heart attack risk, and implies that weight loss is much more effective in reducing blood pressure than sodium intake. It does not go so far to suggest a dietary guideline for salt consumption.

I see this as a confirmation of my gut feeling: like many things, salt is not good for you if you consume too much or too little. Up until recently, it was accepted that low and no salt diets were a "no brainer" for any one's health, and it seems that just ain't true - it's more complicated than that. It seems when people demonize salt, or fat, or carbs, or protein or whatever, what's really happening is the result of looking for a simple solution to a complex problem. Everyone, stop buying diet books and start your own blog!

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2310

Monday bike ride really did seem to make me hungrier for days after, but was able to keep a lid on it by eating more earlier and less later. Over all, a good week though the weekend found me eating more than usual, maybe an echo of feeling a little bit more deprived than usual during the week.

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BIKE CREDIT: 2180
MONDAY COUNT: 2405

To reward myself for Friday's pull-up, I woke up at 4, geared up, took a train to Van Cordlandt Park then road up the Old Put Rail Trail straight to Putnam County, visited my parent's graves, then took a wandering route back down the Hudson. Got home around 5:30, showered, dressed, drank a pint of chocolate milk then met some other obligations in the world with wobbly legs but a happy head.

Very happy with how my new approach to bike-eating worked on this 90 mile ride. Basically ate enough every 1.5-2.5 hours to stay ahead of the calories burned calculated on the cyclometer. The final 1/4 of the ride my stomach tightened and I just wasn't hungry at all, but the numbers don't lie, and if it were not for the final 3:30pm 500 cal bike snack, I would probably bonked by the time I got home.

Funny how 2000 calories can so easily fit into a small hydration pack when you're just dealing with relatively calorie-dense, processed foods. If I tried to eat 2000 calories of baby carrots on the bike, I'd have to strap on a feed bag while pedalling and a bucket under my saddle to catch all the poo. Not unlike a horse!

AM SNACK: 4:15am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 4:45am, fruit smoothie, 400 cal
First time I've made a smoothie in advance the night before. Tasted fine but not a habit I'm going to get into. Replaced pomegranate juice with cranberry, less sugar but definitely tastes tarter.

BIKE SNACK: 7am, granola bar, 345 cal

BIKE SNACK: 9am, granola bar, 345 cal

BIKE LUNCH: 11:45am, almond butter and grape jelly on wholewheat, chocolate digestive biscuits, 1020 cal

BIKE SNACK: 2pm, granola bar, 345 cal

BIKE SNACK: 3:30pm, almond butter and grape jelly on wholewheat, 500 cal

PM SNACK: 5:45pm, chocolate milk, 500 cal

PM SNACK: 7:45pm, momma salad, 100

DINNER: 9pm, whole wheat pasta with shrimp, snow peas, parm and homemade sauce, 730

EVENNG SNACK: 10pm, Fritos, 300 cal

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TUESDAY COUNT: 2405

Fell asleep by 10:30 last night, but the 9 hours sleep wasn't enough, woke up weak and muddy headed....in a good way. Maybe I should of double-downed on chocolate milk? Did my morning work out, though a little weaker than usual, and though I tried in earnest, I could not replicate my one damn pull up from last Friday. Not beating myself up about it, a 90 mile bike ride will take something out of the best of us.

Weird eating day. Ate dim sum at a proper Chinatown dim sum house with friends visiting from England, and wanted that experience. Hard to cal-count it, but guessed from how my stomach felt. Was not hungry again until 8pm, and thought I could get away with juice, salad and Frito's, but hunger got the best of me. Still kept it in relative control.

AM SNACK: 7:45am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 10:30am, steel cut oatmeal with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla & salt, 350 cal
Didn't have a cup of dry oats left, hence the slight reduction in calories.

PM SNACK: 12:30pm, momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH: 3pm, assorted dim sum, +/- 800 cal
Lots of dumplings, weird sausage rolls, a chicken foot, and something I never did before I ate better, a pile of sauteed Chinese kale. Bulked up on rice, which probably lead to more calories than I preferred.

PM SNACK: 8pm, apple/carrot/beet/celery/cucumber/ginger/kale/cayenne juice, 145 cal

DINNER: 9pm, spinach papa salad with homemade Italian dressing & Frito's, 450 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, cheesy poofs, 300 cal

EVENING SNACK: 10:30pm, 2 frozen white castle burgers, 260 cal
Left over from the weekend. Was craving sugar, but the soft white bread (which probably had a ton of sugar in it) did the trick.

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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2130

Edie off from school today and tomorrow because of Shuvuot, went to C & Autumn's house in the morning. Packed yogurt with me to keep to my normal eating, but lunch was a social thing, picking up vegan sandwiches from the neighborhood. I did a rare act of human-garbage can, eating up Edie's unwanted sandwich. Overall, not a bad eating day, and ended hungry enough that I had reasonable confidence in my calorie guesstimation.

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 9:30am, Fage full fat yogurt with almonds, agave & vanilla, 320 cal

LUNCH: 12:30pm, chickpea salad and pickles on whole grain rye sandwich, moz, tomato and pesto on sour dough sandwich, water, +/- 800 cal
My sandwich was good but very light and not very satisfying, so Edie's sandwich got tossed back pretty easily, weighed down by real cheese and pesto. This meal was mostly....bread, which while not unusual by today's standards, sticks out to me like a sore thumb. I think it didn't mess with me too hard was because the bread was mostly whole grain, and probably came from a small outfit that didn't add much/any sugars.....and I don't indulge in bread n' wheat that often.

PM SNACK: 5pm, momma salad, 100 cal

PM SNACK: 8pm, momma salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 8:45pm, stir fry with shirataki noodles, shrimp, snow peas, broccoli, shitaki mushrooms in black bean sauce, 510 cal


EVENING SNACK: 9:15pm, Frito's, 300 cal

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THURSDAY COUNT: 2305

Getting hungrier earlier. An extra snack of carby fatty junk at 6:15 did the trick and allowed me to stay in budget and feel fine after hours.

AM SNACK: 7:15am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 10am, steel cut oatmeal with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla & salt, 350 cal

LUNCH: 12:30pm, chicken sausage, madras lentils, steamed string beans, momma salad, 540 cal

PM SNACK: 3:45pm, apple/carrot/beet/celery/cucumber/ginger/kale/cayenne juice, 135 cal

PM SNACK: 5:45pm, poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

PM SNACK: 6:15, cheesy poofs, 300 cal

DINNER:  7:45pm,grilled chicken breast, roasted broccoli & cippolini onions, kimchi, 580 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8:30pm, Fritos, 300 cal

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FRIDAY COUNT: 2305

Fine eating day.

AM SNACK: xam, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 8am, Fage full fat yogurt with almonds, agave & vanilla, 320 cal

NOON SNACK: noon, momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH: 12:45pm, broiled flounder, roasted asparagus, sofrito black beans, kimchi, 575 cal


PM SNACK: 2pm, apple/carrot/beet/celery/cucumber/ginger/kale/cayenne juice, 135 cal

PM SNACK: 6:15pm,  poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 8:15pm, chicken meatballs, roasted brussel sprouts, wholewheat couscous, 775cal


EVENING SNACK: 9pm, Fritos, 300 cal

Chocolate Milk: Miracle Drink?

Big Dairy likes this post.

Chocolate Milk is the new Gatorade.  So said the fitness & nutrition blogosphere a while ago when it started buzzing about a few studies and trials measuring the recovery effectiveness of chocolate milk versus engineered food products like sport drinks, and unengineered liquids like plain ol' water. Finding nutritional value in a food that is considered relatively sinful, childish and, dare I say it, falls in line with  the economic interests of politically mighty Big Dairy and Big Sugar  must be viewed with a jaded eye. (Is there a Big Chocolate?)

Big Chocolate likes this post, too.

This week I road my bike 30 miles in the evening, capped my evening with a tall glass of chocolate milk, and indeed, the next morning felt all the better for it. Yes, I am one person with a single anecdote, but that's enough to get me to pay attention, and blog it up a bit!

Before we can even speak of chocolate milk's newly assessed properties, we must contextualize. What is this "recovery" thing that we speak of?

The purpose of post-workout recovery is to replenish glycogen (sugar) stores in the muscle and start the process of protein synthesis (muscle rebuilding) so that your body is ready for the next workout.

Glycogen is the energy stored in your muscles that can be burned in real time to make the muscles go and do stuff. As you use it up, new glycogen comes from your blood or if you work out long enough and your body is tuned up properly, from storage in your fat. If your muscles aren't full of this quick energy next time you work out, your work out will be compromised by weakness and lack of focus and energy. So, the purpose of a recovery drink is simply to help allow your muscles to regain it's maximum store of glycogen as fast as possible.

Aww screw it, why bother with a simple, natural product when you could have THIS?!

Prior research has found that the ideal recovery drink has a ratio of 3 parts carb to 1 part protein, which chocolate milk has. Why not 100% sugar, as glycogen is sugar? Simply put, protein is digested slower, turning to sugar slower, therefore allowing your body the right pace to refresh muscles -- go too fast, and insulin spikes kick in, and excess sugar is shunted off to fat cells to keep things stable.

So the science seems pretty firm: if you need a recovery drink after a work out, chocolate milk is just as good as a less natural, more expensive engineered food product, and definitely better than water. However, beware:

Ready to switch your bottled water for chocolate milk? Assess your workout level first. Downing a post-workout beverage chock-full of carbohydrates isn't just for the weekend tennis player, said Stager -- and that's key. A drink like chocolate milk is most useful to a cyclist, swimmer, or long-distance runner. These sports stress high endurance levels and constant, sustained movement. Competing athletes need high levels of calories, carbs, and protein to sustain that level of performance.

Don't forget the Diet Coke Fallacy. Some people justify the 2nd Big Mac by having it with Diet Coke instead of regular, but the result is your still eating way too many calories. If you don't burn some serious calories, don't bother with a recovery drink, be it chocolate milk or Gatorade, as it'll just mess with your health. There is nothing sadder than seeing a fat kid on the street chugging a 24oz bottle of Gatorade, probably thinking it's somehow healthier than 24oz of coke or whatever. It ain't. In the end, a calorie is a calorie, and chocolate milk is simply a good, efficient, more natural, cheaper way to replace calories. But first you need to burn 'em.

Ohmehgerd, it's so hot out, must consume copious calories!

Chocolate Milk is not perfect -- it spoils, people with any sort of dairy issue can not indulge, mass-produced dairy is full of suspicious hormones and antibiotics and is not as portable as a powder or shelf-stable product. And don't even get me started on the abomination of Yoohoo....

It was never "milk", gakk!

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On a side note, my chocolate milk is:

• 16 oz organic whole milk
• 4 tbsp organic chocolate syrup

This is 500 calories, has real cane sugar and no HFCS or scary sweeteners, and is double the recommended serving size, BUT it fit into my daily calorie intake.

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Huh, I think I may have kicked my life long diet soda addiction. When I first started this blog about a year ago, I was doing about 12 cans of 12oz each a week, diet coke and diet sprite. Then I noticed the 7.5oz cans, and two 8-packs were soon carrying me through 2 weeks. After a while, I found I usually wasn't finishing the 7.5 oz cans, and skipped days here and there. Finally booted diet soda to the weekends, and upon reflection, only do maybe 12oz at most any given weekend, and only because it comes with the combo meal, so to speak. 

This past Thursday, I treated myself to Subway, and skipped the oil on the sandwich to bring the calorie count down. I poured my 20oz cup full of diet coke, and by the end of the meal I realized I not only did I not finish it, but it tasted vaguely of battery acid. Ick.

On a lark, to go with my "soda", I picked up a bag of "potato" chips. 

I chose it because it was 130 cal for the bag, about 100 cal less then the regular. After the first bite, I realized this simply wasn't a sliver of potato that was simply baked, but something....else. Reminded me of a pringle, minus the satisfyingly artificial shape, savory greasiness or salty punch. I thought the ingredients would be just like the regular: Potatoes, Vegetable Oil, Salt. Nope:

Dried Potatoes, Corn Starch, Sugar, Corn Oil, Salt, Soy Lecithin, Corn Sugar

Huh? Starchy potatoes, dried to concentrate the starch, then more simple starch from corn added to it to bulk it up cheaply. Natural sounding "sugar" thrown in there, but the list is book ended by "Corn Sugar", which is a nice way of saying corn syrup. Oil is mixed in there, as well as salt and a soy-derived emulsifying agent to get this franken-food product to stick together into "chip"-like forms.

What I really wanted? A smaller bag of real potato chips.
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Let it be known on May 9th, 2013 at 9:28am, I did my first. damn. pull up. Technically, it was a chin-up, unassisted from a still, prone position. Witnessed by Wifey and Lil' Mili.

My first thought was to reward myself by skipping my work out, but I quickly dismissed it -- that's a fat person's way of thinking. I was actually looking forward to the work out, so instead I did it a little quicker and a littler harder, and felt good. Going to celebrate properly by taking Monday off from life and riding my bike all day.

My 12 year old self is retroactively applauding me from gym class at I.S.61.

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2263

Funny how 3 out of 5 days I was over budget, but not by too much, and the days I was under budget pulled the average into the target range.

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MONDAY COUNT: 1835

Spent the day at an office freelancing some graphics. Woke up early and got a weight lifting session before taking Edie to school, packed a proper lunch and snack, and made it home after errands to make a complex but quick-cooking meal. Is this the beginning of a template for when I'm back to work f'real? If so, it's encouraging.

I think the excitement of working and being super-busy all day made it easy to stay below budget, but I surgically chose which chores I had to do on the way home, as if I waited too long I probably would have bonked.

AM SNACK: 6:15am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 9am, fruit smoothie, 400 cal
Out of pomegranate juice, substituted whole milk, which slightly lowered the sugar content but raised the fat. Surprised how it changed it, smoother mouthfeel, not a noticeable drop in sweetness, but the sour notes of the pomegranate are missing. Hmmm.

LUNCH: 2:15pm, almond butter & grape jelly on whole wheat, momma salad, water  490 cal

PM SNACK: 6pm, salty seaweed sheets, 100 cal
Second time snacking on these, again just a little too salty. Love the crispness and the sesame oil flavor, but the salt is on the edge of too much.

PM SNACK: 8:45pm, poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 9pm, stir fry with shiritaki noodles, broccoli, snow peas, shitaki mushrooms and shrimp in black bean sauce, 445 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, Fritos, 300 cal

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BIKE CREDIT: 600 CAL

TUESDAY COUNT: 2440

Felt slightly sore from yesterday's work out, which is great -- I rushed it a little yesterday, but it was still a real work out. Due to weather and scheduling, it looked like I would not be able to ride my bike for more than a week, so when B got home, went out to Coney Island. Packed one snack, but 3/4 of the way home, felt the edge of the bonk approaching, and stopped for streetza. Indeed, as expected, it was 2 hours later and according to the calorie reading, I was about 60 cal beyond the 420 cal I took in from the previous bike snack. It's nice to find my body being predictable.

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 10:30am, steel cut oatmeal, 250 cal

LUNCH: 1:15pm, chicken meatballs, sofrito black beans, steamed string beans, momma salad, 540 cal

PM SNACK: 5pm, apple/carrot/beet/celery/cucumber/ginger/kale/cayenne juice, 150 cal

BIKE SNACK: 7pm, homemade granola bar, 420 cal

BIKE SNACK: 9:15pm, slice of streetza, +/- 300 cal

DINNER: 10pm, whole wheat pasta with parm and homemade sauce, poppa salad with homemade Italian dressing, 580 cal

EVENING SNACK: 10:15pm, Fritos, 300 cal


EVENING SNACK: 10:45pm, pint of chocolate milk, 500 cal
I've read that drinking chocolate milk after working out as a recovery aide is a real thing. Hmmm, maybe I should write about that.
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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2100

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 10:30am, Fage full fat with almonds, agave & vanilla, 320 cal

PM SNACK: 1:30pm, momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH: 2:15pm, scallops, stringbeans, sofrito black beans, 555 cal
Had a different lunch in mind, but the oven was in knish-making mode, so I had to do things that could be done on the stove-top & microwave.

PM SNACK: 5pm, apple/carrot/beet/celery/cucumber/ginger/kale/cayenne juice, 140 cal

PM SNACK: 6pm, poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 9:45pm, sauteed chicken breast, roasted asparagus & cippolini onions, kimchi, water, 585 cal

EVENING SNACK: 10pm, Fritos, 300 cal

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THURSDAY COUNT: 2510

Good eating day, though got so hungry at end of day had to double up on snacks.

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 9am, steel cut oatmeal, 250 cal

AM SNACK: 11:30am, momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, Subway veggie patty on 9 grain wheat, 16oz diet coke, Baked Lays "potato" chips, 520 cal

PM SNACK: 2:30pm, beef jerky, 160 cal

PM SNACK: 7:15pm, poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 8:15pm, roasted flounder & broccoli, madras lentils, water, 780 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9:15pm, Fritos, 300 cal

EVENING SNACK: 10:30pm, Cheetos, 300 cal

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FRIDAY COUNT: 2430
Went over budget, but had guests for lunch, forgot to eat momma salad, and by the end of day, just wanted something easy as B was away and I was on kiddie duty.

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 10:30am, Fage full fat with almonds, agave & vanilla, 320 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, sauteed berbere chicken breast, porcini macaroni & cheese, roasted brussel sprouts, water, +/- 650 cal

PM SNACK: 6:15pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian dressing, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 6:45pm, apple/carrot/beet/celery/cucumber/ginger/kale/cayenne juice, 170 cal

DINNER: 8pm, Stouffer's Deluxe French Bread pizzas, 840 cal


EVENING SNACK: 9:15pm, Fritos, 300 cal

1590

Weigh In, Beefcake Edition

207.2-->204.0-->201.0

Another healthy loss, kind of expected it -- which is a little dangerous, because if the expected result doesn't happen, it can send you into a spiral of self doubt. Unprovoked compliments from friends seem to be on an uptick again, perhaps because the warmer weather combined with some new, slimmer-cut Spring clothes. Or maybe it's because I'm BEEFCAAAKE!

Still no. One. Damn. Pull up. But I'm getting closer, closer than ever before. At this point, it's a race to see which goal I hit first, either getting down to 196 (where my BMI will be merely "overweight" rather than "obese") or doing the pull up. I think it's realistic at least one of these goals will be met by August 1st.

I feel good and I'm happy with my results, so my only concern is to avoid getting bored with my eating. This is not "a diet" that I will abandon when I hit my goals so I can bounce back up to super-fat-ass, this is my diet to which I am committed to until the day I die, or get old enough to just not give a damn.

Eat whatever I want, will I!

 Thoughts on how to refine my eating.

• Weekend eating is evolving for the better, getting less desperate -- the appeal of junk food is slowly diminishing, as I miss it less.
• Afternoon snack needs an overhaul. Juicing 3x a week is great, but not convenient -- must actually be home for it. May shift it to a breakfast or evening snack. Beef jerky is getting tired. Maybe a portable whole fruit is a good afternoon snack. Just picked up 100-cal packs of seaweed sheets from Costco, may be a contender.
• Step up my vegetable game. Rotation of string beans, broc, asparagus and brussel sprouts is starting to feel like an unending carousel. Snow peas added this past week and are easy and delicious, gonna get 'em weekly. Maybe think of mushrooms as more of a main side dish rather than just another ingredient in a stir fry.

I weighed in on Friday, then checked in again on the Wednesday the 1st, the day after a long bike ride. The later day had me at 202.8, which is still good, but I think from now on the last Friday morning of the month will be the official weigh-in day, simply for honest consistency.

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Every image from the "fat cyclist" search made me depressed , so I googled "fat car" and immediately felt better about life.

It's funny to think in terms of bike riding, I've lost about 1.5 bicycles, literally: my road bike weights about 20 lbs, and some people spend stupid amounts to shave ounces off their bikes. As there is no such thing as a negative-10lb bike, I think I did well, he he. I'm still getting used to the feel of my lighter body on the bike. It's not translating to faster riding, however, and I'm considering getting a heart rate monitor to formalize and encourage pushing it a little.

Hard time keeping to calorie budget this week, which is a growing trend over the last few weeks. I know that distance cycling can charge the metabolism, but I guess I've never seen it so clearly -- at least I hope that this is what this is. My cyclometer reports calories burned, and I aim to eat close to or slightly above that amount on the bike. I'm finding that eating to catch up every 2 hours or so on the bike really works for me, keeping me energized, focused, and away from the bonk, while avoiding the excess that can happen from getting too hungry then sitting down to a monster meal. Still, the echo effect of being hungrier for days afterwards.... how do I calculate an increased calorie budget for those days that will allow for steady monthly weight loss? Perhaps a topic for a future entry.

Regardless, looking at the chart above, it is this time of year -- the first months of cycling season -- that I start to naturally lose weight. Even when I was on my old cycle of eating sugar every day and almost no vegetables, weight came off so I'm curious to see it's effect on my current way of eating.

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2393

Thought it would be a lot higher, after this week. Though I busted my budget several times this week, I never felt out of control or fraught.

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MONDAY COUNT: 2390

Good work out. Got serious sugar pangs in the evening, so an extra carby/fatty/salty snack was called in to keep my hands on the steering wheel.

AM SNACK: 7:45am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 11:15am, steel cut oatmeal, 250 cal

PM SNACK: 12:30pm,  momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH: 1:30pm, pork chops, string beans, madras lentils, kimchi, water, 685 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, apple/carrot/beet/kale/ginger/celery/cucumber/cayenne juice, 190 cal

PM SNACK: 8:15pm, poppa salad with watered down babaganoush, 100 cal

DINNER: 9pm, stir fry with shiritaki noodles, brocolli, snow peas, shitaki mushrooms and shrimp in black bean sauce, 465 cal
Skipped stirfrying and went Italian, as I made the sauce today. Pretty decent.

EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, Fritos, 300 cal

EVENING SNACK: 10:30pm, Cheesy Poofs, 300 cal

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BIKE CREDIT: 1250

TUESDAY COUNT: 2615

Great afternoon bike ride to City Island, fueled by homemade granola bars and then 50 cent bags of miscellaneous chips.

AM SNACK: 7:45am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 10:45am, fruit smoothie, 400 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, PBJ on whole wheat,  390 cal
Had my lunch tied to handlebars, and it rubbed against my front wheel and the momma salad got corrupted.

BIKE SNACK: 1pm, granola bar, 475 cal

BIKE SNACK: 3:30pm, granola bar, 475 cal

BIKE SNACK: 5:45pm, potato chos, Doritos, diet coke, 340 cal

BIKE SNACK: 7:45pm, potato chips and Funyuns, 320 cal

DINNER: 9pm, whole wheat spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce, snow peas, parm and chicken meatballs,  poppa salad with miso tahini, 965 cal

EVENING SNACKING: 11-12am, 2 waffles with babaganoush, rice crispies with whole milk, +/-500 cal
Got really h8ungry, the kind of hunger that comes after a ride. Took a lot to avoid slamming something sweet, but got through.

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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2815

Bought a 4 pound sack of peanut M&Ms at Costco today in the morning, looking forward to murdering it this weekend. Was just a very hungry day, unusually so. I thought I completed the day well, eating a lot of healthy food in large quantity, but hunger kicked my ass in the evening. It was somewhere between honest hunger and extreme sugar cravings, and I had multiple thoughts of gorging on the peanut M&Ms. When I realized I might have a hard to falling asleep due to hunger, I allowed myself to graze....as long as I avoided what I wanted most, something sweet. Hopefully my hunger will come back into line tomorrow.

AM SNACK: 7:45am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 9am, Fage whole yogurt with agave, almonds, and vanilla, 320 cal

Hungry from yesterday's ride, plus had to go to Costco via bicycle, so early breakfast was in order.

LUNCH: 1:30pm, sliced roasted turkey breast, madras lentils, roasted asparagus, pickle,  745 cal
Hungry!

PM SNACK: 4:15pm, apple/carrot/beet/kale/ginger/celery/cucumber/cayenne juice, 170 cal

DINNER: 8:30pm, sauteed scallops, sofrito black beans, roasted broccoli, kimchi, water, 680 cal


EVENING SNACK: 10pm, Fritos, 300 cal

EVENING GRAZING: 11-12pm, cheesy poofs, 2 pretzel rods, chicken nuggets, +/- 600 cal

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THURSDAY COUNT: 1910

Got bits of good news in the morning, helped me hit my weight routine a little harder. Felt a little weird in the evening, tired but wired. Got to bed around 11pm with only a moderate amount of hunger.

AM SNACK: 7:15am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 11am, steel cut oatmeal, 250 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, sardine & avocado on whole wheat toast, momma salad, kimchi,  575 cal

PM SNACK: 4:15pm, seaweed pack, 100 cal

PM SNACK: 6:15pm, poppa salad with miso tahini dressing, 100 cal

DINNER: 7:30pm, chicken, string beans, babaganoush,  585 cal


EVENING SNACK: 8:15pm, Fritos, 300 cal

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FRIDAY COUNT: 2235

Woke up at 3am to pee and just could not get back to sleep. Spent the wee hours in the tub, feeling somewhere between pleasantly sore from yesterday's work out and unpleasantly creaky and tired.

AM SNACK: 4am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, Fage whole yogurt with agave, almonds, and vanilla, 320 cal
Got too hungry to wait to a more traditional hour.

AM SNACK: 11:30am, momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH: 12:45pm, broiled flounder, quinoa, 735
Tired. Running low on veg, and my body is craving carbs, so might as well indulge it in a healthier, controlled way.

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, apple/carrot/beet/kale/ginger/celery/cucumber/cayenne juice, 180 cal

DINNER: 6pm, sautéed chicken breast, roasted brussel sprouts & cipollini onions, sofrito black beans, +/-600 cal


EVENING SNACK: 7:15pm, Fritos, 300 cal