Weigh In: Stastically insignificant

192.8-->191.6-->191.2

Well, the bad news is my weight loss for September is statistically insignificant. The good news is I didn't gain any weight! I think there may be three reasons for the tapering off of my weight loss these past few months.

1. My body may be reaching it's set point for the amount of food and activities I give it.
2. Lack of sleep has caused my hormones to make me eat more during the week, binge a few times on mid-week ride days, and eat heavier on weekends.
3. Due to the 300 mile week early on, I had to taper off the weights and bike rides to help recover.

Perhaps all three. So, Norby, whatchugonna do? I think my diet is relatively tight, really enjoying the daily cold brew green tea and green juice, really works for me. Swapped out weekly McD's with a veggie-soy sub from Subway, makes me feel less icky.

• Treat sleep like food, start recording how much I get and adjust accordingly. (Next week, a full post just about sleep and diet.)
• Vary my salad game. Momma & poppa salads are starting to grind, gotta either vary the veg, the dressings, or the concepts.
• Start soupin'! It's fall. Gonna try to find the time to make my first workaday soup this weekend: chicken & porcini with whole wheat matzo balls
• Rededicate myself to normalized eating on the weekends, invest a little more effort in writing the weekend report.

I've noticed in the past month the weekly readership of this blog has grown for 5-10 of my most bored friends to regularly over 50 people (& bots?) who clearly care too much about what time I ate poppa salad on Thursdays. Thank you for reading, and if you have any criticism, constructive or otherwise, please feel free to post or email me direct!

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Destroyer of Hopes & Dreams

I'm slowly making my way through "Sugar Salt Fat", a quite in depth look at how the Food Industry manipulates the three ingredients of the title to sell more of their product, regardless of the health and welfare of society or individual. One thread running in defense of Big Food is companies like McDonalds & Dannon are actually revising and rolling out incrementally healthier recipes, not just because its the right thing but because doing it stealthily will prevent the common and proven reaction from the public that if something is presented as "healthier", people will reject it. (McLean Deluxe, anyone?) Not to mention when the obesity epidemic gets so bad that the government will have no choice but enact legislation to hang the bastards, they'll have this track record of stealth health to defend themselves with.

I guess stealth was too subtle for a 3rd rate fast food executive at Burger King this week. After the facts and figures of the reduced calories and special oil-repelling coating of their new and more expensive "Satisfries" got trumpeted all over the Internet, on TV with a hash tag marketing blitz, and billboards and the like, one industry strategist had the cojones to write:

 “Burger King's new fries are totally in tune with the concept of stealth health, which offers patrons guilt-free indulgence. If the fries truly deliver on taste, they could be a real game changer.”

If they swapped out their full fat fries for this new thing silently and waited to see if anyone noticed, that could potentially be a real game changer for the public health. But due to some executives being too cowardly to bravely try to stay in front of the storm that's going to burn them down to the ground, it's just an awkward new product bound to fail because it'll be seen as sucky health food to fat slobs, and ridiculously lame marketing to anyone who doesn't eat that kinda crap because c'mon, a little less oil in a french fry is still a pretty unhealthy thing. Burger King sucks multidimensionally.

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2292

Woah! First average to fall in budget in a while! No binges, either! I fully credit getting my arm around the neck of my sleep routine and choking it out a little.

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MONDAY COUNT: 2440
SLEPT: 8pm-4am, 8 hours

Stayed up until the late hour of 9:30 so I could watch the latest episode of Breaking Bad while eating dinner and an extra-large snack. This is middle-aged fun at it's best!

AM SNACK: 4:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10:15am, Steel cut oatmeal  415 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, falafel, lentil soup, health salad, 590 cal

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, hummus, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian, 150 cal

DINNER: 8:30pm, shirataki noodles with shrimp, mushrooms, in black bean sauce, 375 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8:45pm, Cheetos's, 600 cal

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TUESDAY COUNT: 2240
SLEPT: 9:45pm-5am, 7.25 hours

First time I've come in under budget in months -- I give credit to the new sleeping regime, and getting the hormones affected by sleep under control.

AM SNACK: 5:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10am, Fage whole yogurt with agave, vanilla and almonds,  310 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, chicken meatballs, madras lentils, steamed string beans, 610 cal

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, hummus, 100 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian, 150 cal

DINNER: 7:15pm, mahi mahi, asparagus, 560 cal

EVENING SNACK: 7:30pm, fritos, 300

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BIKE CREDIT: 730 cal
WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2405
SLEPT: 8pm-3am, 7 hours

Early rise to hammer out a ride to Coney. A little challenging putting myself down with my baby son at 8pm, but with some meditation tools, was out sometime between 8:05 and 8:10. Ride felt great but a little underpowered because of the slim caloric intake yesterday. Was planning on a more involved dinner, but got home really hungry and B was out with the girls, so I needed convenience. First non-binge midweek ride day in a while, AND almost stayed in budget. Sleep, how could I have doubted you?

AM SNACK: 3:15am, caffeinated granola bar, iced green tea, 385 cal

BREAKFAST: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10am, Fage yogurt with almonds, agave and vanilla, 310

LUNCH: 1pm, chicken sausage, sofrito black beans, roasted broccoli, 570 cal

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, 100 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 6:45pm, Fritos, 300 cal

DINNER: 7:15pm, Stouffer's French Bread pizzas, 860 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8pm, Cheetos, 300 cal

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THURSDAY COUNT: 2055
SLEPT: 8pm-4am, 8 hours

Sleep, oh! First weight lift in almost a month at 100%. Got a lot done in the morning, made food for the day, assembled laundry, the weights, steel cut oatmeal for me n' Mili for the week, ran out for groceries, moved a buggy board from one stroller to another, blah blah blah. Didn't get home until late, straight to bed. Under budget (!) but I just ran out of time to eat, he he. I guess if the choice is eat or sleep, the right choice is always sleep.

AM SNACK: 4:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:45am, steel cut oatmeal,  350 cal

LUNCH: 12:45pm, sauteed chicken breast, roasted brussel sprouts, kimchi, 485 cal

PM SNACK: 3:30 pm, momma salad with hummus, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 5pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian, 150 cal

DINNER: 7:30pm, Subway 6" veggie burger sub, chips, diet coke, 760

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FRIDAY COUNT: 2370
SLEPT: 10:30pm-5am, 6.5 hours

Not as much sleep as I would have liked, but woke up feeling good due to previous nights. Won't be getting much tonight either -- I'll be setting down with the kids at 8, but will be up at 2am to set off on an all-day megaride.

Had a heavy but healthy lunch, and treated myself to a restaurant meal on the way home -- need to top off the tank for the ride tomorrow.

AM SNACK: 5:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10am, Fage yogurt with almonds, agave and vanilla, 310

LUNCH: 12:30pm, almond butter & jelly on whole wheat, health salad, brussel sprouts, 800 cal

PM SNACK: 3:30 pm, momma salad with hummus, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian, 150 cal

DINNER: 5:45pm, Ramen soup, fried rice appetizer, +/- 800 cal

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WEEKEND REPORT:
Spent Saturday on the bike, 135 miles, 6 hours of sleep the night before. Sunday was a family & friends ride to Coney for L&B pizza, my legs were groaning but it was a good vibe, 8 deep hours when I hit the bed at 10pm on Saturday evening. Both days ate way too much, but the damage was minimized. As the weather gets colder, this certainly will not be a model for eating on weekends going forward.

Kids n' Sugar

With out water, you DIE! With out salt in your system, your brain stops functioning, and you DIE! With out certain vitamins, you can get really sick and, yes...DIE! With out sugar, you will...BE FINE! So why does it seem if my four year old daughter were to go a meal without at least one form of sugar, she would perish?

I've already explored and vilified sugar in depth, and I've done as much daddy blogging as I really need to do in this lifetime, but Edle's eating has been nagging at my conscious this past week. Last week was her first week at public school pre-K, and she is becoming more independent of our influence on her diet than ever. Is she eating enough/too much? Is she eating well? If her choices at home are any indication....

She is sugar-mad, and she doesn't much care where it comes from. She loves the fruit-filled smoothie pops I have on hand, which I make from my own very healthy smoothies. When offered, she'll never say no to just about any fruit. Ice cream is a must-have treat at least once a weekend, though that "once" is a result of her asking every day during the week and multiple times on the weekends. When we she was younger, we bribed her into potty training by promising her m&ms if she #2'd in the proper space -- the first time I gave her an entire packet of M&Ms and they disappeared in about 2 minutes. Ever since it's limited to 5 m&ms of her color choices. I'm starting to find she's avoiding food she previously liked, and just focusing on the fruit, smoothie pops, ice cream & sweet things that are on offer when we go out. Help me Dr. Phil, is my child doomed?

Yes, Norberto, your child is doomed, unless you watch my show, buy the products I recommend,  and sit through all the commercials.

In a nutshell, no. A child's relationship to sugar is not quite the same as an adult's. On one hand, they're body is demanding it more than an adult's, addiction or no. On the other hand, they're minds are more prone to manipulation and influence from the media.

Unlike adults, who often find overly sugary things unpleasant, Mennella says kids are actually living in different sensory worlds than adults when it comes to basic tastes.
"They prefer much more intense sweetness and saltiness than the adult, and it doesn't decrease until late adolescence. And we have some evidence they may be more sensitive to bitter taste," Mennella says.
A reason for this may be that a preference for sweet, caloric substances during rapid growth may have given children as an evolutionary advantage when calories were scarce. That notion is supported by the fact that sugar doesn't just taste good to children -– it actually makes them feel good, too.

I'm not arguing that it's OK to eat lots of sugar, only that my Edlebug may be biologically hardwired to eat more of it to supply fuel to rapid growth. That's not to discount the fact that so much crap is marketed to kids with more added sugar than ever before, literally taking advantage of this biological hard wiring to sell more crappy sugared cereals at the expense of children's health.



The ethical implications of gearing marketing of children's food to increase the "nag factor" to help open their parent's purse strings, regardless of the health impact, or even health cost, is a basic flaw of capitalism, and why it must be tempered with a healthy dose of enforced & incentivized social responsibility. (I'd say "socialism", but the word has been so misunderstood and abused by so many f'ing crazy people, I don't even want to go there.)

Sure, the Disney & Nickelodeon channels geared at the littlest kids have very little advertising, and don't interrupt their cartoons with sales pitches. However. if my daughter were to see a Disney Princess-branded crack pipe at my local drug bazaar, she probably wouldn't know what it is....but she'd want it.

These are multivitamins, right?

I fear for my children's health. The American Heart Association only implicates "added sugar" in the push to reduce children's sugar intake, but I wonder if the sugar in fruit and "low fat yogurt" and "whole grains" can be an issue on their own. Regardless, my Edlebug seems to be healthy, happy and flourishing despite my poppa-worry. If I'm going to be forced to stuff her with a bit of  sugar every day to keep the peace, might as well have it accompanied by lots of fiber, water, vitamins and nutrients.

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Had a hard time this week finding a topic to pontificate on, had to consult the list of 50+ random ideas I jotted down at the time I started this blog. This was already in draft Tuesday night when I made a grilled pork tenderloin, and on a whim decided to cook it to medium rare (130) instead of medium (145) -- oh my goodness, it was 5x more tender and 10x more delicious. After next week's weigh-in, our irrational and outdated fear of pork must be addressed - I can't believe I unconsciously been overcooking my pork tenderloins this past few months!

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So little sleep, so much bad stock photography.

It only just occured to me that the binges on the evening of ride mornings, and the over all increase in calorie consumption in the past few months, might be linked directly to the shrinking amount of sleep I've been getting. If I get unhappy numbers next week, I may have to include enforcing more sleep as a way to continue on to my weight goals....

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Got one more packet of storebought frozen soup and three large containers of frozen homemade chicken stock ready to go. Thinking lots of dried mushrooms, whole wheat matzo balls, some minced vegetables, hmmmmmm..... feels too easy. Maybe it's a good starter soup for the season, before I do a proper split-pea with bacon and then maybe some gourd-based blender soups, mmmm, soup season!

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2485

High calorie count again, starting to suspect hormones triggered by less sleep might be contributing. Gonna start getting stricter with sleep immediately, will report in a week or two with some good internet-thinkin' about the subject then.

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MONDAY COUNT: 2335

Finally, a day within budget, he he. Despite  double snack in the evening.

AM SNACK: 5:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:45am, Fage whole yogurt with agave, vanilla and almonds,  310 cal
Surprised how hungry I was for this, despite eating way too much yesterday. Suspect that sugar cravings might have been part of it.

LUNCH: 1pm, falafel, lentil soup, health salad, 590 cal

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, hummus, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian, 150 cal

DINNER: 8:45pm, shirataki noodles with shrimp, mushrooms, in black bean sauce, 375 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, Cheetos's, 600 cal

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TUESDAY COUNT: 2325

Lifted weights for the first time since before last week -- I still had to go easy, and even skipped a couple of things, but definitely felt better, the muscular pain from over-training is backing off. Still feel twinging is my quads, but hopefully I'll be able to hit it hard on a ride tomorrow morning.

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

BREAKFAST: 6:45am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:45am, steel cut oatmeal,  350 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, chicken meatballs, madras lentils, steamed string beans, 600 cal

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, hummus, 100 cal

PM SNACK: 7pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian, 150 cal

DINNER: 8pm, grilled pork loin, quinoa, roasted brussel sprouts, kimchi,  615 cal
Decided to cook the loin to medium rare (130 degrees) instead of medium (145) -- oh my. It was already good, but this is 10x better.

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

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BIKE CREDIT: 675 cal
WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2510+

Excellent early morning ride to Coney, got 90% of my legs back after feeling over-trained all week last week. Noticed the bike credit has decreased since adjusting the cyclometer to my new weight (was 30 lbs heavier when I got it), which is great -- in these matters, only getting closer and closer to the truth will set me free.

AM SNACK: 3:15am, caffeinated granola bar, iced green tea, 485 cal

BREAKFAST: 6:45am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:45am, Fage yogurt with almonds, agave and vanilla, 310

LUNCH: 1pm, grilled pork loin, quinoa, roasted brussel sprouts, 600 cal

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, 100 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 7pm, peanut butter crackers, 180 cal

DINNER: 7:15pm, mahi mahi, asparagus, whole wheat cous cous, 900 cal

EVENING SNACK: 7:30pm, Fritos, 300 cal

BINGE: 9-9:30pm, almond butter & chocolat syrup, bowl of peanut M&Ms, another bowl of Fritos, +/- 1000 cal
When I got home to cook, I knew I'd be a bit tired, but this was a different level -- light headed, unfocused, drained on top of the usual tiredness -- it was very similar to a bike bonk, when my blood sugar drops and my head gets fuzzy and everything just....slows....down. The only thing to do is stop, eat something, and hold on tight. I ate some peanut butter crackers to help me keep going in cooking my meal. Ate some extra cous cous, which I thought would hit the spot, but when I was done still felt hungry. Went straight to the Fritos, and still didn't feel right, but left the kitchen to help with getting everyone off to sleep. By the time I was released back into the kitchen, I was just...not feeling right, still physically hungry. I knew after an hour, my body should have stabilized and my blood sugar should have come up. So I binged. I shouldn't have put syrup on the almond butter, because that just made me super-crave chocolate. Can't beat myself up to hard, as this was not just a typical binge, but a reaction to putting my changing body through trials and seeing the results. Next time, will try to eat a little more during the day and if I binge, skip the sugary stuff within it.

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THURSDAY COUNT: 2870

Way over budget, but had a rare opportunity to take myyself to the movies, and the popcorn seemed like a proper treat. Probably would have prefered to go home and go to sleep, but that wasn't an option, unfortunately.

AM SNACK: 4:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 6:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:45am, steel cut oatmeal,  350 cal

LUNCH: 12:45pm, grilled pork loin, quinoa, roasted brussel sprouts, 600 cal

PM SNACK: 3:30 pm, momma salad with hummus, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 5pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian, 150 cal

DINNER: 7:30pm, Subway 6" veggie burger sub, chips, diet coke, 760

EVENING SNACK: 8pm, movie popcorn, 700 cal
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FRIDAY COUNT: 2385

Long lost cousin over for dinner, didn't measure dinner but kept it healthy.

AM SNACK: 5:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 6:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 7:30am, fruit smoothie, 410 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, sardine & avocado on whole wheat toast, steamed asparagus, sofrito black beans, kimchi, 565 cal
Bought frozen steam-in-bag asparagus as an experiment at an early morning food shop in the hood, as I had no veg to go with lunch. Oh my god, NASTY. Limp, flavorless, mushy, but a few parts were tough & fibrous, too. I rarely can't finish a premeasured meal, particularly when I'm hungry, but despite dousing it with sofrito black beans, I couldn't get through the last 1/3 of them.Going to try other steam-in-bag veg for microwave convenience at work, but this was just....disgusting.

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad with hummus, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 4:45, poppa salad with homemade Italian, 150 cal

DINNER: 6:30pm,  grilled chicken breast, quinoa, roasted broccoli, baked acorn squash, homemade apple crumble with vanilla ice cream, +/- 950 cal

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WEEKEND REPORT
Ate horribly, more on Saturday than Sunday. Was going to do a megaride on Sunday, but due to unexpected events outside my control, had to stay back with the family. But I did sleep 10 hours Saturday night, 8 hours Sunday night, and found myself napping both days for an hour or two, the best you can when your responsible for two little kids. Made me surprised how great it feels to be well rested, it's been too long.

DrIll Down: Caffeine

My mother the chimney.

I've never been much of a druggie, and by druggie, I mean all drugs. My mom smoked like a chimney and it eventually killed her - I never smoked anything, tobacco or weed or whatever. The music scene I fell into in high school was tangentially involved in the straight edge ethos, and alcohol seemed like a key component of the frat boy / douche bag set in college. Life felt so out of my control simply by being young and without my own means of earning real money, so why would I take action to lose so little of the control I already had? Then there was caffeine.

I can tell you exactly how many cups of coffee I drank in my entire life - one. I was in my mid 20s with a lady I was a bit fond of. While we were at a nice coffee shop, I ordered tea. When I told her I've never had a cup because I didn't like the smell, taste, and  the associations with my parent's multiple daily compulsive ritual of coffee, she ordered me a double cappuccino. I drank it in a couple of slurps, and remember feeling disappointed (in the experience, in her) because I didn't really like it, after being assured I'd be instantly transformed into a latte-lovin' coffee snob. She's long gone, but my disdain of coffee remains.

That's not to say I never chased the caffeine dragon. After growing up on a steady stream of Diet Coke from pretty much the day it was introduced due to my father's habit, I found myself in a weird spot one morning in my early 20s while living in my first apartment. I had a mooching house-guest who was eating up all the food and not restocking, so I decided to skip shopping until he split. One morning I rolled out of bed to the fridge to reach in for my morning gulp of diet coke and.....PANIC.

What I looked like, if I was a bottle blond. And female. And wore red turtlenecks. And was a stock photography model. And had really good teeth and a fake tan.

My hand reached empty space, the mooch had cleared me out, and my heart was racing that I didn't have it NOW. I immediately realized there was something wrong, and started calculating how much I was drinking. Hmmmm:

• A 12oz can for breakfast, 
• a 16 oz bottle to get through the morning, 
• another 16 with lunch, 
• a liter to sip on to dinner, 
• a can with dinner, 
• maybe another in the evening if I was feeling tired. Oy.

I went cold turkey, because that's how real people get over their addiction, right? I had no idea what I was in for, all I knew is that I didn't want to be like my parents.  I had horrible withdrawal for 2 days. Sleeplessness, headaches, cranky, tired, moody. The 3rd day was similar, but slightly less so. Fourth day was a marked improvement, and by the 5th day I was sleeping again. It took a full 2 weeks to feel 'normal' again, but I didn't touch the stuff for a couple of years, after which I never went above 16 oz a day.

In my new dietary regime cataloged in this blog, I've eliminated diet coke, along with diet soda (though it occasionally entertains me in 12oz daily portions on weekends.)  Until the summer, my only source of caffeine was the pint of unsweetened cold-brewed Japanese green tea I make myself. An 8oz cup of plain coffee has about 100-200 mg of caffeine, while the same amount of brewed green tea will have 25-60. So my 16 oz of tea, if it's really kicking, is still only as strong as a weak cup of coffee. That makes sense, as whatever energy I've gotten from my morning tea has been subtle to non-existent.

Then there is the packet:

I originally purchased an 8oz packet of "anhydrous caffeine" off of Amazon for under $10 (including shipping) to use as part of the a sampler plate of the "five flavors". For the sake of my culinary students, at our first class I'd lay out a plate with 5 similar bumps of five white powders. They'd nibble a few grains of each one, first sugar (sweet), salt (salty), citric acid (sour), MSG (umami) and then to finish, caffeine (bitter). Just as the easily available energy of sugar has a taste we are hard-wired to love, the taste of caffeine has a taste we are hard-wired to...despise; bitter is the flavor of poison.

They taste as bad as they look. Except CC, he's as sweet as candy.

I have a small 8 oz packet of caffeine. That's 16 tablespoons, 48 teaspoons, or more precisely, 228 grams. If a cup of strong coffee is 200 mg, then this packet is....1,140 cups of strong coffee. Being that 2 cups worth would probably put me on edge, and 10 cups make me lose my mind, even one single ounce of the slim packet would clearly kill me. Poison, indeed - it evolved to be a natural pesticide to defend the plants who contained it.

Caffeine is poison? Yes, and no. It resides in a weird spot in which it is both a drug and a food. Other than alcohol, I can't think of another mind-altering substance that is traditionally and regularly used in food preparation. However, alcohol can be cooked off for the most part (but never completely, you alchy!), while caffeine will hit you regardless of preparation.

Coke BLAK?! BWAAAA HA HA HA HA HA!!!

Caffeine is a stimulant that will make you feel awake, focus your thoughts and make you feel oddly happy. Too much and you get jittery, your heart races and you can get a bit paranoid. Indeed, instead of feeling focused, your mind is so jumpy you can't focus at all. Overdose can blow out your heart and kill you, but the most common downside to excess caffeine is sleep disorder.

The most important long-term problem with caffeine is its effect on your sleep. The half-life of caffeine in your body is about six hours. That means that drinking a big cup of coffee containing 200 milligrams of caffeine at 3:00 p.m. will leave about 100 milligrams of that caffeine in your system at 9:00 p.m. Adenosine reception, which is affected by caffeine, is important to sleep, and especially to deep sleep. You may be able to fall asleep hours after that big cup of coffee, but your body will probably miss out on the benefits of deep sleep.

And that's why caffeine is fine in the morning, and consuming it becomes less and less fine as the day rolls along.

Over this past summer, I made a sheet of healthy granola bars for the purposes of fueling me on bike rides over 30 miles. Made mostly of a wide selection of personally roasted nuts, seeds and rolled oats, it's bound with fresh peanut butter, a few minimally refined sugars and syrups, a bit of egg and a my own special vanilla extract. They're both calorically and nutritionally dense, exactly what I need for sustained energy in an activity where a tight stomach can make eating bulk and fiber difficult. This year, as an experiment, I added one teaspoon of caffeine powder to the sheet. That's about 3 grams, or 3000 milligrams. Honey dear, that's 15 to 30 cups of coffee. Cut the sheet into 16 pieces, about 400-425 calories in each small bar.

The first time out earlier in the season, I made the mistake of eating 2 in a row. I found soon I was racing up hills, my eyeballs were actually pulsating to the rhythm of my heart, I was both breathing deeply and short of breath at the same time, my thoughts became short and scrambled, and I started shout/singing random bits of the songs coming through my headphones. I stopped in about an hour, but it just did not feel....right.

I've since experimented with the bars, one at a time, and it's starting to become essential to my more out-there bike routine, particularly getting me out the door at 3:30am when I ride a 30 mile route before the kids wake up and I need to get ready for a full day of work. However, is it bike-legal?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Surprisingly, yes.

Caffeine, it turns out, actually works. And it is legal, one of the few performance enhancers that is not banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Glycogen is the principal fuel for muscles and exhaustion occurs when it is depleted. A secondary fuel, which is much more abundant, is fat. As long as there is still glycogen available, working muscles can utilize fat. Caffeine mobilizes fat stores and encourages working muscles to use fat as a fuel. This delays the depletion of muscle glycogen and allows for a prolongation of exercise. The critical time period in glycogen sparing appears to occur during the first 15 minutes of exercise, where caffeine has been shown to decrease glycogen utilization by as much as 50%. Glycogen saved at the beginning is thus available during the later stages of exercise. Although the exact method by which caffeine does this is still unclear, caffeine caused sparing in all of the human studies where muscle glycogen levels were measured. The effect on performance, which was observed in most experimental studies, was that subjects were able to exercise longer until exhaustion occurred. 

Holy crap, caffeine used correctly can be a fat burner! I'm taking a weight-loss supplement correctly and I didn't even know it. I suspect it might be part of the reason why some friends have said I've got markedly thinner this summer, despite only shedding a few pounds.  It also explains while all those BS weight-loss formulas like....

...are all bullpucky. They're just over-priced, diluted delivery systems for the caffeine you can buy in bulk for pocket change over the Internet.

I only have a few caffeinated granola bars left, so I'm saving them for my October 6th MS charity century, where I've promised my sponsors I'd ride at 13 mph or faster or refund their donation and donate twice the amount to MS (have you pledged, yet? C'mon!) Last Sunday, when I rode in the NYC Century, I decided to go a little different. I took a tiny 2 oz squirt bottle, put in a scant 1/8 teaspoon of caffeine powder, a tablespoon of sugar, and filled it to the top with water. I drank half in the middle of the morning, and half in the middle of the afternoon. Damn if it didn't make me perk up, focus and kick some ass. I didn't finish the 100 miles over 13 mph, but I was there up until mile 70. This past week I've found my muscles incredibly sore and achy, a sign of over-training, and have laid off the weights and the harder riding. I've never over-trained before, and I have caffeine to thank for that. Still, I'm happy I can recognize it and know enough to go easy without feeling guilty. I am looking forward to my muscles healing and being stronger than before.

Sipping on an oddly bitter solution during the ride does feel a little naughty, a bit Armstrongish, but in the ends it helped and there is a lot of science out there that confirms that as long as I don't allow myself to become habituated, it's all good in the hood. Keeping large doses of caffeine to once a week on short ride weeks, and twice a week on alternating long ride weeks, seems to be working. I still have a little unease over people who can't seem to function without their morning cup of coffee, because it's so clearly a symptom of dependency, but as a guy coming from a straight-edge mindset, I feel a lot more at ease with it now that I've ridden around the block with my new best buddy, caffeine.

Such a cute molecule!

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2556

Another budget-busting week. Pending the end of the month weigh in, I'm either going to accept this as   a result of a faster metabolism, or I'm going to crack down and be more disciplined. TBD.

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MONDAY COUNT:2390

Nice to be back in the office, eating regimented easily.

AM SNACK: 6:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10:15am, steel cut oatmeal, 350 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, falafel, split pea soup, health salad, 620 cal

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, babaganoush, 150 cal

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

DINNER: 8:45pm, shirataki noodles with shrimp, mushrooms, tomato sauce, 410 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, Frito's, 300 cal

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

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TUESDAY COUNT: 2725

Attempted weight lifting this morning, found that anything involving my forearms (which is most of my routine) was too painful -- I guess three century rides in 1 week has an effect. I've rarely cancelled a weight session midway, but was definitely the right thing to do. Regardless of comfort, the bottom line is it would not be very effective to go through the routine at 1/8 power. Depending on how my arms feel, I may skip Friday's routine too to help recover.

AM SNACK: 4:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:45am, fage whole yogurt with agave, vanilla and almonds, 310 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, chicken meatballs, madras lentils, roasted broccoli, 685 cal

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, babaganoush, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian, 150 cal

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

DINNER: 8pm, chicken breast, brussel sprouts, quinoa, 670 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, Cheetos, 300 cal

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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2435

Got home too tired to cook, punted with some unhealthy freezer fishing, but going to bed early made it easy to avoid a 300 cal snack.

AM SNACK: 6am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:45am, steel cut oatmeal, 350 cal

LUNCH: 12:30pm, chicken breast, brussel sprouts, quinoa, kimchi, 685 cal

PM SNACK: 3 pm, momma salad, hummus, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian dressing, 150 cal

DINNER: 8pm, Stouffers French bread pizzas, 940 cal

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BIKE CREDIT: 645
THURSDAY COUNT: 2670 

Extremely tired when I got home, very peckish. Perhaps the calmest 'binge' yet, though if I didn't avoid sweets, it probably would have been different.

AM SNACK: 3:15am, caffeinated granola bar, iced green tea, 425 cal

BREAKFAST: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:45am, fage whole yogurt with agave, vanilla and almonds, 310 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, chicken sausage, sofrito black beans, steamed string beans, 460 ca;

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, hummus, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian, 150 cal

DINNER: 7:45pm, Subway 6" veggie burger sub, chips, diet coke, 760

EVENING SNACK: 10:30pm, Fritos, 200cal
Ran out. Probably contributed to..

SMALL BINGE: 10:45pm, 2 packets of peanut butter crackers, slice of cold pizza, +/-700

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FRIDAY COUNT: 2560

Hard day at work, very busy. Glad I had all my food prepped, measured and on hand, but fell apart a little when I got home.

AM SNACK: 4:45am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 6:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 7:45am, fruit smoothie, 410 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, almond butter & grape jelly on whole wheat, health salad, 590 cal

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, hummus, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian, 150 cal

DINNER: 6pm, corn on the cob, cold slice of pizza, pack of cookies, +/-800 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8pm, Fritos, 300cal

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WEEKEND REPORT

Went off the reservation completely. Partially a reaction to an intense 3 days at work, partially because I'm still recovering from the last week's physical exertions, which precluded weight lifting and some bike riding this past week. Found myself eating a lot of sweets, and soon after craving a lot more sweets. Funny, it's so obvious how sugar can get me on a treadmill now, but in the past it seemed so mysterious and unknowable.

A dog ate my homework.

Just had a week off from work. Recorded my eating, about to write up a small bit about a NY Times article, then Google decided to log me out. When I got back, my post-in-progress disappeared. Urrrg. Regular posting resumes next week. Thanks everybody!

Weigh In: Cults & Weird Cycling

196.2-->192.8-->191.6

Well, alright, I'm happy the line is still heading down. Last month's drop was large, and I was afraid it might have just been water weight or something. But now it's a month later and I'm still down, so 1.2 lbs is fine by me.

I think this past and next month will be the peak of my biking season, and October it'll start to taper. Improvements are taking root: juicing five days a week, started a regular AM weekday ride (see next segment), lifting heavier and longer. Switched my weekly quarter pounder to a weekly Subway soy burger thing. Room for improvement:

• Need to snuff out the compulsive over-eating on the weekends.
• Need to start honestly recording and measuring at least one weekend day to start.
• Maybe start tapering off the nightly Frito/Cheeto habit into something a bit more healthy. Any suggestions? Bring back beef jerky? 
• Vary the lunches up a bit. Falafel/soup is a good one, need more.
• Start cooking more & freezing. First up: a large batch of chicken stock, as base for a number of soups: chicken noodle (with shirataki), bacony split pea, hearty lentil & mushroom, and when the season is here, butternut squash/pumpkin...

At 161.5, my BMI will be considered "normal", almost exactly 30 lbs to go. Compliments from friends I haven't seen a while are starting to come with a slight edge of the double-take -- I may look weird because the picture they have of me may now be a little different than what as. If I'm weird now, I'll be downright frightening in another 30. Perhaps I should refine my goal to a benchmark other than that dumb BMI scale.

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Four weeks in a row, I surprise Coney Island around 4:30-5am, and every time, it continues to not really care.

I've been posting selfies on Facebook from my weekly pre-dawn bike rides, and my wife has implied that she (and perhaps some people she knows who are also on Facebook) thinks it's a bit weird. Well, it never occurred to me, but given this fresh perspective....I agree, I guess it is kinda weird. So what?

Three months ago I went from spending a few years being a stay at home dad with a little work from home to working in an office, 40+ hours a week. My main two concerns in regards to my health were 

1. is my eating going to suffer? 
2. where will I find the time to ride my bike? 

(Of course there were more important questions, like

1. How will this effect my marriage? 
2. Will my kids be cool with me not being around them 40+ hours a week less? 
3. What will happen to my habitual weekly 20 hours of TV watching? 

but this ain't that kinda blog.)

Well, my eating has been helped by being forced to preplan more and be more regimented. My biking, however, has not been as easy to integrate. To ride 100-150 miles in one day, you need to both prepare by taking it easy the day before, get up super early and be out and away from the world until the end of the day. I've decided for the sake of being a part of my family and my children's lives, I will only do this kind of ride every other week (and come the cold season, none at all) but it's just....not enough. I've been waking up around 4am some days to lift weights 2x a week before everyone gets up, some peaceful quiet time to focus on what some would consider vanity. 

I've found that I can wake up just one hour earlier, and bang out around 30 miles on the bike and be home before anyone is up. This serves two masters.

• It scratches the itch of not getting in a long weekend ride, without costing me family time.
• It makes me go faster and train harder. When it's dark and I'm tired, I want to get it done fast so I can have some time to shower and start my day. Remember, I'm trying to do a century ride in October 6th for charity at a minimum of 13mph....

Growing up as one of the only Jews in my 'hood in Staten Island, I was automatically "weird". I think the culture has come around to embracing us "weirdos" and "nerds" into the mainstream, but it's still jarring all these years later when I have that label applied to me. I've never really cared if other people regarded what I do or like as weird, but I find myself forced to care because I love my wife and don't want these seemingly strange habits to bum her out. So why explain that to her, when I can rant about it to the entire internet?! Is that weird?

Y'all won't be callin' me weird WHEN AHM ALL BUFF!!

-----

I'm not a big shopper, but I'm starting to suspect my colder-weather gear is going to need some revision. Though I do not wear denim jeans (they're the uniform of the damned,) I've been wearing standard-issue Levi denim jackets since high school. I liked them then because despite the ugliness of the 70s and 80s, this jacket was pretty much the same since the 1930s. It fit well with my mod/ska/skin aesthetic through the 80s, 90s and 00s.

The last jacket I bought was sometime in the early 00s when I started to expand, and I got an XL so I could close it, but the arms were so long I had to have them shortened. There were a few years I couldn't wear it because it was too tight. Well, now it swims on me. Due to my wifey hating this jacket (probably due to Boston hesher/metal connotations) I decided to order the same jacket....in black corduroy. Size large.

I got it in the mail, tried it on, and....it swum on me. The sleeves were the right length, but the middle was loose and hanging. Looking at the tags, I noticed, "relaxed fit". I guess the Levis people has seen how fat people are getting, and they altered the classic fitted-style of their "trucker" jacket and updated it for the fat-asses we have become...well, the fat ass who was last shopping for a jacket 10 years ago. Uggg. The downside of changing your body shape is you now have to go to some brick n' mortar stores to try some stuff on. (Though I'll bring my phone and compare prices with the internet on the spot....)

Note: it's Friday afternoon, just took my lunch break to do a rare round of clothes shopping, and was shocked to find I needed to replace my old XL Fred Perry track jacket with an M. And since Edie broke my new belt, I had finally had to give up the one from last October, whose last loop was starting to get loose. According to Old Navy, the belt that is just right on it's first loop is an S! Damn. Whut up.

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Just another 12 step meeting. Nothing to see here. Move along!

After reading and writing about the "blood type diet" last week, I started thinking about cults. The BTD people defended their plan as the end-all be-all, an answer to all modern ailments due to today's food system, and any science that contradicts it is to be scorned, derided and ignored. 

The week before, I wrote about 12 Step and food addiction, and even went to some meetings. While it seemed harmless enough, upon reflection I see that it could have some serious cult-like aspects that have caused me pause. Any system or "program" that indulges in groupthink, groupspeak, looks to dominate all your time and offers itself as an answer for which all other answers must be excluded is, well, culty. I like the slogan, "Come for what works, leave behind what does not" but at the same time, there are subtle suggestions that accepting a higher power that is not God will inevitably someday lead an addict to relapse.

However, I do NOT like the slogan, "You can't be too dumb for the program to work, but you can be too intelligent" and "Keep it simple, stupid" -- this sounds like a strain of anti-intellectualism that discourages questioning. As an addict of food, I want to know WHY, because if I know why, I think if it doesn't resolve the addiction, it'll demystify it, make it more human-sized, and  make it a lot easier to get a handle on. The 12 Step approach says it's about keeping addiction under control and manageable, but it also seems to be about subjugating the individual to the group/higher power/God. I detect a potential bait-and-switch, a hallmark of a cult.

I don't want this blog to be dedicated to the debate of the validity of addiction and 12 step, so I'll leave it at that. I know if I was trying to go at Scientology, there would be hell to pay, and have no wish to upset any 12 Steppers.

-----

WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2472

Again, the average busted the budget, but still feel good. Fact that I lost weight despite busting the budget pretty  much this whole month makes me think I'm doing it right.

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MONDAY COUNT:2335

A good eating day, good start to the week.

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

BREAKFAST: 8am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10am, fage whole yogurt with agave, vanilla and almonds, 310 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, falafel, split pea soup, health salad, 620 cal
Salt-free Tabachnik soup is deeeesgusting, tasted like wet plasterboard. A proper mix-in of salt made it taste like delicious soup should. Must suck to be on a salt-free diet.

PM SNACK: 4 pm, momma salad, hummus, 180 cal

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

DINNER: 8:45pm, shirataki noodles with shrimp, mushrooms, butter and dried herbs, side of asparagus, 765 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, Frito's, 300 cal

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TUESDAY COUNT: 2475

AM SNACK: 4:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:45am, steel cut oatmeal, 350 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, sauteed chicken breast, madras lentils, steamed string beans, 790 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, momma salad, homemade babaganoush, 150 cal

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

DINNER: 8pm, grilled pork tenderloin, roasted brussel sprouts, quinoa, 625 cal

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

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BIKE CREDIT: 815 cal
WEDNESDAY COUNT:2885

Had an accident on the morning ride and got banged up a bit.  Worst result was I was too tired and achey to cook at dinner time and did some freezer fishin'. Due to crappy dinner and a dish of cheetos, sugar cravings got bad, indulged in more chips but it didn't do it. Peanuts finally put the beast to rest, and I was glad I didn't give in to eating chocolate.

AM SNACK: 3:15am, iced green tea, caffeinated granola bar, 395 cal

BREAKFAST: 7:15am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9:45am, fage whole yogurt with agave, vanilla and almonds, 310 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, grilled pork tenderloin, roasted brussel sprouts, quinoa, sofrito black beans, 725 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, momma salad, homemade babaganoush, 150 cal

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

DINNER: 7:30pm, Stouffer's French Bread pizzas, 860 cal

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

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

EVENING SNACK: 8:45pm, handful of peanuts, +/- 400 cal

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THURSDAY COUNT: 2195

Got home too late to eat chips, just wanted to get to bed.

AM SNACK: 4:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 6:45am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 10am, steel cut oatmeal, 350 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, grilled pork tenderloin, roasted brussel sprouts, quinoa, 625 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, momma salad, homemade babaganoush, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, poppa salad with homemade Italian dressing, 150 cal

DINNER: 7:45pm, Subway 6" veggie burger sub, chips, diet coke, 760

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FRIDAY COUNT: 2470+

Skipped lifting and woke up at the decadent time of 5am. I didn't get to bed until 11pm, and I found my forearms were oddly sore from the bike tumble I took on Wednesday morning (on top of the bruised hip and the ouchy elbow) So while I think putting myself through a challenge is a good thing, easing up a little and letting myself heal is equally kind.

Rather than pretending it didn't exist, I'm recording a Friday night binge here. Didn't measure, so it's being indicated with a "+". Baby steps...

AM SNACK: 5:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 6:45am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/ginger/cayenne/cucumber juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 8:15am, fruit smoothie, 410 cal

LUNCH: 12:15pm, almond butter & grape jelly on whole wheat, kimchi, 520 cal
Got really hungry, couldn't wait until 1.

PM SNACK: 3pm, momma salad, homemade babaganoush, 150 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, 2 apples, 70 cal

DINNER: 6pm, slice of pizza, beef patty, french fries, +/- 800

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

BINGE: 9-11pm, nutella & pretzels, digestive cookies, peanut m&ms, etc

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WEEKEND REPORT
SATURDAY

BREAKFAST: 8am, a pancake, bacon, corn muffine, hashbrowns, diet coke

LUNCH: 2pm, mini chocolate babka

DINNER: 6pm, half a pastrami sandwich, half an order of fries, pickles

SUNDAY
Road 108 miles, ate rationally and controlled, due to having to maximize the ability of my body to digest while performing. Rode up Bear Mountain without walking the bike even a bit. Was surprised how drained I was by the time I got back to Manhattan, had to subway it for the last leg. Ate a lot but felt right.