Paleo Carrot Cake w/ Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

May 14, 2013 by tgipaleo | 2 Comments

So I’m finally back east with the fam…and just like every year, Mother’s Day and my dad’s birthday fell right next to each other and we had a nice little celebration. Good dinner, good wine, good cake.

Ah, cake. My favorite dessert in the whole wide world is cake. OK, no…it’s the frosting. But you know, cake is the mighty vessel upon which it rests in all its gooey glory.

So carrot cake has always been my Dad’s favorite (and, incidentally, mine) so it’s seriously been the go-to every year. No, really…every year. So I had big shoes to fill since I’m pretty sure everyone we know has had their had some year or another…some years we ordered special from fancy bakeries…some years we totally forgot and ended up grabbing a pre-made one at Safeway…and, obviously, Mom has made more than a few and it felt like every year she’d do something a little different (nuts vs. no nuts…pineapple vs. no pineapple…etc).

I know generally how to make a carrot cake…but just like making a Paleo version of anything you love, there’s a lot of pressure not to f*ck it up when cooking for your very-not-Paleo-family.. I’m moving away from my general formula for cakes and cupcakes and muffins and other bread-y baked goods to be, you know, creative and all…and also just to experiment with texture. I’m a huge believer in changing up your repertoire and trying new things in the kitchen since, sure…you might have a tried and true recipe for Mom’s Apple Pie that might be “good,” but not “great”? I’ve had waaaaaay to many of someone’s mom’s or grandmothers cookies that they swore were the best ever…unmatched past, present, and future…and honestly, dude, not THAT great. Sorry.

I based this cake recipe off of the infamous vanilla cake over at Pretty in Primal. To date, it really is the best plain vanilla cake I’ve had, and like any good white or yellow cake recipe, you can personalize it in a million different ways. The texture is moist…like stick-to-you-fork-moist. Most of my cakes and muffins of old are primarily coconut flour and egg-based, which is fine, but like I said I wanted to get crazy and see what happened.

At the very least, I knew that if the cake sucked, I could always hide it under gobs of cream cheese frosting. That’s pretty much my solution for everything in life.

But in case you were wondering, it didn’t suck. In fact, Dad went back for seconds and said it was one of the best carrot cakes he’d every had…period. For a man who’d had it every year for his birthday for…a lot of years…that sure made my day

Paleo Carrot Cake w/ Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Author: TGIPaleo.com

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 50 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients

For the Cake:
½ c Coconut Flour
½ c Almond Meal
½ t Salt
½ t Baking Soda
½ c Maple Syrup (or honey)
2 t Vanilla
4 Eggs
¾ c Full Fat Coconut Milk
3 Large Carrots, grated
½ t Cinnamon
½ t Nutmeg
½ c Chopped Walnuts
½ c Chopped Dates
For the Frosting:
8 oz Cream Cheese
¼ c Maple Syrup
3 T Full Fat Coconut Milk

Instructions

Note: This recipe made one, 9-inch cake layer that I split in two. Double the recipe for additional layers.
Whisk all of your dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Add the wet ingredients (except the cream cheese, extra syrup, and coconut milk for the frosting) and beat on low with an electric mixer until everything is well combined.
Pour into a greased and parchment-lines baking pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool completely and frost with the Maple Cream Cheese Frosting.
To make the frosting, bring the cream cheese to room temperature and beat well with the maple syrup and coconut milk.

An 80/20 Project Update

May 6, 2013 by tgipaleo | Leave a comment

As promised, I’ve been tracking my own dietary intake to go along with my 80/20 Accountability Project. I have my own online food journal, which you can view here.

A couple stand outs for me this week? That Arctic Zero I had Tuesday, protein mug brownie Thursday night, bowl of oatmeal Friday morning, and my froyo splurge Friday night. Man, I suck, right? Actually I’d suspect this is pretty normal. I’d also like to point out that I’m living in a hotel at the moment and ran out of eggs

Where does this put me? It’s inexact because you’d really have to break down the nutrient density of all these foods versus the ND of the rest of my meals during the week, but 1 non-Paleo meal (the oatmeal) and 3 snack-like items puts me at about 10-20% of my intake this weel (based on 21 meals)…so it’s safe to say I was within my 80/20 ideal. At the end, though, it’s all about what you feel good about and what is sustainable for you…80/20 is a great perameter for maintaining good health, and your sanity.

Now I’m also gonna put my husband in the crosshairs

At the moment, Ross is in Florida with his family, and unlike me has access to a full kitchen and fridge but also has a schedule full of family gatherings. How did he do? Actually pretty damned good considering the location and a militantly non-Paleo family. He was a good son, though, and insisted on making dinner for his folks every night despite protests

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks	Cheats
4 Eggs, splash of milk,4 slices bacon	Big Salad, Tessemae’s, Baked Chicken Leg	Salmon, Brussel Sprouts	Whey, Banana, Milk
Whey Protein & Pamela’s Pancakes	Big Salad, Tessemae’s, Baked Chicken Leg	Meatza	Whey, Banana, Milk	Wine
4 Eggs, splash of milk, 4 slices bacon	Big Salad, Tessemae’s, Baked Chicken Leg	Steak, Sweet Potato, Broccoli	Whey, Banana, Milk, Blueberries	Wine
4 Eggs, splash of milk, 4 slices bacon	Leftover Pork Shoulder	Leftover Meatza & Pork Shoulder, Bacon		Wine (2)
Skipped	2 Baked Chicken legs, Big Salad	House Salad w/oil&vinegar, Mahi Mahi	Whey, Banana, Milk	Corn Tortilla Chips & Salsa

Now as you can see, Ross does include dairy in his Paleo, but the only dalliances he made were some GF pancakes on Tuesday, 4 glasses of wine throughout the week, and some corn chips and salsa one night at a family dinner. Now, again, computing an exact percentage of cheat meal to regular meal in a given week is an inexact science, let’s call this six cheats…one full cheat meal (the pancakes), four cheat drinks, and one cheat appetizer. You can judge for yourself, but I’d call that about 15% of 21 meals for the week (based on my guesstimation of 1 whole cheat meal and the equivalent of 2 more meals out of a total of 20 meals for the week, which include PWO meals). So that puts Ross at a very comfortable 85/15 for the week. Good work, sweetie!

However, I do hope this first round of calculations shows you that the 80/20 principle is nothing if not subjective. How did you do this week? How would you have calculated Ross’s and my compliance?

My Competition Prep Log

May 2, 2013 by tgipaleo | Leave a comment

Hey guys! So I made a Google spreadsheet with all my weekly meal plans and training for this bikini competition dealio in August. The link will be available here and over on my other site.

More importantly, this is just an easy way for me to keep track of my personal 80/20 Project…I have my meal plans for the week but list all of my dalliances to the side. Feel free to shame me.

**Competition Prep Log**

Yeah…that’s it!

A Little Explanation on the 80/20 Project

May 1, 2013 by tgipaleo | Leave a comment

OK, guys, here’s how I’m doing this, though you can keep track of your food however you please. I just got a little notebook over at Safeway and started writing away. Here’s what today looks like:

Again, I’ll be posting Ross’s and my results each week and highlighting all of my non-Paleo foods, booze, and anything else that may not fit into “my Paleo.” I’d love to get some from you guys to post as well. Feel free to send yours (in any format…scanned pages, Word or Excel doc, etc…) to my email at cdulys AT gmail DOT com.

The 80/20 Accountability Project

April 30, 2013 by tgipaleo | 3 Comments

I originally posted on my Facebook page that I’d be doing a May Whole30–which is kinda cheating since my competition prep diet is 100% Paleo (and actually compliant with Whole30 AND 21DSD…score!). But I also got to thinking. I’ve had a few cousins get into Paleo lately and complete Whole30′s of their own with great success (read Aukse’s account here). I’m so proud to have been an inspiration for my family to lead healthier lives just like my friends were an inspiration for me (Jas, I’m talking about you!).

But any of us who have completed a Whole30, or any kind of “Paleo Challenge” for that matter, faces the inevitable–”What do I do after I’m done??” Unfortunately, a lot of people will sing the praises of Paleo, touting their weight loss, improved sleep, clearer complexion, better bloodwork, etc. They will tell everyone they know that “they now eat Paleo,” or “believe in Paleo” but then…will go back to all of their old bad habits anyway. How do they justify this to skeptical family and friends who have to suffer listening to how great the Paleo diet is while simultaneously diving into the bread basket?

“All in moderation!”…”The 80/20 Principle!”…”You just have to let go sometimes!”

I’m not perfect and I never claim to be. No one is. And if you think the Paleo diet is a total load of poopie, that’s fine, too. However, what I have an issue with is this “All Talk Syndrome” that seems to fall out from so many introductory Paleo experiences. (I’m really reminded of this video…genius, pure genius!) I despise the justification of sh*t food choices with the whole notion of “enjoyment in moderation.” It’s not moderation if you do it every damn day. I mean, if that’s what you’re doing, fine, but don’t kid yourself. When you half-ass the whole thing you’re going to get half-assed results and frankly, blabbing about how great Paleo is when you’ve gained all your weight back after the Whole30 is doing the movement a disservice. Maybe that’s harsh, but that’s how I feel. Equate it to someone who tells you that being Vegan changed her life but who you know for a fact eats eggs for breakfast a few times a week and scarfs Oreos daily (believe it or not, they’re Vegan-friendly).

So what’s this 80/20 business? Quite simply, it’s a way to keep the perfect from being the enemy of the good. While we KNOW that being 100% Whole30 compliant 100% of the time is probably the best thing for us, it’s not sustainable for most of us and that’s OK. If nothing else, we risk harming ourselves through performance anxiety…and undue stress is just as bad for you as a crappy diet. Mark Sisson defines the 80/20 Principle as a practical baseline…it means that 80% of everything you eat needs to be good, whole, healthy food that aligns with the principles of the Paleo diet and whatever you consider to be “Your Paleo.” It’s a no-nonsense approach that makes it livable . We can’t be perfect 100% of the time in ANYTHING, so why beat yourself up about it?

HOWEVER…while 100% compliance is not expected, 100% COMMITMENT is. Again, I have an issues (HUGE ISSUES) with people who are all like, “Oh, I just live the 80/20 Principle!” when it’s obvious it’s 50/50 at best…or like 10/90. Or those who think this means they are “allowed” to have 20%of their dietary intake to be complete sh*t and still consider themselves “healthy.” Yeah, you know who you are.

So how do you know if you’re living the 80/20 Principle for real? Think of it this way…say you eat 3 meals a day. In a week, that’s 21 meals. 80% of 21 meals is 4.2 meals. That means that if you have 4.2 non-Paleo meals you’re living 80/20. What do 4.2 “non-Paleo” meals in a week look like? OK, so Monday night you get home and have a few bites from a bar of rich, dark chocolate and a single 5-ounce glass of red wine. That’s one. Tuesday and Wednesday you’re a good boy or girl, but Thursday your boss takes you to lunch and you grab a fresh, hot roll from the bread basket. That’s two. Then figure you might as well put that expense account to use and order a martini. Three. Friday night you go out to the bar down the street and grab a couple beers. That’s four and five. Then you have a plate of nachos…I’ll be nice and assume you only had a small handful, so we’re up to six. Saturday you go out to a restaurant with your family and figure it’s time for a “cheat meal” and have a burger and fries with another beer. Seven, eight, and nine…probably more considering restaurant portions are huge, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. Sunday you’re totally clean and the cycle continues. While it’s tough to really break down percentages of your total food intake, when we consider that all of these munchies and drinks are so calorie dense and nutrient poor, it’s astonishing how much space this stuff takes up inside our bodies. For the purposes of my example, this person might be thinking they’re doing better than 80/20 but in reality, at NINE “cheats” a week, whether you want to count in terms of meals or snacks or whatever, this guy or gal is somewhere around 60/40…and that’s assuming EVERYTHING they eat besides those nine “cheats” is 100% clean and Paleo with no additives, nasty packaging, sugary condiments, nut or seed oils…I could go on forever just on the sh*t we don’t even realize we’re eating. And worst part is, the choice of “cheats” in this scenario,while common, are all things that even in small doses are permeating your gut and inflaming your system. I also think I should mention that “Paleo” desserts or gluten-free baked goods or whatever should be included on the Crap List. Yeah, they’re “better” choices than a beer or gluten bomb, but they’re sure as sh*t not “good for you,” either, so don’t think you can be 100% compliant and eat Paleo brownies every day.

Is this kind of pattern at all familiar?

Paleo is only a template, and everyone needs to know what is and isn’t part of their own “Personal Paleo.” I, for example, include raw and pastured dairy products (but not milk) but not eat white potatoes or rice in “My Paleo.” At the moment, even, I’m on the fence about nuts…and I certainly don’t eat roasted or heat-treated nuts or nut butters of any kind. My non-Paleo “cheats” (I hate that word) are still gluten-free because I’ve realized what gluten and most grains do to my body and I don’t like how I feel the morning after (like, I’d rather take 21 shots of tequila). I avoid this stuff, though not 100% of the time, because I’ve realized there is almost always a better alternative. But that’s me. You need to figure out what’s you. And you need to own it.

OK, so here’s my 80/20 Challenge for you (and yes, I’m doing it too and so is my husband…whether he likes it or not). I challenge you to get a notebook or Excel sheet or whatever and record everything you eat for the next month. Hell, just try it for a week and see what happens. But you have to record EVERYTHING you put in your mouth. No counting calories or macros or anything, just do what you would do normally…but write it all down. Also, on the top of the page, define what you believe to be “Your Paleo.” For example, on top of my page, I have written “I eat all foods traditionally defined as ‘Paleo’ as well as raw and pastured dairy products and raw natural sweeteners (honey, maple syrup, and palm sugar).”

For the purposes of this challenge, “Traditional Paleo” equates to the Whole30 guidelines, which is why I note that I eat dairy and certain natural sweetening agents. Also for the purposes of this challenge, things that are “acceptable treats” like dark chocolate and red wine are NOT Paleo. ”Fringe Foods” like white potatoes, white rice, and dairy products may or may not be “Paleo” to you depending on how you tolerate them. Make sense?

No worries, I will answer any and all questions about this whole deal. Just leave a comment or shoot me an email.

Don’t even look back at your log entries till the end of each week, then go back and highlight anything and everything that falls outside the definition of YOUR PALEO. Don’t worry if it’s not Whole30 or 21DSD-friendly. This is about YOU. This is an exercise in self-awareness, so don’t shame yourself into eating only Paleo-compliant stuff just because you have to write it down…I say again: don’t change anything, just record it.

Then do a little math. How often are you really compliant? This is why the longer you work on this little experiment, the more accurate it will be. I’ll show you my and Ross’s diet logs and you can share yours. Hopefully it will be an eye-opening experience for you. Are you really 80/20? Maybe you’re a superstar and have 90/10. Maybe you’re 70/30, 50/50…or less…and didn’t realize it. Here’s your chance to know yourself a little bit better and troubleshoot as you see fit. If you’re 50/50 and can live with that, cool, but at least you’ll know. Honesty, especially to oneself, is really what matters.

Texas Toasts

April 25, 2013 by tgipaleo | 3 Comments

Did this just blow your mind?

Good. I know real Texas Toast is only available in a plastic bag and is probably made of sawdust, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t the perfect ingredient for grilled cheese, french toast, or…well…anything that needs bread. I did a quick Wikipedia search, though, and found that traditionally, a” “Texas Toast” really is is thick slices of white bread slathered in garlic butter and grilled. Um, ok. I can do that.

Texas Toasts

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 loaf TGIPaleo Bread 2.0 (http://www.tgipaleo.com/2013/01/27/tgipaleo-bread-2-0/)
½ c Butter
4 cloves Garlic, minced
½ t Onion Powder
½ t Dried Chives
Oil, for frying/grilling

Instructions

Cut the loaf into thick slices, about 1-1.5 inches.
Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl and stir in the garlic, onion powder, and chives. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes.
While the butter is infusing, heat some oil in a grill pan over medium-high heat.
Brush the bread slices with the garlic butter and grill about 2-3 minutes on each side, until nice and crispy and brown.
Serve with soup, salad, runny eggs, or whatever you so desire!

What I Ate Wednesday

April 24, 2013 by tgipaleo | Leave a comment

Guess what? I started a new blog for my competition prep! Yay!

You can find all diet/fitness-related ramblings over there for the time being.

Here’s a link to this week’s WIAW!

Vanilla Maple Glazed Pork Chops

April 22, 2013 by tgipaleo | Leave a comment

So who’s in the mood for a giant hunk o’ meat? No wussie pork chops here…even though they’re showing their sweeter side.

Oh, and as an added bonus this meal only takes 30 minutes…probably less. And there’s only six ingredients, counting the salt. How cool is that? I was debating whether or not to post this since it’s not exactly Whole30 or 21DSD friendly and I know a lot of people are detoxing before summer rolls around, but I couldn’t resist. If nothing else I think this would make a KILLER meal for your first day after you’re done. Much better than destroying your decade old twinkie stash, no? I mean, it’s a big juicy pork chop, slathered with maple syrup that carmelizes all over in the oven. You get some sweet, some salty, some savory…and just trust me, you’ll want some sweet potatoes on the side. All the drippings from te pork and syrup just get soaked up by the potatoes like a sponge. You’ll thank me, I promise you.

Vanilla Maple Glazed Pork Chops

Author: TGIPaleo.com

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

2 Large Bone-in Pork Chops
2 T Coconut Oil
1 t Salt
2 T Maple Syrup
¼ t Cinnamon
1 t Vanilla

Instructions

Heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat.
Sprinkle the chops with salt on both sides.
Sear the chops on both sides (3-ish mins per side, till lightly browned).
Remove the chops to a baking pan.
Whisk the vanilla, cinnamon, and syrup together.
Drizzle the syrup mixture over the chops.
Finish the chops in a 425 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.

Yummmmmm.

How (and Why) I Eat to Perform

April 19, 2013 by tgipaleo | 13 Comments

I’m only upset because it took me almost three decades to figure out that eating a lot is good for you.

You guys know I’m a sucker for self-experimentation…especially when it comes to the latest and greatest for developing strength and (obviously) a nice set of abs. Thankfully, I’ve learned enough about my body in the last few years to blow off the cabbage soup diets that my teenage self would have worshipped. I’m kind’ve a snob when it comes to diet and exercise protocols these days, especially after my first experience with figure competition. It’s almost pathetic to me how many women (and men) will continue to let themselves believe that the standard 1500 calories a day (which is on the high end) along with 60+ minutes of cardio (on the low end) six days a week is a “healthy” lifestyle. I will admit, when you’re trying to get “stage ready,” you have to cut calories at some point, but it makes me sick to my stomach when I hear women admiring these competitors as models of health. It also pisses me off when I hear these women lamenting that this kind of lifestyle is a necessary evil if they hope to have a strong, sleek physique. I admit I fell into this camp, so I accepted an extra layer of padding in my “off season,” wrinkling my nose at myself every day in the mirror and mentally building up to my next prep–during which I would just have to bite the bullet and cut out the calories and accept a it to all of the gains I’d worked so hard to make this winter.

Enter Paul Nobles, the mastermind behind Eat to Perform. It’s not really new or revolutionary–he basically expands upon Kiefer’s Carb Backloading protocol, but with some notable differences that make it a hell of a lot more practical for those of us looking to make gains as well as improve physique.

I should note here that while I have a lot of respect for Kiefer I have some really big issues with some of his protocol, which frankly I see as more of a marketing scheme than anything pitched in the interest of maintaining good health. For instance, his Carb Night is essentially a weekly binge. He insists that junk food is “necessary,” but in my humble opinion that’s just bullshit tossed in there to sell more books. Who of us doesn’t want to think they can get a six-pack by stuffing their face full of Krispy Kremes every Saturday night? And I’m not saying that there aren’t results to be had…but why the hell would I want to put my body, let alone my mental state, through a weekly binge cycle? In an interview with Robb Wolff, Kiefer tells the story of how he got the inspiration for Carb Night after he broke down and ate 2 dozen donuts…stuffing down the second dozen only after he’d vomited up the first dozen. I know this sounds judge-y, but that’s f*cking nasty. Frankly, I’d rather eat 1500 calories a day of lean chicken and oatmeal.

ETP builds on Kiefer’s basic premise, though, which is basically to eat MORE than you think you need…to fuel performance. As the name suggests, Eat to Perform is all about eating to PERFORM. When we fuel our activity properly, we make gains. When we make gains and get hella strong, our body composition will take care of itself. Simple, right?

The kicker, though, is that you need to eat. You need to eat a lot. Paul created this calculator to give people an idea of where to start based on your activity level…so go ahead and run your numbers and I dare you not to be at least a little shocked. My mouth literally dropped when I saw that he was recommending I eat 2700 calories a day. I mean, I’m a GIRL. And especially when it comes to whole foods and the Paleo diet, it’s really hard to put down that much food. I protested but ultimately (ok, it took like 10 minutes) I figured I’d give it a try. I mean, I love food. Besides, the worst that could happen was that I’d gain a few pounds.

So it’s been 3 weeks, which honestly isn’t that much time considering that ETP is a “gradually awesome approach” (yes, it requires patience…patience is my nemesis). I really struggled to put down all of the food the first week, but thanks to the ETP Science Lab (you have to join but it’s totally worth the $4.95 a month), I was able to suck it up and work my way up, about 100-200 calories at a time. The Science Lab is essentially a closed forum for nutri-geeks looking to self-experiment and tweak their nutrition to maximize performance or fat loss or whatever, and is a great source of support.

Yes, my weight went up, but only a couple of pounds and then came right back down. I’m up like 2 pounds now but frankly I can’t tell looking in the mirror. I’m noticeably leaner and feel amazing in the gym. I’ve had small gains on squat and deadlift already, and I’ve noticed that the extra carbs seem to help with soreness. We’ll see what happens in the long term, though, and just in case I picked up some extra yoga pants

Soooooooo how do you ETP? Well, the nice thing is that it’s really open-ended. There’s the ETP Calculator, but that’s more of a starting point. There is no “road map,” which may freak some people out, but in the end it’s positively liberating. It’s not a strictly “Paleo” approach per se, but you can absolutely do it that way–I know I am. All you need to do is get a ballpark for the number of calories you need a day and shoot for that. Start with a 1-1.5g of protein per pound of body weight and 1-1.5g of carbohydrate per pound of body weight…so, no, this is not low-carb by any means. From this point, it’s on you to track your progress and tweak your macros as needed until you start seeing what you want.

Where a little planning comes in is with regards to fueling your workouts. The day before a workout, you’ll want to consume more carbohydrate, and you’ll want to consume it mostly at night. For me, this means a big baked sweet potato with dinner, with about 200-250g of carbs for the whole day. When you have a rest day scheduled for the following day, regardless of whether or not you work out, you should consume fewer carbs…though this does NOT mean a low carb day. For me this has been about 130-150g of carbs per day. On occasion, Paul recommends a “control day,” which is even lower-carb…for me, about 100-120g. I’ve been doing this weekly on the day before a rest or yoga day. The purpose here is to keep your metabolism flexible and just dial everything in as needed, especially for those of use who have been doing low-carb for a long time and take some time to adjust to such a high carbohydrate intake.

Obviously there’s a lot more to it than that–Paul writes a ton of articles for his blog that I would encourage you to read–but honestly it’s really not that complicated. Eat more, not less. Eat more starchy carbs when you’re going to work out the next day. Eat quality food to build healthy muscle mass. The only hard part is actually eating enough food, but it’s been a stunning revelation…I, like so many other gals who have been more or less obsessed with their physical appearance since puberty, have relied on the typical “less food, more exercise” CW for almost two decades. I was actually PROUD of myself when I had the strength to go without dinner after running a 10k. But over the course of this hellacious starve-and-sweat cycle I did some real metabolic damage…when your body is malnourished, it holds on to fat, slows the metabolism, screws up your hormones, and, well, make you fat. To answer your expanding waistline, chances are we just eat even less and exercise even more until we DO get thin but just feel like ass all the time. So…turn that piece of sh*t wisdom on its head. Granted, I never thought I was eating THAT little…up until I started ETP I was probably around 1800 calories a day and felt fine. But add almost 1000 calories to that and I feel even better. I have more stamina and I actually think I might start making some headway on some of my lifts before summertime. For the first time in my life I’m struggling to get all the food down, but it’s getting easier as my body adapts. Funny how that works…

What I Ate Wednesday

April 17, 2013 by tgipaleo | 7 Comments

I’ve been working on some of the Eat to Perform programing in my diet lately–I need to do a full post on this stuff because people get really weird ideas about it…but the bottom line is that you eat WAY MORE than you every thought possible. Like a LOT more. I mean, I’m never one to turn down a chance to shove more food in my face…but damn. I’m still working my way up to the 2,700 calories ETP would have me throw back…yesterday was about 2,300. If only booze was an acceptable source of added calories. I’d be golden.

ETP is based on Kiefer’s Carb Backloading principle–but it’s a little more practical and a lot less media-driven, in my opinion. It emphasizes quality food (I have a huge beef with Kiefer’s condoning of weekly junk food binges…just an accident waiting to happen) and as the name suggests, eating for performance. The theory is, and I agree, that when your performance in your focus, not only do numbers go up but body composition will improve and you’ll lose fat. We’ll see how it works out, but i picked up a few extra pairs of yoga pants just in case

Breakfast – Half Dozen Eggs and Bacon…breakfast of champions