Days 15-16 - Step back

So it turns out that my concerns on the China trip were valid. Last night’s dinner was the multi-course banquet as expected with well presented cuisines (meat, veggies, rice, fish, sea food, hairy crab sperm, soup, fruit, etc) and multiple rounds of bai-jiu (rice wine that tastes like turpentine) toasts. Obviously, remaining PCP compliant was a challenge and I have to admit I didn’t make it, though I did do much better than I have in the past. The trip was for a board meeting of a company we have stake in and last night’s dinner was the first with the company’s new chairman, who hails from a provincial owned investment company that is also a large shareholder. Anyway, these dinners typically evolve into ‘toast and roast’ then ‘drink to sink’ festivities and there have been those nights where I thought I was utterly going to die but had to keep going as a matter of face/pride. Last night’s was certainly more civilized but I did partake in a couple of toasts (bottoms up a small shot of approx 1/3 oz of bai jiu) as it is necessary for guanxi (PCP is hard to explain sometimes). For dinner (I followed Patrick’s advice that it is better to eat than skip) I steered clear of the beef and the pork, ate small portions of the shrimp and fish, sucked it up and took down the crab roe, and ate most of the veggies. Although it wasn’t or didn’t seem like a lot of food, the msg in it was pretty potent and I actually felt like it was too much.

Got back on track this am with the workout (could only do 2 sets of 400 skips on the rope, as my calves are dying) and at breakfast (though they only had whole milk at the state guest house we’re put up in). Lunch was a minor diversion (banquet style, stuck to the fish and veggies, but again lots of msg in the sauces), and I plan on skipping tonight’s toast and roast. I know we have only been hitting these diets for 9 days now and I am not sure if it is psychological, chemical or just guilt, but I didn’t feel really good after the sauce laden food – it feels like it is a little heavier/harsher on the gut and saps my energy levels more.

Another aspect of my trip I found interesting is that you can’t access blogger or any of the PCP blogs from the internet in china (gotta love censorship - reminds me of the song "somebody's watching me"), so I am posting this one through my remote desktop to Tokyo, which is painfully slow. On an early flight to Edo tomorrow and am looking forward to being back for a few days. Am game for an early morning workout this weekend if anyone is around.

Day 14 - Break on thru rope wise

Made it all the way through 800 skips this morning without stopping for a rest - had previously been doing short sets of 250 - 300 with a small break (probably more than 20 sec) in between.  Went to the gym this morning intent on pushing my limits to 400 or so skips, but was able to keep it up to completion (no pun intended) after getting there.  Since stating in yesterday's blog, I would get the make up skips in from Sunday, I did those thereafter; however, I had to tone it back down to sets of 250-300.  As a result, what little calf muscles i do have were pretty tight all day.

For the workout, I did monday's since I was a day behind and note my abs are still real weak, as the leg raises (did them hanging today) are still difficult, as are the basic sit-ups.

Day 13 - Finally home ... for now

Been a few days since i posted, but believe it or not my macbook blew its hard drive last fri (which happened to be exactly one week after the expiration of the warranty).  Anyways, packed up the crew on Sat morning and made way for Tokyo.  The flight from LA wasn't that bad, but i was able to confirm it is really freakin hard to be fully PCP compliant when on a long flight and you haven't had (or made) the time to prep a lunchpail in advance.  Went with the halibut with no sauce and some brown rice on the plane - the flight staff on singair told me the fish had no salt, but probably meant low salt, when compared to the generous portions airlines usually drop on the inflight meals.  Landed last evening and by the time i arrived in the gratto and unloaded the crew, there was really no time (and i had no energy) to workout.  Did the day 12 workout early this am (jet lag is good for morning workouts) and plan to double up the day 13 and 14 tomorrow - at least it is only doubling the jump rope. 

Eating is getting a little easier now that I have a scale and a properly stocked fridge (well not what i would historically consider to be properly stocked as there is a noticeable absence of beers and chu hais).  Have been tossing a bunch of chopped veggies in the wok with sweet basil and other spices which has been really nice, but know that I will need to begin mixing up the veggie rotation or swear off bell peppers forever.  Still getting used to the amount of food - seems like a lot, but i never really feel full or catatonic afterward, not really hungry though either.  On my way to China on Wed and Germany next week.  I am not so worried about Germany, since the germans have great whole food markets and we have a good staff there to help me, but the China trip will be a challenge (it always is, even without the restrictions).  This leads me to a question - is it better to just not eat (to skip a meal or 2), if the only option is not fully compliant with PCP? 


I know i need to get the photos up - will work on becoming fully operational this week.

Days 8-9

If the first few days of diet mode taught me anything, it is that i will need to a much better job of meal planning.  My iron gut has historically proven helpful in India, China and other places of either questionable food quality or 'school the gaijin' food challenges, where flexibility, a sense of adventure and a strong will not to vomit goes a long way.  However, when told to eat whole foods and natural flavors in certain proportions, i have developed an acute case of meal anxiety - first, i (until this evening) didn't have a scale, and was limited to guessing quantities based on labels; secondly, i didn't realize how frequently we would be eating, so i was never really prepared for a meal in advance and, and lastly, i was not properly stocked with enough  breadth to offer any variety in the meals.  Thus, i have wolfed down dry veggies and salads, wholegrain breads, and leftover, unsalted, plain tasting meats for most meals and am really craving some salt, spice, and everything nice.  To top it off, it was my little guy's first b-day today and we had prepared a great wholesome meal (pulled pork, potatoes and pasta salad - with lots of wine, beer, booze) along with a giant cake and homemade vanilla ice cream - my mouth is watering thinking about it and I am still not sure how i made it through the night without even a small bite.  Anyway, will need to work on the meal planning.  Am leaving for Tokyo on Sat and am really open to ideas for enduring the 12 hr flight in a PCP compliant manner...

Regarding the workouts, JBlo and I hit the gym this morning (he came all the way to Flagstaff to workout) and i can confidently say any insecurity i had about my jump roping is gone.

Days 3-7

Hey everyone - apologies for the protracted radio silence but just returned from a very nice break from reality.  Alaska was as advertised on all fronts - the terrain, the wildlife, the vistas, the company (there with college buddies), and the fishing - in this case coho (silver) salmon.  On the way there, I was concerned that the trip could result in an early derailment to the project and that the years of bad habits would be too difficult to shake - how could i know what i would 'normally' eat when the typical fishing trip involves high quantities of snacking on junk food, hearty meals, and more libations than normal - moreover, what would constitute half of that, and where would i work out?  In reality, it wasn't that bad.

Lets just say the meals at the lodge probably keep the local cardiologist busy.  We generally had an early breakfast buffet - in my case, spoon of scrambled eggs and 2 pieces of toast - and left  left for the river(s) between 530-630 am.  Most of the day was spent either hiking in full regalia or fishing.  The lodge was kind enough to pack us lunches (a roast beef, salami, or bologna sandwich, a root beer, orange or cherry soda, a small bag of Doritos, Cheetos or Frito's, and an assortment of bite size candy bars) and I ate only a half of the sandwich and passed on everything else.

Although there was a larger dinner menu, our dinner options were typically the same every night - a rib eye, new york strip or t-bone, baked potato and veggies with salad bar (strangely - both the new york strip and t-bone looked like the rib eye and we only had halibut for one night, as it was end of the lodge's fishing season and they weren't really interested in re-stocking) - so, rib eyes it was.  I managed to eat a very small salad and half of everything else. For the beers, I had much less than what I thought would be half - still probably too many but it was on my conscience.

For the workouts, i endured the heckling of friends and fellow fisherman, and powered through the jump rope and workout every night (only missed one set of sit ups as the cabin floor wasn't too good on the tailbone) when we returned from fishing.  Didn't get the day 6 workout in until arriving in Seattle at midnight last night and followed it up at 5 am this morning at the local red roof inn.   (side note - if you haven't bought a jump rope yet, get a good one, i bought the cheapest (plastic) one and it didn't do so well in the cooler weather)

Strangely i didn't feel overly hungry the whole trip even we were walking 4-5 miles and i was eating very little during the day.  My friends were  kind enough to see there were no scraps and that i couldn't go back for another bite of the apple or rib eye as the case might be.  Still, I actually thought i would be hungrier, but found i really wasn't during the days.    I also thought the food i was eating would make my trip break even in terms of weight at best and was (pleasantly) surprised to find I am 3kg lighter this week.

Am now considering my options for the last night of food indulgence in advance of starting the diet tomorrow.

PS - fishing was awesome...

Day 2 - Call of the wild

Happy to say no hiccups with the jumprope this morning - workout took 18 minutes.  Followed it up with a half bowl of cheerios.  Am now awaiting a flight to Seattle en route to Yakutat, Alaska for a few days.  Do not have any idea what sort of connectivity I will have for the next few days, so I may be radio silent until next week.  This will be a good test as I'll have 4 full days of fishing, which will likely be followed by nights of watching my mates indulging - will  not go to the dark side...

Will post when I can.  Thanks to the veteran PCPers for the comments and the support - I know it is only Day 2, but it is definitely helpful to have encouragement to stay on the right path.

Day 1 - Trial n Error

Done with first workout - everything was pretty straight forward except the jump rope, which I haven't done in probably 20 years.  Bought a 9 foot rope, which was way too long, so the first set involved several fits and starts and some double jumps.  Shortened it a little too much for the second set, and ended up smacking the back of my head every 15 skips or so.  Finally calibrated in on the third set (standing with feet about a foot apart - rope came to belt line on each side), but wasn't able to do any of the three clean from start to finish - hope it gets easier.

Will follow up with the meal summary later today...

Meal summary - not going to say today is indicative of my everyday habits, but when i toss it out there it's kind of sobering -

Breakfast - 2 eggo waffles, pure maple syrup (embarrassing as it is, i usually indulge 4...)

Lunch - played golf with my father and some of his friends today, so this was eat on the run.  1/2 of a pbj sandwich (actually it was a half of a half sandwich at the halfway house on the course), 1/2 stick beef jerky, 1/2 of an apple.  Post golf bet settlements - 1/2 of a beer.

Dinner - 1/2 rack ribs, 1/2 salad no dressing, 1/2 potato w/ butter, 1/2 a bottle of beer.

Felt fairly hungry most of the day and really chewed my food A LOT trying to trick my body into thinking it was more....it wasn't fooled.

Pre-Game

Given I am presently in AZ, I took full advantage of the gained day with a mama's home cookin, pre-game indulgence - two large southwestern chicken and steak fajitas, with sauteed onions and peppers, fresh cut avocado, grated cheese (straight, strong chedda), sour cream and homemade salsa, and of course washed it down with 2 lager beers.  game on tomorrow morning.

Setting Up

No more excuses!  This thing is HAPPENING.