Velocity Day 5

You may be noticing that Thursday was day 4, and monday is now day 5. I was back home for the weekend for my best friend's engagement party, and decided to take a couple of days off velocity. It's a bit of a cop-out, but I realized that such a milestone occasion lies far higher on my priority list than this experiment, and also that I don't ever want to be that guy that snubs social situations because 'he's on a diet'. I'm committed to achieving this goal, but before that I'm committed to participating in society.

On the topic, I love my food. I love cooking, I love tasting, I love it all. During the decision process that led to my velocity break, I considered what a social instrument food & drink are. Somehow good food and good company create a synergy that absolutely pale the Disney-ABC conglomerate. I would never enjoy a veggie meatball as much as I did whilst catching up with great friends. (I would almost certainly never eat a veggie meatball otherwise, but the statement still stands).

That being said, I'm back in the saddle now. Today was a breeze. Having experienced this last week I knew what to expect today & I imagine it'll just get easier from here on in. Also, I was eagerly waiting to see what kind of results I'd get & was kind of expecting not to notice a visible change before my weekend eating spree. However, Thursday night before I went home I realized that there IS a visible change already! That gives me a huge boost in pumptitude going into this week, which is a key factor in keeping myself going strong.

In other news, the engagement party Saturday night was great. It was awesome to see some old friends I hadn't spoken to in far too long. It was a real eye-opener to see Chris & Ashley (the bride & groom) in their new element too. Chris is the first of my friends to take the plunge and until the party their engagement hadn't really manifested itself visibly. It was definetly a splash of reality to see the marriage wheels start to turn. Having seen them in action though, I'm still convinced that they'll be brilliant together & I'm super happy for them both.

Token Non-Velocity Post

This is kind of old news now, but Lance Armstrong has officially voiced his intentions to compete in the 2005 Tour de France. This makes me very happy.

I think it'll definetly be one of his most difficult tours to date, but I'm confident he can take it. I think he's made of steel.

Velocity Day 3: First Hurdle

At work tonight I hit my first real obstacle. I felt terrible. I felt like I was about to fall over. Obviously I knew this was not what was supposed to be happening with velocity, so I ate. I had salmon, a potato, and a glass of milk... and I felt better immediately.

So I definetly encountered a problem in the current diet plan today: it makes me want to pass out at work (or more generally: when I'm doing something that requires more energy than watching champions league soccer). On the bright side, I was able to address it: by eating something different than what I had been.

By no means do I plan to abandon my project, but I'm not going to continue doing things the way I have been. After all, this is still a work in progress. Clearly I need to rewrite part of the plan to solve this issue permanently. I identify three possible areas I may be missing something in my diet that my meal gave to me: 1) some micronutrient (vitamin or mineral) 2) carbohydrates 3) some virtue of eating whole food.

I don't think the problem is 1. From my measurements, I'm probably getting more nutrients than I was before I was on the diet. Additionally, I felt better almost immediately. A vitamin or mineral deficiency would probably take more time to manifest itself, and take more time to rectify than what I encountered. However, I could be wrong. I know not all nutrients are absorbed as effectively in supplement form as they are in whole food form, so this is a concern I'll put on the backburner for now rather than discarding entirely.

I do think 2 and 3 are likely candidates. My first guess would be that low carbohydrate intake is the culprit. Physically I felt okay (not hungry, not weak) but mentally I felt a little sluggish. Since the muscles & organs can use protein or fat for energy, but the brain & nervous system can use only glucose, I think the fact that I felt nervously drained but not physically drained is another indicator that carb depletion was the culprit. However, I think the wisest course of action will remedy both 2 and 3.

If I'm going to include new carbs in my plan, I want to include a source that will create a smaller insulin response from me. This means that it will provide me with energy more slowly, and that it will have a smaller potential for fat storage. Veggies are probably my best bet, which is nice because they're whole food. Starting with greens like spinach, brussel sprouts & brocolli, I'll add veggies to my diet until I feel good again. The caloric impact should be fairly low, but for every cal of veg that I add, I'll subtract calories from the whey powder I'm ingesting, because I'm getting plenty of protein as it is. This will also provide me with some more whole food nutrients & I guess it'll address 1 as well. Perfect.

Velocity Day 3

Day 3 thus far is much stronger than day 2 was. I'm feeling pretty much unaffected by my restricted calories, and am as sharp as usual. I realized this morning that the chocolate milk I've been drinking is not the same as the one I'd quoted when arranging my plan. This actually has 167 cals rather than 208 per 250ml. I included a bit of that this morning to my first meal & I think it might have helped me find a better balance.

Jon got back today & I used his bioimpedence calculator to see if I'd had any measurable results yet. What was the verdict? My body fat had changed by 2%.. up! After getting a little more info on how the machine works, the result made more sense. Fat is a poor conductor of electric current, so a lower measure of conductivity correlates with a higher % body fat. Conversely, a higher measure of conductivity correlates with lower fatty mass. One great conductor of current is water. All the water I've lost between my reduced carbohydrate stores and the diuretic effect of all the protein I've ingested has measurably reduced the conductivity of my body & has affected my result. At least I've got a benchmark now so I can interpret what kind of changes come about over the upcoming days & weeks.

Thanks to my friend Matt for promoting my adventure! I figure that the more hype I can generate, the easier it'll be for me to adhere to my plan.

For now though, off to work.

Velocity Day 2 cont.

Day 2 has come to a close. Today's workout performance didn't excel, but it was up to par, and my carbohydrate depletion didn't stop me from completing it with full effort.

I was feeling pretty rough in the early afternoon, so I split my post workout chocolate milk. I had 100ml before hand and 150ml afterwards but the extra carbs were a huge help to me. I'm feeling pretty flat still, but I've got the energy to get my daily tasks done and I'm not particularly hungry. If I start feeling rough regularly, now I know the chocolate milk will pick me up.

I was thinking today about how a lot of people have trouble reprogramming of their dietary habits. The common approach is to try to subtract bad habits from your lifestlye. I notice in myself that I have a hard time making that stick long-term. Maybe a more effective approach (for people who have the same trouble) is to subtract all habits. Starting from a clean slate a person can be more aware of what their habits truly are, and maybe be more effective implementing a style of eating that suits them. Coming off the diet & trying to incorporate food back into myself is going to be another adventure altogether.

As a parting note: I didn't realize 'til today what a fantastic job restaurants do of marketing their food! I hate them for it. I think my first meal back is going to be Red Lobster... they've looked very convincing!

Velocity Day 2

Day 1 was easier than expected. I felt 'empty' most of the day, but didn't feel hungry, which I attribute to the psyllium and protein. I mentioned my pizza temptation, and then again after work I sat with a friend of mine while he had a quesadilla and a beer, and I didn't feel the pressure to eat. For those who don't already know, I work at a restaurant and somehow thought I'd be able to go a month without eating. Ballsy? Stupid? I'll let you decide.

Because I hung around after work I went longer than I'd planned without any calories last night and I could feel it. Making 100% sure to have a shake on hand when I need one will be big for me I think. Also, I was tired last night! That's a big deal for me because I'm a real nighthawk & rarely get tired 'til after 1am. I'm not sure if that's related to my energy intake on velocity, or the binge of drinking and partying I was on over the weekend. Either way, if I can start getting to bed earlier & getting up earlier I'd call that a positive adjustment.

I've got mostly reading, note taking & watching of soccer planned for today (Champs League matches this morning... exciting!). I'm also gonna fit a workout in there & see how my performance is affected by my low carb intake. I'll update again later tonight

Velocity Day 1

Velocity has officially begun! To start with I'll outline what the final draft of the diet is.

Breakfast:
1 egg cooked in microwave omlette tray
1 cup spinach, cooked with egg
1 tbsp olive oil drizzled over omlette

total calories: 121

Oil Supplement:
5 tsp cod liver oil throughout day

total calories: 225

Fiber Supplement:
25g psyllium/milled flax seed mixture throughout day

total calories: negligible

Vegetable Supplement:
3 tbsp Greens+ taken with psyllium mixture

total calories: negligible

Protein Supplement:
251 g Power Whey taken in 5-6 shakes*

total calories: 1050

Post Workout Carbohydrate Supplement:
250 ml 1% Chocolate Milk

total calories: 208

Eating like this, I'll be getting 1396 cal on a non-exercise day and 1604 cal on an exercise day. Also, as per my *, I'm using Power Whey as my protein supplement right now, but I'll be using a different supplement each time I need to replace my container. This way I won't get as sick of the flavor, and I'll hopefully be minimizing my chances of suffering from a deficiency of a nutrient one particular mixture might be low in. I'm also taking a multivitamin, split in two & taken 6 hours apart to maximize my absorption.

Day 1 so far is a success. I passed my first temptation this after noon when I was out with my roommate scouting for a new place for next year. He decided to get lunch & bought a $5 pizza from Little Caesar's. So we're driving along in his little sedan with an entire pizza in the front seat with me... and he offers me a slice! I didn't have any but I hope they make pizza flavored crystal light to help me through the next few weeks.

I'm trying to be conscious of how this diet affects my concentration & memory and if I find myself lightheaded at all I'm going to consider upping my carbohydrate intake. No real minimum recommended carbohydrate intake exists; i've read values anywhere from 10g daily to 100g daily. The outline I described above gives me 50-75g daily (depending on whether I drink the chocolate milk) which I'm going to adjust if I feel I need more. So far I feel okay, but further updates will see how I am after a few more days of this. Surprisingly, I don't feel hungry at all. I'm consuming calories every 2-3 hours or more, and the fiber supplements fill me up so I'm thinking hunger might not be as limiting as I'd predicted. Once again, a few more days will tell a more complete story on that! I work tonight as well so I'll guage how my current carb intake affects my work performance & see if that's up to par.

To summarize, day 1 is well under way & is a success so far. I'm organized & ready to have my way with this diet. Wish me luck!

Retraction & Velocity

Okay, so I wasn't back for real last time. I seriously overestimated the spare time 2K5 would afford me, but now I've got a whole new motivation for my resurrection. I'll start at the beginning.

I took a hiatus in 2004 from resistance training in favor of a more endurance oriented style of activity. About four weeks ago I finally returned to the gym & I've begun soaking up training info as quickly as ever. Most of the researching I've done has been related to how exercise and nutrition affect my metabolism (and vice versa). Cutting to the end of that chapter, I came across something known as 'The Velocity Diet' conconted by T-Mag contributor Chris Shugart.

Essentially velocity involves stripping one's diet down to only the nutrients essential to maintaining proper health and metabolic functioning. Chris' original diet was essentially a liquid diet. It was virtually 100% supplement based and involved only one solid meal weekly (oatmeal & berries) over four weeks. Four weeks, four solid meals.

How did it work? From his testimony it worked fabulously. Chris melted away fat at more than twice what is predicted to be possible whilst maintaining lean body mass and metabolic rate. I've decided I've started too many bad habits lately and I've had it too easy. To boot, I love a challenge! So I've decided to undertake the four week torture session known as Velocity.

I've modified the diet somewhat to ensure I conver all my nurtitional bases. I'm still sticking with Chris' framework, but adding a few noncaloric nutrient sources, and one egg daily just to put my mind at ease.

In my next post I'll outline exactly what I'll be eating over the course of these four weeks. Afterwards I'll be posting updates on how I'm progressing day to day for the duration of the diet. Personally, I can't wait! The start date is Mon 21 Feb 2004. Synchronize your watches people, and check back for more info. I think it's gonna be great!