Mount Rogers Backpacking Trip

Mount Rogers

A little late to post but its been a busy week. I had a 3 day backpacking trip planned and went off plan a bit by eating Ramen(sp) Noodles for 2 meals. Not the best choice but they were delicious mixed with some bagged chicken and beef on a cold rainy day at evening camp.

Legs are a little tight and feet a bit sore as I did not anticipate how rocky the terrain would be on this trip. It certainly made for a slow going hike to each of the days planned camps.

Back on plan immediately upon return and things seem to be trending down. Hopefully next Monday's weigh-in is more of the same.  Either way I am happy that my weight is leading with a "1" again.  I am still amazed at how quickly things went south with my fitness after taking my eye off the ball for such a short time.  165 here I come!  

See below for a few of my favorite photo's from our trip.  It was overcast and raining other than the first couple of hours that we arrived.  Which was a bit of a disappointment since these mountains are at roughly 5600 feet and mostly void of trees at the top offering spectacular views of Virginia.  Oh well, sometimes things just don't work out as you planned.

On On

My Crew preparing to head out for day 2.

A strange looking tree at the top of the mountain.

No camera filter required.  This is what the scene was like for bulk of our trip.

An early morning visitor to our campsite on day 2.  I had no idea their were cattle at the top and it startled me a bit at first.

A friend of mine trying to get a shot of a particularly curious foal.  Mom and Dad were nearby but had no interest in our presence.

Destroy What Destroys You!

Start Date: 10/07/2013
Begin Weight: 203 -- Ackk!
Current Weight: 203
Goal Weight: 165

Well there it is, it's official I am no longer below 200 lbs.  For whatever reason I have lost the motivation and struggled most of the summer trying to find it.  After a weekend of excess I reluctantly stepped on the scale to find that my weight no longer begins with a 1 but rather a 2!  WTF!

I believe that I have been so busy patting myself on the back for my successes that I lost sight of how I got there.  My eating habits have devolved to the typical foods that got me to 300 several years ago.  The worst part is that I know I am not making good choices just based on how generally shitty I have felt for the last 6 months or so.

Exercise has been tapering off as well with workouts only coming 3 times per week with an occasional mountain bike ride.  The only thing that has got me out running is trying to keep up with my Wife, whom is kicking ass btw.  So proud of her and love her company on my runs, it's the highlight of my week.

So here I am, while I have a feeling that a large part of the weight is just bloat from to much beer and chili camping this weekend and will quickly drop off but I really need to get back down to that 175 range and possibly lower.  Running at 200 blows, my joints, feet and back are all pissed about it.

I am on day 3 of induction right now and already feeling better.  I am going to try and limit weigh-ins to once a week, no promises as I am rather addicted to the scale.

It's interesting that after living unhealthy for so many years I had adapted to that lifestyle and feeling like shit all of the time felt normal.  Now that I have adjusted my "normal" to something better I am able to recognize that my body is screaming for my attention.  I need to find my normal again.

Throughout each phase of my weight loss journey I have taken on a mantra that has helped me stay focused when I wanted to give up.  I feel like my body is telling me that I not only need to get my shit together but that it's destroying me not only physically and emotionally.  So there it is, "Destroy What Destroy's You!".

On On

Modern wheat a "perfect, chronic poison," doctor says

Picked up this article and thought I would share here along with the accompanying video.

(CBS News) Modern wheat is a "perfect, chronic poison," according to Dr. William Davis, a cardiologist who has published a book all about the world's most popular grain.

Davis said that the wheat we eat these days isn't the wheat your grandma had: "It's an 18-inch tall plant created by genetic research in the '60s and '70s," he said on "CBS This Morning." "This thing has many new features nobody told you about, such as there's a new protein in this thing called gliadin. It's not gluten. I'm not addressing people with gluten sensitivities and celiac disease. I'm talking about everybody else because everybody else is susceptible to the gliadin protein that is an opiate. This thing binds into the opiate receptors in your brain and in most people stimulates appetite, such that we consume 440 more calories per day, 365 days per year."

Asked if the farming industry could change back to the grain it formerly produced, Davis said it could, but it would not be economically feasible because it yields less per acre. However, Davis said a movement has begun with people turning away from wheat - and dropping substantial weight.

"If three people lost eight pounds, big deal," he said. "But we're seeing hundreds of thousands of people losing 30, 80, 150 pounds. Diabetics become no longer diabetic; people with arthritis having dramatic relief. People losing leg swelling, acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, and on and on every day."

To avoid these wheat-oriented products, Davis suggests eating "real food," such as avocados, olives, olive oil, meats, and vegetables. "(It's) the stuff that is least likely to have been changed by agribusiness," he said. "Certainly not grains. When I say grains, of course, over 90 percent of all grains we eat will be wheat, it's not barley... or flax. It's going to be wheat.

"It's really a wheat issue."

Some health resources, such as the Mayo Clinic, advocate a more balanced diet that does include wheat. But Davis said on "CTM" they're just offering a poor alternative.

"All that literature says is to replace something bad, white enriched products with something less bad, whole grains, and there's an apparent health benefit - 'Let's eat a whole bunch of less bad things.' So I take...unfiltered cigarettes and replace with Salem filtered cigarettes, you should smoke the Salems. That's the logic of nutrition, it's a deeply flawed logic. What if I take it to the next level, and we say, 'Let's eliminate all grains,' what happens then?

"That's when you see, not improvements in health, that's when you see transformations in health."

Watch Davis' full interview in the video above.

Source:  http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505269_162-57505149/modern-wheat-a-perfect-chronic-poison-doctor-says/

Candice's Low Carb Apple Cinnamon Muffins

I was searching for a low carb holiday treat and ran across these muffins at "Your Lighter Side" (http://www.yourlighterside.com).  Made a half batch and they turned out delicious.  Thanks for posting the original recipe and sharing.

I did not get a photo but I made a small batch of cream cheese icing and drizzled it over the top as well which made it very rich and tasty.








Candice’s Low-Carb Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Ingredients:

For 12 muffins:
1 3/4 cup Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
1/4 cup ground almonds
1 cup granulated Splenda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 SMALL apple


For 6 muffins:
3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
2 Tablespoons ground almonds
1/2 cup granulated Splenda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 SMALL apple

Preheat oven 350F.

Line muffin tin with paper liners. Wash apple, then peel and chop or grate on a cheese grater. Set aside.
In large bowl mix vanilla whey protein powder, ground almonds, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg, then set aside. In a smaller bowl mix eggs, heavy cream, water, oil, and vanilla only enough to break up the eggs a little. Add in Splenda. Using the spatula to mix, add the cut up apple to the dry ingredients until the apples are coated. Make a well in the middle of the bowl and add your wet ingredients, mixing only until everything is wet. DO NOT OVER MIX or you will end up with a tough bread( this is true for all quick breads). Spoon in to prepared muffin pan. Bake at 350F for 18-20 minutes.

Makes 6-12 muffins.

Nutritional information per muffin: Calories: 146, Carbohydrates: 4.92 g, Sugars: 1.15 g, Fiber: 0.63 g, Net Carbohydrates: 4.29 g, Protein: 10.04 g, Fat: 10.88 g

Baconnaise

Ingredients
Makes: 2 cups

5 egg yolks
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
7 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1¼ cups rendered bacon fat
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation method
Prep: 15 mins
1.
Chill all the ingredients and utensils (including your mixing bowl) down to about 40°F. Don’t skip this step or the mayonnaise may break.
2.
Put the egg yolks, mustard, and 1½ teaspoons of the lemon juice into a blender or mixing bowl. Beat on high for 2 minutes, until well blended.
3.
Add in the bacon fat (no need to add gradually if everything’s properly chilled), continuing to beat until the mixture is thick. Depending on how thick and rich you like your mayonnaise you may or may not need the entire amount of fat.
4.
Slowly blend in the remaining lemon juice, sea salt and pepper, whipping it pretty much continuously throughout. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Tip

The mayonnaise keeps for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.

Low Carb Southwestern Chicken Soup

So as promised I made a batch of this a week or so ago and wanted to document the recipe for myself as much as sharing.  This is a variation of another recipe I found online that uses ground beef but I prefer chicken in this type of stew.  So here it goes.

4 Chicken Breast
1 8oz Pack Cream Cheese
2 Cans Rotel
1/2 Cup Diced Onion
2 Cups Chicken Stock
1/2 Cup unsweetened Almond Milk
1 tbsp Chili Powder
2 Garlic Cloves (Minced)

Roast the chicken salt & pepper to taste.  While the chicken is cooking combine the other ingredients in a crock or stock pot and bring to a slow boil then reduce heat.  When the chicken is done let it cool and "pull" it into small chunks.  Throw that in the pot and let it all simmer for an hour or so.

The stew does not take long to cook but similar to Chili the taste will improve the longer it sits in the crock pot.  It makes a creamy soup similar in consistency to chowder.  I ate it with a small dab of sour cream on top and a little hot sauce.

I am going to add some Jicama and Cactus to it next time and see how that taste.  You could also carb it up if you wanted with some white beans or corn.  Either one or both would probably be really good in this.

Will also remember to take photo's of the finished product with the next batch.  However, low-carb chili is next on the list so it will have to wait a few weeks.

Reboot!

Time to reboot!  Shortly after starting Insanity I aggravated my left shoulder again.  Perhaps to much to quick and so I hung it up for a couple of weeks to heal.  Two idle weeks and nothing to do but sit around and get fat has means my weight is up 5 pounds.  Ugh, still managed a few Mountain bike rides which probably did not help but I can't just sit still for 2 weeks.

So yesterday the weather was crap, clocks have been set back and for the first time in a long time I opted to head to the gym instead of the streets.  First thing, I am really out of practice from gym visits.  Forgot to bring my socks for running and goggles to swim.  Wore my dress socks to run and just decided to abuse my core since I could not swim.  Obliques are a little tender today but I must admit it was fun to do something a bit different.

Regarding my weight and keeping a long story short it is once again clear to me that I am just not capable of eating carbs beyond the minimum requirements needed to fuel a workout.  So last Monday I reluctantly moved back to low-carb diet.  At the time I was bummed about my lack of control with carbs and sweets but now that I am clean again I remember why I had so much success doing this before.  I feel incredible!

My diet has been pretty simple so far but for those of you who wonder what a typical day for a low-carb dieter looks like here is my menu for today.

Breakfast - 2 Whole Eggs (Microwave Scrambled), 3 thin slices of smoked ham (2 oz)
Lunch - Baked Salmon w/Butter, Steamed Peppers/Squash, Broccoli w/Cheese
Dinner - Southwestern Chicken Soup (Recipe to Come)
Snack - Dunno yet?

So now that I have rebooted I am feeling more stable and mentally prepared to get things going the right way.  Excellent timing as well with the Holiday's coming and keeping me on my toes and on plan.  Would hate for that 5 pounds to turn into 10 or more.