Engine 2 Diet - Day 11

It feels like I've already been doing this for weeks upon weeks. I'm not sure if it's because of all the temptation of cheating of the holidays, or just the holidays, but I can't wait until I stop noticing "how long" it's been since I started. Perhaps it's the daily blog. If that's the case, maybe I'll change the labeling up a bit so as to not count the days.

I weighed in this AM again and am now down to 236.6 on my scale here at the house. By my calculations, that's about 7 lbs dropped. You have no idea how surprised I am to see this work the way it has. I'm not sure how much of this is water weight or not, but who cares. It seems to be working. Also, I'm quite surprised after all the food I ate last night. Loomi and I walked around the mall for a couple of hours yesterday and when I got home, I was ravenous!

Breakfast:

• Burrito left overs (whole wheat tortilla, meatless ground, cabbage, tomatoes, guac, green salsa, peppers and onions)

Lunch:

• Pinto beans and brown rice with flax seed tortilla chips
• 3 cuties
• Honey Crisp apple (very nice apple BTW. I recommend it)

Snack:

• Two slices of whole wheat bread from Boudin's at the mall

Dinner:

• 2 burritos (See above)
• Chips and Guac
• 4 pieces of chocolate
• Honey Crisp apple
• 1 banana rolled in crushed cashews

Exercise:

• 45 minutes on stair stepper
• 5 minutes on stair stepper talking to Brother in Maine ;)

Engine 2 Diet - Day 10

As we get closer and closer to Christmas, I find myself with less and less time. All of sudden, there are tons of things that need to get done but it's nice to have focus on the diet. It's really becoming quite easy, but I'm definitely going to have to start trying more combinations of different veggies... and get to the store more.

I've notice Breakfast is the hardest meal to eat lately. The mornings have been quite jammed pack with work and house work. We'll definitely have to fix that.  

Breakfast:

• Handful of Almonds
• 1/2 of a fruit leather

Lunch:

• Brown rice and pinto beans
• Apple
• Handful of flax seed veggie chips
• 4 cuties

Dinner:

• 1 Burrito (Whole wheat tortilla, guac, refried beans, cabbage, meatless ground, tomatoes)
• 2 vegan Cookies

Exercise:

• Circuit Training (Curls + Dips, Assisted pull ups + push ups, squats + side lunges, medicine ball situps + back extensions)
• Cardio 15 minutes

Engine 2 Diet - Day 9

Ok, so kind of cheat day #2. I knew coming into this week that it was going to be really tough. As with all cheat instances to come, I went forward with just cause, X-mas lunch with Mom. I guess I could have selected a Vegan restaurant but let's just say an Indian motif doesn't really scream Christmas. Instead, I opted for the very super delicious Reposado in Palo Alto. Great mexican food, mexican beer and a nice chat with Mom made it all well worth it.... or I could just blame the cheating on the lunar eclipse. It makes us all do crazy stuff right?

Breakfast:

• An Orange

Lunch:

• Chips & Guacamole
• Red Snapper Ceviche
• 1 Camaron Empanada
• 1.5 Carne Sopes
• 2 Vegetarian Street Tacos
• 3 Bohemia Beers

Dinner:

• Whole Wheat Pizza (Half of the dough from Trader Joes's) Vegan pizza sauce, soy cheese, bell peppers, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives
• 2 Vegan Oatmeal Rasin cookies
• 1 fruit leather

Exercise:

• It just didn't happen today... :(

Engine 2 Diet - Day 8

So the new week brings a new week to start again. As I said yesterday, I really over did it on Sunday... but it was so much fun! What more, it made me really appreciate the way I was feeling last week. Going vegan really isn't that bad and you feel really awake!

I would say, the only drawback to eating vegan is how much cooking and shopping you have to do. This day and age, there's really no getting around it as there aren't a lot of options when eating out. 

FYI, did you check out the Lunar Eclipse? Here are my photos: http://bryanpurdy.posterous.com

Breakfast:

• PB&J

Lunch:

• 1 & 1/2 PB& J sandwiches

Dinner:

• Veggie Burger with guac, tomato, lettuce, pickles
• Pinto Beans & Rice
• 2 Vegan Oatmeal Rasin Cookie

Exercise

• 3.3-mile run with Cooper

Engine 2 Diet - Day 7 (Cheat Day)

Ok, so Sunday was a big cheat day. Loomi and I met up with some friends to celebrate the holidays and I am now feeling it on Monday. Sheesh. Who would have known how brutal cheating would make your body feel. I'm sure there are things your body can process a bit easier and there is definitely a factor of how much crap you throw at it, but just know, on Monday at 5AM I woke up sweating and feeling like I had the flu. Without further ado, see the damage from my glorious cheat day:

Brunch (Village Bistro in Santana Row):

• Bloody Mary
• Fried Calamari with Garlic Aioli 
• 2 slices of bread with baked brie and pears
• Divorced Eggs - 2 eggs in two different salsas with chorizo and a big ass flour tortilla
• Bite of a kick ass burger
• Shared a brownie and ice cream
• 4 glasses of wine/champagne

Drinks at Rosies

• 4 beers

Dinner

• Sesame Beef 
• Cashew Chicken
• Honey Walnut Prawns
• White Rice
• Sweet & Sour Pork
• 3 glasses of wine

Wow, after writing all of this down, it's amazing the crap we eat on a big day of enjoying company. I really could have done without going overboard at dinner. I nice salad would have been good but I guess you only live once. 

Exercise:

• 40 minutes on the stair stepper.

Engine 2 Diet - Day 6

Uggg. Arsenal Game postponed this AM. It's ok though as Loomi and I stayed in bed and got caught up with some shows. Yesterday was a bit brutal again with the "volume" of food. It really tends to happen when I lift. I will have to make a conscious effort to not eat as much and drink more water on the days I work out.

Hope you guys have a great weekend!


Breakfast:

• Shredded potatoes with bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, celery, cumin, cayenne pepper, chili power, salt (I really need to probably limit the amount of salt I cook with), pepper and oil spray. Mixed with Soy Chorizo
• 2 pears
• 2 Cuties

Lunch:

• Small bowl of pinto beans, brown rice and mixed pepper veggies
• Small bowl of cereal. 

Dinner:

• Veggie Burger
• Veggie chips with mashed pinto beans and guacamole
• 2 pears
• 4 cuties
• 3 oatmeal rasin vegan cookies

Engine 2 Diet - Day 5

Hello Again. As I continue to write in the AM, I'm thinking I will post my thoughts in the AM and then update my meal info either as I eat it or in the evening. However, now that I think about it. The RSS feed would get quite annoying if I update it frequently... thoughts? Should I just suffer at the end of the day and post then?

Anyways, now on to day 5. I made a good trip to Whole Foods yesterday. This really is the place you should start your shopping it at. It has all the necessary ingredients for this diet and if you're looking to make a lifestyle change, Whole Foods will be the grocery store for you. I'd find it quite difficult to fully support my kitchen using only Safeway and Trader Joe's. You could do it, but it's like a 5 year old walking into FAO Schwartz for the first time... The eye's open and you begin to see all the different possibilities.

We will definitely be making a food switch in the coming days. I think the jalapeno pinto beans, though very tasty, are going to need to be changed out by a different bean soup. Perhaps a lentil soup. Also, Loomi is quite excited to make the vegan oatmeal rasin cookies. I'll be sure to let you know how those turn out by Sunday.

Thanks again for reading!

Breakfast:

• Tofu stir-fry with cock sauce, brag's amino acids, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions on a bed of romaine

Lunch:

• Pinto Beans and Brown Rice
• 4 Cuties
• 1 Pear

Dinner:

• 2 Yves Jumbo Hot dogs with tomatoes, pickles, peporcinis
• Handful of veggie chips
• 4 cutie oranges
• 1 pear
• 2 pieces of dark chocolate

Exercise:

• Weight Lifting (Bench, Squat, lunges, curl, pull ups, dips, back extensions, sit ups)
• Biking for 30 mins

Engine 2 Diet - Day 4

Welcome to Day 4. The thought of cheating creeps every now and then but all in all, I'm doing ok. The biggest temptation has been the lobster risotto in the fridge that my fiance brought home from her X-mas party from work. It's been sending whispers of "eat me.... eat me..." my way from the fridge for the last day and half. It also doesn't help that yesterday was a weight lifting day and I'm always very very hungry on the days I lift.

We do have the holidays coming up and it's going to be tough to be 100% strict. What are your thoughts? Should I allow myself some wiggle room? Should I convince my self through a Bart Simpson like session on the chalkboard "I will not Cheat. I will not Cheat"?

I'm pretty resigned to fact that X-mas Day and New Year's Eve are locked in for some carnage eating. I look forward to your thoughts.

Breakfast:

• Leftover tacos! (2 corn tortillas, cabbage, peppers, onions, soy meat, taco sauce, salsa verde, lime)
• Bowl of steamed broccoli.

Snack:

• Handful of Loomi's Cereal (Kashi Autumn Wheat & Go Lean Crunch)
• Apple
• Pear

Lunch:

• Late lunch today. Whole foods Lebanese Vegetable Soup
• Vegan Cookie (smile)

Dinner:

• Pinto Beans with Brown Rice, Peppers, Onions & Celery (Should remove the celery from this one next time if you don't like the taste)

Workout:

• Stair climber for 30 minutes on "Fat Burner" at level 8
• Biked 10 miles on the stationary

Engine 2 Diet - Day 3

It doesn't look like too many people are checking out the blog too much. It's ok though. The only thing that matters is that I continue to get into a healthier better shape. I think that's one of the big problems these days. Most people attribute their weight loss to that... loosing weight. However, I don't think enough people think about getting healthier and in shape.

What defines each though? Let's start to put a list together. I'm open to suggestions and comments:

Health:

• Cholesterol - This is the leading factor to heart disease and should be #1 as it's the #1 killer of people

• Fat % - Use the tables here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage . Basically, Men should be in the 16-17% range and women in the 21-23% range. Ever hear of skinny fat? Yeah, most of those skinny people around your office that never work out are probably as worse off as those of larger proportions around the office. 

In Shape

• Cardio capabilities - At minimum, you should be able to run 3 miles in 30 minutes. That's 10 minutes a mile and easy enough.

• Weight Training - You should be able to bench your body weight 10 times and squat your body weight 10 times

• Core Strength - Try holding a plank for 3 minutes. There's a more complicated test here: http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/bestabexercises/a/core_test.htm but I think if you could hold a plank for 3 minutes, your core should be in good shape

Now, why are these two important? Health drives our susceptibility to certain diseases and our "In Shapeness" provides us with strong bones, prevents us from having many accidents and leads to overall general happiness.

Today's Meal:

Before Breakfast:

• 1/2 banana
• Handful of Almonds

Breakfast:

• 1/2 Banana
• Pinto Beans with brown rice, red & green bell peppers and onions (Got to get more Veg in my diet)
• 1/2 handful of almonds

Lunch:

• Bowl of Cereal (Kashi Go Lean Crunch and Autumn Wheat squares) with Vanilla soy milk
• Vegetable Chips with Trader Joe's Black Bean Dip (10 chips and 2 Tbl of Dip)

Dinner:

• Soy Tacos (4 small corn tortillas, meatless ground, organic taco mix, 1/2 avocado, green salsa, shredded cabbage, bell peppers and onions, 1tbl soy cheese, lime)
• 1 pear
• 2 small orange cuties
• 1 small piece dark chocolate

Exercise:

• Warmup
• Circuit Weight Training (Curls + Bench dips, lat pull down + bench, ab work + back extensions)
• Stairclimber - 30 minutes

Engine 2 Diet - Day 2

Ok. I'm now loaded up with Prednisone and I really hope the poison oak subsides. Loomi and I went to bed really early last night, at 8:45. We had the alarm set for 5:30 but for some reason, we both slept in until 6:55.  Thank god for the body clock as I had to get up for a conference call.

Breakfast

• Piece of whole wheat toast with 1tbl spoon of jam
• 1 banana
• Bowl of Kashi Shredded Wheat and Go Lean Crunch with Vanilla Soy Milk 

Lunch

• 410 Calories of Popcorn
• Bowl of brown rice and pinto beans

Dinner

• Bowl of Brown Rice & Pinto Beans
• Side of soy chorizo and potatoes
• 2 orange cuties
• Handful of almonds
• 2 beers (Heineken Light and Anchor Steam Christmas Ale) c'mon, it's the holidays. :) 

Workout

• None.... Lazy Again as I had to get my iPhone screen fixed today. Just no time. I promise, 1st workout of the week tomorrow.

Engine 2 Diet - Day 1

Today is the start. I keep telling myself it's a trial day. I really think I'll be trying to follow this diet until Loomi Lita's B-day in January and hopefully longer. Let me take a second to mention that most journey's and changes never come with obstacles. Well, here's mine. Day 1 = Poison Oak. Just great. Now I get to pump myself full of prednisone for 2 week.

Breakfast:

• Handfull of Almonds
• 1/4 of Loomi's soy chorizo burrito
• Two glasses of honey green tea

Lunch:

• Trader Joe's Lentil Soup
• Green Salad from BJ's
• Green Tea
• Banana

BTW: Are you kidding me BJ's. $5.50 for a plate of lettuce and some veggies. If you ever really start to wonder my America is fat, take a look at what it takes to eat healthy at some restaurants. Today's bill, 8 bones for a house green salad and a hot black tea... RIDICULOUS!

Dinner:

• Two Soy Hot Dogs, Chicago Style with Celery salt, tomatoes, pickles, mustard and peppercinos.
• 2 Small Cutie Oranges

Dessert: 2 Pieces Dark Chocolate

Exercise: LAZY!!!!!

Recap: I felt hungary most of the day today with my anxious jittery energy going up and down from time to time. Let's hope things are better tomorrow.  

Engine 2 Diet - The Start

So let's lay it out. I'm a 6'2" 30 years old man that weighs 243 lb. and has a cholesterol of 252. YIKES!

In 2005, I weighed 194 lb. and was in pretty good shape until I tore my ACL. It only took me a year to gain almost 60 lbs where I peaked at 251 lb. This was done via a steady diet of damn good tasting food and even better wine.... lots of wine... and more food. I had fun consuming all of these wonderful things, but in the end, I had to keep buying new clothes to feel comfortable.

Goal: Get back to a size 34 jean. Weigh between 200 to 210 (Loomi doesn't me any skinnier). Get my cholesterol below 200 and I want to do all of this by my wedding in October.

Now don't get me wrong. I love meat and animal products. I will not cease to consume them in my life. However, what I do need is a quick flush of the system which probably has been overloaded for years.

Solution:

Engine 2 Diet - http://engine2diet.com/

1. Buy the book
2. Read the book
3. Weight yourself and get your Cholesterol measured
4. Dump most of the nasty old food in the house
5. Make a trip to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods to stock up on all the necessary goods. 
6. Start a blog to track all of this
7. Commit, Commit, Commit

I look forwarding to sharing the next couple of weeks of my little adventure, during the holidays, before people start making their resolutions. 

B.

P.S. I was going to challenge the Kung Fu Panda to a little bet, but I think I'm already losing this one. He's already lost 15 lb. and I hope he comes back ready to help the Giants repeat! I'll try to provide some updates on how he's doing as I find the info. Cheers!