Diet "Tips and Strategies", 80/20

I'm not going to say I hate diet tips and strategies....you didn't hear me say it, did you?

There are a million and one diet tips and strategies, or maybe just a few, but interpreted a million different ways!  They are all good, and they all probably work if you DO them!  That's key, right?  Doing them, not knowing them!  I try and never offer tips as if they are easy to follow through with because I know that when it's just not time, it's just not time!  It seems that more often than not we have the best of intentions and then something happens....oh yes, I remember...

"It's all easy until you get hungry!"

Hunger of course can be a just a feeling, or indeed a fact.  The science behind weight loss, no matter what some popular books/authors write about these days, for me, comes down to calories in, calories out.  What it comes down to for you? Well, only you really know what and how much you eat, but this I know.  If I dropped you off on a deserted island and came back for you 1 month later you would weigh less, a lot less.  I'd put money on it.

I completely understand wanting more food for no apparent good reason other than it tastes good, and it feels good when I'm eating it, AND I can have whatever I want, when ever I want, pretty much all of the time. I'm spoiled.  Or, more accurately I may be, literally, spoiling (my health).  Anyway, enough with the know it all attitude and back to some diet tips!

As I posted a couple of days ago I tend to serve myself larger portions of food at meal times.  I know I'm doing it.  It's not a secret or a mystery, I admit I do it.  I'm not really liking doing it anymore so I think I'm going to change that habit.  Okay, I changed it.  Extra large portions also include second helpings!  But I think I may be ready to take it a step further.

I really, really liked Amanda's comment to my last blog post about stopping at 80% full!  I think I'm going to tweak it a bit, and change it to starting with only an 80% serving!  I think it's a pretty easy strategy to "eyeball".  In fact now that I think about it my portions have easily crept up by an additional 20%-50%, so cutting them back to "normal" is 80%! lol

This is something that I can feel good about right away. I got tired of lying to myself.  It's just not fun.  In fact, it would be funny if the science worked out perfectly and by cutting my calories 20% I would lose 20% of my body weight!  Hmnn...wouldn't that be a fun game to play?

Diet tips and strategies come and go...and then come around again!  Really, I only offer up some suggestions as I find my own way through the feelings and emotions that seem to be connected around my eating and the foods I chose to eat or not eat.

I prefer to look at tips and strategies as "rules".  To me it feel like rules have less emotion behind them.  It's much easier to actually not help myself to seconds when I take the choice out if it. I mean, I'm not making crazy rules!  Crazy rules are just crazy!  I never want to feel as if I'm punishing myself because I don't feel as if I've been "bad".  So I started eating a little too much, or maybe a lot.  I can change that, I have changed that, and that's that.

What have you changed?  What worked for you?  Do you have rules?  Do you have a strategy?

Or do you never think about eating and/or food?  I'm always interested to hear about "you"
people!  lol  What's that like?  I can imagine a time when I will feel the same.  Maybe tomorrow?  That would be nice.

Deals with the Devil....a mindless eating habit

If I had to admit the one habit I've gotten into, that is changing today (well, actually I changed it last night), it is that I make these 'deals with the devil' when it comes to portioning out my food at meal time!

I know full well what reasonable portions look like!  Heck I live with someone that eats regularly sized portions at every meal (yep, every single meal, always). In fact I always take notice how Mark can eat a single serving of yogurt, never going back for seconds, while I don't even bother with buying single servings because I know I'm not going to be happy with one small container!  I buy the big containers and then trust myself to make my own size portion...you know, a more reasonable size while still not eating too much...what a nice guy I am!

Speaking of yogurt...  Last night I decided to have a serving of yogurt.  I opened up my cupboard for a bowl.  I decided to use a small bowl and not have seconds.  Since I was not having seconds I also decided to give myself a little extra pinch of sliced almonds in exchange for "being good"!  This was the deal with the devil!  More almonds, no more yogurt...promise!  But still I wondered...could I keep that promise...this time?  In the past, especially the last year I'm pretty sure I never have kept that promise, going back for more yogurt and more almonds!  I knew full well what I was doing but didn't feel motivated to change it.

Will today be different?  Yes.  Yes it will.

I had a really interesting weekend, and before that some things had been lining up in a way that haven't helped make me feel good about a number of mindless eating habits I've let slip into my daily life.  Taking second, and third, helpings for really no good reason is one of them.

Oh, I could tell you an excuse.  The best one is the "reward" excuse.  You might know the one....."but I work so hard, I've been so good....and besides, it's healthy food!"  Etc...

Last night I got out my small bowl, and yes, I did have an extra pinch of sliced almonds, but I did not go back for seconds.  So there!  I proved I could do it and I didn't die, and I didn't go hungry!  In fact I felt pretty darn good!

I've gotten into a couple of other mindless eating habits that I will write about, but let me start here.  Today is a new and beautiful day to begin again.

Mission Accomplished...well, one mission at least!

Really this is just a quick blog post with none of the messy details!  But here is a phrase that will, pretty much, describe the competition this weekend was not exactly a walk in the park!


"In Jiu Jitsu there's no losing...you either win, or you learn!"


Yes, I got the number I needed to earn my Level 1 ranking (the highest level before moving on to a heavier bell).  Were they what I wanted?  No. Did I get what I wanted?  Yes.




12kg 10 min Jerk

122 total reps
61 pts

12kg 10 min Snatch

197 total reps (90 R/107 L)
99 pts

159 1/2 total points earned
156 points needed





I was hoping to get over 165 points and need only 150....the rest of the story w/video and gory details coming!  To be honest, it's hard/painful for me to watch the video myself.  Not painful because I was suffering, painful because I knew I could have done so much better.  Unlike the phrase at the top of this post, I did win something....but I learned more!



ps, I'm sure Mark and John would say that I'm being dramatic, and at the end of the day I guess I am.  No disrespect to the 12kg, but there is plenty more real drama headed my way now that I get to tackle the 16kg!

Homemade Mayonnaise

It's been interesting keeping up daily Facebook posts on my fan page, The Swing, and trying to stay current here on my blog.  I tend to get wordy here because I have the space!  BUT a couple of days ago I wrote a post about coconut oil.  Within the past couple of years we have purchased coconut oil and coconut butter, both to which we (Mark and I) agreed that the trade off of taste was not worth the value....but now the dietary science seems to be rolling through the Reifkind household once again, but I'm not ready to get into all of the science of nutrition yet!  This post is about homemade mayonnaise!

Mayonnaise is categorized as a "sauce" or "dressing". A sauce or dressing has fat, acid, and something that emulsifies and/or thickens the two, like mustard, or egg....and to be honest I could be totally wrong about this!  I'm just a home cook looking to understand the methods and techniques of cooking and preparing foods!

I've been wanting to make my own mayonnaise for years now, after spending time with my best friend, and former professional Chef, Fawn Friday, who always makes her own mayonnaises and aioli's (garlic mayonnaise).  The only problem is that I don't particularly like mayonnaise enough to eat much of it!  So therefore I don't use a lot, and getting into the practice of making it so that it becomes effortless and efficient just doesn't happen often enough.  The only tricky part about it is that there is a particular technique which, if not adhered to, will make a sloppy broken up mess of a good amount of costly ingredients!  The best way to make sure that you don't mess it up is to practice!

You can find a TON of mayonnaise recipes online, but the technique is the same.  Start with egg, lemon (acid), mustard (emulsifier), salt and pepper.  Using a blender or food processor drizzle in oil (oils) a drop at a time so it all comes together, until you can start to "stream" the oil in as it is blending (or processing). It really about technique and not so much the measurement of ingredients.

Okay, so back to MY story of coconut oil mayonnaise!

I needed mayo because I was out!  Since I don't use that much it's been on my grocery list for about 1 week!  This afternoon, with all of the recent coconut oil usage in my house, I started to think that there must be a coconut oil version of mayonnaise.  Fat is fat, right?  Well, kind of, but mostly yes.

• 1 whole egg
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup Virgin Coconut Oil (melted if solid)
• 1/2 cup virgin olive oil

Using a basic recipe I pulled out my blender and went to work.  Lucky me I have pastured eggs in the fridge and I had some good quality oils (both coconut and olive).  I only had stone ground mustard (not Dijon), but it's just cooking, right?  The key...the key, until you get enough practice, is that you start adding the oil as slowly as humanly possible for the first minute or two while your blender is on "low".  Then a steadier stream can be tolerated.

If you screw this part up, your sauce, your mayonaise will "break", never to come together again!  And it ain't pretty, or edible!  The chances of you throwing a good amount of $$ down the drain (literally) is pretty good!  lol

But at the end of the cooking day, the practice, successful or not, will be worth it!  Jus think about the possibilities!  Garlic mayo, fresh herb mayo, avocado mayo, bacon fat mayo....good God!  If you google flavored mayonnaises the sky is the limit!

Please google some recipes, try them and report back!  Or maybe it's something you already prepare?  Please share!  Me?  I'm a total convert!  Never, ever, store bought for me anymore!  Oh, and what a great excuse to use cute little jars!  And talk about a nice hostess gift!  I promise, if you invite me over I will bring you some!  lol

Here are some popular posts with more details about technique.

http://reluctantgourmet.com/cooking-techniques/more-specific-techniques/item/59-homemade-mayonnaise-recipe
http://fotocuisine.com/?p=980
http://www.realfoodkosher.com/homemade-mayonnaise-101/
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/basic-mayonnaise-10000000663046/index.html

That's All She Wrote

I knew I had my last GS scheduled workout to do this morning but I hadn't figured out exactly how to fit it in. I decided to do my regular training first and end the morning, after all classes and clients, with my last set of GS snatches....um, at least that was the plan.  By the time I got to it, well, that's all she wrote!

Basically my advanced high volume training was long sets and fast sets.  I used only three swing, and swing/snatch combinations (I've posted them many times in this blog.  Maybe serach Hardstyle Ventura for the examples, or Youtube for Tracyrif swing/snatch combinations)

7:00am Advanced High Volume

warm up with 12kg swings, I believe 5 sets of 20 reps (30/30)
100 swings, 5 min

warm up 30 sec snatch combinations
1 sw/snatch.tr R/L x 6 x 2
1 sn/transfer x 8 x 2
5/5 sn x 2
6 min

Work sets (all sets 1 min/30 sec)
1 sw, 1 tr x 20
1 sw, 1 tr x 22
1 sw, 1 sn, 1 tr x 12
1 sw, 1 sn, 1 tr x 14
1 sn, 1 tr x 16
1 sn, 1 tr x 18 (later increased to 20)
9 min

1 sw/tr x 20 + 1 sw/tr x 22 (all sets 2 min/1 min rest)
1 sw/sn/tr x 12 + 1 sw/sn/tr x 14
1 sn/tr x 16 + 1 sn/tr x 20
9 min

1 sw/tr x 20 + 1 sw/tr x 22 + 1 sw/sn/tr x 12 (all sets 3 min/1 min, uphill/downhill)
1 sw/sn/tr x 14 + 1 sn/tr x 16 + 1 sn/tr x 20
1 sn/tr x 20 + 1 sn/tr x 16 + 1 sw/sn/tr x 14
1 sw/sn/tr + 1 sw/tr x 14 + 1 sw/tr x 20

16 min + one additional minute rest (17 min)

The last two sets combine all 6 sets in an uphill, then downhill ladder.  6 minutes work/ two minute rest in between.

1 sw/tr x 20 + 1 sw/tr x 22 + 1 sw/ sn/ tr x 12 + 1 sw/sn/tr x 14 + 1 sn/tr x 16 + 1 sn/tr x1

1 sn/tr x 20 + 1 sn, 1 tr x 16 + 1 sw/sn/tr x 14 + 1 sw/sn/tr x 12 + 1 sw/tr x 22 + 1 sw/tr x 20

14 min

Each one minute work set equals:

1 sw/tr x 20 = 40 swing reps
1 sw/tr x 22 = 44 swing reps
1 sw/sn/tr x 12 = 24 swings, 12 snatches
1 sw/sn/tr x 14 = 28 swings, 14 sn
1 sn/tr x 16 = 16 snatches, 16 swings
1 sn/tr x 20 = 20 snatches, 20 swings

172 swings, 62 snatches per 6 set rotation. (warm up + 100 swings)
7 rotations 1204 swings, 434 snatches

total workout 54 minutes, not including 12 min warm up

Onto another 20 minutes of 30/30 sec sets of cleans (bottoms up singles and doubles) presses (singles and doubles) squats (singles and doubles), 20 sets in total to finish up 90 minutes of training

Intermediate class

15 minutes of swing/clean practice

25 minutes of swing/holds

swing warm up + 2 hd sw to a goblet hold (I also call this a two hand clean sometimes)

Work sets consist of 3 sets of 10 reps with the option to put the bell down and rest OR clean and hold any way you want to.  Take as many or as few rest/holds as each individual wants to. Personally I held my 12kg bell in some sort of clean for the entire workout.

10 1 hd sw R (15 sec rest OR clean hold R)
10 1 hd sw L (15 sec rest OR clean hold L)
10 2 hd sw (15 sec rest OR goblet hold)
x 10 sets each = 15 min, 450 swing reps, 7.5 minutes of rest or holds.

Finish class with 15 minutes of lunges done 4 ways.  Completely unloaded, loaded in clean position and loaded overhead.

Time for my 9:30-10:00 coffee break!

2 hours of privates....

.....so wonder I was unsuccessful in completing my last GS workout.  I was scheduled to do one 12 minute 12 kg snatch set, but my hands and grip were much worse off than I predicted they would be at the end of the day.  Lesson learned.  BUT I did, in fact, try to gut it out anyway focusing on technique as much as I could instead of reps/time and managed to complete 4 minutes R, only to transfer L and after 1 minute decide it was stupid to go on....I didn't give up, I gave in.  I have mixed emotions about it really.  But the bottom line is that prioritizing my training is the only way I will see any success in GS sport.  Lots to think about as I go into next weekend's competition.

Photo above; I reluctantly put the bell down after 5 minutes total.

week 2 Sinister Ladder

Well, sometimes you never really know how things are going down! Without looking at the notes/plan I wrote last week I still had a good idea about the Sinister weight ladder for this mornings workout.  I knew all rounds done with the 20kg-32kg would be uphill (no downhill), but I couldn't remember if I also changed the size of the single bell rounds...so I chose to stay with the 16kg alternating and added one more complete round. (800 lb moved for each 50 rep round, 5 rounds instead of 4 = 4000 lb)

For the weight ladder compared to last weeks 50 reps/32kg, we did 80 reps today, 50 w/28kg last week, 60 today, 60 w/24kg last week, 50 today and 80 w/20kg, today 50 reps.  So 5640 lbs moved versus 6440 in the same amount of time.  A total of 8840 lb last week, 10,440 lb this morning...and that was just the first 25 minutes!

4 more Sinister rounds alternating these two variations

5 w/16kg
10 w/dbl 16kg's
15 w/16kg
20 w/16kg

5 w/16kg
10 w/32kg
15 w/16kg
20 w/16kg

3840 additional lbs moved

on to double snatches
12kg's 100
10kg's 24

GS

12kg jerk
48+48 (4 min/4min)  ummm....not that easy!

16kg jerk
6+6 (1 min/1min) ummm...not that easy!

16kg snatch
30/30 reps (about 3 min total) ummm...not that easy!

Yikes.  Today's practice with the 16kg reminded me of Mark's phrase;

"It's all easy 'til it's heavy!"

Ain't that the truth!  Seriously.  But maybe it had something to do with the 8 tons of weight I moved earlier?

Now I'm off to Sonora to become a "Junkie"!  Teaching class at Brandi Loyd's Junkyard Training Center in the Sierras!

Tuesday Training

I'm still trying to make everybody happy!  Tuesday mornings at 6:00-7:00am I have a class that I teach/lead with a wide, super wide, variety of skill levels, not to mention I have my own wants and needs when it comes to training.  (lucky me)  I lead my group through a Top 40 version that was scale-able on at least 4-5 different levels, I, myself, opting for the advanced versions of more work to less rest using the 14kg.  After my 1 hour class I usually go for a 30 minute walk and off to visit some private in home clients before returning to the Studio to finish up my own training, and sometimes more 1 on 1's.  Lately I've been coming back to do a few GS sets, and/or clubbells, handstands (against the wall), etc.

But yesterday instead of going for a 30 minute walk after group training I did what I used to do, which is more kettlebell ballistics!  A "Beyond Max" 30 minute snatch workout to be exact.  Well, it was all fine until I returned to the Studio at 9:30am to complete my GS set of 50 swing/snatches with the 12kg.  My hands were fried!  Crispy and weak from these snatches;

8/8 x 10 (80) (traditional Max Vo2, 8 reps R, rest, 8 reps L, rest 15/15/15/15)
9/9 x 10 (90)
10/10 x 10 (100)
16 x 5 (80)
18 x 5 (90)
20 x 5(100)

540 12kg snatches, 30 min

really?  Geez...it's been a while since I did a full 30 minutes of anything based on Max Vo2.  Needless to say that the last 5 minutes or so tore up my hands.  That's what speed work can do.  I'm not blaming it all on the speed, sure, technique has something to do with it too (as I'm learning with GS).  There was no way I could do any more training with kettlebells.  So I went for an hour long walk, doing an errand or two along the way.

Wednesday Training (video above)

This was supposed to be a day off from any kind of kettlebells.  BUT I had to get my GS training done as I'm scheduled to compete next weekend in near Seattle WA.  Some joint mobility (15 min), a comfortable walk (30 minutes) and this 50/50 rep 12kg swing/snatch set.  Whew!  so much easier than yesterday!  In fact, I couldn't even do it yesterday at all!

I was surprised at how easy it felt.  I did not switch hands for over 4 minutes, completing the 50/50 in 9 and 1/2 minutes.  It was still 100 reps R and L before switching.  Although it might not be obvious in the video, I had a couple of things I was focused on as I watched my form and technique in the mirror in front of me.

Using more of my back and not my arms, at the "right" time.  Breathing of course.  I'm just glad I got it done.

Lots of stuff going on in my life.  Lots of really positive, great things, and some really sad things.  If only "life" would just tell me what to do and I would do it! Having to figure it out on my own can feel a bit dicey, but I'm doing the best I can....or am I?

Tomorrow morning will be hell!  And when I say "hell" I mean "fun". LOL!  Sinister ladder!  Bring it.