Spicey Peanut butter chicken

So, as I've said on here before, I've started dating somebody. One of her (many) best qualities is that she is an amazing cook. At first, I thought this would be an issue because my only exposure to her cooking before we started dating was baked good. For example, one night of the bowling league, she made butterbeer cupcakes for everyone.

They tasted as good as they looked. 

So, yeah, I was worried about this diet of mine. Thankfully, she is also really good at making other foods and she is helping me find recipes that are delicious AND on my diet. As my friend Spencer recently wrote "making food is like her super power."

So, here is the recipe for her spicey peanut butter chicken.

-1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

-1 1/2 tsp grated corriander

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp cayenne

-1 tsp ground cumin

- 1 1/2 tablsp. lemon juice

- 1 tblsp brown sugar

- 3 tblsp soy sauce

- 1 large onion, finely chopped

- 1 minced clove of garlic

- 2 lbs diced chicken breast

Mix all ingredients well. Add chicken tossing to coat well. Allow to marinate at least 2 hours. Broil for 7 minutes. Turn chicken and continue to broil for another 7 minutes or until chicken is done. 

Seen here with a side of delicious steamed green beans tossed in a garlic mustard vinaigrette. 

Yeah, she knows how it's done. 

Max back squat thrust

Ok, so, today's workout: my maximum weight back squat thrust.

I'm really sure how many total squat thrusts I did today, but I topped out at 255 lbs. Not bad for a new guy.


After the squats, we did four repetitions of 500 meters rowing for time, with 2 minute breaks in between. Below is a picture of the final standings from my class. Obviously, I'm not the most in shape one there, but I'm working on it.

The Josh (take 1)

As I've mentioned previously, sometimes crossfit has standard workouts that are named after people. These are called "hero workouts" and they are all named after former military service members who lost their lives in combat. The idea is to create a uniform way to measure crossfittyness around the world, while also honoring our fallen heroes. It is a pretty good plan, and I have the utmost respect for the system.

Yesterday, I attempted "The Josh." The Josh goes like this:
-21 overhead squat thrusts with 95lbs of weight
- 42 pull-ups
-15 overhead squat thrusts
- 30 pull ups
- 9 overhead squat thrusts
- 18 pull ups

When done by someone who is in shape, it looks like this:

Now, as most of you know, I am not nearly in shape enough for that shit. Ain't nobody got time for that. This is a hero workout, and I'm no hero yet. I'm just an obese man trying to become less so. So, instead of doing 95 lbs in the overhead squat thrust, I think I did 70. Instead of pull-ups, I did ring rows at a relatively easy level. I completed it in about 9 minutes and 30 seconds (I didn't feel the need to record my time more closely because I wasn't The Josh any justice.)

Last time I did ring rows, my arms hurt so bad I couldn't put on a jacket for a week. So far, I'm not nearly that sore, but pain is coming, my friends. 

Dog Food Stew

So, last Saturday, Laura and I made a stew. We used a recipe from one of her (many) cook books, but we changed it so much I don't think it would be fair to say that it was their soup anymore.  That is a good thing, because our concoction was not the prettiest thing in the world. When my mom say this soup, she said "oh, looks like dog food." My initial reaction was even less charitable.

In the original recipe, the chef is supposed to use only white cannellini beans as the base of the stew. Unfortunately, we forgot to get cannellini beans when we were at the store, and we were too lazy to go back. Instead, we used mostly pinto beans, which is what gives it pinkish color. We also took some liberties with the recipe by adding chicken breast and toasted pecans. Yeah, it makes a gross looking, though delicious tasting slow-carb meal. Here is the recipe that we used:

-1 whole onion, chopped
-1 pound cooked chicken breast
- 6 cloves of garlic
- a few chopped celery stalks
- 4 cans of beans
-a bit of parsley
- a couple bay leaves
- 8 ounces of cooked panchetta
- some rosemary
- some thyme

Bring that mixture to a boil, then bring the heat down and let simmer for a couple hours, until the beans are super tender. Then remove the bay leaves, and put the recipe through a food processor.

Add in a grip of toasted pecans, and top with fried panchetta and shallots.

Delicious, if not super visually appealing.

Fitness Update (week 10)

This weeks fitness update: 
Starting Stats (12/10/12):

Height- 5'8.5"

Weight- 336.6 lbs

Waist- 58.5"

Neck- 17.5"

Bodyfat- 46.9%

Current Stats (2/16/13)

Height- 5'8.5"

Weight- 322.2lbs

Waist- 56"

Neck- 16.5"

Body fat- 45.51%

Change:

Weight: -14.4.6 lbs

Waist: -2.5"

Neck: -1"

Body fat: -1.39%

So, despite losing a half inch on my waist and a half inch around my neck, I still gained weight (not great.) Now, there are a few explanations I can think of:

1) New Scale. As I said in the last fitness update, I just bought a new scale, and it is very accurate. Unfortunately, my last fitness update, I used my dad's scale, which I have since been told can be off my as much as seven or eight pounds(!). So, it is likely, I never really got down to the 315. 

2) Increased cheating. Now that I have told my folks in person, I don't feel too weird about writing it here: I started dating a gal. She is really great, in many, many ways and it is going very well. One thing (of the many) that is great about her is that she loves to bake, and is very good at it. As a result, I've eaten a few more delicious baked goods. Great for short term happiness, not as great for the diet to work. I guess I'm going to have to show a little more will power and keep her baked good to only Saturdays. 

3) Water. I have been trying to drink a shit load of water every day, and really upping my efforts in consumption. Yesterday, I drank about a gallon. 

4) Muscle Gain. Since I've started Crossfit again, I've certainly been doing strength stuff. Now, is it likely that I have gained 7 lbs of muscle mass since Wednesday? No. Not even remotely. However, I would be a fucking badass if that were the case. 

Likely, my weight gain is a combination of all these factors. Obviously, I would like to have done a bit better this cycle, but losing the half inch of my waist and neck means that it wasn't a complete failure. 

Triple dead lift

Well, I've been walking around like Frankenstein for the last couple of days. Truly, getting back into crossfit is turning me into quite the hoblin' goblin. Yesterday at my bowling league, I tried to work out a way to roll the ball without bending my legs at all. Needless to say, it negatively impacted my average.

Luckily, today's workout did not involve the use of my quads. Instead, the main focus of the workout was the triple dead lift.

Essentially, it is this, three times in a row, but performed by someone who is much more of a pussy. 

The goal was to do gradually build up to the maximum amount of weight one can lift three times without killing themselves. Being that I have never really done the deadlift before, I did not know what my maximum weight was, or even what kind of range I could expect. Wanting to dip my toes in the water, I was told to start out with nothing but the 55 lbs bar and 2 ten pound weights. Eventually, I was able to work myself up to a maximum of 205 lbs. Certainly not the most weight in the class, but somewhat respectable for a new guy like me. I'm not sure how many reps I did total, but it was at least 20 at various weights.

After the dead lift, we moved on to 25 glute hamstring raises. Once again, I will post a video so you have some idea what I am talking about.

These workouts were fun, but hard. I'm sure things will get better as I get stronger. For now, I'm just hoping that today's workout won't give me some other horrible soreness that makes me movie like an old timey monster. Maybe Mummy arms to go with my Frankenstein walk?

Crossfit Redux

So, I've been super lazy for the last month or so.

After a strong start with Crossfit, my exercise routine had gone off the rails. I let it happen because, heck, I was still losing weight without putting myself through physical pain. Also, in my defense, I had a pretty full dance card on my weekday evenings. Doing quizzes Monday-Wednesday and bowling on Thursdays was wreaking havoc on my physical fitness regiment.

Well, no more. I have talked to my boss, and he is going to let me head over to the noon crossfit classes Monday,Wednesday, and Friday (obviously barring any kind of work based emergency for which I need to stay in the office.) Today was my first day back.

The workout today was a series of back squats, detailed below:

3 squats- 95 lbs
2 squats-105
1 squat- 115
3 squats-105
2 squats-115
1 squat- 125
3 squats- 115
2 squats- 125
1 squat- 135
3 squats- 125
2 squats- 135
1 squat- 145.

So the question: how do I feel? Well, my legs are a little sore, but not nearly as bad as last time (thank god) but I guess we'll see how I'm doing tomorrow.

I will take All of the Cheat days...

So I am keeping steady to my diet (for the most part.) My breakfast and lunch this week will consist primarily of pepperoni snack sticks, nuts and celery.

That said, I see ideas all of the time for my cheat day. The glorious one day when I get to live my old life of constantly praying to the altar of junk food. Now, as some of you know, I have got a sweet tooth on me that could choke a donkey. So when I come across a post like this it makes me go weak in the knees. Looks like I have got ideas for the next ALL OF THE CHEAT DAYS... holy guacamole. Let me just hsow you some of the highlights from that post.

Yessir, food porn at it's finest. Today, I eat meat, nuts and vegetables (really not that bad.) On Saturday, I can have one of these pieces of delicious (amazing.)

Fitness Update (week 8)

Well, guess what just arrived in the mail? My very own scale and measuring tape. Now, even though I haven't had time for the gym, I can keep my metrics regularly. So here is the deal, from now on, every two weeks, I will do a metrics check in on Saturday mornings. Here is it for this week:

Starting Stats (12/10/12):

Height- 5'8.5"

Weight- 336.6 lbs

Waist- 58.5"

Neck- 17.5"

Bodyfat- 46.9%

Current Stats (2/2/13)

Height- 5'8.5"

Weight- 315.0lbs

Waist- 56.5"

Neck- 17"

Body fat- 45.51%

Change:

Weight: -21.6 lbs

Waist: -2"

Neck: -.5"

Body fat: -1.39%

So, I've slowed down a bit, but I'm still moving in the right direction. More updates to come!