One Month in Tony Horton's Kitchen!

If anyone knows anything about me, its that: (1) I love to eat and (2) I can eat put away rather large quantities of food at one time- such is my struggle with nutrition. I try to eat well, but cannot sustain it. If I eat healthy for dinner, an hour later, you'll find me raiding the snack drawer. Since taking up running in 2010, I have not lost (nor really gained, thankfully) a single pound. 205, give or take, is where I reside. The true testament of how much nutrition dictates your weight, so much more so, than excercise does.

So, enter: Tony Horton Kitchen, a (relatively) new food delivery service by fitness guru, Tony Horton, the creator of the ever popular, P90X. THK provides healthy prepared meals and takes the guesswork out of nutrition. One month ago, I took the plunge. Why? While dealing with an ankle injury for more than 2 months (starting Dec '12), at which time I did very little activity, I ended up putting on about 10 pounds. I knew with my track record of eating and nutrition, even with the ankle issues resolved, there was very little chance of taking those 10 pounds off without help. I also knew if I didnt take these extra 10 pounds off, it would likely lead to another injury. This seemed like the perfect time to give this a try and get my nutrition in order.
Cost
I also looked at how much I was spending on food. For the "flexitarian" plan (which includes chicken, fish and some beef) is $180 per week for the 5 day plan, $252 for 7-day, which rounds out to $36/day- which is the most expensive of the 3 plans (others being Vegan and Vegetarian). Some will look at that and completely jump out of their skin and say it is too expensive. While true for some, have we all taken a magnifying glass to how we spend on food? Adding up how much I was spending on eating out, ordering in, groceries and lunch during the work week, the amount I was spending was shockingly close to how much THK would cost. Realizing this, the decision to take the plunge was a no-brainer. Ultimately, the cost may be a bit higher, but that was something I was willing to pay for: convenience. No prepping meals. No trips to the grocery store (ok, less trips).

The other angle is: this is your health we're talking about here. We spend all this money on ourselves to make ourselves look better (clothes, gadgets, etc). Why not spend a little on our health?

Food
Onto what you're probably most interested about- the actual food. Let me tell you, no one could be more skeptical about this than me. One who could easily polish off a pie of pizza on my own, wondering if Tony Horton could provide a meal that could satisfy my seemingly unsatiable appetite? And keep me full until the next meal? No easy challenge.

The first delivery arrives on a Friday evening and its packed really well (did I mention its free shipping? a 25+lb package, shipped free? no way!), with ice packs still frozen! After putting all the meals in the fridge, I excitedly tear open what would be Monday's dinner (since I already had dinner plans) and quickly take the leap. Heating is simple- either by microwave, oven or stovetop- I chose stovetop; once that's done, you're ready to go. Directions also indicate that you can "spice to taste". My usual aresnal of spices: any combination of salt, white pepper, garlic powder, chili powder and black pepper.

First meal: Lentil Soup with Plantains. What? Where's the meat, Tony Horton!? You've got to be kidding me! Ok, fine, I trust you Tony. First taste, hmm, okay, its not bad. I'll admit, a little bland, but doable. Though it wasn't terrible, I totally wouldnt have minded a burger or steak. But you know what, it really wasnt quite as bad as I thought it would be. The thing was, though I wasn't hungry anymore, I was nowhere near what I would normally consider as "full", which, again, for those that know me, is- until I cannot eat any more. So that is where my skepticsm was. The "testimonials" on the website and some commenters on their facebook page (most which are women) all said that the meals would leave them "stuffed". The meal definitely did not leave me "stuffed", but to my surprise, I was not starving (but was a little hungry) when I went to bed. Whew.

For the next day (Saturday), I decided I would do all of the following Friday's meals. Thought it would be a wise idea to try this out on a day where I had nothing else planned, so I would be home. Less temptation to run out to grab a bag of chips. Or Twinkies. Or a doughnut, mmmmm, doughnut.

Breakfast was Mixed Vegetable Egg White Frittata, which is essentially a veggie egg white omlette. I chose to heat this one up via regular oven, and it left the outside a little crisp and dry, while still leaving the inside not quite as hot as I would have liked. I added salt and tabasco to this. I normally dont mind veggies, but I was just not a fan of one of the ingredients, I want to say its the onions, since that is my least favorite. All in all, again, not great, but not bad. I did supplement with coffee and a handful of cereal. Level of fullness, on a scale between 1 (least full) and 5 (most full), I'd say I was a 2.

Lunch is where it picked up a bit. Italian Vegetable Lasagna with Beef Ragu. FINALLY! Some "real" food! THK uses brown rice pasta here (quinoa pasta other times), since they are gluten-free. The tomato sauce was really good and really tasty, with ground beef (grass-fed) in it. All I added was crushed red pepper. The only thing I disliked here was that there wasnt enough! Again, I was no where near "stuffed", but was a solid 2.

Dinner that night was Black Eyed Pea Minestrone Stew. Not much is different here- flavor was decent, added some salt and white pepper to liven things up a little. And again left me at about a 2.

With the "flexitarian" option, your meat is included for lunch and is usually chicken or fish (cod, salmon are the most common). Thankfully, I'm a big fan of fish. If you're not, this will not be for you. A lot of the dinners are stews/soups or similar. That may be by design, so you're not eating as much for your last meal of the day. That initially was not enough, but after the first week or so, its been plenty.

My favorites are definitely the pasta dishes and most of the ones that include fish. The apple strudel for breakfast is great also. Least favorite so far (and thankfully only had it twice in the 4 weeks)- veggie purees. It was probably the consistency, but c'mon THK, I'm an adult. Feed me solid foods! I felt like I was eating baby food. It was very hard to stomach. The other thing is that a lot of the dishes (usually the dinners) start to taste the same, but can be helped by adding different spices. Considering a lot of the dishes use similar ingredients, this is not entirely a surprise. Thankfully, I dont require much variety in my meals. If you do, this may be a problem.

Supplementing
I am supplementing a bit, mainly at breakfast. For the "non-frittata" breakfasts, I will add egg whites to supplement. Also need my morning coffee (with cream and sugar, yes, bad, I know!). As mentioned above, I do a bit of running, and most of it is after work. Since I'm eating lunch around 1pm, and runs start a little before 6pm, I do need a little snack. I've been going with fruit (banana, strawberries, apple, etc) or a Larabar, or almonds. Sometimes also a PM coffee (again, with cream and sugar). Some meals will allow me to go straight through without a snack, but is not common. And keep in mind I'm only supplementing in the PM on the days I run, about 2-3 days a week. After a run, I'll have a recovery shake- protein powder, sugar, salt, water.

The Bottom Line
So after 4 weeks of THK, how has it helped me? Here goes:

(1) the 10 pounds I needed to lose? Yea, GONE! (214, 24% fat, down to 203.4, 21.5% fat)

(2) Portion control. This is what was hardest for me, but also means its had the greatest impact. If the food is there, I'm going to eat it. If I'm not full yet, I'll keep eating. This eliminated both- and thus, the weight loss. I feel like I can eat more, but I cant (since there isnt anything left!). It defnitely doesnt take as much as it used to to satisfy my hunger AND keep me full until the next meal.

(3) Decreased cravings. No desire for a chocolate chip cooke from Pret, a Twinkie, or a doughnut (mmmm...doughnut...)! But notice I said "decreased" and not eliminated. I do still treat myself once in a while (even Tony does this!).

(4) I no longer think about food. I defintiely went from "Live to Eat" to "Eat to Live". I'll admit, that first day (listed above), I was thinking about food, ALL DAY. All that was on my mind was when the next time I got to eat was. As the days, then weeks went by, I thought about food less and less, to the point where I dont even wonder when my next meal is.

(5) Detox. Since I'm on the 5-day plan, there are still 2 days where I need to fend for myself. Sometimes, old habits will sneak back and I'll either over eat, or eat bad foods, or both. I find myself wanting to get back onto THK meals to get my body back in order.


You're not getting 5-star restaurant, gourmet chef type food here. What you are getting, is "Delicious, nutrient-rich meals delivered to your door"- which is gluten-free, dairy-free, and organic. It started off shaky for me, but my body did need time to adjust (you dont undo 30 years of bad eating in a day!). These meals won't knock your socks off, but you know what? If this can transform the nutritional mindset of a 6 foot, 200+ pound guy, with an enormous appetite - this will work for you.

Disappointing Week

Disappointing in both that I've somewhat fallen off the wagon, and, I was not selected for the NYC Half Marathon. I have several options though, which I must now weigh, for the Half:

Option 1: Wait until Jan 15, in which NYRR may hold a secondary drawing and see if I get in.
  Option 1a: If I dont get in again, then run for Charity (losing 1 month of fundraising time!)
  Option 1b: If I dont get in again, sign up for the World Vision Half 13.1 on Apr 2
Option 2: Withdraw from the secondary drawing, and just run the NYC Half for Charity (maintaining the extra month to fund raise).
Option 3: Withdraw from the secondary drawing and just sign up for the World Vision Half on April 2.

Decisions.....decisions.....

I'm not really sure what happened, but since the last post, I had volleyball that night, and have not done much of anything since, except for a 5 mile run at about a 10:20 pace on friday. So since 12/13, until today, 12/21- ONE RUN! Severely lacking motivation to workout. Its like a switch got shut off, no drive, no desire. To make things worse, my nutrition, though already not the greatest overall, has been even worse the past few days! I'm now debating if I should just wait until after Christmas, then start back up with 2 weeks of Phase 2, a recovery week and then jump into Phase 3. Or, if I should try to start now. Either way, I'm going for a run tonight, to try to jump start things again. I think I may shoot for 6 miles. Regardless of which Half marathon I end up doing, I figure I'll need to start ramping up the training very soon anyway, since they are only 2 weeks apart. Lets hope I can finish off P90X in the process.

Here's to hoping I have a better trainig week.....

KFC Double Down

Alright, so there's been quite some hub-bub about KFC's new Double Down sandwich. Basically, its 2 pieces of white meat chicken filets, 2 strips of bacon, cheese, and "Colonel's Sauce".  In essence, using the chicken filets as the bun. You also have the choice of having your chicken fried or grilled.  Now, I've seen and/or heard many that are saying how "gross" it is, and how "unhealthy" it must be.  So I just couldnt help myself to do a little comparison, and the results may or may not shock you. If any of these people who are crying bloody murder regarding the Double Down have ever had a Whopper or Big Mac, guess what?  The Double Down actually is "healthier" than either one.  I mean, its all fast food, so NONE are actually good FOR you, but in this case of "lesser of 2 (well, 4) evils", the Double Down (w/grilled chicken) would actually be your best choice.

Here's the nutritional info to help break it down for you:

http://www.wendys.com/food/pdf/us/nutrition.pdf
http://www.bk.com/cms/en/us/cms_out/digital_assets/files/pages/NationalNutritionals.pdf
http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/nutritionfacts.pdf
http://www.kfc.com/nutrition/pdf/kfc_nutrition.pdf

Choose wisely people....

End of Jan Update!

It has been four weeks since I've started eating cleanly, and eating less in general, and its paid off pretty well, see for yourself:

1/4- 211.8 lbs @ 22.5% fat (47.7 lbs of fat)
1/29- 204.2 lbs @ 21% fat (42.9 lbs of fat)
Net: 7.6 net weight loss, (4.77 lbs of fat-loss, roughly 10%).

As you can see, about 40% of my weight loss was lean body mass as well, and that could be a result of restricting too many calories. Recent daily calorie requirement calculations has me around 2660 calories perday, if i am lightly active (working out 1-3 times a week). I have been averging about 1500 calories/day on the weekdays, and higher on the weekends, of course.

I have also been out running four times in the past 2 weeks, in an attempt to start my half-marathon training. Distances so far: 1.6, 1.6, 3, and 2 miles. Not the greatest, but its a start! I also did Ab Ripper X on Tuesday, and I'm still a tiny bit sore today, 3 days later. Had planned on doing a run yesterday, and one tomorrow, but the weather is not cooperating. So, the plan is PlyoX tomorrow, and maybe Intervals X Plus on Sunday.

We'll see how I end up.

Half Marathon, Diet, and more...

2.5 months since I last posted? NOT GOOD. And as I mentioned in a previous post, no posts = no working out! Sadly enough, that holds up. The only activity I've had in the past 2.5 months has been volleyball, and that was only once per week. I should mention, though, the nice bike ride I did in San Fran. Biked from Pier 39, over the Golden Gate Bridge, and into Sausalito. And if anyone knows anything about SF, it is not flat! Made for a good challenge and even better workout. The ride out and back was about 16 miles, essentially working off all the fatty, unhealthy foods I had been consuming during the vacation. Good thing.

In other news, I've signed up for the Chicago Half Marathon. Yes, half. I'm not quite up for the full 26.2 miles just yet. Its set for September 12, 2010. A few coworkers will be doing it also, which will make for some nice friendly competition. Definitely in a hole since I'm not much of a runner. Good thing I'll have 9 months to train.

Since the new year, we (the wife and I) have been trying to eat healthy. Meaning lean proteins, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Very little fats/oils, and processed foods. Eating a lot of turkey and chicken breasts, cooked on the Foreman Grill, and chowing down on salads and a fat-burning vegetable soup (created by researchers at Sacred Heart University, I believe, years ago). Who knows if the soup works, but its a tasty way to get heaping portions of vegetables. For now, I'm totalling about 1500 cals/day.

So, has it been working you ask? Take a look at the stats, keeping in mind, this is purely just shaking up the diet. No working out or marathon training, YET.

1/04: 211lbs @ 22.5% fat
1/11: 209.2 lbs @ 21% fat

AND, just for kicks (since you're only supposed to weigh yourself once a week), this morning, i was 206 @ 21.5% fat. Not bad for 1.5 weeks. Until next time....(hopefully sooner than 2.5 months).

Day 3: Shoulders & Arms

::EDIT::
Needed to summarize my workout, so here goes: Did Shoulders & Arms with the bands. Wasn't terrible, but would have much preferred weights. Did well, this is one of the few workouts that doesn't leave me wiped out on the floor about to puke! Trying to get the right amount of tension and even tension on both sides of the bands is still a challenge. Overall, did well though.

As for ARX- I did 15 reps of each exercise. Will move up with each time that I do it. I need to be more consistent with ARX, as I will routinely skip it. Argh. Yoga day is next, I say "yay", Ahmee says "nay".
::/EDIT::


Well, I failed to get up in the AM to do this workout, so I guess its being done when I get home. For now, I shall log what I'm eating, perhaps to keep myself accountable. So far....

8:00am - 5 almonds (As I rush out the door)
9:30am - 3 egg white omlete with mushrooms, coffee (cream & sugar), protein shake
11:30am - about to have a PB&J sandwich on whole wheat
1:00pm - 3 egg white omlete with mushrooms, bacon, sausage and salsa; side of home fries (i only ate half the omlete for now)
3:00pm - the other half of the above omlete, and 3oz of baby carrot sticks
5:15pm - another PB&J and a protein shake. time to go home!!
7:00pm - SHOULDERS & ARMS, ARX- DONE!!
8:00pm - recovery drink
8:30pm - dinner (brown rice, adobo chicken, bok choy stir fry and tofu and mushrooms)

hmmm...am i eating too much? haha....according to dailyplate.com i'm still within my daily requirements...so....=)

Plateau

its been a long time since i've updated. so here goes!

so, it looks like i've really hit a wall in my weight loss journey. i've been stuck around 205 lbs since the middle of april, and its May 14th today. weighed in at 206 @ 20.5% fat. wondering what i'll need to do to get that jump started again. Currently in week 7 of P90X (round 2.5). Will have a recovery week coming up and then Phase III, so i'm hoping that will do the trick. or perhaps i'm just not working as hard! =P in any case, here's a summary of results so far:

	1/7/2009	5/14/2009	Totals
weight	223.8	206.4	17.4
fat %	26%	20.5%
waist	40"	35.5"	4.5"
belly	42"	35.5"	6.5"