My Warrior Log

[Saneatsu]

Hi all,

This isn't a success story (yet), but here's to hoping it will turn into one. I started the Warrior Diet a week ago, so I don't have a lot to show as of yet. I'm still getting things tweaked. I wanted to start a little log of my progress but I didn't feel like going to the trouble of creating a blog, so as a few others seem to be doing, I'm going to keep updates on my progress here.

Most days I will probably just post my scale weight, but if I have the time I may post what I eat, if I worked out, etc. I'll be honest - I'm doing this more for myself than for others to read. I think it will be nice to have a little log of my progress. But in addition, doing it here (in public) will help keep me motivated to keep it up, and hopefully it may help motivate some others to stick with it (especially if things go well).

Do feel free to offer comments or suggestions if you like!

[Saneatsu]

Week One Update

I only kept daily scale weight changes for the first week, so that is what I will post here. All weights were measured upon awakening, meaning that the day 1 weight is my starting weight, and you can see any progress in the following day's measurement.

Day 1 (08/19/2008): 77.3kg
Day 2 (08/20/2008): 77.4kg
Day 3 (08/21/2008): 76.5kg
Day 4 (08/22/2008): 76.0kg
Day 5 (08/23/2008): 75.3kg
Day 6 (08/24/2008): 75.3kg
Day 7 (08/25/2008): 75.5kg
Day 8 (08/26/2008): 76.1kg

Overview:

As you can see, I had a bit of fluctuation with a net loss of 1.2kg. In the beginning, I was eating a massive salad to begin my overeating phase, and as a result I didn't have much room left for anything besides my protein which left me with no energy. I slowly adjusted that and am currently having much better energy during the undereating phase. I eat very little during my undereating phase - usually anywhere from 10-30 small blueberries and every other day or so I'll have some fresh juiced carrots or something similar.

For my overeating phase I start with my fresh green salad, move into my protein (usually fish or lean meat, eggs once so far), and then move on to energy. I try to cycle days of mostly fat energy (nuts and seeds) and mostly carb energy. Every now and then I combine my energy with my protein (e.g. I made an omelet stuffed with ground beef, onions, and kim chi and ate it alongside a bit of brown rice one day).

I did not incorporate workouts during my first week due to my schedule, but I plan to try to work them in starting from week two. I am sure this will make a big difference.

Thoughts:

Of course I would have liked to see the weight keep dropping, but I also know that losing too much at once means losing muscle as well, so I'm not too disappointed since I came out with a net loss. With my tweaking I've seen good improvements in energy over the surprisingly low levels in the beginning, which is good. I thought I had a regularity problem after starting, but that turned out to be a false alarm. So everything seems to be going fairly smoothly. I look forward to throwing exercise in the equation and seeing what happens.

[Saneatsu]

Day 8 (08/26/2008)

Morning Weight: 76.1kg

Overview:

Today I ended up doing my big meal at lunchtime due to social reasons. I had a fairly big meal, so I chose to follow the meal by an extended undereating phase lasting until tomorrow evening's overeating phase. Not optimal, but I don't expect to always have perfect days, so I'm not too worried. Had an extra long work day today, so did not begin working out yet - tomorrow will be number one.

Looking forward to tomorrow's workout and a delicious big meal after an extended undereating phase!

[Saneatsu]

Day 9 (08/27/2008)

Morning Weight: 75.1kg

Undereating Phase:

Today undereating phase continued from the previous afternoon, but I was not hungry at all and therefore did not eat anything.

Exercise:

So today was my first workout since beginning the diet, and really my first workout in a long time. I'm sure CFT is great, but I am not going to be using it. I plan to do HIIT cardio along with Pavel's The Naked Warrior workout (bodyweight strength training). Today I did some cardio. I've started out way too fast before and nearly threw up and passed out, so since this was the first in a while I tried to keep it reasonable while still pushing myself. I used the Body-for-Life HIIT cardio since it's very adjustable and good for getting back into the swing of things. I felt like it was a good workout, and it felt great. Had a whey powder + banana shake after.

Overeating Phase:

Started with a green salad with some cherry tomatoes. Followed up with some salmon and some miso soup with added wakame seaweed. Then threw together a mix of cooked eggplant, zucchini, and asparagus. Had a bit of raw tuna sashimi, some plain kefir yogurt, and a small block of cheese. Finished off with some kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) soup (nothing but kabocha and water).

Thoughts:

Was great to get in my first workout, and I was proud of myself for not putting it off any more. Had planned on doing a fat fuel day, but after eating all of my cooked veggies, I was already getting full so I just finished off with some more carbs. Was a bit worried that I might not have gotten enough, but energy levels are fine today (next morning).

[Saneatsu]

Day 10 (08/28/2008)

Morning Weight: 75.4kg

Undereating Phase:

Had a small handful of blueberries an hour or so after waking, and another very small handful around noonish.

Exercise:

As stated before, I am following The Naked Warrior routine, which is not focused into one session meaning that no post-workout meal is needed except for on my HIIT cardio days.

Overeating Phase:

Started with an organic salad of various leafy greens with some cherry tomatoes and some sliced red bell pepper thrown in. Followed up with a stuffed omelet - fermented free-range eggs, ground beef, onions, and kimchi. Had a small portion of brown rice on the side.

Thoughts:

My sore body reminded me just how great a workout HIIT cardio is. My legs, my abs, and even my back were all sore - from a short session of cardio! Of course, that's also a sign that I haven't worked out in a long time, but it was nice to feel the evidence of oncoming change in just one more way. Had a few carb days in a row, so planning on making tomorrow a fat fuel day.

[Saneatsu]

Day 11 (08/29/2008)

Morning Weight: 75.4kg

Undereating Phase:

Today I was not hungry at all during my undereating phase, and thus did not eat anything.

Exercise:

Did my HIIT cardio again today. I think I upped the intensity a bit, but at the end I was still able to output a lot more than I should have been. Next time I will make more of an effort to up the intensity. Had a protein + banana shake following the cardio.

Overeating Phase:

Started with leafy greens + tomato salad. Ate two raw eggs. Had some salmon alongside some miso soup. Ate small portions of kefir yogurt, cottage cheese, and a bit of cheese. Next I had a bit of sunflower seeds, kabocha pumpkin seeds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, and some almonds. Finished off with some licorice peppermint tea with a dab of honey added. (Sounds like a lot, but all were pretty small portions.)

Thoughts:

Overall a good day. I measured myself after running today just to see what the numbers would look like, and I came in at 74.7kg. I do realize that this is because I was sweating like crazy, but it felt good to see the scale reading below 75kg. Probably going to start introducing some steady state aerobics into my off days if I can make the time.

[Saneatsu]

Day 12 (08/30/2008)

Morning Weight: 75.0kg

Undereating Phase:

Due to being out and around throughout most of the day, I did not eat anything during my undereating phase today.

Exercise:

Today I experimented with adding some steady-state cardio to a non-HIIT day. I did a 30 minute jog at an easy pace. I felt no problems throughout the jog, although when I finished I was a bit worn out energy-wise. More on this to follow. Had a protein shake and some vitamin C about 20 minutes following.

Overeating Phase:

Energy levels were rock bottom by the time I reached my overeating phase. My stomach did not feel very good and all of my food tasted a bit worse than usual - or at least different. I did not have much of an appetite, which made today's overeating phase a bit tough. Started with some leafy greens, but they tasted terrible and bitter for some reason. I ended up spitting them out - I couldn't down them. I had no other leafy greens on hand so I moved on to protein. Started off with some cottage cheese and a bit of kefir yogurt. Followed up with some salmon, but that also tasted off to me and I barely ate any. Went back for some more cottage cheese, ate a bit of cheese, and had some natto. Had originally planned another fat fuel day, but felt that if I didn't get some faster assimilating carbs in quick, I would be in for a very rough time. Ate a banana. Had a couple of walnuts, but felt that I couldn't really down much more. Finished off with a tiny bit more kefir yogurt.

Thoughts:

Well I think I learned a lesson - don't do longer bouts of cardio after a complete fast! Sounds like it should be common sense, but I felt like it would be fine beforehand, so I'm definitely still learning. Energy levels were a bit lower than normal all day, but I didn't have a chance to eat any fruit and because of timing, I chose not to eat anything before or after until my main meal. Turned out to be a string of bad choices. In the beginning I faced some very low energy levels, but nothing that affected my appetite or tastes like today. I'm sure that the steady-state cardio is doable, but I'll definitely get some fruits in throughout the day before I attempt it again. Because of the lacking main meal (ate very little energy food), I am pretty sure tomorrow might be a bit rough. Will make sure to eat some fruits throughout the day. All in all a bit of a rough experience, but I think it was a good learning experience. I am also fairly sure it has a lot to do with my body still not being very efficient at working off of fat fuel (which was last night's meal). Still less than two weeks in, so I am sure I still have plenty of lessons to learn. On the up side, I was happy to see the scale sitting on the edge of the 74 range for a morning measurement. Have a feeling that I'll be moving into the 74's from here on out. It's great to see progress! Looking forward to a better day tomorrow!

[Saneatsu]

Day 13 (08/31/2008)

Morning Weight: 74.0kg

Undereating Phase:

Had a freshly juiced apple a few hours after getting up, and fresh carrot + ginger + kabosu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabosu) juice a bit past noon.

Exercise:

Today was a rest day.

Overeating Phase:

Started with a raw spinach salad with some olives, yellow tomatoes and a bit of fish oil. Followed up with some tandoori chicken (chicken breast marinated in a mix of yogurt and lots of spices). Had a brown rice + quinoa + amaranth mix on the side. Finished it off with a bit of cottage cheese.

Thoughts:

As expected, energy levels were a bit low today, but not nearly as bad as I expected them to be. I'm really enjoying the overeating phase because it's given me a reason to cook some really good stuff. I used to just cook a bunch of pasta dishes that all looked about the same. You start to realize that a lot of really delicious dishes can be made in a very healthy way, and it makes it all a lot more enjoyable. I'm really looking forward to giving one of my favorites a go soon - a Korean dish called bibimbap (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibimbap).

[Saneatsu]

Day 14 (09/01/2008)

Morning Weight: 73.7kg

Undereating Phase:

Had a small handful of blueberries an hour or so after waking, and a few mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries) in the early afternoon.

Exercise:

Did my HIIT cardio. Was out all day so I ended up doing it later than expected, but it felt like a good session. Intensity was definitely up from last time, but I feel I should push harder. Followed with a protein powder + blueberry + L-Glutamine shake.

Overeating Phase:

Started with a Japanese mustard spinach (had to look that up) salad with mini orange tomatoes and fish oil. Followed with some cooked salmon and some tuna sashimi (raw). Had miso soup with wakame seaweed and nameko mushrooms. Followed with a bit of cheese and some natto. Finished with a bit of plain kefir yogurt.

Thoughts:

Where's the fuel?! Today was going to be a fat fuel day, but by the time I finished my natto I was already full. I had to decide between stuffing some nuts and seeds down or just stopping, which is what I did. I decided I'd listen to my stomach, which was telling me I had enough. Tomorrow may be a low energy day, but if so I'll just make sure to eat plenty of fruit. Speaking of which, tomorrow's morning weight will give me the results for my two week mark. I'm pretty excited to see how it turns out. Things are going pretty well so far!

[fotakou]

Regarding the fuel i have been having some doubts regarding the fat or card loaded days.Glycogen,in the end,needs calories and not specifically carbs or fat.Surely carbs are assimilated faster but who cares?We are talking about a meal thats around evening and you dont have to worry about quickly absorbing the calories.There have been really high protein days,full of fishes and relatively low in carbs(veggies) and fat(olive oil) and i had no problem at all the next day.Surely the calories were not that high but that just proves that the idea of fuel,is not completely right,at least in my mind.I dont know if anyone has experienced that but i would really like to hear about your energy levels the next day

[Saneatsu]

Fotakou,

I think our bodies are all different and depending on the person we all use fuels a bit differently. I think we can also adapt to using different fuel sources better, but perhaps there is still a bias that remains. Some people work great using fat fuel almost all of the time while others need a majority of carb fuel days. Like you say, I think it probably extends beyond fat vs. carbs.

At the moment, I am still only halfway through the day, but my energy levels are perfectly fine. I haven't eaten anything yet. Granted, I haven't had a lot of physical activity today, but I plan to do some steady-state aerobic exercise later. I'll probably eat some fruit beforehand just to be safe, but so far so good. I'll give an end-of-the-day update in my next writeup.

[Saneatsu]

Day 15 (09/02/2008)

Morning Weight: 73.6kg

Undereating Phase:

Had a small handful of berries in the early afternoon.

Exercise:

Did some steady-state cardio in the early evening. Only had 15 minutes to spare, so I upped the intensity a good bit as compared with my 30 minute steady-state. Was a pretty good run.

Overeating Phase:

Started with an organic mixed leaf salad, but once again something in there was terribly bitter and I couldn't eat it. I've learned my lesson and will stick to the bundles of one type from now on. Did eat the mini orange tomatoes that I added though. Followed up with my bibimbap - brown rice + amaranth topped with Japanese royal fern (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmunda_japonica), daikon radish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daikon), moyashi bean sprouts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moyashi), spinach, ground beef, and a raw egg. Almost forgot the kochujan (spicy red Korean miso sauce). Finished off with some delectable string cheese made from grass-fed cow milk.

Thoughts:

I'd first like to say that the bibimbap was a great success. It was delicious! If you're not familiar with bibimbap, you stir all of that stuff into the rice and then eat it. It's great. I was also very happy with the string cheese I found today. (I know I eat cheese too often, but I love it!) Most string cheese here in Japan is a terrible excuse for string cheese. I used to always eat string cheese as a kid and loved it, so I was disappointed when I found this out. But today I found this one made from grass-fed cow milk, and not only is it delicious, but it actually rips apart just like the stuff I remember! All in all, a very satisfying meal.

Fatakou: I did have a small handful of berries around 2pm or so, but that was just a precaution since I had a bad experience with the steady-state cardio last time. I had no energy problems today. I didn't even eat anything after my run, and I followed it with a fairly brisk 15 minute walk to work. Still no energy problems. Was a bit of a surprise. There is the fact that pretty much all of my proteins were naturally combined with carbs to a certain extent, but for having eaten no extra carbs or fat, my body did really well.

[Saneatsu]

Week Two Update

Week Two Loss: 2.5kg (5.5 lbs)
Total Weight Loss: 3.7kg (8.1 lbs)

Thoughts:

Well I know I said I'd probably just be posting scale weights, but as you can see I started posting full daily reports. It's great for accountability, and for my own records as well. Although I exceeded the standard "2-3 lbs/week" of healthy weight loss, I have to say I'm very happy with the numbers. It feels good seeing them drop. Not a lot to add since I've been making detailed updates daily, but I'm feeling good and I'm looking forward to continuing.

I'm on summer break at the moment, and if things continue at this pace, it will be great to see the look on everyone's faces when I come back around 25 lbs lighter. That's something you'll definitely notice! Of course, I do fully realize that the numbers will fluctuate and possibly even slow down greatly, but even if that happens I know I'll still have made a lot of progress by then.

My hope is that this little log of mine might provide some of you starting out with the incentive to keep it up! You can see that the first week was a bit of work, but it's getting easier and easier. I myself look forward to seeing how the log unfolds.

[Standndeliver]

Week Two Update

Week Two Loss: 2.5kg (5.5 lbs)
Total Weight Loss: 3.7kg (8.1 lbs)

Thoughts:

Well I know I said I'd probably just be posting scale weights, but as you can see I started posting full daily reports. It's great for accountability, and for my own records as well. Although I exceeded the standard "2-3 lbs/week" of healthy weight loss, I have to say I'm very happy with the numbers. It feels good seeing them drop. Not a lot to add since I've been making detailed updates daily, but I'm feeling good and I'm looking forward to continuing.

I'm on summer break at the moment, and if things continue at this pace, it will be great to see the look on everyone's faces when I come back around 25 lbs lighter. That's something you'll definitely notice! Of course, I do fully realize that the numbers will fluctuate and possibly even slow down greatly, but even if that happens I know I'll still have made a lot of progress by then.

My hope is that this little log of mine might provide some of you starting out with the incentive to keep it up! You can see that the first week was a bit of work, but it's getting easier and easier. I myself look forward to seeing how the log unfolds.

Excellent progress!  I hope you'll keep the log going, as it is truly inspirational.

[Saneatsu]

Standndeliver,

Thanks for the encouraging words! I definitely plan to keep the log going! I'll be out of town for about a week later in the month, so I might not be able to post for a while, but I plan to keep the log up to date for at least until I've lost a total of 30-35 lbs. After that it will be all about maintenance (or adding a little muscle perhaps)! Can't wait!