11/28/2011 Rethinking My Nutrition

I had an extended conversation with Ian last night, after I texted him in the morning for help.  He was pretty nonchalant about meeting up with me, he did not question why, or offer assistance, it was as if he already knew the problem and solution…

We met up around 5 pm in Shirlington Village, we talked a bit about his business, I am keenly interested in what his company does, and wish it much success because he has great ideas and clearly understand his industry.  When the subject of my issue came up, I was a bit uncomfortable, because I normally don’t like to talk about myself, but also have a hard time being told that I’m the cause of my own problems.  Perhaps this is not uniquely an issue related to my personality, but I’m sure most people don’t like being told dumbass, get out of your own way.

Contrary to the beliefs of Annoyed Shady, Shay Shay Shady, and White Shady (who are all the same person), I don’t eat like shit, in fact my problem which I had to be told 1000 x by Ian is that I’m probably not eating enough.  When I was working out with Ian on a regular basis he would tell me that my workout is not done until I ate some good clean protein, some carbs, and a fat after a workout to give my body the macronutrients it needs to rebuild itself.  

He also told me some time ago, that I should eat approximately 1 gram of protein per pound of weight I want to weigh in the future, which means I should eat about 200-225 grams of protein on a daily basis, this is a tough concept to grasps, because at 4 calories per gram that’s already 1000 calories of my daily intake, and when attempting to eat only 1800-2000 calories a day to optimize my weight loss, there isn’t much room for anything else. 

It is at this point he got a little annoyed with me, having told me the same thing for the thousands time, he again reiterated with the vigor of a football coach, I now paraphrase for effect, fuck nuts stop eating like a fat guy trying to be thin, and eat like an athlete.  This is hard for me to grasp, because I don’t feel athletic or even remotely resemble an athlete; I’m a fit fat guy. 

The kind of guy you look at and say he probably played sports in high school, and maybe college but clearly enjoyed pot and beer more than athletics, not that this happened, but when your college and you have friends who get the best pot you have smoked Fedex’ed to you, it’s kind of hard not to smoke up, play Mario Cart, and max out your meal cards flex points in an hour…not that I now what that’s like…pot is bad, it’s for hippies.

What he was telling me didn’t start to click, until he told me to look at the past 4 months.  The workouts have been consistent, if anything I was over training, then look at my sleep, and rest, and the only variable that was not altered to match my work load was my food consumption.  He said that it should be even more apparent now because I have picked 1 methodology of working out.  Ian views Crossfit objectively, he feels it’s far better than most methods of “exercise” but it has its limitations.  He’s not a hater, and he’s not a kool-aid drinker, he even thinks I should stick with it to prove to myself that the issue is my food consumption, or lack thereof.

When I started this evolution in March I was eating 1200 calories a day, so an increase to 2000 felt like I was over eating.  So his suggestion to eat closer to 2500-3000 or not even care and to focus on the macronutrient profile is a scary fucking thought. 

I feel like a guy who is climbing a mountain, a difficult mountain, and every pound lost is a step towards the summit and up until July the less I ate the more steps I was taking towards to the summit.  Today it feels like if I eat more, then I am sliding backwards, because I will gain weight. 

Ian further explained the point to me that if I don’t give my body the nourishment it needs to rebuild itself, it will find this energy on its own, namely in my muscle tissue.  I may be getting all this wrong, but he said after a workout I have damaged muscle tissue, and that the body needs protein to recover and rebuild tissue.  When I under nourish myself and then ask it to build muscle, it’s going to choose survival over building new muscle, so it will just consume the damaged muscle tissue, because it’s easier than trying to mobilize stored fats. 

He told me I could choose to not eat, and continue doing what I’m doing, and that if I ate less that I probably would lose weight, but that over the larger scope of time I would have lost far muscle tissue than fat, and end up being a thinner fat guy. 

I don’t want to be a fit fat guy, nor do I want to be a thin fat guy.  I have a clear picture of what a man should be physically, and that’s what I’m striving for, it has nothing to do with the bullshit marketing that’s out there, but more about feeling more rugged, masculine, and ultimately powerful.

In the interest of testing this theory, and possible get out of this plateau I made a decision to see how long I can go trying to eat 225 grams of protein a day, so I am going back to a food journal.  I’ve given myself a 5 lbs window, so if I go back up to 280 lbs as a result, I will continue to see it through, if I get above that number I know I’ve fucked this up somehow. 

I also have a 30 day window.  I said I would see Crossfit through the month of December, and I plan on sticking to that plan, now I am adding a 30 day window of eating enough protein to sustain muscle mass at a lighter weight.   

I was also given a token, the extra cardio he says is probably not doing much for me, but if it makes me feel better I should keep doing it, he called it my placebo, I call it trying to find my dark place. 

I never thought I would reach a point where I would have to eat more to lose weight, we shall see if this is the right plan.

(NOTE: Anyone who is considering Crossfit, and unsure about the Crazy people throwing barbells around, and feel intimated by what you preceive, read the following post, and then read all the remarks from people I have met through Crossfit, it's the community that brings you back to ednure the pain.)