Food prep shortcuts
27 July 2005If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
The reality of summer is I cook less than any other time and that can be problematic. My appetite plummets in direction proportion to the thermometer and as a realist I need to take that into account and make adjustments. First, I never try and engage in a mass building program when the heat is on. This makes sense and fits the Purposeful Primitive template of cyclical change, to everything there is a season and any PP worthy of the moniker knows that change and contrast are not avoided but embraced. What better time (for me) to concentrate on leaning out than during July/August heat waves? Since the calories are down and foods themselves seasonal, why not bias the dietary approach towards locally picked fresh summer vegetables and grilled fish? Heavy rich foods, so succulent and timely in the deep winter, are repulsive to me in the heat. Those slow cooked crock-pot meals that simmer all day and fill the closed in house with aromatic smells in the winter seem totally out of place in the summertime - as does low rep weight training with bar-bending poundage. What does seem appropriate is light weight high(er) rep training using a quick pace and concentrating on feel and precision; I move quickly squeezing in lots of exercises I normally sneer at, I stay away from competition-style squats, bench presses and deadlifts. This also has the added psychological benefit of making them fresh and vital when I swing back into them come fall. I like to go for feel as opposed to power and widen my exercise pallet to maximum inclusion. The polar opposite occurs in the deep winter when my exercise selection is at its narrowest, the workout pace slowed and feel and subtlety tossed out the window in favor of brute force.
In the winter its lift big, eat big, rest big, grow big - whereas now its light, lean, quick and rapid. Currently I hit a woods walk early and have no problem burning 700 to 900-calories. I have to force myself to eat during the day and have a couple of Old School tricks of the trade that I use and thought I might pass on to you. First, I dont cook breakfast I drink it. When I wake up a 4:30 to 5am to start my day I make a whey protein shake with water. This breaks the catabolic sleep cycle and since the protein powder has 34-grams of protein (no sugar or fat) and a mere three grams of carbohydrate, I dont derail my glycogen-free metabolic state. As we discussed yesterday (?) hitting a cardio session while in a carb-free metabolic status forces the body to burn stored body fat. My whey shake allows me to feed muscles yet not mess up my low-glycogen status. After my morning writing session I power walk/trot/jog the mountain trails and return home. Rather than cook up a bunch of eggs (10 whites/2 yolks) with my diced onions and peppers, I drink a second protein shake. I take three scoops of protein powder (50-grams of protein) and add a cup of raw OATMEAL. I blend this in a blender and drink it down. I love the taste of oatmeal and make sure not to grind it smooth as I want the fiber-effect. A cup of oatmeal delivers the following: Calories 300; fat 5 grams but only one gram saturated; sodium 0; carbohydrates 52 grams; fiber 16 grams; sugar 2 grams; protein 10 grams. Add this to my protein powder and all of a sudden this smart bomb concoction is delivering 60 grams of protein, 55 grams of carbs, no saturated fat or sugar, 450 calories and a nice fiber portion. Sounds like a near perfect meal to me. I can whip it up and drink it down in three minutes flat and bang! Im done! My second trick of the trade is to make enough fish and vegetables at supper the previous night that I have enough left for lunch the next day. After I eat dinner I neatly wrap a plate of food in plastic wrap and set it in the ice box. Come lunchtime the next day I slide it into the microwave and inside three minutes Im eating my third perfect feeding of the day. Mid-afternoon Ill have a sport nutrition bar, a piece of fruit or two and at dinner I cook. Well, thats how Marty deals with summertime eatingit works for me.
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