2012 BJJ Season in Full Swing!

     Hello and welcome to the new blog everyone.  Hope you enjoy the new layout!  I'll pick this blog up right where the last one left off.  My last discussion, a rather windy one, was on the bangs of cutting weight.  Not only does this have physical affects, but psychological ones as well.  My primary concern was that making weight had become the focus of my training, rather than competing.  This is an absolutely FATAL flaw, especially in IBJJF regulated tournaments where you might have all of five minutes between weighing in and competing.  This not nearly enough time to replenish your body and refocus your mind for the task at hand.  Thus, I made the vow to myself that I would never cut weight for a BJJ tournament again.  There is a bit of leeway in this promise, as I find it acceptable to loose a minimal amount of "water weight" (<5 lbs) to compensate for the weight of a gi and belt (which you must wear while weighing in).
      On to the next matter.  I wanted to completely revamp my diet.  I had been on the "low carb" kick for quite some time (since August of 2011 actually) and I found a chronic disconnection between that plan and my fighting lifestyle.  While a low carb plan may be well suited for sedentary people, a fighter needs energy and needs it quickly.  What I mean by this is that fats (which low carb diets tend to be high in) are more dense and complex molecules than carbohydrates.  Where fats take a while to be broken down and converted to a usable energy source (ketones), carbohydrates function both as structural molecules and as an immediate source of energy.  There are of course carbohydrates of varying complexities, but generally speaking, they serve as an energy source.  I drummed up a diet off the top of my head, completely off the cuff as to what I thought would be sufficient to my training and dietary needs.  (See APPENDIX ONE for the charts).  This diet had me at 1400 calories consisting of 36.8% protein, 26.3% fat, and 36.8% carbs.  The additional procedures of this diet were a toned down version of what I had learned from Tim Ferriss in "The Four Hour Body."  In short, I was taking cold showers after workouts to aid in recovery, mixing cinnamon with my coffee to increase my insulin sensitivity, and doing 90 seconds of exercise before and after cheat meals.  Most of my carbohydrates were coming from whole grains such as whole grain cereals and pasta, secondly fruits, four servings of vegetables, and a bit of an allotment for condiments.  The only supplements I was taking were whey protein and a multivitamin.  What I found with this diet, is that it worked excellent for the first week or so.  However, I did not feel that it was fueling enough as by the second week I was "cheating" almost every other day.  This meant that there was a big problem.  My planned diet was not reflective of what I was actually consuming.  When your are cheating nearly as often as you are "being good" then your good behavior is not really the norm, and, in fact, may be the exception.
     Where I went from there was to keep the same macronutrient ratios but increase the caloric intake.  Upon referencing my diet logs from last year's 2011 season I noticed that at my apex I was consuming 1900 calories per day!  The reasons that this was successful for me then was that while I was consuming a considerable amount more on each day, I was less inclined to indulge in one of those 5000 calorie binge days.  The adjustment had me at a little over 1800 calories, with ratios, procedures, and supplements being relatively the same (Charted Diet in APPENDIX TWO).  I also want to note that a strong criticism of low carb / high fat diets is that they tend to raise triglyceride levels and blood pressure in their participants.  While this evidence has been provided to support both sides of the story, I did notice a very considerable drop in my blood pressure.  In about three weeks I went from an "potentially hazardous blood pressure of 140 / 80 to a suave 110 / 60.  I am but one case study and of course I could have just been really, really, REALLY relaxed that day :-)
     I soon found another problem with this guesstimated diet.  That was that it had increased my body's dependency on sugar (what carbohydrates break down into).  The plan had backfired on me.  I thought that by having a stable intake of "good" carbs, I would be able to stave off my relentless sweet tooth.  I was wrong.  Granted, I only gave the new adjustment less than a week for a trial run, but something was certainly wrong.
     I have mentioned before that my "go to" book for starting a new diet has long been "The Diet Solution:  The NEW American Diet" by Scivation.  I once again reacquainted with this trusty source.  I am now (three weeks out from my next competition) taking word-for-word what Scivation prescribes and implementing with a few tidbits I gathered from Ferriss.  The plan is relatively simple.  Persons weighing between 140 - 160 lbs should consume 35 grams of protein per meal and 15 grams of fat per meal for five meals per day.  By the book males should consume 60 grams of carbohydrates EITHER after their workout or first thing in the morning (30g for females).  One cheat meal is allowed per week.  And free foods are defined as having less than 20 calories or less than 5 grams of carbohydrates, and are allowed once per meal MAX.  You can see what the book would have prescribed form me in APPENDIX THREE.
     I did make a few adjustments to what the Diet Solution had prescribed.  Rather than 5 meals per day, I increased to 6 so that I could implement Ferriss' strategy of consuming 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up in the morning.  This is done with a simple scoop of whey protein with my morning coffee.  The remaining five meals are then consumed as normal with after the nutrients from the first meal are deducted from the daily total.  For example:  35 x 5 = 175 g of protein.  If my protein shake has 23 grams of protein then 175 - 23 = 152; 152 / 5 remaining meals is about 30 grams of protein for each of those meals.  I have also opted for two cheat meals per week that replace the last meal of that particular day.  90 seconds of exercise will be conducted prior to and after each cheat meal as recommended by Ferriss.  The Diet Solution recommends two servings of fruit per day and unlimited green vegetables.  In my case, I am planning for two servings of fruit (15 grams of carbohydrates ea.) and four servings (4-6 grams of carbohydrates ea.) of vegetables per day.  Other notes include taking my multivitamin with the high carb meal while insulin levels are high, taking cold showers on workout days to aid recovery, and taking a hot bath once per week to relax.  (See the chart for this plan in APPENDIX FOUR).
     My next scheduled competition is on April 21, 2012 at the Chicago NAGA.  I have not yet registered nor decided on a weight class to enter.  Rest assure that I will keep you posted!  Thanks for reading, FIGHT ON!

Links to Referenced Material:
The Diet Solution by Scivation
The Four Hour Body by Tim Ferriss
Multivitamin I am currently taking
Whey Protein I currently use

APPENDIX ONE:

March 2012 Diet:  Daily Intake 1500 Cal (3/5/12)
Protein	35%	525 cal	131g	0.77g / lb
Fat	30%	450 cal	50g	0.38g / lb
Carbohydrates	35%	525 cal	131g	0.77g / lb
Meal	Time	Calories	P(g)	F(g)	C(g)	Descrip
1 - Breakfast	8:00 AM	249	26	5	25	Whey & Kashi / Starch
2 - Lunch	11:00 AM	271	27	7	25	Starch & Meat
3 - Postworkout	1:00 PM	238	25	2	30	Whey & Sweet Fruit
4 - Break	4:00 PM	254	25	6	25	Starch & Fish
5 - Dinner	7:00 PM	183	20	7	10	Vegetable (2 serv) & Meat
6 - Snack	10:00 PM	206	6	14	14	Vegetable (2 serv) & Nuts
	Total	1401	129	41	129
			36.80%	26.30%	36.80%
Diet Notes:
1)  First meal w/in 30 min of waking				Procedure Notes:
2)  500ml of ice water ea. Morning				1)  Cold showers after wrokouts (recovery)
3)  Cinnamon w/ coffe (insulin)				2)  Hot showers on non-workout days
4)  Multivitamin PW (insulin high)				3)  One hot bath per week (relax)
5)  Fat tapers up (low PW)				4)  20 min ice on neck before bed (workout days)
6)  Carbs taper down
7)  Protein consistent through day				Supplements:
8)  Avoid canned meat				Whey Protein
9)  Avoid citrus/sour fruit				Multivitamin
10) One cheat day per week
11) 90 sec exercise before/after ea cheat meal
12) Fruit juice with each cheat meal

APPENDIX TWO:

March 2012 Diet:  Dialy Intake 1900 Cal (3/25/12)
Protein	35%	1g / lb	160g	640 cal
Fat	30%		60.96g	548.6 cal		1828 calories total
Carbohydrates	35%	1g / lb	160g	640 cal
Meal	Time	Calories	P(g)	F(g)	C(g)	Descrip
1 - Breakfast	8:00 AM	238	25	2	30	Whey & Cereal
2 - Midmorning Meal	11:00 AM	271	27	7	25	Starch & Meat
3 - Post Workout	1:00 PM	230	23	2	30	Whey & Fruit (2 Serv)
4 - Lunch	2:00 PM	262	27	6	25	Starch & Fish
5 - Break	4:00 PM	291	27	7	30	Starch & Meat & Vegetable
6 - Dinner	7:00 PM	171	22	7	5	Meat & Vegetable
7 - Snack	9:30 PM	348	12	28	12	Nuts (2 serv)
	Total	1811	163	59	157
			36%	29.30%	34.68%
Notes:
1)  Fruit Serv = 15g Carbs				Procedure Notes:
2)  Starch Serv = 25g Carbs				1)  Cold showers after wrokouts (recovery)
3)  Cinnamon w/ coffe (insulin)				2)  Hot showers on non-workout days
4)  Multivitamin PW (insulin high)				3)  One hot bath per week (relax)
5)  Vegetable Serv = 5g Carbs				4)  20 min ice on neck before bed (workout days)
6)  Protein serving = 4oz
7)  Avoid Canned Meat				Supplements:
8)  Last Meal is fatty for sleep				Whey Protein
9)  One cheat day per week				Multivitamin
10) 90 sec exercise before/after ea cheat meal
11) Fruit juice with each cheat meal

APPENDIX THREE:

Weight	Protein / Meal	Fat / Meal	Carbs
140 -160	35 g	15 g	60 g (Post WO or 1st Meal ONLY)
Creating Meals:
1)  Choose Protein
2)  Choose Fat
3)  Choose Carbs
4)  Add Fruit and/or Vegetables
Sample Meal Plan:
Step	Option 1	Option 2	Option 3
1)  Protein	5oz Lean Meat	1 1/4 C Fat Free Cottage Cheese	3 Whole Eggs + 1/4 C Egg Whites
	Fish	1 1/4 C Fage Yogurt
	Chicken	* Once per day MAX
	Turkey
	Beef
2)  Fat	24g almonds	3 tsp Olive/Flax/Enova Oil	30z Avocado
	30g Peanut Butter
3)  Carbs
*1st Meal	1 C Oatmeal	8 oz Sweet Potato	2 Slices Ezekiel Bread
or PoW			2/3 C Whole Wheat Pasta
4) Fruit/Veg	2 Serving of Fruit	Green Vegetables as Desired
	*15g Carb ea.	*4-6g Carb ea.
5)  Free	<20 calories / serv	<5g Carb / serv
* 1 / Meal
			*5 Meals / Day (3 hrs apart)
			* One Free Meal per WEEK

APPENDIX FOUR:

Daily Intake:  1900 cal
Meal	Apx Time	Protein	Fat	Carbs	Calories	Descrip
1	8:00 AM	23	2	5	130	Whey Protein
2	10:30 AM	30	14	30	366	Meat, Fat, Fruit
3	1:30 PM	30	14	60	486	Meat, Fat, Starch, MultiV
4	4:00 PM	30	14	10	286	Meat, Fat, 2 Vegetables
5	7:00 PM	30	14	5	266	Meat, Fat, Vegetable
6	10:00 PM	30	14	5	266	Meat, Fat, Vegetable
		173	72	115	1800	*100cal condiment allotment
		38.40%	36%	25.60%
Notes:						Supplements:
1) First Meal w/in 30 min of Waking						MetRX Natural Whey
2) Meal #3 is Post Workout or Meal 2						XCAP Natural Mins
3) First meal is just to kickstart metabolism
4) Cinnamon 2/ Coffee (insulin sensitivity)
5) Multivitamin Post Workout (insulin high)
6) Cold Shower Post Workout (recovery)
7) Hot showers on non-workout days
8) One hot bath per week (Relax)
9) Two cheat MEALS per week
10) 90 sec exercise before/after cheat meal

Pilot: Successor to "Fighting and Dieting"

Hello and welcome!

     This blog is the successor to my previous blog titled "Fighting and Dieting"  I have chosen to turn the page to a new chapter of blogging and chronicling my fitness and nutritional endeavors.  The primary reason for this is that the title of the previous blog was not fitting to my current view on the subject.  There is so much more to my sporting lifestyle and nutritional escapades than merely fighting and dieting.
     While I am a trained fighter and still continue to train striking sports, such as boxing, and compete in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, I also am an avid fan of rock climbing and bouldering.  I also train people for various sporting events; everything from powerlifting competitions to Spartan races.  I like to view athletics as an open sourced project.  That is that it can be hacked (in a sense) and should be customized to the individual's needs and goals.  Hence the title "Confessions of an Open Source Athlete" is much more fitting to the topics that will be contained in this blog.  The content material will roughly remain the same but will be more broad and dynamic.
     The second reasons for the change was that I feel that this is the beginning of a new chapter in my fitness life.  I feel that the previous blog was created to chronicle my early adventure into combat sports and share the nutritional and dietary wisdom I have gathered over the years.  While the sharing of wisdom is something I shall continue here, the pilot stages of my combat sport career are surely behind me.  The previous blog can be thought of as chapter one in the detailed volume of my athletic career.  Fighting and Dieting was specifically designed to give insight into my "post-college" endeavor into combat sports.  Now, I am returning to college and thus I feel that I have outgrown the previous blog and its limitations as described above.
     There is no specific time parameters for this blog, so it should continue for quite a long run.  The old blog will remain in tact for archive purposes.  The link in the opening line of this post will take you there.  The idea of being an open sourced athlete is that you draw insight and tidbits of knowledge from a variety of sources.  You are not narrowly confined to the "traditional" training methods of your sport, nor is biographical content limited to that specific sport or one's interests at that particular time.  I have learned a great deal of nutritional knowledge from sources ranging from doctors and nurses, to bodybuilders and personal trainers, to medical journals and laboratory research reports, and most of all from my own experiences.  The same can be said of my knowledge of athletics.  If I am looking to hone my jiu jitsu or boxing skills, I will reference resources specific to the topic at hand.  Much the same, if I am looking to develop my weight-to-power ratio or increase my VO2 threshold I may consult a power lifting or sprinter's training regime.
     I invite all followers and fans, friends and training partners, and even ambitious keyboard warriors to continue reading this blog and continue to draw knowledge and insight from it.  The topics of the old blog still remain valid, but life moves on whether we choose to "update" or evolve with it is up to us.  Here is your update, now log on!