Veggie Challenge: Day 8

So I'm a little perplexed today.  Okay, I'm really perplexed.  I stepped on the scale today and it read 192 lbs.  You might say, "Hey... that's great, you put on weight like you wanted to".  But, here's the thing:

1. I weighed in at 188 a week ago.

2. I haven't been consuming anywhere near 3500 calories.

3. I've been going to the bathroom a lot.

4. I put up a lot more weight today than i normally do.

5. My body fat percentage has gone up almost 2%.

Either i'm severely miscalculating my calories or there is something weird thing going on.  Given the fact that i'm on a veggie diet (mostly vegetables) i find it hard to believe i'm eating 3500 calories.  Not to mention all the bathroom trips should of done the obvious but, that would also account for fluid loss too.

I think this deserves...

For the bro's...

Veggie Challenge: Day 5

I think I figured out what the gas culprit was...

No not the crackers but the hummus dip.  Main ingredient is garbanzo beans.  I've had beans before but this stuff... good golly miss molly.  I'm probably going to toss the rest because i don't want to suffer that torture again.

Last night i also popped open a bag of pistachios.  Haven't had those in like a decade but damn i couldn't crack those shells quick enough.  Eating those things was like trying to eat just one Dorito... ain't gonna happen.

Overall, so far so good ... it hasn't been as torturous eating this stuff as i thought it would.  I have noticed my energy levels seems a little down but, it has been only a few days.  This is a morning picture:

Veggie Challenge: Day Two

I don't know what to say other then... all these veggies cleaned me out today.  The porcelain gods were laughing at me!

It's all okay though.  I still hit up the gym, ate some food, and popped open a bag of these:

One thing that I didn't mention before was that to continue any gains I still need to figure out how to consume 3500 calories and at least 200-250 grams of protein in there somewhere.

As of right now the scale says i dropped a pound (not significant) and my body fat percentage went down a little (also not significant).  But a picture nonetheless:

Veggie Challenge: Day 1

So last night i had some of these:

It actually tasted pretty good.  I didn't really taste like a burger by any means but for what it was it was good.    Some other things i had were:

- Flaxseed chips
- Hummus
- Steamed vegetables
- Cashews

All was good but i had one side effect the next day.  I was a little gassy.  Ya i know... TMI... but, that's important information in my opinion so STEP OFF.

Here is a picture of me at 190lbs, 6'1, and 11.5% body fat.

Month Long Vegetarian Trial

For a long time I've heard people bash this way of eating.  I do find a little humor in people calling vegetarians hippies... hah... but, there is a lot of real nonsense out there as well.  Things like, "Oh, it's not healthy", or "You can't make muscular gains eating like that", or "You need meat".  After watching and reading a lot of information on various diets I've decided to try the one that I really haven't come close to trying before... and that's this one.  There is no information like self information... so I will try this a month and see how I feel and do a little updates along the way.

Right now these are my current stats:

190lbs
10-12% body fat
Athletic
6'1

My goal is to drop body fat, put on muscle, lower my resting heart rate, increase my VO2Max, and see how i feel at regular intervals through the whole thing.

I am going to modify this diet a little bit by:

1. Keeping breads, pastas, fruits, and processed foods at a low.
2. Supplementing protein.
3. One cheat meal a week.


Basically this diet will consist of nuts, fruits (minimal), vegetables, and meat substitutes.  I will also try and make a daily update if possible.  Heck, I might even go get blood work for the hell of it.

Free Will

Free Will ... this is something I believe everyone has but, I don't believe it's something everyone uses.  Actually, I believe most people hardly exert free will at all.  Now you might be thinking, "Come on, I make choices every day, all day, and they're mine!"  No, I'm not sure I really agree with that.

I don't believe choice really quantifies free will.  The reason I believe this is because our environment and conditioning dictates our choices 99.9% of the time.  A little thought experiment if you don't mind:

Suppose you just got done running a marathon and the race just so happened to finish in a small town with only four restaurants.  The four restaurants are: McDonald's, Panda Express, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell.

1. Of the four which one did you choose?  Why?

2. Suppose I take away McDonald's.  Now which have you chosen?  Why?

3. Suppose I take away Panda Express as well.  Now which have you chosen?  Why?

4. Suppose I take away Pizza Hut too.  Now you're left with only Taco Bell.  What's your choice now?  Why?

As you can see, I limited your choices by environment.  Slowly, I made the environment smaller and therefore your choices more limited.  Eventually, I left you with only one choice.  Now... I threw the 'why's' in there because that was a test of conditioning.  Did you choose McDonald's because that was your favorite place to eat as a kid?  Did you choose Panda Express because you're lactose intolerant and can't eat pizza?  Did you choose Pizza Hut because you had bad experiences at the other places?  Finally, I left out the most important conditioning factor of all... hunger.  You just ran a marathon, you're starving for food, and your body is constantly sending your brain signals saying, "feed me".

Now, what does all this have to do with free will?  It's my contention that a myriad of forces are directing your choices.  Your choice isn't so much based on what you actually want but, what your entire existence up to that point has conditioned you to choose.  Seems kind of 'bleh' ... but ... if free will is a gift it only makes sense that you don't get to open it every single day.

You see, to me free will encompasses those moments when you sack up.  Those moments when you go against the grain, fight the fear, or take a bold stance.  Things like telling the truth when it would be convenient to lie, or not moving to the back of the bus when the law says you must and you risk jail time, or sacrificing yourself on the cross knowing full well the pain and suffering you must endure.  Maybe it's even the little things like fasting after a marathon, or saying no to unhealthy snack, or going out of your way to make someone feel better when you could of easily went on about your business.

Going against your conditioning, or rewriting your conditioning, or facing your fears... these are things that I would call real choices.  Step outside yourself, knock down some barriers, be bold, and live.  Unwrap that gift called free will.

/end RANT