Tuesday, June 14, 2011

RevAbs Day 1

In the bag. This is a much easier routine than either Insanity or P90X. But this was just the "strength building" routine, we will see how the rest of the Ab focused stuff works out. I will admit, there were a few routines that had my abs pretty sore. Add in Mercy Abs, a 3 mile run, jiu-jitsu, and day 1 of a fast, and I'm actually pretty drained for one day =)

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Tofu as a Meat Substitute

Since starting the Engine 2 Diet, one of the things I have had to cope with is the loss of meat. It has been a very well anticipated event in our house when I grill up some rib eyes or bake some salmon. So, in trying to keep with the spirit of the diet, I've had to start trying the substitutes.

The Engine 2 Diet book recommends Tofu, but there isn't very much information on it. My first attempt at making Tofu steaks ended in total disaster, of this gross, gooey cheese like consistency, and a poor mixture to try to compensate for the taste with over spices. Not very good, and it left me and my wife trying to convince ourselves that "it wasn't bad".

We were lacking two vital pieces of information. First, if you drain the tofu (which is stored in water), freeze it, then thaw it, the texture completely changes to something more tolerable. It becomes more like meat and less like flan.

The second piece of information, tofu is just like a bland sponge. It will absorb ALL of the flavor you throw at it, unlike real meat. So the same ratios of flavoring and spices you would add to a steak will overwhelm you with tofu. Tofu will absorb the flavor of foods around it extremely well, so go sparingly on the soy sauce, Worcester sauce, and spices (or in our case, Engine 2 friendly substitutes). My later adventures have proven much more successful. Plus, any left overs can be broken up into crumbles and mixed in with black beans, brown rice, and veggies to make an excellent meal the next night for wraps or burritos.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Status Update

So an update. I finished Insanity. Actually, I had to finish a week early due to a pretty bad neck injury I suffered in jiu-jitsu, but I'll allow it ;). again, I didn't follow the diet, so I didn't see the weight loss, but damned if a six pack isn't peeking out like crazy. I'm just about back to the physical level I was at last year. I have also decided to start RevAbs, so when that arrives, I'll be jumping into it for 90 days to really focus on that mid section. In the mean time I have just been running my daily 5K's while my neck heals.

In response to to the lack of weight loss and after watching Forks over Knives I have started on the Engine 2 Diet, which is a plant based, whole foods diet. I have been on it for a full week, and my energy has sky rocketed. The best thing about it is the food. While I didn't think plant based recipes could be this good (except the shakes I have been notorious for making), some of these are actually really good. The best ones I have had so far are a french toast recipe, and a black beans and rice recipe that I modified into a taco recipe. Since starting it, I've already dropped 3 pounds. Not bad for just a week.