Me One Healthy Dude

WWJD?

No exercise for anyone today. Thanks to the blessing of Fatherhood, I was awake for over 22 hours yesterday. So we are taking the weekend off from strenuous exercise.
But it was a great day, so we took The Boy to the park, let him toddle around and fall outdoors and enjoy the fresh air. Like all good first time parents we took plenty of photographs and hovered over him. The other, more experienced, parents glanced at their kids every once in awhile and went back to chatting or reading. One lady didn't even get out of her car, just read People and waited, I suppose, for the sound of screaming.
With sunshine, families, and kiddie parks comes bags and bags of Fast Food. Yummy smelling fast food. Yummy smelling food in wrappers shiny with grease.
After we had spent a little over an hour we were hungry. I admit, it would have been nice to just go through a drive-thru on the way to the park or on the way home and inhale cheap food conveniently. Eating real food takes some planning, thinking, and well a bunch of effort.
What Would Jack Do? Jack wouldn't eat fast food. Jack would've reminded me that we enjoyed a smoothie with almond milk, strawberries, bananas and protein powder and that I really wasn't as hungry as I thought I was. And why would I want to waste calories and fat on crap in a wrapper just for convenience?
"A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips."
That's what Jack had been saying for decades, and would probably have told me today. And it's true. The folks eating the cheese off their wrappers with the paper still stuck to it did not look healthy. But they didn't seem to be bursting with energy. Merely bursting the buttons off their shirts or pants. Most did not look like Biggest Loser contestants, but a few did.
What price do we pay for convenient fast food?
What price do I pay for healthy food?
Which price is a better long term investment?

To "be rich like jack and jill"

So we went to Publix last night to get all of our organic fruits, veggies, fish and grass fed beef.  GOOD GRIEF it's expensive being healthy!  I had to forgo the organic apples because we buy so many.  We have got to find a cheaper way to eat like this or we are going to go broke!  If any of my blog friends feel my pain and have figured out how to fix it please let me know!

Overall things are going very well.  As I sat at Cracker Barrell (after ordering my spicy grilled catfish and veggies) feeding my child one of the tastiest biscuits ever made and NOT eating one, I decided either we are crazy or a glutton for punishment.  Maybe both.  And oddly enough we both left there feeling very satisfied and didn't get hungry again for the rest of the evening.  Maybe there's something to this.  In doing our research on Jack and Jill we found that both of them ate fish and veggies for one of their meals.  That seems to be the one meal they both go carb-free.  The only thing I could really find on Jillian's daily meal plan was from an interview with Self magazine: http://www.self.com/fooddiet/2009/07/jillian-michaels-diet-tips.  Not much to go on but it's something.

Murdering Shakespeare

It's always my turn to write on the days I don't feel good.
I should have penned a quick note Tuesday morning or early afternoon. I felt great. Better than I had felt in...quite some time. Monday night was one of the first nights when I slept completely through the night in many months. Normally I wake up due to the need to go potty, back/leg pain, a crying baby, or crying dog. So I'm sure that had something to do with my vim and vigor.
Unfortunately I pooped out of energy in the evening and never got it back. Tired all day today, lackluster workout this morning.
And yes, I think I am eating enough. I'm not quite hitting 100 grams of protein a day, but I get well over 60-70 grams. We make sure to mix our amino acids to get complete protein in our vegetarian meals. It's way too early to develop anemia, so that ain't it. Denise thinks I am having withdrawal symptoms from sugar. There may be something to that. Jack Lalanne would probably agree.

To sleep, or not to sleep. That is the question.
Whether t'is better in the gym to suffer and take up arms in a grueling workout and by opposing the fat cells, to end them? Or to sleep, perchance to dream?
Aye, there's the rub.
Because we live with a baby transitioning to toddlerhood, we will never again get "enough" sleep. Waiting for that magic 8 hours of sleep a night in order to hit the gym is a wonderful way to sabotage your training before it even starts.
But I also know that if I stay too sleepy, I'll drive my stress hormones up and sabotage my training and weight loss.
We are trying to make some changes so that I can get some more sleep. It will get better.
The irony is I'm staying up late writing a blog entry about how I need to get more sleep.

Going to bed,
Cliff

Weekend Victory!

I'm proud to say that we made it through the first weekend doing VERY well!  We ate out on Friday night and got sushi.  I know white rice is involved but there's nothing I can do about that.  I think, faced with the options at a Japanese steakhouse, Jillian would choose sushi rolls.  Very tiny bit of soy sauce, I know how she hates sodium!  Saturday we worked out as normal - taking turns while babysitting, ate like we normally would and even made some quinoa to go with a really good veggie soup.  Sunday we brought some quinoa and ate all the veggies available.  No desserts although all the favorites were there!  I came home feeling great!  Not drugged off sweets like normal :) 

And I can honestly say we have not missed any of the junk we typically eat!  And did I mention the energy???

Jack Lalanne 1914-2011

While getting ready to go to the gym this morning I heard the report on the news that Jack had died. I was oddly stunned. I say oddly, for it should be no shock that a 96 year old man should pass from pneumonia. However, I really thought Jack would make it till at least 100, maybe 120.

I am quite sad to lose one of my heroes.

I first was introduced to Jack Lalanne through his Power Juicer Infomercial (which we own and use). I watched some old clips of his show on the web, read through the list of his incredible birthday feats and I was hooked. Here was a living superhero that could pull off seemingly impossible feats, not through trickery, just muscle and cajones. I was inspired. Still am.

Heroes should inspire us to reach beyond our self imposed limits. Grow, expand, and in the best tradition of the US Army: Be all that you can be.

I had planned to write to Jack Lalanne, tell him about our experiment, our little blog. I had dreamed that I would be able to interview him. It would have been great. I would have just shut up and let him roll. He’d been doing that for over 30 years across the country on his own TV show. My TV show was only on for three years on a cable access channel in one city. I figured Jack could handle the interview better without me. It would have been fun.

So it was with renewed purpose that I beat my brains out at the gym this morning, cranking out 5o pullups and 5 handstand pushups. I happily ate my fruits and veggies. And tonight, I'll raise a big glass of freshly juiced carrots and apples in remembrance to my Hero, Jack Lalanne.

Straight from the Horse's mouth

Stop Being So Tired!!

First Work Week done! (or When do I start feeling better?)

I'm glad Denise is feeling great. Really. No, really, I am. She's been getting more and more energy as the week rolled on. Good for her.
Me?
I'm tired and not just a little bit cranky. Quite the opposite of how I was expecting to feel.
I was hoping for, "I feel AMAZING this week, like I could conquer the WORLD!!" And we've eaten so stinking healthy this week even I want to roll my eyes and backhand slap us.
Instead, the folks at work are asking me why I look so sleepy. Getting healthy must make you look like poop. And it makes you tired. Eating beans everyday also makes for some wonderful gas, something most vegetarians probably won't tell you. Maybe that's why Hippies smell funny?
Food wise: I have turned down a great deal of food that normally I would have inhaled this week.
I had a corporate meeting Wednesday with a wonderfully catered lunch. Everyone knows I love coffee, which is why everyone was bringing over the coffee brownie bars for me to eat. "Here, these are great, You'll love them. They have coffee!" But no, I turned them down. Everyone, including myself, looked confused.
The very next day there was a birthday. The food looked and smelled great. Evidently it was much better fare than the last few birthday meals (we have them quite often) because most people were commenting on how great the food was compared to the last few birthday meals.
Me? I splurged and put some of the 7 layer salad on my homemade spinach salad with black bean salsa. Did I mention it was my turn to bring Desserts? I bought and brought everything at Wal-mart with Paula Dean's picture on it. Again, loved by everyone, but me.
Do I sound bitter? I guess I do. I'm not.
No, really, I'm not. I have greatly enjoyed not feeling stuffed and miserable at these big dinners, which is usually the case. I have enjoyed feeling in control when presented with a huge table of yummy food, which is usually not the case. That has been very good.
Exercising everyday this week has also been good. Mostly. The exercise is good, Bootcamp at Cornerstone is great. (Thanks Lori!) Getting up every morning before 5am hurts though. Especially when you sleep as poorly as I have this week. I could blame The Boy earlier in the week, but not the last few nights. I was hoping a cleaner diet and regular grueling exercise would help me sleep at night. So far, not so much. And that's most of my problem, I'm just pooped. Pooped and gassy. Yay being healthy!!
So these first few steps on our journey have been a mixed bag of good and bad for me. The weekend will be tough, but tonight we went out and had sushi. Much healthier than freezer pizza, and tastier too.

Onward and upward,
Cliff

Week 1 - Friday is here! The true test begins!

So we made it through the first week.  I have to say within the first 2 days I felt much better.  Dropped 2 pounds (water weight no doubt) and had more energy!  These are some of the meals/snacks I had:

• Roasted Garlic hummus with carrots
• Organic bean burritos on whole wheat tortillas
• Salads with black bean salsa
• Salad with lentils
• Blackened cajun tuna steaks with roasted brussell sprouts (ironically my favorite meal of the week - didn't know I liked either of these things)
• Scrambled egg and egg white with ultra wheat bread
• Decaf coffee flavored with agave nectar and almond milk (YUM - I can definitely cope with this)
• Banana and almonds
• various other fruits
• We juiced carrots, an apple and pear together and it was really tasty!
• Had some dairy in the smoothies for breakfast but we are phasing out our dairy

So overall I can't say I have missed anything I have taken off my menu this week.  However, friday nights is usually pizza night.  Saturdays we typically make pancakes and by Sunday we have eaten too many desserts at church and are now up the 2 pounds we lost the week before.  Our plan is to go out to eat tonight - likely Cracker Barrell where we can get lots of veggies.  I'm really looking forward to feeling good on Monday!

Exercise will get better next week.  I have 1 more hour to go to complete my 5 hours this week.  I did push myself with every exercise session I had so I feel good about that.  I have the "Making the Cut" book of Jillians and will start the circuit training tomorrow. 

I will let Cliff post about his week and all the MANY desserts he had to turn down.  Poor guy! 

Our Commitment

I thought it would be nice if you all understood exactly what we are committing to.  Luckily our gurus are similar in their Dos and Don'ts.  That helps with the grocery shopping :)

Our Rule of thumb:

• No chemicals or artificial sweetners
• No processed foods
• No whites - white sugar, white flour, white pasta, etc
• No dairy
• No High Fructose Corn syrup
• No caffeine
• Organic Fruits and Veggies
• Exercise like a Fiend (Jack exercises 2 hrs/day; Jill for 5 hrs/wk) - basically push yourself out of your comfort zone every time you exercise
• Jack - NO SWEETS; Jill - eats dark chocolate (once a day) and there's an interview where she had Peanut Butter Newman O's in her pantry so I bought some!  Basically organic Oreos but better!
• Lots of fish; if they eat other meats they are organic (free range chicken and grass fed beef)

Week one - Day 1 for Denise

So today was like most days:  I had a plan for exercise, I had written out all my food that I was going to eat (all Jillian proof) and thanks to my sweet, baby boy nothing went as planned.  It started at 2am when he stood up in his crib screaming.  I wrestled with him for two hours until finally we collapsed on the bed in his nursery and fell asleep.  I know sleeping with my child is not wise and soon I will care.  So we woke up around 8:30.  The class I wanted to take at the gym started at 8.  My backup plan was to run at the gym.  By the time I fed him something and got us all ready we got to the gym at 9:45.  Thinking I had until 10:30 I rushed through the list of instructions for Misha the child care person at the gym.  Little did I know child care on Mondays now ends at 10.  Had I known that I might not have gone so let's make lemonade - I upped the level on the elliptical and went as fast as I could for all of 17 minutes.  Not what Jillian would do in a day but with my time limit maybe she would! 

So for the rest of the day everything felt off.  I did manage to eat well and eat only things Jill would have eaten.  As a Weight Watchers leader I also have to monitor my points which is no biggie.  Something has to hold me accountable to what and how much I'm eating.  I'm not sure if my blog friends would like to know what I'm eating but I thought I would post it so you get an idea:

Breakfast - Protein smoothie (1 scoop whey protein, milk, greek yogurt, frozen strawberries and a little of a frozen banana) - so she probably would not have done the dairy but the milk was organic!
Lunch - 1 egg, 1 egg white scrambled; 1 slice whole wheat bread with 1tsp honey and 1 TB peanut butter, handful of strawberries
Snack - banana with 23 almonds (raw unsalted), apple
Dinner at Shoney's - Veggie salad with boiled egg and oil and vinegar, veggie bean soup, melon and pineapple
Dessert - Apple pie Larabar
Total points plus values of 30 (I get 34 for the day)

So was the day perfect?  Not exactly but taking care of yourself is not something that can only be done on perfect days.  It has to be done on all days.  I have control of my choices no matter what the day throws at me.

Welcome!

Welcome to the “Be Like Jack & Jill” Blog! We thank you for reading, and welcome your feedback.

My wife and I are embarking upon an experiment: Eat and train as close as we can to Jack Lalanne and Jillian Michaels, for one year.

Why? There is a bit of a Myth Busters mentality at work here.

First, we want to see if mere mortals, such as us, can really live the way they do. Their diets, if you believe their books and interviews, are dang near perfect. Jack Lalanne hasn’t had dessert for roughly the past eighty years. (80!) Jillian Michaels is less strict, having a dose of chocolate daily. Of course it is organic, dark, and perfectly portioned chocolate once daily. (My wife is quite happy her health guru eats chocolate!) Lalanne exercises for two hours daily, while Michaels busts her tail in the gym 5 hours a week. That’s a big time commitment. (Especially from Jack, thanks a lot buddy)

Second and our biggest motivator: does eating completely clean while exercising like a fiend really make you feel as amazing as they claim? Can I look forward to bursting with vim & vigor everyday? Sleeping like a log every night? Can I get rid of my weekly headaches? Will I quit losing my hair? OK, maybe not so much that last one, but will we really feel all that much better for all of the sacrifice?

Sure, we expect to lose fat, shed inches, and become walking Greek statues with better skin tone. OK. But we are really focusing on the health aspects of this way of life. Denise and I are in our late thirties. Our son will turn one year old in a few weeks, and we would like more kids. (Lord willing) Therefore we HAVE to stay healthy and active well into our fifties and beyond in order to be the kind of parents we want to be. Is this the path?

So, let’s find out together. We start this coming week. We will be trying out and sharing new recipes, new exercises. There will no doubt be a fair amount of whining along the way as we adjust, but I promise to keep that to a minimum.

Excelsior!

Cliff