Meal Plan:
Meal 1: Click Protein Shake
Meal 2: Right Light Shake
Meal 3: Yogurt/ Cottage Cheese (EFL)
Meal 4: Nutrition Bar/ Banana
Meal 5: Not sure Yet

Workout: Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit (40 min.)

Wishing everyone a wonderful day!

Woke up this morning coughing a bunch of junk out of the lungs...uggh! Letting the body fight this off and stayed out in the sunshine all day cleaning up the yard and planting a garden of berries and veggies and also an apple tree! Got my vitamin D today and plenty of water, feeling better already.

Feeling a little better this morning . Got the 5-25 UBWO done felt good . But I need to go up a little in weight next week .

Overall Notes: Woof!! The run yesterday was tougher than I expected. I'm still feeling the effects of that brutal forest run on Saturday. Splitting dinner into two mini-meals before and after class seemed to work out OK. I'll do it again next week.

Today is resistance training day. Today is also my "busy day." I try to stack my errands, meetings, doctor appointments, OA meeting, and whatever on the same day to limit the number of times that I have to drive into the city, so afternoon and evening are booked up. I'm going to spend a little time today writing about a dietary experiment that I've been running. I'll publish it separately. Most folks will be uninterested and can delete it - but in the past, when I've written about my medical and/or nutritional issues, there has always been someone, or a few someones, who gave me feedback that it was helpful for them.

Did I stick to the food & exercise plan yesterday?? Yes

Today’s Exercise: Stretching/Core strengthening routine; WBWO (Whole Body Workout) in the home gym
Countdown: 26 days until the Memorial Day Half Marathon in Owensboro KY

Today’s Food Plan: Moderately Wheat-free & Low Glycemic Index

M1 (B’fast): 3 slices of crispy bacon; 2 fried eggs; 1 slice of sprouted grain bread toast; Fiber drink (psyllium husks, flaxseed, etc.)
M2 (Midmeal): Vegetable Juice
M3 (Lunch): Leftover smoked salmon; a few rice/almond flour crackers; some steamed veggies
M4 (Midmeal): Protein shake
M5 (Dinner):Personal Chef (aka, spouse) has not yet determined / revealed this.
M6 (Dessert/Snack): Protein shake; fruit

Tom

Wednesday
Great to be at the gym this morning and feel all the positive energy at 5am. Looks like it will be a beautiful day with some moisture in the air.

Nutrition
Pre-Workout: Supplements:
M1: Right Light shake with 2 scoops of EAS whey protein and amino acid
M2: EAS whey protein mixed in water
M3: Tuna and water
M4: Right Light protein shake
M5: Grilled chicken and water

Morning Exercise
Weight lifting: Biceps and Triceps

Tonight's Exercise Plan:
Abdominal workout

Leaky Gut Syndrome

Most folks will consider this little thought piece to be uninteresting. With that statement alone, I’ve lost a part of my “readership.” (I think I heard the click of dozens of Scroll Down buttons just then.) That’s OK. In the past, when I’ve published an article on my personal medical challenges, there has always been someone – or a number of someones – who have given me positive feedback, stating that it had been helpful information for them. So, here goes …
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

First, a little history for perspective (I’ll try to keep it brief). In the mid-1970s, when I was on my first tour of duty with the Navy in the Philippines, I attended Jungle Environment Survival Training (JEST). In JEST, they sent us off for a week with one of the Negrito tribesmen with nothing but a survival knife and the clothes on our backs to learn how to live off the land in a tropical rain forest. We learned how to drink the water found in plants; eat frogs and bamboo bats; recognize, harvest and eat various types of plants; build shelters from bamboo, etc. I came away from it with a fierce case of intestinal parasites that took months to clear up. Years later, it was learned that the section of the jungle where we went foraging and surviving had been a toxic chemical waste dump since the Japanese occupation in WWII, only ceasing to be a dump about 4 years prior to my training sessions – so I combined exposure to unknown toxic chemicals with the parasites.

My health has never been the same since then. I’ve been plagued with numerous mystery symptoms like food and chemical sensitivities (lady’s perfumes can make my eyes water), digestive disorders, my endocrine system performs poorly, insulin resistance, my immune system is a pushover (someone sneezes in Texas, and downwind in Florida I catch the flu), joint pains, skin rashes, and other symptoms. On my way out of the Navy in 1995, I put in a claim with the VA. They acknowledged that something was up, but it was “NCD” (Not Considered Disabling), and because of the similarity of symptoms, they put me on the Gulf War Syndrome Watch List. [Thanks, VA. Does it matter that my record shows these symptoms existed for 15 years before the Gulf War? Wait – I promised to try to keep this brief.]

Shortly after leaving the Navy in 1995, I sought treatment for my mystery ailment from several doctors. Most doctors wanted to prescribe a pill to treat one or another of the symptoms individually, but like the carnival game, Whack-a-Mole, you knock down one and another pops up. One doc thought that I was hypochondriac, just denying that I had symptoms at all, and wanted me to pursue counseling. On and on it went, and nothing really helped.

About 15-16 years ago, I went to a doctor who specialized in “alternative medicine.” He was a Board Certified Internal Medicine M.D., but he had expanded beyond conventional medicine to embrace things like Chinese herbal treatments, acupuncture, and other non-traditional medicine. After reviewing my medical history and taking some tests, he stated his diagnosis that I had “Syndrome X” and “increased intestinal permeability” AKA, “Leaky Gut Syndrome”. Both of these syndromes had been “discovered” by researchers only within the previous 5-10 years of his diagnosis. Unfortunately, my medical insurance (Tricare – government insurance provided for military retirees … government and insurance, two scary words when uttered together) refused to pay for treatments by that Board Certified M.D., branding him a quack. I still had a lot of faith in “the system,” and really couldn't afford to pay for the treatment myself, so I did not follow up with the “quack,” and really haven’t thought much about his diagnosis since then.

Much more research has been done on Syndrome X since then – it is now called “Metabolic Syndrome” – and now, many (but not all) conventional physicians are diagnosing and treating it. My cardiologist has diagnosed me with Metabolic Syndrome and has been treating me for it for the past two years, and now, Tricare pays for it. This article is not about Metabolic Syndrome, it is about Leaky Gut Syndrome.

Here is a quote from a recent posting on a medical doctor's website:
“Leaky gut syndrome is not generally recognized by conventional physicians, but evidence is accumulating that it is a real condition that affects the lining of the intestines. The theory is that (it) is the result of damage to the intestinal lining, making it less able to protect the internal environment as well as to filter needed nutrients and other biological substances. As a consequence, some bacteria and their toxins, incompletely digested proteins and fats, and waste not normally absorbed may "leak" out of the intestines into the blood stream. This triggers an autoimmune reaction, which can lead to gastrointestinal problems such as abdominal bloating, excessive gas and cramps, fatigue, food sensitivities, joint pain, skin rashes, and autoimmunity.”

That sounds like my mystery ailment, doesn’t it? Damage to the intestinal lining, followed by a plethora of symptoms. Maybe that mid-1990’s “quack” wasn’t so “quacky” after all. Maybe he just was way ahead of the others, and the others still haven’t caught up to him. (Tricare still doesn't pay for his services - once branded a quack, always a quack, I guess.) I have learned since then that it can take 20-30 years for conventional physicians to adopt the findings of medical researchers, and even longer for insurance companies to be willing to pay for treatment. I no longer have the same faith in the system that I once had. I have become one of those guys who has “taken control” of his own health care, reading newsletters, trying alternative treatments, and taking vitamin and herbal supplements that I've prescribe for myself. Sometimes, my self-treatment works, sometimes not.

[OK, Tom. Get to the point already!!]

I am on the mailing lists of many supplement and vitamin companies. I often receive advertisements that are 7 or 8 page “newsletters” that start with a description of some medical condition and associated research, and lead you to a supplement that they want you to purchase. I received one last month that proclaimed in large letters, “Who’d a thunk that your (list of symptoms) is caused by a leaky gut?” I hadn’t thought about that "quacky" doctor’s diagnosis of Leaky Gut Syndrome in years and years, but this advertising “newsletter” detailed some of the research that has been done on the condition in the intervening decade and a half, explaining better and better what might be the source of my mystery symptoms. Of course, they have the answer in a supplement. Of interest, the company states that, “You must experience a NOTICEABLE improvement in your (various symptoms) …” or you will get a full refund. That’s the kind of experiment that I like. (This is not an advertisement for them, but if you want details on where to find the product, let me know.)

I’ve been taking the product for a month. I can’t expect to resolve a 36-year-old problem in just a few weeks, but I am hopeful that this will help. I am starting to notice some slight improvement. I hope it is not my imagination (the placebo effect). I find that whereas I had – and still have – a food sensitivity to wheat, I now am able to handle the sprouted wheat in spouted grain breads. I hope that I can eventually eat wheat without any problems. Whereas I used to have diarrhea nearly daily (yes, for 36 years), now it is about 5 days between bouts of it. In short, I'm seeing progress, not perfection, and I have hopes for the future resolution of my mystery ailment. Readers who are interested in my experiment will be able to discern statements in my daily blog. Those uninterested … well, they’re already gone and not reading this any more.

Tom

Happy Wednesday all of you my friends!

Hope everyone is doing well today. I am busy, and happy and, did I mention busy? Did my HIIT this morning and tried to do a 5/25 but the elliptical started making an unbalanced clunky noise so I stopped at 20 minutes and did a 10 minute abs workout (via an app I downloaded for my kindle fire) It was a long 10 minutes because my abs already hurt from the last two days of workouts. Overall it was a good start to the morning.

Food is on track and doing great.

Today I am grateful for: Phones so I can get things fixed in my database by the computer guy who is in Washington DC. Blue skies and any excuse to get out of my windowless office and see them during the day. And as always my amazing family who gives me so much joy in life everyday!

Tonight after swim lessons, me and the hubby will check out the elliptical and see if we can fix the problem.

I will also encourage my hubby to get out for another walk tonight. Our vacation is coming up in a few weeks and lots of walking will be necessary. My girls are worried that their daddy can't keep up with them and they told him so. What a kick in the butt (ego?) that was for him!!! He is (finally) starting to change his thinking about putting everyone and everything ahead of his health, WAHOO. I hope that I can keep this healthy momentum going for him and the rest of our family!

Wishing you the strength, happiness and gratitude you need today!

MAY 2, 2012, 12:01 AM
Mixing Weight Training and Aerobics

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS

Is it wise to practice weight training and aerobic exercise on the same day?

That issue is surprisingly contentious in the sports world. Many competitive athletes, their coaches and athletic trainers have come to believe that aerobic exercise, if practiced in close proximity to strength training, reduces the ability of muscles to strengthen and grow. Conversely, many contend that weight training performed on the same day as aerobic exercise blunts the endurance training response.

This phenomenon, known variously as “muscle interference” or “exercise antagonism,” is a frequent topic on fitness-related chat boards. But to date, most of the discussions have been based on anecdotal evidence or simple conjecture. There has been little science supporting or challenging the existence of interference.

So, independently, groups of researchers at McMaster University in Ontario and the Karolinska Institute and other institutions in Sweden recently recruited volunteers to test the idea that you get more physiological benefit from performing only one type of exercise on any given day.

The two groups of scientists rounded up very different subjects. In Sweden, the volunteers were healthy and active young men, primarily college students who regularly worked out but didn’t necessarily compete.

The Canadian volunteers were sedentary, middle-aged men who hadn’t exercised much, if at all, in the past year. (No women took part in either study, an omission that is common and frustrating in exercise science.)

The exercise protocols were also different, in interesting ways. In Sweden, the men began by pedaling a stationary bicycle for 45 minutes, using only one leg, an action that supplied the aerobic component of the experiment. Six hours later, they completed a series of strenuous leg extension exercises using both legs.

Essentially, in each participant one leg had undergone combined exercise, featuring both endurance and resistance training on the same day, while the other leg had done endurance training alone.

The scientists took muscle biopsies before and after each session.

For their part, the Canadian researchers had their older volunteers finish three separate trials. In one, the men rode a stationary bicycle for 40 minutes at a moderate pace. On another day, the same volunteers sweated through eight relatively strenuous sets of leg extension exercises. In the final session, the men completed four sets of leg extensions and then rode the bicycle for 20 minutes, finishing half as much of each type of exercise, but in rapid succession.

The scientists biopsied the men’s leg muscles before and after each session.

“Our hypothesis had been that we would see a greater response to each exercise individually,” says Stuart Phillips, a professor of kinesiology at McMaster who oversaw the Canadian study. Specifically, he says, the scientists had expected that endurance training on its own would significantly affect portions of the muscle cell related to energy production, while resistance training would increase protein synthesis within muscles, the first step toward enlarging the muscles.

Combined training, the Canadian scientists had hypothesized, would dampen at least one of the molecular changes; physiologically, one of the responses would predominate and interfere with the other.

That didn’t happen.

Instead, after combined training, the men’s muscles displayed the same amount of change within both cellular pathways as after either type of exercise on its own, even though the men had actually completed only half as much of each.

“We saw no indications of interference,” says Dr. Phillips, whose study was published last month in The Journal of Applied Physiology.

The Swedish investigators arrived at a similar result. Their study, published in March in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, showed little difference in the genetic and biomechanical responses within muscles whether the men performed both aerobic and resistance training or aerobic training alone.

In other words, “aerobic exercise can precede resistance exercise on the same day without compromising” muscle building, the scientists conclude.

And if you prefer your weight training first, the Canadian study scheduled the resistance work before the bike riding, without compromising the results for either type of exercise.

Of course, both studies looked only at immediate results. But Dr. Phillips believes that over the long term, the effects should be the same. “There’s no reason to assume that interference only kicks in later in training,” he said. If it existed, he continues, it presumably would show up in the earliest molecular changes inside muscles, and it did not.

These findings are important for serious competitive athletes who are designing serious, complicated training regimens. But they also have implications for those of us who’ve been, until now, ignorant of the possible existence of exercise antagonism. We can, it seems, remain blissfully unconcerned.

“It appears that you can set up a workout regimen that happens to be convenient for you,” in terms of how and when you shuffle the endurance and resistance elements, says Dr. Phillips, “and you’re not going to get less training response.”

Best of all, Dr. Phillips’s study suggests that you can potentially do less of each form of exercise when you combine them and still gain considerable benefits. “In our study, the men were doing only 50 percent as much” cycling and weight training in the combined session as during the specialized workouts, he points out. “But their muscles couldn’t tell the difference.”

Gretchen Reynolds is the author of “The First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals How We Can Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer” (Hudson Street Press, 2012).

Copyright 2012 The New York Times CompanyPrivacy PolicyNYTimes.com 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018

positive Mindset

1. Do a great LBWO. Win!
2. Work out with Colton. Win!
3. Plan my meals and follow my plan. Win!
4. Post my daily gratitude. Win!
5. Email accountability to Carolynn. Win!

Making a Difference

1. Support Tom, Gray and Darcy with texts. Win!
2. Support Tom and my nephew by meeting with them for lunch. Win!

Three things I did well today

1. Supported friends and family. Win!
2. Followed my meal plan. Win!
3. Attended confirmation rehearsal with Colton. Win!

One thing I can do better tomorrow

1. Eat breakfast.

Workout

Lower Body workout - 30s for step up, lunges, squats, calf raises; 55s for deadlift

Meals

M1 - coffee, half and half
M2 - protein shake and fruit
M3 - chicken, steak and shrimp fajitas (no tortillas), .25 cup guacamole, green salad with vinaigrette dressing
M4 - protein shake
M5 - protein shake, banana
M6 - Greek yogurt, .25 cup grape nuts

Hal

My weight is down one pound from my starting point of the Gratitude in Action team challenge, but my body fat percentage is down 2.5%. That translates into 10 pounds of muscle, meaning I have lost 11 pounds of fat since starting the challenge on April 16. That's pretty amazing, but the numbers are solid and consistent.

Cause for Celebration!

Hal

Tom,

I hope you are on to something with your supplement. Good luck!

Hal

Crazy day at work. Spent most my day in meetings. Glad the weekend is almost here. We're having a garage sale to get rid of tons of JUNK! Healthy spaces makeover in the works. Had an amazing time at the Van Halen concert last night. I posted Eddie's 7 minute guitar solo video on YouTube and FB. He was sober and never played better.



Meals today:
M1 - Green meal drink (Nature's Harvest)
M2 - Granola bar
M3 - Roast beef sandwich
M4 - RightLight
M5 - Turkey sandwich
M6 - Post-workout protein shake



.

Hey everyone my friend Elise has joined T.com. Would you all swing by her profile and welcome her here? Thanks!

themama74: You Matter! / Bill Phillips Transformation

Nice day off today. Slept 11 hours last night, that is very rare for me. I must have needed the sleep. Great UBWO today, skipped cardio though. Weigh in tomorrow. I have two new meals that are very easy to make: 1. Turkey bacon BLT efl, and 2. Frozen Turkey Burgers from Fred Meyer and they taste very good.

Today's food
1 turkey bacon blt, efl, wheat bread instead of the wrap, and no cheese
2 sesame beef stir fry, efl. Made a 12 serving batch for leftovers
3 turkey bacon blt
4 tbd

Brad

I will be back tomorrow to post my accountability. Just a crazy busy day. I ate healthy and got in my 40 min. Insanity Cardio Power and Resistance workout this morning.

Wishing you all the best!

Overall Notes: Yesterday, I fiddled around too long and ran out of time to hit the gym for resistance training before I had to leave for the rest of the day. [Note to self: get the exercise in early.] My personal chef made two types of wheat-free spaghetti as dinnertime side dishes so I could compare them side by side (isn't she a sweetie?) - a rice & potato flour pasta, and a quinoa pasta. Both tasted OK, but we decided that we'd prefer the quinoa pasta in the future. Just for the record, without her support and efforts, I don't think that I could effectively do the "nutrition thing" (without overeating the wrong stuff). I believe I'll renew her contract again this year.

Did I stick to the food & exercise plan yesterday?? Yes for food, "No" for exercise (see above)

Today’s Exercise: Stretching routine; 3.8 mile interval training run (focus on speed)
Countdown: 25 days until the Memorial Day Half Marathon in Owensboro KY

Today’s Food Plan: Low Glycemic Index & Limited Wheat

M1 (B’fast): Bacon 'n Egg Sandwich (sprouted grain bread toast, 1 egg, 2 slices of bacon, thin slice of cheese); Fiber drink (psyllium husks, flaxseed, etc.)
M2 (Midmeal): Vegetable (mostly) Juice
M3 (Lunch): Leftover Eggplant Parmesan, meatballs and no-wheat spaghetti
M4 (Midmeal): Protein shake
M5 (Dinner): Personal Chef (aka, spouse) has not yet determined / revealed this.
M6 (Dessert/Snack): Protein shake; fruit

Tom

Today's Transformation Energy = cardio workout + leg workout + abdominal workout + nutrition + supplements + connecting to the T.com community

Quick post right now. Just about to head into a meeting. Got a killer workout in yesterday. I'm finally seeing some real gains on the weights. Exciting!!!


Meals today:
M1 - 2 eggs, 1 slice wheat toast
M2 - RightLight
M3 - Turkey sandwich
M4 - RightLight
M5 - EFL Chicken Fajitas
M6 - Protein shake


Hal - You're on FIRE brother!!!

.

Well... it's May... my busiest time of the year! Both of the boys have birthdays (can we say PARTY??!!), it's my busiest time at work, and usually there's another even thrown in there... wedding, christening, etc. This month is a weekend-long hockey tournament out of town. My weekends are booked-up throughout the month!!

This weekend, I'm having a Phineas and Ferb birthday party for my soon-to-be 6 year old! I am making a Birthday De-FUN-inator - an invention of the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz, where it's a box with a "conveyor belt" running through it. On one side, the cupcakes are going in... on the other side, cut up carrots and celery sticks are coming out. LOL!!! I also have insta-snow (for Swinter), we're doing the mummy wrap-up race (where you wrap your partner in toilet paper), "Where's Perry" scavenger hunt, and "Pin the Tail on the Platypus." For those of you not familiar with the show... this probably looks like a bunch of gobbledy gook. For those of you who have seen the show, it might be funny. :/

I started off the week with a bang... working out each morning, eating healthy, logging my food. Good stuff. I need to get off this extra weight and I finally feel like I have the energy and motivation to do it!!

Thanks, as always, for your support!!

Been trying to kick this lung sickness the past couple days. Still staying active and healthy on the eating. I will overcome this and keep continuing on. Had a binge last night but back on today and not looking back. It does happen from time to time and I will not regret it or beat myself up over it. It's my lifestyle now and not a diet, so I didn't fail or let myself down by giving in. I have won by getting back on today and continuing on. Thanks to everybody for being so inspiring and continuing to make healthy choices daily, that keeps me going.