Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Precision Nutrition

I've mentioned in the past that I use Precision Nutrition as the basis for my daily eating habits. Well, to be honest, I try to use it. Heading into Western States last year, I was using the system very well and I got my BF% down to 13% and I was as lean and strong as I'd been in a few years. Then, after WS was cancelled, I went back to my more typical bad diet, which included refined carbs and too much alcohol. I ended the year at just over 200 pounds and at about 20% BF. Not good at all - a gain of 20 pounds of weight and most of it was fat rather than muscle.

So, starting late last year, I signed up for a 6-month team-coaching program through Precision Nutrition. There is a separate coaching program for men and women, and we are about 6 weeks into a 6-month program. We have a daily lesson and most days, we have a homework assignment. One of our recent lessons was about portion size, and as a result, we had to photograph all the food we ate for a day.

A primary goal of PN is that each meal contains a veggie and a lean protein, and foods with lots of carbs are limited to during or immediately after workouts. I had a good eating day on Monday, so I thought I'd post what I ate here as well. My workout was in the evening on Monday, so my post-workout meal with carbs came as meal number 5 (of 6) that day.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, cooked in coconut oil, with sauteed onions and bell peppers:


Mid-morning snack: Celery and carrots and a scoop of Metabolic Drive protein powder:


Lunch: 1 chicken sausage, 1 baked chicken wing, lots of broccoli:


Mid-afternoon snack: Dry-roasted mixed nuts and an orange:


Dinner (post work-out): Soup made with garlic, leeks, chicken stock, tomatoes, chicken sausage, olive oil, and green lentils:


Pre-bedtime snack: Celery stick with natural (no sugar, no fat added) peanut butter:



I wish I could say I was this compliant with my food choices everyday, but this is what I strive to do. Yesterday was another fully compliant day, and today has been compliant so far. The overall goal of the program is to be compliant 90% of the time, and have those "cheats" be reasonable. It's not always easy, but it's something I'm constantly working on.

4 comments:

David Ray said...

Very interesting. That soup looks tasty!

Eating well is a constant challenge. Specially during the holidays. I felt good about maintaining current weight through December. Now it's back to working on the downward trend.

Damon said...

The soup is very easy to make. Saute some fresh garlic and the white part of a leek or two in some olive oil on low heat. After the leeks are wilted, add water, chicken stock or both to the pot and bring it to a boil. Add lentils. I prefer French green lentils (Lentils du Puy). Add one can of Muir Glen diced fire roasted tomatoes. Add in the pre-cooked chicken sausage - whatever flavor you like. I use the Al Fresco brand of chicken sausages all the time to get different flavors into my diet, rather than just eating roasted chicken breasts all the time. Season as desired, based on the sausage flavor. I used mild Italian sausages, so I seasoned the soup with a little rosemary and thyme and a bay leaf, plus some kosher salt.

Add water if needed to finish cooking the lentils. Add more or less water to get the consistency you want - soup or stew. Add chicken stock to the water if you have it.

If you pre-soak the lentils, you can make this in an hour. If not, it will take 2 hours.

This is a recipe that tends to taste better the second day, after the lentils have time to absorb some more water and they start to release starch into the soup. You can also take a cup or two of the soup and puree it into a blender to give it a thicker texture.

Johann G. Sigurdsson said...

Damon just curious but is that not very small meals according to PN standards and too in low protein or are you doing another version in your class?

Speed Racer said...

That celery picture is one of the ugliest things I've ever seen! :) The more you talk about this program, the more it intrigues me. It really seems like the "exercises" are well thought out and helpful. After that email you sent me at Christmas, I DID re-think a lot of my holiday meal choices. I hope it helps you to reach your goals, both personal and athletic, in 2009!

(WS100 finish line, here you come!)