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Day 25: Calorie cavalcade

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Day 25

  • Weight: 127.4 lbs.
  • No workout today
  • Total inches: 118.6
  • Protein: 127 g (7 g over target)
  • Calories: 2,824

I have never worked so hard to put things in my mouth. Hmm, that didn’t come out right …

In starting calorie counts 10 days ago, I’ve had to calculate twice as much before when just counting protein. But I have found two ways to make the chore more bearable.

1. Show it. As much as I love numbers, a visual component helps me a lot. With protein, my spreadsheet cell lights up green once I hit the minimum for the day. (Nerd alert!)

The first few days of calorie tracking, I winged it. I knew my basic maintenance requirement for my age and my size was around 1,700 to 2,000 calories a day. My gut (ha!) tells me I probably used to hit the low end of that figure (ha!) when eating normally.

As my weight gain stalled, I looked at the calories and saw they were inconsistent. I made a chart and realized I should shoot for 2,500 to 3,000 a day to put on pounds.

Calories Sept. 25, 2012

Chart: Calories through Sept. 25.
Note the target zone of at least 2,500 a day. 

Easy enough: Make sure the blue line hits at least 2,500 by day’s end.

2. Use an online recipe calorie calculator. Calories are an imperfect science. An approximation is what you get, but it’s still better than flying blind.

This wonderful calorie calculator allows me to copy and paste recipe ingredients and generate an official-looking nutrition facts label.

For example, I’m making the Pioneer Woman’s excellent macaroni and cheese this week. But instead of looking up the data for each ingredient, I can do it much more quickly with this tool.

recipe calorie calculator

Paste in the ingredients, tweak them for analysis
and receive your nutrition facts chart.

Tip: Food bloggers, include nutritional info with your recipes. Bonus points if you style it so it looks like the official label but uses text instead of an image, as I did above.

I can spend less time crunching numbers and more time crunching nuts. Still didn’t come out right …

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Macaroni and Cheese
from the Pioneer Woman

  • 4 cups dried macaroni
  • 1 whole egg beaten
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2-1/2 cups whole milk
  • 2 teaspoons (heaping) dry mustard, more if desired
  • 1 pound cheese, grated
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt, more to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • (optional) Cayenne pepper, paprika, thyme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook macaroni until very firm. Macaroni should be too firm to eat right out of the pot. Drain.

In a small bowl, beat egg.

In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook mixture for 5 minutes, whisking constantly. Don’t let it burn.

Pour in milk, add mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook for 5 minutes until very thick. Reduce heat to low.

Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking eggs. Whisk together till smooth.

Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth.

Add in cheese and stir to melt.

Add salt and pepper. Taste sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed! Do not under-salt.

Pour in drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine.

Serve immediately (very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.

Wade’s tip: I like to make this spicy, so I use pepper jack and extra sharp cheddar, along with generous amounts of paprika and cayenne spices. Also, be sure to read The Pioneer Woman’s post and admire her step-by-step photos.

Day 21: Fine dining

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Day 21

  • Weight: 125.2 lbs.
  • No workout today
  • Total inches: 118.6
  • Protein: 136 g (18 g over target)
  • Calories: 2,600

Much of my diet so far has been shakes, chicken and potatoes.

I can tolerate a lot of repetition in my meals as a bachelor. I tend to make a big batch and eat leftovers throughout the week.

The potatoes can go one of three ways: mashed, baked or french fried (in this case, faux-fried). I haven’t done mashed yet, but have done about 10 potatoes the other two ways.

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Baked potato

Wash potato. Leave skin on. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake at 450 degrees for under an hour.

Note: A smart cook will flip the potato halfway through. I’m lazy, so it usually comes out a little burnt on top. A dumb cook, like me, will poke holes in the potato beforehand as though it were going in a microwave oven.

Nutrition: For a medium potato (173 g), 161 calories, 4.3 g protein.

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Mashed potatoes

Wash potatoes. Leave skin on. Cut into equal-size cubes, roughly 1.5 to 2 inches.

With potatoes in pot of cold water, place over high heat. Boil. You can tell potatoes are ready if you stick one with a knife and it slides right off.

Mash with butter, salt and milk.

Mike’s tip: Use half white or yellow potatoes and half sweet potatoes. I’ve had it, and it’s terrific.

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Italian Fries

  • 6 or 7 Idaho potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/3-inch-thick French fry-style strips, soaked in cold water (add 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt)
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs, or some combo of dried oregano, thyme, marjoram and basil
  • 2 cups freshly grated Romano cheese
  • 1/4 cup parsley leaves, finely chopped
  • 4 tablespoons salted butter, cut into 6 cubes
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Drain the potatoes and pat dry with paper towels. (Make sure to soak potatoes for 15 minutes. This ensures crisp fries by removing excess moisture.) Spread 1 tablespoon of the olive oil on each of 2 rimmed baking sheets and spread out the potatoes. Overlapping is fine.

Sprinkle the dried herbs evenly over the potatoes. Liberally spread the cheese and parsley on top. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the cheese. Scatter the cubed butter around the pans.

Bake until the potatoes are golden brown, rotating the pans after 30 minutes, for 45 to 50 minutes total. Use a spatula to lift off the potatoes with all the crusty cheese adhered to them. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Nutrition (per serving): 311 calories, 27.8 g protein.

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Zesty Slow Cooker Chicken Barbecue

  • 6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • One 12-ounce bottle barbeque sauce
  • 1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the barbecue sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the chicken.

Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on high or 6 to 8 hours on low.

Note: I have used half of the amounts for the sauce (last four ingredients) and still come out with too much.

Nutrition (per serving): 300 calories, 23 g protein.

Day 15: When in doubt, bake

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day 15

  • Weight: 123.2 lbs.
  • Workout A: 20 min., 42 sec.
  • Total inches: 117.4
  • Protein: 140 g (22 g over target)
  • Calories: 2,799

If this project is about vanity, the biggest concern I have is having a gut. (Not guts. Gut.)

I’ve always had a small pot belly, which doesn’t jump out when the first thing people notice is how skinny I am.

So besides looking foolish, my bigger concern is coming away from all of this with nothing more than a giant gut. That little nagging voice in the back of my mind may be my built-in appetite suppressant. And for me, it’s always worked.

Having never counted calories in my life, I started checking today. To maintain current weight (given my height and gender) requires roughly 1,700 to 2,100 calories a day.

“The 4-Hour Body” [Amazon | iTunes aff. links] assures the reader that one won’t transform from average human to muscle-bound freak overnight. It is implied that one won’t also explode around the waistline either. But the fear lingers.

The obvious answer for my workout Saturday: Bake.

I’ve made Nestlé Toll House chocolate chip cookies all my life. They’re easy, and I rarely vary the recipe. I’m always trying to get the perfect finish, chewy and moist.

I don’t have that many out-and-out sweets in the house, so baking some fresh temptations should make it easier to indulge. Each standard cookie has 110 calories and 2 g protein.

I had four with my protein shake for breakfast dessert, if that’s what you want to call it.

I never imagined 2 weeks in that I’d be struggling with putting on the pounds. The tiny voice is laughing.

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Nestlé Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups (12-oz. package) semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 5 dozen cookies

Note: 1 cookie has 110 calories, 2 g protein.

Day 12: Drink or shrink

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day 12

  • Weight: 123.0 lbs.
  • No workout today
  • Total inches: 116.1
  • Protein: 165 g (47 g over target)

Most days, I start out with a simple protein shake, featuring my old nemesis, milk. (shakes fist)

It has gotten a little easier to digest it each day, and it certainly has made it much easier to hit the protein goals.

But I may still be lagging on calories and volume.

weight Sept. 9, 2012

Weight chart, through Sept. 12

My weight seems to be stuck at 123 pounds, so I’m going to slowly build my caloric intake. In other words, eat more each day.

The kitchen is loaded with protein-rich foods, so now it’s up to me. I think I’ll celebrate with some ice cream and trail mix and granola and pork and …

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Protein Shake
“The 4-Hour Body” [Amazon | iTunes aff. links], page 207

  • 3 cups milk (2 percent or whole organic)
  • 30 g whey protein isolate (chocolate recommended)
  • 1 banana
  • 3 heaping tbsp. almond butter (no added sugar, maltodextrin or syrups)
  • 5 ice cubes

Blend.

Notes: 970 calories, 75 g protein.

I use 2 percent milk, Isopure dutch chocolate whey protein isolate [aff. link] (lucky for me, on sale last month) and boring peanut butter (cheaper).

Day 1: The first workout, the first milkshake disaster

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day 1 - front

  • Weight: 121.8 lbs.
  • Workout A: 60 min.
  • Total inches: 113.6
  • Protein: 120 g (4 g over target)

I didn’t think I’d be this excited, but I am rarin’ to go.

Day 1 is about starting my workout routine and the mildly annoying habit of weighing food for estimating protein.

It started with the recommended milkshake for breakfast (milk, protein powder, almond butter, brown sugar, ice). (Already a challenge since Asians are generally lactose intolerant.) But I forgot a quirk about my food processor (and many of similar design: It don’t do too well with excess liquid.

As soon as I poured the third cup of milk into the mixing bowl, it started leaking rapidly on the counter. Yikes.

I processed what I could save, mopped up the spilt milk and put out the call for a real blender to borrow.

I’ve made a homemade milkshake before (the same way I’m afraid) and it again came out more liquid with chunks than legitimate shake. It will, sadly, not bring the boys to the yard.

But it did the three things expected: Took care of breakfast, triggered my lactose defenses and knocked out 75 grams of protein.

Dinner, by the way, was a delicious barbecue chicken breast (made in the slow cooker) on baked potato, with sautéed okra.

The eating came easy. The workout was a new beast.

The first one for Workout A, as warned in “The 4-Hour Body” [Amazon | iTunes aff. links], takes longer because you have to determine your starting weights for lifting. I tried out a low weight on the barbell for the Yates rows, then repeated with higher weights until reaching “failure.”

I repeated the process for the overhead press. I know Workout B in 3 days will have the same incremental build. And I forgot to record today’s session on video, but I’ll try for the next one.

I’m energized, I’m excited, and I’m embracing this experiment 100 percent.

Because 110 percent is mathematically impossible.

Day 1 - side