Brian Gets Brawn

Steak and Potatoes: Recipe Review

It doesn’t get much more Paleo than a nice cut of steak. Put a sweet potato next to it, and it’s pure caveman bliss. This is probably my favorite Paleo meal of all time, and it couldn’t be simpler. My preference is Ribeye steak cooked medium or medium rare.

Recipe:

Steak: Heat the grill on high. I like to season it with just salt and pepper. Put a liberal amount on both sides. Once the grill is hot, put the steak on and grill for about 3-4 minutes on each side. The fat on the steak gets this nice crunchy crust and just melts in your mouth. So good.

Potato: I do these in the microwave, actually. Take a medium sweet potato, poke a few holes in it with a knife, and then nuke it on high for 5-6 minutes. Flip it over and then cook it for 5-6 more minutes. You just want to make sure it’s soft all the way through. I like it put butter and a bit of salt on it.

Rating: 10/10

Whole30 Day 7

January 7, 2013

Workout

Basketball – played about an hour of full-court (4-on-4), plus a few more games of half-court. About 2 hours total.

Food

1. Strawberries, coconut milk, protein powder, coffee
2. Steak, lettuce, guacamole, pico (Chipotle)
3. Sausage and Sweet potato fritatta

Notes

Lots of sleep, but still woke up feeling tired with a headache. Basketball was good exercise.

Whole30 Day 6

January 6, 2013

Workout

Rest

Food

1. Strawberries, coconut milk, protein powder, coffee
2. Chicken and tomato soup
3. Sausage and Sweet Potato Frittata

Notes

Not a great night of sleep at all – maybe 5 hours of poor quality, which is especially bad on a Sunday. It’s 9p and I can barely stay awake.

Whole30 Day 5

Jan 5, 2013 log

Workout

Buy-in/Strength:  Back Squat

• 135×5
• 155×5
• 185×5
• 195×5

WOD: EMOM: 8 mins

• 2 front squats (95lbs),
• 5 burpies (sub for 90m sprints)

Squats felt much better than the last time I did them (few days ago). WOD was really hard.

Mobility: Calves – 3 mins each leg

Food

1. Eggs (3), italian sausage (5 oz), butter (1 pat), coffee, coconut milk (1/4 cup)
2. Ribeye steak (5 oz), mixed vegetables, butter (1 pat)
3. Creamy chicken tomato soup (chicken breast, tomatoes, coconut milk)

Notes

Feeling pretty tired by mid-afternoon. Hopefully this will pass soon.

Whole30 Day 4

Jan 4, 2013 log

Workout

Buy-in: 29 push-ups

WOD:
3 rounds:
12 KB swings (35lb)
31 Tuck jumps (sub for double-unders)
13 Goblet squats (35lb)

Time: 8:13

Cash-out: 1983 lbs, ground to overhead

Deadlift – clean – jerk
95 lbs x 21 reps (sets of 7, 8, and 6)

Total load: 1995 lbs

Mobility: Hip extensions – 4 mins each side

Wow – lots of work this morning! The mobility (of all things) was hard.

Other: ~1.5 hours of basketball in the evening at newhope.

Food

1. Eggs (3), butter, apple, coffee, coconut milk
2. Ribeye steak (6 oz), sweet potato, butter
3. Tilapia, broccoli, butter, pico de gallo (Chili’s)

Fish oil: 4g

Notes

Really missing sweetener in my coffee! Overall felt pretty good today. Getting out of bed early is still really, really hard for me.

Sleep: 7 hrs

Starting Stats

Let’s hope these all change. Dramatically.

• Height: 5’11″ (this probably won’t change much… )
• Weight: 213.4
• Bodyfat: 27.6% (used the Navy method, which can be pretty inaccurate)
• Lean mass: 154.5 lbs
• Fat mass: 58.9 lbs
• Stomach: 41.5 in
• Chest: 42 in
• Thighs: 25 in

Pretty pictures are more fun, though:

Whole30 Day 3

Jan 3, 2013

Workout

Rest

Food and Supplements

1. Strawberries, coconut milk, protein powder
2. Lettuce, chicken breast, pico de gallo, guacamole, cilantro (Moe’s)
3. Cashews (snack)
4. Eggs (3), ground sausage, butter, spinach, avocado

Fish oil: 4g

Notes

I went about 9 or so hours between meal 2 and 3 with only some cashews to hold me over (stuck with no food for dinner, and I ate the last meal about 10:30p). Surprisingly I didn’t get all that hungry.

I also had some abdominal pain after the protein smoothie. Maybe something in the protein powder messed with me? I doubt it was the coconut milk or the strawberries. Not sure…

Sleep:

• 8 hours (12a to 8a)
• Quality: good

Whole30 Day 2

Jan 2, 2013

Workout

WOD:

AMRAP – 12 mins

• 15 tuck jumps (sub for double unders)
• 12 push-ups
• 9 cleans – 95 pounds

5 rounds plus 15 tuck jumps, 12 push-ups

Mobility:

10 minutes in the full squat position – PAIN

Food

1. Eggs (3), spinach, butter, onion, coffee
2. Ground beef, squash, zucchini, coconut milk, curry paste
3. Mixed nuts, apple
4. Eggs, spinach, butter, onion, sausage

Misc

Sleep: 7 hrs – quality: poor
Fish oil: 4g