Am important nuance.
I work in an office of other engineers and I have watched most of the other guys (with the exception of myself and a few others) do nothing but pad their waistlines over the last 4 years. And they don’t consume nearly the amount of food I do. I don’t understand why one would choose that on purpose.
PM WORKOUT (1600)
SPARTAN DOOM
EMOM, first 20 minutes do 3 Devil Presses w/50lsb, next 20 do 4 Devil Presses w/25lbs, next 20 do 5 burpees, each round has a 5 chin buy in. Go for max push ups after 60 minutes.
Notes: Something I came up with on the plane ride. Not quite as intense as Faust, but still exhausting. What I like about it, and where the “Spartan” comes from is you end up doing 300 chins by the time it’s done. They’re sneaky like that. It’s like having the legion of 300 tearing through the circles of Hell with Dante: You are deep in the circle with those 3s, and though the weight gets lighter, the reps get higher and the rest gets shorter as you try to climb out.
Did a lot of cooking in the room today. Getting ahead where I can.
Something I do appreciate about this hotel is the anabolic lighting
Super solid. Any non-muscle gain is indiscernable at this point.
Much appreciated man. It’s screwy lighting, but if anything I’ve not gained enough based on how the 5s pro went. I learned a good lesson here: an adjustment period between fat loss and weight gain is helpful.
Probably a question I can answer myself but, is it a lot of maintenance to keep your body looking that way? Let’s say u start eating Burger King more often, could you getaway with it or would you gain fat easily.
It would depend on what I ate at BK I suppose, but it doesn’t take much maintenance in that I honestly don’t WANT to eat that stuff any more. Psychologically I crave it, but physiologically my body WANTS the nutritious food that I eat. I actually went and spend $110 in groceries to get set up for this trip upon arrival, which seems like sticker shock until you realize it feeds me for the week and most of my peers will spend that in a day eating out for every meal…
Looking scary as fk mate. Love it.
Thanks man! Gotta love the perfect lighting, shadows and angles, haha. But I had a solid pump after 300 chins as well.
Personally I can see myself eating the deep water diet or similar for the long run. I can’t imagine myself completely separating from junk food though. If anything I would eat junk for like one day after a training block is done, then when I start the next block, it’s back to the usual diet. Also on special ocassions and celebrations I would eat junk (obviously).
Junk food tastes better as a rare treat, in my opinion. Eating crap every day takes a lot of the joy out of it.
agreed.
I personally do not like the taste of junk. My stomach also doesn’t handle it well
When I treat myself, it’s with quantity
Speaking of which, I really want to go all out on thanksgiving
What a hunk. swoon
That conditioning protocol looks awesome. I’ll have to give it a try sometime.
@tlgains (Long post ahead) I find that basing things around food is where the danger lies. Using food like a reward is honestly pretty degrading when you look at it: that’s something we do with dogs and very young children. I’m at the point where I don’t care about the food so much as the EXPERIENCE of the food. I used to have a programmed weekly cheat meal and I would BINGE. I put away over 2000 calories at a Taco Bell one time and wasn’t really specifically trying to set a record or anything. It was honestly disgusting, and a sign that I didn’t have my nutrition under control at all. All I was doing was concentrating all of my bad habits into one quick shot, rather than spreading it out. Be no different than an alcoholic switching from drinking every day to being sober 6 days a week and then going on an all out bender on Sunday.
Back to that “the experience” piece: I can still enjoy foods “off menu”, but I want to enjoy them WITH someone. I posted about my birthday dinner, and it was delicious, but specifically I loved being with my family and all of us sharing the meal, talking about the tastes, sharing food from our plates, etc etc. The year before, I was alone on my birthday, and I just stuck to the diet. Legit, the only change I made was, instead of eating a Finibar for breakfast (since I was traveling for work), I had 1 pop tart and a greek yogurt, which actually broke out pretty similarly macronutrient wise. I waited until I got home later that week, and then the Mrs and I went out to eat.
You and I honestly seem VERY similar in regards to our love of fast food. I’m an addict, and I mean that in the Alcoholics Anonymous sense of the word in that, no matter how long you go without it, you’ll always be an addict. Psychologically, I’m hooked. I still go to fast food places just to get the little dopamine light up I feel when I cross the threshold of the doorway, and I’ll order a soda and no joke just watch other people enjoy their meals and live vicariously through them. I have the willpower where it’s no challenge to NOT eat the stuff, and physically it’s not something I care to have, but it’s still something I know is under the surface.
All THAT said, dude, you’re 19. If I have any regrets, it’s not eating MORE fast food at that age, haha. My first summer job, I was 19 working at a sporting goods store that had a Carl’s Jr across the street. They had JUST released their double six dollar burger: 1lb of meat. It allowed for a lettuce wrap option, so of course I got that. I’d have it for lunch EVERY day. The first day, it took nearly my entire half hour break to eat: by the end of the summer, I could eat it in about 5 minutes and still be hungry.
@dagill2 Marty Gallagher touched on that in “Purposeful Primitive”. We get desensitized when we constantly subject ourselves to these hyperbolic flavors. When we stick with a blander diet, it really enhances things. And that’s a bit on the obesity piece as well: like a drug, when we don’t get the same boost from the same dose, we up the dosage. Meanwhile, the opposite is true as well. I feel bad on how much food I “waste” when I go out, but the family will go get ice cream or cupcakes or something and I legit just need half a spoonful or 1 forkfull to be satisfied. I enjoy the taste and the experience and then that’s it.
Another part of that is what I’ve talked with @SkyzykS about as well with my “buffet strategy”: philosophically I’ve come to terms with the fact that I don’t get MORE joy from repeating that experience. At most, I get the SAME joy repeated twice, but realistically it’s probably even less with each successful bite. Realizing that was a big one.
@anna_5588 I’d like you to enjoy yourself at Thanksgiving 
@kdjohn I figure, if I can’t be dangerous, I can at least look it, haha. Spartan Doom is definitely going up there on my list of “I can’t think of what to do today”. Speaking of, you’ll dig today’s workout…
LUNCHTIME WORKOUT (1230)
100 Dan John Armor complexes done with 30lb dumbbells
Time: 49:22
Notes: This is close to my goal of 100 with the 45lb kettlebells. Dumbbells kinda suck, but it was workable. In addition, I only packed running shoes, which also kinda suck. Which, in turn, made this a great workout for dealing with things sucking, which is where I’m a viking. After doing this, my appetite has been RAVENOUS. Traveling while on a weight gaining phase always sucks. I’m going through SO much food. Last time I did this was fat loss, which was stupid easy.
I feel like I’m complaining.
This workout was harder than Spartan Doom. I didn’t have any particular pacing: just wanted to get the 100 done as quick as possible. Full disclosure: I was having a convo with my spouse via text during it, so that’s part of the reason I didn’t want to have a set pace. She had no idea I was working out, so mission accomplished there.
I also got in relevant parts of the daily work.
I’m working nights this trip, but it’s also a bit of a chaotic schedule, so workouts are going to be silly. Keeping in mind: this is a deload week before I begin building the monolith, so that’s cool.
Mate that really was a long one. I like reading about your relationship with food and how you control and manage it. I see some similarities when I read that list but also I see where we are worlds apart. I too love junk food but not to the point where I feel it is an addiction. I also loved your comments about the experience of sharing and eating food with others which I agree with 100%.
For me my main challenge with food is a complete apathy for food in general and lack of energy to eat. I have had a eating routine for the last 4 years which I stick to 95% of the time and it is what allows me to keep gaining strength and recovering from training. When I am not training or don’t have that routine I eat either total rubbish or just no food at all. I always refer to it as the skinny guy inside me trying to get out.
My wife is an excellent cook, and I mean that. I am not just trying to be nice to her. She loves to cook new things and loves to see the family enjoying stuff she makes. I have to actively manage my apathy around food when she is talking about something she wants to make. My mind is literally thinking I would be happy with plain grilled meat and broccoli. When I eat her food I always tell her how good it is and never leave food on the table (thanks for that Dad) and genuinely enjoy sharing her creations with her but it is still something I have to make myself do.
Do you have any idea where that addiction to junk food came from ?
@tlgains I would also absolutely identify as a food addict. I have a very similar relationship to food that an alcoholic might have with alcohol in that I will crave it, not necessarily for the flavour or to fulfil any nutritional needs, but because I recognise that dopamine hit when I eat. I will absolutely eat beyond the point of satiety, or even comfort, well beyond the point of enjoyment and continue until all the food is gone. This isn’t, as pwn alluded to, some misguided attempt to be part of the clean plate club but the action of an addict trying to get his fix. I am finding that the vocabulary of an addict is very helpful for me to combat this, although it is still a work in progress. Check my future T-ransformation pictures if you want to know if I ever crack it.
Appreciate the comments @simo74 There’s definitely a duality in me: I can eat the same thing everyday and have no issue with it. My blood pressure crashed because I keep my food so bland when left to my own devices that I don’t even add salt to it. For me, the fast food addiction honestly seems to be an addiction to the EXPERIENCE of fast food, rather than the food itself. I love being able to order food, have someone else make it for me, and all I have to do to clean it up is crumple up the wax paper and throw it away, to say nothing of I can order whatever I want and have it made however I want. I can get it from a drivethrough window if I really want, haha.
I figured out I was “celebrating” too much. My life was in a REAL good way, and food became the reward. And, in turn, things that DIDN’T need celebrating got celebrated. Made it through a tough day at work? Go get some Burger King. Made it through the week? We’re going out and I’m getting a 1lb ribeye. It even got to the point that, if I just needed to kill time, I’d go get some fast food. That was happening during my build up to a 275lb keg press. If I had 30 minutes of downtime, I’d hit up a fast food place and get a couple of value meal burgers to occupy the time.
Those were the “right habits” for that goal, sure, but it engrained some real bad habits in general. Now I’m at the point where, if I DO go out that frequently, I make better choices. Lots of chicken and salads.
@dagill2 Appreciate the share there dude. I imagine a LOT of folks are out there with a damaged relationship with food: most just don’t really recognize or understand it. We’re in such a unique historical space in that regard: an abundance of food AND variety. A new flavor is always coming up, some new product, and all of it just junk we don’t even need.
Absolutely. I think the share turned out to be far less relevant than I thought it would be when I started typing, but hopefully it’s of value to someone at some point.
Recognising a problem is the first step to fixing it and as always you sense of self awareness and self control seem to be on point here mate.
I actually think that maybe the family and I should celebrate with nice food more often. 2 years of lock down in Melbourne and the thought of eating out makes me very uncomfortable which is not normal. As things are starting to open up, I definitely need to get back out there with the wife and kids and start to experience life again.
Same here. I could take it or leave it. I do it for the recovery. I started cooking regularly when I began lifting a couple years ago or whatever, making super simple things and that’s still all I do. I don’t really enjoy eating. I like tasting it, but after the initial bite is gone it becomes kind of a chore.
However, I do have a huge appreciation now for people who cook food well. I find myself leaving restaurants sometimes wondering how the hell people can make food taste that good.
My craving for fast food got worse as soon as COVID hit. Because of COVID (and the fact that I’m apart of a family of five) my dad bought a deep freezer. Now during this time I didn’t really know how to cook anything and what I ate was usually what my dad brought home. He would bring home hot dogs, frozen pizza, apple pie, Arby’s curly fries, and this big ol bag of fried chicken strips. Luckily, my older sister knew how to make home cooked meals so she would cook and I would eat that as well. My mom used to cook when I was younger but she started working again to make her own money. Typically on Fridays, before COVID my mother would always bring home fast food so I would always look forward to that. Either my mother brought it home on her own or my siblings and I would text my mother asking if she can bring home fast food.
On my first run of Deep Water during my summer internship, that was when I developed the ability to quit eating frozen pizza, hotdogs, fries, and frozen lasagna. My parents and I signed a lease for the apartment and when my dad went there to set things up, he bought the same frozen stuff he usually did. Because I was making my own money I took the opportunity to start and straighten out my diet. Not that it was a bad thing but my Mom stayed with me in the apartment while my dad was back home working. Since my Mom was there she would crave fast food often and I would be the one to drive her to any place. I can’t complain though because we were living in a different state and that was fun. Present day, I have been using Uber Eats to order fast food. It’s absolutely hilarious to me that because I’m a homebody and not a big fan of driving, I feel absolutely no desire to go out of my way and drive to a fast food spot. Damn…. As I typed this I literally noticed that I like when food is brought to me. Obviously I love the taste of fast food as well cause it’s a unique one. With that being said I’m not exactly sure what to do now but, I should not plan a fast food feast the day after my second run of Deep Water Beginner. I kid you not I was using that as reasoning to not order a KFC family bucket today. The cravings get worse towards the end of the week because I’m so used to eating an increased amount of junk on Friday,Saturday,Sunday. I’m not really sure what to do tbh but I have not ordered fast food for like almost 2 weeks (13 days). I still want it very badly though.