Fab Five Meals

Welcome back to my wonderful journey. Let me explain something that I believe all people realize at some point in their lives: diets are hard to maintain. This lifestyle change has been one of the most challenging habits to fulfill other than trying to finish all of my homework before 2 A.M. In all seriousness, I put in a lot of effort, but external and internal (pun intended) forces changed the outcome of this experiment. I’ve been exposed to such glorious and gargantuan amounts of different foods in the past week that I’m surprised I did not gain a few pounds. However, the experiment is still valid – I hope - because I only cheated twice concerning my diet limitations.

            This week was all about the stereotypical bodybuilder’s diet: the 5 meals per day meal plan. The same rules applied: I was to eat nutritious and small meals during the day in order to stage off hunger and provide more energy. I was excited to complete this diet because of last week’s somewhat tiring day-to-day activities in which it was a burden to walk around campus. Fortunately for me, this diet helped to boost not only my alertness and energy, but it also helped my strength and stamina grow. As proof of my newfound vigor, I had only taken one nap the entire week! That’s four less naps than I usually take during a regular week consisting of a dull diet. So what could I have done with this extra energy, you ask? As fictional southern mascot Forrest Gump would say, “I was running.”

            Beads of sweat hit the ground. The cement quakes under the intense power of each passing step. The wind curves around me faster and faster until an eventual tornado would awake me from this utterly silly hyperbole. However exaggerated as my previous descriptions might have appeared, I did feel great while running compared to the hellish week of exercise that preceded this. I zipped around corners, dashed across crosswalks, and made it to my destination. 25 minutes. 25 minutes had become my new average for a 1.8-mile trek around the Santa Clara campus. That may not like much of an improvement, but I take into consideration that the journey is far more important and pivotal than the arrival could ever be. Boy, I felt great jogging on the harsh cement-covered sidewalks at a chilly 9 P.M. at night, every night. Well, maybe not every night.

            This past week could be summed up in one word: drama. Whether it was good or bad, it was still quite chaotic. On Saturday, I had been invited – of all places - to an L&L BBQ. This restaurant can be found in many places throughout Oahu, so it’s a disgrace that I hadn’t made the journey to this beautiful and luscious restaurant sooner in the school year.  When we arrived, I automatically ordered my favorite dish: Chicken Katsu Curry and Rice. At that point, I didn’t care about my health, and I certainly forgot about my diet plan. I was hapless in my resistance to these deep-fried, battered, and mayonnaise covered death warrants. All I really cared about was enjoying my first Hawaiian meal in months, and that proved to be the case. Later that night, I had a deep existential discussion with myself concerning my diet and the ramifications of skipping a cardio day; I stopped thinking after a few minutes. I was so full, I felt that the only place I would be running towards would be the bathroom. That’s one day of losing weight that I will never get back (but it was oh so worth it).

            The second of my cheat days was a more depressing one. If there were any reason to skip a workout other than sickness or death, this would be it. Due to this blog being about dieting, I will attempt to avoid a lengthy discussion about my life and its shortcomings. In short, I lost a friendship that I held so dearly to my heart. Some people might go to the gym to relieve their anger, or fuel their runs with rage. I, on the other hand, could do neither. I sat in my room, dumbfounded and stricken with a sense of sadness and shock that I had never experienced before. At this point, I didn’t think about jogging, dieting, or even my own physical health. I just wanted to lie down in my bed and think about what had happened to my relationship. Over the next few days, I attempted to exercise and work out, but the latter had no such luck. I was able to jog around campus, but I had lost that zest for bettering my body. Instead, my mind was filled with sadness, anger, and regrets that would eventually slow my running to that of a walking pace. I tried to complete the experiment this week, guys. I really did try. However, I just couldn’t and wouldn’t heal from life’s beatings during the last two days.

            The least I could offer you would be the lone day of improved statistics. Try to compare these weights and sets to that of last week and make your own judgment on whether this meal plan aided my muscle efficiency. The lone trip to the gym consisted of a Bicep and Lat workout: one set of Bicep curls (10 reps at 15Ib), two sets of seated Bicep curls (10 reps at 20Ib), three sets of seated Lat rows (12 reps at 15Ib), one set of Bicep curls (8 reps at 15Ib), one set of seated Bicep curls (8 reps at 20Ib), one set of Bicep curls (5 reps at 12.5Ib), and finally one set of seated Bicep curls (5 reps at 15Ib). I can honestly say that due to the extended meals that the diet provides, my DOMS did not noticeably affect me as much as I thought it would have. My arms were spared of the spaghetti-noodle-itis that had plagued me during the first week of working out.

            All in all, I believe that this meal plan was far more successful than the last, excluding a few factors that might have played a role in the reduction of efficiency. Hopefully, my next diet consisting of high carbs will benefit me even further than the previous two combined. Come along with me, and wish me luck on another chapter of my life.