gaspari - superpump250

2010/06/02

fruit punch is tangy and tastes great. gets you in the back of the jaw like those dinasour eggs.

like dark rage, makes me need a dump.

similar sinking feeling.

can feel blood pumping through brain.

taken 30-40 mins before workout.

body still stiff from back and chest workout 2 days previous.

body feels hotter than usual.

1 hour shoulders and arms workout using 10kg dumbells, followed by situps.

apparently it's the best pre-workout supplement in the industry.

didn't feel that much different than without.

arms got tired just like usual.

2011/12/08

Do these things lose their affect after they pass their sell by date? I found a packet of this in the cupboard and drank it before an RPT set of squats this morning. Again, didn't feel much different than without.

Came across an interesting article debunking Nitric Oxide supplements. Apparently Arginine or any crazy form of Arginine does NOT increase nitric oxide in the body. Also they put a lot of stimulants in NO products to make you feel wired. The creatine they use is usually the cheaper and useless "creatinine". The sugar and stimulants in the product give you more energy and focus making the suer think they are getting a good deal. In fact you're better off with a can of red bull and some maltodextrose.


#1 Use creatine monohydrate (CREAPURE is the only brand that does not contain large amounts of creatinine instead of creatine monohydrate).
#2 Take high GI carbs pre workout.
#3 Increase your testosterone levels with a course our "Unleashed" or "LJ100".
#4. Find a supplement containing "Glycine Propion yl-L-Carnitine (GPLC)" that is actually PROVEN to increase Nitric Oxide.

BMR Recalculation

I've been following Martin Berkhan's Leangains protocol for the past year and it's reduced my bodyfat considerably since Jan until now, a lot of that is also due to switching to Paleo. I counted calories to get and idea in the beginning, and now I guess at 2640 (BMR + 20%) on training days and 1760 (BMR - 20%) on rest days. That was using a BMR value of 2200 calories. My bodyfat ranges between 11% and 12% depending on how much beer I drink during the week. Last week I had a friend staying from Denmark and went out on the beers 3 times and BF rose to 12.6%. No drinking this so next time I check BF should be back down under 12.

Just saw this website today with a BMR calculation showing a much lower result. He recommends eating a lot more carbs that I usually eat and less calories overall. It's also interesting what he says about fat on training days. I know it's best to eat carbs post workout to restore muscle glycogen and to spike insulin to shuttle protein to the muscle cells, and less carbs on rest days, but I never gave that much concern to the amount of fat I was eating.


Calculating Leangains Macros based on http://rippedbody.jp/2011/10/23/how-to-calculate-leangains-macros/


Metric BMR Formula
Women: BMR = 655+ ( 9.6 x weight in kilos )+( 1.8 x height in cm ) – ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66+ ( 13.7 x weight in kilos ) + ( 5 x height in cm ) – ( 6.8 x age in years )
Kie: 66 + (13.7 x 76) + (5 x 178) - (6.8 x 35) = 66 + 1041.2 + 890 - 238 = 1759.2 calories


Adjust for Activity
Guides to BMR usually recommend that you use an ‘activity multiplier’ (x1.2~x1.9) depending on your lifestyle/training.
( I won't bother adjusting because I work at a desk and only exercise 3 times a week )

Goal

Choose to ‘Cut’, ‘Slow-Bulk’ or gradual ‘Body-Recomposition’
The calories and thus macros you choose will depend on your goals.

Body-Recomposition: Martin himself refers to a +20%kCal and -20%kCal rule for T-Days and R-Days respectively.
Cut: Your numbers might look something like 2200kCal and 1300kCal. (+10%/-35%kCal)
Slow bulk: Your numbers might look something like 1800kCal and 2800kCal. (+40%/-10%kCal)

Based on the above recommendations, following the 'Cut' guide, I would be eating 1935 calories on training days and 1143 calories on rest days. That seems like hardly any calories at all man, I reckon if I followed that I might lose weight and strength.

I have an "Over-training and Cortisol" experiment that I'm doing first during December, then I'll think about trying this in January.

Main goal is to get stronger, after that start playing with leaning out techniques.

Dymatize Xpand Nitric Oxide Reactor

Tried this before a Bench Press workout this week. Think I'm immune to it, it was gritty, flavour was nice, made me go for a poo, but I didn't get close to my 1RM bench. Pointless supplement.

Why do all these Nitric Oxide ones make me need a poo!!!?

Overrated Supplements

Livestrong.com articles are usually fairly superficial, this one is interesting though.

http://www.livestrong.com/slideshow/550744-the-20-most-overrated-supplements/

I'll stick to casein protein when I haven't eaten much meat on training days and BCAAs before working out.

Note: Written by Alan Aragon who used to be against intermittent fasting and is now a supporter of leangains.com.




Other Leangains links to read:


Bodybuilding celebrity Lee Labrada sets world record in nutritional ignorancehttp://bit.ly/s3ZmHT Read the truth here http://bit.ly/rO1Tqc

http://www.sixpacknow.com/ryan_reynolds_workout.html

Candy, Cocaine, Autism and Schizophrenia | Scientific American http://bit.ly/stNj2g

New study challenges the widely held assumption 'a calorie is a calorie'http://bit.ly/uOQkui Cooked and processed food yields more energy.


Posted this before, but i think it is really important, because i see that a lot people here want to go in a 30-40% deficit, thinking in optimal and faster fat loss, but things do not happen like this...
From Emma Leigh(google if you do not know who is she):

Many people grossly underestimate the time it is going to take them to reach their goal weight, which generally results in frustration, disappointment, and a fall from the diet wagon.
So I just wanted to point everyone to this: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-08/niod-nrm082511.php

It points out that a '3500 cal deficit' will NOT always = 1# weight loss... <-- this generic calculation fails to take into consideration the many differences seen in individuals (gender, age, race, starting weight, impact after prolonged dieting, etc).

I encourage you to check out the link, and take advantage of this funky timeline tool here: http://bwsimulator.niddk.nih.gov/ which should give you an understanding of realistic timelines associated with weight loss.

Be sure to use the 'advanced tools' when doing so, as these allow you to enter things like your RMR calculations and % carbs calories and bodyfat and what not. Also check out the visual stuff (easier to understand) - as it gives you lots of different options when assessing data (check out the different timeline graphs / tabulated data etc).

Even with that said - at the end of the day it is still just 'another prediction equation' that isn't always going to be accurate. There will always be people who fall outside of these results.
So remember to maintain some common sense


Effects of Resistance vs. Aerobic Training Combined With an 800 Calorie Liquid Diet on Lean Body Mass
http://www.jacn.org/content/18/2/115.abstract

to all LG'ers, who wonder im very lean but still cant see their abs, should i STILL CUT for more definition? here is ur answer, READ THIS:http://bradpilon.com/weight-loss/when-losing-fat-doesnt-work/

They are now doing Intermittent Fasting at Xtreme Couture MMA gym in Las Vegas. Check out Ray Sefo at 9.58mins. Martin your knowledge sure doe get around http://vimeo.com/31732243

Hollywood grade Fuckarounditis!
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kellan-lutz-built-like-a-greek-god.html?mcid=NL-NEWS07110611&rmid=november_newsletter_2011&rrid=1605672

Doctors don't know shit about diet, new study finds http://bit.ly/rzl4hT That people assume otherwise is unfortunate.


Workout tune: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEEc12DqJKI

Worst spotter in the world:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSTWcMdkWMA&feature=related Bloody Idiot :P


Why does explaining why a cupcake is delicious make us love it less?http://bit.ly/szTqhi 


Japanese girl sets new world record in jumping rope - YouTubehttp://bit.ly/vJxUxp This is pretty crazy.


High-protein/high-dairy diet supports bone health during fat loss and exercisehttp://1.usa.gov/sBPIev New study for the vegans to chew on.

Glycogen Depletion

www.sagewoodwellness.com

Juice Plus + ® Provides the nutritional essence of 17 different fruits, vegetables and grains in a convenient capsule form. Click here to learn more.

It is a nice article but has a few misconseptions: "After a meal, some of the glucose not used immediately for fuel travels to the liver or skeletal muscles, where it is converted to a compound called Glycogen--through a process called glycogenesis--and stored for energy. Any excess glucose is stored in adipose tissue as fat." The convertion of glucose to fat in humans is a metabolical pathway not that easy, it needs days of overfeeding carbs to ocur. And it says that fatty acids need carbs in order to be oxided, not necesarily, i do not want to become a pro carb pro fat discution, but chech tha facts http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_a4wOp8oPuDM/TSof7z0ukMI/AAAAAAAAAAU/mHcVbSkW66E/s1600/Ketosismetabolism.JPG

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nutrition/nutrient-intake-nutrient-storage-and-nutrient-oxidation.html

Forks Over Knives (2011)

www.imdb.com

Directed by Lee Fulkerson. With Joey Aucoin, Neal Barnard, Gene Baur, San'Dera Brantley-Nation. Examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods.

Post Workout Dairy: Yoghurt or Milk?

Recently my Paleo diet has been loosened to include dairy. This is partly due to reaching a good weight, and partly due to needing to get more calories in on workout days. I've always tried to eat all of my calories, but it's quite hard to get them all in when you are eating clean. I find it easier to not eat much food on rest days, as opposed to eating over maintenance calories on training days. A litre of milk or yoghurt is worth 800 and 1000 calories respectively, after drinking that you're well on your way to the training day's total. It's also a great mix of protein fat and carbs in a post workout drink. It's in liquid form too, so it quickly get's to the places where recovery is needed, and to where muscle synthesis takes place.

From looking at the charts it looks like milk is much better. It has a good balance of protein fat and carbs.
However post workout we need an insulin spike and lots of protein. Yoghurt contains more protein, and more carbs, I.e. more of what we want.


The sugar in milk is lactose, which is a disaccharide derived from the condensation of galactose and glucose. This requires the intestinal villi to secrete the enzyme called lactase in order to break down the lactose into the simple sugars glucose and galactose, which can in turn be absorbed. In most mammals the production of lactase gradually decreases with maturity due to a lack of constant consumption. So the older you get, the harder it is for your body to deal with milk.


Yoghurt is fermented milk. Bacteria uses the lactose in milk to produce lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yoghurt its texture and different taste. Most of the lactose in milk is converted to lactic acid by the bacterial culture, this process also creates lactase, meaning that the body has less lactase to make itself during the absorption process.

Glycemic Index in Milk & Yogurt

The G.I. food list below shows the Glycemic Index score for many different milks and Yoghurts. The G.I score for each food will dictate the speed at which the sugar will be absorbed. A low Glycemic index means the sugar will be absorbed slowly. The higher the G.I score the quicker the sugar is absorbed into the blood. Usually it is desirable to go for low G.I. index foods to avoid energy crashes, sugar craving and falling asleep at the desk after lunch. However, to take advantage of the 30-45min post workout window, eat high glycemic index foods to spike insulin and shuttle as many nutrients to the muscle sells as possible. After the immediate requirement for nutrients is satisfied, protein synthesis eases off, and starts to ramp up again 3-4 hours and tapers off over a 24 hour period.

The G.I. list also shows the carb content for each item as this is related somewhat to Glycemic load for the G.I. diet. However it does not necessarily mean that a food with a high carbohydrate content will automatically mean a high G.I. score.

All foods on the G.I table is based on 100g of product. The portion size doesn't change the Glycemic Index value, but it does count towards the quantity of sugar (carbs) for the item; the bigger the portion the more sugar you would be consuming.

This standard portion size simply enables you to make a sugar comparison with other products in the same group, and the different foods listed on other G.I. tables. This means you can see which foods are high or low in carbohydrate content.

Conclusion
Yoghurt contains 20% more protein than milk
Yoghurt is easier to digest than milk
Yoghurt & milk both spike insulin fast, but milk is good because it does the job with less carbs.
(The G.I. index of natural yoghurt is about the same as milk)
Yoghurt contains gut healing bacteria
Yoghurt is good for internal fungal infections
I'm going to go for yoghurt over milk from now on because of the protein and digestion factors.


Further Study
Milk is harder for the body to process so how can it have the same glycemic index as yoghurt?

What are Legumes not allowed on the Paleo diet?

Beans are Bad for a few reasons:
They are acidic and throw off the acid / base balance.
Their lectins promote gut permeability.
Their lectins promote bad gut flora.

Scary article from Loren Cordain on Legume lectins:
Because dietary lectins are able to cross the gastrointestinal barrier rapidly and enter the circulation intact (Pusztai et al. 1989), they may also be able to interact directly with synovial tissues. Although not a characteristic model of RA with all of its symptoms, a rabbit model of arthritis has shown that the direct injection of legume-derived dietary lectins into the knee joint induces the development of severe arthritis. Specifically, single injections of Lens culinaris lectin (derived from lentils), Pisum sativum lectin (derived from peas), or the lectin concanavalin A derived from the jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis) were able to induce severe arthritis characterized by an amplification of the initial inflammatory response due to T-lymphocyte stimulation (Brauer et al. 1985). Source: "Modulation of immune function by dietary lectins in rheumatoid arthritis,"

How Many Carbs am I Eating?

After reading an interesting article on MarksDailyApple about how many carbs a Primal eater should be eating per day, I started wondering about how close I was getting to me training plan's figures. So I tracked for 10 days to see how my food guessing is going.

The tracking site I used: Livestrong.com recommends to eat 300g of carbs per day.
My training plan goes for up to 350 carbs on days containing exercise and less than 150 carbs on days containing no exercise.

Mark from Mark's Daily Apple is a total low carber, and his recommendations are much lower. He has a six-pack, I do not.

Chart above shows 4 training days and 6 rest days out of a 10 day test period.

Interesting to see that Livestrong's recommendation is in Mark's "Danger Zone". And even though I am not putting on weight, I spend many days in Mark's "Insidious weight gain" zone. hahaha!

By eating sensibly I can see I am able to keep within my training plan carb ranges, so I'll carry on with the way I am eating/living.

PWO: Fruit or Vegetables with Your Protein?

Post workout eating ice cold watermelon tastes great when you're absolutely exhausted. In doing that am I just filling my liver with glycogen while my muscles cry out for replenishment? Is the protein that accompanies the watermelon banging on the door of the muscle because the insulin hasn't arrived yet?

I was under the impression that fruit only contains the sugar fructose. However fruits have fructose and glucose in different proportions:

PREWORKOUT
These fruits provide higher fructose than glucose for sustained fuel
that won't block fat burning. Eat one or two servings.


FRUIT TOTAL SUGARS* FRUCTOSE* GLUCOSE*
Pear (1 medium) 16 11 5
Watermelon (1 wedge) 18 12 6
Apple (1 medium) 14 9 5
Cantaloupe (1/2 melon) 22 12 10
Grapes (1 cup) 24 13 11
Strawberries (2 cups) 14 8 6
Raspberries (2 cups) 10 6 4


MORNING
These fruits provide equal or nearly equal fructose and glucose to
restock liver and muscle glycogen to help halt muscle breakdown. Eat two
or three servings.


FRUIT TOTAL SUGARS* FRUCTOSE* GLUCOSE*
Pineapple (1 cup diced) 13 7 6
Honeydew melon (1 wedge) 13 7 6
Orange (1 medium) 12 6 6
Banana (1 medium) 18 9 9
Blueberries (1 cup) 14 7 7
Nectarine (1 medium) 10 5 5
Kiwi fruit (2 medium) 12 6 6


POSTWORKOUT
These fruits provide more glucose than fructose for restocking muscle glycogen and enhancing muscle growth. (The last five fruits from the morning fruit category are also decent choices postworkout, for their ability to fill glycogen stores.) Eat one or two servings along with white bread, baked potatoes or a carb drink.


FRUIT TOTAL SUGARS* FRUCTOSE* GLUCOSE*


Cherries (1 cup) 14 6 8
Peach (1 medium) 8 3 5


* Quantities are in grams.

That's all very well and good, but post workout does a sweet potato beat them all?


The Pathway Of Fructose
When you consume fructose from the foods you eat, first it gets digested and then immediately gets directed to the liver where it is stored as liver glycogen. This is much different than when it goes into the muscle cells and gets stored as muscle glycogen because the body is not going to be using this liver glycogen for fuel – at least not the nearly the same degree as it does muscle glycogen.

So, by consuming large amounts of fructose in the diet you are actually shorting yourself on the energy-deriving potential from your diet, as well as decreasing the amount of fuel that the muscles have to build new tissue with and help you see a good weight gain.


Applying This To The Post-Workout Period In Bodybuilding
So, looking at this from a bodybuilding perspective, when consuming the post-workout meal, the main objective is to shuttle as many carbohydrates into the muscle cells as they can possibly handle so they can then use this energy to build new tissues and get BIGGER.

If some carbohydrates come from fructose, this is not going to happen. Some muscle glycogen re-synthesis will occur, but it won't be maximised.

Conclusion
So, time to re-think fruit as part of the post-workout meal. Definitely do not cut the fruit out – as it’s very healthy and should be eaten, but just move it to another part of the day instead. Use starchy carbs like sweet potatoes post workout, unless I want to go all psycho on this and start supplementing with Maltodextrin/Dextrose. Let's keep it paleo eh?

References
"Supplements composed of glucose or glucose polymers are the most effective for replenishment of muscle glycogen, whereas fructose is most beneficial for the replenishment of liver glycogen."

Int J Sports Med. 1998 Jun;19 Suppl 2:S142-5. Glycogen resynthesis after exercise: effect of carbohydrate intake. Ivy JL.

"glucose polymer drink after exhaustive exercise promoted a more rapid storage of carbohydrate during the first 2 h of recovery than did consumption of an isoenergetic sucrose drink, both in the whole body and in skeletal muscle."

L. Bowtell, K. Gelly, M. L. Jackman, A. Patel, M. Simeoni, and M. J. Rennie “Effect of different carbohydrate drinks on whole body carbohydrate storage after exhaustive exercise”. Appl Physiol 88: 1529-1536, 2000;

"Fructose and fructose-containing are not optimal for glycogen storage because they are less insulinogenic than glucose, and because fructose needs to first be transformed in the liver before it can be released into the circulation as glucose and taken up by the muscle."

Nutrition and recovery of muscle energy after exercise, Décombaz, Sportmedizin und Sporttraumatologie, 2003.

Home Made Gymnastics Rings

 

Last night I might home made gymnastics rings. So easy to make and they are really good. Bring on the muscle-up practice!

My oven is only 60cm diagonally across so I decided to go for some horse-shoe shapes on my first attempt at these PVC rings. I went to Nakano home centre and bought a 1m length of PVC, some sand, plastic funnel from tokyu hanz, I had some tape left from the parallettes, and I have loads of Costco aluminium foil.

1. Cut the PVC in half
2. Foil one end, tape it up tight
3. Use the funnel to fill with sand
4. Foil and tape the other end
5. Into the oven at 200C for 10 minutes.
6. Use oven gloves to wrap it round a cooking pot with a 60cm circumference.
7. Hold for 5 minutes
8. Run under cold water for 5 mintues.
9. Unwrap and empty out the sand
10. Apply "Pete Sampras" tennis racket tape.
11. Feed through cargo belt

12. Test

Spaghetti Bolognaise - Paleo Style Part II

I'm not one for trying to imitate neolithic foods that I miss on the Paleo diet, I love the paleo diet for what it is; clean eating of meat and veggies. But after Gav started eating Paleo and asked me what he could eat instead of spaghetti I did a bit of research into alternatives. Then after realising they sell shirataki noodles in any shop in Japan I decided to give them a go and made some spag-bol paleo style. The shirataki was tasteless so I'll not be doing that again. Good to know though.

I was cycling back to the office at lunch time in the sweltering heat and noticed they had 金糸瓜 (kinshi uri) on display in the local fruit shop. I know the guy from when I kept buying his apples out when I was doing the 3 day apple detox. After a quick chat I found out that he'll have them in that shop up until the end of August. They're 380 yen a pop, and are about the size of a honeydew melon.

There are lots of ways to cook a spaghetti squash, most western websites recommend either pricking it with a skewer and cooking it for an hour in the oven, or cutting it in half and cooking it for 28-35 minutes in the oven. Japanese recipe websites recommend boiling it, and you can also quickly microwave it, or crock pot it for 10 hours. Spag-bol recipes on the net go for the oven option, so I decided to go for two halves on a baking tray.

I got the bugger home and went at it with a knife, SOLID AS A ROCK!  Vegetable knife was no good so I had to saw along the equator with a bread knife.









Finally got it cut into two halves and scooped out the seeds and crap. You can roast the seeds and eat them but I couldn't be bothered with that. It's summer and it's hot.







After scooping out I laid it out on the baking paper on an oven dish.








Checked up on it after 25 minutes and I could pull strands of spaghetti off the flesh so it didn't need the full 35 minutes recommended.











Let the two halves stand for a while.









Pulled out all the spaghetti from one of them, and served it on a plate with bolognaise.









The other one got bolognaise poured over the top of it.






The flavour is not very strong, but I like it. Fills you up, is a good vehicle for eating meat, contains folic acid, potassium, vitamin A, and beta carotene. It is low in calories, averaging 42 calories per 155 grams and it makes a great cold bento!

Folic acid is known to prevent anemia.

Yakult and Kimchi Experiment

Introduction
After the discovery that the Ginseng shop is actually a kimchi emporium I decided to embark on an experiment. Drinking Yakult every morning and eating kimchi with every meal.

Timescale
All of July 2011

Why Yakult every morning?
I've looked at and sampled all the other alternatives to get lactobaccilus into my body and yakult looks like the best.

Meiji LG21 comes in a delicious Aloe flavour but LG21 is for fighting stomach ulcers and gut cancer. I am looking to strengthen my gut and have no symptoms of ulcers or cancer. Don't think I need Lactobacillus Gasseri OLL 2716.






Bulgarian yoghurt and its double whammy of Lactobacillus Bulgari 2038 and Streptococcus
Thermophilus sounds like it fits the bill, but the way it is sold in sugary yoghurts or with a little packet of sweet-and-lo stuck to the top, it's sending out the wrong message and I don't trust it.

Caspian Sea Bacteria Yoghurt is the gloopy one, contains Streptococcus cremoris and Gluconobacter, but is it getting through my stomach acid to the gut?

Kagome "Rabure" no idea what's in this which is why it didn't make the cut.

Takahashi Dairy Keffir Yoghurt contains all sorts of stuff. When I found it I went out and knecked a 400g tub and straight away had to rush to the bog. Saving this one for another experiment involving a kefir starter kit.

Morinaga "Bihidasu" is too sweet. The recipe must be related to Activa and Danone. Although the blurb sounds good: "It helps in the production and absorption of B complex vitamins, blocks the growth of harmful bacteria by lowering pH in the intestine through production of acetic and lactic acids and boosts the immune system".
It also is from the Bifidobacterium family of gut bacteria and lives in the large intestine. A place where the Yakult and kimchi Lactobacillus strain does not live.

Acidophilus yogurt-R1 1073 contains Lactobacillus bulgaricus 1073R which is supposed to protect you from influenza. Well I haven't had a cold for 3 years so I'll pass on that.

Koiwa Farm "100% raw yoghurt" or "Jersey Yoghurt" is just yoghurt, come on, is that going to beat Yakult? A product specifically designed to beat stomach acid and get into the gut?












Yakult
Contains less sugar than yoghurt.
Is the biggest selling probiotic drink in Japan and in the world
Has more bacteria in it:

"Probiotic products are required to contain at least 1 million beneficial bacteria per gram. Few yoghurts contain  this  much  bacteria  but  Yakult contains  100 times  more  than  the  minimum  amount.  That’s an impressive 6.5  billion, live  beneficial  bacteria in one tiny bottle" - still, it doesn't matter how many live bacteria are in the bottle if they all die in the gut right?
Contains Lactobacillus casei Shirota which is exclusive to yakult.
Survives through the stomach into the gut:

Here's more from the same yakult FAQ page.

So that's why Yakult is chosen to try first.

Why Kimchi with every meal?
Other probiotic foods that I can get my hands on either come in jars or are not Paleo.

Sauerkraut comes in jars, I tried making it myself and failed.
Natto is a legume, shame cos I love it.
Kefir is not in my possession right now, and the supermarket kefir infused yoghurt is not Paleo.
The ginseng man on my street sells over fermented kimchi, brimming with life, 100 times stronger than the supermarket.
Contains Lactobacillus kimchii which is good for you and that.
"Lactobacillus family exist happily in the small intestine, whilst some such as the Bifidobacterium family prefer the large intestine. Others can be found in the mouth and other areas."


How did it go?
Farts
Straight away I noticed more farts. A neolithic diet means lots of smelly farts. When I changed to a Paleo diet last year one of the first things I noticed was the farting had gone. No more "easing one out" at my desk and hoping it's an SBD that people will politely ignore. No more filling lifts with gas, gambling on nobody getting in and knowing for sure that I was the one who "cut the cheese". One of the godsends of the Paleo diet: no more farting. Leave ginseng man kimchi in the fridge in a tupperware box overnight, and in the morning the Lactobacillus kimchii has fermented more increasing the amount of gas in the container causing it to bulge. Same thing happens in my body. Kimchi for breakfast, lunch and dinner puts kimchi all through my intestines filling it with great Lactobacillus kimchii. This is alive and releases gases as part of it's lifecycle causing the need to "pump". It's not like a Neolithic pump though, oh no. For starters they are few and far between; a good string of pumps in the morning and you're mostly good for the rest of the day. And Lactobacillus kimchii is so clean and good they don't stink. The change from no pumps to some pumps is also good feedback, it let's me know that something is going on in there.

Poo
The odd spicy brown trout gets chucked downstream every now and again because kimchi is spicy.
I noticed that poo went up a grade. Poo is made up of bacteria, and when you have more in your system you can make up a better poo. Strict low fiber Paleo makes smaller dense ones at about type 1 or 2 on the bristol stool scale. This can lead a Paleo dieter to resort to more fiber intake and become an addict to fiber. One thing I have noticed from drinking yakult every morning and eating kimchi with meals is a transition towards the middle of the bristol stool scale without having to resort to the evil menace that is fiber.

Appreciation for a New Food Group
I was never bothered about these fermented foods before, and there are so many here in Japan. It's great to try different kimchi, kateki, and other fermented foods.

Conclusion after 10 days
Advantages
Better poo.
Didn't really notice an increase in energy, or any other good effects. I was expecting a bit more to be honest, but I won't give up on probiotics! I have plenty more experiments lined up in this department.


Disadvantages
Both Yakult and Kimchi contain a strain of Lactobacillus that only lives in the small instestine.
Some farting.

Training Plan II

Few changes from last time after research has led me to understand the importance of probiotics. Improved gut condition to help run the ship more efficiently and achieve my targets.

Overall Rules
Prerequisite of 1 month eating Paleo before start

2200 Calories a day maintenance
 = +20% 2640 on training days
 = -20% 1760 on rest days

Protein around 300-350 on all days.
Fat around 50 on lift days
Fat around 80 on rest days
Carbs around 300-350 on lift days
Carbs around 100-150 on rest days (target less carbs and more fat)

Workout 4 times a week (Mon Wed Fri Sat)
Drink 4 litres of water/green tea a day
Eat Paelo

Eat all calories
Don't try to pack food in, stop eating before feeling full.Probiotic with every meal (kimchi, kombucha, sauerkraut, kefir)
Sleep 8 hours a night (will add 'in total darkness' when I get some better curtains)

Follow Esther Grokhale's 8 rules of posture

Crossfit Paleo Leangains Method 3
Intermittent Fasting only on rest days.
8 hour eating window 12PM to 8PM
http://www.leangains.com/2010/04/leangains-guide.html
Advantages
No IF on lift days means nutrients can be ingested immediately after working out thereby taking advantage of the 45 minute window when most muscle synthesis takes place.

Gut is less stressed because the whole day is available to get calories in.
Disadvantages
Lose the benefits of IF on training days.

Exceptions:

Gyoza, whiskey, yakult, probiotic yoghurt, kefir, natto, Guinness, Bulgogi Bake from Costco

Possible exceptions, but not right now:

Casein, Purple Wraath, lager

Window Box

Last Night's Discovery: The Local Kimchi Man

After a failed attempt at creating sauerkraut, and my research on probiotics was leading me to believe that all "probiotic" labelled yoghurt is a trick to make us drink low fat sugar laced yoghurt containing man made bacteria strains that die as soon as they hit the acid in the stomach,  I was at a loss last night for a way to get my gut bacteria up to speed. Then I went out to check if they had any raw dairy type products in the overpriced organic supermarket that I live opposite and they had closed early as usual. It was a long shot anyway, whenever I go in that place I realise why I never go in there; it's a white elephant of expensive brown rice, pointlessly low concentrated servings of supplements I don't need, and silly macrobiotic diet stuff. I've only ever bought a can of coconut milk in there, and now I buy coconut cream for a quarter of their price online. So I went back across the road to grab a few baked sweet potatoes off the cart outside maruetsu and took a detour to see what actually goes on at the weird ginseng shop.

The Weird Ginseng Shop

Nobody is ever in there, it seems to sell only ginseng, how is this guy making any money?
Those are the thoughts that have always gone through my mind when walking past the weird ginseng shop on the way to the station. Beef stew was on a low heat upstairs so I had hours of time to kill before dinner - let's check out the produce that the weird ginseng man is peddling I thought to myself.

Got through the shop's broken door and was SHOCKED. The bottles containing ginseng in the window are only put there to keep people away! The inside of the shop is full of fridges at different temperatures containing cylinders full of rotting vegetables. Ginseng man was watching telly in the back room and came in to say hello. I know that all the "kimuchi" that the japanese supermarkets carry is just spicy cabbage so I asked the weird ginseng man if his wares were "発酵" (fermented) or what. I said "mate, is all this stuff hakkou or what like?" and he said "whay aye man, it's totally kosher. I've got fermented garlic, fermented, daikon, fermented squid, fermented potato, you name it lad, I've fermented it." I looked around and he's got some hot pot liquid in bags on the top shelf there, a tall fridge with fermented wares in circular plastic tubs already to go in case there's a rush (which there never is), the chest fridges full of stuff on the go, and a central display of different types of dried korean seaweed. Putting two an two together I reckon he might be one of those "hangul" fellas, but his face wasn't flat and box shaped, it looked more contoured like a japanese bloke.
He spoke the Emporer's pretty well, so the jury is still out on him. We had a bit chat about his affliction, I mean, who could be so obsessed with fermentation that they open up a whole shop dedicated to rotting vegetables? The guy is obviously addicted to rotten stuff. Then he talked me through the levels of spicyness of his rotten veg. The level starts with the 'only slightly hakkou' cucumbers, all the way up to the inedible 'tougarashi' kimchi. I darted for a regular container of kimchi in his tall fridge and he stopped me in my tracks. "Nah nah mate, I'll do you a fresh bowl straight from the cylinder" he gans. "That'll be a fiver". Not bad I thought so I handed over 5 sheets and he started off back to watch the telly. I couldn't believe the lack of sales ability in the ginseng man. Gullible foreigner comes in off the street, obviously fascinated by the wares being peddled, asking questions, picking up everything and that, he could have taken me to the cleaners. "Hang on mister ginseng sir, can I have some more" I piped up. And I took him for a couple of kimchi stuffed cucumbers at 100 yen a pop an all. Thought I'd start off down on the low end of the spice spectrum, with two of his least spicy offerings. With that I was out of the shop, and gave a sigh of relief that I had found a local probiotic dealer who will be able to grace my table every dinner time with all different kinds of bacteria from a plethora of different rotten vegetables.

Are these yoghurts the japanese
equivalent of the crap Activa and
Danone peddle in England? Or do they
have some kind of use? 

Now, rather than being fooled into throwing money straight down the drain by buying dairy products from Danone and Activa that have been stripped of healthy natural bacteria during the pasteurisation process, then are infused with laboratory created strains of bacteria that die on stomach acid contact, I will safely be able to transport good probiotic bacteria through my duodenum into my small and large intestine via the delicious vehicle of authentic, natural korean kimchi.

This one is so sweet, more like cramola
foam than yoghurt.

Thank you weird ginseng man, I will see you again tonight.