The Peak Condition Project - Adrian and Emiko

Adrian: Day 97, I'm Back

2008-11-19T22:40:00.000-08:00

I'm wondering if the other PCPer's have been keeping up with the diet and maintenance exercise plans, because I sure haven't. I just kind of threw it out the window after day 90. But after a week of vegging out, I realize that I'm not exactly feeling too good about not working out and not paying attention to what I eat. So I decided to get back on it. I did the short work-out tonight, and it was pretty easy. Though my strength has definitely declined a bit. Or maybe just my idea of how much pain I'm willing to tolerate. Anyway, I'm going to keep posting here in an effort to keep myself motivated, and to stick to regular exercise and a healthy diet for as long as I can. So check back here every now and then for sporadic updates on my progress and backsliding.

Emiko: Before and After!

2008-11-14T17:43:00.001-08:00

Adrian: Before and After

2008-11-14T11:54:00.001-08:00

Emiko: Day 90, A Peek Back At Day 1

2008-11-12T23:12:00.000-08:00

OH MY GOSH IT'S DAY 90!!! I cannot believe that this Project is officially over. Congratulations Tim, Amy, Nate, and Adrian and meee! BIG big thanks to Patrick and Chen for guiding us along through the process. WOW!

Patrick had mentioned once in an email, "Tell yourself that after your 90 days you can eat all the stuff you want for the rest of your life. But not now. (The magic is of course that after 90 days you have little inclination to eat all the stuff you want)." At the time I felt like this was a lie, because at the time all I could think about was how much I craved all the yummy food I used to eat.

Today Adrian and I decided to celebrate by eating out for lunch and dinner, and overall it was really tasty. We shared a turkey sandwich and spinach salad for lunch. The sandwich was awesome, and the salad would have been too if it weren't drenched in vinaigrette. For dinner we had curry and naan, and even a little ice cream for dessert (left-over from our first PCP indulgence). We went kind of crazy, but it is nice to have that freedom. But we also know now that many prepared meals are not as healthy as they should be, and don't agree with our stomachs anymore. We decided to eat out only every so often, and to get quality meals when we do. Mostly we will probably be eating what we have been eating, but without weighing it all on the kitchen scale. Well, maybe sometimes :)

Our special assignment for our last day was to go back to square one, and go through an old work-out routine from the first couple of weeks. I decided to go back to Day 1. I did 688 jump-ropes just like my first night. I also did 5x20 squats, 4x8 push-ups, and 4x15 crunches. The jump-ropes and crunches both felt pretty good, and gave me the same burn that they do nowadays as they are incorporated in our current work-outs. But the push-ups were SO EASY! Doing them on the floor – as opposed to elevating our feet like we do now – made the movement feel wimpy. I used to really struggle to do push-ups, especially at the beginning. Getting through them with such ease tonight was a little way of showing myself how far I've come.

Like Adrian, I plan to write a little more and to post some photos of my new muscles! But that will probably be in a couple days, I need to recover from all that curry...!

Adrian: Day 90, The End?

2008-11-12T22:52:00.000-08:00

We've officially completed the PCP! Congratulations everyone! I hope everyone celebrates by having cake. Emiko and I had lunch at the same cafe we ate at right before we quit eating 'real world' food. We shared a turkey sandwich on wheat bread and a spinach, feta cheese, onion and tomato salad. The salad was drowned in oil and dressing. For dinner, we followed Tim's lead by eating out at an Indian Restaurant. We both had Chicken Tikka Masala and two kinds of naan - garlic and paneer (cheese). Afterward, we both felt pretty awful. It wasn't because of guilt though, we literally felt sick. And for desert we had some ice cream. I felt physically tired. (Has anyone else ever felt winded by desert or is it just me?) It hit me suddenly an hour after dinner - a heavy wave of fatigue. I had to stop what I was doing so that I could lie down on the couch and rest it out. This was a typical pre-PCP day for us, and I realize now that I really don't want to go back to eating that way. For the past few weeks I've been thinking "I can't wait until this is over so I can whatever I want to eat, whenever I feel like it." But right now, I just want to go back to the PCP diet. I guess I'm just used to it, and it feels natural. There are so many foods that I've eaten throughout this project that I enjoy so much. And I no longer need my food to be drenched in oil and salt. In fact, I find it disgusting. I love simple things like toasted wheat bread, oatmeal, granola, sweet potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, spinach, strawberries, golden apples, and especially limes. Also, I'm not ready to go back to being sedentary. I plan on going for a jog tomorrow morning. I want to see if I can still run three miles straight, which is something I did a few times right before the PCP. This project has been fantastic and I couldn't have spent the past three months doing anything better with my time. Thank you everyone for the support! Thank you Patrick for turning us flabby weaklings into muscle-bound health nuts. I'll be making one last post, with before and after pictures, so check back here for that.

Good luck to everyone,

Adrian

Adrian & Emiko: Day 89, Gym Night

2008-11-11T20:26:00.000-08:00

Early on in the PCP, we would do our jump ropes inside our apartment, but eventually our downstairs neighbor got sick of it and made us stop. He also ended up giving us a couple of 2-week passes to 24 hour fitness. We didn't think we'd ever use the passes, but Patrick gave us an assignment last week to visit a gym, so we finally used the passes tonight. We went down to a small 24-hour fitness in Piedmont called "FitLite." From the outside, all we could see were women on exercise bikes. We were expecting to have a cushy, easy work-out, and maybe mess around with some of the equipment. The place ended up exceeding our expectations, and we got a surprisingly good work-out.

Right when we entered the gym, a middle-aged woman with tattoos and piercings, greeted us. Her name was Jade. She explained that all the machines were part of an exercise circuit, and that she would be taking us through each machine. The work-out was thirty minutes long, beginning with 10 minutes of cardio followed by one minute of constant reps on each machine. A bell chimed on the intercom every minute to signal the switch to the next machine. That bell was the only thing that interrupted the constant stream of techno music. The machines alternated between resistance, abs, and cardio. There were also a couple mat exercises. We had to do the plank at one of the stations! We were a bit wary about that, because we went through our ab workout today, but we got through it fine.

There were a bunch of college aged people there, mostly women, and they were all in good shape. There were also a few older, out of shape people. There was one old woman in trousers who pedaled her bike in slow motion while falling asleep and listening to her walkman. She kept nodding off, barely conscious. There was one woman who was morbidly obese. But the general population was in good shape.

Anyway, we got a surprising burn; Adrian started sweating right away. We both reached failure on some of the exercises. Adrian reached failure on at least half of the machines, because Jade set the weight really high whenever it was his turn. After the work-out, there was also a stretching circuit, and we went through a series of about 20 different stretches, which we would hold for ten seconds on each side. All in all, it was a satisfying work-out, and a surprising gym experience.

It's easier to push yourself to failure when you're around lots of other people. You don't want to wimp out. However, we don't plan on buying memberships because we still prefer working out at home. We've got everything we need! Each other.

Emiko: Day 88, I Like To Eat, Eat, Eat Apples and Bananas

2008-11-10T22:01:00.000-08:00

A lot has changed in this last week! Our exercise routines are a different structure. We rotate between two workouts: a heavy routine focusing on complementary muscle-groups, and another that is shorter but more intensely focused on abs. The longer work-out is difficult and takes more time to complete than those in the past, but I think that I like it better. We used to focus on one muscle group at a time, trying to get a killer burn. Now we get to trade back and forth between muscle groups, and the burn feels different. The muscles get worked slowly, but eventually I can reach a really good burn. It's a cool change, and it feels nice to switch it up.

We also have new, bigger diets. I am finally back to eating "real dinner" rather than my old apple/banana/milk/egg-white combo. But, like Amy, I am surprised because after waiting for so long to have permission to eat "real dinner" again, I find that I don't really want to. Eating even my small portions of meat, carbs and vegetables feels kind of heavy for me. It's odd how fast things will turn around. I think that most of my cravings are now mental rather than a physical need for extra food. I think that I will return to my old dinner for my post-PCP diet.

Change, change, change! We also have a new President, which is really exciting and has returned some of my hope. We'll see what these next two, final PCP days bring. I can't believe that the Project will be over so soon!

Adrian: Day 88: Work-out Music

2008-11-10T18:42:00.000-08:00

Wow, there are only two days left. Thank goodness! These past three months have simply disappeared, and I'm ready to go back to being fat and lazy. Not really, but I'm going to enjoy the break from the constant daily exercise. The exercises have gotten progressively more challenging since day one; some of them I can't even do (kung fu sit-ups). I plan to continue exercising regularly after day 90, but I'm definitely going to take it easy for a bit.

Something that has really helped me get through my work-outs has been music. Having a beat to follow makes jump-roping more enjoyable. There was one instance when focusing on the piano arpeggios in Fur Elise helped me through my planks. I remember how intensely I struggled to hold myself up until the end, and the only thing that kept me from caving and falling over was the melody. Anyway, there have been a few bands in particular that I've enjoyed listening to again and again during my work-outs, and I wanted to post some songs here for you all to check out and maybe sweat to.

Black Moth Super Rainbow
M83
Flying Lotus
Animal Collective
Casino vs. Japan

Adrian: Day 86

2008-11-07T20:14:00.000-08:00

Emiko and I had a hard time getting to our workout tonight. We ended up wasting a couple hours on youtube just watching these incredible mash-up videos. Here are a couple of our favorites:

The Beatles vs. Radiohead vs. Pinocchio

Queen vs. Outkast

Emiko: Day 85, Six-Pack Shmix-Pack

2008-11-06T21:26:00.000-08:00

It feels like forever since I have written a post, and really– it has kind of been forever! I missed writing about such milestones as my third and final indulgence (delicious, I will post more tomorrow), my feelings about reaching Day 80, and so on. I will try to post every day from now on to bring all of my last thoughts together before we reach Day 90...just 5 days away!

Something that Patrick told me today when Adrian and I were chatting with him was that if I wanted to get a true, defined six-pack, I would have to follow the PCP regimen for another 90 days. That was a little shocking to hear, especially when we are on the cusp of finishing a long, very involved Project. But then I remembered that I never what I came into the Project wanting a six-pack. I wanted to change my ways, and shake myself out of a lazy lifestyle– looking better by losing fat and toning muscle was just a benefit of this change.

I am grateful for having had the opportunity to make such a necessary change. I feel like my body and mind both had very warped levels of tolerance for foods. The PCP has allowed me to reset these levels– a sort of reboot. I feel like my body is on a much more natural level now, with a much healthier relationship to food.

So I may never have a six-pack, but who cares? I just want to be healthy and have energy. And now I those have things, and that's all I could really ask for. I'll still be doing 8-minute abs, though... I just love that guy!

Adrian: Day 85, Maintenance

2008-11-06T20:51:00.000-08:00

Emiko and I had a chat on AIM with Patrick earlier. I asked about what we would have to do to stay in shape after the project was over. Patrick's answer was that we would have to stay on track with our diets and exercise, indefinitely.

He confirmed what I already knew. And that's a big question for me right now -- to be, or not to be, in PC? Will I be able to stick to it? I think so. This project has given me such a positive outlook on life, and an interest in health and fitness that I can't easily forget. And although I'm looking forward to beer and fried chicken, I'll always go back to my boiled eggs and granola the next morning.

Adrian: Day 80, Over-Indulgence

2008-11-02T16:03:00.000-08:00

For my final indulgence, I had a fried chicken sandwich from Bakesale Betty's. It was totally drenched in oil, and totally amazing. I felt full after eating half of the sandwich, but I thought "Hey, I can't eat this tomorrow, I better eat all of it now!" And that wasn't all. I also had some cookies, a bottle of apple juice and a slice of Emiko's pizza. I think I may have tipped the 1,000 calorie mark... I know I messed up by eating too much, but I'm ready to rock these last 10 days of the PCP.

Emiko: Day 78, Cinematic Consumption

2008-10-31T13:05:00.001-07:00

Things have been pretty busy in the A&E household. Lots of job-hunting, and related stuff. I am feeling pretty anxious these days. Adrian and I decided to go to a movie last night, which was a nice break from some of the activity this week. As we were getting ready to head out to the movie theater, I realized that my thoughts were turning to food. Specifically, popcorn and candy. I realized how conditioned I am to eat during movies, and felt a little disturbed by that. I sat down and ate my dinner - a bowl of sliced apple & banana and milk - and knew that I didn't even really want that junky food, I was just used to it. And so are most people. It kind of sucks that we are conditioned to mindlessly consume candy, popcorn, soda, chocolate, and whatever else. Despite confronting it, the feeling stayed with me through the movie. I didn't act on it, but I was quietly aware of it.

Speaking of anxiety, I have a phone interview for a job this afternoon. Wish me luck! I plan to have my third and final indulgence directly following the interview, so I will be updating on that soon! Hope you all are well.

Emiko: Day 76, Clothes!

2008-10-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

I first want to congratulate PCPJapan! How does it feel to reach the final day of the Project? All three of you look fabulous! I can't believe that there are only two more weeks until Day 90 for us PCP2-ers.

But I am definitely experiencing the changes. Adrian and I have started to shop for clothes again. I didn't want to buy any clothes during the Project, because I figured my body would be changing too much. But it's a necessity now. Most of my old pants are too baggy to wear, even my 'skinny jeans'. I've been wearing the same pair of turquoise jeans for a while now because they are the least baggy, although still fairly loose. Now that I am going to stores again, I realize that I have no idea what size I fit into.

Yesterday I approached the large rack of pants at a local thrift store, and I was at a loss as to which size section to search through. So I just grabbed all the pants I liked ranging from size 2 to size 7. After trying on many pairs that were either too baggy or couldn't even fit over my knees, I tried on some nice H&M trousers and they fit perfectly. When I took them off I looked at the size, and it was a 4. A FOUR?! My turquoise jeans are the same brand, and they are size 10. I could not believe the difference. Could I really have shrunk that much? And I still have love-handles!

My sizing for shirts has gone down significantly as well. Apart from having a round belly, I have always been rather top-heavy, so in the past I was limited to either medium or large sizes. I can't believe it, but a lot of the new shirts I have purchased are smalls. It's pretty cool!

On another note, working out this week has felt like a fresh start after a loooong absence due to sickness. The exercises are difficult, but I am pushing myself as well as I can. My abs have been sore consistently this week, and my legs and gluteus too from the lunges.

Also, I had crazier bed-head this morning than I've had in a long time, or perhaps EVER:

Adrian: Day 75, Workout Faces

2008-10-28T19:45:00.000-07:00

Emiko and I went to a free yoga class in Berkeley the other night. It was a pretty 'New Age-y' affair. The class was candle-lit and Adiemus was playing on the stereo. (The fact that I know it was Adiemus doesn't mean anything, except that I have a lot of pop-culture garbage floating around in my head.) People breathed out in harmonic unison. There was a hippy in boxer briefs, a moaning woman, and many more.

The work-out provided a surprising burn, and I found myself sweating throughout. It was extra-tough for me because the instructor happened to be focusing on leg exercises that night, and I had just completed floor-jumps right before leaving the apartment. Others were having a difficult time as well; there was lots of loud, and sometimes ecstactic groaning in the room. The instructor repeatedly told us not to wear the effort on our faces.

That statement has been with me since the yoga class, and I find it replaying in my head whenever I'm struggling through difficult PCP exercises. I've been making all sorts of crazy faces while doing my workouts, especially during v-sits and planks. Earlier, I made a Gene Simmons face while doing seated sit-ups. It was funny for both me and Emiko, but I'm trying to break the habit.

Adrian: Day 74, Jobs

2008-10-27T22:52:00.001-07:00

Emiko and I have been applying to a bunch of different jobs. It's been a long time since I've been to an interview, and I wonder if the PCP will have given me an edge. In the past there were a few times when I was just nervous and stumped. I have a feeling I'll be able to roll with the punches a lot better now. If I run into any trouble, I'll just flex it off.

Adrian: Day 73, Pull-ups

2008-10-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

Is anyone able to do the 5 sets x 8-12 reps of pull-ups? I can only do 3 on my first set, with each subsequent set being halved. At set 5 I'm doing about a quarter of a pull-up.

Emiko: Day 71, Obese-city

2008-10-24T20:52:00.000-07:00

Adrian and I took a nice walk tonight up to the Temescal neighborhood, and ended up going into a cafe and sharing a pot of tea. When I looked into the pastry case near the counter, I noticed how differently I think about sweets. Of all of the snackies in the case, the only one that looked appetizing to me turned out to be a 'reduced-fat oatmeal raisin scone', which Adrian said looked like more like a 'turd'. In the past, I wouldn't have hesitated to scarf down any of the other choices - like a giant, frosted maple cookie, or the sugar-rolled, buttery cake. Now when I think about eating one of them, I can almost feel my tummy churning. I know it wouldn't feel good, so I'm not even tempted anymore. I would much rather have some good ol' dried fruit.... that's my favorite kind of sweet, right there!

Later, Adrian and I started talking about how people compare themselves to each other, and size each other up. I have noticed myself sizing random people up on the street. I have had a lot of thoughts about how people don't take care of themselves like they should. There are so many severely obese people around here, and I feel bad and confused as to why their health has become such a low priority. It almost feels like there are more obese people than there were before, but it's probably just that I am more aware of it nowadays. I am so glad that Adrian and I, and the rest of the PCPers, have taken charge and put our health at the top of the list and are working to improve ourselves in this very moment, and for future.

Adrian: Day 71, Plans

2008-10-24T20:07:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a bit about some things I'd like to do post-PCP. I want to keep exercising regularly, and I came up with a few ideas of how to do that in the winter. Here's a partial list:

1.) Go for walks in the rain
2.) Go for jogs in the rain
3.) Ride my bike late at night
4.) Gardening

I don't have plans yet for when it's sunny. It's been a while since I went for long walks in the rain with an umbrella. I haven't done that since high school actually, when I used to sometimes walk to and from school. I hated waiting for the bus. I especially didn't like standing inside a crowded bus while dripping wet. People get uncomfortable when you're sopping wet and you're standing real close.

I remember a couple instances where I'd be driving somewhere and it would be raining out. I'd see joggers and I would think to myself that it was stupid or a waste of time to be running in the rain. I've seen people running in the rain wearing shorts, and sometimes no shirt. But I've gone jogging in the rain it since then, and I like it. In light rain at least. It cools you down and washes off the sweat.

As far as diet goes, I'm definitely gonna stay away from oil and sugar as much as possible. At least 90% of the time. I've been missing "Bake Sale Betty's" fried chicken sandwiches. I think I'm gonna have to get one of those for my last indulgence. I'm looking forward to that!

Adrian: Day 70, Getting Better

2008-10-23T21:10:00.001-07:00

I can't believe there's less than a month left to go. I'm pretty anxious for this thing to be over, not that I feel I am in Peak Condition, but I look forward to doing maintenance exercises rather than pushing to muscle failure. It's been especially hard to push to failure lately, what with the sickness and all, but thankfully I am 90% recovered.

I often look at our photostreams, and it's hard to believe the progress we've made. I've told Emiko several times that even though I do look more fit, I still feel like the same person - with the same ups and downs that I've had since the beginning of this project. And with the bout of laziness I've been dealing with lately, I ask myself if I will make it to Peak Condition by day 90. Still, I can't deny that I am better off for everything I've experienced throughout, and that I am on the right track towards lifelong health and fitness. That's all I wanted to say tonight, and I hope everyone is well.

Emiko: Day 70, Recovery!

2008-10-23T17:22:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting recovering from this silly cold. I hit the peak of sickness yesterday, and spent most of the time in bed and being a zombie. I am feeling so much better today. I have not worked out all week it seems...I took it easy when I was beginning to get sick in an effort to stay healthy, but I got sick anyways. That was pretty disappointing, but that's how things go I suppose.
I am starting to feel stagnant without the daily effort of building new muscle. Surprisingly, I don't think that I have gained any extra weight by not exercising, but am feeling a bit flimsy.
I am definitely going to try for a full work out tomorrow. I never thought I would say this, but I really miss working out!

Adrian: Day 66, I Got Lazy

2008-10-19T21:22:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to put weight back on. I'm eating more, but I haven't been working out as hard as I used to. I've been lazy, and I can't lie to myself about that. I also haven't been getting enough variety in my diet. I've been pretty much eating cereal and granola for my carbs every day. I know it's wrong, because of all the extra sugar, but it's so easy and it tastes so good. I've been eating lots of sweet potatoes lately, and I've definitely been eating avocados almost every day. I really feel like I need to kick things back into gear, but it's been a tough mental game. How do you beat your own mind?

Emiko: Day 66, I Got Sick

2008-10-19T06:33:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I am most definitely sick now. It's kind of a cold with a little nausea, and I only just started coughing this morning. Whatever virus it is, it hasn't hit me too strong, but my throat is real sore and I feel weakened. The past two days I jogged/jump-roped and did 8-minute Abs, but decided to not push myself with the other exercises. I didn't feel up to them at all. I am staying away from all dairy besides my eggs, so hopefully I won't get too clogged up.

I really hope that I can fight off these symptoms and get back to normal soon. I think I got sick mostly because my body had just had it. After two straight months of working out and dieting in such a strict, consistent manner, my body was like, "Can we stop now?" I was kind of in a valley, and my immune system must have been a little weaker. I am waiting for the PCP bounce-back from sickness that most of PCP round 2 has already experienced. I am ready to be better! Especially since I still have to go to work this morning...

Emiko: Day 64, Sensory Garden

2008-10-17T13:08:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to quickly add to Adrian's last post. The part of the Botanical Garden that we will hopefully be volunteering in is the Sensory Garden. The plants that we would be working with are highly fragrant, like lavender and geraniums. I feel like I have a new sensitivity and appreciation for smells. I am really looking forward to getting my hands in the dirt and using all my new strong muscles as we help maintain a garden like that. I am excited!

On another note, I couldn't really smell today (not even at the Sensory Garden) because I think I'm getting sick. :(

Adrian: Day 64, Jogging

2008-10-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

Emiko and I just came back from a jog at the lake. We haven't been down there since the PCP started. In fact, we haven't been getting out much at all aside from doing chores. It felt good to be outside. It was also surprisingly hot. I tripped right at the beginning in front of a bunch of little kids. I almost fell flat on my face, but luckily I was able to catch myself with my hands. I jumped right back up and kept going. When I got up I expected to see the kids laughing, but instead they were just shocked.

Anyway, I noticed that it was a whole lot easier to jog than I thought it would be after such a long hiatus. Jumping rope really seems to have kept my lungs strong. I did a short sprint at the end, and I didn't feel like I was going to vomit afterward. That was nice.

After the jog, Emiko and I checked out the Botanical Garden right across the way. We were looking for brochures with volunteer information, but they were all out. We were about to leave when an old lady in Terminator sunglasses walked into the garden and headed our way. She told us that she was the volunteer coordinator. We exchanged our information, said our goodbyes, and then Emiko and I walked around the garden a bit more. It looks like we have jobs at the garden now, and I think it will be pretty fun.

Emiko: Day 63, Dietary Differences

2008-10-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's not actually Day 63 anymore, but this is what I meant to write about yesterday.

Yesterday we got our new diets. As I expected, not much has changed for me except a few decreases. This is the same pattern my diet has been going on for the past few weeks. At first, I was really bitter because Adrian's diet has done nothing but increase. I pretty much acted like a butthead every time we started to talk about our diets. I was hungry, and not too happy. I felt, as Amy once said, that I was on some sort of remedial PCP diet. I also found it harder to want to control myself when Adrian and I weren't in the same boat anymore.

Roughly calculated, Adrian eats basically twice as much food as I do. That's a lot! While I'm weighing out my cereal making sure I'm getting every last gram, Adrian is so full that he doesn't want to eat the rest of his carbs. This caused some tension for me, but I'm finally getting over it now. I am realizing that it is kind of silly to compare our diets against each other, because we came into the Project with such different body types and needs. And, like Adrian keeps telling me, I am the smallest person in PCP round 2, so it makes sense that my diet is smaller than everyone elses.

The biggest result of these decreasing diets is that I can really feel that my stomach has shrunk. What I eat for dinner now would never have been enough for me in the past, but my stomach reaches capacity with just an apple, my post-work-out banana, an egg white or two, and some milk. Lately I have not even wanted to eat my After Dinner snacks, because I am just not hungry. It is kind of incredible how much my appetite has changed, just from a few weeks of eating less. I am trying to feel more optimistic about a reduced diet, because I will finally get rid of the remaining fat on my body. Just a few more weeks! I think it is going to be worth it.

Adrian: Day 61, Eating After a Workout

2008-10-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Something I'm supposed to do on the PCP is eat an egg white right after working out. But on some days, I also eat my dinner right after working out. I've been wondering lately if it's a good thing to eat all this food right after. My guess is that its better, because the body is burning more calories and using up more nutrients during and directly after a workout.

I did a bit of research on the internet, and I've found some strategies of what and how to eat after a work out. What I've learned is that the best time to eat is during the first 60 minutes after working out. This is called the Golden Hour and it's when muscles are most efficiently absorbing nutrients and replacing energy reserves. Taking in carbs and proteins during this time is the best way to speed up recovery. Proteins provide amino acids and increased muscle hydration. Amino acids help repair the muscles and also strengthen the immune system. Carbs are important for replacing glycogen - the energy reserves of the muscles.

The proportion of carbs, proteins and fats in the post-workout meal depends on the individual's fitness level and goals. In general, it seems to be recommended to have the post-workout meal in drink form. I guess this is so the body doesn't have to spend extra energy on digestion. I'll experiment with having my post-workout egg white, banana and milk in a shake. But, I'm still not entirely sure if it's okay to have a full dinner right after working out. I think it would be ideal though, if I could manage my time better and get my workouts done earlier in the day.

Emiko: Day 59, Eggy-Weggs

2008-10-12T22:36:00.000-07:00

Today started off really well. I got up early early, around 5:30am, to do my jump-ropes before heading off to work. I happened to hear my downstairs neighbor rev up his truck outside and saw him driving away, so I was able to do my jumping indoors without disturbing anyone. I love our new time/set situation for jump-ropes, which is 3 sets of 5 mins. So much easier than any of the other combinations of 4 x 4 mins, 5 x 3 mins, etc. Five minutes kinda goes on forever, but you can really get in the groove of jumping, and before you know if you have finished all three sets.

After a hot shower, I started to eat a little bowl of cereal before deciding to pack it up and eat the rest of breakfast at work. I like to take advantage of eating at work, not only because the food is free, but because I often get something that varies from what's usually in the fridge at home. At work, I finished my cereal, had some yogurt topped with almonds slices that fell off of the almond croissants during their delivery, and a tomato/cucumber/basil salad. Sunday mornings are very busy shifts, and soon after I finished breakfast customers started pouring in. I had to rush around like a mad woman for hours.

Around noon I finally got my lunch break. By this time I felt really woozy and light-headed, and my stomach was growling. I couldn't figure out what was happening. I was a little late for my mid-morning fruit snack, but it shouldn't have been such a big deal. Then I remembered... I totally neglected to eat my egg during breakfast! This is my big source of protein and fat in the morning. Because we don't serve eggs at work, I wasn't able to eat an egg during my shift. But I decided to have a few slices of mozzarella (which is also fat and protein-licious) on the side with my fruit, and I felt so much better.

It's amazing how skipping one little egg made such a big difference in my composure! So, lesson learned: eggs and egg-whites are so important! So simple, yet so nutritious. Definitely won't be forgetting my eggs tomorrow.

Adrian & Emiko: Day 58, Oryoki

2008-10-11T21:04:00.000-07:00

Today we had our first experience with oryoki, a meditative form of eating that literally translates to "just enough." Breakfast is served oryoki style in the zendo at the Berkeley Zen Center on Saturdays. One of the members gave us and a couple other people a lesson on how to eat oryoki-style. There are three nesting bowls to eat out of, one large, one medium, and one small. And a wrapped up set of utensils including a pair of chopsticks, a spoon and a cleaning stick (can't remember the actual name of it at the moment).

We learned how to set up our bowls in preparation for receiving food, how to properly receive our food, and how to clean up once we had finished eating.

After learning all of the intricacies of the forms for eating in this way, we walked over to the zendo to sit down for breakfast. It was difficult to remember the order of things. One of the responsibilities that you have when receiving food is to tell the server when you have been given "just enough." It is important not to take too much food, as the meal is eaten at a brisk pace.

We both made a lot of mistakes, and felt embarrassed afterwards, but it was a good learning experience. To eat in such a formalized way seems stifling, but the practice really does force you into an enhanced state of awareness. An awareness fueled at first by the anxiety of making mistakes. But in general, people can benefit from being more aware while eating.

Anyway, we know this is confusing, but luckily there's a youtube video of Patrick showing the way to eat oryoki.

Adrian and Emiko: Day 57, You're Never Too Young To Start

2008-10-10T20:54:00.000-07:00

We would like to start off by apologizing for the lack of posts this week. Motivation and energy has been at an all time low. This shortage of willpower has contributed to the lack of blog posts, as well as not knowing what to write about. Even though it has been a bit tough, we wouldn't want to trade in all of our progress by going back to our old habits. (Though, we fantasize about it sometimes).

We were talking to Abel, one of the renters at Adrian's parent's house, the other day about the PCP. He said something like, "You're too young to worry about your diet!" Later, when Adrian's mom was talking about trying to improve her own diet, he told her, "Life's short, eat whatever you want to eat!" Everyone seemed to think Adrian was getting too skinny and wanted him to gain the weight back after the PCP was over.

Our question is - when are we supposed to start caring about our diets? Abel's perspective was to gain as much pleasure from life as possible while you're alive. We can all disagree with that now, but the fact is, we've all lived that way to some extent, and enjoyed it for a while too. But it didn't work for any of us PCP'ers. We all feel unhealthy and unhappy about where our previous lifestyle choices had taken us.

If you live with the mentality "Do whatever you want to do" then there's no limit to what you desire, and you'll never be satisfied by your life. We think moderation is actually the key to happiness. If you can identify all the extra things in your life and let them go, then you might possibly find satisfaction with where you are and be happy for once. Food is a good place to start. If you could learn how to appreciate a bowl of raw greens, with low-fat dressing, then you're well on your way to putting down that extra slice of pizza. Do you really need it?

Adrian: Day 54, Experience Points

2008-10-07T15:58:00.000-07:00

I just finished my workout. My nose started bleeding while I was doing the planks.. The PCP is literally kicking my butt! It isn't really kicking my butt, but Patrick says that at this point, things should be easy for us. But actually, I feel like it's still hard. I've been dealing with my tendency to call it quits when things get tough. I'm not close to quitting, but it hasn't been very easy to workout every day. I'm not used to being this fit and healthy! I used to eat leftover pizza for breakfast.

I catch myself thinking about resorting to old habits of vegging out all day long and eating junk. Something funny I noticed is that I've been having a lot of food-related dreams lately. Last night for example, I dreamt that Emiko and I were making gyros in our drawing class. Emiko put herb butter and cheese in hers. Light glistened off the cheese and foil and I could see the steam rising off of it too. I haven't strayed from the diet in real life, but for the past couple of days, I've been sitting around and playing a lot of video games.

When I start feeling unmotivated, I remember Emiko's post, in which she said I was her PCP hero. That memory has been getting me off my butt when I feel low. I think to myself, "What kind of hero sits around playing video games all day?" I can either pretend to be a hero in a video game, or I can work on being Adrian in real life.

So, to all the gamers out there: Put down the controller and pick up a jump rope; stop gaining levels and start losing weight; you can't press the reset button in real life; etc.

Emiko: Day 53, Already Tomorrow

2008-10-07T01:49:00.000-07:00

It's almost 2am right now, and I have just finished my work out and am eating my post-work out egg white. This is the latest that I have been awake in a long time. Needless to say, this post will only last a few more sentences. Today was a really long day. I will go more into depth in tomorrow's post. Or should I say, today's post?! It is already tomorrow. Oh my.

Emiko: Day 52, Ebb and Flow

2008-10-05T23:26:00.001-07:00

As Adrian mentioned, today we both went to our first meditation retreat at the Berkeley Zen Center. It was a half-day sesshin, from 8:30am-3pm, and was geared toward beginners and new community members. We did alternating periods of Zazen, sitting meditation, and Kinhin, walking meditation, with breaks for lecture, lunch, and an informal discussion over tea.

What I wanted to write about today is a connection that I made between observing my mind during meditation and observing my habits in daily life. This is a very simple one, and one I've made before, but it's particularly relevent today. Because today I had a big time craving for sweets, and it was very difficult to battle with. Actually it was less of a battle, and more me just giving into it. I feel like at this point in the Project I am losing some of my initial motivation, so it's harder to say No to myself.

After noticing the ebb and flow of my thoughts during meditation, I realize how much I also indulge in my thoughts. I let myself fall onto a train of thought and before I know it, five or even ten minutes have gone by without my awareness. I think this is the same for the way I eat and think about food.

Some days, I could care less about sugar. Other times, like today, sugar is all I can think about. I want to eat all of the yummy dates in our fridge, the banana chocolate-chip cookies at work, and drizzle honey on everything else. And I often let myself indulge in my cravings, at least in some little way. Even if it is small, I am still letting myself do it.

I am finding that my willpower is not what it should be. All of these small actions are probably the big reason I have been so unhealthy throughout the years. It is also affecting my results during this project, I'm sure. I have such a tough time letting my cravings pass ...instead, I grab onto them. It's like allowing myself to attach to a train of though during zazen. My effort is not quite right. These small actions show the big picture of how I truly act.

Upon rereading this, I feel like it's coming off as a bummer. But I don't want that! It is really positive to realize these things. It reminds me of something that was said during the lecture at the sesshin today: Even if what you're doing is hard, as long as you trust the person asking it of you, then you know it's coming from a place of care. I know that when I realize these things in myself, and even when I feel frustrated with finding solutions to them, working on them is a way of caring for myself. I face my problems to care for myself. So this is really a very happy thing!

Also, I wanted to record my reckless behavior today so that, like Nate said, I can be held accountable in a way. Being honest about guilty actions is hard, but I hope that it will help me to avoid straying from the plan!

Adrian: Day 52, Willpower

2008-10-05T21:10:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling a little bit low on motivation and energy lately. It doesn't feel like I'm in a valley. Instead, I've been feeling like I'm at the bottom of a pull-up each morning. It feels like a long way up, and I've been wanting to just dangle there.

Today, Emiko and I attended our first sesshin, or meditation retreat. I brought my lazy attitude to the Zen center today, and I battled drowsiness and restlessness all the way through. At times I struggled to keep my eyes open, and at other times I felt overwhelmed by my daydreams. Mostly, I felt like I was just biding my time, waiting for it to end.

For the last sitting, we were instructed to all face each other. We had been facing the wall during our sittings up until then. I fidgeted with my posture and sat uncomfortably, daydreaming in the faces of the people before me. I wasn't able to focus on my breath for any length of time. But about halfway through the final period, I felt a sudden burst of energy. My vision seemed to clear up, and the light in the room seemed to become a little bit brighter. The atmosphere completely changed. It was like I got pulled out of my head, and away from my thoughts. And I was able to be there with everyone for the first time. It almost felt like I knew each person there, when in fact, they were all strangers. It felt very intimate.

I thought to myself, "Wow, what just happened?" I didn't think it was my own effort that brought about the sudden clarity, because up until that point, I was feeling sort of crummy and ready to leave. I had been fed up with my own situation the whole time and then it just shifted to, "Hey...I'm not alone here. What lovely people!"

I had the idea that it was the collective energy in the room that had suddenly increased. I thought, "I like this, I'm going to ride this wave." I talked to Emiko about it on the way home later, and she said that she felt the same thing.

That's what I learned today. The quality of a person's effort relies on the people supporting that individual. All of us doing the PCP have had our struggles lately, and I'm right there feeling it with the rest of you. I don't think I could get through the PCP if it weren't for Emiko and the rest of the PCPers, and everyone else who reads and comments on this blog. So I want to say:

Thank you for support.

Adrian

Emiko: Day 50, Ooey Gooey Guilty Nachos

2008-10-04T00:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Adrian and I had indulgence #2. This time we were allowed a bigger indulgence, more like a small meal. Something that we really wanted. Before I knew about this, I had planned to use my normal allowance of carbs during lunch time and make a grilled peanutbutter sandwich with honey and banana slices. But then Adrian mentioned that he wanted Mexican food, and I remembered how much I loved the nachos they make at El Burrito Express in San Francisco.

El Burrito Express is the main Mexican restaurant my family used to go to when I was growing up. The nachos are simple: homemade tortilla chips, refried beans, lots of melty cheese, and some cool guacamole on top. We would always order big burritos individually, and have a plate of nachos to share as an appetizer. This 'sharing' was often a lie. Usually my mom and I would eat most of the nachos on the car ride home.

I was really excited about eating these nachos, especially because I just miss cheese in general. I have had almost no cheese since beginning the PCP. Upon receiving my order of nachos, I was surprised at just how much cheese there was. Had they always been this cheesy? The amount of cheddar on those nachos was a little gross, but my mouth watered anyway and I dug in. I felt guilty from the beginning, which made it less enjoyable. I couldn't really eat it all at once, but finished them by the end of the evening. Initially, I felt fine except for a some heaviness in my belly and a slight drowsiness. Later, after more nachos, I felt even more heavy but still had some energy to practice Parkour with Adrian. I did get a little gas, though. When finally finishing the nachos, I reflected on my past.

A few years ago when I was still living at home, I could eat a whole plate of these by myself and feel happy. Now, I can still enjoy their taste but in retrospect they didn't seem worth it. I can see why these indulgences are important. They are like little PCP experiments. Like Nate says, they are mostly "for the sake of science." We learn through each experience how a certain kind of food will affect our bodies.

By the end of yesterday evening, I was feeling pretty bloated. When I woke up the next morning it was the same, and I've been bloated all day. The bloatedness and the mild gas stayed with me. The gas may also be because of addition egg whites in my new diet. I felt uncomfortable a lot of the time. Thinking about nachos now, I'm not tempted at all. Perhaps the peanutbutter sammich would have been better. Well, I'll 'experiment' with that one next time.

Adrian: Day 50, Quesadilla fun

2008-10-03T22:58:00.000-07:00

We went to San Francisco yesterday and ended up getting Mexican food for our indulgences. I ordered a grilled chicken quesadilla at Gordo's. They make my all-time favorite quesadillas. Flaky, creamy, oily, tender-chicken goodness. Emiko got Nachos with guacamole, beans, cheese and sour cream from El Burrito Express.

The quesadilla was delicious and I had a warm, happy, sedated feeling while eating it. I didn't feel full afterward, but 20 minutes later my stomach felt heavy and I was nauseous for a couple minutes. It was great, but I don't feel like I'm missing much by not eating there regularly anymore. It was like going to an amusement park. Exciting, but overstimulating and a little sickening.

A little bit later, we went to an elementary school near my parent's house and we practiced some parkour moves on the playground. I was able to scale a 9 foot wall, it was pretty sweet.

We spent the night over at my parent's house and we didn't have an internet connection, so we couldn't post an entry. There was a party of sorts going on at the house, and we were a little regretful that we had to eat egg whites while everyone else was getting their grub on, but the mexican food was worth it. Everyone asked questions about the PCP, but I got nervous trying to explain and the answers didn't quite come out right. Now I understand why Patrick sent us that PCP-quiz...

Emiko: Day 48, The Little Emiko That Could

2008-10-01T22:59:00.000-07:00

I just came home from work, and took a peak at Adrian's post. It is funny, because we both decided to write about essentially the same thing without knowing it. And that subject is that we are beginning to believe in ourselves. There goes that word again! Believe. Last night I wrote about how I used to never believe that I could do things. That is all starting to change now. I have a renewed energy and outlook about my ability. I have become The Little Emiko That Could..."I think I can, I think I can...!"

One example in particular came to mind on my drive home. Awhile ago, 6 months maybe, I spoke to Adrian about wanting to become a volunteer gardener. I had wanted to volunteer at Tilden Regional Park, which is an absolutely beautiful place. It is so green and full of nature that you completely forget that you are minutes away from the city.

I spoke of wanting to volunteer, but inside my head a little voice said, "you're not capable." I just didn't believe that I could handle any type of responsibility. Even though I felt the desire, and expressed that desire, I never put it into action. From the beginning, I never believed that I could. So why even try.

But since beginning the Peak Condition Project, I feel like that voice in my head is going through a little lifestyle change of its own. Instead of being negative, the voice will now say, "I think that is possible. Let's try it!" I feel so much more open to trying. And when I say I want to do something, they are no longer empty words. Once I realize the desire to do something, the action that follows is much more immediate. I finally have control over my life! And it feels so good to finally believe in me.

Adrian: Day 48, Some Thoughts.

2008-10-01T21:37:00.000-07:00

The way I think these days is very different from how I used to think. I'm a very introspective person, and for the past year or so, I have been trying to examine the contents of my mind.

Last year, I was a totally different person. A lot of my thoughts were focused on fear, regret and negative perceptions of myself and others. I thought a lot about what was wrong with me, and with the rest of the world. I felt stuck, and my feeling was, "life sucks." But I had a breakthrough around this time last year, and my life has changed radically since then.

It's not all doom and gloom for me anymore. I still have the same old feelings and thoughts from time to time obviously, but the way I react is different. (I conducted an experiment to observe and confirm the changes, but it's a little complicated and I don't want to go into details). I still think about my shortcomings, but in a way that is more constructive and conducive to change. I still get angry and irate, but its short-lived and usually dissipates quickly. I don't find myself holding grudges. I don't wallow or feel self-pity. Self-pity is a far away land to me now.

These are very positive changes for me. I am a much happier and more confident person than I was a year ago, and I attribute this to my meditation practice. I realized very quickly that everything I feel is my responsibility. That's something I had forgotten for a while. The PCP has acted as a catalyst for changing my habitual patterns of thinking and acting. Instead of thinking "I can't do that" these days I often think "I'd like to try that." I'm also learning more and more about what choices I need to make in order to take care of myself. Actually, I have way too many interests right now, and I'm having to pick and choose the direction I want my life to take. In the past I didn't feel like I had a choice.

There seems to be a very close connection between the healthy expression of the body and the healthy expression of the mind, and that is something I'm really interested in exploring. I talked about having conducted an experiment on my thinking, but I don't feel like it's totally necessary to gather empirical evidence or anything. I've experienced the connection for myself.

What I have been feeling is that the PCP has reawakened my interest in physical/mental disciplines like martial arts, parkour, flexibility and movement in general. I played many sports and studied different martial arts as a kid. But I did all that stuff just so I could kick ass. I had a terrible ego.

Things are different now.

Emiko: Day 47, When Drawing a Line

2008-09-30T23:35:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot lately about how I warp reality in my life, and specifically with the PCP. Adrian has noticed how obsessive I have become with my progress, and I am having to deal with that. I have been getting down on myself for not losing fat, and then pushing myself too hard during workouts. I do this as if it will make me change faster. Patrick has warned us against this mindset, but I still let myself fall into it.

I feel like this obsession is rooted in my low self-esteem regarding my body and ability. In the past, I have never had the will-power to follow a healthy diet or exercise with any regularity. This was probably mostly because I didn't believe that I could change myself. Now that my life is changing so much, my attitude has also changed. Or has it? I put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed. Because I am not used to this amount of effort, I don't really know where my boundaries are. I don't know when to draw the line and say, "hey, maybe I should just stop." I don't know where that line belongs.

So that is where my challenge lies now, in learning my boundaries and respecting them. These past few days I have tried to be aware of my body and scale back on an exercise if I needed to. But I am also scared of using this search for boundaries as an excuse to ease up too much. I am still scared of falling back into my old lazy patterns, and doing only the minimum when I could do more. I am having trouble finding the middle way, feeling out where the line should be drawn. But I'm trying.

Adrian: Day 47, Resting

2008-09-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

I've been sleeping a lot for the past couple of days, in an effort to get my body refreshed from the recent strain. I've been getting 9 hour nights of sleep and long naps in the afternoon. I was exhausted after my workout last night and passed out pretty early. I forgot all about posting an entry. But still, I feel amazed because my body seems to be fighting off sickness, going through the motions and recovering quite well. Anyway, that's all for tonight, I'm going to get in bed early again.

G'night!
Adrian

Adrian & Emiko: Day 45, Hot Crossed Buns

2008-09-28T23:29:00.000-07:00

Both of our bodies were sore all over today, and just getting up from a reclining position was strenuous. We thought that our PCP training would prepare us for the parkour class yesterday, but it was on a whole new level of physical activity.

Even our butts were sore all day, because we did the 8 minute buns workout last night after our regular workout. We did it mainly out of curiosity and thought it would be funny, but it turned out to be very difficult and painful. It was a real butt buster.

As a result of our soreness, our workouts today felt like pure torture. Emiko said that it seemed 10x harder than usual, and Adrian agreed. Adrian struggled to get halfway to his minimums and got whipped in the neck with the resistance bands while doing the "Standing Ovation" exercise. He ended up wearing one of Emiko's scarves to protect himself. Emiko called him a "Cutie Bear". It was an emasculating experience for Adrian who vented his frustration and pain by cursing at the resistance bands. Later, he sneezed and felt a deep burn in his abs.

After our workouts, we still had some chores to do. Emiko washed some dishes and boiled eggs while Adrian mixed up a new batch of Turkey Patties. Adrian felt a burn in his shoulder as he mixed up the ingredients, and had to take several breaks. It was getting late, and it was a bit of a struggle to get through chores. Hopefully, our bodies will be healed up tomorrow, so that we can move around without hobbling around in pain. It's all worth it though, we both feel like we're getting stronger.

Goodnight,
A+E

Emiko: Day 44, Our First Parkour Lesson!

2008-09-27T15:37:00.000-07:00

Today Adrian and I had our first lessons in Parkour. There was a beginner's class hosted by members of the SF Parkour community on the UC Berkeley campus. I was pretty nervous, because I felt like I was such a beginner. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. They had set out a list of moves that they planned to go over, but I wasn't sure how many of them we were expected to attempt. But, as we found out, Parkour is all about going through the action rather than just listening to someone explain the moves, so... surprise surprise, we were expected to try them ALL. They just threw us in head first, and it was HARD!

Except for a tiny bit of jumping around, I've never practiced Parkour in any real way. I am pretty okay coordination and flexibility-wise, but I really don't have the same 'bounce' that Adrian does. That guy is bouncy! Adrian can jump really far distances, it's pretty awesome. But my un-bounciness was a big disadvantage while attempting all the different sorts of jumps over a concrete wall. The one female instructor there said that women have a much lower center of gravity, and that the wall we were working on was most definitely difficult because of that. Of course, then she vaulted right over it with no problem. Practice makes Parkour, I suppose!

Early on, my right ankle became sore from all of the rough landings. That went away after a while though. But as we started trying out the 'Kong Vault', I got into trouble. I ran and jumped up with and placed both of my hands on the top of the wall, then tried to bring my legs up and forward between my arms. The tips of my shoes landed on the edge of the wall, but as I put my weight onto my feet I slipped off.

Here are my legs after the session, as we were waiting for the train home. I scraped my shin pretty good. Later I bumped my knee while trying to vault over the wall again, and when we got home it had swollen to the size a little golf ball. Later I scraped my back on a cement divider wall when trying to maneuver under a rail. Many bumps and scratches for the day!

The jumping drills were a little discouraging, because I was unable to complete all of the movements except for one. I was the one who completed the least amount of movements properly. I think my shortness and a lack of confidence played a big part in that. I was a little bummed, but tried to cheer Adrian on, especially when we got the hang of the Kong Vault which is so awesome.

After the drills, we moved to a different part of the campus and tried to use what we had learned in a more free-flowing way. We stopped at a ramp that had hand rails and used those to jump over, under, and to 'Cat Walk' on top of. I excelled in the Cat Walk, which involved crawling on all fours on a rail. Balance was key in that movement, instead of bounciness, so I was happier. It was also just a lot more fun to concentrate our movements in a small area. I could really see how much work it takes to become efficient and quick. And the fact that the moves can be practiced almost anywhere is really cool.

The best part was how supportive everyone was for each other. Complete strangers who had come together to practice Parkour all of a sudden became a group. We all struggled and messed up and cheered people on together. Although I still feel lacking in self-confidence, it will be cool to practice with these people as time goes on.

Today's class really beat me up and made me exhausted, but I look forward to training and improving. I know that we are going to get so much stronger just by practicing.

Adrian and I plan to attend this week's Thursday practice session, which I am excited and nervous about. Tell you about that when the day comes! Adrian suggested that we drive around and find places to practice on our own, and that we could find a shorter wall for me to practice vaults on. I am happy and excited to begin this discipline!

Adrian: Day 44, Parkour!

2008-09-27T15:18:00.000-07:00

Woke up feeling sort of sick today, had a bit of a cough and a sore back. Wasn't too excited to get out of bed, but zazen instruction was at 8:45 a.m., so Emiko and I reluctantly rolled out of bed and went through the morning motions. We skipped out on the lecture at 11 so that we could go home and eat lunch before parkour class at 12. We got home about 10:40, so we had a very early lunch. We left the house at 11:10 and made it to the Ashby BART (subway) station at about 11:30. We caught our train at 11:40, got off at the next stop in Downtown Berkeley a couple minutes later, and then made it to the rendevouz point at U.C. Berkeley at about 11:45. It was lucky we got there early, because I had a full bladder all morning from tea, soup and airborne and had been pissing like a horse.

We met up with the rest of the beginner's group at "the Practice Wall", which is about 4 ft. high and 40 ft long. We started out with a very brief stretch, and then the instructor, Jeff aka Meatlad, had us jog a few laps along the perimeter of the lawn. We ran forward, sideways and backwards. When we got back to the wall, we immediately started the warm-ups, which they called "QM" or quadripedal movement. We crawled from the top of the hill (where the wall was) to the bottom on all fours. We did this with several variations (check out the video Nate posted of Jereme's warm-ups to get an idea). I was heaving after the warmup, and I didn't feel like I was in any shape to start jumping. But jump we did, and many, many times at that. We split up into several groups. Our practice leader was Albert aka Lethalbeef. Here's a video sampler of him in action:

I had a difficult time getting some of the jumps right, because I am very uncoordinated. I ended up jamming my knee into a wall right in the beginning. The hardest move for me to get was the 'kong vault', which involves jumping straight at a wall, pulling your knees up between your arms and using your hands to propel you forward and over. I had to break the movement up into two parts - jumping up on the wall and then jumping over. But I finally got it right at the very end. And it felt good! I was so excited that I got it, I had Emiko take a video.

Later we did some stuff on rails. We did a move called the 'cat walk', which I was completely unable to do for more than two steps. Emiko was a natural at it though.

Pictures:
The beginner's parkour group. Emiko and I are standing up for some reason.

Falling on my ass while people are trying to have a conversation.

Emiko going up for a kong vault.

Adrian doing a cat leap. That's Lethalbeef on the right.

Landing a cat leap. I fell into that bush behind me numerous times attempting this move.

The event was a ton of fun, and we plan on doing more training with these guys and girls in the future. I'm gonna end the post here, I have to get to my PCP workout!

See you in 24 hours!

Adrian

Emiko: Day 43, Five Seven Five

2008-09-26T20:47:00.000-07:00

I was going to write a normal post, but I can't get anything out but haikus. So here they are...

Pulled out his bad teeth

I waited in the lobby

His smile still perfect

Awoke, back aching

Standing bent while making soup

In bed, a massage

I don't want to work out today. It's already nine. I may just do 8 minute abs and call it a night. Sorry this post is so short, it's been a long day.

I can't believe it's Week 7! Kind of a weird start for Adrian and I, but tomorrow is a new day. I Hope that you are all really well.

Adrian: Day 43, No More Sweet Teeth

2008-09-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

I had two molars extracted today. One from both sides of my face. Those teeth have been bothering me for a couple of years now, and they've both been filled multiple times. The fillings had cracked on both teeth. Actually, I cracked the filling on the left side just a couple days ago, while eating the chicken that Emiko made. There was a small crunch, and I thought I had chewed up a chicken bone, but I realized really quickly that it wasn't.

I drove home across the Bay Bridge through heavy traffic. One hand holding an ice-pack to my cheek, and one hand controlling the gear shift and steering wheel. Right when I saw the traffic, I had an impulse to scream. But I didn't, and the feeling passed, and everything was good.

When we got home, I passed out on the couch while Emiko made me chicken soup. The vegetables were extra tender. I decided to skip out on my exercises completely today so I could rest up. Unfortunately, we missed the Qi Gong/Yoga class that we were planning on going to tonight. But I'll be ready for the parkour class tomorrow. We'll post about it tomorrow!

G'night,

Adrian

Adrian: Day 42

2008-09-25T20:20:00.000-07:00

Quick update:

I nearly just choked on some brown rice. I was pretty dazed for a minute - my eyes teared up as I staggered about coughing and gagging. I tried drinking water, but that made it worse. Finally, I got my wits together, stumbled into the bathroom and induced vomitting to get the rice unstuck. The first 41 days of PCP flashed before my eyes. Now I know how our cat Gus feels when it happens to him.

Adrian: Day 42, Clothes

2008-09-25T19:37:00.000-07:00

I haven't bought much clothing in the past couple of years. I've pretty much had the same wardrobe for quite awhile now. But now, my clothes don't fit the same way. It's a little strange seeing myself in the mirror; it almost feels like I'm wearing someone else's clothes. But actually it all works out for the best because my clothes have always been too small for me. Now, they're just right!

Emiko: Day 42, Are Those Shoulder Pads?

2008-09-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

Hey gang,

I just finished another work out and a fabulous round of 8 minute abs. Today required a lot of mental strength to get through my work out. Not only is it physically difficult to do these new, more concentrated sets of exercises, but I am struggling to keep my body from cheating when things get tough.

My heightened awareness of this was all triggered in a small but eye-opening moment. Earlier, Adrian and I were hanging out in the living room, chatting and laughing and basically feeling pretty carefree. I moved from the sofa to sit on Adrian's lap in our armchair. A minute later, he put his head on my shoulder to rest his head. All of a sudden, he got a confused look on his face, and lifted my sleeve to look at my shoulder.

I thought to myself, "Oh, my shoulders must be getting so strong! Adrian must not have been expecting the muscle to be so hard." I was getting all proud inside of my head, and casually asked him, "What is it?" Adrian replied, "Oh, your shoulder just felt so soft and puffy, I thought you might be wearing a shoulder pad." I was so mad! First, I would never wear shoulder pads. Second, I thought that my shoulders were getting stronger after so many days of sweating through Shoulder Raises. What is going on here?

So I decided not to let myself cheat anymore. During tonight's work out, I focused all of my mental energy on the muscle I was supposed to be targeting with each exercise. For each individual repetition, I checked my movement to see if other muscles were 'helping out' the muscle I was supposed to be working. This was for the most part really affective, and I actually had to do less reps because I was finally doing the exercise right. But, as Patrick says, quality over quantity is always best. Feeling really positive about that. It is really rewarding to struggle and overcome bad tendencies, and being able to honestly say that I was giving my all in every moment.

Hopefully soon my "shoulder pads" will get harder. :)

Emiko: Day 41, Sweet (potato) Eats

2008-09-24T23:33:00.000-07:00

Hello, hungry-bellied friends! Here I am going to offer you the two newest additions to our virtual cookbook. The ingredient featured in both of these recipes is the magnificent Sweet Potato. These are so delicious, yet sometimes under-appreciated.

I am posting a delectably simple recipe for sweet-yet-spicy Sweet Potato Fries. So easy, so yummy! Next will be a Whole Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Carrots recipe for the slow-cooker. Here is what the finished product looks like (with some of that Quinoa recipe on the side still left over from last time, and by the way it keeps really well!):

Looks awesome, right? Well, I would have taken pictures of the Sweet Potato Fries too, but we ate them too fast! So no pictures. But here's the recipe, and if you make then you will get the delightful bonus of getting to eat 'em, too. What could be better?

Sweet Potato Fries

4 medium-sized Sweet Potatoes

1 tbsp Olive Oil, plus a dash to grease the baking sheet

1/2 tsp Paprika

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

A sprinkle of Cayenne Pepper, or to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside. As the oven warms up, peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into long, square strips. You know, like a french fry! Place the sweet potatoes into a sealable plastic bag and add the oil, paprika, cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Shake the bag until the potatoes are evenly-coated. Pour a small amount of oil on the lined baking sheet, just enough to grease the surface. Spread out the fries evenly, in one layer. It is very important to have just one layer, or some fries may burn/remain soggy. Bake in the oven for a total of 25-30 minutes, checking in every 10 minutes and flipping them around. After 20 minutes, try a fry (be careful, they're hot!) to see if you want them any spicier, and if so add more cayenne pepper. Keep a close eye for the last 10 minutes, to assure your fries don't burn. Remove from oven, and serve immediately. And enjoy!

Slow-cooker Whole Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Carrots

I got this recipe from familyoven.com, I will link to it here. In my version, I am changing it slightly by substituting sweet potatoes and carrots for the mushrooms in the original. We used an unfrozen chicken, and removed all the skin and most of the fat. We came back to check on the chicken after 7 hours, and it was just right. I also think that there is definitely too much butter in the original recipe, so try it with less before you add more butter to the paste. We also didn't add any salt, and it still came out fantastic.

1 (about 3lb) frozen or fresh whole chicken (make sure it will fit in your slow-cooker!), giblets removed

1 lb sweet potatoes and carrots (about 1/2 lb of each), cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2-3 cups water

1 small white onion, peeled and chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1/2 tbsp dried rosemary

1/2 tbsp black pepper

1 tbsp garlic powder

1-3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

2 tbsp honey

Place the potatoes, carrots, and about half of the onions in your slow-cooker, and pour just enough water in to cover the vegetables. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables, and set the slow-cooker to low. Cover with lid. Place all the other ingredients in a food processor and blend them into a paste. Remove the lid from your slow-cooker, pour the paste evenly over the chicken, and replace the lid. Let cook 6-8 hours, depending on how hot your slow-cooker runs. If you are using a frozen chicken, it may take up to 10 hours. The meat should be falling right off of the bone, and the vegetables also very tender.

Adrian: Day 41, Cravings

2008-09-24T21:31:00.000-07:00

I've been craving fast food a lot lately. I was flipping through a slow cooker recipe book this morning, looking for a good chicken curry recipe, when I started daydreaming about Japanese style curry, and Indian Curry. I snapped out of it and saw a recipe for sweet and sour chicken and then I started daydreaming again about Chinese take-out. Later in the afternoon, I took a short nap, and dreamed that I was stuffing my face with chocolate. I felt guilty but I didn't stop. When I woke up, I was relieved that it was just a dream.

I think what's most appealing about these foods is the convenience. When I was daydreaming, I wasn't sitting there imagining delicious tastes and smells. I was visualizing completely prepared dishes.

A couple months ago, it was very easy to get a variety of completely prepared dishes. We'd just log onto yelp.com, figure out what kind of ethnic food we wanted, find a place with a good user review rating, and then drive to the restaurant, order, wait 10 minutes and then eat. Flipping through recipes these days, the food takes so much longer to appear. First, Emiko and I have to decide on what dish we want to share. Then, we have to make a grocery list, drive out to the grocery store, come home, prep the kitchen, divvy up the tasks, and then start cooking. Most of the time, the food comes out quite well, but sometimes it doesn't. Also, we've been pretty much eating the same stuff; we don't vary our food all that much, or that often. Variety takes a lot more work and effort, and we haven't had much time as it is.

Things have been going pretty smoothly for us lately, at least when it comes to sticking to our diets. But I'm really starting to see how changing our diets (and habits in general) can be a big mental game. The key seems to be repetition. We're almost halfway through now, and I've been wondering - "Will 90 days really be enough time for me to change?" Even though it's been a bit tough at times, and I've doubted myself, its been a much more fulfilling and engaging way to live than what I'm used to.

Adrian and Emiko: Day 40, Working Together

2008-09-23T21:01:00.000-07:00

We tried out a new recipe for lunch today. We made chicken with sweet potatoes, carrots & onions in our slow cooker. The recipe also included a paste made of garlic, onion, honey, rosemary & pepper, and butter, which we made with our blender. (The full recipe is coming tomorrow, along with a sweet potato fries recipe we made yesterday.)

For dinner, Emiko made Adrian an apple & banana smoothie, but it had a garlicky after taste. We used honey to cover it up, but that just made it really sweet - with a garlicky after taste. Luckily, Adrian loves garlic.

Adrian was in a really bad mood this morning. He even cursed at the carrots and sweet potatoes as he was chopping them up for the chicken recipe. The mood followed him all the way into the evening. But, after going out to do jump-ropes, the negativity magically lifted. From then on it was all hugs, smiles and laughter. It's amazing how quickly these things can change.

Today we both really realized how much of an advantage we have because we can do things together. We have been able to help each other during our workouts in a bunch of different ways.

One thing we've been able to do is to point out mistakes the other person is making. For example, when Emiko was doing her tricep extensions, Adrian noticed that she was using her entire arm to get through the movement. After bringing this up, Emiko was able to correct herself and do the rest of the exercise properly. Later, while Adrian was doing his tricep dips, he mentioned to Emiko how easy they were. Emiko then pointed out that he was going through the exercises too quickly. After slowing down his pace, Adrian had a much harder time, but in the end got a better workout.

We are also big source of encouragement for each other. Today, while Emiko was doing her jump-ropes, she showed off some cool jump rope dance moves for Adrian which made him laugh. While she was fooling around, Emiko was able to do her first double-jump, and later Adrian did the same. It was lots of fun and broke up some of the monotony of jump-roping. Also, Emiko usually cheers Adrian on while he is struggling through a tough exercise like v-sits or tricep extensions, and it gives him an extra boost to go the extra mile.

These aspects are of course present in other parts of our relationship. We have decided to work together to put what we learn in school directly into use. Although we signed up for a Web Design class together this Fall, we decided today that our time would be best used if Emiko stays in the class and passes information along to Adrian, while he uses that time to create content for the website we are going to create. In this way, we are learning how to optimize our time, and to work together to complete tasks. It is exciting and motivating knowing that we are working as a team in order to move forward in our lives together.

Emiko: Day 39, Or Is It?

2008-09-22T21:14:00.000-07:00

Well, my back is not completely better, but it is improving. My back definitely didn't affect my jump ropes like it did yesterday. Jump roping would have been a lot easier today if I wasn't already so sore from yesterday's workout.

Like Patrick warned us, I feel like I'm back at Day 1 as far as being used to my exercises. The new routines are hard! During my jump ropes, I was hindered by my quads which were so weak from yesterday's pistol squats. Although I complain about it, I actually like being challenged in that way. But it hurts the day after, that's for sure.

Also, I kept whipping myself in the butt with the jump rope. Must have happened about ten times. I must have been tripping on the rope in a new way because of my sore muscles. It was unpleasant, but a little funny too.

Another weird thing happened to me today. I went to bed

around 11 pm last night, very sleepy. This morning I had to wake up earlier than would be ideal, around 6:45 am to finish my drawing homework. Because I went to bed so sleepy, and felt the same sleepiness upon waking and throughout the morning, it was almost as if I was experiencing last night and this morning at the same time. Like a parallel plane of time or something. As I was driving Adrian and myself home from school today, I felt that I was simultaneously getting ready to go to bed the night before. I cannot explain it better than that. It was a strange feeling, though.

I had better go get ready for bed now, again. Am I experiencing tonight, or last night, or both?

:0)

Adrian: Day 39, Flexibility...

2008-09-22T15:47:00.000-07:00

I have none.

I haven't been stretching before my workouts this whole time. Why? Rigid personality. I have been doing it lately though...since yesterday. I plan to do it every day from now on so I can go from

Emiko and I were talking this morning about flexibility, and we decided to get a yoga dvd to help us get more like Stretch Armstrong. We were also talking about going to meditation groups outside of the Zen Center, and we found out that there's a free yoga/qi gong/mindful movement class at the East Bay Meditation Center every 2nd and 4th Friday night. We were both pretty excited about that. I know what you're thinking - Yoga on Friday nights? Awesome! We think so too. We're going to check out the class this Friday, and we'll let you know how it goes. That's it for now!

See you in 24 hours!

Adrian

Emiko: Day 38, A Crick in My Back

2008-09-21T22:18:00.000-07:00

This morning I got up, stretched a bit, and was happy to note that my back was much less sore and achy than yesterday. As I mentioned in my previous post, after jumping around on trampolines for an hour on Friday, my back was in quite a state on Saturday. So I was really glad that it felt so much better.

I went out behind the house in the evening to do my jump ropes. It was then that I realized that my back was not in much better shape than yesterday. I noticed that my back would curl slightly with every jump, and with that curl I felt strain in my muscles and spine. It was a little challenging, but I did all of my sets and went upstairs the rest of the workout, on the other hand, was much much harder (Pistols!).

I just finished sitting half an hour of zazen, and my back was a continuous source of distraction. It was difficult to maintain my posture, and toward the end was painful to just sit there. It makes me really appreciate Tim's strength to go through all of this, as I know he has chronic aches and pains. I can see why he goes to get massages regularly.

Definitely can't wait to lie down in bed and rest my back muscles. Adrian also promised me a back massage before bed, so off I go I can't wait!

G'night!

Adrian: Day 38, New Exercises.

2008-09-21T19:46:00.000-07:00

I made my first attempt at the new exercises today. Here's how it went:

Pistol squats: These one-legged squats were tough, but I was able to hit the max on most reps. I had to use my arm a bit to get me back up off the ground.

Creep: I remember this exercise from high school. I did this several times as a warm-up in Kung Fu class. But instead of doing a certain number of sets, we were required to walk a few laps around the entire studio. We called it duck-walking. My legs are still very strong today because of my martial arts training from years ago, and so this exercise is very easy for me. I could probably do 100 steps before getting tired, but I'm sticking to the max for now so I don't put too much stress on my right knee.

Pull-ups: This was tough. I was able to do 3 reps on my first set, but only went a quarter of the way up on my last set before my body quit.

Pull-down: Easy, but tiring.

Tricep dip: This is easy for me. I can hit the max reps without a problem. I haven't tried going to failure yet though.

Triceps extension: This was tougher than I expected. Hit the max reps on all sets, but felt a deep burn getting there.

V-sit: This exercise feels like torture. When the burn comes on, my whole torso feels like it's being squeezed dry and my neck feels like it's being pinched. I find it difficult to breathe fully while doing this.

Side crunch: Hit the max for all 4 sets. It was easy, but I felt a nice burn.

8 minute abs: Still experiencing neck strain. It's getting better though.

I also tried doing hand stands tonight to work my upper body. I can't do them for more than a minute before getting tired.

Well, that's it for now gang. I'll see you in 24 hours!

That was an 8 minute abs reference for those of you who haven't seen it yet. Haha.

Adrian

Emiko: Day 36 & 37, A Birthday, Briefly

2008-09-20T23:34:00.000-07:00

Good evening, everybody! Today was a bit of a special day, because it was my 20th birthday. Adrian made me the most wonderful present to wake up to... origami animals that filled our bedroom ceiling, all hanging down to greet me good morning. As I first awoke, I could see their silhouettes in the morning light, but didn't realize what they were until I turned the lamp on. Who knew that this was the surprise that Adrian had been working on in secret this whole time? So so so neat!

But that wasn't the only surprise he had in store for me! My first birthday surprise came yesterday, when Adrian took me for a drive down to Santa Clara. He wouldn't tell me where we were going, all he said was, "Don't dress up." When we arrived, I realized why. We were going to be jumping on trampolines!

At first I was a little embarrassed, because we were definitely the oldest people there besides parents supervising their children, and one old guy. The old guy was in a maroon jumpsuit with a matching headband, and was having extreme fun jumping and twirling in one little square of trampoline for an hour.

We only got to snap one photo before the attendants busted us and made us put our camera away.

I was also really scared to try anything ambitious on the trampolines. I attempted a few front-flips, but landed on my butt every time. I tried some old gymnastics moves before finally going for a back-flip, which I was almost positive I couldn't do anymore. But Adrian kept encouraging me, "Try it! Just try it!" And guess what? I did it! My body somehow remembered the movement from like 10 years ago when I could do all that flippy stuff. After that, I was able to do a bunch of back-flips, and I started to have a lot of fun.

Today I am a little sorry for getting overzealous with the back-flips, because I think I may have injured myself. My back just ain't used to this stuff no more! I suppose that this experience just reinforces the necessity of stretching before doing anything to your body. Also, Adrian and I both got tired out really fast because we had already done our exercises for the day. Made me feel old!

But still, Adrian and I do plan to go back for more jumping, and possibly use the space to practice parkour once we learn some moves at a beginner's class next Saturday. Even the walls are made of trampoline (your can see it in the photo), so that should be lots of fun to work with.

After getting all tired out from jumping, and then Adrian insisting that I go to bed early so that he could "set up" my present, I totally forgot to write a post last night! So I feel a little bad. But hey, it's my birthday so I gotta cut myself some slack.

Well, that's all I have to say. I had better go to sleep and rest up for a new day. I really hope that my back doesn't hurt as badly tomorrow!

Goodnight, lovely people!

Adrian: Day 37, Introspective Post # 205

2008-09-20T15:05:00.000-07:00

Last night, after Emiko had fallen asleep, I began to work on her present, stringing up the origami figures I had created on the ceiling over the bed. When she woke up this morning, she was very surprised, maybe more so than our cat, who kept swatting at the birds. When she turned the lights on, she was delighted, smiling up at the paper stars and creatures floating above her head. I wish I had taken a picture of her face at that moment. It's one of those images that I wish I could save forever.

Later in the morning, I found myself walking up and down the sidewalk, with my right hand placed over my left fist, placed over my solar plexus. I was briskly walking single file with a group of strangers. Every one of us completely silent. Each person had their eyes plastered to the lower back of the person walking in front of them. I thought we were a strange and silent parade, but the joggers and dog walkers didn't seem too interested in us. I caught myself daydreaming for a moment, and when I snapped out of it, I woke up and began to question my situation. Where am I? What am I doing here? How is it that my life has led up to this? I had no idea. I began to feel lost and alone. But I felt like I was in a group of lost people. Suddenly, the line slowed down. The period for walking meditation was over. We all walked back onto the Berkeley Zen Center's grounds, past the steel gate and into the zendo.

The lecture today was given by a jovial and smiling Buddha - Steve Stucky, the co-abbot of San Francisco Zen Center. He was a large, pasty, bald-headed old man. I could see his legs through his robes, I thought to myself, "I hope that doesn't happen to my body when I get older." But at the end of his lecture I was thinking, "What an amazing guy. I hope to be more like him when I'm older."

For the second week in a row, the lecture topic seemed to be aimed right at my thoughts, and the feelings I was having. He began the lecture with the question, "Where am I?" He went on to talk about how important it is to continually wake up to life with that question.

He told us the story about the time the forest surrounding Tassajara Zen Mountain Center was engulfed by wildfires, and everyone in the area was evacuated. He and a group of 4 other monks decided to stay, in order to fight off the fires and save what they could of the buildings and structures. He and the other monks worked intensely, sometimes for 6 hours at a time with the fire dangerously close to their eyebrows. In the end, they were able to save much of the Zen Center, but they still lost a few buildings - a couple cabins, a bathroom, and some other structures. He said that he 'grieved' over the losses. After the story, he showed us a humorous comic strip that was published in the newspaper around that time. It featured a monk greeting the fire and talking it out of burning everything down. The fire-fighters were very impressed, and a little child proclaimed that it wanted to be a 'fire-monk' some day.

The account about Tassajara was about the impermanence of life, and how we cling to the things we hold dear. We shouldn't cling, because everything around us is changing and dying. But even so, we can't just give up. Even though our lives and our relationships don't last forever, we should take care of them with the utmost of our ability while we can. What's the best way for me to take care of my life? Probably to just pay attention. To be there for whatever happens to be present in my life, rather than just letting myself float by.

That is something I'm still learning how to do, and it's been a struggle. But I hope that if I keep at it day by day, eventually I will not be so perplexed by the question, "Where am I?" It is precisely because I take my life for granted that it passes me by and I get confused by it.

The Beatles said, "Living is easy with eyes closed". But, I've noticed that even though my eyes are open, I'm not awake. I have to keep trying though. I have to wake up, again and again.

Emiko: Day 35, And The Fat Lingers...

2008-09-18T19:54:00.001-07:00

My left ankle started to hurt today while I did my jump-ropes. I decided to mostly ignore the pain and continue, and to just place most of my weight on my right leg. I mentioned my ankle pain to Adrian, and he had to give me some tough-love in order to get me to stop jumping. He made me realize that my ego was really getting in the way, and I was unable to simply listen to my body.

After reaching such a high point of being able to do 1,600 jumps in a row, it is hard for me to allow myself to ease up even when I am in pain. I was getting stubborn about reaching that number each time I did my jump-ropes, and that is just dumb if your body is hurting. And it's not just jumps, my ego is attached in this way to my other exercises to, thinking that I won't be good enough if I don't push myself hard enough.

So, it was only 1,300 jumps today (should have stopped at 1,200, but like I said I was being stubborn), and I skipped the floor-jumps. I could hear an inner voice saying, "you're kind of a failure," but I heard Adrian say, "this is what's right for your body now" and I knew that he was right. Because he injured his knee recently, this stuff is definitely on his mind.

Another reason that I am getting so attached to finishing all of my exercises to the max is because I still feel...well...FAT. I have lost a lot of the fat surrounding my abdomen, and my legs are turning from flubber to muscle. My silhouette from the front is much slimmer, but when I turn to the side, not much has changed! There is still a bump there. The belly fat lingers...that big 'tire' as Tim calls it, or 'kangaroo pouch' as I think of it, it just won't disappear!

Just as I am reaching the height of my frustration with this, of course Patrick chimes in with an email about 'visceral fat' —the fat that makes the kangaroo pouch— and how it is the toughest fat in the body to get rid of. I guess that's why so many people give up working out, because they don't feel like it will ever go away. But, like Adrian wrote just now, it will eventually give way after a while as long as we stick to our diets and exercise regimens. I can't wait for that to happen, because then I will finally be able to see the results of all these 8-minute Abs workouts!

Adrian: Day 35, Back in the Valley

2008-09-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

We both got lots of sleep last night. 9.5 hours for me and 10.5 hours for Emiko. This was nice because of the lack of sleep we've been having, but we both ended up feeling groggy all day. I skipped my chores this morning, and I wasn't able to tackle the rest of my tasks throughout the day with any zest. The day seemed to float by as if I were vegging out in front of a T.V.

I kept my workout somewhat light because the knee is still bothering me, but I did the 8 minute ab routine again. I didn't enjoy the workout today; I went through them all like chores. I gave myself a couple nasty welts while doing my jump ropes too. I blamed the jump rope for hurting me and I threw it at the wall. The cats weren't happy about that move.

I feel like I'm back in the PCP valley. I keep thinking to myself, "Why don't I feel energetic all the time?" and, "Why don't I feel or look much stronger yet?"

We got an email from Patrick the other day talking about "visceral fat" - the lardy stuff that's really hard to get rid of. He says it's gonna stick to the 'bitter end' (it's definitely sticking to my bitter end), but if we keep on top of our diets, it will start to go around day 40. I can believe that after looking at Kazu's pictures. He made a really big change between week 5 and week 6. It's inspiring to see.

Adrian & Emiko: Day 34, Eat your vegetables..Seriously.

2008-09-17T19:15:00.000-07:00

We forgot to eat our vegetables after lunch today and felt a big dip in energy while doing chores later. After the laundry came out of the dryer, Adrian became very distressed. Just the thought of folding our sheets made him give a little sigh.

We both became famished, and just wanted to eat vegetables really bad. Not pizza, not hamburgers, not burritos, VEGETABLES! We couldn't stop talking about veggies. Adrian wanted a bowl of spinach, but Emiko said 'No, you can't eat the same vegetables twice in the same day'. Adrian gave a little sigh.

When we got home, we had a huge bowl of peas each. And happily ate the rest of our dinner - egg whites, milk (Emiko), banana and a spoonful of rice (Adrian). This probably sounds lame to most people, but it's actually quite satisfying. We never go to bed on full stomachs like we used to, and it feels good to do.

Earlier, we worked out at the same time, staggering our exercises because we only have 1 resistance band for both of us. Adrian did a round of the 8-minute Abs video while Emiko was doing her Chest Flies. The instructor's motivational phrases in the video are hilarious. Emiko started laughing so hard at a certain point that she could not physically finish her chest flies. The same thing happened to Adrian later. We both really love that 8 minute abs guy.

Emiko: Day 33, A New Hero

2008-09-16T22:44:00.001-07:00

I have been venting my frustrations with sugar for the past few days, and was feeling kind of low today (a.k.a. was in a PCP Valley). Having temptations again is frustrating, because I feel like I am falling back into my old habits and addictions all over again. I have resolved to give up anything sweet besides fruit (that means no occasional honey on my toast, agave nectar in my coffee/steamed milk, or dates...which is the toughest of all!). These things are only going to keep my body used to, and reliant on, extra sugar as a part of my diet. Well, think again, body! That sweet stuff is history!

Later on in the day, I had a revelation about my PCP hero. Patrick has suggested that if we are having intense cravings or struggling through a work-out, to think of our heroes for the Project for the strength to do what's right. Patrick used to carry around a picture of Bruce Lee to give him motivation during his Project. But, in these situations, I don't think of my official PCP Hero for inspiration. Although I admire Michelle Rodriguez for both her body and her attitude, she is not who I think of to get me through the tough times. My real PCP hero is none other than Adrian Velazco, my partner in this project and in life.

Adrian started the Project with much less body fat than I, so right now his muscles are really starting to pop out. I am motivated by his energy and his results to keep my cravings from affecting my actions, and to always push myself to do my best with each of my exercises. His excitement about getting into shape and, now, beginning training in Parkour is so contagious.

A recent example is that I recently started doing 1,350-1,700 jump-ropes in a single set. I would not have attempted even close to 1,000 jumps if Adrian had not done so first. He has also inspired me to add the 8-minute Abs video to my work-out every day, to take my exercise up a notch (which, by the way I LOVE that video). Also, Sunday night when I was really hungry and (gasp!) almost ate a bunch of extra carbs at night, I called Adrian hoping he would tell me to go for it, but he simply said something to the effect of, "Well, you are hungry. So be hungry." So I was able to just know my hunger, not let it take me over. His constant support and his attitude are so awesome.

So, thank you Adrian for being my real hero! I admire you in so many ways.

Adrian: Day 33, Some pain

2008-09-16T17:48:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to get much sleep for the past two days. I've been thinking too much at night and I've been completely unable to relax. I felt tired all day today. My right knee's been aching too - I hurt it yesterday during meditation. I could really feel it while doing jump ropes today, so I tried to keep most of the action on my left leg. I cut the jumps to 1200 instead of the usual 1600. I skipped the floor jumps altogether. I did manage to get through the rest of the exercises. I feel like I've gotten a little bit stronger, though Emiko says my muscles look a lot more defined.

She suggested that I skip the workout completely today, because of my hurt knee. That idea sounded pretty good to me. But, I've been feeling very motivated lately, and the idea of not working out for two days in a row (I took my rest day yesterday) just seemed wrong to me. I think I'm starting to like exercise... Weird.

I did the 8-minute abs video Patrick sent us for the second day in a row today. It's hilarious. Two or more people watching together in the same room will result in fits of laughter. But the workout really does burn. Some of the exercises feel like they put too much strain on my neck though, and that's not fun.

That's all for now. I'm gonna go cut my hair. Have a good night everybody!

Adrian

Emiko: Day 32, No Fair!

2008-09-15T22:58:00.000-07:00

I just got home from another night at work. Like last night, I was ravenously hungry the entire shift. Luckily, I planned ahead by not eating my vegetables at lunch, but rather saving them for when I got to work. That helped a lot, because unfortunately I forgot to eat my post-work-out egg-white yet again! Oof. Tomorrow I will make sure that not to forget. It really is so necessary!

Ever since our indulgence last week (chocolate brownie sundaes), I have been craving the sweet stuff. Anything sweet is much more tempting than it was before the indulgence. My body was like, "Hey, I remember this sugar substance! I was addicted to it. I want more of it!" All while I shed a tear, staring longingly at the pastry case at the cafe where I work. My manager also bought me and another of my coworkers a pint of gelato each, as a thank you for picking up a shift in an emergency. Of course, the gesture is what counts, but I was sad to have to say no to the yummy looking melon sorbet.

Work is definitely providing a lot of temptation for me again, with all of the sweet and creamy foods and drinks everywhere. It's almost like I am back at Day 1! I am definitely planning on something savory for my next indulgence.... >:(

Adrian: Day 32, New Record

2008-09-15T22:26:00.000-07:00

I just peeled a boiled egg in about three seconds. Any challengers?

Emiko: Day 31, For Hungry Bellies

2008-09-14T23:28:00.000-07:00

Doesn't our lunch look delicious?

We have officially crossed over the 1-month mark, and a lot of our cravings and habits are melting away in exchange for more positive things. So, Patrick has been telling us, "It's all fun from here out. The hard stuff is over." Time to celebrate and just go along with for the ride, right?

Well, not quite. Tonight was hard for me.

After doing a single set of 1,4oo jumps before rushing off to work (yet again I had to cut my jumps short), I arrived at work ready to chomp down on something filling. But wait a tick— I had already had lunch! From then on it was fruit and ONLY fruit for the rest of my shift, plus a little milk. It was a loooooong 8-hour wait until I got home and was able to eat my (forgotten) post-work-out egg white, Dinner egg-white, and late-night veggies. All of which I devoured!

The real purpose of this post is to share with you all a couple of recipes. The first is that for our delicous turkey-patties, and the second is one that I made for the first time today, which is a quinoa dish. Both are really good, PCP dishes that you can make in advance (and they both make quite a bit) for future meals.

Quinoa with peas, onions and spices!

Ady's Famous Spicy Turkey-Patties

Patrick has also started to hound on Adrian and I about making sure we have a lot of variety in our protein sources (he knows we love the patties), so although we won't be making another batch of these for awhile, we hope that you will enjoy them as much as we do.

Play around with the spices, especially the chili powder. If you want it spicy, use the max given here...or even more! Also, having a lime at the ready to squeeze over your turkey burger is an absolute must. Remember that you can experiment by trying different meats such as ground chicken or even fish. Have fun!

Ingredients:
(Makes 9 patties with 100g protein, 10-20g carbs)

2.5 lbs ground, Lean Turkey (or substitute)
2 slices Whole-Wheat bread
1/2 cup sliced Green Onion
8 cloves minced Garlic
5 squirts (or about 5 tbsp.) Dijon Mustard
3 tbsp. Non-fat Yogurt
2-4 tbsp. Chili Powder
1 heaping tbsp. Thyme
1 heaping tbsp. Curry Powder
1 heaping tbsp. Smoked Chipotle Powder (optional)

Materials:

1 Large Mixing Bowl
1 Big Knife
1 Cutting Board
Cookie sheets, or some other flat surface/container to place the patties on while freezing
Freezer
Saran Wrap
Freezer Baggies
Aluminum Foil
Broiler

Preparation: Thaw the turkey until it breaks apart easily. Break up into small pieces into a large mixing bowl. Also break up the whole-wheat bread into very small crumbs and place in the mixing bowl, and set aside. Slice the green onions, mince the garlic, and add both into the bowl. Add the yogurt, mustard, thyme, chili powder, curry powder, and chipotle powder (optional). Use your hands to mix up the contents of the bowl thoroughly.

Shape the turkey mixture into 9, equally-sized patties, placing onto cookie sheets (or other surface/container) as you go. Place in freezer for 30 mins, or until patties are firm but still malleable. Remove patties from freezer, reshape if necessary, and wrap individually in saran wrap. Place patties into a couple freezer bags, and freeze. Voila!

To Cook: Thaw turkey patty for an hour or two, or defrost in microwave being careful not to cook the meat. Turn on the broiler, and place a sheet of aluminum foil on the broiler rack. Place turkey patty on the foil, and broil for 10-12 mins. on each side.

Quinoa with Veggies

Quinoa is a grain that is new to me, although I've heard really good things. It fairly high in protein, and is supposed to be a "complete" protein unto itself.

Adrian found this recipe on Google. It is the first link that comes up when you search for "quinoa recipes." I will link directly to it here. We decided to double the amount of cinnamon, and want to add bell peppers to the mix next time because it needs something more. Again, play with it!

Serves Six to Eight

Ingredients:

1 cup Quinoa
1½ tbsp. Vegetable Oil
½ Onion Diced (about 4 or 5 ozs.)
1 tsp. Grated Fresh Ginger Root
½ Fresh Green Chile (Finely Chopped)
1 heaping tsp. Turmeric
1 heaping tsp. Coriander
¼ tsp. Ground Cinnamon (or to taste)
1¾ cups Water
½ cup Fresh or Frozen Peas

Rinse quinoa with cold water. Use a fine mesh filter or coffee filter. If you're a klutz like me use the fine mesh filter or a lot of quinoa is going to wind up in the sink!

Quinoa is coated with a natural substance called saponin that protects the grain by repelling insects and birds. Rinsing the quinoa is important to avoid a raw or bitter taste. You can tell if there is saponin by the production of a soapy looking "suds" when the seeds are swished in water.
Place oil and diced onions in a heavy saucepan. Saute the onions on medium high heat for four to five minutes.
Add the ginger root, chile, and quinoa. Cook for one minute stirring constantly.
A fine, white spiral appears around the grain as it cooks.
Stir in the turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, and salt. Cook for one minute stirring constantly.
Add the water and bring it to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.
Stir in peas. Cover and cook for four or five minutes or until peas are tender and all the water has been absorbed.
Fluff with a fork before serving

*Optional Ingredient: 1 to 2 Tbsp. Chopped Cilantro.

Well, I know this post looks really long, and it took me quite a bit of time to write it all out. I hope that you can enjoy these recipes.

Good night everybody, and go do some happy, healthy eating!

Adrian: Day 31, Parkour

2008-09-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

I got excited about Parkour today after reading Nate's latest blog post. I've known about parkour peripherally for some time now, but I've never done anything except watch other people do it on youtube. Lately though, my confidence has been rising, and today I had the thought, "I want to do that!"

So I did a search on google, and I found this group based in the Bay Area who are giving a free class on parkour basics a couple weeks from now at the U.C. Berkeley campus. I'm planning on going. I know it's going to be fun, and I'll probably take some pictures so that I can post about it here. There seems to be a small community growing around here of people who do it, and right now it seems like a good idea to me to try and get in on the fun they're having.

The fundamental workouts for parkour seem to be pretty similar to what I'm doing now in the PCP, and it would be awesome if I could make it a part of my routine.

Thanks again for the inspiration Nate!

Emiko: Day 30, IT'S DAY 30!!!

2008-09-13T22:20:00.000-07:00

Wow guys, I really can't believe that PCP2 has been going for a full 30 days already! Has it really honestly been a month? Time has flown by.

I just finished whipping up another batch of Adrian's delicious recipe for lean turkey burgers. You can see a picture here of the mixing bowl. Doesn't it look just fabulous? We decided to double the amount of chili powder this time to make it extra spicy and exciting. We'll let you know how it tastes in a couple of days when we try the new round of patties.

These 100g-o'-meat patties have been our staple for lunch. Love 'em!

Anywho, I set another new record for myself in jump-roping today! I did one set of 1,700 jumps. Woo woo! Again, my body complained and complained through the first couple hundred or so. I almost stopped at 250 jumps to take a breather, but then a little voice in my head said, "Let's see what you feel like after another hundred. Just feel it out." So I did, and it kind of kept going that way until I hit 1,000. By that time I had decided to push myself and finish the full 1,600. But once I got to 1,600, the voice chimed in again..."Let's try another hundred, eh?" I stopped there, though.

It's amazing to experience how far I have come. Just a few weeks ago, I was doing sets of 100-150 jumps, 300 at most. Now 100 is nothing. I can just say, "Let's do another 100!" That's so amazing to me!

Speaking of progress...I am kind of embarrassed to show you all this, but here is a previously unseen Day 1 photo that I uncovered as I was helping Adrian upload a picture for his post half an hour ago. Oh my god, you guys! I can't believe how pudgy I was! Even by the end of Week 1 (the first photo on our Flickr photostream) you can see a big difference. In this photo I look pretty bloated in the belly. After the half-diets, the puffiness went down a bunch.

In finding this picture after a month on the PCP, most of the surprise didn't come from how much weight I've lost since then. That's maybe 10% of it. Mostly I can see now how stark the difference was between the image I had of myself and how I really, truly was. I never really realized that this was how I appeared to the world, because when I looked in the mirror I didn't want to see the truth. I compensated for my fat by sucking in just a little bit. You know you do it. I did it. And I still do it!

The initial shock of seeing this photo right after Adrian took it was actually part of the reason I didn't put much effort into uploading it. I didn't want it to be real. Well, now my secret's out!

Off to do my chores before bedtime! Good night, all.

Adrian: Day 30, How and Why

2008-09-13T20:56:00.000-07:00

I had originally planned a very short post for today about something very specific, but I can't remember at all what it was. But I did realize that we're already a third of the way through, and I never really talked about how I found out about the PCP in the first place, and why I decided to do it, and why there's a picture of Manny Pacquiao and Michelle Rodriguez at the top of this blog. So I'll take this opportunity to tell you all about how we discovered this thing. I think this story starts near the end of July...

I was home alone one day in July - probably a very hot day, and I was listening to a podcast on itunes from the San Francisco Zen Center. I must have been very bored, because after listening to a couple of these lectures, I decided to search itunes for other podcasts about Zen Buddhism. That's when I first discovered Patrick & Gwen's podcast Zen is Stupid.

I think my first impression was shock. Shock that other young people were into Zen. I had been practicing at home with Emiko for a few months up until then, and the times we had been to Zen centers, there were only old people there. Also, I didn't know how to use my time very well back then, and it seemed to me that most of the hobbies I had been interested in up to that point were things only old people liked (jazz, blues, gardening, chess, walks around the lake, etc.). Anyway, their talks about Zen seemed very different from other talks I had heard in the past, in that, they were just two friends talking about their lives. So, I was pretty happy to see that other people my age were into this sort of thing.

Around this time, I was also drawing a lot, and I was taking lots of pictures of various things to draw, like Emiko, and our cat Peppermint stuck inside a pair of pants.

I also decided to start drawing self portraits at this time, and I took a picture of myself from the waist up (no shirt). After looking at the picture, I realized how I had really let myself go physically. I was pretty ashamed, and I didn't end up drawing myself in that light. But I vowed on the spot to get my body in shape, and I started jogging and doing crunches, push ups, and planks every day, and I started paying closer attention to my diet. At the same time, Emiko became inspired by what I was trying to do, and started going jogging with me. But I wasn't seeing much progress in either one of us. I figured I needed a solid fitness plan designed by someone who actually knew what they were doing.

So what happened next is a bit blurry to me, but a couple days after first hearing Zen is Stupid, I stumbled onto Patrick's PCP blog, right after he had completed his 125 days of training (please check out the above links. I get a free indulgence if you do). I had a "Eureka!" moment. It was exactly what I was looking for. I was so excited that I showed Emiko and we've both been hooked on the PCP ever since. We both emailed Patrick shortly afterward and we combined our wish-power to send our pleaseletusparticipate vibes into the outer space.

I remember when the email came back saying we were in. Emiko was in the living room, and I was in the kitchen. Suddenly Emiko let out a primal yelp and called out my name. My first instinct was extreme panic, because it sounded like someone had died. But then she jumped at me and yelled "We got in!" And then we did the dance of joy.

Soon after, we started getting regular emails from Patrick with explanations of how things would work, and we were introduced to the rest of the group (check out their blogs if you haven't yet!). Emiko and I were accepted as a couple, instead of individually, as an experiment.

One aspect of our participation in the project is that we were supposed to choose heroes for ourselves. Basically, people with really awesome bods that we wanted to model ourselves after. When Patrick first asked us to send him our hero choices, I started to get sort of anxious. I started thinking, "Well, I don't really have any heroes. And there's no one in particular I want to look like... I just want to be as physically fit as I can possibly be." But I decided that it was sort of a cop out to think that way. So I chose the boxer Manny Pacquiao.

Honestly though, I don't know much about Manny Pacquiao. I haven't seen any of his fights (though I've seen a couple short clips on youtube), and I haven't watched boxing since high school. I only know about him because there seems to be a lot of hype surrounding him at the moment, and he's always on the cover of the Filipino newspapers at my parent's house. And the dude is made of rock! I wouldn't mind having a stomach like that.

I'll keep my face though.

Anyway, that's all I can think of saying for now, so if you've got any questions about this thing, ask!

Emiko: Day 29, Untitled

2008-09-12T23:16:00.000-07:00

I just got home from an emergency call in to work, so I don't have the time or energy to write much.

But, like Adrian, I set another new record for jump-ropes today, doing all of my 1,600 jumps in a single set! At first my body was like, "No, not again!" but stopped complaining soon after and it was fairly easy. The work out was hard because I was sore from yesterday's exercises, but it was good.

Man, today I am really feeling this equation in my life: optimism about life + caffeine + in love with Adrian + exercising my muscles = Awesome!

I feel a very humbled sense of happiness, because I am working to positively change my life, which is positively affecting other's lives. Adrian and I are learning a lot during this journey together, and are having to really work as a team both PCP-wise and in general with life. Things are changing for the better in so many ways. I will elaborate more later, but now....sleep!

Love to the world! G'night and sweet dreams.

Adrian: Day 29, Out of Body Exercise

2008-09-12T17:43:00.000-07:00

I had the black tea again today and the caffeine boost I got from that one cup seemed to push my energy through the roof. After tea, Emiko and I had a really lucid talk about feeling excited about life. We both feel a lot clearer mentally these days, about where we are in life, and how to proceed together. Soon afterwards, I felt a rush of energy to start my workout. I ended up setting a new record for myself today - 1800 jumps in one set. I felt so good that I plowed through the rest of my exercises like Super Mario on mushrooms. I was listening to music the whole time, and during my leg ups I entered a transcendental state in which I felt the vibrations of the music going through me. Lesson for the day: Say yes to exercise.

Emiko: Day 28, Strong n Tough!

2008-09-11T22:57:00.000-07:00

Today both Adrian and I were secretly daydreaming of naughty, un-PCP foods. I guessed a little that he was thinking similarly to myself, because while waiting in line at the grocery store he kept picking up the chocolates and candies and inspecting their nutritional facts. I found myself at one point craving something really greasy, something I used to indulge in growing up and up until a few months ago: KFC potato wedges.

It kind of grosses me out thinking how much of them I could eat. I would eat the entirety of a large box of these oily, squishy wedges. It would make me sick, but I was happy anyway. Why was I happy after being sickened by my food? Addiction. But now that I am (mostly) free of that, I can think about them, and maybe my thoughts will linger on them, but I don't have a physical need to turn the car around and head for the drive-thru anymore. Those days are over.

After returning home, eating lunch and drinking tea, Adrian and I settled in for a movie, but like he said that didn't work out (but did later, happily!). So Adrian started his work-out first, while I studied and waited for him to get through most of it. But then Adrian told me that he had just completed a set of 1,000 jumps and was ready for more, and I could not believe it! I was so proud of him and in awe of that number. That part of the routine usually takes me at least 6 or 7 sets to complete, bare minimum, and the most I had ever done in a set was 600, and that felt like a heck of a lot!

Near the end of his work-out, I jumped into my sweats and found I had a new bounce in my step. I was totally inspired to begin my work-out, and finally felt that "YES, I get to work out today!!" attitude, rather than saying "Aw man, I've still gotta do my work-out today."

My first set was 250, which is pretty okay for me. But my during my second set, I was determined to go for something much bigger. I wasn't sure what, but I wanted something impressive! After 4- or 5-hundred jumps, I realized that I was still breathing easily and I felt like I could do more. It kept going that way until I reached 900 jumps, and decided to just finish up my 1,600 jumps for the day. So I totalled at 1,350! That's more than twice my previous record of 600!! Woo!

I felt really strong and tough after that, which are not typical Emiko feelings. It was pretty cool. Those are two aspects that I admire in my PCP Hero, Michelle Rodriguez. She is an actress, and always plays those 'tough chick' roles. That is pretty much the opposite of my personality and character, and having a doughy body only complimented my easy-going, non-threatening appearance.

But now that I am getting stronger, I can at least pretend to be tough!

Here is a trailer from Girlfight, a film starring Michelle Rodriguez. She plays a young, aspiring female boxer who has to fight through a lot of barriers. So you can really see what I'm talking about!

Anyways, I'm pooped from all of the running around and jumping in place. My last note is that, after some calculations, I have discovered that right now Adrian and I have over 100 eggs in our fridge. Isn't that insane?? And they'll be gone quick, too, since tomorrow we start our new, eggier diets!

Until then, good night all!

Adrian: Day 28, Climbing a new Peak

2008-09-11T19:39:00.000-07:00

As you know, Emiko and I have been kind of on a bum trip lately, both of us feeling low on energy and motivation. Today, while we were out running errands, I was feeling lethargic, and decided to be the passenger. I slumped in my seat, checking out all the ethnic food diversity that Oakland has to offer; passively daydreaming about quitting the PCP and eating out at different restaurants.

At the grocery store, I walked about in a hazy daydream candyland, stuffing my face with potato chips, chocolate bars, sugar-dried fruit, and even granola. When I came to, I was carrying a grocery bag full of grains, and loose-leaf tea.

Afterward, Emiko dropped me off at home so I could prepare lunch while she went out to do more groceries. I plopped down like a sack of steel cut oats in front of the kitchen table with a bowl of carbs to chow on. After the snack, I equipped myself with knife and cutting board and set off for battle with our vegetables.

At around 6 p.m., Emiko and I had a pot of black tea - vanilla almond and snacked on some fruit. We were trying to get a movie to work on our computer, but it took so long to set up that we decided to start our exercises before it got too dark.

I started the jump-ropes, while Emiko listened to some audio lectures for Buddhist Philosophy class. My first set was 400, which was about my previous record for jumps. My first set is usually 100-150, to warm up, but this time, I wasn't tired at all and I didn't need a warm-up. I felt strong, and ended up doing another 550 in the next two sets. For my third and final set, I hit my all-time record of 1000 jumps! I was able to do jumps on one leg, and also while alternating my legs. I didn't want to stop, and I felt like I could do 500 more, but I decided to end it there, fearing an adrenaline crash. So all in all, I did 1950 jumps today. I ended up nailing the rest of the work-out too, but still only hit the minimums on the shoulder raises. Still, this is the strongest I've felt this whole time.

I was glistening with pride after my jump ropes.

I felt a renewed sense of energy and inspiration during this work-out, and I think it was mainly because of the tea. I think I'm gonna have it before work-out from now on. As I type though, Emiko has just taken the wind out of my sails by doing 1350 jumps! That girl is crazy, yo.

Adrian & Emiko: Day 27, In the Valley

2008-09-10T22:48:00.000-07:00

We've been experiencing a dip in energy this week, and we think it's due to the reduced portions of our diets. We haven't been getting very hungry, but we've felt our energy levels drop, and the exercises have been a bit tougher to complete. Tomorrow is the beginning of week 5, and we start our new diets.

For dinner, Adrian gets a new item on the menu: a spoonful of cooked rice. "WTF? How do I cook a spoonful of rice? Is this some kind of joke? I don't have a hobbit-sized rice cooker." He also gets 50 grams of veggies for dinner. Meat at lunch time has been cut by 20 grams, which isn't too much of a difference, because he's been eating only 100 on most days due to forgetfulness. Dinner milk is gone, which means no more smoothies, or banana & milk soup ;(. He's also boosted to a whopping 5 eggs a day.

Emiko's diet is exactly the same as it was before, except that she no longer gets a banana for dinner. So she will also have to go without banana-milk soup and smoothies. Noooo!!! The only new addition is a post-work-out egg-white, which is not so nice as a banana.

So we're sticking to these portions for the next few weeks, and then they will be gradually increasing. It will be interesting to see how our bodies and energy levels will be affected during the next month. Hopefully we will adjust to these new diets, especially because life has been very busy!

Adrian & Emiko: Day 26, Indulgence Time!

2008-09-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

Before we describe the delectable indulgence we had today, we're going to briefly summarize just what it is that we've been eating for these past 26 days, for those of you who are just now tuning into the wonderful world of PCP.

Basically, we started the project by cutting all our food intake by 50%, and surprisingly, we found that we weren't hungry after eating only half of what we usually eat. For the next phase of the project, we were given very specific diets, which were very high in vegetables, fruit and hard-boiled eggs. For those naysayers out there who think that we aren't living by restricting ourselves to a strict diet regimen, you are mostly wrong. Actually, since starting this project, we've learned how to improvise a variety of new, homemade dishes. Whereas we used to just make sandwiches and eat out most of the time. But we do get a sort of break from the diet once a month or so, and this week was the first such opportunity to indulge.

Lately, we have been craving both chocolate & ice cream, but we've been unable to decide which to have for our indulgence. We have a couple pints of Haagen-Dazs ice cream (purchased prior to PCP) which have been taunting us whenever we open the freezer. One flavor in particular has been teasing us seductively - Vanilla Honey Bee. Adrian describes the taste as 'creamy delight'. The problem is, the temperature around here has suddenly dropped by about 40 degrees, so ice cream hasn't been as attractive.

So Adrian came up with the idea to combine chocolate and ice cream! We bought a brownie from the bakery at the corner of our street, nuked it for 30 seconds in the microwave, and split the then warm and gooey square in half. As a bonus, the frosting on the brownie melted to a liquid, and acted as a hot fudge. We topped it with 1/2 cup of ice cream each and voila! Brownie sundae delight.

It looked really freaking delicious.

The first few bites were awesome, and we both felt really happy with our choice of indulgence. But after a minute, our throats began to burn because the brownie frosting was so incredibly sweet. That took the fun out of the brownie part, although the Vanilla Honey Bee stayed delicious the whole way through.

The sugar definitely affected us though, Emiko got aura (usually the first stage in migraine headaches, which she used to get often) and Adrian got really hyper and giggly. He even faked a sugar-induced heart-attack which involved kicking off his shoes and attempting to revive his heart by massaging his chest.

Emiko: Day 25, A Day in the Life Of My Tummy

2008-09-08T23:54:00.000-07:00

Tonight my coworker Lauren said that she wondered what a PCP diet looks like compared to hers or a more average diet, and I realized that I have not posted anything about my daily eats in a while. Also, in the past I have used grams to explain my portions, but here I will try to make it a little more understandable for those who don't weigh all of their meals on a scale!

So, here we are! Today's Food:

Breakfast:
-A full bowl of whole-grain cereal with low-fat milk
-A medium-sized plate of broccoli (with a portion about as big as my hand if I held it over the plate)
-1 whole hard-boiled egg (side-note: Ma, those special-colored eggs are DELICIOUS)

Morning Snack:
-1/3 of a nectarine

Lunch:
-1 home-made (by my lovely BF & BFF Adrian!) turkey patty made with lean turkey, NF yogurt, green onions, cayenne pepper, whole-wheat bread and garlic.
-1 whole-wheat tortilla
-1/2 of an avocado
-3/4 of a tomato

Afternoon Snack:
-Tiny bowl of granola with a little LF milk
-Should have had some fruit (as much as morning snack) but forgot! Woops.

Dinner:
-16oz smoothie made with 1 banana, 3/4 of an apple, a dash of milk and some ice.

Evening Snack:
-1 hard-boiled egg (white only) sprinked with pepper
-A handful of broccoli

So, I think you will see that I truly am eating a lot of food, but that it is very low in fat, consists of almost no sugar (except the granola, and maybe a smidge of honey in the cereal), or empty calories. Carbohydrates are almost always something whole-wheat or whole-grain. We eat lots of stuff that comes right from the earth or from animals, such as fruit, eggs, veggies, beans, milk, meat, etc.

So there you have it! A random daily run-down of what goes into my body. Maybe I'll make more of an effort to post what I am eating every now and again.

Also, I still haven't decided what to indulge in this week! Patrick told us that we can have something non-PCP, as long as it is in moderation (equal to or less than 400 calories), but I don't know what I want yet! I am thinking it will be chocolatey, but I'd really like some suggestions if you've got any (go CRAZY...I wanna hear it!).

Thanks all! Can't wait to hear what you suggest. Good night.

Adrian: Day 25, A Semi-Lazy Day

2008-09-08T19:36:00.000-07:00

I felt a bit sick when I went to bed last night. Had a feeling sort of like nausea. My mind was clear though; I didn't have the usual 'this sucks' kind of feelings that I tend to have while sick. And I woke up this morning feeling refreshed, and relaxed - to the point of not wanting to do anything but maneuver my body into different reclining positions. Gus was sitting on the bed however, staring me down intently. He was attempting with all his willpower to communicate with me telepathically that he wanted food, and he wanted it A.S.A.P.

After feeding the cats, I had a bowl of protein-enhanced cereal and a plate of broccoli for breakfast. Not too exciting. I felt sort of indifferent to being awake. I was reminded of this girl I used to know, Lorena, who used to say that eating vegetables made her feel bored. I never understood, until this morning, but only just a little bit.

For lunch, we were planning to cook up some fish that we bought at the Temescal Farmer's Market yesterday, but once we got back from school, Emiko pretty much had to rush off to work, so there was no time for us to have lunch together. Instead, we broiled up turkey patties, and Emiko packed her lunch. At around 8 p.m., I visited Emiko at work, and she made us banana & apple smoothies.

I decided to take my rest day today, because even by late afternoon, I felt pretty lazy. I started doing my jump ropes in the apartment (because my downstairs neighbor wasn't home) and I ended up getting a burst of energy and decided to do the rest of the exercises.

I kept Patrick's high school track & field story in mind. His coach told him that if he felt tired while running that he should at least try to make it to a tree some ways ahead, and when he made it to the tree, to keep going and to choose another tree further up ahead to stop at, and when he got to that tree, he would choose a new landmark to stop at, and to keep going this way until finished. Patrick also mentioned that he was overweight in high school, but that's hard to believe, because he looks like Spiderman now.

PCP senses tingling!

Anyhow, I'd better cut this post short. I still haven't finished dinner, and I've got some chores to do.

Goodnight!
Adrian

Emiko: Day 24, Flapping My Chicken-wings

2008-09-07T23:58:00.000-07:00

Hello folks! Thanks for reading this post. It is after midnight so I don't know how good it is, but I hope you like it.

Well, exercising was a little difficult for me today. After achieving my recent record of 600 jump-ropes in a row, I thought that my endurance while jump-roping would simply escalate from then on. Apparently not so! Today I was able to do sets of 100-300, but I struggled through each and every one. My body just seemed very resistant the the activity I was making it do, and I had to play some mental games in order to get the job done in a timely manner because I had to go to work soon, and of course I was still late (Sorry Sara, Terra, and Brian!).

The new exercises are also brought up a notch to give us more of a challenge. And it burned! The extra reps kept me working hard. Also this new exercise, the 'Chicken Wing' I know for sure that I am doing entirely wrong. Patrick, this means I need help! I was surely not a chicken in a past life, because right now I am not really engaging the shoulder muscles, I am just straining my shoulder joints. SOS!

One cool thing, though, was that I flexed my arm kind of randomly in the mirror and I was like WHAT! I can actually see some definition in there! Although I can't do the Chicken Wing for s***, some of those shoulder exercises must be working because there are now two separate shoulder and bicep muscles!

On another note, I emailed all of my coworkers yesterday with the link to this blog and a super brief explanation of what it is Adrian and I (and the other present PCPers) are doing. Tonight I worked with Sara, and she had looked at the blog so we started to talk about how the process is changing my routine, perspective, habits, etc. Later in the evening, I told all of my coworkers about the PCP at our monthly staff meeting. I thought it was going to be a lot more exciting, but people didn't seem too phased about it. Maybe in the coming weeks, as my body and energy changes more and more, it will pique people's interest. It is nice to have it out in the open nonetheless. Mostly I just want to have a broader community of people reading these blogs, commenting and maybe being inspired or influenced by our experiences.

Thus, I have taken another step in spilling the beans about the PCP! Now all of my coworkers know, and it's just time to contact friends that I don't see too often and clue them in to this exciting project we are all involved in.

Good night everyone. My kitty is meowing at me that it is bedtime, so off I go. Bye! Oh, and hello coworkers if you are reading this! Night night!

Adrian: Day 24, Week 4, Workout 2.

2008-09-07T19:59:00.000-07:00

Jump rope: Piece of cake.
Lunge: No problem.
Pull down: Fine.
Chest Fly: Easy.
Triceps dip: Not Bad.
Chicken wing: Ow. (Why am I feeling the burn in my neck?)
Leg-up: Ouch. (Make it stop.)

Emiko: Day 23, Life Comes Together

2008-09-06T22:17:00.001-07:00

I mentioned yesterday how satisfying the days have been since we started the Project. I wanted to continue that thread, because I am feeling so thankful for it. It is such a beautiful thing!

I really feel like I am tackling life in every moment. Because of that, I am gaining so much sensitivity, becoming more aware of the present and more grateful for whatever it is that is happening in that present moment.

Like Adrian mentioned today, we had a pretty intense meltdown yesterday following a fight. Fighting hurts, and sometimes working it out can be painful, but I feel that my attitude has shifted and I can be appreciative of those moments.

Also, activities that used to slip past me without thought have now come into and equal focus with the rest of my life. I don't put such a heavy emphasis any one piece of my day, and totally ignore another because it is not 'important.'

Now, steaming broccoli at night is just as clear in my memory as making a drawing, hugging Adrian, or petting my cats. Of course of all of these I would love to hug Adrian the most, but you know what I mean. My day feels fuller because I am not sorting my experiences by 'worthy' and 'unworthy' of remembering or paying attention to, and I feel so much more balanced and, well, alive!

I am on a feel-good trip, and I can't stop listening to this song right now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H71Fv3PcQQY

I love you all! Good night and sweet dreams. <3 Emiko

Adrian: Day 23, The Practice of Sitting

2008-09-06T10:32:00.001-07:00

I just finished my period of morning zazen, and while sitting, I realized that neither Emiko or I have described the nuts and bolts of our meditation practice. So, in this post, I would like to describe my own personal experience with meditation.

Emiko and I practice zen meditation, or Zazen - which literally means seated meditation. Though the meat of the practice is sitting, meditation actually occurs throughout the entire day. Thus meditation can occur while walking, while standing, while cooking, while eating, and even while lying down.

During seated meditation, our practice is to focus on the rise and fall of the breath, counting each exhalation from 1-10 and then beginning again at one. While doing this, one notices how nearly impossible it is to reach the number 10 without becoming lost in thought. So it is that we are instructed to let all thoughts and sensations arise and pass; with acknowledgement but not interference. In short, to just pay attention.

A common misconception about meditation is that the purpose is to stifle all thoughts - the logic being that if one is free from thoughts, then one can be free from the suffering caused by thoughts. But actually, stifling your thoughts will make you suffer. Another misconception is that meditation is the practice of relaxation. But too much relaxation gives the ego free-reign. Those two examples are microcosms of the two extremes - ascetisicm and hedonism. Our meditation is the middle way, and we meditate to see life as it actually is.

During meditation, we realize that much of our lives are spent in thought. We reminisce on the past, plan for the future, replay conversations, have imaginary conversations, reflect on the image we think we present to the rest of the world, and so on and so on forever and on continuous repeat. So we sit, and we focus on the breath so that we can see these tendencies of our mind, and eventually we see that we live life in self-created bubbles.

It is said that the ultimate reality is like a vast ocean, and our individual lives - the false images we create for ourselves, are like bubbles in the ocean. When the bubble pops, it rejoins the the vast ocean of life. And in this state, the totality of life is experienced. Actually, "experienced" is incorrect. When the ego bubble pops, there is no one there to experience anything. Life just is.

Sure, meditation is a form of mental conditioning, and skeptics could correctly label it as hypnosis, but what in life are we not hypnotized by? And ultimately, we condition our minds with meditation to be free from hypnosis.

I once asked a philosophy teacher, "People meditate to be free from conditioning, but isn't meditation also a form of conditioning?" He replied, "Yes, but you have to start somewhere."

It has become obvious to us PCPers that we have spent much of our lives hypnotized by food and convenience! That is why we are training ourselves to live with the right habits, right now! And it's neither easy, nor convenient.

I remember reading in one of Patrick's old posts that PCP had made his zazen practice better, at least physically. Today, for the first time, I was able to sit in the correct half lotus position, with both knees touching the floor. At first, there was pain, but gradually, my body settled into a state of comfortable stability that I have not experienced during meditation before. Even breathing was easier.

But the mental aspect is a different story. I have noticed during my zazen lately, that my attention has been completely bound up with aspects of the PCP - the posts, the responses, the exercises, my self image, the grocery lists, etc., etc. And yesterday, Emiko and I had another fight.

Since starting the PCP, tensions have been higher than ever, and I lost my cool yesterday just because the recycling was mixed up. I came to a realization - I'm still stuck in my ego-based bullshit! I have tendencies towards order, and Emiko has her tendencies towards disorder, and I wasn't able yesterday to just let things arise and pass without interference. I wasn't able to notice, to accept, to correct without getting my feelings mixed up with it. Instead, I yelled and belly-ached like a fire-breathing monster.

I pointed out what she did wrong, but that wasn't all. I pointed out all she had done wrong in the past. And I noticed that while doing this, I was pointing out everything that I thought was wrong with me.

After finally calming down, I became somewhat depressed. I thought: I meditate, I exercise, I eat right, I study philosophy, I practice my artwork, but why am I still acting like this person I never wanted to be?

Sure, with meditation I've gotten rid of 90% of the anxiety I feel on a day to day basis, but fundamentally, I am replaying the same patterns of tension that I experienced growing up. It's as if I'm a re-enactor.

My thoughts started telling me, "You'll never change, it's hopeless. You've been fooling yourself this whole time. You're the same old jerk." But instead of going along with these thoughts, I acknowledged my tendency to give up on myself and changed my thinking to "You have to keep trying. You can't give up. You can change, you already have."

So I hope that everyone reading deeply realizes what I'm trying to say. These ways we have of thinking about our lives is not reality. It's exactly these ways of thinking that cause pain and tension. Don't beat yourself up or others because of your ways of thinking, and don't relax yourself to the point of sedation. The ego grows happily under both of these conditions. It's only thought which makes life seem like a beach or a tight-rope. Whatever it is, keep steady, keep balancing.

I hope everyone is well,
Adrian

Emiko: Day 22, Drinkable Dinner!!

2008-09-05T23:19:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading Adrian's post, and he got me a glass of water and it was yum.

Today is the official first day of Week 4! Can you believe it? By this time next week, a month will have past. Holy guacamole, y'all.

We did our last work outs for Week 3 today. And I was really groovin', as is always the case right before we receive new our new exercise routines every Friday! I did my all-time record for jump-ropes...*drum roll*.......

600 jumps in a single set!!!!!!!!

Of course, I must admit that I tripped sometimes in between, so it wasn't a consecutive run, but 600 nonetheless! Woohoo!

I also made smoothies tonight for the first time since Day 8. That first smoothie was a complete disaster, because I blended milk, banana, egg whites, and a whole apple (including peel, which is where things went foul) into a nasty-thick pint of yuck. Please never EVER make a smoothie like this. It was my first official 'PCP Dinner" smoothie, and good lordy was it a test of my devotion to the Project to drink/gag it all down.

But tonight's was a delight! Both Adrian and I had a smoothie made with milk, 1 banana, 1/2 an apple (peeled!), and ice. It was refreshing and much more filling than I was expecting. Our bellies reported that it felt like a real dinner, that's for sure. Finally full at dinner time again!

To the right, you can see me looking rather like someone spiked my smoothie, and also unquestionably like my mom...!

That is all I have to report today. I do want to make a quick comment that ever since the PCP began, not one day has passed where I thought "where did the day go?" I like that a lot. Even if the day sucked, I was there for every moment of it and it felt rightfully long and full. A lot happens in a week, and we have been changing! With that in mind, I am excited for Week 4 and to see what wondrous things we encounter!

I just remembered that I forgot to eat my nightly veggies! Dang. Better go steam up some cauliflower!

Night night!

Adrian: Day 22, Just water, thanks.

2008-09-05T22:25:00.000-07:00

So, one of the things we've all had to do for this project is to abstain from juice, soda, and other beverages with calories higher than zero. This wasn't too hard for me, because I never frequented cafes much, and don't drink much alcohol. Prior to starting the PCP, I was probably averaging 1 beer and .25 lattes a month. I've had maybe 3 sodas in the past year. But the thing I had to quit cold turkey, and still miss at times, is juice.

I loved my juices. Especially Kern's guava nectar. My parents have always had this in their fridge when I come over to visit, and I could easily drink a whole quart of the stuff, straight out of the box(sorry ma & pa). I could never get enough. But I'm pretty shocked that I ever drank as much of this stuff as I did, because a large cup of nectar is basically equivalent to breakfast. In 11.5 oz of Kern's guava nectar there are 210 calories, 53g of carbs, 10mg of sodium and 49g of sugar.

So, my choices for liquid refreshment have been limited, but actually that's a good thing. Because I'm remembering how much I love water. It's all the refreshment I need. Nothing else (maybe some cucumbers). Water is miraculous. We can drink as much of it as we want without ever becoming sick* or inebriated, we clean ourselves and our things with it, it comes out of us when we're hot, and then we go and swim in it. Diving into it is an amazing sport.

It's been so incredibly hot and humid here in Oakland that I've been drinking my water and then pouring it on myself afterwards. I couldn't do that with guava nectar. I'd get all sticky and the ants would eat me alive. Viva la agua!

*Actually its possible to overdose, so don't try and drink more than 3 gallons in five minutes. Seriously, don't do it. I'm warning you!

Emiko: Day 21, Spoken Secrets, Broken Day

2008-09-04T22:23:00.000-07:00

I told the first of many coworkers, Juliet, today about the PCP, and she had a really positive reaction. I showed her the blogs and told her briefly about the format of the Project. At slow moments in the shift (which were few) she stopped and read our blog, commenting out loud and laughing. She wanted me to send her the link so that she could keep following along, and assured me that when I was weighing out my food that she never thought that I was 'weird'. It was really great. We left the blog up on the staff computer, and my manager came in and happened to see it too. He said it looked awesome, and emailed the link to himself right there. So, we have two new witnesses to our PCP journey! And there are more to come!

I am enjoying having this little secret, and it is really really neat watching people's reactions, whatever they are, as Adrian and I let the secret slip out into the open.

So, after being at work from 6:30am-3pm, I biked home and collapsed next to Adrian on the couch. We talked and had a good time, knowing it was the only couple of hours we'd see each other today. Eventually I had to rush to start my exercises. Emphasis on start, because that's all I got to do before I left for class at 5:20pm. I only had time for 700 or so jump-ropes, and ended up finishing the rest of the work out after class (past 9pm).

I remember Patrick making a post about having to break up his work out during a very busy day, and for that reason I was afraid it was going to really suck. But I got a good sweat going pretty quick --probably helped quite a bit by crazy heat here in Oakland-- and felt like I got a good work out. So this rushed, broken-up exercise routine went alright, but in the future I will try to stay on track and do my jump-ropes and exercises all in the same period.

We also got our new diets today, and like Adrian said we will be drinking lots of tea. I am sad because I am eating less fruit and meat, which are really the best parts in my opinion. Adrian has come up with a KILLER cayenne-pepper doused turkey burger recipe (I think he put it in an earlier post), and I am in love. But moderation is continually emphasized and further enforced each week with smaller portions, and I am grateful for that reminder.

I am also really excited because it's almost time for the pounds to really start melting off, and boy am I ready!

And HEY! Keep yer eyes peeled! New Flickr photo coming tomorrow of me and Adrian posing like macho men (hopefully with some noticeable changes this time). Aren't you thrilled?!

Either way, good night all. I hope that you get some good rest and, for those of you like Tim and Patrick living halfway around the world and already well into your Friday, I hope you are having a lovely, lovely morning.

Adrian: Day 21, Time really does fly!

2008-09-04T21:17:00.001-07:00

Have 21 days really gone by? Wowaweewa. It went by really quick. The way I'm feeling right now is that none of this PCP stuff is out of the ordinary. All the meat, veggies and egg whites that I'm eating every day just feels like a normal part of life, and it's almost hard to imagine it any other way. I guess I've finally hit that groove, and I'm going high octane if you catch my drift. And I really can't imagine going back and eating all the old junk that I used to.

At this point, I feel like I'm 90% over all my old cravings; they just don't really come up anymore. And I haven't felt the least bit bothered by hunger in an "I could go for Chinese take-out" sort of way. I do get hungry by dinner time, but I feel very satisfied by my apple, banana & milk soup, & egg whites. Though, I do have to admit that my mouth watered just a tiny little bit while after looking at that picture we posted yesterday. It looked pretty disgusting to me, but my body's instinct was for my mouth water, because that's the sort of stuff that Emiko and I used to eat. Weird how that works huh? And I still look twice at the chocolate bars when checking out at the grocery store. Also, for some reason, after eating my egg whites for dinner I am sometimes tempted to eat the yolks.

We all got our new diets tonight, and our portions have been cut quite a bit. I'm not even worried though. That means less groceries, and I'm not gonna miss running to the store every other day. Looks like we'll have to stock up on tea though.

Some day soon, Emiko and I hope to grow our own food. But that's a post-PCP project, so keep an eye out!

Adrian

Adrian & Emiko: Day 20, PCP: Please Consider your Portions!

2008-09-03T22:13:00.000-07:00

We went to the San Francisco side of the Bay Area today and hung out at Adrian's parents house. Adrian got to pick up his bike and we both plan on hitting some of the trails around here this weekend. Pictures are forthcoming! We told both of our parents about the PCP, and they were pretty indifferent except for Adrian's mom, who thinks its really cool (and sent us home with broccolini and half a watermelon).

Mostly, it seems that they think we're naively following a fad of sorts. However, we've seen and felt the results after only 3 weeks, and we really hope that the inevitable progress and change in us will inspire others to think more closely about the food they buy and eat. It takes a lot of care and attention to do this project, and it may seem obsessive to outside observers, but seriously, when you eat the right foods, you feel strong, and when you feel strong, you feel good.

Emiko hasn't revealed the PCP to her coworkers yet, but is planning to this weekend. So far, they seem mostly weirded out when they notice her weighing out her portions at work. But because she hasn't told her coworkers about it, they might think she is being overly controlling.

One of Emiko's coworkers just finished Pre-Med, so it's been easy to talk with her about these healthy changes. But when on the subject of diet, this coworker said that she doesn't really need to portion out her meals as she is not overly excessive, and just eats her fill of good food when she is hungry.

But what does our 'fill' even mean these days? For example, restaurant portions are simply too large for any normal person. A single restaurant portion is probably enough for two or three people. But we condition our bodies to believe that this is how much we need. We have both stuffed ourselves after cleaning our plates, and walked away feeling sick, clutching the space around our too-full bellies. We are relearning and retraining our bodies to understand what a more natural and healthful diet feels like.

We've made the conclusion that most people just don't really feel that being conscious of how much food we put into ourselves is an important consideration. It's kind of like choosing the right car. Driving an 18-wheeler to your McDonald's job is a bit excessive. And driving a Honda Accord to the Monster Rally would be suicidal. It's kind of a weird analogy, but we couldn't think of a good one at the moment. Basically, too much is wasteful, too little is not enough. And it's hard to learn to balance it by guessing. That's why we have to pay such close attention in the beginning and weigh out every gram.

This post took us a long time to write, and we had a fight in between, so if you skimmed it like 'this is dumb,' please read it again. And please consider your portions. They're important!

Adrian & Emiko

Emiko: Day 19, Rest After the Rope

2008-09-02T22:19:00.000-07:00

Hello, there!

Today was fairly uneventful, PCP-wise. Tuesday is my heaviest school day, I'm pretty much tied up between 1-9pm, so there isn't much opportunity for recipes or revelations of that sort. Although, Adrian did get us limes at the grocery store the other day, and they are most delicious squeezed over a spicy-turkey-patty, tomato, avocado, whole-wheat-pita wrapped sandwich! mmm! (Patrick is right, PCP round 2 is totally obsessed with food! But all the better for the PCP Cookbook, right?)

As far as exercises went...well, they didn't really. I took my rest day today. I was planning on going through my Work Out 2 exercises, but after finishing the jump ropes I was all outta steam. I got a side cramp about half way through the 1,500 jumps, and had to limit my last sets to about 100-150 jumps. I also kept tripping a lot more than usual, and kind of wanted to make a noose out of that twisted jump rope (as displayed in Tim's Day 18 post...he he). I stretched out in between, swirling my body around and stretching from side-to-side, but that cramping just wouldn't pass! So after finishing with the jumps I went upstairs and called it a day. It is really nice to have a rest day when you need it.

Still haven't settled into a balance between work, PCP, and school. I will begin working less next week which will help, but both the PCP and school feel like full-time jobs unto themselves!

Thus it is time to get to bed. I must get my required 8-hours of sleep, and I still have to finish my drawing hw for tomorrow's class! Hope you all are well out there, and good night!

P.S. Spilled the beans about the PCP to my Dad today, and he was equally unsurprised as my mom!

Adrian: Day 19, Mind Muscles.

2008-09-02T20:41:00.000-07:00

So, in Patrick's latest email, he said:

"From the looks of your blogs it seems everyone is getting the promised motivational boost from actually seeing some results for all your hard work."

That was pretty true for me today. I'm definitely starting to feel a boost in motivation. I keep finding myself thinking about all the things I want to do, instead of all the things I can't do. I feel healthy, and strong. It's almost like I can do anything I set my mind to. And my mind is looking at the brighter side of things.

Physically, I haven't seen much change yet, and I definitely don't look like this:

But still, I feel good.

Hope everyone else is good too!

Adrian

Emiko: Day 18, Buns of Steel...?

2008-09-01T23:06:00.000-07:00

Howdy!

My head is hurting a little with sleepiness, so hopefully I can keep this one short.

I am beginning to gain some confidence that all of this hard work is going to pay off. I can really feel my muscles beginning to grow. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of fat left in my arms, belly and thighs, but there is definitely new strength under the surface and that's really pleasing. I have almost no fat in my calves now, and they are looking pretty toned. Lovin' that! I can't wait to see all those other muscles that are just waiting to be revealed.

After starting these new work outs, I am actually sore again today! It has been a while, and it's kind of awesome to feel sore, because I know I'm forming new muscle. Today my arms were a little sore, but the soreness was mainly focused on the booty (thanks, lunges!). Despite being a little awkward, I am happy to know that my glutes are getting a good work out too.

I didn't max out my workout today, but I came close. Those Side Shoulder Flies are so killer. I still can't make the minimum once I reach the 3rd and 4th sets. I can do the maximum reps of Incline Pull-ups, but I don't think that I can do real Pull-ups yet. I am totally excited for the day when I can do all of my sets doing the real thang.

Not much else to report I think, except that I'm for certain a little hungrier this week. Not having a real hearty dinner is what gets me, but I'm sure that's an important step in losing the weight...which I certainly can't wait to lose! As of today, I weigh 125lbs. This is about 7lbs lighter than I was when I first started the PCP and what was my normal weight for the past 5 years!

I am inspired by Nate to start posting my measurements, so I will try to get those up this week.

Also, I told my mom about the PCP today, and it was totally anti-climactic! I was expecting more surprise, but she seemed like she had already concluded that Adrian and I were up to something. Oh well! Good times.

Goodnight y'all. I wish you sweet dreams and restful sleep. Zzzz....

Adrian: Day 18, Laborious Day

2008-09-01T20:21:00.000-07:00

Battled the fatigue again today. Felt drowsy and overpowered by the heat all day. Fell asleep on the couch around 2 p.m. to the smell of barbecue wafting in through the window. Woke up about forty minutes later and spent some time reading and dragging my body around.

I wonder if my body is paying off a prolonged sleep debt. Before starting PCP, I spent the last few months going to bed around 11 and getting up at 5 or 6. I must be paying it off. Emiko has been really strong this week though, and energetic; it's inspiring. Hope to hit that high soon.

At around 5 p.m., went into the back alley to do my jump ropes. Saw that it was my downstairs neighbor grilling. He had a huge mound of chicken and sausages on a tiny little grill - all to himself. Nice. Been feeling hungrier these days, but wasn't really tempted by the meat pile. He wasn't offering anyway.

I didn't feel very strong during my exercises today. Was only able to do about half the number of jumps before getting tired and having to break. Still not hitting the max on the incline pull ups and not hitting the minimum on the side shoulder flies after the first set.

My shoulders need work. Had the idea to start doing standing meditation again, as it can really strengthen the shoulders. Maybe I'll add it to my PCP routine.

Anyhow, I'm still feeling pooped so that's all for now. Hope everyone enjoyed their day.

Goodnight,
Adrian

Emiko: Day 17, A New Yearn For The Burn

2008-08-31T22:08:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day since Day 8 (the first day of weighing-out our food) that I really screwed up my diet. I wasn't on track this morning when I first got up before work, and only managed to eat the egg before I left. Once at work, I ate a 100g bowl of Vanilla Almond coconut-flakey granola (yum) with 150ml milk at about 8:30am, and then some carrots, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes with a little baba ghanoush around 11am. All of this space in between my "breakfast" didn't feel right. The Sunday morning shift is the busiest of the week, so I was feeling the pressure to even find time to stop and eat.

One thing I will pause to tell you about is the amazingness of cucumber water! Some of my coworkers and I have become really excited about it, and put a pitcher of it out for customers to drink. I made some for Adrian the other day, and he liked it too. All you have to do is slice some cucumbers, put them in your glass and pour water over them. I like to add a little ice to bring out the cucumbery flavor. It is so refreshing!

Anyways, I should also mention the new, harderrrr exercises! Right before the new exercises came a couple of days ago, I was just starting to feel comfortable with most of the old ones. So of course we are offered a bigger challenge! Yesterday I surprised myself and did really well with the jumpropes. I did a couple sets of 200 or so jumps, then a set of 404 and finally a last set of over 500! I kind of shocked myself with that one. Today's jumps were not so crazy, but I made it over the required 1,500.

I also struggled through a lot of my work out today (Week 3, Work out 2). My shoulders had proved weak weak weak during last week's work outs, but the new Shoulder Press exercise was more manageable. I was really burning by the 10th rep, but I kept sticking it out until rep 15. My face looked like a radish, it was so red. But TRIUMPH! That is all that matters! Similar cases with the Ski Jumper and Leg Ups. But somehow I maxed out all of the exercises! What?!? I was confused when I realized that I had gone to the maximum set of reps for all of them.

HOW? I thought. But I guess my will-power is getting stronger. I know that I often find myself thinking, "I'll be one step closer to Peak Condition if I keep going!"

Adrian: Day 17, New Exercises

2008-08-31T20:37:00.000-07:00

Just a short one tonight.

I attempted the new exercises today at around 1:30 p.m. I performed the shoulder press incorrectly. I felt the burn mostly in my triceps, and I also dry-cried a little about half-way through. I thought the ski-jumper exercise would be the easiest to do, but felt quite a strong burn in my triceps. The leg-ups still kill me. Probably the most painful exercise for me at this point. At least I know I'm doing them right. I forgot to do the chest flies, so I did them later at around 8 p.m. Also tried the shoulder press again and was able to do one full set correctly until my shoulders pooped out. Maxed it though.

Later while Emiko was doing her jump-ropes in the alley behind our apartment, I went to the common area balcony of the third floor to check up on her. I noticed my neighbor was sitting there smoking a cigarette. He said he noticed we'd been jumping rope and he wanted to workout with us. Told me he'd buy a jump-rope for himself and teach me how to box. Said it would be good for him as he pointed to his cigarette. It was a friendly gesture; the guy's been trying to buddy up for awhile. Felt a bit weird though, because it seemed like he was peeping on Emiko.

Well that's all for now, G'night.

Adrian

Emiko & Adrian: Day 16, Good Snooze and Bad Snooze

2008-08-30T21:21:00.000-07:00

So, remember how we mentioned that Patrick wants us all to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night? One would think that forcing ourselves to get that much rest would allow us to wake up refreshed and jumping out of bed. But what we've been doing is more like crawling out of bed. For some reason, the body just says, "hey, I like sleep! I want to keep doing this." *Emiko hits snooze button* Emiko has actually learned how to hit the snooze button while still in REM sleep.

The bad news (or bad snooze) is that the first hour of the day is spent in a groggy haze. We shuffle around in the morning going through the motions, weighing our veggies and peeling our eggs, etc. The lack of energy might also be because we are not seeing the results yet, and it's hard to keep feeling excited every day when we can't really imagine our bodies looking any different.

The good news (snooze) is that despite this lack of energy, we know it's important to continue going through the motions, and we are. We've been sticking closely to our diets, struggling through the exercises, and pushing on.

Adrian found this proverb in Buddhism, A Very Short Introduction, the text we are reading for our Buddhist philosophy class:

"Sow an act, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny."

We both found this quote to be inspiring, and we hope that it's inspiring for the rest of you as well. Every action we're undertaking right now with this new lifestyle is creating better habits, and will eventually strengthen our characters and not just our bodies.

On that note, we are off to bed for another full night of rest! G'night.

Emiko: Day 15, Spilling the Beans

2008-08-29T23:06:00.000-07:00

Good evening! As I type this, Gus is eating the two leftover yolks from the eggs I had for dinner. He definitely remembers how much he loved them the first night he got to try them. He he!

I don't know what to write about tonight, so I am going to make a confession: Going against all of Patrick's encouragement for us to tell everyone we know that we are involved with the PCP, neither Adrian nor I have told a single soul...!

I haven't told any of my friends, coworkers, no one. I haven't even told my mom. Both Adrian and I decided before the Project started that we would tell people after we had reached the half-way mark, so that we would at least have made some progress by the time we had to explain it all. Some of my coworkers have noticed me sneakily weighing out my 100g fruit snacks behind the counter, which has been a little awkward when they're like, "wow, you're actually WEIGHING your fruit?" I think for the most part they think that I'm just hardcore into my diet.

Although I admit I am glad that these first few weeks were PCP'd in secrecy, I know that we are supposed to be supported by the people around us as we go through this journey. I have been so nervous about people who I see regularly going through our blog. It just seems so personal! But I know sharing the experience is going to be positive. So, I have decided that slowly, starting in about a week, I am going to tell people about it. I will start with a few friends and probably my parents, and then all my coworkers at our staff meeting at the beginning of the month.

Wish me luck!

Adrian: Day 15, Hot Hot Heat!

2008-08-29T21:48:00.000-07:00

I jumped out of bed this morning at around 7 a.m. I was wide awake, but my body wasn't, and I stumbled my way downstairs into the white sunlight that plastered the living room. Gus followed me down and ran into the kitchen towards his food bowl. My thought generator hadn't kicked in yet, and I just kind of half-registered the warmth and the sounds of morning traffic.

I had beans and buttered toast for breakfast for the second day in a row. It was satisfactory. Also had a somewhat deformed boiled egg. It reminded me of 'Krang' from the Ninja Turtles.

The heat slowly intensified all morning and at around 11 a.m., the apartment had become an oven. It was so hot that it was difficult to move or to care about moving. At some point I stopped using my legs. There was lots of sweating, groaning and whining. It was hot for pretty much the rest of the day, and it was a chore to do chores. At around 3:30, I laid down on the couch and thought about how I didn't want to finish up my work and exercise, and I also wondered what would happen if I got heat stroke, and then I fell asleep.

I woke up an hour later, with a feeling of determination. I finished my work and I did my exercises around 5:30 or 6. By that time, there was a cool breeze outside, and I felt pretty happy, and strong. I nailed my jump ropes for the first time this week, doing sets of 250-300.

It was a pretty good day.

Emiko: Day 14, Like Leather Sweat Pants

2008-08-28T22:22:00.000-07:00

Today I rode my bike to work, which was very pleasant in the cool morning. I left pretty late, allowing only 15 mins to get from my apartment to my work. But I made it on time! My pace was pretty relaxed in fact, and riding felt easier. I think my new leg strength is coming through for me!

But as the day wore on, the temperature rose as did the humidity. The ride back felt like the sun was personally attacking me. It was really really hot inside my helmet, and I started to get this coat of sweat everywhere. I also started to get nervous because my mom just had some skin cancer removed from her forehead, and I still keep forgetting to wear sunscreen.

By the time I got home, I could see sweat droplets all on my shins, which is something I have definitely never experienced before ever. It was like wearing leather pants, except sweat. Very hot. I also wiped my forehead the way you do when you are hot, and when I looked at my hand it seemed like I had just dipped it in canola oil. How could I possibly sweat this much?! So I thought, may as well do my exercises!

I went outside behind our building near where the trashcans are and starting jump roping. My first set I did 120 skips, and after that all of my sets were 200 skips or greater! This is by far my best round of jump roping. Near the end, I realized that it's probably because I had been exercising and moving a lot throughout the day already, instead of just starting my work out after eating our huge lunches, which is a painful experience.

The rest of my work out went pretty well. The shoulder exercises kill me though. I am struggling by the 5th rep in the set of 10-12, but somehow made it to the minimum of every set. I am also proud to say that, in response to Patrick's advice to use the last set of an exercise to push to muscle failure, I did 45 sit ups on my last set! I actually could have done more, but I didn't want to be too sore tomorrow and also I had timed the broiling of my turkey patties perfectly to match with the end of my sit-ups (getting more efficient!).

Oh yes, and here are new our diets for Week 3! The diet for Week 2 had us eating a lot of food in order to get our bodies workin' to shoot our metabolisms through the roof. The new diets are a little smaller, but still running on the same, higher metabolism. Hopefully soon we'll see the results and the fat melts off.

I consulted the PCP binder (yes, we have a PCP binder) and put the differences between old and new diets in parentheses cos even I never quite memorized the grams.

Adrian:

Breakfast 100g carb 100g veg 1egg 150ml yogurt (50g less carbs)

Morning snack 100g fruit

Lunch 100g carb 150g veg 200g meat

Afternoon tea 100g fruit

Dinner 2egg white 1apple 1banana 150ml milk (1 more egg white, 50g less meat, 150g less veggies)

Emiko:

Breakfast 100g carb 100g veg 1egg 150ml yogurt (50g less veggies)

Morning snack 100g fruit

Lunch 100g carb 150 meat 150g veg (50g less meat)

Afternoon tea 100g fruit

Dinner 2egg white 1apple 1 banana 150ml milk (added 1 egg white)

I was never a fan of the "smoothie" option for my dinner due to a very very nasty thick shake I made of the first day of our last diet. But Adrian and I did to make banana ice cream tonight, although it didn't quite come out as planned. We froze two bananas overnight, and then chopped them up and blended them with our nightly 150ml of milk. It turned out more like a banana milkshake, although added ice helped a little. Something interesting to try, for sure.

Not much else to say today. Sorry that this post was a little random. Hope you all have (had) a good night!

Quote of the Day

Adrian: "I hope this reduced diet reduces my gas."

Adrian: Day 14, Time flies!

2008-08-28T20:59:00.000-07:00

Nate mentioned in his last post a very interesting quality of time:

"...when we are busy time goes really fast in the moment, but in retrospect seems to have been forever. And when we have little to do in the moment time seems to drag but in retrospect went very fast. "

That's definitely been true for me. Working from home gives me a lot of time to do whatever I please, and usually, it doesn't amount to much activity. Prior to PCP, there was lots of reading involved. And walking, lots of walking. Walking to book stores and more reading. I've gone for a couple weeks without knowing what day it was. Maybe this is what the Zen masters were alluding to when they spoke of "no mind".

Probably not. But speaking of Zen, I came across a really interesting quote in a book I was reading today:

"To observe the regulations and keep to the rules is tying oneself without a rope. To act freely and unrestrainedly just as one wishes is to do what heretics and demons would do."

The quote goes on quite a bit, but those first two lines I find particularly relevant now in terms of how we've all been thinking about time and structure.

Our relationships with others are very intimately and almost exclusively related to our schedules. There are the people we socialize with when we have to be at work, and people we talk to when we're at school. There are friends that we see on the weekends, that we meet for dinner, and that we see only on birthdays. There are our parents, who we may see very little of. The person you live with you might see even less of. These social rules are incredibly powerful, and they define all of our relationships. There's seemingly very little room left for choice.

But these schedules, these routines, we have to keep them, how else would we live? At the same time, this is the invisible rope which binds us together, or keeps us separate from one another.

The second sentence of the quote is about separation. And I feel like it very much applies to a person like me. I have felt like a 'heretic' and an outcast many times in life (very strongly during high school). I was always very opposed to going with the flow. But going against the flow for too long may result in much suffering and eventually drowning. Without routine or schedule, our relationships become severed. When no one cares about you, its easy not to care about yourself.

So tell me, what is the right way?

Emiko: Day 13, Learning to Cook Our Life

2008-08-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

Adrian and I just finished watching an awesome documentary called How to Cook Your Life, which follows Zen Master and chef Edward Espe Brown as he teaches and/or works with others to cook and prepare meals at several zen centers.

Here is a trailer for the movie, to give you some idea:

Espe Brown is a really funny and quirky guy, and all of his moods are represented in the film, as well as how all those different moods and changes affect the kitchen he is working in. As you can see in the trailer, one moment he will be mindfully slicing tomatoes in utmost calmness, and the next moment he'll be stabbing a package of pepperjack cheese which he deems "inpenetrable."

"When you're cooking, you're not just cooking. You're not just working on food. You're also working on yourself, you're working on other people." This quote from Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, Espe Brown's teacher, really makes sense to me especially in the context of the Peak Condition Project. Like Adrian and I have both written about recently, the way that we treat our food and treat our meals is directly related to how we are treating each other.

The documentary focused on engaging with food. Espe Brown mentions a lot the writings of Master Dogen, who spoke to the necessity of treating food as if it were as precious as your eyesight. To really pay attention to our food, and to recognize the importance of it. You are connecting with the tomato just as much as the tomato is connecting with you, and somehow you and the tomato mesh into just experiencing. A baker in the film said, "I'm trying to stay with the dough, pay attention to what the dough is telling me...and every dough responds differently." Later he said, "People ask 'How are you doing?' And I say, 'I'm baking'."

Highly recommended!

Adrian: Day 13, Spirals.

2008-08-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

I've been kind of lamenting the fact that I haven't been able to meditate on a regular basis this week. Yesterday was the first day I missed my morning sitting, and I wasn't able to sit this morning either. It doesn't really irritate me, but it is a part of my old routine that I relied on. It's kind of like realizing you forgot to brush your teeth the night before, and feeling sort of cheated.

I've been thinking a lot lately about this new way of life that we PCP'ers have been living, and I wonder if when it is all over, I'll just revert to my old ways. I remember when I was younger seeing issues of the National Enquirer about how Luther Vandross had lost 200 lbs only to gain 400 a couple months later. Will it be the same way with me?

Emiko and I quite often talk about the kinds of foods we want to indulge in, and I imagine us hitting up our old haunts and just going back to being lazy and inactive. It seems all too easy for us to go down that same route.

However, I feel like I'm learning things about how to live right now that will stay with me forever. Prior to this project, I was just sort of ignorant about what I put into my body and how I used it. I mean, even things as simple as jump-rope techniques, which Amy so kindly posted for us, are things that I wouldn't normally think about. I've always been somewhat physically awkward, and mostly ignorant about why. These days though, I am more able to feel when and how I am using my body improperly.

For example, today in drawing class, the teacher gave us a concentration exercise. We were instructed to take a sheet of sketchbook paper and to fold it into 4 boxes. In the first box, we were to draw a spiral as tightly as possible and with one continuous line, until the spiral filled up the entire square. During this exercise, I consistently found myself tightening up, hunching my posture, gripping my pen too tightly, and holding my breath and becoming frustrated. Normally, a person can go on for hours like that without noticing what they are doing.

It's easy to be carried on a wave of subconscious activity. But the PCP has really forced me to look at many aspects of my life simultaneously - How I deal with stress and pressure, how I physically exert myself, how and what I eat, the feelings of frustration and irritation that I am sometimes prone to, everything... And I'm grateful for it.

I hope everyone is well.

Adrian

It's a hot and sleepy day...

Emiko: PCP Nachos!

2008-08-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

Well, they're not dripping with melty cheese and sour cream, but check out today's perfectly weighed breakfast!

The best part is that the beans, salsa and rice were all LEFTOVERS and it still tasted great, or "protein-licious" as Adrian called it. :) Just threw some cottage cheese and toasty pita chips on top of the leftovers and we had nachos! Definitely adding some more salsa next time. Yum!

Emiko: Day 12, A Lust for Life

2008-08-26T21:57:00.000-07:00

Hello! I just came home from printmaking class and hour or so ago, completely blissed out from three hours of art class, but then I was like, "holy mother of god, I have no idea what to write about." And then I realized, I should really just share with you all how amazing I am feeeling!

Today in Patrick's daily email, he wrote that right now we might be experiencing this crappy stage in our progress that's kind of like a rotten, marshy no-man's land between having to struggle through all these changes and when we will actually start to see results. The point was basically to not let it get to us, and to just keep marching on.

But I have to tell you, I feel F-ing marvelous.

Tonight as I walked away from the printmaking studio, holding a giant, juicy, crunchy Pink Lady apple in my hand, I could not help but feel my body literally glowing with glee and energy. I know a lot of my happiness is connected to really getting into making art again, but that's just not all there is to it.

During the three hours of class, all I did tonight was cut, bevel, file-down, sand, and polish a single 5"x6" zinc plate (in preparation for etching a design into the plate on Thursday). That's it. We didn't work on our designs or draw at all, but the whole time I felt engaged and really satisfied.

While sanding my plate down -- which believe me takes a looooooonnnnggggg time to complete -- I could feel my muscles moving around and I could sense their new strength for sure. It was wonderful. Even as they struggled, I enjoyed just feeling the connection between my exercise and my real life. Of course a lot of the other students in the class hated the struggle, and gave up half way through and went home. But I guess giving up is just not something I've allowed myself to do lately.

Right after class was the best part though. The combo of the slight burn in my right arm from all of that work and the replenishing goodness of my apple was incredibly invigorating. It is such a change to experience my body responding to the food that I am eating the exact moment it is happening.

That apple was so pure and nourishing. Food is amazing. My body is amazing. How did nature come up with all of this stuff? It has become apparent that my body is coming into an equilibrium, and my energy and concentration and happiness are directly, positively affected.

I just ate two egg whites in a row and it was so great. I can't even tell you. Feeling this good inside, I know what I am doing (and all of us on the PCP are doing) is right. I am so stoked on life. I am living! And alive! Alive and living and I LOVE IT!

It reminds me of something Adrian said to me recently: "If you are excited about your life, you won't even want to go to sleep at night. But you know you should, so you sleep. But that excitement is what keeps you from snoozing the alarm in the morning and instead gets you jumping out of bed."

Well, I don't want to sleep! I want to stay up all night and draw and dance and draw some more! But we all know what Patrick said yesterday, so buffy sleep it is. :0)