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so wanna talk a little how to improve dishes and what to consider when assembling a dish to create a coherent taste combination.
- the addition of antithetic ingredients can oftentimes really pep up a dish and make it coherent. acidity is key and without it most dishes are rather bland, especially for sweet/spicy dishes acidity brings a whole new dimension to the dish.
-texture: try to get different textures into a dish, really peps it up.
-different temperatures: again a nice technique to bring a dish to another level

now let's get to an idea from yesterday and look at its realization.
idea: honey+cinnamon(sweet) in combination with saffron, pimento and cayenne pepper(spicy).
saffron/pimento/cayenne pepper/cinnamon is a combination which makes sense and with the sweet/spicy combination we have a great base.
acidity? tomato-sauce has some -> sauce will already be very good. With fairly strong sweet/spicy tastes I went even further and added some lemon-juice to the bulgur and a (cold)tzaziki on the side, perfect as it adds both acidity and cold/warm play.
textures? I had vegetables cooked in the sauce for a longer time so they will be soft, to counter that I removed 1/3 of the vegetables after a few mins of cooking so they will be al dente. to get another texture I topped it of with roasted almonds, boom done multiple textures for the ultimate taste explosion.





worked just as planned, amazing.
800kcal



500kcal
top notch, probably the dessert i will serve for my menu(probably change the oatmeal to just vanilla as cinnamon in both layers is slightly overkill).

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indoor soccer today, exhausting as **** especially with my sore hammies
kcal expenditure 3200ish
intake 2600ish

I like the variety of whole grains and vegetables you use. I'm trying to move my diet in that direction, even though it's already pretty good compared to most.

it's interesting to research the combinations of grains/legumes/nuts etc. that give you all essential amino acids. you don't even need to eat them all in the same meal because your liver can apparently store and combine them if you eat them in the same day.

protein from grains especially has less bioavailability than that from eggs, milk, meat, but they are so good for fullness, fiber, micronutrients that I think they need to a big part of anyone's diet. they are just way better for you than white carbs in every way.


I need to try and find this kamut stuff.

completely agree
I have experimented quite a lot of the years and for me whole-grains was the final answer that improved everything.
constant energy over the day without regular tiredness periods, better performance in sport, deep and restorative sleep and most importantly long-lasting feeling of satiety.
At this point i'm only consuming simple carbs after exhausting exercise sometimes(especially soccer-matchday where glycogen is really depleted)
With the huge variety in whole-grains i'm not missing it at all even now during the cut I never even get close to binging as I don't have the urge.

unloved shoulders today

OHP
88x5(40kg)
100x5(45kg)
110x9(50kg)

sitting DB military press
44sx8(20kgs)
44sx7(20kgs)
40sx8(18kgs)

weighted dips
+65x10(+30kg)
+55x10(+25kg)
+55x7(+25kg)
+45x8(+20kg
+33x8(+15kg)

close-grip lat pulldown
220x8(100kg)
200x8(90kg)
187x8(85kg)
175x7(80kg)
155x8(70kg)

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making lamb I was looking for a spice combination for the vegetables to complement it properly. Went with a mixture of cumin, pimento, pepper and cayenne pepper with thyme and dried tomatoes added later on, worked superb with the lamb.

fillet of lamb saddle with self-made low fat fries with spicily vegetables, feta au gratin and self-made tzaziki(perfect for the fries)

1000ish kcals
fantastic dish, the variety of different tastes very dancing samba on my tongue

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was cleaning and making preparation for my dinner party and burned a decent bit of kcals in the progress, tomorrow rest day without counting kcals.
kcal expenditure 3000-3200
kcal intake 2300-2500

Are you doing any kind of intermittent fasting? That's the only way I can tolerate life during deficits that big.

jep usually 15/9(sometimes If I don't feel too hungry i prologue the fast to 16-17)
I consume my two main meals around 3 hours before gym and 30-60mins after, saving around 300kcals for a bed-time snack around 2 hours before sleep(something like protein-bread w/ turkey/smoked salmon etc with a few carrots/pickles or just some sweetened quark/greek yogurt)

That's good strategy

yesterday I made the 5-dish menu for friends, was exhausting as **** and took a lot longer than anticipated.
Mise en Place alone took around 7 hours lol(managed it just in time before guests arrived)
ala minute cooking + eating etc was 5 hours.

menu was a success, theme of the menu was "health food" and it was very well received despite most people being more the junk food type of eaters.
only dish that (as expected) dropped of somewhat was dessert, just not possible to compete with high sugar/fat desserts.

didn't count calories and purposely indulged somewhat after the dinner as someone brought a bunch of austrian krapfen like these

(he works in a bakery)
and I ate 3.
probably went around 500kcals above maintenance(burned a good amount of calories during the cook marathon)
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on to today, last work-out of week1(5/3/1)
looking forward to lesser reps and more weight next week(hate grinding high reps)

Squat:
150x5(67.5kg)
170x5(77.5kg)
193x12(87.5kg)

RDL
220x8
220x8
220x8

backfoot-elevated split squat
x8
w/ 35s(16kgs) DBs x8
x8

+abs
really like the split squat, great balance exercise.
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after cooking all day yesterday I keep it simple today(and calories low)
few sandwiches PWO and a chicken salad later on
will end the day at around 2000ish kcals with expenditure of 2700ish

ah ye someone asked for the recipe of this
sauce 1:
200g sour-cream(and or greek yoghurt)
1/2 glove of garlic
chopped fresh herbs(parsley, chives, basil)
100-200ml milk
3 eggs
salt&pepper

mix in milk last and add until sauce has right texture

sauce 2:
500g fresh spinach
1/2 an onion
100ml vegetable stock
1/2 a garlic
tbsp of flour
tbsp of low-fat cream
little bit nutmeg
salt
pepper

blanch spinach for a few minutes and puree afterwards.

sear onion in a little bit of oil, add flour and stock, stir heavily to avoid clumping. add spinach and cook on low heat for around 10 mins until texture is creamy.
add salt, pepper, garlic, nutmeg and cream and boil up.

casserole:
around 500g of potatoes raw, sliced(you can use left-over cooked ones as well)
200g broccoli, blanched
200g cauliflower, cooked
15-30g parmesan

now layer similar to a lasagna, bottom layer potatoes then add sauce 1, then veggies, then sauce 2, then potatoes then mixture of sauce1&2 and on top a little parmesan.
bake for around 45mins at 200 degrees celsius/392 fahrenheit.

w/ honey-glazed chicken


another 3 weeks to go on my cut I had the first "meh just let me quit now thoughts"

I'm lean enough now but another 4-5lbs off will give me the wiggle room I need so will definitely continue.
out of spite(COME AT ME HUNGER) I'll do an even higher deficit today.
kcal expenditure 2700ish
kcal intake 1800ish

tomorrow cardio day think I might for hill sprints, we will see

only slept like 5 hours today so no cardio, however went grocery shopping for around 2 hours and extended fasting window to almost 20 hours(was really fidgety/jumpy at the end)

1/2 a chicken with a side of spicy pumpkin&apple

filled with spicy pumpkin-apple couscous with chorizo

around 1000kcals

other half will be consumed tomorrow(drier breast in a sandwich probably)

kcal intake 2000-2300
expenditure 2500-2800

workout has been horrendous today, changed my sleeping schedule and bench was just a disaster

bench
143x3(65kg)
165x3(75kg)
182x6(82,5kg)
182x7
182x7

182 normally was only one set(planned 10ish reps) but the first was awful with dreadful form so I didn't wanna end it like that, well the 2nd rep wasn't much better and neither was the 3rd, ebola.

dips:
+65x10(30kg)
+45x10(20kg)
+45x7(20kg)
+33x8(15kg)
+22x8(10kg)

chin-ups:
+45x8(20g)
+45x7(20kg)
+33x7(15kg)
+22x8(10kg)
bwx8

+abs
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chicken pumpkin-couscous sandwich with chorizo and feta



whole-grain lasagna with pumpkin, feta, spinach and bechamel-sauce

served 1/4 of it(400kcal) with trout

fantastic lasagna, will make again

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kcal intake 2000
kcal expenditure 2600

so form check!
was supposed to do 210x3,237x3, 270x3+ today but accidentally miscalculated weights by 50lbs somehow lol which I only noticed afterwards(was already depressed/shocked about the weights feeling so goddamn heavy lol)

deadlift:
259x3(117,5kg)
285x3(130kg)
320x3(145kg)

leg-press:
484x8(220kg)
440x8(200kg)
396x8(180kg)

calf-raises
350x15(160kg)
350x13(160kg)

+abs




REALLY struggling with grip, 3rd rep almost slipped from my hand.
think I could have banged out a few more reps otherwise, probably should just get straps right?

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sandwich quadrilogy, smoked trout with mayonnaise and tarragon-mustard, turkey-breast with goat-cream-cheese and honey-dill-mustard, pastrami with dijon mustard and pickles and honey-dill-mustard, tuna with lots of mayo

800ish kcals
look at the marbling of that dry-aged rib-eye, what a beauty


Rib-eye(rare) with smashed potato-pumpkin(with sesame and ginger)

1100ish kcals
yummy

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kcal intake 2200ish
kcal expenditure 2700ish

weight: down to 165(75kg) despite starting to take creatine like a week ago

Head to the OOT steak thread, stat.

Dean steak rare itt

Next time get the ribeye cut from the small end. Way more fat, way more opportunity for delicious marbling.

Vids are private, can't watch. You need to change them to unlisted, or whatever it's called.

oh, should work now.

would really appreciate some feedback

Don't get straps.

Hookgrip
Mixed grip
Chalk

in that order.

Do grip work.

You rush your setup a lot on the DL, and your back angle isn't great. Your chest should be up more.

Don't lower around your knees - you're wasting energy/risking an injury.

1) Take your time.

2) Don't set your back angle, then go to the bar. Get set up with your lower body, then move your upper body into place.

- Stand over the bar so that your foot is cut in half by the bar (whole foot, not what you can see)

- Your shins should be perpendicular to the floor. Now, bend over, grip the bar.

- Now, move your shins forward (they'll be touching the bar), rotate your chest up and your back should line into place. Your shoulders should be over the bar.

- Take a deep breath and hold it.

- Push your feet into the floor, thus moving the bar up, keeping your chest up the entire time, like you were trying to show people a badge.

http://gregnuckols.com/2014/10/24/ev...your-deadlift/

http://articles.elitefts.com/trainin...ps-and-tricks/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syt7A23YnpA

http://robertsontrainingsystems.com/blog/deadlift/

ok thanks just tested the process and I know what it did wrong/how it is supposed to be now.

on the straps thing: already using chalk/doing mixed grip but I broke my hand fairly recently and it's still rather weak because of it, don't want progress being haltered by a weakish grip.
particular reason why you advice against straps(just for the heaviest set)?
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greek salad, on the side a tuna sandwich w/ goat cream-cheese, olives and mayo


1000ish kcals
sesame chicken with whole-grain lasagna with pumpkin, feta, spinach and teriyaki sauce

lasagna just incredible

1200is kcals

funny how oftentimes chicken/meat/fish is now basically just the side to a vegetarian dish lol
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indoor soccer today for 1 1/2 hours so pretty nice expenditure

kcal expenditure 3500ish
kcal intake 2800ish(doesn't feel like it :<)

also cut going so well that I'm thinking of extending it another 4-8 weeks or so to get really shredded(cut is supposed to end in 2 1/2 weeks).
then I could always bulk for around 8 weeks (followed by a short 2 week cut), think that would be the perfect cycle for me with soccer and all

Straps really don't work your grip at all, it will then always be a weak spot.

The hand injury is useful information though. Maybe use a strap on that hand until it fully heals/strengthens.

low-kcal cheesecake with pears with vanilla-mango-creme
piece(1/4th) = 150kcal, 9g protein

erythritol(+ a little bit of xylitol) = best sugar replacement ever for baking

Nice food+useful DL advice ITT

I'll have to make sure to get into nutrition a bit more from next year on.