What a busy couple weeks!

So I know I promised an update last week, and never got to it. Lucky for me, I don't think many people read this, and those that do probably weren't that disappointed. If you were disappointed, tough haha. These past couple weeks have been ridiculously busy, and I've been swamped with school, studying, Crossfit, and life.

Let's talk about this 90 Day Challenge. I have a couple things to report on how that's going.

Diet:
I've been struggling a bit with diet. I had an exam last week, and ended up cheating on meals a couple times. While they weren't crazy cheats, I still felt bad about it (and did my corresponding burpee punishments). I've also been having some trouble with the Zone, mostly because I'm finding it difficult to eat so much food most of the time, and my schedule has been quite friggin' hectic lately and I haven't been able to have stable eating schedules and such. Not an excuse, I know, but frankly, it's difficult. I have, however, been eating fruits and veggies like it's my job, which is a big improvement over my pre-new year diet. I've also been managing to eat healthy snacks (mostly the jerky I've been making, almond butter, and fruits) which has helped me to keep my insulin levels more stable, and thus helped me both physically and to keep me focused mentally, which is a nice plus. I've also been slacking on my food journal, and have decided to mostly give it up. I know that's not really a good thing, but frankly, it was taking up too much time and I was running out of patience with it. I also don't think I am going to continue with the Zone diet, and have decided to go mostly Paleo/Primal. This will, I believe, be a better fit for me in terms of lifestyle and overall nutrition.

In cooking news, I made more jerky this weekend. That was awesome. I made the Cajun flavor again, as well as a Jamaican Jerk-style recipe. That one turned out REALLY good! I'm definitely going to make those two again. I still haven't tried the dried fruits yet, because I forgot to buy them, but I'll try soon.


Training:
Overall I have been improving! I managed to perform my first Muscle Up, which is AWESOME! I've been working on it for a while now, and have finally done it! I've also been doing WODs Rx'd for the most part. Granted, my times are a bit higher, but I think I'm doing quite well. (Side note, I did a WOD on Friday which I thought wouldn't be too difficult, and ended up puking afterwards. I haven't worked that hard since high school. Now I know how hard I can push myself.) I feel great, and am looking forward to continuing my growth and development.

Overall:
I'm feeling pretty good. I had an exam last week, which went well, and then had a great/relaxing weekend. I've been working on plans for the next couple months in terms of schooling, studying, and the National Board Exams that I will have to take sometime in June (ugh). I'm working more on planning/scheduling which is something I'm usually not that good at. As of late, I'm really enjoying the atmosphere around the Crossfit box, which has undergone some major renovations/upgrades within the past month. I'm a fan. There have also been a bunch of new members around, including some classmates, which has been awesome. The new members seem pretty cool and hardworking. I'm excited to watch their progress as they work towards becoming fitter individuals.

That's it for now,

- Tommy

Jerky!

So in a previous post I mentioned that I had purchased a food dehydrator. Well the thing arrived the day before yesterday, and I got started with my drying out of food process. I had also purchased a book called Just Jerky so that I could make some dried meat correctly and hopefully end up with something that didn't taste like shoe leather or get me sick. So I decided to try out two of the recipes presented in the book. I made "Cajun Jerky" and "Whiskey Pepper Jerky". Now, in making jerky, you're supposed to use the leanest cuts of meat because fat doesn't dry and will make the meat turn rancid. Therefore, I used two London Broil steaks each two and a half pounds and cut them into equal-sized strips as seen here:

I then proceeded to make the two marinades. and marinated each batch of meat overnight. It's an understatement to say that I was absolutely excited to start making the jerky. Now, anyone that knows me knows that I like to cook. This is a new experience for me though. I've never made anything like this before.

So the next day I started with the actual jerky making. This is one of the marinades, and what the meat looked like when it started out on the dryer.

I waited  for the meat to dry. And waited..and waited. It took absolutely forever. I would check on the progress every hour or so. The meat looked progressively less like raw meat, and more and more like jerky was supposed to look like. Finally! 8 hours later it was ready and I was ready to taste my new creation. I tried the whiskey flavored one fist, and it turned out pretty good. Definitely had the whiskey flavoring, as well as some kick, and a hint of sweetness which was completely unexpected. In my opinion, the Cajun-flavored one was significantly better. It was spicy, flavorful, and left a really good taste on the palate. It will definitely become a repeat recipe. Here is what it looked like when done, and the final amount that I made.
















My next goal will be to try making some dried fruit. However, that will have to wait until at least the end of the week, as this week is going to be very busy. I'll keep you all appraised on how that goes after I attempt it.

In other news, expect an update on how things are going with the Crossfit Challenge sometime in the next couple days when I get a free moment to jot down my thoughts.