Day 23

Started playing some new games today to relax, stuff from the Humble Weekly Sale, I've been having immense fun with Defender's Quest and Planet Stronghold. Both are thoroughly entertaining, with decent story lines so far. I think I prefer Defender's Quest, primarily because it's story line is very humor driven.

In other news, apparently the ice cream that my other half bought is only 270 calories per half tub. What madness is this?

Day 21 & 22

Day 21

Day 21 was my most recent day of measurements, they were:

• Weight: 59kg
• Body Fat Percentage: 4.90%
• Bicep: 30cm

I had a bit of trouble with my calorie counting app, so I didn't manage to get them noted for yesterday, but I'll check in and see if I can get it down today. Nothing additional to report, really. Foot's still fucked.

Day 22

Today, I had my faith restored in humanity, twice. Firstly, I received my shopping delivery, but before my delivery driver called me up to get it to me, he'd called an ambulance for a young lady who seemed to be having difficulty on the floor. We rushed my food up 3 flights of stairs, and then came back to check on her, by which time, the ambulance had arrived. I was so impressed, I actually wrote the customer service an email. I hope the delivery driver gets a bonus or something, at least.

Secondly, there was a video of a woman having her cochlea implants activated. I actually cried. I don't cry often, I tend to go cold and stoic (ask my other half, she will attest to this)

Day 20

Calories were fine today -- though spent all day feeling way too full. My co-worker brought himself a bag of roasted, salted peanuts. 400g of said peanuts. He didn't eat them all while I was there, but we were joking that it wouldn't be possible!

Foot's healing fairly slowly. I can walk most places with no hobbling, and getting my socks and boots on is still uncomfortable.

I've started reading Ringworld, and so far, it's excellent. I can't wait to read more of it! I would highly recommend it based on the first 90 pages.

I've been thinking a lot about hard SF of late, and I realised that I don't really alternate between technical books and fiction, so much as technical books and hard SF. I think the difference is crucial, and explains well why I'm struggling to keep reading things like LoTR, and a few other great novels, but hard SF books with mediocre writing often have the ability to just pull me in.

Day 18 & 19

We (my other half and I) did so little yesterday that we barely remember. It was awesome. We watched Pacific Rim :-)

Usual day today otherwise. Getting worried that I'm filling out in the "wrong" way, that my body fat is increasing, but that I'm not gaining any muscle. I wish my foot would heal so I could go pick up heavy things.

I could, however, be imagining things.

Day 17

Nothing to report really -- lazy Saturday. Saw a couple of friends, watched some Death Note & Rain Man, saw some friends. Reached my calorie target. All was well in the world :-)

Day 16

Finally! My protein shake has arrived! Huzzah! I can finally stop drinking pints and pints of milk.

Also, instead of random mixed fruit & nuts, I had 100g of roasted, salted peanuts with lunch, for 600 calories. It is truly crazy.

Day 15

More cake! I ate the left over cake in the office. God do I love coffee cake.

My measurements were a little disappointing -- no change, for the most part:

• Weight: 58.5kg -- No change
• Body fat percentage: 4.9% -- No change
• Bicep size: 30cm -- +1cm. Probably can be attributed to random fluctuations.

For dinner today, we chickened out, and ordered a vegetarian lasagne from a local takeaway. We simply shared it, and half the lasagne on it's own was probably slightly more than my usual evening meal, and it came with chips, so we shared them too. Overall, a surprisingly calorie dense meal, and I'm glad I didn't order a whole one to myself :-)

In other, relatively unrelated news, I've been reviewing and contributing to Crypto 101. It's very alpha at the moment, but once we've got the technical details hashed out, I want to provide a list of "reasons to not write your own crypto" to discourage folks from doing so. I may even write a section and offer it to the author.

My foot has, in part, turned blue.

Day 14

Nothing much to report, though I am getting back into the swing of crypto & security in general, getting through at least one paper a day, and reading Ross Anderson's big book "Security Engineering".

Aside from that, one of the PhD's in the research group had a birthday and his brother had a child, so he brought cake for the group to celebrate! Coffee cake and some bowls full of gajar ka halwa. It was very, very nice, and I'm also some 500 calories over my goal for today, so all's well!

Gajar ka halwa is a desert made from ghee, grated carrot, nuts and fruits (like dates). It's really nice, often topped up with a bit of sugar, and according to my calorie counting web app, coming in at around 300 calories a "cup". That makes it a really attractive desert for once in a while, it's not incredibly sugary, it's vegetarian, and the majority of the constituents aren't generally "bad" for a person. I think I'll have to keep my eye out for it every now and again :-)

Unfortunately, since my other half and I are usually below our calorie targets, we're going to the garage to "top up" our calories. I think we need to adjust our evening meal to add some 200 calories so that we are getting the right amount of food every day, without having to spend a couple of quid at the garage every day. We're mainly thinking about adding a pudding, but thinking about it now, I would not say more to more food on my plate.

Day 13

Nothing to report, still out of protein shake, foot's turned an interesting colour.

Hopefully the camera cable will show up tomorrow, with protein shake and all will be well.

I did manage to give myself a headache by not eating soon after work -- I think I had a combined dehydration & sugar crash thing, was quite unpleasant. All was fixed thanks to a lovely dinner from my other half :-)

Day 12

Still no protein shake, come on Amazon, hurry it up!

Otherwise, perfectly normal day. Walking to and from work is getting easier by the trip, I think the swelling is starting to go down on my foot -- it definitely feels like it fits in my boot better. Although, I now have a bruise that goes from the inside edge of my big toe down to the outside of my ankle. That's right, half my foot is an odd yellow colour. Go me.

My other half is worried that I'll have a permanent bump on the bridge of my nose. Now they've said it, I'm a little worried about it too. The bruising said injury has caused bruising under my eyes now too.

Progress pics are in progress (pun intended), just got to wait on a replacement camera charger from Amazon, it should be here by Wednesday, which means the camera should be charged for the next measuring day!

I almost got my calories on the nose tonight, sneaking over by 66 thanks to a Bounty bar. I adore Bounty bars, but they pull the same make-the-nutritional-information-hard-to-interpret shit that the co-op did with their pizza. Odd sized servings and not displaying the full content of the full packet prominently. Sigh.

I am getting restless for exercise, I keep fantasizing about doing a calisthenics workout in the living room, complete with modifications to work around my injured foot. I know I should rest it, but I am getting so restless, and I've only been "away" from exercise since last Thursday.

Day 11

Very lazy Sunday. Spent the day writing crypto code. Nothing for production, just to see what I could make Haskell do, since most crypto code does not suit Haskell fantastically well.

Aside from that, also spent a lot of time on the whole "being lazy as all hell" thing, thanks Pokémon & 4400 :-)

I am still short my protein shake, so I just did the same as yesterday -- 600ml of milk!

Managed to consume some 3,100 calories today, about 900 calories over my calorie goal. This is largely down to eating an entire 140g bag of revels. My calorie counting webapp thinks that if I keep going at this rate, I'll reach 63.7kg in 5 weeks. That's pretty close to my goal, but I intend to work out a lot. Especially now that the holidays are here, as soon as I am well enough, I'll be getting down the gym to life things up and put them down.

Day 10

So, I've completely run out of protein shake, and I didn't much feel like hobbling down to the garage to get some fancy can-o-milk.

So I just put some 600ml of milk in my protein shake shaker, and added hot chocolate powder. It didn't dissolve very well, but otherwise went down just fine. It is a little calorie shy, but what the hey, what ever works until my next batch arrives.

I seem to have spent today doing one of four things:

1. Sleeping
2. Eating (I got to be exactly 20 calories over my goal :-D)
3. Watching NetFlix (The 4400, and the original Pokémon series)
4. Reading crypto papers (seriously, just read this)

All are a good way to pass the time, and take my mind off the fact that I am missing out on grading because I stubbed my toe on a mat last Thursday. Good job me. In related news, my foot is a funny colour and shape. So is my nose.

Day 9

I want to call something out today, but first, a run down of how the day went.

With a swollen nose, I struggled to eat in general; as in, being unable to breath while chewing made life difficult. But I got through my usual amount, and although I struggled at lunch, I ate it all.

I did, however, run out of protein shake, so I had ~1/3 of a protein shake and a can of "Dunn's River Nourishment". It's basically canned milk, and something like 400 calories, so I took that to work for after my protein shake.

Now, onto calling shit out.

Calling it out

Until recently, I thought to myself "I'm eating loads, I don't understand why I'm not gaining weight."

As it turns out, I was eating lots, in terms of weight, but vegetables actually deliver very little in the way of calories. Bulking up on vegetables (broccoli, beans, carrots, etc. potatoes don't count for this particular circumstance) is exceptionally difficult, as is becoming overweight. For me to bulk up on my normal diet without additional milk, nuts, etc. would be an insane task.

Now, a friend of mine explained that the general populace does not eat like me (who would've thought it, I'm weird in more than one way!)

Tonight, I ate an entire cheese pizza. I am not in the slightest bit full. I am, however, some 1,200 calories over my target. The entire pizza was 1,210 calories, but the front of the box advertises 605 calories. What's going on here? The pizza advises a serving size of half a pizza (in small print). No where does it tell you the calorific content of the whole thing.

There's a few points I'm basically trying to make here:

1. The foods that many people eat are not very filling, but are extremely calorie dense, meaning that you can consume a hell of a lot of calories without realising it.
2. The calorie display on the box is, in my opinion, actively mis-leading. There are several large boxes for quick reading, but I didn't know the small print existed until I went to go note my calories for the day, and the small print is vital for making an informed decision. I find that practice to rather under-handed.
3. The idea of a "serving" is used to give "unhealthy" foods a better looking information box by limiting how much of the food is to be eaten. The company's concept of a serving is very different to the concept of a serving on your dining table. 

If you're not like me, whose main meals consist of mostly vegetables, and you're trying to control how many calories you eat, and you're not practically studying the little boxes that come with pre-packaged foods, you're going to have a really bad time.

Day 8

Day 8 had two big things in it for me. I weighed/measured myself for the first time since I started this, and I had my pre-grading!

Measurements!

For the measuring, I gained 2.5kg since I started, my body fat percentage was 4.9% and my bicep was 29cm. I hadn't previously taken the last two measurements, but the weight came in at a total of 58.5kg. Not a bad result for a week of having two god-awful protein shakes every day. I say god-awful not because of their taste anymore, but because of how they make me feel.

I will aim to measure myself on the first day of every week since I started, which is Thursdays. I will also be keeping a log (spreadsheets, everything is improved with spreadsheets), which I might publish at the end of all this.

Pre-Grading

Secondly, the pre-grading. Oh deary me. Firstly, I injured my toe putting the mats out, such that I effectively did a fair few of my techniques standing on my left leg. I also had the "opportunity" to practice my "iron face" technique in a V. For those who're wondering, the "iron face" technique is where you can't decide how to react to an incoming punch, and so opt to simply hope that your face turns to iron. It's highly ineffective, I have quite a swollen nose.

As a result, my feed back was mostly to keep my hands up in the V, and to do more throws in a V, rather than locks which can end up tangled. I am allowed to grade, on condition of my foot getting better.

On a related note, a friend has requested that I do progress pics. Tempting, very tempting, if I do it at all, I'll do it once the swelling & bruising on the bridge of my nose has gone down significantly.

Calories

I've almost run out of mixed nuts, stripping me of ~400 calories, and with the two jitsu sessions today (I had a gentle hour of practice before the session, then the pre-grading session a couple of hours later), I am currently about 2,100 calories today.

I'd best go get eating.

Day 7

Day 7 started out "well", in that I felt so shit. Mostly just like I was coming down with the flu. Went to work all wrapped up very warm.

It did make eating a struggle, turning a slightly over-full sensation in to actively feeling nauseous.

On the plus side, it's the last day that I had 2 protein shakes in a day! Woo!

Day 6

So glad to have a day off from jitsu to do some much needed rest and recuperation. Hopefully all will be in order for my grading on Saturday.

Got past my calorie target by something like 380 calories. Nothing major to report, other than that eating is still a bit of a challenge. If I don't time it right, I don't want to eat dinner, and I spend the afternoon effectively snacking on nuts, a banana, etc. as I work. Not great for getting stuff done.

Day 5

Day 5 was another jitsu day, but more than that, we had a mini party in honor of the head of our research group who turned 60 over the weekend. Congrats!

Also, this means I got cake! And when I got home after jitsu, my other half wasn't feeling well, so we cheated and got a takeaway... It turns out that a madras with rice is well over 800 calories for the meal.

The jitsu was reasonably low intensity, focusing on getting the techniques down that we were struggling with during the pre-grading.

I, predictably, breezed through my calorie target for something ridiculous like 500 calories, and then felt sick. Yey for cake!

Days 3 & 4

Day 3

Day three was a strangely tough day, and not due to the eating.

I went out with PPUK:York to do some care.data flyering at the LibDem conference, and then went and marched in the TUC march.

Once I got in, I took up sneezing as my full-time job, and kept trying to sleep it off. I sneezed so much it really annoyed my other half, got in the way of my eating, and the headaches brought on made me sleep half the remaining day -- not good.

The eating was only made more difficult by this, but I persevered, managing to pack away a whopping 986 calories over my target for that day! I think I was comfort eating to compensate for the ill that sneezing made me feel. I also tried peanut butter on toast -- pretty tasty and incredibly calorific.

Day 4

This is a jitsu day, but one out of order. I don't normally do jitsu on a Sunday, but this is the pre-grading. This time next week, I'll be writing my blog with either a new belt, or shame, wrath, disappointment, KHAAANNN!

That aside, it does take my required target to some 3420 calories which I am only 16 calories short.

I am getting somewhat used to the protein shakes, I think I can get through a protein shake with a couple of chugging sessions now, and it doesn't make me feel too sick afterwards; though I still feel thoroughly full, and that's on top of the full feeling I get after a meal.

We're beginning to worry about how I'll make the 3420 calorie target on jitsu days (soon to be work out days, as school will be out soon, so no jitsu for 5 weeks), and especially since the coming week has potentially 5 (!) jitsu days in preparation for grading.

Day 2

Oh unholy Jebus. I am so full I feel sick.

Today was much the same as yesterday, except no jitsu, and I effectively doubled up on protein shake, and dinner was a vegetable stir-fry. I was so full at work that when a co-worker offered me cookies, I had to turn them down. I couldn't even stomach my banana, I've had to save that for later in the evening.

On the plus side, I've exceeded my target for today by something like 380 calories. This does mean that when I "cut back" to just one protein shake for a day, I'll have to drink an extra glass of whole milk or something to keep up my target.

I'm going to go lay down and flop about like a beached whale.

Day 1

My Current Life

I am a 180cm tall, 56kg male, and I need to gain weight. My body mass index is 17.28 which is firmly in the "underweight" category.

I lead a rather sedentry lifestyle, being a computer programmer, but two to three times a week, I go and do Jiu Jitsu for 1h 30m to 2h, and occasionally, there are regionals, nationals, grading, pre-grading, etc. which really raises how much exercise I am doing.

In a previous life, I was a pole exercise instructor, but even back then, I was rarely over 60kg in weight. When I was doing most of my strength training for this, I just failed to add any strength to my muscles. I was at a plateau, and a very low one at that.

I would like to be able to give blood safely again. Last time I did, I passed out, because I didn't realise how low my body weight was. It would also be super if next time I'm on a strength training regime, I actually became stronger. It's also generally important, since I pick up a lot of minor injuries in jitsu, and I heal very slowly as an underweight chap.

Day 1

Breakfast

So, I don't deviate much for breakfast, but I've invested in some protein shake stuff. For breakfast, I had my usual, coffee (whole milk, not soya this time) and scrambled eggs. I made myself a protein shake with 50g powder in it, and headed off to work.

Lunch

For lunch, I stuck to my normal. A nice home-made sandwich,  some yoghurt, and some nuts. Nothing spectacular. At around 4PM, I ate my banana as usual.

Jitsu

Today was a jitsu day. When I stepped onto the mat, I was feeling generally the same as usual, except a lot fuller than normal. Maybe it was some sort of placebo, but I was genuinely worried that during the break falling practise, I could throw up. As it turned out, I got through it without much more than feeling dizzy. The rest of the session passed without incident, except for still being crap at V's (as always).

Dinner

Once again, a normal dinner. Carrots, brocolli, fine beans and a veggie meat-substitute. Garlic "chicken" kiev. Very nice. I also followed this up with another protein shake, made with a 50g serving of the powder. I felt very full, sickly almost. I must've eaten my required 2,280 calories for the day!

Logging it

So, I went onto my calorie counting app and put in my calories. I was even given a couple of biscuits/cookies for helping the caterers out at work (nothing fancy, just looking after some stuff for 10 mins).

I was certain that I'd hit my calorie target. I was stuffed, and it was getting on for half ten at night!

Nope, I was 355 calories shy.

I, while feeling rather full, continued to eat, having even more nuts, and a glass of whole milk. Blech.

I came in at 59 calories over. Phew.

Thoughts at the End of Day 1

How do normal people actually manage to get over 1,500 calories in a day as-standard? I simply don't understand where all those calories are coming from! I am quite full, and not looking forwards to breakfast tomorrow morning!

Oh, and I cocked up. It's not 50g of power for a protein shake, it's 150g. The stuff was quite thick and unpleasant to drink today. I've already made the extra one for breakfast tomorrow. I am so not looking forwards to breakfast tomorrow.