gRok Star

Eat "Real" food when you're hungry.

2010-03-01T01:41:00.002-05:00

Food has become a source of social gathering. I'm sure Grok didn't celebrate surviving a winter by feasting with his family. He simply ate when he was hungry. Sometimes he didn't eat when he was hungry because nothing was available to eat.

Fast forward thousands of years. Now we live in a day and age where food has become a staple of entertainment. Not just survival. I will admit, living in the "now" has become something I struggle with in regards to technology and how I believe it is essentially decreasing the IQ of the world. But I don't struggle with living in the "now" when it comes to food. I love the stuff!! I love all the flavors, and the art behind making it. I have been told I am quite the exceptional chef, although my degree in culinary arts came from the school of hard knocks. I do love to cook, and I don't think I've made a bad meal anytime recently. This is to my advantage because I can take "real" food and make it awesome with very little effort.

Last summer on Monday June 1st, 2009 I decided I wanted to lose weight. Fast forward to Monday March 1st, 2010. I didn't do it. There are no real excuses. I do have to say that the second half of 2009 was the most interesting year of my life so far. Many ups and downs. Nowadays I am in school mostly to decrease the boredom I suffer during the earlier hours of the day, but most importantly, I am playing in my band again. They are the most awesome dudes ever and I want to be the best I can be for them as well as myself.

My birthday is in exactly 6 weeks. April 15th to be exact. That is also the week my unemployment will be ending (Thanks Jim Bunning!!) and I will have no choice but to find a job. One thing that I liked about the unemployment is that I could survive without working. I hate being in front of people when I am not happy with my self-image. I kept telling myself that I will lose weight and then I will feel better about getting a job bar tending or waiting tables. Well now I don't really have a choice. I will have to get a job overweight or... not overweight.

Last Monday I started going to a personal trainer named Bruce. I am going 3x a week and I think he's great. I was really sore the whole week, partially from my skiing adventures, but probably mostly from the exercises he had me do. Today I start my second week with him, and I would also like to drastically change my eating habits.

That gives me a month and a half, 45 days, 6 weeks or however you want to count it until my 25th birthday. Ahhhh!!!! It's kind of exciting in a way. I'm not going to make any crazy goals or anything, but it would be nice to possibly be able to wear one of my outfits I have in storage that doesn't fit anymore for my birthday party, so I don't have to buy anything.

I also have a fancy new HD Camcorder that I am excited to use to document this adventure. I am going to film some cooking as well as my experience with Bruce and put it up on my youtube.

I really should be getting some sleep. It's past 2 am and I have a big day ahead of me.

Until then

- Grok Star

Detox Day 1

2009-10-14T14:21:00.002-04:00

My new drummer wanted to do this detox thing and I read into it a little bit and discovered it was very similar to a paleo life style except for taking supplements and drinking a fancy protein shake. It is 21 days long and I figured I could help support him in his detox quest and also see how it makes me feel. So today is my day 1 and I just had the shake for breakfast.

Time to go grocery shopping.

- Grok Star

Delicious Green Bean Recipe

2009-09-26T18:27:00.002-04:00

Here in the south, we would almost always have "southern fried" green beans at meals at home. There isn't really anything fried about them and they are very simple to make, it just takes a little bit of time to cook them.

We always had a garden at home and my mom would can green beans so we would use those until we ran out, and store bought canned green beans seem to work just as well, they just usually have added sodium so watch out.

So take a pot according to the amount of green beans you are using and pour in the green beans along with all the liquid in the can.

Chop up a medium sized white onion into four parts and then break it up and toss it in the pot.

The secret ingredient is cut up a slice of bacon per can of green beans. I usually cut a piece of bacon into about 5-6 smaller pieces. Mix it all together and then turn it to high. When it comes to a boil, lower it to a healthy simmer and let it go for about 45 minutes. Don't ever stir it during this time. Alot of the liquid will have evaporated at this point. This is when you give it a little stir and then turn it back to high. You want all the liquid to evaporate and you want the green beans on the bottom to essentially start to burn. You don't want it to burn to where it's black, but just a good brown on the bottom. Once that has happened, stir it all together, remove and serve. I like to add a liberal amount of fresh pepper and a little salt. Some people like to eat the bacon even though it's a little chewy, and some don't, but I never remove it.

I've never been a fan of fresh green beans because they always seem squeaky to me and biting into them closely resembles someone scraping a chalk born with their fingernails. I have never tried this recipe with fresh green beans for this reason, but you could experiment I suppose.

Goodluck!!

- Grok Star

I Groked out.

2009-08-14T16:04:00.002-04:00

Last night I did something I haven't done in awhile. I jammed with some like minded musicians. It was really fun. We sat up until 7 am playing. Perhaps my one late night hoorah before school starts. The chemistry was nice and I think we actually wrote a song! Even though we all agree the intro sounds like it could be the music for the credits of a TV sitcom like Full House or Step by Step haha. I am in the mood to cook something really spicy, almost painfully spicy. This proves to be a problem since I am without a single pepper.

With that said

Grok on!

- Grok Star

Grok didn't do door to door sales.

2009-08-12T15:39:00.002-04:00

As much as I love being spontaneous and not necessarily having a day to day plan, it started to take its toll on me. I was collecting unemployment from my job in NYC. For a 24 year old male with no children or a significant other, there isn't much I have to be responsible to, so the unemployment was plenty. I was sleeping until the afternoon, and staying up late at night. I was getting my 7-8 hours of sleep, but at a totally different time the rest of the world was.

I was longing for something to send me into more of a regular routine. One of my favorite things in NYC (when it actually happened) was waking up while everyone was out and about heading to work. I would walk out on my stoop, coffee in hand and just take in the sights, the smell and the noises. It was always very refreshing. I liked to grab the paper and see what was going on in the world.

When you don't HAVE to do something, it becomes difficult to make yourself do anything. So I took a job as a door to door salesman for the cable company. I absolutely hated it. I wasn't any good at selling things to people. But it did keep me waking up at 7 am and being ready to sleep around midnight. A good bit of my depression really would sink in during the witching hours. When no one else was up, and I was left alone to over-think and over-evaluate whatever was going on in my life. And snack on foods I shouldn't be snacking on.

So now I am excited to be taking some classes I have great interest in starting next week. I am no longer selling cable door to door, but I will have to get up early for class, so that will help keep me in the swing of a routine. I am taking German, Political Science, History and Public Speaking. I'm not guaranteeing a degree out of this, but I do like to learn and give my brain a workout. To share a little secret about me. Everyone always says I have to have a backup plan to the music. I just kinda roll my eyes or shrug it off. There really isn't a backup plan. Anyone who knows what it is like to emerge yourself in your own art and want to see it take off, can understand the feeling. But if I did have to be something, I would enjoy a career in some sort of Government law enforcement.. Postal Inspector, US Marshal, FBI Agent, something of the like. Perhaps being fluent in German would spice up my resume a bit??

Grok out with your Rock out

- Grok Star

Ahhh! I took a month off

2009-08-05T01:14:00.003-04:00

I haven't posted in a month. I was somewhat busy in July and have slipped up and down a bit. I got all my furniture back and visited Baltimore. I also have all my kitchen goodies back so I can cook with the best of everyone. If I can just figure out how to properly season my Wok. It has some stupid protected coating on it that I can't seem to get off. Anyway. Mark over at Mark's Daily Apple is hosting a primal challenge this month (August). I'm planning to get back on track.

Marks Daily Apple

Check out his site if you are not familiar!

I have to wake up in about 7 hours for work and I am gonna be tired!!!

Just wanted to drop in and update this thing but I'll get a little more detailed in the next day or so.

- Grok Star

One month down...

2009-07-01T17:24:00.004-04:00

So today is July 1st. I started going primal on June 1st. I just got home from the gym. Getting ready to do eggplant Parmesan with almond flour and homemade marinara sauce. None of that store bought stuff loaded with corn syrup. Would the Italians ever thought corn would be an ingredient in making marinara sauce? I'm pretty sure all it takes is some fresh garlic, olive oil, crushed tomatoes and fresh basil and a good lengthy simmer to fill the house with that mouth watering aroma. Why add fillers??

Anyhoo. I am down 12 pounds. 18 to go and I will be enjoying a delicious ribeye from Ruth's Chris or comparable steak house on my friends dime, unless of course, he loses 30 lbs before I do. When are we going to see Public Enemies David??

- Grok Star

Holler

2009-06-22T13:45:00.003-04:00

3rd week in. I am not at my normal housing establishment at the moment so I do not have a scale to weigh in. I'm craving some sort of BBQ. I think I will make that happen. Feeling awesome~!!

- Grok Star

GROK ON!!!

Mmmmm delicious

2009-06-11T18:31:00.000-04:00

I am eating a nice ribeye with a garlic/thyme/butter topping and a
skewer of shrimp with a pesto/lime sauce I brushed on. I grilled it.
also with some greenbeans made with onion and a little pork scraps. Are
you jealous David??
- Grok Star

Today marks one week of going primal.

2009-06-08T13:34:00.003-04:00

On Monday June 1st, I began eating a much healthier diet of meats, veggies, fruits, and nuts and eliminated processed foods and empty starches/carbohydrates. I decided to document it by starting a blog. Then I thought I would do video updates as I figured that would be the best way to show my results by weighing in, and just seeing me in general. I typically lose weight from my face and chubby cheeks first.

So as promised, I just weighed in. My starting weight last Monday was right at 250. Today I weighed in right at 245. Video below!

Almost first week of going primal.

2009-06-07T15:01:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow will be my second weigh in day. I weighed in right at 250 on Monday June 1st. I've been cooking all my own meals, eating lots of veggies, proteins, nuts, some fruits. I went to Whole Foods and stocked up on all kinds of things. Was expensive but it was just initial things I didn't have like spices and oils and what not. Should last awhile. Last night I played an impromptu concert. Some friends of mine needed an opening act so I grabbed the guitar and took off. It was alot of fun catching up with some old friends.

I really want to go see "The Hangover". It's getting good reviews and everyone says it's hilarious.

This whole week i've hit the gym pretty solid. Today is the first day I haven't felt very sore.

Look for a new video tomorrow!!

- Grok Star

Fired up the grill

2009-06-05T20:26:00.000-04:00

Yummmmy. Grilled tilapia with a mustard/red wine/olive oil dressing on
a baby romaine salad. Absolutely delicious. Tilapia thanks to Susan!
Right now I am marinating some pork ribs in a dry rub and a touch of
olive oil. I'm gonna bake them here shortly and then finish them on the
grill tomorrow. Should be spicy!!
- Grok Star

Primal muffins

2009-06-04T22:04:00.001-04:00

Yeah. I'm awesome. Made with Almond flour - I only used a very small amount of honey. Added the blueberry for fun.

COCONUT MUFFINS:
----------------
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/4-1/3 cup maple syrup or honey depending on your sweet tooth
1 1/2 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
2 T coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix together all ingredients until smooth.

Pour into 6 muffin cups greased with coconut oil and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Eating Stella Style by George Stella.

- Grok Star

Dinner tonight

2009-06-04T20:42:00.000-04:00

Just went to whole foods to stock up on some much needed ingredients.
Dropped a benjamin and came back and made dinner. I did portobello
shroom caps roasted with a touch of jack cheese. Then I breaded some
pieces of pork I cut up from a tenderloin I made last night. I breaded
the pieces in almond flour and fried them. Then I made a bell
pepper/onion/garlic/pineapple/cayenne sauce with water chestnuts and it
was fabulous. I can get used to being primal.
- Grok Star

Day 4

2009-06-04T11:56:00.003-04:00

I checked the trusty strip this morning and I am in ketosis. This is when your body switches over to burning fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. Once you make it to ketosis, it's all downhill from there. The first 3 days were quite miserable. My roomies had pizza in the fridge, out to dinner, all sorts of things to try to sway me but I held true. I hope to get to a whole foods soon and get some almond flour and other various ingredients so I can make things a bit interesting.

- Grok Star

Day two

2009-06-02T17:25:00.000-04:00

Just got back from the gym. Feeling a bit hungry. I made some
beef/broccoli stir fry with some leftover tenderloin. I woke up at 10am
today. Hoping I will be sleepy earlier than 1am tonight. I'd like to
be going to sleep at 11:30 so we will see. I'm guessing I'll be in
ketosis in the next few days and I won't have much of an appetite for a
bit. Now that I'm primal and not doing Atkins, I'm gonna experiment
with some 100% fruit smoothies and see if I stay in ketosis and if I
keep shedding the pounds.
- Grok Star

Spartan up

2009-06-02T00:51:00.002-04:00

A friend wants to compete with me to getting in shape. Although he is not interested in going primal, we are still going to compete. The loser has to buy the other one dinner at a nice steak place like Ruth's Chris. I can already taste the primal rib eye melting in my mouth. You're going down David. (Hopefully I am too).

- Grok Star

I avoided this today

2009-06-01T19:07:00.000-04:00

Well I figured I would post once more today after the video. It's my
friends birthday and her mom makes a killer lasagna. I scraped out the
primal ingredients and gave it a try and it was fabulous. I can't wait
to make my primal lasagna. I use steamed cabbage instead of pasta
sheets. I use it not very often but it kills the pasta craving and is
very tasty. I hit the gym today as well. Hoping to feel it tomorrow.
- Grok Star

Day 1

2009-06-01T15:36:00.003-04:00

Day one has come!! I just did the video I told myself I was going to do. I plan to do a weigh in every Monday on video and post the results, whatever they may be. I am horrible with video editing at the moment. I trust that I will get better at it as I go along. Tonight I am going to a friends birthday where the main meal is lasagna!! I will be having salad and maybe picking around the lasagna. If you don't feel like watching the video. The starting weigh in was right at 250, hot damn. Time to get crackin'.

my last hooorah.

2009-05-31T20:49:00.000-04:00

I'm at my favorite restaurant having a class american cheese burger with
a grilled portobello mushroom, smoked bacon, cheddar, boston bibb and
mini pomme frites. it's almost primal except for the bun!!

- Grok Star

gRok Star in the making

2009-05-31T03:51:00.000-04:00

Every once in awhile the first day of the month happens to fall on a Monday. Usually whenever I am starting a goal or something, I always feel the most inspired to follow through with it if I start it on a Monday, or on the 1st of a month. Well it just so happens that June 1st, 2009 is also a Monday, so what better time to put my mind to doing something I really want to do.

Rewind.

I've been struggling for quite some time now with feeling incredibly bad about myself. I kind of did the opposite of what most people do upon graduating high school. I LOST weight as opposed to the famous... or infamous freshmen 15. In high school I got upwards to 250 lbs and I am right at 6 feet tall on a good day. I graduated in 2003 and began pursuing a career in performing music. I somehow managed to get myself down to 187 lbs by fall of 2005, mostly through lots of intravenous hard drug use and many late night whiskey benders (kidding!!). This wasn't any sort of lean mass though. I still was chubby, had low energy, man-boobs, and a nice set of love handles. I didn't understand it though because people I knew who weighed the same thing, and were the same height appeared to be more toned out.

Well after some local success, my band decided to take it to the big times and move to NYC. The city of dreams, Bob Dylan, The Yankee's and unfortunately, the city of bagels and pizza and other complex starches and carbohydrates. Well needless to say, three years and nearly 50 lbs later, I was back to my high school weight.

This has led me to horrible back pain, stress, no energy, no confidence, stress, none of my fun clothes fit anymore, I can't sleep, and more stress. I have become a recluse. I don't enjoy doing any activities, seeing friends, or much of anything. Some friendships have been shattered, some have been created, some are nowhere to be found...

Well now I am back in my hometown for who knows how long with nothing but myself, my guitar, and a drive to start taking care of myself. I am armed with the knowledge from http://www.marksdailyapple.com and http://www.sonofgrok.com

Grok is the name Mark has given to the idea of the Hunter/Gatherer type who ate only Meats/Veggies/Nuts/Roots/Fruits/Eggs/Greens and good fats. This would be near the cave man days, but humans haven't changed much physically and biologically since then. I recommend reading up on his site to get a better idea of what I am going to be doing. I think "Grok" has a nice little ring to it.

So back to the beginning, or present for that matter... Starting Monday, June 1st 2009 --- I will be going "Primal" as Mark calls it. It does have many similarities of the diet Dr. Atkins made famous in the past few years, but that limits your carbohydrate intake to only 20grams a day which is a damn near unhealthy amount. This is no diet though. This is a life style change. I will be consuming close to 100g of carbs a day. To put it in perspective, I believe a can of Mt. Dew has 46 grams of carbohydrates, and definitely not the good kind!! Mine will be coming from vegetables, nuts and fruits. I have joined the gym that is 0.8 miles from my house, so I will be biking there and I will also be going with some friends as well for an added support group.

Basically, if it is packaged, or comes from the middle aisles of the grocery store, I won't be eating it. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to notice that obesity is becoming a huge problem in America. And it doesn't take a genius rocket scientist to figure out where/when the problem started and what caused it. Just take a glance to see how long the drive-through line is at your neighborhood McDonalds. Americans are continuously relying more and more on pre-packaged and fast foods that are loaded with unhealthy amounts of high fructose corn syrup, empty carbohydrates and nothing nutritional at all, which have been introduced more-so in the past 50 years. Also introduced in the past 50 years are more cases of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and many more bad bad health problems. 2+2=4.

Now if you know me, you know I like* to cook, so with this blog, I will be sharing recipes and pictures of meals as well as progress photos, workout routines, and anything else I freakin' feel like sharing, It is my blog after all.

It is nearly 5:00 am on Sunday May 31st right now. I will probably sleep until noon and then I will be preparing myself for Monday the 1st (the big day)!! Did I mention how much I like when the 1st is also a Monday??

My overall goals are:

Lose weight
Get into shape
Get healthy
Rid myself of the stress
Say bye bye to the back pain
Stop taking Ambien/Nyquil/Trazodone/Benadryl to sleep
Become the person I used to be
Become the friend I used to be
Marry a supermodel
Stop sleeping until noon
Transform from a Grok Star to a Rock Star (ha ha I'm so clever).

I apologize for the very long first introduction, wish me luck!

- Grok Star

p.s. my real name is Chris

*absolutely freakin' love