A year and a half ago, I started working on my diet, reducing carbs and meat consumption, and taking a handful of dietary supplements, while developing a fairly aggressive workout plan. A few months into it, I began traveling extensively, and did not find the discipline required for keeping it together. This week, I started exercising again, and came back to a much healthier diet. I updated my list of dietary supplements, and stopped eating meat altogether. My daily intake of proteins comes from fish, peas, rice, and soy. In order to keep the pace while traveling extensively, I decided to stay only in hotels that have a fitness center, and to spice travels to foreign locations by making strictly localized and temporary exceptions to my diet: from now on, I will eat beef in Japan only, poultry in France only, and lamb in Arabic-speaking countries only. Next trip abroad: Tokyo, for a good serving of shabu-shabu.
Today was our last day in Tokyo, and we took advantage of some free time for a tour of Asakusa and a hunt for the newest gadgests in Akihabara. We spent a fair amount of time at Yodobashi Akiba, quite possibly the biggest eletronics store in Japan, then wandered in the busy streets of Electric City looking for robots. Our search remained largely unsuccessful, until my friend Reynald took us in a hidden store full of the latest humanoid robots produced by companies such as Hitec Robotics or Kondo. My favorite was the nuvo produced by Zip and designed by Ken Okuyama. Its design reminded me of the robots living on Laputa, the castle in the sky featured in Tenkuu no Shiro Rapyuta, my favorite movie from Hayao Myazaki. We ended the day with an all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu dinner. Many thanks to Reynald for his local guidance.
Today, I attended my first traditional tea ceremony, organized by Nagura San and performed by her student Sawada San. The ceremony took place at Nagura San’s ocha seki, a room specially designed for the practice of this ancient ceremony brought by the Japanese priest Eisai (1141-1215) when he returned from Buddhist studies in China. The experience is a truly exceptional one, which perfectly demonstrates the exquisite sophistication of the Japanese culture. Following two cups served by our host, Jacques-Alexandre and I got to prepare our own cups, learning along the way that we will need quite a bit of practice before we could serve anything worthy of even the most humble guest. As a point of reference, Sawada San has been studying the art of the tea ceremony for over twenty years. Many thanks to Nagura San and Sawada San for this mazing experience.
Tonight, I attended my first business dinner in Japan, with a group of executives working for a company that is part of a large keiretsu. Business practices in Japan are quite different than those I am accustomed to in the US, and such dinners are a necessary steps toward the establishment of any business relationship. They are also a lot of fun, for good food, beer, and sake usually contribute to bring a lot of barriers down. Tonight’s dinner was a great treat, and I would like to thank Iwasaki San for his hospitality.
I am at the Silverado Resort in Napa, CA for a conference. This is my first trip since I started exercising on a daily basis, and following a fairly strict diet. This creates a new set of challenges that I am not totally prepared for. The place has a gym, but it does not provide the machines I am used to. The restaurant has what they call ‘alternative cuisine’, but it sounds more exotic than it is healthy. All in all, I think I will have to come up with a new set of exercising rules for when I am on the road, and bring some food with me whenever possible.
In my quest for a healthier diet, I have now decided to get rid of carbohydrates in the evening. As a result, no more bread, pasta, or rice past lunch time. In the afternoon, I snack on nuts and dry fruits, and for dinner, I eat plenty of vegetables and proteins—usually in the form of salmon or turkey. If I am still hungry then, I wrap everything up with a banana, or a smoothie made of a blend of whey proteins and frozen strawberries. So far, so good…
As I get more ambitious with my exercise plan, and keep improving my diet, I have started to add some vegetarian supplements to my meals. On top of the Nature’s Way Alive! Rice/Pea Ultra-Shake Vanilla, Nutribiotic Vegan Rice Protein and Benefiber mix that I am using for my morning smoothie, I am taking suggested servings for the following supplements:
Updated on 11/30/2008, 12/21/2008, and 11/8/2009.
Tonight, May and I joined a small group of friends for a crab feed at the exclusive Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club. I put my strict diet aside for a night, and got my fill of crustacean meat. According to NutritionData, crab has 60% less cholesterol than shrimps, which makes it not so bad for you. Many thanks to Milledge for the invitation, May and I had a lot of fun. Now, I look forward to finally getting a flight together.
Tonight, I had dinner with Francis, his wife, and friends at their house Berkeley. We discussed about Office 2.0, good food, French politics, and the thrill of sailing around the world. Guillaume, one of the guests, did just that for a year with his wife and kids, and shared some very cool stories on his blog. I’m not sure May is up for it yet, but we shall see…
Last year, I read a fascinating article published by TIME Magazine on the Gastrovac, a new vacuum cooking device. According to the manufacturer, by creating an artificial low pressure, oxygen-free atmosphere, the Gastrovac considerably reduces cooking and frying temperatures, maintaining the texture, colour and nutrients of the food. Moreover, the Gastrovac creates some kind of sponge effect: when the atmospheric pressure is restored, the food absorbs the liquid around it, allowing infinite combinations of foods and flavours. Now, I am dreaming about the kind of dishes I could prepare with such an apparatus, especially when using extracts of white truffles. Time to save some money…
Tonight, I had dinner with my friend John at Chez Spencer, a fabulous French restaurant located at 82 14th Street in San Francisco, CA. The sautéed veal sweetbreads with mache, parmesan crisp, and truffle vinaigrette were exceptional, while the roasted lamb rack with braised artichoke “barigoule” and fromage blanc was certainly the best I have ever had in the U.S. We ended the dinner with a refreshing Champagne sabayon served with a pistachio sablé. Outstanding! Many thanks to John for the invitation to share such excellent food and meet with his friend Craig. I look forward to seeing you again soon, hopefully for a flight this time around.
Surprisingly, I got used to my new diet pretty fast. I am now fine tuning the content of each meal, starting with breakfast. After my early morning workout, I drink a smoothie made of two scoops of BioPlex Pure WPI whey protein isolate, one scoop of Nature’s Way Alive! Rice/Pea Ultra-Shake Vanilla vitamins and nutrients, one scoop of Benefiber powder fiber, a handful of fresh or frozen berries, a serving of DanActive fermented milk, and two cups of fat-free milk. After that, I get either some rice, soba noodles, or cereals rich in fibers. Yummy!
I am three days into my new diet and workout program, and things are easier than I had expected them to be. For breakfast, I am drinking a mix of proteins and fat free soy milk, and eating either cold soba noodles or cereals rich in fibers mixed with the same fat free soy milk. For lunch, I am getting either sashimis, vegetarian medleys made of humus and salad, or a chicken sandwich with mustard in lieu of butter. And for dinner, May is now grilling either chicken or salmon, served with green beans and brown rice. Summary: lots of fibers, plenty of proteins, and very little fat. Next step: playing with our new rice cooker.
Today, I started a new diet and workout program. On the gastronomic side, less red meat, less saturated fat, less sugar. On the aerobic side, daily workout sessions from 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM at the Form fitness center in Palo Alto, CA. I will put together a simple online database to track my progress.
Yesterday night, May and I watched All the King’s Men (IMDB), a solid movie on politics and corruption directed by Steven Zaillian. Even though not as strong as the original movie it is a remake of, Sean Penn’s impressive performance makes it worth watching. You might want to turn subtitles on though, for the plot is supposed to take place in the great state of Louisiana, and the actors’ accents definitely match the location. Today, we met Dave and Ellen for tapas at Esperpento. The Pollo Adobo and Tortilla de Patata were excellent.
On our way back up from Los Angeles, May and I made a stop in San Luis Obispo. We had lunch at the famous Mo’s Smokehouse BBQ. Here is a bit of history about the place: twenty years into his restaurant career, Mo decided to open a real barbecue restaurant. With a good buddy, he set off to find out what barbecue was all about. They made a 3,500 mile swing through the barbecue belt, visiting 10 states and over 80 barbecue restaurants. Along the way, they collected recipes, tips, techniques, advice, and instructions. Everywhere they stopped, they bought an antique chair for the smokehouse they were about to establish. If you like barbecue chicken or pork ribs, make sure to check it out. And if you live in the Bay Area and have a pilot license, keep in mind that you can get down there in less than two hours, as May and I found out on this earlier flight.
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