UPDATE TO ORGANIC POST

If you read an earlier post I wrote about Organic Foods, then you may have wondered whether or not Organic is even more nutritious than Conventional.  If it is, that's great...if it's not, why should you spend the extra cash to buy Organic?

If you didn't read it...then get after it!  Click here!  I'll wait...

So my response to the question of which is more nutritious is actually "it doesn't matter."  My reasoning is pretty simple...

There have been numerous studies conducted that tested which method of farming produced the greatest nutrient content, and the results have been all over the board.  Some studies showed that Organic and Conventional were equal, while others showed that Organic beat out Conventional (in some cases by a narrow margin, while in other cases by a wide margin).  One thing that those studies never showed, though, was that Conventional was superior to Organic.  At best, Conventional is equal to Organic.

One other important thing to note, as Jonny Bowden recently wrote in an article of his:

"We don't really eat organic food simply because it has more nutrients, though that's very possible and hotly debated. We eat it because of what it doesn't have: poison." 

Jonny Bowden's articles are great, and I also love his books!  In particular, his book The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth should be a must-read for anyone that is passionate about health, nutrition, and wholesome cooking (although it is not a cookbook):

There are definitely a couple of surprises in the book...foods that I had never heard of.  I think the best part about the book is that he doesn't just tell you which foods are the best, but he tells you why and backs it up with scientific data.  By doing so, he also highlights the importance of variety!  While some foods are potent cancer fighters, others may stimulate optimal brain function or promote recovery from training and/or illnesses.  You get the idea.

RECOVERY - DAY 7

I know, I skipped a few days of the Recovery, but there wasn't really much to report.  I have been getting some training in, but you've pretty much seen it all if you looked at my last post.

Another "milestone" today, though (if you would call it a milestone).  I scheduled my first Physical Therapy session!!  Monday November 2nd at 2 pm.  I actually scheduled my first week of PT, but the first is the most important.  That same morning I go to see the doctor for my post-op appointment.  I'm pretty sure he'll just take the stitches out of my leg and ask me how I'm doing, but I gotta go anyway.

Today will technically be an "off-day" from any training, although I'm gonna try to work in some little stuff...flexibility work (upper-body only), grip work, Airdyne conditioning.

WHAT I HAD FOR DINNER LAST NIGHT

Last night Lauren and I cooked a ridiculously good dinner!  I hobbled my way out the back door into a chair next to our grill to set up shop.  Lauren brought everything out to me and I was responsible for grilling.

Grilled Salmon w/ portobella mushrooms, bell peppers, and Brussels sprouts!

I cut and steamed the Brussels sprouts while Lauren was on her way home from work.  This part isn't necessary, but B. sprouts are so thick/dense that it is difficult to cook them all the way through either on the grill or in the oven without pre-steaming.  It doesn't take long, so it's no big deal.

We had a teriyaki marinade for the salmon, some balsamic vinegar on the portobellas, and various seasonings on the B. sprouts.

Throw everything on the grill...flip the salmon, bell peppers, and portobellas every 4 minutes hitting each side twice, and just sort of stir around the B. sprouts to make sure every angle gets a little attention from the flame.  Not difficult at all, but incredibly delicious!

Tonight??  I'll give you one guess.  Here's a clue.

RECOVERY - DAY 4

A couple of milestones today...

First and most importantly, I got my first post-surgery workout in!!  It felt good to move and sweat again, although I feel like my "fitness" has digressed so much already.  I wasn't able to do much, but it looked like this:

POWER

A1  Med ball throws (lying horizontally, throwing vertically) - 4 x 4

A2  Side-lying external rotations - 3 x 10 (shoulder prehab stuff)

STRENGTH

B1  Dips (using a 20 lb. weight vest) - 4 x 15

B2  Chest-supported rows - 4 x 10

CONDITIONING

Airdyne intervals 10 x 15 sec (15 sec rest)...arms only!

That was it.  It didn't take very long, and although it felt good, I was left wanting more.  Oh well, in time I guess.

As for the chest-supported row, that's the latest addition to the SHOP (see pic below).  I obviously knew that I would be off of my feet for a while, so this provided a great option for some back work.  Plus, Craigslist is a freakin' goldmine!  One man's junk is another man's treasure.  I got a sweet deal.

The second milestone was less important, but a milestone nonetheless.  After my shower, I took my bandages off...for good.  Now there's just 3 stitches, 1 for each porthole.  Those are coming out a week from tomorrow.

I haven't figured out what I'm gonna do tomorrow for a workout, but it will most likely include some more Airdyne intervals.

RECOVERY - DAY 3

I took my first shower today!  I was definitely due for one.  I'm still not in any real pain, just general stiffness in my hip, and of course I'm not doing anything to test it either.

Here is the next picture in my beard and hair documentary.  You'll have to excuse "the do" as I was fresh out of my first shower and my hair just dried that way.  After looking at my Physical Therapy Prescription, it calls for 24 weeks of rehab, so that is how long my hair and beard will have to grow!

Beard - Day 3

I spent a good chunk of the morning and afternoon reading (The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand) out in the front yard again.  I think I've actually been getting more natural light than I otherwise would on a normal day at the office.

I also just finished another ridiculous dinner...spaghetti squash with chicken, spinach, bell peppers, onions, garlic, and baby portabella mushrooms in a tomato basil sauce.  Yes, it was as good as it sounds.  As my Italian friend Anthony would say...eatta pasta runna fasta!!

While Lauren was out and about running errands today, she stopped in at CVS to scan the images that the doctor took with the scope-cam.  Be sure to click on each one and it will bring up the full-size image.  OK, now I'm going to try to describe these to you using my own numbering system...I'll number them 1-24, moving from left to right and top to bottom.  Oh, and in case anyone cares to know, the technical name for my operation is "Hip Arthroscopy with Labral Repair and Osteochondroplasty."

If you look closely at pictures 2, 3, and 4 you'll see some frayed cartilage...that's my labrum.  It was pretty messed up, but thankfully Dr. Muller is the man!

This whole next set (pictures 9 - 16) show a bunch of different progressions where he is cleaning up and suturing the labrum.

Look at the last four pictures here (21 - 24) and you can see a hole in my bone.  That's the cyst that I mentioned here.  I actually thought that the cyst was a fluid-filled sac on the surface of the bone, but it actually was in the bone.  When Dr. Muller was shaving down the bone to reshape the femoral head/neck, the cyst was exposed and he drained it.  That's the hole I just mentioned.  It is supposed to fill in with bone over time.  I sure hope so.

I'll detail my Physical Therapy Prescription tomorrow...but it looks really good and I'm anxious to get started!

MOVIE REVIEW - TYSON

I've been wanting to watch Tyson for a long time now.  I love watching his training highlights on YouTube, and he is one of the most quotable (and hilarious) athletes of all time!

This documentary was awesome.  It starts when Tyson was bout 12 years old, before he got introduced to boxing.  He was a thug, as you'd probably expect, and was in and out of juvenile hall on about a weekly basis.  The movie talks about how he first was introduced to the sport and eventually met Cus D'Amato, who became a father figure to him in addition to being his trainer.  They showed a lot of his early training footage from when he was as young as 14 leading up to the Junior Olympics.

His rise through the amateurs and into the professional ranks all the way to heavyweight champion (at the age of 20, the youngest ever) was nothing short of INSANE.  My favorite part of the whole movie was when he talks about what's going through his mind as he enters the ring...he stares at his opponent, and he can't take his eyes off of him.  He's waiting for the moment when his opponent breaks that eye contact, because at that moment he knows he broken him down mentally.  His opponent has already lost the fight, he just doesn't know it yet.  They're actually showing footage of this pre-fight routine and you can see when the guy looks away from Tyson and down at the canvas and then Tyson just says "I got you."

The last part of the movie was actually kinda sad...it started with his rape conviction and then took you through everything that has happened to him since then all the way through his last professional fight.

This movie was awesome and I highly recommend it to anyone, whether you're a boxing fan or not.

As I mentioned before, Tyson is one of the most, if not THE MOST, quotable athletes or celebrities of all time.  Here's proof:

MOVIE REVIEW - KILLER AT LARGE

About 10 days ago, I wrote a blog about the documentary "Killer at Large."  At the time Lauren and I were only about 1/4 of the way through it, but we've finished it now.

I mentioned in my earlier post that the filmmakers followed a 12-year old girl from Texas as she was planning her liposuction procedure.  They interviewed her parents (who were actually both skinny) and they were extremely in favor of the procedure and were willing to do anything to make their daughter happy.  Obviously they would have to be...otherwise how could a 12-year old get herself to and from the appointments (all of which need parental consent) and pay for it.  That just seems ridiculous to me.  She complained about not being able to control her eating habits...so maybe her parents should stop buying the shit that made her fat in the first place.

They showed the procedure next, which was kinda gruesome (although Lauren liked that part), and the doctor ended up extracting 60 lbs of fat from her!  Afterward, she still wasn't a "skinny" girl, although she was much smaller than when she went in.  She even landed a modeling contract (for teenage plus-sized models I'm sure)!!

The saddest part of all this, though, came at the end.  The producers checked back in with her several months later and she had gained approximately 40 of the 60 lbs back.  She was actually surprised that she gained the weight back, although she admitted to not changing any of the habits that made her overweight in the first place (no dietary changes, no change in basic activity levels, etc.).  She then started getting consultations for gastric bypass surgery, but no doctor would perform the operation (good for them).  Her parents did find a surgeon in Mexico who would perform it though!

The movie definitely had more to it than following this girl around, I just wanted to illustrate that as a pathetic example of how some people are dealing with obesity.  There were quite a few pieces on the food industry as well that were very informative.  I particularly liked where they discussed the incestuous relationship between major food corporations and the FDA.  Basically, the current lineup at the FDA consists of former executives from major food corporations, and vice versa!  How could anyone expect any legislation to get passed in favor of positive, healthy changes when the ones calling the shots have financial incentives to ensure otherwise??

Overall, I would say the documentary was very informative and I would recommend it to anyone who has both an interest in either health or food and generally likes documentaries.  I definitely learned a lot from watching it.