Here is a video of one one of my competition matches at the Extreme Grappling Open. I had a lot of fun against a tough opponent. James and Aj Clingerman always do a great job with their EGO tournaments.
Grocery Day with Chewy, simple dieting advice to lose weight and train hard!
A common subject I get asked about by my students concerns dieting and what to eat to lose weight and have energy to train hard. Many people seem really confused about what to eat and are overwhelmed with all the different diets or data out there. I typically give very similar advice to anyone who asks. Now before I continue I will stress that this is what works best for me and I am not some super dieting guru. I don’t track everything to a T, but I have changed my body drastically over the years.
(The advice I list below is what I used when I lost weight for my MMA fight)
KISS
Keep it simple stupid, you know, the KISS method! Seriously though, when deciding on a diet it’s really important to make it easy to follow. I promise, eating healthy doesn’t have to be that complicated. There are people I know who can successfully count calories and micro manage their intake. But for me, and for most people, that just doesn’t work, so I keep it simple and make easy to stick with. In this post I’m going to share the basic idea of the diet that I am following currently.
Eat real food
Eat whole foods. You don’t have to shop at Whole Foods but you need to eat them. This means things you actually have to cook. As a general rule I try to steer clear of processed pre-made items. There are exceptions of course, like protein powders and supplements, but when you make your food you have greater control over what you’re putting into your body.
Prepare food in advance
I make all of my lunches and dinners for Monday-Friday on Sunday. This allows me fast access to good food throughout the day. I’m a fat boy at heart and if I don’t have something to satisfy my hunger I will slip up and eat something that I probably shouldn’t. So I find it really important to have my meals ready for lunch time and especially post training. I really don’t like cooking after I just finished a hard training session.
When selecting what I want to put on my plate throughout the week I break it down into 3 categories, a protein source, a carbohydrate source, and green veggies. Now I know that the 3 macro nutrients are Protein, Carbs and Fats and obviously green veggies are not fats. I do make sure to get a fair amount of good fats from the meat I take in as well as fish oil, coconut oil and nuts.
Below are pictures from grocery day last Sunday
(Grass fed beef, chicken and a little chorizo for breakfast. Chorizo makes an omelet awesome)
(This week is mostly quinoa but I threw in some sweet potatoes to mix it up a bit)
(You can buy fresh or frozen veggies. I use spinach with just about anything, and I really load up on asparagus and sprouts during my meals. I honestly just like the taste and I don’t think anyone has ever become overweight from eating too many leafy greens or green vegetables. I also put chopped frozen peppers with my meat. It’s not a green vegetable but it made it into the picture.)
(I really like greek yogurt with berries and walnuts for a snack. Peanut butter or almond butter is also a solid snack that goes well with fruit or a protein shake if you need something quick.)
(If any of my students have passed by my office after training and smelled something. This is probably the culprit. I love this stuff and use it on my meat when I cook. Its sooo good.)
*Side note. I did not take pictures of all the food I bought. Some of things I did not take pictures of were almond-coconut milk, eggs, garlic, apples, oranges, bell peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, squash, honey, and coffee.
Common objections to eating this way:
It costs too much
I bought all the food I needed for a week for around $100. This includes breakfast, lunches, dinners and snacks as well as another meal once I get home at night for each day of the week. I could probably cut the cost a bit if I chose to go with cheaper crappy coffee or meat, but I refuse. People spend lots of money on their cars, fancy electronic gadgets, training gear, etc. I think we owe it to our body to treat it well and spend a little on food. I mean if you aren’t healthy then the rest of those things are going to be a lot less enjoyable.
I don’t have time to cook
On Sunday it takes me between 45 minutes to an hour to prepare 10 meals plus snacks for the week. You don’t have an hour? Step away from the t.v for a bit.
I hope this post helps you in your quest for a better diet that will help you on your journey to being a healthier version of yourself. Be sure to listen to your body and how it reacts to certain things and take note of how you feel while eating the foods. When I eat the food that I listed above I feel great. I have energy throughout the day, I don’t get sleepy and I am able to train hard. However some of the foods I listed may not suit your body and you will need to adjust accordingly.
Again, there are numerous diets and eating plans out there with the next big thing. But in my opinion if you’re new to dieting and trying to ease into eating healthier, you can’t go wrong by starting with eating whole foods that you have prepared yourself.
As always,
Thanks for reading
Chewy
This is a half guard technique using a grip I learned in wrestling. It doesn’t always end up working out as a sweep, but its a tricky technique that’s fun to set up if you already play half guard and are having trouble with a guy using the over hook.
Not sure if you watched Metamoris 3 live, but if you did, maybe you’re like me and found it bitter sweet. Sweet because the Royler Gracie vs Eddie Bravo match was fantastic. Even though it came to a draw, both men went for it and fought the whole time. There was action! The bitter, well, the rest of the event was. . . meh. Besides Gui Mendes and Samir Chantre, the other matches lacked that aggressive energy that can make BJJ so exciting and fun to watch. I know that points and shorter time limits can be annoying but having the threat of losing sparks a sense of urgency. You’ll move and expose yourself in ways that you wouldn’t if points and time weren’t involved. In many of the matches guys gave up takedowns, didn’t fight aggressively to get into dominant position and all in all seemed very relaxed. It was really disappointing to see some of the competitors just come out and “play”. Its like when you watch MMA and it looks like the two fighters are at a sparring session. To me most of the matches looked like casual rolls in the gym. A couple of times you would see the action spike towards the last few minutes but overall I was left with the impression that everyone was reluctant to open up. No one was upset with the draw, they seemed happy that they weren’t submitted.
The sad part was with all the talent and potential on the Metamoris 3 event it took two men in their 40s, one almost 50, to bring some aggressive action to the show. Hopefully they will adjust the rules or something to get these guys to open up, otherwise they’ll never be able to bring this kind of event to a wide audience.
In my personal opinion I think matches should be shortened rather than lengthened. Not many guys can go full speed for 20 minutes, so they wait till the time draws to a more comfortable range to open up. I know I’ve asked myself the question of, “Should I go hard right out of the gate and risk being gassed towards the end, or should I play it safe and get going towards the end of the match?” and that’s for a 10 minute match! I imagine that a 20 minute match against ultra high level competition would be a big mental obstacle.
While I like the theory of no winner unless its a submission and a longer match duration to work, all it seems to do is invite passivity because the winner-loser dynamic has been taken away. Even if you come up short, as long as you’re not submitted you don’t lose. It allows the competitors to relax in bad positions and focus on defense instead of feeling the urgency to escape which opens up opportunities for submissions. Again, this is my opinion.
I’d love to hear what other people thought about it. If you’re reading, tell me what you think of the whole thing.
Oh and I hope they get a different announcer next time.
“I’m not ready for a BJJ competition”
I am not sure if it’s because tournament season is gearing up, but I keep running into something. Recently, I’ve talked to several of my students and to friends and acquaintances that I know through BJJ. Many of them have the urge to compete, but instead of acting on this urge, they shy away from competition. They often express that they have a gap in some part of their game, or in some cases it seems that first time competitors simply fear the unknown. A couple of the people I’ve talked to are colored belts too. So if you’re reading this and you’re a colored belt who hasn’t competed, don’t worry, you’re not alone.
”The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time to plant a tree is today.”
Competitions aren’t necessary and they certainly aren’t for everyone. But they can be a lot of fun and can teach us a lot about ourselves and our Jiu-jitsu, so if you have the desire to compete but are on the fence about it . . . just do it. You don’t have anything to lose.
Reason why people don’t compete
There are some reoccurring themes that seem to cause people to over analyze tournaments and over think themselves out of the situation. Again, these are my personal opinions and experiences on the subject.
If you find yourself searching for a reason not to compete, STOP! Instead, search for a reason to compete. You can always find a reason not to do something that pushes you out of your comfort zone. But I can sincerely say that I’ve never done a tournament and felt any regret afterwards. Sometimes I was in the best of shape and other times, not so much. I won some and lost some. But I always learned, enjoyed the camaraderie with my team and had a great time hanging out with a bunch of fellow BJJ junkies. I’ve also met some of the coolest people and build friendships that have changed my life at these tournaments.
I’ll leave you with this.
As a full time instructor for almost 5 years, I’ve had several students who shied away from tournaments and even feared them. When these particular students finally took the leap and competed. In each instance, win or lose, they expressed how much they enjoyed the experience and that they wish they would have competed sooner.
After watching this video and hearing these giants of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu talk, I couldn’t help but feel happy to know that there are others that cannot see life without Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Sometimes I wonder if maybe I am thinking too deep into things and its reassuring to hear others share similar thoughts. I mean because on the outside we are just a bunch of people wrestling around in cotton robes. But on the inside its something so much more. It mentally and physically changes us and changes our lives.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8V_vwbAxbU&w=560&h=315]
A sneaky counter to the north south choke
I did this for my buddy Greg from New Jersey who asked if I had any pointers on the North South Choke.
In the video I show the way that I personally set the choke up. I’ve used it successfully in tournaments and fights.
I hope the video helps you add a new submission to your game, or at least gets you thinking about something new to try!
Thanks,
Chewy
Not sure about anyone else, but I feel like the gi market can be a bit disingenuous these days. Companies seem to pop up and claim to have something “new” or some change that makes them better than the rest. On closer inspection it often ends up being just another gi that has been cloned off another gi company’s design and produced in Pakistan. Not new, Not special, just marketing and someone trying to make a buck. Which, I guess I can’t blame anyone for trying to make money, but if you’re going to do it, at least be honest.
Here is a video from Datsusara exposing fake claims about a hemp gi.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpDotsmkAN8&w=560&h=315]
I’ve been asked how I tape my fingers for competitions or when they get injured. Here is a video of how I personally like to tape my fingers. There are other methods but this has always worked for me.