Day 8: Week in Review

Tip of the Day: The problem with cheating is that you want to do it again and again. Ate that egg and cheese bagel at breakfast that you shouldn't have? Easy enough to write off the whole day and eat a handful of cookies at lunch and an extra helping at dinner. Didn't go to the gym yesterday? Just makes it harder to go today...especially if you know it's time for you to weigh-in and there's nothing you'd like to do better than to avoid seeing those numbers.

The latter half of this week was that way for me. I could come up with any number of excuses: my gym membership ran out and I didn't get my paycheck until Friday and the gym is closed Saturday so I couldn't go. I'm living with a host family and I have to eat what they cook for me or else I'll seem rude! I went on a date with a new cutie on Thursday night and he wanted to buy me a second drink, so I had to take it, right?

The fact is that there are a million reasons to cheat...and once you start it's hard to stop. So while of course it's better not to start, it's even better to have a good way to stop yourself.


Here's a list of reasons I want to lose weight, in honor of my first week. Note: I'm aware that not all these reasons are particularly gracious, but I'm doing what I can.

1. I see pictures of myself at 18 and get sad wishing I could look like that again. And I'm 20.
2. My mother, who is super hot, would have to stop being so silently disapproving of the fact that she's four pants sizes smaller than I am.
3. Excuse to buy new clothes!
4. My friends will be jealous. Yup, there it is.
5. Getting to love to look at myself naked in the mirror again.
6. New tattoo! When and only when I reach my goal weight.
7. So I won't embarrass myself on the internet by starting this blog and then totally failing to stick to my regiment.
8. Proving to myself that I can, which, quite frankly, I sometimes have trouble believing.


Will post my week 1 weight tomorrow after I weigh in at the gym!

Five healthy foods that I have fallen newly in love with:


1. Asparagus


I used to hate this--until my sister-in-law made it for me and I realized that simpler is better when it comes to this particular food, which is choc-ful of vitamins and all those good things. Here's how she did it: Spread the asparagus out on a baking sheet. Drizzle (and I mean DRIZZLE. LIGHTLY) with olive oil and then sprinkle some salt. Bake at, like, 250 for five minutes; then, flip the asparagus, re-drizzle and re-sprinkle, and bake for another five minutes. Boom. I hate asparagus, but I could eat it like this for a snack!




















2. Sweet potatoes





I had a roommate who ate these the way I eat egg and cheese sandwiches. Guess which of us is skinnier? But here's a recipe with sweet potatoes that I can't stop making (it's healthy, delicious, and, as a bonus, BEAUTIFUL. Make it for guests and they'll think you're really fancy):

Sweet potato-black bean tacos:


Dice two good-sized sweet potatoes.
 Dump them in a pan and sort of stir-fry them with a little bit of olive oil.

When they start to get soft, dump in a can of black beans. 

Add salt, paprika and cumin to taste. 

Heat until the beans are hot and the sweet potatoes are soft. 

Serve in corn tortillas with chopped tomatoes and onions and cilantro for a colorful, delicious, healthy dinner!

3. Kiwi fruit


I guess I've always known I liked these, but it was only recently that it occurred to me to eat them more regularly. Part of this is because I'm in a part of the world right now where kiwis come really cheap--we'll see if this holds up when I'm back in the midwest this fall! But I love to eat apples as a snack, and over here they eat kiwis the way we eat apples: just peel it and pop it in your mouth! Note: they also eat cucumbers and green peppers this way.

4. Avocado

 Okay, be careful with this one. The bad news is that avocados are full of fat; the good news is that it's fat that's good for you! In moderation, of course. The taste is rich and distinct and a slice or two of avocado on your sandwich is better than cheese and better for you as well--while still contributing a little kick.

 5. Plain yogurt

This is GOOD for you. Only 150 calories in a cup, and it has infinite possibilities! My favorite way is to mix in a few cloves of garlic (crushed) a little salt, and some verrrrry thinly sliced cucumber. Eat with pita bread or as a dip with celery.
















Until tomorrow, cuties! I will post my weight after my weigh-in tomorrow morning. Might be painful, but I'm going to stick with it!

Guest Writer: A Food Desert (Dessert? Oh no!)

Question of the Day: 

Small Frosty from Wendy's. Calories: 310. Price: >$1.

Quarter Pounder from McDonalds. Calories: 510. Price: > $4.

Large fries from BK. Calories: 400. Price: >$1.

WHY IS THE CHEAP, EASY FOOD also the FOOD OF THE DEVIL WHEN IT COMES TO NUTRITION?

I just researched "foods that burn fat" on Google, and found this website: http://www.quickandsimple.com/diet-weight-loss/tips-calculator/belly-fat-foods.  It had some information that was actually new to me.  I liked what it had to say.  The problem is, it all depends on your income, how much time you have, how stressed you are and what kind of food is accessible to you.

Here's what I'm talking about: for a year I volunteered around the country and we received a living stipend of about $120 bimonthly.  It averaged out to about $4 a day, which was fine because our health care, food and travel costs were all covered by the government.  
However, with this came the fact that we had to create a budget for how much money we would be allotted.  We were living below the poverty level, which was sorta the point, but because of our tight food budget, we could only afford the food that's traditionally available to people on TANF or food stamps: huge tubs of fake peanut butter, white bread, ground beef, etc.  We bought food in bulk.  The food was not healthy, and I gained a lot of weight.  Because of this experience, I learned even though I worked out every day and had challenging physical jobs in construction and maintenance, that when I eat unhealthy food, I gain weight.  Boo!

Anyway, I'm hoping to get to eat all the yummy food this article outlined!  It'll be great! Hopefully I'll have the best work out buddy and the best eating buddy of all time with me. 
 It'll be a good time and we'll be able to enjoy all the food we want, but we'll do it in moderation. Lifestyle changes CAN be daunting, but they can also be fun.  That's what I'm looking for.

P.S. When the 12 foods that burn fat were all introduced, an advertisement for Twix pops up.  How ironic.

Day 4

Tip of the Day: Plan meals ahead of time! A week ahead is best so that you can buy all the good stuff and none of the bad stuff. My friend once put it this way: when you go for groceries, buy the things on the edge of the store (fresh produce, fish, poultry, dairy, etc.) and stay away from the middle aisles where all the crap is. Come on. We don't need that.
If you don't have the time or patience to plan a week ahead of time, at least plan your meals a day in advance. When you wake up, know what you're going to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Some quick ways to cut calories but keep the delicious: instead of having your stir-fried veggies over rice, have them on a bed of fresh spinach. Instead of eating your egg on toast in the morning, eat it with a chopped up tomato with just a little bit of salt. If you're going to eat a sandwich for lunch, make it open-faced.

Not much to say about today except that I had a delicious lunch of a tomato, cucumber, kiwi, and orange all sliced up very neatly and eaten piece by piece. Simple and delicious. Also, it felt luxurious to be eating a kiwi.

Question of the Day: Why is it that my bed is the most comfortable in the morning, when I need to get up and out of it?

Day 3

Tip of the Day: Beware what you order at the bar! Remember that the average vodka and coke has about 150 calories in it...whereas a vodka and diet coke only has about 60! So be smart...and if you're looking to get a little schwastey, remember that the less you've eaten before you start drinking, the fewer drinks it takes: more calories eaten means more calories drink'in! My friend L also suggests planning stocking your fridge with healthy snacks before you go out so you don't end up coming home and eating an entire pint of Half Baked or an entire package of Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies or half a pizza or something. It's possible to be a party girl and watch what you're putting in your body at the same time!


Things I Love: 

this dress from modcloth.com.

That has got to be one of my favorite colors. And that back...mmm!

Question of the Day: How can I love lounging around my apartment in sweatpants SO MUCH...and yet, whenever I see a movie set in 18whatever, all I want is to wear dresses like Kate Winslet in Titanic every single day of my life?

Day 2

Tip of the day: Water. Drink water. Drink a big glass of water when you wake up in the morning. Drink a big glass of water before you to go sleep. Start every meal with a big glass of water. And make sure you stay hydrated throughout the day! You're going to have to pee a lot. But that's a small price to pay for being the CUTEST: drinking water makes you feel less hungry, as well as making sure you don't snack because you've mistaken your thirst for hunger.

Featured hottie: My personal idol, Katee Sackhoff

I have a soft spot for nerdy television shows that take place in outer space, and my most recent addiction is the remade Battlestar Galactica (all four seasons are on Netflix!) I know, I'm a geek. But BSG has some really strong female characters, and my personal favorite is the sharp, witty Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, who basically shoots all the robots, gets all the guys, solves every problem, and looks the hottest--whether she's Starbuck, beating the shit out of people, or just Katee being adorable.


Okay, confession: I have a big fat crush on Katee Sackhoff. It is my goal to be that big of a BA while also being that classy.

    

Here's what she says about her workout routine ( taken from http://www.kateesackhoff.com/qanda/KateeSackhoff_AskKatee_PartFive.txt): 

"I workout very very hard. The one thing I don't have in control however is my alcohol and food consumption. Um, [laughs] hence that little ten extra pounds that are constantly on my body that I've been trying to get rid of since I was 19. I am very strict about working out. I know exactly what I need to do to get muscle on my body. I get up, I do weights, some sort of weights, depending on how much time I have. Sometimes its ten minutes of weights, sometimes it’s an hour and a half of weights and then I usually do twenty to an hour of cardio. If I don't have any time and I've got to get up at four a.m. I do this thing called "HIIT training." HIIT training are wind sprints. They increase your metabolism and your body temperature tremendously so you're actually burning fat through-out the day and their basically just 15 second sprints so you sprint for 15 seconds, you walk for 15 seconds, you sprint for 15 seconds, you walk for 15 seconds...that's pretty much what I do."

Today I tried to be like Katee at the gym: I did an hour on the treadmill, which was easier than usual because there was a good sports movie on and if there's one thing I love, it's a good sports movie. Then I did a leg and core weights circuit, which took about 20 minutes, and I finished everything off with ten minutes on the treadmill.

Question of the day: Why don't I ever get to shoot robots in space?

Day 1

It is Friday, March 25, 2011 and I am tired of being fat.


Don't get me wrong: I don't buy into this crap about girls needing to me rail-thin to be pretty. I'm curvy and proud of it. But the freshman 40 lbs hit me pretty hard when I started college in August of 2008, standing 5'2 and weighing 140 lbs. I'm about 175 now, despite the hours I log in the gym and the many diets I have vowed to start. I work out regularly and try to eat healthy, and until recently I have been pretty indignant that the weight keeps on coming. I'm twenty! I should be cute no matter what! I should be able to look good in a bikini!
But here's the thing: I don't work out regularly. Not the way I should, anyway. And while my diet is okay Monday-Thursday, things dissolve pretty quickly once I reach Thanksgiving. Or Christmas. Or New Years. Or finals, or mid-sems, or Valentine's Day, or Halloween, or any random kind in that one class's birthday, or when the cafeteria makes that pie I like, or when my housemate wants to go to Chipotle, or when I feel like baking, or any Friday, Saturday, Tuesday or Thursday, which are all obligatory party days at my school. And every time I try on a dress and realize it's a little tighter, or feel a little too constrained in my pants, or  see a picture of myself? You know the ones--the ones that make you say, I look like THAT? I look in the mirror and pat my fat tummy and say: time to go on a diet.
And I do. For a day. Maybe a week. Maybe I'm a little more obsessive about going to the gym; maybe I eat a spinach salad for lunch and feel really good about myself, good enough to...forget about how bad I felt earlier that day, looking in the mirror. And I'm done. I'm done with it: the crash diets, the up and downs, surfing the internet for tips that are things that I already know--I'm done with all of it. It doesn't make me feel good about myself--it makes me feel worse. 
I want to feel good about myself again. I want to look cuter, for me. So I'm starting a year long project dedicated to self-happiness including: eating healthy and exercising more! Wearing cute clothes that are affordable and spending my weekends with people I love. Everything in moderation.