A Little Self-Control Goes a Long Way

I won't say that I'm completely back on track because I tend to sabotage myself the second I try to convince myself that I am. But I've been doing pretty good food-wise this week. Today I did alright, and most of the week I've been using fresh ingredients and making big batches of deliciously healthy foods.

This was my dinner tonight:

Lemon-thyme roasted chicken and honey thyme roasted carrots that I linked to in my meal planning post, and herbed couscous because I felt that I needed something more than just the meat and veggies. Everything was delicious, healthy, and super filling.

I ended up with 4 very large chicken breasts, which is way more meat than I thought I would end up having. All that means is that I get to rearrange some of my meal planning for the week and push a few recipes back a day or two. Tomorrow I'll eat this again for dinner, and then on Saturday I'll have some for lunch and then make chicken tacos for dinner. If I remember, I'll post some pictures of the tacos or whatever it is that I make with the remaining chicken.

I haven't made it to the gym yet... one thing at a time, right?

Strawberry Banana Dessert for a Sweet Tooth

So tonight I made the pork tenderloin and the ginger carrots that I linked to in my previous post. I'm telling you all right now, you need to try out those recipes. The pork was moist, tender, filled with flavor and super delicious. The ginger carrots paired really well with the pork and the soy sauce marinade, and I threw in maybe half a cup of rice pilaf from last night's dinner.

Of course, dinner was over, and as usual my sweet tooth started to rear its ugly head. I started picturing chocolate, caramel, marshmallow fluff, peanut butter chips, cookie dough.... My brain is a disaster when I crave sugar and sweets. So I went online and started to browse some dessert ideas, but most of them require more effort and energy and dirty dishes than I'm willing to deal with at 9:30 at night.

Then I found a fantastically simple dessert idea floating around, and if I knew who posted it originally, I would provide some credit. It was bananas, honey, and cinnamon. I thought that sounded pretty perfect but I really wanted an extra layer of flavor, so I added some strawberries that I bought yesterday. Easy, light, sweet, and delicious!

Quick and Easy Strawberry Banana Dessert

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana, sliced
4-5 strawberries, sliced
A few drizzles of honey
A few sprinkles of cinnamon

Directions:

Place fruit in a bowl or dish. Drizzle with honey. Sprinkle on some cinnamon. Eat.

Seriously. It doesn't get much easier than that.

Try it out and let me know how you like it. I think it's definitely my new favorite dessert/snack.

Do One Thing Every Day....

"Do one thing every day that scares you."

Today that "thing" was stepping on the scale. I've been avoiding the damn thing for weeks now. Shoving it as far into the darkest corners of my tiny bathroom as possible, hoping I could continue to ignore the fact that my pants have been getting a little bit tighter, my shirts a little bit smaller.

But I did it. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, stood on that stupid white plastic contraption and braced myself for the digital number that would stare back at me and shoot me straight in the ego like a wild and evil medusa.

4 pounds.

I've gained 4 pounds in the last few weeks. Now that may not seem like a lot to some people, but when you're in that 'awkward stage' between sizes, 4 pounds is a lot. I've been doing poorly with my water consumption, drinking too much coffee, eating larger portions that I know will do me no good, and grazing at night. I had a wedding this weekend and topped it off with pub food, Chinese take-out, and beer. Today for lunch I ate my leftover Chinese food in an effort to save some money. Thankfully, my mother has eaten the rest of it, so now I'm back to home-cooked food.

Tonight I eat some home-made beef stew with a small serving of rice and a VERY TALL glass of water.

I'm putting myself back on track.

What did you do today that scared you?

It's simple...

After a lifetime of losing and gaining weight, I get it. No matter how you slice it, weight loss comes down to the simple formula of calories in, calories out.
Valerie Bertinelli 

I've read a lot of articles, tried out a few diets, and watched my fair share of videos that like to point out that it really isn't this simple when it comes to weight loss. But truth be told, when I start to think about all the other hundreds of components involved with weight loss, fat burning, muscle building, "bulking", "cutting", or any of the other terms flying around out there, I get overwhelmed. I know that refined sugars are bad for you, I know that excessive amounts of carbs aren't good for you, I know that sitting on my ass all day and being a sedentary and sad excuse for "a body in motion" is terrible for me. But when you simplify it, and you tell me that as long as I can burn X amount of calories in a week from moderate exercise, so long as I don't eat more than Y amount of calories in a day, I understand it. 

Let's be clear: I HATE counting calories. I can't think of a less exciting way to spend my time. I don't measure things when I cook, so calorie counting is a nightmare for me. But when I am conscious of what I'm making, and I do my best to "guesstimate" what the portions of everything are, I do pretty well. What I lack is discipline. 

How do you convince yourself to stay disciplined? Motivated?

That is my current struggle. 

Lazy

Some days you just can't handle eating super spicy leftover sausage deliciousness... so you go to the store and get buttermilk fried chicken, broccoli cheddar poppers, heat up some mashed potatoes you had in the fridge, and call it a night.

At least I was good the rest of the day, right? A nice turkey sandwich on 7 grain with a slice of american cheese, a small salad with tons of veggies and only a little bit of Italian dressing, grapes, and a small handful of those peanut butter pretzel nuggets because they're in the office and they beckon me.

Don't judge me.

My (Un)Healthy Obsession With Tea

So I have to say that my biggest issue with controlling my weight and maintaining weight loss has always been drinking enough water throughout the day. I love water as much as the next person, but day after day it just tastes so... plain. I know a big rule about being able to shed pounds is "don't drink your calories", but with so many other seemingly "healthy" drinks out there that taste so good, it's hard to remember to stick to my guns and drink my water. 

And then there is tea. 

Do you see that? That's only some of the tea that we have in this house.

Tea is pretty excellent. It adds a scant handful of calories at worst if you're using some fancy, naturally sweet tea blend, and it makes your water interesting again. It works for me anyway. In the summer I drink mostly iced teas, but in the winter I will easily drink more than a normal person's fair share of hot brewed tea throughout the day, if only to try and keep the chill away. There's something so comforting about tea...

When I'm being lazy, I like to head on over to my local coffee shop and get a nice 32 oz size of unsweetened iced tea with lemon. It'll get me through most of the work day and it'll keep me hydrated. When I go home I'll switch to plain water, or brew my own. 1 family size Cold Brew Lipton Tea bag for a 32 oz Nalgene bottle will serve me well for the rest of my day, and I'll get my 8 glasses in. 

Now I know some people will say that tea is a diuretic and will make you pee a whole lot and may even dehydrate you, but I'm over that. If it makes me pee, well I just think of it as my body's chance to get all the bad stuff out faster. Not very scientific of me, I know. I don't really care though - I feel hydrated and I feel less hungry throughout the day so I'm going to stick with it. If you don't want or like black tea then try some greens, whites, reds, herbals, or tisanes.

Explore the vast world of tea and see if it helps you out with your water intake goals/habits. 

When your "Fat Pants" Become Your "Every Day Pants"

For years I have struggled with my weight. Since 5th grade when the hormones started raging and now until my late 20's I have bounced my weight around back and forth like a cheap yo-yo you might find at a tag sale or a vending machine. You know the kind. The kind of yo-yo made with cheap string that frays and tangles, where one bump against the ground or some other solid object causes the whole thing to fall apart until you get so frustrated you say "screw it!" and find something else to distract yourself. 

That kind of struggle. 

I've never been a particularly active person. Sedentary describes me pretty well - but that's just such an ugly word, isn't it? I don't like to run, the elliptical makes me crazy, and I'm overwhelmed by weight machines and aerobics classes. I like using my 15 pound kettlebell, but convincing myself that I should do some swings tonight, or any number of other acrobatics with the painted cannonball is always a test of strength in and of itself. 

I like to eat. I grew up half Italian and half Hispanic. Pasta, rice, cheese, tortillas, cream sauces, MSG. The combinations of foods that I ate routinely did nothing to help me maintain a "normal" weight, and I always ate in excess. Why? Because I learned from a young age that food is comforting and social and an "all-day" event. This was often the case on Sundays when my Italian grandparents would prepare a feast where we would lazily graze from 2pm until about 6 or 7pm when coffee and confections were served. There was no such thing as portion control or mindfulness. You ate because it made you happy, and turning down food from your grandparents just wasn't something you did. 

And so I ate. 

And ate.

And ate some more. 

And then I went to college. 

I bet you can imagine what happened there. Freshman 15? Try Freshman 25.

I tried, time and again, to convince myself that I was going to go on a diet, and that I was somehow going to succeed. No plan, no real knowledge about what I was doing. I set myself up for failure a number of times and always gained whatever handful of pounds I had lost. 

When I got to graduate school I tried the 4 Hour Body Diet and lost about 40 pounds (38 if we're going to be fussy). I was back to my high school weight and I felt great! But I got sick of the restrictive eating plan and decided to try and go it alone. Well I decided to try and do my own thing around the holidays. Thanksgiving, a couple of birthdays, Christmas, New Year's and then my birthday. Between November and February I packed on maybe 25 to 30 of the 40 pounds that took me almost 2 years to lose. 

Well now here I am. 

I'm not really sure what to make of this blog. I'm not sure where it's going or what I'm doing. All I do know is that I need a place where I can write. A place where I can vent, share my struggles, celebrate my successes, and talk about food. Glorious food. 

I've made a concerted effort to be mindful about what I eat. Don't drink your calories (unless it's Happy Hour, then the calories don't count), eat this - not that, portion control, more veggies and fruit, fewer carbs (but don't cut them out because they're good for you!), lean(er) meats, legumes, multivitamins (when I remember to take them), lots of water (I prefer a teabag in my water - lemon is also delicious), less fat, etc. 

This is where I will post recipes, food ideas, struggles, exercise attempts and failures, weight loss milestones, whatever.

This is my new safe place.

I hope I can inspire some of you to try something new for yourself, and maybe you can inspire me or help contribute to this page. I've lost about 7 pounds in the last month with my newest approach, so I must be doing something right - right?

Here goes nothing.