totally off topic

She is like the definition of hot mess. All this inspires me to do is take a bath outside, and re-watch Fight Club.

balsamic mushroom heaven

Lunch last week. I got it at a restaurant in Seoul, but it would be so easy to do at home, and you could alter it to be less greasy. It's mushrooms stuffed with balsamic vinegar and garlic, broiled in the oven, topped with greens, lettuce, tomatoes, Parmesan and a little olive oil. (I would have gone easier on the olive oil...)

Mushrooms are very filling to me, so I could eat just this for lunch and be satisfied.

Mushrooms: 30
Balsamic: 10
Garlic: 10
Lettuce: It's freaking lettuce! It's got like 2 calories! Don't count it!
Tomatoes: 10
Parmesan: 25
1/2 tablespoon olive oil: 60
Total: 145 cal

I'm at a human head, where are you?

My goal would be the cheese.

pic of the week: best idea eva!

How have I not thought of this idea yet? Let me do a quick calorie total.

Rice cakes: 70
Peanut butter: 95
Banana slices: 70
Strawberry jam: 40

= Awesome 275 cal lunch!

For more healthy food ideas and inspiring pics check out my wehearit. Stay skinny!

progress report 5-27-2012: hiking breakthrough

Weight: 148.8 = gained 3.3 lbs. Bleh. But I already covered that here and I'm not going to dwell.

Waist measurement: no change. BUT, something's up with that. Yesterday I noticed a pair of jeans that were never tight on me were absolutely about to fall off without a belt. I asked my boyfriend if he could tell a difference and he said "Oh yeah. Your belly is getting tighter." Now that could just be him being a smart and thoughtful boyfriend telling me what I need to hear, but unforgivingly cut J Brand jeans don't lie, so here's what I think. I've been taking my measurement at my traditional waist, the smallest part of the waist, the middle of the hourglass, if you will. I was looking in the mirror and playing around with sucking in my stomach, and I noticed that that particular area isn't going to change much as I lose more weight. Maybe I should start taking the measurement around the biggest part of my belly to see more results. Hmm.

Finally to the good stuff!

Exercise total: 10.75 hours! BAM! Suck it belly! SUCK IT!

(Sorry about that. Gotta celebrate what I can.)

I totally set a goal this week that I would exercise every single day. Two hours at least on the days I could, but at least an hour every day. The stars aligned for my benefit and we've had fantastic weather all week. So off to the hiking trails I jaunt each morning. (I am SO going to miss having a mountain across the street.) The first day was a good, normal 2 hour hike. The second day, I felt a bit weak on my first climb. I took a lot of breaks and drank water, but I pushed through it. By the fourth day I hit my stride, broke through my wall, caught my wind, whatever sporty people call it. It was so glorious. I would get out of breath on climbs. I felt like I was getting a good workout, but I never felt weak. I never felt bad. My body was like, "Oh, this again? Well, let's get on with it then." I did a climb that normally takes me two hours in an hour-and-a-half. I didn't even feel like I had to take breaks. (I mean, I did take breaks. I'm not stupid, but definitely less than before.) And I have been riding that wave ever since. It totally reminds me why I started hiking in the first place. Instead of concentrating on just getting up the next rise, I can notice how the trees are getting really full, I can bird watch, I can try to spot old-growth characteristics of the forest. (Sorry, that's an environmental science major thing). I am totally becoming a hippie and it's great. It feels marvelous and maintainable. At this rate, the results will come. Those blasted things may come slowly, but I know they will. Onward Skinny!

semi-daily menu 5-26-2012

To continue with my not-daily menu posts:

Breakfast: 400 cal
breakfast beans with cheese
veggie omelet (2 egg whites, one yolk, leftover Mexican veggies from dinner last night)
1/3 cup pineapple
coffee with milk

Post-hike lunch: 165 cal
small slice of barley crust veggie pizza
a nap

Post-nap snack: 35 cal
Reese's Peanut  Butter Cup miniature
green tea

Dinner: 500 cal
1 cup Mushroom Muttar Masala curry
1/2 cup basmati rice
a blissful Corona with lime

Total: 1100 cal*

*As careful as I try to be, I'm sure I underestimate. Plus, there are calories I don't count, like my omega 3 pill, and the orange juice I have to take my iron supplement with. (hemoglobin before vanity unfortunately) I consider these to be non-negotiable, so I don't even include them in my count. So I try to aim low, knowing if I really end up eating more, it will still work out in the end.

disappointment as motivation

Today I was totally going to write a post about a breakthrough I had with hiking, but then I did my weekly weigh-in and all that was crushed. My weight went up.

Bummer.

Me on the ride home from work: "I figured last week's 145.5 was a fluke brought on by dehydration, but this week I was at 148.8, exactly where I was two weeks ago! Zero progress in two weeks! I thought I would hang on to at least a little bit of that dip. I've been so good this week with my exercise and calorie count. What's a girl gotta do?" On and on with the dark and stormy thoughts. So, instead of bringing all this negativity home, I did not catch the last leg of my bus transfer. I got out early and took a nice 15 minute attitude adjustment walk.

Why am I flipping out so badly? This isn't my first no-progress week. But it is my first TWO no progress weeks in a row. It's my first dip and gain. This happens, right? This happens to everyone. I'm sure.

So when I got home I checked some of my favorite weight loss blogs, girls who have been successful doing things in a positive way like I do, and yes, they too have had dips. I found this graph of sweethinspration's weight loss to be particularly reassuring. She experienced a LOT of no progress weeks, and even a few upticks in weight, and she still ended up losing a ton of weight. Much more than what I have to lose.

So basically, I need to suck it up, tweak my plan, and keep going. Here are some new ideas I'm going to try:

• Beef up lunch, tone down dinner. Divide lunch into two portions, have one at lunch and another as a late afternoon snack. Do this to: prevent metabolism drops, prevent hangry at work, prevent being so hungry at dinnertime that I do grody things like eat a handful of potato chips while I'm cooking.

• Re-measure everything. I've started to eyeball portions when I'm in my own kitchen. That's a no-no. This morning I found out I was underestimating the milk in my coffee. Whoops. Overestimating everything just a little is a great way to completely sabotage yourself. You know better!

• Start taking and posting more photos. (You're a freaking photographer anyway, right?) I wanted to wait to post before and after photos after I actually made some visible progress. But documenting the journey along the way couldn't hurt. And all this hiking has given you nice tan shoulders and collarbones – show off! It'll make you feel good!

• Exercise EVERY day. Especially food “indulgence” days. Rainy? Do a video. Feel like crap? Change it up – try something new. Hungover? Bad girl! Drink water and then go sweat it out! (I actually don't drink that much anymore, but every now and then...)

• More lean protein, less fat. This is gonna be a toughie until I get back to the States and can get my hands on some protein powder. But I can still get tofu and egg whites here. Gotta make it happen.

• Love, respect and take care of myself, no matter what. Guilt is stupid. Punishing myself is stupid. Just get back on the horse and ride faster!

I can do this! I will do this! Stay skinny out there!

weight loss: going well, relationship communication: need to work on

I'm kind of a weirdo. I carry around a lot of baggage leftover from my childhood. I was treated pretty badly in school. (But, who wasn't?) And my well-intentioned parents left me with a lot of issues. (We all have the same story, right?) And either because of that, or just my natural personality, I tend to hold a lot in. This can be good. I have a lot of inner strength and don't rely on other people for validation and attention. But, it can also be bad. Like when my boyfriend constantly asks what I'm thinking because he can't figure me out. He is a good guy and genuinely wants to understand me. I'm lucky.

I've been considering that problem and sorting it out in my head on my own instead of talking about it. (That's the way I do things, but perhaps that's the source of the problem. It's a bitch.) Over the last few days I've been thinking, “Why don't you tell him you're trying to lose weight? He lives with you. He eats with you. He knows you've become a food measuring freak. He can see you're exercising more. He's not going to sabotage you or become a drill sergeant or anything annoying like that. So, what's the problem? Own up. It'll be good for the coalescence of the relationship. And, bonus, he'll stop encouraging you to buy ice cream!

So, we had just finished dinner and were sitting at our friend's bar waiting for them to show up. We were feeling good and happy, so I thought it would be the perfect time to spill it.

“So, there's been something I've been meaning to tell you-”

Just then our friend's daughter walks in to the bar. I was going to tell my boyfriend about my diet in the interests of the relationship. I'm certainly not about to make it anyone else's business.

“But I'll tell you later, it's not a big deal.”

This, my friends, was a huge mistake. Don't ever do that to your poor boyfriend.

Him whispering: “What is it?”

Me whispering: “Nothing. Don't worry about it.”

Him whispering louder: “I'm going to worry. Just tell me. She doesn't understand much English anyway.”

Me (sigh): “It's just about weight-loss.”

Him practically shouting: “You think I need to lose weight?!?”

So a nice spike in the cortisol levels later, all my good intentions are squashed. (You're forgiven Mom and Dad. I understand how meaning well can co awry.) We did end up sorting it out. A little at the bar and a lot later at home. And he totally gets it and is cool. He loves me the way I am, but he wants me to be happy... and less sweaty and grumpy in summer, so he's down with it. He asked me if I wanted him to help me.

Me: “No, but don't ask me if I want a second slice of pizza. And don't bring me home ice cream.”

Him: “Check.”

pic of the week

gimme gimme, want want

For more awesome inspiration, check out my weheartit.

eat well and still lose weight on vacation

I had a really fun weekend in Seoul. In Korean small towns there isn't a lot of restaurant variety, so Busan and Seoul are really our only chances for Mexican, Thai, Arab, blah blah blah. So I have to take advantage when I can. How does one fit this in with a weight-loss plan? Here's how I do it:

Attitude. I accept that my usual calorie count goal is unrealistic. This is an indulgence weekend. I will indulge and enjoy without guilt. HOWEVER, this is not an excuse to go hog-wild. Think of it more in terms of damage control. Having a nice dinner does not mean having a huge dinner. Letting myself have two drinks with dinner does not mean having 10 drinks after dinner.

Limit starchy white food. While I can't control how much oil they cook the food with, I can control the starch intake at least. When you get Thai, skip the rice, just enjoy the curry. When you get Mexican, no rice or tortilla chips. Same with Indian, unless you're at a place that has really awesome naan or rice, just skip it. (If it's really good, have a bite of your buddy's.)

Subway. Not the restaurant, the public transpo. Usually when we go on a trip, it's just me and my boyfriend. It's so cheap, fast and easy (like your mom! ha ha, JK) we wouldn't dream of using another form of transport when we're in a city that has it available. This time, we were traveling with our friend and her two daughters. She is NOT subway experienced. She hated all the walking to transfer trains and stair climbing. We're used to it, so it doesn't even occur to us to be bothered. Half-way through the trip she said enough and paid for taxis the rest of the time. I hadn't really thought about it before, but riding the metro kind of like doing a bunch of mini-hikes throughout the day. Not enough at one time to get you sweaty, but over the course of the day it adds up. (Especially when you factor in all the other city walking you're doing, maybe all that rich food isn't really so bad after all!)

Okay, so I may not have lost weight this vacation, but I didn't gain either. Plus, I had a great time! Any other great vacation weight-loss tips out there I should be taking advantage of?

Remember to enjoy yourself on your way to awesome!

progress report 5-21-2012

So I was in the store that has the out-of-the-box scale that I use, bumming around looking for a purchase. I didn't have a shopping list that day, so I felt guilty just popping in to pull the scale off the shelf, weigh myself and then not buy anything. I couldn't think of a single blasted thing I needed. My time before the big move is getting so near, I am really being careful about anything I buy. But I was tired and a little dehydrated. So I said fuck it, and weighed myself.

145.5 pounds! Dude! I was more dehydrated than I thought! But still, three more pounds lost is three more pounds lost, so, go me! "Self, how shall I reward myself today? How about a big beautiful Evian! Yeah!" Guilt-free use of the scale, and a nice present for all my hard work, a win-win. Then I started thinking about it. I really have been off with my water drinking, especially with the weather getting warmer. Taking a 1.5 liter water bottle to work would be a great way to keep track of it and make sure I'm reaching my water goal for the day. Usually I hike over to the nearby mountain spring and fill water bottles there, but the ground water in Korea is pretty soft. It's nothing like the super-mineraly well water in the good ol' American South that I grew up on. So, Evian does really taste special to me. Some days here I literally crave it. There's a theory that most food cravings are actually a craving for trace minerals, so maybe there's something to that. Perhaps an Evian will work with the temptation/reward circuits in my brain the same way a dessert would. 

So a (hopefully) once a week Evian treat, refill that bottle with free spring water the rest of the days, 100% calorie-free indulgence, awesome!

Totals for the week:

Weight: 145.5 pounds (an additional 3 pounds lost, bringing the total lost to 9.5 pounds!)

No changes in waist measurement (I weighed myself and took the measurement on different days, so that may be the reason for that.) and I have not kept proper track of my exercise this week. I've been exercising, but have not been writing it down like I should since we went to Seoul for the weekend. More on that later, including a great tips I discovered for getting in your exercise and watching your calories when you're in situations when you're out with other people and can't keep track. Stay skinny! 

the best feeling in the world

After a week off of ballet because of my cold, and still not feeling my best, I had to get back on that horse this week. I usually do two or even three sessions a week when I can fit them in. I couldn't believe it, after a week off, I could tell a difference in my muscle strength and flexibility. If you don't keep it up, you lose it quick! I also was still feeling a little weak and shaky from the virus, and I could tell my balance was off. All that being said, it felt GREAT. I was a little poopy at first, but by the time I was into the tendus, I was focusing on winging, pulling my abs up, holding my hips level, etc., and all my other cares, feelings and stresses started to fade away. Ballet form requires so much concentration on your body, you literally can't think about anything else. It's really the best form of meditation out there. It's also good for self-judgement and self-reinforcement. Before anyone tells me my form sucks, I know. Before anyone tells me I held a balance well, I can feel it. You learn to understand your body better than anyone else.

I always finish feeling super refreshed and glad I did it. I always feel like I learned a little something about my body and pushed my boundaries a little further. (And judging by how sore my legs feel today, it did them some good too.) Get out there and dance. It's the best feeling in the world.

progress report 5-13-2012

I've been sick as a dog this week. I swear I don't work with children. I work with mini-mad scientist germ laboratories. (No really, the kids are great, I just have gotten sick more times since I started this job than I ever was in my life before, total.) While I started out really well this week with my exercise hours, by the time the virus really hit, I barely had the energy for a keystroke. So, surprise surprise when my measurements this week totaled up to:

Exercise: 5 hours (ugh)
Weight: 148.8 pounds (what?)
Waist measurement: .5 inches lost, bringing the total lost to 2 inches (you're joking!)

Seriously? I'm still losing? Even after just laying around as much as possible? I haven't been puking or had a fever.  But I have kept my calorie count constant, which I guess is the main factor. And the consensus out there in internet land is that when you're sick you burn more calories to fight off the infection. Whatever, I'll take it. Not that I want this virus to hang around. The weather has been great this week, and those mountains look great... through the window, from my bed, which I can barely get out of.

Keep it skinny,  no matter how you feel!

make your grocery bag look like this

I know this video has already been going around for a few weeks, but it's so greatI had to share it just in case someone hasn't seen it yet.

Besides having an awesome job, awesome house, an awesome adorable cutie of a boyfriend, and awesome clothes, this chick totally eats in an awesome way. I love the scene where she's shopping at the farmer's market. She fills her bag with fruits and veggies and nothing else. (Which kind of makes sense, being that they usually don't sell slabs of margarine at the farmer's market, but still.) I know it's just a promo video for Zara, but it's still well made and great inspiration. I think about it whenever I'm shopping at the supermarket. What does your grocery bag look like?

Keep it skinny!

the decision to put down the spoon

Check out this clip from the Triplets of Belleville. I know what you're thinking, either, "WTF is that?" or "How can a weirdo French cartoon help me with weight loss?" But trust me, this scene has a great moment that always occurs to me when I'm thinking about having a second helping at dinner. This character is a Tour de France cyclist, so he has to control his weight. His granny helps him rig up a system that lets him know when he's had enough food for one meal, but after the bell goes off, it's his decision to put down the spoon. You can see it in his face and in the reluctant but determined way he sets it next to the plate. He doesn't want to, but he has a goal and he's committed to achieving it. Trust me, it's worth two and a half minutes of your time.

actually, if my food looked like that, not eating would be no problem

When you decide to put down the spoon, do it like that. It feels so final, like you've made that choice, you're strong and in control, and you can do this.

Remember, YOU can make that choice
you ARE in control
you CAN do this.

(BTW, if you've never seen the movie, you should watch the whole thing sometime. It's pretty freaking fantastic.)

heart it

I have recently fallen in love with weheartit and started my own page skinnydancing. It's a service that let's you grab any image you like from the web, categorize it and it maintains the link back to the original page. So in theory, ownership and photo credit are maintained. It's stupid easy to use. Check it out if you like to collect and share images. I use it to share images that inspire me in my weight loss, and just images that inspire me. My current sets are:

thin inspiration
ballet (yeah, I know I have a thing about legwarmers)
photography (just stuff that inspires me in general)
food (great low-cal food photos that link back to the recipes)

and my personal favorite, goal, which is a set of photos that represent where I personally want to be body and fashion-wise in a year. Except this, which is exactly where I want to be and what I want to be doing and what I want to look like this summer:

Look ma, no tan lines!

Check it out, let me know what you think, and start sharing images that inspire you. Stay skinny!

calorie counting help

Counting calories is LAME, but it's what I've had to start doing in order to reach my goal. I'm always on the lookout for anything to make it easier, and the computer program, Calorie Balance, makes it way easier. 

It's freeware, so it's not perfect, but on the whole it works fine for my needs. You type in the foods you eat, and the amounts and it looks in its massive food database and spits out your calories, fats, carbs and other nutrients consumed for the day. You still have to measure your food yourself, ugh, but it's about as easy as it gets. If you have some restaurant entree or exotic new food it hasn't heard of, you can look up the nutritional info on the web and add it to the database. There is supposed to be a feature where it goes looking for you, but it doesn't work. (There are some internet-based calorie tracking programs that do this very well, but you have to live with the fact that your personal information, plus what you eat every day is being stored on someone else's server. Creepy.) The main food chart screen totals all your calories, carbs, fats, sugars, fiber, and protein in an easy-to-understand graph at the bottom. That works very well. There is also a feature where you can choose other nutrients (iron, calcium, etc.) to be tracked on the same graph, but it's pretty buggy. It does track that kind of thing for you, but you kind of have to total it yourself. 

It also has an exercise tracker, which I love. It tracks the calories you burn in different workouts. All you have to enter is the kind of activity ant the time spent, and since it's already keeping track of your weight, it does that calculation for you. Then it takes the calories burned and subtracts it from your total calories consumed, giving you the net figure. (Keep in mind, if you eat 1500 calories, you don't have to do 1500 calories worth of exercise. Your base metabolism rate will take care of a lot of that for you.)

I am a huge geek, so it's been a boon for me. It helps me compare foods, plan out my exercise and know every little thing I am consuming and burning.

Anyway, for absolutely free it's a great tool to try. Read cnet's review and download the program here. The download does ask you if it can install a web toolbar. It's just an ad (everyone's gotta make money right?) you can decline it.

I hope this helps you on your way to awesome!

ballet + skinny jeans = hot

Mental notes:
1. gotta get a pair of those
2. gotta take more dance classes
3. gotta increase the number of men wearing jeans in ballet

Seriously, maybe more dudes would realize dance isn't just for gay guys if we just ditch the whole tights-wearing thing.

progress report 5-06-2012

No perceptible changes in weight or waist measurement this week, which is not surprising. A combination of nearly constant rain this week, and a play birthday weekend in the city of Busan, means my exercise total is about 4 hours this week. Lame.

I actually did a lot of walking in Busan, but I don't count that in my total. For one reason, it's almost impossible to keep track normally, and actually impossible when your focus is debating the merits of the margarita at this or that restaurant. And, the water at the beach was not warm enough for swimming yet. Actually, it's pretty crisp even in August. It's kind of cool that I can say I've swam in three oceans, (and waded in the Mediterranean,) but I can't wait to get my spoiled ass back into the bathtub-warm Atlantic back home.

But anyway, time to get back on that horse this week. Stay skinny!

you do not need 2,200 calories a day

Whenever you look at the dietary intake recommendations from the USDA (the people behind the food pyramid, and MyPlate), keep in mind this organization is run by farmers, people who make money when you overeat. While they are wising up to the idea that too many starches are bad and more vegetables are good, their guides are still more about keeping big agriculture in business and less about keeping you healthy. (Have you ever looked up the ridiculous amount they tell you to eat? Unless you're a bodybuilder, you do not need 2,200 calories day.) I am not the only one saying this. Harvard agrees with me.

“Unfortunately, like the earlier U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pyramids, MyPlate mixes science with the influence of powerful agricultural interests, which is not the recipe for healthy eating,” said Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition and chair of the Department of Nutrition. 

Harvard's redesign of MyPlate actually looks like what I try to eat every day, on a lower-calorie basis of course.

This makes way more sense than any of the USDA's current or past recommendations. And it's the way I will continue to eat in the future, to maintain my awesomeness. Check out the article here.

the power of a nap

When I was in college I had a friend who said whenever she got hungry, she just went to sleep. Oh, to have a college schedule. But in all seriousness, it's not a bad idea. When I go hiking, I can't eat lunch. My stomach just can't take it. So when I get home I'm turning inside out with hunger, but I'm also beat, so I take a nap. It's not even anything I do on purpose, my body just needs it. It's the weekend so, why not? But it really is a good idea, because I sleep through a period of time when I might be driven to snacking from honestly earned exercise hunger. Instead I power nap, shower, and it's time for dinner. This would never work during the week, but fortunately on work days I'm better at managing my need to snack. 

So if you have a schedule that allows for a nap, try timing during a time you usually want to snack. Every calorie you skip helps, and the extra sleep will actually help you lose weight. 

Enjoy your zzzz's!