carbs and cupcakes

i'm now on week two of my transition. my weigh in this week was the same. current weight 135 pound-to-go 0
this week, i can have three things of my choice. the woman in the office before me is also transitioning and was so conservative with her choices: ice cream (dr allowed 1cup), pizza (dr allowed 1slice) and an alcoholic beverage (only 1). meanwhile, my thoughts were racing at the possibility of eating "real" food. i discussed eating corn (dr allowed 1ear), beans (dr allowed 7ounces or less) and bread (dr allowed 2slices). however, i will now, unapologetically, eat this cupcake* instead!

 

*i (HONESTLY) only ate about 1/4. it was delicious but too much! ... probably a good thing, right? 

transition

i'm happy to announce my weigh in today was 135. YAY! so i am officially starting phase two aka "transition" ... basically that means i can now eat salad dressing, lean meats and until 8pm instead of 6pm. i now only have two dairy days a week instead of the 2day cycle. still no sugar. no carbs. no oil. no butter or yogurt or cheese. or eggs. or peanut butter. or legumes. oh well. SOON ENOUGH! 

 

for my last unofficial veggie dinner, we made a warm taco-inspired salad. it was delicious! this is one of the better salads we've made considering i need to eat them sans dressing. 

ingredients

• 16oz bibb lettuce (we used a red/green mix) 
• 1 beefsteak tomato 
• 1 avocado 
• 1 medium sized white onion
• 1 medium sized yellow pepper
• bunch green onion/scallions 
• cilantro - to taste
• cayenne pepper OR packet of taco seasoning
• frank's hot sauce - to taste
• salt and pepper
• lime juice
• cooking spray (we use PAM)

directions 

• clean and chop lettuce; place in large bowl
• chop onions and yellow pepper; heat saute pan over medium heat and spray with PAM; cook onion and pepper 
• while onion and pepper are cooking: chop tomato, green onion, cilantro and cube the avocado; add to lettuce mixture
• once the onion and pepper are tender add cayenne pepper (or taco seasoning); mix in 
• finish sauteing onion and pepper; once done add to prepared salad 
• mix fully then add frank's hot sauce, lime juice + salt and pepper to taste 

serves 2 as dinner or serve on the side. ps. the mixture of the warm ingredients, avocado, hot sauce and lime made the perfect combination in lieu of adding dressing ... 

current weight: 135 pounds-to-go: 0 

almost

so, as i mentioned last week, i reached both my original goal weight of 140 AND the two month mark. however, when i weighed in i was still (unfortunately) 140. not bad considering i ate diner food and at my sister's bridal shower. like. seriously binged on: an omelet, mini bagel, chocolate chip pancake, 2 pieces of sausage, 5 strips of bacon ... you get the idea.

so i've decided to suffer stay on the program for ONE MORE week. my goal is 135 but if not, i don't  care. i need to be happy with the amount i lost and start introducing exercise and "real" food. i can't be on this program forever. i'm seriously SO over it and i don't want to be as obsessed with my weight as i've become ...

once i'm off the program i'll focus on my "affoodability": maintaining my weight through healthy foods and exercise. and hopefully i'll have some more exciting food-related posts to make!

two months!

TODAY is the day! i've officially reached the two month mark and am on my last fruit/veggie cycle. i weigh in tomorrow for the last time (while on the program)! then i start transitioning. yay!

stuffed portabello mushroom

summertime is all about grillin' and while i would normally look forward to some chicken, burgers or even an ear of corn; i've had to be more creative with my grilled dinners. one night last week we bought some portabello mushroom caps. knowing i'd want something more than that, i had the idea to make a diet friendly, filling dinner by adding some other veggies.

ingredients 

• portabello mushroom caps (package of 2)
• 10-12 ounces of spinach 
• 1 medium sized onion 
• 1 medium sized tomato 

directions 

• heat grill (we have a gas grill); place aluminum foil-wrapped onion on grill 
• while onion is on the grill, prepare mushroom caps, tomatoes and spinach: chop tomato into small pieces and set aside; clean and rinse spinach; wash and clean mushroom caps gently with a paper towel
• then spray pan with PAM and start cooking spinach on low adding salt and pepper to taste; keep warm until mushroom and onion are done on the grill 
• while the spinach is cooking: add mushroom caps directly onto grill; continue grilling mushroom caps and onion for 20minutes or until the mushroom caps stop welling up with water and get some nice char marks. 
• take the onion and mushroom off the grill, carefully remove the onion from the foil. place foil over mushrooms to keep warm. place onion back onto the grill to get some caramelization for a few minutes.
• remove onion from grill; chop onion into small pieces (CAUTION: onion will be very hot!) 
• stuff cooked spinach, grilled onion and raw tomato into mushroom cap 
• serve immediately and ENJOY! 

note: this yields two servings. make it as a meal or serve as a side dish! 

this was by far one of my favorite dinners since starting my diet. i've fallen into the habit of eating guacamole and plantain chips almost every fruit/veggie day so i was happy to mix it up. this is really the perfect summer dish! it's filling and earthy. it was also super easy to make and a great vegetarian friendly way to use the grill! 

how do you look: standards on body image

i saw this vintage advertisement (below) and thought to myself: wow. i can't believe how much the standards on body image have changed in a matter of decades. standards on body image are culturally determined and always changing. 

despite my dieting, i'd still argue for the girl on the left. it's not about being "skinny" or "fat" –  ultimately, it's about being healthy. which is complicated when you think about it because every BODY is different. being healthy to me is a balance between physical and emotion health. that being said, i think confidence can be a true body image builder even if you have a few "extra pounds," you know? outward appearance is not always indicative of "health"

now that i'm approaching my new goal weight i want to focus on being happy and healthy. i want to maintain my weight without obsessing over calories and/or weighing myself. i want to eat nutrient rich foods and workout + treat myself every once in awhile.

soon after seeing this ad, i came across the trailer for miss representation, a documentary film about the media’s misrepresentations of women that have led to the underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence. although i haven't seen the film yet, i did read through some of the information provided and (while i was at work) literally burst into tears while reading about how much young women are so affected by our culture's current body image standards. i read that the number one "magical" wish among girls is to be thinner. not to go to disney land or be president - the number one magical wish is to be thinner. how sad is that?

then again, as this advertisement points out, whether it's to be bigger or thinner there will always be "cultural standards" and at the end of the day the most important thing is to be happy and love yourself.

140

140 140 140 140 140. 

i weighed in and reached my unofficial goal weight yesterday! i celebrated by eating diner food and ice cream. counterproductive? perhaps.

despite reaching my first goal weight, i asked the doc if i could stay on for another week or until i reached 135. he said he couldn't argue with me wanting to get down to 135 ... i asked if he would argue with 130. he said, "get to 135 first then we'll talk." so, i've decided to stay on the diet program for one more week before i start transitioning. whether i get to 135 or not i think one more week will be enough. i'll be able to start introducing a workout regime when i transition so i might end up losing weight regardless.

GO ME!

current weight: 140 pounds-to-go: 5

happy fourth of july!

while most of you enjoyed the smells and tastes of some good 'ole american bbq, i had watermelon. not eating some kind of meat on the fourth of july seems wrong and unamerican, doesn't it?

regardless, there is just something so american and summer-y about watermelon. AND, according to whole foods, watermelon scores a 91 on the ANDI* scale. delicious and nutritious! i added a few mint leaves which added an extra hint of freshness.

happy birthday, america!



*ANDI stands for "Aggregate Nutrient Density Index." an ANDI score shows the nutrient density of a food on a scale from 1 to 1000 based on nutrient content. ANDI scores are calculated by evaluating an extensive range of micronutrients, including vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidant capacities.