September Im alive!

Well, long long time since the last meaningful post.

Several news for an update, not more than that. :) Just to kinda scribble "Im here, folks!" :)

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First, I started looking into photos issue - they have miraculously all disappeared from Picasa albums. I am so pissed off. But this means all the links to the pics are broken with very rare exceptions. And I was thinking that once you actually upload them online, they stay there. In all honesty - the whole album just disappeared... And those pics I have actually posted from different albums there not related to the blog, they are still here.

Anyway, keeping it short. Once again, I will look into it in the next days. It means I need to get the old laptop up and running, the old hard drive as well, and then locate whatever was that I uploaded... Or unfortunately I might have to delete pics. But I will try to at least keep the "before and after" and results pics. :)

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Second, I am still working out, though I left TA for some time. NOT because it was not working for me. But rather because clueless as I am in fitness, I decided to try something new. I have never been in the gym, have never actually worked out with a personal trainer. And the opportunity arrived and I decided to try it. So yes, folks, I am working out the hard-core way in the gym with a personal trainer. Doing all those things I thought I would not like to do. But it is OK. I feel stronger already, I feel great. And I will keep updating and letting you know how things are and a more detailed post on my schedule too. But as TA offers the flexibility of working out at home - any time and when you dont have the budget for the gym and trainer, I decided it wont run away from me. I can come back to it and will love it. For now though I am taking the opportunity to work out differently.

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Third, and probably most important news: I FINALLY SUBMITTED MY PhD THESIS! This wonderful moment happened in mid-July 2013 and I am extremely happy. I will have my defense/viva on the 27th of September 2013 and then couple of weeks later I will be a Dr.! Only of philosophy (in sociology), but who cares :) This is big big BIG and Im happy.

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OK, there is MUCH much more, but I dont want to ramble, so leave it to the next time. Now that I finally have time, Im back online! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Im back and have made some changes

I have been absent for some time from the blog, and Im actually not sorry for it.  I have been needing some time to re-balance and refocus.

For the last few months, we have done quite a bit of traveling, which generally translates to compromising the quality and healthfulness of what Im eating.  I wont go into details, but it seemed after I got off our cruise in August, I kept on cruising in my mind with regard to my eating.  I kept thinking, Oh, I will just start again tomorrow, or on Monday."  This thinking never ever works for me.

Finally, a few weeks ago I buckled down and started my version of Chef AJs Ultimate Weight Loss Challenge.  Earlier this summer, I donated some money to her IndieGoGo campaign to fund finishing her first season of her Foodytv.com show, Healthy Living with Chef AJ.  If you havent checked it out yet, I would highly recommend it!  She has some plant-based rock stars on her show including Dr. Esselstyn and Dr. Campbell.  In new episodes she has recently filmed but are not up yet include Lindsay Nixon from Happy Herbivore and Wendy from Healthy Girls Kitchen.

As part of my donation perk, I got a digital copy of her 21-Day Recipe Guide for Ultimate Weight Loss.  You can find more information about her full program here.  Her full program comes with video and audio downloads as well as the 21-day recipe guide, but I didnt quite have the budget to afford the full thing.

So I went at it alone with a few give and takes here and there.  Here is generally what I did/have been doing:

Morning: water and tea on the way in to work

Breakfast: 1 lb raw, water sauteed, steamed, or roasted non-starchy veggies

Mid-morning snack (if Im feeling hungry, but generally I havent been): fruit or fruit with a bit of raw oats soaked in soy milk

Lunch: baked potato, vegetable or bean soup/chili, apple or other fruit

Afternoon snack (if Im hungry): 1/2-1 lb raw veggies

Dinner: bean and rice or bean and potato dinner with more veggies

The first day I did this, it seemed like a lot of food!  And it was!  In the week or two following, I found that I wasnt hungry for my mid-morning snack, but enjoyed my afternoon veggie snack on my way home and before making dinner.  One of the items I am still needing to work on is not to overeat at dinnertime.  I make these meals at home every night, and tend to overestimate how much I need to plate for myself.

Some items I have limited or removed from my diet include excess salt besides the occasional low sodium soy sauce, all oils, refined carbs, nuts and seeds (which ARE NOT bad, but I have a hard time limiting myself within my caloric needs), baked goods, avocados, olives, most alcohol, and obviously all animal products.

Another aspect that I have been working on are managing my cravings and to limit my exposure to "food porn".  Being a blogger, I like to follow other bloggers to see the beautiful and creative recipes they make, but this really does nothing more than tease my brain and cause me to have an unhealthy relationship with food.  Its hard to admit, AND even harder to stop, but until I get a full handle on my cravings, my weight, and overall health, food blogs are a no-no for me.  Wendy at Healthy Girls Kitchen explains this same thing very well here.

Overall, I have been keeping my meals very simple.  It is when I make more complicated recipes with dozens of ingredients that I get into trouble with overeating.  These past few weeks I have had staples of brown rice and baked sweet potatoes.  One of my lifesavers has been Donnas Cheeze Sauce that I found on Nutmeg Notebooks blog here.  I find that it goes well with just about everything and is potato and carrot-based, so it follows my rules and goals.

Ah... that seemed long-winded, but I wanted to give an update with what I have been doing during my absence.  My next post will be about my results so far, so stay tuned!


Health and Happiness,

Amy

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Im Back!

Hello blogging community!  Im happy to announce that I am back to regularly writing blog posts... FINALLY!  This summer was a bit of a whirlwind for me when it came to blogging.  Near the beginning of summer I had just graduated and went on a graduation trip with my mom down to Disneyland.  When we got back, I took yet another trip to Sequim, WA to see my fiance who was, unfortunately, going to be spending the summer away from me.  After I got back from THAT trip, I cracked down and started seriously looking for jobs.  After so many applications and interviews later, I accepted a job as an Administrative Assistant.  While it has nothing to do with my degree, Ive enjoyed it none-the-less.  Then, the remainder of my summer was spent planning things for Kevin and my wedding on September 8th.  Well, that date has come and gone, and I am a happily married woman who is ready to find time and get back into two of her favorite hobbies: cooking and blogging!

Here is the new schedule I hope to have for my blog:

• Monday: On Mondays I plan to do a post about a large batch of a recipe that Ive made to help get me through with lunches for the week.  This will often include salads, grain dishes, and soups and stews.
• Tuesday: Tuesdays I will have talks about nutrition, exercise, and mental and physical health.  If you have any topics that you would like me to discuss please let me know!
• Wednesday: Sample daily meals and What I ate Wednesday
• Thursday: Nutrition and Health in the media, and my opinions on it.
• Friday: Healthy Vegan Fridays
• Saturday: I will occasionally post on Saturday about whatever I feel like that day.
• Sunday: Pinterest Sunday is when I will show you guys my favorite Pins from that week.  Checking out Pinterest is often something I do on Football Sundays when Kevin is preoccupied, so why not blog about it?

My last post before this one was the day before the Big Day (see post here) and I had requested any questions you might have for me.  Ok, so the question turnout wasnt so great, so to take some questions from posts in the past to find some questions to answer (I also added a few of my own).  Hope you enjoy!

1. "How do you find eating Nutritarian during the winter?  The thought of having salads in the winter is not very appealing to me.
• Personally, I love eating Nutritarian most in the colder months of the year.  I would much rather have a warm soup than a salad most days, and the winter gives me a bit more of an excuse to do that.  That said, raw vegetables are still important in your daily food intake, so I try to get my fresh greens in different ways.  One of my favorite is to have Green Smoothies (like my this one).  Another one of my favorites is to use fresh lettuce as the shell for wraps or tacos (like this recipe or this one).  So, just because you dont feel like eating a salad in the winter doesnt mean that you cant still get your fresh greens in.
2. "Can I use that image you created for the 6-Week Eat To Live Challenge?"
• Yes, anyone can use the image I provided as reference for when you do the Eat to Live 6-Week Challenge. Read about it and find the image Here!  This image can be used on Facebook, Pinterest, etc.  I have no copyright issues and would be happy to hear if it helps others.
3. "How were you able to eat Nutritarian with such a busy summer?"
• I didnt because it was easier not to, and I regret it.  I feel like much of the progress I made over a few weeks of the summer was continually being undone by occasional bad eating and drinking a few nights a week.  Most of this was due to social circle influences, and it is always hard to say no to a crowd.  Also, from being busy and making such large life transitions, it was difficult to maintain nutritional excellence.  All I can say is that I tried, and now that things have settled down, Im trying a lot harder.  Writing this blog really helps me to keep in the right mentality to make healthy choices, and for that I thank my readers :)
4. "How was your wedding?"
• To put it shortly, it was the best day of my life.  Kevin and I are so blessed to have had so many wonderful friends and family that made that day as special as it was.  The ceremony was beautiful, the reception was fun, and we danced and laughed all night.  I couldnt have asked for more!  Pictures and a video of our awesome first dance will be coming soon!  I promise!
5. "What is your favorite fall food?"
• My favorite fall foods would have to be anything with pumpkin or apple (says everyone ever in existence with access to pumpkins and apples)!  But seriously, Fall is my favorite season for so many reasons, but most of them food related!  Here are a few of my recipes that just scream fall: Baked Sweet Potatoes with Apples and Walnuts, Roasted Apples with Parsnips, Pumpkin Basil Soup, Dr. Fuhrmans Apple Strudel, and Pumpkin Wild Rice Soup.

Here is a question for my readers:  How do you like my new blog design and the schedule Im planning on following?  Any other suggestions I could incorporate?

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