Taking a closer look at what I’m eating

So I was in the bathroom the other day when the thought occurred to me… it has been 2 years since the Spring Break I decided to change my life. 

I’m 50+ lbs lighter and I feel amazing. But I’m only half way there, but I can’t quite break the 220s. I wonder what it is I’m doing that keeps impeding my process.

To give you an idea of my regular food choices, I’m going to detail my meals today.

Breakfast:

• Croissant
• Slice of Spanish omelette with potatoes and onions
• 2 cups of fruit
• Cookie

Lunch

• Salad: lettuce, cherry tomatoes, black olives, croutons, Italian dressing
• Black beans
• White rice
• slice of lemon meringue pie
• nougats

Snack

• Ice cream

Dinner

• Meatless tamale with ketchup

 

On closer inspection, I think I’m just not eating enough vegetables and I’m overeating breads and sweets. So this week I’m going to focus on replacing bread and pasta with vegetables. On top of that I’m going to try to minimize the amount of sweets I eat. If I must eat sweets, I’m going to opt for fruits. 

 

2 years ago, a regular meal would have looked like this;

Breakfast:

• Cereal and milk

Snack

• Cheese

Lunch

• Turkey and cheese sandwich on white bread
• Chips
• Brownie
• More chips

Snack

• Cheese

Dinner

• Pizza (half-whole)
• Brownies/cookies/anything sweet

Snack

• Chocolates

 

Big difference, huh? Yea, I’m proud of myself. I’m also back on my exercise game, as difficult as my schedule has made it, I am determined to get to my goal. 

Do you know what I always thought I looked like? The cyclops from Disney’s Hercules, at least in regards to all my rolls. It really depressed me for a long time. I feel much better about myself now, there are actually places where I see my muscles starting to show! 

Here’s to change and realizing our dreams. I have to somehow complete a butt-load of assignments. Best of luck to anyone else on their weight-loss journey.

 

With spring comes a new start

I’ve been terribly busy these past couple of weeks and consequently have not been taking care of myself. Looking back, I don’t think that is right. 

I think the key to success is strong body, strong mind. But I’m going to take that a step further. I want to be strong in body, mind and soul. I want to become physically fit, strengthen my memory and become a better Muslim. 

I always do better when I have a greater purpose in my work, so I’m going to take the next 9 weeks and focus on running, studying and praying. 

Why running? Last year, although I trained and ran my 5K, I’m not fulfilled with my results. I want to be able to run 3 miles all the way through. I want to be able to run 3 miles with no problem. So that is exactly what I’m going to do. 

Why studying? Even though I study enough as it is, I feel I could be doing more. I feel I could take that hour or 3 on Facebook and use it to read my own books or study for class. At the beginning of the year I made a challenge to read 60 books. I don’t know if I can complete that challenge since I don’t have as much free time, but I know I want to try. I at least want to read 30. I don’t think that is impossible. I also feel I could be working on my class stuff just a little more. 

Why praying? Well, its embarrassing but I have to admit I still don’t know how to pray and its been over a year since my conversion. I’d like to be able to participate in Ramadan a little more this year than just fasting. While I do risk tarnishing my actions by declaring them openly, I feel I need to make this declaration to help keep me on track. 

What about the cooking? Well, I’ll be frank, I haven’t been able to cook as much. I also want to continue that. I don’t think I’ll be writing about it up here, but I might share a post every once in a while. Maybe when I have more time I could write more about food. I’ll have to put this project on the back burner. 

For the record, I’m weighing 222.6 lbs. I want to get down to 180 lbs. Some way, some how I’m going to make it happen. 

Busy Bee

     I swear, it isn’t that I don’t want to write, its that I’ve been incredibly busy.

     I keep telling people, but they don’t understand HOW busy I am until I break down my schedule. Let me share my typical day.

Wake up

Study

Drive to school

Study

Drive to work

Work

Drive to internship

Intern

Drive home

Study

Sleep

Repeat.

     I’ve had to throw cooking and working out on the shelf because I simply can’t do that as well as study as much as I need to. School is my number one priority. After that is my internship. Next is work and then my body.

     Are my priorities in need of some revision? I feel like that is the case. I feel like my body should come first. So even though I haven’t been cooking as much, I have made a point to take the stairs, eat good food and sleep. I know that without eight solid hours of sleep, I wouldn’t be able to perform as I have been.

    I have a lot on my plate, but I know that if I pace myself, I’ll get through it.

     While everyone is going to be at the beach I plan on catching up in school. I have to work on 2 presentations and 3 papers. Sounds like fun, huh? If I can do that and sleep, I’ll be happy.

    Not to say I’m not having fun this Spring Break. Yesterday I went to my bellydancing class, picked up my CSA box and enjoyed an afternoon with my best friend. When I came home, I spent the evening reading and was able to finish a book. It was absolutely wonderful. I even went to bed early! It was heaven.

     When I woke up today, after enjoying a slow morning, I took my dog for a walk then took a nice long walk in the park as I listened to my audiobook. I felt luxurious.

     Some people need to do crazy things or travel to enjoy their vacations, but after the semester I’ve endured, 2 days of doing nothing feels marvelous. I believe they call these staycations. I highly recommend them.

     Now, I’m off to take a shower and read, read, READ!

     Salaam.

Why care about St. Valentine’s Day?

Valentine’s Day is actually a day that celebrates Saint Valentine, a saint that was executed for performing “weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire; during his imprisonment, he is said to have healed the daughter of his jailer Asterius. Legend states that before his execution he wrote ‘from your Valentine’ as a farewell to her…” (Wiki). Pretty cool.

On top of that, V-Day is a day in which One Billion Rising brings awareness to the issue of violence against women. It was started in 1998 by Eve Ensler and another group of women in NY, and it basically is the performance of The Vagina Monologues. The proceeds of all the plays performed on this day go toward shelters and rape crisis centers that help victims. Also pretty cool.

Finally, V-Day is all about PLEASURE! Chocolates, love, food, sex. Its about taking a moment to indulge – either alone, with a partner or in a group. If you don’t have a partner, no worries, they’re only optional. Don’t waste an awesome day moping around just because you don’t have someone to get you a box of chocolates or a giant bear. Instead, take that time and do something that makes you feel good, even if its as simple as reading a good book.

Happy V-Day, friends.

Panda Bites Gone Wild

Honestly, this CSA business is a lot to handle. I have two zucchinis too many, some strange vegetable that looks like broccoli and corn had an illegitimate child and a tight schedule that makes cooking quite the task. Although, I have to admit a smug satisfaction comes over me whenever I realize that what I’ve cooked/eaten is home-made, organic and it supports local farmers.

Do I regret being part of a CSA? Not at all. At the very least it has been enriching (intellectually and nutritionally). Even the worms and the earth benefits from it because I try to bury scraps and stuff-gone-bad in the backyard so nature can have a whack at it.

All that said, I’m on my game, this Panda has gone wild. I’m running, studying, cooking, cat-sitting, and actually got a position in my school’s paper as copy-editor! I’m super excited.

I hope to accomplish a great many things this year. I don’t remember if I posted this earlier, so forgive me if I repeat myself. But I want to…

1. Run a 5K
2. Lose another 30 lbs.
3. Cross 3 things off my bucket list
4. Work on my future (in regards to money, my career, etc.)

Panda Bites One Too Many

After eating the 10th Christmas cookie today, I realized something was wrong… I was slipping back into overeating, not exercising, and all around feeling icky. So, I’ve decided its time for another CHALLENGE!

WINTER SHRED CHALLENGE: Complete Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred program.

I already completed Day 1 and boy did I feel every one of those cookies. Why did I stop exercising in the first place? At first it got really cold, then I never got up early enough, and after a month of waking up too late I realized that waking up early to workout is just not my thing… at least not at this time. So, without giving it too much thought (in case my id would wake up), I threw on a pair of shorts and a tank top and turned on Jillian Michael’s program.

This is going to be a little tricky because I have to cook all my veggies, exercise and even start school again in a little bit. That is why I want nice easy recipes to work my veggies into. I wanted to cook bread at some point, but that is time intensive and I haven’t had a moment. And to some degree I want to vermicompost. I can’t quite do the last one, my family would freak, so I’m resorting to guerrilla composting — secretly digging a random hole in the backyard and dropping my veggie scraps so nature can do its thing.

My goal? To lose 10 lbs before the New Year.

My dream? Lose 25 lbs and reach 200 lbs.

My motivation. Health, sense of accomplishment/awesomeness, riddance of cellulite.

Wish me luck!

Panda Bites: Spiced Apple Pancakes

For weeks I’ve been aching for a good set of pancakes but hadn’t felt the oomph to go through with it (call me lazy). This morning as I scoured the fridge, looking for any potential breakfast, I saw 4 small apples approaching that fateful decline. Refusing to let them go bad, I decided I would use them for breakfast, when lo and behold, I was struck with inspiration — SPICED APPLE PANCAKES!

With some help from Smitten Kitchen’s Apple Pancake Recipe and 101 page, I fashioned my own pancakes using what I had on hand.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 small apples, peeled and coarsely grated
• 2 eggs, separated into whites and yolks
• 1.5 cups almond milk
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Dash of Cardamom, to your liking
• Olive oil, for frying
• Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

Instructions:

1. In one big bowl mix the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, cinnamon and cardamom together.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yolks with the milk.

3. Gently mix the dry ingredients, grated apples, and yolk/milk — don’t mix too thoroughly, only until lumpy and wet so that the pancakes come out fluffy.

4. In another bowl whisk the egg whites until they get all bubbly and white.

5. Gently fold egg whites into the big mix so the pancakes come out fluffy.

6. Heat about 3 Tbs. of  oil in a skillet over medium heat.

7. Drop 4 large spoonfuls of batter for one big pancake and flatten it so it cooks evenly.

8. Cook until golden brown, flip and keep it on until the other side is a nice golden/light-brown color.

9. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and serve immediately.

Yield: 6 Servings

Notes: Next time I’d take it a step further and add vanilla. I absolutely loved the apples in the mix, they blended beautifully with the pancake batter. Maybe next time I could try the pancake with cooked apples on top.