Rollercoaster Ride

Hey guys,

So, to put it nicely, this week has been a bit difficult for me. You see, I thrive when I am busy. I like going from one activity to another, not thinking about what else is going on in my life, just concentrating on what I have to do next. And this week, because of my profession's national conference, we didn't have class. Which meant A LOT of down time. Which meant A LOT of thinking about back home. Which made me sad.

And then, amidst the sad times, I would find something to make me happy. Often, it was thoughts about how excited I am to move back home... So, I'd be really happy for a few hours, even a day, and then crash and have to pull myself out of the sadness again. Its not quite bipolar level, but it really was wreaking havoc on my emotions this week. Like a rollercoaster.

Today's sermon in church was about Job. God LET Satan tempt Job and take everything away from him, because God knew Job was strong enough to take it. And Job, being the awesome guy he was, continued to praise God through all the hard times. And that's what I kind of tried to work towards this week. Finding the positives and thanking God for them, rather than dwelling on the negatives and how much I hate being away from home.

So, these next few weeks will hopefully pull me out of this funk. My schedule really picks back up next week, and I have more classes, and more fun things to do (like my college roommate visiting me, going to a few ECHL hockey games, and eventually the boy visiting for Valentine's Day!). And the busier I am, the less I will think about what I'm missing at home.

One positive about this week was I had some time to cook a few things. One of them was homemade tzaziki sauce. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this awesomeness, its a yogurt/sour cream sauce that can go on meat, or with pita bread, or with carrots, etc. Its cucumbery, dilly, and garlicky... and delicious. I found a recipe on Kalyn's Kitchen Blog and will repost it how I made it here!

World's Best Tzaziki Sauce! From Kalyn's Kitchen Blog

Ingredients:
3 cups Greek Yogurt
juice of one lemon (about 3 T)
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 medium cucumbers, seeded and diced
about 1 T kosher salt for salting cucumbers
1 T finely chopped fresh dill
Salt and Pepper to taste

Place the cucumbers in a colander and sprinkle salt on them. Let them sit for at least 30 minutes (I let mine sit for 45) so the water can draw the salt out of the cucumbers (Wow, science!). Then, a step that I didn't do but was recommended to me, is to press the cucumbers between a few sheets of paper towels to draw even more water out of them. Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender, and combine.

It should last in the fridge for a few days! I ate it tonight on a chicken burger that I put in a pita with some lettuce, tomato, and feta, and it was AMAZING. Will definitely be making it again, and using ground chicken breast more often (super healthy!)

Here's to a better week... much happier, and continuing to be healthy :)

-Austin

Current weight: 167.2
Weight loss since January 14 (the start of this new effort): 6 lbs

New Recipe! A salad that rocks!

Hey everyone!

As most of you know, when I started this blog waaay back when, I wanted to include recipes that I've been trying. Well, I've slacked on that. And recently, I've started trying to cook my own healthy meals, because I've heard it said MANY a time that "Abs are made in the kitchen". Plus, I know that my diet is one of the main things preventing me from being as skinny as I'd like to be.

So, I found this recipe on Pinterest a few months ago. If you don't have Pinterest, you're REALLY missing out. I get most of my recipes from there these days. This is a salad recipe, which I've adapted a bit. It comes from a blog called Nutmeg Notebook, and here is the link to the actual recipe (which I will post adapted here):

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad, adapted from Nutmeg Notebook

Dressing:

• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2/3 cup sour cream (I used regular, but you can use light to make it even healthier!)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 tbsp ranch dressing powder
• Juice from 1/2 lime
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Salad:

• 4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
• 2 cups chopped chicken breasts (sauteed in pan, then simmered with a 1/2 cup-ish of salsa for a few minutes)
• Tomatoes, if you want to add them
• 1/2 cup diced peeled avocado
• 2 tbsp green onion
• Black beans
• Frozen corn
• Any other salad toppings you would like

To prepare dressing, combine first 7 ingredients, stirring well.
To prepare salad, combine lettuce and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Of course, you can decide how much of each ingredient to add. Drizzle dressing over salad; toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.

This salad turned out absolutely amazing, and relatively healthy (would have been even healthier if I had used low fat sour cream, but I am a firm believer in using full fat sour cream). And, it makes for a great meal.

Hope you guys try it and like it!
-Austin

Current weight: 168.2
Start of week: 173.2
Weight loss to date (since September 2010): 34 lbs

Healthy Coping with Emotions

BREAKING NEWS: I easily get emotional (SHOCK!). And I mean seriously emotional... I am likely to cry at any second, even when not provoked. My super awesome boyfriend has learned this the hard way, and is learning to deal with my random tears. But, when he's not around, feeling bad can really be hard to deal with, especially when you live alone and far away from the people you love.

Its not uncommon for people to be emotional eaters. You know, you've had a bad day, you think "Food will make me feel better"... often, for me, its take-out food. For some, its chocolate, wine, whatever your "vice" is. And this is the reason a lot of people (ok, maybe just me) have trouble losing weight. Its a vicious cycle. You feel bad about yourself, you eat, you feel worse about yourself, etc. And sometime, you have to learn to break it.

Luckily for me, I have recently found that exercise is MUCH better for breaking my emotional status than eating is. It lets me clear my mind, concentrate on making myself better, and makes me feel like I have accomplished something. Whether its just going for a walk, a hard treadmill run, or a few minutes on the elliptical, exercise is what I am going to try to turn to in order to cope with my emotions. This will not only turn me away from eating, but will also help me to burn calories and *hopefully* lose weight.

And, this week will be excellent to put this into use. Feeling sad about leaving wonderful Columbus after having the best month of my life with some really awesome people, and I just stepped on the scale to find out I gained 10 pounds in the month over Winter Break, which is really frustrating because I was still going to the gym on a regular basis. I'm going to blame it on the increased alcohol consumption... so hopefully now that I'm back in ATL and not socially drinking several times a week, I'll be able to shed some pounds before Valentine's Day and seeing my super awesome boyfriend again.

Be on the lookout for several recipes this week. I'm going to try a chipotle chicken salad, sweet potato fries, and zucchini chips. I will definitely share them with you if they work out!

Also, thank you all for the outpouring of support for my last post... it is great to hear that so many people are reading and cheering for me! I hope I also inspire you to become happier and healthier :)

-Austin

Even the best fall down sometimes...

Or fall up? Since I last posted... wow. Yeah, I've gained a little over 10 pounds. Not good. So, I've decided to start this blog back up again, because I definitely do benefit from the motivation and encouragement from the readers of this blog!  I also need accountability, which can be gained both through my readers, and from the desire to update this blog on a regular basis!  I will be using Weight Watchers as the main part of my weight loss strategy, but because I'm often lazy, I will just be trying to eat healthier in general too.

I've often gotten the question "How are you so open with how much you weigh?" My answer? Why should I hide it?! Yes, I base my weight loss more on number and less on how I feel. However, I'm fairly confident in myself, and as I lose weight, I gain confidence. And my confidence is more important than how a number describes me.

The biggest issue I need to tackle this time are my eating habits. I LOVE working out. I don't have a problem with that. I have a problem with the fact that I like to eat. I like to eat good food. I like to eat lots of food. I like to eat out. And this is why I struggle with losing weight and keeping it off. So, my first goal (to be achieved when I get back to Atlanta, because its hard to not eat out when I'm going out with my awesome friends in Columbus), is to eat out less. Like, once or twice a week. I need to make healthier choices, and cook for myself more often. So, once again, I will start posting recipes that I'm trying on here.

I hope that, through this blog, I can also motivate others to be healthier too, to achieve their weight loss goals, to look better, etc. If there is anything you would like me to focus on, or any way I can help you, please let me know! I am open to all suggestions!

Current weight: 172 (ish) lbs
Goal weight: 140 lbs
Total weight loss since 9/2010: 30 lbs

-Austin