Weighing Your Portions, the Story of a Kitchen Scale.

I am not only trying to loose weight and get back to my prom weight of 199lbs, but I also want to make a complete lifestyle change. My health isn't what it used to be and that is sad to say at the young age of 22. It is time for me to take action and invest in lifestyle changes. One thing I did to enhance this change is purchasing a kitchen scale. This is by far one of the best decisions I have made in a while! I love it. I bought this great little item because I realized... I don't really know what the FUCK a 5oz. piece of meat looks like and honestly neither do you! I don't know what 85g. of carrots look like and I sure as HELL do not know what 30g. of almonds look like. Be honest with yourself, no one knows that this shit looks like and let me tell you something, it is NOT as much as you thought. 

I have been so into my kitchen scale lately that I am weighing everything! It makes planning my meals super easy and all of my portions are finally correct. I have to admit the first day I starting weighing all of my food was a little discouraging because the portions were so small but I have a few tips to keep your spirits up! 

1. Make all of your meals in advance.

This will help you cut out snacking and your portions will not seem as small because you prepackaged them the day before. I like to think I tricked myself  because I am no longer thinking about the small portions I made. Instead I look at the meal I made the day before and it looks delicious! 

2. DO NOT make food while you are hungry

This goes along with making your meals in advance. My dad says and I believe this to be true, if you cook a meal while you are starving you will end up snacking the whole time you are cooking. By the time your meal is ready to eat you have practically consumed a whole meal while cooking. Snacking on the meals ingredients or rummaging through the fridge is deadly. One bite of something is fine but one bite of eleven different things is where that extra meal starts to take form! Be careful! Making your meals after you eat dinner each night is a great technique. You can't say you are hungry and your portions don't look as small because you are focusing on other things. Portions always look small when your stomach is telling you to feed it! 

I am a foody, I usually go to bed thinking about what I am going to eat for breakfast. I do not think this will ever go away no matter how thin or healthy I am but the kitchen scale has helped me fetishize food in a different way. Yes I said fetishized. I love good tasting, wholesome food. I like to think about it, eat it and make it. The only thing different is now instead of thinking about homemade meatloaf with mash potatoes, I am thinking about 5oz. of poached balsamic chicken with 1/3 of a baked yam and crunchy asparagus. I don't have to completely change the way I think about food, I just need to alter the ingredients and ways I am eating the food.  You can do this too! Take control of your life and be happy with smaller portions that you have created yourself. The kitchen scale is the new bathroom scale! 

Smoothie kick in the ass!

I have been on a smoothie kick this past week and I wanted to share with you my delish recipe! It's great for a post workout meal.

Recipe

One single serve Activa yogurt
Handful of fresh blueberries
1/2 fresh banana
Large handful if fresh kale
Large handful of fresh spinach
Small handful of frozen fruit medley
2 ice cubes
1/2 small glass of water

If you hate veggies this is great way to get your servings without directly eating them! You can't even tell you are eating veggies due to all the yummy fruits and yogurt. It is truly delicious, nutritious and gives you a surprisingly full feeling. Try it out or make up your own healthy recipe. It's always fun to experiment with new foods. It doesn't hurt to try!

Tasty food...Smelly Pee

Great way to cook asparagus is on your George Foreman. I laid out all the stalks then drizzled with balsamic periodically as they cooked. Took about 20 mins and they came our super tender and oh so juicy!

Half Your Weight in Water

Everyone regardless of their lifestyle should drink a sufficient amount of water. That being said, people in a diet should drink even more! Try this, take you weight and divided by 2. That is how many ounces of water per day you should drink. I am trying to drink 150 ounces a day! That seems hell is a lot of water but it hasn't gotten a lot easier since the start. Now my body is craving water and I haven't even thought of drinking a soda! If I can do it so can you! Stay strong. Stay hydrated my friends, it will be worth it in the end. Not only will it help you loose weight, you complexion will thank you as well.

Going out and the fat mind

It has always been hard for me to go out with my friends and not over eat delicious food, drink a ton of freely refilled sodas, and possibly over drink alcoholic beverages on occasion (I am 22 years old). I love to get appetizers, maybe a side salad, a big dinner and of course dessert. These nights are truly delicious yet DANGEROUS!!! A fun night out with your friends can easily turn into a 2-3500 calorie night in the blink of an eye. I love to eat, food is amazing which has led to my ultimate demise these past four years. Food is everywhere, your parents are no longer cooking dinner every night and you can finally do whatever you want. Its college! I let this get to my head a little... I didn't become a seasoned alcoholic or a deranged party girl, I became a fat ass! Here are a few things I did this past weekend in order to stay true to my new and improved eating habits, while still having a great time going out. 

My best friend Kebra always has events planned and never lets you down when it comes to going on an adventure. This weekend I stayed at her house in Santa Clarita, and we had a great weekend filled with music, drinking (for some) and friends. 

Friday

Kebra and Company decided to write fun drinks on notecards and each time we went to a new bar we would choose a notecard and drink that specific drink. "Chance Drinking" as I like to call it. This is a disaster waiting to happen for someone on a diet because most of the notecards were filled with high caloric drinks such as long islands (800 calories) , margaritas (500calories)  and other delicious drinks. Thankfully I am not a big drinker, thus it was easy for me to decline and be the DD. 

TIP ONE: If you are on a diet and do not want to blow your daily caloric intake, offer to be the designated driver (DD). That way you have to stay sober and you won't be hassled into drinking things you don't want to. No one needs to know you are on a diet either, just simple say "DD" and hopefully you friends will be thankful and understanding! 

Now, of course I wanted to join in on the festivities and eat all of the delicious food they were eating but I stayed strong and only had 2 small chicken wings the whole night. I was very proud of myself. You may be thinking "what will I drink then?" Well I have a tip for that too.

TIP TWO: Drinking water can get very boring when everyone around you is sipping on the magic juice but you need to stay strong. Flavored unsweetened teas are a great option for someone on a diet that wants to add a little flavor to their palate. Teas come in a variety of flavors and most restaurant/bars offer them, most commonly passion, peach and raspberry flavors. If unsweetened they are 0 calories and very tasty. It feels like you are drinking something fun without the guilt! It may take a while to get used to unsweetened tea, but once you do its amazing. 

The night ended famously, I was satisfied, had a great time with my friends and did not go home feeling guilty. 

Saturday

Kebra, Hot Mamma Mel and I went on a great walk Saturday morning. I have come to the realization the if gain anything from this weight loss experience, I hope my shin splints go away. It is very debilitating and never happened when I was in-shape and much thinner.

That night Kebra and Company went out to dinner before a concert. Stonefire is a great BBQ place in Santa Clarita that I had never been to. The old me would have ordered the biggest meal with everything and extra BBQ sauce. But I am in this for the long haul, thus I ordered an amazing grilled tri-tip salad with balsamic. Now, this place has amazing breadsticks and I came to a crossroads, do I get an order of breadsticks or not. I did not get an order of breadsticks but I did order one individual breadstick. They were suppose to be amazing and I was not disappointed. It was a wonderful salad and I left very full and satisfied. 

TIP THREE: When eating out and on a diet, try ordering a salad with the dressing on the side. This will allow for less calories because you are administering the dressing yourself. I prefer the "fork dip method," dip your fork into the dressing each time you take a bite of salad. You get a little dressing with each bite which is way better than free pouring it directly onto your salad. Also, if you really want to try something that a restaurant is known for, i.e breadsticks, only have ONE. You get a little taste and do not go overboard. 

A local band, Grow Young, was performing that night in a fast-food parking lot. DUN DUN DUUUNN!!! This was going to be a hard task, sit in a fast-food parking lot for 2 hours and not eat, that would have been impossible 2 weeks ago. I wanted to eat there very badly and thought about it a few times but I kept telling myself that instant gratification was not going to help me in the long run. 

TIP FOUR: If you are going somewhere that prompts temptation, i.e fast-food, make sure you eat a healthy filling meal beforehand and drink a lot of water. Water will fill you up further and keep you full, while a healthy meal will make you feel satisfied and good about yourself. DO NOT go anywhere hungry, that is a bad idea! Temptation will become overwhelming and you will feel bad about it in the morning.

Sunday

Kebra's dad, Mr.Doug, is an amazing cook! I woke up Sunday morning to a wonderful breakfast fit for a King. Normally I would have had scrambled eggs with two sausages, two pieces of toast, orange juice and fruit. Instead I opted for half of a chicken apple sausage, egg whites and fresh fruit. This was equally delish and much more healthy than pigging out.

TIP FIVE: when having breakfast opt for egg whites and always eat some fresh fruit. If there are breakfast meats available and you are a suck for meat. Try eating only half a piece of sausage and one piece of bacon. You still get that great taste without making it a full meal. 

All in all I had a great weekend with my friends and was still able to loose weight! I lost 3 pounds this weekend. Now I do not advocate going out every weekend when on your diet. This weekend I am staying home and going to bootcamp Saturday. Being on a diet does not mean you can't have fun but you must make better decision when it comes to food and drinks. Water is the key, never go anywhere hungry and always be realistic. Do you really need this? Will it make you feel good in the long run? Most often the answer is NO!! Stay Healthy readers and I hope you had a great weekend, I know I did! 

Love,

Big D 

Hey guys, Today marks my first day of the 90 day weight challenge! I did pretty well today and I am still motivated. Watch the video and here how my day went.


Here are a few links:

Liquid Amino Diet

http://www.liquidaminodiet.com

Long Beach Boot Camp

http://longbeachbootcamp.com

Menu

Breakfast
Slim Fast protein shake
Apple

Snack
Apple

Lunch
6 inch turkey sandwich from subway
1/2 cup of soup

Snack
skinny cow chocolates (150 calories)

Dinner
1/2 baked yam
1 Chicken Breast

Its all about staying hydrated! 

Before slideshow

As much as I hate the way I look now, I am not ashamed! I know I have gained a TON of weight during college but we can't dwell on it and it is time for a change. I have always been a bigger person, broad shoulders, tall and stout, unfortunately I have become larger than life. It is time for a positive change and I am ready to start a new chapter in my life. Graduation is coming up, grad school in the fall, I think the new and improved me is ready to start shining through.

Here is a slideshow I made to embody what has really happened with my weight gain over the past 4 years. Here are a few guidelines...

1. Yes I have gained weight, we all know that.

2. ALOT of weight, one could say I am even fat now, get over it.

3. Do NOT feel sorry for me, this slideshow is for motivation and inspirational purposes only. I know what I look like. I look at myself everyday. I want people to see this in a positive way. I am!

4. I am proud of who I am, I just want to feel better about how I look! 

5. I want the way I feel on the inside to translate how I look on the outside.

This is only the beginning, by the time I graduate in May, I hope to loose 80 pounds, with the ultimate goal of weighing 199 pounds by the time I start graduate school this Fall. I can do it and I want all of you to take part in my journey. Motivation is the key!