Me in a bathing suit...say what!!!??

Yesterday Todd and I actually got to spend most of the day together. Our schedules don't usually match up so we don't get to hang out as much as we would like to. Yesterday was his last day off for the next 2 weeks!! He's gotta work overtime because his co-worker is on vacation. It was nice to actually hang out.

Me with Todd and his new stache.

I think this dress fits less tightly now.

Our 1st task was to buy a Japanese rice paper screen for our studio. I like out it feels like we have a bedroom now. Like we have 2 rooms in our studio. We also thought it would come in handy for next month when his son is going to visit for a week. I think it will create a sense of privacy.

Cherry blossom Japanese screen.


When we went to Sidecar for Pigs Peace to pick up a few vegan items I also noticed that they had a lending library! You can only check out one book at a time. I almost picked out a vegan cookie book but then I found this. 

I love zombies and I could not resist. Lets see if it lives up to it's gory comedic bizarroness.

As for my calories yesterday. Lets just say I lost track. I didn't count my calories because I had way too many treats including ...a heaping bowl of ice cream, a coconut thai tea frozen blended drink and a vietnamese tofu sandwich. I kinda felt uncomfortable with how out of control I was though. So I made a last ditch effort to go to the gym 30 minutes before they closed. Plus I rode my bike to and from work (7.8 miles). All in all I think I had a pretty good deficit even if I went over my calories.

Last and not least I also went to the Red Light Vintage shop and purchased a swimming suit. I can't swim but I think I would like to conquir my fear of drowning and finally learn how. In the mean time I can at least cool off in the water. I honestly have never liked how I look in a swimming suit before. But I have to say I really love how I look now in one. Even if it is just a one piece. I have way too much extra skin to rock a two piece. 

My success story on caloriecount.com

Success Story

A couple of days ago I submitted my success story to caloriecount.com. Yesterday I got an email from one of the sites moderators telling me that my success story will be live on the 16th! I have to say I am pretty excited! One of my goals from the beginning was to lose 100 lbs and be in the success story blog of their site.

This website has helped me through my whole weight loss. I am really thankful that Todd found this website for me. I have been using it every single day since I started my weight loss journey.  It did take me a few weeks at first but I figured out the site pretty fast. I realize that since this is a lifestyle change that I will most likely always count my calories to stay on track. To me it's not a chore I have really come to love all the features of the site!

Here is a little list of my fav things about the site.

• It's pretty easy to click and calculate your calories and post your physical activities (calories burned).
• If you hit the "Analysis" button after you have logged your calories it can break down your nutrition.
• You can use the Tools button to figure out your BMI and how many calories you need to eat to lose weight.
• You can find out how many calories are in your favorite recipes and save the information.
• There are thousands of foods in the database to choose from (even store brands).
• The blog page has really helpful articles about health, weight loss, success story's and even recipes.
• My most recent fav thing about calorie count is calorie camp. I love how you can post a blurb about your day and even comment on someone's day. You can use points you earn to get $$ towards different websites. ( I have over 2000 points. Mmmm maybe I should actually use some of them.)
• After saving your weigh ins on your "weight log" you can see a graph of your weight loss.

Recap of this week and my Sunday morning weigh in.

I went to the gym 6 days this week. I made sure I went even if I didn't have time to do my full workout. Because a partial workout is better then no workout. I only went over my calories 1 day by 100. When I stepped on the scale it said 154.6.  That is my all time low!103.4 lbs lost so far. If I keep this up I will be at my second goal of a middle range BMI in a few weeks! 

From size 24 to size 10. 100 lbs gone.

100 lbs gone!

Mind the muffin top. It's a combo of too tight pants with extra skin.

You read that right 3 whole digits gone! I lost .8 lbs this week I am now 157.4. Total lost 100.6 lbs. It took 1 year and 7 months (7 months off from my original goal) but I made it!

I was a little surprised by any loss this week because I have been slacking on my workouts (okay on calories  though). My back has been out this week ever since I bent wrong earlier in the week. I only went to the gym twice and didn't do much cardio this week. Mostly due to that and also due to the fact that my bike has been in the shop for fine tuning. My back feels better now though and I got my bike back from the shop yesterday. Which mean I finally was able to ride it to work again! I have really grown to love my bike commute to work. Greenlake is really nice to ride by (especially on a sunny day). 

1st goal accomplished...now for goal #2
My next goal is to be in the middle range BMI for my height which is about 140lbs. Who knows I might actually use my free personal trainer sessions at the YMCA.

Last nights feast

Vegan old fashioned chocolate pudding pie with soy whipped cream.

Chickpea cutlet, garlic mashed potatoes, gravy and steamed brussel sprouts. 

 I was really in the mood for chocolate last night so I made some old fashioned chocolate pudding pie from the cookbook Vegan Pie in the Sky .I made the mixture on the stove top and poured it into a ready made Keebler graham cracker crust. It turned out so good! The hard part is letting it chill for 3 hours before serving. It's really refreshing on a hot summer day. For dinner I had some homemade chickpea cutlets, mashed potatoes, gravy, and buttery steamed brussel sprouts. I haven't had brussel sprouts since I was little. I just remember hating them but now I love them. I'm gonna have them on the dinner menu more often.

Dang Cold!

Dang Cold!
This is the third day of my cold. Yesterday at work, my job was to register people for Safeway's new online coupon program. "Hello, have you heard of Safeway's new (achoo!)(snot flying)...online program?"
I haven't been to the gym in 2 days and I am definitely not going today because of this cough and how stuffed up I am. I've still been biking to work though. Mostly because I'm so used to not taking the bus. I'm happy I'm off today. Maybe I can get some rest and clean up my studio.

Meeting goals.
Two weeks ago I got down to 160.4. I know it was because I stuck to my workouts and did not binge. I stuck to my 1500 calories as well. The week after there was a few days I ate WAY too much and I went back up to 163.2. My boyfriend and I went over to his co-workers to watch a movie and hang out. They ordered pizza before I got there and I cannot control myself with cheese so guess what happened? I ate 5 giant slices of Domino's pizza and 2 giant pieces of cheesy bread. I looked it up online. That night I had 1700 calories for dinner!

Even with those setbacks I have still been reaching some goals. I have been eating out way less and I have been making more healthy (or healthier) homemade meals at home. I have been tracking my nutrition making sure I get A's and B's on calorie count.

Here's some of the meals I have been making this week...

Spicy bbq soy curl sandwich. I eat this with tater tots.

Spicy Indian style (curried) fajitas with soyrizo, mushroom, bell pepper and onion topped with tofutti sour cream.

Vegan tofurky picnic wrap. 
(tofurky, tofutti cheddar, pickles, tomato, red onion, lettuce, vegenaise, mission spinach and herb wrap) 

Todd is all about the fried tofu version though. It's probably a little healthier but I have been addicted to tofurky lately.

Back to 1500 + Short hair.

I have decided that I am no longer going to do 1300 calories. Yesterday Todd suggested that I up my calories because so far 1300 is not working for me. I just don't think it was enough to fuel me going to work, bike commuting and my gym workouts. I feel a lot better on 1500 calories. In between meals, I don't want to be so hungry that I binge and stick my entire hand in a jar or cookie butter! When I would come home from work I would feel like this...

There is no excuse with how lazy I have been with my workouts though. I am going to the YMCA 5 days this week even if it means I have to bike home from work and go straight to the gym after my shift!

A couple days ago I decided to get my hair cut. I got it cut much shorter than I had originally planned.

I really like it! I'ts much easier maintenance. I just wake up brush it for a second and straighten it for a minute! I don't even get tangles or "helmet hair" anymore!

Me at age 19.

I couple of years ago I got a short hair cut but I think that it made my face look even more round than it already was.

 Now with my weight down I think a short style compliments my face more.

Vegan Leek, Spinach and Mushroom Quiche

Vegan Leek, Spinach and Mushroom Quiche
                                 Makes 1 pie (6 large slices)
                                      (514 calories per slice)

I have been searching vegan blogs lately and a came across this recipe on the Chow Vegan blog. I made a few tweaks to it though. I added black salt which is a salt that you can find in most indian markets and is a light pinkish color. When you add this salt to tofu it magically gives it an "eggy" flavor. Also I added Tahini and extra nutritional yeast. You will not be disappointed with this recipe. It had the perfect texture and savory flavor!

1 pre-made crust
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium-sized leek, white and pale green parts only, coarsely chopped
5 ounces crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
8 oz. baby spinach, or other fresh small leaf spinach
1 pound firm fresh tofu, water pressed out
2 Tbsp Tahini
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp black salt 
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
1/2 tablespoon dried parsley
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Olive oil


1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Heat a skillet until hot, lightly drizzle with olive oil and saute garlic and leeks until done. Transfer to a dish and set aside. Heat skillet again and saute and season the mushrooms until cooked, drain any water and set aside. Saute and season the spinach until just wilted. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Squeeze out any water and coarsely chop.

3. In a food processor or blender, combine the tofu, tahini, soy milk, black salt, pepper, nutmeg, thyme, parsley and nutritional yeast, process until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl, add the vegetables, mix well and scoop into the pie crust, spreading the filling evenly. Bake for about 35 minutes, let the quiche cool for 10 minutes before slicing.


I figured out the nutrition facts on caloriecount.com

My Friday at the Georgetown Liquor Company.

If you haven't been to the Georgetown liquor company then you don't know what you are missing! They are a vegetarian / vegan lunch spot that serves delicious appetizers and sandwiches. Todd and I went there Friday to meet up is cousin Dana. She is super nice and we had a lot of fun! I had a really good marinated portobello mushroom sandwich but I forgot to take a picture. Believe me it was so savory and delicious!

Here are some pictures from that day...

The lemon meringue martini was so good. That is my fav drink there so far.

The artichoke dip was so creamy and delicious! I love happy hour!

Todd and his cousin.

Todd and I chillin' on the bus. It's weird taking the bus now. I am so used to biking places instead.