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.

Great weigh in!

Last weigh in was freaking fantastic! I almost jumped with excitement when I weighed in at 160 on Sunday. That is a 6.2 pound loss from last week! 98 lbs lost total. I am hoping by next week to say that I have finally lost 100 pounds. I went to the gym 5 times, biked to and from work four days and stuck to my calories.

Days like today ( my day off ) I can not stop thinking about food. I've noticed on days when I am running errands, going to work, working out and bike commuting that I don't over eat because I am too busy to think about snacking.  I went over my calories by a couple hundred the past two days. Not horrible but I have to admit I always feel like I messed up when I don't complete my goals. I wish I wasn't so hard on myself but I am sometimes. 

I had a really great workout today though! It feels great to be going to the gym and weight lifting regularly again.

• 10 minute walk to the YMCA --------40 calories 
• 15 minutes on the stationary bike-----130 calories 
• 50 minutes on the elliptical trainer-----560 calories 
• 30 minutes upper body weight lifting --110 calories 
• 10 minute walk home-----------------40 calories
• Total---------------------------------880 calories burned

I was going to try a yoga class today at the YMCA but I took a nap in the middle of the day instead. I might go next week though because I would really like to try it. Today I just felt overwhelmingly tired. Maybe it's because of how hard I pushed myself with my workouts last week. At least I woke up from my nap and did my normal work out routine.

Keep your fingers crossed for my next weigh in. It would be crazy to actually be able to say I lost 100.

My new dress and bumps in the road to weight loss.

Last week I bought a blue polka dot dress from Buffalo Exchange. It's a Medium and a little tight. I have gained 3.6 lbs the past couple of weeks. I am back up to 166. I so don't want to go into the 170's again so I gotta watch it. I am still riding my bike to and from work though. I have been getting killer cramps in my legs @ night from my new biking regimen. Mainly the problem is that I have not been counting my calories or even paying attention to portion sizes lately.

My goal is for this dress to not be so snug. Same for my work pants they feel a little tight too. This week is going great so far though. Biked to and from work 2 days and went to the gym the next 2 days after that. I have been back to counting calories since the beginning of this week. My plan is to go to the gym 5-6 days per week and bike to and from work. Plus also stick to my calorie counting and not eat out so much. It's crazy how the last 20 lbs is so hard to lose for me. I'm just thinking if it's hard for me to maintain now how am I going to maintain the next bit of weight loss without being calorie counter dependent?

Has anyone had some major bumps in their road to weight loss? Especially the last bit??? Any tips? 

Catching up.

Dear internet, I have missed you so!
It's so nice to be moved in my new place. Todd and I are finally settled in and have internet! I have not been counting my calories ever since we moved (too lazy to go to the library to use the internet). The first week we moved in I maintained. The week after that I gained .6 (not too crazy). And this week I gained 1.6 (okay it's getting a little crazy now). Todd and I have been eating out WAY too much. There is so much good food where we live now.

Developing a new routine.
The good news is that ever since we moved I have been riding my bike to work and back every day! It's only 8 miles a day = to about 300 calories burned. I figure it's pretty cool to be saving $5 per day on bus fare and burning calories at the same time. I am planning on making this biking to work thing a real habit. Next week I am going to pay for a membership to the YMCA so I can also get in my other workouts and weight lifting. The YMCA is a much better deal then the other gym where I live. Now I just need to keep making home made healthy portioned meals and stop eating out so much.

Saturday.
It was a really nice day. I took full advantage of the sun by going to the farmers market and going to visit my family. I brought over some banana bread I made the night before and just visited a bit.

My 3 nieces are getting so big!

My mother and I.

I had my sister take this picture of me in this sweater she gave me.

Today.
Today I am off work and decided to clean up the studio and do laundry. I went to the YMCA to use my 3 day pass. I did my usual routine of 15 minutes on the bike and 50 minutes on the elliptical fallowed by 30 minutes weight lifting. I feel hopeful about losing weight again because for the first time in weeks I stuck to my workout and 1300 calories. I also made a pretty healthy dinner!

Mmmmm heart shaped sushi for dinner! ♥
(short grain brown rice, avocado, carrot, cucumber, and tofutti cream cheese) 

When I split this big roll of sushi with Todd and add in some kimchi on the side it's 412 calories. Not bad.