costco. overnight oats. snacks.

The first thing I need to address: did you know that Costco’s brand of shampoo and conditioner are vegan? Seriously, best day of my life.

And yes, I did go to Costco again this week. I may be slightly obsessed.

The real reason I wanted to write a post (besides my endless want to get better at being regular about updating this blog) is to talk about my What I Ate Wednesday. Because it was really good. I ate a lot of really great stuff and I want to look back at this post as a reminder, a motivator, that eating healthy is awesome and delicious because I still need to remind myself of that when I stray and cave into cravings.

I started out the day with some green tea with lemon and sugar. I used to drink this almost every morning, and for some reason when it gets hot out I gravitate to coffee. The mornings have been kind of cold, but cold enough that tea is wanted.

I also made a really awesome overnight oats jar.

It’s super simple:

• 1/4cup of raw oats
• ~1/8th of a cup of almond milk
• 1 Silk Fruity and Creamy soy vanilla yogurt cup (my new love!)
• strawberries
• raspberries

Throw it all together and put it in the fridge for the night. The oats soak up all the liquids and it has a cake batter type taste to it. I like it much more than I like regular oatmeal.

I had some coffee with Silk creamer while I was at my desk Photoshopping. The guys leave the a/c on a ridiculous temp so when I sit at my desk for a while Photoshopping I get cold.

For our mid-day break, I had some of Trader Joe’s nut mix that I had per-portioned out into small Tupperware cups.

Lunch was my new favorite. I had a mixed greens salad with avocado, grape tomatoes, and raspberry vinaigrette I got at Whole Foods which is probably one of the best dressings I’ve had and it’s only 45 calories a serving. I had a serving of the Earth Balance cheese puffs, an apple, and the only bad thing: Diet Dr Pepper. Please don’t judge, I know. I know.

Second break I had a banana. I met and exceeded my fruit quota for the day.

Dinner was roasted spaghetti squash. Super simple, I just halved the squash and put 1/2 tbsp of Earth Balance garlic and herb spread on both sides, added salt and pepper, and some minced garlic and roasted until soft. I mixed it up with some sauteed mushrooms.

It was a really good day.

vegetarian tasting fair. vegan jerky. anxiety.

Today I headed over to Rainbow Blossom, a local chain of grocery stores much like Whole Foods and Earth Fare. I wanted to see what samples were out and maybe pick up some things while I’m there. I don’t normally shop there because it is a little too expensive (especially since the store has four locations, not just one) but they do carry some fun stuff, so when I have extra money I go there.

I got a bunch of leaflets, and even stopped at the Louisville Vegetarian Initiative booth. So, I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned more than once on this blog but I have some can-be-severe social anxiety. If I’m in a situation I don’t know the proper procedure to follow, or if I have to come up with a conversation on the spot (say at a party or a bar) I get super nervous. I’ve been wanting to go to some of their events for a while now, but the lack of courage to do it has prevented me to. By I did stop and at least talk a little bit at the booth, which was a huge step for me. I got some fun stickers and a cute button. I also picked up a compassionate guide (well, I got two…somehow). I think one of my goals in the next couple of months is to muster up the courage to go to one of their events. They go to restaurants a lot, and I think it would be fun to go and meet some new people that aren’t at work or friends of people from work.

I also went to the fair for one goal in mind: to sample some of Morels the Vegan Butcher’s new flavor of vegan jerky: Maple Siracha. It is everything I had hoped and more. I can’t wait till it goes on sale for real. It was fantastic. I’ve been following the company since they were just a vegan food truck here in town. They’ve since stopped the truck, and have turned into a catering/retail company. Other than the jerky, they have vegan wraps (the philly cheeze steak wrap is awesome) and can be found locally here in Louisville at Rainbow Blossom and Heine Brothers Cafe. You are in luck if you don’t live here, though. Not only can you buy the jerky online he’s been starting to sell to lots of states. Also, VeganCuts has a deal on them right now. So check them out, who knows you might see the product in a store near you. I 100% support everything they do, and am glad that they are growing as fast as they are. I just wish the jerky wasn’t so tasty that I can eat a full bag in one sitting.

I got a few things while there, some of Morel’s other jerky, some kale chips I sampled and loved (they were expensive, like most, but $2 off so I figured I would get it while there), and some Pure Food onion rings. I’ve tried their ranch zuchini chips in my Conscious Box and they were awesome. I’m going to figure out a fun recipe for them. Maybe vegan green bean casserole?

All-in-all I tasted some yummy food and got to try some new brands so it was worthwhile. I’m glad I went. Maybe next time one of these type events happen I’ll have the nerve to take more pictures!

weight loss. humana. veganism. birthdays.

It’s been a while since I posted here. Honestly, it’s been a little too hectic in my life to really sit down and write anything. I also really haven’t had anything to say, so that has prevented me from using my energy and free time to post anything of importance. I lost weight this past week, and am feeling really good. I had wanted to get into more of an exercise routine, but I realized after eating horribly a couple of times and still losing that my body is getting plenty of work just being at…well, work. If the past two days of my FitBit are any indication, I think you’ll agree that it’s for the best. I’ve been doing over 10,000 steps just at work alone. While it would be awesome to workout and do as much at work, it really doesn’t make sense to me right now. I don’t have as much free time to devote to it, and if I did I risk cutting into much needed down time and sickness. I can NOT get sick, so I’m doing what’s best for my body now. Once work slows out and I end the season exercise will need to be put back into my every day life. I tell ya, the best diet is the Humana Festival diet.

My vegan diet has been going swimmingly. I love it. It truly is like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. It’s not as hard as I thought it would be, which is even more reassuring that there can be success. That being said, I haven’t been faced with a restaurant or being somewhere where there is next to nothing in vegan choices, but for now it’s great. I really do love it, it’s been putting my mind at ease and I’ve been really creative when it comes to cooking and eating.

Tomorrow is my birthday. I will be 29. Eek! The time flies by so quickly. How am I almost 30? It’s so scary. My parent officially put their house for sale too. The picture of the “For Sale” post my mom sent me in e-mail threw me. I have to make it down during the summer before I don’t have another option too. Life is happening too quickly for me right now. It’s kind of overwhelming. But that’s how it goes, doesn’t it?

Even though those parts of life are going by fast, I’m enjoying my weightloss, my new found diet, and the energy I have regained. Those aspects only push me to know that I am in the right path, and I want to do everything I can to continue. I even synced my twitter account with my youtube. That’s huge for me, I’m a pretty private person (especially when it comes to people I actually know) so unlocking that one step was a huge turning point for me. Doing the videos and keeping up with the blog is helping me come out of my shell a little bit more. Babys steps, but I’m getting there

weightloss, documentaries, and veganism.

Yesterday was weigh-in and I lost 2 lbs! I was super, no good, very bad, this week calorie wise though. The only explanation I have from the loss is the fact that during the day during those bad times I was super on point with calories, and I think a combination of that and my body needing more calories from work (overtime + doing exercise-type jobs like scrapping wine labels off of bottles for 2 hours straight) helped even out everything. Don’t get me wrong, I love the loss, but those days of binging are not good. At all. I need to work on that this week (hello, broken record Jessie. Remember saying that last week?) and get back to eating healthier foods.

On the healthier foods point, I spent all of my Sunday doing nothing but laundry and in the glorious trap that is Netflix instant queue. More specifically: the documentaries. I love watching them, I always get inspired and learn new things. It was a nice way to veg out and not do anything that was work. I ended up watching a series of documentaries: Vegucated, No Impact Man, and Forks Over Knives.

It’s no secret that I have been wanting to go vegan for a while. Years ago I thought it wasn’t something I could do. I was also kind of scared. What if I mess up? What if people judge me because I’m fat and I’m vegan? For years I’ve been a vegetarian (and most of my life semi-vegetarian), and it wasn’t really hard for me. It was hard when I would come to struggles like dining hall food in college, or instant cravings for food of the fast food variety, but other than that it was easy. I like vegetables, I like vegetarian foods, I enjoy the impact I have in terms of animal rights. Hell, I even eat most meals vegan. But for the past couple of years, something in my gut always told me that wasn’t enough.

I’m not going to stand on a soapbox and say that eating animal products is bad and that you are monster if you do. I think everyone has to decide what’s right for them, and at least hear the other person’s side on why it is important to them. In my heart I knew that just giving up meat wasn’t enough. I knew about what was happening in the dairy and egg farms, and by eating those products I was still hurting animals.

So, for the past year I have been slowly fazing out animal products in favor of vegan alternatives (or something completely different). I still ate cheese from time to time, and had things like yogurt or cottage cheese. I didn’t even think about it when I was out at meals, it was hardly ever vegan. I wasn’t super awesome about checking product labels, so things like bread would normally not be vegan. Frozen items generally had cheese. Then, a couple of months (maybe more?) I thought about fully switching over. I wrote a post about it, possibly on Tumblr? I wanted to do it slowly and finally get there.

If there is anything I can say about my life is that doing things “slowly” doesn’t work out for me. I have to just up and do it. No ifs, ands, or buts. Just do it. I wanted to stop biting my nails? I just do it. I wanted to learn how to tie my shoe? Just did it. I wanted to give up red meat and pork when I was in middle school? Just did it. I wanted to start losing weight? After months (years) of me starting “slowly” it took one day for me just to pick up MyFitnessPal and just do it. And here I am, more than 20 pounds lighter.

Those documentaries really got to me, as they should, but also my heart got to me. I just can’t deal with that dread I feel inside. I’m not perfect, and never will be. That’s the beauty of ” just doing it”. There will always be set backs (hello last two weeks of high calorie days) but it’s the just do it mentality that gets past those upsets and continues on to the next day, afresh.

I’m going vegan.

I think I’ll be a lot happier in the long run.

 

lent: 2013

I usually end up giving something up for Lent, and this year I’m kind of cheating. I have decided to give up soda. The reason I say “cheating”, is because I already kind of gave it up. I’m one of those people who would rather use calories to eat, rather than to drink so soda has naturally already kind of been eliminated in favor of zero calorie things like water and sparkling water. I don’t go out to eat much, and if I do it’s usually with a beer, but I want to work on this to help with any future temptation. I don’t like diet soda, except for diet Dr Pepper, and guess who’s work has that in the machine. I’ve already been tempted a couple of times because it’s there and there isn’t any calories. It’s a horrible habit, it’s nothing but chemicals and I really don’t want or need to be drinking it. Lent, even though I am not religious whatsoever, magically helps me sometimes so it’s worth a shot.

This week’s calories have been all sorts of crazy, and it’s only Wednesday. I fear the worst on Sunday, we’ll see. I’m really worried that I’m slipping up too much. I’ve done that before, and that’s when I gave up because I started giving up on myself. I’ve been super in check all day today, and have tried to do some recon on things and hopefully by the end of the week things will even out. I think partially is the fact that I went down 100 calories on MyFitnessPal. This shouldn’t be an issue for me, 1790 is what I’m averaging. But once it was a mandatory thing, I think my brain just freaked. I’m happy that I’m catching myself, but I’m still fearful of what tomorrow holds. I desperately don’t want to slip up too far. It’s scares me to think that I could.

The Filofax is still gorgeous, I’m still fixing it up though. I had trivia last night (Abita Mardi Gras Bock: AMAZING), so I haven’t had much time to do the stuff I want. Hopefully this weekend I can get it to were I want.

January Weight Loss

I tallied up the finals on the weigh-ins between 1-7-13 and 2-4-13 (the Monday after the big scale debacle and what I counted for this week’s weigh-in) and per my current scale I have lost…

::drum roll please::

13.4 lbs!

Holy crap guys. That’s HUGE. I know that it’s going to gradually get slower and harder to lose weight now, and most of that scale movement is because of the drastic reduction of calories vs the amounts I was doing before, coupled with the fact that I am extremely overweight making it easier to see those higher numbers of weightloss. But. Guys. I’m stunned.

It’s been such an amazing month so far. I really love how things are finally shaping up. I’m happier, healthier, and just all-in-all excited about what’s to come.

And this week? I lost 3.6 lbs. Lets see what the new scale holds for next week, but already I can feel the difference, and that’s really all that matters.

Scale Problems

I’m a little worried about weigh-in tomorrow. Not because I think I gained (seriously, there is no way that I gained, I’ve been great with calories) but because of scale issues.

Today, I decided to move my scale from my bathroom, where it was residing, to the kitchen. It was just going to be easier, and allowed more space in my bathroom. So, when I put my scale in the kitchen I wanted to try to calibrate it so I stepped on it and it said my weight was 336.8, which is what my weight was two weeks ago. I found this extremely odd, since I’ve been really good about calories. The scale was essentially telling me that eating less than 1900 calories a day will maintain a 336 lb body. Not at all in the possibility, but I did need to get off and back on to calibrate. I got back on and it started freaking out and just randomly going up and down from 240 to 330, never stopping on a number. I got off, figured I just needed to leave it be until later.

Then after a while of asking myself if I need a new scale, I remembered an event that happened last week: As I was pushing my scale back to an out of the way spot I got on and it said the exact same thing: 336.8, even though not 20 minutes before it had read 335.8. I shrugged it off as a flux, or more clothing that I had added, and moved on.

Then, I really thought about it. There was no way I could have only lost 1 lb last week. I was kind of upset when I had seen that weigh-in, and thought it was some of the bad choices I made during the week, but in all honesty even with those bad choices I was still under in calories (which is already like 500 calories under maintain). I didn’t go over massive amounts, or ate normal even though I had an ice cream sandwich or cake, I allotted those calories, and took them from other meals and making those meals less calorie dense. So I started freaking out about my scale being ruined and having no money to buy a new one (not the end of the world, but it is extremely helpful in keeping weightloss in check and so essential for this process) and then I remembered the Wii Fit. It was always off about a pound, but it would do in a pinch.

So I hooked it up, got it working and stepped on the board. It read me as 302 lbs.

What. The. Hell.

Frustrated, and knowing there is no way that can be right (I don’t fit nicely into clothing that I wore at that size) I went back onto my scale and it read as 321 lbs. It didn’t do the freak out, it held on to that poundage. I have no clue what’s going on, who is wrong or what, but hopefully tomorrow it’ll be a little clearer when I step on the scale in the morning. Hopefully it’ll at least be somewhat ok. But for now, I’m on the hunt for a new scale. I won’t be able to purchase it for a couple of weeks, but here’s hoping things turn out.

Oh, technology.

Trader Joe’s! Trader Joe’s!

 

Hi!

So normally I would do a video on this, but seeing as I haven’t posted in a while and I do not have the want to fuss with any sort of editing or trying to get my computer to decide it likes me enough to record, I figured that writing a post on it would be the best thing.

Today was the grand opening of Trader Joe’s here in Louisville. As someone who was part of the hundreds who contacted Trader Joe’s store suggestions page, and made many a voyage to Trader Joe’s not within my immediate vicinity this is a dream come true. I knew it would be crowded, and chances are not much left on the shelves but when I got there I found myself pleasently surprise that A) I found a parking spot and B) food was still on the shelves. As an added bonus, there were even shopping baskets!

I had a half day at work today to make up for the fact we’d be going in tomorrow night to strike Tom Sawyer. I know that this played a pivital role in the reason I was able to find that parking spot and food, but luck was on my side today and I wasn’t angry about that. I didn’t want to buy a lot, honestly I just wanted a few things and just to check it out. Get the lay of the land, and see how big it was. It was crowded, no doubt about that, but I was able to make it through and get some things that I wanted.

I decided early on that I wanted at the very least a package of beefless strips. From there I decided that I should actually find some whole meals so I can get some things, not spend all my money on trail mixes (which I got none of, thank you very much). I ended up getting supplies for fajitas/quesadillas. I’ve been in a hotdog mood, and with TJ brand vegetarian packaged foods being a good dollar less than name brand, I figured I would try it out. Especially since I could buy frozen things without fearing that I didn’t pack a cooler enough with ice and the two hour car trip would make it defrost.

I got:

• 3 Cheese Blend
• Beefless Strips (obviously AFTER I opened them)
• Chickenless Strips
• Chile and Garlic Tortillas
• Sour Cream
• Veggie Corn Dogs
• Guacamole Hummus (Not pictured)
• Dried Mango Slices (Not pictured)
• Fire Roasted Pepper Mix (Not pictured)

Am I going to shop at TJ a lot now? No. Trader Joe’s is, and has always been, a treat store. I don’t go there for real whole foods, I go their for packaged items. That being said, the occasional “I’m out of a frozen veggie product run” will always show up, along with the fact that their dried fruit and nuts section by far surpasses anyone in town, means that I will go every now and then. Especially now that it’s just opened up.

I also bought some tofu, which I plan on making a video about. When I first tried to prepare tofu packed in water, I didn’t know what I was doing. I ended with a soggy mess. I figured someone out there will benefit from a video tutorial on how to press and prepare tofu for the first time. Also, I wanted to try it out!

Any TJ suggestions now that I can get them? I’m open to try anything, especially if it’s frozen!

veganism.

It seems that past couple of days, or even weeks the word vegan has been creeping up. Part of the reason, I realize, is that I am vegetarian (well, almost there. Got to kick the fish) and it’s the next logical step but it has been coming up a lot more often than when I first went pescatarian.

Today, while at work doing some notes before tech went up for Tom Sawyer me and a co-worker were talking about how his wife was going vegan for a week. Her reason is that she is a writer, and it is an experiment for an article she is writing. We continued the talk in the van ride back to the shop and we were going through the different and many ways of going vegan. Vegan only in diet, vegan in diet and lifestyle. Eco-vegan. Vegan because of intolerance or health reasons. Vegan because you love animals. Vegan because you don’t like to think of eating the flesh of another. Vegan because of a traumatic experience.

As I thought about it in the context of the conversation, I got to think about my viewpoint of veganism. I haven’t really given it much thought than reading a couple of vegan blogs, or trying the random vegan dessert. I slowly began to realize that one day I would like to at least prime myself to take the steps to become vegan. I’m not even close to it right now in my life, obviously because of my absolute love of cheese and the need to have at least something on the menu other than a salad for me to not go crazy while dining out (which is why I still eat fish), but I am closer than most. I am actually fond of most vegan things. I’ve never liked the taste of milk, so I already really only have nut/rice milks in my foods. I’ve made many a recipe without eggs because of the lack of some on hand, and the readily available mason jar full of ground flax seed. Eggs generally creep me out if I think about it too long. I love breakfast, and will lean towards that if given the choice but sometimes here at the house I can’t make myself to get over making them myself.

I do have my reservations that tend to stop me when I think I could be vegan. I really hate the fact that I’d have to analyze every box, or every menu to make sure I don’t mistakenly eat something. I really don’t like people who try to push their viewpoint on others. It’s one of the things I detested when I was Christian. I never, ever once felt that someone was less of a person, or not a good person because they didn’t share my viewpoint. Trying to push someone to do what you do is not only mean, but forcing them to not even want to give it any sort of attention. Now, I’m not saying everyone does this but I have met more than my share of people who do fall into this category.

Diet changes are hard, no matter what they are and nothing good really comes of rushing through it. That being said, I have decided to consciously incorporate more vegan food into my diet than I have been. I really believe that it does help in weight loss and in the impact my diet has on the environment, and the animals who are mistreated to allow me to eat whatever. Will I be perfect? Not even in the slightest. Is there a possibility of never actually becoming vegan? Of course, but I’d rather say I tried it the right way (slow and steady) and it just didn’t work out for me than to just give up because it becomes overwhelming and then feel bad for myself and think that everyone perceives me as a failure.

Doing things for the right reasons for yourself and not someone else’s is the only way to suceed.

Weigh-in #8 and #9: 21 Day Challenge

I have some sad news to share.

No weigh-in this week. I’m currently at Rebecca’s house. Due to a sudden death in the family, I am here taking care of all the fur babies. I’ve realized that I haven’t really updated in a while so you don’t know how big of an undertaking that is. Rebecca has two cats, and two dogs. She also is currently fostering five four week old kittens. They are ADORABLE, but they need to be bottle fed every four hours. They were dumped off in a bucket and a fisherman found them 😦 I love them, but the night is hard. It’s like I had a baby. And if you didn’t know, it takes me about an hour to two hours to fall asleep so I never really get to go back to sleep, or even nap inbetween feedings. They are old enough to begin to start weaning (and we’ve pretty much successfully litter trained them!) so it should be getting better. They are definitely more independant than when we got them last Tuesday.

So, nine animals to care for means no weigh-in. I could have brought my scale over, but I didn’t want to have to deal with that when I was bringinig over clothes/toiletries/food so I’m calling this week a bust, and will do a weigh-in next Sunday. The Sunday after that is the day I head to my summer stock really early in the morning, so I don’t think I’ll weigh-in on that day. I really don’t think I’ll remember to do it at like 4 am in the morning. I’m still debating on whether I’m going to bring my scale. It’s one less thing I’ll have to pack and find a place for if I don’t bring it, although I won’t have the accountability of seeing the number every week. But, it could be cool to see how much I lose after 9 weeks of not stepping on the scale. We’ll see what I decide.

The last weigh-in I did was on the 16th (I really AM slacking on this blog, I’m sorry). It was at 300 lbs, which is maintain from the last week. It’s ok. I was kind of bad with my calories towards the end of the week, and my food wasn’t as good as it could have been. I know why it’s the weight it is, but it’s still a tiny bit disappointing.

I finished my last 21 Day Challenge around the 9th of this month and I realized I didn’t talk about it. I made a video about it:

I didn’t do so hot in the water department, but did do well in both the keeping track and cleaning categories. I guess 2 out of 3 isn’t bad, right? Since I love my lists and resolutions I decided to do another challenge. This one in addition to keeping 150 oz of water, I added exercising at least 2 days a week, and get up before 10 am. We’ll see how it goes.