The Battle of the Bulge - week 3

My current weight: 177.6
My current BMI: 25.5 (overweight)
Pounds lost so far: 7.4
Days of Cardio this week: 1
Days of Yoga this week: 0
Days of Strength training this week: 0

I actually changed my goal this week to maintaining my weight but was surprised to see that I actually did lose 1.4 lbs. I have been sick and flew to Utah and back and realized that this week my body really needs the energy and it was not a time to diet. I'm on the mend now, finally getting some energy back, though Coll said I still sound horrible :)

Weight Loss Tip of the Week:
This one is easy, but something much overlooked by motivated dieters. A time of illness is NOT a time to deprive your body of calories. The goal of weight loss for many people entails a transition to a healthier lifestyle but when ones body is being attacked by a virus or bacteria (or fungus or prion for that matter!), it is time to give up the dieting temporarily until it gets its butt kicked by the immune system. Now, that doesn't mean take the opposite route and eat nothing but ice cream and oreos until you feel better, but aim for feeding your body healthy calories, full of vitamins and minerals. This may seem commonsensical and straightforward but I have had to sit down and discuss this with patients in the hospital who just had a major surgery. If you are going to heal quickly you need to give your body an easily accessible form of energy (and burning fat is not easily accessible). So, until you feel better focus on maintaining the weight you are at (and not gaining any weight back).

Goals for Next Week:
Despite the fact that I'm starting to feel better, I'm still going to go a bit easy on myself this week. I would like to aim for 2-3 days of cardio and a weight loss of 2.6 lbs (which would take me down to 175 lbs). Stay tuned!

The Battle of the Bulge Commences

I am going to lose weight and I'm dragging you all along with me! I am a bit embarrassed to be doing this "publicly," normally I'm a bit shy about my personal struggles and only share them with people very close to me, but I want this weight loss to stick this time so I feel that the more people who know what's up the more accountable I will be!

Here's the deal, in a nutshell. In high school I weighed about 155 lbs, and of course since it was high school I could eat whatever I wanted and never gained a pound. I became a vegetarian when I was 15 as well and didn't take the time to figure out cooking so ate a lot of side dishes. When I went to college I was stuck with dorm food for 2 years and all of the vegetarian dishes (aside from the salad bar) were chock full of cheese (I went to the University of Wisconsin, so of course it was!). I gained about 30-40 pounds in those years.

Prior to starting Medical School I decided enough was enough and got my act together. I limited my caloric intake and started exercising more frequently and got my weight down to 150 lbs! I was doing yoga, pilates, cardio, I joined a gym, I was eating more healthy than I ever had before and I felt GREAT! It was one of the first times that I actually felt pretty comfortable in my own skin.

It was easy during the first two years of Med school, all I had to do was attend class and study all the time, I could work most everything around when I wanted to go to the gym and get groceries and cook! But once 3rd year started and I was in the hospital all the time and traveling to be with Coll every other weekend I found it hard to keep up with my healthy lifestyle. Slowly things started to slip. I did ok for a long while, even if I was eating unhealthy choices I would eat smaller amounts. But slowly my weight started creeping up again. By the beginning of 4th year I was probably in the low 170's, before the interview season started I was in the mid to upper 170's and with the combo of the holidays and traveling/being wined and dined for interviews I've finally hit the mid 180's. I have decided it needs to stop. This is me now (Collier took this tonight):

Obviously I am wearing a fairly unflattering form-fitting outfit but that is something I used to wear to the gym and I remember it not being very snug at all. I tried to get into a pair of pants that I bought only a month ago and couldn't even zip them. It's out of control! I'm not comfortable with my body as it is, I want to feel and look healthy. I want to live my life in a way that people will respect, and the fact that I am going to have an M.D. after my name in a few short months only makes a change in lifestyle all the more important. People look to docs to be an example of a healthy lifestyle and right now mine just is not that. Mainly, I need to do this for me. I am happier in my life than I've been in a long time, I like where things are going. I may as well be happy about myself as well!

So, here's what I plan to do. Since it worked last time I will do the very same thing! Prepare healthy low fat low calorie delicious meals (really, I've got some great recipes that I will share!) to keep my total calorie intake between 1200-1400 kcal per day. My goal is to start squeezing yoga back in at least a few times a week and to try to walk Kermit daily (good for both of us!). I will weigh in once a week on Monday and aim to post my results on Tuesday of every week.

My goal: To lose 35 lbs by my Med School Graduation. This would put me in a healthy BMI range and back at the 150 I felt comfortable at (BMI 21.5), and back in a size 8 (I'm at a size 12 or 14 now). This is also a healthy rate of weight loss for my body at 2-3 lbs per week, which is my secondary goal.

My current weight: 185
My current BMI: 26.5 (overweight)
Days of Cardio this week: 3
Days of Yoga this week: 0
Days of Strength training this week: 0

I invite you along with me on this journey, I hope to share with you my struggles and my victories!

Goal weight for next week: 182

What's for dinner? Three Bean Chili with Cornbread Crumbles!

This is one of my favorite recipes - I make a batch of this almost weekly. It makes about 4.5 meals, after I make it I pack it in smaller containers and just grab one to take to work with me! This recipe is low fat and fairly low calorie - you could have a bowl of chili, a small side salad, and a fruit for about 300 cals. The best thing about this recipe is it is really difficult to screw up. I should know, I have tried every way I can! One time I forgot the beans entirely - I cooked the vegetables for about an hour and then realized! Not to worry, though, I threw the beans in and cooked it for another half an hour and it was SO good!

What you will need:
1 large (29-30 oz) can of Tomato Sauce
1 15 oz can Black Beans
1 15 oz can dark kidney beans
1 15 oz can northern (white) beans
1 tbsp canola oil
2 green peppers
4 roma tomatoes (or 2 bigger ones!)
1 large yellow/white/sweet onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
2 tsp chili powder
Dried red chiles (optional)

1) Start by chopping the garlic - I use a garlic press because I'm lazy, I would really recommend investing in one if you use a lot of garlic, it saves a lot of time! Then chop the onion. I like to keep the vegetables all around the same size so if you want a really chunky chili chop bigger pieces!
2) Put a dutch oven over a low to medium heat. Add the canola oil just so that the bottom of the pot is covered. Add garlic and onion and simmer uncovered for about 5 mins (until starting to soften). You can also add dried red peppers at this time if you wish - I like my chili pretty spicy so usually add about 4 of them (these are the small red chiles that you will usually find in the mexican aisle of your grocery store)

3) While the garlic and onion are simmering, start cutting up the green pepper. Add that when done. Then chop the tomato and add that! Now let the whole combination simmer uncovered for another 5 minutes or so.

4) While the vegetables are stewing away, start washing the beans. I dump them all together into a strainer and wash them really well (the "sauce" around canned beans is really high in sodium and we want to wash all of that salt away and leave behind the beautiful beans!). Once they are all washed you can dump them into the pot as well.
5) Now add the tomato sauce into the dutch oven.
6) And finally, add the chili powder. I usually go with a very generous (heaping) 2 tsp. Note here that if you wanted to add spice you could buy hot chili powder rather than adding the red chiles. I buy chili powder in bulk because I make this recipe so frequently and can only find mild chili powder in large quantities so that's why I do dried chiles!

7) Cover pot and bring chili to a light boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer covered for at least 45 minutes (I prefer an hour to an hour and 15 mins), stirring occasionally.
8) I test the chili for "doneness" by sampling a green pepper - I prefer my veggies to be pretty soft and the pepper is always the last to soften! If you prefer a crunchier chili you may want to stop cooking closer to the 45 min point.

9) If you put red chiles in, now is the time to fish them out. I like to count the stems when I put them in as they usually fall off and I want to make sure I got them all!
10) Serve right away or refrigerate/freeze!

I made cornbread to go with this meal, I cheated and used a kit - It was a Chili's restaurant cornbread kit which was amazing, really - very moist (I'm not a huge fan of dry cornbread). I crumbled some over the chili and had a small piece to the side as well!

Obviously with all the beans in this awesome chili, it is great for vegetarian or vegan folks. If you wanted to make this meal a source of complete protein, you could add some rice to the chili itself or serve it on a bed of rice.

The chili will keep well in the refrigerator, if you won't eat it within the week I would recommend freezing it. Bon appetit and enjoy!