Be Bold

Where do I go from here?

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 17:27:04 -0500

Okay folks, here’s the skinny: (no pun intended)

After three weeks on the Dukan Diet, I have lost right around 10 lbs. Over the past week, I’ve “cheated” a little here and there.

Each cheat has been a healthy food (with the exception of one candy bar) and has been only throughout the course of the past few days. I had some air popped popcorn, which is decidedly not carb-free, but was still fairly low carb, about 2% I think. I also had a 6 inch Subway sandwich today out of sheer desperation. I had to eat something or I was going to faint, and I was in Floydada with the Husband.

These items did NOT set me back too much. I lost almost three pounds this week, and I think that, with more exercise, I could still continue to lose weight and give up on the strictly protein diet.

For the record, the only actual exercise I have been getting these past three weeks is walking every three or four days, and working on closing down the local video store. While the latter has been somewhat strenuous, I feel that I can still do an actual workout and eat other food.

Bottom line: I’m tired of this diet. I love the results, but I’m sick of eating nothing but chicken breast and broccoli. Also, this diet has definitely taken its toll on my wallet. Meat is expensive around here.

What do you guys think? Can I keep losing weight by exercising more and eating a healthy VARIED diet? I still have exactly 30 pounds to go before I reach my goal.

Weigh in on this in the comments! (pun totally intended)

-Katie

10 lbs, baby!

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:19:07 -0500

As of this morning, I have lost 10.2 lbs!

This week of the Cruise Phase has been most difficult. I have sincerely wanted to quit this diet, mostly because I miss cooking beautiful, varied meals for my husband and myself. I like to experiment when I cook, and lean proteins and veggies do not lend to this very well.

I also feel like my social life has suffered from this diet. I turn down going to coffee shops or Chinese food restaurants with friends solely because I still crave carbs and greasy food.

It’s been very difficult, but I’m still going strong. Losing 10 lbs in just under 3 weeks has really helped motivate me to stay on the diet.

Numbers for this week:

10.2 - Number of pounds lost so far

154.8 - My weight as of this morning

29.8 - Pounds left til the Magic Number

1,000,000,000 - Times I have wanted a big, fat bowl of pasta since starting this diet

1,000,000,000 - Times I have resisted that big, fat bowl of pasta.

#$@!%

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:06:14 -0500

I just spent precious sleeping time writing a post, and when I went to submit it, it deleted itself. So…let me give you the highlights.

I cheated on my diet today. Macaroni and cheese, along with broccoli and a steak. The mac n’cheese serving was about 1/4 the suggested serving size….just FYI.

I’ve lost 2.2 on the first week of the cruise phase. Awesomeness.

That means I’ve lost 7.2 pounds in two week’s time. Hooray!

I can no longer drink sodas to quench my thirst. It must be water or tea. The soda just leaves a weird taste/feel in my mouth.

I have 32.8 pounds to go to reach my goal weight.

I’m tired. Good night!

-Katie

Dukan Diet Day 8: Cruise Phase

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:26:50 -0500

The Attack Phase is over. Hooray for veggies!! I began the cruise phase on Sunday, August 7. As of that morning, I have lost 5 lbs total! Not too shabby, I may say.

My husband and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary on Sunday and Monday morning. We went to an interactive science museum and saw a movie. For lunch, I ate a sirloin steak with steamed broccoli. For dinner, we went to a salad place, where I had all the leafy greens I could eat.

Also, I’m sorry to say, I cheated on my diet for the first time. I had a slice of cornbread with honey butter. Granted, the slice measured approximately 1”x2”, and the spread of butter was so thin it was almost nonexistent, but it was so darn good.

There I was, eating my delicious salad, but I was surrounded by pasta, potatoes, tacos, and soup. I figured the cornbread was a better option than the strawberry shortcake.

Anywho, the cornbread didn’t set me back too much, as I gained less than a pound from that day, and some of that can be attributed to the veggies I ate, too.

Today was a Pure Protein day, so we’ll see how the weigh-in goes tomorrow.

My goal now: I have to alternate Pure Protein and Protein-Veggie days until I get down to my goal weight. I’m 5 pounds closer now, though!

Numbers!

165: What I weighed at the beginning of this diet

8: Number of days I’ve been on the diet

160: What I weigh as of yesterday morning

5: Number of pounds lost so far! :)

Until next time,
Katie

Dukan Diet Day 5: Attack Phase

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:55:22 -0500

I have been with the Attack Phase for five days now, and I am pleased with the results. My results haven’t been as dramatic as some of the other blogs I’ve read (some people have lost upwards of 10 lbs!) but I have lost quite a bit of weight.

I lost .8 lbs on the first day, and 2.3 lbs the second day. I actually gained half a pound the third day, but more on that later. I lost a pound the fourth day, and as of this morning, I was down to 160.4!

This means that, in total, I have lost 4.6 lbs!! This is purely water weight, which is why I’m okay with losing that much in just 5 days.

I have stuck to the diet pretty well, eating a lot of beef, chicken, and shrimp. I also eat a lot of nonfat yogurt to break up the monotony of just eating meat.

Now, I mentioned that I gained weight on the third day. This is, I discovered, directly related to the amount of sodium I had. My husband had a rough day at work and wanted to meet some friends at IHOP. Since I obviously couldn’t eat pancakes or anything, I opted for a serving of balsamic chicken. It was pretty salty, even though I asked them to not add any. Sodium causes water retention, which is why i didn’t lose any weight the third day. Also, since I’m drinking about 3 quarts of water a day, I gained weight because I retained the water from the salt I had.

Moral of the story? Watch your sodium when you are trying to lose weight. Watch your sodium anyway. The recommended daily intake of sodium is somewhere around 2300 mg per day. Take a look at the nutrition facts on your favorite snack and see how much you eat every day. Probably not the healthiest number, eh?

Okay. Off my soapbox now….

I craved carbs a lot on the first two days, but I expect that’s from being accustomed to eating 1-3 servings of carbs per day before I started the diet. I also wanted a soda more than words can express. Again, I was used to drinking 1-2 sodas a day, so it’s a habit I had to break.

Now, 5 days later, I have had only water to drink, and the only major source of carbs I get is from the prescribed amount of oat bran. I feel great. I have energy to get through my day without a major crash (previously alleviated with a soda or candy bar) and I find that my moods are actually improved as well.

I still have today and tomorrow for the attack phase, and I’m going strong. On Sunday, I will get to have veggies and begin my Cruise Phase. More on that at a later date.

Numbers, once again:

165: Starting weight

160.4: Weight as of this morning.

5: Days I have been on the Dukan Diet, specifically the Attack Phase

4.6: Pounds I have lost in just 5 days.

Until next time,
Katie

Dukan Diet Day 2: New Scale

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 15:32:00 -0500

I bought a digital scale today, rather than use the dial scale I used to measure my starting weight.

According to the digital scale, I actually weigh 164.2, so I’m using 165 as my starting weight. My dial scale told me that I did indeed lose almost a pound, so the math works out.

Just an update. Have a great one!

Dukan Diet: Day 1 of the Attack Phase

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 17:13:50 -0500

Okay. While I canNOT promise that I’ll be posting every single day, I would like to document my progress on my new diet. It’s the Dukan Diet, and to put it simply, it’s a low-carb, high-protein, ultra-structured diet.

It’s my first day, and it hasn’t been that hard. I think my greatest weakness is that I truly enjoy foods of convenience. If I can get it already cooked, I’ll take it. That being said, these foods are generally carb-laden.

To lay the structure of the diet out for you, it is in 4 phases.

Phase 1: Attack Phase. 3-10 days. Nothing buy lean proteins (chicken, nonfat dairy, lean beef/pork), 1.5 tablespoons of oat bran, and TONS of water. More on the water later.

Phase 2: Cruise Phase. One week for every 2 lbs you’d like to lose, or until you reach your goal weight. More lean proteins, only this time you alternate days where you can add unlimited “good” veggies. No potatoes or corn here. Oat bran. Water

Phase 3: Consolidation Phase: One week for every lb you’ve actually lost. You still do pure protein days, but start incorporating foods you’ve been without.

Phase 4: Stabilization Phase: You pretty much eat like normal again, but must still do oat bran every day, and one day a week is a pure protein day. This is for the rest of your life.

As you can see, it isn’t a diet to be taken lightly (no pun intended). But I stepped on the scale this morning and basically wanted to crawl back in bed and restart the day. Not a pleasant number to see for my 5’4” height.

I had nonfat yogurt with oat bran for breakfast, sprinkled with some cinnamon. It was filling, and I wasn’t hungry until about 5 hours later. I had a smoked turkey leg for lunch, which is actually NOT a lean protein, but I had no other options as I had no time for a lunch today. I think it was a better choice than anything else I could have eaten.

I’m posting this before dinner, but I plan on having some pan-roasted tilapia and egg drop soup made with just the whites. We’ll see how that goes.

Here’s some numbers for documentation sake:

160 lbs: Weight this morning. This was as soon as I woke up.

140 lbs: The weight I told myself I’d never surpass. Notice the difference?

125 lbs: Weight I hope to be at by the New Year. Goal Weight. The Magic Number.

35 lbs: The amount of weight I need to lose in order to be at my goal weight.

I’m hopeful. I’m worried. But mostly I’m ready to be healthy.

I'm just a little A.D.D.

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:20:54 -0500

I have a confession. I have been using this blog to write about all my whims, such as “not eating out”, which admittedly only lasted two weeks, or doing bento (which lasted for a long time, but is on hold for the summer).

Truth is, I’m on an everlasting quest for some sort of project that I can work on over time. I want to have a project that I can work on and document through trendy-looking photos. However, I’m not very good at committing to long-term projects (my marriage aside) and I don’t want to have to commit to blogging about something I’m straining to do.

So I’m going to just hang out, live life, and blog about it. I still lovelovelove cooking and food, so this blog will probably still be mostly about that.

This is my challenge:

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 10:28:00 -0500

I have officially given up eating out.

Let’s rewind to the day it started…

I recently read a book, “The Art of Eating In” by Cathy Erway, and was amazed at this woman’s story. Living in New York, (where they sell homes without kitchens, eating out’s so common) Erway had grown tired of the same, sub-par food she ate in some restaurants. So, she challenged herself and her way of life by deciding to not eat out. And she succeeded. For two years.

The results were remarkable. She broadened her culinary horizons. From freeganism to cook-offs, dinner clubs to dating without restaurants, Erway essentially learned an entirely new lifestyle and gained a shiny new perspective. She also inspired me to try it out.

Mind you, there are guidelines to this challenge. For instance, even Erway ate out if she wasn’t in her home town or her parents’ home town. If she couldn’t cook a meal for herself due to location, she ate out. She also allowed herself to eat out if her boss catered/treated her to lunch. She still had to maintain a happy workplace environment.

But that was it. Save for a couple exceptions, she made it.

I can’t say whether or not I’ll make it two years without eating out, but I’m sure going to go about this with this goal in mind: I want to stop eating out in order to push the limit of my pantry. I want to learn new cooking techniques, how to use new ingredients, and how to pay attention to what goes into my body.

Bentos will certainly help me with this goal. They’re an easy way to pack a lunch rather than running to McDonald’s anytime I’m hungry.

I’m still working on the rules I’m setting for myself. Look out for that post later this week. So far, I have lasted 3 days without eating out. Lets see where this takes me.

-K

Germany!

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 11:21:08 -0500

Hello!

I know, I know. I’m by far the worst blogger ever. I’ve been super busy finishing up my senior recital and taking trips to Europe.

With my senior recital finally finished, I had about 5 days to get ready to go to Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic along with 90-odd other students from our university’s school of music. It was an amazing, eye-opening experience. Here’s just a small preview of the delicious food I ate there:

and…

some of the BEST ice cream I’ve ever eaten in my life.

Again, this is just a small preview of what I ate there, and an even smaller example of what I experienced. I have hundreds of photos to filter through, so this will just have to be enough for now. :)

-K

I'm Back!

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 23:32:13 -0600

Sorry it’s been so long since I posted…I’ve been a little busy with this:

I’ve got a senior recital in February and juries….tomorrow. So, I’ve actually been practicing.

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I enjoyed my break. I spent much of the time working or practicing, but Thanksgiving day was spent with some great friends and new traditions. Here’s what we ate:

First, we had deviled eggs and a vegetable tray to tide us over until the real food was ready. Let me start off by saying that I have a dear, dear relationship with deviled eggs. I could eat them all day. The Husband may spend less time around me if I did, so I try to control myself.

I still think I had about six of these puppies. Delicious. Also, is it just me, or is there always that one egg that gets WAY too much paprika on top? I always have that egg….what’s the deal?!

My good friend Kristi started the turkey at the crack of dawn so that we could eat before I had to go to work. (Yes, I worked Thanksgiving day…I can’t turn down time and a half!) While our beautiful turkey cooked to perfection, we started a broth with the “innards”.

Gross, right?

Wrong. That turkey’s guts were delicious! At least, the broth was. We used the broth for gravy and to moisten the dressing. Speaking of which, we had a mishap with the dressing. You see, Kristi’s mom bought two bunches of green onions, but neglected to tell us to use only ONE of those bunches. So we accidentally doubled the onions in the recipe. Still tasted pretty good, and I’ll be darned if it wasn’t purty.

Finally, the main event. The turkey was ready. Kristi prepared it by stuffing it with celery stalks, then putting it inside a Crisco-coated paper bag. Mira:

This being our first Thanksgiving without parents, we were worried that we either over- or undercooked this baby. But good ol’ Kristi knew what she was doing! Let me prepare you for what you’re about to see with this tidbit. When Kristi went to cut a leg off, the meat was so tender the bone slid out…perfectly clean. This.Turkey.Was.Awesome.

Beautiful and golden on the outside. Moist and tender on the inside. Ultimate turkey perfection. I’m thankful for the fact that there were 10 pounds of it.

That’s right, folks. Our first “grownup” Thanksgiving and we didn’t burn the turkey. I did burn my finger, but I’m blaming Kristi’s weirdly-shaped oven for that one.

Happy Holidays and Happy Eating,

-K

Drama

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 23:00:38 -0600

No, not the high school kind. The real kind! This week is opening week for Shorts XIV at Wayland, so I’m unfortunately living off peanut butter sandwiches and (gasp!) McRibs. Obviously not good enough to make it to blog fodder status.

On top of being super busy, I’ve begun to suffer from tension headaches/migraines. I go through 3-hour long rehearsals sitting in a dark hallway, silently suffering while I wait to perform onstage for a full house of people waiting to be entertained.

Melodramatic, no….?

-K

Quinoa!

Sun, 07 Nov 2010 22:51:35 -0600

Quinoa: A teen-iny little seed grain thing that is kinda like rice. For a more in-depth and science-y description, go here.

Anyway, it was the combination of food blog reading and the ability to finally go to Lubbock that’s responsible for the quinoa now sitting in my pantry.

You cook it like you would rice. I soaked/rinsed the quinoa, then brought 1 cup of quinoa and 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil. Once it was boiling, you lower the heat and let it simmer for 15 minutes COVERED. Don’t even think about pulling that lid off. The steam is what cooks it to perfection. After 15 minutes, turn off the heat and leave the lid on it for 5 minutes to get fluffy.

This is what you’ll get:

Not unlike risotto or couscous, no? The main difference is the texture. While the quinoa is cooking, the germ separates from the seed in the form of a little curly-que thing. That gives it a softer, pasta-like texture. The quinoa itself, though, kinda pops when you bite down on it. Initially, I thought it was unpleasant. After the next couple of bites, I decided it was alright.

Plain quinoa is alright, but I was really hungry. So, I chopped up some veggies and the pecan-smoked sausage to be sauteed in a bit of grapeseed oil.

I got distracted dancing with the dog while the oil heated, thus the nasty-looking brown on the bottom of my pan.

After the veggies/sausage were heated through, I added the quinoa and did a speed sautee on all of it. This is the product:

While the meal was tasty, I’m not sure I really enjoyed it. After I ate most of my serving, I realized that I didn’t feel full. I was scrounging to get sausage or veggies in every bit in order to feel like I was actually eating something.

If you’re looking for something light and full of texture, quinoa is the way to go. But, I was ravenous after getting off work, and the quinoa just wasn’t what I wanted.

I’ll look for some more quinoa recipes and see if I can’t find a more appropriate vehicle for quinoa’s potential awesomeness.

Any ideas on what quinoa’s soulmate is?

-K

Thursday Night Dinner

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 21:12:14 -0500

In an earlier post, I referred to this dish as “pseudojambalaya”. Now, I’m thinking it’s more like a Spanish rice-type dish.

Since the Husband and I moved into a new house, we’ve been living on the cheap. This dish is a combination of fresh produce and packaged, beef-flavored rice.

I browned some pecan-smoked sausage and started the vermicelli/rice mix on some butter. Then, I added some bell pepper, tomato, and onion and seasoned with oregano, chili powder, and garlic. When all that was nice and happy, I added some water and chicken stock and let the rice do its thing.

When the rice was tender, Bobby and I had a great, cheap dinner. It was filling, and the spices gave it a nice kick of flavor. I’m pretty sure the guys who were working on our furnace were drooling. I don’t know about you, but I feel pretty good when complete strangers are craving your cooking. :)

-K

I'm Back!

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:23:13 -0500

Since I was apparently on hiatus from blogging these past few months, I’d like to re-start what I began:

Truths:

I am Katie Hon. Married to Bobby Hon and a music major at WBU.

I lovelovelove food and cooking. I’m just now starting to get into different cooking methods instead of just sauteeing or frying everything!

This blog will be about life in general, but mostly food and food-related health things.

I am not always a healthy eater. Fresh produce is not conducive to a poor college student’s budget.

I try my darndest to eat healthy, though.

Final Truth:

I will soon post some delicious-looking photos of my pseudojambalaya.

Happy living,
K

Nomnomnom...

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 00:33:26 -0500

Super-delicious bento for my lunch break today. In retrospect, the container I used/bought specifically for bento is probably too big for effective portion control. I guess I’ll use it for picnic bento or something…

From top left, moving clockwise:

carrots, cabbage, and peas - all sauteed in a frying pan with a leeetle beeety bit of olive oil

strawberry, kiwi, and grapes dropped in acidulated water to prevent browning

lean turkey patties, pan-fried

fresh broccoli with some light ranch

1 cup of brown rice topped with steak seasoning

I didn’t finish the cabbage/carrot mixture. It actually didn’t keep very well.

Happy Eating!
Katie

Self-Realization...

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:22:39 -0500

Okay. Here goes…

I was just in a beautiful wedding this past weekend for two of my great friends. Congrats, you guys. It was wonderful.

Now for the selfish part. I just got done looking at some candids that were shot and I’m extremely unhappy with how I look now. I feel as though I’ve gained so much weight that I’m unrecognizable as a past me. I’m not looking for my high school weight, just a healthy (read: healthy-looking) weight. I need to make a goal and try to attain it. Maybe 20 pounds before the New Year or something. I haven’t laid any numbers down yet, but I really want to look and feel better.

*sigh*

Seems as though it’s going to be a loooooong year.

-Katie

Nearly-vegetarian bento and catch up

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 22:23:13 -0500

It’s been a while…hmmm.

Luckily, that’s because I’m so busy working out with my good friend Jake! I’ve worked out almost every day this week, barring the inevitable morning when I forget to set my alarm and sleep through the 7 am workout.

Anywho, I’m not exactly looking forward to the dreaded “full-body circuit” Jake has promised, but it’ll be good for me nonetheless.

In addition to working out, I’m eating a lot healthier now. Here’s what I had for lunch today.

My lunch consisted of, from left to right:

1/2 cups red grapes - 50 cal

3/4 cup brown rice - 220 cal

8 baby carrots and 1/2 cup green bell pepper, steamed - 45 cal

3 slices pre-cooked Canadian bacon - 75 cal

1/2 cup boiled cabbage - 20 cal

Meal Total: 410 calories

Not only was the meal healthy, it was delicious! I didn’t expect the lunch to be so tasty, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I added a small pinch of steak seasoning to the rice, as it tends to be pretty bland. Also, I steamed the cabbage with a bit of soy sauce to add flavor. Thus, there was probably more sodium in this meal than I should’ve had. Also, the bento is nearly-vegetarian because the only protein in it is the bacon. In hindsight, I should have added some egg or beans.

Still, delicious.

More later,
Katie

Bento Box and Work-out Session

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:27:57 -0500

I finally did it. I made my way over to the campus rec center and did a complete work-out circuit. My newly-certified friend Jake helped me out. He’s my new “personal trainer”. It took me a month, but hey, I made it!

In other news…I was perusing the booty at the local Goodwill store and found an actual bento box! It was taped together, so I surreptitiously undid its wrapping to find that it was authentic. Don’t get me wrong, a normal Tupperware container can be used to package a bento lunch, but I’ve followed this trend with almost religious conviction, so I feel as though I’ve won the hand-me-down lottery.

Here it is in its travel-ready state.

The top is a two-tiered section:

And the bottom is a separate flat container:

Ah, bento, how I love thee.

Healthy Living

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 23:28:50 -0500

Okay, okay….I give. I am finally doing the whole eating-better-and-trying-to-exercise lifestyle. I’m painfully aware of what I’m putting into my body and being active.

This is a big deal for me. I’ve never been concerned about what I eat or how much I work out. However, my lack of concern has gotten me into a tight spot….literally. Clothes don’t fit properly anymore…that was my main motivator.

I’ve joined this website that helps me count my calories and keep track of my physical activity. It’s a calorie counter. Check it out.

So, I’m getting active and watching what I eat. I’m gonna start moving around and getting fit. I’m going on an adventure.