It's the Weekend!!!

It's the weekend...I just finished my last day of Friday classes of my college career, whoa (next Friday is Ready Day).  I can't believe it!!!

Tomorrow is Spring Formal at my University, it should be a lot of fun.  I'm going to try to be good and not eat too much food when we go out to dinner tomorrow night.

So, this is just a quick post to check in a say hello to everyone and share a neat article about 10 Tasty and Healthy Store-Bought Snacks with you all.  Check it out here.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Until Next Time...

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-Tyler

This is One STRESSFUL Week!

This week is something else...I am stressed to the max with class projects, papers, trying to find a job, interviews, and a lot of other projects.

When I get to these times of extreme stress, there are two ways I feel it can impact my diet (both of them negatively):

1. I eat anything and everything in sight and I quit eating health foods because it's easier to go to McDonald's instead of cooking a meal OR
2. I quit eating.  I forget about food, I run around and skip meals.  I drink caffeine or soda to give me energy.

Both are bad steps to take, so I'm trying to avoid them.  I try to remember that I love cooking and that it helps to relax me and reduce my stress.  I also remember my diet goals and know that I will succeed!

I will update later in the week.  For now I leave you with 23 Ways to Eat Clean, a neat article on about ways you can work to eat more clean and natural foods.

Until Next Time...

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-Tyler

9, 21, 22...and a Couple of Pounds

Wow, wow, wow...

So, I only have 9 days of college left; 21 days until graduation; and 22 days until a National Campus YMCA Conference that I'm a part of.  I can't believe my college years will be over so soon!  I have papers and projects to finish, graduation to get ready for, jobs to try and get...sooooo much going on!

Now that I've had a little rant about all that's going on over the next few weeks, let me share with you the results from the scale this morning.

My Weight, as of April 26 is...

305 pounds.

A loss of 2 pounds from last week!

We are still doing well!  I'm excited about the progress of the diet and am hopeful that I will be below 300 pounds by graduation day, May 17!

I spent part of the weekend shopping for locally grown produce and getting items that are healthy and yummy.  I went to the Foothill's Farmers' Market and bought lettuce, asparagus, local pork, and saw a bunch of other great food items.  I can't wait to go back and visit it again!

Until Next Time...

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-Tyler

It's the Weekend!

Well...another week has come and gone.  I will weigh in on Monday and let you all know how we did this past week.  Let's hope we did alright!

I didn't go back to the gym (I know, FAIL) but I hope I can start back this coming week.  I need to, I need to, I need to!!!

I'm off to spend my time weekend-ing.  I only have 9 days of class left and am getting close to graduation!  I can't believe it!!!

Until Next Time...

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-Tyler

Farmers' Market!!!

The last week or so I have been on a continual rant about industrialized food and the need to eat organic, local, and more ''better for you'' foods.  Well, the rants will continue, but I hope to start moving in the direction of eating organically and locally this Saturday with a visit to the opening Saturday of the Foothill's Farmers' Market in Uptown Shelby, North Carolina.

I love a Farmers' Market and I am excited about starting to visit the Foothill's Farmers' Market and getting locally grown vegetables, meats, eggs, and other yummy food items.  It's exciting because this year the Farmers' Market adopted some new policies that require their farmers to produce items in herbicide and pesticide free environments.  I also hope to find local grass-fed beef and local chicken.

I really want to stop eating overly processed or industrialized foods.  It is more expensive and it will take some effort and creativity (and I'll never be able to fully escape modified and manipulated foods...I don't have a farm of my own for instance), but I hope I can start doing it!

So, I'll be at the Farmers' Market on Saturday morning...I hope to see you there!

Until Next Time...

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-Tyler

It's Weigh In Day!

I did a weigh in this morning and I am happy to report that...

My Weight, as of April 20 is...

307 pounds.

A loss of 1 pound from last week!

So, we are still doing pretty good!  I think we will make to below 300 pounds by graduation day, which is very exciting!

On another note...I mentioned the film Food, Inc. last week in a quick discussion of industrialized food (I'll talk more about that on tomorrow's update), BUT for now, I wanted to pass on some fun news I found out about this afternoon from a tweet by Michael Pollan (author of In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto).  The tweet reads...

Yay!  Sooooo...for all of you out there with PBS (which is ALL of you with a television anywhere near you) watch Food, Inc. on Thursday night!  Visit PBS's website here for your local listings.

Until Next Time...

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-Tyler

 

Two Posts in One Day. What the...

I know, right?  It's crazy that I would do two updates in one day...but here I go!

Tonight I made a DELICIOUS vegetarian dinner (I've noticed I'm becoming more and more vegetarian lately) that was super filling and easy.  Do you want the recipe?  Well here we go!

Sweet Potato Black Bean Cakes, Over Rice, with Lime Sour Cream


Since these are broiled, and not fried, they contain a less amount of fat and aren't soggy.  They're also easy and quick to fix (I would say this mixture could even be made the morning of or day before, patted out, and kept in the fridge until ready to cook).  If you want them to be a bit spicy, try adding a diced jalapeno (with seeds and ribs removed) in step 3!


Ingredients

• 1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 medium/large sweet potato (grated)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
• Cooking Spray (such as PAM or sprayable Canola Oil)
• 3 tablespoons chives (chopped)
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon garlic (diced)
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 cups prepared rice
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 1 tablespoon lime juice

Directions

1. Heat broiler.
2. Add black beans to a large bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher, leaving about 1/4 of the beans whole.
3. Heat small skillet over medium to medium-high heat.  Spray with cooking spray and add chopped chives (you could also use scallions here) and let cook for about 1 minute (is using scallions, let cook until tender).  Add garlic and cumin (and jalapeno if you want it spicy) and let cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant (this mixture will be a little clumpy/lumpy, don't fret, it's all good...just don't burn the cumin).
4. Transfer the spice mixture to the beans and add the sweet potato, egg, bread crumbs and a healthy shake of salt and pepper.
5. Form into 6 to 8 patties (depending on how large you like them).
6. Spray a cookie sheet with the cooking spray and place the cakes on the sheet.
7. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, about 4 inches from the broiler, on one side.  Remove from oven and flip with a thin spatula, put them back into the oven for another 3 minutes.
8. While they are cooking, prepare your rice and make the Lime Sour Cream (mix the sour cream with the lime juice).
9. Plate with the rice, cakes on top, and top it all off with the sour cream!

This meal can easily serve 4 people, with all of them going away full and satisfied.  If you like, throw some salsa or guacamole on top of the cakes, along with the sour cream, for more texture and flavor!

So, ready for the nutrition facts?

Here goes!

A serving for this meal counts as a half cup rice, with two cakes on top, and about a tablespoon of sour cream (if you add your own salsa and guac, you'll be increasing the calories).

The breakdown is...

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 143 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  433 Calories from Fat  47

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  5.2g 8%

Saturated Fat  2.4g 12%

Cholesterol  30mg 10%

Sodium  76mg 3%

Total Carbohydrates  79.3g 26%

Dietary Fiber  9.6g 38%

Sugars  2.6g

Protein  17.3g

Not to bad, eh?

I hope you enjoy the recipe!  If you need any help...just let me know!

Until Next Time...

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-Tyler

Hop to It!

Alright, the motivation has been gone for a little while now.  Yeah, I've tried here and there to maintain the diet and exercise plan, but, alas, have failed miserably over the past month or so.

BUT, I am going to get back to it.  Tomorrow I'll be doing my walking class, going to the gym for some weight lifting work, and I'm going to go back to eating right.

I'm excited and encouraged...one thing that has lead to this new energy for doin' this diet thing is my friend Sarajane (check out her photography business here) and a cool picture she tagged of me on Facebook (if you are visiting this blog from that photo and you're looking for the ''Fat Day'' definition she was talking about, you can find it here).

Alright, that's all for now, I just got really excited and wanted to pass this news on to all of you.

Let's shoot for being below 300 pounds by graduation, which is May 17, shall we?  I think it can be done!!!

Until Next Time...

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-Tyler

Springs Alive!

Today was the annuals Springs Alive festival at my university.  It is a fun time with vendors, music, food, and other fun stuff.  It is a great way to kick off spring and today was no exception.  The weather was perfect and my friends and I had a great time!

This week has been good, I have tried my best to eat healthy, but haven't restricted myself when I wanted to have fun and enjoy myself.

I'm planning on starting back to exercise next week.

WISH ME LUCK!

-Tyler

Let's Talk About Industrialized Food...

Well, the week has come and gone.

This week was interesting because I had an opportunity to learn more about food and the industrialized food industry.  I could create an entire other blog about this topic and all of the environmental, political, and health issues surrounding the food industry.  I had the opportunity to watch the documentary film, Food, Inc. this week and it really impacted the way I think about food and what I put into my body.

One of the things that I want to learn more about is artificial ingredients and how they impact our bodies.

I just found an interesting article about this topic on Shine from Yahoo! that can be found at this link.

The article addresses 9 ingredients that you should avoid in processed foods.  They are:

1. Artificial Colors
2. Artificial Flavors
3. Artificial Sweeteners
4. Benzoate Preservatives
5. Brominated Vegetable Oils
6. High Fructose Corn Syrup
7. MSG
8. Olestra
9. Shortening, Hydrogenated and Patricianly Hydrogenated Oils

If you visit the attached link you can get more details about WHY to avoid these things.

Until Next Time...

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-Tyler

Wha, Wha, Wha...

So, EPIC fail on the blog this week, although not as big of a fail as this photo of a sign from FailBlog.

Anyway, I did do a weigh in this week and I am happy to report that...

My Weight, as of April 14 is...

308 pounds.

A loss of 2 pounds from the last time that I weighed!

So, we aren't doing horrible, and I'm happy with that.

I still haven't started back to the gym, but I plan on doing that next week.  This week has been crazy with assignments, projects, class work, and job hunting.

I plan on posting some interesting links tomorrow, so be on the look out for that!

Until Next Time...

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-Tyler

'Tis Thursday!

So, Thursday has come and gone.  And it was a pretty good day.

I'm still trying my best to maintain the diet, although I haven't started back exercising, yet.

Tomorrow I will be going out for my birthday with all of my friends and will not be worrying about the diet, it will be nice to have a day off.  But Saturday, it will be back to it!

Have a great night everyone.

Until Next Time...

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-Tyler

Psychology, Meet Weight Loss

For those of you who don't know, I am a psychology major.  I have enjoyed my time in college learning about gender, the criminal mind, human development, appraisal and measurement systems, relationships, positive thought, counseling techniques, and much, much more.  Psychology is such an interesting field, for me, because there are many areas that can be related back to it and that are involved in the study of psychology, from medicine to sociology to areas of the humanities.

One area in which this can be applied is through understanding addiction and addictive behavior.  When we discuss addiction, in psychology, we talk about how addiction is actually related to an overproduction of chemicals in the brain that make us ''feel good.''  It happens when our brain's ''pleasure centers'' are overloaded, leaving us craving more and more of that extreme ecstasy type of feeling.

People have discussed, jokingly and seriously, for a long time that fatty foods can have an addictive component to them, making it more difficult to give up greasy, cholesterol-filled foods like hamburgers, bacon, and cheesecake!  But, people usually dismiss it as a fat person's excuse for they they're...fat.  Well, some new research conducted on rats -- our fine, furry friends -- shows that those rumors may be true.  Published in the journal of Nature Neuroscience and released on CNN Health last week, some research has shown that fatty foods can cause the same addictive behavior patterns as cocaine and heroine use.  While it hasn't necessarily proven anything, it's an interesting concept to address.

Now, this, in no way, addresses issues of fatty ''bad-for-you'' foods being more affordable than the healthy counterparts (leading to some of an understanding of why obesity is more common in low-income communities), it is something to think about!

Until Next Time...

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-Tyler

Cook Out -- Go To . . .

For those of you not in the North Carolina foothills, piedmont, or coastal plain areas, you are probably not familiar with this North Carolina only, deliciously tasting, bad for you, establishment called Cook-Out. You can only find them from about Charlotte, NC and eastward.  They serve hamburgers, hotdogs, BBQ, chicken strips, fries, milkshakes, and some North Carolina local sodas.  

The food is horrible for you, loaded in grease and fat...but sooooooo good (check out the menu here).  

When Cook-Out first came to the town near where I go to college, it was swarmed by local students (it's open 'till 4 AM, so it works for our schedules, AND the menu [which you can check out at the link above] is incredible cheap), myself included.  My favorite thing is a Cook-Out Tray, which costs $3.99, with a BBQ sandwich, french fries, chicken nuggets, and sweet tea.

...I know, right?  It's TERRIBLE!!!

Well, I love Cook-Out and when I started the diet I had to quit it, then I had my relapse time and I had it some then, and then I quit it again.  Well, after the last time that I ''quit it'' I told myself that I would have it again for my birthday, and tonight was that night.  So, we went, and I got my Cook-Out.  Yeah, I feel kinda gross now, but I'll get over it.

One final note before I head to bed, I weighed myself today...

My Weight, as of April 6 is...

310 pounds.

 A gain of 1 pound since last time I weighed.

So, here we are, back up to the 3-teen mark.  BUT, I still have five weeks until graduation, and think I can get below the 300 mark by then!

I'll be heading back to the gym tomorrow (and I am NOT looking forward to it).  Wish me luck!

Until Next Time...

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-Tyler

April is Here...

How I have neglected you all!!!

I apologize for my absence over the past couple of weeks, between Spring Break, my trip to Little Rock, and this past week's Easter Vacation, I have been lacking in the weight loss/dieting/exercising/blogging categories.  BUT, I assure you, that it all starts back tomorrow.  I will be weighing in in the morning after my walking class.  I'm also starting back the whole ''eating right and exercising'' thing this week.

I'm excited about how much more I will be able to lose before graduation (which is 42 days away, by the way).

Until Next Time...

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-Tyler