Yes! I am still Alive!

Well, I have been pretty busy these days with my very close friend Z leaving for Houston and then changing my visa which is still in process. For those who feel my pain and are familiar with the extremely excruciating visa process and the ten thousand documents they ask for, ya'll know how frustrating it can be! I have cheated a few times and got myself some treats. I have eaten out but been careful with what I eat. I ate out at a famous catfish place but opted for the blackened catfish (skillet roasted) instead of the famous fried catfish!
Ok, I indulged in a chocolate cobbler after that!
We have been steaming fish a lot these days. My Chinese friend taught me the art of a simple and decilious steamed fish topped with some fresh ginger, green onion and Chinese dark vinegar and some sugar! This has been one of our favorite dishes and we eat it along with some steamed or stir fried greens or a huge salad!
I am still 6kgs down thankfully! I have to renew my gym membership again and start different workouts. I may try and do some weights as well as only cardio seems to have kinda stagnated my weight!
The goal is by December 2, 2013 I should be another 5-7kgs lighter! Yeah baby steps is what it's all about!

Back from Hibernation!

Hello!! Yes I am back after almost a month. I need to seriously do something about being better at updating this blog. Well the good news is I am still eating healthy and trying to get some exercise. We have not walked for almost 10days now due to me being unwell for few days and post that hubby having to work late. We have decided to restart tomorrow onwards for sure. Hubby is good at waking up early and if I have someone to wake me up I am up in the morning and ready for my 1hr walk. Did I mention we walk 5miles everyday. ;)
Now the weight has kind of stagnated. I seem to be down another lb but it is super slow.  Well I had anticipated that and have plans of working out twice a day, walk in the am and maybe gym in the afternoon or early evening around 4 or 5pm.
I have been exploring breakfast options from boiled eggs, wheat cereal, multi-grain toast with whipped cream cheese, Belvita blueberry breakfast biscuits (yes they are super yummy) etc. I also made poha, an Indian breakfast made with beaten rice and made dosa this morning (Indian crepes/pan cakes, made rice and split black lentils).
I have been eating salad for lunch or soup while hubby prefers a multi-grain bread sandwich with boiled chicken, avocado etc. and for dinner we have been having a piece of grilled fish or chicken and a salad or roasted veggies. This week onwards I am going to start making some Indian dishes like vegetable stir fry, sprouts etc. and serve with whole wheat roti (Indian tortilla). We have completely cut down on rice and that is a big change for us, esp. for the mister.
Yes! I am going ahead and saying it finally the key is a combination of diet and exercise. Nothing else works. I have tried Rasberry Keytones, Green coffee beans,slimming teas, advocare and the list goes on. Finally it has dawned upon me - there is no shortcut to weight loss or being healthy.
I have finally turned wise, guess its the age!

Breakfast Blues!!

I am not a morning person at all and I don't really care about breakfast. I can start my day with just a cup of tea and go on till lunch just fine. Only if there is breakfast made and ready will I indulge in it and sometimes I don't like to eat when I wake up.
As decided the hubby and me have started walking at 6.30am for an hour and yes I have been waking up by 6.10am. I go to bed by 11pm. This is a huge challenge for me and a big deal but I am doing this as finally it has dawned upon me that I am 30 years old and now only going to get older so I have to treat my body right. Also now I have company, so no more excuses!
K eats breakfast everyday he wakes up at 6 and likes to have his cup of coffee, then  read the news and take it easy and make a good breakfast for himself, while I will wake up an hour before I have to be at work and rush through a shower, tea etc. till I get in my car and start driving. Now that I wake up early I have started eating breakfast. I like to drink tea so I make tea for myself and I have short listed boiled eggs as  a quick and healthy fix for me. I can just boil them while I am in the shower and they are ready when I am out. I eat 2 boiled eggs but discard 1 yolk so 2 boiled egg whites and 1 yolk. I love the yolk so I save that one yolk for myself. I guess 1 yolk is not that bad, I will try to eat only boiled egg whites but that may take some time.
I did eat dosa the other day as hubby was making it for us, I had mine very thin, crisp with no oil on a non stick pan with some green chutney (made with cilantro, ginger and mint) and didn't go for the potato bhaji.
I have been told by everyone and read up on the benefits of breakfast and how essential it is in the diet. I must admit that at times by lunch I am starving and end up eating a lot if I skip breakfast. Now that I have included this healthy habit in my diet guess I am going the right way.
The only thing I haven't got used to is eating oats and fruit. I have tried but oats make me gag I can eat a few spoons and then I am done. I need to have a variety of breakfast food to make it healthy and interesting. I have tried boiled eggs, egg whites and spinach omelet, 1 whole grain toast with weight watchers whipped cream cheese, cereal, Indian breakfast items like dosa, poha, idli, upma etc.
I am looking up recipes all the time for new healthy breakfast items. I want to cut out the bread from breakfast and any oily fried stuff.
The diet and work out plan is looking good so far and I finally mustered up the courage to weigh myself again and I am still 10lbs down ;) so that was a huge motivational factor in walking in the am!

Apologies for being a Slacker!!

Sorry I have been a big time slacker. My sis was visiting us for 4 days so we had to make the most of it. She was here all the way from India so I had to abandon my diet and walking for few days. My sis is not a foodie and is very healthy and in great shape. Wish I had the determination and will power like her, guess that is not genetic ;)
Well she left on Thursday of last week and we are back on track with our diet and started our walks too. We were tired of eating out and a simple home cooked meal which was baked fish and veggies was irresistible. I marinate fish with Indian spices and marinate some chopped veggies like tomatoes, onions, potatoes, green peppers and onion and place the fish on top of the veggies and bake it for few minutes. This is really simple and tasty.
I have not checked my weight yet, actually I am dreading to get on that scale. I don't want to see if 1 week of being a slacker has had its toll on my body. I dread that I have put on the 10lbs I lost or some of it. I don't want to know. I will check my weight in 2 weeks. Hopefully I will have lost some weight if not more atleast I will still be 10lbs down.
We have decided to change the time of our workout. We will be doing it early mornings tomorrow onwards at 6.30am. I know it is going to be super tough on me as I am not a morning person at all. My mornings start only after 8.30am but I will give it a try. Hubby wants to swim and work out at that time so he can spend the whole day working and get home by 7pm and we can have an early dinner go to bed early. Well, I am ready for this new challenge.
Things we have to go through to undo what we put our bodies through. 30+ years of stuffing my face with what I loved (which obviously was in no remote way healthy!!) and here I am today trying to undo all that. Well atleast I have become aware and determined in some ways.
I am supposed to visit India this December for a wedding in the family and I hope to be atleast 30lbs down or more by then.
"I am not going to be a SLACKER!!" I need to repeat this 10 times a day today onwards.

Couples Therapy!

Ah! I know I am not good at keeping up with the blog but I am trying my best trust me. Well, sitting in my office I listen to people all day, issues with their partners, parents, depression, anger, anxiety, couples quarrel, you name it and I have heard it! Let me tell you couples therapy is not easy as it looks, when you have two adults with you in a room and both believe their way is the right way, there is no room for a third person!
Well, I love my clients and my job its rewarding in its own little ways! Once a client asked me "you listen to all our problems all day who do you go to when you are upset?" I thought for a minute and said my husband, family and friends of course. Once the client left I realized I crib a lot only to my husband and poor K takes in all but surely he will show me the mirror (I mean the logical and rational side) every time I go overboard!
We both are working towards our weight loss goal and let me remind you again its better when you have company during your weight loss journey as it is not an easy one! We both keep each other motivated to eat healthy and work out. We have been walking a lot and he has been swimming and I am doing Zumba.
He sometimes will go on a walk by himself and today he asked me to go with him to the trails he walks. It was beautiful and so relaxing and fresh. The path had few small trees with fragrant flowers which made the walk even better. Needless to say, I kept talking for 60 minutes during the 75min walk. After a point I realized I talk non-stop and how does this guy take it all? I asked him and he simply said "well, I don't talk much so you compensate for me. I like listening to you (at times, lol)
I must admit I enjoy these walks it is a great work out (due to the miles and the slopes in between) and I get to spend some quality time with hubby and talk without taking a breath! It's therapeutic for me!
Do get a buddy or your better half to join you on your workouts or walks, it really helps. You both can walk together and if you choose to go to the gym you don't have to hang out together. He/She can do cardio while you do the weights or you can be in the gym while he/she is swimming!
Try this simple couples therapy, you will enjoy it for sure!
Find out what is therapeutic for you alone or as a couple in this busy world.

Spring Cleaning for weightloss!

I am not so regular with updating the blog but ofcourse I am still going strong with my weight loss regime! I am walking 4 times a week atleast and doing Zumba once a week still. Eating home cooked low calorie meals and if I go out to eat I ensure I avoid fried or anything oily. Replace a side of fries with salad and of course no more sweet tea or soda just plain water... if I feel like drinking soda I go for club soda which has 0 calories. Please stay away from diet drinks as they contain too much sugar substitute and they are not good for you.

My sister is visiting us so I am excited but sad that its just for four days. We both decided to clean the apartment and to our surprise we had lots of cleaning to do. We are on day two and haven't even finished a room. Not that we have a huge apartment its a two-bedroom but then we had saved a lot of crap like papers, magazines, empty cardboard boxes, old clothes, shoes etc. etc.

Cleaning is a good work out! When you squat instead of sitting on the floor and while you are standing tuck your tummy in it feels great. Then you want to get to those corners with your vacuum stretch, stretch a little more!

Then you have to get to those little dust particles under your couch, tables etc. again go for it tuck your tummy in and stretch your arms from the waist! While you clean the ceiling corners also work on those legs keep stretching and lifting them towards your stomach.

One more tip is when you tuck your tummy in don't hold your breath but do it like you would when you are wearing a tight pair of jeans/pants (only the lower portion of your tummy). So when you hold your tummy in you must be able to have a conversation without any effort, like you normally do.

And when you have so much to clean like we do which is going to take a week you automatically work your back, arms, legs and abs with all the cleaning and lifting without any effort and you are so exhausted by the end of it that you will crash and have a good night's sleep.

Note: when you clean your house and you are on a diet and can't get take out just defrost fish/chicken and marinate it and put it in the oven. You can pair it with some steamed veggies or just roast some broccoli,peppers,onions,sweet potato,zucchini etc. in the oven as well. There you go, you have a healthy meal ready when you are done with your cleaning and you don't even have to watch it when it's cooking.

Something Fishy!!

Fish has been a savior for me while I am dieting. I love fish and it can be grilled, baked, fried (which I am avoiding ofcourse) or made into a curry with any veggies or even steamed.
I have been trying to eat lot of fish instead of chicken or red meat. I don't miss red meat at all nor do I miss chicken, atleast for now.
So I made pan grilled salmon and grilled some onions with it and served it with quinoa salad. It was very tasty and filling.
Today I cooked pomfret hirwa masala/fish in green curry (pomfret or pompano is a firm white fish which is delicious). The best part is I made the hirwa masala without anything fattening except for 1 tsp olive oil which I needed to fry the onions and tomatoes. I used spinach instead of coconut to give the curry a good texture. I served it with multigrain chapati's.
The meal was delicious and I was greedy for more. I had to stop myself as I have obviously realized anything in excess is not good. Well, I did eat an extra piece of pomfret I couldn't stop myself trust me I tried. I guess it's not bad as it was cooked in the curry so wasn't fried.
You can find the recipe here http://mykitchenshenanigans.blogspot.com/2013/04/fish-hariyalihirwa-masala.html

Hope the road to losing weight doesn't get monotonous and I am determined and honest.
I walk regularly but I guess I need to increase the intensity of my workout like start running or include some zumba or cardio in my routine as well.

The Desi Diet!

Well.. I am kind of craving some Indian/Desi food. Not that I want to eat anything in particular but I guess I am missing the spicy food. So before I go ahead and cheat and eat some bad Indian food from the restaurant and end up feeling guilty; I thought I should fix myself something good yet healthy!
So I thought for a while about what to cook.. I didn't want to make any roti's for myself. The thought of rolling just 2 roti's was boring. So I thought of making idli sambar.. yum!
Idli is a steamed south Indian delicacy made from rice or semolina and split black lentils. It is a staple breakfast food in south Indian homes and a popular snack in many restaurants. It is served with coconut chutney or with sambar (a spicy lentil and vegetable soup).

I looked up the internet if Idli was something I could eat and guess what? It's a big YES! I also remembered my dietician back in India (Yes go ahead and judge me...I have had my personal dieticians and it never really worked for me due to my lack of motivation) had added idli in my diet minus the chutney.
 I was thrilled and immediately soaked the lentils and other ingredients yesterday and I have idli batter and sambar ready today. I am not making the coconut chutney as coconut is high in fat so instead I can make a tomato-onion chutney but I will skip that too and just eat the idli's with sambar.

Idli is steamed hence the fat content is nil but yes it has carbs due to the use of rice/semolina but I  have read on the internet that the fermentation process breaks down the carbs to an extent. I am not sure if this is true but we use 2cups rice/semolina and 1 cup lentils to make more than 30 idli's so its not that bad. You will be full with 4 idli's. Each Idli has about 60 calories.

You can steam it with some veggies (add veggies to the idli batter and steam) like carrots, tomatoes, cilantro etc. I just made it plain. The sambar has no oil at all and is protein packed due to the lentils and veggies (onions, carrots, etc.). It can have some fat if you want to add some fried curry leaves and mustard seeds which is not required as it tastes great even without it.

I will be posting the recipe on my blog soon. We make upma out of leftover idli's or if you are not worried about the calories try frying left over idli's and eat it with ketchup they taste great!

Still going strong!

Yes! its going well.. I am enjoying my healthy lifestyle. To be very frank I haven't been tempted to eat anything outside yet. Luckily I am not a pizza or burger fan so I don't miss them. I usually like eating Chinese, Sushi or Thai food and haven't been tempted (well, I hope I don't jinx it!).
So I have started making this cabbage recipe atleast once a week. I love the taste and cabbage is a very low calorie veggie. I add shrimp to it at times.
You can find the recipe on my blog here http://mykitchenshenanigans.blogspot.com/2013/04/stirfried-cabbage-with-shrimp.html

I am surprised how I look over the menu of a restaurant before going to one to find myself a low calorie and healthy dish. Also when I am at a restaurant I always ask for a salad or atleast replace a side of fries with salad. Wow! If my friends and family back home see this they are not going to believe it! They have always seen me enjoy my food without caring how much fat, carbs or calories it has.

Guess finally some good sense has prevailed after turning 30!

I am thinking of jumping rope/skipping as a cardio workout! I have bought the gym rope made by golds gym for adults. Well its been a year I can actually start it on its anniversary ;)

A walk towards a healthy lifestyle!

I have been doing good. I am watching what I eat and I am not craving any food. I walk 4 times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday) for an hour and do Zumba on Tuesdays.
I am enjoying it. I walk with my friend Z and Zumba with my friend M.
Its good to have a  buddy when you walk as it keeps you motivated and entertained. We catch up on all the gossip and have lotsa fun chatting.

I have been eating baked fish with veggies, soups, dal, grilled veggies (asparagus, zucchini, peppers etc.), salads and  stir fried cabbage. I am not bored of eating these yet as I keep changing the recipe and make it tasty with seasonings like peppers, garlic, chillies, spices, herbs etc.

I have been drinking atleast 3 litres of water ..yes I carry a big 1.5 litre water bottle and ensure I atleast drink 3 litres everyday. Well, I am turning 31 this year and I have heard its tough losing weight after 30. So I am doing everything I can to achieve a healthy lifestyle. Also water flushes out all the toxins from your body and this in turn gives you a better skin and aids in weightloss.
I do add a slice of lemon at times in the water just for a different taste.

Oxford, MS is a beautiful town with some good parks and picturesque landscapes. We love looking at the trees and the spring bloom. Also the nice houses in the town especially  along downtown are something that is worth looking at. Z and I both walk and talk. We ensure our talking doesn't breakdown our speed.
I carry a pedometer and that keeps us motivated and are excited when it shows 6000 steps and we are still going! The weather has been great though it is getting hot. We usually walk post 6pm to avoid the afternoon heat.

Take a look at one of our beautiful routes...

Todays healthy lunch

Today was that lazy Saturday where I woke up at noon and was still ready to go back to bed. Was super hungry yet didn't want to cook anything. Remember I have the 30 day challenge so no take out for me.
I didn't want to eat chicken or any leafy veggies. Ugh! This is not good. I didn't have the patience to make any dal or roti's. So I decided to make a quick bean and veggies salad. This salad turned out great was healthy and super filling.

You can find the recipe on my other blog here http://mykitchenshenanigans.blogspot.com/2013/04/beans-veggie-salad.html

Well I am always looking to cook something new, tasty and healthy. I am off fried foods and sugar so I have to think hard to cook up new dishes. Well I will keep updating any new recipes I try and if you want to share your recipes feel free to comment.

Note: BTW I am 2.5 kgs (5.5lbs) down ;)

Meal Plans!

I am no dietician but have tried enough diets to understand its benefits and harmful effects.
For instance, the General Motors diet..some of my friends swear by it. My friends who are in the airline industry or into modelling claim they follow this diet when they have to quickly lose weight for a shoot or an event. Well I have tried it and have been unable to go beyond day 2 which is only veggies, the first day is only fruits. I have had severe acid reflux, a nasty headache both days and an overly irritable mood!
So for my 30 day challenge I am eating only home cooked meals with certain restrictions like no alcohol, fried food, ice-creams or sweets, no processed foods etc.
For now I don't know if this is an effective weight loss solution but I can definitely tell you that it is very healthy. Also I am sure there will be weight loss. I am also adding exercise to my regime atleast 40mins a day 5-6 times a week.

So my meal plans are as follows:

Breakfast - I am not a breakfast person so can go without having breakfast and this is the most unhealthiest thing you can do so eat something! I like to eat a banana or a banana-strawberry smoothie with yogurt or 1/4 cup milk.

Green tea with no milk or sugar 

Mid-morning snack - Fruit - apple/pear/melon or Soy Milk

Lunch - Salad (Baby Spring mix - lettuce & spinach, shredded carrots, cranberries, sunflower seeds, 4-6 baked croutons (optional) with low fat vinaigrette dressing) OR

1 small Baked Chicken breast with grilled veggies (asparagus, zucchini etc.) OR

Dal, 2 whole wheat roti's with  no oil, any Indian veggies (Cauliflower, cabbage etc.) and low fat yogurt OR
Whole Wheat pita Sandwich (recipe in notes) OR

Idlis with sambar (Indian breakfast dish)

Green tea with no milk or sugar

Evening snack - If I have a salad I get hungry by 6pm so I eat a fruit or plain fat free pop-corn or Edamame

Dinner - Salad with grilled chicken breast/fish OR
Stir fried veggies
Dal, 1 roti, vegetable or beans OR
Soups and grilled chicken breast/fish

Walking or gym (cardio) 40 mins a day five times a week atleast!

Notes:

If I crave rice I will have a small bowl of rice but eat more dal & Veggies OR make Fried rice with lotsa veggies (I don't like brown rice)
I love to eat bulgar salad (broken wheat) or Daliya
If I want to eat bread I will eat brown bread sandwich once in a while with avocado and alpha alpha sprouts with low fat whipped cream cheese (optional)
OR make a chicken salad pita pocket sandwich (boil chicken breast & shred, add salt,pepper, garlic powder, green onions and celery chopped, add 1 tbspn low fat mayonnaise mixed with 1 tbspn yogurt and mix well. Stuff in whole wheat pita bread).
If you don't find garlic powder just add plain finely chopped garlic.
For salad dressing you can mix olive oil, fresh orange/lemon juice,orange/lemon zest, salt & pepper it tastes good.

30 Day Challenge!!

Ok I know I am not very regular here in updating posts.. I try my best to remember but you know with the day to day chores it just slips my mind. So as you know I am a big foodie (yeah! I do have a food blog "My Kitchen Shenanigans") and dieting is not my cup of tea. Well, I have tried all the possible diets; you name it and I can tell you about it.. General Motors diet, South beach, Soup diet, Atkins, Miracle water diet (LOL! yes there is a diet like this!), have been to many professional dieticians and wasted a lot of money. Now when I say "wasted" I mean I wasn't too serious and hence it was a waste.
So I eat out a lot and also have a couple of drinks atleast once a week. At a point I was kinda addicted to eating out. Two weeks ago I was bored and was browsing through netflix to watch a movie. I didn't find anything interesting so I browsed through some food documentaries. I found one called "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead" wow the title itself was so powerful. So I decided to give it a shot and lay in my bed while my hubby was working in the next room.
This documentary is about an Australian guy Joe Cross who comes to the US for 60 days and drinks only fresh juices for the next 60days. Seriously?? This is crazy. By the end of it he loses 100lbs  and then there is another American guy who joins him and does the same and he loses more than 200lbs. They both have a similar medical condition (some kind of a rash) for which they are on heavy medication but by the end of 60days all of it is gone and they don't need any medication for it anymore. Also their juice diet is closely supervised by a doctor and a nutritionist.
Wow! I was so pumped up and started researching about juice diets and juicers. Well the good juicers were pretty expensive like $200 plus and I wanted to buy it immediately. My hubby convinced me to first start eating healthy and workout for a couple of days and if I am really serious (as he has seen me over the years with these yo-yo diet phases which just wears off in a week) he would buy me one.
Alright! I said and went right back to our bedroom and looked for more such documentaries and came across "Hungry for Change" which is about the dieting industry and some diet myths. I loved it! Then there was "Vegucated" which was about a girl trying to be Vegan and along with her she roped in 3 New Yorkers.
"Hungry for Change" was thought provoking. It made me think about my eating habits and all that crap I was putting in my body. I am 30 years old so I am not getting any younger. Also my hubby always tells me "instead of giving up some food which you crave while you are dieting and end up cheating why don't you add more veggies and fruits in your diet". The idea is not completely stopping something, its adding more nutritious stuff so you eat less of the unhealthy stuff.
So, I decided to start eating healthy (after all these motivational documentaries and hubby's challenge) and immediately made a Facebook page informing all my girl friends here in Oxford that I am going to eat only home cooked meals for the next 30 days. I told them I wont go out to eat but was game for pot lucks and alcohol was off limits. All my sweet girlfriends were super supportive and today is day 15 (it started on March 20, 2013) and I am doing great!
I eat lots of veggies & fruits, no red meat just chicken and fish and no alcohol, soda or bottled juices. No processed meats, processed carbs or any processed foods.  I eat rice once in a while, haven't eaten any bread but may have a brown bread sandwich tomorrow. I drink atleast 3 liters ( 48oz) of water daily.
I feel great, very healthy and active. I have lost 5lbs totally but I am not gonna get too excited right now as there is a long way to go!
But I am very proud of myself (if I may say so!) ;)

On the Wrong Side of the Weighing scale!!

Well I am back.. for those of you who don't know I had started this blog 2 years ago and somewhere down the line didn't update it and had to delete the whole blog. Now I am back not only for weight loss but to start and maintain a healthier lifestyle!
I am a big foodie so diets don't generally work with me. I am not big on the working out front as well so gyms are not something that I fancy. So overall weight loss has been the toughest challenge for me.
I turned 30 last year and the saying "its now or never" was echoing in my ears. I thought 30 years of my life I have enjoyed every food that I fancied and followed number of yo-yo diets with no good results. So what is it that I am going to be doing that is new?
Well, it was simple the goal is not going to be weight loss (of course it is, who am I kidding? ;0)) The goal is a healthier lifestyle and weight loss is going to be a byproduct. With this mindset I am back and how!

My husband and I both have started eating more meals at home. I try and cook almost everyday as I am not a big fan of leftover food. I love eating freshly cooked meals. I eat leftover maybe for two meals after that  I am done. We buy fresh veggies and white meat (fish & chicken) mostly. We are avoiding red meat and alcohol.
Though ofcourse we enjoy a drink or two with friends when we are out. Also while dieting out we have learnt to make healthier choices. So, that is our first step towards a healthier lifestyle.
I got my gym memebership renewed and carry my gym bag everyday but don't go to the gym everyday yet! ;( The hubby plays a sport once every week and tries to swim too.
Also I love to walk outside so when the weather is good I go for a walk. Our campus is beautiful and I always carry my shoes and my i-pod.
I am going to be very disappointed if this time I fail.
Well wishing myself Good luck and starting this journey towards a healthier lifestyle!