Cold green tea with a splash of apple juice and a slice of lemon, served in my lucky Highland cow mug. I haven’t any particular need for good luck today but it might come in handy! This is delicious and refreshing — perfect for summer.
Some days my life feels like an endless cycle of coursework, laundry, and washing infinite stacks of dishes. To break out of the rut I’ve stopped cooking entirely — it’s amazing how few dirty dishes I’ve generated in the last three weeks! And how sub-par my diet has been! Not a strategy I’d recommend, actually. My best friend had a better idea on the weekend… we headed to Scarborough Bluffs for a nice afternoon, which we followed up with a small vat (that somebody else had to wash!) of delicious pho.
I’ve been slacking on the weight loss thing. The powerlifting meet and (more importantly!) nude beach season are fast approaching! This is not the time for complacency!
Today was so nice! I’ve missed the sun so much. Could it be spring at last? I think I’m getting a little ahead of myself but I decided to celebrate the good weather with a happy new Katamari-themed desktop background. Doesn’t it just scream springtime?
I’d like to roll up the first crocus, extra daylight hours, a robin redbreast, some daffodils, t-shirt temperatures, and whatever else usually signals the end of winter. I’d also like to roll up a burrito, a giant bowl of Shreddies, a carton of chocolate milk, and a stack of pancakes. So tired of dieting!
Tonight I watched Julie and Julia — that movie about the woman who blogs about cooking every recipe in Julia Child’s cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. When the movie was first released I read about all the work that went into the food styling on the set here, on MattBites. Such an interesting read! And the food — all of it — looked amazing. By the end of the movie I wanted nothing more than to eat mountains of rich, decadent French food. Not conducive to dieting success! Hence the title of today’s post: Self Sabotage.
That said, the diet continues to tick along quite nicely. I’ve lost just enough weight that none of my clothes fit me properly any longer. A little awesome, a little not awesome.
Still, as I promised in my last post about dieting, I’ve been trying one new recipe per week in an attempt to broaden my repertoire. So far I’ve tried tandoori chicken, jerk chicken, and (rather unimaginative) chicken skewers. I was planning to document my efforts in photographs but I can’t seem to make chicken look photogenic. I’m no food stylist! Still, I can make a bowl of edamame look pretty appealing. I could go for some right now!
I’m a huge fan of food photographer Matt Armendariz’ blog, MattBites. I’m not much of a foodie so I’ve been following Matt’s blog mostly because it’s a good read and I like the pretty pictures.
UNTIL NOW. Since the beginning of this diet I’ve been reading food blogs obsessively. Not the best dieting strategy ever! Thanks to my British heritage I’m genetically predisposed to be a culinary disaster. My skills in the kitchen are limited to boiling everything beyond recognition, and I’d guess that I pour most of the nutritional value of the food away with the water. But these blogs showcase the best of good cooking and I want to eat it all. It makes sticking to my diet feel like a Herculean effort!
So I bit the bullet and began on my challenge to try one new recipe a week. This week I decided on tandoori chicken. The prep time was mercifully short and uneventful, and I left it to marinate overnight. Never one to leave well enough alone, I began adding food colouring to it before I cooked it tonight because I figured it would photograph better in red. (In my defense, this step was included in the recipe!) Anyway, disaster ensued and my tandoori chicken took on the approximate hue of Pepto Bismol. Not exactly the desired effect. Needless to say, there will be no photograph to document my efforts this week.
To satisfy your insatiable curiosity about me, here’s ten things about me in two lists.
Things I will never like:
Things I will always like:
I’m pretty sure that the second list would’ve looked a lot different if I’d written it four weeks ago. I’m pretty sure that “Boys” would have been pretty close to the top. But I’ve been on a cutting diet for the last four weeks and all I’m thinking about at the moment is food! Still, the diet is working its magic. I weighed in this morning and I’ve lost 7.4 pounds in four weeks. Four more weeks to go!
In spite of what the second list might lead you to believe, my diet has always been pretty healthy. I grew up in a household where most everything was cooked from scratch, so eating nutritious home-cooked food has always been my preference. (That said, I will have a weakness for candy forever!) I’ve been eating the same foods I ate before I started cutting — just less of them. I’ve also been doing cardio on my days off from weight training. Luckily the weather in Toronto has been unseasonably warm so I’ve been able to run outside.
For the remaining four weeks of my cut, my goal is to vary my meals a little more. I’m lazy about cooking at the best of times, so I’ve decided to challenge myself to attempt one new recipe per week until the diet is over. Not a hugely ambitious number, I know, but I really hate being in the kitchen! I’d love to hear your suggestions for recipes to try!
Ha – in my dreams, anyway! I’ve been bulking for a year in which time I’ve gone from 125 to 140. Now it’s time to cut the chub! I’ve been dieting for one week, and I’m down 5 pounds already. I’m expecting my weight loss to slow to about 1 pound per week as my body adjusts to my new diet. Right now I’m doing an upper/lower split with cardio on my days off. The current plan is to cut for eight weeks then resume bulking, but I’ll play it by ear since I’m not preparing for a competition.
