Becoming a Beauty Queen in 2013 ;)

I posted on your thread the same time as you posted :) (you might have missed it - its before you yours)
 
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I didn't realise you had been vegetarian!! I was vegetarian for several years growing up, kinda why I'm so damn fussy with meat now. I'm planning to branch out a bit this year and find a way that I like meat other than the usual seafood/ chicken and bit of beef cooked. We'll see, it might happen lol.

Have you got a slow cooker??? They are awesome for 'roasting' veges, all you do is butter the sides of the crock pot, dump in your veges of choice with a couple chopped cloves of garlic and herbs of choice, then set it to high for 3 hours or low for 6+ if you are going out for the day and wanting them ready when you get home. Favourite combo- zucchini, eggplant, red capsicum, onion, garlic! NOM! Also great drizzled with a bit of high quality olive oil before serving. Gotta get your fats in!

That's so awesome you have access to a free gym- get on it!!
 
I posted on your thread the same time as you posted :) (you might have missed it - its before you yours)
I totally did. Thanks.
WOW you were vegetarian for 5 years!! me and my husband tried it - we lasted a week! How do you prepare you meat btw? Just curious what's wrong with that.
Anyway, we are doing a plant based diet now, but not exclusively. When we eat meat/dairy we buy good quality (organic) if possible.

You will reach your goals this year. YOU. CAN. DO. IT!

Come on Xenon - your my "weight-loss" buddy!!! :D
I should have said vegetarian for 7...I was vegetarian for 5 years and then total vegan for 2 (no milk or eggs). My current meat preparation is unprepared by myself. I eat LOTS of fast food which is loaded with fat and sodium. When I prepare foods for myself it is fine, but I seldom have the time or energy to cook. I am changing all of that now. I've been working on it for a month and things are getting much better. Organic meats are great--my husband and I buy organic meats and whenever he or I cook, it's organic. I stopped by your diary earlier and your veggie/meat combo sounds awesome! I even saw salmon in there and I totally love that! Thanks for claiming me as your weight loss buddy :D I feel so wanted :D:D
I didn't realise you had been vegetarian!! I was vegetarian for several years growing up, kinda why I'm so damn fussy with meat now. I'm planning to branch out a bit this year and find a way that I like meat other than the usual seafood/ chicken and bit of beef cooked. We'll see, it might happen lol.
Yes I was also vegetarian growing up. I was fat as a child and decided to try the Atkins diet when I was 15. It was different then and marshmallows were allowed. You could even snack on fried chicken and have as much butter as you wanted. I tried it for exactly two days and was vegetarian for 7 years after that lol. I did not lose weight as a vegetarian but maintained nicely and no health issues--good blood pressure and sugar and cholesterol levels. I was completely satisfied with my diet. Then after I went vegan I started to lose time ...like black out sometimes, and the doctor told me I need more protein. I boosted my protein intake and quickly started to dislike my veggie proteins. I even tried to go back to milk and eggs in protein shakes and could not stand them. So I decided to eat chicken again and it was all downhill from there lol. In hindsight I would have done things a lot differently.
Have you got a slow cooker??? They are awesome for 'roasting' veges, all you do is butter the sides of the crock pot, dump in your veges of choice with a couple chopped cloves of garlic and herbs of choice, then set it to high for 3 hours or low for 6+ if you are going out for the day and wanting them ready when you get home. Favourite combo- zucchini, eggplant, red capsicum, onion, garlic! NOM! Also great drizzled with a bit of high quality olive oil before serving. Gotta get your fats in!

That's so awesome you have access to a free gym- get on it!!
OMG that sounds so good! I don't have a slow cooker and have never even thought of slow cooked veggies. If you ever get hold of the recipe for paneer tikka masala, you HAVE to try it. It is Indian food..similar to chicken tikka masala but with veggies and chunks of tofu instead. I think I read that you will be avoiding grains. This dish could easily be eaten with other steamed veggies or potato patties. Here's a picture of it I'm sure you can change the recipe to make it more healthy.

Oh Justina...when my husband or myself cooks we usually prepare either Indian or Jamaican foods...curried goat, karahi gosht, stew peas, oxtail, and many curry varieties. Oh and saltfish fritters...I kill those things!
 
Hahaha I was a very chubby kid too!! Can't believe you could have marshmallows on Atkins?? The one I'm following is the 2002 released book, it's very much focussed on whole foods/ foods with minimal processing, no sugar AT ALL (actually don't agree with their choices of artificial sweeteners either, I'll be sticking to the ones I use).

Oooh you SO need to get a slow cooker, they cost next to nothing here. SO easy to dump a heap of meat n veg in it in the morning and have dinner ready at night! I lived out of mine when I was working full time. It roasts a beef roast or a whole chicken beautifully too!! Keeps the meat very moist (even in the days I used to get asked to stay back! Pretty sure I had a beef roasting for 14 hours once, oops!) If I have leftover meat I'll slow cook veges as a side (if I can be bothered!) otherwise I'll dump a heap of leftovers in it and make a stew. Hubby is a big meat n veg person so it's awesome for him, he usually likes the plainer meals I make more than any fancy things I branch out and do.

Oh man, I'm keen to get on tikka masala! I love Indian food!! (Kinda falls in the category of husband-won't-eat-it though, haha!) Actually I found out I'm gluten intolerant several months ago- but I just find that I do better off grains completely. So I've kind of been unintentionally low-carbing just because the bread recipes n stuff I make is made from flax or nut flours so naturally very low carb/ high fibre.

Mmm, I want Indian food now!!! Might add ingredients to the recipe list...
 
I should have said vegetarian for 7...I was vegetarian for 5 years and then total vegan for 2 (no milk or eggs). My current meat preparation is unprepared by myself. I eat LOTS of fast food which is loaded with fat and sodium. When I prepare foods for myself it is fine, but I seldom have the time or energy to cook. I am changing all of that now. I've been working on it for a month and things are getting much better. Organic meats are great--my husband and I buy organic meats and whenever he or I cook, it's organic. I stopped by your diary earlier and your veggie/meat combo sounds awesome! I even saw salmon in there and I totally love that! Thanks for claiming me as your weight loss buddy :D I feel so wanted :D:D


Oh Justina...when my husband or myself cooks we usually prepare either Indian or Jamaican foods...curried goat, karahi gosht, stew peas, oxtail, and many curry varieties. Oh and saltfish fritters...I kill those things!

You are totally my weight loss buddy!! :party: we are pretty much the same weight!!! What's your height btw? I am 5 8.

Your indian/jamaican food sounds lovely!! I love Indian!! I dont make it from scratch though :blush5: I have found a great sauce though - it s all organic - and doesnt have nasty ingredients - hidden fats/sugars. So I am happy with that. i dont have it often though - as its high in calories/fat - not good for my diet now...

As for the meat - i agree with Lucy - you should get a slow cooker. I have a castiron dish - I love it!!! its so easy to make meat in them! I made turkey, chicken, pork - you dont have to add much - a little oil, spices, herbs, vegetables if you want & voila you have your dinner!!!
 
Got a slow cooker for x-mas as a present, but so far have only cooked a couple of meats. Works pretty good, but I think I have room for improvement on it.
 
Hahaha I was a very chubby kid too!! Can't believe you could have marshmallows on Atkins?? The one I'm following is the 2002 released book, it's very much focussed on whole foods/ foods with minimal processing, no sugar AT ALL (actually don't agree with their choices of artificial sweeteners either, I'll be sticking to the ones I use).

Oooh you SO need to get a slow cooker, they cost next to nothing here. SO easy to dump a heap of meat n veg in it in the morning and have dinner ready at night! I lived out of mine when I was working full time. It roasts a beef roast or a whole chicken beautifully too!! Keeps the meat very moist (even in the days I used to get asked to stay back! Pretty sure I had a beef roasting for 14 hours once, oops!) If I have leftover meat I'll slow cook veges as a side (if I can be bothered!) otherwise I'll dump a heap of leftovers in it and make a stew. Hubby is a big meat n veg person so it's awesome for him, he usually likes the plainer meals I make more than any fancy things I branch out and do.

Oh man, I'm keen to get on tikka masala! I love Indian food!! (Kinda falls in the category of husband-won't-eat-it though, haha!) Actually I found out I'm gluten intolerant several months ago- but I just find that I do better off grains completely. So I've kind of been unintentionally low-carbing just because the bread recipes n stuff I make is made from flax or nut flours so naturally very low carb/ high fibre.

Mmm, I want Indian food now!!! Might add ingredients to the recipe list...
I recall them allowing marshmallows. My sister was on it and she was killing those marshmallows. Do you like stevia? For some reason i cannot tolerate splenda or any aspartame variety but stevia is good. Also Luz thanks for the advice on the slowcooker. My husband wants a deepfryer, so I think I'll pick up the slowcooker at the same time. I totally love stews.

AWWW I wish your hubby would try the tikka masala tho. My husband loves it with chicken, but then again he is not a lover of plain foods and likes an ample amount of spice in EVERYTHING lol. It's good that you are such a great cook because you can work around your gluten intolerance with ease. There is some food I am allergic to, but I have no idea what it is. I have encountered it twice in my life and I totally swell up and have difficulty breathing...and it's not because I'm a fatass either :p
You are totally my weight loss buddy!! :party: we are pretty much the same weight!!! What's your height btw? I am 5 8.

Your indian/jamaican food sounds lovely!! I love Indian!! I dont make it from scratch though :blush5: I have found a great sauce though - it s all organic - and doesnt have nasty ingredients - hidden fats/sugars. So I am happy with that. i dont have it often though - as its high in calories/fat - not good for my diet now...

As for the meat - i agree with Lucy - you should get a slow cooker. I have a castiron dish - I love it!!! its so easy to make meat in them! I made turkey, chicken, pork - you dont have to add much - a little oil, spices, herbs, vegetables if you want & voila you have your dinner!!!
I am 5'3" but small framed so although I look fat, it's not as fat as I "should" look. That is why i can relate when you say you do not really appear so fat. It's cool not to make everything from scratch! Sometimes we buy seasonings for things--like tandoori seasoning, or chicken bhariyani. Tandoori seasoning is SO good on baked fish and chicken. There are also pre-mixed spices like garam masala. We try not to make too many indian dishes from pre-made seasonings though because they tend to be more spicy than i can tolerate. I agree though some dishes are not good for weight loss. When I am having tikka masala I try to eat veggies for the rest of the day, but it is so worth it!
Got a slow cooker for x-mas as a present, but so far have only cooked a couple of meats. Works pretty good, but I think I have room for improvement on it.
someone once recommended I buy a steamer to cook rice in. no one on earth can mess up rice the way I do :D

How are you going Xenon??

thought I would check in on my team mates :)

keep up the good work
Hi Tasha!:waving: Thanks for stopping by. I am doing ok...just having a bit of trouble with the food this week. I am an emotional eater and have been handling stress with short rigorous exercise, but since the allergies are acting up--I have been eating things I shouldn't. It's putting me in the 1500-1800 cal range which is a deficit of sorts, but the past few days I have been more in the 1800s. I need to tighten up[video=youtube;mpaPBCBjSVc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpaPBCBjSVc[/video]
 
I use stevia almost every day- however if I'm putting it in anything that requires more than a touch of sweetness I'll cut it with xylitol to get rid of the fruity/bitter aftertaste. That way I can use it without my husband noticing too!! It's great stuff.

Ohhh my husband is the hugest fuss-pot ever. EVER. He hates foreign cuisine- unless we get Italian haha, then he gets either chicken parmigiana or spag and meatballs and has cheesecake for dessert. DOH! I'm very opposite, I love punchy flavours and strong spices and HOT spicy food. I'm a bit fussy with meat but I'll try any seafood once and can handle most forms of beef, not a fan of dark chicken meat though... lol.
 
LOL @ hugest fuss-pot LOL My husband complains about practically everything but he has been toning it down a little lately as my tolerance level has not been very high. I've never heard of xylitol...I must check it out. And now that I'm taking chemistry this semester, I wonder about its chemical classification and composition lol.

I like dark chicken meat more than white chicken meat but like you I totally love seafood. Actually whenever my husband cooks red meats (because I totally fail at cooking them with the exception of curried goat and ox-tail) I mostly have the gravy on the rice and some of the little chunks of meat that fell off in the pot. When my mom came to live with us he left some of the gravy after everyone ate and told her if she still wants more there is some gravy and rice left LOL She is a meat lover and was SO insulted and angry with him. I had to explain to her that he probably thought it was just something we do in our family.

Two more dishes I'd like to recommend to you/see you make..and I'm pretty sure you've had at least one of them, are thai red curry shrimp and another dish from this restaurant i used to go to called crispy caramel chicken.

Red curry shrimp is not usually something i find on the menu, but most thai restaurants I've been to can swap out any variety of meat in their dishes. I love red curry shrimp with bamboo shoots, zucchini, and fresh peppers :D


The crispy caramel chicken is like ... omg the first time I tasted it I swore I was in some island in the pacific off of asia :D The name really does it no justice as the ginger and peppers are a quite prominent taste in the dish.

The name of the restaurant is Cafe Grand Lux.

Seriously if you ever make these you HAVE to update your diary with it
 
I did not setup my office yet and i do my homework on the kitchen table. The edge of this chair hurts the back of my legs so bad sometimes I swear it has taken skin off :p

anyways doing good so far today and have a better attitude about the day which is a good thing. I think I will be listing my food intake and counting cals more closely to do well in this competition :D

Brekkie
1 bowl of frosted flakes with warmed 1% milk - 170 cals
 
Hey beauty queen :) how are you doing today? hope all is going well!
Your brekkie sounded good.

Are you planning on setting up an office then?
 
Heya!
I cooked chicken rogan josh and Karachi lamb this week - both from scratch and it wasn't too bad - main thing was using low fat natural yoghurt and marinading overnight. I'm not a big rice person so I dumped loads if veggies in and had it on its own. I think it came out just under 500 calories for a pretty big dinner.

Hope you had a good day :)
 
Hey beauty queen :) how are you doing today? hope all is going well!
Your brekkie sounded good.

Are you planning on setting up an office then?
OH GAWD Justina...I did SO terrible yesterday. Started off good and then I had so much fast food. So much that I promised myself not to eat any more for the rest of the year. I have to meet my goals. Stepped on the scale today to check the damage and weighed in at 280 :( 8 ounces up from last week but I will not fall off track. Going to the gym today and just did 15 mins of cardio. Eating well so far today. I will stop by your diary to see how u r in a bit.
Heya!
I cooked chicken rogan josh and Karachi lamb this week - both from scratch and it wasn't too bad - main thing was using low fat natural yoghurt and marinading overnight. I'm not a big rice person so I dumped loads if veggies in and had it on its own. I think it came out just under 500 calories for a pretty big dinner.

Hope you had a good day :)
You know jjjay...I have never heard of chicken rogan josh lol I am going to look it up. The good thing with Indian foods is they are tasty and you can tweak the ingredients with little effect on the taste...like replacing heavy cream with low-fat yoghurt, and the difference in calories makes it a good diet food :D plus it offers so much variety for veggie dishes than just the usual salad. Congrats on your weight loss and getting 12km done!!:jump: I will be coming to check you out.


Well big changes from yesterday....no fast food for the remainder of the year. I need to do that or else I will never lose weight. Starting the gym today and can't wait to report how it goes :)
 
Ronald McDonald is a terrorist! You can't trust those people with red hair. Ronald McDonald, Wendy, the Burger King? All redheads!

Good luck on the workout.
 
OH GAWD Justina...I did SO terrible yesterday. Started off good and then I had so much fast food. So much that I promised myself not to eat any more for the rest of the year. I have to meet my goals. Stepped on the scale today to check the damage and weighed in at 280 :( 8 ounces up from last week but I will not fall off track. Going to the gym today and just did 15 mins of cardio. Eating well so far today. I will stop by your diary to see how u r in a bit.

Well big changes from yesterday....no fast food for the remainder of the year. I need to do that or else I will never lose weight. Starting the gym today and can't wait to report how it goes :)

Xenon! It happens! Don't give up! Oh and just because I have an offline friend who is dieting too - you can't escape - LOL!! We can do this!!! So pick yourself up & get back on the wagon!!! :smash: NOW!

You can make "fast" food at home!! all my recipes are fast, simple & yummy (yeah I know apart from the sauerkraut) Lol. But seriously I don't spend more than 20 in the kitchen.
 
Ronald McDonald is a terrorist! You can't trust those people with red hair. Ronald McDonald, Wendy, the Burger King? All redheads!

Good luck on the workout.
:rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao::smilielol5::smilielol5: I don't think there are enough emoticons that can express how much I laughed at this. Too funny!! Coincidentally I ate at two of those places :p
Xenon! It happens! Don't give up! Oh and just because I have an offline friend who is dieting too - you can't escape - LOL!! We can do this!!! So pick yourself up & get back on the wagon!!! :smash: NOW!

You can make "fast" food at home!! all my recipes are fast, simple & yummy (yeah I know apart from the sauerkraut) Lol. But seriously I don't spend more than 20 in the kitchen.
Thanks so much Justina <3 lol @ the sauerkraut haha. I have to pay more attention to your recipes then...I spend waaaay to much time in the kitchen when I cook
 
That.Gym.Rocks

So the gym is ridiculously perfect. Huge climbing wall, great locker room, and tons of equipment. And not just any equipment...new stuff that looks good. Even the treadmill can hold up to 400 lbs! Did 30 mins on the treadmill for starters and walked around campus for 40 mins.

And something a little crazy happened. At home I usually skim past the mirror or focus on one thing or the other when i am looking in the mirror...usually my hair or how gravity has turned my belly into something unbelievable. Well today in the locker room I went to check myself out after slipping back into my regular clothes and as i was fixing my hair...for the very first time...I realised that I am beautiful lolololl I even feel weird saying it. I mean I never thought i was ugly but beauty wise maybe a 7 or 8 at most facially. But today what I saw...I would estimate myself at about a 9 on a 10 point scale haha. I feel so conceited. I was actually even a little surprised because I thought it was someone passing behind me and realised it was me....maybe just the lighting in the locker room :D Anyways I think I will be able to stick with the gym better this time. I pass by it everyday I am at school and all of the skinny women that go there are very motivating...one day I too will blend in with their thinness. For now, my body definitely needs work, but I know my goals are attainable and i am happy about it. i think I will get the help of a personal trainer when I reach my first mini goal of 220. So far as working out goes, i am going to work my way up to 1 hour of walking and slowly increase my running time on the treadmill. I am so happy :D:D:D
 
gotta run to do some preparations for lab tomorrow but I will be back on later. Thanks so much for all the encouragement everyone! :grouphug:
 
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