Back To Normal

Just a quick life update: This week I moved back into school, and I'm living in apartment that is equipped with a kitchen. Praise the heavens because I enjoy cooking too much, and I really didn't want to be forced to eat in a college dining hall. That being said, I plan on updating *le blog* more often so I can prove that it is possible to lead a healthy lifestyle while having a social life and cramming for exams. If you didn't already know, I am studying nutrition and plan on becoming a Registered Dietitian, and after the first few days of class, I can already tell that I made the right decision and I couldn't be happier about it! 

Now enough about me, let's get to some eats!

The day I moved into school, I wanted something special for breakfast that would keep me energized for lugging heavy boxes for the rest of the day. And even though I have a sick obsession with oatmeal, I knew that I needed something with a little more staying power. 

Cue omelette! I love making omelettes. I usually make one for my father every Sunday, but I always opt for my oatmeal. So when I make an omelette, it has to be special, and loaded with veggies. 

Mushroom and Kale Omelette

• 1 egg (I use Eggland's Best)
• 2 egg whites
• splash of milk
• 1 small handful of kale, chopped
• 2 small mushrooms, diced (I used baby bellas)
• 1 oz. goat cheese, crumbled (feta or swiss would also work)
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Steam the kale for a minute or two, just until the leaves are tender and dark green. Remove from pot, pan, whatever you steamed them in, drain water and set aside (water bath isn't necessary)

2. Heat a small pan (sprayed with cooking oil), and add mushrooms. Cook, over medium heat, until they are tender and darken, but no not burn them. 

3. In a separate bowl, combine the egg, egg whites, and milk. Beat until incorporated. Add taste and pepper to taste.

4. Add the drained kale to the pan with the mushrooms and stir until everything is evenly distributed. Pour egg mixture over the veggies and make sure everything is coated. Let eggs sit, undisturbed for 30 seconds to a minute. Poke any air bubbles that form. Continue to cook the eggs by letting the rest that have not set slide to the side of the pan. If you don't like you're eggs a little runny, then flip your omelette, but if you're pan is very small you run the risk of making a huge mess (I prefer to just cook mine on one side). 

5. Sprinkle cheese on one half of the eggs and flip the other side over to create a half-moon shape. Allow 30 seconds to a minute for the cheese to melt. 

I served my eggs with Cinnamon-Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds, which are simply a sweet potato, cut into 1/2-3/4 inch rounds, tossed with a little coconut oil (or other neutral tasting oil) and cinnamon, then baked for about 30 minutes at 400*. 

Filling, satisfying, and delicious. What else could you ask for in the morning?

Thursday Thoughts

I am so tired, but it's something I'm trying not to think about. I just want to push through and keep on truckin' until I drop!

Not really, but I really could use a break right now. The fact that I know I have less than a week until classes just makes it worse. That's when the real fun starts. Classes, homework, work, cooking, working out. Blogging? Sleeping? Hopefully.

Clearly, my posts have becoming more sporadic, it's just hard to cook during the day and work nights and make time for the gym AND find time to blog about what I've been eating. So, I think I'm just going to try to give quick overviews of my days as far as food goes. Recipes will be rarer, but hopefully seeing what I'm eating will inspire you to try a variation of what you see here. Just try and bare with me over the next few months, I'm sure the adventure will be interesting and telling.

It's only quarter to ten on a Thursday night and I'm already ready to hit the hay. And I'm going to do just that!

A Rant About Vegetarianism

Can I just get something off my chest? Thanks.

It really bothers me when people assume the reason I lost weight was because I became a vegetarian. Yes, vegetarianism cut-out a lot of unhealthy foods from my diet, like Big Macs and deep-fried chicken tenders, but there are still a lot of unhealthy foods that don't include meat. Things like chips, fettucini alfredo, and Nutella are all fine in moderation, but when you have no control over your portions and eat junk until your stomach is about to regurgitate, it doesn't matter if you're a vegan or a carnivore, you will not lose weight.

Yes, becoming a vegetarian helped open my eyes to healthier options, but it didn't stop me from eating a pint of Ben and Jerry's in one sitting. There has to be a moment in your life, a turning point, when you look yourself in the mirror and say, "I need to get healthy," and then you need to focus on doing just that.

I thought I had that moment many times in my life. I can't tell you how many times I started a "new" diet throughout my short lifetime. But there was a moment, back in November of 2011, that changed my life forever.

I was sitting in my college dorm room with my roommate and it was around 11:30, 12 at night. We were watching SNL and talking about food, when my roommate looked at me and said, "Ya know what I could go for right now? Ice-cream." I agreed, having ice-cream always sounded like a good idea to me, it was my favorite food. After gushing about all the delicious ice-cream we could be eating, I looked at my roommate with this crazy grin on my face and asked, "Wanna go to Quick Chek?" And with that, we were off, no hesitation necessary.

Because I was obviously thinking about my health that night (ha-ha), I opted for Ben and Jerry's Half Baked FroYo. I'll spare you the gory details of how I devoured the entire pint like I was going to the electric chair, but like a drug addict, I forced myself to finish the entire pint, even when I started to feel full. Mind you, there are four servings in a pint of ice-cream. Immediately after, I went to bed. With an entire pint of frozen yogurt sloshing around in my stomach.

The next morning I felt like I had been hit by an eighteen-wheeler. I looked in the mirror and I hated who I saw staring back at me. This was not the person I wanted to be, I didn't even know her. That was the moment I knew I needed to change. For good.

Looking back, I don't regret that night because it showed me that I had hit rock bottom. Climbing out of that hole I had dug for myself over the years was no easy task, but it was definitely worth it. I learned so much about myself, fitness, and nutrition throughout the journey, and today, I can proudly say that that sad girl who glared back at me with tears in her eyes is no longer lurking behind my mirrors.

The reason for this long rant is to remind everyone that trying a new fad diet, cutting out carbs, or becoming a vegetarian will not solve your weight loss problems. Moderation, portion control, and exercise will, and if you don't want to put in the effort to get to your goal, then you haven't reached rock bottom. It's not about going on a quick-fix diet. It's about changing your life forever, and you need to be ready to take on that task.

So if weight loss, or getting healthy is something that you've struggled with, I ask you to look at yourself in the mirror, right now, and ask yourself if that person is the who you want to live with for the rest of your life. If not, then it may be time for you to re-evaluate your lifestyle. I can tell you from experience, it will be the greatest thing you ever do for yourself.

The End of One Chapter

I've been anticipating writing this entry for about a week now, and it's finally time for me to make this announcement. The reason I waited was because I wanted to make sure things were official and settled before I told anyone about this major change. What's the change you ask? Well, if you know me, then you know that I am a college junior pursuing an English literature degree. Actually that's a lie. I was pursuing an English literature degree, until today. Today I am officially on the path to pursuing a degree in nutrition and food science with a concentration in dietetics, so that I may become a Registered Dietitian. 


Yeah, I told you, it's a pretty big change. But this is something that I have been thinking about for a little while now, and I'm absolutely in love with the idea. I can't imagine doing anything else with the rest of my life. During and after my weight-loss, so many people joked that I should become a nutritionist, or be their personal trainer, or write a diet book, and for a while I just laughed off the suggestions. That is until I realized that deep down, it's seriously what I wanted to do. I love learning about nutrition and helping others live a more healthy life. It is my passion. 


I know the road ahead is going to be a difficult and bumpy one, littered with laborious science courses, sleepless nights, and massive amounts of stress, but are things that are worth having ever easy to obtain? No. Life is always going to be kicking me in the ass somehow, so I may as well make sure that I enjoy the end result when the assault is over. 


Since it's the end of July, I had to enroll for the fall semester at my local community college, and then in the spring I will be attending an institution that has a didactic program in dietetics. The decision to completely step out of my comfort, transfer schools, and leave my friends was not an easy one. But in the end, I realized that if fear was the thing that was holding me back, I had to dive into those fears head first. I have never been more happy or certain about a decision in my life. You always hear growing up that everyone has a calling in their life. Well, I struggled for years to figure out what my calling was, but it took me a complete life-style change, 70 pounds, and 20 years to realize what mine was. 


I'm both nervous and excited about this transition in my life, but in the end, I know it will all be worth it. Never in my life have I been more motivated and determined, and from past experience I know that that is a winning combination. I don't know exactly what the future holds, or where the winding roads on this journey will lead me, but I've got my seatbelt on and I'm ready for the ride. 

Morning Routine

After reading through some other health and food blogs, I figured I would share my morning routine with you guys!

I usually wake up around 6:30 or 7, naturally. I've kind of become a grandma in recent months because I go to bed early and wake up at the crack of dawn, but I love getting a lot of things done in the morning.

I eat as soon as I get up because my metabolism is that of a pubescent boy. If I'm going to the gym, I'll usually have a quick snack of cereal and fruit, or fruit and nuts. If I don't go to the gym in the morning, but I usually do, I will make my oatmeal straight away.

At the gym I do about 30-45 minutes of cardio depending on my mood, but I like to switch it up with intervals to keep it interesting. Then I do about 10-20 minutes of toning exercises, mostly for my core and legs. Three days a week I lift weights, but never consecutively.

After my workout, I eat my oatmeal and hit the shower! If I have any errands to run, I'll usually do them in the morning to get them out of the way, but if not, I like to relax for a bit and watch my favorite morning talk shows, like Kathi Lee and Hoda, and The View!

I told you...I really am a grandma.

I use to hate getting up and doing stuff in the morning, but since I've become more energized, it's become impossible for me to lay in bed all morning. I highly recommend taking advantage of your mornings because they set the tone for the rest of your day. Lazy morning = lazy day, but an active morning leads to a productive day.

An Introduction is in Order

My name is Kathleen, more commonly known as Kat, and I am a 20 year-old college student trying to find balance and happiness in this bustling world. For years I struggled with my weight, body image issues, and shrinking self-confidence. Like most people, I tried almost every fad diet on the market, but nothing ever seemed to stick. At the beginning of 2011 I even became a vegetarian (technically, pescetarian) in hopes that the lifestyle change would help me get healthy. But after months of eating healthier, the number on the scale was just as disappointing as it always had been. I would lose ten, or so pounds and gain it, and then some, all back before you could say, "Triple-chocolate fudge brownie." Finally, in November of 2011 I kicked my ass into serious-health-nut mode, and at long last, it finally worked the way I had always imagined that it would. 

My secret? Ah yes, it's what everyone has asked me since I lost the weight. To everyone's surprise, and visible disappointment, the secret is diet and exercise. When you take in less calories than you are burning, you will lose weight. It is as simple as that. I cut out sweets, junk food, and highly processed foods and loaded up on vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. I had no such thing as a "cheat day" or a "cheat meal." I discovered from all of my failed diets that if I gave myself an inch, I would take a mile; giving into a craving usually resulted in a junk-food binge, which led to an insane amount of guilt and self-loathing. Was it easy? Hell no. Especially not as a stressed college student. Was it worth it? Absolutely. 

The bottom line is that people just eat too much food, and usually that food has a very low nutritional value. The reason why so many people's diets fail is because they get bored of eating the same, bland food day-in and day-out. I have always had a passion for cooking, so my goal throughout my diet was to create delicious, nutritious, low-calorie meals, even in college. 

This blog is going to be a combination of recipes, inspiration, struggle, advice, and humor. I am not an expert, but if the numbers are any indication, I do have an idea of what I'm babbling about. 

Quick Facts:

Starting Weight: 198

Current Weight: 127

My diet is mostly plant-based and I work out six days a week.
I eat every 2-4 hours.

Favorite junk food: Ice cream, chocolate, cheese

Favorite healthy food: Oatmeal, broccoli rabe, beans, avocados, almonds, seafood

September 2010:                                                                 June 2012:

 

If you're about healthy living, cooking, or looking to make a lifestyle change, continue to check out my blog! And remember, hard work always pays off in the end.