Part 1: The Journey begins

Thank you for stopping by this corner of blogging world.

This blog will be a documentation of my journey to a healthier lifestyle and I hope that we will learn and find inspiration from each other to sustain it. Since I am a college student, I also want to share how I improve to make time for this lifestyle. And because I am pursuing accounting, there’s no room for creativity in that world so I hope to pour all that’s flowing through my heart and mind into this sphere.

My goal is to be posting at least once a week on topics ranging from what I ate, exercise routine, recipes, mindful practices & learning experiences, and more.

 

Easy Chicken Recipe & Week 2 Update

Summary: Hell-o of a week. I had late night meetings throughout the week, and when I was done with them after each day, I realize how fast each day passed. I went to school as the sun rose, and before I knew it, I walked to the bus stop when it’s dark and rainy. The week turned into a blur…

How I make my Chicken right now:

This took me 15 minutes, not including the time marinating:

Marinate: Hoisin Sauce, Soy Sauce, Oregano (optional), black pepper & salt

Mix chicken breast & sauces. Marinate for at least 30 min. The longer you marinate, the tastier it becomes.

You can use a little oil if you would like so it is not as dry, but I tried it this time without oil.

I made this at 10:30PM and I still ate a few pieces because it smelled so amazing.

If you give it a try, let me know below in the comments how it goes!

My meals/snacks last week were mainly comparable to this example:

Lunch: 1 boiled sweet potato, 1 egg, 1 Persian cucumber, 1/2 large tomato, 1 plum (sour!),  Snacks: Nuts, Bananas

I traded out one food for dates, apple slices, and chestnuts. I’m having a slight obsession over chestnuts and sweet potatoes right now. Well, actually I’ve been loving sweet potatoes for 19 years.

My goal for this coming week is to stay on top of my work so that I can take my time with my health.

We’ve reached the end of week 1! How was your progress towards no sugar intake? Took a few days to get into the groove?

Me too. I realized that going cold-turkey when it is also the start of school, meaning testing the water for how my study schedule, is not going to work like it had during the summer when my routine was already created. Since it was rush week for this business fraternity I was hoping to get in, every night I had to prepare both lunch and dinner for the next day as I am a commuter. Meal prepping definitely helped me control what I took in. I did not crave banana bread or lemon cake from the school cafe’s like I use to.

However, due to the stress of rushing & the major MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL (you CANT not eat mooncake!), the moment I got home and sat down to do homework, I would sneak a poor biscotti that would snowball into a peanut butter breakfast bar, a homemade mooncake, dried mango slices, a handful o’cashews… into my room and nibble mindlessly. I saw the ramification of this inexcusable behavior on the scale yesterday– 4 lbs heavier than 2 weeks ago! Combined with getting eliminated after the 2nd round, I felt devastated at my failures that night I received the email.

On the bright side, I did meal prep healthily. I mainly rummaged through the fridge for random raw vegetables/fruits & paired it with proteins like eggs and chicken & grains like lentils. Here are 3 lunches from this week (those are one kind of mom’s homemade mooncakes):

Lunch 1: Green lentils, carrot sticks, persian cucumber, homemade mooncakes, grapes

Ugh, it’s 11:30PM and I am craving these non-existent mooncakes…

Lunch 2: Boiled egg, leftover rice, persian cucumber, grapes, cashews, banana (not pictured)

Lunch 3: Dried dates, lettuce, green lentils, cashews, REAL GOOD chicken

For all my dinners, I made my kale salad (lame attempt at having a meal completely carb-less).

All my meals are pretty fast to whip up, huh?

Man, I concocted this marinade for chicken that makes it so tasty I almost finished them right after I cooked it at 12 AM. Let me know if you are interested in the recipe!

Anyways, since there is nothing to do about not getting a bid, I can only take this 6 months to focus on improving my public speaking and creative thinking before rushing again come spring. This is my biggest failure so far this year, but I am glad I tried and had fun in the process! Sometimes failure is what kicks us in the butt to get going again, like determination in disguise.

“Get ready for Isabel 2.0 >:D” -CHEESEY IZ 

See you next week!

No-sugar October

Tomorrow is October! I still need a moment to let that sink in…

On August 30th, I stopped consuming refined/added sugar, packaged foods, and milk thinking I will make it to 28 days. Proud to say that I lasted for 3 weeks. I also exercised at least 30 minutes everyday. During that time, I lost 5 pounds. However, I gained 3 lbs back the last two weeks of September. Adjusting to school and nibbling on my mom’s mooncakes, zhongzi, hearty noodles, curry chicken, and discovering mochi ice-cream… it was difficult to say the least!

Because I do not want to lose my progress, I am re-doing this 28 day reset challenge starting October 1. I will be posting weekly to keep myself (and you, reader, if you want to join me!) accountable, and say happily on October 28th that we’ve made it! It is 28 days because it is manageable, and research has shown that is how many days it will take to form a habit.

After this month’s attempt though, sugar has significantly less control over my life.

For example, does this look tempting?

Um, doesn’t even look like food to me…

How about this?

Ugh, yes… BUT, I remind myself that I’d rather keep it all pretty looking instead of mashed up in my stomach.

So here are the rules:

• No processed foods: No packaged items like granola bars, cereal (my weakness is Honey bunches of oats but I’ve managed to stay away from it for 5 weeks!), etc.
• No cane & refined sugar: I work at a candy shop so if I can do it for 5 weeks… SO CAN YOU!
• If you would like to eliminate milk, you can do that as well. I’ve been dairy free for 5 weeks minus the ice-cream I’ve eaten…

Tips & tricks to keep you going:

• Just like a Snapchat streak, it will be easier to say no to the foods (not quite) if you work to maintain your streak
• I found it easier to go cold-turkey. Otherwise, a little nibble on mom’s new batch of mooncakes with the mooncake mold that just came in the mail today will snowball into 5 before I realize it.
• Documenting food/calorie intake. I used myfitnesspal, and I’m sure you’ve heard by now how it works!
• Dedicate at least 15-30 minutes of exercising 
• Allow your nose to “eat” the food. Usually the 1st bite of that cheesecake gives you the most satisfaction. After that it just tastes bland and makes you feel guilty. Just like that 1st bite, that deep inhale of the food particles will do the trick. No really, it worked for me!
• I am working on taking 3 sips of water every hour because in the past it made my skin glow and kept me full.
• Cooking at home and semi-meal prepping

Stay tuned for some quick and easy recipes to help us on this journey! Lastly, if you mess up, what matters is that you forgive yourself and get back on track right away. You do not want to wait for “tomorrow” because it will lead to another “tomorrow”.

And maybe celebrate the completion with a treat on the 31st of October 😛

Adios,

Picture sources: http://adamprinz.com/KawaiixCupcake/index.html http://www.socupcake.com

Food for Healthy Hair

During weight loss, I am often paranoid on not taking in enough nutrients. I know first hand when my body almost failed me when I ate whatever I craved and it was a horrible experience. Thus for the coming posts, I want to make sure we lose weight the healthy way, and you will see future recipes that incorporates these foods because I love food.

Today is about the nutrients we need for healthy hair & scalp. In addition to these foods below, I’ve found that at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep, proper external hair and scalp care is just as important for silky thick hair. Personally when I stopped brushing my hair (and perhaps due to stress and gaining weight) in high school was when my hair started falling more (lost about 1/4 of my thick hair). Hair brushing is important for scalp circulation and healthy hair starts at the scalp. I also cut my hair every 4-6 months and thankfully have no split ends.

Stuff you need to eat:

• fatty acid: walnuts, flaxseeds, fish, avocado
• vitamin c for collagen production & iron absorption: fruits, red pepper
• biotin: rice, oats, nuts
• zinc: pumpkin seeds, fresh oysters, brazil nuts, eggs, pecans
• silica: cucumber, mango, green leafs, beans, celery, asparagus
• vitamin e: sunflower seeds, almonds, pine nuts, dried apricots, cooked spinach,  olives
• iron: green leafy vegetables, leeks, cashews, dried fruits, figs, berries, blackstrap molasses
• iodine if hypothyroidism: sea veggies
• b-complex vitamin
• methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) for keratin: uncooked veggies like swiss chard, cabbage, watercress

Mmm whole foods make me so happy… cannot wait to incorporate these foods into my recipes.

sources:

http://www.foodmatters.com/article/11-foods-and-natural-remedies-for-healthy-hair-growth

http://food.ndtv.com/food-drinks/seaweed-can-help-feed-the-world-but-will-we-eat-it-1239466

 

 

Go-to Kale Dinner

I am still a newbie to meal prepping but i have found myself using this recipe (so easy that it does not feel like one) over and over again for dinner and have seen results so far. Not only is the weight has slowly dropping, I have been pooping every time I eat the kale as well. Seriously, kale is the best at keeping me full! I usually do not make the dressing because it takes an extra 5 minutes in the busy mornings.

Ingredients:

• 2 stalks of kale
• handful dried cranberries
• handful toasted (bbq) almonds, or any nut you choose
• 1 apple or any fruit you choose

Dressing: equal part-

• honey
• olive oil
• lime or lemon juice
• black pepper

All you have to do is wash, chop, and douse the kale in hot water for up to a minute (otherwise it does not suit my taste). Put down one layer of kale, then sprinkle some cranberries and almonds. Repeat until you are out of kale. Combine, stir, and pour the dressing ingredients over the kale.

Cut up a fruit and place it beside