Over Oatmeal? Try Chia Pudding!

I am SO OVER oatmeal!  DONE!  I've been eating oatmeal (more specifically, "overnight oats") for about 6 months; Monday through Friday.  Oatmeal is healthy and budget friendly, but I can't stomach another bit of it.  So I've been looking at some easy and budget friendly alternatives to replace oatmeal.  In case you haven't read the previous posts on my eating habits, I do not like a lot of fuss when it comes to food.  I am not a fan of cooking or foods which involve too much preparation.  I like to have my breakfast ready and accessible so I can take it to work, no problem, that's why overnight oats were so convenient because you just basically "set it and forget it".

I heard of "chia pudding" before but never really gave it much thought.  I've had chia seeds in my oatmeal and in shakes, but never considered the pudding.  Chia pudding is so easy to make.  Chia seeds are much more expensive than oatmeal but are so worth it!  They are so nutritious.  If you haven't heard of chia seeds before, you need to get on it!  Ask the wise Google about them.

I basically prepare them just like I would overnight oats.  It takes me about two minutes to prepare. All you need is:

• Chia seeds (you can find them at any health food store; Wholefoods, Sprouts, Trader Joe's, etc...)
• A liquid of choice (milk, for example)
• A sweetener of choice
• Any other flavors you'd like to add
• And any toppings you'd like

You can pretty much prepare and eat the pudding however you want!

I like mine with unsweetened, vanilla coconut milk, agave nectar (or honey), and cinnamon. I make a big batch to last me about 3 days (I put it in one medium-sized Mason jar), and scoop a bit out every morning for breakfast.  To prepare it, I fill my mason jar with one quarter of Chia seeds and 3 quarters of liquid (in my case, coconut milk); so the ratio I use is 1 part chia to 3 parts liquid.  Less liquid will make it much thicker, so it's up to you how you like it.  When you're preparing it, add the ingredients you need to make it taste the way you want it to.  Chia pudding is very similar to oatmeal in that it'll take the taste of whatever you put in it.  I'll add agave or honey to sweeten, as well as cinnamon.  I then mix it all together and taste a bit to see how it'll come out. Once I'm satisfied, I'll cover my jar and place it in the fridge.

The next morning...

When I'm ready to eat it I'll add something crunchy, like granola, almonds, sunflower seeds, and dried fruit.  Sometimes I'll even add Greek yogurt.  Chia pudding on its own has the consistency of tapioca or rice pudding; it's very mushy.  I like a little crunch to go with it.

Voila!

Like oatmeal, chia pudding is very versatile.  I also like how it looks; I imagine myself eating caviar when I'm eating it.  Have fun with your food!  I am gonna stick with this for a while and try to switch up the toppings.  Since the summer is coming up, maybe I'll try adding some frozen mango chunks (YUM!).

Have you tried chia pudding before?  If so how do you eat it?

By the way, have you checked out my FREE E-BOOK? It's called "Greens on the Side" and will help you get started with your weight loss goals in just 5 easy steps. Check it out =)

2013 wrap-up

Hello all!  We are 46 days away from the New Year!  2013 was filled with many blessings and transformations.  I share in a previous post how I took a leap of faith and turned my life right-side up.  16 days from today will mark my 1 year anniversary since changing my life and moving here to San Diego.  I don't know yet how I'm going to celebrate but I will keep you posted!

Once November started I felt my energy shifting into "hibernation" mode.  I was feeling kind of stuck and indecisive.  Once the time changed, it just felt like the darkness was lingering longer and I am such a sun worshiper that it makes me a little sad.  It's so easy to put yourself into a pit of fear and despair; so easy for me to do to myself.  But thankfully I have some great resources to help me stay focused on my goals.  I always turn back to my Magical Manifestor notes and training for guidance.  I am also working with Laura Yamin of Joyful Shimmy on a 21-day "fear detox".  She's such an inspiration, overall great listener and extremely supportive.  I highly recommend working with her.  I recently also began following one of the people from my MM class, Martine Holston, who wrote this powerful post on taking action when it seems like you have no control over a situation.  It really hit home because sometimes it's so hard for me to make a decision, especially when it's something that worries me.

My job responsibilities will be winding down soon, so I'll have more ME time to focus on my goals.  I am 100% focused and dedicated to "getting it done" as Shaun T would say!

Re-cap on my status:

Happy October! Week 9 T25 + Vegan Update!

Hellooo everyone!  I'm super happy it's October!  I love October, mainly for Halloween (best day ever!).  I have tons of juicy updates for you! I've been so busy with LIFE!  I started a new job and just recently interviewed for another position, so it seems like a lot of opportunities are coming my way.  I've been playing catch-up with everything, including my posts, but am glad to finally have a little break to let you know everything that's been happening.

It's the Fall now and I definitely felt the shift right before it happened.  I felt the days growing a little darker sooner, I felt more tired, have been feeling more drained than ever.  Also on the emotional front I've been feeling a little restless and like I'm "almost there"; like on the cusp of something (not sure yet what that is). I just entered on Monday, my 9th week of Focus T25.  I can't believe it's been 9 weeks already!  Actually it's been 10 since I began but I wasn't feeling so great one week, so I decided to do that corresponding week over.  The workout itself is my favorite so far.  There are so many days when I get home from work exhausted and decide to take it easy and rest.  I figure I should give myself a break from a hard day.  Then there's this tiny voice that says "cmon, you should really work out", and then I respond "but I'm SO TIRED", then the voice goes "It's only 25 minutes, just try your best", and that usually does the trick for me.  I play the DVD's on my laptop, so what I do is place a piece of paper over the screen to cover the timer.  I don't like watching the countdown because it feels like time moves slower then.  When I don't look at the time, the workout flies by and I feel amazing when I finish. Some days I am so tired that I only do about 15 minutes, but I don't feel bad because I figure something is better than nothing. My favorite Focus T25 DVD's (all included) are: Alpha stage: Cardio, Speed 1.0, Stretch Beta stage: Core Cardio, Speed 2.0 (MY FAV!), Upper Focus, and Core Speed.  They each have a lot of modifications if you're just starting out, and the best part is when you're consistent with the workouts you'll eventually find that some things which were hard at first become progressively easier.

I haven't weighed or measured myself. I actually decided last month to take a break from doing that. It may work for some people but it doesn't for me. I hate feeling like a slave to the numbers when it's really about the feeling for me. I don't want to let the numbers on a scale or measuring tape define me or my body. I am much more than a body. I feel myself losing weight; my clothes fit much looser, I have an easier time doing things like running after my bus when I'm late, and having more stamina to do things. I tried measuring myself week to week and weighing myself, but realized the numbers were controlling me. I discuss my "ego trip" and negative thought patterns and behaviors in my last post "I forgive myself for being fat". Whenever I weighed myself it was like opening a door I did not want to deal with. If the numbers were higher than the last time, my self-esteem would be momentarily destroyed. If the numbers were lower than before, they weren't low enough. I just thought it was too much to deal with, so I choose to focus on how I feel rather than how much I weigh or how much weight I'm losing.

Actually I will be honest with you and say that I've been looking at myself naked more often and....

yea...

I made this pic collage of my week 1 and week 9, and also the fact that I can actually fit in the door frame comfortably, whereas with week 1 I wasn't able to.  I still have a hard time seeing the physical changes in these pictures, but oh well, here you go!

As for Veganism, if you're just tuning in to my randomness now, I previously discussed taking a Vegan approach to my weight loss (check "Going Vegan") and needless to say I fucked up, and that's OK.  I'm not meant to be a Vegan, at least not at the moment.  I'm not a big meat eater and thankfully dairy is no longer a vice, but you have to have a lot of patience to be a Vegan.  You gotta be religiously aware of what you're consuming and the best option is to prepare your own meals.  As I've stated before, I am not a fan of cooking and I just don't care to cook.  I usually prepare 3 meals per 7-days, in large quantities to last me for a couple of days for lunch and dinner. But after a while I just get bored of the same thing, and I'm just lazy.  I'd rather buy frozen foods and just heat them up.  I know it's great to cook your own meals but I commute about 3 hours total, per day, by the time I get home I barely have the energy to keep up with life, let alone working out.  I think my next endeavor with consumption will be juicing.  I really like Shakeology and would love to do a juicing detox soon, before the new year.

Speaking of which, we are less than 3 months away from 2014!  I've come so far and have accomplished so much; I'm at the home stretch and want to really focus my energy on the last few 2013 goals, which are:

1) Get my driver's license

2) Blast the belly bulge (would love to reduce it by half before the new year)

3) Finalize some short-term career goals, which include solidifying a position with a great salary

4) Create a plan of action for my writing goals

5) Would love to be in a solid relationship, at least starting out

I'm thankful I have my Magical Manifesters lesson plans to guide me through the last bit of 2013.

Whew!  I know that was a lot to take in, but hopefully you laughed, you cried, and you'll be back for more!  Till next time!

P.S: Check me out on Joyful Shimmy!  I was interviewed by my great friend and sister, Laura Yamin, on my journey from East to West (almost 1 year ago!).  Check it out and let me know what you think!


By the way, have you checked out my FREE E-BOOK? It's called "Greens on the Side" and will help you get started with your weight loss goals in just 5 easy steps.  Check it out!

I forgive myself for being fat

I follow a great deal of amazing teachers and healers, including Deepak Chopra, Sonia Choquette,

Mike Dooley, among others.  I receive daily messages of inspiration and compassion to help me on my journey, and I recently noticed within the last two months I've been receiving a lot of messages about forgiveness.  I read them but the messages didn't connected with me, so they get deleted.  I always thought, well I don't have anyone to forgive.  I thought of forgiveness as something you did when someone hurt you, when you want to release that toxic energy.  I never quite clicked with forgiveness, until now.

To back track a little bit, I noticed within the last 2-3 months, since I've been more serious about improving my health, my ego has been so negative and draining.  I find myself fighting constantly to remain positive, optimistic; to guide myself gently.  But the voice has become louder, more aggressive, berating; all around just putting me down and making me feel so low.  I get so low sometimes I don't even know how to continue.  Thankfully I've learned to just let things be and take a break when things get overwhelming.  I stop what I'm doing and enjoy stillness.  I'll take a walk or just lie down, to calm the voice in my head.  The more I try to fight, the worse it gets so I just let it be.  I let my Ego have a tantrum moment and then eventually it's over (at least momentarily).  I figure my ego is scared and feeling doubtful of progress.  She's so used to feeling like a failure that it's a natural tendency to prepare and plan to fail. 

So as I read one of the most recent posts about forgiveness it dawned on me so suddenly that the first person I need to forgive is myself.  I need to forgive myself for the negative thoughts, actions, and emotions that I've pretty much given to myself.  The first forgiveness action, which I think will help me with my weight loss, is to forgive myself for being fat.  I forgive myself for being hard on myself, for criticizing myself, for giving up on me, for seeing and treating myself like shit, for feeling guilty when I eat or even think of eating, for overeating, for craving junk foods, and the list goes on and on...I think what I'll do is write out a list of all the things in the "fat" category I need to release myself from and forgive myself for.  I think I'll create some kind of forgiveness ritual, maybe burning the paper I write on, and creating beautiful reminders to stay on the forgiveness train.

Let me know, what are some things you can forgive yourself for?

By the way, have you checked out my FREE E-BOOK? It's called "Greens on the Side" and will help you get started with your weight loss goals in just 5 easy steps.  Check it out!

What a difference a year makes!

I'm wishing myself a very HAPPY ANNIVERSARY this month.  I'll share with you in a later post more about my story but just to give you a taste; last year I was unemployed, broke(n), depressed, and pretty much living in a pit of sorrow and self-pity.  The photo grid above shows pictures of me last summer (top row) and this summer (bottom two most recent).  Was my change drastic?  YES!  Maybe not drastic with the weight loss but definitely drastic with my LIFE!  I did a total bullshit makeover.  I got up, moved across the country and told myself I'M GONNA MAKE THIS WORK!

And guess what?  It did!  I might have gone through hell to get here but it's all worth it because now all I taste is victory juice from my P.I.M.P cup! So I'm raising my glass high because it's champagne and caviar dreams for me baby!

I just completed my first 5 weeks of Focus T25! I only have 5 more weeks to go and then I'm done!  I can't believe I'm already half way through.  Feeling so motivated and overall just excited about the great things to come.  Goals start out like that, a step at a time and then before you know it...complete.


By the way, have you checked out my FREE E-BOOK? It's called "Greens on the Side" and will help you get started with your weight loss goals in just 5 easy steps.  Check it out!

Meat Epiphany

So I went out to dinner with some friends on Thursday, and chose to use that as one of my "sinner" days (you can check out my "Saint/Sinner" tactic HERE).  I couldn't resist the smell of burgers in the air (I love me some burgers), so I ordered a "mushroom burger" with fries.  It had beef, swiss cheese, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, and raw red onions.  It was so good but because I've become a little bit more aware of what I eat and how I eat, I realized I was more about the cheese, onions, and mushrooms than I was about the actual meat.  And now that I think about it, I've always picked off "excess" meat off of my sandwiches; I'm just not a big meat eater.  You know when you get a sandwich from a deli, they'll put 5 layers of meat and 1 layer of cheese?  Well I hate that and I would always tell them to put a little meat and more of other things.  Or when you eat a Philly Cheesesteak it has loads of steak and a trickle of onions, etc...I prefer all the other stuff over the actual meat. 

So right as I was about to take another bite of my burger I realized, this meal would actually taste the same even if I removed the beef.  Why?  Beacuse for me I like the taste of the char and juice of the meat on the bun, then enhanced by the flavors of the other grilled elements (onions, mushrooms, cheese).  I removed the remaining bit of patty (I had already eaten 75% of it) and yea I can deal with a burger (hold the patty) from now on.  This is great because even though it's not fully vegan/vegetarian, I can atleast have a meatless option when I go out with friends, instead of getting stuck with ordering a salad.

Also just to let you know, about an hour after I ate the burger my stomach took a turn for the worst.  I haven't had meat in 6 days prior to having the burger and I paid for that dearly.  I think it was a combination of the meat and the grease, and the french fries.  It was too much for me all at once.  I had some tea that evening to soothe my stomach and thankfully was able to make it to work the next day. 

I think this is a great way to start towards a vegan/vegetarian diet if you're used to eating meat. You can start by first eating less meat, then eventually remove meat all together. So, lesson learned, and now I am glad I have another tactic to use while I navigate towards a healthier me. 

By the way, have you checked out my FREE E-BOOK? It's called "Greens on the Side" and will help you get started with your weight loss goals in just 5 easy steps.  Check it out!

Vegan Challenge - the first 5 days

So I started my vegan challenge on 8/15, taking baby steps to ween off of certain things like dairy (yogurt and cheese) and meat.  I've already been living a semi-vegetarian lifestyle, only eating meat once in a while, so the transition for the vegan challenge hasn't been that extreme.  One thing I did notice was that I am definitely more aware of what I put in my body and what I'm buying.  I find myself checking ingredients, to make sure they are up to the vegan standards, as much as possible.  It really makes you stop and think about what you're consuming, and how much more careful you have to be when you're on stricter dietary regimes (whether for health or religious purposes).   However, being that I am just starting out I give myself some leeway to stray once in a while, but above all sticking with healthy options.  I really want to make this work.

So Thursday I started out good with some oatmeal and soy milk, as well as a granola bar.  For lunch I did have a vegetable panini but it did have cheese.  I had a plumb and nuts for snacks, and then Japanese fried rice from Trader Joe's for dinner (so good!).  After dinner I had a tall glass of Vanilla Shakeology.  Friday I had the same breakfast.  For lunch I had some Ezekial bread with peanut butter and a plumb.  I usually keep an extra granola bar with me in case I get hungry on the way home after work.  Dinner was left over fried rice and Shakeo, I also had some grapes.  Saturday I had some granola with soy milk, then I had an Indian meatless dish with naan bread for lunch (so good!). It was a frozen dinner from Trader Joe's, but it was not vegan (contained butter).   I had an apple, some coffee, and grapes throughout the day, and then for dinner I had my Shakeo.  I found myself not as hungry on Saturday.  Sunday was a different story.  I started out good with breakfast (granola cereal with soy milk), lunch I had another Indian dish (this time vegan). A little later throughout the day I was watching "Pulp Fiction" for the first time.  When Sam Jackson took a bite of that cheeseburger, my mouth watered.  I was dying for a cheeseburger; nice and juicy.  And since I live close to a Jack in the Box I could have made it happen...but I didn't!  I was tempted but I didn't give in.

I was super proud of myself!  I'm not gonna lie, I still dream about that cheeseburger, but like I said I'm more determined than ever to get to where I want with my health.  Monday started out with granola cereal with soy, I then went on a whirlwind of errands so when I came back I quickly fried up some vegetable potstickers.  I was starving, I don't even know if they were vegan or not put they were delicious!  I then had a cup of coffee.  I snacked on some pita chips and grapes.  For dinner had some Jap fried rice and fried up 2 eggs (not vegan I know, but I didn't want to eat the rice plain).

I definitely need to learn about more fast vegan options to heat up/fry up, whatever, because cooking is not really my thing.  I'd rather have something easily accessible.  Pretty much I have to treat my new way of living similarly to how I was eating before, in the sense that it has to be easy, quick, satisfying, and accessible.  The minute things get too overwhelming or hard, I would quit it.  So as long as I keep finding more vegan options for frozen foods/snacks, I'll be good. I'll do more research!

I don't see myself being full vegan long-term, but I can see myself leading a semi-vegan lifestyle.  I will keep you posted!

By the way, for you vegans out there, what are some good "fast food"/prepared/frozen options?  I usually shop at local supermarkets, Trader Joe's, and Wholefoods.  I'm in San Diego by the way, in case you have specific locations to recommend.  Let me know, and thanks!

By the way, have you checked out my FREE E-BOOK? It's called "Greens on the Side" and will help you get started with your weight loss goals in just 5 easy steps.  Check it out!

Going Vegan

Hola everyone!  I've been going back and forth for a while about Veganism.  I can give up meat, no problem (I'm not a big meat eater anyway), I don't drink milk (only soy/nut based), cheese is a bit of a problem for me; I don't have it often but I love pizza.  I also love Greek yogurt and Kefir.  I think I can work myself up to 90% Vegan only because I use honey to sweeten (I rarely use sugar and I'm not a big fan of how Agave nectar tastes) and don't see myself giving that up, or giving up yogurt.

About 3 years ago I was seeing a holistic nutritionist on a regular basis, and together we discovered some things which had adverse effects on my body and were sabotaging my weight loss.  Some were the "usual suspects" such as processed foods, white sugar, white bread and pastas, and the biggest of all MILK!  I was such a "dairy queen" back in the day! My eating habits were also having a negative impact on my body and spirit.  My biggest go-to foods were: pizza, cheeseburger deluxe, bacon egg and cheese sandwich on a roll, and a big bowl of cereal with 1% milk (sometimes 2%).  I drank soda with everything, put extra sugar and salt on everything, and ate a ton of candy.  Not only was I gaining weight, but I had a hard time having sustained energy and often felt dead inside.  What is it like to feel dead inside?  It feels like you're stuck in a deep pit of sorrow with no hope of getting out.  My brother (who eats wayy better than me) once told me "You feel dead inside because you eat dead foods.  Once you start eating whole, live foods you'll be more connected with nature and feel more alive again".  Isn't that deep?  I never thought about it that way, and I guess that's the biggest problem when it comes to your relationship with food; sometimes you just don't think about what you're putting inside your body!  I know I wasn't.  I wasn't making informed decisions about the type of energy I was putting into my body.  That's what food is at the end of the day; energy!

So while I've come a LOOONG way with my eating habits and intake, I still have more to go.  I still get bad cravings, I still binge, and most importantly I'm not losing weight like I want to be.  I am working hard and eating as best as I can most of the time, but the weight just isn't coming up.  I can be very hard with myself, but I believe, at least for me, food is my biggest obstacle on this weight loss journey.  Exercise is about 30% of what will help me lose weight, the other 70% will be from what I eat and how I eat.  So that is why I am taking my relationship with food up another notch and aiming to go Vegan.  I am going to slowly ween myself off of non-vegan foods such as meat and dairy, and slowly adopt the lifestyle.  I will keep you posted!  Here is a picture of my Trader Joe's haul:

I got some soy milk, Ezekial bread (which I've been told is awesome, so I'm excited to try), frozen dinners (Indian and Japanese), oatmeal, peanut butter, fruits, pita chips, and cereal bars, among other things.

I cook occasionally, mostly I buy frozen foods.  I LOVE most of the selections at Trader Joe's.  However I'll try to prepare more foods according to a Vegan meal plan.  I found some great ones on Oprah.com (a Vegan starter kit) and on Peeta.org. 

Do you guys have any tips for going Vegan?

By the way, have you checked out my FREE E-BOOK? It's called "Greens on the Side" and will help you get started with your weight loss goals in just 5 easy steps.  Check it out!

People on the bus think I'm pregnant

I've known this for a long time and it's semi-hilarious.
My belly jelly is bigger than my breasts, so depending on the clothes I'm wearing it can stick out a lot more than usual, creating the illusion of a pregnant belly.  I avoid all empire waists because of this.
So without fail, people on the bus (and trains back home) feel bad for me when they see me standing up and offer me their seat.  Maybe you'd be offended and ashamed by this, and while I'm not happy about my belly being so big, I choose to see the silver lining; I always have a seat on the bus! And I'll even admit sometimes I stick out my belly a little bit more if I'm really tired after a long day at work and want a seat.  It works for me.  I never confirm I'm preggo and no one asks.  If they did ask I would tell them the truth; I'm just fat.

I've come to rely on my belly for so many things.  I can push things out the way with it, I can use it to hold things up; I've learned so many little tricks to adapt to my situation.  I don't know when it became so "comfortable" to deal with it, until it became extremely uncomfortable, especially moving around in the summer.  It didn't really bother me that people would give up their seats and when I realized why they were doing it, I chose to see the positive rather than freak out about it.  At least they have nice intentions.  But it's also another reality check.  I don't want to go through life as a fake pregnant lady.

I've started to slowly let go of my "baby" and visualize myself without it.  I honestly don't even know what it'll feel or be like for me but I most likely won't be getting offered any more seats on the bus...and that's OK.

By the way, have you checked out my FREE E-BOOK? It's called "Greens on the Side" and will help you get started with your weight loss goals in just 5 easy steps.  Check it out!

Fat shaming and other NO-NO's

I just wanted to put this out there to clarify on where I stand regarding health, fitness, and nutrition.  I believe that everyone has their own path to take when it comes to their health.  I believe your relationship with food and your body is like religion in the sense that everyone finds what works for them and what doesn't, and people can get very defensive (or offensive) when their stance on food and diet is scrutinized.  What may work for me may not work for you, and I acknowledge and accept that.

I am on a path towards better health for me, for many reasons.  First I don't like the way my body feels.  I feel heavy; I feel every pound weighing down on me  The weight was taking a toll on my knees and I needed to do something about it.  I also didn't like the way I felt emotionally.  I've struggled with low self-esteem and at the end of the day I want to be comfortable with my body.  Don't get me wrong I love myself and I love my body, but I know I can look and feel better about myself.  If society has labeled you fat but you love the way you look and you feel great, more power to you. I am not a fat-shamer in any way and I will never try to impose my beliefs and my path on anyone.  If you ask me about what I'm doing and want to learn more, I'll gladly tell you what you want, otherwise I won't ever be giving out unwarranted "advice".

One thing I can't stand is people giving you their opinion and/or unsolicited "advice" about your weight and health just because they feel they are helping you.  I can't stand it because it's happened many times in my life and I consider this to be a form of bullying.  I didn't ask for your advice or judgement.  Just because I may be eating healthier doesn't mean I won't ever eat junk food again; it's a process and that will take time.  You can see my struggle with emotional eating and food addiction in my previous posts.  Also just because I may be eating healthier doesn't mean I'll judge you if we go out to eat and you order a pizza instead of a salad; to each their own!  My life is my own and I'll do with it as I see fit, and the same goes for everyone else.

My purpose with this blog is to chronicle my journey with weight loss and better health.  I find it therapeutic to share my struggles, fears, worries, doubts and also triumphs.  I want to be able to one day look back and see how far I've come.  My words are for those who may be dealing with the same issues and need some guidance, or just want a bit of a laugh (let's face it I'm really funny).  I hope it can serve to help you on your journey!

What forms of "fat-shaming" and/or bullying have you experienced because of your weight?

By the way, have you checked out my FREE E-BOOK? It's called "Greens on the Side" and will help you get started with your weight loss goals in just 5 easy steps.  Check it out!