You think after you pass the freshman 15 that you're transitional weight gains are over. Whoever planted that idea in my head was a liar. If anything, staying healthy gets even harder after college.
Sure, the all-you-can-eat dining halls have vanished. But so has the three hour gap between Econ 101 and Writing the Essay that you used to hit the elliptical. Finding time to go to the gym when you're working full-time can be difficult for a recent graduate. Since most of us are not early risers, we're stuck at the gym waiting in lines for treadmills. It's such a miserable experience, we just stop going.
On top of that, the rush to and from includes a stop for an Egg McMuffin and a Big Mac. Then your clothes don't fit right because you've gained wait, which makes you stress out because you can't afford a whole new wardrobe and you just want to crawl into a whole somewhere.
STOP!
Take a deep breath. No use giving yourself an ulcer.
Let's discuss a few ways to keep the extra pounds off while you adjust to a new lifestyle:
1) Make It Social. As I said in my earlier post about Fitting in Fitness sometimes the best things to make things priority is to make it fun. This rule not only applies to fitness but also healthy eating. I have been motivated to eat healthier because my friends and I get to together and make dinner for each other. Is it always amazingly healthy? No but I'm sure the homemade casserole is better for me than a trip to the county fair. For the Record, I'm breaking this rule this weekend.
2) Crack the Books and learn something new. Whether you are learning how to cook vegetarian or how to do yoga. Sometimes the most invigorating experience is succeeding at something you have always been afraid of. For example, I've always been terrified of using an oven or running a 5k ( I wish I was a good runner but I'm not). I'm running a 5k for charity this fall (with friends of course! Rule #1).
3) The Price is Right. Don't let the financial labels associated with healthy scare you. We can't all afford a membership to Sports Club LA but that doesn't make you a lesser person. It's funny because I have a friend who was talking about joining a gym and he refused to join a YMCA because they had a "stigma."
I love that I joined a YMCA. The people are friendly and low-key and the Healthy Lifestyles director is always looking to improve the facilities and classes for members. Additionally, I'm not shelling out every month, being pressured to find a personal trainer or locked into a contract.
You also don't have to shop exclusively at Whole Foods or Trader Joes. There are Farmer's Markets and many chain supermarkets now have special sections for Gluten Free, Vegetarian or Kosher eating. Plus, the supermarkets have buyer rewards programs. Overall it's just about finding the price point that works for your budget. If that answer is zero, find a hike instead of joining a gym. Use meet-up.com to find a running club. Healthy living should be for everyone not just those who can afford super trainers.
How about you readers? How do yourself thin but your wallet fat?
Don't get too excited. It wasn't dessert.
For the first time ever, I actually baked a non-dessert in the oven. And it was really really good!
It all started with my friends Chicken & Diced Tomato recipe from Ehow.com
But then the adventure continued. Today I made Baked Farfalle with Chicken Sausage, Green Peppers and Mushrooms. I think I put too much tomato sauce in but overall it's very good and I have enough portions for a couple more dinners.
See ->> Too much sauce.
But it's good to keep trying these things. Cooking is really time consuming, even simple things like this. I've also started slicing and dicing my own vegetables instead of buying pre-sliced greens. It's good that I start doing these simple culinary things because it gives me confidence to try new things (like baked chicken!)
In other news, I've decided I'm going to start blogging about other post-graduate things including but not limited to: personal finance and health (including fitness).
It's Thursday Night and after a long claustrophobic day at work (it was the weather I swear), you go home to make yourself some tofu stir-fry. Except you turn away for a split second to long (damn you crackberry and your bbming) and "EPG, what's that burning smell?"
This was me last Thursday. I burnt rice in my roommate's pot and I couldn't for the life of me get the stains off the bottom. I ruined her perfectly food pot.
But thanks to the internet, I discovered this neat little trick.
When you burn a pot, pan, etc. fill it with cold water and dump a TON of salt into the water. Let the salt water sit overnight and the next day, burn marks come right off.
I don't know what chemically happens overnight but this tip saved me a trip to the Red Hook Ikea to replace her pot.
Hope it helps you out some day.
Woah the first week of the semester was difficult. But I'm really proud of myself for not slipping into my old habits and eating our too much.
Last Monday my best friend from home taught me how to make Peanut Chicken with Vegetables and Rice. I've always been intimidated by cooking raw meet and I tend to burn rice so it was scary.
But actually, it turned out pretty good and I was able to grill the chicken we didn't use. With some rosemary, it's perfect for a salad. No photo though.
The second dish of the week was tofu and snow pea stir-fry. I didn't have a great tofu grilling strategy to start off but when I was finished I had delicious food for the next few days. One thing for the next round, I would love Teriyaki sauce. I made do with soy sauce and salt this time but it needed a little more flavor.
Overall, I'm missing a little bit on the flavor levels so far in my cooking adventures. The first round things have been a little on the bland side, but well cooked and balanced meals. I'm really excited to keep cooking and blogging about what I make.
Next up: Lessons from Kitchen Disasters: Saving your burnt pan.
Since I live in New York City, I tend to go on several smaller grocery trips. After all I can only carry so many environmentally friendly tote-bags filled with groceries down 14th street. Therefore, my next grocery trip is tomorrow. I'm going to buy more lunch foods and some new dinner foods. My friend is coming out of town and it actually might be fun to try to cook dinner for someone. Or it could be a disaster.
But in my quest to make yummy brown bag lunches and stick to brown-bagging, I've decided to browse some recipes in hopes of variety.
1) Martha's Favorite Tuna Salad Sandwich
2) Grilled Chicken and Escarole Sandwich with White-Bean Spread
3) Chicken Wraps with Mango, Basil and Mint
4) Baby Spinach Salad with Tuna
5) Tangy Tabbouleh Salad
6) Waldorf Salad
7) Lentil Soup
8) Chicken Pesto Sandwiches
9) Turkey Cobb Salad Wraps
10) Salmon Cucumber Sandwiches
I'm still on the hunt for a great chili recipe though.
As I mentioned on twitter, I failed to buy my original protein for my stir fry at Whole Foods.
So I had to improvise my dinner plans tonight:
I started with this (minus the pasta sauce, I ditched that at the last minute):
And I ended up with pretty decent pasta dish. The salsa lost a little flavor when I heated it up so I think next time I will add it last. But the tuna was perfect and I saved some for tomorrow!
