I've been having some good eating days since I got back from Greece, and the scales have been rewarding. I weighed in this morning at 92.6kg (204.1lb), which is a "new new low". I will only get to "new lows" when I weigh below 83kg, which was the lowest I was back in October 2008, I've decided. Maybe I should be calling my lows this time "old new lows", but I said I'm keeping a positive attitude about the whole process, so there you go.
Generally speaking, the scales have been very easy to move downwards this time around, and I'm not sure if that's because I'm still in the beginning, or the food I eat is somehow different, or I drink more water, or I have more realistic expectations, or what. It's definitely not the exercise, because I haven't been to the gym in ages. I know, I know, I should get my ass moving, but right now I have the excuse that my eyes are healing from the operation, and that's my story! I do walk about 50min a day minimum, which covers a distance of about 3 miles, the distance from home to work and back. But that only exercises select muscles, and my upper body is not really getting any exercise. Either way, I vividly remember the frustration and disappointment at the scales back in 2008, and I'm getting none of this now. I'm bracing for tougher days once I get below 90kg, though, because I think that's the weight that my body has come to recognise as long-term. Think again, dear body, because you're not staying there this time. Ha, maybe that's the incentive that I need to hit the gym again, a nice, frustrating, nerve-wrecking plateau.
To change the subject completely, I found okra at my little neighbourhood supermarket the other day, and it got me so excited, that I bought two packs and cooked it the following day (yesterday). We eat lots of okra in Greece, and I remember it as a childhood food at my grandmother's house. We usually cook it in a tomato sauce with chicken, either in a pot or in the oven. From what I saw in the pack that I bought here, the cooking guidelines proposed to stir-fry it. And then it's a vegetable used in Indian cooking, so I'm sure they have yet more ways of preparing it. As for me, I'd already gotten two skinless chicken breasts, so two nights ago I had one of them stir-fried with vegetables (no noodles!) and last night I had the other one with okra, tomato sauce, onion and garlic as a one-pot dish (I'll put a recipe on soon, with all the details). Very yummy, but so filling that I couldn't finish the whole thing, so I'm having leftovers as lunch at work today.
Now, okra is a bit of an acquired taste, and lots of children hate it, because, admittedly, it's a bit slimy. It was not my favourite either, but I think I liked it more and more as I got older. It's a good thing that I like it, too, because it's really good for you! A very quick Google search told me that just a cup has 3.2gr of fibre, which is a l-o-t. That probably explained why a plate of it filled me up like that, too. It's got practically no fat, and it's loaded with calcium and various vitamins (A, B6, C) and other good stuff (magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, just to name a few). And it is, of course, very low in calories (just 30 calories per cup, which is about 100 grams). I'm hoping to find it in my supermarket more often, as this was the first time I spotted it!
My boyfriend is coming for the weekend tonight, and we're having steak with oven-roasted potatoes and salad. So I'm not expecting rewards from the scales tomorrow, but I'm so glad he's coming, that the scales are on the back-burner. I'll eat in moderation over the weekend, and next week I'll just go back to normal again.
Generally speaking, the scales have been very easy to move downwards this time around, and I'm not sure if that's because I'm still in the beginning, or the food I eat is somehow different, or I drink more water, or I have more realistic expectations, or what. It's definitely not the exercise, because I haven't been to the gym in ages. I know, I know, I should get my ass moving, but right now I have the excuse that my eyes are healing from the operation, and that's my story! I do walk about 50min a day minimum, which covers a distance of about 3 miles, the distance from home to work and back. But that only exercises select muscles, and my upper body is not really getting any exercise. Either way, I vividly remember the frustration and disappointment at the scales back in 2008, and I'm getting none of this now. I'm bracing for tougher days once I get below 90kg, though, because I think that's the weight that my body has come to recognise as long-term. Think again, dear body, because you're not staying there this time. Ha, maybe that's the incentive that I need to hit the gym again, a nice, frustrating, nerve-wrecking plateau.
To change the subject completely, I found okra at my little neighbourhood supermarket the other day, and it got me so excited, that I bought two packs and cooked it the following day (yesterday). We eat lots of okra in Greece, and I remember it as a childhood food at my grandmother's house. We usually cook it in a tomato sauce with chicken, either in a pot or in the oven. From what I saw in the pack that I bought here, the cooking guidelines proposed to stir-fry it. And then it's a vegetable used in Indian cooking, so I'm sure they have yet more ways of preparing it. As for me, I'd already gotten two skinless chicken breasts, so two nights ago I had one of them stir-fried with vegetables (no noodles!) and last night I had the other one with okra, tomato sauce, onion and garlic as a one-pot dish (I'll put a recipe on soon, with all the details). Very yummy, but so filling that I couldn't finish the whole thing, so I'm having leftovers as lunch at work today.
Now, okra is a bit of an acquired taste, and lots of children hate it, because, admittedly, it's a bit slimy. It was not my favourite either, but I think I liked it more and more as I got older. It's a good thing that I like it, too, because it's really good for you! A very quick Google search told me that just a cup has 3.2gr of fibre, which is a l-o-t. That probably explained why a plate of it filled me up like that, too. It's got practically no fat, and it's loaded with calcium and various vitamins (A, B6, C) and other good stuff (magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, just to name a few). And it is, of course, very low in calories (just 30 calories per cup, which is about 100 grams). I'm hoping to find it in my supermarket more often, as this was the first time I spotted it!
My boyfriend is coming for the weekend tonight, and we're having steak with oven-roasted potatoes and salad. So I'm not expecting rewards from the scales tomorrow, but I'm so glad he's coming, that the scales are on the back-burner. I'll eat in moderation over the weekend, and next week I'll just go back to normal again.
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