Sucks Being a Skinny Bitch on a Diet

Not THIS skinny bitch...

I get it. Everybody who has ever dieted in their life (so, everybody in THIS country, at least) bitches about their diet. How hard it is. How they're not seeing results as fast as they want. How they just refuse to give up X (coffee, cupcakes, lard). Whatever. I feel your pain, I really do.
But I'll tell you one thing you other dieters have that I don't--sympathy. You see, I only weigh 109 lbs (as of this morning). My goal weight is 102 lbs, mainly because I've got this extra chunk-chunk around my waist, my jeans don't fit comfortably, and 102 lbs is a healthy weight FOR ME, as the entire span of my 20s and 30s has demonstrated.
You can stop looking at me that way. If I say I'm on a diet in public, I get this look like I'm some heroin-soaked has-been fashion model trying to relive her youth. I am not bulimic or anorexic, and I don't believe too many women's magazines. At the age of 44 (nearly 45), I have accepted that I have a tiny bust, a tiny pin-head, a huge nose, a somewhat funny-shaped face, and a husband who thinks I am one of the most beautiful women on the planet.  Quite honestly, it's that last part that is the reason why I'm on a diet. My husband and I are constantly challenging one another, supporting each other's efforts for self-improvement.  However, I'm afraid that while I was busy packing on my whole whopping 7 pounds, he has packed on considerably more. He loses some, then gains it back--it has been quite informative to watch the differences between women and men when it comes to weight loss. My husband can lose up to 5 lbs in a day, then a few days later, he gains that same amount back. Most of the women I've read about (I don't dare talk to them) do the same thing, but over much longer stretches of time. Sure, there's the diuretic loss of that first few pounds of water weight (I got rid of that a while back), but then it's just slow and steady. Except for me, where it's steadily nonexistent.
I have changed my whole life for this new healthy lifestyle, and, to be honest, my lifestyle wasn't that unhealthy to begin with! I exercised and ate a fairly balanced diet, along with the occasional trip to Carl's Jr. (Prime Rib Burger--you can never have too much meat). Now, I exercise a ton more, balancing stretching with aerobics and dance and weight bearing exercise. I eat a ton less. I am trying to get used to the feeling of being slightly hungry most of the time, and never feeling utterly stuffed.
So, with that in mind, I'm posting recipes, exercise, and lifestyle tips that have been helpful to ME, in the hope that they might be helpful to you. While my husband can live off of canned tuna and rice cakes, I'm just like every other woman (and most men) I know--I like variety and flavor, and sometimes I crave stuff that I just have no substitute for. Also, I sit in front of the computer on my ass instead of taking the dogs for a walk or trying out those 15 new exercises I pinned on Pinterest. A little bit at a time, I'm figuring it out, working it out, making the changes, and keeping it that way.
Just so you know, this blog post has been sitting as a draft for several days, during which time, I've finally managed to shave off a couple of pounds!  This morning, before breakfast, I weighed 103.8 lbs! Granted, then I ate breakfast with 2 cups of coffee, so I'm probably back up to about 105, but still, getting there!
My next post will be about some of the exercise regimes I've found--which exercises seem to do anything, and what they do.  It'll probably turn into a series of installments, since there's so many to choose from.  Walking fitness, butt-busters, abdominal workouts, oh, and then there's the exercises to help all the hurting joints I've injured trying all of this out. So stay tuned!
Also, if you  are at all intrigued by the colored pencil drawing of my Doberman Pincher, Mimi, above, you can buy a print of it for your very own in my Etsy Shop. Clicking on the link below the picture will take you right to it!

Food Porn! Okay, Not Really...

Tonight's post is in response to all the Food Porn pins I've been making lately on Pinterest. Ever since I started attempting to lose a few pounds, every time I see some yummy, indulgent, nutritionally-worthless food pin, I indulge in it for a few seconds, then pin it to my Food Porn board. I've even gotten to the point where I find yummy-but-healthy food links and pin those on in there, too. Tonight at dance class, one of the other dancers (who also follows my pins on Pinterest) told me to please stop pinning Food Porn late at night, which I was totally guilty of, and it was doing me utterly no good either. So, tonight, once I got home (ravenous after dance class, of course), I decided to make some food just for me. It started looking pretty promising, so I'm recording what I did here, and if it is as good as I think it might be, I'll not only publish this blog post, but pin it to the Food Porn board! (Right now, I'm scurrying back and forth, two dogs in tow, between the kitchen and the computer to check on the food.)

It's important to drop food on the floor while cooking, the voices in my head tell me.

So tonight's impromptu recipe is Curried Quinoa with Chicken!

In a smallish saucepan, measure out 1 c. Bob's Red Mill Quinoa (because it's already rinsed, otherwise, go rinse the quinoa) 1 c. water, and 1 c. chicken stock. Turn on the heat (medium-high-ish) and start adding some seasonings. I added about 1.5 Tablespoons of curry powder, 1/4 teaspoon (couple big shakes) onion powder, a delicate shake of garlic powder (whatever that means), a couple shakes of ginger powder (grated fresh ginger would be better, but whatever), a sprinkle of dill or lemongrass (I found the lemongrass bottle first), and salt to taste. Cut a lemon in half and squeeze that sucker in there, too (I used about 1/4 a lemon, as it was this insanely huge, Palm-Springs-grown lemon from my friend Lisa, who runs a lovely Bed and Breakfast here, and is a much better cook than I am.) If you happen to feel so inclined, you could also zest a bit of the lemon zest in there for good measure. I decided to slice up a carrot (very thinly, so it would cook quickly) and dumped that in there so it could cook with the quinoa. Now that I think about it, I also added a teaspoonish squeeze of Blue Agave at some point as well. Stir it up and let it reach a boil, then turn it down to simmer, cooking for 12 or so more minutes. Once it has cooked for that amount of time, turn it off and put the lid on it to let it swell up.

I wasn't kidding about the big freakin' lemon

While it's simmering (and almost done, really), get out a small saute pan and spray a little cooking spray on it. Open a can of chicken breast (or if you want to be all fancy, cook yourself up some chicken by method of choice) and drain the water off. Dump the chicken into a small mixing bowl, then add to it a couple teaspoons of curry powder, salt and pepper to taste, and a little drizzle (let's call that a teaspoon or two) of Blue Agave nectar (or honey, if you want). Mix it together with a fork, breaking up the biggish chunks of chicken into manageable chunks. Now throw that into your pan and saute it up until it is warmed up and you've got a little browning going on.

By now, your quinoa is all fluffy, so all you need to do is toss everything together, and enjoy!

Here's a horrid picture of my result!

We all know it's the ugliest food that tastes the best.

The end verdict is that is was pretty tasty! I added a bit too much salt, so, you know, don't do that and you should be okay. It would have been good with a sprinkle of raisins in it, but I'm out.