Food-lovin' Fridays: chocolate + weight loss = problem

I am a chocolate addict, there is just no denying it. When I was young, my mom used to hide her chocolate bars, but I would sneak into the kitchen, open every drawer and cupboard til I found them and ate them (leaving always one square or one piece, because in my impeccable reasoning, leaving some would mean my mom wouldn't notice). As I moved in on my own, chocolate became even harder to resist. I mean, do they have to put the chocolate right in your face when you leave the grocery store? It should be hidden, much like cigarettes.

Anyways, it's clear this chocobsession (see what I did there!) had something to do with my university weight gain. So I knew when I started my weight loss journey that it could become my kryptonite if left unmanaged. Since my strategy is lifestyle changes, not a diet, I knew I'd have to incorporate some chocolate here and there to avoid depriving myself and then binging. And I found an excellent way to do that: chocolate chip muffins. Just enough chocolate to appease my cravings and good little snacks or desserts. Plus they're just so cute and fluffy.

Of course, muffins also aren't exactly the go-to weight loss food. I did nonetheless discover two little recipes that do the perfect balancing act for me: they are pretty healthy and decently low-cal (about 150 calories per muffin, depending on size, amount of chocolate used, etc. of course) and frankly if they will shut up my chocolate obsession, I'm willing to overlook the fact that I'm not eating a carrot.

So here are my two lovely finds for you:

1. Banana bread (I make it in a muffin tin to cut down on bake time, so we'll count it as muffins)

Health bonus: it uses unsweetened applesauce instead of oil!

2. Strawberry chocolate chip muffins (I've also made this with raspberries and white chocolate chips)

Health bonus: a lot of experts agree we should be eating berries every day so... DONE!

But once in a while, that just isn't enough and when that happens, you just gotta...

Food-lovin' Fridays: The Great Carb Debate

80% of getting healthy and losing weight is related to nutrition. So let's talk about food. On Fridays.

Today I want to address the frenzy that surrounds carbs. But before I can do that, let's talk basics.

Nutrition is made up of macro and micro nutrients: macros are carbs, fat, and protein, while micros are vitamins and minerals. Theoretically, you don't need to keep track of your macros to lose weight, because weight loss is pure and simple math. That's right, you thought math was behind you forever, BUT IT'S NOT.
To lose one pound, one must have a deficit of 3,500 calories. So you could burn 500 calories every day doing some grueling exercise (because 7 days x 500 calories = 3500 calories) or you could eat 500 calories less. [For the record, I did a mix of both.] But here is the thing nobody really discusses: say you eat wayyyyy more protein than your body needs. What happens? It will get stored. And what do we mean by stored? We mean extra poundage. So no thanks, body storage.

Thankfully, it's pretty hard to majorly max out on protein. Most people don't eat enough protein. But carbs, and fats... they can be deadly. And some geniuses saw that and decided to invent diets like Atkins, which is low low low carbage.

I understand that different lifestyles require different macro distributions. Take Eddie and I for example: I have a stronger emphasis on carbs since I run a lot, and he eats more protein since he is building (a mountain of) muscle. However, I don't get the low-to-no carb thing. I just don't.

In February, an acquaintance from school was complaining at an event that all there was for lunch were sandwiches. When I asked her why that was an issue, she told me she didn't eat carbs. Well I have two problems with this: 1) she was eating an orange as she's telling me this, and hello oranges are pretty much nothing but carbs and 2) I know for a fact she is a cardio addict at the gym, and cardio demandddddssss carbs.

So what is this really about? Why do we think eating a sandwich is gonna make us fat but eating an orange with the same amount of carbs won't?

I'm not gonna give a huge bio lesson on why our body needs carbs, mostly because I'm not up for a "how the body works" refresher. Instead I will just say we need carbs. For lots of important stuff. And since I know that totally convinced you right there, I will add that lowering your carb intake alone isn't what will help you lose weight. Exercise and a balanced diet will. Emphasis on balanced. And if bread and pasta scare you, well there are other delicious sources of carbs: oranges, mangos, sweet potatoes, legumes (like black beans, kidney beans, etc.), raisins, apples, bananas, carrots, grapes, rice, etc. etc. etc.

And to shut everyone up on either side of this debate (because I don't want to argue with the fanatics), here are 4 recipes that have become regular recurrences in my meal plan - 2 are low-carb and 2 are not:

Sweet potato fries // Black bean burger // Portobello Pizzas // Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers

Confessions of a former fattie

A year or two ago, I was glancing at old pictures of the young me in a family album. Besides the embarassment of my former incredible awkwardness, I was shocked to notice that I used to be quite thin. Lanky even (but that might be because I was so incredibly awkward). So I asked myself the age old question: WHAT. HAPPENED.

University happened. Those years, for a million different reasons, were my cow-in-a-pasture years. Getting all fattened up. Then I graduated in December and I won't lie, I was 40lbs heavier than my pre-university weight. Sure, I've had people tell me "you can't expect to weight what you did at 18" or "it's because you're so tall" or even "you don't look that big". Well in December, it all kinda felt like excuses. Let me throw in the disclaimer here that I don't think curvy women are ugly or gross or anything. My friend and I watched the following commercial about 50 times wishing we could look like that:

But that isn't me. With my extra 40lbs, I felt sluggish, uncomfortable in my clothes, and very self-conscious. Not curvacious and sexy like Ashley Graham in the commercial there. Also I'm sure Ashley Graham gets up three flights of stairs without dying. In December, I couldn't.

Then my very fabulous, fitspirational friend Tara posted this picture with the caption "a year in jeans":

That would be size 14 jeans and size 6 jeans, if you're blind. And she's a 4 now.

It just BLEW. MY. MIND. If she could do it while raising two young (adorable) children, being a wife, and working/studying, what was my excuse as a single, recently graduated girl?

And really, that was it. From one day to the next, I went from eating crap and doing nothing to tracking all my calories and macros (proteins, carbs, and fat), hitting the gym 6 days a week, and drinking the recommended amount of water per day.

I'm now 33lbs down, but muscled up! I'm able to make better nutritional choices, though really I prefer to track everything because as a person suffering from mild OCD, I actually kinda enjoy it. I took up running and am now prepping for a half-marathon in October (more on running later). I had a trainer draw me up a strength training plan too and I now have the best biceps I've ever had.

I got my confidence back (and my smaller clothes!) and I feel a lot healthier (bonus: my skin looks like I live in a spa). Now it's a patience thing. Because, like my bestie Eddie put it when I asked him how long this would all take (he's basically my personal trainer/nutritionist/life coach), "It's gonna take your whole life."

#9: Go to Jean Talon market

Jean Talon market is a ginormous farmers' market full of fresh produce, local farm products, and everything else a farmers' market holds. I've always wanted to go because frankly the fruits and veggies section of my grocery store is just appalling. The produce isn't very fresh, it's pale, and it's not the most flavorful.

I ended up buying enough fruits/veggies to last me the entire week, but really everything looked so delicious and fresh, I could have bought for a month.

I took literally one picture because I was just too busy tasting and looking at everything. But seriously. This is unreal:

SO MANY TOMATOES. SO COLORFUL.

Basically one you go to Jean Talon, you become this huge fruit/veggie snob because lesbihonest, nothing else will do.

#13: Go to La Banquise

While I've been at McGill for what feels like an entire millennium, I've missed one important university student ritual. The post-wild night out 3AM poutine.

I tried. I orchestrated, I made all these plans to try to make it to the wee hours of the night fully awake. And time and time again, my plans failed. Never made it that late.

Then, last night happened.

My summer bromance, Ashley, and I planned to go to Chez Mado (a very famous drag queen joint) to catch a show. But we met up too late and missed the 11PM show.

But guys........ there's a 1AM show. And WE. MADE. IT.

The show was amazing, flawless costumes, more makeup than I'll ever wear in my life, and about ten tearaway costumes. Also there was a number with the song "Call Me Maybe" so how could I not love this?

Now by the time the show ended, it was about 2:30AM. And we were hungry. So we headed to La Banquise, the ultimate poutine joint in Montreal, open 24hrs a day.

This is the picture of the bacon poutine Ash and I enjoyed (more than any poutine EVER in our lives) at 3AM after a fantastically wild night out.

Having now lived this experience, I understand why it's a student life staple.

#3: Go to a Sugar Shack

Literally the morning after Blues Pub, I had organized a lovely outing to a SUGAR SHACK!

For those not familiar with the term, no it is unfortunately not a house made of sugar. We all read Hansel and Gretel, we know how that one ends.
Actually, a sugar shack is usually located on a maple tree plantation, where the owners make their own maple syrup from the trees. The few I've seen are always nice and rustic. How cozy. But sugar shacks are not plantation visits, my friends. Oh no. They make your stomach expand at the thought of it. They make your brain scream: "WEAR THANKSGIVING PANTS."

That's right.

Sugar Shack = Food. A LOT of food.

Basically anything to do with maple or pork, you will have here (along with a few other French Canadian classics). Crepes, eggs and bacon and ham, beans, sugar pie, pea soup, and of course maple taffy (aka tire - linked you a lil' recipe there). The food is unlimited.

So we did this little outing as members of POWE and it was lovely. I feel like I walked in, I rolled out, and I'm okay with it.

We tried to spell out POWE. I look like I'm stretching, Ashley is about to ballet jump up, Sarah is gonna clap her hands and say yipee, and Kat is gonna do a cartwheel.
I love us.

#27: Cook Thanksgiving dinner

Yes, I realize Thanksgiving was ages ago. But due to a turkey shortage not once but twice (Canadian AND American Thanksgiving), we decided to get creative and celebrate a random day.

Now I've done Thanksgiving dinner before, so why put it on my list? Ten years ago, if you'd asked me the meaning of that day, I would have probably said a day off school. Then we moved to Alberta where it's a bigger deal, and my outlook on the holiday changed. Now I have happy memories of Thanksgivings spent with friends and family eating a lovely traditional turkey dinner. And I wanted to share that experience with others. So I invited a few friends, two of whom had never done Thanksgiving EVER, due to the fact that they are from Saudi Arabia. It was really fun to do the whole turkey-mashed potato-sweet potato-gravy-etc. deal for them. And of course it was pretty pleasing to see them get up for second servings. :)

Here's a little picture with all the food and Eddie, the love of my life who I tend to feed in an attempt to keep him from starvation (kidding.. sorta).

#11: Attend a potluck

I feel like a potluck is just such a must for any proper university experience. Most people go to many, I had gone to zero. So I stuck it on the list. And then I went to a potluck. And it was amazing.

The potluck was our last POWE social event of the semester, and I had a blast. I almost shed a tear, realizing how much I love these girls. As I videotapped them dancing to Beyonce and laughing hysterically, I realized how fantastic POWE is. It's exactly what I'd envisioned, girls being girls and supporting one another and just being silly. While eating delicious food.

Best. Night. Ever.

*For those totally confused as to what POWE is, it's actually a committee aimed at helping women in engineering. It began as a way to promote career-related opportunities; this year it feels like it's grown into a sisterhood. I have the chance of being on the committee as their VP University Affairs. And I really couldn't see myself anywhere else.

#21: Have breakfast at Beauty's

In 1949, this cute little newlywed couple started a lunch counter slash supply store. Eventually, customers got used to eating lunch there that they came knocking on a Sunday around lunch time. Brunch was served, people raved, and Beauty's was born.
Now it's a Montreal landmark, with a mega long waiting line outside (we showed up juuuuust before it got crazy).

Cute fact 1: It's named after the husband's bowling name.
Cute fact 2: It still looks like a 50's diner.
Cute fact 3: The husband was still definitely there when we went. All 80 years old and stuff.

Delicious fact 1: Best hash browns I've ever had. Ever.

If I can't eat it, I'll blog about it

During a momentary bout of insanity, I decided to attempt this very hardcore diet for the next few months. It's not that I'm trying to drop 100lbs or anything crazy like that, but I figure it would be great to rid myself of my non-stop cravings for sugar, junk food in general, and carbs. Another plus with this diet is portion control, so I figured I could learn to eat less and still function normally. Yay!

Except not. Ok maybe it's because the fifth day is the hardest (pretty sure I'm making stuff up?), but EVERYTHING LOOKS DELICIOUS today. Things I don't normally eat look ah-mazing today. I never cared much for cheese, except maybe one little slice of brie per six months. But now? Now I want to put cheese on everything. Also I know I live in Montreal which is like home of smoked meat (and my next statement will not please a lot of people), but one bad trip to very greasy joint Schwartz's left me totally turned off. Then today I see one of the engineering cafeterias now offers smoked meat sandwiches, I see one being made, and now it's all I can think of.

I feel a little better talking about it. And right now, I need to take a moment to curse all you skinny girls with your stupid fast metabolisms. I want to curse every guy who's ever called me "curvy" or "filled out" (it's an insult in disguise). And finally, I want to curse my parents (in a respectful manner) for a little conception hiccup that left me "filled out" and my brother all skinny.

You know, because of all the problems stated above, I'm left having dreams about cheating on my diet. I'm left watching my best friend eat all he wants while I go hungry (slash snack on celery) even though he's the anorexic one in this relationship. And I am left thinking maybe I can use my engineering degree to make "healthy" chocolate.

Just a thought.

#5: Eat a St-Viateur bagel

Delicious and very famous Montreal St-Viateur bagels.
It was kinda like biting into a cloud.

#20: Eat a Beavertail