What Am I Eating?

I have been on a MAJOR eggs kick recently.  I switch off between a whole egg and egg beaters/egg whites - sometimes when I am making a scramble I use both.  Eggs, bacon, avocado and tomatoes is always a good idea in my head.  Here are a few ways that I have been preparing eggs.

Sunny-side Up

Sunny-side up is actually really easy to do if you put a cover on your pan. Crack the egg into a greased pan and cover with a lid - the lid helps to steam the top of the egg and saves the bottom from getting too crispy while waiting for the egg to cook all of the way through.

Scrambles:

I typically use 1 whole egg and a couple tablespoons of egg whites or just egg whites to make my scramble.  I mix the eggs with some milk, paprika and pepper in a cup before adding them to the pan. I almost always add in tomato and onion but I also love adding in bell pepper, chives/scallions, mushrooms etc. It really turns into a hey have some scrambled eggs with your veggies dish.  I love mashing half an avocado on the side and mixing it in with the eggs as I eat!

Over Hard

Two ways: 1. flip the egg and let it finish cooking or 2. use the same method as the sunny-side up and remove from the heat once cooked but keep covered to let the yolk steam longer. 

I also make fried eggs, hard boiled and soft-boiled eggs.  I tried recently to make a poached egg but I have not gotten that method down yet; let me know you're tips and tricks for poaching eggs in the comments below!

xox

Branching Out

Part of trying to get through a lot of my collection is using things I forgot I had or haven't used in a while; I've been mixing it up and trying out new colors in looks.  Red is now one of my favorite shadow colors to use.  I use it in everyday very toned down makeup looks and it looks neutral until you actually pause to look at me and see that it is red.  I also make it look more dramatic and pair it with peaches and golds - my thinking was to pick colors from a sunrise or sunset to work with.

Be bold this year and try out a new color! Eyeshadow, blush, lip color, hair color any color as long as its something new to you! It does not have to be wildly dramatic, it can be just a touch outside of your comfort zone. You never know, it could be one of your new favorite things!

My Story: Weight Loss Edition

“Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” - Alice in Wonderland

Here is my story:

Weight has been a constant factor in my life. When I was younger I was never considered “overweight” but I always felt bigger than the rest of my friends. I was tall even as a child so my height and weight were always perfect for someone the year older than me (e.g. when I was 11 I was the right size for a 12 year old). I was an average sized child weight wise, my weight wasn't a concern to doctors.  I new I looked bigger than my friends but never would factor in that I was also taller than most of the girls and boys.  In elementary school and sixth grade I was a major tomboy but so were most of the other girls. In middle school insecurities really began to come out, no longer a tomboy, wearing more tight fitting clothing and hitting puberty was rough. All of my friends got boobs first - which is a big deal when you are a teenage girl trust me. Then seemingly overnight I went from an A cup to a C cup (it actually was 3 months but that was still extremely fast for me) which was the biggest cup size in the group. Before I was uncomfortable about having nothing and then I became too aware of having too much.  I wore a lot of big sweatshirts with my tight fitting shirts. My hips also widened - typical puberty things, the whole gamut.  By this time I had hit a growth spurt (close to 6 inches in a year and yes it was painful) and was now not just a little bit taller than my friends, I had inches and inches on them.  While my friends were all size 0's I was a size 8 and very uncomfortable with being so much "bigger" - now I realize that 5'7" and a size 8 really is not big at all but at the time I felt like I was a hippo.  They could all borrow my clothes and I couldn't bother anything of theirs because it was all too small. 

Fast forward to high school. I left my friends and my comfort zone behind going to a private high school. That is where my distinctive weight gain began. I had the freshman 15 4 years early, okay maybe not 15 but close. That year I jumped up to a size 12.  Sophomore year my weight spiked again. That was the summer I spent in a cast, lots of eating and lots of sitting with barely any exercise.  After tears from having to buy new pants and barely fitting into anything I owned I still wasn’t as motivated to make a change. I was still wishing the weight away, none of my friends had to watch what they ate or exercise a ton so why would I? I could squeeze into a size 14 but a size 16 was more comfortable especially by the beginning of my junior year. 

The picture on the left was the summer between my sophomore and junior year of high school and the picture on the right was the fall of my junior year of college

Halfway through the first semester of my junior year that changed. I do not know at what moment specifically I decided that I wanted to change my lifestyle, it may have been after a physical or one of my many nights in tears because my clothes did not fit but I’m not sure; I just decided enough was enough and I was going to take matters into my own hands. I was steadily loosing weight for a while, I had even broken 180 and was comfortably wearing a size 14 and occasionally getting into a size 12.  My highest weight was probably 195 lbs.  Junior year I started birth control - my cramps were getting so bad that I would need to miss school and they were physically making me sick, in addition to feeling like I was going to faint when I stood up.  When I went back for my 1 month check in, they like to monitor your blood pressure when you first start the pill, I had lost close 15 lbs instead of gained weight like most people - I was ecstatic.  That was a lot of weight to lose in a short period of time but keep in mind I was overweight and shocked my system by starting to eat healthier and working out at least 5 days a week; I know it is still a lot but at the time I was happy.  I was feeling so much better and starting to gain confidence, I loved the feeling and wanted to keep making progress. Then senior spring came and I slowly gained back some of the weight but thankfully not all of it.  Looking back on it, my actions were slightly obsessive, watching everything I ate and if I was hungry but it wasn't meal time I would have tea or an apple, I had to do sit ups before bed or I couldn't sleep sort of obsessive.  Obviously that life was not going to be maintainable for me and is not the healthiest way to lose weight.  I took progress pictures compulsively during this time - I still like taking pictures to track progress but it is not as often anymore.  Now I look at pictures and think “wow I looked smaller” when at the time all I saw was fat. This time with pictures I do see progress, I'm not looking at how far I still need to go.

The summer before college was motivation to lose weight but partying with my friends and enjoying the moments before we all left for our different school stopped me from making much progress. This time, I would not gain the freshman 15, I was absolutely determined not to be another statistic. Freshman year I actually lost close to 10 pounds, bringing me down to around 175 lbs and fitting into a size 12 comfortably.  Since I’ve started college I have been consistently losing the weight again and toning up. I do tend to sabotage myself over the summers, I know, I'm backwards.  For the past three years my weight has fluctuated from my lowest, 169 lbs, to 183 lbs.  

This was my progress from the start of my journey until last spring, I have gained some of the weight back since these photos were taken

I will make progress and then I backtrack. I was able to maintain the bottom row of the pictures above for a while and then I slipped back into old habits. I like looking at measurements better because sometimes the number on the scale can be discouraging. This time I do completely believe that I have the right mindset going into things. Most recently, over this Christmas break, I have gained some weight and it is discouraging since I was working so hard and making progress before break. It is difficult for me to get in the mindset to workout and eat well and in moderation when I go home but I am determined to find a way.  Most recently I have started the Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide and I have been using some recipes from the Tone It Up Nutrition plan as a way to kick start my weight loss this year.  When I say it has been a journey I am not kidding.

This was my Week 0 photo for the BBG challenge, me and all of my post-break bloated glory at 178 lbs

This has been and will continue to be an adventure.

xox

What have I been up to? (besides not blogging)

So I've been pretty MIA for a LONGGG time. I actually haven't been up to much besides school and then vacation where I was traveling a lot without my computer.  I am going to try to be better at blogging this year (new resolution). 

Since my last post, I have discovered that I am not good at keeping myself from buying makeup however I am actually making progress in using up some of my makeup and will definitely do an updated blog post about my ban. 

One thing I have started since my last post was the Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide 1.0.  She put the picture below on instagram and I decided that I would join in the challenge. 

So far I have been good at sticking to the challenge, doing the workouts and eating healthier. I eat pretty healthily in general but over Christmas break I was not watching anything I ate and I was barely working out and I could definitely see the effects the combination was having on my body.  I will do a whole other post about my "journey" and some background because it's could be pretty lengthy and maybe I will add pictures (yikes!).  In addition to makeup and fashion I do love fitness and cooking (I am working on adding to those two tabs) and yes I am one of those people who enjoys working out - it can instantly improve a crappy day for me.

Recently I've been pretty active on my instagram (blacktsskinnyjeans) with fitness and food related posts as a way of checking in to the challenge and keeping myself accountable. Below are a few of my recent posts.

The top picture is one of my favorite salads (bought though I probably could replicate it or at least try) and below is a lunch I made myself the other day when I got home from classes.

I recently invested in the Polar heart rate monitor (I bought mine off bestbuy.com and it was cheaper than on the polar website).  I've been enjoying using it so far and I like that I can more accurately track the intensity of my workouts.

For more of my fitness related posts etc. check out my instagram!

Until next time! (hopefully very soon!)

 xox Sarah