Recipe, Intake and Day 7

Day 7: Do your friends and family know you're trying to lose weight?

No, I hide it from them. I suspect they wouldn't be happy about it, and also weight isn't something my family really talks about, it's just something that happens to people.


Last Week's intake:

My intake was kind of all over the place. I'm going to work on that this week.

Lesson learned: Don't isolate yourself. It makes pain worse. If you don't want to sit with your friends at lunch because you are afraid they will comment on what you are or aren't eating, you'll miss out on the basic human interaction that is so important. If you don't have friends to eat lunch with (maybe you live far away or don't know anyone), find some strangers to interact with. Go shopping (you don't have to buy anything) or to a coffee shop, anywhere where there will be people around. Or phone someone. It will help you feel better, even if you don't want to talk about the things that are bothering you.

A recipe for the vegans out there :) And any other "starving students" (whether because you have no money, or if you're disordered, works either way really). I basically just made this up, feel free to modify it.

1/2 cup lentils
1 tbsp vegan margarine (or you can use oil, or butter if you aren't vegan or just leave it out)
1 tbsp brown sugar (You could use half of this, I'm just a bit of a sugar addict)
sprinkle of cinnamon
1/4 tsp garam masala
1 cup chopped carrots
(if you don't have some of the spices, it's still good without them)

Rinse the lentils until the water runs clear, then cover them with water and set on the stove to boil*. As the lentils boil, a foam will form on top. I like to scoop this off partly because I think it helps prevent gas but I'm not sure if it actually works or not. I've heard that you can also add cloves to help with that.
Anyway, let them boil for about 5-10 minutes and then add the carrots and everything else. Or if you don't care about the foam, you can just put it all in at the start.
Simmer it for about 20 minutes, until the carrots are soft and the lentils are soft and kind of a mush (cooked, basically). It's really about your preference.

*How much water is up to you, you can always add more later. I like to add just enough to cook the lentils and when they're done add a bit more to make it a soup-like consistency. This also helps you feel fuller without increasing the calories.

Makes one (large) serving

Calories: 430
Protein: 19g
Fat: 13 g
Carbs: 63 g
Lentils are also a source of iron :)

Claire: You're my first commenter! I didn't even notice that you had for a while. D'oh.  How embarrassing, since I've been going crazy lately and I tend to think of you as one of the "normal/healthy" weight loss blogs that I follow.  Anyway, I do try to be healthy in terms of diet and exercise. I think (with exercise) you sort of have to push yourself to get better. You just need to know how much is too much, rest when you need it and fuel up properly with healthy food in the right amounts. Sometimes it's hard for me, but I'm trying. We should know about my dog by the end of this week; The chances of it being something curable are pretty small, but maybe the medication will work and kinda keep it at bay for a while. He still is full of energy and seems pain-free. Thanks for commenting, it really made me feel less alone. :)