Month: June 2016

Work to Live, Eat to Live

~ Jody Rich ~ 1 Comment

It is often said that there are two kinds of people: those who live to work and those who work to live with the latter being the ideal we all strive to achieve. Your work is what you do to support the life you want to live, it funds the things you want and goals you hope to achieve. I have come to the realization that the same is true of eating: there are those who live to eat and those who eat to live.

You should like your job and you should enjoy the work you do – after all, you are most likely doing it eight hours a day, five days a week or about 35% of your waking hours in a year. Loving your job makes the days go by faster, gives you a sense of satisfaction and achievement. For those who live to work, work is everything. They work late nights and early mornings, they take calls and answer emails on the weekends. Personal time? Not really – maybe the random family obligation here or there, perhaps a few casual relationships but the job takes precedence and there aren’t many (if any) personal responsibilities that won’t be sacrificed in order to fulfill a work responsibility.

On the flip side, for those who work to live, what matters most is that your job provides for you, enables you to enjoy the other 65% of your waking hours. Maybe once in a while you get swamped and work late, but overall, when work begins to interfere with your home life, you make changes. When long hours keep you away from home for extended periods of time or miserable working conditions leave you irritable in the evenings or weekends, you address the issue – cut back on hours, talk to your boss, confront whatever is making you unhappy or simply find a new job. Work to live means making the life you hope to lead, your home, your family and loved ones and your dreams your priority. It means letting your job provide for that. This is the way I strive to balance my work and life. I love my job, enjoy my coworkers and I feel fulfilled and proud of the work I do but at 5pm, I leave it all behind. Whether you work to live or live to work, the one thing you don’t get is both. You chose what is most important – the work or the life – then you run with it.

As both a vegetarian/vegan and as a healthy eater, I have heard on a number of occasions, “oh, I could never eat what you eat – I would rather enjoy life.” This is an implication that that food, whether a filet mignon or Double Stuff Oreos, is the thing that drives someone, even if it drives that person into an early grave. The notion that any food is worth shaving a year or two from your life expectancy seems absurd to me now but it shows me that, much like with work, there are those who live to eat and those to eat to live. There was a time when I was a live-to-eater; when my days weren’t more than a collection of hours spent acquiring and consuming food. When I wasn’t eating, I was thinking about what I would eat next and when I wasn’t thinking, I was leap-frogging all over town from one fast food drive-thru window to another. It is inconsequential whether the food I desired me was a sophisticated pyrotechnical display of culinary mastery or bags of Donettes and orange Circus Peanuts; both were forays into overeating, overconsumption of calories and lack of balanced nutrition. I didn’t think I was choosing to eat over all the activities and experiences I desired but that is exactly what I was doing. Like I said, you can’t have both. I wanted my bacon cheeseburger and my banana milkshake but I also wanted to feel good about my body, to be fit and healthy, to be active. The way I chose to eat obliterated any chance of achieving my the dreams I dreamt about what I saw as an ideal life.

At some point in my life, that switch was flipped. I began to look at food the way I look at work. I enjoy the food I eat – I should, after all I eat it all day with my daily meal plan of three meals and two snacks. My food gives me a sense of satisfaction, it is delicious and filling. I actually enjoy my food now in a way I never did before because it isn’t simply a sensation of flavor and texture; it is also a feeling of well-being in knowing what I am eating is good for my body and my soul. Ultimately, food is what fuels the life I want to lead. When I think of my life, imagine the most perfect version of it, I am happy and healthy. When I think to my future and my bucket list, things like climbing Machu Picchu and white water rafting down the American River come to mind. I want to parasail and kayak, I want to travel the country in a tiny Airstream trailer with David. I could do none of those things at 290 pounds, I could do none of those things when I was living to eat. The food I was eating was interfering with the life I wanted to lead, it was making it impossible to enjoy the hours between meals. So I made a change. That isn’t to say that I don’t indulge on occasion. Every time we pass through Santa Cruz, we stop at Saturn Cafe and split vegan chocolate-peanut butter milkshake – it is an experience, a shared moment and a memory made and we can have a milkshake once every few months and continue to live the life we want. We have our memories of sharing way too much pizza and diving into a decadent slice of Opera Cake because these are special days, not routine. Every week, when I sit down to plan our meals, I make sure that we are eating healthfully and our bodies are being nourished in a way that make it possible for us to do whatever our hearts please with our lives and bodies, make us feel limitless and strong.

It was a journey that brought me here – from live to eat to eat to live – and it was a transition that took time. It required I changed everything I thought and knew about food, it required I change how much I value my self and my body. It required a willingness to not follow the crowd, not do the popular thing. It required I devoted myself to learning everything I can about diet and nutrition. It required I re-learn how to cook. It required my palette to change and my body to stop craving processed foods and refined sugars and start craving natural fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes. It was a journey but I am here and I have to tell you – this is SO MUCH BETTER! You may think, “oh, I could never do that, I would rather enjoy life” and you should enjoy life – but food is not life. Life is so much more, life is so much better. I have never eaten anything (and, believe me, I have eaten a lot) that tasted as good as I felt the moment I ran across the finish line of the Crescent City Classic for the first time. I have never eaten anything that tasted as good as I felt the day I realized that plus sized clothing was too large for me and I could start shopping the regular departments at my favorite stores. I have never eaten anything that tasted as good as I felt during my last physical at the doctor’s when I was told I was the picture of good health. I don’t mean for this to sound preachy, I don’t mean for it to sound judgmental. Truly, it is with nothing but love in my heart and wishes that everyone could be the best possible versions of themselves that I tell people how much better it gets, how worth it this all is. Eat to live – eat to live the greatest life you have ever imagined in your wildest dreams.

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WEEK SEVEN CHECK-IN
Taking some time off from weighing in. Just eating right, working out and not stressing on the numbers.

Recalculating Route

~ Jody Rich ~ Leave a comment

We don’t get lost too often these days. Most of us are endowed with some sort of handy GPS gizmo, either on our smart phones or in our cars, which help us to seamlessly navigate even the most remote parts of our worlds. Take a wrong turn or miss an off-ramp? No problem. A helpful voice, well-meaning but often with dubious pronunciation skills, will chime in and reassure you: “Recalculating Route.” Before you know it, you are back on track. If we ever thought there was only one way to get between Point A and Point B, our GPS navigation has dispelled this myth. In fact, there can be dozens of ways to get where we want and, quite often, you can chose between the fastest, the shortest or the way with the least tolls. It had never occurred to me to apply this knowledge gleaned from everyday technology to other facets of my life until I read “The Struggle Is Real: Finally Break the Dieting Cycle, Transform Your Mind & Body, and Evolve Into The Person You Have Always Wanted To Be” by Karol Brandt and Robby D’Angelo, in which the authors use this exact metaphor for navigating the missed turns and roadblocks that arise in our lives.

Life loves to monkey with our plans – this much I know to be true. We set a goal, we create a roadmap for how to achieve it then life steps in like three year old with a jumbo box of Crayolas and makes an indecipherable mess of our carefully laid-out map. So often in my life, when obstacles arose, I would throw my hands up and say to myself, “well, this is impossible.” I became so focused on the route that I lost sight of what really mattered: the destination. When going to the gym became difficult or inconvenient, when the way I shopped and cooked changed, whenever any aspect of my pathway to achieving my fitness goals was altered by circumstance, I suddenly believed my goals were unreachable. These setbacks always seemed like legitimate “reasons” for why I couldn’t work toward my goals. But when you think of those words… recalculating route… you realize your “reasons” are just more excuses. They are ALL excuses. We have all seen the stories of runners with prothetic legs completing marathons, athletes confined to wheelchairs dominating at court sports, etc. and if they teach us nothing else, they teach us that all your reasons are excuses. You simply need to recalculate your route. The route is inconsequential; finding your way and getting to the destination is everything!

I have been struggling lately to meet my weekly weight loss goals. When I stepped back and objectively looked at what was going on, what were the possible culprits in hindering my progress, I realized that one of the major things missing was consistent, vigorous cardio workouts. Because getting to the gym for workouts in Bay Area traffic was eating up all my time and becoming a hassle, I solved the problem by creating a home gym (recalculating route), installing the TRX and stocking up on equipment like a kettle bell, medicine ball, core ball and dumbbells. Initially, I planned on running for my cardiovascular workouts but my fitness level is not where it was when I was running daily making it brutal on my joints (for now). I have been walking on my lunch break and sneaking into the gym on the occasional Saturday morning for treadmill time but, obviously, that hasn’t been enough. So earlier this week, I thought to myself, “there is another way to get from Point A to Point B… recalculate the route.” Then, yesterday, it hit me like a bolt of lightening. Most cardio equipment (treadmills, elliptical trainers, stair trainers, etc.) are huge, heavy and expensive pieces of equipment and; therefor, out of the question for our small home gym space… but a rower? A rower can be compact and lightweight. A rower can torch calories while working your arms, legs and core in an easy, fluid, non-impact motion. I took to Craigslist and a few hours later, we were picking up my new hardly used basic rower for the home gym. I knew from experience and from the testimonials of others in “The Struggle is Real” that there absolutely would be a way for me to get where I needed to go.

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My gently used rower: the newest addition to my home gym.

So what are your reasons (excuses) for not moving towards your dreams and goals? What are the obstacles that seem to be standing in your way and, more importantly, how can you maneuver around them? Think about where you are, think about where you want to be, visualize the two points in your mind as a map with highways and city streets and ask yourself “how do I get there?” Recalculate route.

Island Dreaming

~ Jody Rich ~ Leave a comment

Two weekends ago, David and I decided to head to the beach. Being born and raised in here, I have lived comfortably with the self-christened moniker “Northern California Beach Bum.” Of course, Northern California beaches aren’t like other beaches. The water is cold, the mornings (and often large parts of the day) are overcast, the tide pools are teeming with creatures you can ogle and caress. Surfers are well-outfitted with wetsuits and bikinis are few and far between unless it is a particularly scorching day on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. But I love it – these are my beaches, the beaches I merrily trudged as a child, collecting an array of shells, pebbles and the occasional dismembered crab claw which, inevitably, stunk up the car on the drive home. As we cruised up Highway 1 along the coast on a gray Sunday morning, in my excitement to get my toes into some sand and surf for the first time in ten years, I was struck with an idea. “When I reach my goal weight, let’s go celebrate in Hawaii.”

I am prone to some pretty impulsive and hair-brained ideas so, as the words came out of my mouth, I half expected David to reply with an extremely rational reason why we should not go to Hawaii. The other half of my expectation would be that he simply wasn’t interested. You can imagine my delight when, in his constant and effortless way of being the perfect man for me, David said, “sure.” Hmmm… that was too easy. I continued to mention it at odd times through that day and into the next,  and David continued to be fully on-board. The idea took root.

I have never been to Hawaii. I haven’t seriously thought of going to Hawaii. When I was a teenager, mildly obsessed with the surf culture I saw in movies and Elle McPherson on the cover of S.I., spending Spring Break on the deck under a thin layer of heavily-scented coconut oil, trying to tan I probably imagined going to Hawaii. As an overweight and obese adult, Hawaii or any other tropical paradise seemed the antithesis of paradise: a place for tan lines, swimsuits and board sports. With my pale skin (I have two skin colors: “Edward Cullen” and “Boiled Lobster”) and the physical limitations of my oversized body, I was a poor fit for an island vacation. I would have been miserably self-conscious, watching people enjoy their tropical vacations as if their experiences were my own. In a way, Hawaii is like running in that it is a symbol for my real and perceived limitations. The beaches of Hawaii were a dream so distant that I had lost all sight of them, believed it so impossible that I never entertained the idea.

vision-board
My Hawaiian Vision Board

I have been thinking of Hawaii every day since that Sunday, imagining my feet in sugar-white sand with the foaming swash of a turquoise ocean curling around my ankles; imagining the island sun warming my skin. But it is so much more than that. As I have spent my days dreamily listening to Jack Johnson and Mishka, mentally on the beach already, I realized how much more profound this trip would be. I began imagining all the things I couldn’t have done at 290 pounds: imagining snorkeling and swimming with sea turtles, hiking up jungle paths, paddle-boarding through inlets and biking along beach-front roads. I am imagining cute beach outfits and wearing my first two-piece. I am imagining lying side-by-side with David melting into our couples massages. I realized what an amazing and appropriate way to rejoice in my hard-earned health, athleticism and fitness. My friend Karol recommended I find a challenge to motivate me, to push me – something I can visualize – and I think I have found it in Hawaii.

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WEEK SIX CHECK-IN
Weight: 207.6 (.8 pounds lost this week, 7.4 pounds lost total)

The Harry Nilsson Smoothie: Put the Lime in the Coconut

~ Jody Rich ~ Leave a comment

This protein smoothie – my newest culinary invention – was genuinely inspired by Harry Nilsson’s “Coconut” and I believe it tastes best when prepared while singing. The recipe started out as a Key Lime smoothie taken from Oxygen Magazine but I put my own spin it, making it vegan and amping up the coconut. Truthfully, my mind has been in the tropics lately – Summer is here, the weather is warm, the beach is calling and a refreshing, island-style smoothie seems like the perfect way to start the day. It is a frozen banana-based smoothie but you can easily substitute avocado for the banana for a less-sweet, lower-carb version.

limeinthecoconut

The Harry Nilsson Smoothie
100 grams banana, frozen
1 scoop protein powder (I used Sun Warrior Warrior Blend Raw Vegan Protein in Vanilla)
8-oz non-dairy milk (Organic Protein Almond Milk Unsweetened Vanilla)
1/4 cup lime juice (I use key lime)
1 Tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp virgin coconut oil
1 tsp black chia seeds
1 tsp ground flaxseed
1 tsp raw shelled hemp hearts
1/2 tsp lime zest


Harry Nilsson Coconut-Lime Smoothie

Combine all ingredients in a blender or NutriBullet and blend until smooth and don’t forget to sing… You put the lime in the coconut, you drink ’em bot’ together.

Nutritional Information*
Serving Size: One Smoothie
Calories: 351; Total Fat: 14g; Saturated Fat: 8g; Cholesterol: 0g; Sodium: 404mg; Total Carbohydrate: 27g; Fiber: 6g; Sugar: 12g; Protein: 32g

*Nutritional information based on recipe as written with designated ingredients, calculated using MyFitnessPal recipe calculator.

The “I” in “Quit”

~ Jody Rich ~ Leave a comment

I had a great week. I did everything right and felt awesome. My meal plans were dialed in and I didn’t stray once. I didn’t skip a single work out. In fact, I tried a yoga class on rest day, hit the gym on Saturday and have been quickening my pace on my lunchtime walks. Rather than enjoy our usual date night Saturday dinner out on the town, I opted to put some delicious fruit and veggie skewers on the grill and have date night at home with an ultra light and healthy meal. My clothes are getting loose, certain pants coming on and off without unbuttoning. I set a short term goal that involved losing a little over 7 pounds by June 26 and I dug my heals in, excited to smash through that goal. I woke up this morning with aching muscles from a tough workout week and a Christmas morning-like anticipation of stepping on that scale and seeing how close my hard work and sacrifice got me to my goal.

I have regained 6/10ths of a pound, negating all of last week’s weight loss and part of the prior week’s. I am reeling. For the first few moments I stared at the number in disbelief. I stepped off the scale, then back on: still 208.4. I said it aloud, “I’m up, I’ve gained,” to David or myself or the cosmos, just letting those words hang in the ether. I stepped down and left the bathroom to continue my morning routine. The emotions were like waves, building then washing ashore, surging one after another until they curled and crashed over me; the hardening lump in my chest moved to my throat and flowed from me in devastated sobs. It wasn’t just the gain; it was the tremendous loss. I had set two short term goals I’d felt would be challenging but I was sure were achievable, goals that would ignite a fire in me, drive me to push harder and become more dedicated. With a quick flash of an LED, the hopes I had of meeting those goals were lost, mathematically-impossible at this point. Over the course of the morning, my feelings alternated between sadness and fury – anger being a mask hurt loves to wear, a mask that gives the hurt an illusion of being productive. Enraged, I X-ed out the goal I’d written on the calendar, adding a hurtful, self-immolating addendum. Over breakfast, I snapped at David, rebuking every kind and rational attempt he made to calm and encourage me. I want to quit.

How can you convince yourself not to give up when your efforts manage to go beyond fruitless, working against you; when you believed in the marrow of your bones you were doing the best you could, doing exactly what needs to be done? How do you workout with fatigued muscles when all you did to fatigue them in the first place appears inconsequential? The question that lingers in the forefront of my mind: “Why bother?” I would much rather melt into a Jody-shaped puddle on the couch tonight with a bag of Oreo’s to catch up on my Wayward Pines than drag my (.6 lb heavier) body up and down by the TRX straps. Why bother working out when the weeks I’d skipped workouts resulted in greater weight loss than this one? Why bother missing adhering rigidly to my 1350-calorie meal plan when the slice of strawberry cheesecake I’d eating a few weeks ago seemingly had no negative affect on my Monday weigh-in? Why sacrifice so much time and energy into what, at least this week, was a losing cause? I would rather quit.

Now, having had time to think and reflect over the past few hours, I can see now it has far less to do with the number on the scale, more with the loss of hope. Pounds can be lost and gained and lost again. One more good week could turn it all around. But one more good week can not get me below 200 pounds by June 26. The hopes of reaching this particular goal is lost and can not be regained. The waves of emotion are coming even now, only they are smaller swells that rush over me each time I think about the impossibility, then recede. My goals had stirred something inside me, a fevered passion. I was giddily anticipating the elation I would feel, the satisfaction of reaching my goals and seeing my hard work and sacrifice pay off. I would high-five David from the scale then hurriedly post a blog sharing my news with my readers. I probably got ahead of myself and should have stayed focused on the day at hand but who can help getting excited imagining future successes? Now the fire is dimmed, if not doused, and I realize I am in mourning of the loss of that potential day. I will reach the milestones I’d hoped to – but not when I’d hoped, not when I’d planned. I will not meet my goals and that is a painful truth, a sad consequence to an action I do not understand.

As I sit here now, removed by time and distance from this morning’s conniption, my instinct is to be embarrassed and ashamed of my reaction and behavior but that is equally hurtful. My emotions are what they are. They do not require justification, are not expected to be rational. They were strong, they were painful to endure and, like many emotions, they have diminished or shifted over the course of the day. What didn’t pass is the dark, harmful place I let them take me in the moment. I wish nothing more right now than to be able to go home and erase the ugly words I wrote on the calendar; to be able to hug David and thank him for his endless support; to look down at those LCD numbers and say, “that’s ok, I love you and will care for you” to my body rather than embracing the bitter, hateful thoughts I inundated myself with. I am not angry, despite my words and actions. I do not hate myself or my body. I am sorry… so sorry for the way I spoke to the person I love, so sorry for the way I spoke to my body in my mind and heart. I have to find a way in times like these to be kind to myself, to be patient and empathetic. I need to love my body when it isn’t perfect the way I hope to be loved despite my imperfections. I am crestfallen, I am disappointed, I am quite simply sad and that is ok. I will recover and I will not quit.

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WEEK FIVE CHECK-IN
Weight: 208.4 (.6 pounds gained this week, 6.6 pounds lost total)

Month One

~ Jody Rich ~ Leave a comment

So, here it is… one month since I renewed my efforts to get fit, drop the weight I’d regained and finally reach my health and fitness goals. I feel pretty good about this past month, although I have struggled to stay within my nutritional targets on weekends and have been prone, at times, to skipping workouts. Plus, I lost four days of workout days on the doctor’s orders to take it easy the second week in. I am proud of my accomplishments. While my efforts didn’t pay off on the scale to the extent I’d hoped, I have gotten into my groove with meal planning and working out making it very nearly routine. That is no small feat as it is not something I have been able to maintain for more than a few weeks at a time over the past year and a half. Moving forward, I now have both a long-term goal (running the Firehouse 10K in Santa Clara this December) and a short-term goal (be in Onederland by June 27 – that is 7.9 pounds in three weeks). Both goals can be achieved, but both will take a lot of sweat and dedication. Bring on Month Two!

05-09-16
Starting Photo: May 9, 2016; 215 lbs.
06-09-16
Month One Photo: June 9, 2016; 207.8 lbs.

You Are Here

~ Jody Rich ~ 2 Comments

You are here. You are near the beginning… on the first of many steps. You have come a little way, but not far enough to be tired, not far enough to be looking behind you. You are still so far from the place you are going that it is more imagined than seen. You are here in this place, which is exactly as far as you should be given your time and effort. You aren’t where you want to be, where you planned to be.

youarehere

I am not where I want to be and I am not surprised. I have been waiting for this. I knew it was coming. I knew I had not done everything I could, everything I was supposed to. I have become entirely too comfortable rationalizing skipping a workout or indulging in just one more small square of dark chocolate. The only victory I can take away from this morning’s four-week weigh-in was that I still managed to lose something; however small. Honestly, I was expecting to see a slight gain. I have indulged in Friday night (vegan) buttered popcorn, Saturday date night dinner with dessert and a couple spoonfuls of peanut butter, direct from jar to mouth, on Sunday afternoon. I allowed myself to get overwhelmed by my schedule and cancelled my first planned Yoga class on Thursday, I promised to do my Friday workout on Saturday after my normally-planned non-impact cardio session (a promise I broke) and I skipped Sunday’s workout as well for really no reason at all. Three days off my meal plan and four days of foregoing workouts – I know I dodged a bullet by still sneaking out of the week with .4 pound lost. David and I sat on the couch last night and vowed to buckle down and get our heads back in the game – we shook on it and everything, very official-like – but the question of why I have been veering off course so early in this process looms.

I can merrily come up with a handful of excuses to explain my behavior. I can probably even dress them up a bit with some ferocious conviction and make them sound like legitimate reasons. It goes something like, “I’m so busy, I didn’t get meal prep done, it’s too hot to run outside, I have cramps, I am tired, blah blah blah.” It is all nonsense. My motivation has shifted and fallen short. It shouldn’t have – I was getting results, I was feeling great after workouts and I was getting plenty of delicious and nutritious food to eat throughout the day. I have had days when the fire in my belly burned strong but, unfortunately, I have also had self-congratulatory days when I started resting on my laurels and I have had complacent days when I couldn’t be bothered to care. In my excitement to start taking a beginners yoga class again, I have mentally and motivationally veered off on a tangent of researching Ayurvedic recipes, relaxing new age Tibetan soundscape music and $100 meditation pillows; none of which help me to stay on track with my punishing TRX and cardio workouts (you know, those things most vital to shedding 55 pounds).

As of today, it has been four weeks since I started this journey again. I have barely begun. I haven’t even taken my one-month progress photo yet and I am already coasting to a stop. I know from experience that this is not something you can accomplish by taking time off, by letting your foot off the gas for even a moment. This set-back has to be something that motivates me rather than discourages me. This is a lesson I needed to be reminded of so that I can move forward. I have a renewed commitment with David to get back on track full-time, I have an exciting long-term goal in discovering a local 10k race in November but I think the time has come to begin establishing some short-term goals: challenging but achievable goals that will work as individual steps to get me closer to my future plans. These steps, although small, give me close-to-instant gratification and a sense of satisfied elation when I scale them. These steps, although small, stack one atop another until I have climbed a height seemingly impossible or unimaginable from the start. Thinking cap: On… What step will take me to where I want to go. I am here… where do I want to go?

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WEEK FOUR CHECK-IN
Weight: 207.8 (.4 pounds lost this week, 7.2 pounds lost total)

“Chill Out” Watermelon, Cucumber & Tomato Salad

~ Jody Rich ~ 1 Comment

Ah, the brink of Summer – it’s almost here, can you feel it? Warm days, relaxing evenings spent on the patio and a bevy of delicious, fresh Farmers Market fare. While Autumn is my favorite season thanks to Halloween, sweater weather and root-veggie laden comfort foods, you really can’t beat Summer with its amazing produce. When the days get hot, what can help you chill out better than the cool flavors of watermelon and cucumber, the sweet tang of sun-ripened tomatoes? This recipe was born from the desire to capture Summer in a bowl. Plus it’s healthy and easy to make when it’s just too darned hot to hang out in the kitchen – especially if you do like I do and get your quinoa cooked up in advanced and cooled overnight in the refrigerator.

“Chill Out” Watermelon, Cucumber & Tomato Salad
5 cups (28 oz) diced Watermelon
12 oz Cherry Tomatoes, halved
2 cups Cucumber, peeled and sliced
2 cups Quinoa, cooked and chilled
5 oz Baby Lettuces (or salad greens of your choice)
1 block Extra Firm Tofu, pressed (see note) and diced into small cubes
1/4 cup Mint leaves, chopped

Dressing:
4 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 tsp Bee Free Honee (or other vegan honey substitute)
1/4 cup White Balsamic Vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl or layer on serving dish. In a small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients. Drizzle dressing over salad, toss and chill out!

“Chill Out” Watermelon, Cucumber & Tomato Salad

Note on tofu pressing: If you have never pressed tofu, don’t worry – it is easy. Drain the tofu then wrap in a few layers of paper towel. I place the tofu on one cutting board (or plate, cookie sheet or other flat surface). Place a second cutting board or other strong flat surface on top. Set heavy objects – canned beans work great for this, as do big cookbooks – on top. Let sit for at least 30 minutes, pressing the excess water out. Once the tofu is pressed, you can dice it.

Nutritional Information*
Servings: 4
Calories: 338; Total Fat: 11g; Saturated Fat: 2g; Cholesterol: 0g; Sodium: 84mg; Total Carbohydrate: 47g; Fiber: 7g; Sugar: 25g; Protein: 16g

*Nutritional information based on recipe as written with designated ingredients, calculated using MyFitnessPal recipe calculator.

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WEEK THREE CHECK-IN
Weight: 208.2 (2 pounds lost this week, 6.8 pounds lost total)