Anniversary News

21 Oct

londonHello, all you skinny people. We’ve made it to year two (ermeygerd!). Dunno how it happened, but you all stuck with me, and I am ever grateful for it.

For the past two years, I have gone through literal ups and downs in trying to stay current on this site without brow-beating my readers. I want you all to grow and thrive. I want you all to explore the different aspects of yourself that challenge you and make you better. Your health is so important, and I hope that through this blog I’ve helped you see this.

All of this is to say…there’s news. I was recently offered a position in my company that would require me to move to London. So, I’m moving to London. I’m beyond thrilled, excited, nervous, anxious, stressed and everything else that goes into a big move like this. I’ve been waiting to tell you all for months about this, but only recently have details been hammered out.

What does this mean for I’m Skinny, Now What?

Well, I’m sure you’ve noticed I haven’t been posting as often as I had been. That’s more laziness on my part than anything. I still fully believe in the message of this site that the work doesn’t end when you’ve reached your goal weight. There are tons of stories to tell. But I had a lot on my plate and something had to give. So, for the near future, posts will continue to be infrequent as I gear up for this move in the coming weeks. But that doesn’t mean this is the end.

I’ve never lived abroad. I only have two stamps in my passport. This is the beginning of a whole new adventure. Prepare for I’m Skinny, Now What?–London Edition. How will I cope with the food that everyone warns me about? What will my new schedule to do my exercise routine? What new workout routines can I get myself involved in across the Atlantic?

There’s so much to explore in the coming months and I can’t wait to tell you more about them.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for sticking with me for the past couple of years. We’ve still got a ways to go, but we can do it.

And if any of you have any tips on how to stay fit in London (or any tips about London), please let me know.

Tags: , , ,

Don’t Let Stress Get the Best

19 Oct

serenityI’ve had a lot on my plate in the past couple of months. I’ll share the details in a coming post, but know that the stress has been wearing me out.

One of the big negative effects of stress is overeating. My version of this is eating too much of the wrong thing, namely Talenti Southern Butter Pecan. Have you had this? It’s quite possibly the best butter pecan I’ve ever had. It’s so creamy, not too sweet and with the right amount of caramel to not seem overindulgent. Plus, Talenti only comes in 1-pint containers. That’s just two cups. You get more than that in a sundae at Baskin Robbins.

I’m aware that this is just an excuse, but sometimes life is like that. I was irritable, and instead of working out my irritation with a workout, I took it out on a pint (or five) of that delicious Talenti. The irritability, along with overeating with a dash of fatigue, added up to more weight than I’d ever like to see again. I wasn’t far from what I weighed when I moved to New York. That was not where I wanted to be.

Stress does more than affect you physically. It’s a mindfuck. Your brain starts going a million miles an hour picking apart all the things that are wrong. You’re so focused on everything that’s not going right that you’re not looking for solutions. So you retreat to the things that aren’t stressful. For me, it’s gelato…or goldfish crackers…or Netflix marathons.

At the time I was focusing on the the stress and not the cause of it.

I’m a huge fan of the serenity prayer. “Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” I think in my period of doubt, I forgot that. I forgot that I can’t change everything, nor should I try. I needed to focus on the things I can control instead of letting those things control me.

Once that clicked, I ate my last pint of Talenti (you can’t let good stuff like that go to waste). I went to the grocery store and started planning my meals again. I went to the pool for the first time in a couple of months. I even ran, though my knee wasn’t too happy about that.

I took over what was in my control and the result allowed me to see better what was really stressing me out. I could pinpoint what needed to be done and take action there.

Sitting on the sidelines of your life while the world is stressing you out will only bring you more damage. Take control of the the things you can and work toward a solution on the things you can’t. Being proactive in battling your stressors will lessen their effects on you in the long run.

What do you do to battle stress?

Recipe: Eggplant Parmagiana

9 Oct

Version 2Time: 30 minutes to prep, 45 to cook

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 2 8-ounce cans no-salt-added tomato sauce
  • 14 ounce can artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained
  • 6-ounce can no-salt-added tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp. salt-free Italian seasoning
  • 2 medium garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 1 tsp. olive oil
  • 1/8 tsp. pepper
  • Dash red hot-pepper sauce

***

  • 1 medium eggplant, cut into 3/8-inch-thick rounds (about 1 pound)
  • 10 ounces light firm tofu, drained and patted dry with paper towels
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 cup shredded fat-free or part-skim mozzarella cheese
  • 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup grated or shredded parmesan cheese
  • 1/3 cup crumbs from French or sourdough bread

Directions

  1. In a food processor or blender, process the sauce ingredients for 30 seconds, or until no lumps remain. Set aside.
  2. Preheat broiler.
  3. Place eggplant slices on a baking sheet. Do not overlap. Broil 4 inches from the three to four minutes per side, being careful not to burn the eggplant. Remove from the broiler. Set aside to cool.
  4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  5. In a food processor or blender, process the tofu and egg white until smooth.
  6. In a small bowl, toss the mozzarella with the flour to keep the cheese from clumping.
  7. In an 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish, layer the ingredients as follows: one third of the sauce, one half of the eggplant slices, one third of the sauce, all the mozzarella, all the tofu-egg mixture, remaining eggplant slices, remaining sauce, Parmesan and bread crumbs.
  8. Bake, uncovered, for 35 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Verdict

This took a bit more work than I usually spend on a meal, but it is so, so good. I love eggplant parmigiana, but I rarely make it because of how long it takes to prepare. The chopping, processing, mixing, waiting, baking, blah, blah, blah, is more than I usually put into making my meals. I like things that take 30-45 minutes altogether–basically as long as it takes my Seamless order to arrive at my door. But when you actually put work into your food, you gain a new appreciation for it. I don’t usually cook with tofu, but you can’t really tell it’s there. It absorb the flavors of the dish itself, so all you’re doing is adding a creamy texture to the dish. I did make a few alterations: regular bread crumbs and oregano instead Italian seasoning. All in all, I highly recommend this one. If you’ve got the time, this one is definitely worth it.

Tags: , ,

The Spectrum of Threatening to Disgusting

5 Oct
skinnyvcurvy

Courtesy of About-Face

A fashion week/month is still in full swing. I love it because I love clothes and seeing what the designers have in store for the following season (even if I can’t afford the hems on those clothes).

The models that strut the runway are there to present the fashion. Their job is to sell the clothes. In order to to that, the clothes have to be appear appealing. Because all women aren’t shaped the same, it’s useful if the clothes appear on different body types. One day, the trend will change and designers will create pieces that look good on different body types.

Until then, we have to contend with the Joan Smallses, Jourdan Dunnes, Kendall Jenners and Gigi Hadids of the world. But just because these women all wear the essentially the same size, it doesn’t mean their all built the same. To the average woman, these are tall, thin women. But Gigi and Joan have larger busts. Kendall has longer legs. Jourdan has the better strut. It’s these pieces of these women that get picked apart by fashion bloggers and critics.

Gigi posted a photo of her walking in the Versace show lat week where (gasp) her thighs were touching. For shame! Gigi Hadid is a tall, thin model. She has a few more curves than some of her colleagues, but not as much as the Tyra Bankses of the world. A few comments on her Instagram led her to respond about the sea change in the fashion industry where her body type hasn’t been accepted in the industry for a long time.

There are positives and negatives with this. First, good for her for having body confidence. So many women her age are still struggling with being confident in their shapes and size. She’s already ahead of the curve. The problem, however, is that, as she says, she still fits sample sizes. She has abs. Gigi, while still experiencing body shaming, sits on the threatening end of the body spectrum.

A recent article on New York Magazine’s site brought up why it’s so hard for people to discuss weight. Unlike some of our other metrics (age, height, shoe size), weight fluctuates so much for a variety of factors. Despite where you lie on the scale, your place on the spectrum of threatening (thin) to disgusting (obese) is solely at the discretion of others. It’s a wholly unfair system, but it’s how we see each other.

Gigi Hadid’s comments are the same as a size 2 woman complaining to her size 22 sister about how she can’t find the clothes she likes in her size. It’s not that the size 2 woman doesn’t have the right to complain, it’s that it’s coming from someone who seemingly has everything. It’s the poor-little-rich-girl syndrome.

I’ll admit that I have fallen prey and been victim of these judgements. My struggles with fluctuating weight are well documented on this here blog. I’ve been both the skinny and the fat friend. It’s easy to think others are living in glass houses when you’re trying to clear the sludge from your own windows. It takes a lot of personal effort not to focus on other people’s seeming successes while you’re working on your growth.

I wish I could offer an easy fix for this, but there isn’t one. It comes with time. You learn not to let others have their space to vent their issues without judging them for wanting better for themselves.

Tags: , , , ,

Seeking Fashion Inspiration

16 Sep

beverlyA couple of years ago, I got really excited about the prospects for the fashion industry. Models like Joan Smalls and Jourdan Dunn were killing it on the runways. Designers like Rick Owens were eschewing the standard of rail-thin models and the traditional catwalk for a more in-your-face strut by models of varying sizes. The clothes were great, the shows were inspiring and it left me hopeful for a future with more diversity on the runway.

Sadly, that was just a drop in the can. There hasn’t been much progress made since then. Rail-thin models are still the standard to trot down runways wearing samples that don’t consider different body types. Not only are designers ignoring the different ways women are shaped, they’re shaming women for wanting to wear their clothes. Earlier this summer, a former Hervé Leger executive said curvy women and lesbians have no place wearing the brand’s iconic bandage dress.

‘If you’re a committed lesbian and you are wearing trousers all your life, you won’t want to buy a Leger dress. Lesbians would want to be rather butch and leisurely,” he told the Daily Mail earlier this summer.

The bandage dress was everywhere in the late aughts. From rail thin to super curvy, just about every celebrity was wearing it or some knockoff version. I tried on a cheaper variety once or twice and, to be honest, it isn’t a very forgiving dress. Body shapers, Spanx and prayer are needed to look right. I liken the dress to a good twist out: it may work for you one day, but it will take you forever to replicate the magic of that one day.

But for the glitterati, the bandage dress was a badge of pride. If you could rock it, by all means rock the hell out of it. It’s disheartening when a designer who creates clothes can’t see real people wearing them. Majority of clothed women aren’t shaped like supermodels. If designers don’t want different body types wearing their clothes, they should just create them in one size and one body type.

Luckily, model legend Beverly Johnson disagreed as she rocked the frock at the Hervé Leger show over the weekend. “I’m a curvy woman, so I embrace it. I think that they make dresses for curvy women,” she said. She did follow it up by saying the dress wouldn’t look right on a “stick-thin” woman, but I don’t totally agree. It really depends on the body.

chromatWhich is another reason I saw some small ray of hope with another fashion show during New York Fashion Week. The Chromat collection, meant to be a “structural experiment for the human body,” took more bodies into mind when the pieces were presented. A mix between athletic and couture, the Chromat designs had a futuristic bondage theme and were all exquisitely tailored to the models’ forms. There were pear shapes, thick thighs, large boobs, flat chests, skinny legs, etc. on display. And they all rocked out.

It’s amazing what can happen when designers remember to step out of their comfort zone and try to design for a different shape. The challenge helps acknowledge women who appreciate the aesthetic and artistry of fashion while not excluding them from the process.

That’s all we want: acknowledgement and inclusion in the things we enjoy.

Tags: , , , ,

← Older Entries