The Basics-Who I Am, What I Do.
I'm currently in my third year of residency at a busy city hospital in NYC (I've earned my MD, so I am a true Dr. Jules). My residency isn't as all-consuming as some of the other specialties so I'm lucky to have some time to cook and attempt to eat consciously, but I'm not able to devote a significant amount of time or money for meal preparation. Still, my love of cooking has prevailed and I have learned to create fast, delicious and inexpensive meals. My NYC apartment is what you might expect and my kitchen is small (so small that we only have one small counter and so narrow that the refrigerator door doesn't open all the way!) so I have few gadgets and no room to experiment with fancy techniques.
Having struggled with my weight, I focus on creating low calorie foods and especially modifying great recipes to decrease calories while retaining the taste and even increasing portion volume! I make sure all of my recipes are easy enough for...well....me (and therefore you) I will document and photograph my recipes, what I cook and also what I eat. I will attempt to be as honest as possible and wont hide it when snacks or desserts (my weakness!) push me far over my daily calorie budget. I do exercise a LOT but my job is somewhat sedentary, so I budget approximately 1200 net calories per day. This means I can work with a gross calorie count of about 1600 or so.
Having struggled with my weight, I focus on creating low calorie foods and especially modifying great recipes to decrease calories while retaining the taste and even increasing portion volume! I make sure all of my recipes are easy enough for...well....me (and therefore you) I will document and photograph my recipes, what I cook and also what I eat. I will attempt to be as honest as possible and wont hide it when snacks or desserts (my weakness!) push me far over my daily calorie budget. I do exercise a LOT but my job is somewhat sedentary, so I budget approximately 1200 net calories per day. This means I can work with a gross calorie count of about 1600 or so.
Why I Do This
I am aware that I am probably more than a little crazy when it comes to food and cooking. Why? Well, now I'm at a healthy and even a really good weight, but that wasn't always the case. Since college I've been in a constant weight yo-yo situation.
Freshman 15? Definitely at least 10, but even with yo-yoing by my senior year I probably put on at least 15. What a cliche. I wish it stopped there!
I went to medical school in NYC and discovered even more deliciousness. And happy hours. Alcohol is by far the fastest way to undo any good weight-loss work. Honestly, I ended my first semester of medical school as a somewhat heavy girl. I was exercising and being healthy AND my self image was actually pretty good but the camera didn't lie and I realized I had to watch what I was doing. As it turns out, not everyone can eat and drink whatever they want (and no one should!).
Thus began a cycle of weight loss. Down 10, up 5, down another 10, up another 5. Finally, at 112lbs, I was thrilled with how I looked. But I couldn't keep it.
Freshman 15? Definitely at least 10, but even with yo-yoing by my senior year I probably put on at least 15. What a cliche. I wish it stopped there!
I went to medical school in NYC and discovered even more deliciousness. And happy hours. Alcohol is by far the fastest way to undo any good weight-loss work. Honestly, I ended my first semester of medical school as a somewhat heavy girl. I was exercising and being healthy AND my self image was actually pretty good but the camera didn't lie and I realized I had to watch what I was doing. As it turns out, not everyone can eat and drink whatever they want (and no one should!).
Thus began a cycle of weight loss. Down 10, up 5, down another 10, up another 5. Finally, at 112lbs, I was thrilled with how I looked. But I couldn't keep it.
As time went on and my weight went up, I began to worry. I began to pack my lunches with care, count my calories and exercise, A LOT. I hated every minute but it was working. My weight was slowly going back down. Eventually a small health scare resulting in a long drug regimen caused my weight to drop precipitously, probably to unhealthy numbers. Now, off the drug regimen I put on a few pounds but am happily maintaining a respectable weight with a BMI of just under 20 for approximately 5 months. My weight fluctuates by up to 5lbs in the space of a week and I routinely splurge or overindulge and I try to be honest here. This blog is about my struggles with weight maintenance in the face of a demanding social schedule, a voracious appetite for delicious food, and drinking, sometimes to excess.
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To put some numerical perspective on it, I'm 5'2" and have gone from 135+ to 120 to 125 to 112 and back up to 125 before really taking things seriously and trending down to 105lbs. Currently I fluctuate between 105 and 110lbs with a lifestyle very heavy on exercise and I continue to struggle terribly with portion control and snack control.
Without a set goal or a set time, maintenance is probably the hardest part of what I've accomplished in terms of how my body looks. I definitely struggle with overeating and compensating with exercise. I've never resorted to unhealthy means and while I try to hit the gym almost every day, I never run more than 6 miles at a time (or spend over an hour in the gym in any given day). I cook when I can, which isn't as often as I would like and I set goals for myself when I know I will be in an environment ripe for overeating/drinking. And now, I blog about all of that. I love photography, but my food photography is done with my iPhone in my poorly lit kitchen. Sorry! My recipes are "real" which means that they don't rely on anything organic, I take shortcuts when I can and I cook multiple dishes in one sitting instead of trying to make something new every day. Basically, I spend more time blogging than cooking! And that's the way I like it since I can at least compose my blog posts partially while at work. I'm out to prove that even busy people can exercise and cook healthy meals without giving up social life and going out for food and drinks all the while maintaining a healthy weight. As a physician, I am more than well aware of the extreme health problems faced by overweight people. Furthermore, I know the risks inherrent in the consumption of high amounts of sugars, fats and cholesterols. My cooking is geared toward those who wish to cut sugar, fats and cholesterols as well as lose weight. I haven't yet figured out how to really keep my salt content to lower-than-normal standards, but maybe that's the next project! |
A Culture Of Excess
I was born in Kiev, Ukraine and moved to the US when I was 5 years old. I grew up surrounded by the indulgences my parents were not able to experience when they were my age. Fast food and plentiful food!
Russian food is delicous but the top three favorite Russian staples are butter, sour cream and olive oil! These make for delicious, decadent meals, but they don't make for healthy bodies! If you've ever been to a Russian party, you'll know that the meals come in 7 courses, the alcohol flows freely and the ratio of food to people is REALLY high!
Now, I do still eat Russian staples, but in moderation. I do intentionally deny myself fast food as much as I can. Yes, I want it, and occasionally crave it, but I also take pride not giving into cravings that will only negatively impact my health and self image.
Russian food is delicous but the top three favorite Russian staples are butter, sour cream and olive oil! These make for delicious, decadent meals, but they don't make for healthy bodies! If you've ever been to a Russian party, you'll know that the meals come in 7 courses, the alcohol flows freely and the ratio of food to people is REALLY high!
Now, I do still eat Russian staples, but in moderation. I do intentionally deny myself fast food as much as I can. Yes, I want it, and occasionally crave it, but I also take pride not giving into cravings that will only negatively impact my health and self image.
Love, Food, Life
Finally, I'm now living with Boyfriend. He is my partner in everything and food and cooking has played a large role in our relationship. We share all of our food at restaurants (costs are down, variety is up!) and the night I realized my true feelings involved a kitchen accident. We have eaten our way through Peru and constantly see-saw from his unhealthy choice obsession to my healthy choices. Now, he's responsible for testing my recipes and my cooking endeavors. The things that he eats and enjoys I am confident are good for general consumption. Some things...I know they "taste" healthy and so they're just part of my mantra of defensive eating. My defensive eating philosophy is explained here, but in summary: I intentionally eat low calorie foods when I can control my meals (mostly breakfast and lunch) and then have less guilt when I go out and enjoy a heavier meal or a happy hour! I also feel good about not sharing equally. When I go out with Boyfriend or another male, I happily take smaller portions of a shared dish! Also, I exercise (run!) a LOT. When I began to attempt weight loss, I couldn't even run a mile, but doing elliptical and the step machines just wasn't giving me the results I was looking for. Over several years, I developed a good amount of endurance and can now run 6-8 miles in one session and usually log about 25 miles a week. I also go to hot yoga classes where I sweat more than I care to admit and try other cardio classes occasionally. It's not easy to keep it up, but it's easier than having to search everywhere for clothes that fit. Also, I hate it, but consider it a neccessary evil. Further summarizing: for me, it's worth the extra hard work to maintain a weight I feel comfortable with.
Some Kitchen Successes =)
To the Reader:
I hope that the recipes on this site are reproducible, and I know that not everything will be a success. In fact, I would say that fully 1/4 of my recipes don't get Boyfriend approval. That's ok, trial and error is the only way to succeed, so bring on the errors!
Please leave comments if you can, they are always appreciated, and I try to answer all the questions I see posted. If you're just embarking on a weight loss journey or are struggling just to maintain like me, I wish you the best of luck and please hang in there. It's hard, and it sucks, but when you begin to see some success, it all becomes worth it!
Please leave comments if you can, they are always appreciated, and I try to answer all the questions I see posted. If you're just embarking on a weight loss journey or are struggling just to maintain like me, I wish you the best of luck and please hang in there. It's hard, and it sucks, but when you begin to see some success, it all becomes worth it!