Hello beautiful people!
So things have been…busy. John Green has gone on a signing rampage, and as a consequence I have been swamped with DFTBA work. It’s not even December yet and already I’m exhausted from all the Christmas stuff. I’ve been feeling on the brink of illness for the past two weeks now- generally achy, nose stuffed up, etc etc- I’m hoping it stays put until all of this is over.
I don’t have much else to report on the life front. Weight loss has become less of a priority now that practically every waking moment is spent involved in work in some way, but I haven’t gained anything back so that’s a relief. My general philosophy has always been that I need to be realistic about my choices so that I’m not stuck “on a diet” for the rest of my life. I like chicken wings and beer, so damnit I’m going to work those into my food choices somehow!
I’m working on finding Christmas gifts for a few people that I can afford to give to this year. I haven’t been the greatest friend over the last few years since moving to Illinois, I admit it. But I want to work on fixing that. Because friends are awesome and my group of friends in particular are simply the best. It’s so easy to get lost in work or other aspects of life that cause you to become distracted from the other things that are important. For that, I apologize. And I’m going to make a better effort to keep in touch with the people I care about.
On that same kind of note, I’m also making an effort to remove negativity from my life. I waste so much time being angry at people or letting negative thoughts into my head. As much as I hate the “YOLO” saying…they’re kind of right. Life is too short to spend it sad or angry or letting things into your life that you really don’t want there. You only get to live once- why spend it being miserable?
This is a recipe Shay and his wife Colette make all the time on their daily vlog channel, ShayTards, and they recently shared the recipe on Shay’s weight loss channel, ShayLoss. I’ve translated it to text here so those who don’t want to watch a 24 minute video can easily make it for themselves! You can add more or less of any ingredient depending on your taste- I generally use a bit less than all of the quinoa (setting some aside for later), and add extra tomatoes!
Ingredients:
2 cups quinoa; rinsed
3 cups water
2 -3 tomatoes; diced
1 jalapeno; diced small
4-5 cloves garlic; minced
1/2 onion; diced small
1 bunch cilantro; chopped
1 can of corn; drained and rinsed
1 can of black beans; drained and rinsed
1/2 green bell pepper; diced
Dressing:
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tbs ground cumin
Juice of 2 limes
Mix together the quinoa and water in a pot. Bring to boil, then cover and reduce heat- simmer about 10 minutes, or until water is cooked out.
While quinoa is cooking, chop and mix together the tomatoes, jalapeno, garlic, onion, cilantro, corn, black beans, and green pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing. Once quinoa is cooked, add it into the vegetables and stir, then mix in the dressing.
Serve with tortilla chips, vegetables, rolled in a tortilla, or even just solo!

Charles and Alli Trippy are two of my favorite YouTubers, and they always make this pizza in their daily video blogs. After searching forever trying to find it online, I found the video in which they show how to make it, and wanted to translate it into text so people everywhere can have it for themselves!
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh basil, leaves pulled off stems
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup parmesean cheese, shredded
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
prepared pizza crust or dough
toppings of choice- I usually go for just mozzarella and parmesean cheeses, sometimes artichoke hearts
Blend basil and olive oil in blender or food processor until pasty. Add parmesean, pine nuts, garlic and salt and blend until creamy.
Roll out or place pizza dough on your baking sheet or pizza stone, and spread pesto sauce over dough. Add toppings and bake according to directions, usually 8-10 minutes at 450 degrees.
Hello beautiful people!
So in the last few months, I’ve really been pushing myself to get off of the plateau I’d found myself on at 205lbs. It seemed like no matter what I did or how hard I worked out or how few calories I ate, I was just STUCK. And it was super annoying.
However, for the last 96 days I’ve been using myfitnesspal.com to track my food, and even with only moderate exercise the pounds are suddenly coming off again. I think what was happening was I was tricking myself into thinking I was only eating a certain amount of calories per day, when really, I was eating much more than I wanted to be. I didn’t count things like condiments or vegetables in my daily intake- but when you’re eating things like ketchup and corn that actually do have considerable calories to them, it adds up very fast.
So now I’ve become super accountable for every bit of food that goes into my mouth. If I eat it, it gets added to my journal. And over the past three months I’ve lost another 14lbs! I still need to be better about exercising and building muscle while losing the fat. But I need to find things that are going to be fun or else I’m not going to want to do them.
Also, I’ve started a weight loss YouTube channel! It’s called “poundsfadeaway” (get it, because my name everywhere else online is “bombsfadeaway”? HA. Clever, I know) and I hope to be able to keep up on it and post about recipes I try, exercises I like (and dislike), and supply general health-conscious information for those seeking it. My goal is to be 180lbs by the end of the year- 10lbs in five months seems pretty do-able to me, and I’m really looking forward to my driver’s license weight actually being accurate for once! =P
I hope all of you are doing well and making goals and working towards them- if you just sit around wishing things were different without doing anything about it, you can’t reasonably expect anything to change. Sometimes it’s a bit of work, but sometimes the best things worth having take effort.
Starting weight: 255lbs
Current weight: 191lbs
Total lost: 64lbs

These scones are a favorite of mine- not too sweet, and great for breakfast or a snack!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, chilled
- 1 egg
- (optional) 1 cup chocolate chips or other mix-in of choice
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
- In a small bowl, mix the sour cream and baking soda, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or fork, until the dough resembles little pellets. Stir the sour cream mixture and egg into the flour mixture until just moistened. Mix in the chocolate chips or other mix-ins at this point if you are going to use them.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly. Roll or pat dough into a 3/4 inch thick round. Cut into 12-24 wedges, depending on how big you want them, and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown on the bottom.
I love these biscuits. They taste just like the ones you get from Red Lobster, except for 50 calories less each!
Yield: 12 biscuits
Ingredients:
- 2 cups baking mix (I used Bisquick Heart Smart)
- 2 ounces 2% Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2/3 cup water
- 1/4 cup melted butter (I use I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon dried parsley
1. Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or foil sprayed with nonstick spray.
2. Mix together baking mix, cheese, and water until dough forms.
3. Measure out into 12 balls on baking sheet. If you want to be super accurate, mine were 35 grams each.
4. Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are browned.
5. While the biscuits are baking, mix together the butter, garlic powder, salt, onion powder and parsley.
6. Pull the biscuits out of the oven and either spoon the butter over the biscuits (approx 1tsp each) or use a brush to distribute the butter evenly over the tops of each. Enjoy!
Calories per biscuit: 100
Whenever I’m craving something spicy, these are my go-to snack. They give the illusion of being fried, which also helps when you’re trying to eat healthy like I am.
Ingredients:
- 1/2-3/4 cup all-purpose flour

- 1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, depending on desired spiciness
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound chicken breast or chicken tenderloin, cut into strips
- 1/2 cup melted butter (I use “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light”)
- 1/2 cup hot pepper sauce (such as Frank’s RedHot)
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C)
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and lightly grease with cooking spray. Place the flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and salt into a resealable plastic bag, and shake to mix. Add the chicken strips, seal, and toss until well coated with the flour mixture.
3. Whisk together the melted butter and hot sauce in a small bowl. Dip the chicken into the butter mixture, and place on the baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and crispy on the outside, about 45 minutes.
Calories per 4oz serving (based on 4oz of boneless, skinless chicken breast tenderloin): 125
So I was cleaning out my portion of our closet today. It’s a weird thing sometimes to have lost 50lbs, because you’re so used to being in this larger body that you hang on to the “fat clothes”. I don’t know why I did it- maybe I was worried that I’d be back there at some point and didn’t want to have to buy bigger clothes again. Maybe I was just insecure about my new body and wanted the bigger clothes to cover it up. Or maybe I was just lazy. But the point is, I had a countless number of “fat clothes” hanging out in my closet.
Today, I finally got rid of them. [click to read more…]
So here we are again, at the end of another year. New Years is always a funny thing- we get so excited to start fresh and make new goals and change our lives…but then nearly 75% of us fall off the wagon and make excuses and inevitably put it off until next year. Most years, I’m one of those people. But this year I’m trying the SMART approach:
Specific- What do you want to do? Why? How are you going to do it? Make specific steps towards your goal.
Measurable- Can you measure the goal? Weight, inches, etc.
Attainable- Don’t set a goal too far out of reach or you’ll just be setting yourself up for failure.
Realistic- Is it something you can realistically do? No one can lose 15lbs in a week.
Timely- Is there a timeframe? [click to read more…]

Nearly one year after his last full-length album, Confidence Tricks, Eddplant returns to us with a slightly subdued sound, but certainly no loss of power. His new acoustic EP, Quietly Confident, showcases his extraordinary talent for lyric writing, as well as his flexibility as an artist to step a bit out of his usual “Bruce Springsteen rock and roll” comfort zone. I interviewed Ed to find out a bit more about the process of going from rock to acoustic. [click to read more…]