I made these with a 400g sweet potato (white), a little olive oil, curry powder, garlic, salt and pepper. I use a ziplock bag to shake-coat the fries, then bake them for 40 min @ 450° F.

While the starch-based, whole food diet is the basis of my weightloss, spin 4 times a week helps me with the rest.  I started spin 3.5 months ago @ 103 kg.  It was tough the first few weeks, but now I love it.  I work up a nice sweat and probably 175 bpm.  The people and music are great, and know I’m burning lots of calories.  So far, I’ve lost 10 kg since joining the studio.  It’s all part of my steady 100g/day weightloss.

This is Holly leading the class today.

I like the fresh salad rolls available all over town at the Thai and Vietnamese restaurants.  I wanted to make them myself, because it’s easier than walking the two blocks to my local Phó Noodle House.  Besides, they’re usually closed when I’m hungry.  So I found a recipe, and took a stab at making them.  The rice paper wrappers are easy to use, but I have to learn to wrap the rolls tighter, and maybe use two of them.  The rice noodles taste really good (yay starch), and the salmon is for the Omega-3’s and the B-12.  I are them with fresh salsa I bought at the store.

Everyone should make time in the morning to cook potatoes for breakfast.  Wake up early to cook, if you have to.  It’s more fun that waking up early to exercise, and it’s probably more important too.  In studies, subjects lose weight just by changing to a whole foods, starch-based diet, without exercise.  I go along with what people at the gym say, “Losing weight is 80% food, and 20% exercise.”

I made this with 300g of potatoes, 125g of tofu, 6 mushrooms, one green onion, and a clove of garlic.  I use olive oil to cook, and add plenty of salt and pepper.  This is probably about 400 calories, but I’m not counting.  I also had some cantaloupe, because you can’t each too much whole raw foods like fruit (the more the better).

I eat about 100g/week of fish, mainly for the B12 and the Omega-3 fatty acids.  When I first went plant-based, I didn’t think I needed to pay attention to any individual nutrients.  I figured it’d all take care of itself.  However, I’ve learned that B12 deficiency is common, and vegans on average have the worse Omega-6/Omega-3 intake ratios, and dangerously high homocysteine levels, behind vegetarians and non-vegetarians (best).  So, I should probably eat at least 150g/week of salmon, since I’ll forget to take supplements.  Vegans really need to take B12 supplements, and eat flax seed for the Omega-3 oils.  Seriously.

This is the original (“Numero Uno”) Rubio’s on Mission Bay Drive.  I pick up a burrito after every spin class.  Notice the “Langostino” they’re promoting?  They kind of infer that it’s lobster, though I always thought it was crawfish.  Turns out langostino is more closely related to the hermit crab, which isn’t an appetizing thought.

I just made split pea and barley soup for the first time.  It came out great!  I found a vegan recipe online, but used chicken bullion cubes.  I like making a big pot of soup, and eating it over the week.  It makes for a quick meal out of the fridge.

I usually eat quite a bit at night, before going to bed.  When I get home around 10 or 11 pm, I’ll make a few things for a pre-midnight snack.  Last night I made a huge Chinese no-chicken salad with a bunch of almonds and Top Ramen, then had more almonds, some whole-wheat cereal and fruit, and a corn tortilla with avocado.  I’d say I eat 1000 calories before bed at least 4-5 times a week.  I still lose weight eating this way, because I’m just fueling the body.

Before learning about real food, I used to eat 2000+ calories on my late night(ly) trips to Jack-in-the-Box (6 tacos + 1 Jumbo Jack w/o cheese +3 egg rolls = 2070 cal) or McDonald’s (30 McNuggets + large fries = 1910 cal).

I never used to eat much fresh fruits or vegetables.  Watching Forks Over Knives changed all that for me.   When people add this to their regular diet, they lose weight, because it’s filling, and kills the cravings for junk food.  It’s like the red pill in The Matrix.

Geez I’m hungry.  Dried starch is pretty much 4 cal/g, so here’s 200 calories before the fruit and almond milk.  Like it matters.  Eat real food if you’re hungry.