Diet & Weight Loss on a Tropical Island

Chicago-style pizza at Due's

Where I live is something that has always majorly affected my diet.  When I lived in Chicago, I would eat out all the time (Chicago has great restaurants with even greater portions), but I also bought organic items at Whole Foods and would attempt to offset my eating out with low fat or sugar free "snack" foods - AKA "food" filled with tons of chemicals.

Spain: where beer is cheaper than water

Living in Barcelona for two years, I didn't eat more per say, but my diet became richer with denser, high calorie foods.  Tapas of jamon & manchego cheese, yummy patatas bravas with a spicy mayo sauce, gelato in the street, sangria pitchers, and sharing delicious bottles of 4 euro wine with myself was probably not the best for my waistline, but who could resist!?  I did walk A LOT though, which I feel prevented me from gaining even more extra pounds.

Afternoon cava with friends

One thing I love about being in the Dominican Republic now is my diet.  My fiancé and I do not eat Dominican food very often, but we incorporate a lot of the staple ingredients into our meals.  For example, instead of having rice & beans as a heavy side dish each day, we buy brown rice and eat beans as protein in salads.  Here, stocking up on fruits and vegetables is much cheaper than stocking up on packaged and canned goods, so healthy, clean eating actually costs less than eating junk!  This is one of the ways I wish that the US was more like the DR!

See my "country" eating post here

When I first moved here I avoided drinking fruit juice and eating more than one piece of fruit a day, because I was afraid of the sugar.  Now I think, was I crazy?!  Had I been so brainwashed in the US to believe that too much fruit would make me fat?!  I have slowly let go of this misconception, and as a result of eating less "healthy" packaged goods and replacing them with LOTS of fruits and vegetables (sugar and all), I have lost 13 pounds!  Coming from someone who has PCOS, and had been unable to change her body's "set weight" for 10 whole years, this is huge for me!  Yes, its been very gradual (over the course of an entire year), but I'm a believer in slow and steady wins the race.

Pomegranate 

Last Sunday's ice-cream

I am a total foodie and I love sweets; anyone who follows me on Instagram knows how much I love to eat!  I never count my calories, I still indulge, I sometimes order pasta when eating out, and I eat ice cream, but I eat more fruits and veggies than ever before.

Its true what they say - eating more plant based foods works best when trying to maintain a healthy weight.  Of course, exercising also helps, but thats for another post. ;)

Sipping on a fresh coconut in the car

Impatience, Anxiety, & Immigration

You know that feeling when you're in a job you no longer like, you finally know when your last day will be, and you're counting down the days and hours until you get there?  Well imagine that, being so close to your "last day" and then finding out that you're stuck there.  Your plans have fallen though and now you have no idea when your "last day" will be.  Thats how I feel, and its not only with my job, its with my life in general.  It blows.

A and I had plans to leave this May to spend 6 months living and working in Santorini, Greece.  The plan has fallen through and I'm feeling extremely restless about spending more (full time) time in the DR.  I stopped feeling challenged in my job months ago, the country continues to fall apart before my eyes; there is more crime, higher prices, and very little opportunity for securing a well paid job.  I am dying to get out!  The good thing is that he feels the same way, and so, it seems, its time to begin the US immigration process.  

Everyone's situation is unique when it comes to immigration, but here's how ours will go down (or so we think/hope/pray).  Boyfriend and I get married in March.  As in March 2013.  As in one month from now.  This way we can deposit our paperwork at the US embassy toward the end of May.  Luckily for us, our "case" style is given priority here in Santo Domingo, and approximately one month later [June] we have the appointment where we prove that our marriage to one another is valid and not for his citizenship (through old pictures, Facebook, bank accounts, love letters, utility bills with our names, etc etc).  If they believe us, THAT WE REALLY LOVE EACH OTHER!, they give A his green card.  

The tricky part is, once he is given his green card, he has only 1 month to permanently move to the US.  We are hoping to move to California, but how do we make an international move without jobs lined up?  What do we do with the apartment we own here?  How long can we last without an income?  What if we end up on the streets?!  Ok, that last one may sound a bit extreme, but you catch my drift..  As we get closer to our visa appointment, the timing will be so precise that it seems nearly impossible to get a job offer before we actually make the move.  

I know deep down that the biggest, most drastic life changes usually end up for the best.  Everything happens for a reason and I know that things will be ok in the end - they just have to be - but this doesn't stop me from feeling anxious, nervous, or worried.  I know its normal, but it still sucks!  How do you get through a stressful adventure?!  Advice needed..  

 

Pictures via Pinterest

Tropical Fruit: Current Favorites

One of my favorite things about living in the DR is the abundance of cheap, local fruits that I still consider "exotic" as a foreigner.  Unlike in the US, the fruits and vegetables are sold much cheaper than packaged foods in the supermarkets, which is very motivating when trying to maintain a healthy diet.  A couple times a week I buy a big fruit plate on the street for breakfast, and for a little over $1 I can eat mango, papaya, pineapple, clementines..  The list goes on. 

The local fruits are obviously worked into all kinds of beverages and foods (especially desserts); these are some that have been in my diet a lot this month.

Passionfruit.  Its usually too sour to eat by itself (its like biting into a lemon!), so most people dump a whole spoon of sugar on top when eating it raw.  We never buy passionfruit at home, but we love it on cheesecakes, in mousses, and in margaritas.  Last Sunday I ate this cereal coated cream cheese french toast with a thick and creamy passionfruit syrup at La Dolcerie.  Delicious!

Starfruit.  Its called Carambola in Spanish and despite how much I eat it, I seem to never learn how to pronounce it right!  A always laughs at me..  It always reminds me of the math term Parabola [nerd alert].  In the past month I've had it as a juice and as a dessert, marinated in a sugar syrup.  I had plans to use it as a marmalade on toast, but I ate it too soon!

Lulo.  I really don't think this one exists in English!  Its called "tiny orange" in some South American countries and is originally from Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru.  I had never heard of it until recently and I had it as a juice a few nights ago.  Its a citrus fruit about the size of a plum, and is of course very high in Vitamin C.  Are you familiar with it? 

I love the way this tropical island has affected my diet; I am much healthier and I snack on more natural fruit than ever before!  Is it easy for you to incorporate local produce in your diet?  

A Holiday Birthday

Boyfriend Fiancé {its still weird to call him that} is the only boy in his family and has 3 sisters.  All three sisters have birthdays on national bank holidays here in the DR - how cool would it be to never have to work on your birthday!?

A's oldest sister, Afife, turned 34 on Saturday.  This was the girl that consoled me as a cried about turning the deathly ripe age of 25 and feeling unaccomplished on my last birthday.  She is 34 now and I swear you would think she was younger than I am.  Her easy breezy personality and happy spirit will forever keep her young - I wish I was more like her!

We celebrated with a birthday lunch at their parents house.  A's youngest sister is always in charge of the table settings.  She is creative and resourceful and always finds things around the house to use for decoration.  She plucked flowers from the yard and put one under each water glass.

The middle sister of the family, Michelle, is a wonderful cook and our menu consisted of a garden salad, a cheesy butter baked bread, quiche, and a creamy shrimp risotto, carbs galore!  I was super proud that I cooked the shrimp.  They may have been a little overcooked; I thought the pinker the better!  Can you tell how little I cook?  So disappointed that I didn't take pictures of the food :(

For dessert we had a cake with prune filling.  They are very common here and although they don't sound so mouth watering they are actually quite delicious!  Tastes more like a raisin or date filling than anything.  Have you tried one?  Prunes are so good for you!

Sunset view from the house

I'm Engaged!!

I have been engaged for 15 days!  Here's the story: 

In mid December, then-boyfriend called my parents and told them of us his plan to propose to me.  He asked them whether he should propose with his family, with my family, or alone just the two us..  What a gentleman..  They told him it was up to him!

Blurry Us on Christmas Eve

I had been picking up on hints of it coming soon, so Christmas I was prepared.  New manicure, new dress, hair that was blown dry (it has only happened about 3 times while living in the DR), the works.  The big celebration came on Christmas eve, and nothing.  No sign of a ring.  Christmas day, we had a fancy dinner on the beach, just the two of us, and nothing.  No signs, only crickets.

My great Aunt Costi, me, my mom on NYE

We spent New Years with my parents in Orlando, Florida.  My great aunt came up from central Florida to spend NYE with us at Fulton's Crab House in Downtown Disney.  Before heading out that night we cut our annual Greek bread that she made, which has a hidden coin inside.  Tradition says that the person who finds the coin in their slice will have good luck in the coming year.  As my aunt Costi was cutting into my slice, the coin appeared!  (75% in my slice, 25% in my mom's, but my mom would tell you it was 50/50.)  

I took it as a sign, but didn't tell anyone..  ;)

We made it to the restaurant {note: if you have dinner reservations at Disney on NYE, arrive eeeeearly to find parking!}.  We had a few appetizers and for our main, A & I shared the biggest lobsters and crab legs I had ever seen.

He was acting waaay too normal, so I thought it was a no-go, yet again.  Little did I know that he was plotting the proposal.  He was going to do it in the restaurant, but due to our seating arrangement his chair was too close to the table behind us and he would not have been able to get down on one knee.  He had to improvise.

We soon learned that at midnight there would be fireworks, and that we would be able to see them from the roof of our restaurant.  We finished dinner, a few minutes before midnight and went up to the roof.

The clock struck 12 and about 15 seconds later the rest of our group joined us.  My mom had us go around in a circle and say what our resolutions were for the coming year.  Boyfriend was last, and when it was his turn he said that his resolution would beat the rest of ours...  And he got down on one knee ! ! !  {he had more of a speech prepared, but forgot it in the moment! hehe}

I was shocked and just stood there for a few seconds.  Even though I should've known it would be coming, it still felt like a surprise in the moment.  He hadn't said anything, so I blurted out, "You're not going to say anything?!" and finally, "Will you marry me?!"

"Of course!!" I said.  Cue to my mom's bad quality camera phone. 

2013 will be a great year.