Beach, Please.

Hey y’all! I hope it’s been a happy Monday for you so far.  It’s never easy to start the week but I am thankful to have a week to start! I went to the beach this weekend with my mom so instead of weighing yesterday, I weighed early on Thursday and I was actually up two pounds.  I’m not sure what’s going on with my body.  I’m eating healthy and exercising.  I’m chalking it up to the fact that I weighed early and without giving up too much detail, I also blame part of it on some stomach bloating issues.  I’m trying to add some fiber and additional preventative measures to promote regularity but I still don’t think I should be gaining weight considering that I think I’m eating like an angel.  I won’t weigh again until this Sunday so I’m hoping I show some progress for my hard work.  I did an amazing job at the beach and that was supremely difficult so I deserve some results on the scale.  I am going to keep going with the slow carb diet a few weeks in case my body needs some adjustment period but I’m working too hard to be gaining weight.  So, I’m once again finding all of this so frustrating.

Over the past several years of eating healthier, I’ve grown to tolerate and even enjoy some foods that I never thought possible.  One of those foods is asparagus.  I didn’t try asparagus until I was an adult.  It was not a staple ingredient of my household growning up.  If it’s prepared well, I actually enjoy it.  One simple way that I prepare it is my merely baking it in the oven.  It tastes great if you pop it on a cookie sheet, add some olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic and bake it.  I also wrapped it in deli ham and baked it.  Adding the protein made it filling and tasty.

Another discovery is edamame.  I don’t LOVE edamame but I eat it because it’s super healthy and one of the few snacking options allowed on the slow carb diet.  I found these snack packs that you can just pop into the microwave.  They are only 90 calories and you get several minutes of snacking time.  You can also buy the kind that aren’t in a shell and top your salads with them.  They are loaded with protein and a nice option to have when your boyfriend is eating an entire bag of buttered popcorn when you’re watching a movie.

I joined a gym  a few months ago and it’s been great so far.  There are fun classes to take and I’m getting several good workouts a week.  They launced a new class called Pound a few weeks ago and I’ve been loving it.  It’s a dance class that doesn’t require the coordination of Zumba.  It uses weighted drumsticks that you get to smack together and pound on the floor which lets out some aggression.  The moves aren’t difficult and you get a total body workout.  It was akward the first time just getting used to it but I absolutely love it now.   If you hear about it at your local gym, I highly recommend it.

Like I mentioned above, my Mom and I went to the beach for a little getaway.  We left Thursday and I stayed true to the diet with her support the entire time…until Sunday of course which is my cheat day.  We made big, fresh salads and stuck to protein and veggies when we went out to eat.  I was so proud of myself because one of my most difficult challenges is to eat right when I’m out of town. We also did a lot of activity.  I ran one day.  We walked, we mini-golfed, we drove go karts, and we bowled so it was a nice time.   We also did a little shopping and Mom took advantage of some crazy clearance at the Fossil outlet which turned out beneficial for me.

Well, if you aren’t interested in my opinion on movies then you can consider yourself done reading at this point.  If you are, I wanted to alert the media that it’s time for Operation Oscar! Jordan and I see all of the Oscar nominated films every year and we are officially into high gear.  I still have several to go but I wanted to give a little opinion on each movie I’ve seen so far and I’ll do that every week leading up to the show in which Jordan and I have our own little fun and food filled affair.

American Sniper is nominated for Best Actor and Adapted Screenplay.  This little film has turned out to be a huge controversy.  I have heard reason on both sides of the debate and I’ve also heard extremism on both sides of the debate which is no surprise when it comes to war and politics.  Having said that, I thought the movie (without agenda) was pretty good.  It’s disturbing and it doesn’t glorify the acts of war like I think some war movies do.  I thought it had some character development issues as in it could have done a better job showing how Chris Kyle went from having a severe case of PTSD to being pretty much fine.  That part of the movie didn’t feel realistic.  Also, the doll they used in the movie to show his baby was clearly fake and it was something that stood out a bit to me (after someone pointed it out).  I think Bradley Cooper was great and ultimately, I think as a nation, the movie’s greatest achievement SHOULD be that we have an open discussion about the way we take care of the soldiers that fight for us on a daily basis.  They go through so much and it can’t be easy to be integrated back in society.  Sadly, the media has exploited his life and now it’s become a political circus like everything else.  I hope at some point his wife and family can get peace.  He more than likely wasn’t perfect, as most people are not but he was a human and I just wish we could all be more rational and sensitive in our discussions but I don’t see that ever happening. I give it a B.

Boyhood is nominated for Director, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress and Original Screenplay.  I’ll keep this short.  Patricia Arquette is great in this movie and it’s cool the amount of dedication the film must have taken.  It was neat to see the child actor grow up on screen.  Having said that, it was a little slow for me. If a movie is going to be close to three hours, it needs to engage me that whole time and there wasn’t anything particularly enthralling about the plot.  I give the movie a B.

Gone Girl is nominated for Actress and that’s it.  I totally concur with this nomination.  Rosamund Pike is amazing in this film.  This is also controversial because of it’s content and the role of the woman in the movie.  I could probably discuss the movie with a feminist lens for quite some time and I think there is a time and place for that discussion but since this is supposed to be a blog about food, I’ll just say that the movie keeps you on the edge of your seat.  It’s suspenseful and I enjoyed every second of it.  I give it an A.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is nominated for Director and Original Screenplay.  I am not the biggest Wes Anderson fan and I completely HATED Moonrise Kingdom so I didn’t have high expectations for this movie.  I have to say, it is probably my favorite one.  That doesn’t say much though because the bar is pretty low.  I guess I just don’t get the point to these movies.  It had some funny parts and a somewhat endearing love story but it’s weird and the “coolness” of it seems to be above me.  That’s fine though; I’m OK with not “getting” some things.  I like what I like.  Overall I give the movie a C+.

The Imitation Game is nominated for Director, Actor, Supporting Actress and Adapted Screenplay.  Everyone should go see this movie! I’m interested in WWII films but this one tells a unique story based on truth and I think it is an important story to tell and holds completely relevant in 2015.  Benedict Cumberbatch is totally outstanding.  The movie is intense, sad and funny at times.  It’s definitely one of my favorites so far.  I give it an A+.

Into the Woods is only nominated for Supporting Actress.  I love certain musicals so I wasn’t sure how I would feel.  I hated Les Mis but have a few songs from the movie on my ipod.  I’m obsessed with muscials like Hairspray and Grease.  Into the Woods is not a movie in which I would download any of the music.  I wasn’t struck by any of the songs at all.  However, I thought the movie itself was really cute.  I thought Anna Kendrick was adorable and Meryl Streep was great as a witch (though I’m not sure she should win over someone like Patricia Arquette this year).  I wouldn’t buy it but I wouldn’t mind watching it again if I was caught up on my DVR and it was on TV.  I give it a B-.

Nightcrawler is nominated only for Original Screenplay.  This movie is creepy and sucks out every ounce of hotness that Jake Gyllenhaal has and I could have easily been on board with a nomination for him.  I think the most disturbing part of the movie is that people seeking gore to entertain their viewers really exist.  The movie was pretty good but strange.  I give it a B.

Whiplash is nominated for Supporting Actor and Adapted Screenplay.  I’d say this is definitely my other favorite movie.  J.K. Simmons is comolpetely believable as a scary drum instructor and the display of musical talent in the movie is a true pleasure to watch.  I was captivated the entire movie and that’s something important to me because I have severe attention issues.  I give this movie an A.

That's all folks! I plan on reporting on more food and movies next week and HOPEFULLY some positive results on the scale.  Good luck to everyone and have a great week!