I am a Mesomorph
No, not an animorph…
I’m a mesomorph. Apparently, it’s a body type.
The mesomorph body type is naturally athletic and both gains and loses weight relatively easily. I took this quiz and it told me all that. The test is obviously imprecise, unscientific, and mostly meant to be a guideline in weight loss. In truth, I think I’m somewhere between a mesomorph and an endomorph.
I had a doctor’s appointment the other day and I found out I lost 8 pounds. Huzzah! Clothes that were previously tight are now very comfortable or even loose now. However, like most women, I still have “problem areas” that refuse to budge. For me, these areas are my arms and tummy. So while other parts of my body have become leaner and toned, there are still some parts that remain stubbornly squishy.
Well, after reading up on mesomorphs, I found out that its hard for me to get skinny due to a large amount of dense muscle. Interesting. I have actually always wondered about that. In order to lose weight, mesomorphs are advised to:
- Eat three meals per day. They should be smaller than usual. Check.
- Avoid fatty foods such as red meat and of course, white carbohydrates (sugar and flour). Check.
- Consume balanced meals consisting of lean proteins (chicken, eggs) and complex carbohydrates (vegetables). Check (though admittedly I could eat more veggies).
- Snacks such as fruit, almonds, and yogurt are appropriate. Check.
It’s funny how I figured all this stuff out on my own. Validation is always a good thing, I guess.
Anyway, since I have a low tolerance for the repetition of no- and low-carb recipes, I am constantly searching for new ideas. Flax meal bread, no crust pizza, miracle noodles, and ricotta pie got old quick.
If you’re like me, I’d recommend stocking the following items at all times since they are the building blocks of interesting no- and low-carb meals:
- Avocados
- Eggs
- Mozzarella cheese
- Plain Greek yogurt
- Grape tomatoes
- A sweet fruit such as watermelon or red seedless grapes
- Lean proteins such as chicken
- Olive oil
- Low fat milk
- Cereal (I prefer Honey Bunches of Oats)
- Onions
- Mushrooms
Currently, my favorite meals are:
- Baked eggs and salsa. So quick, delicious, and satisfying. This recipe is extremely versatile. I put ham in the ramekins today and made ham and eggs cups. ST ate it all up.
I was inspired by Chrissy Teigen’s recipe here.
- Roast chicken with avocados and hot sauce. ST and I picked up a whole roast chicken from a local Peruvian restaurant for $9 during one of our long walks. We also got some avocados (the perfect side dish) and bananas (the perfect dessert). Put it all together and you have one very filling meal. I’m going to try this recipe and cook a whole chicken in the crock pot.
- Cereal and milk. A good standby for a sweet fix. This is perhaps the one thing I can eat over and over again.
At week four of the diet, I have lots of energy and have been pretty active. ST and I have been going to the gym at least twice per week and I’ve been going on long walks with both ST and Helene. I could maximize my weight loss by cutting out all carbs (fruits and cereal) and increasing my gym time to 4-5 times per week. I don’t think that would be manageable for me though. I have a fierce sweet tooth that is nigh on impossible to ignore. I need fruits and cereal, as they are my only form of sweets. As for increasing gym time, I’m working on it. Aren’t we all? 
How’s your summer going?
Costa Rica Road Trip on a Budget
I love this time of year! Summer is synonymous with vacations!
This year, ST and I will be celebrating our second wedding anniversary in Costa Rica. We’re renting an SUV and going on a road trip throughout the Guanacaste region. I can’t wait for twelve days of hiking, horseback riding, tanning on the beach, and spelunking, and exploring. Huzzah!
Arenal volcano, one of our stops, via Geology.com.
Disclaimer: Everyone has a unique travel style. Some people couch surf and others prefer an all-inclusive, five-star experience. ST and I are somewhere in-between. We don’t crash at our friends’ homes and we certainly don’t stay at the Ritz. The guidelines below are how we prefer to plan and budget our trips.
We travel as cheap as possible. Here’s what we do:
1. Set the budget! Flashback to my underclassmen days. I took an African dance class in college. I don’t remember much about the professor (including her name) but her passion for traveling and the valuable lessons taught through experiencing other cultures stuck with me. This was basically her motto:
We decide on our vacation destinations by plugging random airport codes in Kayak to check out prices. A round-trip ticket to Liberia was $412 with an additional $9 off by booking through Vayama. We’ve always wanted to go to Costa Rica and Liberia is a perfect place to start because its close to the beaches. Our grand total was $814 or $417 per person. You can’t beat that price for international airfare with a stick.
2. Plan in advance. Unless you get a last minute deal, planning a last minute trip will destroy your budget. For reference, ST and I purchased our airfare for Costa Rica in May for travel in August. Planning in advance allows you to pay for your trip in manageable bits.
Planning in advance also affords you the time to research, pick, and choose. Research is your friend! I never book anything without consulting Expedia and Trip Advisor.
3. Utilize deal sites. I never, ever make a purchase online without going through Ebates. There is always cash back offers available for popular travel sites such as Expedia and Groupon (the two we use most frequently).
We’re landing in Costa Rica before our actual anniversary. For our actual anniversary, we wanted to splurge on fancy accommodations. Side note: “Fancy” and “splurge” means about $150 per night. It’s hard to get a fancy hotel (or, sadly, a decent one) for $150. Enter Groupon Getaways. We purchased this Groupon for a three-night stay in a luxurious junior suite at Villa Caletas. Hello, giant four poster bed. Hello, huge terrace with epic mountain view. Hello, terrace jacuzzi! At $469 for three nights, we scored this hotel at about $157 per night, which is much lower than their normal rate and comparable hotels.
This was my first Groupon Getaway purchase and I was nervous about getting scammed. Just make sure you thoroughly research the hotel and then email the hotel for availabilities before purchasing the Groupon. Once you get confirmation from the hotel, buy the Groupon and send it to the hotel right away. Villa Caletas responded very quickly to all our inquiries and sent us a confirmation email within 5 hours of my sending the Groupon to them.
4. Consider the best bang for your buck. We use price and ratings as the preliminary determining factors when booking a hotel. After that, we use location and free amenities to narrow it down to one. I always choose hotels with free breakfast and wifi. We use the Internet to compare prices for excursions and even to book excursions, so free wifi is a must. We’re paying $1,135 for four highly rated hotels for 11 nights. That works out to $567.50 per person for lodging.
5. Don’t spend all your money before the plane even takes off. Spend some time to research the types of activities you want to do. After a few hours of Google and discussion, ST and I decided that pretty much all the things we want to do are active and sweaty (teehee) – such as hiking, horseback riding, and swimming. So, that pretty much negates the need to buy new fancy clothes.
6. Be a thoughtful souvenir shopper. During the plane ride, I usually create a list of people to buy gifts for on my phone. This keeps me focused and prevents me from buying random, useless tchotchkes for myself. Guiding questions I ask myself are, “Does Kim need a key chain?” and “Will Melody ever wear this t-shirt?” and “Do I have room for it in my suitcase?”
To be fair, ST and I despise the clutter produced by amassing random trinkets. We limit ourselves to one special souvenir for each of us. This shopaholic has come a long way! *Pats self on back*
7. Consider going on a spending fast a few weeks prior to leaving. I’ve been on a spending fast for the past week. Its so easy to spend tons of money in the summer and the spending fast helps keep us on track.
Do you have any money-saving vacation tips to share?
No Carb Cauliflower Crust Pizza – The Verdict
In the no carb recipe realm of Pinterest, the cauliflower crust pizza reigns supreme. I pinned this recipe months ago and finally got around to making it the other night.
The ingredients listed below are for a double batch:
- One head of cauliflower to make three cups of cooked cauliflower rice. You need two cups of cauliflower rice for this recipe.
- Two eggs
- Three cups of shredded mozzarella cheese (two cups for the crust, one cup for topping, if you so desire)
- A few spoonfuls of tomato sauce
- Garlic salt, sea salt, and pepper to taste
Here’s what I did:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 F.
2. To make the cauliflower rice: Remove the florets from the cauliflower, wash, and chop. Discard the stems. Add the cauliflower to a food processor in small batches. Process until the cauliflower bits are the size of rice.
3. Put in a microwaveable bowl and nuke for 6-8 minutes, depending on the strength of your microwave. When it dings, you’ll have a nice big steaming bowl of this:
4. To prepare the crust: Measure 2 cups of cauliflower rice and dump it into a bowl. Do not pack (I just learned this 
). Add the mozzarella cheese and eggs. Mix with your hands until the “dough” is homogeneous.
This is what you’ll end up with. It seemed very watery to me, so I added another half cup of cauliflower rice. This may or may not have been the demise of this pizza. I’ll explain later. Despite any misgivings about wet dough,don’t add more cauliflower.
5. Grease a cookie sheet. Plop the dough onto the sheet and shape into multiple round pie crusts or one large Sicilian-style pie crust. I opted for the Sicilian-style because that’s the best! I kid, it’s up to your personal preference. To minimize the chances for a soggy crust, make sure the dough is distributed thinly and evenly.
6. Bake your crust for 20 minutes.
7. While the crust is baking, prep your toppings. I chose grape tomatoes, mushrooms, and spicy sausage. Fully cook all your toppings.
My toppings were purposely sparse to avoid the dreaded soggy crust.
8. In no time, the timer will let you know your crust is ready.
9. Add your toppings and pop into the oven for another 5-6 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Huzzah!
Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to the hype. Despite all my safeguards, the crust was mushy and stuck onto the cookie sheet. I used foil and greased with butter. I’m not sure if that makes a difference, but it probably does. Whomp, whomp.
Even if all went according to plan, I don’t think I’ll be making this again. Something about it just put me off. I think I’ll wait until next month when I can have our pizza date at L’asso. Until then, onto the next no carb recipe!
I’m on the fourth week of my diet and things are going really well. Again, I don’t have “before” pictures in a bikini or weigh myself obsessively (I don’t even own a scale) but my clothes which were once uncomfortably tight are quite loose. My legs, arms, and neck are visibly thinner and my tummy is considerably flatter. That’s all you get.
Side note: My blog is broken, yet again. The search box just up and stopped working. In an effort to remedy this, I tweaked some stuff including my permalinks. If you come across a broken link, please let me know so I can fix it. Thanks for putting up with my poor Taco!