Hi! Thanks for visiting Winning Friends with Salad. WFWS chronicles my journey as I solidify my newly found healthy relationship with food, exercise, and my body. First, a little about myself:

My name is Kate and I live in Manhattan on the Upper West Side. However, I can be found most days of the week in Chelsea with my boyfriend, Peter, who I sometimes refer to as ‘P’. I also work in Chelsea at a small advertising agency. I am 5′9 and currently weigh 166.5 lbs. I have lost 21.5 lbs since January 2008 and am striving to lose 23.5-33.5 lbs more. I am originally from Alexandria, Virginia, and graduated from James Madison University in 2006.

My relationship with food and weight has always been a little complicated. I never have been able to have an accurate view of myself. In middle and high school, I never viewed myself as heavy, but looking back on pictures, it’s clear that I was overweight. Early during college, I discovered exercising and began to have a somewhat negative relationship with food. At this point, I lost quite a bit of weight, but still thought I was very heavy. My infatuation with exercise wore off, and by graduation I gained back most of the weight I had lost.

2 weeks after graduation I moved to New York City. I moved to three different apartments in my first year. The stress of graduation, moving and my first job wore on me tremendously. I had no money, no friends, and no stability. It was very tumultuous and I reflected it. I ate horribly, drank alot, and never exercised.

Eventually, things settled down. I created a great circle of friends, got a steady job with people I enjoy that pays well, and met my wonderful boyfriend. Around Fall 2007, I realized that my weight was getting in the way of my happiness. I couldn’t enjoy the activities I attended, or the people in my life because I was always preoccupied with my weight. I had joined New York Sports Club in January 2007, but it wasn’t until that Fall 2007 that I got really serious with it. I also began following food blogs and cooking magazines, which opened my eyes to new ways of eating.

Through the 2007 holiday season, I maintained my weight through exercise and new eating patterns, and in January 2008 I really began to focus on weight loss. I began eating between 1200 and 1550 calories a day focusing on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein. In Spring 2008, I took a twice weekly Pilates class on the reformer for two months. I believe it helped immensely in my flexibility, posture, and definition.

Unfortunately, I reached a plateau in my weight loss. In Summer of 2008, I began seeing a Registered Dietitian to kick-start my efforts. She instructed me to increase my protein intake and up my daily calories to around 1800/day. It was around this time that I began to focus on weight training, alternating between my own free weight program and attending a strength training class two to three times a week. I practice what I called “Intuitive Calorie Counting”. I try to listen to my body and eat when I’m hungry and don’t when I’m not - but I do try to keep it in my calorie range.

I exercise 5-6 days a week, alternating between cardio-focused workouts and strength-focused workouts, but always with elements of both. Also, being a New Yorker, I walk a good amount each day - usually to and from work and then in the evening for any errands. In Summer 2008, I began training for the fitness Mind, Body, Spirit Games, a 4-mile race to take place September 6th, 2008. I have been using the Couch to 5K program to train for this event, which I do for 20-30 min/3 times a week.

I describe myself as a vegan enthusiast because I love vegan restaurants, cook from many vegan cookbooks, and only occasionally eat meat. However, I do enjoy fish, milk, cheese, and ice cream, so I don’t think I am ready to go fully vegan. I do enjoy alot of alternative dairy products, such as soy, hemp, and almond products. Perhaps one day I will go completely vegan, but not yet.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email me at winningfriendswithsalad@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Kate