Anonymous asked: I've been trying to loose weight for a while. I've been exercising a little everyday and I've been eating healthier than I ever have. But I haven't seen any results. Do you know why this may be? Or what I could do differently? I've been eating things like cottage cheese, salads with little dressing, chicken, veggies, low fat yogurts, nuts, etc.

Hmm… This is another one of those vague “I’m not seeing results!” questions that I have a hard time answering without much more detail. I find the likely culprits are often not eating enough, or not watching portions (even if the types of foods you eat are healthy). But check out these posts for more info on getting to the bottom of the “no results” issue:

• Why Aren’t I Seeing Results?
• Busting Out of a Fitness Rut
• Veggie Booty’s Guide to Style & Eating
• Lose Weight Fast! Melt Away Trouble Zones!
• Falling Off the Wagon… And Then Getting Back On
• NPR’s Top 10 Reasons Why the BMI is Bogus
• Diet Myths That Keep Us Fat
• The 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating
• Burn It: Mixology
• Why You Can’t Trust the Scale

tarymellers asked: I'm studying abroad in France, and as I'm finding my cooking equipment and fridge space very limited, I'm having trouble cooking healthily. Other issues about being in France include: white bread is a third of the cost of wheat bread, I have a huge sweet tooth and a LOT of desserts (and cheeses, which I also love) readily available, Someone is stealing my things out of the fridge. It's a communal kitchen and so far eggs and cheese have gone missing. Suggestions on a non-refrigerated healthy life?

I love this question because it reminds me of my time in Buenos Aires and how we had to get creative to cook healthy foods (there’s definitely a premium on whole wheat there, too!). I hope you’re having the time of your life!

Non-refrigerated healthy foods are tricky, though! Some fruits are fine out of the fridge (apples, bananas, pears, citrus fruits, etc.). Oatmeal and other healthy cereals can also make good dry staples.

For protein, you could get canned fish, like tuna or salmon, or homemade jerky (not sure if that’s available in France!). Lentils and other dried beans also are good shelf-stable proteins. We made a TON of lentil soup when I lived in BA.

But I’d also suggest putting big ol’ labels on your food so people are discouraged to steal it! Or put a sticky note on it that says, “I spit on all of this food.” That should teach ‘em! Good luck!

Last night, I belatedly celebrated my birthday with some of the people who mean the most to me. We all gathered at Vinology for food and drinks. The view from the head of the table:

Rachel was my photographer for the evening. It’s not hard to tell which shots are hers and which are mine. My new camera cannot come soon enough! I know my pictures are still going to be far from expert, but any improvement is welcome at this point. Proof?

Exhibit A: The pic she took of a gift from my friend Bridget: Vosges chocolate bars in assorted flavors. Applewood-smoked bacon chocolate? Don’t mind if I do!

Exhibit B: This blurry, but adorable, picture I took of Lin-Chi and her boyfriend Celsius.

Exhibit C: She managed to make my steak and mushroom appetizer, which looked like a brown pile of blah, pretty.

Exhibit D: I was just happy that Lia and I were identifiable in this pic.

To everyone I did and didn’t take crappy pictures of — Lin-Chi, Celsius, Margaret, Paul, Heather, Sam, Bridget, Mani, Rob, Vania, Jesse, Teresa, Amy, Rachel, Lia, Chris, Andrea, and of course, my Adrian — THANK YOU for making my birthday so special!

There’s a special place in my heart for Friday evenings. This is the first one in as long as I can remember that I’ve had zero obligations, so I took the opportunity to do a little leisurely grocery shopping. The plan for the rest of the evening? A long bath, lots of reading, listening to one of my bday gifts (the new Sade album!), and then deciding if I want to trek out into the world.

But first, I grocery shopped, because that’s one of my all-time favorite activities. Since we’re expecting our next Door to Door Organics box on Tuesday, I went easy on the produce and stocked up on the organic meats and cheeses. Since I had planned on using another one of my birthday gifts (a gift card to Whole Foods), I treated myself to some pricier items.

What came home with me:

• two dozen organic omega-3 cage-free eggs
• Zingerman’s creamery fresh goat cheese
• raw goat’s cheddar
• Kerry Gold pastured Dubliner
• two avocados
• a pound of grass-fed lamb shoulder
• a pound of artic char fillet (I realized after I bought it that it wasn’t wild-caught… boo!)
• five bison snack sticks (made at Whole Foods)
• uncured, nitrite-free organic applewood-smoked bacon
• Voges Oaxaca dark chocolate bar
• heavy cream from a local dairy
• baby organic carrots
• big ol’ tub of baby spinach
• four containers of full-fat Fage Greek yogurt

Food, delicious food.

On an unrelated note, how beautiful is the Sade cover? I want a back like that!

Enjoy your Friday…

Ha, okay, not 100 pushups right away. But, inspired by Rachel, I’m going to start the One Hundred Pushups program to complete this week’s OTB test: The Core Fusion Shock Your Body Test. Don’t worry, I’m not competing for the prize!

One Hundred Pushups is a thrice-weekly regimen designed to get you doing 100 pushups in just six weeks. They swear you’ll be able to do it if you stick to the plan with no cheating. I really, really want to do it so I can proudly display this badge on my blog!

Err, haha, not like I just did, but on the side over there! I do have another ulterior motive: to beat my boyfriend in a pushup-off! I know I can do it. Since it will only take me 5-10 minutes 3x a week, it’ll be easy to tack it on to the end of a workout.

Week 1, Day 1 is TODAY! Wish me luck. Oh, and if you want to join me, just head over to the One Hundred Pushups site to find your level and plan.

After much debate, I relied on an old favorite for my birthday dinner: Zingerman’s Roadhouse (an Ann Arbor — nay, Michigan! — institution).

Let’s just say it wasn’t my first time. I love going to Zingerman’s because I can order anything on the menu with a clear conscience. Most of their produce, meat, and dairy come from local farms. If they can’t find something on a local farm, they’ll literally travel the world to hand-select only the best ingredients. Their meats are pastured and free-range.

People ask me if that stuff really makes a difference in taste, and my answer is always yes, yes it does.

My parents, boyfriends, and close family friends joined me in the feasting. We cleaned up! Let me show you around the foodie highlights.

I didn’t order any alcohol (my birthday is all about food, not drinks), but the server brought me some samples of wine to try because she said it would “look pretty.” Never one to turn down free stuff, I tried ‘em all! Usually I like reds best, but my favorite of these three was the white. I totally forget what they all were.

My boyfriend tried the Dr. Pepper made with real sugar. He gave it a thumbs up. Dad’s in the background!

For their entree, my parents got lots of small plates, one of which was the 5 Burger Sampler: “Five mini-burgers topped with different cheeses — a delicious way to try our many great American cheeses. Served with lettuce, hot-house tomato, onion, and pickles.”

All Zingerman’s beef is grass-fed, and most of it is from local farms.

My parents also split the Otto File Polenta Integrale (“served with roasted eggplant, Corman Farms roasted tomatoes, and Ig Vella Mezzo Secco cheese”).

Excuse the bad pic! My boyfriend got the Beef Bourguignon — “French pot roast braised with red wine and mire poix. Served with mashed potatoes.” I tried it, and it was delish.

I got a combo of BBQ Pork & Pit-Smoked Beef Brisket with different BBQ sauces (Eastern North Carolina vinegar, Memphis tomato, and South Carolina mustard) served with mashed potatoes and Southern-style braised greens.

One of my family friends got the Buttermilk-Fried Chicken, which is “Amish free-range chicken dipped in a buttermilk batter served with local mashed potatoes and yellow mustard cole slaw.” It’s supposedly the best fried chicken in Ann Arbor, and I believe it.

Of course, there was more food on the table (like amazing soda bread from their St. Patrick’s Day-themed specials!), but I’ll spare you the crappy pics. Speaking of which, my parents’ gift to me was money towards a new camera, so you might be seeing some upgrades in that department soon!

We ordered two desserts (I forgot to snap pics!) and Zing’s gave me this cupcake on the house because it was my bday. I got my favorite restaurant dessert ever, Zingerman’s famous doughnut sundae, and a slice of hummingbird cake (sort of like carrot cake, but with more stuff, like pineapple, coconut, and walnuts). The cupcake was pretty good, too! It had a delicious maple frosting.

Hope you enjoyed getting a peek into my bday eats, and thanks for all the birthday wishes!

upupdowndown asked: my best friend recently went vegetarian and her doctor told her she was being silly and demanded that she stop. now her mom is siding with her doctor, unless she can prove that she can pull it off healthily. do you have any advice for her as far as vegetarian proteins? i've been trying to help her as much as possible, but we have very different tastes in food.

Did you see this post? It has a list of some Nutritionista-approved vegetarian proteins!

On that note, I just caught up with all your questions, so I’m ready to open up the Ask page again. Before you ask, though, please check the previously answered questions to see if your question has already been answered (this asker couldn’t have seen the other Q because she probably asked the question before I answered the other one!).

Also, if you’re asking a broad question (“I need to lose weight, what do I do?!”), please either include more detail so I can tailor my advice to your specific situation, or search through the blog first. There are plenty of resources already available on the blog that can answer many basic questions! So as not to clog people’s dashboards, I’ll only be answering a few questions a day.

Alright, ask away!

inthelabyrinth asked: I've been sort of trying to lose weight lately; I just try to eat healthy/organic, and eat smaller portions and snacks instead of binging whenever I feel hungry. (I don't exercise much, just a little bit of walking and maybe some gym stuff like once a week) I feel like I'm eating healthily, and I've lost a couple pounds, but I've been feeling very tired lately, even though I'm sleeping a lot, and I was worried about my health and diet.

I'm a student, so I have some late hours sometimes, but this week I've fallen asleep in front of the computer at 5-6pm for a nap, and I go to sleep at 10-11pm and wake up at 6-7am. After all that, I STILL feel tired!

Without seeing exactly what you eat, it’s hard for me to try to draw any conclusions about if it’s having an impact on your fatigue. But I do think that what you eat can play a BIG role in your energy levels! For example, eating lots of sugar and carbs can send you on an insulin rollerskating that makes you crash hard when the sugar rush ends.

It’s also possible there’s something else going on, so keep close track of your fatigue. If it gets overwhelming, it’s definitely time to see a doctor!

imjohana asked: Why is it that guys (for the most part) can lose weight so much easier/faster than us ladies? I've seen this happen numerous times with guy friends/family....cut one thing out of their daily habits and voila! Down 10lbs+......it's quite frustrating.

Isn’t that the worst?! So frustrating! There’s pretty much one simple reason why men can more easily drop pounds:

They have more muscle, and muscle burns more calories at rest than fat.

Women have more estrogen, and thus store more fat naturally than men. If you want to dig deeper, you’ll find all sorts of biological and evolutionary arguments about why women store more fat (they need it for child-bearing and nurturing, etc.).

I would also guess that on average, women tend to eat for emotional reasons more often than men, and they also tend to favor cardio over strength training (see the reason in bold why men lose weight faster!).

Here are some other reasons I came across (take note that these are all generalizations and by no means do I think they apply to ALL men or ALL women):

• Men don’t diet as much as women, and dieting screws up metabolism.
• Men like different comfort foods. While women often crave sweets and breads, men crave home-cooked meals like meat and potatoes.
• Men are less self-defeating. They don’t get as discouraged and backtrack when the scale doesn’t move as quickly as they’d like.
• Studies show that men can lose weight through exercise alone, whereas it’s much harder for women to lose weight without changing their diet.

The lessons for us ladies? Strength train, don’t do crash diets, cut back on sweets, and don’t get discouraged if progress is slower than expected!