For years I only spoke about wanting to lose weight, but I never put in any real effort towards it.
From May, 2018 I started eating healthy and after a month I started intermittent fasting, as a result of which I’ve lost around 40 pounds till date. I shared a few weight loss tips in a post I wrote two months ago, you can check it out here.
I did a lot of research about what I should eat and what I shouldn’t, but I had to experiment a lot as well. I am intolerant to many foods, so observing how my body reacted to different food items was also important.
What I ate in a day in my first month of healthy eating, when I ate 3 to 4 meals a day :
1) Before the morning workout :
– A small fruit (apple or banana)
– A small bowl of oat bran porridge (or a slice of brown bread with peanut butter.)
2) After the workout / Breakfast :
– Oat Bran porridge with apple and banana
– 2 eggs with brown bread (or chapatis)
3) Lunch :
– Protein (chicken, eggs or cottage cheese)
– A cooked vegetable
– A complex carb (chapati, brown bread or brown rice)
4) Snack :
– A bowl of yogurt
– A small bowl of nuts (or air-popped popcorn)
5) Dinner :
– Salad
– Protein (chicken, eggs or cottage cheese)
Additional tips :
– Vegetarians can eat cottage cheese, which is a good source of protein.
– You can also have rice with pulses for lunch.
– The eggs can be prepared in the way you like, they do not always have to be boiled.
– In India we eat a bread called chapati. I usually eat chapatis instead of brown bread.
– You can chop any of your favorite vegetables for your salad. Try to avoid the salad dressings and stick to the plain old lemon, salt and a dash of olive oil.
Intermittent Fasting :
From the end of June, 2018 I started intermittent fasting. I had already got used to the healthy eating, so I stuck to that, and incorporated a feasting and fasting window.
I first started out with an eight hour eating window and then slowly reduced the number of hours. I now eat only one meal a day – I eat the same amount of food I would normally eat in an entire day, except that I eat it all in an hour or two. It is important that you get all your nutrition from the meals you eat, do not starve as it will have a bad effect on your health and metabolism.
What I eat for OMAD (One Meal A Day) :
I break my fast with lemonade with stevia (I use stevia as I have a sweet tooth, but it isn’t a must.)
1) First course :
– A huge bowl of salad (or oat bran porridge with apple and banana)
2) Second course (The Main Meal) :
– Protein (eggs and chicken or cottage cheese)
– A cooked vegetable
– A complex carb (brown rice, brown bread or chapatis)
3) Third Course :
– A bowl of yogurt
– A bowl of peanuts, almonds and sunflower seeds
– A few pieces of peanut brittle
I have clicked pictures of the meals I ate all these months, and I have uploaded them on Pinterest. You can check them out @The Kind Tempest on Pinterest.
Thank you for reading! Stay blessed!
©TheKindTempest