Written while Drunk on Thoughts

22 Apr 2013

What living alone and started eating healthy do to me.

I am actually hesitating to post this particular post because I didn't want to sound like a know it all. Trust me, I am no where near fit yet, not enough to run a full on marathon but I am happy that I am slowly treating my body healthier. Well, this will serve as a motivation to everyone that are willing to listen to my rambling. =)

About a year ago, I realised all the late night dinner after work followed by a cup of huge latte had taken a toll on my body, a toll worth 6 - 7 kg. Yikes. One day, I stepped on the scale and discovered that I had gotten to a new record of heavy.

I was sad and depressed. I exercised on and off but never really kept it consistent. I fit into my once too loose pants and grew out of my favourite Jack Wills shorts. It hit me hard!! Very hard! I knew I had to do something after taking comfort in food after breaking up with the former boyfriend. So I decided to take matters in my own hands (literally), I cut up vegetables every morning sometime between showering and drying my hair with a hair dryer. I bring those vegetables to work as a snack or as dinner for the day.

Even though I still eat after late night work, the vegetables kept me half full and I had less for supper. The weight steadily goes down, slowly but surely. Then comes the time that I decided to take a break in between working and starting the new chapter in my life at the same country that was once a part of my history. During the break, I travelled, dealt with red tapes, day in, day out and also finally take advantage of the gym facility at the club. I went in whenever I could, about 5 times per week, an hour session every time, sometimes longer, sometimes slightly shorter.

I had sleepless nights, even though I was exhausted, my body refused to slow down. Yes, it was a sign of over exercising but I ignored it. Soon enough, I saw my weight dropped more and more. I still eat unhealthy hawker food but my appetite went down. I started liking salad and is on a journey to try all of them. Word of advice, salad in most Malaysian Western food restaurant are just a fraction of the actual salad that exist in the world. I blame them for my lack of interest in salad.

Salad doesn't equal to ONLY VEGETABLE. You are allowed some meat. The one bad thing about salad offered in Malaysian Western restaurant is the salad dressing. Mayonnaise, thousand island are so unhealthy that downing a bacon double cheese is probably more worth the calories. I learnt that by including balsamic vinegar and grape seed oil with some sprinkle of flaxseed would make a very good salad too, as well as fulfilling the healthy fat criteria.

I managed to shed another few kg and by the time I moved to London, I was half way to my goal. And I suppose my body is not used to the climate, even though most days are cheat days, I had chocolate (MALTESERS!!!!) almost everyday, my weight went down without me trying to lose it. I am not being cocky but I guess its the cold, the amount of walking. But to be fair, I eat healthy and not much oily or processed food went through my mouth. Only the chocolates. Just like that I reached my goal and lost a few kg more.

I fit into my old jeans that I couldn't button a year ago and then some. It is now too baggy for me. I dropped a dress size and had to get new jeans. I bought a pair of new jeans a couple of weeks after getting here, now the jeans are too big around the waist, sitting in the cupboard most of the time. My belt that had been with me for 7 years now is too big even at the tightest. I felt comfortable in my clothes, no more muffin tops. My parents noticed the difference when I talk to them via Facetime, my friends commented that I look skinnier. I feel skinnier and hotter. Hahaha! Most importantly I felt more confident. I couldn't be happier.

I am at my healthiest, I can walk miles and miles without feeling tired and run miles and miles without stopping. My advice in losing weight is eating healthy, it is the most important element, find something you like and improvise. I found love in salad and improvise, since I make my own meals, I made up my own salads, I mix around vegetables and food that I like. I love cheese, all kinds of cheese, well I say, add it in the salad, just not too much of it. I couldn't live without bacon. I said, chuck in together with the greens. Again, not too much of it. Ice cream? Sure, why not? Make sure you don't down the whole tub at one go.

I walk everywhere if possible, if there are 2 routes, one by bus to the door step of my destination, another by tube and I had to walk 10 minutes to get to my destination. The latter is favoured due to the exercise factor and also I prefer the tube to a bus, always. Without knowing, I add up my "exercise time" without actually have to exercise. Now that I went below my goal weight, I tried to maintain by having the same amount of exercise if I ate more and allowed myself to be lazier if I ate less.

This is how I lost about 8 kg, even lower than my weight when I started to gain weight though I wouldn't complained if I lose a couple more. I would say eat everything, just moderately. Don't cut out carb entirely, you don't want the weight to come back when you started to enjoy some french fries. What you eat IN, must be walk (or exercise) OUT. Nowadays since I no longer want to lost weight, when I went for an hour jog, I treat myself to a brownie. Oh, I too discovered adding berries into cottage cheese is a great snack & dessert. And who knew, greek yogurt with berries, dates and some cashew nuts / almond flakes make a great substitute for a chocolate parfait.

It is about changing the way of eating and taking the healthy route, not the "easy" route. Well, most of the time. If I were treated to a huge piece of chocolate mousse, I will NEVER EVER say no, perhaps just half of it (and keep the other half for the next day).

No comments :

Post a Comment