Diet Tips

Well as you all know, I'm not a nutritionist or anyone near that.
So these are the things I've done and what I learn online.

Many of you have asked me thru ask.fm for diet tips, diet plan, how to lose weight, and so on.
As I've mentioned before in my previous post The Transformation, it didn't take me a week or two to lose weight. It took me months to years.
So for those of you who are desperately looking for ways to lose a huge amount of weight within a short period, I'm sorry, this post is not for you.
But if you want, please continue reading, and it might probably be helpful ;D
PS: Some of the tips you might have read before in the Transformation post.

1. SET THE GOAL

When you set the goal, please be realistic and honest to yourself. Would you be able to get to that point within the amount of time? You can't lose 10kg in a month. That's unrealistic and you'll gonna hurt yourself. Set a specific goal for example 5 kg in 2-3 months. Make a bet or reward yourself afterwards. It will motivate you in reaching the goal.

2. LESS CARBS

You might probably don't know this, but carbohydrate is one of the reasons you could gain weight.
You still need it in your body, but just a moderate amount of it.
Things you could do:
- Substitute white rice to brown rice
- White bread to whole wheat bread
- Oats instead of bread
- Sweet potato instead of potato

Back then, I could eat tons of rice. It was wayyyyyy beyond your expectation and yes, it was wayyyyyyyy too much. So when I started my "diet" plan, i cut down on carbs. I didn't eat brown rice, but i just ate less of white rice. And most of the mornings, i would have oats as breakfast. How much or how little you want is depending on your needs.

I always have Gold Roast Oats in Chocolate flavour in my house back then. So every morning i would eat that. As I grow older, I feel like the Gold Roast Oats is very sweet. I learned to cook oats from my grandma because she had it every morning. I tried once with no flavor at all; plain. I couldn't eat it. So i mix with KOKO chocolate drink or peanut butter, and i always add one sliced banana to my oats.

3. LESS FATTY MEAT

Who doesn't love pork? bacon? or the crunchy skin of a fried chicken?
I know it sounds horrifying to "let go" all those kind of food. But trust me, it'll work. And when it does, reward yourself by having few pieces of it.

If you ever notice, under the crispy skin of a fried chicken is where you found the layer of fat. What you could do without wasting the skin is to scrape off the fat using a spoon or any utensil that work for you. Remember that those little things you do will lead to a great impact.

What you could do is to replace those meats or proteins with fish or chicken breast. So remember, if you are eating in a restaurant, choose the menu that has fish or chicken breast as the main. If you have the options, choose either one, too.

4. MORE VEGETABLES 

I know some of you hate vegetables. But the green community has a lot of nutrients and goodness for you. So try to eat more of them. Once you're used with it, you could later eat salad as the main. HOWEVER, please remember that those mayonnaise or thousand island dressing is not healthy. Those dressings are full of fat (oil). So most preferably, you could create you own healthy dressing using olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, or any other healthy dressing that can be found online.

5. STEAMED/BAKED OVER FRIED

I think i don't really need to elaborate much on this right? It's really obvious that fried food is not healthy for you. Therefore, if you have the choice, please do choose steamed or baked food rather than fried.

6. NO SODA

I used to love coke, pepsi, sprite, and all those stuff. But what i realize is that soda water makes my tummy bloats and i hate the feeling of bloating tummy. Plus, it's very unhealthy. SO, drink more water, no soda water.

7. LOTS AND LOTS OF WATER

I have always been drinking a lot of water throughout the day. So if you drink less, it's a new habit you have to do. and one more thing, try to drink WARM or ROOM TEMPERATURE WATER. Always drink a glass of warm water BEFORE and AFTER you EAT. This will prevent you from overeating as you will feel quite full after having a glass of water.

8. EAT BREAKFAST

Breakfast is the most important thing in the morning or once you get up. Eating breakfast will keep you energized the whole day. "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper."

If you really want to have a strict diet or you can't eat a lot in the morning, here are some options for you:
- Oats (+ Peanut Butter + banana. YUM!)
- Banana + Peanut Butter (Peanut Butter lovers must try this!)
- Smoothie (There are tons of recipes online. Just google "Smoothie recipe for weight loss")
- Whole wheat bread + toppings or spread
- Milk + cereals
- Yoghurt/Greek Yoghurt + fruits/granola
- Boiled eggs

9. NO DINNER AFTER 7 PM

If you're trying to lose weight, try to avoid having heavy food during dinner time. Eat soup, salad, or fruit if possible. Please do take a note when i say fruit, i don't mean an apple is enough. I am saying a big plate of fruit. Eat different kinds of fruits every time to not bore yourself to death. An example of what a plate of fruit is like; a banana, a handful of strawberries, and 2 kiwis.

10. NO SUPPER

Whatever your mind or your grandparents or parents tell you, STRICTLY NO SUPPER. This is simply because after you eat at night, you tend to have less activity, therefore, the food that you just ate will turn to belly fat or whatever fat it is. If you are really really hungry and couldn't hold it any longer and can't go to sleep either, then drink a glass of milk or eat fruit or oats. Don't eat those fried rice or instant noodles especially for supper.

11. NO SNACKS

Those bags of potato chips have tons of calories and very less nutrition in it. Instead of snacking on that, you could substitute it with fruits or nuts. I do want to remind you that you don't snack because you're bored, but because of you're hungry and it's still on the mid-day where there are 3-4 hours to dinner.
PLUS, please don't eat instant noodles. I know lots or probably 99.9% of you love it. But it's unhealthy and seriously, bread or pasta is wayyyyyyy better.

12. WALK AFTER EACH MEAL

Whenever you've done eating, don't sit or (worse!) lay down. It's very crucial that you must walk at least 5-10 mins. I believe this is so that the food isn't going to be belly fat.

13. EXERCISE

Exercise at least 3 times a week. a 20-minute cardio is good enough for a starter. If you're new in exercising, you will feel the pain on your body, legs or arms, the next morning. That's a good sign. It means that you're working out. As you get used to it, you'll likely to exercise more and more without the feeling of dying.
In order to be able to exercise, you have to feed yourself enough. No food intake, no energy coming in, meaning can't exercise. You'll feel very week and eventually, you might faint. Trust me. Been there, done that. (fyi, i did not faint. Just almost lol. Ever since that day, I swear that i wouldn't ever go to the gym without eating anything again).
You have to eat 1 hour prior to the exercise time and it must not be something heavy or very filling. A banana, a slice of toast, oats, or smoothie will do the job perfectly.

14. CHEAT DAY

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. Regardless of what diet plan you are doing, you gotta have a cheat day within a week. Weekend is a good day to have your cheat day, because it's one of those days where you'll likely to go out and hang out with friends or family. So indulge a little. Eat a slice of cake, a bucket of french fries, a good portion of steak, or few scoops of ice creams. It doesn't have to be on the weekends only, you could have a cheat day within the weekdays, too. And plus, 2 cheat days within a week wouldn't kill any body but it would just slow down your dieting progress.

HOWEVER, dieting during vacations is a BIG NO NO for me. When i go for a vacation, i would like to try different kinds of food. For you, it might be shopping. Nevertheless, trying new food is something you must really do in life. It's the experience of knowing the taste in different places. So DURING VACATION, EVERYDAY IS A CHEAT DAY.

15. MOTIVATION

Anything that you want to achieve in life needs motivation. People to encourage you in the things you're doing. If no one's there to motivate you, then you'll have to motivate yourself. You have to believe in what you want to achieve. Be positive. Keep thinking of that perfect body you see on the Internet when you're running. Think of the calories in a slice of chocolate cheesecake. Think of the sugar contained in a tall-size Starbucks drink. Those thoughts will help to prevent you from eating unnecessary calorie intake.

EAT HEALTHILY + EXERCISE HEAVILY = LIVE HAPPILY

If you have any further questions or anything i've written is unclear, please let me know by leaving a comment. I will try my best to help you with whatever you're seeking towards to.

xx Julia