Progress

When the good vibe just kicks in, I'm ready to spill everything. I've a lot to rant entailing from the previous weeks. And something related to one of my new years resolution. I know this is such a cliche thing to declare, but yes one of my new years resolution is to start eating healthy and aim for a health lifestyle.

You may laugh now. But please, don't do it in my face. Lol.

Say all you want, but hey I am making a progress. Big big progress Which is why I feel its vital that I document it here and let the whole world know. Because good things are meant to be shared, no? So I decided to make a 360 degree change in the way I eat and started doing physical activities, that basically involves sweating. To be frank, I can't really recall the last time I felt my body was all drenched in sweat doing vigorous activities. During my uni years, I managed to be involved in different physical activities ranging from hiking, jungle trekking, quick jog, cycling, walking to and fro from classes...plus I had lots of fieldtrips during those years. And most of those fieldwork involves working under the sun, taking samples and observing the surrounding. But I wouldn't regret doing all those things, in fact its those memories that make me wanna appreciate my time as a student.

So going back to the topic, I changed my food intake. I did a looootttt of googling. I followed healthy food recipes on Instagram. Followed people who encouraged a healthy lifestyle. I have to admit, it gives a big influence on myself and I seriously think influence and surrounding helps in maintaining this effort. I started googling easy recipes and every single night coming home from work, I would cook and do my meal preps. Get it ready during the night, and the next morning just grab it from the fridge and reheat in the microwave. So I made a list of meals that I would usually eat during the day.

Breakfast

1. Overnight oats.

I used low fat milk, honey, chia seeds and oats! Stuff it all together in a glass jar or you know those tupperware for your coffee or tea, with the lid of course. Mix it all together and leave it overnight.

2. Fruit smoothie

I managed to make strawberries and mango smoothies. Just cut them in small pieces, freeze it if you can. Then add any types of milk that you prefer. In my case, I used almond milk that is unsweetened (sugar from the fruit will be enough) and sometimes to increase the quantity I would add more low fat milk. Honestly, it tasted really nice and will last at least 2-3 hours.

3. Energy bars.

It wont be enough to go as your primary source for breakfast, but I bought 2-3 packs from Village Grocer as a back-up incase I get hungry while waiting for lunch. And yep, it does wonders! Current brand is Yoogoo, or however you spell it lol. Before I bought it, I'd check the calorie and nutritional contents. So another tip is to always look for the nutritional contents and its percentage. The lower the calorie, its more easy for you to burn em off. 

Lunch

1. Sandwiches. 

I think sandwiches can really go well as food that is balanced. I made chicken and fish sandwich. I grilled the marinated chicken fillets (salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder) and for fish fillets I bought the ones in Aeon and baked in over. So no deep frying happening here. Even for the chicken, I didnt use any oil, besides sesame oil cuz I'm a sucker for sesame oil haha. 

Since I'm not a vege person, I stick to one type and I mostly use lettuce (green coral) as the source of fibre in my sandwich. I would add cheese slices as the source of fat. And for bread,(for carbs) I had a choice of wholemeal ones and sometimes I would also use the white english muffin, just cuz I crave for the ones in Burger King breakfast deals haha. Another source of protein, would be 1-2 whole eggs that are microwaved. All ingredients are prepared separately and by the time I eat it, slowly I would reheat and assemble it to look like a proper sandwich haha. It takes a looooot of effort and time. And surprising I've been doing that for the past two weeks. So hurray for me!

2. Spaghetti

I used spaghetti mostly for now, no attempt on penne or macaroni or fettuccine just yet. Because its easier to prepare. And this time, I discovered a simple recipe for the sauce, which is pesto. The main base for pesto is basil, and lord the smell is so strong I almost gave up before even attempting to do it haha. I would never ever eat basil on its own, just because of the smell. Same goes for cilantro. I just cannot stand the smell being too strong...I wont even attempt to eat it.

So to make the pesto sauce, get 1 cup of basil leaves, 2 cloves of garlic, olive oil, parmesan and pine nuts. I didnt add the pine nuts because it was freaking expensive (20.00++ for one small container, heck no!) Just blend everything in, keep it in a small container and you can use it for other types of dishes as well (I used it as a sauce for my sandwich). 

I steamed broccoli because apparently I was able to swallow them and eat it without coercing myself to do so -_-, and grilled my marinate chicken fillets as a source of protein. From there, that is how I constructed my own menu to make it balanced. I think that is the key. Eat whatever you like, in small quantities of course but make sure it has all the nutrients that your body needs.

Btw, this is what a pesto spaghetti looks like. Its so green...until today I could never imagine how I could eat something so green like this, and for the fact that it tasted quite nice!

As for now, this was the menu that I repeatedly prepare every single night. Mind you, I would come home from my 30 mins jog, plus the traffic jam to reach home and then straight to the kitchen. I would usually arrive home around maghrib time, I would be very occupied in the kitchen until 9pm ish. Imagine how productive my day is?  How I am expected to be very tired? And I still find trouble sleeping early.... 0_o

Lastly, for dinner. 

Sometimes if I make my meal preps in large portion, I would just finish my food before I leave from work to go home. Sometimes, I would prepare extra from my meal preps so that I can eat if after. But I try to make sure that dinner must be done not later than 9pm. So in case I feel hungry, I would just gobble up my detox water (will include this as well!) before I sleep. Sometimes I would eat food that is just merepek, not to say that I cheat but I never had a proper dinner planned. Because I try not to eat later than 9pm, and even if I still feel hungry, I'd snack on fruits or nuts or just drink lots of water.

The extras..

1. Detox water. I have been seeing articles about how its not even effective and how it doesnt contribute to your diet or what not. But somehow I needed a beverage that could replace my cravings for sugary drinks such as Tealive, TEH AIS!!!!! (I MISS IT BADLY.....!!!) and sweetened 3 in 1 coffee. Its so hard to fight the urge of indulging in these treats! Since its so easy to get them..I used to find myself drinking Original Milk Tea from Tealive like twice a week. Bloody'ell I was so addicted lol. 

My idea of detox water is just freshly squeezed lemons (2-3), some mint (sometimes I do put mint leaves), chia seeds and water. That is all. Put that all together is one container and leave it in the fridge.

Easy peasy.

2. Snacking on nuts. In Aeon, you can buy them in assortments. I would usually buy one container of almonds, cashew and walnuts. Eat them whenever I feel like munching on something. Instead of eating the sugary biscuits, I've replaced them with nuts. Surprisingly they're nice as well. Almonds, especially are very known for its fat burning properties, so its a must to eat almonds during your diet.

3. Green tea! I used to hate drinking green tea and always had to force it down the throat. But now, I've been drinking it on a regular basis, so I'm quite used to the bitter taste. I don't fancy any types of green tea with added sugar or dairy because it would taste a bit more weird...haha. I stick to Ahmad Green Tea and a local muslim owned brand called Az Zain. Ahmad has strong taste compared to Az Zain, but I'm fine with both for now.

4. Plain water. Can't stress enough on how important it is to drink water. I make it as a habit to at least drink 1.5 to 2 litres everyday. I drink two rounds of 750ml bottle everyday at work (refilling the water bottle twice) and continue with the detox water at home. So a rough estimate of 2 litres in total per day. It is recommended to drink 3 litres, but with the tight schedule  I'm only able to reach until 2 litres for now. I would find myself going to the loo frequently...so beware that you're gonna go in and out of the toilets!

5. No rice. I know rice is a staple food for us Malaysians.  I stayed away from rice for almost about a month now, and my body actually feels lighter. It made such a huge different on how I feel and how quickly I replaced my carb intake with bread or spaghetti. I just can't include rice in my diet, because I tend to add more portion, one after another and this is such a facepalm moment. Lol. So I kinda miss my nasi lemak or nasi ayam or nasi kukus or nasi manggey. I really really do. But for now, I just cant waste all those efforts. I've gone this far, and I will keep on going inshaAllah.

6. If you're tight on time to make meal preps, just puasa la. When you fast, you kind lose weight in the process. Make sure what you eat at the end of the day is something balanced and not too heavy as well. I tried fasting, and it helps in reducing my weight. So I'll be glad to continue next week.

7. Last but not least, a quick 30 mins jog after work. I would do it at least twice a week, maximum 3km, in about 30 mins. I am dead slow when it comes to pace. But I dislike the idea of going to the gym or any cardio workouts. I hate the reps and sets, and how tiring it is. So I chose running/jog more as I can suit the time and pace according to my own performance...(which is always slow...haha dont care). 

I play badminton as well with my colleagues. At least once a week. Since we have our own court and rackets, we would just play for fun and sometimes do scoring as well. Ala main-main bodoh gitu. Haha. I would be soooo fresh and rejuvenated when I get to sweat a lot. So playing badminton makes me sweat and I love it!

Alhamdulillah over a month, managed to lose a total of 5kg!

I shall keep going, until I reach my ideal weight. And bare in mind, no extra products or supplements taken. I realised that with the only exercise and controlling food intake method can be very slow and the results are not fast. But I'm okay with that. I don't look at the instant results, but it's more to the personal journey of it. Its something that I wanna maintain even when I reach a half century. It's better that I start now before my health becomes compromised. To those who supported me throughout this whole month, may Allah bless you eternally!

Pray for me guys!<3 p="">