Day 9: Dust = No Evening Walk

You know that feeling of guilt you get when you skip out on the gym for a couple of weeks? Or that state of denial you're in when you KNOW you're supposed to be working out?

Well, that's exactly how I'm feeling right now.

A couple of days into week 2 and I've only gone jogging once! (shame)

And to top it all off, there was a 10%-visibility-dust-storm going on today which obviously impedes any plans for me to go jogging.

*Fingers crossed for tomorrow*

Day 8: Nino Dinner

Today's highlight was going to Nino with HH for dinner.

In an attempt to stay within my dietary restrictions (of protein portion + salad), I ordered the Grilled Chicken Liver appetizer and the Plain Rocket Leaves Salad.

Besides the fact that I've been sick of having a lot of animal protein lately (tuna, salmon, shrimp, chicken), it was really good!

All in all, that's the second restaurant I've been to since starting my diet and it seems pretty easy.

Day 5-7: WEEK ONE

1st week of the notorious diet has ended. Here's a summary of what happened:

The Good: Pinkberry treat for my Friday 11 am snack.

The Bad: I've had a constant migraine for 5 days now but it's slowly starting to fade.

The Ugly: I've been carb-free, chocolate-free, gummy-bear-free for 7 days now.

I've lost 4 kgs from Sunday morning (the same 4 kgs I gained from 3 weeks in all-you-can-eat London).

Confession: I only went fast-paced walking once (out of 3 times) and well, I can't help it!

Update: My first cheat meal is assigned for June 6th, 21 days into my diet. Mark your calendars people; it's going to be NASTY.

Day 4: Pinkberry

Yes!!

After a bit of research and some negotiating with Fahad, I could now officially substitute the 11:00 am Skinny White Mocha with a medium original frozen yogurt from Pinkberry with one topping only.

If you haven't already witnessed my post-raw phase, I love Pinkberry so much, I actually used to have 2 Large original or swirl flavored frozen yogurt with 6 toppings on each!!

So this, as much as it IS a compromise, is absolutely and utterly thrilling!!

Aside from the great news, I preceded myself when I mentioned "dining out" in my last post, because the real dining out took place today.

I went to Edo for dinner and attempted to stick to the "repeat lunch" for dinner plan. So, I ordered the salmon salad with no dressing and salmon, octopus, shrimp, scallop and blue fin tuna sashimi on the side (tehee).

Nevertheless, it's all good. I'm sure the quantity isn't that bad (I hope).

Day 3: Dining out (or something like that)

I'm so glad Day 3 is over:

I went out with a friend for "coffee" around 8 pm and ended up ordering water since I wasn't so sure if I'm allowed to add another caffeine unit for the day.

The "You're going to Starbucks for water?!" comment I got was interesting but not all too bad.

The BAD however, was the migraine I got around 5 pm that lasted up till midnight. The severe excruciating pain around the core of my skull fluctuated in line with 30 beats per minute and was quite distracting.

According to online resources and Fahad, the migraine is probably a symptom of withdrawal or detox and should be over within 5-7 days (if I don't jump out the 18th floor window).

Overall, I'm still sticking to the diet like white on rice. I really don't mind the lack of variety, nor am I anxious about how it'll change going forward.

Eggs-white mocha-tuna-almonds- apple and tons of water seem to satisfy right now. I can't wait to weigh in Sunday morning.

Day 2: TUNA

Day 2 was awesome!! This thing is really easy to implement (especially if you bring in your own lunch from home)!

In an attempt to avoid Subway and other similar venues, I decided to get my lunch from home. And since grilling chicken or tiger prawns early in the morning is simply out of the question, I settled for Tuna.

Yes, tuna.

For those who don’t know me personally, my story with tuna goes a bit like this:

Over the past 23 years of extreme fluctuations in type and quantity of food consumption, tuna was the only thing that I wouldn’t eat. Maybe it’s the fact that I first had seafood at the age of 19 or the distinct resemblance to cat-food, but tuna and I never got along.

So for lunch, I casually had tuna for the very first time. With lettuce, some carrots and some lemon squeeze, it was absolutely delightful and most probably guilt-free!

On another thought, I took the time to calculate nutritional information and the number of calories in this diet (with the help of Calorie King) and this is pretty much what it looks like*:

Its not as extreme as it looks and I sure hope it works! *fingers crossed*

*Click on table for a larger view

Day 1: Withdrawl

And just like that I'm back on the wagon.. The health/diet wagon of-course.

Over the past month or so, I have gone to Dubai for a weekend and London for a bit almost 1 weeks while maintaining somewhat of a "no-restrictions" lifestyle.

The only consistency during that time was indulging in chocolates ranging from Kinder to Godiva (favorite to favorite respectively). So as you can imagine, getting back on the wagon can be pretty difficult and almost painful.

I've successfully fulfilled my Day 1 commitments with very minor changes:

- Surprisingly, I consumed 3 times the amount of water assigned; I'm not much of a water person but with the summer heat and long working hours, why not?

- I had my 15 almonds 30 minutes early and my dinner a good hour in advance; I was hungry and going from 10 random snacks and meals a day to this diet is difficult!)

Note to self: when ordering a salad from Subway (which probably will never happen again), DO NOT top it with a slice of processed plastic chicken breast, order the roast beef or turkey breast instead.

P.S: I wonder if I get a cheat meal or day after a week of this. Should make a list of food I already miss like avocado and bread! (yum)

The New Plan

After discussing with Fahad my height, weight, age, blood type, body issues and weight/body target (and nagging for a good week or so), he sent me my tailored diet plan/regimen that I plan to stick to for the next 2 weeks (or until Simon he says so).

Through our email correspondence, I clarified to him that I had just quit my challenge, eat at the most random times and would like to lose more weight.

He recommended the following plan:

07:00- upon waking up: 250 ml of water

07:15- 07:30 (15-30 minutes later): 2 scrambled eggs with salt and pepper + 1 fresh glass of orange juice

08:30: 500 ml of water

11:00: Tall skimmed (not soy) White Mocha, no whipped cream or caramel. Sprinkle some cinnamon on top to stabilize blood-sugar levels

01:00: 500 ml of water

02:00: Salad- composed of greens a bit of tomato, some carrots and absolutely no corn. Add a moderate amount of chicken, red meat or lean fish (such as shrimp or tuna). Dressing would comprise of lemon, balsamic vinegar (apple cider is better) and salt to taste. Absolutely no olive oil or any oil for that matter.

16:00: 500 ml of water

17:30- 18:00: 15 pieces of raw walnuts, raw almonds or raw cashews + 1 tea bag of green tea

19:00-20:00: 30-60 minutes of fast paced walking at least 3 times a day (preferably every other day)

22:00: repeat lunch or 1 red apple or 1 orange or 2 tangerines or 4 slices of pineapple or 2 kiwi or 1/2 grapefruit

Sounds less or more like my raw vegan challenge right? (except for the eggs, coffee and lean meat for lunch)

Today is my first day soI'll post all about it tomorrow.

P.S: If you have any questions or comments for Fahad, feel free to comment here and I'll make sure he receives them.

No longer raw

This follow up post has been long overdue, but better late than nothing right?

As many of you probably already know, I quit my raw vegan challenge on Day 100 due to a number of reasons; namely fulfilling its purpose, health complications and pressure from friends and family.

Today, a month after my 100-day mark, I don’t entirely regret quitting the challenge. I do, however acknowledge the complications that came with it:

Meat makes me uncomfortable, Steak makes me sick, Junk food makes me gag (almost automatically)

So I’m going to stick to home-cooked or gourmet lean meat for now. And even though I had been vegan (refer to my first couple of posts) for almost eight months, I’m glad I get natural vitamin B12 now and I no longer feel like I’m going crazy.

I can eat chocolate now (and that’s not necessarily a good thing)

With the pleasures of indulging in some creamy milk chocolate, come the skin problems, weight-gain and inconsistent fluctuations in blood sugar (all big No-No's).

I don’t want to ruin what I’ve done over the past 100 days

Eating raw in more ways than one, made me healthier; my skin became clear and almost glowing and I became lighter and more active.

And so in an attempt to retain what I have gained (in value), while avoiding health complications and pressure from friends and family, I have referred to health guru and fitness specialist, Fahad Al Yahya (blogger on 248am- the bsides and 42) to tailor-make me a diet and fitness plan that meets my working schedule and work-out preference.

I'll be posting the diet and daily updates very soon.