There is no one more surprised than me that I am still keeping strong with my eating plan. I think the reason for this is that it is a way of life, rather than a diet. At the moment my timeline has memes of people claiming they’ll be rolling out the door after lockdown. I can’t really relate to this, because my eating habits haven’t changed much. I am going to share with you how I maintain my healthy lifestyle. There is an eating timeline/plan as well as one of my favourite recipes for you to download. Before I dive into that, make sure you read the last post I did about “My low-carb life”.
Let’s get into the good stuff –
Mind over matter
I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again, you can’t make positive changes with a negative mindset. If you believe that you are going to fail, you will. Ask yourself why the lifestyle change is important to you. Do you want to lose weight? Are you hoping to eat clean and feel great? Do you need to change your eating habits because of an illness? Your answer to these questions is your number 1 motivation.
I remember being face to face with my first delicious chocolate cake when I started my low-carb diet. It was one of those work situations where the birthday girl brought treats for everyone. I was one week into my eating plan, suffering from keto flu and craving something lekker (nice).
The staff room was filled with the sweet smell of chocolate cake. I thought ” Wow, that would be so great with a cup of coffee right about now”. It would have been so easy to give in. But then something triggered inside of me. I asked my colleague if I could smell the chocolate cake. I took one deep whiff of that cake and closed my eyes.
My jedi-mind trick to keeping on track
I imagined biting into that soft, spongy cake. I could feel my teeth sinking into the icing. In my mind, I could taste the delicious chocolate. I imagined chewing the cake and eventually swallowing it. I must have spent 5 minutes purposefully imagining eating that cake.
My colleague, who had finished eating her slice of cake by then, asked me why I didn’t just have the cake. My response took her by surprise – I told her that I had eaten cake before. I knew how it tasted, how it felt, I knew the density of the cake and I certainly knew the smell of it. It is embedded in my memory. I told her to look at her empty plate – the cake was a memory to her too. The only difference between us was I didn’t gain the calories!
Plan your meals
Being quite spontaneous by nature, I am not a lover of plans. I have more fun with spur of the moment decisions. They can however cause a lot of anxiety. Every bit of research I did indicated that one should always plan meals. I decided to keep my meals simple, yet spontaneous.
The best decision for me was to have the same meal at work every day. This may seem boring to some, but my meals are always exciting. Salads are colourful, tasty and you can chop and change them on a daily basis.
For dinner, I would decide on a protein and get creative. For example: Monday & Wednesday – Chicken. My creativity levels on the day depends on the outcome of the meal.
Get creative
Your food should never be boring. As long as you stick to the low-carb guidelines, you can get as creative as possible. Take a look at my Pinterest board for inspiration.
My favourite recipe is cauliflower rice. It is quick, easy, tasty and you can change it up as much as you like. I created this recipe spontaneously last night. Give it a try and let me know your thoughts (right click on the pic to save)
Consider Intermittent Fasting
I will probably do another post on intermittent fasting, until then, here is an explanation about the 16/8 Intermittent Fasting technique , straight from Google
16/8 intermittent fasting involves eating only during an 8-hour window and fasting for the remaining 16 hours. It may support weight loss and improve blood sugar, brain function and longevity.
www.healthline.com
In all honesty, I didn’t even realize I was doing intermittent fasting. When I started keto, I had planned to eat when hungry. Breakfast was never a top priority for me, so I just skipped it. While doing research on keto I discovered quite a few people using the intermittent fasting method.
There are different techniques to intermittent fasting. The 16/8 method is quite popular. This is when you fast for 16 hours, and eat only during and 8 hour window.
I typically have my first meal at 12pm and my last meal at 8pm. During weekends I change the time to incorporate movie night – everyone loves a good, healthy snack while watching a movie.
In all honesty, I am not to precious about the exact times. My focus is to have two meals a day and eat when I am hungry.
Take a look at the laid back low-carb schedule I did for you. You can right click on the pic to save.
Even though I have more to say and share, I am going to end this post here.
If you found this helpful, please share it with a friend. Leave a comment below if you have any questions. Who knows, I may do a YouTube video about my journey to a healthy body and mindset. Will keep you posted.
PS: My eating plan has moved from keto to low-carb high fat. I highly recommend starting off with keto and easing into LCHF. It worked wonders for me.
DISCLAIMER
I am not a professional or an expert of any diets. All views and experiences are my own and yours may differ. Before you attempt any new eating plans, make sure you do your research and/or consult with a healthcare professional.