Losing 50 kilos

1. Eating regularly

I learned this the hard way – if I don’t eat in over 4 hours, I’m going to have unhealthy cravings, usually hamburgers and ice cream. When I do eat every 3-4 hours, I can eat just the healthy stuff. I’ve had a pack of ice cream in my freezer and chocolate in my cupboard over a month now – both unopened. No hunger, no cravings. My normal day rhythm goes like this – breakfast at 9 AM, lunch at 12 PM, afternoon snack at 3 PM, dinner at 6 PM, and evening snack at 9 PM and night snack at 11 PM. I work from home so I have more freedom with my schedule. Night snack is usually something very light, like a yoghurt – I usually go to sleep around 1 AM, so I need something small before going to bed (I can’t sleep when I’m hungry).

2. Bacon and eggs for breakfast

Probably all diet guides would say this is highly unhealthy – but it has worked for me. I even use the normal bacon, and fry it in (EEK!) canola oil, so it’s even extra, extra greasy! The idea in this is that the combination of fat and protein will keep me energetic longer than the traditional oatmeal with fruits (it makes me saggy). Yes, my blood test results are normal. No, I’m not on Atkins’ diet. This just works – for me, at least. I usually add one piece of full wheat toast and glass of grapefruit juice – the sour taste of the juice really wakes me up!

3. Increase everyday activity

In the end my changes to physical activity were rather small. I sometimes walk to a bigger store that’s 1, 5 km away, than the small one closer to me that’s just 300 meters away. I also choose stairs instead of escalators and elevators (my apartment building doesn’t have an elevator, and I live on the third floor) , and I walk couple of bus stops further instead of taking the one closest to me.

4. Don’t deny yourself anything

The reason why I keep the ice cream and chocolate in my pantry is that in case I want them, I can have them. The one you don’t have, that’s what you crave the most. The idea of knowing that I have chocolate ‘in case if’ makes me calm and makes me crave it less – in the end I even forget about it. If I go to eat with my friends, I’m not going to settle with a salad if I really want a steak like the others are having – if I’ve eaten proper earlier in the day, I don’t have that overwhelming need to finish my plate straight away. I first eat the salad, then the meat, after that the potatoes / rice / whatever comes with it. If the steak is swimming in a cheddar sauce or similar, I’ll scrape most of the stuff off before I eat it. You wouldn’t believe how little amount of sauce makes it just as delicious as the ‘normal’ amount.

5. This isn’t a diet

When I started making these changes, I realized that I need to make only changes with which I can comfortably live the rest of my life. I don’t want to eat salad every time I go to a restaurant, or buy all my dairy and meat as non/low fat versions. The changes I can happily follow though are walking more from place to place, eating vegetables and fruits on every meal, using whole wheat bread and pasta instead of the regular ones… and so on. I don’t feel I’m missing on anything.  If I think of myself in the past, slouching on the sofa watching movie with ice cream – that’s the kind of life I don’t miss.