(no subject)
For the past month or so, I've been doing this crazy diet. Not only because I'm trying to get into better shape, but also because I developed sort of a sick interest in it. I have never once for any length of time tried to alter what I eat, so I had this urge to see if I could do it, or if I would crumple like a wet piece of paper. I don't know why I like to be my own experimental guinea pig occasionally... I guess changing the food I eat is better than eating lead paint or playing with mercury.
I can't really even say how much it's actually doing for me, because I don't own a scale, and I try to work out as much as I possibly can anyway. The most important decision I made right at the outset was that I was NOT going to be miserable. If I was out with my friends, I was not going to order a side salad and eat my napkin. I was going to have a few beers and maybe a cheeseburger. I almost never go out more than once a week anyway. This ensures that I will not quit after the first 5 minutes. It actually probably makes me call my friends more haha.
For the first 9 days you basically deprive yourself of anything resembling normal food. And then slowly they let you reintroduce some things back into your diet. So to begin: no bread, no meat, no cheese, no potatoes, (or anything else white for that matter, besides egg whites) and NO alcohol. Ugh. You learn to subsist on brown rice, lentils and chickpeas pretty much, and you eat a lot of oatmeal for breakfast. This is a hard stage, but I've already gone through it twice, since I made myself start all over once I got back from California. I guess it's comparable to boot camp or the Six Million Dollar Man. I broke myself down and REBUILT myself.
It actually has a lot of benefits that I didn't plan on.
The other thing that is KEY is that most of the bulk stuff I'm buying is among the cheapest stuff in the grocery store. I know you've always wanted to shop almost exclusively in that Goya aisle. Now you can!(*!@)!(*@ Dreams can come true.
I'm not going to lie to you, sometimes it's a wicked drag. Instead of really enjoying eating, sometimes you settle for enjoying the way you don't feel hungry any more. Work is by far the hardest daily challenge that I have come up against. Want anything from Earl of Sandwich? Nope. Will you eat some pizza if I order one? Nope. Here, Burger King screwed up my order. I don't eat cheese, so here you go. Oh... thanks... NOM NOM NOM. Once it's within my arm reach, my willpower sort of goes out the window.
I can't really even say how much it's actually doing for me, because I don't own a scale, and I try to work out as much as I possibly can anyway. The most important decision I made right at the outset was that I was NOT going to be miserable. If I was out with my friends, I was not going to order a side salad and eat my napkin. I was going to have a few beers and maybe a cheeseburger. I almost never go out more than once a week anyway. This ensures that I will not quit after the first 5 minutes. It actually probably makes me call my friends more haha.
For the first 9 days you basically deprive yourself of anything resembling normal food. And then slowly they let you reintroduce some things back into your diet. So to begin: no bread, no meat, no cheese, no potatoes, (or anything else white for that matter, besides egg whites) and NO alcohol. Ugh. You learn to subsist on brown rice, lentils and chickpeas pretty much, and you eat a lot of oatmeal for breakfast. This is a hard stage, but I've already gone through it twice, since I made myself start all over once I got back from California. I guess it's comparable to boot camp or the Six Million Dollar Man. I broke myself down and REBUILT myself.
It actually has a lot of benefits that I didn't plan on.
- It is teaching me to use spices more intelligently. When you're eating really bland food, you had better hope you can dress it up a little if you have any hopes of success.
- I learned that spices are freaking expensive. But for some reason, you can buy the basic ones at the pharmacy for like 99cents each.
- I also learned that the Shaw's in Beverly is fresh out of Cilantro 100% of the time. I hate them.
- Do you know the quantity of fruits and vegetables you have to consume to feel full? A disgusting amount. Do you know how much squash you can eat in one sitting before you start to lose your mind? I've never actually pushed that envelope so I don't know.
- Egg beaters are fantastic, convenient and a hell of a lot less messy than trying to procure egg-whites yourself. Omelettes rule!
- Let's talk about vegan imitation meat. There is a certain joy and pain involved. I don't care how long you've been a vegetarian or which product you buy. In most cases, I've found that it has the correct consistency and it's spiced correctly. It helps you feel full and it certainly adds "something" to your meal, but you're not fooling ANYONE into thinking this is meat. In the cases of the breakfast sausages that I put in my omelettes, they smell WAY more like sausages than they taste like them. That being said, the stuff isn't gross, it's totally edible. It just doesn't taste like meat. Most of the time it tastes like nothing. But it gets me by.
- Fat free, no carb, flour tortillas are better used as drink coasters. Ick.
The other thing that is KEY is that most of the bulk stuff I'm buying is among the cheapest stuff in the grocery store. I know you've always wanted to shop almost exclusively in that Goya aisle. Now you can!(*!@)!(*@ Dreams can come true.
I'm not going to lie to you, sometimes it's a wicked drag. Instead of really enjoying eating, sometimes you settle for enjoying the way you don't feel hungry any more. Work is by far the hardest daily challenge that I have come up against. Want anything from Earl of Sandwich? Nope. Will you eat some pizza if I order one? Nope. Here, Burger King screwed up my order. I don't eat cheese, so here you go. Oh... thanks... NOM NOM NOM. Once it's within my arm reach, my willpower sort of goes out the window.