Civil War
written on Monday, 2 May 2016 @ 07:03 ♡
As you may or not may know I am currently trying out the McDougall Diet for Maximum Weight Loss but I decided to cheat that day because we were both getting really hungry and felt like eathing some snacks during the movie. Well, I guess you could say as soon as I was on my way home, my digestion declared civil war. I sat on the toilet for a long-ass time and I felt so sick the whole evening. After two or more hours of not being able to sleep I ended up waking up at 5.30am.
I read something in the book and also in some of the Amazon reviews that apparently people who decided to eat like they used to before going on this "diet" experieced something like that but I didn't think that I would, too! Man, let me tell you; I am not doing that again! It is not worth it. Apparently my body reacted that way because it was already getting used to eating so clean that eating the unhealthy processed stuff was too irritating. And I only ate some pretzel sticks, vegan dark chocolate (80%) and drank 1L of Coca Cola Zero.
Damn.
Edit: I'll be changing the layout to something way more simple with a bigger font size soon. I love the current Apink one, I really do, but it is not very pleasant to the eyes..
Labels: life lesson, love life, rant, weight loss, weight loss journey
McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss, Summary
written on Monday, 25 April 2016 @ 12:26 ♡
Like I mentioned in my last post, I bought John A. McDougall's book 'The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss' because I am just so tired of calorie restricting (800-1000kcal per day) and over exercising (cardio 45min. 6 times a week). After reading and watching all those positive reviews on this book, I decided to give it a try since I know that my former way of losing weight is neither healthy, nor sustainable since I already gained back half of the ~15kg/30lbs I lost last year.
So the next few months I will be documenting my weight loss and experiences with this diet (or should I say life style?) and hopefully I'll get some nice results.
"Initially, you are inspired and hopeful about a new diet; you fast, suffer hunger, and count calories; you enjoy short-term weight loss; the hunger takes its troll and you break your fast and eat (...) you go back to your old way of eating" (p.39)Let's talk about the program.
McDougall starts by making one understand that hunger is not a bad, but a good thing. The body is telling us that it needs certain nutrients and that we won't be satsified before getting those. The most important thing the body needs are contrary to popular belief: carbohydrates.
You hardly get those from animal products (dairy and meat) or oils and should much rather focus on eating plant based, such as potatoes, rice and vegetables (read: The China Study).
I know that when I first decided to change my life and go vegan I thought "What the hell am I going to eat now?!". I didn't like cooking, I didn't like potatos and I absolutely loved meat. I literally ate chicken every. single. day. and couldn't understand and imagine how someone would actually choose to go vegetarian or even worse; vegan. One day I ended up watching kalelkitten's video out of curiosity and because I wasn't able to fall asleep and after overcomming my ignorance and finally stopping to roll my eyes everytime she said "vegan", I realised that what she talks about actually made sense.
The day after watching her and many other educational videos on the meat and dairy industry, I started to cook more and cut out all animal products (which was easier than I thought) and now I find myself loving potatos and veggies which I didn't like before. "Food preferences are learned and unlearned" says McDougall (p.35).
"The fat you eat is the fat you wear" (p.48)According to the book, less than 4% fat of one's daily calorie intake is used for synthesis of new cells, hormones, and other body parts and another 3% of kcal is buned in the transfer of fat from the dinner plate to the adipose tissue which leaves 93% of the fat consumed (p.42)!!
Carbohydrates are not stored as fat and they don't make you gain weight. They get processed and if you comsume 'too much' of it the body ends up burning and releasing them as heat through the skin and lungs. The fat you wear gets burned quickly, though, if you stop eating fat.
So what does the McDougal diet consist of?
The McDougall diet consist mostly of starches (p.60ff), which are ideal for the human body:
- Whole grains (brown rice, barley, oatmeal, wheat, millet)
- Potatoes (sweet potatoes, yams)
- Squashes (acorn, butternut, buttercup, summer squash, pumpkin)
- Legumes (beans, peas, lentils)
- Yellow and green vegetables (carrots, collard greens), should be 1/3 to 1/2 of your meal!
- Fruit (2 servings a day), avoid dried fruit, fruit puree and fruit juice
- No animal products (diary, meat, eggs)
- No oils (eliminate ALL oils! Yes, that includes avocados, nuts, soy products like tofu, etc.)
- No flour products (bread, bagels, pastas, pretzels, crackers, corn, wheat tortillas)
- Try to stay away from processed food
- Eat small amouts of sugar (on your oatmeal for example)
- Eat until you're satsfied (like mentioned before: chew slowly)
- 6 or more small meals a day, snack frequently
- Chew slowly
- Allow time for digestion (20min, if still hungry → eat more)
- Restrict variety (for example have rice with vegetables and tomato sauce, not a plate full of various little smaller meals like salsa, rice, noodles, vegetables, fruit all at the same time)
- Take vitamin B12 (more info)
- Do some exercise to fasten the weight loss (walking 1h 3 times a week, for example, it controls appetite)
- Moderate → 2/3 starch, 1/3 very low calorie salads
- Rapid → 1/2 starch, 1/2 very low calorie salads
- Hasty → 1/3 starch, 2/3 very low calorie salads
- Consider using guar gum, oat bran, rice bran etc.
- Cut down salt
- Hot red pepper may increase metabolic rate and burn more calories (p.72)
- Artifical sweeteners may increase hunger, also litte sugar is allowed so there is no need for Stevia etc.
- Only drink water when you're thirsty, don't drink at meals (can make you feel full but also hungry)
- Be faithful to yourself, really follow the rules!
- Eat low calorie greens and vegetables before the starchy portion
- To maintain weight loss, continue following the program
- Give yourself time to adjust to the new foods
- Make your exercise fun, don't over-do it (you should be able to carry a conversation while exercising, if not - slow down!), do them before meals
- Try to stay away from alcohol and coffee
- Shop for food when you are full, make a shopping list
"Health feels better than sickness" (p.138)
- Be goal-oriented → I want to lose 20kg/44lbs
- Acknowledge your willingness to pay the price → Eating at home, no oils
- Educate yourself → Skinny Bitch, China Study, YouTube
- Visualize yourself as healthy → Imagine everyone asking "how did you do it?"
- Make a commitment → *Shia Labeaouf voice* JUST DO IT! (c) Nike
- Ensure that your environment supports your goals → Following your diet should be as easy as possible
- Alter Your Copin Mechanisms → Instead of stuffing your face with unhealthy food, go for a walk
- Join a Support Group
- Reward yourself → Celebrate small victories
- Keep it simple → Frozen food FTW!!
This post was not sponsored.
Labels: diet, vegan, weight loss, weight loss journey
Weight Weight Weight
written on Friday, 30 October 2015 @ 12:26 ♡
Labels: life, regular, weight loss journey
+ I lost 4kg, - I hate everyone pt 2
written on Wednesday, 6 May 2015 @ 17:23 ♡
Now let's talk about the not so pretty things.
To be honest, I always expected to find friends I'm going to have for the rest of my life in university but right now it doesn't seem like it. Everyone I hang out with is super friendly and nice but I just can't seem to really connect w anyone which I didn't mind at first, but now it turnes out that my best friend M is going to leave to study in a different city in September, meaning I'll be all by myself..
And then there's this other guy from my class who I kind of want to hook up with but then again he seems to be VERY experienced to say the least, and I don't know if I could handle the pressure since I'm over here like
Labels: angry, friends, life, life lesson, love, love life, random, regular, sad, university, weight loss journey
I'm moving out!!!
written on Saturday, 21 March 2015 @ 13:01 ♡
The whole moving out procedure is going to take place next week on the 27th. I have to admit, I'm not really looking forward to moving all my stuff around but then again once this is over I'm going to be so glad. The only thing that is kind of bothering me is the fact that I have to work so much since I'm paying for the flat myself.
Right now I'm working two jobs so that I earn 400€ a month (I'd work more but if I do, I wont get the financial aid I'm already getting form the state). The flat is 430€ + 20€ for internet and with the money I'm getting from the state I'd have to pay 150€ which leaves me with 250€ for other things since my mum will still be providing me with food. I don't know if I'll be able to study and work this much at the same time but I'll definitely try and see how it works out.
I'm also planning on buying myself a hamster (yay!!) so look forward to some pictures hehe
I'm going to start my weight loss program again on monday next week. I'll write more about this another time though since I have to go to work now. Laterzz
Labels: life, weight loss journey, work
Resolutions
written on Thursday, 11 September 2014 @ 00:15 ♡
By "men" I am only referring to real life men, of course. I won't ever stop swooning over celebrities to be honest. Actually, I feel like having an imaginary relationship with a famous singer or actor is way more satisfying than having a real life crush anyways. I mean there is no fear of rejection ever, he won't disappoint you and you don't have to worry about whether he's going to text you back or not... I mean, I guess sometimes you want to actually connect with someone forreal but common, that's just one negative aspect!!
But jokes aside, I really want to think more about myself and concentrate on fulfilling my dreams that don't involve finding The One. Starting tomorrow I am going to do this crazy unhealthy diet I once did for instance, since my eating habits are getting worse and worse and I'm gaining weight. I am doing this for me and I want to be comfortable in my own skin..
I am also going to focus more on my korean studies. Yes, I've said that I will do that so many times but this time, I am really going to get my shit together and learn the language. And besides, I need something to keep me occupied so that I don't think about how hungry I am while being on this diet anyway, so who knows, I might be fluent in korean in a few months??? lmao
It feels good to actually write down those resolutions and to have a plan, to have something to focus on. I hope I'll stay as motivated as I am right now.
Labels: life, life lesson, love life, weight loss journey
Weight Loss Journey #3
written on Wednesday, 14 May 2014 @ 09:59 ♡
Day 16.
I lost 5.5kg/~12pounds so far.
Not eating and just drinking Almased is getting easier. Right now all my cravings have died off although smelling food is still really hard. I do enjoy looking at food, though. I downloaded a food recipes app where I created a list of healthy food I want to make as soon as I’m done with my diet.
Also last week I kind of had “a day off" where I drank lots of alcohol since there was this huge party in my city. I just added another day of 3x Almased to make up for it, meaning there are only 6 days left until I can eat one meal a day.
My workouts are going pretty good too but I have to admit that I am doing less Blogilates and more cardio now. I used to do 40-60min pilates 6 times a week and 30-40min cardio every second day. Now I am at 20-30min pilates and 40min cardio every day 6 times a week.
My last to final exams are just around the corner and I am super busy so please excuse my late replies and inactive blogging T___T And wish me luck, guys!
Labels: life, regular, weight loss journey
Weight Loss Journey #2
written on Monday, 5 May 2014 @ 16:11 ♡
Day 7.
I’ve lost 3kg/~7pounds so far.
My diet is going well so far, well, except for the fact that I am really fucking hungry.
I haven’t eaten anything for the past 7 days and just drank Almased and 3l water everyday. Like I mentioned before; I also go to the gym every second day and do Blogilates 6 days a week. Thank god, it’s “only” two more weeks untill I can finally eat something healthy!!
And yes, I KNOW IT’S NOT HEALTHY but I don’t care. I tried the healthy way but it just doesn’t work for me. In my case, it’s either go big or go home.
In 14 days I will only replace 2 meals instead of 3 with Almased and after another 3 weeks I’ll replace only 1 meal and then we’ll see if I am happy with the way I look or want to start over again.
My first meal will be a salat with tomatos, cucumbers, a little bit of onions and some low fat meat which I am going to add the the salad. Ugh you can’t even imagine how much I am looking forward to this….. For my second meal the next day, I will try to make some kimchi. I’m kind of excited for this one!!
Yesterday was tough. My friend ate a huge piece of cake RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME while I was just chewing my gum sigh…. And next to me there was a guy eating a whole pizza and there was just food everywhere!! It smelled so good………. Well, I have to admit, I am really proud since I was able to control myself and not buy anything, not like I used to.
Also I spent about 5hours at the library that day (AGAIN) because of my finals. I hate school. T____T
I’ll keep you updated. The reviews will follow as soon as I am done with my finals.
Labels: life, regular, weight loss journey
Weight Loss Journey #1
written on Sunday, 27 April 2014 @ 17:14 ♡
I really wanted to post more frequently. Ha! Obviously I didn’t manage to do so…
Besides finishing Dream High and Cunning Single Lady (I’ll do a review soon! I know, I always say that and then it takes me weeks to actually write one but I am super busy bc my final oral exams are just around the corner), I’ve been focusing on losing weight.
Last year I started to exercise but didn’t really lose much because I was not able to change my diet. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it… plus, I always assumed that I would still lose weight if I’d just continue to work out every second day. Obviously that didn’t work.
Now, last month, I started to change my eating habits and cut out all the junk food and sweets. I also replaced my usual gym workout (30min of cardio aka 500kcal) with BLOGILATES (I love love love Cassey!!!) and I just completed the Beginner’s Calendar which I’m very proud of. Of course since it’s only been 1 month it’s not like I’ve lost extremely much but I already feel that my muscles are stronger than before. I am really looking forward to do next month’s calendar (Cassey’s workout calendars basically tell you which videos to do every day in order to achieve the best results).
Another thing I did was ordering Almased which is some sort of dietary supplement, since a lot of people (my best friend included) say it really works. I don’t know about that but I’ll definitely give it a try and keep you updated!
School’s tomorrow. Ugh. I need to take a shower. x__x
Labels: life, regular, weight loss journey