My Journey

First I lost weight and kept it off.

Then I started exercising and loved it.

Then I cut my hair off and have never felt more free.

I started looking at myself through different eyes and started talking better to myself and about myself. I started listening to my body.

Then I started changing things up every other month. I became a vegetarian and pescatarian for an entire year – I loved it and it wasn’t as challenging as I thought it would be.

Stopped drinking coffee for 2 months. That was a huge deal to me. I struggled with this every day.

I quit milk for 2 months. Could never do almond milk or soya milk, just hated any alternative to cow’s milk.

Then I ate only veggies, no red meat, no pork, no chicken, only seafood, and for a couple of weeks I cut out the seafood even and ate only vegetables.

Through all these, I learnt so much about myself.

What my body loves and I felt fantastic. The best I have ever felt in my entire life and I was happy on the inside and this portrayed what people saw on the outside.

Sweets and cakes are still my favourite treat and giving it up is a huge deal to me, I know now that I can live without it.

Breakfast

The biggest struggle I had was when I stopped eating eggs. After not consuming eggs for months, once I did try it again it made me sick. Breakfast all of a sudden became a huge struggle.

In the beginning when I was banting I would have a berry smoothie and I would add an egg to it. It kept me going until lunch time.

Then I changed up my breakfast to egg muffins, omelets, or a platter with veggies cheese or an almond flour muffin but when eggs became a no go, I started eating rolled oats with milk and cinnamon. I also enjoy some plain yoghurt with a small amount of muesli sometimes I cut fruit into yoghurt.

Other days I fast which takes me all the way to lunch and I don’t have to worry about breakfast.

Right now I am not following any specific plan or diet, I stick to some general rules I learnt from my nutritionist.

1. Eat only 3 small fruits a day
2. I follow the weights of my last meal plan 180g white lean protein
3. If you must – do brown rice
4. Snack on nuts, a fruit, etc
5. Potatoes are not the enemy, it all depends on what you have with it
6. Not all veggies are equal
7. Learn to read labels
8. Learn to spot any form of sugar in products
9. Not all oats are equal
10. Hydration, hydration, hydration.

Find what your body loves even if it means eliminating certain food groups or activities. The results are truly rewarding and it is the only way to ensure consistency.

Charlie