I started making changes because I was buying large clothes and shortening my walks for foot aches way too often. I’m exercise reluctant almost entirely, but I love swimming, so my first concern was going back to the swimming-pool. Then I started looking for a friendly diet.
What and how I eat
Raw food is most important. I eat with my family, but I eat different food. My staple receipts are veggies/ fruits salads, which use raw ingredients. I use red wine vinegar, lemon juice, light yoghurt and 1 tablespoonful of virgin olive oil for the dressing. In between the family meals, I usually chop carrots, celery and apples and mix them with nuts and grapes for my supplementary green helpings. I eat most of my food raw, but I grill or boil meat, and I boil certain vegetables in unsalted water.
I eat little meat and eggs. I eat meat in moderate quantities 2-3 times a week. I like grilled trout, marinated mackerel and tuna salad, but I get sick of fish sooner than of other meats. So, I eat fish whenever I feel like it, and I also eat grilled/ boiled chicken breast. I don’t eat other meats at all. I’m supposed to avoid eggs, so I don’t eat meat on the days when I use one hard-boiled egg in my salad. I eat 1-2 eggs/ week.
I eat many green helpings. I stick to a ten minutes food break every two hours. This looks more time-consuming than it truly is. I bought ten small plastic-topped boxes and a chopper/ masher. I fill some plastic boxes with chopped fruit/ vegetables every morning, so mixing them into salads would take very little time during the day. The time spent with the frequent meals is the time gained with less cooking for myself, since I eat raw food mostly. Feeding every 2 h. taught me how much food I needed at one time within several days. I am still having the hardest times with not working on something else when I eat. But this is how I have grown overweight, so I’m working on it. A filled plastic box is in my bag whenever I am away for more than 2 h.
Anti-oxidants are my first choice. I already loved to eat all kinds of fruits, vegetables, but now I make sure my green food is antioxidant-rich, to fight cholesterol. I eat boiled kale, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli, grilled eggplants, as well as beetroots, red bell peppers and onions. From the antioxidant fruits list, I eat prunes and raisins, and red grapes daily in my salads. Oranges and grapefruits are top on my fruit list.
I have slight problems with integral cereals/ rice. In my case, combining the nine green helpings with the three integral grains helpings is difficult. I love cereal flakes with milk, but I don’t eat them in other combinations. I always liked toasted integral bread in the morning, but I liked it with butter. I cannot dip in olive oil, which is too much fat for me. I also tend to avoid rice, because of my constipation/ bloating problems, even though I like it. What you can do is eat boiled rice or Italian integral wheat pasta, with 1 spoonful of virgin olive oil and spicy herbs, to your grilled fish or chicken breast.
I have replaced many usual fats. I use only virgin olive oil. I don’t fry anything. I replaced sour cream with lean yoghurt completely. I use yoghurt in salad dressings, as well. I don’t regret mayonnaise, but I’m really having hard times with using smashed avocado instead of butter.
I still eat diary products. I am a female aged 42 who needs to consider osteoporosis. So, I am not cutting off on dairy products. I have always drunk one glass of skinned milk in the morning, and I still do. I eat cottage cheese and feta in moderate quantities but quite often. I never eat yellow cheese. Sometimes I use butter on my toasted integral bread.
I do compromise. I compromise with food sometimes, but I never compromise with swimming. I swim thrice a week. On the other days, I am sometimes tired and hungry. I trust my body when it tells me the day has been particularly demanding, but compromise never goes beyond an extra slice of grilled meat or some more nuts.
