Healthy Eating.....Summer 2012 Update!

If you follow my food blog, you might have noticed that for the past month I haven't been posting as many recipes as I used to. The reason is simple, I felt the need to go on a 1 month diet. Throughout last Fall and Winter I have been eating healthy 5 days a week from Monday to Friday and then allowed myself my favourite meals including pasta, bread, pizza and desserts on Saturdays and Sundays. I was very surprised that not being on a serious diet would still allow me to eat my favourite foods without gaining weight. All my life I have seen food as pure joy but also as an enemy because  I would easily gain weight. Thanks to my dedication to getting fit during the past 3 years I have not only lost weight and toned myself, but I have also been able to maintain my current weight while still enjoying eating. 

Last Summer I was eating super healthy, even too healthy, mainly salads as well as fruits and salads. Even during my three weeks holiday in Sicily I kept eating healthy most of the time with the exception of may be once a week when I would allow myself one single not so healthy meal. That allowed me to reach a very low  weight and although last Summer I was may be slightly thinner than this Summer, I wasn't healthy because I wasn't eating all the good stuff which one needs to eat to have a healthy body. Moreover, the 6 days a week workout routine I followed the previous Fall and Winter made me gain muscle especially on my legs. So overall when considering the extra body weight due to the increased muscle percentage I have not gained any fat which is the most important thing. And to be sincere I have never felt so great in my body. I definitely do not have the most perfect legs, but I have never had legs this toned and lean. 

The one month diet I decided to go on during the past month was simply a way of giving my body a break from the not so healthy foods I was eating during the weekend including pasta, bread and deserts. This allowed me to tone even more and feel more fit and healthy just in time for my birthday (on which I went for a delicious buffet). The most important thing I have actually achieved through this one month of complete healthy diet (except for my wedding anniversary dinner and my husband's birthday dinner) was understanding that I can actually keep on doing what I was doing. I feel I can go back to eating healthy 5 days a week and then enjoying some of my favourite foods during the weekend BUT with a few added changes. Below are MY NEWLY ADDED CHANGES TO MY DIET which will allow me to stay healthy and continue toning without getting bored:

1. Eat a smaller portion of food at lunch.
2. Reduce the amount of beans taken (which was causing me bloating).
3. Introduce a fourth meal into the day which will consist of a fruit snack in the afternoon which will make up for the smaller lunch.
4. Replace beans (which were my main source of fibre at lunch) with some high fibre healthy bread, noodles and new foods like quinoa.
5. Enjoy your favourite meals in the weekend BUT IN MODERATION, that is in smaller portions.
6. Limit the intake of foods high in sugar even during the weekend including biscuits (which are my weakness) and reduce the amount of baking (which is actually super easy in Summer since I do not plan on baking in this super hot weather).

I have already started following the above guidelines I set for myself from this past Sunday and I can definitely say that I am feeling much better. Last Saturday it was my birthday and I got to enjoy a delicious buffet for dinner. Although, I definitely ate very little when compared to most other people dining there, I still felt super full for what I am used to eating. So even though I loved every single minute of my birthday dinner including all the delicious food, eating this much is something I would only limit to special occasions. I also noticed that for the next 2 days apart from feeling still full from the buffet I started experiencing again a feeling of nausea which is the same sensation I used to get during the weekends after eating what I baked. Although, I only took 2 small pieces of 2 different desserts containing fruit and pastry for me it was still too much, especially after a one month diet during which I had no desserts except for few biscuits brought to me from Sicily and some healthy ice cream (either vanilla or cherry ripple). This shows me that my body can still enjoy deserts but only healthier ones which are based on fruit and contain less sugar than the average ones. I have also noticed that when I am craving something sweet lately is simply a healthy ice cream which I enjoy eating with some fruit and cereal. Last Sunday I had the option of having a cherry ripple and coconut semifreddo but I chose to have some cherry ripple ice cream with a banana and cornflakes. I felt great because my sweet crave was satisfied without leaving me nauseated.

I want to conclude with a simple tip: enjoy what you like eating. Then stop for a moment and reflect on whether what you are eating is actually giving you more joy than trouble. The answer to this question will help you find a balance between eating healthy and still enjoying food!

STAY FAB