Hello fellow fitness junkies! Since I missed my rare #wellnesswednesday moment, I shall turn this into a #fitnessfriday post instead. Do let me know which hashtag you prefer, yeah?
If you don't know me, then you must know that I've started gymming frequently (I usually do spinning, hot yoga and body balance, which is a mixture of taichi, yoga and pilates) more than 1 year (almost 2?) back and along the way I've also tried out various weight management programme, out of which my biggest failure being AgeLoc TR90 (my final post on it HERE).
Despite being physically active, I've never really managed to bring my weight down significantly as I couldn't keep my diet in check.
With a change in job, my gym days decreased significantly and I was eventually shocked out of my wits when I saw a number on the weighing scale which I've never seen before for my entire life.
That's it! I'm going on a diet!
After a few google searches on a certain 21 days detox diet programme that revolves around weeding, seeding and feeding, I decided to give it a shot.
The diet plan is a peculiar one, with specific can-eats and cannot-eats that changes each week, or rather with the can-eats adding on each week, spanning through 21 days. The first week was seemingly the most harsh, with the diet gradually easing up week by week.
So for day 1 to 7, it shall be the weeding week. whereby we weed out the bad bacteria, parasites, fungus and yeast through dietary changes. In order to achieve that, some major (and temporary) changes in our diet is inevitable.
During the weeding week, the following food shall be avoided where possible:
All sorts of (starchy) carbohydrates like rice, noodles, bread, pastries and potatoes.
Anything containing yeast
Anything with added sugar
Crustacean & Mollusks
(No seafood other than fish)
Deep-fried food
All dairy products
Alcohols
It's best to avoid coffee, but if you absolutely need it, limit yourself to just 1 cup a day.
My typical daily diet for the first week is as follow:
Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs, black coffee without sugar
Lunch: Yong Tau Foo (without noodles, minimal fish cakes)
Afternoon snack: 1 large apple or 1 medium banana
Dinner: Home-cooked stirfry vegetables with lean cuts of meat or fish (pan fried, or stirfry), kimchi
Supper: 2 servings of fruit (Eg. 1 kiwi, 1 small apple)
Daily water intake: 1.8 - 2.1L
Estimated daily calorie intake: 1000 - 1100 kcals
Being a sugar-addict, I thought the total omission of added sugar will be the most painful, but it turned out the omission of carbohydrates was more harsh on me. The first day was painful, and I was hungry half of the day (as I didn't prepare for afternoon snack at work). 2nd day onwards, I learnt my lesson and pack up 1 to 2 servings of fruits as snack to work and it got slightly better. However, I did notice that the usual hot yoga and body balance routines felt slightly more strenuous than it usually would be. And also, by the 3rd day, black coffee without sugar (Kopi O Kosong) tasted perfectly all right to me. I didn't expect myself to get used to a no added sugar diet this quickly.
Weight Loss after Week 1 - 2.3kg
Day 8 to 15 shall be the seeding week, whereby we inoculate the gut with beneficial bacteria.
During the seeding week, we introduce complex (clean) carbohydrates into the diet but still avoid the following food:
No refined carbohydrates like white rice, noodles, white bread, pastries.
Anything with added sugar
Deep-fried food
All dairy products
Alcohols
Limit to 1 cup of black coffee without sugar per day, and 2 servings of seafood (other than fish) in the week.
My typical daily diet for the 2nd week is as follow:
Breakfast: 1 hard boiled egg, 1 weet-bix, handful of blueberries & strawberries
Lunch: 1/2 serving (1/2 cup, cooked) red cargo rice marmite porridge, with choice of 2 stirfry vegetables and 1 stirfry lean meat.
I only cook my own porridge and buy the dishes from hawker centre.
Afternoon snack: 1 to 2 servings of fruits (usually apple and/or banana)
Dinner: Home-cooked stirfry vegetables with lean cuts of meat or fish (pan fried, or stirfry), kimchi
Supper: 1 to 2 servings of fruit (usually apple, orange, kiwi or cherries)
Daily water intake: 1.8 - 2.1L
Estimated daily calorie intake: +/- 1200 kcals
2nd week was quite a breeze as I've gotten used to the taste of red cargo rice during mid-week and having nothing sweet in my diet except for fruits felt perfectly normal.
Hot yoga and body balance sessions felt more manageable (though the burning sensation in my muscles still came quicker than usual) and I added in a session of spinning towards the end of the week and survived it.
Weight Loss after Week 2 - 0.4kg
(As I was on my period for this week, water retention could have affected my weight loss results)
Accumulated Weight Loss after 2 weeks - 2.7kg
Finally, day 16 to 21 will be the feeding week, whereby we feed the healthy bacteria and the entire body what it needs to heal itself.
During the feeding week, we introduce dairy products into the diet and also lifts the ban on deep-fried food and alcohols, but still avoid the following food:
No refined carbohydrates like white rice, noodles, white bread, pastries.
Anything with added sugar
My typical daily diet for the 3rd week is as follow:
Breakfast: 1 hard boiled egg + 1 weet-bix OR 1 steamed sweet potato, handful of blueberries/grapes & strawberries
Lunch: 1/2 serving (1/2 cup, cooked) red cargo rice, with choice of 2 stirfry vegetables and 1 stirfry lean meat OR 1 soup (Eg. slice fish soup or lotus root pork ribs soup)
I only cook my own rice and buy the dishes from hawker centre.
Afternoon snack: 1 to 2 servings of fruits (usually apple and/or banana)
Dinner: Home-cooked stirfry vegetables with lean cuts of meat or seafood (pan fried, or stirfry), kimchi
Supper: 1 to 2 servings of fruit (usually apple, orange, kiwi or nectarine), 1/4 to 1/2 cup HL low fat milk.
Daily water intake: 1.8 - 2.1L
Estimated daily calorie intake: +/- 1200 - 1300+ kcals
3rd week felt like an #eatclean diet has more or less been cultivated as I hardly crave for sugary food anymore, and naturally avoided deep fried food even thought the 'ban' was lifted. I also added an additional spinning session to the week (2 sessions of spinning, 1 hot yoga and 1 body balance) and didn't feel much fatigue during my exercises.
Weight Loss after Week 3 - 0.7kg
Accumulated Weight Loss after 3 weeks - 3.4 kg
You may think that 3.4kg in 3 weeks isn't all that impressive, but the important point to note is that this diet is sustainable as long as you do not let the glutton in you go out of control. Other than the first 1 or 2 days of the weeding week whereby I felt constant hunger from the lack of starchy carbohydrates (and without fruits at hand to fill my tummy), I was well fed and didn't feel starved or deprived at any time.
I guess this will be my wordiest post ever and without a single photograph, so you weight loss hopefuls might already be seeing stars right now, so I shall end my wall of text here.
Stay tuned for part 2 of this #eatclean weight loss diet plan (hopefully will be up next week!) whereby I will share my progress of this diet after the 3rd week.
Hint: Cheat day coming up!
Till then,
Mia Foo
Great #wellnesswednesday intiative. I just found out lately that I weigh as light as I was in first year high school. I used to be 10 pounds heavier years before. I never do diets because I can't stick to them. I love food! But what I do is exercise a lot. I started slimming down when I played Ultimate, climbed mountains, tried pole dancing and when I can't go out, do exercises at home. I never look at scales too, because I don't think they're indicators of health. Basically, I just try to live a physically active life. And it's working for me :)
ReplyDeletehmm, may i ask for your age? when i was younger, before 25, there's no need for me to fret over what I eat as well. but as age adds on, a drastic change in diet is inevitable. i can no longer eat what I want and remain slim with just exercising.
DeleteThat's a great result. It's very impressive. Thanks for sharing the complete experience and results. I'm glad it worked
ReplyDeleteHello Molly just saw this write up too after my cribbings on your other page
ReplyDeleteAm not so used to blog articles and how to use or read them but I jump from link to link and try to find the ultimate end
Was reading thru your diet ... Now the problem is I don't and actually can't go the Chinese cooking in my diet as few places I see some dishes with Chinese names
So how do I substitute that with breads or brown rice or seven quinoa
Could u help me with that? Or can I contact u directly thru fone msg or email?
you mentioned you have consulted a dietician and is following her diet advice. have you followed up with your progress with her? i wonder if she has a plan worked out for you and you may be disrupting your intended results if you were to switch diets mid-way.
Deletewhere are you staying currently? you can drop me an email if you prefer that. :)
miannehime@gmail.com
this is such a great diet plan and it's nice to see that it works effectively for you.. I haven't established a diet plan for myself yet but I would love to take this as an inspiration.. I think this is diabetic-friendly diet plan too!
ReplyDeleteI remember when I was still single. I played badminton at least once a week. But I didn't lose much weight. Then, I changed my diet to simply having half cup of rice per meal. That's when I lost weight fast!
ReplyDeleteI am also a health-conscious person but I can't go as far as what you did. I am only following the no rice diet. It somehow lowered my weight. It would also be great if you would add a before and after photo to convince readers its effectiveness.
ReplyDeleteI am always frustrated with diet.. I am always caught cheating.. and gained more and more.. specially when stressed.. it's really nice to see how a pretty girl, still very conscious about her weight.. good luck to your slimming! Freelancer Philippines
ReplyDeleteI hope I could be disciplined like you. With the fitness journey including the diet and the work-out. It's like I'm almost always eating. Whenever I'm stressed, I eat. Eating is just one of my fave things to do! Now, I try to eat healthy. ☺️
ReplyDelete