Thursday 3 May 2012

I'm a healthy eater! And other lies....

I'm trying to eat more healthily.  I need to shed a few pounds.
Don't worry, this won't turn into a weight watchers blog where I update you on how much I've lost (or put on, in my case!).

I'm not obese or anything, just a teeny tiny bit over weight. I joined the gym last october-ish, and since then, I've lost 3lbs. yaaaaay for me!
But wait...(or weight....if you like, bwahaha), when I returned to uni last week after being on placement at Dewsbury for 5 weeks, one of my friends Sal looked noticeably trimmer, and I was all like 

'gurlllll you look good! you've lost so much weight!' 
and she was like 
'Thanks :D I've lost a stone!'
and then I was like 
'WHUT!?! :O How did you lose a stone in 5 weeks? I lost 3lbs in 6 months :/'
and then she was like
'just through dieting and cutting out all the bad food I used to eat'

and then I was like DARN IT! 
Those of you who've been following me for a while know that I regularly post pictures of food!  But that's my biggest problem, my darn will power! And I think that's what a lot of people struggle with.  I'm pretty regular with exercise, and I know myself that I probably would shed a lot more weight If i eat more sensibly, but darn it, how do you expect me to have a cup of tea without some jaffa cakes!?! 


So now I'm gunna start eating healthier :D
Now I know from experience, things like this should be done in moderation and slowly.  If I was to give up caffeine, stope eating sugary snacks, avoid take-aways and not have any crisps all at once, I would be an emotional wreck, throw ridiculous hissy fits and break down after...hmmmm..let me think......36 hours :'(

Ok, maybe not 36 hours, but still, I'd just end up giving up and binging on all of the oh so good, but oh so bad for you fooooooooodz.

My usual conversation with food


So my first step is giving up caffeine.  Caffein in moderation is not really a bad thing, but if you become dependent on it it and have it in excess then it can increase your blood sugar levels, act as a diuretic, making you wee a lot more but retain water less, and can decrease your iron levels. But the biggie for me is that I read (I can't remember where, maybe in the metro or something?) that dependancy on caffeine increase fat storage, especially around the stomach area.

Now switching from regular coffee to decaff isn't really a big deal for me.  I'm not a big coffee drinker to be honest.
My problem lies with that beautiful hot drink, made up by those three sweet letters........
T.E.A.
*swoon*, I'm getting all hot and bothered just thinking about the delicious beverage!
It's times like this I'm annoyed with my cultural identity.  I'm British Pakistani, so it's like a double tea whammy, as both cultures are obsessed with tea.
(It's a generalisation.  Not all brits and paks love tea, shocking, I know.)

So the first step was finding an alternative hot beverage.  My mums joining me on this quest of healthy eating, and she is even more obsessed with tea than I am.  I'm an amateur in the tea drinking stakes in comparison to mother dearest.  She must have between 5-8 cups a day.  So giving up caffeine was a big blow to my mum! But worry not dearests, we found amazing tea substitutes:

sorry, instagram-ing had to be done....it just HAD to!

so theres peppermint tea which is lovely with fresh mint leaves also

green tea, which tastes dissgrossting (disgusting+gross=disgrossting, courtesy of GM for thinking of that geniusnes), but makes me feel less guilty if I drink one after a greasy take-away

Apple and Cinnamon which is very refreshing, and suprisingly, it's purple!

Decaf tea so we can enjoy a normal brew minus the caffeine

and Redbush, which my mum could not stop making immature jokes about (I'm sure you can work them out for yourself!).  Now I like this, but my mum thinks it's nasty.  It's not exactly savoury, but it has that kind of smell, and is quite different from a normal cuppa.  Lovely though, in my opinion!

is this not the coolest tea set you've ever seen!?
from laughingsquid


We've also been eating a lot more spinach and other leafy greens.  We generally have a lot of fruit and veg in our diet anyway.  We have a curry pretty much everyday (as you'd expect in an asian household), and most of the time its either chicken, or aubergine, cauliflower, kidney beans, lentils (dhaal) etc. etc. but the downside to a curry is that it's quite oily and salty etc. and with veggies, it's the general rule of the longer you cook them, the less minerals and nutrients they have.

so yes.  lets see how long this lasts!

By the by....

did you lot vote in the elections today??
I hope you did! I take voting so seriously.  I honestly believe that every vote counts and really does make a difference.  I know sooooo many people who go on like
'bah, I'm not voting cuz I don't believe in any of the political parties.  They're all poops'
Duhhhhh! We all know every political parties chats crap and are full of false promises and  what not.  Just do what I do and vote for the person you hate the least!

I mean, we take the fact the we have the privilege to vote so lightly.  Remember 100's of years ago when only the top of society had the right to vote? and remember the suffragettes who jumped in front of horses to get the point of women's rights across!? (I'm pretty sure someone jumped in front of a horse!).  

Look at Saudi, women can't even bloody vote there!!! (arghhhh, that's a rant for another post), and look at the arab spring.  People are dying, dying for a democratic government! 

So don't take it for granted and go and vote for the person you hate the bloody least!!
(I'm aware that this may be too late as voting finished at 10pm! but remember this for next time :P)

xo 




24 comments:

  1. I did indeed vote today, and I take it seriously. As for dieting. Well I'm trying to lose weight myself, so I'd like to think I know what I'm talking about. Don't cut things completely. Everything is fine in moderation. With the proper diet control you can even have takeaways every so often. The main thing is to exercise, and to lose more calories than you gain. If your friend has really cut a lot of things out, then the last laugh will be yours. When she stops dieting, and starts eating normally again, all that weight is going to come right back. Though yes please to purple tea! Good luck as well :)

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    1. Excellent advise good sire. Maybe you could be my food coach :O
      Purple tea is awesomes, try some!
      And thank you :D

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    2. Haha sorry but I doubt that one. My own weight loss goals don't seem to be going too well right now. But I was right when I said that totally cutting things out isn't the way to go.

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  2. Well, my craving for jaffa cakes just increased tenfold... must... resist...

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    1. arghhh they're just cakey/biscuity goodness! Sorry for setting of you're craving, but they're so worth it :D

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  3. I think finding the right combination of dietary guidelines is a matter of trial and error. I hope you have found the right combination of tips and tricks that will work for you. Speaking of tricks, I guess the trick by the rich to keeping the poor people under their heels, is to give them just enough comfort, to make the risk of rebellion not worth it. So, in some ways I can understand why many feel too lethargic to involve themselves in the political process at all, as pathetic as such attitudes may seem.

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    1. I love how you linked food to politics so effortlessly in your comment above. I want to eat a politician now......actually maybe not!

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  4. Hello Aysh,
    I agree with Mark “lose more calories than you gain”. Also try to have less carbohydrate, but have enough protein. I guess the best thing is moderation. Peppermint tea sounds great. Good luck!!
    keiko

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    1. Thank you for the advise :)
      Peppermint IS great! Have you never had it?

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  5. I always eat Jaffa Cakes like that!! Dieting is soooo hard so you have to really want to do it or you'll just keep 'accidentally' eating junk!! :) x

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    1. I know! Positive thinking will result in positive results hopefully!

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  6. It's always an uphill battle, I'm always trying to take 2 steps forward and 1 step back. good luck!

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    1. Thank you! And I agree, will hopefully get that momento

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  7. I couldn't give up caffeine. I just couldn't. What would I do without my daily jolt. I work out, and the adrenaline rush is great, but it's nothing compared to a good case of the jitters.

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    1. Hey you've got nothing to worry about if it's not causing you any trouble ;) carry on jittering

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  8. I don't really get that comic, but I still think it's funny. Should I be concerned?

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    1. That makes you awesome, and that, my good sir, is the only thing you should be concerned about

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  9. Great luck on the whole diet thing. I've tried going without caffeine, and I turn into a skinny, non-threatening version of the Hulk. You don't want to see me without caffeine.

    That tea set is great! I have never seen test tubes in a tea set before, maybe I'm a level 1 amateur, but what are they for?

    I'll not vote, because I choose to waive my 'right' because it's out of my hands before a decision is even placed in my tasting palm. I will, however, start a few petitions to get measures put on the ballot. At least I'll be a practicing democratic supporter(green tea party all the way!).

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    1. Its a tea chemistry set, so maybe the test tubes are for mixing different tea flavours?! I dunno.

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    2. And I like the sound of green tea party! I have no idea what your policies are, but I don't care, I'll vote for you!

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  10. I love the background to this page. Also, excellent post Aysh

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    1. The background is Banksy,
      And thank you dear :)

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  11. I wish I was motivated enough to lose weight darn it I love choclate & chips too much....good for u tho keep it up!
    love that t set it is coool! & loving the variety of teas, I think I need to get some I'm just a tea addict & need to switch to decaf now i think! great blog as usual!

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  12. Youll do it, just positive thinking and commitment :) thank you my dear!

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