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