My weight loss journey continued, and with it, questions and challenges arose that I needed to address, and “tips and cheats” that I developed to help me traverse my diet journey. One such question was about weigh-in. In the past, I avoided the scale and hence did not weigh myself. Except during doctor’s visits where it is mandatory. I did not know whether or not I was losing weight and to what extent.  As a solution, I decided to do a weigh-in once a month with the nutritionist alongside checking my other metrics.

I will admit that I because I became very anal about food during my diet, subsequently, I only ate what was on my list. To reduce temptations during the early days of my diet, I did not socialize hardly at all. My fear of not having developed enough will power to stick to my diet, kept me home. The success of my diet depended on ensuring I stuck to the prescribed foods, eating only when was hungry, and ensuring that the correct type of food for my diet was readily available. 

I was initially on smoothies and soups. I would prepare the smoothies daily and drink them the same day, actually within a few hours of preparation. Smoothies because of the fruits in them, tend to ferment/spoil quickly so should be consumed as quickly as possible after preparation. 

Soup, I prepared in bulk. Different types of soups to vary my diet and stimulate my taste buds. I would make a full pot of each type of soup. Once prepared, I would portion them into individual meal sizes and freeze them. Each morning before leaving to work, I would remove two soups from the freezer. One soup I would take with me to work for lunch.   The other I would place in the fridge to slowly defrost. By the end of the day, I would warm that soup for dinner.

During my diet journey, I needed to eat my food at the same time each day. If I delayed eating, I would get an immediate headache. I now understand that this is due to the drop in blood sugar in my system. In retrospect, I see how easy it is to steer away from our diets. We get hungry and reach to eat the quickest most convenient food available. Most convenience foods, however, are the bane of any diet. Many are made with refined flours and sugars and hence not very good for someone trying to lose weight. 

Another diet “cheat” was given to me by my nutritionist at the start of my diet. It was a shake, one she called a meal replacement shake(I will share the details of this later). I carried this shake in my bag at all times. If by chance I was unable to get to my soups on time. I would mix this shake with a glass of water. It would give me the sustenance I needed and pure calories, until my next proper meal. However because this shake is a meal replacement, if I drank it, I would then reduce my food portion by 1 for the day. It was very effective and kept me on my diet straight and narrow.

The key to the success of diet was to reduce my caloric intake into my body. According to my nutritionist, during that first month, I was probably on between 700 to 800 calories per day. Needless to say, I did not exercise at all. I probably would not have had the energy for it, had I tried. I believe that is why I lost so much weight so quickly. This type of diet is not sustainable long term, because the body needs more than 700 calories a day. It served the purpose for that couple of months and then as time went by I increased the calories and introduced exercise. The weight loss continues at a slower yet consistent pace.

At some point in my diet, I began intermittent fasting, another tip. I heard about it from a friend who was doing it. According to her, it was so effective that she was using it as her only weight loss plan. In my zeal to reduce the weight, I did some research on it and decided to modify my existing diet and add intermittent fasting. I add it to my existing. So now based on the plan, I would begin my food day at midday and continue until 7 pm for my last meal, until midday the next day. 

By the time I began the intermittent fasting,  my food intake had reduced significantly and my body was now accustomed to my new food “normal”.   Switching to midday for a first meal not difficult.   I have to confess it became such a habit, that even now I begin my food day at 12 midday. When I began the intermittent fasting, I did not initially tell my nutritionist because I was sure she would try to stop me. I followed the “two” diets and weighed in religiously each month. I also did my regular blood tests monthly to ensure all was okay. 

The biggest takeaway from all this? Planning. Determine your food for the day in advance. Even now as the day begins, I make decisions on what I will eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner that day. That way I do not make food mistakes by not being prepared enough. Ensure that there is always healthy food available in the form of fruits, vegetables, soups etc… that you can grab and eat when hungry. I also do not keep convenience foods in my house, and I go out only on very rare occasions, choosing instead to eat wholesome home-cooked meals daily.