Lifestyle Change Up Ahead

Sunday, June 28, 2020

As I recently celebrated my birthday, I was planning on making a few lifestyle changes geared towards my health. 

I knew that the past few months of quarantine haven't helped me maintain a healthy stance and it threw me off the little remaining regimen I used to follow. To make things worse, I reached my heaviest ever this month. It was definitely time to make some changes for a healthier me.

I didn't wait for my birthday to make changes. A week before my birthday I started researching the best type of regimen that would best work with me. The first thing I wanted to do was find a diet plan that wouldn't compensate other aspects of my health and at the same time offer good health benefits in addition to weight loss.

After reading and watching recommendations and testimonials and "weighing" in what was feasible for me, I decided to start the intermittent fasting plan. Aside from weight loss, which was considered a plus to the incentives, the benefits of improved cholesterol levels, lowered sugar levels and increased fat burning appealed to me. I knew my blood pressure was above average and my triglyceride levels were steadily increasing so this was a good fit.


There were going to be a few perspectives that I had to set my mind to. Some of them were difficult as it's basically rewiring your mind to believe this is going to do good for my body and me.

  1. It's a 16/8 diet plan. I would fast for 16 hours and can eat only within an eight hour time span. This would mean changing some habits such as avoiding snacks after dinner. It was comforting to realize that you're not awake the entire 16 hours you're not eating. Six to eight hours of that period is spent sleeping at night. So the remaining hours didn't seem that long.
  2. During the eight hours that you can east doesn't mean you'll be eating the entire time and you'll be making up for the hours you haven't been eating by eating more. It's just a frame of mind that this is the window you're allowed to eat. What was comforting was that you can still maintain your regular food intake as long as you take them in moderation. Since you're also on a diet, you'll be consciously thinking about your food intake. So eating something sugary would make you think twice.
  3. Skipping breakfast. This may have been the hardest rewiring to adapt to. If you think of it, all of our lives, we have been taught by our parents to eat our meals to stay healthy and that included breakfast. And because of that idea hard-wired into our brain, skipping breakfast feels like you're depriving yourself of being healthy. I also had the impression that it's the most important meal of the day since it will provide you with nutrients to start your day. What made this easier for me to ignore is that notion may have been true for growing kids who need regular nutrition to grow. I'm way past that phase and it's not growing that I need to focus on (which I've pretty much done a good job in terms of weight), but making sure that my body doesn't overstock on nutrition.
There were also some aspects of this diet which appealed to me simply because I've already been doing it or it didn't seem much of a life-altering change:

  1. Drinking lots of water. If there's one thing I do a lot, it's drinking water. I'll gladly drink more if the diet requires it.
  2. Drinking tea. If I'm not drinking water, I'm drinking tea. I love drinking tea and throughout the years, I've learned to drink and appreciate tea in its basic form, without adding sweeteners. 
  3. Drinking lemon water. I like lemons and I definitely like drinking water, so this was a no-brainer.
Intermittent fasting allows you to drink water or tea during the fasting period. So these exceptions are very welcome. I learned that lemon water had additional benefits in weight loss and fat loss. I also discovered that drinking lemon water makes you feel full.


I'm on Day 10 of intermittent fasting and so far, I haven't had any difficulty adapting post o the 16 hour fast. I've lost two pounds so far, but I should keep my mind set on the main benefits and consider weight loss as a bonus benefit.

In terms of commitment, I'm committed to this diet plan. Five years ago, I challenged myself not eating rice for 400 days. If I've managed to accomplish that, I'm confident I can do this. Discipline and mindset are key to this. So I'm in for the journey.

I hope to fill you in on the progress as I continue intermittent fasting.

Wish me a healthy journey!

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2 comments

  1. AnonymousJune 28, 2020 at 8:32 PM

    Good luck Sweetie. Sabayan Kita as much as I could 😘

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JayDJOctober 13, 2020 at 2:44 PM

      Thanks as long as you don't feel you lack energy. I'm on Day 115! :)

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