Can you believe it? It’s almost a month since we started the Being Habitually Healthy challenge!
I think for me, the new routine using the 16/8 intermittent fasting method, is finally settling in. I am able to control my hunger in the mornings now and the early dinners have become easier to follow as well.
The focus since the last week, however, has been more on the diet aspects. Some general rules that my friends and I are trying to follow are:
MEALS AND PROPORTION
On a regular day, we are eating 2 meals and 1 snack. The 8 glasses of water intake of course continue as part of the intermittent fasting schedule. My routine and diet in particular is as follows:
Breakfast– At 7.15 am I have coffee with 1tsp sugar and little milk.
Lunch by 1:00 pm
Evening snack– At 5:00 pm I have 3-4 wheat rusks with tea and/or fruit/ nuts
Dinner before 8:00 pm-
The recommended proportion for healthy eating by Harvard University states that.
1/2 plate should be for vegetables and fruits. The more variety in colour, the better. So salads usually do a great job while incorporating this.
1/4th plate should be for whole grains- like brown rice, whole wheat, barley and oats. This is the hardest step to practice in my case. It leaves me a little hungry and I tend to reach out for more, but I’m trying to be conscious of this new (not so conscious) practice, by filling my stomach with more vegetable or protein!
1/4th plate should be for protein- Fish, poultry, pulses or legumes (like chickpeas, kidney beans, mung beans, black-eyed beans, etc), nuts, seeds, dairy items (like milk, curd, paneer or cottage cheese, ghee). I usually add some nuts with my salad.
By the way, I love this handsome wooden plate on Amazon, that helps you to watch over your proportions efficiently.
So a sample meal that I now cook includes:
1/4th plate of brown rice or 2 wheat chapathis or 2 slices of brown bread or 1 cup of oatmeal
1/2 plate vegetables/fruit- 5-6 tablespoons of okra/ cabbage/ beetroot/ pumpkin/ cauliflower/ spinach etc, any vegetable dish, sometimes with coconut (because I’m from Kerala)
+ 2 tablespoons of salad (that usually includes cut pieces of cucumber, peppers (of any colour), lettuce mixed with fruit like orange/ mango/ apple/ grapes + nuts like walnut/almonds and seeds like flax-seeds/ sunflower seeds seasoned with salt, pepper and a few drops of lime juice.
1/4th plate of either chicken/ fish (curry/fried) or any legume curry . For some meals, dairy items like milk, buttermilk, paneer and ghee get paired with the vegetables or whole grains itself.
Sometimes lunch is followed by a fruit, when I am craving for something sweet. In-fact, if I do get hungry before lunch, after the fasting period ends, I try to have a fruit or some nuts.
WHAT TO AVOID
Processed foods– They are considered unhealthy because they can contain high levels of salt or sugar or fat.
Most pre-packed food items that come in boxes or cans or bags and have nutrition labels consisting of more than 5 ingredients are processed. Examples- Breakfast cereals, frozen meals, frozen meat, refined sugar, refined flour, chips etc
Sugary drinks and food items, like soda, fruit punch, sports beverage, sweetened ice tea, cookies, pastries, cakes etc if taken in excess amounts, have been strongly associated with non alcoholic fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
General junk food or fast food or ordering from outside because they most likely contain more salt, sugar and fat than required.
We’re not aiming at perfection here, but we’re definitely trying to be conscious of what we purchase, so as to avoid unhealthy eating at home.
OTHER PRACTICES
These are practices that I used to follow during my childhood (thank you mummy!) but somehow unlearned them, post motherhood, when I couldn’t manage my routine.
So on an ordinary day:
I wake up and drink one glass of warm water with juice of half a lime.
After half an hour of finishing a meal (lunch and dinner), I drink a glass of warm water. (Not able to abide by this one, but I am trying to keep up)
Eating slightly roasted garlic, one clove a week. Here’s why you should take it too
Taking a calcium tablet once a week, if I’m consuming milk in other ways, else one pill every 3-4 days. This is especially important for women.
Having one seven seas(cod liver oil) pill, which is rich in vitamin A, D and omega fatty acids- once a week.
Taking a multi-vitamin supplement once in two months and a B complex tablet once a month.
Consuming a teaspoon of nuts or flax-seeds/sunflower seeds everyday.
I know it’s not easy to abide by all the rules, every single day.
In the past few weeks, I gave into eating junk food, twice or thrice, but i try to get back into the routine immediately, after that.
As James Clear puts it, the key is to visualize on the kind of person you want to be eventually and reminding yourself, when the temptation to fall out, arises.
I want to live a healthy lifestyle.
I want to be habitually healthy!
Click here to read the next post in the BHH Challenge- 4 excuses that keep me from being habitually fit
Found this post useful? You might like to browse these as well:
Why I am pledging to be habitually healthy today
Meet the accountability group of the BHH Challenge
My progress with the intermittent fasting schedule
Two weeks into the challenge of being habitually healthy
How my husband reversed his Diabetes Type 2 with intermittent fasting
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Hi! My name is Rubitah. I’m a Content Writer certified Life Coach, Counselor, Social Work professional and the Founder of Being Rubitah. Over the years through my professional and personal life, I have realized that prayers and love can do wonders to family life once you come to terms with yourself and surrender to God. Do you relate to me? Then you may like what I post here! Read more about me
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