I completely changed my diet a few years ago, and I lost a lot of weight just by eating right. Unfortunately, I had a few health issues for the past two years, and I ended up gaining a lot of weight.
To make things worst, during the last months of 2020, I went all out. I baked and cooked like my health didn’t matter, and it shows. After only a couple of days of eating anything I wanted, my body was craving fruit and veggies. I was very sluggish, I was moodier than usual, and I wasn’t sleeping well.
I gave myself a deadline to end this madness: January 4th. With all my health issues behind, this is the perfect time to reset and regain control of my body. Overall, I have a well-balanced diet, but there are a few bad habits I need to leave behind and some good habits I need to incorporate into my diet.
What is changing?
Wheat
Wheat was one of the first things I removed from my diet when I decided to lose weight, and I usually don’t eat it. But after watching a ton of culinary shows, I baked a lot of bread, and within a couple of days, my body started showing. The good news is that after a couple of days without wheat, your body will go back to normal.
How I’ll make it happen: I’m not a fan of gluten-free flour either, so I usually replace it with high-fibre, more nutritious flours such as spelt, coconut, and oats.
Sugar
My body doesn’t react well to sugar. After a few days of eating sugar, I can see myself a lot more anxious, and I started craving sweets and eating just for the sake of it. Sugar is hard to remove from your diet, but if you’ve done it once, it’s much easier to do it again.
How I’ll make it happen: I have fruit as a dessert when I’m detoxing, but if I’m craving something sweet, I’ll have some dried fruit or make a naturally sweetened (big fan of dates) dessert.
Leafy greens
I try to have at least 3 cups of dark leafy greens a day. But during the holidays, I will think about the whole dinner, and I’ll only remember that I need a salad when I’m already eating. As soon as I start eating leafy greens again, I can feel the difference. Leafy greens not only add fibre to your diet, but they will help you eat less since they are so filling.
How I’ll make it happen: The first thing I do for every meal is to add my salad portion to my plate. Then I add the rest of the food.
Have more protein
This is where I need to work on the most. I’m usually good at getting enough protein at breakfast, from nut butter and hemp seeds, and at lunch, lots of beans and legumes. But at dinner, I’m not that good. In the summer, it’s easy – smoothies! But in the winter, I struggle a bit to come up with options that are not too heavy and give me enough energy to workout in the morning – since I only have breakfast after my workout.
How I’ll make it happen: I have many well-balanced dinner recipes that are also delicious. The only thing missing is me making them.
Cooking more
Variety and flavour are super important to me, and I love to cook. Is there a better combination? The best part about cooking is that I know every ingredient that goes into my food, so I don’t have to worry about it being vegan, in my case, or being bombarded by preservatives and hidden sugars.
How I’ll make it happen: Putting all cookbooks I got for Christmas to use!
What are you changing in the way you eat this year?
