A little while ago house'd asked me for tips on how to maintain my fast which was essentially a diet. However, my fast was very on the unhealthy side of things. I didn't eat for a whole day--only liquids such as milk, juice, soup, etc. The next day I would eat anything and everything as I pleased. I "sprinted" through the finish line by not eating for 91 hours and drinking just liquids. I officially want to hear nothing about soup until July 2012. Anyways all the fasting was for the well-being and rajipo of my guru-Pramukh Swami Maharaj and health for me came second for once.
In the beginning when I started fasting, I did try to maintain some "healthy" eating patterns like increasing fruits and veggies on days I could eat and drinking healthier things on days I couldn't. I also tried to keep up with light exercise on my eating days. However, after awhile, my body ran out of any stored energy and I would get dizzy even lifting a few pounds. My gym membership was officially dismembered in October despite the fact that I stopped working out since the end of August.
My plan now is to start gaining back healthy weight. Usually after a "starvation" type of diet your body tends to store fat. Well my body is more than welcome to store fat in places I want it to but its probably going to end up going right to my gut. Therefore, along with trying to eat healthier, I am going to start my half-marathon training which is in April in order to keep my body active as well.
In lieu of house'd dieting question I've been doing some reading on good dieting methods and tried to find things that I have done before unintentionally that have obviously worked.
1. Have a realistic and measurable goal.
2. 1-2 pounds a week is most definitely doable. I wouldn't try to drop any more than that in a healthy manner.
3. Remember the hunger response from GSBS? Try to avoid it by eating small meals--carry around a granola bar in your purse or a little bag of nuts or something if you know you are going to be on the run at your next "meal" time.
4. Only weigh yourself once at the end of each week. This way you'll be surprised to see your weight down a few pounds instead of checking everyday not seeing much change.
5. Also from GSBS: Increase your complex carbs and decrease your fats and simple sugars. Complex carbs mean being vegetarian basically: fruits, veggies, legumes, and whole grains. Simple sugars mean honey (sad face), syrups, table sugar, brown sugar, milk, yogurt, and fruit juices.
6. Obviously stay aerobic 20-30 minutes a day.
7. Decrease alcohol consumption--they are empty calories that are also going to make you bloat. Also beer and a martini have the same amount of calories.
8. If you get a food craving--write it down. I had a list of foods I craved on no food days. Turns out I either totally forgot about the list on my food days or when I went back and did read it, I didn't want to really eat that particular food anymore. However, if you are still craving that particular food 3-4 days straight, then go ahead and chow down! Don't designate a day of the week to eat your cravings though. If you do that, subconsciously your mind will come up with cravings even the day before since it knows that its the day to divulge. Proven fact.
