Clean Eating #Day1

Like so many others out there, I find myself at the tender age of 30(cough,cough,grimace, grimace) wanting to get healthier and of course to get rid of those unwanted extra pounds. I have tried many diets from all different theorists and walks of life,  anything from High Protein to Low Carb, Weight Watchers, Body for Life, The Venus Method, Atkins, Banting, Herbal Life, GI Lean, Juicing, Soup Diets, Slender Wonder the importance of factors such as Type 2 Diabetes, Insulin Resistance, Leptin Resistance and Production,  the various new wonder cures like Garcinia Cambogia, Rasberry Ketones, not even to mention the various different sport supplements on the market and don't get me wrong for the most part they work but once they are over(Meaning you no longer stick to the regime 100%). You typically return to a more normal/modern way of eating and or drinking - viola before you know what's happened you pick everything back up again and sometimes even balloon up to heavier than before. 

So this time round, being a little older and I'd like to think wiser I have decided to make my own combination of some of the most promising new "weight loss" trends. I am combining good old fashioned exercise 40-60min a day 3-5 times a week with my own personal combination of "Clean Eating with a Banting Twist" I have looked at the different options out there and based on past experience decided that I would opt for a more sustainable option. My plan is going to take 3 months/12 weeks, the reasoning behind this time line is that fundamental body changes noted in both body building and in boxing hell even most diets like Venus Method/Body For Life guage that this is the time frame the body requires to go through substantial changes.

I am a foodie through and through, I enjoy rich, decadent, flavourful food with a sweet tooth to boot. To top this all off me likes me drinkies, I am an avid Tequila connoisseur, can appreciate a fine wine with some delicious cheese or chocolate or that sublime frozen cocktail as a sun-downer on a gorgeous summer's day. So yes for me complete starvation and saying bye-bye boozy just is not an option. Essentially I will be keeping my calories low whilst still consuming enough proteins and absorbing enough nutrients in order to prevent my body from believing it's starving. I plan to tackle this thing in 3 stages. For the first 21 Days I will not be allowed to drink at all! Yes yes super crazy but I'm sure I can do it, this is purely to help me detox my body. After the 21 days I will allow myself 3-5 units of alcohol a week under the presumption that the exercise regime continues, kinda my own reward system. No GYM No Drink! And at least that will only make me a Hermit for 3 weeks because if were all honest it's a lot harder to stick to a diet when out and about.

The general idea is the following, I will be drinking at least 2l of water a day, I will be monitoring my, heart rate, daily activity levels, burned calories, calories consumed and sleep using my UP3 wristband- these things are awesome! I am starting with a 6500 step goal daily and will eventually be moving up from that. I will be swimming 3-5 times a week and should I be unable to go to gym to swim or exercise I will log an additional 3,500 steps on those days. When it comes to the eating side of things, I will be using portion control when cooking, weighing my food. I will be eating 4-6 meals a day and I will be logging my tea, coffee, 100% pure fruit juice and vitamin water intake too,after 21 days will be logging my alcohol units too.

Yes blogging about my journey might sound trivial and stupid, but I like so many of you out there I really need to get this done, if not at 30 then when, and honestly having to report my daily trials and tribulations will not only serve to motivate me, it might just help some of you out there too. I will be uploading my evening meals daily and can guarantee that they will be a twist on your average "diet food', because we all have lives they will have short prep times and hopefully flavourable results. Now let's do this mother!

Here's a quick breakdown of Day 1. I woke up felt pumped and ready, I had my 1st 500ml water on the way to work, gym bag in tow. Had my 1st Java once I got to work, which for me is an achievement in itself as I am a complete Coffee Addict. Spent the day at the office by snacking sensibly and filling up on more Aqua, Rooibos and Java. After work I hit the gym for the first time in over a year, I figured I would get back into this fitness thing by swimming. In my "fitter" days I did 130 laps this is 3.25km or 2 miles, so for my first time back in the pool I thought I would push for at least 70 laps, this is just over a mile, to my absolute delight I managed to do 85 laps without going into "pass out exhaustion mode". During this session I drank another 750ml of water pushing me over my day's H2O quota so it was all happy days. Below is a brief food diary for the day and the vid for my dinner "Zucchini a la Michelle"

Day 1

Pre- Breakfast - 500ml Water with lemon
Breakfast - 1 Boiled Egg, 6 Cherry tomatoes, 4 Button Mushroom, Coffee, 1 Brown Sugar, Milk   
Mid -morning - Apple  + Rooibos Tea no Milk, 500ml Water
Lunch - Yoghurt + Coffee 1 Brown Sugar, Milk

Way Home -500ml Water

Dinner - Zucchini a la Michelle
100g Lean Beef Mince
40-50g Mozarella Cheese
40-50g 6-8 Cherry tomatoes
40g Onions
4 Medium Button Mushrooms
100g Zucchini