Thursday 7 March 2019

These Days I Eat Carbs : No More Dieting!


I am not such a low-carbo fanatic anymore. But I still watch my carbs. I eat in moderation. I have achieved my target weight and I don't want to restrict carbs for the rest of my life.

I have re-introduced carbs (gradually) into my meals and I try to eat a balanced meal. Meaning my plate will have carbs, protein and vegetables. Once in a while I will indulge in more carb-centric meals like the wanton mee you see above.


Since I have stopped dieting, I am happier. I get to enjoy the foods that I love. I learnt the hard way that it is not carbs that made me fat but rather my bad habit of overeating and binge eating.

I have also kept up with my exercise and I only do it 20-30 minutes a day, 5 times a week. I do weight training. At home. No gym. I cannot go to the gym. I cannot exercise with other people around me. I like privacy.


But I will have to admit that if you want to lose body fat faster, you would have to restrict your carb intake. Once you are happy where you are at, you can increase carbs gradually and monitor your response by observing if you experience any weight/fat gain.

Whoa!!
You cannot eat more carbs too suddenly because you will bloat up. I learnt all this through trial and error and from doing research. I am happy to report that during the recent Chinese New Year celebrations, I did not gain any weight or inches. Yeah! 

I ate tacos baybeh!!
I am notorious for my ability to gain 10lbs in just 1 week of crazy eating. It used to happen all the time whenever I went back to Kuala Terengganu. And losing the 10lbs took forever.


What's different is that this year I continued with my exercise program and I indulged moderately. So here's to a better way of maintaining weight. Exercise is key (especially weight training) and so is moderate eating. 




But of course, I am not perfect. In moments of weakness, I do deviate. And I have to pay the price of my folly. What do I do? I simply go back to proper eating and cut back on carbs (reduce, not eliminate) and increase the intensity of my workouts. 

I do allow myself a once a week cheat day where I eat whatever I like in whatever amounts I like. And to my delight I found that I am unable to eat as much as I did in the past. That's good news because it means that I consume less on a cheat day.



I don't obsess about the number of my weighing machine anymore. I am more concerned about my waistline (and how my pants fit) and body fat percentage. And oh, I tried intermittent fasting and it is doing me a world of good! Will write more on this when I have time. 

28 comments:

  1. Phong Hong, I can't wait to read about your intermittent fasting which I never done before. Please write!

    Yes, I am still weighing by using bathroom scale on and off, it is true that we shall not rely on that to justify ourselves.

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    1. Hi Yannie! I knew you would be interested as you are a fitness freak! LOL! Yes, will write about it. As for the bathroom scale, yes you can still use it to monitor your weight. No issues, just don't get upset if it goes up a bit because our weight can change due to many factors. When you start packing on muscles, you will be heavier. At my current ideal weight, I am 10lbs heavier that the time when I was younger because at that time, I had very poor muscle tone.

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  2. I came across the intermittent fasting recently and hope to try it. Perhaps your sharing about the method would inspire me to practice it seriously and consistently. Can't wait for that post. The sooner the better haha...

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    1. Hi Puan Hazel! I will try to work on it this weekend seeing it is a subject of interest hee..hee... You will have no problems with intermittent fasting since you got experience every year during Ramadan hee..hee...

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  3. Congrats on achieving and maintaining your target weight. yes, don't restrain yourself from any food that you love but just eat in moderation. Keep up the good exercise! at least you exercise. I don't even exercise cos just too lazy.

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    1. Thanks! Yes, moderation is the way to go!

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  4. congrats for achieving ur target weight! this post is so overwhelming with foods!!! anyway, looking fwd to ur post on intermittent fasting!

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  5. Clap, clap, clap! Here's to eating carbs again...in moderation, of course :) I've never been an advocate of dieting or eliminating carbs...coz when you do eat carbs again, the weight gain comes back faster than the time you took to take them off! :P The key is moderation. Does that mean in your food outings with your brother (and partner), we'll see less dishes being ordered? Kekeke! :D The other key is to not bake cakes and cookies and store them in the freezer (for easy access).

    Let's see what you've got here...I spot something from Annie 1, Empire Sushi, buffet at conference, hmmm...this one looks like Tail & Fin, Mr Fish & Teppanyaki. How are my guesses? ;) Hihihi! Ok, the last one, I object-lah...limit yourself to just one main, no more side dishes, haha! Finally, a gal not on diet is a happy gal :)

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    1. wahahha!!! I should have cropped out that side dish :D I agree lah, one main meal is the way to go unless on a cheat day. Your approach is correct, dieting sucks and cutting off carbs sucks big time. On no, I will still eat more during my outings and will balance it out during the other days or else it is no fun, right?

      Your guesses are correct except for one. The tacos are from Chillis, something I have been wanting to eat but did not due to the carbs.

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    2. Er, so got consolation prize or not? Since I only got one wrong...wuahahahahahaha! :D

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    3. hah..hah.... 100% correct only got prize hee..hee..hee...

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  6. congrats on the weight target accomplishment - you're an inspiration to the rest of us who want to also achieve this! :) but ya, here's to having a happy, healthy relationship with food for all of us - instead of a love-hate affair! :)

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    1. Thanks for your encouraging words! I want the freedom to eat and I am going to Orale today. LOL!

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  7. Intermittent fasting is great, and you feel like you are not losing out on your fab foods.

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  8. Good read. Dieting needs a lot of determination and discipline, i would rather turn to exercise than dieting in order to lose weight. Good that you achieve your target weight.

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    1. Thanks! Your approach is correct, exercise is important to maintain weight.

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  9. Wahhh.. you are very rajin, exercising 5 times per week, I would be super happy if I could achieve three times per week walking 5km or doing simple aerobics at home. Just have to turn on the iPad and follow the walking exercise for 40 min and that is it, two times per week! LOL.. but sometimes I go polo ground provided friends ajak. Anyway, just eat moderately and we should be fine. Too strict diet makes life meaningless... hahahaa..

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    1. You are very active, fly here fly there, walk here walk there, so that in itself is already good enough. I always see you makaning so many foods and yet, there you are still so slim!

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  10. Congratulations on your weight loss achievement. Intermittent fasting sounds interesting. Not easy to go carb free all the time.

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    1. Thanks! Yes, I love carbs and I want to be able to enjoy them in moderation.

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  11. I am trying to cut down on carbs. Been gaining weight since cny. Gosh. I can't even put on some of my pants. Waistline getting wider. Lol.

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    1. Try reducing your carb intake and perhaps go for walks? I think once you get into your normal routine, the weight will come off.

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  12. Congrats! So what was your target weight? Need to shop for new clothes now, everything too big? That plate of wanton mee looks so good - I would not be able to resist that. I guess that is why I can't go on a diet, no resistance.

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    1. Thanks! Thank goodness I still kept my old clothes that could not fit before hee..hee...

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  13. I still on my no-carb diet during dinner and always feel like eat nothing after the meal ~>_<~
    PS: I've gained at least 4kgs after CNY, and I looked so fat no, sob sob~~

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    1. Once you get back to normal routine and normal eating, your weight will come down. Try intermittent fasting. hee..hee...

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