When losing weight, the diet is of a bigger concern compared to when one is gaining weight. To lose weight, you'll have to follow a high protein, low carbohydrate (carbs), medium fat diet. Most weight loss guides will write down specifically what to eat at what time of the day everyday and we must follow it exactly to lose weight. But I know that is not practical to most of you with a busy lifestyle.
So, instead of just giving you a diet and say, "Follow this!",
I'll start with steps and tips of how you can synchronise a controlled diet into your lifestyle. This might need some getting used to. But eventually, it WILL sink in if you give it a try.
So, instead of just giving you a diet and say, "Follow this!",
I'll start with steps and tips of how you can synchronise a controlled diet into your lifestyle. This might need some getting used to. But eventually, it WILL sink in if you give it a try.
1. Learn to cook and pack your own food instead of eating out - This is a MUST DO in dieting because it solves several problems at once - finding diet-friendly food when outside, eating on the go and saving cost.
With our Malaysian/Singaporean diet which is super tasty but unhealthy, oily, high in carbs, and low in protein, losing weight will not be possible if you keep eating these foods. Plus, if you ask for extra meat and less rice, the price of your meal will be several ringgit/dollars more. If you don't already have them, get a few plastic boxes which allows you to easily bring your food as you go out. And cooking won't be too tough. I'll drop in a few recipes at the end of this post. In fact, they are so simple, I don't think they qualify to be called "recipes".
2. Get a kitchen scale.
This will ensure that you get the right amount of food each time to match the amount of macronutrients you've allocated for your diet. It's not expensive and it'll take the guesswork out of food portioning.
3. Use protein shakes to replace meals.
I DON'T RECOMMEND this because protein shakes don't usually fill you up as much as food. And you might get hungry before your next meal. BUT, in the worst situations, it's still a lot better than not having anything to cook or eat and starving (no, hunger is not a good thing AT ALL when dieting. Will explain more.) until the next meal or grabbing some fat-laden, diet-unfriendly food to eat. In short, the only purpose of it is just to prevent catabolism (wasting of muscle) when you miss a meal. Use a protein shake that has mixed sources (preferably whey and casein) instead of just whey. This is because goes through the digestive system so fast that you'll feel hungry in a short period of time. Although this is not optimal, this makes dieting a lot more convenient.
4. Pre-prepare food.
This is for convenience's sake again. Here's an example to demonstrate this tip. Say, you bought lots of various types of vegetables to make a salad. Instead of cutting up the veggies when you intend to have a salad, cut all of them up, mix them and keep them in a big container. Another example is to de-bone and cut up a few kilogrammes of meat into cubes/slices, marinate and refrigerate them. So whenever it's meal time, just take several pieces of meat out of the box and cook them.
5. Buy from wet markets/wholesale centres.
If you're used to shopping at major supermarkets, well, let me introduce you to a cheaper place to buy your groceries - the wet market. I used to shop at supermarkets. The one that I go to in particular sells chicken breast for $8.50 per kg and beef (imported) at $15 per kg. Then, I switched to a nearby wet market, where chicken breast costs $6 per kg and beef, $8 per kg. Now I'm thinking, why didn't I buy from there since day 1? Don't repeat my mistake.
With our Malaysian/Singaporean diet which is super tasty but unhealthy, oily, high in carbs, and low in protein, losing weight will not be possible if you keep eating these foods. Plus, if you ask for extra meat and less rice, the price of your meal will be several ringgit/dollars more. If you don't already have them, get a few plastic boxes which allows you to easily bring your food as you go out. And cooking won't be too tough. I'll drop in a few recipes at the end of this post. In fact, they are so simple, I don't think they qualify to be called "recipes".
2. Get a kitchen scale.
This will ensure that you get the right amount of food each time to match the amount of macronutrients you've allocated for your diet. It's not expensive and it'll take the guesswork out of food portioning.3. Use protein shakes to replace meals.
I DON'T RECOMMEND this because protein shakes don't usually fill you up as much as food. And you might get hungry before your next meal. BUT, in the worst situations, it's still a lot better than not having anything to cook or eat and starving (no, hunger is not a good thing AT ALL when dieting. Will explain more.) until the next meal or grabbing some fat-laden, diet-unfriendly food to eat. In short, the only purpose of it is just to prevent catabolism (wasting of muscle) when you miss a meal. Use a protein shake that has mixed sources (preferably whey and casein) instead of just whey. This is because goes through the digestive system so fast that you'll feel hungry in a short period of time. Although this is not optimal, this makes dieting a lot more convenient.4. Pre-prepare food.
This is for convenience's sake again. Here's an example to demonstrate this tip. Say, you bought lots of various types of vegetables to make a salad. Instead of cutting up the veggies when you intend to have a salad, cut all of them up, mix them and keep them in a big container. Another example is to de-bone and cut up a few kilogrammes of meat into cubes/slices, marinate and refrigerate them. So whenever it's meal time, just take several pieces of meat out of the box and cook them.5. Buy from wet markets/wholesale centres.
If you're used to shopping at major supermarkets, well, let me introduce you to a cheaper place to buy your groceries - the wet market. I used to shop at supermarkets. The one that I go to in particular sells chicken breast for $8.50 per kg and beef (imported) at $15 per kg. Then, I switched to a nearby wet market, where chicken breast costs $6 per kg and beef, $8 per kg. Now I'm thinking, why didn't I buy from there since day 1? Don't repeat my mistake.Keep on reading! Part four about the diet you're gonna undertake will be up soon. I just decided to split this part up because it's very long!
