It's Been Almost a Month Already

It’s almost the end of February, which means I’ve been on this new diet plan almost a month (yes I know it’s kind if cheating because February’s the shortest month). So I thought tonight I would talk about where I am now, what I’ve learned, what I’m doing right, what I’m doing wrong, and were I want this to go from here.

I started February feeling fat, ugly and wanting to changes that. Now I feel slightly slimmer (not significantly so, but we’re getting there), and quite a bit happier about who I am. I’ve started to learn how to love myself, and it’s about time. I’ve spent 21 years loathing my appearance, it’s about time I learned some self love. Whenever I take a shower I try to pick out a body part I like, instead of focussing on all the flabby flappy bits I hate. For example I’ve decided I have a really nice arse, and I’d quite like to get rid of my love handles so I can show it off!

I have taken a number of positive steps this month; steps I hope are lifestyle changes and will be slightly permanent. I’ve pretty much given up fruit juices, which were a major source of unwanted sugar and calories. Instead I’m eating more fruit and veg, as at least with the actual fruit you get fibre as well as the sugar. The other major change is my attitude to carbs. I haven’t gone carb free, for reasons mentioned in this post, and I’m not sure I want to. Cutting carbohydrates out completely might have a good impact on my waistline but a negative impact on my brain.

I’m trying to eat less carbs, as I’m aware that my reliance on large portions of carbs was at least partly responsible for my size. I’m also changing my attitudes as to what carbs I eat; where before I was reliant on processed white carbs like pasta and bred, not I try to eat more rice and potato. And when I do have processed carbs, I try to have wholemeal varieties. It’s not always easy to stick to, but I do my best; as of right now I honestly couldn’t tell you when I last at pasta. Another method of lowering the amount of carbohydrate I’m eating is to replace something like apsta or chips with something less carby and more healthy. For example this evening instead of chips I had roast parsnips.

My attitude to calories has also changed. Before I used to ignore the numbers and hope they go away. Now I have a better idea how many calories are in a food, and if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I’ve learned that calories are not necessarily your enemy; provided a balance is maintained and foods are consumed in the correct moderation I can eat pretty much whatever I want. Which is awesome!

I’ve pretty much given up unnecessary sugar too. I’ve permanently switched to sweetner in my teas. And just in case anyone wants to jump on the ‘Aspartame is bad’ bandwagon, I’m studying toxicology at the moment and there’s no evidence at all that it’s harmful. Not unless you plan on injecting massive doses directly into your liver everyday for the rest of your life. Academic bit over. I don’t drink carbonated drinks or soda very often, but when I do I’ve switched over to sugar free here as well. Meaning almost the only sugar I’m intentionally putting into my diet is in my morning porridge. And I’m afraid that’s staying.

The one thing that’s a little bit iffy is the exercise. I’ve been making an effort to walk more, walk faster and do more housework, but the skipping thing hasn’t really happened yet. Need to buy a sports bra, and that’ll have to wait til next month’s budget. I’m also very tempted to get a pedometer to monitor just how many calories I’m burning walking to and from lectures and around the lab. If anyone can recommend me a good pedometer for a reasonable (student) budget I'd be very grateful.

One of the other things that hasn’t happened as much as it should is the drinking of water before meals. I honestly just keep forgetting. I’m drinking plenty of water, cordial or teas (some of which are herbal and/or caffeine free), but they’re usually after meals. I’m also still working on the alcohol thing. I’m going to try drinking more water at the pub, and buying half’s instead of pints to see how we go. I don’t mind not having succeeded 100% in my first month; it gives me something to aim for.

The plan for March is to keep up the good work. I’m going to try improving the amount of exercise that gets done, and the amount of water I’m drinking. I’m also going to try cut down on the alcohol and see if I can go the whole month with no takeaway. Failing that, if I absolutely must have takeaway I’m going to try getting a jacket potato.

And if all else completely fails, I’ve learned that it’s okay to mess up. I just have to pick myself up, dust myself off and try again.

Being a Student and On A Diet

Being a student makes dieting and healthy eating quite the challenge, or so I’ve found. In an ideal world I would be able to fill my plate with protein (which for me means meat, sorry veggies) and vegetables and pretty much cut out carbohydrates from my diet (except that found in the veggies). Being a student (and therefore poor) makes this almost impossible.

The advantage of starchy carbohydrates like pasta, rice and potatoes is that they’re cheap. You can buy a bag of cheap pasta for about forty pence, and it lasts you about a week. For a lot of students this means they have more money for spending on booze; for me it means I can afford to pay rent and bills. In addition to being cheap and cheerful, these carbs are also extremely filling. You can eat a bowl of pasta and you feel full. The equivalent amount of carrot sticks, for example, is nowhere near as satisfying, and has me reaching for something more substantial in less than two hours.

Carbohydrates are also versatile; on their own these foods are pretty much universally boring and bland, but they’re easy to dress up. Got some pasta? Whip up a simple sauce and dinners done. Got bread? Put something interesting between two slices of it and hey presto, a meal. Carbohydrates are a base for something more interesting, and it is all too easy to create meals that have carbs at their core instead of at the side.

The final thing that makes carbs so irresistible and useful to me as a student is how easy they are to prepare. In most cases you can boil your chosen carbohydrate in a pan of water for ten or twenty minutes and dinner’s ready. After a day of lectures and labs, with an evening of coursework ahead of me, the last thing I want to be doing is cooking a gourmet dinner that takes three hours to prepare and cook. I want something quick, simple and satisfying, and all too often a carb heavy meal is what gets made.

The fact carbs are cheap isn’t necessarily reason enough to make them my main source of nutrition. If protein and veg were as cheap as pasta and rice, then I would eat them instead of the carbs. But the simple fact is they’re not. Meat can get quite expensive, particularly if it’s chicken. Fresh veg can also be quite pricey, depending on what you’re after in terms of quality or variety. I try to buy frozen meat and veg where possible, but this saving in price often means compromising on quality. And lower quality meat tends to be very fatty, which completely defeats the point.

All of this means that it has been extremely challenging for me to balance my diet with my financial situation. So far I’ve managed by getting a lot of my protein from eggs. I tend to have an omelette or scrambled eggs for lunch and something with meat and vegetables for dinner. If I’m having a really good day the only carbohydrate I eat is my porridge at breakfast time. If I’m having a bad day or it’s the end of the month, every meal has a large dollop of carbohydrate. It’s tricky, but I’m starting to get an eye for deals on meat, particularly bulk buying and freezing things. It’s taking time, but this is a lifestyle change I intend to keep, so it is well worth me getting used to it.

The other major challenge about balancing the student lifestyle with this diet is alcohol. It’s not that I feel pressured into getting plastered every night. I have plenty of friends who are either teetotal or only occasional drinkers, so I would have company in abstaining. The issue here is primarily the cost of soft drink in the Student’s Union bar, where I do most of my drinking. In the SU bar a pint of coke costs nearly as much as a pint of cider, which is my usual tipple, so there is little incentive to stay sober there. There’s more incentive in other bars and pubs, but there I’d rather drink alcohol anyway, because of the variety these places send to stock.

And delicious though it is, alcohol has so many calories. Alcohol is produced by fermenting sugar, so it’s no surprise its calorie heavy. A pint of cider ahs about as many calories as a whole meal under my diet, which means a night of drinking can very easily put me over the calorie limit recommended by the government, let alone my personal calorie budget.

It is a challenge, undertaking a healthy lifestyle while living as a student, but I believe I’m approaching a compromise. And for now, compromise will have to be enough. When I’ve graduated and am earning, then I’ll review this diet to see if I can afford to amend it. Until then, I’ll just try to stay away from carbs as much as possible.