slimming down
Since mid March, I've been following a bodyweight fitness programme. The exercise routines are paired with a nutrition plan, or a "cutting diet", as my coach would say. It's the first time I've ever really followed a restrictive diet. A new experience for me.
I've worked out before, mostly lifting weights, with an aim to put on muscle. And, as part of that, I would eat more calories to try and gain the weight. But I never really felt particularly fit, and I gradually started growing around the middle, where the nutrition and the exercise weren't working together.
Over the last couple of months, I've dropped around 8kg. All that time spent working out with vague intentions of bulking up now seem quite strange. I feel so much better having slimmed down. I didn't realise how much weight I was carrying around with me. It's been a surprising relief for it to fall away.
The main principle of the diet is very simple. High protein and low carbohydrates, which are swapped out for natural fats instead. In practice, this means almost all my meals are meat or fish plus vegetables. I also won't eat high calorie foods that don't give me any nutrients, like sweets, crisps, cakes, and so on. Same goes for alcohol - only small amounts.
The diet has meant some significant changes in lifestyle. I was previously eating a lot of bread, pasta, rice, and noodles. That's all gone now. As a result, I've stopped buying food from delis and cafes, where almost everything is bread or pastries. I also no longer have any sweets or sugary snacks in the house, except what my partner has stashed away. The rules eliminate most takeout options too - pizza, burgers, etc. - so I cook more and spend less.
Browsing the aisles in the supermarket, so much of it now falls outside of the range of foods that I will eat. The bakery section. The cereal aisle. Fridges full of cakes and desserts. Walls of chocolate bars, crisps, and crackers. I don't feel any particular cravings for any of it. Here and there, I'll have something sweet, and maybe once a week I'll have a pasta dish. They have become treats in the proper sense - occasional luxuries that I enjoy all the more for their scarcity.
I'm no expert in nutrition, and I won't make recommendations. I will say, though, that the switch has made me much more aware not of the "correct" diet but of the choice we have in what we eat. I'd never thought to make that choice before. And choices have effects - my jeans aren't so tight!