This week started on Wednesday. The plan is to post what I had for dinner, every Friday night. This way you’ll be able to check out what I had, and if you like anything, get your own ingredients on Saturday, which is usually when a lot of farmers’ markets open.

Wednesday – I woke up late, so skipped breakfast entirely and went directly to lunch!

• Lunch: Salad with mixed greens, baby tomatoes, 2 kiwis, bit of salt. Hummus. Bread. Chocolate soy milk.
• Chocolate Bar (Alex’s house is full of it.. can’t resist.. the urge!!)
• Dinner: 1 small pan pizza. 1 pint of beer.
• Late night: 1 glass of chocolate soy milk.

Thursday – It isn’t easy to work from home and not dig into the fridge.

• Breakfast – Glass of chocolate soy milk.
• Lunch – Hummus, bread, chocolate soy milk.
• Exercise: Went for  a swim – 20 50m laps. 1km in total.
• Dinner – Baked salmon fillet with some salt, chili powder, and basil (or was it oregano). Some tabuleh, hummus and bread.

Friday – When making ice cream cakes, it is difficult not to eat some ice cream.

• Breakfast: 1 pear.
• Lunch – Salad – mixed greens, tomatoes, kiwis, a bit of salt, lemon juice. Hummus. Bread
• Ice cream – 1 cup.
• Dinner – Malaysian Rendang curry chicken, mixed sea food, and 4 rotis.
• Late night – 1 kiwi (Kiwis are great.. they’re like the court jester of the fruit kingdom.. or something).

Now you might be wondering, “how exactly is all that Malaysian food, pizza and beer healthy?”. To that I’ll say the following – it isn’t, but as you can see, I only eat somewhat unhealthily when I eat out. And hopefully you’ll see over the next few regular weekly postings that I eat in most of the time. If I eat out more, you’ll see that too – one of the reasons for me to post this is for me to follow my own advice .

What?

• Look fit and feel healthy with minimal work. Thats right, with minimal work!

Why?

• I have quite a few friends that are trying to lose weight. It isn’t easy. There’s way too much misinformation out there and I’d like to share what has worked for me over the past year.

How?

• It definitely can’t be by going to the gym – that is too much work.
• It can’t be by spending a lot of money on food. That means working too much to buy food!
• It has to be simple. Something that can be repeated.

Okay then HOW!?

• By eating well and maintaining a somewhat active lifestyle.

Explanation of the What:

• According to this wikipedia article, men athletes maintain between 6% and 13% of fat as a percentage of body weight, while female athletes have between 14% and 20%. If you are male and have a six-pack, then you have athletic levels of body fat %.
• Definition of minimal work – to spend little time in the preparation of food, very little money in the acquisition of food, and only as much effort as is necessary in pursuing the activities that one enjoys.

Explanation of the How!?:

• To maintain low levels of fat, daily nutrition must contain low levels of fat. Fat that is consumed and stored needs to be worked off and that is too much work.
• Other factors in eating well involve getting enough carbs but not too many, getting enough proteins for your body to rebuild itself, getting enough calcium to keep your bones strong, and enough vitamins to keep everything functioning well.
• The basics are as follows: When you wake up and are hungry, eat fruits until you’re no longer hungry (carbs and vitamins for breakfast). Then when you’re hungry again, eat green leafy vegetables (proteins, minerals and vitamins for lunch and some carbs too). Drinking plenty of milk / soy milk / yogurt with/between meals (calcium). Then for your final meal(s) – some rice, beans, corn, and a small amount of fish (carbs, more proteins, omega-3 fats).
• All in all the most difficult thing here is getting enough calcium on a daily basis – protein rich foods such as red meat, coffee, alcohol, tobacco, wheat, food with preservatives all inhibit the absorption of calcium and force your body to draw the calcium from the bones, weakening the bones over time.

Some possible “negative” side-effects:

• You will have more free time. This may lead to minor boredom. Many people like to eat when they’re bored. My suggestion: find a hobby if you have nothing better to do – learning to play guitar, photography, enjoying the benefits and company of your friends and relatives, and dancing come to mind.

The Plan:

Simply put, I will do the following:

• Log how much money I spend on food, what I prepare and how long it takes and post it here on a weekly basis. I will also post how much I exercised each week.