The Diet. Part II.

It's been close to ten days since I've been on my diet and I'm happy to say that I'm still alive ... LOL! I never thought I'd actually go through with it for this long cos in the past I've tried to go on diets before and they never last for more than 3 days tops! So nine whole days is a big achievement for me.

(*pats self on the back*)

And the amazing thing is, for a rice bucket (or a 'fan thong', as Cindy puts it) like me, I never thought I'd be able to give up my rice meals. But I have and for the past nine days, I've not touched a single grain of rice! Woohoo, I am so happy. In fact I think I've lost a few centimeters off my waist line already cos my jeans fit all that much more comfortably now and I had to buckle up my belt an extra notch!

(*doing the happy jig on my desk*)

When I first started this silly (back then it was) notion to join wifey with her diet programme, I didn't think I'd be able to give up a lot of my vices like my rice, my junk food, my greasy burgers, my fizzy drinks, etc, etc. It was REALLY hard initially. I kept craving for rice. I've never gone without rice for more than a day in my entire life so you can imagine the withdrawal symptoms I was going through.

It was hell coping the first few days. I already put my foot in my mouth and told wifey that I'll stick with her on the diet through thick and thin and with a promise like that I'd look like a loser if I gave up. So suffer I did the initial few days. We ate nothing but salads the first 3 days and I was practically hungry most of the time. The fact that I had images of steaming hot chicken rice and deliciously mouth watering nasi lemak (rice steamed in coconut milk) didn't help all that much.

I was screaming for my chicken curry, my beef rendang, my fried eggs, my greasy burgers, my junk food. I thought I'd lose my mind. I was craving for all these rich and fattening food that I would have even eaten ostrich feathers if it was offered to me. Slowly but steadily my system started getting used to my change in eating habits. I started to lose my cravings for rice. I stopped thinking about all that glorious food I was missing and actually started enjoying my new found healthy meals.

Soon, wifey and me started preparing different menus, we alternated between the salads and started making chicken sandwiches with wholemeal bread (I used to actually hate wholemeal bread!). We'd boil the chicken and then shred the meat, well wifey anyway cos I'd put the whole chunk of chicken meat in there, add our lettuce and stuff and we'd have that for dinner. Oh and I'd also have chicken soup from the chicken we boiled. And that alone filled us up considerably. And without having a single grain of rice at all :D

And you know what? I actually feel so much more perkier these days. I don't feel bloated after meals anymore and I don't feel as lethargic as I was before. So I guess the dieting and change in the way I'm eating has helped a lot. And the best part is I don't crave for rice or junk food anymore. That was by far the hardest thing for me to achieve in this diet programme I'm on. But I'm glad I stuck it out.

The only drawback with this whole diet thingy is finding places out there that caters to what wifey and me eat these days. Almost everywhere you look, there isn't really any restaurants selling healthy meals out there. And I don't blame them, people wanna eat good food, not some salad or things that don't taste good, right? Take for instance last Saturday, we went to Sunway Pyramid (I kinda love the place after the built the new wing, makes it feel like Mid Valley) and when it came for lunch, we couldn't find anything that would cater for us as a family.

We had the boys with us and we couldn't like force them to go some place and eat salads, they'd cause a riot. Those two are the chicken, burgers and fries kinda kids and fast food was definitely a no-no for wifey and me, well, not at this stage anyway when we're just getting into a nice pattern with our meals. So, there I was, walking around the entire food wings of Sunway Pyramid looking for something that would please all of us.

And with the boys complaining of hunger and threatening to start a picket, we finally settled for Kenny Rogers Roaster cos that was the only place I knew where the kids would get what they want and we could get our salads. And to be honest, I wasn't really happy about it cos the salads were way too sour and the soup we ordered were way too lumpy though the boys happily gobbled up their meals. And the price was pretty steep as well. It cost us close to RM100 for the 4 of us. And to think Kenny Rogers Roasters started out as a fast food joint!

But what I really like about this whole diet thing is the fact that wifey and me will prepare our meals together. She'd prepare the boys dinner earlier in the day and wait for me to get home and only then we'd both prepare our own dinners together. I just love helping her out in the kitchen and it so much more fun dieting this way with the two of us prompting and supporting each other. And we're going to start running together pretty soon too, she just needs to get a new pair of running shoes, come to think of it I need a new pair too. Isn't it great being healthy and having someone to share that passion and drive with? :D
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