"Diet" a word that always has a negative vibe and used so loosely for a deprived food intake. The only time I controlled the food intake was right after I got engaged until the wedding day. No expertise was involved, I used to workout and have just two bowls of oats twice a day with a good lunch. I think the workout and the diet helped me shed the weight and tone the body but they didn't last for long because of Wedding you guys! It is always followed by lots of food... At the time of my wedding, I was 65kg and F had carried me in his arms and climbed the stairs to our room!
I landed in Yanbu in 2014 and since then the number was just going up and hardly stayed down. I read a lot about sustainable dieting and lifestyle modification but it was not easy to practice and make it part of the life. At one point I reached 87 and that hit me hard. I cut down on sugar, reduced portion and started workout using Nike app etc and reached 81 by December 2017. From Jan to July 2018, I was stuck at 81kg and then I indulged in all those kunafas and truffles with an excuse to treat myself for "maintaining" LOL.
Rafeeda, my friend was already on the road to good health with guided diet and workout. She once shared a poster which showed how we take advice for everything from a specialist but when it comes to diet, we take every advice from all medium but not from the nutritionist... that was the turning point for me.
I convinced F and we signed up with a nutritionist on the same day and started our weight loss journey with Squats.in. Alhamdulillah! My dream was to relive that moment when F took me in his arms! that is to become lighter and stronger.
Just a few days before we signed up, I had joined their FB group and read a lot about their diet planning. We had already jumpstarted the diet!
Halloumi Sandwich
I am thankful to this expat life in so many ways and one of the best is the love for halloumi cheese!
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Kittens on Raw chicken Diet
They seem to be so fixated on the raw chicken breasts diet that makes me a butcher. I have started to sneak in some canned food into their plate in little quantity... hopefully I get to be off the role of a butcher. :-D
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Low Carb Diet Days
The first week was tough in terms of the shift from high carb to low carb diet. Our diet chart looked so rich and I would have never thought this food would aid in weight loss! Read butter, cheese, meat, eggs etc. A lot of people asked if I am on Keto diet looking at my Fat and protein list.. but it is just on low carb diet as of now.
To be honest, these were days where I began to cook everything eyeballing and with no said recipe. The major change was in the portion size! We were laughing at our bowl of lunch thinking how much we used to eat! All my cooking utensils seemed to be too large for us now! I had to shop a few small pans so make my life easy.
Bedouin Lamb Rice
The easiest rice and meat dish!A post shared by Famidha Ashraf (@fashfaiz) on
The recipe is here.
French Omelette
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Flaxmeal Single Slice Microwave Bread
What to do when there is a good portion of flaxseed in our diet? a little can go into smoothies but a lot can happen if you m make flax meal and use it as flour. We missed our brown bread slice for morning breakfast and this quick microwave recipe saved us...I am having lots of fun from the day one of #lowcarbdiet especially with experimenting and looking out for recipes. Grind #flaxseeds to make #flaxmeal and then use that to make a single slice #microwavebread in just a minute!! tada! Take it to another level... Toast it with butter and top with anything you love... I had mine with some saudi #shakshouka 😋 A post shared by Famidha Ashraf (@fashfaiz) on
Add the stevia and cinnamon for a sweeter bread. Omit for savoury.
RECIPE:
One minute one slice flax meal bread
Into a microwaveable box add these
1/4 cup flax meal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp stevia (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon powder (optional)
1 large egg
1 tbsp melted butter or ghee or olive oil
Salt
Mix well and tap the box and spread evenly
Microwave on high for 1 min. Or max 2 minutes.
Remove the slice while still warm and let it cool on a rack
Use it the way you want!!!
Chicken Korma
I have repeated the north Indian or Pakistani style chicken korma with yoghurt base quite a few times already and this has become our favourite on the menu. I make the shortcut way that does not involve crispy fried onions to reduce workload. I was first introduced to this delicious gravy by Ragee's foster mom where I watched her make this with loads of oil and fried onions! It is a treat and it still can be made while on a diet! :-)
F's First Cheat Meal
I never expected F would agree to the diet and stick to it even though he sulks most of the time. And be surprised, it was because he couldn't finish the prescribed food for the day. I was shocked! So to keep him motivated and not get off, I made some salad with fruits that were not part of our diet! Cheat but in a healthy way! :-) while I had as per my diet, chicken and beans pulo. Like I mentioned, there is no typical recipes here... make with ingredients given!
Meatballs
We complete eachother even as foodies. While I love all bone-in pieces of meat, he always prefers the boneless. So whenever we eat full biryani, I let him have the breasts piece and he gives me the legs! The Low carb diet we are on has no room for bone-in meat. Only chicken breasts! I call them white chunks that is so boring! So, I was always on the lookout for sprucing it up! While F hates vegetables and there is no escaping it, I found a solution for both of us... make meatballs!
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July, jumpstart journey lighter me...
