WHAT A DAY OF EATING CONSISTS OF FOR ME 🙂

What I eat as a Vegetarian:

I am a vegetarian by choice and have been for four years now. I also avoid gluten completely unless I want to suffer and keep it for my treat day because I do not do well with it but feel free to eat them however that is just how I function and we are all different. I use intermittent fasting as a tool to navigate my eating habits and this has become my lifestyle for a few years.

INTERMITTENT FASTING protocol I follow  – (16:8 Window) and the basic outline to my meals are below: 

I start my mornings with fluids only. First I drink two to three cups of warm water, because our body tends to get dehydrated after a good night’s sleep. After that I make myself a cup of BULLETPROOF COFFEE. This is the favorite part of my morning. I keep drinking more water after to rehydrate from the caffeine intake. I usually have my lunch between 12 to 1 pm depending on the day. Since this is my fast breaking meal, I minimize my carb intake to keep my insulin levels from spiking. Sudden escalation of insulin after going without food for 16 hours or more can cause the body’s homeostasis to crash which is best to avoid.This is the reason the first meal I eat consists of mostly protein and fats which can either be in solid or liquid form. It is usually based on what craving I have at the time.

Meal two is basically a complete balanced diet.

Sometimes in between my two meals if I get hungry I eat a little snack. I am more about practicing intuitive eating and not being rigid about following a plan.

WHAT THE FOODS LOOK LIKE

BULLETPROOF COFFEE – Black Coffee with pure, raw virgin coconut oil and raw unsalted butter. (1Tbsp each to begin with and you can gradually increase it to your liking!! I add tonsss of butter to mine I love it!!!)

Meal 1: Breaking the Fast meal / First Meal 

Eg: Yogurt + nuts, milk + nuts , nepali tea, milk coffee/ tea, eggs + veggies, eggs + avocados, egg spinach + mushrooms. 

Meal 2: A fully Balanced meal. Carbs, Protein, Fats. 

Note: Carbs the size of my fist, protein the size of my palms, veggies half of my plate, fats the size of my thumb or more! I use this as a general portion guideline because it is just so practical and easy to do! And if I want more I will eat more of course 🙂 

Eg: Tofu with veggies + rice, rice, lentils, veggies + ghee, beans, lentils, veggies + gluten free tortillas, if I go out to eat I usually eat something rice based – pad thai, pho, sushi, you can eat eggs if you do. If not feel free to opt out. 

And for NON VEGGIES – opt out the plant based protein for meat of your choice at every meal or simply just add meat to the existing meal. 

The days when I do crave a snack or get hungry between my meals this is what I eat then. Also all my eating is done in the 8 hour window period.

SNACK between Meal 1 and 2

Peanut butter/ some kind of nut butter banana, apples with cheese or peanut / other nut butter, yogurt with nuts or honey, smoothies, milk tea, hummus + tortilla chips, dark chocolate, hot chocolate.

ON TREAT DAYS I EAT CHIPS THESE ARE MY WEAKNESS!! SOMETIMES EVEN SOME CHOCOLATE OR CAKE AGAIN DEPENDING ON WHAT I AM FEELING.II

NOTE : This is not a diet!! It is simply a lifestyle tool. Do not deprive yourself and please eat well during your eating window if you feel like giving this a try. You want to make sure you are getting in all your calories! and also take a break from this over the weekend or once a week, treat yourself and get right back to it from the next day! Life is about balance do not be hard on yourself!

Adjust the time based on your daily life schedule. The hard and fast rule is to simply follow 16:8 (16hrs fast, 8 hrs eat) protocol. If you feel like 16 hours is a lot to fast, try 14 hours first and slowly move up depending on how your body is feeling and performing! Listen to your body, you are the best judge and follow accordingly. This is a general guideline and what I do on a daily basis after trying several diets and falling – which only made me realise I don’t and won’t do diets cause it only stresses me out! This is the only lifestyle that has worked and stuck with me over the last few years. Please consult a physician before trying this out if you have any existing health conditions. This is simply me sharing my experience with you all.