End Month Series
Carpe Diem
Struggling with healthy eating and wondering if
…it is really possible to adopt a particular healthy living/weight loss regimen and stick it out for a year, and at what point will the results be enviably visible. Year to date, my struggles with food have been spectacularly devastating. From starting out on a Keto diet plan in January, but everywhere I looked carbs kept calling my name. Bottomless chapatis being sold at the office (no matter what time I walk into the kitchen there are chapatis on the kitchen counter), exotic starch options whenever I went for lunch (like this mashed sweet potatoes at the restaurant Milan in Westlands and some unbelievably tasty roast potatoes at Explorer Tarven), and out of the blues, our nanny decided that we should have chapatis twice a week as opposed to once in two weeks. And we all know that seldom will we win fights over the menu at home, especially when your schedule is so busy and the nanny tells you things like “No need to make rice because the kids prefer chapatis.” Chapatis, chapatis, chapatis everywhere I turn. Funny thing is that I was never crazy about chapatis and I can count the number of times I truly enjoyed them. These include when my mum would bring some over in boarding school during visiting day, and when I would visit my aunt in Thika after I was done with high school and she would make these chapatis with Cowboy cooking fat (anyone remember Cowboy?) and they tasted like melted butter on sweet corn! I am at pains to explain why I am suddenly taking to chapos like a baby to the mom’s tits.
Anyway, they say madness is when you do the same thing over and over again expecting different results. I wasn’t about to brand myself mad, so mid February, I accepted that I cannot live without carbs entirely and decided to have them thrice a week. Except that on those three days, my portions would put a mjengo worker’s portion to shame! And let’s not discuss my battle with sugar. Have you ever noticed than whenever you are trying to keep off something it somehow easily finds its way to you? Between Jan and March, I have been gifted several humongous boxes of chocolate and Joy doesn’t know how to eat only one bar. It’s always a box a session. Then there are those many corporate lunches and dinners we have had which always end up with the waiter coming round to ask “So are you ready for the dessert menu? Our Creme Brûlée is the best in the world (you roll your eyes thinking “better than Paris?”) and you can never go wrong with our Alfajores.”
Long story short, it’s end of quarter one and my weight is pretty much stuck at 59.5kgs where I started off at the beginning of the year. I have been pretty consistent with my fitness though, but there’s nothing as annoying as having to be that person who goes to the gym four times a week and tops it with weekly runs but the layers of flab on your tummy make your trainer want to kick you out of his team for embarrassing him with the lack of results. So whats my new strategy? Starting yesterday which was 25th of March, I decided to go Vegan. Actually if we are being honest, I embraced the vegan lifestyle a week ago on the 18th of March. Everything was going so well. I even went on vacay with a bunch of friends from Friday to Sunday to Elsa’s Kopje in Meru National Park (story for another day) and not once did I look at their meat options. I was proud of myself, until on our way back to Nairobi, we visited a friend’s dad and he served us what he called Anti Theft. This is a whole piece of goat leg that is seasoned with salt and boiled till the meat falls off the bone, like leaves in autumn. Apparently the name comes from the fact that if you ordered your typical boiro at a restaurant or butchery which is cubes of boiled meat, there is no telling if the cook and waiters helped themselves to some pieces. But with a full leg, no one can play you. Hence anti-theft.
I watched the meat slide off the bone as he ran the knife through it and almost got a heart attack when the plate of meat got to me. “If I die, I might as well die having eaten this delicacy that is obviously so gratifying in all its simplicity!” I told myself and proceed to grab a handful like a shagz kid. An hour later, we stopped over at this rustic cabin house in the heart of Meru called KCabin Crew. If you follow me on Instagram, you must have seen the place. It’s spellbindingly beautiful and they served this road runner Kienyeji chicken which took me back to my farm life in Njoro. That Sunday afternoon, I failed spectacularly after seven days of keeping off meat.
It is said that our destiny is not determined by the number of times we stumble, but by the number of times we rise up, dust ourselves off and move forward. I am giving this vegan thing one more shot (as of yesterday haha) and will keep you posted in the next end month series on my progress. Hopefully, we will be popping champagne!
Nice one
If only I had your weight..sigh!!!
Just pick yourself up my dear.
I also wasn’t a huge fun of chapos, until I moved out(in Jan this year) , and started living on my own, then I was introduced to this old guy who makes amazing chapos, now I eat two daily, am consoling myself that since they are brown , am not way off eating unhealthy. ?
Hhahahahah the struggle is real!
Aaaah,we are many! Let’s hope we pop champagne at the end of the year!
Let’s!
Chapatis are the real devil and don’t tell me about chocolate. I sometimes eat chocolate until I have a meeting with myself because once I start I cannot stop.. Generally for me wheat is my downfall. I am vegetarian I still eat eggs and take milk once in a while… This was a 21day challenge but it continued from December last year. After 105days without meat I went ahead and had a few pieces, my tummy was bloated and I felt sick. Back to this vegetarian life for now and I cannot believe I have not fallen. I let meat… Read more »
Now thatI have kept off animal products for 17 days, I can concur Zippiey. The smell of meat makes me want to throw up!
I was on keto late year and I lost 15kgs but I’ve fallen off the wagon because cakes are life….. But I need to be back as my stomach can tell I don’t need more cakes ?? all the best in doing vegan! I Know I can’t hack vegan
All the best with Keto!
Reading this as I devour a chapati ?
You are evil Winnie!! HAha
Food is a struggle for most. It’s sad to see people with perfect bodies like you struggle but everybody wants what they don’t have.
I’ve gone vegan for a year, it was easy because I was single and I was a raw vegan. You just have to be careful on the amount of carbs and the quality of carbs. All the best.
I am very careful with the carbs, 3kgs down in 17 days 🙂 I am also loving the vegan life.
Hahaha…..chapatis are your downfall..
Only!