Diet plan part 1 - snacks and breakfast.

My style of eating throughout the years have always been, well, more than 3 FULL meals a day. I don't snack because it sounds....errr....`limited' as snacking only allows you, like what, one bowl of fruits, some biscuits or (yeah, it's an OR not a AND) maybe glass of milk. Might i add i don't drink milk either, it's a habit i never i since i was a kid and found it difficult to stomach even if i tried, not that i'm lactose intolerance. 

But there came a lot of times when we have that FIRST bite of potato chips or a small bite of that moist chocolate cake...hhmmm.....how can we just stop at one? I'd finish the whole bag, non stop or the whole piece of cake (though finishing one whole cake doesn't sound impossible!). It's one of those snacks that once we start eating, we just can't stop. 

I had some problem with this during the past 4 months of learning to eat. I'd not snack for days into weeks and then, suddenly there's this Pringles Potato Chips for sale at the supermarket. I got 2 tubes of it, thinking i'll just eat a little bit of it while my husband and kids can finish the rest........yeah right!! Goes without saying what happened at just two sitting, i finished them to the last bit of salt. And you know how it felt after that. A mixture of contentment, pleasure and toppings of extreme guilt.

I have to do something about this snacking part. So i came up a snacking system where i keep raw cut vegetables in my fridge, stored in nice containers (for presentation??) and whenever i feel the HALT (Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired, it's a system devised for emotional eaters like me), i'd just eat as many as i want.

Picture of the right is prepared by me this morning, containing 3 stalks of celery, 1 carrot, 1 head of broccoli (yeah, raw...takes time to get used to it) and 1 zucchini. It'll do no harm if i finish them all today or in two days, they're good for me. And yes, it takes time to get used to them and they taste nothing like potato chips but the feeling i get after eating these are fulfillment, satisfaction and pride.

Breakfast was another problem for me. I'm so used to a local food called `Nasi Lemak' which pairs with piping hot black `Aik Cheong' coffee or Nescafe....like heaven on top of heaven!! Pictures on the left....yummy.... hhhmmmmmmmmm.....and they're easily more than 500 calories just for breakfast. I ate them every single day for......err......a very long time. Pictured below..........

My New Breakfast Option, less than 200 cal!

So i've to toss the idea, picture of it in my mind, the taste of it in my mouth and nostrils (i give my husband the evil eye whenever he brings them back to eat). It was something very hard to do but for my health and family sake, i must. It's a ultimatum for me, do or die...literally. So I tried, tested and found that drinking Horlicks, with a couple of spoons of instant oats and some protein powder helps. I added the protein powder because my hair was failling a lot and it's something i bought (which later i found out would do my hair no use) for sale at a pharmacy. It's nearing it's expiry date and it's a waste not to finish it, even on sale it's expensive to me (about RM55). If i'm feeling peckish, i'll nibble some dry crackers along with it. And would immediately move along with housework. Staying idle would make me imagine food that i cannot eat, so move it!!!