One week again, I started this small project in attempt to give you a glimpse of how I eat in real life by taking photos of the food I eat and sharing with you some thoughts on how I choose what to eat at any given time of the day. The purpose of this project was really just to show you my personal approach to healthy eating. And as the last post of this series, I hope to do a recap of this week’s diet and in a sense, this is also a self-reflection for me to see which aspects I did well in and which areas of my diet need improvement.
So, here’s my diet in a nutshell:
- I try to eat healthy 80% of the time and the remaining 20% are free-for all (gives me an opportunity to indulge in the not-as-healthy choices if I wish to). I also apply the 80/20 principle to dining out – I try to eat home-prepared foods 80% of the time, and I allow myself to eat out a few times a week (although I usually eat out much less than that).
- I make an effort to get lots of vegetables and fruits into my diet and ideally I try to get a wide variety as well. Usually I have quite a few different kinds of vegetables on a daily basis, but sometimes I’m just lazy and I prepare a big batch and just eat a lot of the same veggie. I also make an effort to include dark leafy greens (kale, spinach, broccoli) and orange vegetables (bell peppers, sweet potatoes).
- I like to get protein from different sources and I try to get most of it from plant sources (nuts, whole grains and legumes, especially soy products).
- In terms of dairy products, I am not a big fan of it so milk and dairy products don’t appear often in my diet (except yogurt). As a result, I definitely do not get enough calcium from food sources and I compensate by taking a calcium supplement (note: this is just my personal preference, I am in no way suggesting that calcium supplements are better.)
- Snacks are a key part of my diet. I tend to have one or two snacks daily, enjoying them between meal. On certain days I may have a little more or sometimes none, it just all depends on how I feel that day. I count dessert as a snack, so on days that I know I will be having dessert or want to have dessert, I will have one less snack so I can enjoy dessert after dinner.
- Portion Control. I do not believe there are any forbidden foods, so I do not restrict myself from eating anything. However, I do believe that there are less nourishing foods that should be consumed less often and in smaller amounts. Thus, when I have cravings for those less nutritious foods, I eat them sensibly, stick to eating smaller by using smaller serving bowls and plates. In addition, when I dine out, portion control also comes into play. I am well aware that that restaurants have outrageously large serving size, so what I normally do is eat until I’m satisfied and then pack the rest to take home to enjoy later (it is a much better idea than overstuffing myself!). I do not try to clear my plate just because that is the “right” thing to do.
In addition to healthy eating, regular exercise also plays an important part in my healthy lifestyle plan. Although I do not go to the gym on a regular basis, I do try to include some sort of exercise in my daily routine. I often mix up my exercises too, doing some free weights, some cardio (brisk walks on treadmill) and, at times, even yoga / Pilates. I’m not really the type of person who can workout for a long period of time, so I often split up workout sessions into shorter ones and fit them into my day.
My ultimate wish for this project was really for you to see what I mean by “embracing a healthy lifestyle” and give you a more realistic idea of my take on healthy eating. Hopefully, by reading through these visual food logs, you were able to observe that although I do make a strong effort to be healthy in all areas of my life, it is nowhere near perfect, but it works for me and I am very pleased with the way it is (for the most parts at least)! 
