My guide to a better diet (Part I)

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My guide to a better diet Part I

I am having a big dilemma on how to write this article. Should I write an article with all the kind of good food which a typical Singaporean is unable to follow or should I write an article with decent food that allows all of us typical Singaporean to follow. I choose the later.

This guide to better diet Part I is for average Singapore who have no idea on what to eat. It should give you some decent result, but the end result may not be desirable enough.

Counting of calories
I will not be counting calories in part I because I suck in counting calories. Or rather, there is no way you know how much exact calories a meal has unless you prepare the food yourself. You will need to weigh all your ingredients, including how much oil you use. That’s how much work. There are websites to estimate the amount of calories, but then, it’s just estimation.

I know many people will have self deceiving behaviour and think that we are not eating that much of calories.
Eg: a burger may have 400 calories. But one can choose to believe that “the website tells me it’s only 250 calories”.

Meal timing
Ditch the traditional 3 meals a day habit. Go for 5-6 smaller meals. You should eat the moment you wake up. Eat a meal every 3-4 hours till bed time. Assuming you wake up at 850am.
You should eat at the following timing.
1) 9am
2) 12pm
3) 3pm
4) 6pm
5) 9pm

I listed 5 meal timings here. If you workout, you can add a pre workout meal & a post workout meal. That will make 7 meals a day. It is OK to eat that many meals a day. During my free time, I will eat 8 meals a day. I just make sure that total food in is what I need. I don’t over-eat.

Meal size
How much to eat? I have no idea how much you need either. I only have 2 tips.

Eat SLOWLY and eat till about 75%. Do not go till 100% or more.

0% = hungry
50% = not hungry, not full
100% = full

Type of Food
I classify into 2 groups – main meal and snacks
Main meal is like our traditional meals whereas snacks are smaller in quantity.

I won’t be telling you what are good or what are bad. I will allow you to think for yourself, on how to choose between 2 groups.
1) McDonald v Subway
Subway wins

2) Chicken rice v KFC
Chicken rice wins

3) Chicken rice with lesser rice, more meat without skin v Normal chicken rice
The former wins.

4) Yong tao hu v Fish slice noodle
They are both the same to me. Just have to see how the hawker prepares the food and what ingredients you choose for YTH.

For snack, it can be a serving of protein shake, Meal Replacement Products/Meal Replacement Bar, 1 serving of fruit or a smaller serving of main meals.

What I eat typically (When I have complete control)
9am: 4 slices of whole meal bread with A LOT of peanut butter
11am: 2 servings of papaya
1230pm: 2 fist size of brown rice with 1 serving of chicken breast meat and 1 egg.
3pm: 1 serving of whey protein with milk
430pm: oatmeal (how much depending on how hungry I am)
615pm: Same as 1230pm
9pm – 11pm: My supper, usually a piece of chicken meat from western food stall

I will try to eat as much vegetables as I can in any meal.

Just avoid the following kind of meal
1) fried food
2) almost 100% carbs food (rice/noodle – fried rice, hong kong noodles, hokkien mee)

Go for meal with more
1) meats
2) vegetables
3) eggs

That’s all I can think of.

Cheat meal
How is it possible to stay away from sinful food unless you are very discipline? Only some people will detest fried food (like me). But well, you are allowed to eat 1 cheat meal every week to “reward” yourself for the whole week.

Do not worry, 1 meal will not determine if we will become fat or lean. It’s our lifestyles that decide our body composition. For blessed people (maybe like me), we are allowed 1 cheat meal every 3 days.

Special cases
I am unable to eat 1 meal because I have to work.
Sorry man, you have to think of a way to overcome this. Either prepare a glass of milk, an apple or a shaker with MRP or buy a MRB to have the small snack.

I need to work OT. My company will provide only McDonald.
My Sister has this problem. I recommended my MRP to her. I will NEVER recommend 1 MRP to replace a meal totally to lose fat. But in this case, eating MRP is better than not eating or eating McDonald. This is the case of no choice.

I need to eat to entertain clients!
Bread and butter (Money/job) will definitely come before a nicer body. What you can do is try this style (food sampling) – just eat a little to show that you eat. There is no need to finish ALL the food. During order, just make a special order for smaller portion. (Do you care about the “lugi” or better body huh?)

Old friends gathering - need to eat buffet!
Just go ahead and eat. 1 meal will not determine if you will become fat or lean.

Summary (Just read here if you are that lazy or think my English sucks)
Eat consistently for 2 weeks with the few types of food, meal size and meal timing. See how your body changes, stick to it if you like it. If the result is not desirable, eat cleaner or reduce the meal size.

Try to go as little fat as possible. This is Singapore. Any kind of fat you avoid from hawker food will never be enough. The fat you eat in everyday will still be pretty high.

Try to go for as much protein as possible.

Carbohydrates. It is ok to eat carbs. Just don’t overeat. As in “Extra rice” or rice/noodle only meal.

This is how I plan my diet. I will count my calories when I decide to join any competition. But I doubt I can excel with my limited talent and knowledge though.

Email me at Kevin-chia@hotmail.com or k-fitness@hotmail.com if you have any question to ask.
I will improve on this guide when I go back to Singapore. (Feb 2008)

Please visit my new website for all my updated articles. Thank you!