How I Lose Weight in 5 Months Without Ditching the Carbs and Sweets [Secret Revealed]
For over two years now, I’m still getting questions and feedback about my weight loss journey. I just realized that I haven’t spilled the beans that much yet.
I’m not a nutritionist nor a gym instructor.
But why am I sharing my so-called secret when I’m not an expert? Because everything that I’ve done was not a secret at all.
Everything is on the internet. You’ve read it and you’ve watched it. You even learned it in school.
Skeptical?
Let me give you an example. Exercise. Yes, you’ve read it right. Exercise. It was part of my weight loss routine, which I’ll disclose more later. It’s on the internet, you learned it in school and it’s been there for centuries.
So, if that’s the case, what’s unique to my DIY diet program?
It’s the way I do it. I exercise and eat in moderation. But the difference is the time when I do it, the time I spend doing it and the amount of food I’m consuming.
In this DIY diet program, you’re allowed to eat carbs. I love rice. I’m an Asian.
You’re allowed to eat sweets too. I love Cadbury! Who doesn’t love Cadbury?
It’s good for people who have GERD. So, intermittent fasting (IF) is not an option. Who wants an ulcer, c’mon?
Also, in this diet, you’re not counting calories on every food you eat.
If you tried this before, you know how hard it was to calculate in your head the calories you’re about to eat. Arithmetic is my waterloo; it’s so hard to do the mental math.
Another thing, you’re eating a balanced meal. It means that you’re not eating eggs and bananas for the entire week. You can eat chips too.
And the best part? You can eat any time of the day. So, when there’s a party, you don’t need to tell your friends that you’re on an IF. Yes, you can eat after six.
Finally, you don’t need to enroll in a gym membership program. All you need is an internet connection to watch exercise videos online.
This DIY diet program comes in three parts — Restrictions, Diet Plan and Habits.
The program ran for five months before I got the result. So, it took me a while to lose weight. But I did. If you’re impatient, this program is not for you. You can only get the result if you’re patient and disciplined to do all the parts of the program.
In a nutshell, here’s how the program looks like.
Restrictions
a. One cup of brown rice for the entire day
b. 1/3 cup of rolled oats for breakfast
c. Sweets twice a week
d. Avoid processed foods like canned goods and instant noodles.
Meal Plan
a. Follow the MyPlate Diet
b. Eat five to six meals a day
Habits
a. Get enough sleep
b. Drink lots of water
c. Exercise
That’s a lot I know.
But how can you give up the result that the program will give you? In this program, you can change your clothes size from XXL to large. That’s two sizes down in just five months. And if you’re watching your sugar level, this is a good start.
Why is this diet better than others?
Because of its long-term effect.
You have seen people who lose weight, but after a few years; they gained weight again. For me, it’s not the case. In 2019, I lose weight and I’m still in a normal BMI until now.
From a brown rice eater, I’m back to eating white rice.
But what makes it a better option among other diet programs is that it’s easy to remember and to master. So, even after the diet program, discipline is incorporated into your lifestyle.
Let me explain to you one by one why I opt for the restrictions, meal plan and habits. And I’ll use science to explain why it works.
I’m not a quack doctor. Researching is just my wheelhouse.
Restriction no. 1 — Eating only one cup of brown rice for the entire day. Like what?
I’m not saying that you’ll just eat brown rice. There’s still chicken, fish, veggies and desserts on the side. Okay, let’s add the red meat.
The restriction is that you’ll just eat ½ cup of rice for lunch and another half for dinner for the entire five months. Because this is a drastic change, you can start eating one cup each of rice for lunch and dinner in your first month. Then, reduce it until you reach ½ cup rice for both lunch and dinner.
But why eat brown rice over white rice?
Because brown rice has more fiber than white rice.
Fiber helps to make you feel full so you won’t feel hungry until your next meal. Also, brown rice has a lower glycemic index than white rice. A low glycemic index means that your blood sugar level doesn’t spike up as fast as the high glycemic index does. When the sugar level goes up, a sugar crash happens.
When you’re trying to lose weight, you want to avoid a sugar crash. And you know you’re experiencing it when you have headaches, you feel sluggish and you’re craving. And if you’re craving, you’ll have the tendency to eat more.
That’s why some people quit on a diet because they can’t control their cravings. Eating brown rice can help you with the craving problem.
Did I eat brown rice for the straight five months?
No. I cheated. I ate white rice when there’s a party. I ate Jollibee spaghetti when fast food meals were the only available option. I didn’t starve myself.
Restriction no. 2 — Eating 1/3 cup of rolled oats for breakfast.
The logic about eating rolled oats for breakfast is to introduce more fiber than sugar in your body. As I mentioned earlier, a sugar crash can break your diet pattern. And you don’t want that to happen. The safest way to do it is to eat rolled oats because it has a less amount of sugar. Take note, it’s not an instant oat. It’s rolled.
But If I craved ham, I added it to the side, but I only did it to stop the craving.
If I knew I was about to do rigorous activity during the day, I would eat a heavy meal in the morning. It means that I ate rice and red meat. But for the five months of dieting, most of my breakfast was oatmeal and peanut butter.
Why 1/3 cup of rolled oats?
Because 1/3 cup already contains 96 calories. You don’t want to eat too many calories in the morning because you don’t know what your day would look like.
What do I mean?
You don’t know when your boss would order a box of pizza for the team or if someone asks you to go out for a coffee break. You want to reserve some room when lunch and dinner come.
You’re maybe wondering what you can add to oatmeal if you can’t add too much sugar. Adding peanut butter or fruit to your oats won’t make it boring. You can add milk and cinnamon too.
If it tastes bland, you can add up to two tablespoons of sugar. You can start at ½ cup if 1/3 cup seems to be a small serving. Then reduce it as you go by.
One-half cup of plain rolled oats is 150 calories already. Keep that in mind.
I’m not sure that I can do that.
Yes, I’m with you. I know it’s hard. Because you’ll feel the cravings in the first few weeks. But the good news is that there’s a solution for the craving problem and you’ll love this!
The solution — eat before you’re hungry.
You don’t wait to eat until you’re hungry. You don’t want to feel starved because it signals your brain to eat more. If you have GERD, you’re familiar with eating small meals frequently. In this diet program, you’ll do the same.
In-between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner, you must take your snacks. You can eat pizza, spaghetti, chips, cakes, anything that comes into your mind. You can eat it.
But…
Do it in moderation. One saucer size is a perfect portion size for the snacks I mentioned. And that includes chips. So, you’re not eating the whole bag when you’re on a diet.
However, avoid the high-carbs and salty snacks in the morning. It’s better to eat fruits to satisfy your craving for sweets.
Restriction no. 3 — Eating sweets twice a week.
According to the World Health Organization, we must consume less than 25 grams of added sugar per day. That’s roughly six tablespoons for the entire day. If you’re adding sugar to your meal or drinks, always think about the quantity you’re adding.
But to make it stricter and more effective, it’s better to eat sweets twice a week. This restriction is the hardest for a sweet-tooth like me. But keeping fruits in the pantry is a game-changer.
Whenever you want to eat sweets, eat fruits. As easy as that. But you don’t want to deprive yourself. Eat desserts, especially when a cheesecake is available.
The rule of thumb is that if you eat sweets on Monday, you only have one chance left for the week to eat sweets.
I only eat sweets on Saturday and Sunday. But if I cheat on a Thursday, I remind myself that I have one chance left to eat for the next dessert.
That’s a hardcore discipline.
Restriction no. 4 — Avoid eating processed foods
Based on a study, participants who ate an ultra-processed diet in two weeks ate 500 calories more per day. The participants ate faster and gained two pounds on average. Those who were on a minimal ultra-processed diet lose two pounds on average.
I know you don’t want to give up bacon and cream cheese. What I said is you should avoid it. You’re allowed to eat it, but not as often as you do right now. If you can lose two pounds in two weeks by eating a healthy meal, why not ditch the bacon?
We’re done with the restriction. Let’s go to the meal plan.
Meal Plan no. 1 — My Plate Diet
My Plate Diet is the best diet on earth. Why? Because it’s balanced and it’s satisfying. It’s well-portioned and you don’t need to calculate for each meal that you eat.
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has detailed information about My Plate Diet. They called it the Healthy Eating Plate.
The greater amount of meal on the plate is fiber. If you’re eating brown rice, you’re getting more fiber and you still have carbohydrates on your diet.
If you want to eat caldereta or lechon for your protein, you can do so. Just watch the portion.
Meal Plan no. 2 — Eating five to six meals a day
You’ve read this earlier, but I just want to explain it further. The six meals include breakfast, one lunch, one dinner, and three snacks. You can remove the third snack. It’s not mandatory.
The My Plate Diet is applicable only for lunch and dinner. For snacks, use your saucer as your portion control guide.
We’re done with the meal plan, let’s discuss habits.
Habit no. 1 — Get enough sleep
Staying late produces more ghrelin than leptin. Ghrelin instructs you to eat while leptin instructs you to stop eating. And if you’re sleep-deprived, your metabolism is slower.
Habit no. 2 — Drink lots of water
You know this already. Sometimes we think that we’re hungry when actually we’re thirsty. If we drink a lot of water, we can avoid such feelings. If we keep ourselves hydrated, we won’t be craving salt. So, you won’t be tempted to open a bag of chips.
Habit no. 3 — Exercise
I’ve done Zumba and Taebo but the one that works for me is HIIT or High-Intensity Interval Training. What I like about this exercise is that you can burn more calories in less time and in less frequency.
HIIT has an EPOC feature of Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption feature. It has an afterburn effect, so when you exercise today, you’re still burning fat until the next day. Your metabolism is boosted until tomorrow. You don’t need to show up for an exercise tomorrow.
There are HIIT exercises under 35 minutes that can burn 600 calories. If you’ll just show up for three days, you can lose 1,800 calories a week. That’s two hours and 25 minutes, warm-up and cool-down exercise included.
Here are the links to the videos I followed.
I started with this video, This Killer Workout Torches Calories — About 500 in 45 Minutes by PopSugar. It’s engaging, and it’s fun. If you enjoy aerobics and Zumba, you’ll love this.
After a few months, I shifted to 35 Min HIIT Workout for Fat Loss — Home HIIT Workout with Weights — High Intensity Interval Training by HASfit. It’s challenging, and it requires less time. This exercise can burn up to 600 calories.
And don’t forget your warm-up and cool down. I got mine through Fitness Blender.
That’s it! My not-so-easy weight loss journey.
