Fourth Week into 5:2 Diet

I have to make some adjustments. 

And it's ok, life is about making adjustments to suit ourselves.

6-9 months after my pregnancy, I lost most of my baby weight, in fact, I was lighter than my pre-pregnancy self. I fit into most of my old clothes but not skinny jeans and super fitting dress. Fats are accumulating around my tummy and thighs specifically. With my almost non-existence exercise regime, I know weight is not the number I should be focusing on. Fats are much lighter than muscles. Weight just doesn't reflect how much muffin top I've accumulated.

After life got into a more normal routine, I go back to yoga once a week when I can. Some running here and there but not regular at all. Muscles still do not tone up but a bit better after a year. And I still do not fit in skinny jeans. I gave up.

However, home trips after home trips, Christmas party, New Year party, Chinese New Year, friends and family gathering etc., fats are building up. After my Taiwan trip, even the looser shorts and pants are getting tighter! 

RED ALERT!

This is the reason I jumped into the 5:2 diet ship with The Man.

Three weeks after the diet, I lost almost 1kg, and the tightness in shorts and pants are loosing up. That's great! But something not so great happened too.

I realized my skin looks dull. My face looks aged. 

O.M.G.

I have no idea whether it's related to this 5:2 diet, but for this period of time, this has been the only big change in my life. So I suspected it.

Therefore, on my fourth week, I make a little adjustments on my diet. I still try the intermittent fasting diet but no longer stick to 500 calories. I discard the idea of calories, just eat lesser than normal.

Yesterday was my fast day, and the menu goes like this:

Breakfast: Overnight oat with blueberries and walnuts, and a cup of black coffee

Lunch: Quinoa with Halloumi cheese, cherry tomatoes, baby spinach and mushroom

Dinner: Salad (Lettuce, cherry tomatoes, hard boiled egg with sesame sauce)

I've always wanted to try quinoa but never did until my friend told me she's been cooking it. So I asked her how she cooks it, and I too got into this "health buff".

Quinoa with halloumi cheese, cherry tomatoes, mushroom and baby spinach

This is easy to cook, and I'm totally in love with halloumi cheese! :P

Ingredients:

1. Quinoa
2. Cherry tomatoes, halved
3. Mushrooms, sliced
4. Baby spinach
5. Halloumi cheese, cubed
6. Garlic, minced
7. Salt and pepper 

Method:

1. Wash the quinoa under running tap water. Boil it for 15-20 minutes. Quinoa absorb a lot of water, so make sure you drain them well after cooking.
2. On the frying pan while quinoa is cooking, pan fry the halloumi until they're golden brown and set them aside.
3. Sauteed the mushrooms, until they're brown and no more liquid coming out, add garlic and cherry tomatoes. And followed by baby spinach for the last as they cook very fast, you do not want to over cook them. 
4. Drain your quinoa, and add them into the pan together with halloumi cheese.
5. Give them a bit of stir, add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve.

My target for 5:2 Diet is only until next week. After that, I'll be off for holiday with my family, that's when any diet is useless :P

Let's see how it goes from here.