Day 6/28 – I biked it, I steak it!

I crave red meat

Going into this diet, I was just as determined to shed the weight as I was about not cutting back on my lifestyle too much.

I’m pretty social so turning down meals can feel like torture. Enter Easter Sunday brunch with my friends… hmm, do I stay away or… do i go for a long bike ride to pre-burn some calories.

8am, Sunday: I was on my bike and pedaling pretty hard from Longhouse-Kranji-Bukit Timah-Home which left me winded during some bits but got my heart racing hard enough to burn 1,000 calories in 1:45 mins.

There were a few times I thought of packing it in to escape the honking cars and the blazing sun but I wanted to enjoy brunch and I was going to have to earn it.

Almost a shade darker later, I found laughing and sitting with friends as I tucked into a beautiful 120 gm steak (apprx 500 calories) and even had the “allowance” for a few gin & tonics (bliss!).

Cliche as it sounds, I enjoyed the meal so much more because of the work put in before. Perhaps sacrifice isn’t always a bad thing, especially when it fetches unsolicited compliments!

Day 5/27 – 300 calories of yum!

Fast becoming my favourite meal!

I’ve never been a breakfast eater, a cup of Milo when I was young, a tall mug of coffee when I grew up and I was out the door.

One of the biggest changes of this diet has been to wake a little earlier to make myself a good breakfast in order for my body’s metabolism to stablise.

As Vegemite on toast was not on the list of approved meals – but peanut butter and (thank goodness!) Nutella is – and I hate oats, there were just a handful of options.

This simple smoked salmon on rye with avocado and plain yoghurt (not sour cream) with just the smallest crack of black pepper and sprinkling of sea salt is the perfect breakfast for converts.

Aside from being delicious, what I like more is that it feels almost like lunch, but just brunch enough to keep you full (mentally and physically) till lunch rolls round.

Here’s the recipe (and rough calorie count):

2 slices of rye bread (toasted) – 160 calories
1 oz of smoked salmon (1/3 of a 100g pack) – 33 calories
1/4 avocado – 54 calories
1 tbsp plain non-fat yoghurt – 30 calories
Squeeze of lemon juice

Guess what I’m having in a few hours…