Monday, April 18, 2011

Sometime Food & Everyday Food

I went to a buffet for lunch yesterday and as usual, i got the same comments from the group i was with "Apa ni, fitness instructor eating ice cream and other unhealthy food?" I know they meant it jokingly and didn't mean it in any hostile manner. But it got me thinking that lots of people out there think that fitness instructors are like monks who refrain from the pleasures of life. So i thought i would like to set the record straight.

Yes, i am into fitness and YES i do like to take care of my body, but that does not mean that i go overboard with it. Yes i drink alcohol from time to time, eat roti canai every once in a while and even the all sinful KFC ever so occasionally. My point is, what i advocate to people is doing things in moderation and not going to either extremes. To be honest, it irks me when i read articles written by so called fitness gurus who advocate no salt, no sugar, no this and that 24/7. I can't live like that, and neither do i expect anyone else to do that as well. If you can and you like that sort of thing, then go ahead. But for me, i advocate a path of moderation that is easier to follow and stick with. anyone want to follow me on this? you are more than welcome to join the fun side of fitness.

Hence there is the concept of sometime food and everyday food which i absolutely love and would like to share it with you guys. In short, its important to identify what is it that we eat most of the time, and what is it that we eat some of the times.

Sometime food - These are the foods that you eat occasionally to celebrate or just to indulge. Think of an expensive bottle of wine or champagne. You save it for that special occasion and it should not be taken with your dinner every night. For that, you would use dinner /table wines which are more affordable. So the concept here is similar.

Everyday food - Now this the food you are going to be eating most of the time. How often? At least more than 70% of the time. This is just everyday foods like bread, rice etc.

Now in order for this concept to work for you, you need to be clear on what foods you put in your sometime food category and what foods you put in your everyday food category. its simple, your everyday food, should be all that healthy stuff - Fruits, raw vegetables, lean meat, brown rice, chappati, thosai. You get the picture. Sometime food, is the food that you go out an indulge, not all the time, but some of the time. In here, you are going to throw in all the so called unhealthy foods such as you fast food, roti canai and anything else that is sinful. The problem i notice with most people is, that their everyday food is unhealthy and when they feel guilty (maybe after that annual medical check up) they decide to go on a diet or go healthy for awhile. Because they can't sustain it, they end up swinging back to their old habits of eating unhealthy food again. Most people's everyday food is unhealthy, and their sometime food is the one that is healthy. You need to turn it around.

If you are one of the people like i mentioned above, then you clearly want to take action and start changing your sometime food and everyday food. I would suggest that you do it slowly and progressively. Just like you can't run 10km on your first day of training, similarly you can't switch your diet overnight just like that. start slow and keep changing more and more things as you move along.

So back to my buffet story... why is it that i was eating everything under the sun? Well i don't eat buffets everyday. At most, maybe once in 3 or 4 months. So this is really something that is sometime food. when i do go to the buffet, i am going to eat as much as i can... or indulge, because i don't do it all the time. If you work in the hotel and eat the buffet everyday, then you will need to be more careful and you can't indulge in everything like i did... because then, the buffet has become your everyday food... and everyday food should be the healthy stuff, not the other way around.

Now that you understand this concept, your will also understand how it is you see slim people eating unhealthy food, and yet they stay slim. They don't do it everyday, they do it some of the time. So what is your sometime food and everyday food? Once you understand this concept and use it properly, you will be able to see great results. As usual, look forward to hearing your comments.

15 comments:

Akun said...

I have been following your blog since your first post. And here is my first comment ever. Haha.

I realized that things that you wrote were all just simple common sense. For instance, this post. It's so common sense. You eat fatty food once in a while and that is ok.Our everyday food should be the healthy one. Makes a lot of sense. Haha.

However, I really enjoy reading your blog though. It is informative most of the time. It is more like encouraging me to practice what I already know with new information added once in a while.

Quick question. Is there any "natural (non-drugs) bodybuilding competition in Malaysia"?

Thanks

Rajan said...

akun: well... welcome.... finally i guess.

i know it may seem like common sense to some of us, but you will be surprised how it is not so "common" to people out there. which is why i write about it.

Is there any Natural body building in Malaysia... hmmmm.... its like asking does santa exist? hehehee.... ok honestly not 100% sure, but all the people i have spoken to (people who go for contest) so far tell me that if you don't "tekan", you can't win... so i dunno.

Anyway... hope you will leave more comments in future. no fun being a silent observer.

Unknown said...

hi..
Hmm...i really enjoy reading your blog..:)
maybe you can share some healthy food and simple in your blog..:)
I've been eating outside everyday due to my working time..

Akun said...

Will do sir! I just got back to Malaysia. So now when you write something, I can feel it more since we are now in the same environment and situation, fighting almost the same things like 'mamak places' and all. Haha.

I would like to hear more about so called energy drinks like red-bulls, 100 plus, livita etc. Do they do any good. The content of sugar is very high..

Rajan said...

xuely shin: thanks. Eating out does not have to be unhealthy. There are many healthy options out there. I have posted some before, so you can check them out. Let me get the links and post it up here for you.

Akun:welcome back to Malaysia. energy drinks are not totally bad. It really depends on when you consume them. If you consume them after a 42km marathon... why not? It is actually good for you. Problem arises when people consume energy drinks like water. If you don't need all that energy, then you should not drink them. But if you are going to need that energy... then go for it.

Rajan said...

xuely shin: hi... check out this links. Its some of the older posts i have done and will give you an idea of how you can still eat healthily wherever you go. Hope it helps.

http://fitnessmalaysiablog.blogspot.com/2009/07/you-can-eat-healthily-anywhere-mamak.html

http://fitnessmalaysiablog.blogspot.com/2009/08/you-can-eat-healthily-anywhere.html

http://fitnessmalaysiablog.blogspot.com/2009/09/you-can-eat-healthily-anywhere-pizza.html

http://fitnessmalaysiablog.blogspot.com/2009/11/ok-as-i-keep-hearing-people-complain.html

Unknown said...

oooo...thanks Rajan!!!
actually i got problem with my diet management because I work as a permanent night duty..so dunia sudah terbalik...hahaha....I can have good meal on weekend only..which is i can cook at home..:)

Akun said...

Thanks Rajan. Also thanks for the links. I already read all of those but now I read them again to remind myself. :) Can't wait to read your next post!

Aizan Suhaira said...

Yeah Rajan, I agree with you. Some fitness professionals are so anal in advocating healthy eating that I believe it's actually more discouraging to people who are trying to lose weight.

No sugar. No salt. No fat. No ice cream. Eat broccoli. Eat Big Mac and die.

The fact of the matter is, you can eat whatever you want. Of course any fool would know overeating is bad.

But does it mean that you can't eat it at all? Nope. For people like us who weight train, eating a Big Mac right after training may even be beneficial as all those calories, protein, fat, carbs will actually be used to repair muscles.

But hey, if people aspire to live like food-monks they are welcomed to do so. More power to them.

Rajan said...

xeuly Shin: If you are working night shifts, best if you can try and prepare some food from home and take it with you. Maybe you can consider a protein shake which is convenient to make and take with you. Another good alternative would be to take fruits with you so you can snack on them when you need to.

Akun: thanks.

Aizan: i hear you. I am currently facing the same problem as you... losing too much weight and can't seem to put on much weight. i have decided to slow down my jogging... as i think my overall activity is too high now. So now during my weight gain days, i make it a point to eat a whole lot more and usually one meal a day must be a huge helping of rice. Today i ate Chicken Briyani for lunch... awesome stuff.

Unknown said...

Hmm..Good idea!!
What protein shake you will recommend?

Rajan said...

xuely shin: Taking nutrilite protein. I mix the plain and the berry flavour.

Unknown said...

oooo...ok...good idea!!never think bout that..i bought the protein powder(original) only..never try the berry..

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