The above is a quotation from the most famous English sonnet and writer, William Shakespeare. Indeed, he has a very valid point that must have been felt by everyone who had been through hunger and starvation, he just said it better.
The VLCD (very low calorie diet) of 500Cal per day is really a humbling experience.Not only now I understand better the pain of hunger and starvation, but several other facts had been brought to light as well. Let me share them with you!
As a Muslim I have fasted before, for at least 10-12hours a day during the month of Ramdhan, abstaining from food and drink and things which will make my act of obedience as null and void. But at the end of the 12hours or so, i know that a feast awaits me. Food glorious food! Multiple dishes,sweet, savory and creamy comprises of all the group of food in the food pyramid will be there, and in 20minutes of breaking fast you could replace whatever calories deficit you had while fasting that day.No hardship there.
On the other hand, complying with this diet, you must eat one type of protein with one type of vegetable in the amount permitted for lunch and dinner. You can have one fruit and a small stick of carbohydrate at both times. No more, full stop. You can eat less than the allocated calories but NOT MORE. You eat more, you pay! From this practice, I realized from that it is actually enough to have smaller meals as long as u eat regularly rather than wait until you are ravenously hungry where you tend to wolf down your food like there will be no tomorrow.
Looking at it closely too, I realized how healthy that is actually as well as not mixing various type of food group together. Our prophet Muhammad SAW(peace be upon him)way of eating was exactly as how Dr Simeon recommended. One type of protein should not be mixed with another, especially if they come from a different source, such as a land animal e.g. chicken vs fish, which comes from the sea. The chemical reaction that happens when they interact has some negative impact on our body which might not be discernible to us who had been mixing them all through life. The same goes for vegetable. It is the chemical reaction which helps us in burning the fat as well as boosting up our metabolism therefore making us lose weight.
I also come to like and appreciate the taste of individual food, which I have taken for granted all these years. Spinach, blanched and ate with just a sprinkle of salt and a little pepper tasted divine. Asparagus, steamed with garlic and ginger played havoc with the taste buds. Grilled chicken with tomato salsa, Shrimp with grated cucumber soup, Dory or Cod cooked in sour broth with tomatoes, tummeric and lemon grass and the list went on and on.Somehow along the way, I found my creativity in creating recipes to satisfy my appetite!
Never a picky eater (which was the trouble to begin with), I now am more careful of what I put in my mouth. If you have limited things to eat, you would make sure that only eat the best! heheh
I also vowed to incorporate this healthy way of eating as much as possible even after I am done with this diet. Healthy living means healthy eating too!
I also learned from this experience that hunger could turn me into a monster. I snarled and grumbled, whined and whined at my friends and my husband, and snapped at my children. I was letting my tummy took control of me, my mood and my relationships.I saw how ugly it was I could be and made efforts to change immediately! It took me a while to school myself from being governed by my appetite and hunger pangs. I trained myself to stop, and control my mood and exercise patience and control. I am still trying but it is not so hard now these days as compared to the first week.
I learned that this diet brings me closer to my friends. A thing in common that makes us lend support to each other and push each other into reaching our goals, whatever they are.
I am still in the transition phase but I am sure there will be more lessons to be learned from this humbling yet enriching experience. Until it comes to light, healthy living my friends!
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