Ever since I've come back to Bangalore (oh, now Bengaluru) and reported to work at the UIDAI Technology Centre I find that I'm always short-changed for time. Slowly many things that I'd taken for granted as part of my daily diary have started disappearing from my schedule. Yoga was the first to go (it was also helped coz of me hyperventilating suddenly and my friends suspecting yoga being the cause for it). I also discovered I no more had time to make my breakfast or (packed) lunch in the morning before I left for work. The maid would cook only dinners and I am not too fond of eating leftovers as breakfast. I stopped cooking even on weekends. Soon, my religious routing of knee exercises also became a casualty. And, the only walks that I got were from my chair to the loo and back. Office mails ensured that I had lesser sleep than I desired or deserved.
(Despite all this I have NO regrets about the position I've taken up; in fact this is the most exciting thing I have done in a long time but that's another - and longer - story, and will save it for another day).
I started eating out regularly. Idli, wada and sambhar/chutney became the daily morning mantra. I swore (and still swear) by the limp, lumpy but a lot-on-the-plate canteen lunch. The effects were all there to see even before I could know. I burped like a bellow, trousers suddenly weren't getting up beyond the mid-thigh, dull headaches, low energy, lower levels of patience (especially with the loved ones coz they sure invariably bear the brunt). My coffee breath might've put off many dates. My (operated-upon) knee began to hurt and groan. In essence, my entire body and mind were revolting against these changes and I knew I had to address the issues immediately.
I jogged back my memory and remembered I was trying to inculcate the NHS ideals of diet - get to eat at least 5 portions of veggies and fruits a day. This also came with a rider: no matter how much fruit juice you consume, it'd amount to one portion only and ditto, lentils. I thought I'd bring this back into my diet - whether I eat out or at home. This meant, invariably I had to have my breakfast at home (or at a star hotel that would have a lavish breakfast spread).
As a baby step, I began buying idly/dosa batter from the shop so I would at least not eat soda-fied idlis. Suddenly leftovers became valuable. Microwave the leftover curries and eat them with the dosas; if it's dal/sambhar from the previous day, steam idly it would be for breakfast. Two, maid was instructed that she'd invariably make either dal or sambar with loads and loads of vegetables (dal with watery vegetables like gourds or leafy veggies; you can't put any vegetable into dal); and veg curries would be dry and as non-oily as possible and potato is NOT a vegetable and hence not welcome.
I soon discovered I can't have dosa or idli everyday. How to make quickie breakfasts that are not noodles (I HATE all those 2-minute varieties) or cornflakes (I'm lactose-intolerant and we all know milk isn't digested well by grown-ups). In came the options of poha and upma and rice-sewai or even lemon-rice. But, how to make these give me one of those portions prescribed by NHS? Of course you could make vegetable upma. But, that would mean you spend more time in the kitchen (but where was this time going to come from?).
Innovation! I eliminated the nuts from peanuts in lemon rice and just retained peas. My friend raised eyebrows all the way to the nape of his neck at this (being conservative?) but I tried. Yummy! was the verdict. Add a quick fruit too - bananas (1 if it's the regular 'spotted' green variety or 2 if it's the 'yelakki' variety) or oranges or papaya (chopped n stored in the fridge the previous night).
It's a tad over a month since I started all this. Now, even if I eat that junk in the afternoon (which contributes max 1 portion of my planned diet nutrition) I am getting a minimum of 5 nutritious portions of veggies n fruits. Even if I go out for dinner I ensure I eat a fruit after I return. I have cleansed the house of biscuits, short-eats, spicy mixtures and the like. Even when I drink (which's become a rarity), I'm not snacking.
The results have been obvious to myself. I'm staying put at a 32" waist and not moving towards 34" (which looked a certainty earlier). A 30" waist in a few months down the line looks promising (if I can make some more time-adjustments, cut down on my internet time and make way for some exercise). Bags under the eyes are looking less prominent (and the belly too). I am not crashing the moment I return from work. TV has moved out of the menu (I read the news on the web, when I have time at work).
I'm experimenting with the upmas - I almost felt that guy in some cookery competition had stolen my idea and made mushroom-upma :)
