Jimmy's Oasis

My diet plan

Jimmy Chen -

I completed my physical checkup on Aug 12 and the results were made available this morning (I've posted them on the Health page). It was the push I needed to figure out a diet ASAP.

I spent most of today considering the challenges and formulating a plan, which I'll share in this post.

Challenges

  • I work Tuesdays to Saturdays and it's legitimately a hassle to cook and bring food to the office.
  • I need something simple and protein-rich for breakfast since I'm supposed to eat within 30 minutes of waking and I also need to go for a run in the morning.
  • Not eating rice/bread/pasta makes me hungry.

I'll use two resources to resolve the above: Tim Ferriss' Slow Carb diet, and planned meals delivered to me during the week from Revo.

The Slow Carb diet

The principles all make sense and are easy to follow. The key is to avoid "white" carbohydrates (rice/bread/pasta/cereal/potatoes) and fruit (except tomatoes and avocado); replace white carbs with legumes (beans) to maintain a sufficient caloric load.

Since my aim is to improve my health rather than optimize weight loss, I likely won't go overboard on a weekly "binge" day and I'll still incorporate small amounts of normally healthy foods such as whole grains, yogurt, and a small amount of honey into my diet.

Seven days a week: breakfast

I'll take Tim Ferriss' advice and keep it simple with the same breakfast every day:

  • Two hard-boiled eggs
  • Boiled beans and spinach (with tomato salsa if available)
  • Yogurt (ideally unsweetened Greek, with a few drops of honey)

Tomato salsa is easy to make and refrigerate (luckily, I love tomatoes).

Tuesday to Saturday: meal delivery from Revo

While expensive (it's 700 RMB for five days), this "training wheels" version of a diet schedule makes it easier for me to eat healthily without having to think about it too much.

In the future, I can see taking baby steps towards making all my meals. For now, I'll just eat whatever is delivered to me and take notes on what tastes good.

Sunday: day off

While I don't plan to binge as suggested by the Slow Carb diet, I will eat whatever I like on this day. This allows me to have restaurant meals with family/friends without needing to worry about dietary restrictions.

Monday: experimental cooking day

I've committed to making lunch and dinner on this day of the week, since I'm home and it's our Ayi's day off. My plan for this upcoming Monday:

  • Lunch: Avocado toast (multigrain bread, boiled egg, avocado, lemon juice, smoked salmon, walnuts, minced tarragon)
  • Dinner: Burrito bowl (tomato salsa, black beans, cauliflower rice, guacamole, BBQ pulled pork)

Snacks

Up to two cups of coffee and one 30g packet of Three Squirrels per day.