The truth about eating a lot on high carb

Some people may think it is impossible to stay healthy or skinny when eating over 2500kcal per day.

I mean,
I get it.
It is confusing.

The thought of eating a plant-based, nutrition-dense diet is actually pretty simple. You eat as much until you are full. There are no restrictions and it doesn’t matter whether you eat 3 times a day or 8 little snacks a day. It is all up to you. What I experienced with this lifestyle is that my energy levels increased immensely. I did not feel like a sluggish Kitty-Kat after eating dessert but ready to move my body. While you are reading this you might think:

„ah, well she is talking, but reality looks different.“

The following is my personal truth and not an universal truth.

When I started reading about high-carb and Veganism I thought, well this all sounds pretty nice. All these peeps saying that they’re feeling more energized, having the perfect skin, eating Icecream for breakfast. It sounded a little bit too good to be true. I tried to implement parts of this „lifestyle“ without restricting myself too much. I mean I did not force myself to eat like 8 bananas, when I felt like eating bread. I observed many Youtubers and Instagramers and recognized that besides following this „diet“ pretty strictly, they still had unclear skin or were not skinny. What they all had was a splendid infectious positive appearance. I thought maybe it is not about getting the perfect skin, losing these last 5 pounds. It was me feeling better without heaps of junk food and an increased amount of vitamins.

I often hear questions like: Is it ok to eat oatmeal for dinner? Can I have bread or is it forbidden?
I believe (and this is my OWN OPINION!) what your body craves is good for you. Of course, you cannot eat chocolate all they long. This said by a huge chocoholic, I can tell when I have a huge chocolate oatmeal or Nicecream for breakfast I automatically do not crave chocolate during the day. And when I do I eat some homemade chocolate cookies or dates or whatever I have in the kitchen that is somehow sweet. (you can find a lot of sweet healthy inspirations on my blog)

I am a fan of trusting the body and listening to it.

What about if the body craves what he needs?

Being one with your body is one of the most beautiful things to explore. I took me a long time until I could say: „yes, now I feel it“

I started incorporating more veggies, more fruits, replacing white flour with coconut flour, eating more homemade treats instead of store bought ones. Of course, all these little things won’t make the trick and ultimately make you the happiest balanced person.But it is a start. Once I recognized that I am less tired and experienced almost no more bloating, I started to really, really like it. There are days I ask myself, maybe I would be even more healthy or „better“ when eating no sugar at all or just eating raw. But that for me would be (at the moment) to much of a restriction. I really like the way I feel now. And that is what I think should we do more often. Just appreciate something the way it is. We always want more. Run more kilometer, eating less sweets, having better grades, doing more yoga. When constantly striving for more you might miss how good you are already doing now! Appreciate your 5km, the fact that you managed to eat healthy most of the time, that you have managed meeting 2 old friends this week or whatever is important to you.

If you have read until here and think: This sounds all nice and good, but I don’t know…,
no worries. I have been at exactly the same point.

Let me just say try it. try it just a little and see the change.
At least you have nothing to lose.

I listed some things below, I regularly do and that really helped me in my life.

Morning:
I try to drink a big glass of water every morning (sometimes with lemon or ginger)
the first week I just did it because I read it somewhere and thought well I do it as well. Then I felt that my tummy really likes this and my digestion said: Hey, Thank you! 😉

During the day:
Meal prep! Whenever I am prepped, I eat better! As anyone of you I am just human and I work 100%. SO what I often do is a compromise. I bring half of the food from home (some tomatoes, leftover rice for example) and then I buy something else like a fresh bread or I go to a buffet, buying some curry to put over my rice. Of course you can prepare all of your food at home and bring with you 🙂

Digestion:
Get a little movement after lunch. A short 10 minute walk is enough, I often make an extra long walk to the toilet in the 5th floor 😉

Before dinner:
Sip some green tea in the afternoon. This usually helps me to not eat sweets already at 3 or 4’o clock

After dinner:
Brush your teeth after dinner. Even if I eat healthy sweets, I could eat more than I know is good for my stomach. When I am on my period, for example I stop myself by brushing my teeth early in the evening to prevent late night craving

Night:
I have to mention this although you heard it 100 of times. Get enough sleep! I try to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep. some need more and some less for me something between 7 and 8 is ideally

Let me know your questions if you have some! Would be cool to read your thoughts in the comments!

Lara