Last Updated on July 23, 2017
When you eat out, there are often many mouth watering dishes that you can feast on, generally involving fast food or anything that is sweet and high in fat. Things that come to mind- lasagna, spagetti with mushroom sauce, curry mee, nasi lemak, Indian rice (with the complete side dishes and spices), etc. And to top it off with ice lemon tea, ice blended with cheese cake or chocolate mud cake as desserts.
For many sedentary people, eating this type of food would start triggering food cravings. If you have a set lunch consisting of this type of food combination, you will find that you may want to search for something to nibble in the afternoon or get hungry again in the evening. When the craving arises, sometimes it is hard to resist and if you were to succumb, you will almost end up feeling bad or rotten about yourself. Or you will feel so tired and bloated after that full lunch that you may end up getting yourself a Hazelnut latte (Hazelnut latte is really very high in sugar).
The cause lies in your lunch selection and what you choose to eat may influence how you feel for the rest of the day.
Last week, I was at a restaurant during lunch. When my friends ordered claypot yee mee, Hokkien fried and Cantonese fried, I’ve decided to opt for a breakfast set and because I could not resist, iced tea milk. My breakfast set consists of one fried egg, baked beans, sausage and 2 pieces of white bread with kaya and butter cubes (I’ve removed the portion of the butter because they put too much on it). After my lunch, my tummy did not feel bloated and even with less food, I am able to sustain till evening without much of cravings for other food. I also bring fruits to office every day like apples, papaya and plums and enjoy taking fruits after lunch. Previously, I’ve ordered food high in carbs but low in fat such as like bihun soup, it will still trigger food cravings in the afternoon or not long after meals.
Similarly today, I felt like eating curry mee. Instead I’ve finally opted for 3 slices of Gardenia’s Breakthru bread with:
- smashed egg- you just smash a hard boiled egg with a fork, add pepper and a little bit of salt, then with some sliced lettuce (could not find cabbage in the house). Mix with a teaspoon of cheese spread. Then apply to bread with half a slice of cheese and chili sauce- it’s really yummy
- the other piece of bread was toasted and spread with a little (only a teaspoon) of Smucker’s peanut butter
- Nescafe 3-in-1 Breakfast– can’t just seems to live without them
After opting for that lunch, I do not feel bloated but feel light and easy- and ready to go for exercise afterwards. My left calf is slightly sore from the running I did yesterday, so I will resort to the bike and the cross trainer instead of the treadmill (that do not put so much of stress to the calves and knees).
Therefore, the food choices earlier part of the day (breakfast and lunch) will dictate how you will be the rest of the day. With wrong food choices, you will:
- start feeling tired after meals
- spent the remainder of the day trying to fight off cravings for something sweet or fried
- hungry about 3 to 4 hours after your full meal
It just take a split second decision when you order your food or when you buy breakfast- it makes a whole world of difference.
Note: I’ve just discovered that Google images contains a rich library of images- so for those of you who are not familar with how Malaysian food looks like, the above are links to images that I’ve obtained from google.
