9: Lunch

One Meal A Day!

Some people who do Intermittent Fasting (also know as IF) only have one meal a day!
I find this a bit restrictive because you have got to take on nutrients and the one meal a day approach minimises your opportunity to do so.

However there is also another fasting technique where you fast for one or more days.
I won't talk about this too much as you are probably still struggling with the idea of missing breakfast!

Just know that fasting is done by many people, it's easy, and it is truly a healthy thing to do.
If you are wanting to lose weight, improve health, and live longer, IF and longer fasting is the place to be.

Lunch

This is the first meal of the day.
It hasn't been hard to wait until 12pm to eat something and over time it's really very easy.

You can ease yourself into the idea by just pushing your first meal out by 1 hour more each day or just get straight into it.

You may think you would run out of energy or lose work/education focus but once you have become accustomed to the process, it is easier to not eat than it is to do so.

Without food, I have done many 50 km cycle rides, competed in races, and at the end of the race, even at 12 pm, I am still not hungry.

The hunger that most people experience is not real hunger. It is only your Reptilian Brain running its childish routines to get you to put something in your mouth because it doesn't know any better.
Once you have shown it that you know what you are doing, the hunger feelings will subside.

IMPORTANT: Consume no sugar, bread, or simple starches like rice else you will keep triggering your hunger response.

What I Eat

1. 15/30 minutes before the smoothie, I eat a small bowl of natural unsweetened yoghurt and black currants. This improves gut health and digestion
2. 1 Brazil nut.
3. I build a smoothie that contains as many nutrients as possible.

Commonly I will blend:

• Mineral water
• Kiwi Fruit (with the skin on)
• Cucumber
• Mung Beans
• Chickpeas
• Vegan Protein Isolate powder with no sugar but lots of clean essential and non essential nutrients
• Turmeric
• Maca Powder
• Brewers Yeast
• Ashwagandha
• LSA Powder
• Walnuts
• Spinach
• Kale
• Beetroot
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Banana**

** The Banana is the odd item out here. It is high in sugar and carbohydrates. 

With the banana this combination of ingredients tastes sweeter but I do notice a slight energy reduction as a result. Without the banana the smoothie can be a bit dull. To sort this out add 2 kiwifruit instead of the banana or look at other things you can add below.

Great To Add

1. Guava
2. Peach
3. Cranberry
4. Apricot
5. Avocado

What NOT to Add

1. Strawberries: They contain oxalic acid which reduces mineral absorption

Other Lunches

Smoothies are a great quick fill and cover such a huge amount of nutrient requirements that you cannot get by just eating a sandwich or a pie. However I also pre make 3 days worth of meals which are both nutritious and convenient. Look out for blog 10: Pre-made Lunches which I will make tomorrow.