Eating at convenience stores and noodle shops: Ikkyu teaches you how to enjoy delicious food without gaining weight

I have tried countless ways to lose weight: acupuncture, thread embedding, diet pills, skipping dinner, cocktail therapy, eating less and exercising more, XX three-day diet, fruit and vegetable fasting, etc. Anyway, no matter what method, as long as I hear that a weight loss method can "quickly" lose several kilograms in one to two weeks, I will definitely try it.

I believe you also want to lose a few kilograms of fat, otherwise you would not have opened this book. If you are like me, with the spirit of Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs, you must have had the same feelings as me.

Yes, those methods that claim to help you lose weight quickly did help me lose a few kilograms in a short period of time. Basically, no matter which weight loss method you use, every method can really help you lose weight, but here’s the point: although every method can help me lose a few kilograms in a short period of time, as soon as I stop using that method and return to my original “normal diet”. (In addition, many people think that their diet is normal, but it is actually very abnormal. 90% of people’s obesity is closely related to their original eating habits.)

Yes, as soon as I returned to my normal diet, without exception, no matter how many kilograms I lost, I would gain it back in a very short period of time, with interest. I originally lost 3 kg, but now I have gained 4 kg back. I originally lost 5 kg, but now I have gained 6 kg back. Every time I gain weight back, I gain 1 to 2 kg more than what I lost.

This is the biggest problem with those so-called quick weight loss methods. Basically, they are not lying. Every method can really help you lose weight, but they only care about losing weight, no matter how you lose weight (it doesn’t matter whether you lose muscle, fat, or just water).

First, most weight loss methods emphasize extreme speed and rapidity, and the kind that aims to lose several kilograms in one or two weeks is actually just temporary weight loss caused by dehydration of the body.

Second, if you are on a long-term low-calorie diet (less than 1200 calories for boys and less than 1000 calories for girls), when you lose weight, it is almost always accompanied by a decrease in metabolism and muscle loss.

Based on my years of weight loss experience, I have concluded that any method that claims to be a quick way to lose weight will almost certainly make you gain weight back quickly. Using common sense to think about it, it is actually very simple:

Is the fat on your body the result of eating too many big meals this week? Did the fat on your body grow today because you ate a spicy hotpot yesterday?

Of course not! Since you don’t gain weight by eating one or two meals, or go from being thin to being fat in a week or two, how do you expect to lose weight in a week or two?

Fat is like an old lover. After so many years of nurturing feelings, it is not so easy to break up. You always need to spend some time to communicate and break up slowly. Occasionally, you may still keep in touch. You may say you will move away, but end up coming back to stay for a few days. After a period of coming and going, they slowly and successfully broke up.

Losing weight is exactly the same process. Your fat will not disappear overnight. You will not lose weight tomorrow if you start losing weight today. You need to spend a long time communicating with your body, feeding it good food, exercising consistently, and slowly spend a month, two months, or three months before you start to see results.

But in fact, this is normal and the correct way.

In fact, to put it bluntly, weight loss is a process of change. As I mentioned earlier, the reason you gain weight is almost entirely due to your lifestyle habits and eating habits (of course, part of it is due to aging and muscle loss), and these all take time to slowly change, adjust, and get used to.

And we all know that weight loss is 70% diet and 30% exercise. To lose weight successfully, 70% is related to what food you eat, and the remaining 30% is what kind of exercise you do.

So basically if you eat right, you are halfway to success.

My first book, "Ikkyu Helps You Lose Weight", has already told everyone the dietary concepts for weight loss in a very simple way, but due to the length of the book, I cannot explain it in detail and no recipes are provided. This book is designed to solve this problem. I will teach you how to adjust your eating habits and let everyone know how powerful food is.

Over the past three years, hundreds of thousands of people have used this diet to reduce the weight of the earth by hundreds of thousands of kilograms. This is a diet that can be used by everyone from children to the elderly. It not only helps you lose weight but also helps you gain health.

As I said just now, a change definitely cannot be achieved in one or two weeks.

Everyone knows that I once spent a year to lose 25 kilograms, and many people would say, "Wow! That's amazing, losing 25 kilograms!"

I asked back, "If I asked you to lose 2 kilograms in a month, do you think you can do it?"

Most people would almost certainly answer yes, of course, it’s so easy, how difficult is it to lose 2 kilograms, right? Let me tell you, it was not difficult for me to lose 25 kg, because I only lost 2 kg every month.

The point is not to lose a few kilograms in a month, but the power of perseverance.

Even if you only lose 1 kilogram a month, it will be 12 kilograms in twelve months. Do you know how big 12 kilograms of fat is?

So, you are smart and you should have found the key point.

Just now I said at the beginning that although quick weight loss methods can basically make people lose weight, have you noticed that those extreme methods are almost impossible to implement for a long time. As soon as you stop, you will rebound at a faster rate.

The way I want to teach you is to enable you to use this kind of diet and a reasonable, balanced and long-term lifestyle, so that you can use it for a long time.

I think 45 to 90 days is the perfect period for implementing a weight loss plan.

Because in the first month, you may have only lost 2 kg, and you may not see any huge changes, but if you keep doing it: in the second month, you have lost 4 kg, and you begin to see the difference in your body shape, and you feel a little different. If you continue doing this, by the third month you will have lost 6 kg of fat, which is a big change compared to the first month before you started the plan. And such changes will make you more confident and allow you to continue and persevere.

You will find that the so-called weight loss means replacing bad eating habits with good eating habits, and replacing a lifestyle that may lead to obesity with a good lifestyle.

By implementing the 45-day fat loss diet plan once or twice, you have developed good eating and living habits and feel that you can continue to implement it happily. This is my point.

I don't want to just give you fish to eat, I want to teach you how to fish, because the hardest part of losing weight is never losing a few kilograms, but maintaining the weight after losing it is actually the key.

What I want to teach you is a lifestyle that will keep you from gaining weight again and allow you to always enjoy food happily. Let’s keep watching!

Choose eating out wisely to avoid weight loss pitfalls—if it is really inconvenient to cook for yourself

Cooking your own food is definitely the best way to control the calories of food and grasp the quality of ingredients, but I can also understand that sometimes it is not convenient to cook for yourself. Maybe you have to work overtime and get home very late; maybe your landlord does not allow you to cook, or there is no kitchen where you live... These difficulties force you to eat out.

There are indeed many landmines when eating out, but if you can follow some principles, you can still lose weight by eating out. I have compiled some suggestions to share with you regarding the most common ways for office workers to eat out for their three meals.

【buffet】

The dishes in buffets are generally oily, so we can only choose safer dishes as much as possible. For protein, I suggest you choose low-fat dishes such as braised or steamed eggs, poached chicken, braised chicken legs, pork tendons with garlic soy sauce, steamed fish, and braised tofu. Remember, the more obvious the "reflection", the more fat it usually contains. You'd better avoid those greasy-looking Kung Pao Chicken and Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs during your weight loss period. Not to mention fried chicken and fried spare ribs, just skip them.

Because the vegetables in buffets are usually fried with a lot of oil, when picking them up, pick the ones on the upper layer and avoid the parts that have absorbed too much oil. If possible, you may want to "rinse" the food in hot tea to wash off some of the oil, or simply order some cold vegetables, such as cold broccoli, cold okra, etc., so that you won't consume too much fat. If you have a choice, please try to choose brown rice or whole grain rice with a lower GI value. Unfortunately, most buffets only serve white rice, and it is difficult to find a store that serves non-refined grains.

【Noodle shop, snack stand】

The food at noodle shops or snack stands actually has fewer weight loss risks than buffets. I have a fan who doesn’t have many choices for eating out, but by eating from selected noodle shops, he was able to lose 30 kilograms in eight or nine months!

How did he do it? For starch, he always ordered dry noodles, but told the noodle shop owner not to add braised pork, just a little soy sauce and chili sauce; for protein, he ordered a small dish of black and white cuts such as dried tofu, century egg and tofu, braised egg, liver with meat or pork belly, pig tongue, pig heart, pig liver...; for fiber, he ordered kelp and blanched vegetables with only soy sauce but no braised pork or shallots.

If we analyze it carefully, a handful of noodles is about 70 to 80 grams, which is about 250 calories. The liver, meat and offal without fat is about 100 grams, which is 150 to 160 calories. The egg is 70 calories. Add up the vegetables, etc., and it usually doesn't exceed 300 calories. This makes a meal of 550 calories, which is actually quite accurately controlled.

Or fish (skin) soup, oyster soup, and clam soup are also delicious soups that you can buy when eating out. So in terms of friendliness, noodle stalls are actually a very good choice for Chinese and foreign food lovers who are trying to lose weight (of course, the only thing is that they are not friendly to your wallet).

【Convenience Store】

The advantage of convenience stores is that most foods have calorie labels, making it easy to select. The general principle is: try to choose "original foods" to eat, and avoid eating processed foods. Black beans, pig blood cakes, meatballs, hot dogs... are all minefields.

In terms of fiber, convenience stores all sell boxed lettuce salads, which are good fiber choices, but pay attention to the salad dressing. There are generally three options: Caesar, Thousand Island, and Japanese style, and only the Japanese style has a lower calorie count. But no matter which one you choose, the sodium content is still on the high side. If you must add it, it is recommended to add half. Of course, it is best not to add it. In addition, white radish, king oyster mushroom, shiitake mushroom, wild rice shoots, baby cabbage, etc. in oden are also sources of fiber. Just be sure not to add vegetables that have been cooked with spicy oil, as they have absorbed a lot of fat, so you will also consume a lot of oil while eating the vegetables.

For protein, the most convenient ones are tea eggs or hot spring eggs. As for other meats, there are fewer choices. You can consider buying canned mackerel with tomatoes, but the cooking methods of canned foods are very salty and the sodium content is too high. It is recommended to rinse them with hot water to wash away excess salt before eating.

The sandwiches are better than boxed sushi because they have vegetables and soft-boiled eggs. A sandwich has 200 calories, and an onigiri has even less, at only 120 to 140 calories per piece. Meat was more difficult, as they didn't have any ready-made meat. If you don't have any side dishes, you can buy non-GMO tofu and add a little soy sauce paste. I have a fan who is very smart. He prepared garlic, chili and soy sauce at home and went to buy tofu to pour it over it. Soft-boiled eggs are also a good choice.

In terms of starches, sushi and burritos seem very refreshing, but if you look closely at the ingredients, they contain a lot of mayonnaise and processed foods such as crab sticks, and the fat content is not low; boxed cold noodles are all refined carbohydrates, and although spaghetti is a medium-GI food, the cooking method supplied by convenience stores will increase the calorie count to 700 or 800 calories, which is also a landmine. If you want to lose weight, the best starch choice in convenience stores is: baked sweet potatoes. If you really want to eat noodles, it is recommended to eat Japanese soba noodles. The carbohydrates are relatively less "refined" and the sauce has lower calories.

As for how to consume good fats? It is recommended to choose unflavored nuts and just consume the oil in the nuts themselves. As for fruits, apples and guava are ideal. Bananas, which are high in potassium, are also good fruits. However, their main component is carbohydrates. They are good as snacks, but don't choose bananas that are too ripe. The riper the banana, the higher the sugar content.

【pasta】

Pasta is actually a good food for weight loss. Its GI value is relatively low compared to white rice and udon noodles, and is considered to be a medium GI value (55). Pasta is a better choice.

A typical serving of pasta in a restaurant is about 70 to 90 grams, which is less than 300 calories without the sauce, so the rest is the calories from the sauce. Common sauces include white sauce, red sauce, green sauce and stir-fry.

White sauce is mainly based on cream, and usually flour and some extra oil are added to make it richer, so the white sauce is simply NG.

Red sauce is mainly based on tomatoes, which is much better than white sauce. However, tomatoes are not cheap, so most of the ones sold on the market are made of tomato paste with added starch. For example, the most commonly ordered tomato seafood pasta is actually a dish you can choose.

Standard pesto is made with basil leaves, olive oil and pine nuts. It is actually quite healthy. However, due to the taste, most of the pesto you eat outside is cream-based. Also, because it contains more fat, it is easier to accidentally consume too many calories. So green sauce is an option that you can have occasionally, but don’t eat it too often.

The stir-fried dishes are mainly garlic and chili pasta and stir-fried vegetable pasta, such as white wine clam pasta, garlic and chili pasta, sweet pepper chicken pasta, etc. Stir-frying is actually quite simple. It is just to use olive oil and some ingredients to stir-fry with pasta. It has the lowest total calories and is the best choice.

When eating out for pasta, the order of preference is: stir-fry > red sauce > green sauce > white sauce

This article is from Yuanshen Publishing's "Ikkyu Loves Slimming with You 2: The Most Asked 45-Day Fat Loss Plan, the Delicious Secret to Losing Weight Even When You're Full (with QR Code Cooking Demonstration Video)"