Getting Started - Collecting the Tools

As with all projects, one needs to collect the necessary tools to start. Here are the tools at my disposal thus far:

Serving Size
According to the Edmonds Cookery Book I was given as a Christmas present, the daily servings for a person is:
6 servings of bread/cereals/rice/pasta (especially wholegrain varieties)
Eg: 1 bread roll = 1 serving

3 servings of vegetables incl at least 1 green leafy vegetable (fresh, frozen, canned, dried)
Eg: 1/2 cup cooked vege = 1 serving

2 servings of fruit incl at least 1 citrus fruit
Eg: 1 apple = 1 serving

1 serving of meat (75-100g)
1 egg

2 servings of dairy products
2-4 tbsp of margarine/spreads/oils

Nutrition
As suggested to me by the trainer at the Body Tech gym, to which I paid $45 for a body fat assessment,  download the myFitnessPal app to track my calories. In the app, there's a page where all the necessary nutrients are listed. I just copy that list down and put a checkbox next to it everyday for what I've eaten. Ideally, I should be eating foods that covers all of it for the day. Any foods that I am lacking in, I make an effort to eat more of it the next day.

Based on the above, here's houw I keep track of my daily progress:

Another useful nutrition chart is from the vegan welcome package I "bought" (money goes to a charity organisation on eliminating animal cruelty). I try to fill in all the nutrients mentioned in the chart within one week.

The chart above gave rise to the following chart for keeping track:

Seasonal consumption of food

Eating seasonal food is not only cheap but also healthy. I was reminded of this philosophy after watching "Jiro Dreams of Sushi". The movie was about a sushi master in his 80s making sushi. There was a comment in the movie about how the Japanese eat foods according to the seasons. I simply picked up on that comment. So I went online and found a chart of seasonal foods in New Zealand, downloaded that and refer to it when I plan my menus. 

Water consumption

According to the trainer, 25kg (55lbs) of body weight requires 1 litre of water. I'm currently at 58.9kg (129lbs), so I need about 2 litres of water per day. That means frequent trips to the bathroom. However, if the color of your urine is clear, it means you're well-hydrated. 

These are the tools I have now.  As I progress along, I will be adding stuff like recipe ideas, grocery list, cost of groceries etc. Various experiments will be performed and the results noted on the blog for reference. 

The First Step in What is Hopefully a Lifelong Journey I Enjoy Being On

Ever since I moved out of my parents home more than 10 years ago, I've always struggled with the act of eating healthy. Being thin wasn't a big problem. Sure, I'd like to lose a few pounds (or kgs) like everyone else, but it wasn't the be-all-or-end-all. I was somewhat content with how I look.

Truth be told, the idea of healthy eating for me stems from not having to go see the doctor (or find out years down the road I've got cancer or something, although you could be eating healthy and still get cancer or vice versa). In some countries, visiting the doctor without medical insurance is not something you wanna go through. I've tried doing the math: eating good quality food, which includes grocery-shopping at an organic food store or eating out at a decent restaurant (costing something like $20 per course) is still way cheaper than a visit to the doctor plus pharmacy (without medical insurance).
Apart from that, if you've taken Chinese herbal tea medicine before, you know it's not something you wanna fool around with. Some of those teas taste so bitter that my saliva tastes sweet compared to it. The "most interesting" concoction I've had includes what looks like bees and tiny scorpions in it. A friend called it "bug juice", with real bugs!

Throughout the years, I've tried numerous times to "eat well", cook more (not a natural chef), and balance between cooking and eating out. Each time, I've given up, ignored the benefits of eating healthy until something happens that forces me to rethink what I've been eating, and just generally flirted and putzed around the idea of eating healthy. I've also tried seeing a nutritionist (on an irregular basis) whenever I get a panic attack about not eating right.

When I moved to New Zealand recently, I decided: enough was enough. I need to cook more (because eating out was expensive. Later on, I realised that getting groceries here is not exactly cheap either). So I started scouring around for recipes. I even downloaded two recipe apps recommended by the nutritionist. Then, I got overwhelmed as to what to cook. So many recipes. How do I know what's good for me (aside from the fact they all look tasty, according to the pictures)? So many cookbooks. Is it really necessary? Put in nutrition content to the mix, and I am absolutely over my head. Information overload.

In order to make sense of all this information, I decided to roll up my sleeves, put my organizational skills to work, and create my own system of managing what to eat.

In summary, here's the raw material I'm working with:
a) Mid-30s
b) Believes my optimum weight is between 50-55kg (110 - 120lbs)
c) 5'3"
d) Can't cook without a recipe
e) Desensitized taste buds (everything tastes either edible or not)
f) Finds out what I need to know about nutrition and eating from the Internet (usually reading the first article that makes sense to me)
g) Eats well in order to avoid a visit to the doctor (and hopefully prevent food-related diseases later on in life).

This blog is simply a record of my efforts in trying to keep on this path. If you have benefited from it in any way, good for you!