GM Diet | #movewithmaggy

Before you start bombarding me with questions like "Why are you doing this during Chinese New Year? You nuts?" or " What sort of diet do you even need? You're not even fat! Fat is obese!", allow me to do a little explanation as to why I took up this GM Diet. 

First of all, yes I'm not fat. But neither am I fit (ANYMORE). My circle of close friends and family would have realized the amount of weight I've gained over the past couple of months. You might or might not see the FATTY FRIENDS that I've made, but I know my body very well. And being the fitness/health enthusiast that I self-proclaim.. I do take effort to read up on articles about proper weight loss/ workout regimes. I have been binging on junk food, eating unhealthy portions and even been demotivated to workout because I have completely lost my mojo. I guess we all go through that 'downside' of life, don't we? I would admit that it was probably the break-up that I went through mid last year. (Wait, what?! What break-up? I thought you guys..... ) Ok, stop right there. Yup, we parted ways approximately 7 months ago and the post break-up weight did linger around longer than I thought it would. 

Anyway, back to the main point. So yup, I gained quite a few pounds and I've decided to get back on track because it irks me so bad whenever I scroll through my photo albums, looking at the lean and fit body I once had. I told myself that I need to stop giving excuses and just start doing it. And I'm doing it RIGHT NOW! 

Second question. Why during Chinese New Year? Well, it's pretty simple and I don't think I need to state the obvious. It used to be the festive season that I look forward most to every year, but don't get me wrong.. I STILL DO. It's just that (which brings me back to my first point).. I've gained enough and I don't think I deserve to indulge anymore of these "junk" food. Plus, even if I let myself.. I'll just have to do more work after, which I don't think is a very brilliant idea. So yup, no pain no gain? 

Just a snippet of the temptations that I had to endure, resist and combat throughout my diet routine.. CAN YOU IMAGINE?!  

Brought my bottle of water with me. MAMAK - 0,  MAGGY-1. 

Only took vegetables, and those watermelon balls you see. Yummm!

I'm a sucker for great desserts (cupcakes esp), but once again, DESSERTS - 0, MAGGY - 1. 

From hereon, the detox begins! *hehe*. 

I was introduced to this diet by Natalia and being the amazing friend that she is, she decided to do it WITH ME! The entire world knows that there is absolutely no need for her to go on the diet, but 'going on a diet' was one of the bucket list ; so, kill two birds with one stone perhaps? I get to lose my excess weight while having a great buddy to do it with me! Thanks Nata! :) 

We both did our research prior to starting this diet. Apparently it is the safest and most effective crash diet around. The actual GM Diet is supposedly a 7-day diet, but Nat only did it for 5 because if she continue on any further.. she would probably vanish into thin air. HAHA. So, this diet isn't really recommended if you're technically underweight (based on your BMI). 

GM, the abbreviation of General Motors, and hence The GM Diet. It is a weight loss management plan developed by the General Motors Corporation to help keep their employees stay in shape! (Oh, thank you General Motors!). 

"This diet system involved the consumption of specific foods per day. The GM Diet and it's unique diet plan helps you to reduce up to 10-17 lbs in 7 days. Reducing weight is the primary goal, additionally with reduced weight comes the added benefit of feeling good. Not only does it improve the mental state and attitude of the person following the diet course, it also help you to cleanse & detoxify your body" - GM Diet Overview. 

DAY 1 : ALL YOU CAN EAT FRUITS, EXCEPT FOR BANANAS 

It looks a lot easier than you think it is. "Fruits only? Ahh, I love fruits. I can do that!". That was what I initially thought too, but the fact that you're consuming so much 'sugar' (because any fruits in general, are sweet), you'll get so sick of the 'sweetness' by your third meal intake. Munching on grapes did help. I kept switching between the black (sweet) ones and the green (sour) ones just to play around with my tastebuds. 

By dinner time, we were barely surviving. First day is always the toughest, no kidding! So, we succumbed into some Trail Mix just to tease our tastebuds a little. My first nut and I went "Ahhhh.. this is sooooo gooooood!". HAHA. It would be great if you can get through the first day without 'cheating' like how we did. I'll do better my second round! 

Trail Mix and our fruits palette. 

Dieting is boring, but YOU can make it fun! #justforlaughs 

DAY 2 : ALL YOU CAN EAT VEGETABLES, AND VEGETABLES ONLY

I've never looked forward to eating veges THIS much, ever in my life. We were so excited to tuck in early the night before just so we could indulge and feast on our vege broth we prepared the night prior. 

Vege broth that lasted us the entire day : cabbage + carrots + tomatoes + onions + mushrooms. 

DAY 3: ALL YOU CAN EAT FRUITS & VEGETABLES! 

By today, you'll be almost back to normal. Your body would have been so used to the amount of fruits and vegetables you've had for the past two days. So, the third day would be peanuts for ya! Just try to stay away from temptations. Afterall, a burger would still taste million times better than ... broccolis? 

Technically, you're not supposed to consume starchy vegetables such as corn, potatoes, green peas and yams , so try avoiding those. But according to the diet plan which we were referring to, we're allowed to have one potatoes each. So we had TWO! (oh, happiest day of my life). Instead of boiling it in our soup, we decided to bake our own fries! Absolutely no oil, no butter, just 2 potatoes and sprinkle some sea salt and stuff it into the 400degrees hot oven! (refer to Nat's Blog for more pictures). 

Sauteed mushrooms that Nat made was super yummy! Didn't know it was that easy.

B-R-O-C-C-O-L-I-S!!

Baked some homemade fries with NO OIL, just two potatoes and some sea salt! TOTAL WIN! 

Sauteed mushrooms! 

DAY 4: BANANAS AND MILK ONLY 

Technically, only 6 bananas that will last you the entire day. Sounds difficult, but I got through it like a breeze! I was surprised myself! I reckon its because the amount of energy that one banana gives, so with 6 bananas, you'll easily get through the day without constantly feeling hungry. 

I wouldn't say I'm lactose intolerant, but I can't take milk. I just cant. God knows how I got through my childhood; the thought of it gives me goosebumps, HAHA. But hey, there's always a way around things. My alternative was SOY MILK! So, 6 bananas and a bottle of organic soymilk kept me going strong! I could even run for 30 minutes that day. Seriously, I was on my best form! Never felt so good. 

DAY 5: STEAK DAY! 

By the 5th day, I've already lost a total of 3kgs. And the feeling of tasting meat again.. was beyond words! My 10 ounces of juicy Australian Tenderloin just perfected my day. Oh speaking of which, if you haven't been to Las Vacas - you really should try it out. Oh, you're welcome ;) 

That wraps up by 5 intensive days of GM Diet! Even though Nat resumed her regular diet, I continued on with my 6th and 7th day. Since it already gave me a kickstart, I might as well follow up and fully commit to it, no? After all, NO PAIN NO GAIN! Basically the 6th day involves "UNLIMITED MEAT AND UNLIMITED VEGGIES" and on the 7th day, you're finally allowed to consume 1 bowl of brown rice, unlimited veggies and fruits. Ahh, carbs.. how I've missed you! 

If you want to continue to lose weight, try not to eat too much carbs on the consecutive days. You might put on some unnecessary weight which you might not see coming. So keep eating clean and hydrate yourself with lots of water! I'm starting my day with a fruit (usually an apple or a pear) and gallons of water every morning!

Here's my take on my GM Diet experience, 

1) You Will Need A Diet Buddy : I kid you not when I say it's tough, especially on the first day. When your body is adapting to the whole 'clean eating' and it's done rather drastically because you're only allowed to consume fruits, and fruits only, having a buddy with you will allow you to motivate each other. Honestly I wouldn't have been able to get through it with Natalia. 

2) You Need To Be Mentally Prepared : Yes, mentally prepared. I know it sounds tempting to attempt when I say I lost 3kgs by my 5th day. I would too if I see someone lose that much weight within such a short span of time. But friend, it's a crash diet.. meaning to say, the faster you lose, the faster you gain. So, if you're gonna do it just for the sake of doing it, I reckon you don't do it at all. Because, if you're going to start feasting again as soon as your diet ends, you'll probably gain even more than you initially started. It took me a week of preparation prior to starting this diet. I told myself I will need to start eating clean 'gradually', so my body wouldn't dysfunction during my diet. So yes, alot of mental preparation required. Meditation did help me too! 

3) Your Energy Level Might Fluctuate : Let's not state the obvious. The lesser you eat, the lesser your body processes, the lesser energy you'll get. Simple science, no? :) I was a total weakling during my first two days of the diet. But by the third day, I was pretty much back to normal and even went for a run. And on my fourth day,  I was on my best form! 

4) You Can't Cheat, Not Even A Cookie : If you're gonna eat, might as well NOT do it. If you're going to stick to this diet, make sure you still till the END of it! Yes, one cookie and the chain is broken. So, don't cheat! ;) 

5) It's A Detox/Weight Loss Diet : Why so? If you realize, there is absolutely no carbs throughout the diet (except for that one potato on your third day), plus the amount of fruits and vegetables that you'll be consuming really does give your body a good detox/cleanse. 

6) Keep Yourself Hydrated! : Need I say more? H20 is gonna be your best buddy throughout the diet! Drink up! We drank lots of water and tea everyday. Absolutely NO sugary drinks. Keep that in mind :) 

"IT'S 70% DIET, 30% EXERCISE" 

I think we've heard enough of that. So, practice what you preach! Yes, dieting helps but working out will increase your metabolism and by keeping yourself active, you're doing your body your favor too! If your body has been hibernating for a while, getting back on it might be difficult but you can always start slow. Go for jogs in the evening, or perhaps a dip in the pool? 

Found this article online and found it really beneficial if you're looking to lose/gain/maintain your weight. I remember my personal trainer telling me that if you want to lose weight, go for the weights! It will allow a gradual weight loss in the longer run, while cardio exercises are merely burning your calories temporarily. I'll elaborate more on that in a later post! Just refer to this chart for now. Hope it helps! 

Planking can be fun too! #justforlaughs 

Sweat buckets during my weekly Badminton session. 

Don't mind my sweaty hands! (trying to prove how much I was sweating).  Look at those pores, they were outta control! 

Working my lower abs with my fav medicine ball. 

"Remember, fitness is a lifestyle, it's a process. You might not see your desired results overnight, but if you stick to the plan and keep your eyes on the prize.. it will be well worth the fight!" - says Maggy Wang! 

I have received a lot of feedback and queries regarding this GM Diet. And yes, to those who asked if I'm doing Round Two.. I AM GOING TO! And if you want to join me, feel free to follow me on Instagram and my Facebook  ; dont hesitate to tag me if you have any questions and if you want to share with me your fitness progress, I would be more than happy to see it! If you have twitter, tweet me at @magdelinewang! 

I haven't reached my target weight just yet, but I will keep pushing until I do! In the meantime, follow me on my journey to a fitter and better me! #movewithmaggy will ya? 

Love, 

Maggy.