After I had learned the importance of sleep and clean eating, I wanted to take the fitness game a notch higher. But what could I possibly do next?
Go on a keto diet? No, too difficult, I would not have been able to sustain it. Go vegan? No, I was not ready for the lifestyle change. And then...I stumbled across a fruitarian diet - a diet comprising fruits and some vegetables, nuts and seeds.
However, since the diet is so Spartan and tough (as I learnt over the next couple of days), it should not be followed without having a health expert on board.
So, after speaking with Delhi based nutritionist Kavita Devgan, I decided to follow a fruitarian diet for nine days in a month.
I would follow it for three days in the first week, followed by two days each for the next three weeks. In effect, I would eat only fruits, and some vegetables, nuts and seeds for nine days in a month.
First Week of the Diet
The first day of the diet was quite easy because I was too excited to try something new with my body. However, by the second day, I began to miss roti-sabzi way too much. There came a point when my mood plummeted and food was all I thought about. This is a point where a bunch of personal cheerleaders come in really handy. If you’re planning to go on particularly this diet, make sure you have a rock solid support system in place (among other things).
By the third day, things seemed so dismal that had it not been the motivation of doing this diet for a video, I would have easily given up, quite guiltlessly too. So, make sure that you are driven by fiery motivation.
The effects of a fruit diet on the body were quite instant in my case. My belly fat was drastically reduced simply by the third day. I woke up to find it magically disappeared, and that was indeed a great feeling.
As the Diet Progressed...
You haven’t known temptation if you’ve not held a bowl of shahi paneer in your hand while being on a fruit diet.
This picture here is from the second week. I simply held the paneer in my hand for emotional support. This was also the closest I came to cheating on the diet. It’s hard to follow also because of lack of options. This, in turn, also means that you miss out on a lot of essential nutrients like calcium, protein and fat, if you do it for a long time. Therefore, a Kavita couldn’t emphasise it enough, a fruit-only diet is not for the long term. However, when done for short spells, it is completely worth the benefits, she added.
Least Favourite Part Was Not Temptation
Surprisingly enough, my least favourite part of the diet was preparing the meals. When I was on it, I would spend over an hour at the end of every day just cutting fruits and vegetables.
The picture above shows over an hour’s worth of effort. But on the brighter side, this food was sufficient for almost two full meals and one filling snack.
On the whole, the fruit diet taught me a lot about temptation, will power, and that only those who stay with you despite the mood swings of this diet are your true friends.
For a more detailed description of pros and cons and how it affected my body, check out the video.
Video Editor: Puneet Bhatia
Cameraperson: Athar Rather, Abhishek Ranjan
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