This is Day 3 of the 21-Day Journaling Challenge held in Nov 2011. The challenge is now over but you can do the tasks in your own time. Visit the overview page for all the challenge tasks.
Hi everyone – Welcome to Day 3 of 21DJC! :)
Yesterday’s question was this: “If you are to do something for free for the rest of your life, what would it be?“. (Read the responses here.) Some of you said you’d want to travel around the world and explore new places. Some of you said you’d want to grow and learn forever. Some of you said you’d want to pursue your passions, which may include writing, cooking, baking, blogging, developing games, motorcycling, write music, planting, fashion, recording music, coaching, caring for animals, and more. Some of you said you’d want to help others – be it to grow, to discover themselves, to be better people, or to live better lives.
3 years ago, I asked myself this very question. If I am to do something for free for the rest of my *life*, what would it be? The answer that came out is exactly what you see me doing today. It’s to grow and help others to grow. It’s to be spreading my message to the world, be it via writing, coaching, speaking, running courses, videos, or other mediums. (Essentially, what I’m doing now.) It’s to inspire others to become greater than who they are now, so they can in turn inspire others around them to be the same.
The reason why I asked myself the question is this – We only have one life to live. We have the ability in us to do whatever we want, and to succeed in whatever we want. Instead of wasting our talents doing something that we don’t even have the passion to do forever, why not spend all that energy, starting from today, in something we’re really, truly, 110% passionate about? Why not devote ourselves 110% into what we really want to do, rather than do something because we think we ‘have’ to, and do a half-assed job in it? Why not do that, and make that your career instead?
I mean, no matter how “skilled” or “unskilled” you are in it now, you only have, like, the rest of your life to develop your skills in it. It’s only a matter of time before you’re the best in that field, really. (10,000 hours is all that it takes)
In doing so, it doesn’t even feel like work. It doesn’t even require any energy to do it. It’s virtually effortless. I made that shift 3 years ago, and while there were a few months of down time to develop myself in a new field, today I’m soaking in the long-term rewards from the move. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life, and I want you to experience the joy too.
The articles in my How To Pursue Your Passion series will help you in this area.
Let’s now move on to the question for Day 3 of 21DJC! ;)
21DJC Day 3
For Day 3 today, we’re going to explore a slightly different topic from Days 1 and 2. In Day 1, we looked at what we would do if we have a million dollars. In Day 2, we delved into some of our deepest, life long passions – things we would do for free for the rest of our life. For Day 3, we’re going to look at something lifestyle-related.
The question for Day 3 is this:
What is Your Ideal Diet Like?
Would it consist of happy meals, deep fried food and junk food? Would it be prepacked, micro-waved meals from the supermarkets? Would it be laden with fat? Would it be filled with meat? Would it be rich with vegetables and fruits? Would it be specially prepared, home cooked meals made by you, for you? What would your ideal breakfast, lunch, dinner be like? How much, how often, and when would you eat every day? What would your cue to eat?
Your Task Today:
- Reflect and answer today’s question. There’s no word limit – whether minimum or maximum. Write as few or as many words as you want. It’s all up to what you want to express!
- Share your answer. After you are done writing, copy and paste your answer in the comments area and post it there.
- Check out other participants’ answers. Other participants will be sharing their answers too, so feel free to read and reply to their answers. This is a group course, so let’s support each other in these 21 days.
((Images: Empty book for journaling, Vegetables wrapped in measuring tape))
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As for my ideal diet, I go with freedom of choice. When it comes to food, I want to be able to say yes (or no) to anything and everything in all situations. I do not want to be bothered with concerns about calories or fat content. I want to enjoy food without obsessing with it. I want to be able to maintain a healthy weight without controlling my diet.
I have been trying to eat healthier foods. This is not always easy in my fast-paced life, but I am working on it. One thing I still have to do is figure out my exact serving sizes for each food, and start measuring my food servings.
I want to eat organic foods that are healthy. I do not agree with what our government will have us believe are healthy foods. My ideal diet will consist of foods grown and raised organically, and my meals will be balanced.
Carbs are not my friend, so I will have to limit them. This means that I will need to come up with a list of all of the foods I enjoy that are considered carbs, and consume them only in moderation.
Snacks will be healthy produce. Beverages will be teas made from fresh herbs, lemon water and soy/rice milk.
My ideal diet would consist of fruits, vegetables, lean meat, cheese, yogurt, sweets in moderation, lots of water. I would eat pasta prepared in a healthy way. I would switch it up not the same thing everyday lasagna, chicken tacos, calzone, pizza. I would prepare all the meals myself. I would eat out once a week.
My ideal diet is a healthy, whole-foods based vegan diet. It would be full of delicious vegetables, fruits, beans, and nuts. Humongous salads w/ marinated tempeh and large bowls of lentil soup with wonderful sandwiches and smoothies for lunches. The food would ideally be sourced locally if possible and some of it would come out of my own garden.
I’d love to have the the majority of my food be prepared for me in order to take the hassle of making time for preparing healthy food. I do however believe in being involved in what you put in your body so I would probably make meals for myself at least a few times a week. It’d be nice to have healthy meals on-demand for those times when I don’t feel like cooking.
I’d have 3 medium-sized meals w/ snacks of fresh fruit/vegetable juices and apple available throughout the day. The food will nourish and energize me and allow me to put forth the effort and energy necessary to fulfill my dreams and my passions.
Of course one has to indulge every once in awhile and so the occasional vegan cinnamon roll for breakfast or coconut ice cream on a hot day would be in there as well.
Ideally, I would like to eat all home grown food. I would like to know where my meat comes from as well as my veggies. I would eat seasonally, and have a variety of recipes for all the different kinds of vegetables. I would eat breakfast every day. For my diet to be completely ideal, I need meals that are quick to make and require very little clean up. I need to be able to grab something on the go, or I will just skip the meal all together. Food has always been a struggle for me, because in order to eat well I feel that so much of the time we have to spend a lot of money. There have been times when all I could afford was food that is less than healthy, and there have been times where I have not been willing to spend on the best quality of food. I would like to think that I am now somewhere in the middle. We are blessed to have friends who have been bringing us produce from the farmers market every week, and have been eating very well! It kind of makes me think that I should have added “run a farm” to my list of things I would do for free yesterday, as some of you others did. I’ve always dreamed of doing so! I don’t know why I didn’t think of it at the time.
In short, I would just like my food to be natural. Fresh veggies and fruits, farm raised chickens, rabbit, lamb, and even pigs. I have yet to try goat but I hear it is good. …We’ll see next time it is around. :)
As I am writing this I am thinking about grilled cheese sandwiches w. American Cheese…so processed and unnatural…yet so delicious! Seriously one of my faves…so, maybe I would not have only natural foods in this ideal diet. I guess I will have to make way for some goodies too. Ice cream and cookies are on the list too…every once in a while. :)
348 words
Idea diet
Good wholesome food home made apple crumble, cakes, lots of fresh fruit, a good balance and variety with meats and vegetables. I remember a doctor saying once to me eat as wider variety as you can, because we do not know how food has been modified with colourings, flavourings and other additives.
Food that is prepared with love is always appreciated. This is a skill that is never ending, there is always something new to try, make and taste. Cooking is a life long skill that we could all benefit from learning.
I was surprised at the quantity of people queuing yesterday at a small supermarket who had alcohol, bread and basic food items. There was only 1 out of 10 who had a variety of items with lots of fruit and vegetables.
Instead of buying refined and manufactured food I like to make my own butter, bread and jam and various other items, the taste is good and I know what it contains – only natural and fresh ingredients.
Home cooked foods are the best, especially when prepared using organic foods grown on your own land.
My idea diet is close to the food I am eating, lots of veggies, chicken, seafood, coffee, wine, water, few sugary deserts, soy milk and whole grains.
My ideal diet consists of fresh, delicious food! Organic would make me happiest – I worry humans are hurting more than helping by genetically modifying food to make it ‘better’.
I’d eat fresh fruit, fresh veggies, and I would drink water throughout the day to keep me properly hydrated.
I would relish in ‘eating the rainbow’ – I love bright colours and I would love to see my fridge stocked with georgeous seasonal colours! Imagine opening the fridge door and basking in the glory of all those colours!
I would get meat from my local butcher – animals that were raised and got to live good lives as nature intended. Animals that weren’t sick or maimed or fed strange food that they cannot properly digest or shot up with hormones.
I would eat whole wheat and whole grain foods when it’s available. Though, I would eat less grain and dairy than I do now. Dairy has a tendency to upset my stomache and grain – I know I eat waaaayy to much of that! I LOVE BREAD AND PASTA! But in my ideal diet, I would eat it in moderation.
I would drink high-quality teas – nothing beats relaxing with a great cup of tea!
I would cut ALL trans-fat and preservatives and almost all processed foods out of my diet. I would severely cut out refined sugars – I’d try to go more natural with honey and other things. No ‘splenda’ and other chemical strange things.
I belive in going back to nature, and eating a varied diet full or fresh fruit, veggies, BERRIES!! FISH – I LOVE FISH! Meat! Water! Tea! I want to eat food that makes me feel great from the inside out!
and the occasional chocolate. My friends bought me a box of Godiva for my graduation. They picked out 8 pieces they thought I would like. It was the sweetest thing because I ate 1 piece eat day for 8 days and everyday was a surprise.It touched my heart when I ate the mint-chocolate chip one – mint chocolate chip is my favourite and I was so happy they remembered…… :)
I would make stews, roast, boil, poach and slow cook a lot of food. I loves soups – I would make hearty soups and share them with my family! My food would be home-cooked – by me. I would make enough to pack for lunch the next day so I don’t buy fast food from outside. I would eat several small meals thoughout the day, with healthy snacks in between.
BREAKFAST would be my greatest meal of the day and I would get up early enough to prepare and enjoy it in the morning! In the future, when I find a wonderful person to share my life with – I’d make sure to share my wonderful breakfast with them.
I would want eating to be a very regular, consistent and structured thing in my life. I won’t starve myself like I do now because I’m ‘busy’. Generally, I’d eat all my meals around the same time each day. I’d have a small meal or a snack every 3 or 4 hours. =)
Fresh! Balanced! Bright, colourful and full of life! Full of fruits and vegetables, and tasty grains and spices and real honest-to-goodness WHOLE foods. Think home-grown, organic….A diet full of foods that are grown with care and thought, prepared with care and thought, from onions to fish to that tasty brownie for dessert. Tasty, full of flavour, never dull or boring. The thought of someone preparing these foods for me sounds appealing, but there is a real joy and creativity and feeling of satisfaction when you make something delicious from scratch, and be a part of what you make, rather than just getting to enjoy the end product (though that is really the sweetest part…sigh!).
I enjoy food and I enjoy cooking. I know that the types of food I like to eat are not always healthy for me, but I enjoy them. My ideal diet is everything in moderation. That way I would be able to experience everything that I enjoy. I love to cook and I always enjoy trying new things. I would spend my time searching out new foods that I have not tried before and finding ways to prepare them. I would enjoy the experience of preparing the food and then feasting on it after I was done. I would enjoy researching various cultures and their food traditions and trying new things. The things that I would eat would nourish my body and my soul.
My ideal diet would eliminate my addictions to sugar and caffeine. My food choices would consist of primarily fruits, vegetables and lean meat and fish. Dessert would be once a week as opposed to once or twice a day. I’d think if I lived off less sugar and fewer carbohydrates, I would be healthier, probably probably prettier in terms of my skin and hair and have a lot more energy. More importantly, I’d like my proper eating habits to influence my younger sister to develop good habits as well.
Anything that my grandma cooks!!
apart then that I really don’t crave for food much. I eat very simple meals but I only try to make it balanced . So I guess ideal Diet for me is a balanced diet
A low-fat, vegan-based diet with 90% of the calories coming from fruits and veggies.
I like different cultural foods such as Chinese, Italian, French, Japanese, and much more. I think the ideal diet for me would be fruits, wheat anything (such as bread and rice), well cooked meat, and diary foods. Of course I would like to eat healthy but, a few “bad” foods is enjoyable once in a while too.
My diet consists of vegetables, vegetables, vegetables. I try to eat vegetables with every meal, including breakfast. Everything else (fish and plant-based protein, carbs, and others) is built around the vegetables. I’ve been a “lazy vegetarian” for about 10 years, with typical meals consisting of cheese and potato chip sandwiches, so in the past few months I’ve moved more to a conscious vegetable-eating phase. I adore a mighty salad—it’s possible to actually STUFF yourself on a mighty salad, you know. Imagine a bowl filled with red lettuce, spinach, cucumber, carrot, avocado, tomato, and sautéed tofu and mushrooms … This type of salad I’ll actually have leftovers from. So.
I don’t have a sweet tooth at all and actually don’t like the taste of sugar, so that’s not a problem, but my weakness is bread and potato chips (you’ll recall the cheese and potato chip sandwiches mentioned above; I wasn’t joking). Fortunately I have an awesome bakery near my house that sells imported bread from Germany that is like BRICKS, no white flour at all, so I’m eating good bread, but potato chips are what I turn to when I’m starved and not near my kitchen. Any thoughts on overcoming this one? The obvious solution is to carry around cucumber sticks and apples with me, but I don’t really WANT to. Meh.
By the way, about the word “diet …” I believe it should be a lifestyle, not a temporary thing. I’ve only been on one “crash diet” in my life, when I was 18, and I lasted about a month as one does and then slipped back into my old ways, and it struck my that whatever my eating habits are should be such that they can be maintained day to day, for the rest of my life. No deprivation or starving! That is bullshit! Eat lots of good healthy food and be happy! So I guess I prefer the word “eating habits” or “lifestyle” to “diet.”
Ours has been a vegetarian diet ever. During my childhood days boiled egg and other foods stuffs prepared from egg had become a part of my food as it has good nutrition. However I have stopped eating it for more than five years and gone for only veggies and dairy products like milk, cheese…
Even then I don’t consider my diet to be an ideal one as it involves lot of fat, spices etc.
So for me an ideal diet will be one which is high in nutrition, palatable ( tasty and easily digestible), that which keeps me fit. That is:
Compulsory Juice for breakfast (minimum one serving of fruit in a day) soup included in lunch, intake of green leafy vegetables atleast once a week, diet which involves less oil, no junk foods, less harmful added artificial ingredients (like preservatives, colours..), something which goes with and is naturally available during particular season. E.g. foods that would keep us warm during winter and cool during summers like cucumber.. (enjoying seasonal fruits)
When I started this entry I created a list. As I progressed I noticed that the thing I wrote most often was stating a food group and then writing “moderate amounts”. After doing this several times I realised that my ideal diet would be…everything in moderation.
Ideal diet…I’ve never really thought about it thou I do want to live a *healthy* life with a healthy eating habit. I LOVE meat, I LOVE delicious food, therefore I can’t be vegetarian whatsoever..But I will incorporate more fruit and vegetable into my meal. And perhaps juices too.
Vegetarian food is delicious too, you know! :)
By the way, I work with a number of voracious meat-eaters who have sentiments similar to yours, and many of them have a one-vegetarian-day-a-week policy. They feel better about themselves, they’re nurturing their bodies in a healthier way, and yet they’re not depriving themselves of their carnivore mentality. Might be worth a shot!
I’d prefer to think of it as a lifestyle, one that is filled with fresh organic fruits and vegetables. Lean organic meats on occasion. Freshly squeezed juices every morning, full of vitamins and minerals needed for a busy day. Exercise and being outdoors as much as I can!
Ideal Diet = Eating Smart.
I would make a fruit/veggie/flax/yogurt smoothie every morning to cram in my daily fruit/veg intake early.
I would have flavorful but “smartly prepared” (ie grilled or baked) chicken or other meat with more vegetables prepared in a way that I like (I do not like veggies). For dinner I would have more protein, small carb, and more veg (probably a salad). I would have a small amount of chocolate for dessert.
I would try to eat like this 75% of the time, but eat a burger when I really wanted it – Without the guilt.
We are buying a blender tomorrow. The smoothies are the first step.
Though I used to take non- vegetarian food frequently , nowadays I am reducing my non-veg. intake considerably mainly because of my obesity. As I am supposed to reduce my weight, I think vegetarian diet will help me in this regard.I want to eat raw, fresh fruits and vegetables diet for one day every week. Here in Chennai, Tamilnadu, India, Mr. Lena.Tamilvanan, a famous journalist and writer in our language, Tamil, looks very,very young for his age mainly due to absence of bad habits, vegetarianism, raw fruits and vegetables diet for one day every week and doing yoga. I have decided to incorporate these things in my day to day life gradually. So my ideal diet in a day will be cooked vegetarian food, at least one type of fruits after every meal, inclusion of raw vegetables as salads and less consumption and milk and dairy products to gain my optimum weight . – S.ARUNAGIRI
My ideal diet would be a regular breakfast, lunch and dinner sourced from vegan, organic, fresh and locally grown ingredients. The food should be cruelty free and environmentally / socially sustainable in production.
I would prepare the meals for myself, family and friends. They would be a varied and well flavoured set of meals that leave me feeling fresh and energised, rather that heavy and lethargic as some food does.
Time of eating would roughly be as follows, with fruit in between if hungry:
Breakfast at 6am, biggest meal of the day
Lunch at 12pm, something hearty with a glass of fruit juice
Dinner at 6pm, something smaller and fresher, perhaps with a small dessert as I have a sweet tooth!
I feel that just as important as diet is that I’m a mindful eater, and that I have a healthy relationship with food. This means that I would eat slowly and be mindful at meal times, enjoying flavours and textures. Food is a great source of joy and satisfaction, but I have a tendency to snack mindlessly and over indulge (even binge eat) on occasions. I made the choice to stop drinking Coca Cola as I drank it mindlessly everyday, even though it was completely unnecessary and left me feeling uncomfortable. It’s been 10 days since I drank Coke and I feel much better for it. I would like to take the same approach to all eating.
I would also like to share meal times with family and friends as much as possible, where we can enjoy beautiful food and company in full attention together.
My ideal diet would be as homemade and local as possible. I like to eat real food – whole grains, vegetables, fruits, free range meat and eggs. Comfy classics from recipes passed down for years. Lasagna made with homegrown tomatoes, fresh bread out of the oven.
So much of the joy of eating and cooking has been taken out of our culture, and I want to pull the love back into food. Cooking a meal and eating it around a table with my family, dinner party with friends and wine, savoring every bite and really enjoying food.
Easy to prepare. Salty some days sweet others. Nothing that takes a long time to prepare, nothing to follow directions or recipe.
Oh goodness what a wonderful thought.
My ideal diet would be filled with Japanese, Indian, Mexican, Greek, Italian, Jamaican, Guyanese, Trinidadian, & Chinese cuisine!! :) Yummy.
Lots of water, fruits and veggies. Oh, let’s not forget ice cream.
I have a problem with eating as soon as i get up so my perfect breakfast is later mid morning.Variety from just cereals/porridge..fruit salads…..or a bacon sandwich and builders teaa.
Weekend see’a full English breakfast.
Weekends are focus cooking for pleasure lunches and dinners.Fish meat poultry with Farmers Market good vegtbles.
Lunches should have a seasonal salad with chicken or seafood always working for me.
Lunches in the working week are for the grazer in me and can vary to full menu sit down restaurant to on the hoof junk.
Ideal diet should avoid my sweet binges and the best way to avoid this is ..don’t buy them in the first place.
Bon Apetit ……see food or sea food !
My ideal diet would start would be a salad, with lots of greens, for breakfast, bread and lentils for lunch, may be one healthy snack around 5pm, and a glass of milk in the evening.
My ideal diet would be one that is balanced and well-implemented. I would make sure I had incentives in place that would motivate me to follow my planning, which I find is the hardest part about implementing any diet.
I would make sure that I had a big breakfast that I spared at least an hour or so for breakfast so I could eat and maybe even read the news (usually, I wake up at the last minute and run out the door because I am late for my classes). Intermittently through out the day, I would drink water, enough to function properly without being dehydrated or getting headaches (as I usually do). I would make sure I threw in healthy snacks between classes and appointments, so my stomach wouldn’t growl embarrassingly :( For lunch, anything I please -healthy or unhealthy- I usually eat to satisfy my cravings, and I wouldn’t want to change that because my ideal diet would also be my favourite diet! Finally, perhaps a cup of green tea for an evening drink. Dinner earlier than usual, including some plain and simple food that doesn’t upset my stomach or my bowels. Finally before heading to bed for the night, have a glass of milk with my favourite cereal!
Most importantly, I’d love to have a timed schedule so that I ate meals at the same time everyday, took my iron supplements without missing a day, not skip ANY meals, and make sure to get milk in my diet for stronger bones!
My health is very important to me, and being as young as I am, many of the things I complain of such as backaches, headaches, and overall lethargy are areas of concern. Putting up this question about diet, is extremely helpful because it raises the urgency of taking care of your health and points readers in the right direction. Thanks!
Mmmmmmm! Lobster is my all-time favorite food…seafood, different rices and grains, and lots of vegetables! Asparagus & all types of mushrooms. Baklava is also a favorite. I try to keep it as natural as I can. Lots of herbs & spices. Lemonade. Natural teas with lemon. Once in a great while a good steak or a good cheeseburger on the grill – loaded.
My ideal diet that I would like to stick to for rest of my life—-
No Sugar!
Organic foods–organic free range, hormone free meat, dairy….
Mostly protein, fresh veggies…..
limited caffeine, not on a daily basis….
Limited gluten–mostly gluten free, but when I do indulge, whole grains…
No junk……only “real” food…
When the urge for sweets hits, healthy snacks–stevia sweetened, dark chocolate, fruit, nuts…
Occasional organic wine….
Lots of water!
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