on diet & breaks
These days, I would have multiple glasses of iced tea, cold coffee, and a proper chapatti rajma dahi lunch and dinner (very vegetarian and very satvik). When I slowly started to adapt to this new eating habit, I would feel uneasy and experience a lot of internal resistance. I would occasionally feel hungry due to the change from a high-calorie to a low-calorie diet. However, lately I have been observing that I have achieved quite a good level of mental clarity, which I don't usually have. My tolerance for resisting hunger has increased significantly.
I researched it on ChatGPT to support my feelings and found that a lot of what I am doing is technically a part of something called "intermittent fasting". I might not fully agree with the term used, as I don't follow the exact timeslots. However, I do agree that I'm on caloric restriction. I have reduced the intake of samosa, potato puffs, cheese sandwich, and occasional vada pav. I am mostly sticking with one proper diet and, most importantly, making sure the diet is good.
How did I come across this sudden decision? It's probably because of a college friend who mentioned how he has been trying to eat healthy and avoid oily foods. I started to reflect on my habits while listening to him and realized I haven't eaten anything healthy in a month or so. We were at a canteen at that time and had ordered a vegetarian thali for each of us. After finishing my lunch, I felt very full, and more than that, overjoyed, after a long time. A feeling that comes only after eating a proper meal. I was not aware that I was missing such a thing in my life this badly, but going out with him suddenly changed my perspective on what I took for granted.
Over the past week, I’ve been eating less and more consciously, while paying close attention to how my body is responding to these changes. I've noticed that having 2 to 3 glasses of iced tea spread throughout the day makes my stomach feel uncomfortable, so I've decided to limit it to just 1 or 2 glasses a day. Another thing is my body has no response to cold coffee, and I don't see any positive effect of it; normal coffee shoots up my anxiety, so I have replaced it with tea instead.
While keeping food aside, I have also been trying to take better breaks. I used to think that you need to get out of the place or situation and become an escapist, to take a break. I disagree with the idea now. I think a break is more of a state of mind than the place itself. If I wake up in the morning, do a 20-minute meditation, or long enough that I can spend my whole day in good mental awareness, read a book, have tea, talk to people, and learn something interesting, it's a break from my regular life. Of course, I'm not insisting that this definition is absolute, but it's what I choose to believe for now, at least until I come across something that changes my perspective.
These days, I’m reading Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. Recently, I’ve developed an interest in quantum physics, and I’m also revisiting a particularly challenging linear algebra course, which has rekindled my passion for mathematics.