RESULTS
My Results: Diet 1
Vegetarian
The first diet I have tried out was going vegetarian for 2 weeks. It's sad to say that I couldn’t last the 14 days and only made it through 10. The diet as a whole was taking a toll on my everyday life because I was cutting out a major part of my daily intake of nutrients. Not eating meat was a challenge itself, but for me not being able to function properly was much worse. I was getting headaches, muscle pain, and stomach pain. At one point I was vomiting everything I was eating. Let's just say the vegetarian life was not the life for me. The funny part was that everything I was eating was healthy, homemade, and full of the nutrients that I needed, I guess meat was just that important. Through my "suffering" many people were trying to get me to stop, saying that I was ruining my body, though I wanted to prove them wrong, which was a bad idea. It was also tough because almost everyone around me had some form of meat, whether it was chicken nuggets, or pepperoni pizza that made my mouth water. All my temptations were held back, though many of my friends helped a lot while getting me through this diet. On the tenth day, I was about to faint and that's when I was told to stop officially. I protested saying that I would do it for another 4 days. although my health was more important than proving I could do some diet for two weeks. I figured after seeing some of my friends successful in their vegetarian lifestyles that I could do it just as easily. What I realized during this was that if you aren't 100% committed to your new eating habits then you won't get through it without struggling majorly. I felt like I was preventing myself happiness without any sort of meat in my body, that might have been a stretch but I was seriously craving a burger. Anyway, this was a more trial and error part of my project that didn’t really affect my body in terms of weight loss, but instead acted as a poison to my system. Now that I have finished being a vegetarian, I am going to be taking a week off just to regulate my body back to normal, before I begin my calorie count diet.
Survey Results
Sarah Sheldon Al-Absi
Results
Atkins:
For the Diet Life project, I choose do do the Atkins Diet.
I am a 31 year old mom of two children. With my busy schedule and my naturally active lifestyle, I maintain a healthy balance of food and exercise. The Atkins diet was a challenge and I doubt that I could ever adopt the diet as a lifestyle. Although I did lose about 1.7 kilograms in 10 days, it was difficult.
Before I begin, I did not change my caffeine intake or my Starbucks craving in the morning (like I said, I have two kids under the age of 5).
I love meat and vegetables, so the dishes were very easy to prepare. There are different of varieties of dishes that I incorporated: chicken with fajita spice, rosemary chicken, grilled steak, etc. The taste of the food was great.
The only difficulty was the low-carb aspect. Breakfast is usually cereal, or toast and peanut butter, or eggs and toast. I had to adjust my breakfasts to no carbs (which is something I cannot do). The lack of carbs in the morning made me feel lethargic in the afternoon, subsequently made me increase my caffeine intake.
The other part of the Atkins Diet that I found challenging, yet beneficial, was the water intake. Drinking water is very healthy, but to drink the amount required made me aware of the lack of water that I drink. I ended up creating a bottle that had markings of how much water I should have drank by a certain time. Although the project is finished, I still an very conscious about my water intake.
What I have learned over the past years about health is that crash diets are not for everyone. It is better to learn what to eat, how to cook, and create a schedule that allows exercise. There is a motto that I live by regarding food: "eat right to be healthy and have some fries to stay sane"
It was a great experience! Thank you Caroline for letting my partake in your project. Looking forward to the next diet!
Sarah Sheldon
My Results: Diet 2
Calorie Count
I thought I would try something different this time with communicating my resluts- so here is an audio of my experience of the calorie count diet!!
Hope you enjoy xx
Madison Harper
Student
This is a breif audio note covering the Vegetarian diet that student Madison Harper has been doing for almost a year now! Listen now to hear her experience and tips she recomends, enjoyy xx
Mayanda Serhan
Student
Participant Information & Daily Logs
I, Mayanda Serhan, will participate in the Diet Life research project conducted by Caroline Hreiche. Through blood, sweat, tears, and the occasional hunger pains, I will try my best to complete the diet. I will allow Caroline to post the following on her blog: the pictures, daily notes, and my personal information that I have shared with her.
Fad Diet Info:
Fad Diet: Vegetarian
Starting Date: Feb.1
Ending Date: Feb.14
Personal Information:
First Name: Mayanda
Age: 16
Initial Weight: N/A
Height: 167 cm
Description of Lifestyle: Mainly healthy, every once in a while binge on junk. Excersise regularly, athletic.
Daily Log:
1. Feb 1- Not so hard, i felt perfectly fine (normal)
2. Feb 2- A little dizziness, but managed to make it through the day
3. Feb 3- So much energy in the morning, by the end of the day, i was really tired and just wanted to sleep
4. Feb 4- Same as day 3
5. Feb 5- Same as day 4
6. Feb 6- Energy levels were up and stayed up the whole day (didn’t miss meat at all and wasn’t craving)
7. Feb 7- Was forced to eat meat when i visited my grandma;s house, but i ate as minimal as possible (i didn’t even want to eat it)
8. Feb 8- After running for track, i felt like my body needed protein and i was going to cave in, but i fought the thought, and managed to not break this diet
9. Feb 9- Diet was good and i was feeling good (energy levels up and sugar cravings started fading away)
10. Feb 10- Same as day 9
11. Feb 11- Same as day 10
12. Feb 12- Same as day 11, I was so used to it, like it was my lifestyle.
13. Feb 13- It wasn’t hard at all, and it felt completely right
14. Feb 14 -Diet felt natural, like it was my daily routine
Questionnaire:
Were you able to complete the diet plan?
yes
How did you feel during the diet?
dizzy and tired during days 3-5 but other than that, everything went smoothly
What was the most challenging part of the diet?
Hiding the fact that i was doing this diet (behind my parents back). They didn’t really know why i wouldn’t eat meat/chicken/fish.
What was the most fascinating part of the diet?
Seeing results :)
Did you notice any overall changes with your body? Energy level?
My energy level boosted A LOT, especially since i was incorporating more fruits and veggies to make up for the lost protein in meat.
Would you recommend this diet to anyone?
Anyone who wants to be a full on vegetarian or vegan, this is a good start.
Would you repeat the diet?
Yes
Comments.
I essentially want to be a vegan, this diet put me one step closer to my goal.
Sarah Sheldon
Diet 2: Juice Clense
Juice Cleanse
This week I attempted to do the juice cleanse for three days. I heard that I would feel energized and detox my body from impurities. I did not drink my coffee and was 100% committed. The juice cleanse company sent 6 bottles of freshly pressed juice composed of fruits and vegetables. There is a set rate to drink the juices (every 3 hours), and a set order to drink them.
For three days I had no solid food in my system! It felt unnatural not to chew food or to digest anything warm. I started to chew sugar-free gum to fulfill the need to chew. That was a great solution.
Without caffeine, I started to have my headaches. Although I do not drink soda, no coffee in the morning was a big adjustment.
I actually did not feel hungry and on day 2 I didn't complete some of the juice bottles. It was a struggle to drink the juices because I was full.
I pretty much felt the same. But, the feeling of being "bloated" was completely eliminated. My stomach was absolutely flat! Visually, I had more muscle definition than before.
The juice cleanse was not as difficult as I thought it would be. I would probably do it again to "clean the pipes" and get rid of he bloating. It's defiantly not a diet, as I do not think anyone can sustain a liquid diet for more than 5 days. Good luck!
Instagram for the juice clense for those wondering:
@re_kw
My Results
Diet 3: Paleolithic Diet
Paleo Diet
This time around I decided to try out the Paleo Diet- otherwise known as the "caveman diet". This diet consists of mainly non-processed foods that were available in the paleolithic age, such as lean meats, berries, vegetables and nuts. Most of the food you eat on this diet are non-dairy foods which makes this diet a bit stricter than others. For these 14 days I chose to indulge in this diet, testing my tolerance towards eating non-processed foods. The only problem with this diet is that most of my dairy intake was excluded which then made my calcium levels drop a bit, due to the fact that I have a slight Vitamin D deficiency. For the first couple of days my body was still trying to regulate this diet. it wasn't the best feeling but I was able to pull through. My main meals consisted of a piece or two of protein, and lots of vegetables. I had to be conscious of what vegetables I was allowed to eat and googling them was too much work (I know I'm lazy, but you would be too having to google every specific veggie) so I downloaded an app called PaloFood available on the app store, which helped a lot. It basically told you what you were allowed to eat and what you weren’t. You could also search up the foods you were eating to check as well. Throughout the 14 days I felt much cleaner and energetic- oddly I expected the opposite. I would do this again in the near future, but the strictness was a bit too challenging. I would recommend this to people if you can handle the change in your regular eating style.
