Diet
Turkey:
I lived here from August 2015 to May 2021. I started out as a university student on a strict self-appointed budget, and transitioned into an extremely highly paid professional without any budget really, but with a focus on remaining economical wherever possible. What this means is, I started to enjoy myself and indulge in little (and sometimes not so little) pleasures. On the whole, however, I did not move onto luxury.
My biggest regret for my university years is the obsession I had with conserving every penny. This cost me numerous opportunities of all kinds, and I guess I’ll never fully know what I missed out on; it’s entirely possible I didn’t miss out on anything, but that wouldn’t pacify the pessimist in me. One piece of advice, don’t save money just to save it. Have a plan for what it will be used for, and if you can’t plan anything for it then spend it on something you’ll enjoy “in the now”. Misery is not a virtue. Get it?
My biggest regrets for my short-lived time of luxury are:
- Not having enough time to blow the cash I was getting (COVID-19 started a month after I got my first baller salary), and
- Not managing a budget to see where my money went, even though it made absolutely no difference to me.
I’d suggest keeping a budget, if not for the money then at least just to see where it all goes. It can give you a good sense of direction, priorities, and inefficiencies.
Anyway, the reason I’m writing up the Turkish section now is because I’ve been in Munich over three weeks now, made my way through the discounters and Turkish shops here, talked to a few locals, and have conclusively decided my diet will be in for big changes. It’s best to let the Turkish version go now, and note it down here before it leaves my mind.
I usually bought my food from BIM or A-101, because they were the cheapest stores close to my home. Vegetables and fruits, I purchased from Soykan because it had a good balance of freshness, quality, and price. Every day I ate the same thing, and saw good results, fast. Combined with a rigorous gym routine, you’ll notice improvements fast.
The items in the graph represent raw ingredients, and were usually combined into meals based on what was logical and convenient at the time. I don’t have records of the macros exactly, but all of my requirements were satisfied. Fruits and vegetables, of course, depended on the season.
| Food | Quantity | Energy (kcal) |
|---|---|---|
| Yoghurt (Yoğurt) | 450 g | 306 |
| Eggs | 5 | 441 |
| Oats | 100 g | - |
| Honey | 40 ml | - |
| Nuts | 50 g | - |
| Milk | 1000 ml | 1026 |
| Barbunya/Nohut/Mercimek | 130 g | 435 |
| Fruit | Variable, no limit | N/A |
| Vegetables | Variable, no limit | N/A |
| Bulgur | 100 g | 381 |
| Chicken (breast/legs) | 200 g | 330 |
| Water | 3 L | N/A |
| Protein Powder | 1 scoop | 95 |
Total calories: 3014
I’m around 173 cm and to gain weight and muscle fast, this is a pretty good diet. Low in saturated fats and empty calories. High in fiber. Great protein content. Enough carbohydrates to keep your energy up. Hits every segment of vitamins, minerals, and all that other stuff. No processed foods. High in volume, so you stay full for a long time. Nothing is processed, no sweets, no fake Nestle “fruit juices”. Adaptable, and easy to prepare.
This was also during COVID and work-from-home, by the way, so I was just attending meetings while I had my mercimek boiling in the background, or chicken baking in the oven, or oats soaking in honey and milk. I didn’t need to constantly be in the kitchen cooking, is what I mean. That’s something I’ve been struggling with in Germany so far, but let’s see what the future holds.
That’s it for Turkey. I haven’t got my German diet down to a science yet; I’m facing some challenges there, but that’s to be expected. It’s still better than my American diet of canned beans and corn and gallons of milk, at least. This is fun, I hope I can do it for many more countries to come.
Germany
I have been here for three months now (today is 19 September 2021). Not enough time to really set up a perfect diet, but I want to note down some findings.
Red meat is crazy cheap here, so I went wild with it for a while, in the beginning. And I’m not sure if it was all the bratwurst, or the terrible face wash, but my skin would not stop breaking out into pimples. I got rid of both, and it’s all back to beauty now. German diets are very calorie dense (sausages, heavy bread, butter, beer) and I think this might come in handy with eating the same amount, while physically eating less. The problem is, this just leaves less wiggle room in the diet, and requires stricter adherence to routine, since these foods are very fat-heavy.
In Turkey, meat was nonexistent in my diet, and chicken only came in as an addition years into this process. In Germany, there were days when the only thing I ate was red meat. On those days, I felt very slow and heavy, and I also noticed my weight growing faster than my strength (i.e. I was getting fat). The discussion then became between red meat cuts, sausages, hackfleisch, and chicken.
After some weeks of experimentation, and a little insight into the kind of lifestyle I wanted, I came to the conclusion that it didn’t make sense to keep the rigid diet I had in Turkey. I’m not as stingy as I was in university, nor as content with my friends as I was upon graduation, nor as trapped as I was during the COVID lockdowns. These are the days again of experimentation and exploration. Dozens of new people to meet, new places to see, new hobbies to keep up.
Up until now, it makes sense to limit meats to at most one meal a day, and to standardize the foods that I can have regularly. This will consider foods provided in the office, foods which are more environmentally friendly, and foods which are better for my skin.
| Food | Quantity | Energy (kcal) |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit | Variable, no limit | N/A |
| Vegetables | Variable, no limit | N/A |
| Joghurt | 450 g | 338 |
| Oats | 100 g | 372 |
| Milk | 500 ml | 320 |
| Bulgur | 100 g | 381 |
| Eggs | 3 | 275 |
| Eiwißbröt | 2 slices | 178 |
| Barbunya/Nohut/Mercimek | 130 g | 435 |
| Water | 3 L | N/A |
Time went by fast. 8 months have now gone by since I first came to this country. The above table accounted for 2300 calories, and I needed to fill in 300 to 600 more somehow on a daily basis. I didn’t do a very good job of it; I really miscalculated when I first came to Germany. Winters over here are depressing and, to be hones, so are the people and the culture. This country is lame. I was submerged in other activities for a while and completely neglected fitness and diet, which led to no progress for months, and by the time I should have been adequate, I was still pathetic. Things are better now.
Changes:
- I exercise in the mornings before going to work, and sleep much earlier than I did before.
- I cook for a couple of days in advance, instead of for the whole week.
- I buy groceries multiple times a week now, instead of just on Saturdays.
- I buy groceries at random off-times, to avoid crowds.
- I usually consume the yoghurt, milk, oats, water, and fruit portions of my diet in the office, since a lot of my time is spent there anyway.
- I batched the egg and bakliyat portions into one night and the next day, to further consolidate cooking times (i.e. prepare double portions the night before, eat one half then, and the other half the next morning before work).