“Portions should be small enough to get the feeling that you are full: you should not fully fill in the stomach and then walk like a pregnant”, — Interview with Rasul Akhmetzhanov

 
Z: What did you start from? Diet only? Or were there exhausting physical exercises? Were there breaks in diet schedule? 

 

R: As everyone I started from visiting the doctor, in particular – gastroenterologist-dietician who gave me simplest advises on healthy dining which are known to many people even from soviet times. Certainly, it was followed by the process of taking different medical analysis which showed poor situation in form of disorder of different indicators at work of a digestive tract. Generally, I think everyone shall go through medical analysis on a periodical basis. 

 

Later, after basic medical treatment I’ve got a habit to observe the simple doctor’s advises which made me be interested in various diets and food overall. In the meantime, thanks to the colleague who invited to run together, I started going to sports, began with the gym, gymnastics, running in the evenings (I was lazy to run in the mornings), and certainly, swimming. I would not say that doing sports was that exhausting, since I did not have the goal to lose weight. Everything I did in sport was a pleasure for me – light running instead of mile-long marathons, light weight in gym.
 
To be honest, sometimes I wanted to eat some junk, tasty and sweet food, but every time I imagined that I need to start all over again, the temptation just disappeared. Now, though, I can try some cheap meal at any time. It is hard to observe the diet schedule when surrounding people do not understand you, and it is very easy, when they do support you. That is why it was problematic with keeping the diet while sitting with people who do not care about the diet – everything on the table was just not what you eat.
 
“You shall always read what is written on the pack of the product: 
take less fat, more protein, the nutrition of each product is very important.”
 
Z: Please tell us about the basics of your Diet. What was your day schedule like?  
 
R: It is hard to call it a diet, since I eat all the same as before, excluding some products which brought the excess of all non-healthy things. I said no to yogurt, cabbage or fruit diet with what fashion magazines are promoting. Simple food, healthy products and specific schedule of having the food, this is the basics of my diet. Certainly, there are some specific moments, but all this can be found out from internet. You shall always read what is written on the pack of the product: take less fat, more protein, the nutrition of each product is very important. You shall not reject fat at all, but shall limit it, and try unsaturated fats which are contained in nuts, fish, olive oil, etc.
 
I would better to pay attention what is prohibited to do or eat at all. First of all, forget any fast food, eat real meal. Also it is not allowed not to eat at all, to skip breakfast or lunch or even dinner (even though it is considered that you shall not eat after 6pm, which is a common mistake). Light dinner is always good. In order to have a proper metabolism we need to eat every 3 hours. In case we do not eat during several hours, the body starts saving the food for future, which means processing it into fat, as a storage of energy, instead of digesting it and taking all useful elements of the product. Ideally a person shall eat 5-6 times a day: breakfast, second breakfast, dinner, afternoon tea, dinner and late light dinner. Well….May be you can skip the last one)
 
Afternoon tea or second breakfast as the breakfast itself shall not be pastry with tea or coffee. It shall be a full breakfast with porridge, cottage cheese, omelette, fruits, etc. Portions shall be small enough to get the feeling that you are full (I do not count calories, though it is rather useful thing to do): you should not fill in the stomach in full and then walk like a pregnant. The dinner shall be rather light and easy at least 2 hours before going to sleep, in order to avoid feeling discomfort with digestion of such food.
 
The food shall not be greasy, salty and spice- it is better to eat steamed or boiled or baked meals. I rarely eat  fried meal, almost do not eat at all. At first you will think of steamed food as of tasteless, but it will seem so only in the beginning.
 
Avoid soda and sparkling mineral water, sweets, chips, etc. Look to the nutrition information of the product, how useful is it. Certainly, I will not be explaining why smoking and drinking alcohol shall be prohibited. Drink more water, about 2-2.5 liters a day. Plain water, not tea or juice since body will accept them as food, not drink. Sugar shall also be tried in a limited amount, as salt, pepper, and it shall be replaced with such products as honey, fruits, etc. Well, there are millions of dining advices, it is easy to find them in internet or follow the news of DiningSmart.
 
Z: Thank you for such a detailed answer in 5 minutes. What was your weight in the beginning, what result did you reach, and within what period? 
 
R: I was 90-94kg in 2007-2008, 83-85kg in 2009-2011, 70-73kg starting 2012 года, and now I am 75kg.
 
Z: Ok, so you have been reducing the weight slowly, but with a stable result. How do you think is it possible to lose weight and stay healthy, instead of feeling yourself like a squeezed lemon?
 
R: Certainly, there is no need to work exhaustingly hard, unless you plan to take part in a bodybuilder’s competition. Instead, losing the weight is necessary in order to get health, since weight normalization gives a number of pluses, reduce the level of cholesterol, and people get lower risk of having various diseases connected with overweight. However, these pluses can be reached only, if your diet will be healthy, and not like when you walk the whole day long not eating at all, or eating yogurt only. In this case yes, the effect of a squeezed lemon is guaranteed.  
 
Z: Is there any product which you always have at your table every day due to its healthy features? 
 
R: Fruits, but you shall know which fruits to eat and when to eat them. For example, overuse of some fruits can lead to some diseases, since fruits also contain sugar which preferably shall be eaten in the morning, since the body is exhausted after the sleep, and sugar will bring more energy for work – it is better than coffee or strong tea.
 
Z: Do you think that women more think about keeping fit and healthy dining? 
 
R: No, men also think about it. Perfect body was always a subject of admire regardless of gender. But the diet is not enough for it, sport is needed too.
 
Z: What would you advise to those got up with the thought “I want to get slim!”
 
R: To visit a dietician, start observing the diet and going to gym. Why to dietician? - because everyone is different, and products shall be chosen individually due to possible intolerance of the organism. Overall, I would love to wish DiningSmart to get well developed and well known to be able to attract more people to the healthy dining.
 
Z: Thank you a lot, Rasul, for such an interesting interview.