“Hello, Dear Friends,
Now you all know our beloved Sinem, the author of our Beauty Secrets section :) She started the Karatay Diet and decided to share her experiences with you. Here is the first post…”
I've never been too weak in my life. Ever since I started puberty, I've always been a bigger, heavier kid than my peers. And it's always been a subject that depresses me. Don't be misunderstood when I say overweight, I've never been obese, but I've never been a size 34 either. Since I struggled and lost weight from time to time and lost weight from time to time, I was 38 size one year and 42 the next year, and we have come to this day. After the fit body I had last year, I gained weight since December this year and I have come to this day with this 10 kilos that I gradually gained. During my last visit to Ankara (3 weeks ago), everyone who saw me said that you gained a lot of weight, and this unbelievably upset me. I decided to lose weight, but this time I want it to be permanent, I don't want it back next year. I started searching. I watched how well Nilay lost weight in front of my eyes with the Dukan diet. Other friends of mine lost weight very well with Dukan. But when I reviewed Dukan, I decided it wasn't a diet for me. The searches continued. When my sister said that she bought the Karatay Diet book of Canan Karatay, I made fun of her, but I said, "Can you lose weight like that?" Until one day, I saw Canan Karatay Hanım on TV. I was at home that day and I was doing research on the internet about how to lose weight. I researched the Karatay Diet, which I approached my sister with prejudice, and I read a few interviews with Ms. Canan. She was saying such sensible things! Then I realized that Ms. Canan was a guest on a program on TV and I started watching it. It was telling something so close to the diet that I love and that I am used to! There was a woman in front of me who said, "Eat butter and olive oil," and I've been advocating this for years. Well, I also fell for the book and read it… The book I started reading exactly one week ago changed my life. I, who haven't been eating very healthy for a while, was so impressed by what Ms. Canan told me that I decided to shake myself off. I have been eating exactly as Canan Karatay mentioned for 1 week and I lost 1 kilos in this 1 week!
I am not going to explain all the details of the Karatay Diet in a scientific way, Canan has already mentioned enough in her 3 books. Actually, I want to talk about what I eat in accordance with the Karatay Diet.
We have misunderstood what is called a "diet" for years, we have been fed according to a measured calorie count. But in fact, the logic of the Karatay Diet is very simple, it is to eat all foods that are healthy and low in glycemic index until satiated and to remove bad fats, sugar and foods with high glycemic index from our lives. While doing this, eat 3 meals a day. You heard right, not 6 meals, 3 meals. In this way, it secretes the hormone leptin and lose weight. It may seem difficult, but once you understand the essence of "life and diet", you can prepare a thousand and one meals.
If we start with breakfast, eggs are a must for breakfast every day. In her first book, Ms. Canan talks about the benefits of eating 2 healthy eggs every morning. Even though 2 eggs a day is a lot for someone like me who doesn't eat much eggs, I've been used to it for a week. How the egg is cooked and how long it is cooked is very important. If you want to eat it as a boiled egg, it should be apricot-like or soft-boiled. The more the egg is cooked, the more harmful it becomes. But we don't just have to eat boiled eggs. In addition to breaking into butter (not sold in the market, but homemade or village butter), you can also make an egg omelet or menemen. Since I can't eat boiled eggs, I started making a different omelet every day. Having butter at home from the village (made by our neighbor in the village) is also my advantage :) When you say one day with dill, one day with parsley, one day with tomatoes, one day with cheese, every day a different omelette makes breakfast different ;) Forget about a matchbox cheese for breakfast! You can eat as much as your palm of cheese. You can mix it with an egg or eat it directly. And you're free to eat whatever cheese you want, as long as it's not too salty. Since all light products are banned, we are rapidly moving away from light cheese. Izmir Tulum, Ezine cheese, Erzurum Tulum, sheep-goat cheese, feta cheese, curd, whatever you want… You should also eat 1-8 olives (from non-cocktail olives, broken or saddle olives) every morning. You can even eat up to 10 olives a day. Cheese, olives, eggs, it's not over, you should definitely eat things like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, greens for breakfast. We have come to the crucial point: NO BREAD! In this diet, we completely remove bread from our lives. Do not be afraid that I will not be full, I have never been so full in my life :) Instead of bread, you can eat 20 tea glass of walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, peanuts for breakfast. (Must be unsalted and unroasted). These cookies keep you so full that they are also very useful. You can also consume 1-2 dried apricots (day dried apricots are preferred), which facilitates digestion, for breakfast. Tea, lemon tea, green tea, plenty of water, or milk can be consumed, provided that they are all sugar-free, and breakfast and milk must not be light! Well, if you ask if it's a diet by eating so much, it does.
After having such a full breakfast, you do not feel hungry until 13:00-14:00 in the afternoon. Considering that you don't have snacks, this is a record for me. Of course, in the meantime, you can drink unsweetened tea, coffee (coffee made from ground coffee such as Turkish coffee or filter coffee, granulated coffee is strictly prohibited), water and ayran as much as you want.
Even though you are not very hungry at noon, you need to eat something now. The biggest problem of people who work or go out during the day is the food to eat at noon. Unless you prepare your own lunch at home, you should make sure that the meal is prepared before you eat a home-cooked meal. It is better not to eat vegetables cooked with refined oils, margarine. My lunch for a week is usually salad – yoghurt (with very little flaxseed added) – walnuts or just yoghurt (flaxseed) and walnuts-apricots-almonds. In fact, it is very easy to eat this lunch I mentioned wherever you are. Keep a small bag of walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, dried apricots in your bag, and take it with you before you leave the house in the morning. You are still so full at noon that yoghurt and these nuts are enough for lunch. But of course, 1 plate of vegetable dish, salad, yogurt and maybe grilled chicken-meat-fish can be much better.
Evening is similar to lunch, and you need to balance it with a menu based on your location. For example, if you need to eat out in the evening, you can have a dinner in the form of grilled chicken-fish-meat and salad. At home, it is easier to shape your menu, 1 plate of vegetable food, 1 bowl of soup, salad and grill would be a nice dinner.
Legumes are also one of the basic elements of the Karatay Diet, but they are the main ones. For example, you shouldn't eat rice, but you can eat bulgur. Beans, chickpeas, wheat, black-eyed peas, lentils are legumes that you can cook, add to salads, and use in soups.
On fruits, you should read the book carefully, unfortunately not all fruits can be eaten because most of them have a high glycemic index. But certain fruits are allowed (apple-pear etc.). Also, edible walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, dried apricots, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers are also fruits. That's why there is no fruit :D
Let me finish this article by giving yesterday's menu as an example.
When you wake up in the morning, it will be prepared:
- 1 lemon (sliced)
- 1 pinch of fresh mint
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- 1 jug of water
1 jug of water is prepared by slicing the lemons and adding lemon to the jug, 1 pinch of fresh mint and 1 stick of cinnamon, until it is full. You need to consume this water throughout the day, you can drink plenty of it instead of regular water.
In the morning at breakfast:
- Parsley and dill omelette prepared with 2 eggs
- 1 handful of feta cheese
- 3-4 cherry tomatoes
- 1 red pepper
- 7-8 broken green olives
- 1 cup of walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds
- 2-3 days dried apricots
At lunch:
Green Lentil Salad:
- 3-4 tablespoons of boiled green lentils
- 1 tablespoon of boiled wheat
- 1 carrot grater
- Dill and parsley as desired (chopped)
- half red pepper
- Juice of half a lemon
- very little vinegar
- Olive oil
- Salt (rock salt preferred)
We turn it all into a salad. 1 bowl of yoghurt (with 1 teaspoon of flaxseed in it.)
At the dinner:
- Cold lentil and wheat buttermilk soup
- Boiled lentils and wheat (size is up to you)
- Yoghurt
- Su
- Buz
- Fresh or dried mint
- optional red pepper flakes
You bring the boiled and cooled lentils and wheat to the desired consistency by mixing them with yogurt and water. Fresh or dried mint can be added to it. While eating, a little olive oil or red pepper flakes can be drizzled on it. You can also put ice in it while eating. A perfect summer soup
Purslane Salad:
- purslane leaves
- 1 large tomato
- 1 large red pepper (can be roasted)
- Juice of half a lemon
- very little vinegar
- Olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, if desired
Thyme Grilled Entrecote:
You smell directly into the pan without marinating the entrecotes. You can only rub a little olive oil on the outside with your hand. I cut 1 clove of garlic in half and rub it outside. You let it cook on the lowest heat stove with the lid of the pan closed on the lowest heat. After 10-15 minutes, you turn the other side that it is well watered. After 10-15 minutes, you can turn it again and put a little salt on one side. At this time, it begins to drain water. In the third 10-15 minutes, you turn it for the last time. You wait for the water to absorb well and turn off the bottom. You sprinkle thyme on both sides. The meat is both soft and cooked very healthily, and it never gets dry.
Isn't it full? I lost 1 kilos in 2 week by eating similarly to this. This is how we eat from now on :)
Written and Photographed by Sinem Çomarlı