Every year starts the same way.

You wake up one morning, feel slightly uncomfortable in your own body, and suddenly decide this is it. This is the year you become healthier. You look up gyms, save healthy recipes, maybe even buy ingredients you’ve never used before because someone online said they’re good for you.
I’ve done all of that!

I’ve joined gyms with full motivation. I’ve tried yoga phases. I’ve followed nutrition plans that sounded perfect but didn’t fit into real life. I’ve eaten food that was technically healthy but left me hungry and irritated. And like most people, I’ve quit halfway more times than I’d like to admit.

The problem was never that I didn’t want to be healthy. The problem was that everything felt temporary.

It felt like I was waiting for the diet to end.

The moment I realised I was doing it wrong

At some point, I realised I wasn’t failing diets. Diets were just not fitting into my actual life.

I didn’t want to eat different food from everyone else at home. I didn’t want to spend hours cooking separate meals. And I definitely didn’t want to feel hungry all the time.

What I needed wasn’t a “diet.” I needed food that felt normal.

Food that was tasty, filling and didn’t make me feel like I was being punished for wanting to be healthier.

And weirdly enough, once I stopped chasing perfect plans, things got easier.

What my day slowly started looking like

Nothing dramatic. No fancy ingredients. Just small changes that didn’t feel like effort after a while.

The day usually started with a glass of warm water with lemon and a little honey. Not because it’s some miracle drink, but because it helped me start the morning slowly instead of rushing straight into caffeine.

It became less about weight loss and more about creating a small pause before the day began. Hydrating first thing also meant I didn’t wake up feeling heavy or bloated, which oddly made it easier to make better food choices later in the day.

This wasn’t a rule. Some days it was just warm water. The point was starting light.

Breakfast used to be whatever was easiest. Toast, biscuits or sometimes nothing at all. And then by 11 am, I’d be starving.

Switching to a more filling breakfast changed the entire day. Eggs became the easiest option because they were quick, affordable and actually kept me full. I’d usually add vegetables or eat them with something simple on the side.

The important part was protein. Not perfection. And definitely not boring food. Eggs didn’t have to be plain or boiled unless I wanted them to be. Omelettes, scrambled eggs egg bhurji — anything that tasted good enough to repeat the next day.

Because if breakfast feels like punishment, you stop doing it.

This was a small change that made a big difference. Earlier, I’d ignore hunger until lunch and then overeat. Having fruit mid-morning kept things steady.
Nothing complicated. Whatever was seasonal and easily available — banana, papaya, apple, watermelon. Something naturally sweet that felt refreshing instead of heavy.

It wasn’t about eating less. It was about not reaching lunch already starving.

Lunch didn’t change much, and that was the whole point. I didn’t want “diet food.” I wanted normal food that I could eat every day without thinking twice.

Roti or rice, dal, vegetables and protein. Sometimes chicken, sometimes soya chunks, sometimes just dal was enough. The difference was balance.

And this is where I realised healthy eating doesn’t mean bland eating. Chicken didn’t have to be boiled and salted. It could be grilled, sautéed, made into a light curry or cooked with spices the way I already liked it. Same with soya — it didn’t have to taste boring to be healthy.

The goal wasn’t to remove flavour. It was to avoid excess oil and unnecessary heaviness while still enjoying the meal.

Evenings used to be where everything went wrong. This is when random snacking happened — biscuits, fried snacks, anything within reach.

Adding a small, planned snack helped more than I expected. Roasted chana, peanuts, a handful of nuts or sometimes oats or buttermilk. Enough to take the edge off hunger so dinner didn’t turn into overeating.

And because it wasn’t restrictive, it didn’t feel like a “diet snack.” It just felt sensible.

Dinner became lighter. Not sad-food light. Just lighter enough that I didn’t go to bed feeling uncomfortable.

The surprising part?

I didn’t feel like I was dieting!

That was new…

I wasn’t constantly thinking about food. I wasn’t waiting for cheat days. I wasn’t angry at my meal choices. The food was simple, but it tasted good and felt sustainable.

And because it didn’t feel extreme, I actually stuck with it.

About calories (without making it stressful)

When I look back now, nothing here feels extreme. That’s probably why it worked.

A full day like this usually came up to around 1,450 to 1,500 calories, which was enough to stay full, have energy, and slowly see changes without feeling deprived.

And more importantly, it felt like real food. Food I could actually live with!

What I learned from this whole process

I think most of us don’t struggle because we don’t know what’s healthy. We struggle because healthy things often feel inconvenient or boring.

The moment food started feeling normal again, being consistent stopped feeling hard.

I still eat out. I still have days where nothing goes according to plan. But now there’s a rhythm I can come back to without guilt.

Have you also gone through the phase of trying everything and then realising simple works better? Or are you still in the experimenting stage? I’d love to know what has actually worked for you, because honestly, everyone’s version looks different.