Deep fried food is a no-go, junk food is gross and processed food will never be in my pantry.

When I decide on what or where to head for lunch, my brain does a mental calculation on how healthy or unhealthy my meal is going to be. Before even stepping into a restaurant, I’ve already made mental notes on what will suit my diet and what is off limits.

As I flip the menu and have a glance of what is available, I quickly screen through to shortlist which item on the menu makes the cut for the day. Depending on what I had earlier (for breakfast or lunch), I’ll decide on what is appropriate for my current meal in terms of calories, nutritional value and fat content.

Sound like a chore? It isn’t that difficult once you’re in the groove of things. Being very used to this routine has programmed my body and mind in a way which is difficult to explain to an ordinary person.

I was once obsessed with counting my calories. When I was 18, I had an app that tracks the amount of calories I consume per day. Needless to say, I religiously keyed in all my food intake and started obsessing over keeping my calories in check. I filtered out food & drinks which are high in calories and became more aware of what I should or shouldn’t feed my body.

I have this constant battle with my inner-self on a daily basis. I have dialogues in my head on whether I’m consuming too much carbs, fats, oil, sugar and salt.

What is it like to be me you might ask.

Well, apart from all of the above I am very conscious about what I feed my body. I believe in feeding my body right and that means getting lots of the good stuff into my system. I very much prefer preparing my own meals because I am in control of what goes into my food.

There are days when I do indulge in a bowl of creamy carbonara linguine because I still absolutely love to eat. I choose my so-called ‘cheat’ days depending on my mood. Desserts are still my absolute favourite and I don’t pass on desserts.

Being a food control freak, my mind is already automatically tuned to an odd way of thinking. When it comes to food, I make sure what I put in my system has a high ROI in the long-run. What’s the use of getting myself blocked arteries and accumulate fats around my organs over greasy food?