I Ate A Salad For Lunch Every Single Day For Two Months. Here's What Actually Changed

Two months ago, I made a promise to myself. It wasn't to lose 10 kilos. It wasn't to follow some viral diet. It wasn't even to give up all the foods I love.

It was much simpler than that.

Every single day, without fail, I would eat a salad for lunch. That was it.

As someone with PCOS (now called PMOS), I know how frustrating it can be when your body doesn't always respond the way you expect it to. Weight goes up, weight goes down, hormones have a mind of their own, and sometimes it feels like you're doing everything right with nothing to show for it.

I knew I couldn't magically fix my hormones overnight. I also knew I wasn't going to suddenly become someone who spends hours in the gym every day.

So I decided to control the one thing I could: what went into my lunch box.

It Was Never About Eating Less

People hear "salad" and immediately imagine a sad bowl of lettuce. But mine looked nothing like that.

Some days it was a sprout salad packed with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, carrots and peppers. Other days, it was quinoa with avocado, fresh vegetables and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Sometimes I'd throw in chickpeas. Sometimes there were juicy orange segments. On other days, pomegranate seeds added the sweetness I was craving.

The dressing was always simple with salt, pepper and lemon. For quinoa salads, balsamic vinegar became my favourite because it added so much flavour without making the salad feel heavy.

I almost always paired it with some protein. Usually grilled paneer or grilled soya. It was nothing fancy, just enough to make it filling. Breakfast stayed simple too. Most mornings, it was scrambled eggs. But occasionally, I'd eat an oats cheela or besan cheela.

Dinner was never complicated either. I had khichdi, soup, or curd rice once in a while, just foods I genuinely enjoy eating. The goal wasn't to suffer through a diet but to build a routine I could actually stick to.

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I Won't Lie, I Got Tired Of It

There was one phase where I had sprout salad for almost 20 days straight. Not because I loved it that much, just because it was the easiest thing to prepare before rushing out in the morning.

One afternoon, I opened my lunch box, took one bite, closed it again and just stared at it.

I couldn't do it.

Not because I was craving something unhealthy. I was simply bored.

That's when I realised I didn't need to quit eating salads. I just needed to stop eating the same salad.
So I started experimenting. Packed in more avocado because I absolutely love it. More colourful vegetables, chickpeas, quinoa, raw mango, orange slices, and pomegranate. It was time for different textures, different flavours, and a different dressing every now and then.

And that tiny change made all the difference.

The Biggest Change? My Appetite

If you ask me whether I lost weight, I honestly can't give you a straight answer.

PCOS doesn't always make things that simple. My weight fluctuates enough that I don't feel comfortable claiming this was responsible for it.

But there are changes I can confidently talk about. The first is my appetite. It has reduced significantly. I don't constantly think about food anymore. I don't find myself reaching for random snacks because I'm suddenly starving. I stay full for much longer, and my meals feel more satisfying.

That, to me, has been one of the biggest wins.

I Started Feeling Better In Ways I Wasn't Expecting

Another thing I noticed was my energy. I simply don't feel as sluggish after lunch anymore.

Instead of feeling sleepy or heavy, I actually feel ready to get through the rest of my day. I've also lost inches, even if the weighing scale refuses to cooperate all the time. My body feels a little more toned, and my clothes fit differently.

The changes are gradual, certainly not dramatic enough for someone else to notice overnight.

But I notice them. And that's enough to keep me going.

Even My Confidence Changed

When you consistently make better choices for yourself, something shifts mentally. You feel proud.

Even on days when the mirror doesn't show a huge difference or on days when the weighing scale refuses to move, just knowing that you've shown up for yourself every single day gives you confidence.

Honestly, I didn't think I'd last this long. I thought I'd give up after a week. Instead, here I am, two months later, still packing my salad every morning. That consistency has probably surprised me more than any physical result.

I'm Not Giving Up Pizza

One thing I never wanted was to fear food. I don't believe I need to earn a slice of pizza or avoid a wholesome Indian meal forever. Sometimes I want roti, my favourite sabzi and a bowl of raita. Sometimes I want pizza. And I'll have it.

For me, those aren't 'cheat meals; in the traditional sense. They're simply days when I don't eat my usual salad lunch. Because if this routine is going to stay with me for years, it has to leave room for real life too.

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Has It Helped My PCOS?

I'm not a nutritionist.

I'm not a doctor.

I honestly have no idea whether this is the perfect way to eat for PCOS or whether there's a much better approach that science would recommend. This is simply what I chose because it felt practical, realistic and something I could sustain.

That said, I do feel like some of my symptoms have started improving. The changes in hirsutism, something many women with PCOS struggle with, seem a little (very little) less noticeable now.

Is it because of the salads orbecause I'm eating more consistently, or because I'm getting more vegetables and fibre every day? I genuinely don't know.

And I don't want to make claims I can't prove. All I know is that my body feels different, my energy feels different, and I feel more in control than I did two months ago.

This Doesn't Feel Like A Diet Anymore

That's probably my biggest takeaway. It doesn't feel like I'm forcing myself to eat healthy. I genuinely look forward to my scrambled eggs in the morning. I enjoy my soups and khichdi at night. And somewhere along the way, I started looking forward to my salads too.

Maybe six months from now I'll have even more changes to talk about, or maybe I'll discover I need to tweak a few things. Hopefully, I'll finally understand what works best for my PCOS.

But for now, I'm happy with this one small promise I made to myself.