To be happy, concentrate on things you have, not on what you don't have.
- excerpt from a text message sent by my cousin Jayze
Day 60
I am quite the paranoid type and I dislike confrontations. I didn't share this on my post for Day 59, but while walking, a "beggar," who looks quite decent and neat chased me just to ask for money. I told her I didn't have any money and instead of letting it go and ask a different person to ask for some alms, she got angry at me, as if it was my obligation to give her money. Reading her body actions, the paranoid in me sensed that she wanted to take my camera purse - which looked like a money purse (maybe the reason why she chased me - she thought the purse was for money). I truly cannot afford to lose my camera, so for today's walk, I left my camera and took my cell phone instead - something I can put inside my pocket.
Since I passed by the route every walking day, I felt I have already photographed most of the subjects, but carrying my cell phone with me opened to new perspectives. Sure, I wasn't able to take much macro shots because my cell phone is quite selective whenever I use the macro function of my cell phone. Still, my cell phone's camera impressed me a lot today.
Even if Pipoy's off at work was early morning, he still called to check on me. Yeah, I know I have a very sweet and supportive fitness buddy, something I am really thankful for. I didn't stop much during this walk and I kept with my pace, so I was able to finish quite fast.
I was also able to do my two Hip Hop Abs routines today (Cardio and Hips, Buns & Thighs), but late afternoon I felt really tired, so I let brother take care of dinner while I catch a nap. :)
7:00pm - 1/2 cup rice, 1 tablespoon salted eggs with tomatoes, 1 patty Okoy (mung bean sprouts, grated squash, slices of firm tofu, 1 piece prawn cooked in batter), 1 slice ripe papaya
I didn't cook all the prepared ingredients for Okoy last night, so for today's lunch, I decided to cook it again. However, brother was asleep come lunch time and he didn't eat his share when he woke up, so we had some leftovers. Well, so we won't waste food, we just ate it for dinner, since mom was out with office friends.
I do love Okoy, but this particular recipe was so different that it sort of tasted like fried vegetable spring rolls. I still prefer the one with lots of small shrimps, but because this had veggies, I felt it was a much better choice... although the oil sort of made me feel sluggish (just my guess). I did drain the excess oil in the patties using paper towels - even pressed a fresh sheet of paper towel on my Okoy before I ate it, but I guess eating fried food is already causing not-so-good effects.
You're my sunshine and I want you to know that my feelings are true... I really love you. - "You're My Bestfriend", Queen
Day 59
Celebrating for two days sort of made me feel a little guilty (even if I controlled my food intake), so I wanted to get back on track. I was a bit late going to Colinas Verdes, but at least I was able to get up and walk again.
This being a Monday, there weren't much people walking - it was like walking on a deserted road, but since I had my iPod with me (my soundtrack today is Queen's "Greatest Hits " album) and that I could send Pipoy a text message every now and then, walking has been easy breezy for me.
Pipoy was also doing his morning walk, and as always, he called me the time I reached the clubhouse - where I would take a U-Turn back to the gate. Again, we were seeing the same sky (even if his location is way far from mine) because when I told him about jet trail, he said he could see it, too. It felt amazing to be under the same sky as him, but his words of encouragement felt better.
I did my Hip Hop Abs routines (Cardio and Ab Sculpt) today, but I wasn't able to do the dumbbells workout because of what I ate for lunch.
12:04pm - 1/2 cup rice, Pork Ribs cooked a la Buffalo Wings (50g pork ribs - weighed with bones, marinated and fried, served with honey-chili sauce), 1/2 cup cut-up veggies (sayote, carrots, cabbage, wombok), 1 banana
Total cups of Water: 15
Today I started the habit of eating oatmeal for breakfast. I was supposed to start yesterday - I initially planned to eat oatmeal for dinner, but a friend of mine suggested I eat oatmeal for breakfast so it will stay in my gut the entire day. I can certainly eat oatmeal even if it's just cooked in water, but the sachets of the Busog Lusog cereal drink mix will expire this December, so might as well use it. Well, I didn't have problems with regard to its taste, I just didn't really have the chance to use it before.
Last week, I was able to survive the whole week without eating pork. Today, I allowed myself to eat pork because this slab of baby back ribs has been in the freezer for two weeks now and brother told us we need to cook it this week or he will cook it. My sister wanted to try this recipe, but never had the chance to because she started working again, so she just asked me to cook it. I already marinated the ribs, but when I was about to cook it, I realized one key ingredient was missing. I just then fried the ribs and created a different sauce for it.
Every meal time, Pipoy would ask me what I will cook/eat. When I told him I was cooking pork, his response was, "You're going to eat pork?" He gave me the challenge of not eating pork last week, but I explained to him my side - that I just wanted to try a recipe and I won't eat a lot of it. He said he trusted me, but when I sent him a message after lunch that I felt bloated and heavy, he just reminded me to eliminate pork as much as I can. Well, I guess not eating pork for a week and eating some today shocked my tummy, so it will be the last pork dish I will eat this week - I am a foodie, I own a food blog, I attend food events, eliminating pork completely is not entirely good, but after feeling what I felt that lunch, I will surely try to eat as little of pork as possible. That means, I will only eat it when I attend events where I had to eat pork, or whenever I needed to try a pork recipe. As for that, I will just taste the dish just so I would know how it tasted because I needed to share the recipe on my food blog.
Tonight, Pipoy started on a new job, which felt a little bittersweet. I sure am happy that he's back in the work force and that it will allow him to grow as a person, but I miss him a lot because we always talk on the phone every night. Well, he did call me before he went to work, so that made me happy. I wish him all the best on this new job, and I would like to thank him for still taking care of me even if he's busy now.
Before I share to you the rewards, let me just give you a run down of the challenges I set for myself last week. Like what I did last week, I put a and icon(s) next to the items to indicate if it was a success or not.
Morning walks everyday, as long as it's not raining. - Well, I didn't walk to Colinas Verdes last Saturday, but I did walk with Pipoy, so I can still count it.
No pork and beef - even having a sip of the sauce / soup / broth. - I am a big pork eater, so this was the biggest challenge this week. I was thankful that I had access to other food choices when brother cooked pork dishes as our meal. This might be the toughest challenge, but surviving it was so sweet!
No canned / processed meat, except canned tuna and sardines. - I did open a can of tuna once this week, and Pipoy and I had a pizza with some cold cuts, but I made sure I took out the cold cuts because I wanted to stay true to my word despite Saturday being my cheat day.
1/2 cup of rice for lunch and dinner. - I got tempted to eat more once (when I had salmon as my meal), but I was thankful that I was able to shoo away the dark cloud.
Coffee is allowed for only three times this week. - An online pal told me (through the "blue board") that coffee can be a good fat burner because most fat burners contain caffeine, but the reason why I limit myself to just 3 cups a week is because I love the Nescafe Brown n' Creamy coffee, and even if it has caffeine, it also has creamer and sugar.
Do "Hip Hop Abs (Cardio)" from Monday to Saturday, but do alternate the other workouts: "Ab Sculpt" for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; "Hips, Buns, Thighs" for Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Sunday will be my rest day, but will do low-impact workout, just to make the day count. - Because I met up with Pipoy, I wasn't able to do my video workout last Saturday, and even if I can use Sunday to make up for Saturday, the family went out to celebrate brother's birthday, so I still wasn't able to do it.
Last week, I only had one check icon and the rest were x. This week, it's a big leap to turn things around. Truly, things are achievable if I just will it.
I have been a good girl this week, and it's just right that I give myself some rewards... but it wasn't just I who gave myself a reward, Pipoy also showered me with rewards:
Jillian Michaels' "30 Day Shred" video. I forgot the first time I heard of this video workout, but I do watched how Jillian Michaels transformed people's lives through "The Biggest Loser," and when I heard of it, I already wanted to try it out. A scrappy (a person I met through the scrapbooking circle) friend once shared her thoughts about the video and it really made me want to try it more. I do know this is one intense workout - some people would say they felt sore and couldn't walk the next day - but part of losing weight is challenging oneself, so I told myself I will do this once I reach 200lbs.
Now that I have the video, I am more motivated to lose the remaining pounds before I can do it.
Shaun T's "Insanity" video. While checking YouTube for "Hip Hop Abs" videos (also created by Shaun T), I came across this video and I immediately wanted to try it out. I admire Shaun T's way of motivating people to dig deeper, and even if this is one insane video, I still would like to try it, but I will do it once I reach 170lbs, because my goal weight is 150, and they say the last 20lbs is often the most difficult thing to lose, so doing this will surely help me overcome the "20lbs hurdle."
Angry Birds Magnetic Bookmark. I love playing Angry Birds, and as much as I love the yellow bird, I love the pig with the crown more because it just look cute and it doesn't die that easily. I told Pipoy how I like the pig with the crown, so when he saw this, he bought it instantly. Night before we met last Saturday, he told me about a reward, but he told me that it was just a simple (but usable) item. I find it so sweet that he thought about giving me bookmarks, which are so versatile. Since it's magnetic, I can use it for books as well as pinning notes on the fridge or white board.
Big thanks, my dear!
Brown Flats. As for the reward from myself, I chose to buy a new pair of flats. Well, my shoes are showing signs of wear and tear, time to have a new one.
The Pizza Hut date I had with Pipoy wasn't a reward - it so happened that I have GCs that I wanted to share with him, but really, the lunch could take place anywhere (any restaurant, even side walk eateries if given the chance) - but as you can see, I never rewarded myself with food. Why? Because I know doing so can sabotage my diet. Sure, I can buy myself a pack of chicharon or maybe allow myself to eat a lot of the liempo, but I chose not to. I worked hard to lose as much weight as I can this month, I can't just put that to waste by eating some unhealthy food.
I know I deserve rewards, but not in the form of unhealthy food. If I'd reward myself with food, I'd make sure it's something beneficial - like... I worked hard this week, I'd treat myself a food trip at the weekend market where I can buy lettuce and asparagus for a dish I want to cook. I don't see it as depriving or hindering myself to eat good food... like I said before, I made my choice.
Well, think of it this way - if you're trying to stop smoking or drinking or gambling... and you successfully did so for one full week, would you sabotage your streak by smoking a cigarette or drinking 1/2 cup of beer or betting a measly p10 for a horse race? Same is the case with dieting. I wanted to be healthy and be well... and I felt rewarding myself with a pack of chicharon or a plate of pasta loaded with heavy cream just doesn't seem worth it.
Okay... this week's (from Monday - Sunday) goals / challenges were basically last week, because I want to make it a habit, but I also added some. :)
Morning walks everyday, as long as it's not raining.
No canned / processed meat, except canned tuna and sardines.
1/2 cup of rice for lunch and dinner.
Coffee is allowed for only three times this week.
Do "Hip Hop Abs (Cardio)" from Monday to Saturday, but do alternate the other workouts: "Ab Sculpt" for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; "Hips, Buns, Thighs" for Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Sunday will be my rest day, but will do low-impact workout, just to make the day count.
Oatmeal every breakfast.
Pamper myself by giving my legs and feet a good wash and massaging before sleeping.
Drink 15 cups of water - at least.
Pork is only allowed for one meal this week.
There will be an exception, though - like for the workout goal. Well, it's very certain that I am not at home every days of the week, so during on days when I needed to attend an event, the challenge will not be up, but will still do movements just so the day won't be wasted.
If I get to do all these...I will reward myself by going to Sidcor Weekend Market this Sunday. :)
Part of this post should be about the meal plan. Well, I wasn't able to make a plan this week because based from last week, there were some leftover, which causes "problems" in the meal plan. For this week, I will just concentrate on cooking fish and veggies.
If you want it, you must will it. If you will it, it will be yours. - Sven, "Happy Feet Two"
Day 58
I wasn't able to walk yesterday (but I sure did one heck of a workout), so today I got up and went to Colinas Verdes. Weekends are truly the best time to walk here as there were so many people walking - some alone, some with significant others, some with family, some with their dogs. I was physically alone for this walk, but I had my iPod with me, so I still enjoyed my walk.
Near the clubhouse, I stopped for a while and savored the moment. It was quite a windy day, and breathing the chilly air just felt awesome. I got my sweatshirt on, so despite the low temperature, I still was able to sweat out good. Going back the gate from the clubhouse, Pipoy called to check up on me as he knew I complained much yesterday about how "tough" his workout was. Well, my thighs were still a bit sore, but all was good... I was able to walk at the pace dictated by the tunes I was listening to, so I told him I was perfectly fine.
I got home around 8am, and about 11-ish in the morning, the family went to Chic-Boy in Fairview to eat lunch. Brother is celebrating his birthday and he chose to eat here. Food in this restaurant can be really cheap - the family ordered a lot yet we only paid around p600. Now I know why this restaurant's quickly gaining their name, it was such a good place for foodies to enjoy great food without draining the wallet.
Rewinding to breakfast just a bit... we were planning what dishes to order and me telling I won't eat much made sister react quite negatively, calling me OA (over acting) about this whole diet thing. She has been encouraging me to cheat - to pig out, be merry, enjoy a day of eating - but I told her I already lost quite a lot of weight this month, I don't want it to go to waste. Well, call it OA, but I don't think I wasn't... I still was able to taste every food on the table (correction... I didn't eat the sashimi), the difference was that I just ate a little of each (scroll down to see how much I ate).
We all enjoyed the food, and I was already contented eating what I had to eat. Pipoy told me we already had our cheat day yesterday (true), so today is basically just like any other day. Back to regular programming as they say. :)
After eating lunch, brother went to attend the CLP, while us girls went to the mall. Sister wanted to buy a solution for her contact lenses, and seeing that "Happy Feet Two" is now on 3D, we went to go watch it. I enjoyed this movie better than the first one - maybe because the problem in this movie is much deeper, and that the scenes were quite touching. The shrimps cracked me up a lot (somehow, hearing Brad Pitt and Matt Damon - the two actors behind the shrimps' voices - made me recall the "Oceans 11, 12, 13" movies), and P!nk was a great choice for Gloria's voice (well, Brittany Murphy is missed, yes).
There was a free tub of popcorn for every ticket purchased (for the 3D version), well, it's not really free because we paid p300 for the ticket, yet the ticket itself was only p250 (based on the printed ticket). Well, I didn't eat my popcorn - I closed the plastic and I took it home - with brother as my "recycle bin."
What I ate today:
8:32am - 1/2 cup rice, 50g fish balls (boiled and flaked galunggong fish mixed with cornstarch, minced onions and garlic seasoned with salt and pepper; fried in soya oil), 1/2 cup left over dinengdeng (bataw, patani, malunggay cooked in water seasoned with bagoong balayan)
12:18pm - 1/2 rice (I am not sure how much rice there is based on my own measurement, but I only ate half of it, sister got the other half), a taste each of: Gising-Gising (veggies in sweet chili sauce), Pancit Canton, Lechon Sisig (with lechon sauce), Cebu Lechon Manok, Cebu Lechon Liempo, Ginisang Kangkong sa Bawang; A taste of leche flan and a piece of torones dipped in condensed milk.
Total Cups of Water: 14
I totally loved Chic-Boy's food! Well, today I allowed myself to eat pork because I wanted to taste their liempo (as it was a signature dish). For the chicken, brother gave me a cut of the breast part (without the skin - he's supportive, I am glad), but I only took a little as I do know eating small of each would sum up to a lot, so I kept my intake as little as possible.
For dinner, I initially planned to eat oatmeal for dinner, but my friend commented on my Facebook post and suggested I eat oatmeal for dinner so the fiber will stay in my gut the entire day. I did find it a very sensible suggestion, so I am going to follow it. That being said, I ate 30g of brother's cake - just the typical rectangle cakes you can buy at Goldilock's, nothing fancy.
OA or not, it was my choice to eat what I ate. For some it may be too little, for others, it may already be a lot, but I can say I just ate enough - enough to enjoy the dining experience without deprivation.
Yesterday, I shared a quote that was part of my day, today I shared another one. That probably was the quote from the movie that stayed in my head, because I sure can relate to it. It is my will to lose weight and be healthy, and I think I am getting what I will to do.
and 
icon(s) next to the items to indicate if it was a success or not.
