Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas, darling.
We're apart, that's true.
But I can dream, and in my dreams
I'm Christmas-ing with you.
- The Carpenters, "Merry Christmas, Darling"

Day 85
24 December 2011


The night before, I was asking my family if I will go out and walk today. Mom answered a very sounding "yes," and I told her I was sort of hoping she'd say, "Don't go out and walk, it's Christmas." She said, "Well, it's not yet Christmas tomorrow." Toinks.

I woke up a bit late (because I did wake up around 4am again, but I went back to sleep because it was chilly - bed weather), but I still prepared and went out to walk. Very few people walking around Colinas Verdes today, but I was happy to still see several people walking and jogging, at least I wasn't completely alone.

Before going home, I passed by the market to buy ingredients for the Pansit Bihon, but I only brought along p150 and I was only able to buy chicken and the vegetables. My money wasn't enough to buy the pansit (haha), so brother and I went back to the market around 9:30am. Late afternoon we went back to the market again, just to see the chaos. Hahaha. Wow... I walked a lot! :)


I wasn't expecting any material gifts this Christmas (our family isn't into gift-giving), but I received a wonderful gift today - a message from Stephen. He was one of my very first online buddies, and he will always be one special man in my life because he is the only person who has given me flowers (you can read about that HERE). Well, a few weeks after I received the flowers, we got into an argument that caused us to stop talking, but sometime this year, we started talking again, but no talks about past feelings - just pure online subjects. Last time I spoke to him was last August, when I asked him about placing social networking buttons on my blog.

He's a friend on Facebook and he's on YM buddy list, but even if I see him online, I don't talk to him - I guess we've grown apart already. I was surprised to see a message from him saying he misses me. We got to chat after that exchange of PMs on Facebook, and it was great to talk to him in much personal tone again. However, like what I wrote on my personal blog (if you happen to click the link on the last paragraph), we will never be lovers. None of us are still willing to relocate, and he is still in the process of re-building his life and currently, he can't even support himself so he said even if he wants to, he can't be my boyfriend yet.

Well... the fact that he and I are friends again, I am already thankful. I love reconnecting bridges!


Around 9pm, us girls went to the nearby chapel to hear mass. I wore a blouse that I used to wear - my mom bought this for me sometime in 2002 or 2003, but I only got to wear it once because it was too small for me - my arms were so big for the sleeves, and my tummy bulges were too visible. After that one instance, I quickly placed the blouse inside the "for donation" bag, but never really gave it away. Every time I'd attempt to lose weight, I'd try it on, but I never got to fit into it again - until now.

Sweet gift indeed to be able to fit into something so small to me before.

Okay, about the homily. It was short and sweet... and it was about the reason for today's celebration: the gift of life. God gave us His son, and each and every one of us is a gift. This year, I am certainly most thankful about the gift of life, and I thank God for giving me a loving family (far from serious sickness, harm, and other negative forces), I thank God for giving me awesome friends - I don't have much friends, but what I have I truly treasure, I thank God for letting me meet people who has inspired me in more ways than one, and I thank God for gifting me the wonderful gift of being myself - being able to handle problems, sickness, pressures, and heartaches. Life truly is the best gift I have received.


What I ate today -

• 8:45am - 2 squares Biko
• 11:49am - 1/2 cup rice, Paksiw na Bangus (1 steak cut), 1 tablespoon Eggplant Omelet
• 5:20pm - 1 slice cake, some chicken cartilages (after flaking the chicken for the pansit we plan to cook for Noche Buena)
• 6:47pm - 1/2 cup rice, 3 medium sized prawns, 1/2 cup Pansit Bihon

Total Cups of Water: sorry, I wasn't able to count, I stopped updating the white board at 6 cups.
About the slice of cake... it wasn't too thick, just enough to satisfy a sweet tooth.

We had Noche Buena around 12:45am of December 25, so expect a longer food list for tomorrow's post. :)

Life is Like a Wheel...

I take this relationship seriously.
- My Fitness Buddy

Day 75
14 December 2011




My day opened nicely - was able to jog around the plaza for a few laps before walking back home. My emotions today was quite unpredictable; I was happy one minute then sad the next. Certain realities in life makes me sad, but I still love everything that is happening to me at this moment.


I was able to do my Hip Hop Abs Cardio, but I wasn't able to do the Ab Sculpt this afternoon because I finished some assignments, brother wanted us to go to the market, then I cooked, served and ate dinner, then a few minutes after dinner, mom's sisters came over for a visit. I was able to do the 8 Minute Arms (yey)... my arms (near the armpits) are still feeling a bit sore from Monday's workout, but doing this was much bearable than the last time. Now, my whole body is feeling a bit sore... from the arms workout and the legs workout from yesterday.


After eating my very light lunch, I had this sudden urge to check all the bags filled with old clothes just to see if there are clothes that I can fit into again. I got to see the old rose blouse and it made me remember the very reason why I started doing this journey. The picture on the left was taken 09 July 2011, when my sister and I attended the FOOD Kitchen Series at Enderun Colleges. That day, I was very okay... but when I saw this picture of ours with our cousin Marjorie and Chef Andreas Gillar (of Enderun Colleges), it felt like watching a horror movie. I was slapped with the awful reality that I really have to face my weight problem. The past few months after that you now know... just back read.

I decided to wear the blouse and pants to see how was I doing. The pants were a bit loose, but not in the way that it slides off my hips... the blouse is slightly bigger, and I guess you can tell the difference between two pictures. The weight I lost may not be that much - I still have 50lbs to lose - but seeing the difference made me really cry. I am so proud of myself.

My aunt Bing (who is working in Canada) came home the other night. She was busy working on some documents, and since she was staying at another aunt's house and that the husband of my cousin was the one driving for her, they all decided to drop by here to say hello. When I went to give aunt Bing a kiss, she actually didn't know if she would hug me or would like to look at me from head to feet. She was so surprised to see that I lost weight! Aunt Mary told me I should stop at this weight... that I already look better as is, but I told them I still have 50 more pounds to lose and I won't stop 'til I reach it. Aunt Bing told me she has some Belly Dancing DVDs, which she will give me next time. Yey, happy!

It was so nice to have things turn around today. I received more blessings today, so let me list it real quick:

• Winning a free milk tea c/o Cha Dao Tea Place (means I can now taste their Choco-Strawberry Yakult Blend drink)
• Receiving an e-mail and a call from Datu Puti regarding a gift pack they wanted to send me (for my food blog).
• The overwhelming response from people when I posted my "Before and After" picture on my Facebook page.
• Finding this cute "sexy" bottle, which I can use as a coin bank.
• Finding my "The New Fit or Fat" by Covert Bailey book.
• Cousin Marjorie saying she'll give me her slimming food supplement.
• Brother exchanging his Tribu Express GC for my Max's Restaurant half fried chicken GC.

* Happy Dance *


What I ate today -

• 8:55am - 1 pack Lucky Me! instant Pancit Canton - regular flavor, 1/2 cup rice, 1 cup Nescafe Brown n' Creamy coffee
• 2:01pm - 1 piece sliced White Bread + thin spread of Malunggay Spread, 1 slice of Papaya
• 7:03pm - 1/2 cup rice, 1/2 cup Laswa (squash, malunggay, patola, sigarilyas, and eggplant cooked in water with bagoong isda), 1 piece fried Tilapia fish (110g - weighed as a whole)
• 8:00pm - 1 Yakult

Total Cups of Water: 16

The Laswa dish for tonight was inspired by the dish mom and I had while in Cebu. I decided not to include Kangkong anymore, but tasting the dish, it made me remember that I forgot to include sweet potatoes! Well, maybe next time. :)

I decided to switch lunch and breakfast... because I really love eating my instant Pancit Canton with rice. Since I ate a lot for breakfast, I decided to eat light for lunch, just to balance it out.

Watching "Gellicious" on TV5, I was able to see a new restaurant I want to eat at - Corner Tree Cafe in Jupiter, Makati. This has been the fourth (aside from the ever famous Bodhi) vegetarian restaurant I heard about (first was Pipino, then the Greens Restaurant, then the Gandiva Cafe), and now that I have fully embraced the healthy lifestyle, I am now excited to do food trips at vegetarian restaurants!

If you plan to eat at any of these restaurants and you want a companion... do give me a ring, I would like to eat there!

Last Day of November

I've been lonely, been cheated, been misunderstood.
I've been washed up, I've put down and told I'm no good.
But with you I belong, because you help me be strong.
There's a change in my life since you came along.
- Hanson, "Change in My Life"

Day 61

The last day of the month gave me mixed emotions: I was excited to give it all I could because I will weigh myself the next day, yet I was feeling a little lazy because weighing myself mid-month already assured me that this month will be a great month as far as losing weight it concerned. I wanted to exert more effort, yet I didn't want to so that the amount of weight I will lose will be counted for the next month.

Still, I got up and prepared myself to walk. Like yesterday, I decided to take my cell phone instead. It felt a little sad seeing an awesome sunrise, yet I didn't have my 12x optical zoom point and shoot camera to get a close up shot of it.




When I arrived at Colinas Verdes, I was quite surprised to see a lot of vehicles parked outside the proposed housing project. I sort of asked myself why the sudden change in volume, then I realized today is a holiday here in the Philippines (Bonifacio Day). It felt great to see a lot of people walking / jogging / socializing today - even if I was physically alone, walking with other people motivated me to push harder.

I didn't wear a sweatshirt today; instead I wore my "Akyat Pinatubo" shirt. I got this last June when sister and I joined the other bloggers on a hike / trip to the crater of Mt. Pinatubo. Believe it or not, this was the first time I wore the shirt because the time I received it, I felt so ashamed to wear it because it was already the biggest size available yet I looked like a pillow trying to squeeze into it when I first fitted it. Now (four months after), not only can I fit into it, it looked slightly bigger than my body frame now. People around me may not notice that I lost weight, but this shirt has been my proof. :)

My pace for my walk was faster than usual, so I got to finish quite fast. Pipoy's schedule changed last night, making him go out of the office around 7am. When he called me around 7:45, I was already at the market, so we didn't get to talk much, he just waited when I got home before he called again.

I still encouraged myself to finish the workouts I set to myself - Hip Hop Abs (Cardio and Ab Sculpt) - because I wanted to finish strong this month.


As for my food today -

• 8:18am - Oatmeal (4 heaping tablespoons of dry rolled oats cooked in water) + 1 sachet Bear Brand Busog Lusog cereal drink mix (chocolate) + 1 banana
• 1:08pm - 1 cup Pancit Canton + 1 piece fried chicken (drumstick part)
• 6:20pm - 1/2 cup rice + Paksiw na Bangus (milk fish cooked in vinegar and spices)

Total Cups of Water: 15

Today being a holiday, I let brother cooked today's lunch. I just requested him to cook Pancit Canton using chicken breast as its main meat. He added some cold cuts - orlian and squid balls - but I didn't eat any of it because it's my goal this week not to eat any processed meat. However, I wasn't able to resist the drumstick temptation. :) Drumstick is my favorite chicken part and seeing it on the table just made me reach out and eat it.

I am already excited for the weigh-in. I hope the scales will be kind to me. :)

Another Weekender Post

Day 50

I already told myself this will be my rest day, so I didn't move much, I didn't even walk to the market today! Well, my emotions are ruling my mind today - I easily get disappointed, I easily get giddy, I easily get sad... to the point that I even shoved Pipoy away. Yep, I was a mean, selfish, unfair, inconsiderate person.


One good thing happened today, though... I was able to resist the temptation of having fast food delivered. Sister has been bugging mom to have fast food delivery for dinner because she's craving for Palabok. At first mom didn't want to, but gave in come 5:30pm. Sister took the order today, and seeing some leftover Sinigang na Bangus, I told her I didn't feel the need to order because there was available food for me. Mom gave me half of her Chickenjoy, but I graciously declined it saying I got everything I needed.

I am NOT depriving myself of the "good" food; I simply knew I had better options. If we didn't have leftover fish, I still had other choices - there were canned sardines and tuna in the pantry, there were some eggs in the fridge, and I still haven't cooked the cauliflower sister bought for me the other day. It wasn't a matter of deprivation... it's a matter of choosing. I did the choosing, no one else did, and I was happy about it.


With that, let me list up the food I had for this day:

• 7:11am - 1/2 cup garlic rice, 3 pieces pork siomai (Chowking), 1 cup Nescafe Brown n' Creamy coffee
• 12:22pm - 1/2 cup rice, 30g Mushrooms in Oyster-Chili Garlic Sauce
• 6:10pm - 1/2 cup rice, Sinigang na Bangus (head part, didn't eat the actual head and some of the meat)

I closed the day feeling so-so, I was partly okay, but still feeling a bit low about some things... maybe it's PMS, but I am sure it'll go away soon.


Day 51

The day opened good for me. I still didn't do any exercises today, but I went to the mall to pay bills. It was a pretty short errand to do, so I decided to walk around the mall because 1) I was already there and 2) I deserve to walk around.


Sister told me something about the mall's Christmas set up where people can have their pictures taken, and part of the activity area was devoted for the Arnis Open. I didn't understand how the sport is played, but I know sports is one of the good ways to move. I personally don't know any sport, but one day soon, I will play some sports! :)

After that, I passed by Hypermarket - just to pass by... and I saw packs of Chicharon that lit up my eyes, really! I checked it out and although prices vary - there's this one pack that was only p30. I was tempted to buy it. I sent a text message to sister and she said I go buy it because every dieters have their own "cheat" day. I stood in front of the booth and thought how will I going to eat it if I buy it, and when it came to a point that I thought about eating it with rice and how much weight I have lost (I weighed myself that morning, but I am not going to tell how much I lost just for this month), I decided to walk away because it'll be a double jeopardy as I did love to eat Chicharon with lots and lots of rice.

I didn't feel bad, I actually secretly thanked myself for doing me a favor. Well, there was something I wasn't able to resist - free food tasting! Well, it was the healthy kind though... Mama Sita has a new Kare-Kare mix and they were sampling some Vegetable Kare-Kare. I got to talk to the staff and she told me even without meat, one could still enjoy Kare-Kare. Tasting it, I agreed with her. Hmmm... looks like I got our main dish for Christmas lunch! :)


Walking further, I entered Book Sale. No particular reason why I entered, but I found myself browsing books until my feet took me to the fitness section. I used to have this "Fit or Fat" book (by Covert Bailey), but I don't know where I put it so I thought I'd check if this branch has it, but they didn't. What I did find, though, was a copy of the "You On a Diet: The Owner's Manual to Waist Management" by Drs. Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz. The last time I saw a copy of this book, it cost more or less p1000. This copy? p145! I have wanted to own that book (even made it a part of my Wish List) and now I got it! I also bought another book - "The Beck Diet Solution" by Judith S. Beck Ph.D - for only p25! Yeah, believe it! Well, I bought the second book because it's not about diet per se (like South Beach or Atkin's), but it's about training yourself to "think thin." The book is actually a 6-week program, which I will start taking come December. I will talk more about the books in the future, I have to read it first, of course.

That wasn't the only happy thing happened to me... here are more great rewards I had:

• Being part of the Blogapalooza Christmas Edition.
• Receiving an e-mail asking me to "review" their product. I will be receiving the product anytime soon. :) I accepted the offer because I can share the product to my family - giving me more opinions about the product, therefore, helping the company more.
• Seeing __lbs lost this month. Sorry, I will not disclose any update until the first of the month. Ohhhh.... get excited! :)
• Sister giving me a chocolate cupcake. But I didn't eat it that night.
• Pipoy still willing to be my fitness buddy even if I shoved him away yesterday because he said "You're worth it."

With overflowing goodness in my heart, I was already over the horrors of Saturday. I am glad that I was able to turn things around - with the help of God and people around me. To you, my sincerest gratitude.


Oh, before I close this post, my food intake for today:

• 7:34am - 1 piece sliced White Bread (Max's Corner Bakery) + 1/4 scrambled egg (brother cooked a crepe-like scrambled egg and I ate 1/4 of it)
• 10:52am - 2/3 cup rice, 1/4 cup Ginataang Langka (young jackfruit, coconut milk, spicy sardines), 1/4 cup salted egg with chopped tomatoes
• 1:12pm - 1/4 tablespoon Vegetable Kare-Kare (chopped yard long beans and pechay with instant kare-kare mix and bagoong alamang)
• 6:55pm - 1/2 cup rice, Fried Chicken Wings (90g chicken wings - weighed with bones, breading mix with cayenne pepper), 1/4 cup Coleslaw (cabbage, carrots, minced onion and garlic, mayonnaise)

Two sides of weekend...and I am ready to welcome a new week!