The Beck Diet Solution: A Look Back

I have said time and time again that I am not the typical bookworm, but the very few times I enter Booksale (a shop selling books at a bargain price), I always check their shelves for something I could buy to stimulate my brain.

Sometime before, I started including "The Beck Diet Solution" on my journey. As I re-enter the path to wellness, I want to go back to it, too, but before I continue with it, let me just take a look back and re-asses each of the lessons in the book.

Day 1: Record the Advantages of Losing Weight
Before, some of the reasons I listed for losing weight included Mr. Pipoy... but now that he is out of my life, I see no reason why I sure read the same ARCs. I need to create a new card, but right at this moment, the main motivation I am having is my cousin's upcoming wedding January next year. It will be a big celebration and I might be required to wear a dress, so I really have to lose weight so I won't feel bad about how I will carry my dress.

Day 2: Pick Two Reasonable Diets
I still am going to apply the my diet before - lessening the food intake and eating out. "No Diet B" for me, simply because I haven't found something that is flexible enough to jive with my lifestyle (I am a food blogger, too, by the way).

Day 3: Eat Sitting Down
I have to remind myself that meals should be eaten at the dinner table and not in front of the net book and / or TV. No free food sampling at the Supermarket as well.

Day 4: Give Yourself Credit
I used to have this can where I put money every time I give myself credit. With the money saved, I was able to buy some clothes, footwear, and some beauty products. Now that I am also working on building up my confidence, I accept the fact that my physical body needs some help from different products, and I plan to use the money I saved from the "Credit Account" to buy certain items in the future.

Day 5: Eat Slowly and Mindfully
Yes, I am a food blogger and during certain events, restaurants would serve different dishes that would make me want to taste it all. Striking balance is difficult, but the I have to tell myself to eat mindfully. If I want to taste all, I should just eat bite size portions. Chewing slowly will not only help with the digestion process, it would also make me feel as if I ate a lot of the food.

Day 6: Find a Diet Coach
Mr. Pipoy was my Diet Coach, but now that we aren't fitness buddies anymore, I don't have a diet coach, but I will just seek advices from my online friends.

Day 7: Arrange Your Environment
No major changes as to where we put food items in the house, but one change I applied was to de-clutter. Seeing the house clean sure really made me want to be at home more.

Day 8: Create Time and Energy
Yes, I know I really have to make time for exercises and not do it only when I have time. However, there might be days when I can't really apply this, especially during event days. I live way too far from the heart of the Metro and traveling would take a lot of time, so even if I want to exercise, I simply just can't. Good thing about this is that it's not everyday that I attend events, so yes, I can still create time and energy to do my exercises.

Next lesson will be shared tomorrow. :)

Recapping Life's Events

Before, I update this blog everyday telling bits and pieces of my life on a daily basis. I miss that. I miss filling my camera with lots of images - both good and bad - for I know documenting it would mean a lot in the future. Anyway, trying to leave bad emotions behind me, will just recap some life events for now... and hopefully, I can get myself together today, so tomorrow I can start with a new chapter of my life - focusing on making myself better.


13 May 2012
Family celebrated two special occasions today: Mother's day and my 32nd birthday. Us siblings wanted to eat at the newly opened Mooon Cafe (yep, three Os), but brother wanted to use his voucher for the Max's Restaurant "4 Sharing Meal," to save on money. Mommy decided to go back home right after, while us siblings just roamed around the mall then we had a little Milk Tea party before going home.

Dinnertime, we celebrated my birthday and I cooked typical birthday dishes - spaghetti, spring rolls and served ice cream and cake, too.



15 May 2012
I got invited to the first ever Malabon Kulinarya Festival - something I didn't miss because I am a big fan of Malabon food. It was a happy day spending time with bloggers - some I met before, others I met for the first time. Aside from sampling different food products, we were also treated to a sumptuous lunch.

*picture grabbed from Juan Manila of thejuantraveler.blogspot.com*



21 May 2012
I read on a blog somewhere that Firmoo Optical is giving free eyeglasses for bloggers, so I sent them a message as my current pair of eyeglasses is now 4 years old and is showing signs for retirement. I was very pleased to have the eyeglasses delivered here at home, but for some reason, I had to pay a certain fee to the post man. Well, it is much better than having to pick up the parcel at the main post office - I read messages from co-bloggers that aside from the base fee, they were also asked to pay taxes for the goods. I don't understand certain post office laws - why do people have to pay taxes for goods given to them for free - but anyway, I guess it is what it is.



26 May 2012
Sister and I attended Yummy Eats 2012 at the Rockwell Tent in Makati. We sampled a whole lot of food - savory, sweet, and some beverages... and we were so full!



27 May 2012
Sister reported to work last night and waited for me lunch time today because we booked a room at the Bellevue Manila (it was a complimentary stay for us, actually - I just picked this day to stay there). We were checked in around 2pm, and we roamed around the hotel for pictures for a while before I let her catch some sleep.

We had dinner at the Phoenix Court (a Chinese restaurant) then after a while, we went to the Mandarine Spa for our one-hour massage, the very first spa massage I had.



28 May 2012
The next day, we had a very awesome tummy-filling breakfast at Cafe d'Asie, then shortly after, we went to the pool at the Tower Wing to enjoy the water. My sister has a shift at work at 3pm, so by 10am, we went to fix ourselves and had an early lunch, still at Cafe d'Asie.

It was a very wonderful stay. It was one of the biggest blessings that came to me as a blogger.




02 June 2012
Mom and I traveled to Zambales with some of her colleagues at work. Our destination was Anawangin Cove, but with Typhoon Ambo causing heavy rains and winds every now and then, we weren't given the go signal to take the boat going to Anawangin. We just stayed at a cottage in Pundaquit, and come afternoon we decided to just travel back home.

It was sad that I am that close to paradise yet I wasn't able to see it, but then again, I was happy and thankful to be there. Hopefully by August, we can travel back there again.

Starting Again... Alone

Sigh.

What a nice opener for a post, eh? Well, I admit I always am lazy this year and slowly, weight is catching up on me. It's now another month and I am doing another set of goals. For this month, there is one big change happening to me that will have an impact on my journey. I just want to make it on the record... I am officially single now; Mr. Pipoy and I broke up already. Now, more than a lover, he is also my fitness buddy, so me being single means I am now on this journey alone.


Goals for the month of June will be the same as what I wrote on this post, with the exception of the very last entry. One good change, though is trying out new things, which I hope will help me reach my goals. About two months ago, I was able to buy a book for arm exercises, and at the end it provided a two-week plan. I love this book because it's detailed and it provided warming up and cooling down exercises.

Different exercises were provided, which are divided into the two-week program. Since I plan to do arm exercises MWF, it will be a four week program for me. I will start on Wednesday since I wasn't feeling good today and tomorrow, I will attend an event, which means I am out all day.

Now all I need is to find another set of exercises I can do for the thighs and legs, but I am currently reading something about MetaFit, and maybe I can do that.

Another chapter of my life starts. I am alone, but that doesn't mean I am defeated.