MY FITNESS PAL

I just wish it were a real person…but it is not. In fact, it’s a popular app from android that helps you track what you eat. I was actually just searching for an app that would help me log what I have eaten like some sort of food diary since they say if you write down every single thing that you eat, you become mindful and more careful of what you put inside your mouth. But when I was able to download this app, I was able to gain so much more…     Registration to the program is free and easy. It first asks the person’s age, weight, height, and fitness lifestyle. Then, it sets a calorie goal for the day which a person is allowed to consume in order to achieve intended weight loss. On a daily basis, it computes the calories of the entire food intake I had made and tells me if I am over or under my fitness goal…kinda cool huh? I am also allowed to input my exercise logs and water intake then it would remind me if my water intake is below normal…like my very own mom!     But what is really good about this app is that it has a wide database of food that you can use…even Filipino food! In fact, even without internet connection, I can add the food that I had eaten as long as it is already stored in their database and in my previous food entries. Otherwise, I would have to use the internet if I am including some food that is not in their immediate storage files. What’s more, I can use the app both in my office PC and in my tab since it just syncs the entries I have made on both devices.      Reviews of the app has shown that many people have found the app useful and have helped them a lot achieve their fitness goals…It made them see food in a totally different way and allowed them to undergo some real lifestyle changes. Well, here’s hoping that this app would do the same thing for me also!   P.S. Here’s a screen grab of my first day of using this app…the next shows a pic after one week and it charts my average calorie consumption for the entire week!...pretty cool huh?

CHEATING...

Oops before I raise too many eyebrows with the title of this piece, let me clarify that nope...I am not cheating on my husband. But rather, I am sorry to admit that I cheated on my GM diet! It's only my second day to be on this diet and today, on the day where I am supposed to be on a completely vegetable diet, I snitched and ate two bites of burger (the hubby's snax)...guess the carnivore in me just won't quit, eh? The day started out well enough and I just had mashed potatoes with a bit of butter for breakfast. The diet actually called for a baked potato but I didn't want to bake three small potatoes and so I boiled and mashed them, instead. Then, come lunch time I bought sauteed vegetables in the office canteen and finished off the remaining mashed potatoes I brought as baon. But by 2:30 I was beginning to feel hungry so I snacked on a cucumber with the tuna salad dressing that was part of our office afternoon snacks. Temptation came as we were going home and I saw the hubby eating his burger...and since his tummy hurts when digesting burgers, he only finished a little more than half of it and gave the rest to me. At the back of my mind, warning signals began to sound but I refused to heed it and caught up in the aroma of the 'langhap-sarap' burger dangled enticingly in my face, I eagerly finished off what's left of his snack in two quick bites...oh no! Too late! I already swallowed the damn thing when I realized I wasn't supposed to eat any carb or meat on the second day! Oh dear...what am I supposed to do? Well, I guess nothing much I can do about it now...but to stick to my diet plan again tomorrow...wish me luck!

Starting the year right with the General Motors diet

This year, I have all the intention to truly truly go on a real diet and for a start I have chosen the General Motors Diet that my sister sent me thru email about six months ago but have not found the opportunity to follow. Why the GM diet? Well, it’s the one I have on hand and would not really require much effort and research so GO! GO! GO! Besides, it seemed quite simple to do and does not require much cooking (just the soup) But why not the South beach diet which I had used to lose the unwanted pounds after my last CS pregnancy in 2002? Well, I have tried my best to replicate what I had done the last time I followed the SB diet in 2002-2003 but it seems no matter how hard I try, I just can’t lose weight using that anymore (even if I have shunned carbs altogether!) It seems the SB diet has reached a plateau for me and so it is not as effective as it once was. Maybe…just maybe the GM diet would work…I am keeping my fingers crossed! Here’s a list of things that may be eaten on the GM diet…

DANGER SIGNALS

Shortness of breath when I walk a short flight of stairs or even just a few meters, tightening of my clothes, a sudden loathing to look at myself in the mirror. Yup I guess I’m beginning to experience it. I admit I have all the danger signals but still I refuse to admit it – I am indeed overweight! Well, actually I have been made aware of it for quite some time now,the hubby has called my attention many times already and even my daughter has joked about my widening frame but the sad thing is I can’t seem to do anything about it!

Not that I am not doing anything, of course not! I have tried everything – from a no-carb diet, to an after six diet, to jogging (occasionally!) But as it is nothing seems to work – not even an ounce or an inch is lost from my ever increasing weight and waist line – what am I to do now??? I think I have ran out of options or I guess it is my motivation that has ran out on me! I usually feel so tired to exercise and I find it too tedious to go and prepare a separate ‘diet’ food for myself so I end up just eating what’s on the table.

I think it was about ten years ago when I did the South Beach Diet. Back then I was quite enthusiastic in preparing my salads and other ‘carb and sugar-free foods’. I was even doing taebo then. But now, oh well, I guess that’s what I really need to do first - get the motivation, the urge, the desire – to go out and really LOSE WEIGHT!!! Maybe I need new rubber shoes or maybe a gym subscription or new gym equipment that I can use at home or even just a new gym partner??? Whatever it is, I hope I find out soon what kind of motivation I truly need. Otherwise, I would never be able to lose all these unwanted pounds in my body.

Daily morning ritual – Fresh Calamansi

Today, I attended a meeting for a seminar-workshop that a unit of our office is planning to hold sometime next month and during the break, the presiding officer (a retired general) talked about his daily morning ritual of taking calamansi each morning – pure - no sugar or water just freshly squeezed calamansi juice. He says we should start with just 4 pieces then increase gradually by 4 more until one reaches 28 pieces and then we continue with that practice from then on. And what are the benefits??? Well, he didn’t actually expound on it, just that it cured his hyperacidity and that his bowel movement has become regular because of it. But I thought how could it be when Vit. C is acid??? But he countered that calamansi in its purest form is alkaline, hence it should help settle the stomach if taken first thing in the morning and what’s more one should not drink or eat anything else for an hour after that…hmn… makes sense actually!

So I did some research on it and found that this ‘habit’ is part of ‘The 52 Healing Habits’ that is an invention/creation of Mr. Bo Sanchez, well-known author and lay evangelist. He has been a vegetarian for 18 years and he has espoused this calamansi habit because according to him, it makes your immune system strong. It builds up your body to fight diseases and alkalinizes your body as well. Since cancer cells and germs thrive in an acidic body, they will not feel welcome in an alkaline system.

Okay, so I guess it may have its benefits and what’s more, it’s budget-friendly too so I might as well give it a try!
[photo grabbed from the world wide web]

TO DIET OR NOT

I wonder why despite my best efforts to control my eating habits, I still have not regained my ideal weight... for the past year, I have restricted my intake of rice and other carbs like bread and pasta (my favorite...!!!) and still my weight has refused to go down, and remains permanently fixed at 128 lbs... still 10-15 pounds more than it should be!



Two years ago, I embarked on one of the popular diets available and for awhile I was able to maintain my ideal weight... but after awhile I began to slack off and started snacking again on sweets ( a big no-no!). Add to that the fact that I moved to another company so that meant no more weekly taebo sessions!!!



So I guess it should not come as a big surprise to me why I couldn't really put the weight off ... too much sweets and lack of exercise are the culprits!!! But more than that I guess it's the complacency that seems to have settled over me... so confident was I that since I do not eat rice anymore I would not really gain weight... well I was dead wrong!!!



Now I'm aghast at the fact that whenever I window shop at a mall the fat person that I see in the reflection turns out to be me!!! (surprise! surprise!) So I vowed to start eating healthy again... forget the sweets!!! ...but definitely not the pasta!!! (oh pleaze!!!)... I'll just eat more fruits and veggies... no more chocolates and chips!!! So bring on the oatmeal... the salads... the steamed dishes... and the flourless dark chocolate cake (ha,ha,ha I guess I can still have my cake and eat it too!!!) I hope I will find the time to also take up a new sport...But I guess more than that, I am hoping I'll have better willpower to practice what I preach...