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Just a quick post. 

Yes, I was able to lose 1 lb in the last two weeks but my fat percentage also decreased by almost 2 lb.  Good enough but there are still lots to do. 

DISCIPLINE. 

I already bought veggies and fruits to munch on.

Target: 2 lb by November 13. 

DISCIPLINE. :)

Doing It Right Again

Because of the erratic schedule 2 months ago, I was not able to go to the gym regularly and if I do, it was on a very limited time.

I find myself a little lazy now to attend to my gym sessions. But I know and I really do want to continue my exercise habits at the gym, I need to motivate myself. I am making new goals and sticking to them. I get so motivated whenever I have goals to pursue.

Since I gained a few pounds, I mean to shed them all off. Eating is my number one "enemy" the past months. Cakes, ice cream, white rice, butter, chocolates, cookies, processed foods.

I started today. No rice, nothing fried. Oh yes, I did eat some junk - maybe 500 g of fish crackers but that's just about it. I loaded up my food storage with fruits and that's what I am going to eat. today and onwards till I reach my goals. And then I gotta maintain this again.

Last week I weighed in and I was at 131.6 lb but my fat mass fat % was down 2 lbs, only 28% now. That's some good news. But I need not kid myself. I am slowly gaining weight. I have to go back to a healthier life style if I want to reach and maintain 112 lb through regular exercise and proper eating.

What I had today so far:

2 large bananas
500 g fish cracker
1 cup of coffee with creamer and brown sugar
1 wheat bread with 2 teaspoons of peanut butter
Fit n Rite, 2 bottles

I'm preparing some hard boiled eggs with light mayonnaise for my snack and in-between foods. Plain oats only tonight.

Yes, going cold turkey again. If was able to do this when I was 1t 175 lb, I can very well do it now that I'm 131 lb.

EYE ON THE GOAL: 112 lb, firm muscles, 20% to 22% fat mass percentage, eat the right foods, regular exercise.

In my next post here, it won't be about failed initiatives but improvement towards my goals. :)

Prologue: The 28 Day Challenge

What exactly is this about?

It's my 28-Day Challenge of no rice, no sweets (cake, chocolates, for example), no chips. I will do a low-carb diet again. Why? The obvious answer is I gained a few pounds. I am now 124.4 lbs, still in my ideal weight but I am focused on maintaining 112 lbs to 115 lbs. My fat mass is 1.2% over my ideal fat mass of 27%. I am focused on going back to my 23% - 24% level. These are non-negotiable now.

Am I crazy and unrealistic that I will do this challenge on the month of December? Maybe. But portion control and balanced diet do not need to be month-specific. I CAN DO THIS. It's not like I will not eat nor will I starve myself. I never did that when I was still losing weight, how much more now that I am in maintenance mode.

And so starting tomorrow I will plan what I eat and will chronicle my progress both in my diet and in my exercises. I have been loyal to my exercises but it's the diet again that I oftentimes slip. Again, DISCIPLINE.

This is one of the major things I will focus on the last month of 2011. I CAN DO THIS. WILL POWER. DISCIPLINE. EYE ON THE GOAL. So help me, God.

DISCIPLINE

This will be short and sweet.

DISCIPLINE.

That was the foundation of my success story in managing my weight. I maintained my 117 lb weight for a year now. But I have to say I need 'DISCIPLINE' again to reach my 112 lb goal which I adjusted from end of September to middle of October 2011.

DISCIPLINE.

One way is to plan our meals. And that's what I'm going to do now. So help me, God, plan a healthy menu for me and my family and stick to it.

I Have Maintained the Ideal Weight for My Body Type But...

...I don't think I have been eating properly the past days. It's actually a roller coaster ride, my diet. One day I eat everything healthy, the next I eat a lot of junk.

Why is my weight steady at 117 lbs? It's because I burn what I eat. I do weights, cardio and mat exercises. I still manage to go to the gym regularly, thanks to the flexible working hours I have now at the office. But it's not all about keeping myself trim and slim. I also want to stay fit and healthy.

So tonight I resolve to eat more healthy foods. NO CHIPS AT ALL. CAKE WILL ONLY BE A SLICE A MONTH. I can't do away with cakes. MORE PROTEIN AGAIN, FRUITS, VEGETABLES. I will stick to whole wheat no matter what.

My goal now is to eat healthy foods and look ripped. Not the ripped-competition-look but just the right amount of muscles at the right places. I am happy to note that my arms has no flabs anymore. :) I have been receiving commendations about how firm my arms look. I actually want them to have more muscles, more toned in other words. I am working on it. I just love that look. My husband doesn't but I do.

I have a 62-year-old client in one of my projects at the office and she is just so fabulously fit. She goes to her health club six times a week and is very disciplined with what she eats. Half a cup of brown rice, lean meat, fish, vegetables and fruits. That's what she always eat. At 62, she's got a perfect body, she's so young looking, she's so active and that is because she conscientiously takes care of her body.

I like that. Make that, I LOVE THAT!

So tomorrow, healthier foods will take over my diet like how it was when I started getting fit. And so it will be also with my family. It started tonight actually for them. My daughter finally had her brown rice without mixing it with white rice. :) And she ate oatmeal cookies...with chocolate fudge but that's a good start. :)

I Am Not On A Diet Anymore

Almost always when I join friends and family for an eat-out they tell me to skip my diet and eat to my heart's content. This was the same thing I heard when I was with my clan during our most recent get-together.

I realized "hey I am not anymore on a diet'.

Truth is I cannot consume a cup of rice in one sitting anymore. I cannot eat more than two slices of bread, even if it's wheat. My stomach, and my mind, have adjusted to my regulated food intake which I started last year.

This is already my lifestyle.

Sure I still have cravings. As a matter of fact I let myself eat chips and cakes the past months. The more I deprive myself, the stronger my craving. So I started taking small dips of chips and cake until the cravings naturally faded away. I don't think of chips anymore. Cakes, not as much.

We need additional 3,500 calories to add a pound so I am safe even if I often consumed a lot of cakes the past weeks. But for health reasons, aside from keeping fit, I am into fruits again. I burn what I eat.

What is the lifestyle I am talking about now when it comes to food? Let me share what I eat 90% of the week - vegetables, fruits, oats, baked cookies, wheat bread, pasta (wheat noodles except when it's eat out), egg, and the like.

Going Back to My Diet

Nope, I did not gain much weight, well 4 lbs. That's a lot, who am I kidding?

From 117 lbs to 121 lbs. But it's good to note my body mass index is still in the ideal range. In fact it's in the lower end of the ideal range. So is my body fat. Maybe that's why no one notices I gained weight and my clothes and jeans are still medium size. My jeans and skirt still fit very well as if I did not earn 4 effin pounds. Only when I weighed in did I realize I gained weight.

But I will not wait for the time that I will be surprised my BMI and body fat are again on the high side.

I have not been too conscious of my food intake since December 31. It's been more than three weeks that I have chips and been eating a lot of carbohydrates and not much fiber or protein.

Yes, tonight I indulged in stir fry beef, a cup of white rice. And not to forget I had creamy tomato pasta from KFC for my lunch.

Yesterday I had half a cup of rice with pork binagoongan. Last Monday I had half of Yoshi's Burger and a 1/4 plate of creamy ebiko pasta.

Last Sunday I had pancakes with lots of butter and maple syrup.

The list goes on. Not to mention I am having chips almost everyday.

This started when I told myself I will let go of my diet on the first week of January when we are consuming left-over foods from New Year's Eve. But the one week dragged to the 3rd week.

There were so many events I needed to attend to since the 1st half of December until last week. There were a lot of meetings and planning and business reviews and malling which involves a lot of eating. And I say this won't stop.

And before I let go of the discipline I already earned for the whole year of 2010, I have to stop myself and watch my food intake again.

I have never starved myself but I will not go back to how it was for nearly a decade when I didn't mind what I eat and what goes inside my body. I was successful in healthy living and managing my weight, I will keep it that way.

So tomorrow, the diet starts again.

I need to put back the discipline to myself.

I will say no even to eat-outs at the office. I will say no to my craving for chips. I will say no to my craving for chocolate cakes. I will take a few bites when I dine out with the family.

Back to how it was in 2010 - more fiber, more vegetables and fruits. Back to rigid workout until I reach 112 lbs. This is my desired weight. I'm 121 lbs now. 9 lbs to lose. Targeting whole of February to shed off the unwanted pounds.

And I'm back on blogging here in my fitness site. I will monitor my progress. :)

Leftovers

Here is what I had for lunch yesterday - spinach fettuccine with garlic shrimp. The pasta is leftover from the other day's dinner as well as the shrimp. My husband did not take his supper at home and my daughter opted to just have the shrimp with the rice hence a bit of an excess.

I cannot just let them get wasted so I thought of making myself another pasta dish. Minced a few cloves of garlic, dumped them all in extra virgin olive oil - smells good when sizzling - and then threw in the shrimps (which I shelled first) - smells even better. Toss them all in the pasta. I have saved money, avoided feeling guilty by throwing food and have eaten healthy (which is actually my goal everyday but I fail at times).

Complacency Has No Room

I went to the gym today not to workout as I cannot (and don't want since it's the time of the month) but to while away the time waiting for my appointment in the nearby office. I thought of weighing in. Great! 1 lb less versus last week - a pound or 2 a week. :) But my fat free mass was retained.

Honestly I was getting conscious of my eating the past days because I have not disciplined myself from eating chips and a few spoonfuls of white rice with corned beef and lean pork. I also had white pasta in creamy sauce during the get together with my high school friends.

I tend to have a huge appetite whenever my monthly visitor is nearing. I even had my longganisa and half cup of garlic rice one morning at one of those fast food chains. I haven't done this in a looong while. I have to say I can't consume a plateful of rice now. I don't know if it's psychological or my body has adapted to the a-few spoons-of-rice-only habit. But still I know I am eating a little more than I used to the past months.

My Diet Staples

I shared a few entries ago that I feel guilty whenever I eat. It feels like I'm getting back the pounds I have already lost. It's psychological most definitely. I have that fear of gaining weight whenever I eat no matter how small the amount is. I was even worried I might be developing an eating disorder.

Husband's words calmed me down, "you are managing your weight and not trying to kill yourself. So it's alright to eat." My daughter on the other hand will tell me to watch what I am eating so I won't bug her if I have gained weight or what.

I keep on reading success stories on proper weight management and I realized I am not alone in this kind of feeling. I was able to manage this feeling like what I have mentioned before by following the proper guidelines on the right kinds of food to eat side by side exercising.

I would like to share with you what mostly constitutes my daily meal or at least several days in a week.

To Eat or Not to Eat?

One of the things that really bother me as I go through my weight management program is whether I should eat or not? Well, let me rephrase that - it's more like I feel guilty when I eat. It worries me that I will be gaining back the pounds and the body fat I lost everytime I eat. Yes, paranoid even if I eat moderately now compared to how I eat before.

My daughter told me once (oh well, several times), "Mom it's not like you will gain weight overnight." She's right. I just need to hear that. I read once that it will take 3,500 calories to gain a pound. That also calms me down. :)

I read a lot about weight management and working out. These are the things I learned and am now practicing. 

1. Skipping meals will not make you lose weight because the body consumes the muscles when hungry and stores the fat. The best is to eat less more often, about 6 small meals a day.

On Dieting

"Inside some of us is a thin person struggling to get out, but they can usually be sedated with a few pieces of chocolate cake." - Author Unknown

That quote above is talking about me I suppose. Just how hard is it to diet? For someone like me who loves food, it takes tons of discipline and will power to manage my food intake. I am a rice person and I love chocolate cakes. I cannot resist them once they are in front of me.

Like I always say working out at the gym is no problem with me. I make time for it, squeeze it in my schedule whenever tasks get tight. But it's the dieting that hampers my weight loss program plus the fact that I can't control eating during PMS.

I was able to shed off some pounds last January. I was really happy about it. I was still short from my target weight but I can adjust for February. It's only a matter of three pounds. February came and it seems I gained two pounds. Ha! But I am determined to still achieve my weight goal for this month.