To Exercise or Not To Exercise?

Before Cohen (BC), this is how my weekly workout schedule looked:

Monday:  Tennis(drills)
Tuesday:  Jog
Wednesday:  rest
Thursday:  Jog
Friday:  Tennis (doubles)
Saturday:  Yoga
Sunday:  Jog

I tired the South Beach Diet when I was still playing tennis regularly.  On the diet, I noticed that I simply did not have the energy to do sports.  I didn't even have energy to jog.  My friend, Sharon, did the South Beach Diet too and also lacked the energy to play tennis.  I just knew this wasn't the diet for me.


Obviously, there are people who simply do not exercise.  They never have and they do not intend to.  I remember when my cousin-in-law, Nikki, first told me about the Cohen Diet.  She said it was the best diet because it did not require her to exercise at all.

But I don't exercise just to lose weight.  Ok, let me rephrase that, 75% of the reason I used to exercise was because I wanted to lose weight but the 25% was because I wanted to be limber and to feel young.  For those who do exercise, I'm sure you know what I mean.  It's that great feeling you get after exercise.  It's an endorphin rush!

Before I began my Eating Plan (EP), I was scheduled for a colonoscopy.  As I was laying in the operating table waiting for the anesthesia to set in, the doctor put his stethoscope on my chest and listen to my heartbeat.  Then looked up and said, "are you an athlete?".  Wow, what a complement!  I almost did not proceed with the Cohen diet (hahahaha)!

So when the consultant told me that I may continue exercising during the EP provided I  do it in moderation, I struggled with the question on whether or not to exercise.  It was such a difficult decision because whenever I stopped playing for just a week, my game always suffered.  On the other hand, I was intent on losing weight.  I feared that if I continued exercising, I might feel hunger pangs and get tempted to deviate from my EP.  So I sacrificed my game and resolved not to exercise until I reached my goal weight.

For four whole months, I did not exercise.  I replaced my exercise time with food preparation time.  I simply concentrated on my EP.  It was amazing!  I was losing weight faster than when I used to exercise.  In a month, my clothes started to fit better.  The buttons of my blouse weren't popping.  And as the months went by, my pants were starting to loosen.  Eventually, I had to put on a belt just to keep my pants up!

Eventually I had to get rid of my old workout clothes and buy new ones.  I now buy my clothes from the Small and X-Small racks.  When I shop for clothes now, I love hearing myself say, "Miss, masyadong malaki, paki check naman kung may Small":)

Part 2: Planning a Road Trip

This must have been what Baguio looked like before diesel fumes replaced the cool pine scent!  It's my first time here but I can imagine I've arrived in the last few months before progress desecrates this serene paradise.  I've noticed that the rough, dusty roads that have prevented mainstream tourists from visiting this Eden have now been paved.  Watch out, Sagada!

We were fortunate to discover a private 2-storey home surrounded by pine trees located in a quiet part of town.  The house had a full kitchen complete with cooking implements, perfect for the strict Cohenite.  The moment we entered this house I immediately put my ice-packed meals in the refrigerator.

All my meals survived the 12-hour journey with no problems at all!

One serving of plain yogurt

After settling down, we headed for the center of town which I discovered consisted of just one main street.  This made it so easy to find all the restaurants recommended by friends and bloggers.  First on our list was Yogurt House.  This is where I picked up my breakfast every single day.  Their plain yogurt was delicious.  If you are a Rizal Dairy Greek Yogurt fan, then this will not disappoint.  But I suspect that their yogurt is not low-fat (maybe that's why I loved it so much --- hehehe).  An order of plain yogurt is P80.00.  I noticed that many restaurants in Sagada have their own yogurt recipes but I found the one at Yogurt House the most delicious.

Majoritiy of the restaurants in Sagada offer simple "lutong bahay" meals.  One restaurant that served delicious local food, according to my friends, is Homestay Inn.  I did not get to try the main dishes but I got to taste their tuna salad.  I must admit that I tried my best to stick to my baon but when you're on holiday, you gotta loosen up.  So I ordered a dish that, in my mind, would be most Cohen-compliant.  









Another restaurant we tried is Log Cabin.  This restaurant is popular because a Frenchman used to serve buffet dinners on Saturdays.  As the story goes, this Frenchman biked his way to Sagada from Baguio.  Upon reaching Sagada, he arrived with nothing but his cooking skills and the rest is history.  He has since moved to another venue but the restaurant has remained popular.  Reservations a day before are needed to ensure a table.  We were able to get a table for our second dinner in Sagada.  I brought my Breaded Chicken and ordered a Sagada Green Salad to complete my meal.

And after all that eating...  let me share with you the real Sagada.  Sagada is about appreciating nature.  It's hiking hours to discover the genius of our ancestors and the beautiful sculptures of our Creator.  Yes, that's what we did.  We hiked for hours and marveled at how the early Filipinos thought of cutting through the mountain to make level ground to plant rice.  We walked another hour to discover a beautiful waterfall with water so cold and clean, perfect to cool our bodies after the long trek.  That's what Sagada was about.

I always say that just because you're trying to lose weight, you shouldn't dwell too much on your food restrictions.  Make the best of your situation and find ways to enjoy your Cohen journey.  Go out an explore life.  There's more to life than just food :)

And with a slight deviation from the EP but with 90% compliance, how did I do?  I came back weighing 114 lbs.  That's 2 pounds over my upper limit and 6 pounds below my all time high A. C. (After Cohen).  All-in-all, this trip was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Planning for a Road Trip

Oh what great timing!  I'm in the middle of my Cohen diet and I'm leaving for Sagada tomorrow.  What to do, what to do?  I've never been to Sagada so I don't really know what to expect.  Fortunately, my dear friend Bubut has made arrangements to rent a private home for our 5 day stay.  He says I'll be able to cook my meals there, but do I pack raw chicken, fish and beef?  Can I just purchase fresh produce up there?  On my, what to do?

Option 1:  Bring raw proteins
I'll be taking a bus up to Sagada.  It'll be a 12 hour trip so I think this is risky.  Raw protein can just spoil along the way.

Option 2:  Do marketing in Sagada
I've never been there and I won't have a car (do they have car rentals up there?  hehehe- hellur!) so this isn't a good idea.

Option 3:  Cook my meals and make baon
This seems to be the best option so far but this will entail a lot of work.  First I'll have to plan my menu for 5 days and then I'll have to do major measuring and cooking ALL DAY TODAY!!!

The Battle Plan

1.  Simplify the menu
I heard there is a place that sells yogurt in Sagada.  That should take care of breakfast.  But just in case my intel is a dud, I'll pack 3 boiled eggs.  That should give me 3 days to worry about not finding any yogurt.

For lunch and dinner, I thought I'd just bring Adobo and have that for the next 5 days.  But isn't that just miserable?  I always say, dieting should not be miserable.

I'll prepare chicken and beef dishes for the entire trip.  I'll measure my chicken allowance for Meal 2 and then my beef allowance for Meal 3.   This way, I can have some variety.  I can have Meal 3 for lunch and Meal 2 for dinner on Day 1; and then Meal 2 for lunch and Meal 3 for dinner for Day 2 and then switch again.

So here's my Meal Plan for 5 days

I chose Chili Con Carne because it's a complete meal in itself.  It already has the vegetable allowance and I just need to pair it with Jacob's Crackers to complete the meal.

I then decided on Breaded Chicken because it's a dry dish and when we eat in a restaurant, I can just order my allowance of vegetables to complete the meal.  This is a dilemma I always face when I bring my baon to a restaurant.  Not all restaurants welcome "food from outside".  So sometimes, I order vegetables or my diet 7Up (which most times they don't have) just so the waitresses don't frown when I pull out my plastic container.  Maybe Cohenites should band together and explain to these restaurants that we're really on a medical diet, we've got Fat Disease!

 2.  Cooking marathon

Cooking 5 servings of Chilli Con Carne

I don't want to have to measure and cook 10 separate times so I will just do batch cooking.  I'll add up all the chicken, beef and vegetables I'll be consuming for 5 days, cook the 2 dishes (Breaded Chicken and  Chilli con Carne), then divide into 10 small containers.

Here are my total quantities

Chicken  575 grams
Beef  600 grams

3.  Packing the meals

I discovered that the EZ Lock plastic containers are a perfect size for 1 Cohen meal.  These containers are also stackable, making it fairly easy to pack.  If you're doing a lot of travelling this Summer, I suggest you purchase a medium sized cooler and some ice packs.  If you don't know where to get ice packs, check out Japan Home Stores (the P88.00 stores).  I like the collapsible coolers just because it's easy to store and it's light weight.

 All packed:  5 servings of Chili Con Carne

Since this is a 12-hour trip, I'll line my cooler with newspapers for additional insulation.   What I remember from Grade School science is that cold air travels down so I'm stacking my ice packs at the top of the cooler.

Now I'm all packed and ready to go!  Sagada, here I come...

Trying To Get Back on the Wagon

I've tasted size 0 and it felt good!  I've shocked family and friends with my new look. I've been described as "payat" or "too thin", adjectives I never thought would be spoken of me.  That lasted for a good 9 months.  Only 9 months because December came  ---  Christmas parties, family reunions, meet ups with old friends, Noche Buena, Christmas Lunch, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day, family trip abroad.  Oh boy!!!  There was just no way I wasn't going to gain weight!

That's my tummy trying to peek out of my blouse this afternoon

I've been trying to get back on the diet since January.  It's been very difficult.  I've been to lazy to weigh my food and to lazy to plan my meals.  Well, for all that laziness, I gained back 23% of the total weight I lost when I graduated from the Refeeding Plan.  My blazers are starting to get tight at the arms, my tummy has come back and my hips are starting to show.  Worst of all, the scale just told me this morning that I'm 120.6 lbs.  Yikes!!!!  Now this was a shocker and this woke me up.   So now I'm ready to get back on the diet.  I'm declaring to the world that I will be back at 110 lbs. by May 20, 2013.  I'm going to lose that tummy and maybe I'll even get my abs to show again.  So watch me, I'm coming back!!!

My Horror Story

117.4 lbs.!!!!  That's this morning's horror story!  I never thought I'd weigh this much AC (after cohen).  My ideal weight range is 105 to 112 lbs.  My super, duper, absolute upper limit is 114 lbs.  I am 3.4 lbs over my upper limit.

The last time I was within my ideal weight range was around the first week of September, some two months ago.  After that, my weight has been slowly creeping upward.  I have been generally following the Cohen guidelines but I think I've been too complacent because people have been congratulating me on my weight loss and I've started eating out again.  Also, it's been difficult to resist dessert.

I'm really scared right now.  This is Halloween for me.  Imagine gaining back all the weight I have lost?  No way!  It cannot happen!  I'll have to reverse this starting with breakfast this morning!  But first, I'll have to analyze what I'm doing wrong and then re-program myself to get back into the Eating Plan (EP).

Eating Out

What have I been doing wrong?  First of all, I've been eating out a lot.  Manila is a food haven.  Anytime I have to entertain or whenever I set a meeting, I always think about where we should eat.  My default restaurant was Myron's in Greenbelt 5 because this restaurant understands Cohen meals.  I used to just give the waitress my meal allowances and they knew what to do (Disclaimer:  Please note that I don't know the owner of this restaurant personally and I don't get any special perks from this restaurant).  But the past couple of months, I've been exploring new restaurants or revisiting the old ones.  This is dangerous because I lose track of my food intake whenever I'm sharing a great meal with family and friends.  The chit-chat gets so animated that I forget I'm at a dining table and my hand can't stop reaching out for second, third and fourth servings!!!

When setting meetings, I have re-discovered the Makati Sports Club Dining Room.  The food isn't great but it is near my office and they serve a lunch buffet which is a great time saver.  When I dine here, I help myself to a generous serving of fresh salad greens.  I head back to my table and wait for my colleagues before I start eating.  After the usual exchange of pleasantries and after they're done with their first course, I invite them to get their main dish.  I lead them back to the buffet table and to encourage them to get food and not be shy, I end up setting the pace by helping myself generously!!!  Oh the travails of being a good host!

Dessert

When I began the Refeeding Plan (RF), I was in the US.  It was a great place and time to start RF because I had access to the fruits that were not readily available or too expensive in Manila such as blueberries, nectarines, strawberries.  To celebrate my graduation from RF, I bought myself a small bar of Godiva dark chocolate.  I knew I would be allowed to eat dark chocolate after RF and this was my reward for reaching the finish line.  Eighteen days later, I graduated with flying colors at 106 lbs!  I held my prized chocolate bar, looked hard and thought to myself, "should I?".  It  only took a few seconds.  I put the chocolate bar back in the pantry, ran to the refrigerator and pulled out a nectarine.  I had just lost 34 lbs after 3 months of controlled, measured eating and I wasn't going to blow away all that hard work!  That was then.  Just yesterday, after lunch at the Mall of Asia, I headed straight to Sebastian's and had a serving of their delicious Blue Cheese Ice Cream with Honey and Walnuts!  And since it was a long weekend and I was spending the afternoon with my parents, I felt like celebrating some more so I split a Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Dive Bar with my brother, Tonyboy.

Over Indulgence

When I dine out,  I veer away from too much carbohydrates.  I usually don't touch the bread basket and I never order rice.  I just order protein with vegetables.

One time, I wanted to dine in Yabu, Megamall.  My foodie friends, Bubut and Mike, were with me.  Yabu is known for their panko-coated Pork Kurobota Tonkatsu.  My friends were quick to order this dish.  I, however, was determined to stick to the Cohen guidelines so I ordered the less sinful version of this great dish.  I ordered the Chicken Katsu.  It came as a set meal with rice and unlimited cabbage salad.  I totally did not touch the rice but I must have had 6 refills of the cabbage salad.  That couldn't have been a Cohen veggie allowance even on RF!  But it just went perfectly well with the panko-crusted chicken!

Battle Plan

Since I pleasurably sinned the past two months, I will now do my penance as follows:

1.  I'll stick to my EP for the next week or two until I can bring my weight back to within my ideal weight range.

2.  I will limit my dining out to twice a week.

3.  Dessert will be limited to weekends.

It's good I have this blog which I can share with my friends.  If they happen to read this, I won't have a hard time explaining to them why I'm carrying my baon again and why I'm hibernating at home.

Choose Not To Have a Big Tummy

After shedding 34 lbs. life definitely cannot be the same.  Before Cohen (BC), I never enjoyed getting dressed or shopping for clothes.  I dreaded parties that had a dress code.  Especially if the invite was a formal occassion!

Ready-to-wear clothes simply didn't look good on me.  One-size-fits-all was a lie!  I'd ask for the largest size available and it still didn't fit well.  I always had a big tummy.  I thought it was hereditary because my grandmother had a big tummy, and my mother has a big tummy.  Well, I just found out... it's all a lie!  I CAN CHOOSE not to have a BIG TUMMY!!!

I was hoping a black tshirt would hide my tummy.  This photo was taken October 2010

And then here I am 1MoAC (one month after cohen), June 2012

Don't believe when people tell you you're stuck with your big body because it's in the genes.  It ain't true!!!  You just need the determination to lose the weight.

Now, I love getting dressed!  I always find reason to get dressed.  I've purged my closet and got rid of most of my "fat clothes".  Some pieces I've had altered.  My pants and tops as well as my belts got "smallered".  Did you know that you can have your belts altered?  I brought mine to Shoecare, Pasong Tamo, Makati (tel. 8424646-8404040-8446211).

So shed the pounds and look great!

Six Months AC (After Cohen)

Hello, hello.  It's been so long!  I've passed the 6-month mark after Refeeding!!!  You must be wondering if I've gained back all the weight I lost and if I've started breaking all the Cohen rules.  Here's how life has been.

Exercise

Pre-Cohen I was exercising 5-6 times a week.  I would play tennis twice or thrice a week and jog or do yoga on the off days.  I was so fit (not slim) that I even won 2nd place the very first time I joined a fun run!!!  I remember that all that exercising did not help bring my weight down.  Here I am at 135 lbs.

When I enrolled in the Cohen program, I immediately asked my consultant if it was alright for me to continue exercising.  She told me that if I had already been exercising then it was fine to continue doing so but she suggested that I reduce the intensity of my routine until such time that I reach my goal weight.  So just to play safe, I decided not to exercise at all during the Eating Plan (EP) for fear that I might go hungry and start cheating.  This decision might have been correct because I started getting hungry only in the last 2 weeks of EP.

I have started exercising again.  This time I'm exercising to keep fit and not to lose weight.  My exercise routine is less strenuous.  I jog twice a week and plan to add Krav Maga  or yoga once a week.  I do wish I had my morning tennis buddies (Joel, Mike and Sharon).  Working out with friends is not work at all!  I miss you guys!!!

Eating Out

I've also rejoined the foodspotting crowd, but this time with Cohen rules.  When I go out to dinner, I still don't touch the breadbasket.  I also avoid rice or noodles unless I know I'm having dessert (which is most of the time), then I have a spoon or so of rice.  I also end up drinking water because most restaurants don't carry diet 7-Up.  Restaurants usually carry Coke Zero or Diet Coke, but I'm the un-cola type!

Weight Monitoring

I weigh myself every single day for monitoring.  My weight peaks during the weekend and then tapers back during the week.  I feel I don't want to be too harsh on myself so I tend to loosen up a bit during the weekends.  I still stay as close as possible to EP rules but I will try a bit of bagnet or a San Mig Light on weekends.

Eating at Home

Before Cohen (BC), I used to eat most meals in restaurants.  I did not care to learn how to cook so I just ate out for lunch and dinner.  After Cohen (AC), I try to eat at home as much as possible.  I noticed that whenever I eat at home, I am able to lose 3 lbs in a day or two without much effort.

When having my meals at home, I stay as close to the Eating Plan as possible.  I still cut up my proteins (chicken, beef, fish) and put them in small containers following my EP weights.  But when I cook, I'm not too strict with the spice and vegetable allowances.  I kinda eyeball these items.

So how has it been?  Quite good!  December 2011, I weighed 140 lbs.  After Refeeding, I brought it down to 106 lbs.  My ideal weight is between 105 to 112 lbs.  On the average, it's been swinging between 112 to 114 lbs.  That means I've been bad the past couple of months.  But this very morning, it has been the highest since AC (After Cohen) at 116.4 lbs.  I feel bad I'm starting to gain weight but the wonderful thing is that my XS clothes still fit!!!  So really, it's been quite good!