It's Not The Calories, Stupid!

Indeed, indeed, it's not the calories!  When I graduated from the Refeeding Program I was extremely scared.  Scared I'd overeat and lose control then gain back all the weight.  I read and re-read the Management Program to make sure I understood what I had to do to maintain my new found lifestyle.  There was one very, very important phrase in that entire manual that I pretty much ignored: 

"Do not count calorie or kilojoules.  Your body is trained during the Refeeding Program and WILL HANDLE normal qualities and combinations of food as set out on your last day of your Refeeding Program."

It was simply ignored because all my life I've been told that weight management was all about calorie counting.  And this made sense, right?  Hindi pala!!!  So all that fear was for naught!  Let me tell you what I mean.

Yesterday was a special day.  It was my dad's 81st birthday.  My brothers and I decided to take the day off from work and drive out to Lipa, Batangas to celebrate dad's birthday.  Dad recently discovered this good Italian restaurant in Lipa:  Casa Marikit. If you do drive by Lipa this summer, like when you visit the Carmelite convent, I highly recommend a stop over at this restaurant (just so you know, I am not in any way connected with this restaurant.  I'm just proud of Batangas!).

Anyway, my brothers and I arrived at the restaurant ahead of our parents, so we ordered some starters.  I ordered the Rucola Salad (Arugula with walnuts, drizzled with balsamic vinegar --- very much Cohen-approved!!!).  When my parents arrived, we went ahead and ordered our main dishes.  My brothers and I decided to indulge ourselves with the best that this restaurant could offer.  After all, how often does one turn 81 years old!!!  So my carnivore brothers ordered Osso Bucco and Rack of Lamb

Osso Bucco with Rissotto

Rack of Lamb

Not to be outdone, I ordered the Angus Tenderloin (again, Cohen-approved!!!).

And then Mom wanted to have a round of drinks so each of us except for Popit, got a  bottle of beer to drown our meat.

After enjoying my steak, I ordered a Tiramisu.  Sarap!  I ate it all BY MYSELF!!!  After that hefty lunch, we drove to Mom's house to relax and enjoy the rest of the day.

This is the thing about my Mom's house.  The moment you enter her house, everyone gravitates toward the dining table.  As soon as we settled in, a parade of trays started coming out: Ginataan, Suman, Buco, Puto, Dinuguan.  It was like that scene on Disney's Beauty & the Beast (Be my guest, be my guest, la la la la la la la).  There were just five of us and she had all this food waiting for us!  So again, while chit-chatting about the latest current events and tsismis, I helped myself with a bit of Ginataan.  As the tsismis got more intense, I helped myself with some Fresh Buco Juice with its soft, white, sweet flesh.

I must admit, I felt quite guilty about all the food I ate.  Ok, to be precise, I was worried again about all that food intake.  When I got back to Manila, I still felt quite full so I just had Yogurt with fresh pineapples for dinner.

This morning, worried about yesterday's indulgence, I weight myself, sure that I'd have to rein in on my food intake for today. I was surprised to see that I DID NOT GAIN A SINGLE BIT from yesterday's binge!!!  So it's true, trust Dr. Cohen.  It's not the calories, stupid!