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!!!