No Way, I Can't Be Pregnant!

I think that title caught your attention, didn't it?!  Tsismosa!  Actually, this would make my mom ecstatic!  Hahaha.

I've been hearing about Cohenites complaining about the side effects of this weight-loss wonder diet.  My cousin experienced headaches.  I think this usually happens in the first couple of days into the program.  I'm guessing these headaches are just the same as those regular hunger headaches.  Not much to be concerned about because your body will adjust to the food portions in a couple of days.

Many experience hair loss.  At the clinic, the consultants recommend a daily intake of Biotin.  This should solve the problem but it takes a while for the effects of Biotin to manifest.

I experienced dry skin.  So I simply applied lotion in the morning after a shower and at night before bedtime.  This seemed to work quite well.  The dry skin spell lasted a couple of days and is now gone.

The most concerning side effect was losing my period.  Since the age of 12 I've gotten my period every single month, no fail.  Then on my Refeeding month, I missed my period.  This was really worrisome especially since I can guarantee that I am not pregnant.

Having been delayed for 3 weeks, I visited the doctor last Monday morning.  I told her my concern and also mentioned that I had lost a drastic amount of weight in the last 3 months.  She asked how I did it and I told her about Cohen.  I told her that I started at 141 lbs last January and I'm now 107 lbs.  She was amazed and said that she's about 141 lbs too.  I won' be surprised if she'd be calling the Cohen clinic anytime soon :).

Back to my period... The Og-Gyn said that kind of weight loss would surely cause some hormonal imbalance just like exercise and stress.  It was not unusual.  She gave me a prescription for some pills to take for 5 days.  She said that in 2 weeks, I should get my period; and if not, I'd have to see her again.  I meant to buy those pill right after my doctor's visit but because of the traffic, I decided to do it in the afternoon instead.  Well, that was a pretty good decision because when I got home that same day, I got my period.  I guess my ovaries just needed a little scare from the doctor :).

I think we shouldn't be too concerned about the side effects of this diet.  I've had worse side effects with the other diets.  Have you tried the Atkins Diet?  That diet gave you bad breath.  How about Xenical?  That pill's effect was filthy!  Imagine men buying sanitary napkins because they're taking Xenical. Bangkok Pills?  There were some packs that did wonders for me.  I actually didn't mind the palpitations and the increased energy but there was this final batch that gave me headaches.  That was the end of those pills for me!  I'd say Cohen is the healthiest, most sustainable eating lifestyle thus far.  Their motto is simple:  "Let food be your medicine".  And this diet has given me the best side effect:  a 25-inch waistline!

Weekend Challenge

Weekends are the best.  This is the time when I can walk around in my pajamas all day.  But best of all, this is the time I can hang with my good friends.

My weekend starts on Friday night.  Usually my good friend Bubut would send this text message in the late afternoon:  "Let me know if you have dinner plans later".  Most times J and I don't really have dinner plans but when this message arrives in my phone, we get all excited and we make plans for dinner.

All Cohenites must agree that eating out is always a challenge.  For those on the Eating Plan or Refeeding, the challenge is explaining to the restaurant your food allowances and method of cooking.  Most times you don't want to deal with this hassle so you just BYOB (bring your own baon).  For those on Maintenance, like me, the challenge lies in choosing the right food from the array of deep fried, sugar-rich, cream-laden dishes on offer.  For me, I will always order a salad and then a steak or some seafood.  I try to veer from dishes that I know are swimming in rich sauce.  I noticed that this ordering method jacks up my food bill but I realized that ever since Cohen, I have been eating out less often and thus justifies ordering a premium dish whenever I'm out.  When my credit bill arrives, I still notice the big savings I've had since I've began cooking at home.  Thank you again, Dr. Cohen for teaching me to cook :).

Now the scary part.  Since we're all excited catching up on kwentos about the past week, dessert becomes the justification to extend the night.  Immediately, we decide to drive to Slice, that deadly delicious cake shop that just opened at the Bonifacio High Street.  Like a true Cohenite, ever since Maintenance, I always order the cheesecake.  (Maybe I can start comparing cheesecakes in my next post).  Anyway, Slice has one of the best cheesecakes in Manila.

Ever since we've discovered this cake shop, we've been here every single week.  It's like going to mass on Sundays.  We go to Slice on Fridays.

Of course by the end of the night, my tummy feels really full.  This is a feeling I used to get ALL THE TIME during my pre-Cohen days.  Now it just happens on weekends :).

Come Saturday morning, the previous night's delights register 0.80 lbs!  Ok lang, I tell myself.  That was worth it.  I just have to cut down today.

And then comes Sunday lunch.  My Sunday lunches are always at my Mom's place.  Mom is a great cook but given her age, she only likes to cook on Sundays.  And she cooks a feast.  Since I go to her place after Sunday Mass, I usually arrive at around 1 pm for lunch.


Mom knows that I have replaced rice with vegetables so she makes sure to prepare a vegetable dish.  She even knows which vegetables are Cohen approved so she will have asparagus, broccoli, zucchini.

I have cousins and friends who arrive for lunch at 2 pm.  So I get to sit in the dining table munching with every new kwento until about 3 pm. Imagine extending your munching to two hours.  So obviously, I'd have to help myself with dessert.  So as the Cohen plan says, I must eat carbohydrates before dessert.  So I eye-ball about 50 grams of rice, a tiny serving of vegetable and protein; and then get a serving of cake :).  Yes, there is always some cake during Sunday lunch.  This is usually brought by my Tita Patsie because her kids and grand kids love dessert.  Maybe I should tell Tita Patsie to bring some cheesecake next time :).

And just as I'm done with lunch, the dishes are replaced with merienda:  suman, ginataan, bibingka, tsokolate, cheese platter.  Again, I subscribe to the Cohen plan so I choose the cheese platter.  My brother, Popit, is always in charge of this platter.  He sits by the table with his sharp knife and a block of cheese and just slices away.  Ang sarap!  So Sunday lunch is actually an eating marathon that stretches from 1 pm to 5 pm.  Four hours of munching.  We only realize it's time to end the meal when "The Buzz" comes on air because Mom immediately tunes us out and concentrates on the latest show biz gossip.  This is our signal that the eating marathon has ended.

I've learned to mitigate the effects of this fat-inducing marathon by consciously making "smart" choices but it's really difficult to resist good food when there is good conversation!!!

For that entire weekend of feasting, this is what greets me on a Monday morning

 
 5 lbs. for a typical weekend!  Imagine how much I'd gain if this were a long weekend?  Oh well, thank God for weekdays!
 
 

Before and After

When I started on this new eating lifestyle I was 141 pounds with a 29-30" waistline wearing size 10 tops.  I played tennis once or twice a week and jogged on the off days.  Getting dressed was such a chore.  You'd know I overate the night before when it took me longer to get dressed the following morning.  I did not feel good about how I looked. 

At 141 lbs., January 12, 2012

I thought that maybe a change of wardrobe would solve the problem so I called a friend, Ram de Vera, to help me update my wardrobe.  We went shopping for new clothes and for a while, I felt good.  Ram knew exactly what clothes I needed to hide my bulge and to elongate my appearance.  I asked him to make me thin and he said that he was a stylist, not a cosmetic surgeon! Ram did a great job.  He went from store to store, rack to rack, picking Large/Medium clothes that were the right proportions for my body.

January 19, 2012

Then one day, I decided to take the plunge.  On the advice of my cousin-in-law, Nikki, I called the Cohen Lifestyle Clinic, made an appointment and attended their 1-day orientation seminar and from there, my new life began.

In a matter of 3 months, I shrunk to a 25-inch waist, size 2 or 0 tops; I can now wear skinny jeans and a tank top!!!  This was the biggest surprise!  Pre-Cohen, I could only wish my thighs would fit into skinny jeans.  Today, I always wear my shirts tucked into my jeans and I think I walk a little taller.   A friend, Kara, just said the other day, "ang nag-Co-Cohen nagiging mayabang".  Hindi naman, Kara, sometimes you just can't help feeling good about yourself.

107 lbs., April 18, 2012

Thank you, Dr. Cohen.  You're not a cosmetic surgeon but this is exactly what I was looking for!!!

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!

The Source: Cartimar Market

Where is the best place to buy fruits and vegetables?  Some will say Salcedo Weekend Market; others, Landmark Supermarket or Rustan's Supermarket.  Well I say, the Cartimar Market.

Many vendors in Cartimar supply the supermarkets and many of the restaurants in the city.  So, it's best to just go directly to the source.  Best time to go is early in the morning to get the freshest produce. What time in the morning?  About 6:30 to 7:00 a.m.  It's not only cheaper than the supermarkets, you can even haggle, it you want.  All the vegetables you'll need for the Eating Plan are available. 

Asparagus

Pechay

Broccoli

Oyster Mushrooms

And more mushrooms

Since many Korean nationals shop in this market, you will always find shitake and enoki mushrooms here.  The last time I bought a bag of enochi mushrooms, it was selling for Php 65.00/bag.

There is also a constant supply of Cohen-approved fruits.  This morning I found plums selling for Php 280.00/kilo.

I have been avoiding eating too much red meat because I get aches and pains the next day every single time I eat red meat.  Instead I now buy a lot of seafood.  I have my favorite fish mongers who have the freshest produce

Prawns and Salmon

Squid

Sole fish

Whatever fish head you want

If you want fresh native chicken, you can't get it any fresher than at Cartimar.  They'll get you a live one and dress it for you if you want.  In my case, Magnolia is fine with me :)

This morning my mom wanted a 1.5-kilo chicken to steam for lunch today.  The vendor's biggest available dressed chicken was about 1.3 kilos.  I shrieked when my mom said to find one from the cage.  Good thing she opted to just get a Magnolia bagged chicken from the adjacent store.

I wonder what these caged chickens are thinking

Across the Wet Market there is a Tofu store that sells all soya products including soya milk.  Pre-Cohen, my brother and I would have flavored taho with sago for breakfast after our marketing.  I think I can do that again since taho is protein, right?

Beside the taho store, you'll also find a couple of Japanese and Korean grocery stores.  Here you can find an array of green teas. 

For those on Maintenance, on your diet-free days, you should try the Korean ice-cream with monggo that is shaped like a fish.  Ang sarap!

Overate? Push the Reset Button

On my 4th day on Maintenance, I joined some friends to try a restaurant in Quezon City.  We were a group of 4 who were lucky to find the restaurant still ready to serve us at 9:30 p.m.  We scanned through the menu and Roman decides we should sample their Seafood and Meat Platter.  He looks at us and asks, "do we get the platter for 3 to 4 persons or the 5 to 6?".  Just graduating from Cohen, I stare at him in protest and he agrees to order the smaller platter but with an order of Crispy Pata.  So here is what happened when the Crispy Pata arrived

That was "kilig to the bones" and "finger lickin' good"!  And then the following morning, all that "kilig" registered on the weighing scale.  A one pound gain for a couple of Crispies!!!  I felt horrible.  I also felt scared.  I kept thinking, "what if all that weight starts coming back?"  Oh no!!!

Fear, fear, fear!!!  But here's the thing.  All I had to do was push the reset button.  The what?  The reset button.  This is what I mean...

After Cohen, you are more conscious about your food choices and food intake.  You will avoid fat, carbs and sweets by choice.  When you must eat the "bad" food, you schedule its intake.  Like if I were to have chocolates, I would eat it within an hour of having my carbs and veggies.   Also, I would limit my chocolates to just twice a week and most importantly, my serving of chocolate will be limited to just 50 grams or a small bar of chocolate.  But at times, you will want to indulge like I did with the Crispy Pata.  So this is what I do when I over indulge...

The very next day, I simply follow the Eating Plan for a day or two and voila!  The weigh gain is GONE!!!  Amazing and magical!

So now, I don't have to be the bore who eats only salad greens in a restaurant.  Now I can eat with confidence and truly enjoy a meal.

What Every Cohenite Newbie Should Know

Today is the day!!!  April 15, 2012 is graduation day.  That's a total of 93 days of the full Cohen cycle.  Of course, it could have been a couple of days less expect that I was abroad for 2 weeks and I kinda deviated from the Refeeding Plan.  During this entire process, there are a few things I realized about this plan that I think any new Cohenite must realize too:

1.  It is important to prepare your meals yourself.  Being the spoiled Pinoys that we are, many new Cohenites find the process of planning and preparing meals a pain.  True, it is a pain; especially if you are coming from the South Beach Diet where you can just call your favorite chef to prepare your daily meals and have it delivered in cute food boxes to your door step.  When you personally prepare your meals, you are conscious about the amount of salt and fat and other unhealthy ingredients that go into your meals.

I used to eat out every single day for the past 25 years.  Restaurants don't really care about the amount of salt or oil that goes into their dishes.  Actually, the more fat they put into their dishes, the more excited the customers get about their food.  Have you ever noticed how much oil goes into a typical Filipino dish?  How about a supposedly healthy dish that is topped with foie gras?  Remember that crunchy serving of bagnet?  How do you think it got that crunchy?

Personally preparing your meal also helps to tweak your mind into adjusting your meal portions.  When you weigh your beef, you now know what 150 grams of raw steak should look like.  It is definitely not the slab of meat I used to order at the restaurant!  And you know what, this new allowance is filling too.

2.  You don't have to eat until you feel like chocking.  The meal allowances are really just about right.  You get up from the table without that over-stuffed feeling.  It actually feels good!

3.  Meal planning is just a matter of organization.  Again, I emphasize that I never used to cook before Cohen.  I'm still not a good cook BUT now I know why I never got to cook in the first place.  It's not that I did not want to.  It's just that I did not know how to start doing it!

Pre-cohen, I would buy cookbooks and read through the recipes.  I would then mark the recipes I'd like to try and then list down ingredients to purchase for my meal.  The problem with this is that I end up with a pantry full of once-used ingredients.  There was no system to the entire meal planning process.  With Cohen, I was limited to just a few ingredients and I just worked all my meals around these items.

4.  Cooking doesn't have to be complicated.  Watching cooking shows on TV, you'd think that cooking required a lot of steps and a lot of ingredients.  Well, I learned that preparing a meal did not have to be so complex.  Take for instance breakfast.  You can simply take some yogurt, slice some fresh fruit, mix it in and you're done.  There is simply no reason to skip this meal!

I also discovered my best time savers:  onion powder and garlic powder.  Any good cook will always chop fresh onions and garlic.  Well, if you don't have the time, just sprinkle!!!

5.  Making "Baon" ain't so bad.  Actually, while we were travelling, it was great to have my baon.  Imagine how much was saved on meals?  This was my cheapest trip ever!!!

6.  Sugarless Gum is your new best friend.  I always carry gum wherever I go.  It's like my credit card, I never leave home without it.  Notice how your mind looks for food when you're idle?  When this happens, pop a piece of gum in your mouth.  I chew gum like my friends puff on cigarettes.  Best of all, my dentist approves of this!!!  Right, Bubut?

7.   When you finally lose all that unwanted weight, don't believe  when they say you lost too much weight or you look older.  Believe what my dear friend, Roz, said:  "Own it and walk that aisle".  Which aisle, you ask?  The one that holds size 2 or 0!!!

To that, I will have the chocolate bar I kept for just this special day!  Life begins at 44!!!  Cheers to you!