Category: Dieting and Weight Management

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Keto in Manila: A Dieter’s Journey (Plus My Other Weight Loss Secrets Revealed!)

The ketogenic or keto diet is not a new diet. Just a bit of googling will tell you it became popular in the 1920’s as a therapy for epilepsy. Recently, a lot of doctors have been advising parents to put their children afflicted with ADHD, autism, and other neurologic disorders on the keto diet to better manage their condition. Apparently, this high-fat, moderate protein, and low carb diet results in ketosis, a natural metabolic state where the body uses ketones that burn fat for energy, instead of glucose (from the carbs that we eat).

I’ve tried many diets in the past (the one I documented the most on this blog was the GM diet) and although they made me lose weight, it didn’t take long for me to gain them back. That’s why I was initially skeptical about the keto diet. But because I gained 20 unwanted pounds in under six months this year, I sort of got desperate. I wanted to go back to a weight I’m comfortable with and confident of. I don’t have hypertension, diabetes, and other diseases, and if my last blood test results would be the deciding factor, I figured I was in good condition to try the diet. And so I did.

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Some Food and Dieting Thoughts

This year, I’ve been cooking less and less. There are several reasons for that. When at my in-laws’ place, my MIL reigns in the kitchen and because she’s a great cook, I’m more than willing to eat and enjoy whatever magic she whips up with her hands. When in our marital home in Bacoor, I usually stay late in bed and before I know it, it’s past lunch time and the hubby is screaming in hunger already (well, not really screaming but you get the point). On some weekends, also in Bacoor, I just get too lazy to cook that I would resort to take-out/delivery for us to survive a meal time.

When I started the Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet (CAD), I thought I’d be able to cook more. But sooner than later, I realized the diet wasn’t for me. Why? Because it seems I’m more of a moderator than an abstainer. (So yes, no more comprehensive review of CAD on this blog; consider this paragraph a brief review instead.) In fairness to this diet, I was able to lose 8 lbs. (from 144 to 136) in just a month and so far, I’ve been maintaining my new weight. You could say I was successful with the diet and that’s right. I just can’t commit to it for a long time. So, thank you very much CAD for giving me a good start in my weight loss journey but I’m moving on.

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Our Eight O’Clock Habit

They say it takes 21 days to form a new habit. It’s been more than a month now when the hubby and I started jogging for 5km at exactly 8PM during weekdays. Since I clock out from work at 6PM and we normally have dinner at around seven, we went for 8PM and not an earlier time.

The week before APEC, we were able to jog for five days straight! Our plan is to jog M-W-F. We’d do more if our schedule and energy permit. Our fastest 5-km jog so far is 44 minutes. Still slow, but we’re trying to do better. We sometimes alternate between jogging and brisk walking for a more fun experience.There are times also when Mame or my brother joins us. I say the more, the merrier.

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I want to be a flexitarian.

A semi-vegetarian or flexitarian diet is described on Wikipedia as “one that is plant-based with the occasional inclusion of meat products. Lately, I’ve been thinking of adopting this kind of diet primarily for my weight loss efforts. I wouldn’t mind reaping its health benefits in the long run, too.

Types of Vegetarians
Image Source: http://sciencequestionnaire.blogspot.com

The last time I checked my weight (just this morning!), it was 126 lbs. I’m 5’4″ tall and wear a size M, sometimes L. My weight usually goes up to 130 lbs. during weekends (when I tend to overeat!) and go back to 124 lbs. during weekdays when I get to control my appetite (most of the time, ehem). That’s been the case for me in the past months and somehow, I’m a bit disappointed with the results of my weight loss efforts so I’m thinking, maybe this flexitarian diet could work on me. Haha.

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Dieting in the Office

I find it hard to limit my food intake during weekends. It’s really hard because that’s the only time we get to dine out and the only time I get to cook a lot. So, imagine my relief to be in the office all weekdays where I can watch what I eat and control my portions. Yes, dieting in the office seems to work for me.

In the office, we get free packed meals during lunch time. While I appreciate the fact that they’re given to us for free (subsidized by our office, no less), I appreciate it more that they’re usually boring and tasteless. I get to eat only a small portion of it and sometimes, none at all. (Don’t worry, it doesn’t go to waste nor do I get hungry because I bring the packed meal to my in-laws’ place where the hubby and I have lunch together every weekday.) So, it’s either I let my husband eat it and then I eat the available food at my in-law’s kitchen. Or, the hubby and I don’t eat the packed meal and let the house dog (hello Ondoy!) feed on it and then we eat the available food in the house. Smart, right?

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Weight Loss Update: 4 Lbs. To Go!

From 130 lbs. which is my wedding day and pre-pregnancy weight, to 167 lbs. (my biggest during pregnancy) and 147 lbs. (post-pregnancy weight), I’m now down to 122 lbs. I can’t wait to fit in my small clothes again. Soon I’ll reach my target weight of 118 lbs. and perhaps if I’ll try harder, my ideal weight of 115 (which I think suits my 5’4″ built well). It seems my “very-little-rice diet” is working for me. Haha.

There’s also something I discovered last weekend. Eating less + more movement = more burned calories. I know it’s a given. I even read about it from a fitness book before. It’s something you and I already know. But let me tell you that it becomes more real when you actually see the results.

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