The Month Is Over

Ahhh, well blog, the month is finally over and I have finished my goal of losing weight for a whole month. Hehehe. But my journey doesn't end here. I will still continue blogging about my eating so that I can continue to monitor it. Once you diet, you never stop.

Twenty-ninth Day - September 8, 2008

Golly, I'm sooo happy I finished, yes, FINISHED. MY STORY!!! Haha! I'm goin' crazy over it. Lol. Craziness due to bliss. Too much happiness can cause your brain to go haywire, haha! I doubt that one. Lol. Omg omg omg. Lol. You know the feeling of having accomplished something? Well, I felt that everything was in its proper place, I felt content. OMG. I LOVED IT!!

I ate moderately today, hehehe! I had oatmeal, no sugar, for breakfast, escabeche for lunch with rice, of course, and soup poured on rice for dinner. I had champorado for snack. I had half of a stick of okra and 1/4 cup fried fish with soy sauce that I had with the rice.

Twenty-Fifth Day - September 4. 2008

Ahh. Well hello again blog. I'm glad to keep this updated. I had oatmeal for breakfast, veggies and pork with rice for lunch and a snack of choco pretzels, and dinner of grilled eggplant with soy sauce. Hihi. Nice, huh? =D Ciao.

Twenty-third Day - September 2, 2008

Hellerz, blog.. I've not posted here for two days, imagine that.. Hmm, let's get on to my daily monitoring. I had oatmeal with brown sugar for breakfast, chicken with veggies and tomato sauce for lunch and pork (just the meat) for dinner. In between I had corn bits and pastry for snacks. I discovered something which made me go "eewww". My cereal box had mice holes on it, which is disgusting. I wrote on my bebo wall: "Mice + Me = Coexistence O.O Oh dear T_T <3 Irene"

Haha, ain't that funny?! Lol. So, that consisted of my meals today.

Twentieth Day - August 29, 2008

Breakfast was oatmeal with the usual garnish, lunch was sisig with rice, merienda was quite heavy for me: angel hair pasta primavera with pesto and isdang tinapa, and a thin slice of choco mousse cake. I was mobile today so it's no big deal. My friend and I went out walked around a lot. And finally I had dinner of beef steak with rice and hard-boiled egg. That's it. :)

Ninteenth Day - August 28, 2008

Breakfast was delicious. I had sardines in udong, I cooked it myself. Lunch was also fine. We had chicken tinola with pechay. And dinner was bittermelon with eggs and snack was peanuts. Very healthy, eh? =D My fluids are chocolate drinks and diluted orange juice.

Seventeenth Day - August 26, 2008

I ate fine today. Had oatmeal with brown sugar for breakfast, fried chicken with rice for lunch, a snack of one donut and tuna mechado with rice, and isdang paksiw for dinner with rice and corn soup. :) It's fine.

Sixteenth Day - August 25, 2008

Well, everything's been rocky today. I'm a little anxious about the exams on Wednesday - Peace Education with Mindanao Education. Hope I can manage. Hehehe. My body ached and I believed eating was the best solution so, I ate today. I'm still hungry, probably coz I haven't studied for Filipino yet. I worry about that subject so much. It's so much pressure, mind you. Lol. I don't know what else to do. I'm anxious. *Sigh*

Breakfast was oatmeal sprinkled with brown sugar, lunch was beef steak then I ate cereal more than I should, and I also ate another type of beef steak that's really tough to chew coz it's the opposite of soft. Lol. I had a snack of roasted peanuts without the salt. Then dinner was grilled eggplant with soy sauce (Just a little bit) and the leftover tough to chew beef. That's it :)

Fifteenth Day - August 24, 2008

I ate normally today. :) I'm glad. Hehe. Breakfast was sardines with udong, lunch was pancit with veggies and pork and chicken, snack was choco moist cake (allowed by my voice tutor) and breakfast cereal with milk, and dinner was the leftover of my breakfast. Hehehe. Ciao!

Fourteenth Day - August 23, 2008

I'm eating moderately and I feel satisfaction with how I eat. :) I love it. My breakfast was pre-packaged palabok and lunch was beef steak and dinner was sauteed bittermelon and eggs. It was fun. Hehe ;)

Thirteenth Day - August 22, 2008

I had oatmeal for breakfast with a little bit of brown sugar, I had a snack of a sandwich for at school before going to my voice tutor. It turned out that she's sick. For lunch I had fried chicken (with the skin) with rice and some juice mixed with water. I had isdang paksiw for dinner with rice.

I'm satisfied with my meals today. :)

Eleventh Day - August 20, 2008

I ate moderately today. Yippee to me!!! I've started voice lessons so I can't eat the following:

-caffeine
-salty foods
-junk foods
-carbonated drinks
-spicy foods
-too sweet foods

Can't take these:

-cold water (must be lukewarm)
-can't inhale fumes
-can't let myself be sunned down on

I think the only craving I got was that of breakfast cereal. That was my snack. I had dinner of munggo and veggies and 3 lumpia pieces with 1 and a half cup o' rice. 2 pieces of lumpia with rice was also my lunch. My breakfast was cornflakes with milk. See ya later.

Tenth Day - August 19, 2008

I ate moderately today =D I had a breakfast of sotanghon and rice a lunch of veggies and pork (not the saturated fat), and a snack of corn flakes cereal with milk and a dinner of sisig with rice. I'm quite satisfied with my eating habit today.

Ninth Day - August 18, 2008

I woke up at around 10 AM. I ate moderately today. This afternoon Anna and I took a hike up the hill. It was good exercise. I was panting when we almost reached the top. My diet today consisted of grilled eggplants with rice, chicken adobo with rice and snacks of multi-grain chips and cheese sandwich. I also drank a small can of juice.

Eighth Day - August 17, 2008

I had spaghetti for lunch/breakfast. I had my snacks of chocolate wafers and multi-grain chips. I'm too full to have dinner. I drank Fit 'N Right juice drink. It's too sweet for my taste. I felt a drive to eat and eat today. That's why I'm too full now. Tomorrow, I'm gonna start eating moderately again. And eating slowly. This morning I was so impatient to eat. I think it's coz I continued eating spaghetti when I felt full, because my plate was not emptied yet. Then after several minutes I just wanted to continue eating. Oh well. It happens. Tomorrow is a new day.

I ATE AGAIN. Omg. I'm too full. Sigh. When will this stop? I'm frustrated. Ok, let's be calm.. I didn't have a formal dinner so, I ate two rounds of corn flakes with non fat milk. I had a snack again, of multi grain chips. I also ate a few chocolate wafers. Gawd..I need to discipline myself. A few minutes ago, while I was eating those chips, I thought why I keep on eating when I'm already full. And I couldn't seem to think about anything besides my craving to eat. It's like it has taken control of me, that craving. It's like a monster, or like something that's possessed my mind and body. It was an anxious afternoon for me, I confide. In fact, the cravings started after while I was anxious. I need to deal with stuff with my momy and sister. They have serious attitude problems. How do I know? Coz simple things irritate them. And I get anxious when people get irritated with me, or annoyed with me. It makes me feel anxious and terrible. Like this afternoon, my sister was asking me to do stuff, and she has this really soft voice, so nobody who has average hearing can hear her. So I asked about 3 times what she's saying, and she repeated and cursed under her breath. Then later when I walked into the room I peeked through the little window to see my mother staring insolently to her right. And I'm thinking, what the H is their problem? What did I do? Did I do something so terrible?? They have serious problems.... And it's affecting me, too.

To help, here's a number of reasons why I crave, also, a list of seven ways to deal with it:

Reason: emotional reasons especially anxiety and stress and desire. "Food cravings arise to satisfy emotional needs, such as calming stress and reducing anxiety," says Drewnowski, a well-known researcher on taste and food preferences.

For many of us, cravings kick into high gear when we're stressed or anxious. Carbohydrates boost our levels of the hormone serotonin, which has a calming effect. And recent research suggests that the combination of fat and sugar may also have a calming effect.

According to Drewnowski, cravings that are spurred by emotions are typically for foods containing fat, sugar, or both.

7 Tips:

1. Give in to those cravings but only take smaller portions.

2. Make lower-calorie choices when possible.

3. Don't let yourself get too hungry. When you for example skip a meal or refrain from eating when you're truly hungry, you will get SO hungry that you end up overeating to compensate. It's in this state of extreme hunger that we tend to crave quick-fix foods like candy bars. Eating several meals through the day may help to control cravings and binge-type eating.

4. Start a cravings journal. (That's what I'm doing right now.) Keep a cravings journal for a month. List the times of day you have cravings, the emotions you're feeling at the time, the foods you crave, and what and how much you ate. When you look back through your journal, ask yourself if there are any patterns, such as certain times of day when you tend to experience food cravings. Are there certain emotions or situations that tend to bring them on?

5. Eat smart carbs. Carbs like whole grains, fruit, beans and vegetables.

6. Take care of yourself. Emotionally, physically, mentally. Nurture yourself. Think about what will attribute to your wellness. This includes doing things that make you feel pampered.

7. Learn to relax. Take a deep breath and think, before attending to those cravings.

Note to self: Cravings are not evil. They're physiological in nature. They're there to help you calm yourself and reduce your anxiety. So they're not your enemy. Cravings are usually a sign that you need to start looking after yourself emotionally and mentally and physically. Release your anxiety by talking to the people who made you anxious.

-http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=55942

Seventh Day - August 16, 2008

My breakfast/lunch was fried chicken. I ate moderately. At around the middle of the afternoon I had seven chocolate wafers, a banana, and I ate a small amount of adobo without the rice. Food wasn't in my mind. What was in my mind was my blogs. Hehe. Updating them and all that jazz. I try to be moderate and slow in eating. I haven't had my dinner yet. We have munggo with green leafy veggies and I think with squash. Hope it's delicious. I'll eat later. I'm not hungry yet.

Ciao blog!

Sixth Day - August 15, 2008

Well hello blog. I'm here to update my Food Diary. I had oatmeal sprinkled with brown sugar for breakfast, and tinolang manok (with Chinese pechay) and a cup of rice for lunch. That was also my dinner (about 1 and 1/2 cups of rice). And a snack of one donut. I'm happy :)

I ate another meal. About a cup of rice with sotanghon or mung bean noodles and tortang talong with ketchup dip. That's it..:)

Fifth Day - August 14, 2008

I finished my breakfast/lunch and I'm satisfied with what I did. I didn't overeat. I attempted to eat slowly. I didn't wait till I was full after I stopped eating. KUDOS to me!!!! :D

I need to weigh myself to know if I lost weight. Not today, but in the future. I just had my dinner of beef steak and a cup of rice. I'm satisfied. Hehe. I did a workout on the treadmill, too!!

Fourth Day - August 13, 2008

Me at August 13, 2008



I ate my lunch/breakfast at around 9:45 AM. I had chicken adobo with rice, not too much rice, not as much as 2 cups. Then after about two hours, I had a snack of cheesy puffs, lol. I didn't eat anything more until it was 9 PM. I had about 2 cups of rice with bagoong/vinegar sauce. I also had bittermelon sauteed with eggs, but only a little. That consisted my one-day meals.

I am still having trouble eating slowly. And I have an appetite whenever I eat, it's HARD to eat slowly. I tried eating slowly a few times before, and WOW, I get impatient. I like to hurry. In everything I do, I hurry. And also, in eating, I will only stop eating when I'm full. :-(

Third Day - August 12, 2008

I ate veggies and pork. That's my breakfast/lunch. I had I think 2 cups of rice with that. After that I had a snack of a bag of cheesy puffs and 2 chocolate mallows. Then I slept in the afternoon. I haven't had my dinner yet. But I will eat sisig with rice. Maybe I'll eat later not now 'cause I'm not hungry. Remember I said yesterday that my goal is not to eat snack after my meal? Well, I failed. OMG. Well, I guess I'll try another time. I NEED DETERMINATION.

I got hungry again early in the evening so I ate another round of sisig and rice. I think a cup of rice.

Day Two - August 11, 2008

I just finished my breakfast. It's 11:01 AM. It's breakfast/lunch for me. I had beef steak and rice, it was delish. I included sliced red onions in my meal which is healthy. I think I had 2 cups of rice and I'm incredibly full. The problem with me is I am not satisfied if my stomach's not full yet. The first thing that happens in the morning is my mentality "I must eat my breakfast". It's law. Same for lunch and dinner. What's bothering me is my desire to have 'snacks'. Although this shouldn't be the case.

I should change my eating habits from three big meals to 5-6 small ones. Hopefully, I can acquire that habit. My fullness gives me a feeling of discomfort. Later my goal is not to have snacks, just dinner. I'm too full.
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I just had dinner and I'm awfully full. OMG. I hate feeling full. I eat unthinkingly, that's what I noticed. I eat and I stop eating when I want to stop. Huhu. I need to change this. I need to eat consciously. I had spaghetti and cheese puffs for snacks and I had a heavy dinner with seaweed salad and noodles with veggies. Then my mother gave me ice cream. I ate it, too.

First Day - August 10, 2008

This morning I ate corned beef with rice. I remembered my big sister saying that their teacher told them: Eat like kings in the morning, like peasants at noon, and like paupers in the evening. :D And that's what I internalized as I ate my breakfast.

I had a little bit of workout by going to the mall and buying things for my food diary, our horror movie and our lunch which is barbecued chicken legs. We bought Heinz 57 Sauce and Heinz Worcestershire Sauce. My sister added ketchup and basil to it. I was already hungry when we came home. I felt a little impatient for our cook to finish cooking. I saw her still preparing the fire to be used for cooking using burnt coconut husks. Gosh it took a longgg time. Good thing I had a distraction. I surfed the net for awhile.

I ate one chicken leg with about a cup of rice and my stomach was not satisfied with it. And I declared I'm not full. Lolo offered me the rest of his chicken, he said he wouldn't be able to finish it all. Mamy contradicted me, she said, "Kay lolo na lang yan", "Let him finish it", but lolo insisted so I took it and ate it with another half cup of rice. And finally I got full.

Now Mamy is offering me something crunchy and salty to eat, fish crackers, but I'm still too full from my lunch, and besides, I don't want to eat when I'm full. Also, I think I should substitute those crackers for something healthier, but I don't know what. Lol. Maybe fruit? :D I think that's a good idea. Also, those fish crackers can't satiate my big stomach so if I want to be full, I'd have to eat a lot of it, which is surely a whole load of calorie intake. I should probably eat fruits instead, they're filling and sweet, too.

In the evenings I usually eat tuna or other types of fish or vegetables. My favorite is the eggplant. One of my favorites is bittermelon that's sauteed with eggs.

I ate a medium-sized banana but I didn't finish all of it, because it is filling. I think I drank a total of 7 glasses of fluids today, which I'm quite certain is healthy. That consisted of my snack.

OMG, I just finished my dinner AND another episode of snacks. HUHUHU. I don't know what's happening to me. Why am I like this? I feel frustrated because I get easily influenced by bad notions that lead to bad decisions. What's happening to me?? Will I ever attain self-control? This is what happened: I was again anticipating my next meal, which was dinner, and I made them cook dried fish (tinapa) for me because that's one of my favorites, too. A piece is about 4 inches long and half an inch wide. I asked them to cook four for me. The thing is, it's VERY salty. So I had to eat a lot of rice to counterbalance its saltiness. Next, I still felt not satisfied with what I ate so I ate the fish crackers that Mamy offered me earlier this afternoon. Oh my gosh, I'm so disappointed with myself today. How depressing. I have to remember that making the right decisions will make me happy. You know what, I finished the whole bag of crackers!!! I am feeling so full right now.. Oh God, I don't know if this diary thing is helping at all!

Okay, relax....this is the first day after all. LOL. There will be "kapalpakan" in the first few days of dieting. It's even slightly expected. So relax and be positive..be sure tomorrow is a new chance at this new thing that's alien to your biological cycle. Be aware that you're making a good decision in pulling through with this. :) Try to meditate and keep disturbing or disrupting thoughts away from your head.. You deserve this healthy lifestyle. You don't know how much you deserve this. Love yourself. And loving yourself means loving your body, not just your personality.