Nada.

Ever since coming home I have not really been conscious of what I eat - in fact, I was uncontrollable!!!! (Yes, multiple exclamation points there.)

But anyways, Im stopping before I gain back ALL the weight that was lost (Im sure I have gained). Im going to be drinking water like a fish, watching what I eat, doing portion control and moving my huge body everyday before sitting down in front of my laptop to surf. The only exercise Im doing are with my fingers.

And Im going to prove that the best weight loss pill wont be a match for hard work, diet and exercise.

Im finally home.
Which means I dont have access to my Dad’s treadmill. So I need another form of exercise.
Thanks to the Ipod Nano Glo gave me, I can now shift to my first love - DANCING. Yep, Im now one of the owners of those infamous ipods. Mine is a secondhand blue one (Ipod Nana 2nd Gen 8GB) which Glo picked up from the subway. Hahaha! That is a TRUE STORY!

So Im going to be pussy catting my way dancing every morning, like Dzoi

Well, I’ve been on this weight loss journey for a month now. Ten pounds lost. (It still isnt showing though). Ive mainly done just dieting, some walking, none of the strengthening core exercises (that really trim the inches all around I must say).

I have to admit I sometimes lose motivation - 10lbs in a month? That’s too slow. I was targeting at least 20. I just have to compete with my perfectionist self and remind myself that 10lbs in a month until November will be 40lbs - and I can finally be nice in Christmas family portraits.

So there.
Aggie, don’t reach out for the coke.
Aggie, as Dora would say, just keep swimming.

There’s no cure for emotional eating, even if you take the diet pill. Trust me. I read an article in the Reader’s Digest that diet pills really work for the obese, but the thing is, you got to take it for the rest of your life, and treat it as a maintenance drug. Let’s say you have high blood pressure, you dont take medicine to keep it down and then when you feel better, you’d stop. It will come back.

And so does weight.
So what is the most effective way to do things?
Lifestyle change.

The problem with a lifestyle change is that it is complete turnaround of things. And it needs to be taken in small steps otherwise if you take big leaps, you are bound to miss a step and will come down crashing hard on the floor. It also takes up a lot of time, in a sense that you need to be conscious of it every single moment and CHOOSE to live another way.

And it takes years to get by.
Patience is not exactly one of my dear virtues.
But hey, I will get there.

I think staying at my parents’ place was a bad idea (very bad idea). I have no control over what I eat and Im slipping on my water intake (Didnt bring my 1.5L bottle) - I still get to drink 64oz a day but I should be drinking 94oz and more.

This week our challenges are to track our food intake, drink water, and step up exercising to 30 minutes a day, three times a week. I have been doing good on all three - because I get to use my Dad’s treadmill since Monday for 30 minutes a day. Im doing bad in portion control. At the end of the week, Im going to be listing down all that I ate at this blog. Ack. Wish me luck

I did not do good, eating-wise. Too much junk went into my mouth and we attended a party at night. However, I did good exercise-wise. We are currently staying at my parents’ and my Dad has a kick-ass treadmill. And I used it for 30 minutes. I cannot believe how out of shape I am, I was huffing and puffing 5 minutes into the exercise!!! It’s a good thing I was running in front of the TV (which need tv stands) so I didnt get that bored easily)

Treadmill:
Distance: 1.8km
Time: 30mins.

I declared Day 7 (Sunday) my day-off. I allowed myself to eat more than what I have tried not to do for the past six days. I even drank soda (suprisingly not that much). We spent the day at my mom’s since a family friend invited us to a picnic (that didnt push through because of the rains!). So many yummy grilled stuff - porkchops, chicken, barbecue, tilapia.

The only thing I got conscious of is to really drink water all day. I managed to make do on it as I was still able to drink 64oz. That is far from my personal goal of 94oz, but that will do. I managed to squeeze lots of water in by sipping it while working in front of my laptop of reading some documents like term life insurance quotes sent to me by a friend.

Steady.
I managed to meet my water requirement on both days. Drank more than 3L. Water is growing on me. I still drank soda though - but limited it to one glass (12oz) per day. It is hard to watch and control what I eat when Edil is around and when Im at my parents’ place. Im tempted to get cheap Phentermine pills to get me going but I promised not to wreak havoc to my already-beaten up metabolism

Activity is limited as well. Even if I dont really “exercise”, I make sure I do an activity that requires more than shouting and/or sitting in front of the computer and typing ~ my fingers are getting quite the workout.

I also have told Edil that I joined the Biggest Loser challenge online with a group of scrapping friends and he was neither optimistic nor pessismitic about it. We will see. I cant blame him for not expecting though. He has already been disappointed quite a few times.

I think that’s what I will reward myself when I hit my 20lbs weight loss goal in 6 weeks. It may not be a weekend stay at the Outer Banks rentals but it will be just as nice. Im pretty sure it will be in Tagaytay but Im not sure what place yet. Edil is not really keen in staying at a hotel where we are just 20minutes away from the area but Im trying to at least convince him to have a getaway (food, spa, relaxation) even for just the whole day. I know what you are thinking — Sonya’s? Maybe

Can I get a collected WOOT! WOOT! there from y’all!

I finally did it.
I made my body sweat and made my heart pump faster.

We went to my mom’s with the intention for me to get on the treadmill but boo - there was a blackout which lasted until 5PM. What I did was to walk around the huge hectared-property twice, that took me 15 minutes and my heart felt like it was recovering from a track race (that’s how out of shape I was!)

Plus, thanks to my daughter’s interest to High School Musical we were able to dance for a solid hour - just dancing with my mp3s (soundtrack from Step Up2 and some Madonna singles - mostly 4Minutes on repeat). I was dancing nonstop for 20 minutes but generally moved around for an hour. I personally like dancing over any other form of exercise or sport. All you need is music and move your body. No memorizing of routine nor lugging of sports equipment ~ like golf equipment (and finding space to play and a playmate of course!) around.

So:
15 minutes walking
20 minutes dancing

I hope I can keep this up.
Small steps. Big leaps.

(I also guzzled more than 3L of water yesterday!)

Im going strong with the Lifestyle Challenge so far (Drink Water). I think if I keep this up for eight weeks, I can definitely be able to give up soda. No craving at all, if ever I have one, Ill tell myself I can drink soda after I drank 500ml of water. By the time Im done drinking water, I dont have the craving anymore or Ill just take one sip of Coke and no more.

It still is a struggle not to start the day without sweets. Each time I wake up, the first thing I grab from the ref are either juice or soda, then Ill grab sweet pastries from our bin then turn on my lappy and work. All this while making sure Matthew eats breakfast and prepares for school.

So lately, instead of heading straight for the ref, I go to the toilet, pee and then make myself drink one tall glass of water. This fools my stomach into thinking I have eaten and then I check e-mails. After Matthew goes out to meet his school bus, that is when I allow myself what to eat. Usually, Id just eat bread with peanut butter. I drink another tall glass of water before eating.

Think of your body as one car with auto parts (your organs) ~ you need oil (water) to keep them going and in tip-top shape.

This satiates me until we eat lunch. Usually, I also eat breakfast when Martha gets up at 9AM (so now you know why I got so big, two breakfasts in a day!). I also keep a 1.5L of Coke Zero filled with water and a mug so I can drink water while infront of G all day.

The next hurdle for me is to exercise.

I considered it bad because, for one, I only drank 2L of water yesterday (I need to drink 3L according to my body size). Two, I drank soda (coke zero) when we went to my parents’ place last night. But I didn’t eat too much (as is always the case).

I also wasnt able to exercise as I have planned. I need to get my b*tt into gear so I can meet the required thrice a week exercise to earn points for the Biggest Loser.

I also have been breaking out along the lines of my eyebrows and hairlines - zits are painful when you accidentally brush them off, and I have a habit of scratching my eyebrows when thinking of something (which I do a lot). It alarms me because I have never had a break out ever - I have good skin and it is turning bad - I might even need to buy some acne cream for myself *sob*!

I think this is all because of hormones and bad diet, which I attribute to me being obese. All the reason for me to lose weight.

Oh wow, what a great motivation. LOL

Drink water like a fish.

Based on my weight, I should be drinking 94oz of water a day ~ that’s around 2.79L.

How Much Water Should I Drink
From the Mayo Clinic: Another View on Water Intake

Water is essential, though—especially for dieters, yes, but it is necessary for everyone. Every human needs to drink a certain amount every day. This figure is different for each person, though most people have heard that eight 8 ounce glasses is the ideal. That amount is not the ideal; rather, it is the average amount.

Though experts disagree on the optimal amount of water, we’ve found many feel this formula is a good guideline. Take the person’s weight and divide it in half. This figure represents how many ounces of water this person should ingest each day. Of course, about 20% of this amount is generally figured to be ingested through foods—many foods are composed of high amounts of water, such as soups and many fruits. So, take the figure and subtract 20% of it to come to the real amount.

Here’s an example:
Let’s say a person weighs 240 pounds. Half of that is 120, so that would be 120 ounces. 20% of 120 is 24 (this is the amount of water this person gets from his food), so subtract 24 from 120 (120 – 24 = 96). So, this person needs to drink 96 ounces per day, which translates to 12 8 ounce glasses.

Tips for Drinking All that Water
First thing in the morning, right after getting out of bed, drink a glass of water. Guzzle it down.
Drink another glass slowly while getting dressed and ready for the day.
Before eating anything, whether it is a snack or a meal, drink a full glass of water. Not only will this help you ingest the right amount of water, but it can help you to eat less because you will feel fuller.
Keep a large water bottle (at least 24 ounces) filled and next to you at all times. Sip on it throughout the day.
Add a low-calorie sweetener to your water bottle (e.g. Crystal Light)

I was off to a good start yesterday, I drank 94oz of water - exactly how much a body as big as mine needs. International girls, like me, were paired with the East Coast gals to make chatting at the boards easier (and synchronized). I still havent gotten around to posting my pictures (and posting my measurements) but I will today. I would have wante to have custom t-shirts that say “Im a LOSER” so that I can photographed in it starting Day 1 and from there Ill take progress pictures in it too (Hey, Im a scrapbooker, I cant help it!) ~ but it is too late for that. However, Ill make sure to use BlueCotton.com for ordering mine because their site is very easy to navigate, I can make my own shirt in minutes!!!

So I joined a version of The Biggest Loser among my digiscrapping friends. I need a support group to really keep my company (It helps that I find myself comfortable with them as they are Americans hence have American sizes as well - Asian women are naturally petite and Im not petite! LOL) and this is just the challenge I need to really get my b*tt into gear. My goal for the year is to lose 40lbs (around 10lbs a month) and I want to look and feel good!

The 8-week challenge will officially begin on Monday, July 21st and end on September 15th, 2008.

So in my part of the world, it has officially begun

The challenges consist of lifestyle and exercise challenges and Im excited to do my homework I even took before pictures of myself, weighed myself and took measurements I dare not post them YET online, perhaps when I really lose?

Wish me luck!