USANA, Again

Yep. I have started doing my diet again. After two months of taking a break. We're actually going to Thailand soon and I thought I would just slim down a bit coz I'm planning to do a food trip while there. I miss Thai food so much. I miss going to Sizzler's in Hatyai, too. I'll probably splurge on their eat-all-you-can salad bar.

I have started with my diet a few days ago. This time was quite more difficult than the last time I did it. I guess because I was already on a diet (Mayo Clinic Diet) when I started with USANA. So it wasn't that hard to cope. This time, I straight away did the reset, right after feasting on left over foods.

Anyways... I am feeling good now. Although I couldn't cut off my coffee intake for the last two days. I was having a terrible headache and thought half of coffee won't hurt that bad. But today, I'll try not to drink a cuppa. If I can. Let's see.

Feeling Good

Wow. I can't believe my last post was 2 months ago.

Sorry.

So what happened to my USANAT diet? I stopped taking the milk shake when I went to London and Colombia. I ate so much in Colombia.. I really thought I would gain again that I had lost. When I weighed after I came back, I sighed with relief. No weight gain at all.

I have stopped dieting for two months. But I've been careful with my carbo intake.

Three days ago, I started running around the park. I did 3 rounds in 3 consecutive days and I am feeling so good. I am actually planning on getting back to my USANA diet. But that could wait until I come back from my trip. That means I would have to start again next year.

I love USANA diet. It is so healthy. I have noticed a difference with my skin as well.

For the meantime, while waiting for my next trip, I'm on the run (that sounds quite confusing). And yes, I am feeling so good.

Exercise is indeed the best way to do it.

USANA Reset

Yes, I have started with USANA Reset! LOL. Now you know that I'm really serious with my quest to lose weight. After giving it much thought of how much I spend just to lose weight, I finally decided to go for it.

With USANA Reset, though, you don't only lose weight. You gain your health back as well. It resets your system back into good health as it detoxifies all the toxins in your body plus... you are guaranteed not to crave for something sugary and starchy by the end of 5th day. Yes, USANA Reset lasts for 5 days. And after that, you can do a maintenance by drinking their nutrimeal once a day. Withing these 5 days, you only get to drink the Nutrimeal shake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I think for me, it's not so hard anymore because I did the 12-day diet program eliminating starchy and sugary food in the diet. It actually helped a lot.

I will have to blog more about USANA Reset. For now, I am on my 2nd day. And 5 kgs away from my ideal weight.

Trick and Treat the Healthy Way

While I worry for my weight gain for the last few months... I also worry for my kids' weight loss for the past few days. They had been sick. Schenker and Samantha had diarrhea and had been throwing up for a couple of days. We went to see their pediatrician to rule out some health risks and thank God it's just a normal stomach bug.

You know when kids get sick like that, they would sure lose weight fast. As a parent, I make sure that they gain back their health and weight fast too.

And speaking of kids' health and weight, I know that for some parents, with Halloween coming up, they worry that their kids will only get junk foods from doing a Trick or Treat Me in the neighborhood or even from their own house. But you know what, you can give them something sweet or something chocolate-y that's healthy too. I'm sure they would love it. Which kids won't love chocolate milk? My kids love drinking chocolate milk. And if it's boxed in a carton it's easy for kids to drink and easy for the environment too as they are recyclable.

So for those parents who are on the lookout for healthy alternative to trick and treat activities, chocolate milk in a carton would be an easy solution. Now that you have an idea, you can actually Twick or Tweet Me for helping you out. What say you?

Banana Diet - Effective?

I have started with Banana Diet but I haven't been doing it regularly. I don't always have banana supply ready for me. Sigh. But then, I noticed that everytime I had banana and a glass of lukewarm water in the morning, I would always have to go to the bathroom. And yes, I've lost a few pounds for the days that I have been doing it.

I can say that Banana diet is effective. But it's a bit slow for me. So I'm thinking of doing another one. Not a fad diet this time. This time, I would go for healthy one. I would have to blog about it real soon.

Banana Diet?

I haven't started with another diet program yet. I've been thinking of what to do for a follow-up after my mayo clinic diet. I was actually thinking of doing Jerusalem Diet. But when I chatted with my friend Lalaine (who is also into dieting), she mentioned about Banana Diet and gave me some links.

I checked them for reviews and looked like Banana Diet is easier than Jerusalem Diet.

So... how do you do a banana diet?

I have read that you eat bananas and lukewarm water for breakfast. You can eat anything for lunch and dinner, drink lots of water and sleep by 8pm at night. Hmmmm... There are more but I forgot the website address my friend gave me. I will have to google it once I start with it. But like I said, it is easier than jerusalem diet and even easier than mayo clinic diet.

My weight has been stable since the last update. I've been doing a portion-control with my food intake. I think I only slipped one day in Thailand where I ate two plates of my favorite Thai food called Kanom Jin for lunch and another two plates of kanom jin for dinner and coke to go with it because it's just too hot and spicy.

I tried not eating too much rice when I was in Brunei. You know when you're on travel and you're at your host's mercy, you cannot choose the food you eat, right? So we were mostly taken to a Chinese food. Had Indian food once and chicken joy at Jollibee once. Yes, there's Jollibee in Bunei and it was a real treat.

I'm supposed to be avoiding food and here I am, blogging about the food. LOL.

Anyways... have to start banana diet soon. Anyone with me?

Mayo Clinic Diet - Days 10, 11 and 12

Yeah, I know this is a backlog post. Sorry guys. And yes, I have finished the 12-day diet plan by Mayo clinic. For these last three days of the diet plan, I had been to Nando's twice and TGI Friday's once. I didn't know what I did wrong on my last three days. I seemed not to progress much.

So how much did I lose for this diet program? 2.5 kgs. Only. I was expecting more. So I was a bit disappointed. But to lose 2.5 kgs is not bad at all, is it?

My journey doesn't end here though. I am so intent on losing weight. But I have been on diet break for the last 5 days. And for these past 5 days, I have gained back a kg. I actually thought I was doing well as I did a portion-control. Maybe it wasn't enough. Or maybe it was the durian cendol? Or maybe it was the large french fries and large coke I had (with our Mennonite friends - thanks to you guys, LOL!) in the middle of the night in Melaka?

Well, whatever. We planned on doing a celebration anyway. So this was what we got.

The hubby, on the other hand, had lost almost 4 kgs and has maintained it. I don't know how he does it. He probably has a faster metabolism than I have.

For the sake of my friends who are keen on doing this diet, here's the Mayo Clinic Diet plan. Again, I must say this: This diet plan is not officially endorsed by Mayo Clinic based in Rochester, Minnesota.

12 days on – 2 days off

Breakfast
1/2 Grapefruit or 4 oz. Grapefruit Juice (unsweetened)
2 Eggs (any style)
2 Slices Bacon

Lunch
1/2 Grapefruit or 4 oz. Grapefruit Juice (unsweetened)
Meat (any style, any amount)
Salad (any kind of dressing)

Dinner
1/2 Grapefruit or 4 oz. Grapefruit Juice (unsweetened)
Meat (any style, any amount) (fish may be substituted for meat)
Vegetables (any green, yellow, or red vegetables cooked in butter or any seasoning)

Bed Time Snack

1 glass tomato juice or 1 glass Skim milk

Vegetables Allowed
Red onions, green onions, bell peppers, radishes, cucumbers, broccoli, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, peas.

Vegetables to Avoid
White onions, potatoes, celery.

Instructions

1. At any meal you may eat until you are full – until you can’t eat any more.
2. Don’t eliminate anything from the diet, especially don’t skip bacon at breakfast or omit salads. It is the combination of foods that burn fat.
3. The grapefruit is important because it acts as a catalyst that starts the burning process.
4. Cut down on caffeine – it affects the insulin balance that hinders the burning process. Try to limit to 1 cup per meal at mealtime.
5. Don’t eat between meals. If you eat the combination of food suggested you will not be hungry.
6. Note that the diet completely eliminates sugar and starches, which are lipids and form fat. Fat doesn’t form fat; it helps burn it. You can fry food in butter and use butter generously on vegetables.
7. Do not eat desserts, bread, and white vegetables or sweet potatoes. You may double or triple helpings of meat, salad, or vegetables. Eat until you are stuffed. The more you eat of the proper combination of food, the more you lose.
8. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
   

Mayo Clinic Diet - Day 9

I learned that you can eat more than 2 bacons. 2 bacons is just the minimum. Sigh. So I ate more than 2 for my 9th day. We went to hubby's office so we had to eat out for lunch. Went to 9 Ten Cafe. Pretty good service they have. We are familiar there. So even if we only ordered water for our drinks, iced tea came also - for free. What do you do, if you're us... leave the tea alone or drink it?

LOL. We were in a tight situation. We thought if we didn't drink that tea, they would never give us free drinks again. So yes, we drank the sweet tea with our eyes closed and hoping the sugar will straight away go down the "tube." The hubby and the hungry me ordered caesar salad and chicken chop - which were still in the Mayo Clinic Diet menu list.

I think I appreciated the variation with our food. But when we came home for dinner, I didn't wanna eat anything. I didn't have appetite to eat. Did I just cheat? I only drank a glass of tomato juice and 4 oz. of grapefruit juice. Later, I drank a glass of skim milk for bedtime snack.

This is my 10th day while writing this and when I weighed myself this morning, I didn't see any notch moving.

So I'm stuck.

I think I'm not doing the right thing.

But then.. 2 kg loss for 9 days is not that bad. At least I could see the difference.

8 more meals to go.

Mayo Clinic Diet - Days 7-8

I blogged about loving all the food I ate on my 7th day of diet. I wrote it in the morning. Lunch and dinner came... then the decline started. I got so tired of the same food I was eating. Glad I wasn't alone coz when I read a friend's journal of Mayo Clinic Diet, her interest in the food she had been eating declined too. My other friend stopped on day 9 because she got sick.

Anyways, on my 8th day, that was yesterday, I started feeling giddy. But then again, in the morning I only drank tea. So again, I blamed it on caffeine-less morning. So I drank coffee later on that day.

Weighed myself again. I seemed to be stuck on my 2kgs loss. Hmmm... The hubby is down to 3.

But the hubby has been complaining of getting hungry easily. I probably didn't feed him enough. So I prepared more veggies in our meals. And to make our food more appealing, I cooked something different.... made beef balls out of beef meat. I presented it to the hubby and he said he loved it... And added... "More than I love it, I love you."

Hehehe. It's nice hearing those 3 magic words within the context... :D

On these two days, I kept wondering if I could even last until 9 days. I can truly relate to the dieters when they stop dieting. This is just too much self-deprivation. But I need to go on. One must go on.

But I'm starting to crave. I even crave for a new pair of shoes that I saw my friend wearing. No.. not craving to eat... just purely wanting to have. I wonder if others feel the same. Or is it just me.

Shame.

Mayo Clinic Diet - Days 4-6

This is the account of my 4th - 6th day of Mayo Clinic Diet... and I'm really getting used to it. I love bacon! I love roasters! I love garden salad! I like beef stew! What can I say? Oh, the best thing about this diet is... I can eat at Nando's. Hubby and I had Nando's yesterday for dinner. We both ordered half chicken meal with fresco salad and coleslaw as side dishes. And water. yes, only water. It's the first time we only had water in Nando's. We usually have either coke or iced tea and they're usually free refills (you can imagine how much sugar in them and we have them at least once a week!). I'm really getting used to this. LOL!

But I have read that too much of those (fats and protein) is not good for health - especially on the cholesterol department. It's because you are encouraged to eat as much as you can... which means, more fats + more protein = a good combination to burn fats.

Oh yeah, I have bought equal as my sugar substitute. My friend Lalaine gave me this tips. So I am having coffee with sugar in the morning without feeling the guilt.

This is my 7th day as I'm writing this. I'm already thinking of what diet plan to follow up after I finish the 12 day plan. So far, my best bet is Jerusalem diet. I just need to study more about it.

Now I finally understood that after 12 days of straight dieting, you go on break for 2 days and if you would like to continue, do again after your 2-day break. So no, I'm not having a break in-between.

6 days = 2 kgs down. Is that encouraging or is that encouraging? Hehehe!

However, I'm still 1 pound overweight. Sigh.