Weight Loss Log No. 2

Five pounds to date. I'm almost back to my pre-summer weight. Staying off Nagaraya crackers (the one bag is still on the kitchen table), a total of seven days in two weeks going to the gym (20 minutes on the stairmaster and a mile of laps in the pool), and crazy calorie counting is paying off so far. I've tried going to the gym (treadmill for 40 minutes and some light weights) during grad school but I've never lost this much weight--come to think of it, never did lose weight in the gym in grad school. Only swimming and calorie counting helped me lose weight this fast.

Best of all, I feel great. I've forgotten how good it felt to swim! My ankles and my knees are probably thanking me for re-discovering the sport. They didn't appreciate me using them to run with all the extra weight. nutristrtegy.com estimates that I can burn between 472 and 563 calories with light/moderate effort swimming freestyle. More importantly, there is no jarring. The website lists other activities and calories burned with those activities. I really believe in finding the exercise that most suits you for the moment. Running on the treadmill used to work for me, but I guess I have to do heavier cardio now that I'm 30. There's really no getting out of exercise if I want to lose weight.

As for calorie counting... this is how I understand the role of calories from an article on wikipedia.org. Human fat tissue has equivalent calorie values. To maintain your current weight, you must consume food calories equal to the calories burned. To lose weight then, you must burn more than you consume. This is expounded more on howstuffworks.com. The following link helps you estimate your calorie requirements: http://www.thelifestylecompany.com/wloss/dcr.asp; while this link has estimated calorie content of food: http://www.thecaloriecounter.com/.

Why am I so obsessed with losing weight nowadays? Because I've gained more in grad school alone than some people who have given birth multiple times. I'm taking back my life--my health and my social life--that has taken a back seat since I started grad school. I will not be told I let myself go again (Damn you, Nik Tabios).

If You Wanna Be Different On Your Wedding Day

Was browsing through Brian's blog tonight and he posted a video of this guy that does rock covers of classical music. This is his version of Pachelbel's famous Canon in D, the classical piece usually played as a wedding march. This is one version that would certainly shock your guests and the priest! That is, if you can find anybody who can play this well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjA5faZF1A8

Or read Brian's blog: brianbelen.blogspot.com.

Weight Loss Log No. 1

This week I embarked on a journey to lose the 30 pounds or so that I have gained in the last five years. If there's anything I've learned as I grow older is that losing weight just became increasingly difficult after I turned 25.

In the past week, I've been on a calorie-counting craze and I actually lost 2lbs. I, however, gain the other pound after lunch. It's true, I do. How sad. I have so far lost 3 lbs. (before going to the gym, 4 lbs. after my swim) of the 10 that I gained from my three-month holiday in the islands. Thank goodness for the unavailability of Nagaraya cracker nuts... Franny gave me one to remember the days in the islands and it is (congratulations to me) still sitting on our kitchen table waiting for the day that I cannot contain my cravings anymore.

So I hope to be making regular entries in this series. The main purpose that I put this in my blog at all is for me to keep track of my progress. No entries, no progress. Oh, and I'm not ready to talk about quitting smoking yet. One mountain at a time.

Just Dug Up Gold

For months, my friends have been asking me to go to this Asian supermarket somewhere in the Bronx. I have never gone until today. Thank goodness, my roomie, Tina got me to get up from my nap and go with her and Franny to Chang Li.

For $20, I will be able to feed myself with today's groceries for the next two weeks. We were like kids in a candy store, sorry to use the cliche. But we were delirious with excitement as we saw stuff from the Islands that we used to take for granted: salted duck eggs, bottled tuyo and tinapa, pancit canton, Mr. Chips! I mean, they had a whole section of Pinoy goodies! Someday, I will also take advantage of the Asian eggplants (US eggplants are round and tough), bok choy, and all the other veggies we found there that we can never expect to get at our local grocery store. We used to go all the way to Flushing in Queens to satisfy our cravings for Asian treats.

And I was trying to plan during lunch when I could possibly have my sisig and laing fix again (I had Purefoods sisig and Moondish laing in can). Although Chang Li didn't have my Purefoods de lata goodies (canning sisig and bopis must be the smartest thing they ever did), there are many things from that supermarket that will make up for lack of these Pinoy-in-NY pantry standards.

This may sound absolutely shallow and funny to those who have never been away from the Islands long enough, but you have to understand, when you're missing Ate Luz and Nanay's cooking so badly, these canned and bottled stuff just hit the spot.

What To Do With Party Leftovers

Having had my birthday party a whole week ago, I was left with nothing in the fridge but leftovers. For a couple of days, these satisfied my need for nourishment. Then my genius roommate (ehem) suggested that my leftover pepperoni dip would be wonderful to use in a cordon bleu.

The pepperoni dip itself is a breeze to make. Two cans of mushroom soup (no water), a bar of cream cheese, and a pound of pepperoni. Thanks to my cousin, Ate Ivy, for the recipe. After the party, though, when bread and the dip just isn't acceptable as a complete meal anymore, the idea of cordon bleu is welcome. You're gonna need to butterfly chicken breast cuts, then season them with basil, oregano and pepper. No salt, since the dip is already quite salty. Put some of the dip at the center of the sliced chicken breast then fold the chicken around the dip. Tuck in the sides of the chicken to keep the dip from melting out. Roll the chicken onto bread crumbs (this is the lazy way, recipes would say dip into egg and add some oil for a brown crust, but it's not that necessary, taste-wise). Place into a baking sheet and put in the oven at 350-degrees Farenheit. Bake for 35 minutes.

Cut like pinwheels for a nice presentation and easier warm up for leftovers. Serve with ranch dressing if desired. Total prep time was only 10 minutes. Nothing is better than good food prepared easily.