Today I embark on my most serious weight loss effort ever. The goal isn’t so much just the weight reduction, it is also the desired improvement in blood numbers with respect to cholesterol and related measures. So to visualize my goal, I took roughly 12 kilos of meat/fat out of the freezers and took this photo above. Two jumbo chickens at 3 kilos each, nearly a kilo of chicken wings, two kilos of pork belly or liempo, a kilo of Zubuchon lechon sisig, and roughly 2 kilos of fatback in the lower right hand corner. Yup, that’s what 12 kilos looks like. THAT IS PRECISELY THE AMOUNT OF WEIGHT I AM TARGETING TO LOSE OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS! It’s kind of gross in a way, I actually can’t imagine where all of this excess weight is residing on my body at the moment. But it’s there. And I am going to do my damndest to get rid of it. This is the first time I have PAID to lose weight, and a tailored program has been sent to me to follow to the letter, after providing extensive blood test results. I won’t divulge any details just yet; just wanted you all on notice why I might be cranky in the weeks ahead. :) But wish me luck.
P.S. I had to give up my beloved Diet Coke at the same time. So this is very serious. :)
77 Responses
I gave up Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Light, and all other drinks with caffeine this year. You will be cranky, you will have headaches. And, after, you will feel clean. Good luck!
OMGoodness! MM without Diet coke!?
Don’t worry MM! we’ll understand!
Haha, if you imagine your head containing sisig bits, or you stomach in liempo slices and everywhere filled with fat, you’d really be called Marketman!
Hope everything goes well, were with you all the way! :)
Try cutting carb including sugar it works for me losing 10 kg in 3 mos without strenuous exercise. Fish, chicken breast and veggie that’s more than enough for your creative cooking mind as well as keep this blog moving. I’m sure you’ll be able to meet your goal with all of us waiting enthusiastically :) for the result GO GO GO!!!
wow! look at those beauties!!! Let me help you w/ your diet MM, you can give all of those to me :) “another man’s fat is another man’s treasure” :)
Good luck… look at it this way, it’ll challenge you to come up with creative ways of making diet (bland) food more palatable. Kaya nyo yan!!!
The power of advertising!……after seeing the new Sharon Cuneta , we all want to lose all that weight gained during the holidays!
did you consult a nutritionist? or a trainer for your program? good luck to us, im trying to lose the extra pounds i gained in the past 4 years. sigh
Goodluck MM! :-)
Good luck MM!
I believe it’s doable, especially since you have someone professionally working with you on this one. (Lucky you!) I’m doing it now on my own. I’ve lost 6 pounds to date after a month.
So yeah, good luck to the two of us. :)
good luck MM!
@junb: it’s so hard to lose weight in singapore! I actually gain so much weight when I’m based there. It’s kinda hard to cook when you know that great food’s available downstairs. So kudos to you! just one look at char kway teow and my diet’s over. :(
@marketman: I’m on a diet too. cutting back on carbs and sugar. the hardest part is the first few days or weeks then after that you kinda get used to it. We can do this!
You can do it!
Hi MM, maybe its not fat. All the exercise due to your frequent market and farm tours, you may have developed an additional 12 kilos of muscle :)
is this cohen? :) if so, yeah, cranky MM ahead. good luck.
Hi, MM! I thought you were also going to do Cohen (like what I did– I lost 9 kilos in 2 months!) Yipee! :) But since you mentioned giving up Diet Coke, then, It’s not Cohen after all.
Goodluck! Go for it!
:-) the adventure starts. Just remember, the program DOES work and if the most ill disciplined person in the world (me) can do it, so can you!
Hello Marketman, I recently lost 80 pounds in six months while still reading your blog. I keep sane by having one cheat day a week. Congratulations for deciding to lose weight and good luck. Will you be posting low-calorie recipes soon?
I think my friend is using the same diet. My aunt went to the same folks too and she looks beyond amazing! If it’s the same one I can say from seeing the results that it works really really well :) You can do it!
and there goes the plump dressed chicken again=)
Hey MM, how about going weekday Pesco-Vegatarian? that’s what we’ve been doing for about 6 months now, working out well so far.
Also, drink lots of water!
two of my friends actually did the cohen diet, and they lost 60 lbs. in 6 months! plus, healthy glowing skin! fantastic results talaga.
if you follow it to the letter, it’s a sure thing, but weight loss takes longer when there’s a little cheating. question is, how can you cook all that yummy food and not give them a try?
i do wish you all the luck and will power though. i’m sure i’ll be envious when i see the new you!
Hi MM! If it’s Cohen you are doing, can you please share some recipes? I discontinued my program to my dismay because I get “sawa” with the food that I eat. Paulit-ulit. But I’m determined to do it again. You might want to share your recipes. I’ll start it again next week. Crossing my fingers it will work this time ;)
Can’t wait for the results MM! :) Cheering for you all the way. ;)
For MiMac- Can you share Cohen recipes please :)
yes Mimac, is cohen that effective? share naman?
Kaya mo yan MM! Ako din diet :)
Dear MM – first of all, congratulations for making the decision to lose weight for the sake of your health. That’s the right reason to do it and therefore, that already makes you a winner. 12 kilos is a lot and some take a year to lose that in a steady and healthy manner, so do not be disheartened along the way. Kaya mo yan, as long as you are focused. Maybe you can re-focus your food passion towards more healthy but delicious recipes, which will help you lose weight. I am sure that would be an equally challenging activity you can look forward to as you try to lose weight. Even pork can be made into healthy dishes! :)
I was 77kgs before I was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease, and 6 months after, I am now 60 kgs, which is nearer to my ideal body weight, BUT I would never recommend such a “weight loss route” of regular renal dialysis to anyone :). So, you are definitely on the right track by making that big decision to finally lose weight to improve your overall health condition. The healthier you are, the more time you and energy you will have for your food adventures and other passionate advocacies :).
Just to let you know also the good news – I had my kidney transplant last week (Jan 25) and I am doing quite well and now back at home starting my recuperation for the next few months, in reverse isolation. While in this stage, I am planning to research on healthy meals for recovering kidney transplant patients. It’s a long way to go to full recovery, but just like losing weight, it should be a daily decision to stick to your weight losss goal.
All the very best MM, and most of all, many thanks for the prayers that you and your family have offered for my successful transplant.
Cheers always!
I’m new here, senior at 63. I wonder if you are a diabetic and are aware of coconut sugar which raises sugar level at half the usual glycemic level. Good for non-diabetics too, a bit expensive but worth the price. My endocrinologist encourages his patients. At any rate, I wish you good luck on your diet try…hopefully you reach the goal. GOD Bless! I’m backreading on your archives. :-)
Good luck! If you’re in the same program I’m in then you will lose weight . I lost 75 pounds in 10 mos. The first 25 in a month . My husband lost more. You will lose that in about 2 months. :)
Paying for a diet program?! Serious indeed! I wish you luck MM!
Carol, that is FANTASTIC NEWS! Congratulations. I have been wondering how long it would take before you were back online, I was thinking 3-4 weeks at least, but it’s been just a week, WOW! We wish you all the best.
Hi everyone, it isn’t the Cohen Diet but very similar and based on blood numbers as well. And it is apparently tailored to individuals based on their blood numbers, so while some of it might just be smoke and mirrors to to obfuscate/protect the “secrets”, I publishing recipes for all to try without doing the whole program might be counterproductive and possibly unhealthy. So suffice it to say it is a no-or very low carbohydrate diet with lots of vegetables, minimal beef/chicken and fish sourced protein and lots of water. It’s my first day, give me a couple of weeks to let you all know if it works for me. :)
MM, are you going to do a progressive before-after set of shots on the blog, minus the face? :D good luck with the fitness restoration!
If it’s not too much to ask, what are your blood numbers. I’ve been taking lopid for my elevated triglyceride and cholesterol. The cholesterol wouldn’t go down below 220 until I started taking xenical, both to lose weight and lower the cholesterol. To protect my liver, from all these pills, I also take silimarin supplements. Along with exercise, I was able to lose some weight and lower my cholesterol below 200 without starving myself.
Good luck to you and me! I’m trying to lose a few pounds myself by eating only two meals a day.
Hi cca19 and rosedmd– i also get “sawa” from the usual thing that I prefer to eat- greens, steak (hehehe) and the cauliflower variations. do ask regina/mitch for additional recipes. :) i visited them last week before doing my reentry and they gave me new ones to try for my cheese meal plan (have u tried doing it pizza style?).
goodluck to us! :)
Rooting for you, MM! Good luck!
Good luck! Just remember though, roughly 2lbs of weight loss per week at most is considered healthy. Too much and your body will not be able to “adjust” (which is odd because the body will actually adjust to your intake and become efficient, conserving energy and not burning off the calories, we don’t want that). Anyway, based on how you are with food, I know you only paid the finest! haha, and I’m sure they took that into consideration.
I also recommend you take fish oil (the one in gel capsules), not all cholesterols are bad! You would want to raise that HDL in your blood numbers. haha
Hayy, it’s so hard to enjoy food and lose weight at the same time! Keep us posted! I know most of us here needs to lose some weight, inspire us MM!
oh wow…this is fair warning to all logo-nappers out there, and would-be fishpanboppers!
seriously, MM, you can do it! you didn’t look overweight on tv, and tv is notorious for piling on pounds. but you’re right, even the skinniest people can have the highest blood chem levels. good luck!
MM,
Good for you, MM. It’s so funny because I am on the same boat as you are… got to lose some oh this chunkiness. Didn’t like what I saw in the mirror last night. Not too bad but at least I have to enhance the curves for a good overall health and to flaunt some skin in summer (July) when we go to a tropical paradise.
Good luck on the dieting journey. I’m with you on that! Good luck to us!
Hi MM,
Bravo on the new resolve to lose weight!
I think it would be more accurate for you to show 24 kilos of (pork) fat … you don’t want to lose lean protein (muscle) from your body right?
It’s great that you are buckling down and trying to improve your diet for health based on recent biochemical/hematological profile.
As an MD, I find that the diet to which we subject diabetics always help (frequent small meals, low glycemic index foods, exercise program). I also personally think that logging on to a food diary in your first few days or even weeks) may help see the portion sizes you may be used to. Here in Canada we have to really watch these giant portions — though not as bad as in States.
I like the electronic food diary at http://www.myfooddiary.com . I subscribe to it and love it !! It’s only 10USD per month and has a huge database of all kinds of yummy foods (healthy and unhealthy) and their nutritional content, has a “body log”, a “personal notes” section, has an “exercise log” with a data base of exercise and lets you log in the minutes you exercised. At any time you can log diet and exercise and it gives ou a running commentary of how many calories you are in the day to achieve weight loss goals. It is very user friendly, relatively cheap, very motivational, and I recommend it to my computer savvy patients (kids — I am a hospital pediatrician) . I also find that each time I log in the food that i ate, I get to figure out the nutrtional content at a glance.
When I was a little chubby child /preteenager growing up in the Philippines, I think back at the portion sizes of rich fatty and carby asian food that my yaya use to cook …. aaaah !!
Good luck with everything ! Exercise 5 x week — 5 cardio, 3 weight training :-) You have nothing better to do right? I schedule it in to my day. Even my secretary knows my gym schedule…
May I suggest flaxseed. It’s really good for your body.
MM…Hats off to you. As someone who shares the same passion…FOOD! I find it extremely difficult to go on a diet. But as we age, we encounter health issues that compel us to do something about it! i am in the same boat like you with the same reason…to be there for our loved ones! I know that it is not an easy task.
Carol…I pray for your speedy recovery and CONGRATULATIONS! I also do have a nephew in his 40’s who is on dialysis and opted for dialysis for now instead of a transplant for reasons known to him based on his research. Who knows maybe one day, he might change his mind.
MM, good luck to you. I know you can do it. I started on my diet last April and have successfully lost 25 lbs. and met my goal last November. I have been maintaining it since then and knock on wood, been able to keep it. Surpassed Christmas and New Year celebrations, and it hasn’t actually ended yet (meaning the celebrations). As the days come, will be celebrating a milestone (50) soon, and celebrate life with a healthy outlook. All of us who read your blog is supporting you and will be cheering you when you meet your goal.
Take care!
Good visual representation of the adage “you are what you eat”. But compared to other Philippine food blogs, whose visuals are uniformly brown, brown brown, because of the favored meat dishes, your blog has stunning greenery. Thanks for featuring good local produce, sustainably farmed and creatively prepared. Its an important shift in what we Filipinos consider “good eats.”
here’s hoping I also get the same enthusiasm and determination you have to lose the weight.. got sidetracked when Ondoy hit us, stopped going to the gym since it’s also closed and can’t do my brisk walking due to the high waters and after the water receded everything just went crazy.. I would try to go to the gym again since am on leave from the 9th to the 28th but the main reason for the leave is due to family coming home for a vacation so that means a never ending food binge to satisfy their hungry palate of Filipino dishes.. crossing my fingers I can squeeze in a few days a week of walking and lifting..
Good luck on your goal and will also get the inspiration to hit my goal!!
do share recipes and ideas on how to stick to the diet plan!! lol……..
MM ,You can do it…:) Try ground flax seed meal for breadmaking,Shirataki noodle,shirariku brand,yam noodles 1 gram total carb.,google low carb recipe .,i have been supporting my husband on low carb diet (20 g a day)no sugar,so i have to make it work and make delicious meal.. he could live on,even with my busy schedule we make an effort for it to happen,so far he lose 20lbs in 2 mos.You look good in pic. Keep it up …
diet and exercise lang, MM!! Just think…after all these, mababa na cholesterol, blood presseure and blood sugar:) Good luck!!
Good luck, MM! Giving up Diet Coke is a huge undertaking indeed! Can’t wait to see the results.
@ yazi: Share tayo ha… :-)
MM, Goodluck!
going off tangent for a second here….
mm, you should buy yourself a vacuum sealer for freezing your meats.
they freeze better….no water crystals. the meats also defrost nicer.
good luck on your diet!
@ Mimac- I’m not yet in the refeeding phase. Actually, I’m starting over so wish me luck. :)
@ MM- Good luck in your diet! I know it won’t be easy with all the good food around you but You’ll be able to do it! :)
joy, yup, have a vacuum sealer. And I apportion meats/fish when I get home from the market, so they are ready to defrost in exactly the specified amounts… :)
Best of luck, MM! My efforts to lose weight are inconsistent and haphazard. Needless to say, I haven’t had much luck. But giving up the soda is a really big step. It takes a lot of effort to break old habits. Does this mean that future posts will deal with diet food and portion control, though? And here I was looking forward to posts on dessert. I don’t really consider fruit a dessert unless it’s hiding under cream or concealed in cake. :(
crabbychef, hahaha, sorry, desserts are DEFINITELY on the sh@t list for this diet… but if you haven’t been through the archives, I do have lots of old posts on desserts of all sorts… :) I don’t intend to turn this into a diet blog, but will probably post a few of my absurdly spartan meals. And I will continue with chicharon and other fatty experiments…
Hi MM – many thanks. I am daunted by my reverse isolation (“under house/bedroom arrest”) for the next few months, but one of my incentives is that I can read your blog and go back in the archives at a leisurely manner :), so you will keep me company! That should be enough reward to make me a good recuperating patient! :)
Hi Ms. Betty Q. – many thanks for the good wishes!!! I look forward to cooking some of your sumptuous and delicious recipes when I am well enough, so you are also one of my inspirations while I am in reverse isolation. If your nephew is open to the idea, maybe he and I can correspond by email and we can discuss the merits and demerits of being on dialysis and on having a kidney transplant. In the beginning, I also thought I can just be on dialysis, but I researched and asked around among medical practitioners and transplant patients, and undoubtedly, this is the best way to address end stage renal disease. And more importantly, in the Philippines, we have one of the best transplant surgeons and hospital facilities in the world for such operations. I want to give him another perspective while it is not yet too late for him, to either change his mind about KT or reaffirm his decision to just be on dialysis.
Many, many thanks again and I hope everyone’s having a great weekend! :)
MM.. just wondering if you can have Coke Zero,if it is available there .Zero on everything, but the taste:)Made with splenda,just a thought. good luck.
good luck! =D
Hi MM just curious what’s this diet called ?
jayjayv, give me a month or two on it and if it works, I’ll definitely let readers know what it is… But it is NOT the Cohen diet, though I think there are many similarities in the two programs. I have never pursued a paid program before, but folks I know and trust, and some who read this blog, have been on the same diet and have achieved impressive results… so I figured I would try it and see for myself. :) Sleepless, I think it might be the caffeine in the diet sodas/sodas that is problematic, so its mostly water, though Sprite zero is allowed as a beverage in limited quantities…
Same here MM, I am on my 2nd week of a 1000 calories a day. My program includes Food, injections,supplements and urine checks to monitor fat burn. So far I lost 10 lbs :)
Epi, yikes, no injections or pills for me… :)
MM I’m liking your program more. I dread the injections….:(
Ok good luck MM !if it’s similar then after a week it will be smooth sailing. The first week is the most difficult so find things to distract you from food cravings :)
i wish you the best on your new endeavor. i hope though you would manage the initial headaches and temper outbursts :)
epi i am just curious what are the injections called and what are they suppose to be doing for you?
Gerry, sorry, just re-read comments and noticed you asked a specific question. I have a cholesterol count of 215, down from 280-300 after months of taking fenofibrate and two months ago, adding on Lipitor. I think a lot of my cholesterol issues are simply hereditary… but the doctor wants it comfortably below the 200 mark. I am on day 3 of this diet, and surprisingly, it isn’t half as bad as I thought it might be. I had severe headaches the first day, probably more a result of the simultaneous withdrawal of diet coke, but otherwise, everything is okay so far…
@ psychomom the injections are all natural or organic it helps to get rid of excess fat deposits in our Hips, face arms and stomach. I need to ask again the name of the injection I completely forgot. If you eat food that is not on the “allowed list” then the injections are useless. The supplements in case you are interested are High potency B- stress vegetarian tablets and potassium from healthy options :)
Goodluck MM jayjayv is right the first week is the hardest. I motivate myself by weighing daily and seeing favorable results :)
hello, i’m 61 and is diabetic for almost five years now. this is my second time to write since almost four years of reading your blogs everyday. i hope you share with us your recipes please. thank you.
MM on a diet (again) but this time walang pustahan with the Teen ;)))
I am on a diet, too, gluten free for half a year now because of chronic migraine headaches. Losing weight was not my agenda, but it’s the happy coincidence of the diet ;))
Good luck and may you be healthy always (para patuloy ang kaligayahan namin sa pagbabasa ng iyong blog).
@Carol, wishing you well on the road to recovery.
I’m looking forward to hearing more about your eating plan. In North America, most the of the weight loss plans have recipes designed for. . . non-Asians. Definitely not suited to how I like to eat (a large salad for lunch? What a waste of chewing energy!) I like Weight Watchers-style programs (I’ve never done the real program, but just used it on my own using publicly available information) because I can tweak my recipes to make them more healthful with lower points, but I wish there were other programs designed with Asians in mind. I need a lot of structure (or I’ll cheat too much), so it’s really hard doing it on my own!
Rona, I agree with you. This diet would be hard for you I think… no salt (or tiny amounts of salt), no soy sauce, no patis… I too am eating more western style meals and just have to suck it up for 45-60 days… :(
if that’s the C program, it’s a sure good way to lose weight. Goodluck!
” I think a lot of my cholesterol issues are simply hereditary…”
And these
“12 kilos of meat/fat out of the freezers and took this photo above. Two jumbo chickens at 3 kilos each, nearly a kilo of chicken wings, two kilos of pork belly or liempo, a kilo of Zubuchon lechon sisig, and roughly 2 kilos of fatback”
had nothing to do with it.
Papichulo…hahaha, good point. But if you’ve been to your cardiologist lately, they will probably admit that only 20-25% of your cholesterol is driven by diet and exercise; and the vast majority of it is driven by hereditary factors. So while it is definitely important to eat well and exercise, it is not always sufficient to bring down cholesterol levels.
I have been tracking my cholesterol levels for 12 years, and oddly, they didn’t rise much since I started this blog (considering my advancing age, and cholesterol naturally rises with age), which is something I wouldn’t have expected. But then again, I have been on cholesterol medicine of some sort or other for nearly 10 years I think… So if this diet I am on manages to lower my cholesterol by say 30+%, I will indeed be thrilled. And if I manage to get off meds that will be brilliant.
Hi, MM! Will definitely await your revelation. Been wanting to go on a diet program myself (and actually pay for it if need be) but I do not know anyone who has done it. Now that you’re doing it, I’ll be more inclined to do it.
MarketMan – May I know where I can inquire about your diet? I’m about 80% decided on doing the Cohen diet, but want to be well-informed about other options, before I sign up.
Thank you! =)
JCo, it is similar to Cohen but not exactly the same, its from a clinic based in South Africa, and it costs maybe a third of the price of Cohen, for more info, email bambinawise@mac.com; say “Marketman” sent you… and no, I am not in any way endorsing the diet I did other than to say it worked for me… :)