The beauty of ushering in a New Year is being able to give ourselves a clean slate. New Year is about hope (pretty much like a wedding day) I am currently at my heaviest,  most sedentary state. It feels horrible, but I know that I am responsible for this.

I've decided not to despair, but instead continue to be patient, focused and persevering.

After  a planning session morning at work, I headed off to Rustan's Supermaket to buy items I need to reach my ideal weight and good eating habits.

Day 1 of carb-free, sugar-free, baked-goods free, fruit-free, alcohol free (and again nicotine free). So help me God. Tyra Banks once said: "If you eat it, you write it."

I am actually doing the Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet once again to re-train myself to eat the right stuff. Fruits and complex carbs will be introduced on the 15th day (Phase 2). Am watching Healthy Appetite (Lifestyle Network) to get more healthy cooking tips.

I also wrote

Breakfast:

~Spanish omelette

~2 slices of Excellente ham

water: 3 glasses (8 oz each)

Lunch:

~1 big bowl of green salad (crunchy lettuce, blanched spinach, thin slices of Baguio tomato, boiled quail eggs with thin slivers of gouda cheese)

~ 2 pieces roast chicken with Italian herbs (for recipe pleasee see All About Chicken cookbook)

water: 2 glasses

Snack:

serving of kimchi (Silla Korean Store, T. Morato corner Timog)

water: 2 glasses

Dinner: 

cabbage soup:

link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKeQ8cjG04U&feature=related), but I added Knorr chicken broth and slices of chicken breast

grilled anggus steak  

ginger tea after dinner

* We are cooking enough for the whole family

Ideas for January 3

Breakfast:

~asparagus and tinapang bangus omelette

Lunch : OUT with Elena. Be good girl please

Ideas:

~Turkish salad: tomatoes, feta cheese, olive oil, jalapeno

~monggo!

~bistek tagalog

~Sukiyaki

~tuna sashimi

~salmon sashimi

Snacks:

glass of low fat milk

pistacchio nuts (buy)

The beauty of ushering in a New Year is being able to give ourselves a clean slate. New Year is about hope (pretty much like a wedding day) I am currently at my heaviest,  most sedentary state. It feels horrible, but I know that I am responsible for this.

I've decided not to despair, but instead continue to be patient, focused and persevering.

After  a planning session morning at work, I headed off to Rustan's Supermaket to buy items I need to reach my ideal weight and good eating habits.

Day 1 of carb-free, sugar-free, baked-goods free, fruit-free, alcohol free (and again nicotine free). So help me God. Tyra Banks once said: "If you eat it, you write it."

I am actually doing the Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet once again to re-train myself to eat the right stuff. Fruits and complex carbs will be introduced on the 15th day (Phase 2). Am watching Healthy Appetite (Lifestyle Network) to get more healthy cooking tips.

I also wrote

Breakfast:

~Spanish omelette

~2 slices of Excellente ham

water: 3 glasses (8 oz each)

Lunch:

~1 big bowl of green salad (crunchy lettuce, blanched spinach, thin slices of Baguio tomato, boiled quail eggs with thin slivers of gouda cheese)

~ 2 pieces roast chicken with Italian herbs (for recipe pleasee see All About Chicken cookbook)

water: 2 glasses

Snack:

serving of kimchi (Silla Korean Store, T. Morato corner Timog)

water: 2 glasses

Dinner: 

cabbage soup:

link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKeQ8cjG04U&feature=related), but I added Knorr chicken broth and slices of chicken breast

grilled anggus steak  

ginger tea after dinner

* We are cooking enough for the whole family

Ideas for January 3

Breakfast:

~asparagus and tinapang bangus omelette

Lunch : OUT with Elena. Be good girl please

Ideas:

~Turkish salad: tomatoes, feta cheese, olive oil, jalapeno

~monggo!

~bistek tagalog

~Sukiyaki

~tuna sashimi

~salmon sashimi

Snacks:

glass of low fat milk

pistacchio nuts (buy)

Lunch with my friends at Shabuway. Here's bag designer Nicole and galpal Cecile cooking away at Shabuway.

Yesterday some of my friends and I attended an exclusive food tasting lunch of Shabuway - a San Francisco based Shabu Shabu franchise. The specialty is original shabu shabu. Shbu shabu is a japanese versiont of hot pot. This dish is somewhat similar  to sukiyaki in style, since both use very thinly sliced meat and vegetables and are traditionally served with dipping sauces.Shabu shabu is considered to be more savory and less sweet than sukiyaki. It is traditionally a winter dish but is enjoyed all year-round.

Here's the best part - you will be doing the cooking. For those non-cooks  out there, have no fear - anyone can do it! It is so simple and not at all messy since Shabuway uses and electric heating stove, so that means it is smokeless and safe.

The beef is served with a healthy  veggie plate of Nappa cabbage, carrots, spinach, enoki mushrooms and tofu. Once the beef and veggies are cooked you may use their homemade dipping sauce of sesame sauce or ponzu sauce to flavor the beef. The verdict? it was delicious and guilt free! I plan to go back again.

Lately I find myself grocery shopping to relieve stress. The good news is enjoy shopping for fresh produce and meat and other items all within an hour at the nearby Rustans Fresh. Here is a recent Tex Mex spread for dinner.

Moreso it is guilt free shopping because I know my husband and kids enjoy the new healthy menu we have at home. Rustans Fresh is a stone throw away from my house and I've found myself there every other day since I cut carbs. I wonder what the connection is to my new eating habbits. I suppose more variety will keep me from straying from my healthy eating habbits.

I was thrilled with their Buy One Take One lamb chops (PhP580) which were so great tasting grilled. I also picked up their promo for Buy One Take One chicken thighs at PHP198! It was pre marinated Pinoy style and the kids loved it!

My designer business partners at Bonne Bouche GB5. Left to right: Elena B jewelry designer, Nicole Sheker handbag designer. Nicole introduced me to Nutri Shakes. How I admire these slim friends (who were also born on the late 1960's like myself) they have managed their weight all these years after two or more kids. My loose fitting linen dresses like the one I wore here was such a massive success this summer. Ideal for hiding unwanted bulges.

Day 5 with no carbs - At least I am not dying without them! iIt's not to hard to avoid carbs when you are on the go. 

Here is a little about what happened to me today: I mustered a Dutch Choco Nutri Meal shake by Usana. At ten in the morning I attended made-to-order design session with an old time client. She needed a ninang gown to hide her round paunch. FYI she greeted me with: Hello Michi! We have both gained weight! At the back of my head I was thinking "Not for long Mrs Santos!" LOL.

Right after the session I met my biz partner for lunch near her new jewelry shop in Connecticut,Greenhills. Had a lovely lunch at this cute place called Yumemiya Cafe. I enjoyed it immensely! I could tell my svelte lunch partner who ate very little was observing the fact that I ate all my food! It was all greens and protein nevertheless. We then eaded for Makati for two meetings. One at 4pm and another at 6pm. I was able to squeeze in a wonderful hair blowout at Hairworks across the street. Am feeling like a million bucks.