Fresh Face Program Day 1

Let me welcome my day one with a hearty breakfast:That's salmon that I lightly cooked with olive oil and garlic then drizzled with lemon juice from one lemon slice, two slices of whole wheat bread toasted, and slices of local queso de bola. This diet certainly got me experiencing new things - first was finding ways of making the food exciting so as I do not stick to tasteless stuff that would make me count the days I'm in this diet while keeping within the food limit required. Second was then, facing my fear of the kitchen since cooking apparently isn't my forte or have the patience to do so. Like I said earlier, this isn't an easy diet because you really have to make the time and effort for it. But as they say, no pain no gain.

As I mentioned earlier, announcing that i'll be going through a diet program got a lot of reactions, most of them being in the negative, and more negative when I expressed my desire to progress to the 30-day program in time for my wedding and keep the lifestyle probably for life. The first one mainly was why I was in it when I'm thin already to begin with and have a relatively normal body mass index. Actually, think of it this way, I'm not after losing weight. Losing weight would just be a secondary result, since I'll be flushing out the junk and bad stuff down the toilet, literally as I poop. The main goal I have (aside from the fact that I'm curious) is to live healthy.

Lesson to be learned: living healthy doesn't necessarily mean starving myself. The diet actually has large portions of food. The food choices are very good actually - tuna, salmon, broccoli, spinach, veggies, and even allows rich foods like unsalted butter, egg, and dark chocolate. I even had cheese too. Surprisingly, I didn't run to the next bathroom upon eating good cheese, like our native queso de bola.

To note the difference, I took a picture of me pre-diet and also took my measurements and weighed myself, and these numbers I list down

Weight: 110 pounds
Chest: 31 inches
Waist: 24-1/2 inches
Hips: 35-1/2 inches
Thighs: 19 inches

Breakfast alone made me discover that whole wheat bread is best enjoyed toasted and eaten lightly spread with olive oil or good-quality unsalted butter. I'm discovering too why queso de bola is becoming such a favorite and I got appreciative of its taste. I prefer my fish lightly seared and cooked, then lightly seasoned. I'm glad I'm allowed garlic too, since they made my canned fish more fun.

There is a downside too, though. When I'm out, the normal tendency though is to run to the next stall to have something to eat. Since the four-day diet is quite stricter than the 30-day, I've had the effort of preparing foods and even bringing my own little microwave-safe dishes of certain foods - cooking my salmon and tuna in batches while steaming and blanching my veggies and packing them in labeled containers. OC... :P

Lunch was quite heavy for me on the greens side, calling for a serving or two of Salad Nicoise and large morsels of tuna. The greens and veggies come in lunch and dinner for me while my breakfast is heavier on protein. I saw that this program had a relatively different food pyramid, calling for a higher ratio of protein than carbohydrates, and most of my carbs come from whole wheat.

By 4 pm I should be snacking, so my snack of choice was a large red apple (I'm starting to feel like Snow White, except I'm not fond of ivory skin) and two dark chocolates. EJ told me that dark chocolate has a lot of good effects in the body. By this time, I'm quite used to dark chocolate already, with Meiji black chocolate being the brand of choice, practically since it's cheaper than other brands and it's less on the bitter side that could gag you. On times when I feel hunger pangs though, I drink water (I'm supposed to drink water every hour at least) or have a tiny square of dark chocolate, which I always carry with me.

Come dinner time, I had an order of tuna sashimi and steamed spinach, which I ate while watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. As the moviegoers were snacking on nachos and popcorn, I was spearing down a bowlful of spinach down me. I sure missed the taste of popcorn and was thinking of ways to actually justify me buying popcorn by saying it's air popped, but I gotta keep within limits.

So far, I think I'm doing well. Tomorrow, I get my carb dose from whole wheat pasta as well, and here comes broccoli and other veggies. :) Oh yes, in case you're asking, I still work out with this diet, doing a combination of yoga and Pilates.

The Start of My Fresh Face Program

I'm glad I have a job that gets me to learn things besides makeup and beauty. I was hired for a project by a health and wellness company to do makeup for a coaching program that they have. This is my second time to work with them actually and I've had a good experience of meeting new people and picking up a thing or two to learn before I go.

I met nutritionist Dr. Claude Chauchard this week, since he was the coach to be filmed for the week. He specializes on anti-ageing and slimming, so I thought the program would be all about skin care and all that. During the filming, I was able to pick up the words "pomme" and "fromage" (French words for apple and cheese, respectively) and I thought to myself, "What are food terminologies doing in an anti-ageing session?" So while doing retouches and during shoot downtimes, I asked Dr. Chauchard about why food terminologies were included in the program. He does specialize also in slimming and anti-ageing and this was a program that targets you from the inside out, so in short, being healthy first. It was quite interesting as we both were chatting and quite interestingly, he was giving me advice on what foods are good and what practices should be avoided. Yesterday, he gave me one of his books, which had his 30-day age-preventive diet program.

I asked him too if he could sign the book for me and I'm glad he did.

I have no qualms about eating healthy food and vegetables. In fact, I'm quite fond of healthy food. However, I don't know how to really go about it. Plus, with my lifestyle and lack of time to actually take time to cook and all, I sometimes end up ordering oil-ladden takeout food or just rushing to the nearest fast food joint for fries and burgers. I guess this book tells me this is how to start it. As I have an open mind to different food styles and tastes, fast foods included, I guess I should keep an open mind too to foods and diet programs that could help improve the quality of my life. So why not try it right? After all, I have nothing to lose (except probably a few pounds and inches).

Normally, I get reactions like, "You don't need to diet! You're thin already!" In fact, I just got like quite a handful of reactions when I got home with a grocery bag full of vegetables, fruits, tuna, salmon, and whole-wheat bread. However, I didn't think of it na lang as dieting. I thought of it as a new eating adventure, just like going to a new restaurant. Aside from the 30-day program the book has, it has a 4-day trial program that claims to improve not just our skin and the cells of our face but also our metabolism. I guess it's just to see how we react or fare first before we go through the 30-day program.

Come to think of it, I've been evaluating how I eat lately and I go to a fast food joint approximately 5 times a week, sometimes even twice a day. It's not that I want to, sometimes I'm left with no choice. Seeing what I put inside my body I've realized that quite a number of it is actually junk, and these junk foods aren't called junk without a reason. They destroy you from the inside. Not only that, it would reflect on how we look. I've noticed that if I've had too much chips or chicharon, I bloat horribly. I remember the last time I had a super bundat meal full of grease, fat, and salt. I felt full yes, but it wasn't the kind of full that I want. It was the kind of fullness that had me bursting at the seams. I honestly didn't like it and I felt like throwing up. Too much of the bad stuff reflects on my skin as well. I've noticed too that I get all oily and sometimes pimply with all the junk too. Water too is also one thing I sometimes neglect. I've once been admitted for dehydration and I haven't learned from that still. During the course of time, I learned that when I'm hungry, I'm not really hungry but I could be thirsty.

Okay, so back to the program. I'm now starting on the 4-day program and I'd like to blog it as well to share everyone my own experience as well as to encourage me to go on as well. It's also to evaluate too how I'm doing. I've asked some of my friends, Fritz and EJ if they'd like to join me as well so I get male opinions too.

Before I started the program, I read the menu. The program starts on the evening before Day 1 and ends lunch on day 4. So one day is sort of broken into two. Before I started though, I eased in slowly into the habit so as not to shock my instant-everything system. First thing was getting used to the taste of dark chocolate. I'm really into the milky sweet chocolate I'd wolf down so the bitterness of cocoa was something new to me. Also, the diet required me to drink a large glass of water first thing upon waking and ideally for every hour. Since I'm not heavy on drinking water, most especially plain water, I started easing myself on that too.

Food choices were relatively easy. The protein sources were mostly oily fish like tuna and salmon. I'm fond of seafood and I'd definitely prefer sashimi over a plate of lechon any day. Vegetables and fruits I have no problem either, more on fruits though, as I gag at the thought of eating an orange in whole form. I'm glad I could juice the orange, as I prefer taking my oranges in juice form rather than fruit, as the fruit skin annoys me. I'd then have to get used to cheese though, in little amounts and the texture of whole wheat bread, which I find quite dry and mealy than white bread. But then, it's just for 4 days. Let's see what happens.

Of course, this diet would mean a lot of effort. I need to make time for this. When I got home from work a while ago, I still had to get out the pots and pans and prepare the food and then still I had to clean up before I went to bed. When I'm outside and mealtime comes, it's not anymore just going to the nearest food place. I have to be careful in where I eat, what I eat, and how I eat. I'd have to monitor as well when I'm about to drink water, my snack, and even thinking of varieties on how to spice up and keep the menu interesting yet still staying within the diet rules. But hey, it's fun, at least it's something new. Now back to my diet proper shall we?

I started this evening when I got home since the four-day diet would start on the evening before day 1. The menu calls for 1 cup of vegetables and 8.75 ounces of salmon (or any other oily fish) with olive oil and lemon juice. I should eat the meal between 7-8 p.m. so I had to make sure I got home at that time. I chose tuna for my protein source, and cooked one can with garlic and extra virgin olive oil and squeezed some lemon juice to taste. I had blanched green beans for my veggies, and whoop-de-do I finally blanched them perfectly.

It felt quite weird at first that I was eating this without rice. After the meal, I didn't feel like a boulder was placed inside my stomach. I was full but not full to the point of throwing up, despite that I kept drinking water. This one I like, since I really don't like the feeling of a heavy stomach at night, especially since I'm just about to wind down and go to bed.

And speaking of bed, it's time to hit the sack. Doctor requires at least 8-10 hours of sleep each night. I'll see you tomorrow for day one!