Diet Fallout

I have been reluctant to write this post simply because this will reveal my weakness and lack of discipline.  But I thought it will do me a lot of good to get this God know what feelings out of my system.

I began R2 the third week of September, loading on 17th and 18th and started on VLCD on the 19th September.  Registered a good loss of 2.7kg the first week, despite cheats here and there and a major cheat on Friday Day 5 of VLCD.

At first I thought R2 will be a walk in the park for me.  My thoughts were since I somehow survived R1, had satisfied whatever cravings I had during Maintenance and Stabilization, surely R2 would be a breeze.  I was prepared for it, I had 6kg to go to get to a health BMI and much as I know that for my height (me being not as tall as Jai, Ogee Karim and Arlin) I should be at least 60kg, I figured at 65kg I would be happy.  I was planning on starting an exercise regime when I get to 65kg and maintain the weight through exercising, which contrary to popular belief, is something that I really would like to get myself into.

R2 a walk in the park it is NOT!

Challenge No 1 : My Mental Well-Being
I must admit that my current job and the stuff on my plate is stressful to the point sometimes I wonder what exactly the stress is all about.  I worry about my work performance, especially in the last two years since I had Harith, I felt that had slowed down tremendously.  I worry about deadlines and working through people, especially when execution is different from what I intended things to get done.  Let's face it, I am a worrywart. More so now when my husband decided to resign and the weight of responsibility lies on my shoulders alone.   He has been out of a job for almost three months now.  There have been quite a few leads but none has been positive so far.  I worry about the state of our financials especially when next year my eldest will be college bound.  And I always feel that I am in this lose-lose situation.  I am not happy with my load at work and I don't have options since I needed to be the breadwinner now.

Put a diet on that state of mind and the combination becomes frequent headaches and eating out of stress.  Not that I atea whole lot like before, but certainly not 100gms of protein and a cup of veggies.

Challenge No 2 : Fatigue, Fatigue, Fatigue
I don't know whether this is just me OR whether others my age feel the same.  I wake up 5am every day, shower, ready myself for Subuh prayers, pray, get ready with work clothes, rush to the bus station in Seremban to catch the 6:30am bus if I am lucky the 6:15am bus.

I sleep at about 11:30pm, wake up and make milk for Harith at about 2am, then sleep restlessly only to wake up at 5am.  Bear in mind that I get back from office the night before on average around 8pm.  Add that the bus trip that is not too comfortable, particularly going back to Seremban, when the evening traffic is worse than morning, compound that further with rain.  The bus ride becomes unbearable when I am hungry and have already taken my HcG pellets.  I get dizzy and sometimes nauseous.

I don't get 8 hours of sleep, I can't sleep on the bus, and I try to compensate my sleep during weekends. And add that to Challenge No 1, where I don't get to do anything productive at all during weekends, and I worry that I am letting life pass by me with this routine.

Challenge No 3 : Being Happy With Myself, Whatever State I Am, Fat or Thin
I hate to say this, but with a lot of my school friends on HcG and losing their kilos, I feel compelled to keep up with that loss too.  Weird eh, but oh so true!

Pyl has lost more than 20kg, Jai, Arlin and Ogee have lost more than 10kg, and here I am feeling miserable with my loss, and not even able to continue to lose my next 6kg.  MrM said that he knew that I was seeing this diet as a competition but did not want to say anything.  Trust MrM to be so supportive with my weight loss and saying that I don't have long limbs when I had asked him if he noticed that my arms are a tad smaller.

When I look at my body in the mirror, I hate my C-section pouch and my body being so straight like a pole. Not like Scarlett Johannsen.  Now you see how I just kill myself with these thoughts.

I should be grateful.  I do have nice legs, or at least I think I do.  I do have nice skin.  But I don't have Scarlett Johannsen's body!

I think I needed to come to my own terms with my own body before I can even begin to lose the weight.  The first 8kg was easy enough because I was not focused on how I look, rather the fact that I needed to lose weight.  The next 6kg I started thinking of wanting to look thin.  Or thinner would be the right word.

I know now that I should be happy with myself.  I should not compare myself with others.  I should be grateful with what I am NOW, not 6kg lighter.  This is really difficult for me since I have always been competitive, school, work and now even weight loss.  But for my long term weight loss sake, I need to come to terms with myself.

Challenge No 4 : Balancing Challenge No 1, 2 and 3 plus kids and a husband
This has got to be the greatest challenge.  I find it hard to remain positive when I am subjected to a daily commute, work, and just plain tired by the end of the day.   To me being positive is the key to everything in how you deal with your lot in this life.  In seeing the possibilities rather than accentuate the negative.  My work consumes me in that I find it difficult to do anything else when so much work outstanding.  This then becomes a vicious cycle of thinking, worrying, not being able to focus, fatigue, demands of husband and kids and what do I get out of all this?  More worrying, more irritation, doing things that add on to the already twisted state of mind.

There you go, phew!  I decided to stop this diet and start exercising.  I have started on the NordicTrack cross -trainer we bought late last year 20 to 30 minutes in one go.  I weigh between 71.5 to 72.8kg now, depending on what I eat the day before.  I still take ACV religiously.  I allowed myself to be comfortable with food.  I believe that this journey has not yet ended, but a pause to allow myself greater success in my weight loss.  I needed to come to terms with all the above challenges and learn to relax.

Until then, I will update this blog occassionally.  Will post on the above challenges in relation to my self discovery and how this all relates to my dealing with food.  Only when I feel ready I will begin again this weight loss journet.

R2 Day 3 VLCD

Morning weight 71.6kg

Loss of 600gms, Alhamdulillah.

I should lose considering dinner yesterday was an apple and grissini.

And the usual dose of ACV.

And small bites of chicken eaten with Harith.

Perhaps the right word is shreds of chicken.

So many open houses this weekend, sigh!

R2 Day 2 VLCD

Morning weigh in 72.2kg

Weight loss 1.5kg.

But that is to be expected. Dinner was shrimp and cabbage tom yam soup. I had an orange and a grissini. Due to lack of preparation as well as being busy with work, I only took an apple for lunch yesterday. Which makes my calorie intake less than 500.

I drank lots of water, though. Which is required when you are eating mostly protein. Today I brought lunch from home. White tilapia grilled and steamed spinach. Yes, back at this again. So let's hope for some meaningful weight loss numbers tomorrow!

R2 VLCD Day 1

My starting post loading weight 73.7kg

Took the first HcG pellets at about 5:15am, after having difficulty sleeping with Harith tossing and turning.

Drank some water in the morning and now having a large no sugar Amex while attending a meeting.

I am updating my blog from blogsy, an iPad app that allows you to update your blog and upload photos so easily.

I thought I'd just describe my mental state starting R2.

Jai was right, after surviving R1, I don't feel deprived as I was, at least during the first week of R1. I don't have cravings for Nescafe Tarik or sugar, be it in the form of cookies or rice. R2 just felt natural. I hope this is a good sign of R2. And my sustainability to get to my target weight.

73.7kg to 63.7kg, brings the target weight loss to be a whopping 10kg!!!

All the best to myself!

R2 Day 2 Loading still

I tried to load, I did.

But my best was :

Breakfast
2 cups of Nescafe with condensed milk and full cream milk combo
Kuih jemput sepinggan
A pear

Lunch
Three pieces of baked chicken with brown rice
Salad and cucumber
Plain water
A handful of chocolate chip cookeies

Tea
Another cup of Nescafe with condensed milk
Biscuits

Another round of Nescafe with guests
One cookie and one

Dinner
Nasi Arab with lamb
Ice blended lychee drink
Another pear

I am up to my neck feeling so guilty eating so much food. I hope this loading helps me in VLCD phase. My journey to 64kg begins tomorrow, God willing.

Round 2 Day 1 Loading

How is that loading the 2nd round is not fun? I decided to start R2 today, partly due to the need to start eating healthy again, partly because my journey to 64/65kg seems so long, and definitely because of the 1+ kg that I have put on since the endnof Ramadhan.

Breakfast was a three egg omelette with onions and leftover kuey teow from yesterday's gathering. Had a juicy pear and Nescafe Tarik right after that. Lunch was at my nephew's open house and what a feast. Gulai daging salai lemak cili api, sambal udang petai, ayam goreng berempah, ikan bilis goreng berlada with potatoes (sliced) and kuih keria to top it off.....I had two rounds of rice, God knows how many kuih keria I walloped, another cup of Nescafe, a bite of kuih Raya here and there (okay there were definitely more than just a bite).

Dinner was nasi goreng kerabu with telur mata kerbau, udang tepung and teh tarik.

Oh and two oranges before that.

I feel sick with eating. And tomorrow is Day 2 Loading again.....

But stick to this protocol I must. This time around I plan to stick to this for as long as it takes to get to my target weight. Actually the minute I started popping those HcG pellets into my mouth this morning, I am automatically on diet mode. Starting to be conscious of what I eat again.

My weight this morning was 72.7kg, a hefty weight gain of 1.8kg since the third day of Raya.

A weight gain of 800gms since last week!!

Therefore I am declaring this war again with me, myself and I. The war of self-discipline and willpower.

MrM is not with me this time in R2. Let the trial begin.....

2nd and 3rd Day Raya

Morning weight 70.9kg on morning of 2nd Raya.

I was surprised myself. But apart from the sugar laden drinks, I am still refraining from any ketupat and lemang but the chicken rendang, ayam kampung masak lemak cili api, and daging rendang were my greatest sabotageur to my diet. If one can call this a diet at this stage.

3rd Day Raya morning weight 71kg. Slowly creeping up!

My time of the month is finally here. Came 2nd Raya and I just needed to eat to have energy. At this age, I have stomach cramps.

I think there was a lot of eating damage after Raya at two houses today, the parents' home of friends from primary school. Let's see what the damage will be tomorrow.

Aaarghhh!!!

Food and food everywhere!!

Salam Aidil Fitri to all and Maaf Zahir Batin.

My morning weight 71.4kg.

I have been disciplined, resisting my favorite ketupat and focusing on protein, albeit laden with coconut milk and kerisik. And oh did I mention them choc chip cookies again?

I am now at my FIL's in Muar and took two pieces of lemang only. And oh did I mention three pieces of sugar laden kuih goyang?

I started the day with ACV hoping that will speed up the conversion of the food today into energy.

Oh I hope I am not 72kg tomorrow......

If I Ever Look Like This....

And there is a reason why I don't look like this woman.....

I Wish

Focus Focus!

How can I focus when temptation is everywhere?

My weight has been fluctuating between 70.5kg to 71.9kg, early morning weight being 70.9kg.

That is an achievement, or so I'd like to think since I was at 71.5kg for the longest time.

Foodwise, I still refrain from rice and any kind of noodles.

I feel guilty having curry puffs, so I don't.

My main carbo take I guess would be my maid's cekodok sayur and the occasional murtabak.

I usually have plain water for Iftar. Actually, I don't think I eat much, just indulging my sweet tooth with my own made chocolate chip cookies.

My observation during this phase is :

If I eat late at night say 9pm onwards, for sure I will put on 500gms the next morning.

My knees are a bit wobbly with this weight loss. Is there calcium loss as well??

I don't feel fit, which makes the need to exercise a must.

At 71kg, I just need another 6kg to go. But oh! I need to load first in R2!!!

Unstable Stabilization

Morning weigh-in 71.4kg.

As of yesterday evening, I was 70.9kg.

Usually my end of day weight is 71.4kg.

Such excitement, NOT!

I think I am just fed-up with things. Not enough pages in this blog to tell my predicament. Need to simplify my life.

Stabilization - Not In the Mood

What's new about my weight? I seem to be maintaining at 71.5kg, lowest was 71.1kg and on a day when I had a late night 10pm it was chicken soup, I shot up to 72.4kg.

Well no more late night eating out then. Buka puasa is typically chicken or fish, salad and some form of kuih, my favorites are usually kuih lompang (or more commonly known as kuih kasui), kuih kelepung (or more commonly known as buah Melaka) and an occasional curry puff or popiah goreng. I believe the ACV has helped me tremendously in maintaining my new weight coupled with the fact that my sahur is usually an apple or just water and coffee with milk.

And yes, people, I have indulged in the much craved Nescafe Tarik. Now that I have had it, I don't want it anymore.

Last Saturday, MrM's brothers and families converged at our house for buka puasa. What a feast. I had two pieces of ayam percik, one cup of very sweet cendol Kuala Pilah, one ekor ikan senangin, one curry puff and a palmful of mee goreng. I had expected my weight to shoot up to 73kg for sure but turns out next morning I was 71.9kg before toilet business. Funny this diet.

MrM has been hovering between 81 to 82.5kg depending on what he ate. He has been rather liberal with his food intake compared to me. And he refuses to take ACV because he says the smell makes him want to puke. But I guess he has a faster metabolic rate compared to mine. After 4 kids, my challenge is to lose the pouch that came with the caesarean. He does not have a pouch and his stomach is as smooth and flat as Harith's cheeks. Ok ok I exaggerate but you get the drift.

I think fasting helps the weight maintenance. Another challenge will be after fasting month and normal eating resumes. By normal I mean the three meals a day normal. Not normal eating like I used to.

Work front I have been busy as usual. Tough when I have to work and not be a Tai Tai....I am so not in the mood now with work. But then that is a different entry. I have to drive myself more than driving my team towards results.

Nothing Much to Update

My morning weight has been fluctuating between 71.5kg to 71.7kg, depending on how much I eat, I guess, for buka puasa. Not disciplined as my friends are, and not exploring recipes that is health conscious. I have been so busy and today, almost lost my temper with one of my staff. Sometimes I wish I am a Madam Tai Tai, thinking of the next Tod's D Bag Bauletto I want to add to my collection instead of cracking my head on the risk insights that needed to accompany the company's performance reporting. I am getting all sorts of demands from every business and with two staff on maternity leave, I don't have enough hands to address everything.

I told MrM that some of the wives of pilots in RK seem to have it all. Big houses, fancy cars, time to make themselves beautiful, time with kids, while I have to slog this routine at work and make sacrifices. Not that I am ungrateful for the lot in my life but at times like this, the thought of having a Tai Tai life have crossed my mind more often than not.

And at times like this too I noticed that my diet goes awry. I thought of starting the diet again in the last week of September and this time, I want to get to 65kg minimum. Anything below that would be a bonus. That will bring me to my weight at 17 years old, starving in good ol' Texas surviving on soft batch cookies.

Stabilization Dayb3

Morning weigh in

Me : 71.9kg
MrM : 82.3kg

Breaking of fast indulgence :

Three pieces of murtabak Singapura
Buah melaka
One piece of chicken asam from yesterday
Small slices of cekodok
One boiled egg and cucumber mixed in kuah kacang (sugar laden for sure)

Two dose of ACV and rooibos tea two huge cups. And water, lots of it.

I am happy with my weight maintenance so far, but then again I need to lose another 7kg at least in R2. MrM says if I do, he may not recognize his wife anymore, ha ha!!!

Stabilization Day 2 - Suffering the Consequences

Morning weigh in
Me : 72kg. PS after major disposal I am 71.3kg.
MrM : 83kg

Let me tell you why.

After not eating rice for a good 40 days, I indulged two tablespoons of rice. And a small bowl of mee goreng. Two pieces of chicken from the asam pedas, two of my sister's telur itik masak lemak, three pieces of my kuih pandan bakar, two three pieces of cut pineapple, two tahu sumbat, what can I say? Macam loading instead of stabilization.

I noticed that having rice after so long of not having rice, my upper abdomen is the first to feel the effects i.e. Becomes thicker, of course.

I will refrain from rice. After all that dieting, I certainly can do without rice. Yesterday was an irrational exuberance, to borrow a term used by Alan Greenspan to describe the state of capital markets prior to the financial crisis.

In reading Arlin's, MDS, and Jai's blogs, they have been so disciplined with the Maintenance protocol, whereas I have been indulging liberally, just avoiding starch mainly and a bit too frequent indulgence of kuih kuih bazaar Ramadhan.

This is indeed a wake-up call to change my attitude towards food. Enough is enough.

Stabilization Day 1

Morning weigh-in

Me : 71.7kg
MrM : 82.3kg

Sahur was an apple. A small one at that. Resisted the fried chicken. Nescafe with low fat milk. Four glasses of water. One glass with ACV.

Today my eldest sister and kids will buka puasa at my place.

Planned menu:

Ayam masak asam pedas
Kerabu mangga
Sayur tak tahu lagi, but if I had it my way, salad mixed with cucumbers and tomatoes
Kuih pandan bakar
Apam balik

My sister plans to masak gulai tolo itik.....huhu!! What a feast. Willpower, willpower....where will you be when I need you this evening.....

Maintenance Day 21 - cont

My weight is 71.7kg.

MrM is 81.7kg

Maintenance Day 21

Woke upmat 5:20am this morning and didn't have time to even weigh myself. Had only an apple, coffee with low fat milk and water, water, water.

My best gauge of my weight today will be this evening before buka.

Last day of maintenance and I feel nervous. I think I will continue the no starch, no sugar diet and maintain greens and proteins. So far that has worked for me in maintaining, if not slightly losing weight.

MrM on the other hand is looking forward to his teh tarik. Me? Maybe just a bit but after being on this program, there is not a lot that I want to eat anymore.

Will update later on my weight.

Maintenance Day 20

Phew! Me 71.9kg, MrM 82.5kg this morning.

By evening I was 71.4kg.

Extra ACV before sleeping, another one before sahur. The wonders of ACV.

Breaking of fast today was boring. Two small fried chicken, a bit of fried fish, a bit of bubur. Sahur will be apple again.

Good Girls Lose Weight, Bad Girls?

I cheated.

And I cheated.

And cheated.

I couldn't contain myself.

Bubur cha cha and one piece of chocolate from Leonidas courtesy of VW. Oh such sweetness......

Breaking of fasting was innocent enough. Fish and spinach. A little bit of satay.

And then the bubur came. And MrM pointed out that Allison gave a box of chocs. And they just had to be Leonidas.

I will pay for this tomorrow and I bet you the price will be a hefty few hundred grams. But the rewards were well worth the risks.....

Maintenance Day 19

MrM : 82.3kg
Me : 71.9kg

Quite disciplined at buka puasa eating mostly chicken and salad. But the kuih cekodok my maid made I had a few small bite sizes.

Two more days of this pghase, what's next?

Maintenance Day 18

Damn my morning weight is 72kg again.

MrM is 83kg.

What can I say? All rules were broken.

No 1. No Sugar -- I had 4 bite sizes of home made apam balik.
No 2. I had two pieces of ikan masak cili api and two fried chicken.
No 3. And small pieces of tempeyek kacang.
No 4. No carbo -- I had one curry puff.

I was in the mood for eating. Eating all the wrong foods, the forbidden foods.

So I doubled my ACV dose, or was it tripled, and lucky I am only 72kg this morning.

Aaarghhhhh.....71kg seems so far away......

Maintenance Day 17

The weight verdict

Me : 71.8kg
MrM : 83.3 kg

MrM's diet gone awry. I think it is the rojak and cekodok sayur my maid made.

This is the first time my morning weight broke the 72kg resistance.

Roast Chicken Malay Style for Breakfasting 7 August Maintenance Day 16

Dinner will be roast chicken and salads, y'all.

Yes, the usual murtabak for kids, air soya for all, cekodok sayur bibik, but I have my roast chicken!!

Selamat Berbuka to all!

For Pyl

BAHAN-BAHANNYA :-)
2 cawan tepung gandum
3 biji telur gred A
600 ml pati santan dari 1 biji kelapa (atau guna santan kotak)
250 ml jus pandan (250 ml air kisar dengan 4-5 helai daun pandan tua)
1 cawan gula
1/4 camca teh pewarna hijau
1/4 camca teh garam
2 camca besar minyak sapi, cair dan sejukkan
Bijan secukupnya, untuk ditabur

CARA MEMBUATNYA :-)

1. Panaskan oven pada suhu 200C, lenser acuan berukuran 8 inci x 8 inci dengan mentega, alas dengan aluminium foil, biar lebih sedikit dari ukuran tin. Ketepikan.
2. Satukan semua bahan2 diatas kecuali bijan, kacau sebati dengan whisk atau masukkan ke dalam alat pengisar makanan. Tapis dan tuang dalam tin tadi.
3. Tabur bijan rata2 atasnya dan bakar selama 40 - 50 minit atau hingga masak. Untuk mendapat permukaan yang berkerak, tukar fungsi oven pada api grill dan bakar 5 minit lagi. Sejukkan kueh sebentar sebelum dikeluarkan dari tin.
4. Biar kueh betul2 sejuk sebelum dipotong. Untuk yang dalam gambar tu, mat buat malam dan pagi baru mat potong....

Taken from tiffinbiru.blogspot.com

Don't worry if the mix is very fluid or soft before baking.  It will cook and become like the picture.

Maintenance Day 15

I was 72kg yesterday morning.

And true to myself (I didn't get where I am today just yesterday, has been almost 45 years of senseless eating minus my baby to toddler days, I suppose), I had :

• 2 pieces of murtabak singapore
• 5 pieces of my own kuih pandan bakar (small ones but lethal to diets anyway)
• 2 pieces of curry chicken (1 small white meat and 1 big dark meat)
• 1 small apple
• and to top it off accompanied MrM in having a late night sup daging power in Senawang

I felt so guilty with that sup daging and let MrM finished my portion, which he happily did.

The verdict

MrM : 82.9kg
Me :72.1kg

I Made This Today - Kuih Pandan Bakar

I made this kuih this morning. A true and tested recipe from Mat Gebu of Dapur Tanpa Sempadan. I love his blog. He makes cooking seem so do-able to an amateur like me. Of course this is a big no-no for Maintenance Phase. Sugar, coconut milk, melted butter, flour are all the right ingredients that make the strictest of diet go awry.
But I made it anyway. MrM loves this kuih and so do my kids for anything that has screwpine leaves in it.
Will update on my test of discipline at breakfasting tonight and the consequences (if any) of straying.:D

Maintenance Day 12, 13 and 14

Weight verdict : I am now yo-yoing between 72.2 and 71.7kg.

The ultimate I thought was yesterday i.e. Friday when my early morning sahur was just one boiled egg, coffee with lowfat milk and lots and lots of water.  For most of the morning at work, I didn't really feel hungry but by the end of the day I was famished.  I texted Pyl and Arlin and told them I was hungry!!

Of course, all hell broke loose during breakfasting.  I began disciplined enough, one drumstick ayam percik and another piece of chicken baked by my maid.  The temptation was just too great with my maid's jemput2 sayur and I succumbed to a good one and a half piece of that.  Then there was rojak.  While I didn't take the tauhu and the kuih that came along with the rojak, preferring the cucumber and boiled eggs, the rojak sauce was the killer.  Laden with sugar I am sure.  But then again I also had spinach and a good helping of salad.  And plain water for drinks.

My late mother's maid, is good in making tempeyek and she made over the weekend about 10 huge plastic bottles worth of tempeyek kacang.  Oh the temptation to munch and munch away!  That was my snack before last night before I figured out that all I needed was an apple to satisfy my sweet craving.  Not that the tempeyek did the job but I needed to munch on something.  The apple was my saviour.  After the apple, I didn't feel like eating anymore, ha ha!

Therefore I am pleased to see that I am this morning at 72.2kg, a good 900 kg lighter from my weight at transition.  I think I need to be a bit more disciplined with my buka puasa food.  With the discipline, I think I should be able to reach 71kg sooner than I thought.  And who knows, I may even reach 70kg.

My sahur this morning is one piece of baked chicken, a sip of coffee with milk and water, water, water.  So far today I am doing good.

The days before i.e. 12 and 13 were pretty much the same, protein either in the form of rendang ayam with a lot of salad and cucumber.  And a tempeyek or two, he he.  Oh yes, I had a lot of oranges after breakfasting on Thursday, and that helped the motion bit a lot!

After two weeks of maintenance, I find that if I ate really a lot, like I did at the barbecue buffet dinner at Cyberview Lodge, provided that the food is protein and green veggies, I would put on about 500gms.  I have been disciplined in taking the ACV everynight before I go to sleep.

MrM is sufferring from diet fatigue syndrome.  He has been taking a bit of carbo, mostly in the form of rojak, and sugar.  He tells me his body needs a bit more food compared to mine.  I tell him I have reserves from the years of pregnancy and eating as I please.  MrM's BMI is now 24.5, a normal range.  Mine is still at 27, which means that I needed to lose another 6kg to be at a healthy BMI.

Pyl, if you are reading this, experiment with your maintenance phase.  I think you need to allow yourself to eat according to the maintenance protocol and weigh the next day to see the impact and then adjust.  That's what I did.  I remember Jai saying during lunch at Chinoz that you can even eat a whole chicken if you wanted to.  That was the first thing that I wanted to do after transition.  Eat a whole chicken.  But the barbecue buffet dinner compensated for that, ha ha!

Maintenance Day 10 and 11

I was sick yesterday, a culmination of what was originally just a runny nose that became a full- blown cough and asthma.

Nevertheless, I did go to work, had a conference call on a big matter related to how the strengthening of AUD would impact our project in Australia, forced my already throbbing head to think of what the team there was proposing to preserve project economics, and I was beat. I could not fast yesterday since I still had my period. By 4:45pm,I left office and thank God MrM drove today.

To cut the story short, buka puasa with the family was 2 sticks of satay, and salad with bits of chicken rendang from my father-in-law, and one very fatty slice of lemang. Yeah, I know no carbo but I figured I would rather takeba slice than binge on sebatang lemang. But after that one slice, I didn't feel like having anymore!

My wheezing got worse through the night, and I told MrM that he has to send me to the hospital since this is a full-blown asthma. I have not had asthma for the longest time!!! After a dose of nebulizer and prednisolone, we finally got home at 1am.

This morning, the VERDICT:

MrM yet to find out but as of yesterday evening he was 82kg.
Me : 72.4 kg, a loss of 900gms from yesterday. Even on the diet I have not loss that much. I hope to get to 71 kg by Raya.

Kate Middleton's Diet - Any takers?

From a local paper in UK

It’s pretty obvious that Kate Middleton has dropped some weight since her engagement to Prince William. At 5’10 and 120 pounds, Kate wears a size 2, and she wears it well.

Sure, some of it might have to do with the incessant stress that comes with being a princess in waiting, but it’s also rumored that Kate has dedicated herself to the Dukan Diet.

Her mother reportedly adopted this French weight loss plan and passed it down to Kate. Penelope Cruz and Jennifer Lopez are also said to have used the Dukan Diet, and if Penelope’s post-pregnant body is any indication, it works!

The Dukan Diet focuses on high protein, low fat/low cholesterol and consists of four phases:

The Attack Phase:
Protein, protein protein! The Dukan Diet gives you a list of 72 “pure protein” foods that you can eat during this phase, including: lean beef, veal, all fish, eggs, chicken and turkey. Not too bad, right? But before you get all excited and head to KFC, keep in mind, you don’t cook with any added fat. Grilling or roasting with spices, herbs, garlic, or onions is your best bet. And the diet suggests staying away from pork, beans and lentils and fatty beef. But the best part is, you can eat as much as you want of this all day. The attack phase lasts about 10 days.

The Cruise Phase:
Time for some roughage! During the Cruise Phase, you alternate between pure protein and protein and vegetable days. During this phase, you’ll reach your “true weight”, and you’re supposed to stay in the Cruise Phase for 3 days per pound you want to lose.

The Consolidation Phase:
Because you know you cheat at every diet, the Dukan Diet one allows for it, so you don’t have to feel guilty. After the Cruise Phase, your body is vulnerable and those glazed donuts start looking extra delicious. You stay in the Consolidation Phase for 5 days per pound lost, and you get two “celebration” meals per week. Hello, Twinkies!

The Stabilization Phase:
In order to keep the weight off, the Dukan Diet suggests three simple rules you must follow for the rest of your life:

1. Consume 3 tablespoons of oat bran per day.
2. Choose to take the stairs whenever possible.
3. Have one pure-protein (Phase 1) day per week

Maintenance Day 8 and 9

Nothing much to update. I am still fluctuating +- 500 gms while MrM despite eating more than me is still at 82.4kg.

Last night was a kenduri tahlil at my house. Just us adik beradik and nephews and nieces, and grandnephew and grandnieces. You know what it is like with us Negri folks and our preparation for fasting month. Lemang, sup tulang, rendang the whole works. If anything, these are the foods that I can't, no matter what, resist. My eldest sister cooked ayam masak cili API with young jackfuit, I made ayam goreng berempah, my sister in law rendered a version of North Indian chicken, oh I forgot, I made my cendol jelly and eldest sister made bubur kacang for dessert. Not to mention MrM's Sup tulang.

How lah like this? I know at maintenance phase sugar is a no-no but I succumbed to one piece of kuih seri muka. And two pieces of cendol jelly. It was good while it lasted. And I am paying for this by adding on 500gms today.

I read about other friends journeys to weight loss and I really do admire them for their perseverance. I decided to do 18 days as a start simply because I know myself and do not think 30 or 40 days would be sustainable for me.

At this weight I have another 8kg to go to get to a healthy BMI. That is my target. Beyond that, to go a bit farther another 2 or 3 kg, has to be R3. I think it is important for me to do some toning exercises since my arms and thighs look flabby even with a 6kg loss. And at a weight 8kg less, I do have to buy a new wardrobe. My baju kurung are mostly hand sewn is just hanging on me and looks hideous. I could probably wear my jeans still with a belt. Oh well, what is to look forward to but new outfits, right?

Btw, my sister in law mentioned about the diet that Kate Middleton went through to get to be that slim on her wedding day. Not much difference, mostly proteins and veggies.

Maintenance Day 7

I have broken the 73kg threshold. Not by a whole lot but enough to give me encouragement. 72.9kg this morning. And MrM is 83.1kg.

I am at SanFran, with a large skinny latte and a plain omelette on its way.

To borrow the tagline of SanFran, Life is Good!

Maintenance Day 6

1st day of period. Flu. Cough. Fatigue. Never ending workload.

The right ingredients to not eating much. This morning I had my usual plain omelette at San Fran, one skinny latte for a nor yet skinny me, lunch was a quick skinny latte again since zi had a meeting right after lunch. An apple, a green one at that. Three butter prawns from Sharin Low. And dinner was grilled white tilapia. And three small oranges.

I am craving for something SWEET NOW!!! I need comfort food!! I want a warm glass of hot chocolate!!!

Maintenance Day 5

MrM was 82.3kg yesterday morning and I was 73kg.

It was a full meeting day on Tuesday began with a subsidiary Board Risk subcommittee meeting at 9:30am and lasted till 1:30pm!! They served popia goreng and seri muka during the meeting and resisted both. Lunch was pizza and I don't take pizza anyways. A colleague called and invited to lunch and we went to Dome. Lunch was grilled chicken. Not bad but very oily as you would expect eating outside even though in the name of "grilled".

Meetings and meetings later, my team and I decided to have a meeting at Aseana at around 5:30pm. Huh had the dreaded fat laden sup tulang. Minus the bread. Having not eaten fat for so long, that was heavy!

Weds was the same. Proteins all the way and apples. This morning I put on 300gms. I feel my period is coming soon since that bloating feeling is there and the desire to eat and eat and eat!!

Maintenance Day 4

MrM : 83kg
Me. : 73kg

I was rather surprised with the weight loss of 300gms considering No 1 in a couple of days my period is due and I did eat two huge chicken breasts of Nando's yesterday that by the second one I felt like throwing up.

Must be the ACV.

Maintenance Day 3

With such reluctance, I woke up this morning to get ready to go to work. Checked my calendar and happy to note that I did not have anything heavy on a Monday compared to the rest of the week.

I didn't prepare anything for breakfast thinking that I could find something in KLCC. But what was there for breakfast that is not carbo laden? So I ordered a skinny latte and this is my first taste of milk in three weeks! No sugar, of course, but milk never tasted so good!

Therefore much as I should have breakfast in maintenance I did not. I had a lunch appointment with an ex-colleague who now works for ValueCap at CoffeeExpress at Kino. Again nothing that I could eat that is not carbo laden. And I don't eat salads, period. Except the ones at home.

Therefore No Lunch!

Had a meeting at 3pm and surprisingly I didn't feel hungry at all with only two skinny lattes filling my stomach.

Fearful that this would result in an undesirable weight gain, I went and got me Nando's chicken at 4pm and my lunch was then at 4:45pm. That was a good protein fix, I tell ya.

Reached home circa 8:30pm, had my ACV, an apple, two pieces of rendang chicken, another apple and water, water, water.(I had 2 liters in the office).

I will have my rooibos tea and another round of ACV.

Let's see how I fare tomorrow.

Maintenance Day 2

After the eating spree on Saturday, Sunday was a bit more rationale. I had marinated two whole chicken the day before to be roasted on Sunday. After returning from market, took out the chicken, rubbed a bit more spices i.e. black pepper, allspice and garlic and into the oven that went.

Made salad comprising lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes to complement the roast chicken.

I had a good helping of the chicken, so did MrM.

Both of us tried to satisfy our need for something sweet with fruits that ended with me eating 3 apples and 2 oranges, while MrM had 4 oranges and 2 apples.

Dinner was the same, the other chicken but less this time.

MrM had his usual badminton game last nite.

THE VERDICT :

MrM 82.3kg losing weight lagi??? Biar Benar!!
Me 73.3kg. I am happy despite all the eating I am only 200gms within my earlier weight.

P/S : I have started taking the ACV. I honestly believe this helps.

Beginning maintenance

Woke up Saturday morning feeling like the world is just brighter today with both MrM and I on maintenance now. Made scrambled eggs for both MrM and I and felt that was the best scrambled eggs in the whole world!

Lunch was wedding food, namely ayam masak merah, daging rendang and the usual fare. Refrained from the beriani Johor that the tuan rumah said was very good and stuck to protein. But the fat in the protein!!! After all the dieting suddenly you realize there is so much oil in our cooking in addition to the fat coming from the meat.

We had planned on bringing the kids for a family meal treat (on account that I had an unexpected salary increment, unexpected in that didn't think it would be double digit). Initially I wanted to go to Jake's and have a focused meal but MrM said that the kids just love buffet and he also didn't want to go all the way to KL just for a meal.

So the choices were Putrajaya or Bangi. Made reservations at Pullman Lakeside and believe it or not, they closed the restaurant where we made reservations for a private function! I was so pissed with the hotel for not telling us when I left them my phone number!

So at 5:30pm, after calling Shangri-La, Marriott, Equatorial and Cyberview Lodge, we decided on Cyberview Lodge. The deciding factor was they had a barbecue dinner buffet.

Off we went. And what a feast! Lamb, beef, fish, prawns, chicken, choice of lauk.....ayam karma, steamed sea bass, squid sambal, note that I mentioned protein only. Because it was protein galore for both MrM and I like we never ate protein before.

THE VERDICT?

MrM 83.1kg
Me 73.6kg

As of Sunday morning

Not bad for a first day maintenance phase

Weight Loss Tracker Day 19 end of transition Phase

Despite eating forbidden foods during the SGDP Hi Tea Appreciation Gathering session at Hotel Maya on Thursday, I only gained 100 gms. I ate the chicken boxing, satay and something else that I can't remember.

I decided to do an Apple day Friday, my last transition day before going on maintenance and managed to still maintain my weight at 73.2kg.

So far so good.

Weight Loss Tracker Day 18 Transition Phase

MrM : 82.7kg
Me : 73.1kg

Loss of 300gms.

The apple day works!

Today I have a hi-tea office function at Hotel Maya and I hope I don't binge when I see all the forbidden food.  My office colleagues say that I have taken this too seriously, despite being enticed with keropok lekor and bread and butter pudding this morning.  Something about having gone through the past 3 weeks a strict diet that you just don't feel like wasting it all on keropok lekor.

I bought the apple cider last week and have yet to try that.  Will do so tonight and see if that will bring me to below 73kg.

I am happy with my 6kg weight loss.  The real loss in inches I think are my limbs and hips but less so at the stomach area. 

Weight Loss Tracker Day 17 Transition - Trying the Apple Day

MrM maintaining at 83kg
Me 73.3 kg loss of 300gms

I tried the apple day today. Brought 4 Washington red apples and ate two in the office, breakfast and lunch, then another one on the way back around 7:30pm. And the final one at about 9pm.

Note that I only had 4 apples, not 6. I really don't know whether the effects of HcG is making me less hungry because I wasn't hungry at all! What am I saying?

Of course I drank quite a lot of water and had two regular cups of SanFran's Amex.

I should have tried this apple day earlier. But then again, I may not have survived it the previous weeks.

Two more days to maintenance phase. Saturday we are planning on barbecue buffet dinner with the kids at Pullman Putrajaya. A celebration of sorts. I hope we are rationale that night in making food choices.

Weight Loss Tracker Day 16

MrM 82.8kg How the hell did he lose 1.5kg?
Me still at 73.6kg

I don't know what to say.  I am moving on to the transition phase now for 3 days before moving to maintenance.  I will start again after Raya.  For now I will continue to blog about my food choices in Maintenance phase and the sustainability of making healthy choices for myself and MrM.  I hope I will be able to lose another 2kg in fasting month.   Which means I need to lose another 6kg in the next round of VLCD.

Oh and I have resolved that this year I shall bake my own chocolate chip cookies.  Try that when you need to abstain from sugar.

Weight Loss Tracker Day 15

MrM 84.3kg gained 500gms.
Me 73.6kg loss of 600gms!

What a feeling! Which makes my loss post loading 5.5kg.

Weight Loss Tracker Day 14

MrM 83.8kg gained 500gms
Me 74.2kg lost 200gms

Let me tell you what I cheated on yesterday

Ayam goreng masak tomato 3 ketul
Daging rendang berkicap entah berapa ketul
Ayam rendang kuning 2 ketul
1 curry puff
4 slices of watermelon

And to top it off half a boiled egg laden with kuah mee Jawa....At 10pm....

Thank God I still lost. Funny how this HcG works....

Weight Loss Tracker Day 13

MrM despite cheating on :

Ikan sungai masak cili api
Telur dadar
Sayur goreng

Lost 100gms!!

Me? Cheated on ikan masak cili api only, and a bit of Harith's Elmo biscuits, only managed to maintain my weight.

At least I didn't put on.

Weight Loss Tracker Day 12

MrM 83.4 kg loss of 600gms
Me 74.4 kg loss of 400gms

Which makes me upset. Why is it so easy that MrM loses his weight?

Friday is his badminton night. I am sure it will be that easy for him to go below 83kg.

Ahhhh.....malaslah nak fikir. At least I didn't gain weight!

Maybe it is because I came back late and had dinner at 9pm.

Tired and HcG Don't Mesh

When I am tired, I lose control! Rationale evades me. I just want fatty foods and chocolates.

Weight Loss Tracker Day 11

MrM 84kg loss of 800gms
Me 74.8 kg loss of 600 gms

Finally, broke the 75kg threshold. On my way again.....

This is despite feeling hungry last night and very light-headed, I had taken biscuits for fear that I would faint.

MrM however, is just a kilo away from his target. Funny last year during fasting month when he did go down to 83kg, he seemed gaunt and sick looking but with HcG, he doesn't seem to look as though his face is shrinking.

Oklah nak mandi. Enough blogging for now.

Day 10 Strategies To See Results

• No optional snacks
• No beef soup
• Lots of water

Let's see if I break the 75kg threshold tomorrow.  Otherwise I am going to blame this on the stubborn post pregnancy fat!

Weight Loss Tracker Day 10

MrM is 84.8kg loss of 300gms

He is 1.8kg to his target weight of 83kg. At 6 foot tall, he does not think that he should be any less than that.

Me? I dunno lah. Despite following this diet religiously, I only lost 100gms?
75.4kg. Ni yang discouraging ni. Sebab tak minum air ke? Is it because of the beef celery soup I had last night? Dah measure betul dah.....

Motivational Diet Quotes

Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live.
– Jim Rohn


Our bodies are our gardens - our wills are our gardeners.
- William Shakespeare


If hunger is not the problem, then eating is not the solution.
-Anon


One should eat to live, not live to eat
-Cicero

Energy Level on HcG diet

When I first started VLCD on Day 3, I had a terrible headache that lasted for a few days.  The last weekend was worse since most of our family activities centered around eating out somewhere.  This week beginning Day 8 I felt different.  I had more energy at work and hardly felt sleepy at all!  This is despite waking up twice nightly to give Harith his milk.  I feel more in control of my workload, had more focus, and have been very productive in meetings.

I guess that the body is adjusting now to HcG and the change in my diet.  My office colleagues commented that my face looked longer and that my baju kurung now hangs like a gunny sack on me.  Of course!  Most of my kurung were made during my 80kg plus days!

I have a couple of Swiss Voile material that I had bought in 2007 in Sudan, of all places.  Swiss voile is cheap in Sudan.  I thought of getting my tailor to make kurung moden for me for this Raya.  But then again, I think I should wait and see the end results of this phase of HcG dieting and whether my mind is tuned to a healthier eating habit or just going back to the good old days of sugar, fat and starch.  Then I will get the kurung made.  So for this Raya, I am just going to use the modern kurung that I made for nephew's wedding.  Even those will be big for me even at this weight.  HcG is proving to be costly beyond the inital investment in the pellets, hoho!

PS : MrM has a badminton game tonight.  He cheated big time with ayam goreng masak merah and raisins to give him the energy to play the game.  Let's see tomorrow morning how he fares.

Weight Loss Tracker Day 9

MrM 85.1kg loss of 1kg
Me 75.5kg loss of 500gms. Damn MrM when you lose, you lose a lot.

I seem to lose in small increments. Despite yesterday being rather active. Oh the path to 65kg seems so near but yet so far. If 500gms is my daily weight loss, I should be 73.5kg by Saturday. One day at a time.....

My Battle with Asparagus

Even before this diet, I have read somewhere the goodness of this vegetable called asparagus.  I struggle with the taste, steamed or as part of the allowed vegetable in a soup.  Give me cabbage, celery, iceberg lettuce anytime but not asparagus.  It is not that I can't eat it, I just hate the taste in combination with any food.  Except fried asparagus with sambal belacan, I suppose.  The frying and prawn paste would just drown the taste.

You know where I am heading to.  My issue is not asparagus, my issue is I want something OILY!!!

Being on this diet has taught me about food choices.  And the fact that we can choose food that are healthier and still be satisfied.  Only if you are not subject to a 500 calories constraint, that is.  And not be subjected by my friend Jai tempting us with beriani and dhal curry.

I had another Grissini stick a few minutes ago.  So we binged on our allocation of two Grissini sticks each today. One in the evening, and another at night.  Such satisfaction.  I have yet experienced in this life when a simple breadstick would satiate my hunger pangs.  Well, tonight is the first.  Surprisingly, I do feel okay.  MrM said the sticks would make good  snacks even after we are done with this diet.

With this diet, you treasure every meal and savor every bite you take.  So much that when Aliah asked to taste the Grissini stick, I responded with a firm NO!

Next time I have a business trip to London, I will hunt for Grissini sticks at every Tesco, M&S and other supermarkets that comes my way. No more hunting for handbags, ha ha!!! I will get those guys in our subsidiary there to hunt for Grissini sticks and buy me a carton or crate everytime they return to Malaysia.  Yeay for Grissini!!!

Thanks Jai.  You have been so supportive.

Day 8 Not Too Bad At All

Today proves my point that dieting while at work is easier to stick to. I had meetings from 9am right to about 1:15pm and apart from the sugarless coffee I had, I actually didn't feel that hungry. Oh Yes Pyl, San Fran's Amex (Americano) is definitely better without sugar than Nescafe. I only managed to have my apple at 1:40pm after taking the HcG pellets at about 1:15pm. Another coffee for lunch. I think my consolation with this diet is the fact that I could take any amount of coffee, tea and water as long as it is without sugar.

I tried two drops of stevia into my regular Amex and I can't say that it made any difference to the coffee taste. Pregnant Afifah was eating nasi kerabu with Keropok, fried chicken, salted egg, and ayam percik gravy and boy! Talk about temptation while I munched away a boring apple!!

Only after returning from lunch I had my own breast chicken soup asparagus packed from home. Even that I didn't finish the entire cup of asparagus.

Doing good Adila. Siapa nak puji diri sendiri kan kalau tak tuan punya badan.

Weight Loss Tracker - Day 8

MrM : 86.1kg
Me. : 76kg

Weight gain of 100gms for me and 500gms for MrM.

Upon finding out, my maid weighed the beef AFTER boiling to tender the meat when it should have been weighed raw. I was upset with her for taking the liberty of weighing after boiling but I should be upset with myself for not telling her everything should be weighed raw. That's why both MrM and I felt that the beef celery soup yesterday was a lot!! We didn't complain though, happily slurping away the soup!

What a setback. Even 100gms. I was hoping to register at least 500gms. 75.0kg is my psychological resistance now.

Hope to get the Grissini breadsticks from Jai today. 65kg here I come!!

HcG and me

Ever since I started taking these HcG pellets, my body temperature seems to be a bit higher than usual, evidenced by the sweaty around the neck feeling even in an air-conditioned office!  I wonder if HcG does that to you or is this just plainly due to the HcG working its effects on my body fat?

As for energy level, except for the first few days of splitting headache, I feel fine now and even energetic enough to do a bit of exercise today and hollering the kids to do their revisions! MrM said that with the HcG he sleeps well, better than normal.  I find that I am sleepy most of the time ha ha!  Saturday was the toughest since I did not have coffee in the morning and my headache lasted all day!

At office, my consolation is San Franscisco Americano, which tastes a whole lot better without sugar than the Nescafe I have at home.  Of course, there are a lot of work distractions to focus on rather than thinking about food!

The great thing about being on this diet protocol I have observed that without starch and sugar, the first body part that is noticeably smaller are my hips!  Just shows that an apple like me puts on weight first and foremost at the hips!  I think the toughest fat to lose would be around my stomach given the years of fat accumulation.

My kids tell me that being on this diet makes us boring parents.   Yeah, no more Saturday dining out, and morning breakfast at Pit Stop or Rojak Kassim.  Although we spent more getting the white fish and beef meat, but overall we save money due to less eating out.

I hope to be able to lose 10kg from where I am now.  Seeing results is really encouraging and I think this diet protocol works because dieters see results immediately.

Weight Loss Tracker - Day 1 to Day 7

Weight taken early morning only.

Day 1
MrM 88kg
Me     77.8kg

Day 2
MrM 89.6kg
Me    78.6kg

Day 3
MrM  89.9kg
Me     79.1kg

Day 4
MrM  88.6kg
Me     77.7kg

Day 5
MrM   87.3kg
Me      77.0kg

Day 6
MrM   86.6kg
Me      76.4kg

Day 7
MrM   85.6kg
Me      75.9kg

From post loading phase 79.1 kg to today 10 July 2011, I have lost 3.2kg
MrM has lost 4.3kg.

Have to be patient.  Success is steady progress towards one's personal goals.

The Diet So Far

MrM and I decided to follow this diet protocol even though MrM at his height of 6 foot tall, probably needed to lose only about 5kg.

One thing for sure, both of us looked forward to the Loading Phase.  

Day 1 loading for me was :

Breakfast nasi lemak (and I have not had one for a long time) with fried egg and topped it up with two half-boiled eggs.  Drinks was teh tarik.

Had another nescafe with condensed milk at the office mid morning.

Lunch was nasi beriani extra rice with two pieces of fried chicken, cabbage and another round of teh tarik.

Did I have a snack in between?   I did remember feeling very stuffed since I have not eaten like this for a long time.

Day 2 loading for me was roti canai telur for breakfast.  Damn that was good as I write today and craving for everything oily.  Teh tarik for drinks.

Lunch with Farehana at Aseana and ordered nasi campur Aseana that had chicken rendang, beef rendang and  fish curry.  Top it up with teh tarik special Aseana.  Ordered cekodok pisang for dessert and managed to eat 2 pieces after lunch because I had to rush for a meeting.

Had another round of coconut jeli Aseana.  Dinner was rice with ikan goreng sambal and another round of beef burger special after picking up my kids from Kumon.

I didn't feel tht I had loaded enough in comparison to Jai's though.  I wanted to eat more but just couldn't.  This is probably why now at Day 7 I am struggling with my cravings.  

The Path to Being Lighter - Reborn with HcG

I thought I would do the same and chronicle my HcG journey just like my friends Jai and Pyl.

I am already on my 7th day now and I am surprised I have survived it so far.

I started dieting way back in 2008, basically reducing my carbo intake and eating proteins mostly.  When I started I was 83kg.  I had lost weight during a trip to Indonesia, losing 2kg despite the nasi padang as a main staple during our trip.  So when I started I was 80kg.

The diet was also complemented with three times a week sessions at Sispa for my fat burning session. I was progressing well, or so I thought, losing about 2kg monthly until I found out I was pregnant early December 2008.  Wow!  Talk about preggers at 42 and the ticket to eat whatever I wanted.  Morning sickness did not deter me from eating.  If there was something that agreed with my tastebuds I would eat a lot of the something.  I was in seventh heaven.  MrM indulged with me and also was the facilitator (he would bring me anywhere to enable my indulgence) of my eating for two.

Post pregnancy in July 2009, what with breastfeeding and eating only steamed ikan haruan daily for lunch and dinner, and fasting month, I managed to lose weight  to 73kg.  That was a whopping 17kg lost from the day before I delivered Harith. I had put on 17kg pregnant topping my previous pregnancies weight gain.  At 37 weeks I was 90kg.   At 73kg, I felt light.  Most people commented that I looked "cengkung".

Fast forward 2011.  2 years since Harith's birth I have indulged in rice, fried foods, sugar laden coffee, and the consequent is I have put on additional 4kg since then.  Work stress didn't help either as I was always hungry by lunch time and would have rice with fried chicken and teh tarik!  When I saw Jai at Atie's house recently and commented that she has lost weight, Jai then told me about HcG.  I was impressed with her weight loss.  I can't remember the last time I saw her when she was heavier, but Jai looked good!

I did not think much (unlike Pyl who took two months) and just decided to do it.  Don't think I have read the book thoroughly since the first few days I did the diet wrong.  Nevertheless, the motivation for me is to lose weight, looked good in clothes and for health reasons.