#WeightLossJourney | DIE-ING WITH A T.

I have to lose a lot of weight. My youngest brother is getting married in October, and I do not wish to look like the mother of the bride. I have been trying to eat healthy since the new year, but that's just it, I still eat, and have not really watched how much I stuff into my mouth.

Two weeks ago, I was told that a nutritionist was downstairs offering a diet plan to employees looking at losing weight. I went and got myself weighed and tested, and whaddya know?! I was _ _ pounds overweight!!! Let me leave you to imagine those double digits, but yes, I am way, way above the average and ideal.

So to jump start that diet, I signed up. We were to follow the diet plan, which consisted of two shakes to replace breakfast and lunch. Then overall consumption for the day, including the shakes, was a certain number of calories - my magic number was 1,100. Yes, poor me. :(

My 1,100 calorie meal plan.

So far, after 10 working days, I have lost 6+ pounds. That isn't so bad. Now because I have had liver problems in the past, I have weaned myself off those meal replacement shakes, and have decided to look for green smoothie recipes that more or less give the same or lower number of calories. Because I really love green juice, I have decided to just stick to it. So far, I've found three.

Recipe is from the Blendtec recipe site.

Recipe is from the Blendtec recipe site.

Recipe is from the Blendtec recipe site.

Today, as I drank my smoothie, I kept thinking of food. I am dreading the next few days as we go on a staycation for the Easter holidays. Why is it so easy to gain weight and yet so hard to lose some? I am telling you, all that shake, chicken and fish will shoot out of my ears soon! But my metabolic age is even higher than I thought it would be! So I really have no choice, lest I want to be obese in my senior years. Yes, it is sad and crazy!

But after two weeks of dieting, I feel better physically, really. I look at how flatter my stomach is, and it gives me good vibes. Next week, I will start joining my artist at the gym upstairs, if only for cardio exercises. Yes, this is really it. I need to start caring for myself.

Cheers to Die-ing with a T. Who am I kidding? LOL! Good luck to me!

To Die with a T.

My younger brother is getting married this year. June, to be exact. I have about 2+ months to lose weight (I don't want to look like the mother of the bride no, LOL). So I've been starving myself lately, literally cutting down on food.

I tried going on the Cabbage Soup Diet last month. Alas, I actually gained because I gorged on cabbage soup all seven days. Kasalanan ko ba na I love cabbage soup? LOL! So ayun, I ended up gaining two pounds instead of losing any! Aray!

You must be wondering how I managed to eat all that soup, and why I didn't get tired having bowls and bowls of it everyday. The secret? TABASCO SAUCE!

Man, a few drops of Tabasco Red Pepper Sauce gave it the extra punch, and it was indeed delicious soup! I really, really didn't mind having it every single day.

A week after that diet, I switched to all veggies. I love salad. I love greens, carrots and tomatoes. I don't mind having it plain (no meat), kahit na minsan, feeling kambing na ako. Hahaha! Baaaa!!!

My cabbage, lettuce, arugula, carrots, tomatoes and sunflower seed salad. Nom!

And I'd add a few drops of Tabasco Sauce to the apple cider vinaigrette. Sarap! Life-saver talaga! In fairness, I lost those two pounds plus some.

Thank you, Lord, for Tabasco Sauce!

~~~ * ~~~

Ok, I know this is late, but I had tons to do last week, plus I had a bento party order early this week. Pasensya na, sorry po. Haha, here's last week's scheduled giveaway...

Yup, you guessed it. Tabasco. I knew I was going to write this piece, especially since I was heavily using this hot sauce brand during my cabbage soup week. So I thought I'd give some away.

WIN THESE! Giving away this set of Tabasco Pepper Sauce!
Garlic Pepper Sauce, Original Red Pepper Sauce, Green Pepper Sauce, and Chipotle Pepper Sauce!
(Oops, missing Habanero, oh well.) 

Original Red is the best! I love this because it is classic! Plus, look, it's FAT FREE!

Green Pepper Sauce is mild and gives just the right punch to any dish!

Garlic Pepper Sauce is my favorite! I love Garlic, and use this for steak. Mmmm...

I also love the smokey flavor of Tabasco Chipotle! This is great for burgers.

FACT: I always bring along a bottle of Tabasco Sauce in the car. We bring it with us to McDonald's, KFC and other restaurants. Once, we ate at this posh steak house (name of establishment withheld) and I cannot believe they didn't have Tabasco! Instead, they brought a bottle of some local brand of hot sauce that didn't quite taste like anything hot and peppery. I cannot (and will refuse to) use any other hot sauce brand. Only the best - Tabasco.

Anyway, you know what to do. Follow all applicable steps on Rafflecopter below. Please remember to use a valid email address when logging into the Rafflecopter app. That same email address will be used to notify you in case you win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is open to anyone with a valid Philippine address, and will run from today until 1159PM of Tuesday, March 18.

Bonne chance!

Finally... Smoovlatté!

We first discovered Nescafé's Smoovlatté in Hong Kong. I had needed coffee to soothe a pressing headache. So the kids and I walked into a 7-Eleven and saw it sitting on the chiller shelf. Didn't think it would be anything special, but surprisingly, it was true to its name. Smooth and good!

We took a couple of bottles back to Manila. I gave one to KC, my brother's coffee-addict friend, who stocks up on canned Nescafé coffee by the box. He loves his canned ready-to-drink coffee, yet asked for a bottle of Smoovlatté when I claimed (in a shout out on IG) that this one was way, way better than anything in a can. Haha, me and my big mouth.

| This is goooood!  thanks @nappykaye #coffee
Photo from KC, while watching the ADMU-DLSU volleyball match at SM Arena.

A week ago, my brother sends us a shout out on Facebook...

Its here!!!
Photo from KA, taken at Mini Stop Shell, Katipunan.

So we've been hoarding these lately. So far, the supermarkets don't have it... YET. Heard though that Rustan's got it recently (unconfirmed), but so far, no luck at the big stores. Smoovlatté comes in a 190ml bottle and retails for P39.00 at Mini Stop. The best part is... this whole bottle is only 110 Calories! I've been keeping tabs on Calories lately, and have been trying to keep my daily intake to a maximum of 1,000 kcal. So this ain't so bad.

My first bottle in Manila! After waiting just a couple of months. Yay!

Now please don't go lecturing me about coffee. I am no coffee connoisseur, and I will not claim to be one. I don't even drink a lot of coffee, and have actually limited my coffee drinking to about twice a week (health consequences). This is just something I felt I could share to my readers, because... well, it's good. And we were really glad to see this available in the market.

Yes, finally!

| This is not a paid post. Tsk. LOL!