The reason behind the BETTER photos

I've been enjoying Dodong's birthday (and Christmas) gift for the past few days. If you've noticed, I've been posting better photos right?

No more teasers as to what camera I am using given the photo above. Dodong's been real sweet and thoughtful as he knows very well that I've been lusting over the Panasonic Lumix LX3 for the longest time!

I've thought of getting a DSLR before but it's just too bulky for me, especially that I commute. The Lumix LX3's size is handy enough plus packed with almost DSLR features! You can even attach different lenses to the LX3! The macro lens is my next project Could anybody give this to me as a post birthday gift perhaps? Hihihi!

Oh, I still have not baptized him with a name. Any suggestions?

Thanks Dodong for the Panasonic Lumix LX3! I love you!

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay

It would have started with this (sans the bacon)

It's the second birthday I've had away from Dodong. In 2008, he surprised me by coming home. While in 2009, we spend it apart. This year, obviously, Dodong is far away and the sad thing about it that he was 6 days shy from my actual birthday. Boohoo. Yes I cried about this yesterday.

I spent my evening wondering of what could have happened on my birthday if Dodong were actually here…

As mentioned, it would have started with a nice hearty hotel buffet breakfast. Whoa! Whatta mouthful that is! Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day He would have woken up extra early to make my day start on the right foot…or right appetite

Then we would most probably head on to church for mass to thank the Good Lord for ALL the blessings in showered in the last twenty-something years of my life. Okay, I am actually quite shy to say my real age. Hehehe!

After Thanksgiving Birthday Mass, you would have dropped me off work with the ever gwapo Sharkface to enjoy a fun filled day of back-to-back-to-back meetings. Nothing far from the usual working day. It's work yah know.

He would also have picked me up after work (even if it were in Makati, which he absolutely abhors going to) for a special dinner. Hmmm I would guess he would treat me at this particular steakhouse where he said he'd love to wine and dine me. Hehehe!

He'd then bring me home safe and sound after stuffing ourselves silly as usual perhaps with a nice glass of wine (para mature). Then a nice, warm, tight and looooooooong bear hug and a sweet kiss would be a perfect way to cap off my birthday with Dodong…

But Dodong ain't here. He's there in a land far, far, far away; while I am here. A girl can still dream right?

Happy twenty-something birthday to me! Sigh.

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay

P.S. Does it sound like an ordinary date day? Well, I'm not much of a material gift kinda gal. I'd rather have more quality time versus a gift gift. Though Dodong did give me something special I am still grateful for that.

Dodong and I are sooooo busy lang with our respective careers (plus I dealt with and still dealing with sickness), hence the very quiet LDR birthday…But I would say that having a quiet LDR birthday doesn't mean it is any less special.

Happy Xth birthday my dearest Dodong!

Why Xth? It means we are getting more mature since we do not want to reveal the age anymore. Hehe!

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay

P.S. In a few weeks though, we'd be able to celebrate all the more quiet occasions in style! Woohoo! Looking forward to that!

I want to be with YOU.

My birthday is actually coming up in about 2-weeks. Time just flies so fast! I can't even believe that a year has past since Dodong has come home to celebrate my 27th birthday with me. It was one of the happiest birthdays ever.

I've been really thinking about what I want to have for my special day, what I want to ask from Dodong. I've thought of so many things but I've noticed that there is one thing in common: ALL I WANT IS TO BE WITH YOU.

Wouldn't you want to be with your beloved on your special day?

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay

I lost 8 lbs because of what I ate

A lot of people have been asking me what I did. Hmmm I guess I inspired a lot of people. Ok, I think I did not summarize my diet regimen in my 1st post in the series. So here it is…

GM DIET

I did the GM Diet. GM = General Motors. So what's a car company got to do with a diet? Apparently they formulated a diet to encourage their employees to start healthy living. It's a 7-day diet. Just 7-days!!!

DAY 1: Fruits only in unlimited quantities. With the exemption of Bananas. They recommend eating more melons since it apparently helps lose more weight.

DAY 2: Vegetables in unlimited quantities again. Well heavy dressings for salads are not encouraged. Yeah, I cheated a bit.

DAY 3: Fruits (except bananas) and vegetables in unlimited quantities. They are filling but get digested so fast so you just have to eat again and again.

DAY 4: Bananas and Milk. They say non-fat milk but I drank normal fresh milk and soya milk. I did try the sweetened soya milk but it felt disgusting. I'd stick to the unsweetened soya milk if you plan to skip animal milk.

DAY 5: Beef and 6 tomatoes. I have no idea why it's just 6 tomatoes. I think you can eat as much tomatoes as you want…if you can. Tomatoes get tiring even before the 6th tomato. That's just me.

DAY 6: Beef and vegetables. All the veggies you can eat. Beef is just so heavy. I did eat tuna just to break the beef. Tuna is healthier protein with Omega 3 (as per Century Tuna Can).

DAY 7: 1 cup of brown rice, fruit juices and vegetables. Again, unlimited veggies and fruit juices. Eeep. Brown rice is a bit hard to find if you're eating out. And kinda hard to cook if you only need 1 cup.

KEFIR

I did partner my GM diet with Kefir. According to me, Kefir is like yoghurt but to the Nth power ang good bacteria. If yoghurt has thousands of good micro-organisms, Kefir has BILLIONS!!! DUH. Of course I can't show it. I don't have a microscope for sure. Hehehe!

Tastes like yoghurt. So if you like or even can stand yoghurt, you can drink Kefir. Just think of the benefits and you will get through. Hehehe.

My enzyme specialist, Jeren (who makes the stuff! Personalizes it I say!) recommended that I drink 250ml 1st thing in the morning before you get food stuffed down your throat. I also drink Kefir in the evenings before going to bed as dinner. It's quite filling so I do consider these glasses my opening and closing for the day.

If you are interested to know more about Kefir and ORDER (for crying out loud…order na!!!) contact Jeren at the ff numbers:

Mobile: 0923-7135603 / 09165915359

Landline: 02-3453736 (Metro Manila)

So game na ba ang diet mode? Game ULIT ako!

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay

It is the 7th day and I close this diet at 120 – 122 lbs. Okay the weighing scale is confusing. I get on and it's 120. Then I get off and get on again, I'm 122 lbs. Seriously.

At 122 on 2nd weigh-in after 10seconds. Hmmm maybe camera weight? Or tanggapin ko na 122 lbs talaga???

Maybe it was the excitement of getting back to the normal eating. Or maybe it was the stress of the day. DAMN. It was stressful. I did cheat a little. Well, let me know if that's defined as cheating a little. Is there even such a thing? Hehehe.

Here is the docu-eatery for the final day…

Day 7 is all about veggies, fruit juices and 1 cup of Brown Rice. I jumpstarted my day with a glass of Kefir as usual. Plus 5 cans of fruit juices: 4 Dole Unsweetened Pineapple and 1 Dole Pine-Orange.

One can only...trying to downplay the evidence

Then after a looooong and quite stressful meeting in ABS CBN (yes, the TV channel), we had late lunch at Grams. I asked if they had brown rice but they didn't have any. So I ended up ordering a salad. Here comes the cheat…I was famished so I went for the High-Protein salad with lean beef and a wee bit of spicy dressing.

Nomnomnom Salad!!! Beef!!!

The salad, in fairness at buti na lang, got me through the day. I had my afternoon Tea break to help digest the meat as well. I tried my teammate's Green Tea instead of the usual Unknown Chinese Herb tea I drank

Having a spot of Tea

I then ended the day with a bottle of Orange Juice just to fill me a bit before going to bed.

Ended the day on a Berri (Orange Juice) good note

Now comes the REAL challenge: to go even LOWER or to MAINTAIN that weight. I think I'm going much lower. I'll be taking a diet break for 1-2weeks and then try out another 7-day diet. Maybe GM diet again. Or a 7-day liquid fasting diet.

PLUS I do need to get more exercise into my daily routine on top of the daily push-ups I do. More cardio to burn the fats.

Again, Happy Birthday my Love 6-8lbs (Okay I'm still hoping it is 120 lbs talaga) lost for your special day! I do hope you enjoy your gift

Love the distance (and YOU: Dodong!),

Inday I. Nagintay

Can I resist the cheesiness of this Lasagna? Ohhh Garfield mode

Did I survive through the feast? Read more…

After my regular dose of Kefir, I prepared my baon for the day. I decided to take tuna instead of beef since I practically ate a whole lotta beef yesterday. Day 6 is Beef and Veggies day.

Yes LITE ang binili ko. Hehehe!

Okay so this shot is a bit deceiving since I actually had 3 CANS of Century Tuna Lite Hot and Spicy for lunch. Late lunch actually since I had a series of meetings which lasted until 1PM.

Hindi sha madami if yan lang ang kakainin mo. Swear. Hehehe

Then came the parteeeh…OH NO! I must admit I did not take any pictures of the spread. Nakakatakot. Very tempting because there was Caramel Cake from Costa Brava. Yikes. And other cakes. I am a cake person. So I was drooling. But then I found something I could eat! Okay so I DID EAT a little. There were tacos served. So I just had to remove the shells and just eat the lettuce and beef. PERFECT!

The Taco shells

Here comes the gulay!

Hay salamat. I finally got some veggies into my system. They filled me up to last me through the night. And of course, I cap off the night with another glass of Kefir. Yummy! I can feel the micro organisms working their magic!

I know I hate posting sucky photos. But here is proof that I am at 122 lbs.

Maintained 122 lbs.

Woohoo! Day 7 tomorrow! Though I am already thinking of taking a detox diet to follow this one. Hehehe.

Do you think I should take another round of detox diet?

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay

Since I had a wee bit of time to prepare. I chose to cook Hamburgers for my breakfast and baon. Yes Hamburgers. Juicy mounds of beefy goodness to shed more pounds…

I prepared (Inday's own  recipe and made by hand) and ate 4 100% Beef Hamburger Patties. 2 for breakfast…

Breakfast "Sausages"

1 pattie for lunch with Tomatoes and of course for fiber…

Pattie # 3 + 3 pcs of Tomatoes

And another one for early dinner (at 4PM!) with Tomatoes again.

Last Pattie Beef Cake + 3 pcs of Tomatoes

Of course, I drank a full glass of Kefir for the billions of micro-organisms to nomnomnom on all the meat I ate today.

...Kefir...

And Pound count, as of today, I lost another 2 lbs from yesterday. So 122 lbs official count!

Ohhh another meaty day tomorrow. Yum! But I think I'm modifying it a bit and eating Tuna instead of Beef.

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay

I sustained myself through the day with these…

Fresh Milk and Soya Milk

I ate 4 big yellow Dole Bananas. Boring if I post 4 bananas which look exactly the same. Hehehe!

While these are the food I sorely missed today…

Okay let's start with the appetizers. I was afraid! I am a cheese fan and there was cheese. I luuuurveeee cheese. But I just couldn't ruin the momentum. I am on a roll…

Mira Angeles' Cheeeeeeseeeeee!!!

Aside from the cream cheese (came in cheese pimiento – na sushal!, Basil pesto pate and with sundried tomatoes), Mira also had salad dressings, which I wasn't able to take a picture of. Boo.

Then we moved to the more familiar Filipino flavors with Bangga's Bagoong! I've already tasted this bagoong and I love love love it with…bananas. No joke! It's addictive!

Bangga's Homemade Bagoong. Super craveable!

Then we (me and my sister "E") move onto the MEATS! I am a certified carne-vore…so damn! TEMPTATION!!!

Tender Beef shortribs (I have pics of the Wagyu Tri-tip and Pork Belly pero hindi ko marotate.Phooey.)

The Star of the Philippine Feasts!!!

Bangga's Laing (Nice presentation noh?)

Ohhhh Wagyu...WAG PO!

Of course, kelangan merong desserts galore!  A meal isn't a meal without dessert! Here are the sinful delights:

Cupcakes by Bay Cakes

Fudge Brownies which "E" wasn't able to try because she was so full

There also was sansrival / sylvannas (ohhhh buttery goodness!) and bread pudding fondue (in dulce de leche and whiskey dips), which I wasn't able to take decent pictures of. Boo me again.

Pero buti na lang meron healthy option after gorging (well, not myself of course) at the ulam section.

Okay, so I took a picture of the Kefir Milk. I think the logo is pretty

Kefirlicious is The Kefir Culture's ice cream brand, the ice cream that will NOT MAKE YOU FAT but fill you with gazillions of good bacteria to help your digestive system. It came in 3 flavors: Choco-berry, Mango and Vanilla.

WHEW! A whole lot of food (good food…as per "E") that I missed eating.

People were actually giving me strange looks when I mentioned I was on a diet and did not touch a single thing. I just know the thoughts running through their heads: "Why the heck is she even here in the first place?!? This is a FOOD tasting event?!? Crazy girl!"

Yup, I'm just a girl crazy in love with her Dodong. Crazy enough to forego her beloved food to shed some pounds for his miles away birthday celebration…Cheez Balls but so true!

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay

P.S. I maintained the 124lbs today. I think being with the food didn't make me lose more weight. Hehehehe.

Day 3: 124 lbs!

Okay I think I am losing an average of 2 lbs per day. I am now at 124 lbs from the original 128 lbs. They say it's water weight but boy am I glad they're gone! Here is what I had today…

Okay so pictures of empty glasses with Kefir residue isn't exactly eye candy. I start off with lunch (dahil nabusog na ako sa isang baso ng Kefir) of Ginataang Labong (a.k.a. Bamboo shoots). Yep! Our helper was not absent so I did not prepare my own food. Luckily. Hehehehe!

Crunchy. Rich. Spicy. YUMMY!

Then I had a sweet-savory combination of several (this is an understatement) cheeks of ripe mangoes and chopsueyed veggies: Baguio Beans, Carrots, Oyster Mushrooms and Broccoli. I really enjoy my food sweet and savory all at the same time.

Suhweeeeeet mangoes!

Chopsuey = Melange of Veggies!

I got hungry after a few (like 2 I think) hours and gobbled up a pack of Guapples (Guava + Apple  = Guapples: Gigantic Guavas)

Lots of Vitamin C over here

Drowned it all down with another glass of Kefir. Okay this is more than what Jeren recommended. For some strange reason, I am addicted. Hehehe.

Tomorrow: Bananas and Milk! Continue to cheer me on guys! More pounds to shed for Dodong's Happy Happy Birthday!

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay