Update on My First Resolve

A week ago, I shared here my first resolve in losing weight. My first resolve was simply to reduce my meal portions instead of eating excessively. Because I gained 15 lbs in a matter of 6 months, where most of them were around my belly, I decided to take full control of my health and fitness before it gets TOO HARD to turn back.

I did not go through special diet plan, nor limit myself with any type of food. I always believe in a balance of everything. Instead, I still eat the same thing, just controlled my portions. I still have rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I still have snacks in between meals if I feel hungry, only if I really am hungry.

You may think I am not including exercise in my health plan, that is because I am already exercising regularly, not so much for weight loss, but to keep my fitness level to be able to enjoy hiking and climbing until I am very old and gray. However, I added sideward leg kicks as high as I could, and more bending stretches for my belly.

The result?

In one week, I lost 3 pounds, and I believe most of the weight lost were around my waist. I am happy to note that my suffering each time I wear my pants and skirts are less now. Before, it was so hard to zip my pants/jeans. I am committed not to buy bigger size clothing, I love my old clothes! Here are samples of what my meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) look now. I only ate one plate each meal now, and not several plates of mountainful servings like before.

 DINNER - eggplant omelette, adobong kangkong ( ong choy sauteed in spicy vinegar and soy sauce) and veggie rice

LUNCH - veggie rice, veggies and small slice of lean chicken steak ( chicken frita  )

BREAKFAST - rice, grilled portabella mushrooms, and rotiserrie chicken

DESERT and SNACKS ( fruits and veggie salad, yes, I put rice in my salad sometimes, I am such a rice person and I do not think I can survive and go hiking without my rice! Haha! ) 

Not in picture for my other snacks: almond, sunflower seeds, seaweed ( Or whatever I feel like eating )

Happy in the Island of Aruba

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Aruba Tourism Authority . All opinions are 100% mine. - Zenserly

   

 

me, spending one afternoon by the beach 

 

          I love the beach! It is the only place where I feel I could soar high and reach the clouds! The sand hugging my toes and the water splashing on my body is therapy like no other. I could not think of any other place I would love to be when I finally have all the time in the world than where I could watch the sky change colors and where sunshine could lovingly caress my skin and re-vitalize me. With whom will I want to be with?- my one great love of course who also embraces anything with adventure spelled in it. 

 

     It would be great to go on a second honey-moon in one happy Island that's Aruba!

Why Aruba?- the sunshine lover in me would surely have a blast in Aruba which has the most of sunny days of any island in the Caribbean.

I can almost picture myself fully immersed in the incredible nature preserve and largest national park in the Caribbean which is Arikok National Park. Now if only I knew how to swim I'd go diving and exploring deep in the waters of Aruba too! Add windsurfing, kitesurfing and horse-back riding to my lists of activities to try and sunset watching beside my soul-mate every day of our stay in the Happy Island of Aruba. Gee I need to save a lot of time in a bottle to fulfill my plans! ..and yes money too but learning of deals at Aruba travel site I think one day we could be there! There are great offers like "one happy family," "one happy honeymoon," and other packages that could accommodate kids and adults alike.

The "No-Kidding" package in Aruba I think is a sure thing to reignite lost passion for married couples.  The Aruba Soul Beach Music Festival sounds awesome too for melody lovers like us! I could picture myself swaying with the music and being able to run along the beach free of worry and tension and everything else that are at times unavoidable in adult life. All these and more when you check out aruba.com and discover for yourself Aruba, One Happy Island; tell me later why you too would love love love to visit Aruba in the comment box. 

 

     For me, it definitely is the awesome stretch of beach and sand and the romantic sunsets that drives my mind to Aruba! 

     

 

Are Mussels and other Shellfish Really Unhealthy?

I love mussels. I know, mussels are one of the shell foods that got a bad reputation for their cholesterol content. However, are the cholesterol in mussels the bad kind that are bad for your health? It may surprise a lot who had been avoiding mussels, crabs and shrimps thinking they are high cholesterol food, that the answer is: NO! (References: 1.Yale-New Haven Nutrition, 2.American Heart Association, 3.University of Washington Medicine,   Read more here: http://www.livestrong.com/article/108127-cholesterol-seafood/#ixzz2SwPk5xZ0 )

Simply Steamed Mussels in Fresh Ginger

Yes, they do contain significant amount of cholesterol, but they are the type which has been found from scientific research to increase the HDL ( the good cholesterol, that prevents you from getting blood clots) and lowers the LDL ( the bad cholesterol that gives you those fatty deposits in your arteries). In short, the cholesterol content these shell fish have increases your good soldiers while decreasing your body's enemies. Not all cholesterol are born equal, and the cholesterol content in mussels and other shell fish are not the evil ones like what you find in animal saturated fats and trans fats. If eaten in moderation, mussels are healthy foods in one's plate.

Aside from increasing the good soldiers and fighting off the evil fats, mussels are rich in protein, iron, Vitamin C, calcium, zinc, Vitamin B12, and other essential minerals.

However, some people prepare their mussels with a lot of butter, a lot of cream, a lot of cheese, which all those excessive heaping of butter, full cream and cheese would make a serving already not so healthy. Sometimes I wonder why people add all those to to heavenly tasting sea foods that I could hardly enjoy their natural taste. I love my sea foods prepared in simplest way.

Here is how I usually eat my mussels. It may sound boring to some, since I do not put even salt. But for me, mussels are from the sea and thus have natural saltiness, why do I add more salt?

Fresh Tomatoes

Transparent Noodle

Plainly Blanched Vegetables

Lemon

I put them all in one plate, then squeezed lemon over the dish

Here is how it look after mixing

And yes, I eat them without adding any salt at all, somehow, the mix of mussels and lemon juice makes the taste good enough for me. However, anyone can always add a dash of salt (or soy sauce) and pepper for their taste. Just that, I belong to a group of people who really have a bland taste, that is why I do not really enjoy eating out, because I find the food always too salty for my taste. I usually eat out to sample new meal or new dish, then, I guess what are the ingredients, and then, I cook them at home at my own taste, meaning, with much reduced oil, and seasoning. 

Golden Deli Restaurant

Golden Deli is a very popular restaurant in San Gabriel, part of Los Angeles Metro. This is the restaurant of choice always of my in laws whenever they are in LA to visit my MIL. Here's what I had from Golden Deli 2 weekends ago when we were in LA.

Shrimp Paste, Pork Chop in Lemon Grass, and Egg Roll