Life on the diet lane

i've been home for 5 days now. it's been 5 days of eating, sleeping, and drinking at least 2 liters of water a day. that's to keep flushing out my kidney.

oh, i've also been monitoring my blood sugar count, first 4 times a day, then down to just twice a day. my count varies from about 110 - 120 in the mornings and up to 130 - 175 in the evenings. not great but i'm proud of not taking sugar, just splenda tho not too much of that either. salt too for that matter. if i use it at all, it's about 30 grains of salt for a meal.

so what's life been like on the diet lane? surprisingly, not as bad as i thought it would be. i dreaded living without salt, patis, bagoong, taba ng baboy, bacon, chicharon, chocolates, Sugarhouse Turtle Pie, Aristocrat Crema delos Reyes, and other goodies, but it's turning out to be not that difficult when you're aware of the consequences. for someone who didn't just like salty foods, but needed to taste the salt in every bite, that's saying something.

this evening, we had nilagang baka, which we usually eat with fish bagoong, sauteed in lots of garlic. i asked for the bagoong and just took a big sniff of it. good enough for me. last night, i did the same with the chocolates my children had for desert. i had wedges of dragon fruit, a gift from samantha, a friend of the family.

my meals are usually broth with leafy vegetables and fresh fish or meat w/o the fat, seasoned with onions, ginger, basil, lemon, and pepper. my favorite vegetables are broiled fat tomatoes, large white onions, and bell peppers with basil, oregano, lemon or kalamansi, and pepper.

for my meat, i usually like broiled pork, with the fat trimmed off, chicken with the skin removed before cooking, and beef, with lots of chili sauce or chili flakes. i usually have fish with my soup. the other day, i had sap-sap soup. it was delicious, but difficult to eat because of the small spines. worth it though.

next week, i'll ask for broiled fresh fish. i hope my favorite, hito.  also some broiled squid. i'd love to have crab and shrimps, but i'm allergic to them. not too bad an allergy, just itchiness in my lips. but in my condition, why chance it? i can wait.

my fresh garden salads are seasoned with lemon or with a little balsamic vinegar. as my brother, marlo, pointed out, i should use the other varieties of vinegar we have in the phils. that should add flavor and variety to my salads.

which ties in to an article i was reading yesterday about celebrity chef, ming tsai, of 'east meets west' on the lifestyle network. he was here recently for a visit, and he was surprised at the many kinds of vinegar we have. (http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view/20090429-202195/Ming-Tsai-asks-for-chicken-adobo. unfortunately, this article seems to be an abridged version. the newspaper version had a longer portion on ming tsai's awe at our vinegar varieties.)

all in all, i've enjoyed the food without the salt and the sweets. i'm starting to realize that there's a whole lot of herbs, condiments, and things we can use to flavor our food. salt, patis, and bagoong are great, but they're not the only things we can use for flavoring.

anna j.o. says i can also have leche flan using splenda. must try that soon, but with skimmed milk.

it's been pretty good eating i must say. i've regained my appetite. i think i'm even eating a bit more now, tho healthy foods in controlled portions. i'll have to start light exercises next week if i don't want to regain the 15 pounds i lost.

i started going to mass last thursday. today, i was even able to attend a 2-hour parish pastoral council meeting with cardinal rosales. the pain from my wound didn't bother me as much as i thought it would. i had forgotten to take a pain-killer, but didn't really need it.

tomorrow, cris and i are having dinner with the cardinal in our parish. i don't know what they'll serve, but i don't think i'll partake much of the meal. i'm sure the food will have much of the delicious things forbidden to me, so i'll pass. that's the problem with dieting in the phils. there are so many instances of friends or clients giving meals, it can be embarrasing to turn down the food and explain my illness. have to think of how best to do that.

i'd appreciate any advice about healthy diets from you if you have any. recipes will be very welcome too. to my doctor friends, i won't ask you for medical advice on the sketchy info i'm providing in my blogs, but would like to hear stories and anecdotes about friends or patients in the same situation i'm in. everything you say will be studiously analyzed and referred to my doctors before applying them to me.

to those who are shy about giving your real names, i don't mind if you use aliases. i will probably know who you are by the things you say and the way you say them. besides, what you say may benefit not only me, but others who read my blog.

ps. bob s, it's great to hear from you after all these years. please keep in touch. i've been trying to reach you for so long. regards to alice, and to flora.