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It has almost become “tradition” for me to injure my stomach during the December holidays (I cannot digest certain things but I eat them during the holidays anyway) that there had been a couple of times I spent Christmas in the ER. What usually follows is that I lose about 10-15 pounds. And then I regain that again on the last quarter of the year.

This year, armed with Yakult and Maalox, I managed to avoid the hospital. But then the weight gain triggered two more injuries: plantar fasciitis (a foot problem) and the added pressure on my previous knee injury (2012). So seriously, I have no choice but to lose weight lest I end up permanently unable to walk. Suddenly, it was no longer an issue of whether I had the money to buy an entirely new wardrobe. The fear ceased to be a first world problem.

The solutions:
1. Choose carbs wisely.

From this Kenny Rogers meal, I actually didn’t touch the rice and maybe took a small bite of the muffin. Also ordered another set of steamed vegetables. I usually go hungry by 4PM but when I started relying on veggies for my carbs, I was surprised to find myself going hungry at 6-6.30PM. According to my former boss Gerard Cadlum, rice stores water weight but veggies don’t.

I had a huuuuuge mushroom omelet for dinner. I lost a pound the next day, much to my shock.

2. Sometimes I miss bread but.

I have them in moderation and only during lunch. I usually go for wheat and have beef soup with it. Though the choices are kind of tricky in The Soup Kitchen, I try to avoid the potatoes (that’s actually torture because I love potatoes). I hope this potato avoidance is temporary though.

3. Turning to other dairy alternatives.

I love almond milk but I’m trying out some new dairy alternatives such as cashew nut milk. The unsweetened version doesn’t taste like anything, though I appreciate the cashew aftertaste. Because I sleep super late, I end up getting hungry around 4 to 5 hours after dinner (my dinner is very light unless I’ve had a huge lean steak or Korean barbecue). To curb my hunger pangs, I would turn to lactose-free milk. But lactose-free isn’t non-fat and I generally don’t like non-fat or skim milk. So yeah, I had to substitute with non-dairy milk.

4. Cut the sugar.

And no, I don’t mean cut the sugar literally so that I could eat it. This is actually my biggest pain. This photo of me during my 2011 birthday is proof of how much I love sugary stuff. When I minimize my sugar intake, I notice I lose weight faster. Not only that, both sides of my family have histories of diabetes so…

5. Do knee-friendly cardio.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0TziwMB3fk]

They call it low impact cardio as well. I use FitnessBlender’s Easy on the Knees Kickboxing Blend – Low Impact Cardio Workout for Beginners. When you’re too tired to do the whole thing, sometimes just doing planks can help. Upon waking up, I’d do bicycle crunches while lying down (it’s easier on my spine than regular crunches). It kinda helps wake me up.

Anyhoo, these are the five things I’ve set myself to do for the entire year. I hope I maintain them, for my own good. Oh and yeah…dress code or not, I ain’t wearing heels again. The extra weight on those heels worsened my plantar fasciitis.