First up for serious weightloss discussion: soft drinks. Next to plain water, soda drinks have gained popularity as pleasant tasting thirst quenchers. Be it a clear soda, cola, or a flavored soda; these spirited beverages have a funny addictive kick to them. This drives people to crave for them more often until such time that they could no longer go without them.  On my part, i have grown accustomed to enjoying hearty fastfood fares, especially meat dishes, with a tall glass of ice cold cola. In a way i cannot fully explain, drinking cola balances the greasiness and robust flavor of meat, making it more delicious. Maybe this is all just in my head. But really, though i did not really keep track of of my soft drinks drinking pattern, i know for a fact that never a week passes by that i do not enjoy at least 500 ml of ice cold cola. Hard as it is to break this, i am well aware of the need to do it not only for weightloss purposes but for overall health reasons as well. To get started, i did a bit of research on the scientifically proven adverse effects of soft drinks on our health.  From an article discussing the findings of Yale researchers, whose quest for answers was driven by the alarming increase of soft drinks consumption among children in school, i got these eye-opening facts. Let's pore over them together. 

1. Soft drinks intake means higher caloric consumption. Made mostly of sugar and water and little else, it is only apt that soft drinks be the first ones taken out from anyone's regular diet menu if he or she is to endeavor to lose weight seriously.

2. Frequent consumption of soft drinks, which is tantamount to its increased intake, can take its toll on your bones, resulting to osteoporosis. Researches have long speculated that drinking soft drinks can deplete calcium levels while increasing phosphates in the blood. With calcium as the indispensable mineral needed for maintaining good bone health, decreased levels of it can seriously put bone health at risk. 

3. If you think drinking sugar-free soft drinks sweetened with aspartame or other sugar replacements is a healthy alternative, think again. Several findings reveal the possibility of a person's experiencing a wide range of immediate and long-term adverse health effects: weight gain, tinnitus, vision loss, tremors, tachycardia, seizures and convulsions, swallowing pain, seizures and convulsions, rashes, rapid heartbeat, phobia, panic attacks, some allergic reactions, numbing and/or tingling of the limbs, vomiting or nausea, migraine headaches and other kinds of headaches, muscle spasms, menstrual problems/changes, memory loss, marked personality changes, clouded thinking, etc. 

So the next time i am compelled to grab a can of soft drink to quench my thirst, i would stop and call these facts to mind. Drinking soft drink could mean not only throwing a portion of my hard-earned money, but also my health in the long run.  

I know i should be posting regularly here. Sad to say, work and everything else about my so-called life kept me. Oh, well, it is never too late to redeem myself, is it? After piling on half of the 35 lbs. i worked hard to lose, needless to say, i have begun to deliberately avert my gaze every time i had to pass by the weighing scale just sitting outside the bathroom door. After spending a good deal of money buying myself clothes that are two sizes smaller, i am now back to wearing my old ones--i actually planned to donate them any time this year after dropping two sizes upon losing weight (good thing i didn't). 

But i cannot let myself stay a blimp and just watch in resignation as the pounds pile back on until i have gained not only all 35 lbs. i worked so hard to lose several months ago, but even more. Aaaaaarrrghhhh!!! What is so unique about my metabolism is that i gain weight just as quickly as i can lose them. I guess i can use this to my advantage if i work things right; however, i did just the exact opposite after slipping into distress again after resigning from my previous company. 

So it's back to the diet track for me. I give myself no other options but to start again from base 1 and work my way up again, controlling food portions and working out diligently to exhaustion, as i have done before. Additional research can be helpful at this point; however, i have already determined the particular activities or aspects of dieting that work for me. 

• Pass on the meat and rice, and concentrate my daily menu on veggies and fruits. 
• Drink natural homemade carrot-apple shake every day coupled with a banana or two as a meal replacement for either lunch or dinner. 
• Drink my pricey diet drinks for breakfast, and resume my old health ritual of imbibing a full glass of wheatgrass tea first thing in the morning before eating anything. 
• Work out thrice or four times weekly--dancing, calisthenics, walking, etc. 
• Drink lots of water and the following juices: broccoli, carrot, and pineapple. 
• Pray every day for guidance and self-control. 

I remember clearly that i was just this 21-year-old-lass before going to bed. But when i woke up, much to my dismay, i had gone through a major transformation a la Rip Van Winkle and found myself in the body of this 30-year-old-something MILF. Nope, sorry, i am quite sensitive about my age, and though i have piled on more than 20 pounds of unwanted excess weight, the years are not evident if anyone is to look at my face(No lines, wrinkles, or age spots! Thank God!). Setting aside the fact that i have grown much bigger--i have always been rotund by the way, i guess not much has really changed in my body save for the increasing number of gray hairs(Yes, i have early graying of hair.) which i have no choice but to dye every other month.

How i wish i had been more appreciative of my body before. Though not svelte, it was not that big, and in fact, had the feminine curves(which were just of the right size proportionate to my height and overall stature) exactly where they are supposed to be. I guess, i deserve to tell myself, though i have to toil twice harder to regain that old body of mine, that at one point in time, way back when my episodes of idiocy were more frequent, i had "this voluptuous body" befitting my unusually cherubic-like(of a disproportionate kind LOL) face. 

But that was yesterday, which is equivalent to more than 10 years past actually. Back then, my self-confidence was much less, and it always struck me as absurd whenever someone  complimented me on my appearance. In my mind's eye--though nowadays i have finally gotten around to acknowledging that i too have my own unique beauty inside and outside, and vice versa-- i was always this plain Jane who was totally unassuming and thought herself utterly unnoticeable unless she opens her mouth to talk or lets her hand do the talking for her(when she writes and paints that is LOL). Today, reality gives me no choice but to deal with my remorse on how ungrateful i had been, plus the conspicuous effects evident every time i imagine myself undressing in front of the mirror--which by the way i would never ever do and has never ever done in actual, for fear of taking my own life out of sheer stupidity resulting from being horrified at my own reflection. 

Enough. I have berated myself enough. Griping about what could have been, or rather what i could have done, and berating myself further when i have barely enough self- confidence left  is suicide--and i don't want to die just yet. Not by my own will and hands, especially. Crying over spilled milk is flat-out ridiculous and impractical. The battle of the bulge has yet to be won by none other than(drumroll please)...Tadaaaaaa! "Me." (Dramatic music plays in the background to the tune of "We Are the Champions" by Queen.)

And as proof of my sincerity, i only had a glass of budget-crippling diet protein shake with peaches for breakfast and 2 cups of not-so-fresh(tastes like soap, really) carrot sticks. Come lunch time though, the stress brought on by a tight deadline had me staggering beneath the combined weight of mental exhaustion and my blasted moods, which were protesting from lack of wanted sustenance. By this, i have unfortunately given in to my tastebuds' craving and marched to the ground floor convenience store to get a pack of veggie crisps, hotdog on stick, a serving of Chinese noodles, half a liter of cold green tea, and a couple of mini Snickers bars for dessert. I stuffed myself with these as i was finishing my tasks for the day. 

Notice that most of them are healthy foods? "Veggie" crisps, "Green" tea. If you think noodles and hotdog are unhealthy, don't forget that the latter, though loaded with preservatives, is still a certified protein source, and the former, though with high glycemic index and salty, has good carbs needed to fuel my body. As for the mini Snickers bars, think FLAVONOIDS. Besides, each bar is only the size of my pinky finger. Put together, i don't think they would equal a regular Snickers bar. Overall quantity of these eats? I didn't eat them at once. I languorously stuffed them in my mouth within a 2-hour period as i totally immersed my poor machine head in finishing the blasted content of yet another rush website task( 9 pages of long brain-popping content material all by myself...Aaarrrrggghhh!).

So being my official first day back on the diet track, do i consider myself successful, or otherwise?

Oh, give me a break. It is only my first day anyway. At least i tried ha ha ha...Give me a little credit for my courageous effort LOL. Oh, i've gone mad again. Do forgive, or should i say, get used to my silliness. More than half the time, i am like this tee-hee.

Seriously now, watch out for my succeeding posts. You have my word for it(Yeah, right! I'm keeping my fingers crossed LOL.), "They would have more substantial info on diet and beauty than this very first Bulge War post of mine here."

The battle has just begun...anew LOL. Though not the best way to have started it, i am already here, so i'm gonna fight--and not just fight, but fight veeerrryyy hard. Charge!