I mentioned about weight loss as one of my 2018 Goals, but prior to my weight loss journey I joined a contest organized by my office mate called the “BIGGEST LOSER CHALLENGE”. There were 4 of us who joined the contest and quite obviously the ones who are young, eat a lot, and overweight..umm well excluding some senior citizens :D.

The contest started October 23 and ended on December 18. The catch? Whoever loses a lot of weight will win a cash prize amounting to Php 1,500 ($30) 😀. I knew that when we started the challenge, I surely would not make it because I didn’t have the discipline to lose weight after all. I love food so much I can’t imagine not eating 3 full meals a day and lots of in-between snacks. In fact, I already prepared my Php 500 ($10) to be handed to the winner (lol). But I still joined believing I can persuade myself.

Banana Bread
Banana bread made of coconut flour gifted to me by another health-conscious office mate. #yummy
Keto
Pork adobo and sauteed cabbage for lunch 

 

But come the time in November when I decided to seek an OB-GYNE to confirm if I have PCOS and also to undergo some laboratory tests. Yes, I’ve been suspecting it for a long time given that my menstrual cycle is irregular and I was consistently gaining weight every year. I am also worried about my health condition because both sides of our family have the history of diabetes. When it was confirmed, my OB explained to me the role of carbohydrate in the development of PCOS and advised me to lose weight by cutting down on sugar and other carbohydrate-rich food. It also scared me about the alarming lab results and an apparent weight gain. Most likely, I am a candidate for being a diabetic and for acquiring other chronic diseases.

I find it a blessing that the same time my medical results were out, I came across a video about Ketogenic diet and that’s where my journey begins. Technically, I started doing the Ketogenic diet on November 26, 2017 one week after I was diagnosed of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). I started reading and joining groups of people who are into it. I fell in love right away knowing about the diet because I get to eat my favorite food— pork, chicken, beef, etc. but minus the sweet stuff which unfortunately I also dearly love ☹. I had to give up rice, breads, pasta, chocolates, ice cream and every delicious dessert out there. But I was determined. I started doing strict Keto one-week after my diagnosis. Most of my office mates weren’t supportive at all and questioned the health benefits of the diet because I was consuming fatty food. Yet, this didn’t stop me to continue what I had started.

On December 18, 23 days after I started my Ketogenic diet, I was awarded as the “BIGGEST LOSER” beating my three other office mates 🙂

Money
My prize for losing weight 😀

 

Here’s to give you an overview of my weight when we started the BIGGEST LOSER CHALLENGE (October), when I was diagnosed of PCOS (November), and until the last day of the challenge (December 18):

 

October 23, 2018- 77.9 kg

November 22, 2018- 79.94 kg

December 18, 2018- 73.2 kg

 

In summary, from October 23 – November 22, I gained 2 kgs in a span of 1 month (alarming) but lose 6.74 kgs after 23 days when I started Ketogenic diet.

 

This is an on-going journey and for almost 6 months now, I somehow fell off the wagon that prompted my slow progress in losing weight.  I decided to incorporate another lifestyle on-top of the Ketogenic diet and the result is quite amazing so far. Will be writing about it soon.

This is it for now.