I’m at 53.5 kilos. Down from 55. Phew! The weight is finally headed in the right direction.

Because the diet, at best, is intermittent.

The whole thing is really rather ridiculous. I’ll be super strict at home, and then go out and have four cakes. The “eating at a new restaurant” clause has been expanded to include eating anything new. Hence the peanut butter milkshake, Angus beef burger with gorgonzola, and truffle fries at Charlie’s (my bill alone came out to more than P600), and the roasted bone marrow and onion soup at Ana and Chelu’s place. Of course, I’ve had roasted bone marrow and onion soup before, but not as prepared by Master Chef Marques.

Of course, after the first taste of bone marrow, it shouldn’t be new anymore. A whole bag of melba toasts later…

Chelu: “Wow! We finished the bread! And I thought there was too much of it…”

As I write this, I am trying out some chocolates that I got on sale at the mall. It’s a Swiss brand that I haven’t had before. I’ve also been trying them out since yesterday. Eek! (They were on a buy-one-take-one sale!)

I had the wires on my braces changed the other week. As the orthodontist removed one wire, she exclaimed, “It’s been cut!”

“That’s the same wire that was cut before,” I reminded her.

“No, I changed it during your last visit.”

“Oh.”

“Please stop eating chicharon.”

(silence)

Chicharon. Fried pork rinds. For me, the one pictured above is the best. It has a lot of fat and some meat still attached to it. YUM. (Internet file photo.)

“Oh, this one is cut too!”

(silence)

“And it’s cut here too!”

“I don’t know how it’s cut on that side when I only chew on the other side.” (Read: “It wasn’t me.”)

“Look, you only have a short time left to go so please stop eating chicharon or lechon or anything else that will cut your wires or make your brackets come off.”

(silence)

I can’t tell when I’ve cut a wire. Unless it’s actually sprung up, which has happened before. Twice. And then I’ve had to go in several times because I managed to unlock that mechanism that holds the wires together. I’ve also dislodged a few brackets a few times.

…

What?

The chicharon made me do it!

That’s me holding up a bag of the best chicharon in town. Believe it or not, I get it at a salon called Be Beautiful For Him on Kalayaan Rd. in Makati. No, I don’t go there to have anything done. I just go there to buy chicharon. The salon owner’s brother makes it or something. Actually, the Best Chicharon In Town is now a tie between the one from Be Beautiful For Him and Milky Way. Milky Way’s chicharon is already seasoned with vinegar.

The best chicharon from Cebu comes packaged in clear plastic but has no label. I tried it at Chelu’s house. His brother brought it in from Cebu. Will update this when I know where it is from.