Monday – Nope, I haven’t grown a backbone. I had the breakfast buffet at the hotel in Surigao before checking out and catching the ferry to Siargao. How could I resist bangus belly, eggs and fried rice??? Don’t ask how many servings I had. (Let’s just say that I had four eggs.) My next meal was a healthy dinner back in Siargao.
Exercise: Five hours on the ferry. It was an exercise in patience.
Tuesday – The official restart of my IF. Sue came over in the morning so that I could use her body to practice massage on. Afterwards, I joined her for a raw lunch (raw pako salad and raw broccoli). Dinner was something similar but with a cooked protein source.
Pako is an edible fern that grows by rivers and streams. Its English name is supposed to be fiddlehead fern but I’m not entirely sure. Someone once told me that it could be found on mainland Siargao but it certainly isn’t in the markets. One of my girls says that it grows wild in Soccoro, but the ones we had were bought at the market in Surigao. (Internet file photo.)
Exercise: P90X Shoulders & Arms, Swimming. For P90X, unfortunately, I only have 2 and 3-kilo dumbbells and 8 and 16-kilo kettlebells available at my disposal. Since I haven’t done an upper body workout in ages, I use the 3-kilo dumbbells for most P90X exercises, pyramiding down during tricep exercises, and using the 12-kilo kettlebell whenever possible (for “heavy pants” and “lawnmowers”).
Wednesday – Dinner only.
Exercise – Swimming. It was storming and I swam in freezing water with the wind whipping up a current inside the pool. Strangely, I felt calmer doing my laps amidst the chaos than I do under normal conditions.
Thursday – Dinner only. Er, and then wine and beer at Drop Inn. I was getting cabin fever and had to get out!
Exercise – P90X Chest & Back, Swimming. For P90X, instead of doing pull-ups, I use Reebok Resistance Tubes #2 (medium) and #3 (heavy) – at the same time for added resistance. Swimming was under the same stormy conditions as the previous day.
Friday – Dinner only.
Exercise: P90X Back & Biceps, Swimming. Although the storm had passed, the water was still colder than usual.
Saturday – Cheat Day. Dinner only at Sagana Resort. I had fried wantons and fried pork spring rolls for starters. But my main course of grilled fish and veggies were too healthy for me so I barely touched them. I can’t believe I forgot to have dessert again! Had red wine, followed by three Red Horses – one at Kawayan Resort and two at Drop Inn.
Exercise: P90X Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, Swimming. Whoa! That was the first time I tried that particular P90X session and that was tough. I could barely do the push-ups and, needless to say, most of the time, I only used the 2-kilo dumbbells and, sometimes, for exercises like arm circles, even those were too heavy for me.
Sunday – Sue came over in the afternoon for a practice massage but, before we began, we shared a pack of dried mangoes. She hadn’t had any lunch and I forgot to have dessert the night before. My main meal was still at dinner.
Exercise: Swimming.
I’ve been having trouble getting rid of water in my ears after swimming. It’s a good thing somebody posted this article on Facebook yesterday so now I know – and so do you!
Those buffet breakfasts in Surigao put one kilo on me but, since then, I’ve lost two kilos and am now at 52 kilos. Mood and energy levels are still good but not as high as they were during the first week. I’m hungrier more now as well.