You know how I always say I don’t recommend dieting because as soon as you stop on a particular limited food program your body tends to gain back the weight you may have lost?  Well I still definitely stand by that, even while acknowledging that if you really MUST diet, there are some pretty well put together diets out there that do their best to give you nutritious meals that keep your energy up and lessen your overall sugar and fat intake.  And they do manage to help you understand the kind of food you should be eating and the careful planning and preparation that you have to put in all your meals so that you don’t carelessly gain as the years go by.

That being said, I recently entered a period of time where I’ve been swamped with work and was also training for the National Geographic Earth Day run.  Friends and family decided to join and since there’s little point in doing something without giving it your absolute best, I added a daily running program into my already full yoga and gym schedule.  This gave me absolutely no time to pay attention to my eating, but I knew that anything I ate had to be available quickly (from freezer to table in five to 10 minutes preferably) and have all the qualities I would get from the usual proper meal selection - low fat, low calorie, low salt, nutritious, satisfying, delicious plus serve as comfort food, something I looked forward to dining on rather than stuff I’d dread putting in my mouth.

So I went back to one of my old diets - of sorts - which has always worked out amazingly well and is extremely convenient.  All it is is five meals a day - I chose five of my favorite things to eat and instead of calling them “Breakfast” or “Dinner,” I name them “Meal 1,” “Meal 2,” etc.  These five are almost always the same five meals, just with the flexibility of being able to move them around:

Meal 1 - Multigrain or bran cereal & nonfat milk

Meal 2 - Lowfat or nonfat yogurt & fruit

Meal 3 - Large serving of vegetables

Meal 4 - Vegetable base with egg (Shakshuka - one of my favorite dishes)

Meal 5 - Repeat meal: Serving of vegetables or Yogurt/Fruit or Cereal

On the side I also take iced green tea, coffee (can’t live without it), high-calcium low fat milk once a day and a high-iron supplement with folic acid.

Of course cereal and yogurt are pretty easy to find so that wasn’t a problem, and my husband makes the best Shakshuka (I’ll tell you more about it another time) ever, so that wasn’t difficult. But I needed to have a huge container of something veggie-based sitting in the freezer waiting for me so I called my good friend and chef, Ivan Maminta, owner of COOKies Personal Chef Service, and asked him to whip me up a large batch of Chopsuey, which I’ve always loved.

(Learn about the recipe on next week's issue of Well Being.)

FITNESS BULLETIN.  We’re starting a series of Seniors Yoga classes at Somerset Olympia Bldg on Makati Avenue, specially geared for ages 55 and up.  Learn safe and beneficial poses for strength, flexibility and stability without overexerting.  For inquiries, send a message to 09179613765 or email us at yogamoves2009@gmail.com.

This summer, we’re holding a special series of Yoga Moves Minis, 30-minute sessions where we teach the how-tos of eight basic and effective poses or asanas that ensure a full-body workout.  We’re teaching you the sequence so that once you learn the moves, you’ll be able to do this mini yet full-body routine in the comfort of your own home or office, alone or with friends and family.  This class is great for both adults and children above 10.  Reservations and inquiries at 09179613765.