Weight Loss Update: Lipid

As of this post I've lost a total of 7 lbs via calorie-counting my food intake using the myfitnesspal app (yey!). It has still been a challenge to control eating, especially last week when I HAD to give in to the delicious spread of food when I had to work in Davao. Yellow Fin is definitely the place to eat when you're in Davao City.



That 3 day eating binge caused me to gain 3lbs, which I had fortunately erased since yesterday after going all out with my running and less eating last weekend.

The best part of this weight loss journey was made just today, when I had to claim my lipid profile test results from my HMO provider. At first, I was beside myself when I checked that I still had high cholesterol, LDL, and HDL readings. I was so disappointed that I had to see one of the doctors in the HMO office to assess what needs to be done to normalize all of this. She told me that I have 3 weeks to have a low fat diet. Otherwise, she will have to recommend me to take cholesterol-lowering drugs which is unnatural and could be costly. This means eating only fish, fruits, and veggies. Anything fried should be the last food that I should be eating. This will be a challenge for me since the only veggies and fruits that I eat are coleslaw (on the side of a KFC 2pc chicken meal) and fruit shakes (which is very seldom).

At this point I would have to say that I am jealous of the missus, who has been lazy to tie up her shoes to run the treadmill and eats as much sweet desserts, has spectacularly normal blood test results! Here I am running 3-4 times a week, having run 3 full marathons and countless half-marathons with high cholesterol and she gets to lie down on bed on weekday afternoons with normal lipid/sugar levels year after year. Man, talk about life being unfair, right?!

But as I got back to the office, my disappointment turned to (slight) joy. Good thing that I have this Excel file monitoring my lipid test results. Comparing my recent blood test results with my Oct 2011 tests, it seems that (except for my HDL) the readings have improved dramatically! Take a look at the table below:



Now the readings are still way above my target so I need to keep this up (calorie-counting), especially now that I've 3 weeks to normalize these readings. Hopefully by then, I've lost more weight and have a better lipid profile result.

Wish me luck!

My Bosses

This post has been long overdue. I started working immediately after college last 1995 and have gone thru 5 companies since then. It's time for me to share with you my different bosses that I've been under. Here they are in chronological order:

1. Lucas (1995-1998). Belgian, white curly hair, tall but stout, he could've been the inspiration for Angry Birds. He's very adept with computer programming and handling of switching systems but he can be happy one minute and then bursting with anger in the next. I recall one time (or was it several times?) when he threw his cellphone (the then top-of-the-line Motorola Microtac) against the wall out of disgust simply because he couldn’t get a clear signal.



He loves ordering the Jollibee Aloha Burger when we would work in Talisay, Batangas. He lived in Ayala Alabang, where his driver gets the day off upon reaching the village entrance. Be wary when he drives for he seemed to exceed village speed limits with gusto.

2. Dennis/Ghie/Lila/Yap (1998-2001). My experience working for company #2 could be summarized as 90% great, 10% disastrous. The bosses have been very kind throughout my stay there and, most of them being Filipinos, there was a sync in terms of sense of humor and communication. Unfortunately, my last month proved disappointing as I didn’t get the support and trust that I expected from them.

3. Ilari (2001-2002). As I was only a contract employee here, my boss at company #3 entrusted me to work at my own “diskarte” and it went well. We really didn’t have much time to interact since I only stayed here for 4.5 months, but I could say that working under him was quite ok.

4. Hong/Venka/Lee (2002-2006). Working for different bosses in different eras while in company #4 was a learning experience. One didn’t know where to put me, the other would occasionally chat with me on almost all things aside from work, while the third really put me into the grind of things so to speak (in a good, learning way). With the exception of Lucas, a foreigner boss does not include personality issues (although Malaysians seem to like my shallow sense of joke-telling, hehehe).



You may be wondering where are the bosses in my current company. Well, I’m sorry since I cannot tell much about them right now since I’m still here.

Maybe if I venture into another company (which could be unlikely), I’d be able to post about them.

Btw, is it true that the number one reason why people resign from a company is because of their boss?