HSBC Coffee Talk: which diet are you?

This event I attended weeks ago was so comfy. It was held in a nice hotel (Makati Shang-ri La) and even had a Starbucks booth brought inside just so we can have frappe and iced coffee on a hot summer day. ’twas time for the annual Coffee Talk sponsored by banking giant HSBC and the topic was something on top of every normal woman’s mind: diets and weight control.

Time to get acquainted with the hottest words of the day: Cohen, HCG diet, CrossFit, Juju Cleanse, and more!

I couldn’t help but admire most of the panelists who sported their newfound physiques for the world to see. There was JL Martinez who lost 120 lbs on the 500-calorie a day HCG diet, Art Mendoza who used to weigh 360 lbs before he placed first runner-up in Biggest Loser Pinoy Edition, Juju Cleanse founder Kat Azanza, CrossFit advocate Lala Agregado and Cohen devotee Rescina Bhagwani. Also shown in photo are writer/columnist Jessica Zafra and the lovely Johanna Garcia, SVP for communications HSBC.

Cohen is the one am most familiar with since celebrities & others who’ve immersed themselves with it happily show rapid weight loss. It entails strict discipline as you really have to measure your food. Panelist Rescina Bhagwani says she has to make her own salad vinaigrette and bring little steamers on her trips just so she can meet the stern requirements of the Cohen diet. “The result is good since I’ve become more desirable to my husband,” she reports.

My curiosity was piqued by Agregado’s introduction of CrossFit and the military-style gym training it entails. I could almost agree with her that it’s addicting since you don’t do the same routine in one session twice. High-intensity CrossFit trainings combine cardio, track & field, plyometrics, rowing, gymnastics, kettlebell and weightlifting. CrossFit MNL (Manila) venues are in Eastwood and the Philippine Army gymnasium in Taguig.

I still can’t believe Mr. Art Mendoza lost 129 lbs. for the Biggest Loser but yes, he did it! He is also now doing CrossFit.

So many success stories indeed of people triumphing in their diet. In reality though, it’s a milestone for me to lose even a pound or two. Maybe because I still can’t forego eating white rice and dread subsisting on steamed veggies or not having sugar on my coffee 🙁

From now until May 31, get your fave Starbucks brew for only 250 bonus points ( 500 bonus points for premier HSBC MasterCard holders). Just present a charge slip with a minimum purchase of P2,500 at any Starbucks branch nationwide in exchange for instant bonus points and a tall handcrafted beverage of your choice, or a three-pack Starbucks VIA.