Just in case I’m not yet convinced that I’ve become a weekly moviegoer, here’s proof: the ticket sales staff at SM CDO Downtown Premier’s Director’s Club have already memorized my favorite seat number.

It’s like how I already know what to order at Fat Chef without looking at the menu: bulalo, sizzling beef sinigang, grilled beef kaldereta, crispy pata, and bilo-bilo.

The bilo-bilo is not for me but for my high-carb meal companions.

So for a friend’s belated birthday lunch at Fat Chef on Tuesday, I was the one who ordered. Yum! We didn’t order bilo-bilo, though, since another friend gave her a birthday cake—a chocolatey one from Totsy’s.

And Fat Chef gave the birthday celebrant a complimentary leche flan, complete with a birthday song and a candle, which surprised me because, as usual, the waitstaff would never ask if patrons want to be greeted or not. A most pleasant surprise, actually. And there I was, taking a video, only to realize after that I failed to click the video button. Oops.

A friend who has also been trying low-carb told me I’m funny because I always mention my favorite carbs to them, like bilo-bilo, even if I don’t eat them anymore.

I avoid ramming the carnivore diet down anyone’s throat. Food choices are to each his own. Kung saan ka masaya, suportahan ta ka. Still, I can’t expect high-carb people to support my carnivore journey since only I can understand why I have to do this. It’s a lonely journey—I’m the only carnivore in this corner of my world. But it’s okay. I even buy my ex-favorite carbs as gifts for my high-carb friends. If they’re not experiencing any side effects each time they eat carbs, it’s all good, right?

I do still eat sweet and sour pork or lumpia Shanghai at Hap Chan, paired with pork asado soup (no noodles and veggies). Chinese restaurants can be a challenge for a carnivore dieter, so I improvise. Otherwise, I’d start to pity myself.

Pinoy restaurants are easier to order from since they usually have bulalo, crispy pata, and grilled pork liempo. But Hap Chan is still and will always remain one of my favorite restos.

As proof of my “foodieness,” I’ve renamed my workouts. Chest Day is Cheesecake Day. Leg Day is Chicken Joy. And my personal trainer, Coach Jowen Racines, has coined a term for Back Day: Baby Back Ribs. Haha!

So I guess I’ll now call Coach Jowen’s Punch Circuit GX class halo-halo, since it’s a fun mix of boxing and high-energy circuit training.

Coach commented, “It's all food!” Ah, yes. Despite my carnivore diet these days, I’ve remained a foodie and will always be a foodie.

But each time I see carbs, I start to dread what they can do to my body: high blood pressure, eczema, rhinitis, knee pain, body pains, muscle pains, month-long coughs, month-long absences from the gym. So no more carbs? Hmm. Good luck na lang!