THERE are people who tell me, You don’t remember me, do you? I look at their face for a second and decide, No, I don’t. I don’t make an effort to try to recall how we met, which could be way back in the ‘90s when we were 35 years younger.

There are people whom I do remember meeting way back in the ‘90s, and they now tell me that I’ve lost a lot of weight, and that “enough already.” Oh. They want me to be 50 pounds heavier and be 170 pounds again? Because I think that was my weight in the mid-‘90s.

When I’m fat, they say, Oi, napabayaan sa kusina! When I’m slim, they say, Stop dieting already! Had I chosen to listen to people’s unsolicited advice, I’d be gaining and losing 50 pounds daily.

I’m back to the body-weight range I had in my early 20s which was then calculated by adding 100 to my current age. Thus, at 20 years old, I was 120 pounds: 100 plus 20. At 21, it was 121 pounds: 100 plus 21. And so on and so forth.

When I was at my heaviest at 180 pounds, I never thought it’s possible to have my early-20s weight again but it has happened and I’m truly grateful. Low-carb since February 2022, gyming since February 2024, mostly-on-sometimes-off carnivore since July 2025.

Please define mostly-on-sometimes-off carnivore. Hmmm. How about this: I’m savoring Fat Chef’s bilo-bilo and Jacks Halo Halo’s taro-ube overload while telling friends about the perks of the carnivore diet. Most probably they won’t believe me, eh?

It’s a constant struggle but I’d rather struggle while trying to stick to the diet and exercise than struggle while dealing with more illnesses. I already have hypertension that can be worsened by anxiety. I don’t think there’s a hypertensive out there who wants to have more illnesses.

A disease’s onset is the appropriate time to say, Enough already. But it’s never appropriate to say, Enough already, to the commitment to a diet and exercise regimen.

Since carbs could be man’s best friend, our gym group’s favorite meeting place before going to any event or activity is this uptown donut cafe where we did meet on Thursday afternoon before going to a friend’s birthday party. And it was SRO — standing room only. Despite that, there were people waiting outside to be seated.

The cafe has donuts, coffee, yogurt, and sandwiches. Its menu has nothing for my carnivore version, so, my carb version bought a dozen donuts to avoid feeling guilty for sitting there without ordering anything. And then I asked the cashier, Which donut has blueberries? She pointed at the Berry Spears. And that’s what I had as dessert at the party which led to more carbo-loading, with much thanks to the party’s yummy buffet and dessert stations.

So, here I am now, wondering if I should go back to Day One again of my carnivore diet. Hmmm. It’s time to adopt KISS: Keep It Simple and Sugar-free.