Serious about Health

When I was young, dieting and exercise is all about losing weight (for aesthetic purposes of course). But as I approach my mid 30s and realized how I abused my body with smoking, skipping meals, and a high cholesterol/sugar diet, I am now trying to research and really dig deep on how to achieve a healthy lifestyle.

I started going to the gym since my weight just keeps on adding up and because of that I have to quit smoking since I can't run 30 minute straight without my lungs giving up on me.

Then, I heard Jillian Michael's podcast and found the missing piece. Of course, how could I miss that - chemicals! I don't eat real food since I have this wrong presumption that I am going to lose weight if I am going to restrict my calories to 100-200 calories per meal. But I turned out, processed food like biscuits, sweets are so wrong for me. That's why I didn't lose weight even if I was starving!

So, right now, I have to declutter and clean my system. Being sick all the time is a sign that I have to take control of my body.

Here are some tips that I picked up from a kindle book review. Hope I can continue practicing these!

1. Stop Eating Chemical because your body doesn't know how to process them,
therefore, you gain weight.
2. Choose the real food over the lower fat because you'll eat less and feel more satisfied.
3. Go organic when possible.
4. You can still eat chocolate and drink wine but everything in moderation.
5. Opt for glassware over plastic to cut down more chemical absorption.
6. Those 100 calorie snacks are pure marketing and chemicals.
7. Work out!
8. The amount of chemicals that have snuck into our food system has
reached an alarming rate.
9. Think about OTC drugs as they also contain chemicals.
10. Eat better, eat right and you can cut down a lot of health issues.

Amen? AMEN!

Lowlah Madonna is back!

She's back! Well, she was not really missing from the pop scene. I think she became relevant again when her songs were featured in Glee and everyone had to bow and remember that she was indeed the "Queen of Pop!".




As Chico mentioned in his blog, "her madjesty" is back in her fighting banat face form. The work done on her is so good that you can't really tell if it's really a result of a vegan diet or surgery that made her skin so youthful despite her age. We all have to remember that she was belting "Like a Virgin" when we were still in pre-school!

This is a safe song with repeating melody that will make it catchy the first time you hear it but will make you cringe once you hear it in daily rotation in your Ipods. But I do hope that she show the Madonna wannabes ("lady gaga" ,"katy perry") what is it truly like to be the Center of Popdom!"

Long live Madonna! :)

Amen? AMEN!

Loops in the brain and free will

Guru Cads recommended a podcast to listen to (radiolab.org). Being excited to try out new podcasts, I uploaded some episodes from Itunes so I can have something new to listen to aside from Becky Nights and Chico/Delamar Podcasts. The first episode that I chanced upon was entitled "Loops".

In this episode, there was a mother and daughter who talked about the mother's recent episode with transient global amnesia. It's lost of short term memory. Hearing the conversation, you will remember a scene from 50 first dates wherein the patient will repeat the same words and questions in span of seconds.

Sample conversation:

Mother: What day is today?
Daughter: August 24, 2010
Mother: My birthday just passed?
Daughter: Yes, but don't worry, you'll remember.
Then the mother will laugh.. and then after 60 seconds.. the mother will say the same thing and have the same reaction. It's as if the rewind button was pressed.

This has an impact on me because I observed that I have a tendency to do random things in the same way. For example, when trying to name code scripts and files or tables in the database, I always use the same name (i.e. aaa1.txt, and so on). You might say that this is coincidental but come to think of it what are the chances of using the same name for a random thing? I am not OC so I don't have any pattern, I just use what comes to mind.

One of the reasons given by the doctor was that there is a program in our brain that fires when this things happen. For example if path2 was blocked, it will try to switch to path3, trying to get to path4 thus the loop.

So, if our brain is hardwired with software and program, does this mean, we don't really have free will and there is a big chance that destiny was already predetermined? I know this example might be simplistic but it's something to think about ;)

But I believe that we somehow choose our program and what we're living is something we engineered before we started our existence.

Thoughts?

Amen? AMEN!

Stir the waters a bit...

As I look back to 2011, the only highlight that I can remember is my company transfer. Don't get me wrong, that's a major change in my life given that I've been with the same company for almost 8 years. But still, I have this nagging feeling that the year just zoomed past my consciousness. I was happy but I fear that my happiness in life made me lazy to do other things that makes life great.

This coming year - 2012, I will strive to move more... both physically and geographically. I want to look back at 2012 and remember memories and highlights and not just everyday mundane routines - which can be great by the way but in the pursuit of change, this is what I want to be constant in my life on top of my extra-soulful pursuits.

These are the random resolutions I want for 2012:

1. Write More (blog level and not just tweets and FB status updates)
2. Exercise More (enuf said :)).
3. Drink more water and eat more fruits. This can be challenging for me since I don't like drinking tasteless water. But to be kind to my kidneys, I shall strive to be a friend to water.
4. Cook More - learn new recipes from other regions of the country.
5. Love More - reconnect with interesting friends and make new ones (turn fun acquiantances to close friends).
6. Listen to new music artists (the triumvarate of Rhihanna, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga should be augmented, can't live by Pop alone).
7. Travel more! (start with Asian countries and also other provinces in the Philippines).
8. Learn a new skill :) (new programming language perhaps?)

Well, this list should be enough to keep me busy for the year. :) Wish me luck Universe!

Amen? AMEN! :)

Weddings

I really love attending weddings. Being part of a wedding ceremony makes me feel that I am part of the cycle of iife. Baptisms. weddings, birthday parties of toddlers are the notes that comprise the melody of life and cycle of nature.

There is a need for us to celebrate. I know that it may be a bit traditional but it's essential for each major change in one's position in life to be witnessed by the community. This is something we are now in the brink of losing. Communing with others to just say, "Hey, we're together, we're still alive. We made it thus far."

There is so much sorrow that we witness on TV so it's good to witness something pretty every once in awhile like two people in love and starting a new life together. It may not be forever for some but still there's that moment when everyone believed in love, in life and in happiness.

Amen? AMEN!

Musings for 2011

As I sit her and ponder about the year that is ending in a few weeks, I can't help but wonder about the many life ripples that transpired that made it "The Year of CHANGE".

Who could have thought that destinies change when the heart and mind unite. There were also a couple of items that seem to be unthinkable before and now has become reality.

Meanwhile, I digress and think again how happy I am right now. I am content and I feel so much love that I want to believe that this is it. This is the reality that I have envisioned. Thank the heavens that the stars are all aligned and people are where they are supposed to be.

Amen? Amen! :)

My struggle with weight

Since I could remember, I was always the fat girl. I came into this world weighing 8lbs and ever since my first cry - I was overweight.

I didn't mind this when I was growing up, I was considered cute and cuddly. My mom's officemate refer to me as Patsie. They get to feed me when I go to my mama's office and since I don't like to play games with the other kids, being fat was no big deal. I just wanted to eat and watch TV :).

Trouble began when I entered high school. Fat is no longer cute. In fact, my classmates ridicule me and boys on the street point to me and call me "baboy". My revenge then was studying. I would read my books and do my homework since I don't have the sense of belonging with my thin classmates.

When I began college, I stopped eating. Well, I ate but I restricted it so that I could become thin. It worked, my weight went down to 145 lbs. I was accepted and always praised since "seksi ka na ngayon".

I was so hungry that I couldn't concentrate on my studies. Looking back, I could gotten a medal in college if I just ate. :( But that was then.

During my young adult life, I continued this cycle.

When I met my partner, I regained my love for food. My new mantra was, "Food is my friend..." Thus, I became a more relaxed eater and I get to eat other types of food other than chocolates and coffee. :) I was happy and free.

But then, I get to weigh myself, and I saw the dreaded 3 digit figure. 190 lbs! 10 lbs shy of reaching 200 lbs. Needless to say, I panicked.

I am thinking about it now. Why did I react that way? I think there's still that psychological thing about being thin. Looking at shows like "The biggest loser", also may have affected our view of what is healthy.

I guess, more than the aesthetics, it's now my health. I am in my mid 30's and I am not getting any younger. Coupled with my love for smoking (yes, I didn't quit), I would want to live a longer life (more than 10 years more I hope).

And so, I find myself where I was almost 16 years ago. Counting calories, avoiding food and controlling what I put in my mouth. But being older, I am wiser on what I should do.

This is not a race, this is life. I need to relax and just go with the flow to achieve happiness and health. I should embrace the healthy lifestyle not because society dictates it to me but rather because I must work to add more years to my life.

So, armed with a calorie counter and my stepper, I should perserver and live each day with awareness. Moderation is the key and I should strive to balance my desire for good food and good health. This may be hard but I have my supportive friends who push me to be better.

Amen? AMEN! (p.s. I still think that our weighing scale is broken... ;))