The Couch Potato CAN Run!

I used to prove intractable when it comes to active fitness routines. I got bored and impatient with the repetition of gym programs. I abhorred jogging and claimed that the only way anyone can get me to run was through being chased by a pack of dogs. Then see me go! I also saw no point in trying out the treadmill. Running in place, going nowhere.

I'm fitness' one tough customer.

I tried tricking myself, actually. I explored different sports that I found interesting, just to find one I could actually stick with because I found it exciting enough. Rifle and Pistol Team, mountaineering, rock climbing, hiking, swimming, circuit weight training, belly dancing, yoga, hip hop abs...I would have tried pole dancing and strip teasing if I had the moolah and the confidence for it!

But I was also my own saboteur. When I proved to myself that I could do it, I didn't feel the need to pursue it anymore. I didn't have any qualms about my own mortality and getting ripped abs was just really vanity for me. I felt I didn't really need to "save" myself with regular exercise.

So imagine when I found myself agreeing to run the Mommy Milkshake Marathon with my friend in August 2011. What was surprising was that I actually felt committed to doing it! That surprised me a lot!

(Thinking: Pack of dogs, pack of dogs...)

Well, since it's for a cause and not really a competition AND my first marathon, I wouldn't be hard put like the Iron Man participants. We'll be jogging with the kids in the strollers too and I'd really love that. Of course, RF will have to provide me with a carrot on a stick for motivation. Maybe a fudgie bar tied to the rear end of the car as I chase it down the road would be a good one! :P

Anyhoo, training for this would include walking to jogging and eventually, endurance running. I have to do some gym work too. And go back to swimming for my lungs and rock climbing to build my strength and stamina.

All this will have to be with kids included of course :) A great way to teach Oona and Olly so many things like how our bodies work, safety, health...This time, I know I'm going to have fun and keep at it, even after the marathon is done.

My running on a treadmill will now have a point and I won't need a pack of dogs chasing me to keep in shape.

More than getting a killer body or saying I want to be healthy for myself, Oona and Olly are my solid reasons that truly matter and are big enough for me.

Ten Pounds Lighter Today

Hard won and only the scale and my knees can tell, but ten pounds are ten pounds! I couldn't believe it either!

I had a bad week last week because I hit a plateau. It didn't look like I lost any weight inspite of my continued diet and increased physical activity. Then it turned out that I was going to have my period!

So now, I checked again on a whim and voila! Ten pounds. :)

The Luscious Life List

A good friend from college loved to make lists of things she liked and wanted to do in her life. She started me on it and quite recently, another friend's checklist reminded me to make one for this particular journey.

I like to put my goals down to keep things in perspective and keep me honest. Everytime I feel lost, impatient or discouraged, all I would need to do is refer to my list and follow my own directions.

The first three are my long-term goals to living a luscious life. Everything else are short-term goals that would help me ultimately achieve the big picture. I know it's not going to happen overnight but getting there would prove to be just as interesting!

a. Be a healthy, happy mommy, wife and homemaker raising healthy, happy human beings.

b. Provide for a secure, abundant life for my family.

c. Lead a long, fruitful, fulfilled, and contented personal life.

Taray! Demanding! Lolz :D

1. Project Flawless!
- Have my smile improved and my hair, skin and nails be at their healthiest best.
- Lose 60lbs. TOTAL. in about a year. Imagine 14 years of steadily packing it on with bad food, bad habits and no exercise. This means making good, healthy choices and activities to reclaim my body from obesity.

2. Run a marathon. Maybe not the ironman, I'm not bent on suicide! But the beginner types that won't kill me.

3. Swim ten laps in an olympic size pool like I used to ten million years ago.

4. Rock climb again. Hopefully hike up a mountain and not just a mole hill either. A real huge pile of dirt and rocks would be great!

5. Build several highly profitable and leverageable businesses. This means research and educating myself to go where I've never gone before!

6. Attend short business courses and seminars.

7. Learn and apply good, long-term investment practices. It would be great to have a diverse investment portfolio so rf and i will be comfortable in our old age and our kids would have more opportunities to stretch their wings.

8. Buy real estate property to rent, develop then resell.

9. Learn to sew clothes. I want to set up a tailor-fitting boutique type studio and custom costume shop. I always had difficulty finding the right clothes for my body type until I discovered the happiness which is tailor-made clothes :)

10. Have a one man show and publish poetry.

11. Be good friends with my kids. The type they talk to about anything before going to bed and whenever they need to.

12. Learn to make jewelry and design stuff I can sell, exhibit and export.

13. Rediscover my flirty side with my hubby.

14. Teach my kids to be the best they can be, whatever it may be.

HMMM...this is a long list in the making! I'll add to this more!

The Annual Physical Exam: All Systems GO!

I have never been a fan of hospitals, clinics or medical examinations. I hated the long lines, the prodding and probing and the needles! God, how I hated needles.

I *RAN* when I went in for a flu shot and the doctor had to chase me down to stick it in my arm. I was 25 years old then. (The shame!)

So I truly dreaded the Annual Physical Exam (APE) because they had to draw blood for the testing and screenings or else, the exam wouldn't be complete. And I know it's for my own good, but I *hate* them needles!

Anyway, since I started this health consciousness, RF's company sponsored APE rolled around and I thought it might be a good idea to have myself checked out to ensure that nothing got in the way of my project.

So I went through the whole rigmarole. Yep, even had the nurse draw a vial of my blood. (I was so brave!)

Urinalysis - check
Stool Exam - skipped this one inadvertently
Blood Exam - one vial!
ECG - took longer than expected because the things they clipped on you kept slipping off. I almost fell asleep though, cos I was lying down and it was so quiet in the exam room :)
X-Ray (Lungs) - clear
OB-Gyne - everything's fine!
EENT - needs glasses, needs new teeth (haha)

The verdict?

My blood pressure is on the high normal side of 130/80. That's my normal, but it's still high so the doctor said I'm really prone to hypertension. Other than that, my good cholesterol is well, good and my bad cholesterol isn't rioting, so my heart checks out fine along with my blood sugar. (Hooray! I'm not diabetic!)

Everything else is on the unremarkable side but the doctor seriously noted that for my height, my weight was unacceptable. I am OBESE. Shocking.

*sigh*

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to adult men and women.

BMI Categories:

• Underweight = <18.5
• Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
• Overweight = 25–29.9
• Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

My BMI is 32.7 at my height of 5'1 and my present weight of 173lbs.

I should be 120lbs. to be in the normal range at a BMI of 22.7. That was my weight 14 years ago! Gahd!

The doctor said the dieting and the supplements were okay and the fact that I already lost 6lbs. in the last few weeks was good. She said it was now the right time to include exercise and some gym sessions to help tighten my skin, tone my muscles and burn more fat to get me closer to the safe range.

The OB-Gyne said the same thing and that the supplements I was taking were safe. She also said that drinking alkaline water and sports drinks with the vitamins and minerals could help keep me hydrated and prevent fatigue.

Other than the weight issues, everything is fine! :)

If you would like to check your BMI, I have a calculator on the right. Go ahead and check! Being in the right weight for your height helps fight a lot of health complications!

Now as for me, on to planning an interesting exercise routine to fit my days with the kids :) It'll help teach them the importance of being active to be healthy!

My Pledge To My Girls, My Promise To Myself

I started this whole losing weight thing with this. It sounds shallow, wanting to have my 17 year old body back, but in the context of strength, stamina and health to be there for the kids, I know a lot of parents would want the same thing.

So, just to keep reminding myself of my compelling reasons, I'm reposting this from my parenting blog Mommyluscious, my entry "Seventeen Again":

I am losing weight. I will have my 17-year old body back, with the strength and stamina to keep up to the physical demands of a toddler and an infant hell-bent on conquering gravity. All this is possible, attainable and on a timeline of one year. From now. And no, I'm not crazy or suicidal.

Let's break it down.

At first it started as a desire to be more present as a positive figure for the kids; to be more active and not just cope with my role as mother and homemaker. I wanted more energy to lead a more productive, positive life to set an example for our growing girls. Lately I've been feeling so run down that I haven't been at my best. I mean, I have a strong personality and can be cantankerous. But lately I've been cranky, short-tempered, easily frustrated and impatient. More than usual! Especially since the girls have just had a bout with the cold bug, I'm just plain exhausted. I do have help from my family, but I still feel drained at the end of the long, long day.

Things kind of snowballed from there. I realized that I wanted so much more for the kids, for RF, for our family. From life, for our life! For myself! Self-examination really does cook up a lot of food for thought! One small decision makes a lot of ripples, affecting everything in our lives. One small change makes a huge difference.

I know it's not going to be overnight nor is it going to be easy. But I also know it's going to be interesting and so worth it, a year from now!  

Even reaching just half my goal at that time would be fantastic. I'm not sabotaging my motivation, mind you. I'm just being realistic. I'm keeping my eyes on that cheese but I won't kill myself over it. Also, I'm still going to be breastfeeding Olly. All changes would have to consider her health and well-being as well.



me, at 17!

Now, at 31 years old, I weigh about 180 lbs. at my height of 5'1. (Ugh. I just revealed to the world what, until now, only my medical records know!)

At 17, I was 120 lbs. Wow. Saying 14 years of poundage sounds better than saying by exactly how much I'm over the right weight!

Good GOD.



That there, are 60 lbs. of bad food and bad habits, sneaking up on you. You'd think 4 lbs a year wouldn't be so bad!

So my goal is to lose 60lbs in 12 months. 5 lbs per month, 1lb a week.

*long pause*

Can I lose in 1 year what took me 14 years to gain?

YES I CAN.