Healthy is YUMMY!

I know, I know! It's been awhile. It's just that so much has happened! As of now, my diet is on hold because I'm preggo again at 5months, as of now. Yay! BUT, that doesn't mean HEALTH is on hold too. More than ever, it's important for me to be healthy and happy. Being pregnant and being healthy doesn't give me a license to over-indulge, binge and eat for two! Be HEALTHY for two, not binge :)

Right now, I and the family are on a soya discovery. Olly at 1year and 7months is still a little allergic to cow's milk and other products like it. She's been purely breastfed and still continues to do so even if she's already consuming solids and other liquids. She's made the transition really well from breast to cup and didn't have to take a bottle.So far she's great with soya milk and even Ate Oona has developed a taste for it over her regular milk.

SOYAMI chips provides us with the following interesting facts...

Soy foods:

• add variety and nutritive value to children’s diet without sacrificing taste. 

• are readily accepted and enjoyed by children and adolescents as tasty alternatives to meat and dairy.

• is cost-effective and blends well with other ingredients, even extreme flavors.

• help decrease fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and calories.

• increases fiber, while still providing children with key vitamins and minerals. 

• contains many essential nutrients important for growth and development.

• works well as a primary source of protein without contributing excess calories.

Offering healthier meals and snacks is a top priority in preventing childhood obesity and reducing disease risk.

Cooking healthy has always been the law at home so it isn't hard to do without the processed and unhealthy junk. It makes eating all the more enjoyable knowing that the kids are growing strong and lean with healthy muscle and they're imbibing healthy eating habits from us. I don't even dissuade them from snacking in between meals as long as they're munching on something healthy like fruit or soya chips. We are lucky enough that soya is nowadays being developed into a healthy food alternative, taking on many forms! It makes it easier for health-minded moms like me to battle the constant barrage of junkfood in the grocery aisles!

Stay tuned with me for more soya info. I'll be posting healthy recipes we've been trying out lately too! Please hop on over to SOYAMI's website, it comes highly recommended by health-minded moms like me and THE PINOY BIGGEST LOSER!

Weight Loss Is A Total Lifestyle Change

It's a serious commitment to faithfully keep and real hard work (pretty much like what marriage is)! In this case, it's a relationship with your body you have to maintain and keep healthy.

When I decided to lose weight, I thought it was going to be as simple as popping a pill or not eating something.

No. It wasn't.

Sure you could just drink something, go to a clinic or starve yourself to emaciation, but then you go back to uncontrollable eating, unhealthy choices and bad habits, the pounds would just pile on faster and be harder to lose.

The key here is your motivation to lose weight. Unless your reasons for a change are deeply rooted, sustaining anything would be very hard. WHY do you want to lose weight? Do you want to look hot? Do you want to fit into a bikini? Do you want to be a model? Do you want to live longer? Do you want to feel better? Do you want to feel in control of yourself? Do you want to be more confident?

Whatever your compelling reasons may be, just be sure that you are safe and you don't compromise your health.

Apart from preparing myself mentally, I also had to prepare my body to lose the extra pounds. I also had to adjust my entire schedule, my grocery list, my budget and consider how these changes would be affecting my lifestyle and of those around me.

I know it sounds like I'm making it more complicated than it really is, but I just want to emphasize how much going healthy (with a side serving of losing weight) is a LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE and how it was very positive for me.

• CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK. It's true when they say that the change starts within. I originally thought I could never go through with this and that I was doomed to drown in cholesterol. I was also afraid that if things didn't work out, I'd feel like a failure. I had to face the fact that I was justifying being too scared and lazy to start anything. Yup! It was hard at first, but the more I believed that it was possible, the better I felt to actually decide to do something and follow it up with action. It didn't take overnight, actually. It was a couple of weeks before I was confident enough to declare that I was going to make a change in my life.

• COMMIT. To yourself. Not to anyone else. You owe it to yourself to be the best you can be. Or if you're like me, look to your children. I could do it for myself anytime, but for my kids? I have to do this NOW. Their childhood is fleeting enough and my sense of urgency comes from this. I want to be healthy and strong enough to be able to enjoy their childhood with them. I don't want them to remember me as the perpetually tired and cranky old lady who happened to be their mother.

• PLAN. Be strict with yourself and draw up a list of your goals, your timeline and how you plan to achieve them. Be as detailed as you want to be, as long as it helps you and doesn't detract from what you want to achieve.

• FOLLOW THROUGH. Go on steadily with your plans. Know that there's no turning back when you've said good-bye to your old self. You own your life now and nothing can stop you. When there are bad days (and there will be), just whip out that list and remind yourself why you're on this journey.

Be patient and realistic. You know you've piled on the pounds for years so be kind to yourself and know that it's not going to show for a few weeks or months yet. However, the change starts INSIDE where you don't see it yet and that's the MOST important thing.

Having people around you who are supportive really helps a lot. If you're surrounded by negativity, find a support group who will be cheering you on this path. Or if you've a strong will, use that negative feedback to fuel your own determination. You''ll be having the last laugh and the living luscious proof of your life change staring them in the face when all is said and done. :)

Reinventing Old Habits

When the world was younger and the pace of life was a little slower, us ladies had time to pamper ourselves even without the luxuries of technology, nearby spas or instant beauty magic.

Preparing for the pampering was part of the beauty ritual itself. There was a luxurious bath at the end of the day with the radio on and warm, scented bubbles coming from the tub. Or after the chores, an unhurried wash and afternoon swim by the river after the day's laundry was done, complete with herbal shampoos and flower essences in our long, black tresses.

At night, there was hair brushing with heavy silver brushes with thick bristles or combs with oiled wood; soft cotton nightgowns or silk, rubbing our skins soft. There were also the ancient beauty secrets passed on from grandmother to mother, to you.

Nowadays with beauty products galore and scientific beauty tricks to match the hustle and bustle of modern living, we forget to slow down and actually enjoy the process.

Let's remember what beauty really is.

Back in the day, the preparation is just as important. It was a grounding and a centering, reminding oneself of the beauty within and each personal ritual was more than just vanity. I wrote a little about it in Mommyluscious "The OLAY Woman", about celebrating inner beauty and your strength by honoring yourself with simple rituals that make you feel good.

So what if you're not going anywhere special and all you'll end up doing is curling up alone in bed with a crossword puzzle or a book?

Break out the luxury cream soap bars and lather up in the shower. Dab some perfume even if you're off to the market. Wear those nice undies you've been saving "for a special occasion"! What can be more special than TODAY?

Love yourself.

Most importantly, slow down and don't forget to breathe! Smile, laugh, close your eyes and remember who you are.

Pay attention to yourself, listen to your inner voice and feed your soul.

If you don't, who else will? :)