Meet the Enemy

I workout a lot but no matter how much I work out, my work gets eliminated by FOOD! Everyday is a battle with my worst enemy and it really is so hard to stay away from them. 

Core strengthening

Meet Bob, my trainer. He was fixing my core workout equipment while I was trying to rest after our plyometrics session earlier

Frustrated!

I have a confession to make. I have started working out more after I had my second child because I also eat more. I told myself that I don't want to deprive myself of the food and snacks that I like to eat so I'll just burn what I eat. The problem is that I think I eat more than what I burn so the result is I'm not as thin as I used to be.
I have also developed bad stress eating habits and when I'm too busy and starving, I tend to gravitate to eating the easy to grab ones which aren't from the healthiest food groups. I know that I'm getting older and so my metabolism is slower yet I can't help myself most of the time.
I know that temptations and bad situations will always be there and what I need to change is my thinking and will power but doing is always harder than knowing. I really am just a bit frustrated with my lack of will power with regards to food. I'll try to take it one day at a time and I really do want to improve my eating habits because I know that this will be my downfall.
Wish me luck!

Finding the right balance

I used to be the type of person who goes all out on thing or workout. I was once hooked in Fitness First's body combat. I loved the cardio workout that I got plus I moved my whole body so it was the total body workout for me. The problem with me getting addicted to a workout was that I would be addicted to it for months or years then get burnt out and move on to a new favorite.
In 2008, I started to practice Ashtanga Yoga and I got hooked on it and even took up teacher training only to end up injuring my back so badly that no matter how hard I tried to get better I always ended up injuring it again and again. It truly was a frustrating time in my life and as I was still trying to come into terms with my condition, I got pregnant with my second child and I moved far away from my studio.
Looking back I think I needed the break in order for me to refocus and stop pushing my body when it wasn't ready yet. Nowadays, I have learned to mix my workouts so that I don't get burned out with one and instead I mix things to help me strengthen my body to prevent my old injuries from coming back.
I now do bikram to help me deal with my back. I am trying to go back to basics and I'm allowing my body to slowly open up for all the back bends. Taking a long break from yoga when I got pregnant and after giving birth, my mind has somewhat been "noisier" and harder to calm down. This is something I need to work on and even if I feel that I'm struggling with it, I do feel that I'm slowly improving but I'm still not as focused as I used to be.
I also do weights to help me increase my muscle mass and tone my body. I know that I'm getting older so I need to add more muscle to help me increase my metabolism and look leaner instead of flabby. My personal trainer in Gold's Gym also makes me do plyometrics to add more cardio to my workout. I truly dislike jumping so much but I know I need to increase my cardio because I can hardly run intervals now. I'm still finding my perfect mix of workout but I'm slowly finding my body's balance.

Back from HK and back to Bikram Alabang

Hubby & I had to go to HK for work and we just got back yesterday. HK was bad--lots of fried fatty foods. Ugh. We did A LOT of walking and I was even able to sneak in one run in our trip but mostly it was gluttony for me. I had a lot of milk teas, sweets and lots of fatty chinese food like duck.
I was really tired from our trip because we didn't have much sleep since the kiddos were with us and then we were walking and standing for about 6-8 hours a day. Baby P slept with me last night so I wasn't able to rest either. To make the long story short, I was really exhausted but I still pushed myself to go to Bikram because I just ate too much fat and I want to melt some of what I ate.
I have gone to Bikram before with just a little bit of sleep so I didn't really think that I'd do so bad BUT I did. At first I thought I was doing fine since I was able to stay in the hard poses like the standing bow. I didn't fall out and that is a great feat especially since I was running low on sleep. Little did I know that me nailing the balancing postures would actually come back to bite me in the butt!
I felt it as I was coming out of the balancing stick. When my feet were both on the ground, that's when I felt it. I lifted my eyes and there were white spots and some blackening of my vision and I felt like throwing up. My first thought was "Oh no, it's too early for this to happen". From that point on, I struggled. For some reason, my vision couldn't focus and things would look blurry from time to time. I had to sit out some postures and I was not happy about this. I felt embarrassed and disappointed with how I was doing and when we were on the mat already I realized that I can't do anything. My body is feeling what it is feeling and instead of fighting it I just let it be. I accepted my bad day but at least I still finished the class and was still able to work out. I guess I just need some beauty sleep tonight to have a better day at the gym tom. I'll let you know how I do tomorrow during my PT session at the gym.

 This was how I felt in class this morning!

Struggling!

Loving the rain

I've been practicing Bikram this summer and it has been a killer because of the heat. I really don't mind having a humid room but with no sun. My practice today has been a blessing because of the cool climate. I wasn't able to get much sleep last night because of Baby P and I've been up since 4am so it was a good surprise to have been able to practice without struggling with the heat.
I was able to relax in my Savasana's and I didn't have to count in my head unlike if the sun was out and I'd feel my throat getting dry and itching to drink water. I had a pretty good practice. I was able to curve my back more in all the back bends and I did struggle a bit in the standing head to knee and bow pose but it was because I was able to get deeper into the postures and I'm still trying to find my body's complete balance in them.
I will miss my Bikram practice this week since we'll be leaving for hong kong and I'm afraid of how I'll perform when I get back but that's life. Every practice is different and sometimes when I least expect myself to do good, I actually am able to deliver and nail my postures.

Reality Check!

The other day two of our friends were confined in the hospital. My best friend C had gall stones and had her gall bladder removed. My hubby's other good friend's lungs collapsed. I had a jolt of reality. Am I really in that age that being hospitalized because of organs failing or being compromised is not a far fetched notion anymore?
I'm 31 years old and our friend's that got hospitalized are about a year older from me. I must admit that I got scared by what happened to them. I don't want to end up in the hospital anytime soon that's why I am now more determined to always exercise and to always incorporate yoga to my life to help my body repair itself somewhat. I would like to believe that so far I have not done any permanent damage to my body yet and I would like to keep myself healthy for my hubby and kids.

Fitness Gear

  I've been working out for a pretty long time and if there's one thing that I've learned with regards to my gear (clothes, equipment, etc) is that quality of material really makes a difference. When I first started working out, I gravitated towards Nike but the fit wasn't so good on me because I have a huge butt and their pants are just so low waist and I would always have to hold the back of my pants up because they kept on going down. 

  After years of being in this situation, I was relieved when I was able to buy really really good fitting pants from Lululemon, Tonic and Tension. They aren't the mainstream brands but they fit me like a glove. I can move in whatever way I would want and my pants would stay put. Their tops are also so fashionable and functional. The material they use is like having your clothes feel like your skin. You have to try it to believe it. I think that's why more and more women have switched especially for yoga practitioners. 

  I have been practicing yoga for more than 3 years and the mat I would highly recommend for everyone would be Manduka mats. They are so durable that no matter how much sweat or friction it comes in contact with, it doesn't break. I've tried mats that chip off while I workout--ugh! The other plus side is that it doesn't absorb water as well so my mats don't stink =)

   For towels, I am loyal to yogitoes. I just love them because they don't slip so I feel more liberated and I am able to move more freely during practice. It's a plus that they come in such nice colors.

  I don't have full proof rubber shoes yet. I seem to be okay with Nike and Adidas. I tried using Asics since I tried running but I got injured with them so I'm sticking to Nike and Adidas since they both work well for me. 

   Don't be afraid to invest in your gear because if you get excellent quality they would last longer and would save you more money in the long run. Just buy what you need and believe me they can withstand a lot that sometimes you'd wish they didn't so you could buy a new one(hahaha)!

Why did I write this blog?

I started working out about 10 years ago. I wanted to lose weight and look great when we go to the beach so I enrolled myself in a gym. I've tried so many kinds of workouts--doing weights, gym classes, boxing, pilates, plyometrics, yoga and the list goes on--over the years. I admit that my reasons for working out now are a bit different from when I started. 

The bottom line is I want to feel and look good but another great driving force to my workouts is that I consider them my "me" time and that is sacred for me. For that 60-90mins of working out, I can be totally selfish and only think of myself. I get to hear myself think, I get to relax and I get to enjoy the high from the endorphins that get released in my brain afterwards. It prepares me for all the chaos that awaits me outside of my workout (which is what people normally call LIFE--hehehehe).

I have decided to chronicle the ups and downs that I face when I workout. I want to document how I am able to persevere and struggle to reach my fitness goals. I want to be able to look back and see how my journey of being physically, mentally and spiritually fit has changed my life and hopefully I would get to inspire other people to go on their own journey and live a long, healthy and happy life.