Wednesday, November 2, 2011

A New Month, A New Start

It sure feels great to say I lost 6lbs from last month, but I still have 70lbs more to lose, so I have to keep moving forward.

It was already 12:30am of November 01 when Pipoy and I finished talking on the phone. He told me he will be walking and jogging that morning, and since I wanted to do go back into the same habit, he asked if it would be okay if he would call me around 5:20am so I could prepare for my own walk. I said yes, but part of me was doubting if I could get up that early since it would mean just getting 5 hours of sleep. I decided not to set my alarm, but he did call me. Wow, my fitness buddy sure was serious about helping me. :) My head was heavy and aching real bad, but even if he didn't really force me to get up, him telling me he is already dressed and ready to go out made me prepare for my own walk. My sister went with me today, and at 5:56am, we were ready.

Tree

We reached Colinas Verdes 20 minutes after. I did stretch before we left, but near the gate, I stopped to stretch more. It's been nearly two months since we last went here, so Pipoy told me not to jog, but to go brisk walking instead. During our talk last night, he told me about playing a beat on my head as I walk. I didn't bring my iPod with me because I don't use it that much and I don't think I have a lot of upbeat songs that would be my guide. My sister brought her cell phone with lots of MP3 songs, so by the time we reach the place, we pretty much were on our own world. I walked at my pace, she walked at her own pace.

Today's exercise was to keep walking at a steady pace for at least 30 minutes. Brisk walking sure was a bit strenuous, and I did feel my thighs burning. From time to time, Pipoy would send me a message to ask how am I going, and even with that effort, it felt as if he was walking beside me.

Since we won't jog today, sister and I decided to walk to the Clubhouse. The last time I reached the clubhouse, it was still under construction, and today it was somewhat finished already (although not really yet).

Wibbit
Clubhouse Clubhouse

We knew there would be a pool, but because they constructed the area to attract people to buy lots, the water wasn't really clean - they just put water there as part of the "show" for open house sessions. Anyway, sister told me there were so many tadpoles and one interesting moment was seeing a frog swimming - trying to find a way to get out of the pool. Whenever people would come near the edge of the pool, it would swim away, but there was this time when the frog stopped, maybe because it was tired from swimming. After a few more minutes, the frog was able to jump onto a small plank of wood, and in no time it was able to jump out of the pool. It was surprisingly amazing.

What did the frog taught me? There are moments in life when you feel you're going nowhere; that you feel you're running non-stop only to find yourself back at square one. However, we must learn to continue moving forward for there will come a time that we would see the light at the end of the tunnel.

My sister took some minutes to take pictures, but we didn't really take that much time because we couldn't let our muscles relax that much. While walking back (still keeping up with the beat), Pipoy called me and talked to me, just to check my breathing (told you, he is a strict fitness buddy). Sadly, my sister's legs were aching a lot the time we reached the main gate, so we took the jeep going to the marketplace, just outside our neighborhood. We reached home at 8:14am.

I also did Hip Hop Abs Cardio at 10:16am, and a round of dumbbells exercises (6 sets, 30 reps each) at 1pm. Around 3pm, I decided to take a nap because my head was really aching.

Instant Kare-Kare

Food intake today:
  • 8:21am - 1 cup Athena Milk, 2 pieces sliced loaf bread + 1 teaspoon egg salad spread (boiled eggs, minced onions, mayo, salt and pepper)
  • 12:07pm - 1/2 cup rice, Kare-Kare (50 grams beef, sitaw, and eggplant cooked in instant Kare-Kare mix)
  • 6:44pm - Oatmeal (4 heaping tablespoons of rolled oats cooked in water), 1 tablespoon Bibingka, 1 slice Papaya
Total Cups of Water: 13

Pipoy was a bit disappointed to know I had egg sandwich, but he let it pass for now. Well, I do know mayo isn't a very healthy choice, so I will try to avoid it if I can, or maybe go for the Lite Mayonnaise. Pipoy gave me a short list of food items I might want to go for: Whole Wheat Bread, Canned Tuna in Water, Chicken Breast. Well, healthy eating can be a bit expensive (Lite Mayo and Whole Wheat Bread are more expensive than the "normal" ones), but again.. he reminded me of the reason why I am embarking this journey.

Little by little, Pipoy is slowly changing my life. I don't think I can thank him enough for the care he is giving me. He really wants me to achieve my goals, and with him around, for sure I will reach my goals. :)



and then, she {snapped} NapTime MomTog Wordish Wednesday

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

October Weigh In

Let's play a little game of Before and After...

Touch of Glory
Touch of Glory
Touch of Glory

These pictures were taken last July when we went to the Touch of Glory Prayer Mountain in Antipolo. I am a person who doesn't really like wearing horizontal striped clothes because it would make me appear bigger, but because this was a shirt given to me by my mom, I decided to wear it that day. I didn't mind my size then, but seeing these pictures made me realize I was really getting bigger and heavier.

Needless to say, I didn't wear the shirt again. I kept it in my closet as one of my house clothes, so even if I am at home, no one would really look at me and scrutinize me for my size.

That was before.

The New Me The New Me

Two days ago, I decided to wear the shirt. Seeing myself in the mirror, I think there were slight changes, so I quickly set up my cellphone to take a picture. I showed the first picture to my sister to say I lost weight and she said it could be because of my pants. The "before" pictures had me wearing jeans, which sister said could make me look chunkier, so I decided to get the same jeans and pose for another picture. True enough, I did lose weight.

This is now.

It's the first day of the month, time to weigh in. Presenting my new weight:

6lbs Lost

What a sigh of relief! I lost 6lbs! I am glad I am back to 220lbs, and I promise, I will continue and improve what I am doing. 6lbs may not be much, but believe me, of all the losses people can have, losing weight may be the sweetest one of all.

I would like to lose at least 6lbs this coming month, so to achieve that, there's only one thing to do: Push harder and be more serious.

My update for November 1 will be posted tomorrow, time for me to sleep so I can wake up earlier to do my morning walk. I will be physically alone tomorrow, but Pipoy (my new friend) will be with me, so am not really alone alone. :)


Exercise and Food Log 103111

Last day of the month. I am eagerly anticipating the day I step on the scales after a month, but part of me was feeling scared. I won't tell why... I don't want to jinx my positive mood. Hahaha.

Anyway, Bloody Mary decided to visit today. I forgot the last time she visited, but this being the last day of the month, I am thankful she visited today; that means since 2004 (when I was diagnosed with PCOS and got treated for it), I still haven't missed a month. Awesome!

My flow was very light today, so I decided to continue exercising.
  • 8:45am - Billy Blanks Jr.'s Waist Workout (repeated three times, with 2lb dumbbell each hand)
  • 9:24am - Hip Hop Abs Cardio
  • 10:05am - Elliptical Machine (2 minutes)
  • 12:20pm - Dumbbells (6 sets, 30 reps each set)
  • 4:00pm - Hip Hop Abs Ab Sculpt (incomplete, didn't do the last 6 minutes)
  • 4:20pm - Elliptical Machine (2 minutes)


As for my food, I had...

Siomai

  • 9:00am - 1 piece Suman sa Ibos with 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 cup Athena Milk
  • 11:58am - 2/3 cup rice, 2/3 cup Pinakbet (Sitaw, Sigarilyas, Okra, Ampalaya, Eggplant, Squash cooked in broth with bagoong balayan and lean ground pork)
  • 3:56pm - 1/2 cup Buko Juice (Fresh Buko Juice and some strips of Buko meat)
  • 6:49pm - 1/2 cup rice, 5 pieces Chowking Siomai, about 3 tablespoons left over Pinakbet

Oh... I just want to say I didn't eat the okra and ampalaya from the pinakbet. :)

Anyway, something awesome happened today. Yesterday, while I was at the Blue Board, I met someone, who at first just complimented my photography (thank you). It's very usual not to develop deep friendship from the board (although of course I have a few real friends from there), and at first I just thought of this person as someone like that - a pal, whom I can share messages with at the board from time to time...

...until he decided to call me.

Obviously, the talk were very light at first, but I was amazed at how this man got to read my blog (the personal one - I am Janujennifer), and learned that I am on a journey to lose excess weight. He told me he had a mild stroke years ago, which changed his life. He's very okay now, so asking my permission, he said he wanted to help me.

Of course, everything beneficial is something I welcome; after all, being in this journey "alone," it's a breathe of fresh air to cross paths with other people. He started telling me about his story and how he turned his life around. He said, he is seeing himself on me, and didn't want me to go through the ordeals he faced. I welcomed his help with open arms.

Before we called it a night, he told me that now that I welcomed him in my life, he will stick by me to motivate and inspire me to lose weight. I just met him for two days, and already, he has already touched my life. They say, the people we meet along the way will affect our lives one way or the other, and this early, I am already thankful I crossed paths with him.

When I opened this blog, I said that my main goal was just to lose weight. Today, thanks to our talks, I learned what my main goal is: to live longer.