HOW TO BE CONSISTENT IN GOING TO THE GYM

There's a lot of articles that

state reasons why people should exercise.

There are also a lot of videos

that were made for people to follow when working out.

But I guess what lacks out there

are ways on how to stay committed with your exercise regime.

I am a mom of an 8 month old and I'm proud to say that I'm 1.5 kilos (4lbs more or less) away from my non-pregnant weight and still progressively losing the excess baggage that settled well in the abdominal area and my extremities during the process. OK, that may not have an impact so I'm going to lay it out there for the record "for the first time" of how extensive my weight gain had become. 

Well... it's just 50 lbs. all in all. Hahahahaha!!!! Wow! I said it!

I think you'd agree if I am not going to sound so bad if I had lost the other 46 lbs. in the same rate I gained it since I'm on my 8th month post partum. Probably on the 9th, or .... wait! let me rephrase that, "hoping and willing" by next month, I would lose the remaining 4 lbs. With the nature of my job, this will be done easy breezy. Nothing to worry about.

A lot in the industry I worked for (entertainment) had done probably what I have (going back to their non-pregnant weight), in just a matter of a month. No kidding... here's a video of a good friend of mine Hanedy Sala, 3 months after giving birth to her 1st child.

I'm pretty sure you were left in awe with that. Because besides being a magnificent dancer, you would just really ask over and over "For real? She's 3 months post partum while dancing like that?" But then with the 50lbs. I gained, please don't judge, I was carrying a half-Samoan baby... lol! I know some of you may say, "Regardless...". But like what I said, no judgements.

Anyhow, let me get to the point. It is always a tough call to get your ass up to exercise. Some who never had a baby experience the same dillemma. So multiply the feeling by 10, that's how a mama would feel. Recovering from carrying the baby for 9 months, giving birth and taking care of the baby are challenges alone so sometimes, mamas could get lazy. So how did I go about these challenges as I needed to trim down ASAP? Here's how:

1. REMEMBER THAT THIS IS NOT FOR ANYBODY ELSE BUT YOU.

The first in the list of the most powerful words I consider is the word "YOU". You are your biggest competition so before you start committing to a routine, regardless if it's about working out, eating clean or just getting off a vice, always go back to the main reason WHY you are doing this. It's to become a better you. This way, excuses, setbacks and distractions would be kept aside as much as you will.

2. DEVELOP A HABIT.

They say, if you want to develop a habit, do something consistently everyday for 30 days in the same way, during the same time and it would sink in to your system somehow. Well, guess what, it did for me. I would not be quoting anybody or describing somebody else's story, I will be speaking of my own experience instead.

At the beginning, it was truly SHIT. I tell you that. Coming from your laid back, serene maternity leave to right away embracing a physical activity was such a struggle. But then I chose to put it at the start of my day so that at least I could tell to myself, "I just have to do an hour and a half of this and I'm free to do whatever I want with the remaining time. So, as I go thru progressive exercise routines, (from Pilates to A LOT of stretching to  stepping to mini trampolines to jogging to cardio workouts, to yoga then to "INSANITY" workouts to running) that's all that I think about. It's all going to finish anyways and I'm free in the next 22 1/2 hours of the day. In the end, I always feel good every after work out session.

3. HAVE A POSITIVE PERSPECTIVE.

"Be the girl you'd be looking at
because you know how to walk
that much number of work out
routines confidently."

Running with the unusual weight gain could be a bitch on the knees. And knowing that excess fat in the belly is just in the way as you aim to establish a pose while doing yoga is such a distraction. What's worse, no matter how you want to stay dedicated and focused, stress cramps you up and pushes you to give up. Stress in handling the baby at home (moms, I know they are bundles of joy but there are times that they really get in your nerves), stress brought about by the hormones, stress about not having time with the husband, or you are just plainly tired to name a few. Ultimately, frustration, and not stress, just pours on you when a toned, beautiful, ok, perhaps skinny, lovely young lady passes in front of you in the gym as you balance yourself on the gym ball.

As you complete your work out, you look in front of the mirror all sweaty and you tell yourself, she didn't even look half of how messy I am. You'd be restless in asking yourself, "Am I doing the wrong thing?", "Why are there no visible changes?".

My friend, stay positive by drilling in your mind and planting that hope. You should be able to convince yourself that it takes time. Everything takes time and if you are honest with how much effort you put to your routines, like not cheating and completing the 100's, you will reap it later on. In my case, I was thinking the whole time who gets paid to work out? I know very well there are people who pay others to be their personal trainers just to keep fit. But I have all the means to do so at the workplace. So instead of taking off time from home to keep fit, I do exercise during working hours. I believe that's a blessing in a blessing. I work to get fit and strong. We got a gym that I don't have to pay a membership to benefit from. So you see, it's in how you see things and how you acknowledge gifts in the ordinary days.

4. STAY INSPIRED.

You got up already, you had exerted effort in booking a session in the gym, you enrolled yourself in a ZUMBA class and you already are present, make sure to make the most out of it. Believe in the power of the present and believe that a day always ends up good when you decide to go to the gym. Again, this is based on my own personal experience.

I would also advice you to have a vision board. Don't aim for that skinny ass. Aim for a toned healthy body. Some of the celebrities that I look up to are:

a. INA RAYMUNDO - a Philippine celebrity, mother of 5 and had severe stretch marks on the abdomen. As of today, she proudly wears the stretchies. She ignores that and uses her time on investing on herself instead.

b. JENNIFER LOPEZ - I admire her ability to stay fair to herself by submitting to what her body was used to from the very beginning, PERFORMING. At the very moment she's giving this to herself, she's giving to the people what she's made for. She sets up trends, inspires artists, respects her culture and her craft. She makes sures that she delivers and she never settles for less.

c. MIRANDA KERR - who here never admired a Victoria's Secret angel? I mean, besides the lady boys, the VS angels belong under the category labeled "PERFECT"? And Miranda along with the rest who are now moms serve as an inspiration for me because somehow, no matter how perfect they could be, I'm sure they've handled some SHIT!

You can put up a list of your own or you can pin up a wardrobe style you've been wanting to try up by the mirror so that it'll serve as an inspiration.

5. FOLLOW IT UP.

Tomato, Cucumber
Avocado Salad

Don't expect massive results when you always give in to binge eating. There may be rough decisions to make as per food choice, food serving and how often you should eat. The usual advices like just eat what you need, have 6 small meals (or more) in a day and choose foods that are high in nutrients and just with the right amount of calories, all surround the idea of keeping an active metabolism. The feeling of being deprived of what you are used to having can be a pain. Just in case you couldn't find a reason to hold on to a strict diet, consider yourself as an investment that's why you are doing this. You see, once you develop the habit of nurturing yourself with healthy food, you will own a strong sense of wellness. Also, in doing this, no sense of guilt would creep in. From doing your exercise routine, you will need to replenish so don't be too harsh to yourself when coming up with the diet. Make sure that it suits the activities you do. Give your body what it needs. Have ample rest, get fed well. Eat clean.

This way, you'd see results probably double of what you would expect from somebody's who's just doing exercise alone. And when you do, you'd be more driven. You'd love to go to the gym more because besides being able to do what you couldn't before (holding that V-position for your abs longer than usual), you get to wear the clothes that you were longing to rock.


6. GET INFORMED OF ITS BENEFITS

7. KEEP ALLIES WHO HAVE THE SAME DRIVE AS YOU OR ARE EVEN MORE THAN DRIVEN.

Positive reinforcement brings out the best from a person but negative, unsolicited remarks trigger something inside us that may push you to running an extra lap. It pushes us to the limit, a kind of a motivational force that encourages us to do the impossible. It usually serves as the stronger source of motivation. But of course, you need to hear what really is the TRUTH. And the only ones whom you will allow to say it would be your friends. The trainer? I'm not so sure. If he/she is professional enough, then consider him/her a friend. Some could just really be gold diggers.

So, the main point....  do keep those who push you and support you. It would be great if they join you so that lazy days would be put into a minimum. It would be great to have a gym buddy. Just make sure you are in the same pace. You both don't want to end up in the Butcher's Club after a hard work out. Some encourage cheat days. Give this to yourself on a weekend for a breather because rewards also can drive you to endure a week's workout. Gym buddies serve as the people whom you would count on when you are stricken with the bed weather.

8. DRESS UP.

Dressing up is one of the fundamental ways on how to feel good about yourself. When you are able to put on your style, you can never go wrong with what you're motivated to accomplish. It goes the same with working out. Besides the fact that you are comfortable with your own sense of self, you become more driven because of the confidence dressing up brings. You'll be dealing with a lot of mirrors in the gym just to have the consistent feeling of getting convinced to continue achieving further.

As to my personal experience, I love a good pair of trainers/running shoes. I love running but I got to have the right shoes. It's hard to stay motivated when your body is in pain. Invest on good quality shoes, if you prefer cardio workouts. Some are manufactured light enough to reduce shock to the knees. Invest on colourful workout clothes if you prefer working out by doing Zumba, cycling and aerobics. Besides seeing yourself standout, it actually motivates you to standout in terms of performance. When you feel good, you do good. It just flows. Never settle for ill-fitted ones, most especially for the midrib bras. This way, you keep safety at bay. You don't want to expose private parts too as you do your handstand as your finishing challenge for your morning of yoga.

Below are examples of NIKE's newest design for their work out clothes for women.

9. KNOW THE THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO GIVE UP.

Set your priorities. Commit to them and know that you should never give up on yourself. Instead, think about the things that you should cut off. Excuses, distractions, laziness. If you know you are more likely the person who procrastinates, do something about it. Motivate yourself by having something to look forward to.

You have to realise that no trainer could help you, and no person can for that matter, if you don't help yourself. Start off disciplining yourself by saying "no" to people, things, situations that would not help you become a better you.

Listen. For me, I wasn't the person who had sweet tooth, I am not a fan of soft drinks nor juice. But I loved rice. So, it was truly a challenge to find a substitute for it. I also loved coffee so I just put minimum amount of sugar so that I could still enjoy it. I also made a decision that I would just eat according to how I would need the food. I am a parade dancer so, I cannot really eat that much of a hearty meal before and after because I may vomit in the end because of sympathetic impulses as my body is constantly at work. We also have short time allowance to eat and make the food get churned. I consider this as an occupational hazard. But there's always a possibility to go around any challenge by doing number 2, developing a habit. I managed to work up my schedule. In this way, my system utilises the food efficiently aiding a fast metabolism, therefore making everything I eat burned up.

Some may need to cut off ties with people who always say they can't accomplish something such as losing weight or bulking up. First, it's not healthy to keep people like this in your life. You cannot expect yourself to remain positive if you're surrounded with negative people. Situations like divorce, loss or bankruptcy may take more than a motivation but exercising could help out in time in boosting your self esteem as you take one day at a time.

10. EMBRACE WHAT YOU LOVE DOING.

Choose what makes you feel good and faithfully work around it. If you love dancing, it ain't easy when you truly do the moves since the core needs to work together with the mind's creativity. If you love doing circuit training, the body goes thru a lot of different kinds of stimulating workout and that's how you lose weight thru it. Due to a wide range of motion, the joints may undergo a lot of stress that you need to know how to avoid injuries. Learn how to listen to your body. In that way, you can progress with your training and you'll end up loving yourself for being able to do what you couldn't before. My target is to at least gain success with my pull ups. For now, it's more of a hanging and no pull ups but I'm not going to give up. If you think you can join the triathlon competition, train for it, go for it. There's no time but now and this is the youngest you can be. Set a deadline and accomplish the impossible. Either way, whether it's for sports, career or life itself, you'll benefit from the discipline you're going to gain from the process.

It's your turn. Complete my list by suggesting another way as to how to be consistent in going to the gym. You will be helping me out in return. Stay fit and embrace a healthy lifestyle. Health is wealth for real.

Related posts:
1. 10 THINGS YOU OUGHT TO KNOW ABOUT THE WHOLE SHENANIGAN - what pregnancy books missed on writing down for expectant moms
2. BUBBLE SOCCER - how it is worth trying
3. SIVA AFI COMPETITION - want to know what fire knife dancing is all about?

MOTHER'S DAY TRIBUTE

We all have a unique subjective perception of pain. I know this very well when I was studying Nursing in College. Yet it didn't sound as threatening as I expect my own child. Based on instinct itself, I can't help but watch videos to prepare myself of what should I do. Nightmares haunt me because of worrying too much not of the pain but because of hoping too much for the delivery of "my" baby to be safely and smoothly done. I understand that my baby will experience physical trauma as per vaginal birth and my prayers continue up to how the doctor would be facilitating the head twist for the rest of the shoulders and the body to be delivered. I worry that her gloves might be too slippery that she might drop the baby (which she did in my dream the other night - I woke up loudly crying and I remember so much the hurt I feel inside - oh yeah! Did I mention that was just a dream?). I worry about so many things with just that 15-minute drill for medical professionals of delivering the baby. (I know that's just how long it would take since I assisted when I was completing my hours to be a registered nurse in the Maternity and Obstetrics taking over more than 15 cases). And it made me realise one thing, that's how a mother is.

my mom's graduation picture

I always got crazy seeing my mom worry about so many things when I was young. I never grasped the idea of how she perceives the bigger picture of everything that she does (bringing alcamfor while on vacation, making me check if the gates are closed 3 times in one night before going to sleep, nagging about not wearing the seat belts when she drives us to school). I swear, I found it so annoying. Then now, I see myself becoming one. And as my younger sister and I talk about how she feels about having a baby too, she only stated this, "Jesse (her newly born son), just made my perception in life different already. The kind that makes me say to myself, "THIS IS NO JOKE ANYMORE!" Hahahaha!!!! And I totally agree with her.

Remember that time when your mom used to say, "Papunta ka pa lang, pabalik na ako!" (English translation: "You're still on your way, but I'm on my way back already!") ? This is a Filipino proverb that simply says, "BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!" I didn't understand that at first but whenever my mom sees me outsmarting her by saying, "Ma, I know what I 'm doing.", she'll always answer me this way. But like my dad, my mom TRUSTS me and I know that to my gut. She had seen me work hard on my own when it comes to earning money, getting things done and in choosing the right path. She has a say every now and then with my style in clothes (She is a fashionista alright and she loves shopping, which we never get along with.) but in general, she respects my uniqueness and knows that at the end of the day, it will never be a failure.

I'd like to share one of the most unforgettable moments of my life. It is about how God gave me my mom to me twice in my own lifetime. The first time was when I was conceived, He had assured me of an angel that would bring me to live here on earth. And the second time was on my 18th birthday.

an elf truck

My mom is a very hard working woman. We owned a realty corporation and she and my dad owned the sole entrepreneurship of the said business. We owned an elf truck, the one that's big enough to transport sand, G.I. sheets or plywood to and from my mom's project houses - "lumber" stuff. So she was driving this one day to order materials. She was working on a demolition project that time for my upcoming debut (18th birthdays of daughters are always a big deal to Filipino moms). After the truck got loaded up, she was on her way back to the elf. She was crossing the road but Mayon Street (located in Manila) is high sloped and was a very busy street. There she had an unfortunate accident. She tried to avoid an approaching jeepney not knowing that there was an overtaking motorcycle on the blind side and she got hit. The impact threw her at the side of the street and she had hit the temporal side of her head right on the edge of the gutter. She was raced to the hospital that morning and as I got home noon that time from school, our helper had told me of what happened. I ran to the Chinese General Hospital Emergency Room and I saw my mom laid down unconscious, not bleeding, with a lot of bruises on the face (a very bad sign of head trauma). She had to stay in the hospital for observation and her condition progressed from just feeling dizzy the first time she woke up, up to not knowing who we were in just 1 day and a half. She had a hematoma that prevents oxygen from going to the brain hence, the confusion and brain dysfunction. We were blessed that a neurosurgeon checked on my mom and upon ordering MRI scans, he had discovered that my mom only got 3 days if she wouldn't have the brain surgery to take the hematoma out. My dad was so confused that time and he had gone to other hospitals, a lot of doctors, for a second opinion, worried and helpless. Everybody else advised him the same thing. He was worried about how invasive the procedure is as explained since it would involve drilling into my mom's skull to extract the "clot" out. My family was in so much pain, most especially me, thinking that she was doing extra work for my birthday. My dad tried to explain to my mom who was nearly unconscious and was actually delirious already. He was hurt with the idea that he wants her to be better, he wants her to fight but him, having to sign in behalf of my mom because my mom's brain wasn't 100% efficient to make sound decisions was too much of a risk to take. It was a very scary time for us.

Why am I sharing this?

I want to emphasise how strong my mom is. She survived the operation. She fashioned a bald head during my birthday which we just had at home and I thought that was cool. My dad was able to buy the smallest "Lechon de Leche" and a serving of Palabok (good for 20 people) but thinking of the money we had spent on the operation, it was more than a blessing for me. I was surprised we were able to afford that in the first place. I believe there were more than 50 people who came to celebrate but I was in shock that we didn't run out of food. It was like the parable of the loaves and fishes where Jesus made a miracle of not running out of food for the people he preached to in the mountains. From my mom, staying alive, not having remarkable motor nor sensory skill affectation was a MIRACLE alone, plus how the little food we had during my birthday became enough for the people who came. Up until now, I cannot explain how that happened. I am just grateful for God giving my mom her second life as a present for me for my 18th birthday. No party could ever top that.

And now that I am a trimester away from being a mom, I would be on top of the world, if I would even be half of how strong my mom is. From carrying the 3 of us (my sisters and I) for 9 months each, giving birth to all, sustaining that care for us up until now even though we are miles apart, and all the sacrifices in between, I would like to honour my mom today that it's her day. Mothers and Fathers deserve more than a day I think. And yet, they are just given one each when they are more than willing to give the whole of their lives just to be with us.

2012 - Mother's Day
at Disneyland California
I will see you next year Ma!

To my sisters, Kaith and Khrista

and to all of you moms out there

who are the REAL superheroes of this universe,

may you be bestowed upon today

the unconditional LOVE that you give to your children;

may your day be bright and full of hope

as your pure hearts are the best sources of this;

and most of all, may you earn pride as breeders of the future generation

because if not for you, the world will never be a better place.

Related posts:

1. FATHER'S DAY TRIBUTE - a post about my Dad
2. AMY AND DEREK'S CONTEMPORARY - a touching dance by a lady who has a prosthetic leg
3. IT'S IN YOUR HANDS - sharing what I learned upon reaching my 30th year.