The Start of a Healthy Lifestyle

Disclaimer: I don't own the photos featured in this post. The credits are published below the photos. All photos courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Ok, masyado lang akong masaya with these awesome gym invitations I got from my beautiful friends this afternoon! :D Being fit and healthy is hard these days. Gosh, Big Mac palang ng McDo and such, mahirap nang humindi. Samahan pa ng vices, and no exercise lifesytle, naku, a bigger problem ang magkakaroon tayo kapatid. Noong estudyante palang ako, napag-aralan namin kung papano nangyayari ang mga pinaka-nakakatakot na sakit like heart attacks and even strokes. Some of these diseases have a common denominator: unhealthy lifestyle. We all know what unhealthy lifestyle is and I need not to enumerate what it includes. Kapag natatapos ang bawat lectures namin noon, nabubuo sa isip ko na I should practice a healthy lifestyle kasi being a nurse, I should be a role model. Ikaw ba naman magkaroon ng nurse na sakitin tas sasabihin sayo, "Maam, kain po kayo para lumakas kayo", eh siya mismo hindi inaalagaan sarili niya? So, with this post, I'm gonna show to you, kapatid, how I myself practice this healthy lifestyle and I pray it would work to you too. :)

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Our first stop, sa gym. :) Exercise. Uh oh, maraming aayaw pag naririnig na ang exercise. Lumaki ako sa family na medyo malalaki. Haha. Though I really am not that big, but my chubby days where from my highschool days. Super puffy cheeks and chubby talaga. I regretted it back then for some teenage reasons. Then, I don’t know what dawned on me but during our summer vacation before college starts, I exercised and lose weights. Within that two months, everyday I danced and I holla-hooped. So, I never really spent a penny to exercise. I just make the most of what I have. Siguro kasi I am just 16 and I haven’t got those gym ideas. And, successfully, from a waistline of almost 30” or 31”, it trimmed down to 26”. See, importante that we get track of our progress. Either through a weighing scale or measuring waistlines. I measure waistlines the moment I wake up. Yung wala pa kong kinakain para hindi affected yung measurement. When I got to 26” nahirapan na kong i-pa-24” pa. But, satisfied naman na ko sa itsura ko, so I entered college so slim. But college life went on and sobrang stressful ang nursing so tumaba ulit ako. Haha. Balik 30 inches ulit, and same goes with the chubby days. Mahirap mag diet pag nag-aaral lalo pa at medical related ang course mo. So, fast forward four years after, tapos na ang board exams, I tried the gym.

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I am blessed kasi merong malapit na gym sa amin and hindi lang siya basta-basta gym. It is owned by Mr. Roman "Don don" Cortuna, NAC Mr. Universe 2008. So, he is internationally known by his skills and abilities sa body building. They offer programs at an incredibly affordable price. The gym is well equipped and the trainers are friendly and I should say, magaling talaga. So I started sa gym nila last June of this year, but unfortunately, due to some personal reasons, I stopped July. And the reason I stopped does not have anything to do with their gym. So, I got this invitation from my two friends na samahan ko daw silang mag gym. Kapatid, in any way, spiritual man or physical, our lives are the best testimony or advertisement we have in order for us to encourage people. So they see the changes that I have. Laki daw ng ipinayat ko (thanks to Mr. Cortuna's gym and a lot of prayers), and on Monday, we'll be off to the gym. :) Luckily, I am able to maintain naman my weight during the days na wala ako sa gym. Because evangelizing people involves work that includes being on foot.  “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:15) Sa kakalakad ko, na-me-maintain ko siya. 

Hindi dapat mawala ang exercise sa mga buhay natin. Thirty years from now, our selves will be thanking us. Magpapasalamat ka kasi hindi ka ma-mo-mroblema sa mataas na BP, or cholesterol, or sa mga gamot na maintenance. All of those comes from exercise, and, next,

Healthy Eating.

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This? 

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Or this?

I know what you most likely choose, kapatid. Haha. But good news, I tell you, you can have both! You just need to balance everything. We need not to starve ourselves. Just eat in moderation. Starving is not dieting. It leads you to frustration and later on, mas babawi ka sa kain. Isang ginagawa ko rin is I eat slowly. And laging may gulay sa bawat pagkain ko. I know this will be difficult when eating outside especially sa fast foods. But there are fast foods like KFC and Tropical Hut that offers veggie salads so better order one. Or pag wala, what I do is, I only eat pasta. I know it is the same but for me kasi, mas dangerous ang rice. And skip on the sodas, ask for water instead or pineapple juice. One thing that I am also blessed with is, my parents always cook vegetable dishes. Wala atang araw na hindi sila nagluluto ng gulay sa bawat pagkain namin. I literally cut down on rice and I raised the veggies and lean meat that I ate. So walang pork and maganda pag chicken breast. On snacks, have fruits. Or once in a while you can also have ice creams, basta in moderation. I eat breads on snack times too. You shoudn’t neglect carbs, you still need it. 

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And once a week you can also have cheat days. Go eat whatever you want. Don’t be too harsh on yourself. Magandang itapat to sa mga occasions like weddings or birthdays. Para hindi ka naman kawawa na nagdi-diet ka habang yung iba nag-e-enjoy. Sabayan ng pag-inom ng maraming tubig. So bye bye frappes and milk shakes muna. :)

And lastly, the most important of all, Prayers.

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Prayers. Yes, prayers. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. (Phil 4:13) What does God have to do with this? Malaki, kapatid. He cares not just on our spiritual lives but also on the physical. Our being wouldn't be complete with our physical bodies. "Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well." (3 John 1:2) Whenever we pray, we ask focus from God and He can also help us flee from temptations of unhealthy lifestyles. God is our ultimate Buddy into just anything and of course, kahit sa ating journey towards this healthy lifestyle. Kapag malakas din ang ating katawan, we can serve the Lord nang nag-e-enjoy at we can always be available to serve in the ministry.

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"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

( 1 Corinthians 10:31) 

As long as we honor God and we have the joy and peacefulness deep within our hearts, we know we are on the right track and God is helping and guiding us. We must also have the right motivation. Whether to look good, boost our confidence, prevent a disease, or finally wear that jeans you've been keeping in the drawer, we must always be motivated. God bless kapatid! :D