My FIRST EVER vegetarian week!

As I've mentioned in my previous blog entry, July 1st of this year marked my 6th year as a pescetarian. When I decided to give up eating meat, I originally intended to stop eating all kinds of meat including seafoods. However, Tita Tessa (gf of my Uncle Aries who's been a vegan for more than a decade now) advised me to have a "transition phase" thus the pescetarian diet.

Fast forward to July 2011, I again planned on giving up seafoods because I had an assumption that Indonesia will be very friendly with vegetarians since it is a Muslim country (I bought books including vegetarian cookbooks and researched information on the nutritional aspects of being one). Much to my disappointment, though most of the restaurants do not offer pork, chicken and beef are the highlights on the menu. Believe it or not, in my 2 years of stay here in Jakarta, I've only been to a vegetarian restaurant ONCE (not counting the vegetarian burrito that I normally buy in a food court nor the vegetarian meal given by a vegetarian parent). We (Angie and I) really planned our schedule just to try this vegetarian restaurant that is nearest to our place. Fortunately, Loving Hut did not disappoint! :) But we haven't had the chance to visit the place again because of our schedule (spell TRAFFIC in South Jakarta!).

I know that it is possible for me to cook my own food but I had so many reasons for not doing so, hehehe :D Since I anticipated that my schedule will still be a bit lighter after the Lebaran (Ramadhan) break plus I've discovered a grocery store that sells veggie meat, I decided to have a feel of how it is to be a vegetarian for a week.

After I attended the sunday service, I excitedly and hurriedly proceeded to Grand Lucky Superstore which is right across the building where the church is located! :) The week before I left for Manila for the Lebaran break, I've already "discovered" that they sell veggie meat / meat analog :) This is what my cart was filled with:



I really don't drink milk ( I am mild lactose intolerant, mild because I do eat ice cream and other food with milk BUT
I vomit when I drink milk! But I want to give soymilk a chance and I want to "train" myself to drink milk
 so I bought a box of it :)






Sa sobrang excited (at gutom!) e nakalimutan ko nang magpicture before I start eating. Ayan ang ebidensya!
Yes, that is RED rice! :) A little different for those who are used with white rice (ME!ME!ME!) but
it eventually gets better and definitely the healthier option :) 



 

I am happy to say that I've prepared all the dishes above except for the lower right. FYI, the yellow rice is what
Indonesians call nasi kuning (nasi for rice and kuning for yellow). It is made with rice, turmeric and coconut
milk. super yummy! :) 



These are some of the juices that I've made :) See the green smoothie at the middle (citrus breeze)? Wonder why
it's green? That's because I've added basil with fresh dalandan juice :) I maximized the use of spinach and
basil in preparing my fruit & veggie smoothies :)

 Syempre, hindi mawawala ang mga realizations ko! Hahaha! :D

1) Cooking is fun! I rarely cook that's why my close friends and family who know me so well really laugh at the idea of me cooking! :) pero hindi naman sa pagyayabang ha, nakapagluto naman na ako ng pininyahang manok, adobo at sinigang dati (as in dating dati pa! hahaha!) at sa awa ng Diyos e buhay pa naman mga tao sa bahay! :p Seriously though, I enjoyed cooking especially after tasting what I've prepared and realizing that I can create something :) I am actually considering learning how to bake, hmmm.....

2) Cooking requires passion, time and dedication. Since I am technically a non-cook, it usually takes me 1 hour to prepare my main meal for the day! That very simple spaghetti or the black pepper steak with broccoli shown above took me almost an hour EACH to prepare. For me to have a decent meal, I have to wake up at 5am to prepare/cook my food so I will be done by 6am to start preparing to go to work. I never realized na ang pagbabalat pala ng sibuyas, paghihiwa at paghuhugas ng mga gulay take so much time! But like what I said in number 1, it felt good to "create" something edible, hehehe :)

3) I know what I put in my mouth. Literally speaking, I do know what food I put inside my mouth. From the tiniest piece of garlic and onion to the amount of liquid aminos (vegan substitute for soysauce) and how the meat was prepared, I know all of those things! I am sure how healthy my foods are and I only have myself to blame if I end up eating unhealthy food!

4) I am grateful to the web and blogs who've been very generous with their recipes. I will be honest and say that I owe GOOGLE a lot! If I am not sure with what I am doing, I just google them and voila, it will lead the way! :D See the sandwich above? I got that recipe from Saab Magalona's blog and the sandwich was really good! (wheat bread, tomato, basil leaves and cream cheese). Most of the fruit and veggie smoothie recipes that I used came from simplegreensmoothies (via IG) but I normally tweak them based on what is available in our ref. Salamat sa internet! :)

5) I am inspired to share what I know. Though I admit that I don't know much about cooking, my overly-excited-cant-wait-to-broadcast-it-to-my-friends self just can't contain my "healthy" discoveries :) I have already bullied inspired my cousin, Ate Jenny, to buy her own blender so she can prepare her own fruit and veggie smoothies. At sosyal sya ha, 2 in 1 juicer/blender ang binili! Good job! :) Sa totoo lang, sa susunod naming potluck get-together (surprise bday party for someone, sshhh) e balak ko ng magdala ng sarili kong luto! Saan kaya ako kumukuha ng lakas ng loob ano?! :D

6) I can't wait to share it with my family (and future kids). O wag ma-excite, hindi po ako buntis! Hahaha! :D I am just excited with the idea that my future kids will be exposed to a healthy lifestyle. Ang swerte-swerte nila sa nanay nila!! Ah eh grabe po ang hangin dito! :D Pero seryoso na, naniniwala kasi ako na kapag ang bata ay nasanay o lumaki sa healthy lifestyle (food and physical activities) e hindi mo na kailangan na pilitin sila kapag medyo malaki na kasi yung healthy food na ang default nila kumbaga :)

I can't wait to learn and try out more recipes recommended by friends and/or found on the net. Please feel free to share any recipes that you have (preferably vegetarian recipes) :) Let us exchange recipes (ayan e kung may mapupulot kayo sa akin! Hahaha!) :D

I never imagined that I will say this but.... Happy cooking! :)

Happy 6th Year Anniversary to Me! :)

Today marks my 6th year as a pescetarian. According to pescetarianlife, a pescetarian diet excludes land animals and birds, but includes fish, mollusks, and crustaceans in addition to fruits, vegetables, plants, legumes, nuts, and grains.  Eggs and dairy may or may not be present in the pescetarian's diet.

I've been asked a thousand times about what made me decide to follow this diet (pescetarian + minimal dairy as much as possible), hehe :) Though majority of the people who adopt this kind of diet (up to the extent of being a vegetarian/vegan) say that their love for animals and/or advocacy against animal cruelty made them stick to their diets, my reason was mainly for my health :) I am blessed to have an uncle (including his girlfriend) who led by example and showed me that it is possible to enjoy one's meal without meat. At an early age, I've tried dining in a lot of vegetarian restaurants in the metro as well as accustomed to a household that respects "our" kind of diet.

To celebrate my 6th year anniversary, hehe, I will be mentioning some of my favorite vegetarian and vegetarian-friendly restaurants:

1) Good Burgers. This is where I go to when I am craving for a burger :) Though it is not a vegetarian    joint, they offer veggie patty :) A little pricey especially if you are a student BUT definitely worth it!

taken from the site above 

I've only tried their branch in Maginhawa Street, Quezon City because this is the most convenient to our place but they also have branches in Pasig and C5 road. Check this site for the exact address. 

2) Blissfull Belly. I happen to "live" in Katipunan ALL MY LIFE before i started working abroad :) When I say "live", I meant I spent my college life + 6 years working life there! However, I only "discovered" this vegetarian restaurant when I started working along Katipunan Avenue. This place is jam-packed mostly during lunch time because they already have regular customers :) 

MY Must-trys: Sisig and Carrot Cake! I remember this time when I brought their sisig in my workplace and asked my colleagues to try it without telling them first that it is vegetarian sisig. After a few minutes of eating with much gusto, they suddenly remembered that I do not eat meat and asked me if I went back to eating meat. They were so surprised when I told them that it is vegetarian! One point, hehe! :) They have the best dairy-free carrot cake too!!! That was actually the first time I started appreciating carrot cake! :) 

taken from here via google.com

3) Pipino Vegetarian Food (by Pino). This vegetarian restaurant is known for their creative dishes as well as pleasing-to-the-eyes interior :) I've eaten here a couple of times (given its location, hehe) and I must say that apart from their yummy food, the place also uplifts your mood instantly! Thanks to the very creative person behind it, Ms. Alessandra Lanot. I don't know her personally but I know some things about her because of her blog :)

MY Must-trys: (their very famous) Watermelon steak, (all flavors of) Ice Cream and Lemongrass, Ginger & Cucumber Cooler! 

taken during one of our visits :)

As always, I've only tried their branch in Teachers Village, Quezon City but I've heard that they opened a new branch in Jupiter Street, Makati a few months back :)

You may check their site for more info :)


4) Greens Vegetarian Cafe & Restaurant. This is one of the first vegetarian restaurants that I've been to (courtesy of course of my Tito Aries and Tita Tessa) :)  I must say that this restaurant was sort of a deal breaker for me! I suggest that if you have plans of bringing a non-vegetarian friend and introduce him/her to vegetarianism, this is the BEST place to be! The foods are NOT intimidating because they are patterned after the regular food that we know (examples are Relleno, Escabeche and Embutido among others). The place is also very relaxing because of the bountiful plants surrounding the place :) 

MY must-trys: Relleno, Barbecue skewer and Baklava. 

taken from the site above

You may like their page in facebook for more information. 


5) This is not a restaurant but a site that will give you the information of all the vegetarian/vegan restaurants ALL OVER THE WORLD. This is what I visited when I was having a hard time looking for a vegetarian restaurant in Jakarta, sad but true :( 

Presenting..... 

welcome page of happycow.net

Now, you can search for a veggie restaurant near your place! Just click http://www.happycow.net/

Lastly, allow me to share my before and after experiences and the frequently asked questions as a pescetarian :)

1) The most frequently asked question question is "Did you lose weight?". The answer is NO! I did not lose weight. Actually, not to discourage those who want to lose weight, I gained weight upon adopting the pescetarian diet. However, the weight that I gained was brought about by my love for RICE. Yes, I do eat too much rice. Ika nga nila e "karpintero" rice. I admit that this is still a continuing struggle for me, huhuhu.

2) So why then did I continue with this kind of diet if I keep on gaining weight? In my opinion, not everything is about WEIGHT. Yes, it matters but one should not be equating being healthy with being thin. I know some people who are thin but have bad health :( Exhibit A: You will be surprised to see a "thin" person trying to catch his/her breath after a few steps on the stairs! I am not saying that I am almost-like-an-athlete-I-can-do-full-marathon healthy but I am happy to say that with this kind of diet, I am still able to run, bike and do other physical activities :) So yes, for someone who is "picky" with food, I am actually healthy :)

3) I feel lighter. During my meat-eating days, I can almost feel my tummy bursting after eating too much. Consequently, I feel so sluggish! These days, though I feel full after eating I do not feel the sluggishness that I used to feel. How do I know that I am gaining weight? Not because I feel heavy but because my clothes are getting smaller!!! :D

4) Where do I go from here? 6 years ago, I wanted to be a VEGETARIAN. Meaning, no meat (including seafoods) at all! However, upon the advice of Tita Tessa (who has been a vegan for almost 2 decades now) I started with being a pescetarian. She told me that I can use this as a transition to being vegetarian because it will be very difficult for me to change overnight. Today, after 6 years, I am still a pescetarian, hehehe :) I want to slowly end my transition and ease into vegetarianism, hopefully soon (since Jakarta is not a vegetarian friendly city and I live on my own now, I have to be prepared with this).

5) Is it expensive? I am not going to lie and say that adopting this kind of diet is cheap. Just like anything that we give importance to, it comes with a price. But if you will think about your health as an investment, then it will be easier to accept. Let me just clarify that this kind of diet may or may not be expensive depending on one's lifestyle. Vegetarian restaurants in general are slightly more expensive than a "regular" restaurant so if you happen to eat out A LOT, it will really be expensive. BUT if you will manage to prepare your own meal at home, it will be way cheaper! Vegetables and fruits are definitely cheaper than beef, chicken and pork so please do the Math! :D

We are very fortunate that Philippines has A LOT of vegetarian and vegetarian-friendly restaurants so let us use it to our advantage! :)

Happy HEALTHY eating! :)

Nanny's Pavillon

After watching After Earth at Blitz Megaplex Velvet Suites, we asked the "Central-Parker" Kate to bring us to a restaurant that we haven't been to (since we rarely go to Central Park because it is quite far). And lo and behold, she brought us to this amazing place named Nanny's Pavillon! :)

This is one of the (very few) daintiest restaurants that I've been to! Let the photos speak for themselves :)

the entrance :) look at the cute bike! instead of the pedals, they put flower pots! Nice!

WHITE is the motif of the place

clockwise from upper left: front cover of the menu, placemat, number holder, inside of the menu (the inside was like a diary since there are stories on each page plus the foods/drinks were hand-painted too! 

clockwise from upper left: flower pots , calendar on the wall, clock , table

at the middle of the entire place with the 2 "models" :D

this is how it really looks like from another angle :)

they may not be real/fresh but they sure added light mood in the place!

The staff were very nice and accomodating too :) Even if we looked like fools due to non-stop taking of photos, they accomodated us and the manager even got hold of the tray of one of his staff so I could get a decent photo like this:

the staff were well-dressed too! :)

We were fortunate that we were able to get a table easily because I heard that the place is usually jam-packed come dinner time. With that, make sure to:

You may check out their FB page here for more information.

PS:
In our hunger and amazement with the place, we were not able to
take photos of our food. But believe me when I say that their food did
NOT disappoint. Price was reasonable too :)

Watching a movie the "fashionable" way! :)

Since I don't know whether to put this post under Travel or Fitness, Fashion & Food, I decided to just put the word FASHIONABLE in the title! Hahaha! :D

Seriously, I've been dying (maybe dying is a strong word but you get what I mean) to try this one-of-a-kind cinema experience the moment I found out that there is something like this here in Jakarta! (that was approximately 1.5 years ago) but only got to try it last Friday :) Friday was a good day since it was officially the 1st day of our summer vacation *insert happy dance*

The usual gang namely Cess, Toni and I headed to Central Park to meet Kate at the Blitz MegaPlex Velvet Suites. On our way there, Toni and Cess spotted this ma-ala cave na escalator, hihihi :D

 While waiting for Kate, we lounged in the Blitz Velvet Area which look like this:

you will not feel bad even if you arrive hours before the movie starts since you can literally sleep on these beds!

When we decided to get in the cinema (we were running late actually, hehehe), we entered through this well designed "maze":

dami namang kambal! :D

nice wallpaper!

Wait 'til you see the cinema itself!!!

we reserved Velvet Suites/ the bed that we thought was good for 4 people (because that's what the seat plan showed)

it turned out that there was only 1 bed (for 2 persons) and sofa at the back (for 2 persons)

actually, the bed can fit until 3-4 persons (depending on the occupants size)

sofa at the back of the bed

if I am not mistaken, there are less than 30 beds available so it is a must to have a reservation

I could say that I will have a hard time watching a movie in a "regular" cinema because Blitz Megaplex Velvet Suites was just awesome! :) The price is acceptable too! We paid Rp 225,000 (around Php 1,000) good for 4 people so come to think of it, the price is almost the same as the "regular" cinema :)

You may check this site for more information on Blitz Megaplex.

Cardigan, my hero for today :)

I had a series of wardrobe malfunction today (Naks! Tunog artista lang!) :)


First stop, my overly worn out-nagrereklamo-nang-palitan-sya belt gave up on me this morning :( I think this is one of my most worn out belt (out of the 4-5 pieces that I have. I know! Such a pity for a 20 something-almost 30 woman like me to not have as much belt as I'm supposed to have). I suddenly felt bad for this belt because if only "he" could complain, he would have protested on the streets a long time ago! I love its thickness, color and "astig" appeal (astig is such a relative word, haha) that's why I always use it :) Well, RIP my "astig" belt. I will miss you! :( 

bought this in Bangkok some time in Dec 2011

A few minutes after I've discovered that my most prized belt finally gave up on me, I discovered that my blouse was half open! Que horror! This blouse is one of my favorites since it is black (which makes me look thinner) and gives my body a little shape plus the V-neck creates an illusion that I have longer neck. I bought this in one of the factory outlets in Jakarta. This is how it looks like:

 And this is what happened:

this happened while i was wearing it! Imagine all the skin exposed! Nyeee!

 Buti na lang e to the rescue ang aking cardigan! Thank you! :)

I will definitely start hunting for a sturdy (and budget friendly) belt :)

I MUST love Running

And I am back (after a long hiatus)! :D

I've been thinking of a good (comeback) entry, haha :)

But finally I've decided to write something about RUNNING. Yes, I am no expert in this division (fitness in general actually) but I would like to say that I am developing a love but more of - hate relationship with it the past few weeks.

Running has never been in the list of my most favorite things to do. Even when I was younger I would always choose biking over running any time of the day. I don't know but there is something about biking that I really love. It makes me feel so connected to nature and I love the fact that I am in total control (BIG PLUS is that it is less tiring than running) :) :)

However, since I always use the mantra "don't say no unless you've tried it", I am giving running a chance to redeem itself. To start the I-am-giving-running-a-chance, I've been waking up REALLY early to make it to the gym @6am (wake up, wash my face and brush my teeth, change into gym clothes then head to the gym WITHOUT taking a bath! so sorry na lang sila if maamoy nila ako! haha!) and make sure that I am done @7am (running, machines and taking a shower. So yes, i do take a bath after! :D ) so I will be in school before 730am. BUT I don't do it everyday ha, at the most is 3x a week :) And so far, my personal record is 15min-nonstop running @8kph :)

Just a little backstory on how I started "working out'" ( I still cringe everytime I use this term, hehe) during mornings: When I enrolled in Fitness First 3 months ago, one of the perks is to be able to refund half of what I paid for the starter kit (3 sessions with a trainer) IF I go to the gym at least 8x/month for 3 consecutive months (Feb-Apr). As expected, I barely hit the target and would cram during the last week of each month just to beat the target! And I am happy to say that my attendance shows that I attended 10x in Feb and 8x in March. BUT April proved to be a busy month for me (excuses,excuses!). The first 2 weeks of April were spent with all the preparation (which took up most of my non-teaching periods being a self-confessed OC!) for our kids' 5-day Bali trip which happened last April 15-19. Needless to say, during the first 3 weeks of April I've been been to the gym for 3 TIMES only! So I had to think quick and make sure that I hit the target with barely 10 days left! (Aba e sayang noh! 2 months na akong nagtyaga at nagcram! :D ) Since I was so desperate to refund my money (yes!!! I am becoming a wise spender now!) and this will be a personal failure if I don't make it, I resulted to hitting the gym in the morning before I go to work. And voila, I ended up liking it! :)

photo taken from the web

As expected (being the reflective person that I am! haha!), I had quite a lot of realizations in this whole kailangan-ko-marefund-ang-binayad-ko-kahit-na-mahirapan-ako thingymajingy :)

1) I made the right decision when I moved to Fitness First. Sa wakas!!! Sa dami kong maling desisyon sa buhay e may tumama din! Drama lang! Hahaha! :) Seriously though, I really appreciate that Fitness First is just a 10-15 minute walk away from home. I had a long entry about this here.

2) I have to start sleeping early. Since I have to be awake by (latest)530 in the morning to make sure that I will be at the gym by 6am, I also had to make sure that I have enough rest and sleep the night before. I restrained myself from staying up late (which is most due to dvd marathon of Bones or TVD) and exerted extra effort to have a new bedtime, that is, 10pm. Lola lang ang peg! :D

3) Nothing comes easy. Like what I said, I don't feel any love towards running. Hate is actually more like it. But I also recognize all the benefits that I can get from running so I owe it to myself to give it a try. Just the mere thought of running on a treadmill makes me cringe in a NEGATIVE way. Running is just so tiring for me! However, after the morning runs that I had (hehe, 2 pa lang naman!), I am starting to enjoy it a bit. I am hoping that I will learn to love it soon.

4) It feels good to wake up early. Wow! The wonders of waking up early! The first week was really exhausting. I had to take naps in between my classes to make up for the exhausting feeling. However, as I continued this week (which is my 2nd week), I feel more light now. Well, not light as in lost weight light but in general I do feel light! (I don't know how to put it in words.) Waking up early to hit the gym also gave me time to think things over, reflect-reflect ang drama ko (the gym is more conducive for these things since there's relatively fewer people). It's actually more of alternate of psyching myself (go Len! or naka 10 minutes ka na! or Look oh! 1 km na natatakbo mo ng straight! and so on) and reflecting (what should I do? What am I doing with my life? etc,etc :D)

5) I have the power over myself. I can actually will myself to do something! The other (lazy) part of me will always try to find its way but it actually depends on how badly I want something. If  I want it so bad then I can will myself to do everything in my power to have it. This does not only goes to going to the gym early but it is actually all-encompassing. This basically sums up what I want to do with my life.

Oh di ba! Running lang ito pero ang dami kong nasabi! :D

I hope to be able to post a photo of the slimmer me! Naks! :)

Magnum Cafe : A Safe Haven for Chocolate Lovers

This cafe is one of the most talked about (and a MUST visit) places in Jakarta. Imagine people lining up EVERY SINGLE DAY just to get a serving of their yummy desserts. My friends, Toni and Cess, have had several failed atempts since they were always discouraged upon seeing lots of people already in line.

So yesterday while waiting for them in Grand Indonesia, I decided to try my luck and get us a table. Upon arriving in the area, I already saw people lined up outside the cafe (they already have waiting line/rope outside because this happens everyday). Knowing how impatient I am, this sight should have discouraged me from waiting. However,upon seeing their exterior (design) and all those people happily waiting, I couldn't help but give it a try and decided to just find ways to amuse myself while waiting. Amusing myself included looking around. I would say that I was very pleased with what I saw. The person in charge of the line ( which by the way was very friendly and professional too!) was ready with his clipboard and walkie talkie (this term reminds me of my childhood and our countless roadtrips!). I could say that their system was very efficient. An added bonus was the fact that those people who were waiting with me had no trace of boredom nor impatience. They were happily waiting and preoccupied with taking photos since the exterior designs were to die for and heightens our anticipation! This was when I  realized that I left my digital camera in my (gym)bag that I left in the gym before going to this place. After taking a few blurry and low quality shots using my blackberry, I already accepted that those photos will be of no good to be uploaded anyway so I stopped taking photos and focused on the cafe's exterior designs. Oh, did I mention that my phone did not have signal too? :D

Finally, after waiting for almost 30 minutes outside, I was ushered inside. I felt like a celebrity walking on the red carpet!!! :)

exterior and interior designs

I am not a chocolate lover (I know this will sound weird for most people). Yes, I do eat chocolates but I am not the type who craves for chocolates (I can actually count the very very few times when I craved for chocolates and I won't even be needing my two hands to count!). But not being a chocolate lover does not mean that I don't appreciate them because I do! That's why upon seeing Magnum Cafe and their menu, I immediately know that my chocolate lover friends will have a feast in this place! For a non-chocolate lover like me, just looking at their menu (and the food on the other table, hehe) made me excited to eat and try out their desserts! :)

some of the yummy food that we had

All in all I can say that this was a good experience and I couldn't wait to bring my chocolate-lover friends to this place once they visit here in Jakarta (Oh! And how I wish we have something like this in Manila for all those chocolate lover Pinoys to enjoy!)

Here's the gang :)

 Ces, me, Toni and Cess

Due to my lack of camera and skills in taking photos, all clear and perfect photos are from Cess :)





Choosing a Fitness Routine / Club that Works for You

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT an expert in Fitness. What I will be sharing here are my first-hand experiences. In the event that I sound like I am promoting something, maybe I am because I feel that it is working for me. However, it is not sponsored nor I'm a part owner of it whatsover (how I wish! hahaha!) :D

The desire to have a healthy lifestyle is more important to me now more than ever. Wisdom really comes with age because I'm having a lot of realizations lately! ehem, ehem :D First is the fact that I m not getting any younger. I definitely do not feel old at 28! However, I also don't feel as young as I used to be 10 years ago. Here are some "signs of aging" that I am noticing: 1) I couldn't stay up all day/night long like what I used to do 10 years ago!. Dati when I am cramming for requirements, I can skip sleep the entire night and still be active and fresh the following day. Ngayon e mukha na akong ngarag e iritable pa kapag kulang sa tulog! :D 2) I don't lose weight easily anymore. Before, I just do "after six (6) diet" and stop eating rice for 1 week e kita ko na ang effect, now e hirap hirap ako to lose that 3 kg!

Please don't get me wrong. Believe it or not, I am actually happy with my age now and with the season where I am now. Kasi yun nga, less those "signs" mentioned above e I feel na saktong-sakto ang season ko ngayon :) I believe that I am a LOT wiser now,not necessarily less probolems but more wisdom lang in dealing with them, hehehe :)

Going back to the topic on healthy lifestyle, healthy lifestyle for me means EATING RIGHT and being physically active.I've never been active kahit nung bata ako. Ang active ko na e playing Pinoy games like patintero, piko, moro-moro,etc. I've never been part of a varsity or any sports groups. I do love biking though. But loving it doesn't mean biking everyday. Hindi ko na nga maalala when was the last I actually went biking!

Since I am dedicated (or at least I believe I am) now to live a healthy lifestyle, I have to find ways on being one. I honestly believe those people who say that one does not need to spend a cent to be fit. Kasi nga naman e habang may kalye e merong pwedeng takbuhan! However, this not-spending-for-fitness-mantra did not work for me. In the past, I had few running/jogging sessions along the riverbanks (o di ba? ganda ng view!) and work out sessions with cousins at home (sa sikip ng bahay namin e nagkakasya ang 6-7 girls + 1 kulit pero cute na cute na baby boy!). Sadly, these attempts were not sustained. And so I have to take another course of action.

A few months after I arrived in Jakarta in 2011, I enrolled in my FIRST EVER Fitness Club/ gym (Celebrity Fitness/ CF). Clap, clap for me, right? hehe :) I was doing "well" during the first few months,as in braving the traffic just to get to the gym and diligently attending classes based on the schedule that I prepared. However, laziness got the best worst of me! I stopped attending towards the 3rd quarter of my membership.

Pero dahil nga wise na ako at ang dami ko nang realization, e may natutunan naman ako which I like to share here, thus the title, hahaha! :D

1. Know how determined you are and what your goal is. This for me is the most important thing to consider. You have to know how determined and dedicated you are. For CF, minimum membership is 1 year. For my current gym now (surprise,surprise!), minimum is 3 months (pero syempre fees are higher than 1 year membership). What I am trying to say is that you will really spend for it so you have to get your  hard-earned money's worth! In terms of goal, what do you want? Do you just want to lose weight then stop working out after you achieve your goal or you want this to be your lifestyle? In my case, I sure do want to shed excess pounds BUT this is not my main goal. I have no plans to lose too much weight (I am 5 feet tall and weighs 52 kg) kasi not bagay na din with my body type and shape of my face (I have literally a big head and siopao face!when i lost weight 5 years ago, people were telling me that I looked sad and hindi bagay, so no na to losing too much weight!). My main goal is to tone my muscles and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

2. Accessibility. Ika nga sa kasabihan, kapag gusto may paraan. However, I beg to disagree this time. For beginners like me, accessibility of your chosen gym can actually be a turning point and you might end up wasting your money! Just to give you a background, I enrolled in CF and became a 1-club only member. This means that I can only use 1 club/branch of CF. I chose CF-PIM (Pondok Indah Mall) not because it was the nearest to my place but because I found it complete aka near/inside the mall! This was my biggest mistake! I normally spent 30 minutes - 1 hour (depende pa sa traffic situation sa Jakarta) of travel time just to get to the gym and spent 350 - 500 pesos (for the fare and  food) every time I visit the gym. So as expected (lalo pa at  hindi pa ako ganun kadeterminado), I stopped attending BUT I continue to pay for the monthly fees EVERY MONTH. So yes, it was a total waste of money. Kakahiya talaga sa wallet ko. So for beginners, my advise is to choose a gym that is near your house or work place (if you plan to attend classes right after your work). I believe that the first step for beginners is to form the HABIT so choose what will encourage you. In my case, ang dami kong excuses lalo kapag tamad ako mag gym. ang layo kasi, pagod kasi ako, etc etc. So at least rule out the inconvenience in your list of excuses.

Now that you are determined enough, your goal is clear and you've found a perfect gym for you in terms of accessibililty, let us now discuss the one of the most important (if not the most important) factor to consider.

3. Price. Again I will say that we work hard for the money that we earn so it is just reasonable to be wise about spending. Wag nyo akong tularan na padalos-dalos sa enrollment ko sa CF! (I am not bad mouthing CF ha, I have only good things to say about them, the problems were internal/from me and not with the gym) Nakakahiya talaga! You have to compare prices. Kahit naman gaano kaganda at ilang kembot na lang e nasa gym ka na pero super mahal naman at hindi mo mafford e say NO! You have to start with being honest with yourself. How much are you willing AND able to pay for a gym membership? Note that it has to be an AND. Hindi pwedeng willing ka nga magbayad ng mahal for a very sosyal gym pero hindi mo na naman kayang bayaran and you'll end up loaning money e this is not wise. Remember, as mentioned above, gym membership has a minumum of 3 months - 1 year contract. This means that whether you are using their facilities or not e you will still end up paying the monthly fees unless you have it cancelled (which for most gym requires you to pay cancellation fee if you want to cancel prior to the end of your contract).

Just to share, I used to pay IDR 496,000 per month for my 1-club only membership in CF (hehe, wag pong magulat sa madaming 000, conversation rate is 1,000 IDR/ Indonesian Rupiah = 4 - 4.5 Philippine pesos). So I pay roughly around 2300 pesos per month for my gym membership. Hindi pa kasama dyan ang 350-500 pesos that I mentioned above na I spent for transpo and food EVERYTIME I visit the gym. Magaling naman ako sa Math pero ewan ko ba kung bakit hindi ko yan na compute before I signed up! Malamang e dahil sa sobrang excitement ko yan :(

With my new gym now, I do pay IDR 562,000 per month. Yes, it is more expensive BUT this is an  all-club VIP membership (o di ba? hindi lang all clubs, VIP pa, meaning I can use any of their clubs ALL OVER THE WORLD including Pinas!) O nahuhulaan nyo na ba kung ano ang bagong gym ko? :D Not bad , di ba? :) In terms of transpo, I only spend around IDR 25 000 per visit (yan e kung tinatamad lang ako or matagal ang shuttle , hehe, 10-15 minute lang ang gym sa bahay namin kapag nilakad mo). At since malapit sya, I dont spend much on food kasi nga ilang kembot lang e pwede na akong umuwi at sa bahay kumain. So I can honestly say that mas matipid ito ngayon for me :)

Kung ok na lahat pati budget,e go tayo sa kasunod :)

4. Invite your friends. I honestly think that this is important too. You need to have a support system. The more, the manier este merrier pala :D In case you want to slack off, at least your gym buddy can encourage you to go. The more, the merrier because this lessens the probability that ALL of you will be tamad to go to the gym. Example: if you are 10 in your "gym group",ilang beses bang mangyayari na lahat kayong 10 sabay sabay tatamarin di ba? Well it is possible but I dont think it will happen everyday :) Aside from that, it is nice to have someone to talk to about how much weight you've lost or how much body fat you've lost, etc etc.

And last but definitely not the least,

5. Condition of the gym. When I say condition e lahat lahat na ito. 1) maayos ba? malinis? kumpleto equipment? if you are planning to join classes, do they offer classes that you are interested in? 2) do they have friendly staff? In CF and my new gym now na top secret, haha, they have 3 "free" sessions with personal trainer. First session is to get your weight and all other info and "test" how fit you are. diagnostic kumbaga :) second session and third session are for  exercsises na and they will teach you to use the gym equipment plus answer all your questions. If I were you e I will ask ALL my questions kasi after nito e you have to avail of your sessions with personal trainer which is really expensive! Kaya until now e urong-sulong ako sa pagkuha ng PT dahil may kamahalan talaga sya!

I am very lucky now that my new gym has very friendly staff :) as in kakausapin ka at lalapitan ka lalo kapag medyo obvious na hindi mo alam / mali ang ginagawa mo :D So super plus points ito for me! And lastly, 3) Is the gym encouraging you to do your best? I mean, dapat sana e yung pag papasok ka pa lang e magaan na ang feeling mo :) ang panget kasi ng feeling na you dread going to the gym e :(


I hope the tips mentioned above helped you in any way. Like what I said, if working out for free (running, weights at home, etc) works well for you then good for you. May workout ka na at tipid pa :) But for those people who need encouragement and push just like me, enrolling in a gym is not a bad idea either :) It may cost you but being healthy is priceless (and is proven to be cheaper in the long run) and besides we have to invest on ourselves.

Lastly, pag-isipan mabuti at wag padalos-dalos at magpa peer pressure na dahil lahat ng friends mo e nag gym or kasi uso or kasi sosyal tignan, you have to do it for the right reasons and the MAIN reason is that you should be doing it for YOURSELF.

Here's to a healthier us! :)

Anyway, here is my top secret new gym na hindi na secret ngayon :p

Image of Fitness First Platuinum is from the web

(bawal daw kasi to take pictures, sayang!)