Let's Live Healthy!

Coach Jim Saret of the biggest loser in partnership with Nestle Philippines is conducting another fitness boot camp in BGC.  Schedule is M-W-F, 6:30pm to 8:00pm.  They actually started yesterday, but anyone interested can still register.  The program will run only for 5 weeks, June 25 to July 27.

Anyone interested can register online, or you can visit us in the Milo Apex running clinic in BGC in front of R.O.X/Starbucks (T-Th-S, same time) or the Fitfil Boot camp MWF same place.

Registration fee is just 1000 pesos. (sobrang mura na talaga to!)

They also have a special rate for groups that companies can avail of. Email fitfilipinomovement@gmail.com for inquiries on how to process your payment for this.

10 persons at P9000 (P900 per person)

20 persons at P17000 (P850 per person)

Let's all live healthy!!!!

R.I.C.E

I woke up last Friday morning feeling swollen and pain is everywhere, I had several field call schedules on that day so I needed to still drive up to Carmona when suddenly my head became so light halfway to my destination. I thought I just needed some fresh air so I rolled down my windows, felt better for a while but the light-headedness is still there.  I opted to stop in Petron Gas Station although Shell Station is the nearest one in SLEX going South Bound because I wanted to grab my breakfast in Mcdonald's... unfortunately, Mcdo is still under renovation and left my choices to Pancake House and Starbucks... I just didn't have the appetite to eat heavy breakfast so I had no other choice but to grab a Bagel butter w/ strawberry jam and Hot Choco in Starbucks instead.  I rested my head for a while because I couldn't eat my breakfast yet.  I didn't want to risk driving on that state for I know I am not a pro driver and accident can happen anytime.  I spent several minutes inside the car assessing if I can already drive or not still resting in my reclined front seat.  


Finally, I left the gas station past 8am feeling better and reached my destination.  I took my breakfast in our Carmona office and felt even better.  I attended one meeting and decided to cancel my other schedules in General Trias and Rosario Cavite, safety first!


I spent the whole morning in Carmona and still assessing if I could drive back to our office in Makati.  The doctor luckily visited the plant and I was able to consult her on my situation.  I still don't have fever when she checked me out, but have told me several reasons why I was like that:


1. Over-fatigue
2. Lack of sleep
3. Or, I'm pregnant?...  I WISH!!!


She then recommended me to take 1000mg Vitamin C with Zinc and advised that I should take Vitamin C everyday since I am stressing myself 4 times a week with heavy training and running.  She also advised me to take a rest, as in REST and not do anything for the rest of the day and on the weekend.  As if I can do that and file half day SL, sayang!... i was still hard-headed and went back to office instead of home.  I did felt better when I was in the Makati Office, and actually, no one noticed I was feeling sick that time.  I guess I still have the same energy level and with the body I have? everyone thinks I am healthy as a Carabao.


I had a scheduled uphill training the next day but I advised the coach that I'm taking a day off.  Surely then, on weekend, I spent my whole day in bed feeling feverish Saturday and recovered on Sunday.  


Until now, I'm still feeling the pain in my calves and sheen, so I needed to do the R.I.C.E. (got it from one of the coaches in Milo Running Clinic):


As a runner we should know R.I.C.E


R – REST
I – ICE 
C- COMPRESS
E – ELEVATE




REST - We almost forgot about this, no wonder my body is starting to rally against my activities.

ICE and COMPRESS - I didn't know when to use the ice or Hot compress before.  I actually don't do it after every training because I am feeling exhausted and all I wanted to do is just to SLEEP.  Cold compress should be done within 24 hours of training to prevent swelling of muscles, afterwards  use the Hot compress to allow normal blood flow.

ELEVATE -  Elevating the legs is always helpful to relax the tensed muscles.
It always starts with R -Rest and have a proper sleep if not per day at least once a week

I learned my lessons now.
(1) Rest is always important
(2) too much can do more harm than good 
(3) know when to stop 
(4) Allow the body to adapt, heal and recover.

Gastronomic Daddy's Day Special

I couldn't compose blogs this past few days because of the busy schedule from work and from my trainings, so here again a late post for the happenings last father's day.

...I wasn't able to look for anything to give my dad since he is not really fond of material things, I remember giving him ipod before for I know he loves music but then when he went back to work, his workmate bought it from him before he left for home again, i know how boring their lives in the ship so maybe his workmate did asked my dad for something to listen to to even pay for it twice the price.  I bought him Lacoste rubber shoes but I can't recall now if he even wore it, bought him some random shirts and pants but my dad always has his favorites, he goes for Plain shirts and the ever Levi's 501 pants.  I just know he did like the Ray-ban sunglasses boyfriend gave him last year, i saw him using it for several times now.

For the father's day I thought of just dining in somewhere.  But since I was again busy on the week before the occasion, I wasn't able to reserve any place.  I tried calling restaurants saturday morning, unfortunately all of them are fully booked.  I came across the Tong Yang restaurant and learned that they already have branches in Makati and in Malate inside the Diamond Hotel.  Of course, Tong Yang in Malate area is more nearer our place so I tried calling it first.  The phone just kept on ringing so i tried the Makati branch.  I learned from the receptionist that they already closed the Malate branch and will be opening one in Robinsons Ermita soon.  Luckily, the Makati Branch still can accomodate 10 pax and was able to reserve us for 6pm.

Tong Yang is a Shabu-shabu and Bbq Restaurant serving more than 100 types of different meats, vegetables and desserts.  We only paid 585Php per pax and we had a feast!

Happy Father's Day papa!

8 Health Reasons You Should Never Skip Breakfast

I came across this post in facebook while doing "petiks" after a meeting.  I thought of sharing this very good information to everyone...

8 Health Reasons You Should Never Skip Breakfast

Breakfast is a very important part of our diet. If you are in habit of skipping your breakfast, here are some very important reasons why you should not.


Break-the-fast, after going hours without food you, finally get up in the morning and need lots of energy to kick start the day. Only breakfast can provide you with this energy.


If you’re of those who’re still not having your breakfast, now is the time to change that habit. Here are some extremely important reasons why!


Why you should never avoid breakfast


1. Breakfast improves your metabolism:
Your blood sugar level drops down in the morning. You need food that can provide you energy to get through the morning. Body needs fuel to keep it running and the night is the longest gap in the refuelling process. To make sure your metabolism keeps on going you need to have something within 2 hours of waking up.


2. Keeps you on track if you’re looking to lose weight:
Researchers have found that those who eat breakfast tend to maintain and lose weight. Though people skip breakfast in the hope of losing weight they tend to eat more during lunch or even choose unhealthier options later on which results into weight gain.


3. Helps to maintain insulin response:
Skipping meals leads to a hyper insulin response when calories are consumed later on. That means the level of insulin in blood is more than the glucose level which can lead to metabolic disorder. This in turn results in to fat accumulation.


4. Helps perform better at work/school:
Hungry employees and students don’t do any good at work/school. When you are hungry you are irritable and disinterested which reflects on your work too. Breakfast helps you to wake up and makes you attentive.


5. Burns those calories early:
If you have breakfast you can burn those calories early! How is that? Well, instead of going hungry till lunch and then hogging on something loaded with calories with fewer hours left in the day to burn it consider refuelling yourself early and getting enough time to burn those calories.


6. Aids in setting a good example:
If you have kids, you always want to set a good example for them. By having breakfast on time you will show the quality of leadership by example.


7. Gets you your essential nutrients first thing in the morning:
There are food which we have only as a part of our breakfast like cereals, fruits and milk. If you bypass your breakfast you might never get those nutrients.


8. Skipping breakfast can make you grumpy:
Oh yes! If you have been skipping breakfast and are in bad mood, you probably should know why. Not having breakfast makes you grouchy. You might not even realise it and keep wondering why you’re so irritable!


Apart from all these reasons to have your breakfast there are few things you should always keep in mind:
• Never have dessert for breakfast, it will cause blood sugar loss later on and you will be tempted to eat even more.


• Read the labels carefully, even if it says ‘nutritious’ look into the details and understand if your body needs that kind of food to start the day.


Stay full, stay happy!

Wishes for my dad

Have been inspired by the post of Em of Akira and Everything Nice about 50 rules for dads of daughters.  I was so touched on how Akira and his dad bond together.  So I thought of creating one for my dad as well...


...I wish my dad saw us while we were growing up.

...I wish I was holding his hands during the times I was not feeling well.

...I wish my dad walked up us in the stage as we receive our medals every end of school years.

...I wish my dad thought me how to tie knots because I didn't learn knotting during the girls scout


...I wish he was there every time I cry because I didn't normally receive any gift from my Ninong and Ninang during Christmas.


...I wish we have more pictures together

...I wish he was always there during my birthdays

...I wish he scared my boyfriend when I first introduced him

...I wish I had a dance with him on my 18th birthday

...I wish I can recall moments like those of Akira with my dad, but seems his urge to give us a better life limited our moments together.

Regardless of those wishes, I cherish every moment when he is with us...

...I love when he cooks for us especially the midnight snacks

...I love pretending I ate all the food served in my plate just to get the money posted in the door as a price for eating more every time.

...I love him even if he cut our hair into his "Barbie Style" haircut.  *Barbie Style is a shorter version Dora the explorer hairstyle.  We were all so thin then and he was telling us that the nutrients are going to our hair, so we need to keep it shorter.

...I love the times when he was bringing us to the beach, taught us how to swim and went home all so tan.

...I love when we just walk in the park at night and buy burgers in Frank's burger, each of us sipping coke in the plastic.

...I love every time he tells my mom to let us play with our toys.  *My mom wants to always keep our dolls in her China Cabinet.

...I love him when he tried to teach us Karate so we can defend ourselves. *My dad was a Karate Black Belter by the way

...I love his humor

...I love him when he went with me during the enrollment in college, wearing the all so proud dad look, like the rest of the parents waiting for us freshmen to finish the queue and especially love him when he was able to attend my college graduation and still wore the same all so proud dad look.

...I love hearing him so proud of our achievements

...I love him when he went with me to have a 2nd opinion when my medical said I have something in my breast 6 years ago but gratefully it was just excess fats. #scary moment

...I love him when he asked the nurse to call the doctor to do the dextrose installation instead when I was last confined due to asthma attack 3 years ago.  I saw the  pain in his face when he saw me crying behind the pillows after the 8th try of the nurse and still couldn't do it right.

............I have all the pages to write all the things I love about my dad but I know I am already boring you...  I just can't thank him enough on all the sacrifices he made for us all.... We love him so much and now he's about to retire, we now have a chance to show him our love everyday.

...It's our time to let him feel special so we gave him a gastronomic treat for the father's day.  Will tell you the details in another post.

Also check out my other post to know why I am a certified daddy's girl.

Lunch Time - Past Time

While spending my lunch time alone trying to convince myself to open my laptop and work while everyone is having very interesting conversation with their lunch dates... I tried browsing the net and looked for something to read.  I found this novel "The Host" which I read 2 to 3 years ago has almost done with all the shots for the movie.  Wow! Steph, the author of the bestselling Twilight Series, must be so lucky to have all her books played in the screen.

Among all her books, "The Host" is my favorite.   The story, the twist, the characters, they were all amazingly written.  You might be thinking this is another alien story, yes, the hosts are aliens invading the human bodies like in the Men In Black Movies.   The hosts can hop into one body to the other and will try to control over the mind of the human beings.   The twist started when Wanda (the soul/the alien), hopped into the body of Melanie and she couldn't control her and fell in love to the man in Melanie's memory.  I just love how Steph instilled the hope to the main characters even though they suffered enough pain and troubles just to find the man they both love.

Synopsis

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away.

Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.

When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves—Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.

Anyway, I probably shared that I got hooked on the Twilight series before, but found the movies so-so.  I just hope that "The Host" movie will capture the closest possible emotions that was written in the novel.

Lunch time is over.... need to go back to work :)

Bag of Beans - Tagaytay

Had read enough from my birthday celebration last May? ... I know, I know! it's already June but I'm not through yet with all the happenings from last month.

... After my mini party at my sister's house in Betterliving, my brother in law was busy preparing for his departure going back to Tagaytay, for he was recently assigned to be reporting in their office's tagaytay branch.  He will not be bringing his car for we will be using it for the Friday's family outing, so he planned to leave early to commute going up to the Highlands.  My dear boyfriend and I volunteered to drive him to his office and my sister hopped along with us.

It was an unplanned trip so we had no plan going anywhere but to go straight to our destination and just grab a meal on our way.  Then, I remember that I always wanted to try BAG OF BEANS but the resto is always full of people everytime we wanted to dine in.  I was lucky that day I guess because there were only few diners and we were able to get the best seat.

The resto seems like a small store when viewed from the outside, but when you go inside, there's a stairs going down to the main resto and you will be surprised of how classy and huge the area is.   Pardon me for not arranging the pictures well... but I guess I will be sharing our experience through pictures again.

View from the outside

I'm always fond of pretty stairs but I'm really not good on walking in them.  

I ordered sausages and mashed potatoes, my sister had a porkchop and both my boyfriend and brother in law had the beef steaks? (sorry, i'm not sure how it's called, :P)... The prices are ranging from 150 to 300 pesos only and you can get the value of your money to the delicious food on their menu.

We were all full from the food that we ordered but we still had the banana split for dessert.  There were only few customers during that time but we hardly got the attention of the crews everytime we want to order or needed their service, we were not in a hurry anyway so we found no problem of the slow service since we were stationed not very visible to the crews' whereabouts.

Dessert - Banan Split

The place has different ornaments that made the place into a beautiful place.

Lights made of scrapped bottles

A lamp behind the big roots beside the stairs

 Bag of Beans is one of the best resto in Tagaytay, it's a must try. :D

Cafe Lidia

Another great restaurant that we discovered over a month ago is Cafe Lidia located in one of the streets in Kalumpang Marikina.  The food is great, the plating and presentations are pro like you are eating in a fine dining restaurant, the service is excellent and the price is very affordable.   The restaurant have a beautiful ambiance and is actually huge where parties can be held upstairs.

Cafe Lidia's Menu, they also serve coffee and blends

Mini-falls?

A view from our table is an extension of the original restaurant

And you can't leave without tasting their cakes.  They are superb!

It's never too late for summer

It's been a while since I last posted my blog, my busy schedule since last week won't permit me to create one.  I will still be busy this week and I should be preparing for our upcoming event in SMX, but here I am again tempted to compose another blog.

Anyway, I just attended two outings from my two groups last week.. one for my business and one for the technical group, No need to elaborate on the groupings, just absorb that I belong to two groups in our company, ok?  There were lots of activities so I hope I've got to share our fun through pictures:

Our business group left Manila early morning of Wednesday and met at Petron SLEX for breakfast in Pancake House.

Breakfast in Pancake House

After breakfast, we traveled around 2.5 hours before reaching Lago de oro Beach Club in Calatagan Batangas.  Lago de Oro is a cable ski park and resort and is famous for wakeboarding activities nearest to the metro until we learned that they have opened another one at the Solenad 2 located in Nuvali in Sta. Rosa Laguna which is way nearer to the metro .  Our organizers might have not known this new place earlier, so we still needed to drive several hours just to reach the place.

I found this picture from their website and it says the first cable wakeboarding park in the Philippines, i'm not really sure about this but as far as I know, CWC (Camsur Watersports Complex) in Camarines Sur was the first wakeboarding park in the Philippines.

I tried not to do the wakeboarding at first since I still have my leg injury due to running, but I can't really say no to the team.

This is not actually my first time to experience wakeboarding.
I have tried it in CWC 2 years back 

Looks like a pro?

Boink! I didn't even reach half of the beginners lake.  hahaha!  

I can still recall that the instructor in CWC almost gave up on me before I did cross the lake.  So I didn't push my luck here in Lago de Oro.  I just accepted that Wakeboarding is not my thing.  The guys enjoyed skiing and tried it to the actual wakeboarding area while us girls enjoyed the swimming pool.  I believe no one's gotta finish 1 loop and then the operation was stopped due to the lightning.  In fairness to Lago de Oro, they have lightning detector that measures the distance of the lightning to the area.  When it reached a certain distance and became hazardous, the management decided to stop the operation.  Safety first!

So then, we left for lunch and dined it at Kainan sa Dalampasigan in Nasugbo Batangas.  It seems like a resto in a forest when you enter the place going to the parking area, there were lots of areas wasted that can be converted into beautiful gardens, sayang!  

The food is really good though and our hungry tummy consumed all the food in no time. ^_^ 

Mini falls and the roots falling out from the roof made the feel of a forest in the resto.

After then, we again drove to Cita's Resort in Tagaytay to rest and stay overnight.  Cita's garden was one of my choices to spend my birthday before, I have to say the this place is more smaller than the Wooden Bridge Resort.   The problem with the place is the limited restroom.  Since we are only 3 girls, we had our own room upstairs and no restroom available for us but the common restroom outside.  Lucky for the boys they had their own restroom which is more wider and cleaner, so we girls needed to control our liquid intake just to limit our use of restroom because everytime we need to use it, we needed to pass through all the boys beds before reaching the restroom.  It's really a hassle for us girls, huh!

For dinner, we dined it at The Boutique Hawaiian Bar-b-que.  The place is so cozy and we girls just loved the restroom.   

Grilled chicken with mango dip
(don't really know how they call this dish but the taste is good)

I can't comment any further, I really can't recall how it tasted I just know I love the grilled pineapples.



And of course, videoke galour!

The videoke King and Queen - Chris and Cheska

Kwento magdamag

Poker Boys

Cheska for her final farewell to the group.
She's not leaving the company by the way and is just transferring to other group.
This leaves us to only 2 girls in the group.
She's our baby, very down to earth, jolly and excels in what she does.
We will surely miss her around.


This is just the first day and with my business group, I still had activities for my other group the next day.  Isn't it tiring?... naaah!!!!  It was definitely FUN!