Fitness and Health Talk

     Fitness and health probably tops the list of the toughest challenges many people, myself included, has to struggle with at one point or another.  In fact, I hear individuals constantly talk about fitness but has never gotten round to doing it.  There are those who started going to the gym, and then eventually lost interest because they lack the motivation or has become impatient for not seeing any result.  That's how tough it really is.  Well, for most of us at least.

The Times

     We are in an age of technological revolution and fitness is one to benefit from these advancements.  The Internet alone is rich in resources and contains plenty of effective weight loss tips that's within our reach in a click of a button.  The tougher task now is to finally decide when to start and why.

     The first step I took when I finally decided to start my road to fitness is to find my motivation.  I looked around and observed.  The happier, more confident people are those who are fit, healthy and lives a balanced life.  And when I look at older people, the ones who enjoy life better are those who've spent extra effort during their younger years to be fit and healthy as well.  I then told myself, this is who I wanna become.  This is an investment I have to put effort on so that I can live my present and make the future, well, just better I suppose.  Deciding to be fit and healthy is an effort I have to do for myself and for the people I care for.

In Macau, year 2005 and straight from college
with a beer belly.  My old out-of-shape self.

The Past

     I was not exactly overweight but there was once a point when I needed to lose weight, and I needed to lose weight fast!  I was wearing size 36 pants six years ago and fortunately wearing huge pants that time was among the cool things for guys like me.  But I don't see myself going back to my old out-of-shape self because I have a full understanding now of the benefits of being fit, being healthy and now I know how to keep myself that way.  I may falter at times, but I know that it will be easy for me to get back on track because it's a goal I've set for myself.

The Challenge

Just wanna share with you some of the things I have learned:

1. Find your REASON for wanting to be fit and develop a positive attitude towards it.  Along with the attitude is the self discipline and the motivation to stay focused on the goal.  This is probably the hardest but when we have the right reason, this part becomes the easiest.


2. READ. Be informed.  Magazines, books and the Internet are among the many resources at your disposal.  There are many effective fast weight loss programs available, and you can decide which one will work for you.  Read testimonials from satisfied clients, you have nothing to lose except probably tons of baby fats.





November 2010, I'm not exactly in tip-top shape
but I can sport any look I want.

3. Eat a BALANCED MEAL and enjoy thoroughly your food by chewing it well.


1. Eat your meals on time and eat in moderation for a healthy metabolism.  The ideal is to eat every 3 hours.  Skipping meals or longer period between meals can slow down metabolism.  Slower metabolism means you getting fat in shorter time because your body does not burn calories as fast as it needs to.


2. Eat vegetables and fruits of all sorts!  They have the nutrients our body needs and are made mostly of water so they're non-fattening and they make us feel full without the guilt.


3. Cook your food right.  Boiling will leech out important nutrients from vegetables, and steaming for too long destroys some of the vital antioxidant compounds within vegetables such as Sulforaphanes in cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower.  Light steaming for 2-3 minutes is the best way to cook our food.


4. Reduce intake of unhealthy fats -- saturated and particularly trans fat are known to increase cholesterol levels.  Thus, limit consumption of processed and fatty foods, choose low fat dairy products when you can, and trim any excess fat from meat and skin from poultry before cooking.  Use healthy fats when cooking such as olive oil, canola oil and grapeseed oil and replace butter or margarine with avocado and flaxseed oil.


5. Add fibre and whole grains to your diet -- oats, barley, quinoa, beans and lentils, nuts, and seeds and fruits.


4. Sip on WATER.  Yeah, this is old news but it's been proven that even slight dehydration slows down metabolism.  We gotta take care of our metabolism.


5. EXERCISE regularly!


1. Include physical activity in your routine.  If you can walk to go someplace, then walk.  If you can clean your room, then do so.  Help around the house a bit.  And here's something I learned from my dad:  use your negative energy to do something positive.  If my dad is mad at someone, he does chores around the house to release the negative stuff.  He feels better afterwards.


2. Find a buddy who shares the same fitness interest, makes workout more enjoyable and it becomes your bonding time.


3. Monitor your progress.  When I see I'm improving, I become more and more motivated.


6. Rest well.  Get enough hours of SLEEP and discipline yourself to go to bed and wake up at regular times on a daily basis.


7. CONSULT a professional.  Ask your doctor or your personal trainer.  These people spent years studying health and fitness, there's no reason why you can't trust them.

2011, almost 2 weeks ago.  I wanna keep my lean build
and maybe build some muscles a bit.  Still a work in progress.

     Being fit means we're healthy.  And if we're healthy, we live longer, we enjoy life better.  If we understand this simple reason well enough, we don't need to reach that point when it's already too late for us to decide being healthy.

     I'm far from my goal of being fit, my fitness journey is still far from over.  But I'm glad that I've decided to take the challenge and I hope that you guys will take it too.

     Thanks for reading!  Until my next post.
tags: how to motivate yourself to be healthy and fit, reasons for deciding to be healthy, how to be healthy and fit