This Conversation

The hubby and I were in a discussion yesterday of how our eating habits have drastically changed or rather how we decided to change our eating habits. If before chips and soda were a staple in our kitchen, now, vegetables and lean meats take their place. Of course we do enjoy a bit of blueberry cheesecake maybe once or twice a month, but our bodies and minds have adapted to this new and better homeostasis we decided to create. I emphasize the word "decide" here to signify that the positive changes we have seen now  did not come out loftily. It was an everyday willful and conscious act on our part. Every time we held food and drinks to our mouths we asked ourselves, "Will this sustenance give us long-term benefits or will this only give us a temporary high?" 

Aside from nutrition change, we decided to become fitter and  stronger by doing CrossFit. As with our nutrition overhaul, everyday that we find ourselves slacking off in doing workouts, we remind ourselves, "Everyday we decide not to sit on our asses is a day we give ourselves a fighting chance to live a day longer and stronger." 

More importantly becoming fitter and stronger physically has significantly impacted our brain's executive functioning. We think and work more efficiently. In my case, the length of time planning out student activities have been cut into half from how long I use to achieve it before. Also, I am able to act on the fly in dealing with various situations that require an immediate change of plans, whether it's dealing with parents in school, mentoring teachers or handling students.

Many have remarked how much different I look now, how slimmer I am and how my body has turned into this and that, what persistence and courage I have to pursue and withstand the pain and intensity of CrossFit. And every time I hear them say these things,  I wish we had enough time to talk about all that I have written here. But there never seems to be enough time. Or at least there never seems to be enough time for me to convince them to decide to make better choices in eating habits and exercise.

The decision to change  after all is highly personal and largely depends on one's motivation. 

So why am I writing this post along with a photo of me taken October 2013 (left) and December 2014 (right), before and after I decided to overhaul my eating habits and be more active by doing CrossFit? 

One, to generate, not "likes" but to welcome and encourage a positive discussion and continuous discourse on the very thing I am bent on sharing especially to people who matter to me, friends and family-- the love of not just CrossFit, but fitness and health. Let's start with our motivations. Mine has always been my boys, Garret and Morgan. What's yours? 

Two, perhaps in the process of discourse, I can convince just one or two people to start rethinking their lives in the way they feed themselves and in the way they treat their bodies and their minds.

Finally, I am writing this to affirm and celebrate how far I have come in terms of nutrition and health. I  eat better now. I am healthier now. I am stronger now, physically and mentally. This is not to say that the work on myself is done. It never is. While I do not and will never strive for perfection, I do aim for progression onwards to the fulfillment of my ultimate genetic and psychological potential. I work on myself constantly to bring out the best of my humanity, to be more human. Because isn't this the reason why we are given this one life?

Whoever you are reading this, whether we are acquaintances, friends or family, I do want you to be healthier, stronger, better. Because when you become healthier, stronger, a better person, the people around you, friends and family will hopefully be inspired to better themselves, our community then becomes better. So when that happens, slowly but surely, our world will become better. And who wouldn't want that? 

So let's have this conversation. Because this is where change begins, when we begin to talk openly about things. Things that do matter-- Fitness, health, living the life we are meant to live.  Or we can talk about clothes, a great selection of basic dresses, for starters, if that's your primary motivation to start having an active life, so you can fit into clothes you would like to wear. You matter. Tell me what you think.

"Investing on yourself is the best investment you will ever make. It will not only improve your life. It will also improve the lives of all those around you." - Robin S. Sharma

Life is Short

"Ang Crossfit maka pa batan-on diay no?" (Crossfit does make you look younger.) This was the remark a fellow autism mom made to me last week. It has been two months since we last saw each other. It took her awhile to recognize me. I smiled and said ,"Yes and thank you," as graciously as I could.

Yes, Crossfit does make one look younger and so much more. I started doing Crossfit in our garage of June this year, took my elements classes in Crossfit Pintados Cebu in July.  The positive changes in my body and mind are the consequences of my decision to change many things in the way I live my life-- for starters, the way I eat.  I've decided to select more wisely the kinds of food I've been feeding myself. I've decided to end the denial that sodas and sugared beverages does more harm than good to my body. I've decided to accept the fact that while they give me instant gratification, the long term effects are detrimental. I don't need to watch the various demonstrations on YouTube how one brand of soda is used to clean toilets and remove vehicle rust. 

Nutrition and exercise in whatever form go together. All the time. Nutrition is the foundation. It doesn't matter how often you exercise, how many miles you walk or ride your bike or Zumba your ass off. If you feed your body junk, the effort you put in burning those calories will be junked as well.

I've gone down two dress sizes. But I haven't weighed myself. I don't weigh myself. The dress sizes pretty much speaks for itself. Besides, it's not the pounds shed that I am after. Contrary to what most people who do not know me believe, I'm not doing CrossFit so I can wear a size 3 or 4. And I am not sharing this to rub in the idea of me slimming down. 

I am sharing this to spread the word that we can do better in the way we eat, in the way we go through our daily routines, in the way we move, in the way we love and care for our family. We can do better. As Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, Reebok CrossFit Games 2014 Fittest Woman on Earth has so eloquently said, "We just need to make one better decision every single day."

No, I am not saying you should do Crossfit. Because not everybody can handle it. And that's fine. There are certainly other ways to be healthy.

But we have to make the decision to make one better decision every day. Does that make sense? Decide to decide. And then establish our "why". Come up with a deeply-rooted answer. "So I can wear a bikini and rock the jeans I wore before I got married"  and the like does not count as deeply-rooted. Sorry. It just doesn't. We can do better than that.

Do what needs to be done. Stop procrastinating. Life is short. Three days ago was exactly one year since that massive earthquake in Bohol.  In less than a month, it will be the one year since Typhoon Haiyan/ Yolanda. Life is short. Do not forget what it felt like when the winds ripped everything apart. Do not forget how our lives can be taken from us in a split second. Do not forget. Remember what is precious in your heart. Do what needs to be done.

Trust the process. All else will follow.