I started regularly hitting the gym in the latter part of 2010 after having stopped smoking cigarettes earlier that year. I made the decision to stop eating red meat in February 2011 and now eat a largely vegetarian diet, with the occasional poultry and seafood. I stopped drinking alcohol other than red wine. I do Zumba and Pilates a couple of times a week, practice yoga at home and recently started poi dancing.
Yes, I am proud of this. There are few things in my life that I can honestly say that about, and this is one of them. Not because it’s making my tops fit better or because I am slowly chiseling away the roll of fat that had been growing on my abdomen for years, but because I know that it has taken so much discipline and willpower.
My decision to live a healthier lifestyle for the past 2 years has been met with different reactions from the people around me: encouragement, skepticism, disbelief, mockery, even hostility. You would not believe the number of people who make fun of me or even get openly angry when they find out I no longer eat lechon or steak or burgers (which I still miss every day). It’s as if they think me living my life a certain way is a judgment on theirs. It’s not. It’s my own personal decision and I don’t regret it one bit.
Healthy living doesn’t happen overnight and it’s not easy. It’s a difficult decision that I have to make every day and many times I still fail. I sometimes grab some fries for a snack or indulge in some ice cream, sometimes even pinch off a single bite of lumpia (I recently also got the idea to have one burger every 1.5 years, LOL), and you know what, that’s ok. Because at least I now see those things as occasional indulgences rather than as a part of my regular diet.
2 years ago, as a sedentary, junk-food-eating smoker I couldn’t go up one flight of stairs without getting sweaty, winded or having to pull myself up with the railing, or run for more than 1 minute at a time. I would get cramps while climbing into an SUV or while bending over to pick up a pencil. My weight had been yoyo-ing between my starvation diets (all-time low of 118 lbs) and times of laziness (all-time high of 148 lbs) for 5 years.
I am 5’3", I currently weigh 134 lbs and I wear a US dress size 8. I am nowhere near skinny but I have finally brought my weight down to a normal BMI. I can now run up several flights of stairs without having to catch my breath. I can now bend sideways to pick something up off the floor without getting a cramp in my side. I can now run for 30 minutes straight. My resting heart rate is much lower, I can carry heavier things and my balance is better. Not everyone may see it, but I know these last 2 years of work have not been in vain.
People tell me that my lifestyle takes away many things that make life great; all I can say is that it has given me so many things that make everyday living better.
And yes, I am proud of that.
