I don't have any sports, not even volleyball. I've surrendered to the fact that I can never be in musical theater because of the two leftest feet you've ever seen. I find myself gasping after swimming just 50 meters. I've never caught a ball thrown at me, ever. If I could have flunked high school because of P.E., I probably would have. Even my posture is something Inay has to correct everytime she sees me.
But last April 4, I got my first physical recognition ever: 6th place in our office-wide weight loss contest, having lost 25 pounds, or 13.7% of my starting weight, over 90 days. I won an iPod Nano for it. Hooray for me!
I lost 25 pounds in three months, and all I have to show for it is an iPod Nano.My consolation: I sold it at a higher price than SRP. Hahaha, thanks Cathy. :-p
The weight-loss contest was something our HR group launched last January, to promote "wellness" -- or, to put it simply, there were just too many fat people in the office already. The 15 people with the highest percentage weight loss come April 4 would win prizes.
Even before the contest was announced, I had already resolved to lose weight. P&G veterans talk about the "Freshman 15" -- the 15 pounds you gain in your first year. I myself ballooned after entering, thanks to the loads of stress and loads of food, and hardly any time and energy to exercise. I stopped weighing myself after reaching my freshman 15 -- I wasn't doing anything about it anyway, so what was the point? -- but I still kept gaining weight. And last November, I started getting chest pains, shortness of breath, and worst of all, my clothes wouldn't fit anymore. (Only when I weighed-in for the contest last January did I learn that I had already gained over 20 pounds since joining the company. Horrors!)
These were taken in Boracay, during the 2007 Christmas holidays --
a few days before the diet started,
and at the peak of my weight gain. They're funny now.
But I shudder imagining myself taking off my shirt at the beach during that trip.
That did it. Health and fashion -- plus the knowledge I would soon be moving to a new assignment which required me to look good -- meant I had damn better start getting in shape. I started on January 1, even before the contest was announced.
It started with a diet. The easy parts were: no rice (I'm more of a bread and pasta person anyway); no softdrinks (I've never been a softdrinks person); and no alcohol (I never touch beer, and wine and other drinks are a social thing). The tougher parts were: no fast food (I came from eating Big Mac meals thrice a week); no iced tea, unless brewed (I was one of those suckers who thought iced tea was a health drink, and one of those idiots who tried to maximize payout on bottomless iced tea by refilling my glass five times); and worst of all, no dessert, no sweets, no cookies (this was a killer, especially the frappuccinos, the banana smoothie, and the cookies). In retrospect, it wasn't that difficult. Except for cookies, I was still able to eat most of the stuff I love -- sandwiches, pasta, pizza, noodles; Italian, Thai, Malaysian, Japanese, Mediterranean food; and of course, yum yum, water.
Second thing was to start working out. To hell with working nights and working on weekends. There were more important things. So there came my Norma Desmond moment of stepping back into the gym -- yes, everything was as if we never said goodbye -- five times a week for two-hour workouts including 50 minutes of cardio. It's not so bad as long as you're listening to the right music. Hairspray, Wicked, and a bunch of a cappella tracks kept me occupied.
And the clincher was something I had been curious about for over a year, but never had the guts to try. Well, in my desperation, now was the best time for Bikram Yoga, which is 90 minutes of yoga in a heated room (http://www.bikramyogamanila.com). I found out on my first session that it was about more than just a heated room. Unlike the new age, dimly-lit, meditation-centric Hatha Yoga I had done two years ago, Bikram Yoga was like going through CAT all over again. The room was fully lit, the heat and the intensity of the routine had you dripping sweat like a faucet, teachers would bark orders, and they would call out your name when you'd screw up. (Eg., Betty the Thai teacher: "Shuck in yoh sshtomach, Paulo! Touch yoh foh-head to yoh knee ev-y-bah-dee! Ken!! Ish that yoh foh-head, Ken?! Tha'sh not yoh foh-head, Ken!!") Several times, I found myself wanting to collapse, or puke, or just die.
Bikram Yoga's "standing bow-pulling pose."
I'm still along way off from the perfecting the pose (that's teacher Betty at right)
but believe me, I've already made HUGE progress vs when I'm started.
But the masochist inside me kept me going back for more. After my introductory week, I signed up for a month, and then another month. After all, the weight loss was tangible, I saw my performance in class improving slowly but steadily, I felt great, and I was doing once unimaginable things like touching my forehead (foh-head!) to my knees. I loved it so much, that when I thought I'd stop Bikram for a while and just focus on the gym, I couldn't help but sign up for Bikram again after just a week (this time it was another studio in Greenhills, http://www.bikramyoga.ph, cheaper by around 20%).
So there. Today, I'm 25 pounds lighter, half my clothes are too big, and the other half of my clothes are resurrected from my pre-P&G days. For winning 6th place, I got an iPod Nano and sold it to an officemate for P8k -- it hardly made up for what I spent on Bikram Yoga, but who cares? The contest was just a bonus. More important is that I feel great and my clothes fit again. And even after winning, I'm still watching what I eat (though I might give myself one dessert a week soon), working out (I'll need to find a new soundtrack soon, Hairspray's wearing thin), and doing Bikram Yoga (maybe one day I'll actually be able to perfect that standing split).
Me and Anama on the day of the win. Anama won 11th place (I think),
but more importantly, was one of only three girls to place in the top 15.
I think I have a big ass in this photo. Anama thinks I'm developing an eating disorder.
Hahaha. Go Top Model!
The Care Bears used to say, "You can do anything, if you put your mind to it." Bee-yotch that I was, even as a kid, it made me roll my eyes no end. But as I've gotten older, I've learned Tenderheart Bear wasn't so full of crap after all.
So... anyone up for dancing lessons?
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