Tuesday Inspiration

A Path to a Healthier You

Sharing with you all a column I write for our company's newsletter for the Health and Wellness section. :)

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Summer’s just a stone’s throw away and many has gone into all the diet and fitness craze just to be beach-body ready come sunny season. With all the efforts placed in vying for a healthier regimen, we so often fail due to our continuous bingeing on forbidden foods and relying on fast track diets which is nothing but a temporary fix. Interestingly, most of us are guilty about this.

According to one article “Healthy eating is not about strict nutrition philosophies, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love.” This has been a misconception the reason why it always pulls us back to our goal of sticking to a healthy habit.  We believe that in order to maintain a supermodel physique, we have to starve ourselves and just stay away from all the best tasting food in the world.

So how does one really develop good habits that can go a long way in staying healthy even if the beach season is over? And how do we stay on that same road even if we’re living in a “rush, rush” kind of world?

Here are a few tips from several health and wellness sites that can guide you on your journey to good health.

 

1.       Educate yourself on healthy versus unhealthy foods. The general rule of the thumb is to limit one’s consumption to foods that doesn’t come from nature. Go for real and natural foods for they are not packed with consuming additives and preservatives that doesn’t do your body any favors. 

 

2.       Set small but attainable goals. Running a marathon after being a lifetime couch potato may be a little lofty of a goal. Apply goals that you can stick to every day and can motivate you into achieving bigger goals. One can start by walking down a small flight of stairs, taking a 30-minute walk every day, or as simple as jumping up and down at home. Every time you do an activity that causes you to sweat is tantamount to burning a certain amount of calories.

 

3.       Improve your sleep quality. We usually underestimate the power of sleep. If you’re running low on sleep, you’ll be very tired throughout the day. Your willpower to eat well completely disappears causing you to reach out for anything unhealthy just to give you the energy you need.

 

4.       Eat to live, not live to eat. Do you find yourself eating food when you’re not even hungry? According to Michell May, MD, author of Am I Hungry, whenever you feel like eating, always look for signs of hunger. You eat to not to stuff yourself but to refuel. Our stomach is only the size of your first, and it would only take a handful of food to fill it comfortably.

 

5.       Drink plenty of water. Science can provide you with lots of good reasons to chug down on water. It prevents you from being dehydrated which can sap up your energy. It helps flush out toxins from your body and provides your brain with a lot of oxygen needed to function at optimum levels. While it may not give you a drastic effect on weight loss, substituting it for higher calorie beverages will certainly help.

 

Run-Bike-Run Holiday

 

It's a HOOOOOLLIIIIDAAAAAY!!!!

 

I honestly felt guilty about the whole cleansing/ detoxifying thing so I've decided to do some morning run today.

 

I missed working at a later hour wherein I'd still have time to workout before heading to work (my current job makes it really impossible). So I took advantage of the time I got and head out to run and bike. Good thing even after weeks of not working out, I was able to complete 5 mi of running (in total) and 8 mi of biking.

 

It always feel great to shed off some calories while getting in touch with nature. 

 

Hooray to a fruitful morning! :)

 

XOXO

Einah



Ending the Master Cleanse Diet

I know, I know... I'm just on my Day 3 and I'm so close to ending the hardest phase when I gave up. Well to tell you honestly, it's harder than I thought it would be. Being the disciplined eater that I was for almost 2 years, I thought it would be that easy. I can say it was really really tough. The first day was really easy coz I just locked myself up the room and lie down in my bed most of the time, but come Day 2 and 3, I'm having a hard time to concentrate already. So let me give you some reasons why I've finally decided to quit -

1. My job entails creative thinking and without my concentration, I won't be able to execute my tasks. I love my job and a few days of being unproductive would cause my team some trouble.
2. I feel so deprived and all I can think of was rewarding myself of sinful treats after the cleanse which I think won't do me any good at all after the cleansing. So I'd rather not starve myself to minimize my cravings more. LOL. :)
3. Having the Sea Salt Flush was too much to bear. I feel like wanting to vomit every time I take a gulp.

So I guess those are the things on top of my list. But it doesn't mean anyone wpn't be able to do it. Well Beyoncé and a lot of health freaks swore by it. As I always say, when you put your heart and mind into something, you'll never fail.

I guess TMC don't just fit in to the kind of lifestyle that I have since my work entails me to be active at all times. I can't risk everything for that YET. Well I might do another cleanse but probably a shorter one and something where I won't have to drink that "icky" sea salt water. Just the thought of it kind of gives me that disgusting feeling already. LOL.

Well that's all for the day. Let me indulge myself into more food and delectable dishes. But I'm still doing that pesco-vegetarian thing. Good thing TMC gave me a good jumpstart to healthy eating. You can indulge and give into your cravings, you just have to be more disciplined and always think of its long-term effect on your health. ;)

XOXO
Einah

The 10-day Master Cleanse Challenge

I've been meaning to try a cleansing diet ever since but I haven't gotten the time to look for one. Well I know you have all sorts of detox diet available in the market - Juju cleanse, TMC/ Lemonade Diet, etc. but I needed to find "The One" that would be worth the effort and the price. After much researching, and looking around, I've finally decided to settle with the much talk about The Master Cleanse Diet.

There are 3 phases for the program: The Ease In, The Lemonade Diet and the Ease Out. I admit I haven't followed the proper Ease-In phase since it's all about preparing your mind and body with the limitation of food intake. Though I've tried limiting what I ate for the past 3 days prior to the program, a few cravings still sets in.

So I'm on my 2nd day of the Lemonade Diet itself and I can say it's easy breezy on my part. To help myself in going through the challenging process, I tried keeping myself away from any food (or even the smell of it), and lock myself inside the room to see how my body would respond to the program. Good thing, I've ditch all the sinful and tempting food inside the fridge prior so my cravings were kind of limited already which is really helpful.

On my first day, I was able to even do 50 crunches and 2,000 jump ropes. I believe you can do light exercises just to ensure you wouldn't lose much of the muscle mass which I'm too concerned about. I'm actually planning to do an everyday fitness regimen after all the detoxifying.

I still have 8 days and I know it would be tough on the coming days ahead.. but as they say, as long as you put your mind and soul into it, you can never fail.

Well that's it for the day. To know more about The Master Cleanse, you can use this site as a guide.

http://themastercleanse.org/

And if you may ask, everything is available in any Healthy Options store. I got everything at Php 1800 that would last for 2-3 days depending on you consumption.

Feel free to message me if you plan to go through with the diet and needed some support in going through it. So until then. Wish me luck! :) 

XOXO 

Einah

PAPERMAN - Last Year's Oscar-winning Hilarious Short Film

Since Heart's Day is fast approaching, let me leave you all with a heartwarming short film from Disney. 

Spare me some 6-minute of your time and I assure you that it will all be worth it. ;)

This romantic comedy film has been nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the Oscar's. 

May you have a week full of LOVE! :)

XOXO

Einah

A Breezy Afternoon at 14 Four Cafe

My mom has been raving about 14 Four Cafe for quite some time now. Though the cafe is just a 10-minute drive away from our house, paying them a visit was nearly impossible due to my busy schedule.

Yesterday, I was too lazy to go to the gym for boxing (must be the weather or my sluggish attitude kicking in) so I opted to ask my friend out for an afternoon treat. We took this opportunity as well to finalize some plans we have for our upcoming business partnership - which I CAN'T disclose yet. Don't want to jinx it!! ;)

My husband-turned-driver was kind enough to drop us there before his basketball game. I, or should I say - We, were surprised of how a nice place could be hidden in the midst of a quiet subdivision in Taytay.

Based from my pre-visit research, the cafe is a furniture showroom turned into a cafe on weekends. 

You can check more about them here: http://www.14fourcafe.com/

Upon entering, we asked the crew if we could do a quick tour inside and  see their creative collections before we get seated outside. She gladly granted our request and guided us in. 

It is nearly impossible not to fall in love with this place. It gives you a relaxing vibe the moment you enter their sanctuary and provides you a snuggled up feeling by the time you rest on their super comfy seats. 

It is a perfect hangout place with your barkadas. Oh and they come with free wifis too! Ain't that a steal?! :)

And we can't help to not take photos of the outside as well. 





I made prior reservations to make sure we get the best spot. 

I specifically requested for alfresco seating and made the operator swore that she wouldn't put us somewhere hot and uncomfortable since it's 3pm and the sun's out smiling. 

And as expected, she perfectly gave us a big and nice work station. :) We had the right dose of sunshine and cool breeze for an afternoon.

  
A cafe will not be on my "must-visit" place if the food was a total disaster. 

I made a brave move and tried their Vegetarian Panini and paired it up with a Strawberry Milkshake to even out the taste. And again as expected, they did not disappoint. :)

Pam, Anny's daughter ordered for some Carbonara and Strawberry Milkshake and she said that the pasta was just 'uhmm okay'.

Anny has decided to get a Brewed Iced Tea and Cinnamon Pancakes. The custard that came along with the pancakes made it really special. According to Anny, they probably used 'cake mix' instead of of the  usual 'pancake mix' that made it light, fluffy and really tasty. :)

The food is worth one's penny and we never regret ordering any of them. However, I just wished they had more variety on their snacks and especially coffees.  

And yes, I'll definitely be back here! It's just a perfect place to do some creative thinking or simply experience silence and solitude.

Good food + Great ambiance = Definitely a must-try! :)


XOXO
Einah