No more Exercise and No more Diets

I went on a vacation in June.  And I barely exercised after. 

I have gained about 5lbs since I got back from my vacation and I am starting to see the changes in my body.  I should get back on track again.

Not being able to exercise and monitor my diet has resulted not only in weight gain, it also made me feel weak and irritable.

Working in the graveyard shift,  I lack enough sleep and not being able to follow the healthy lifestyle that I was in months ago made me lose a lot of energy.  I feel sleepy all the time, my steps are heavier and my temper is even worse.

I should get back on track again, I really should.

I still have 8 months of membership left in Slimmers World.   I should also get back on my adapted Cohen-like diet.

And also to get back to blogging, I haven't blogged anything after I went on a vacation. 

Xenical : Weight Loss Pill

Since my 2014 goal is to lose weight, I went on a diet and exercise regime starting April 1, 2014.  However, I noticed that although my body is getting smaller (inches lost), I am gaining weight.  This is very discouraging for me.  There are times that I wanted to stop going to the gym as it felt like it is not working.  Thanks to my old clothes though, I know my body is getting smaller.  I can also feel some tightness in some problem areas like my arms and legs.  

But I still have a lot of excess fat to lose.  And I need to lose them fast.  I decided to boost my weight loss with diet pills.  I did a lot of research over the net and found several diet pills that are not that safe.  Slimina had a lot of good reviews and I have not tried it before, so I did.  But the first 2 days of using Slimina was scary (my throat has gone dry and I felt lightheaded) that I decided to just go by the most popular weight loss drug in the market, Xenical.

I have used Xenical before, way back in college.  I used it for only one week but lost about an inch off my waist.  At that time, Xenical was too expensive for me.  I don't earn my own money and I was dependent on my allowance for it.  So I didn't continue my use of Xenical.

Now that I have work, I've decided to give it a try once more.  You are supposed to take Xenical 3x a day.  Once every meal (at most an hour after meals) specially if your meal is high on fat. 

I didn't want to take that much since the first time I tried Xenical, I had palpitations with that amount of dosage.  So I am only taking Xenical once a day.  After the 3rd day of taking it, I already lost 1lb.  I am now on my 6th day and lost another pound.  So that's already 2 pounds lost.  I still have not stopped my diet and my exercise which probably factored in the weight loss.  But I am excited to see further improvements.  My one problem area is my tummy, where most of my visceral fats are probably stored.

Xenical is a fat-blocker and I'm hoping that by blocking the additional fat I take in,  it will help my body burn the excess fat that I already have stored in it.  Thus triggering my weight loss.

Let's see how much I'd lose in the next few weeks. But I am very excited and will be posting pictures and updates soon.

Biggest Loser Daily Workout

I can't go to the gym daily.  I work in the BPO industry, so there are times that I am unable to get enough sleep and so I have to skip the gym for the day.  And with this scorching weather,  it is now more often than not.  

So I had to look for an exercise routine that I can do at home.  I found the Biggest Loser Daily Workout routine.  It doesn't need any special equipments and most of the exercises are pretty basic.  But the combination of all the exercises makes a pretty good over all workout.

I love it and I've started doing it on a daily basis even after I've gone to the gym.  It only takes me about 20 minutes to finish the whole routine and I'm done for the day.  But I always feel tightening in my body and I am starting to see the lost in weight and inches.  I will be posting some before and after pictures once I get to my upper goal limit of 120lbs.  I'm still a long way to go, but for those who are like me, try this work out.  I highly recommend it.   

You can see it from the link below:

BIGGEST LOSER DAILY HOME WORKOUT

Fitness Ball / Stability Ball

I went to Chris Sports yesterday wanting to buy dumbbells and ended up buying a fitness ball too. It was less than Php500 so I thought it might be a good investment.

I started this April with my exercise/fitness regime.   And so far,  I am getting hooked on it.  I never thought that exercising would make me happier and feel better.  The aches are gone after the first week and I am actually looking for the muscle strain after a workout.  But that's not really my topic, the fitness ball is.

I don't know how to use it.  The box it came with has a set of instructions or suggestions of how you can use it.  I saw someone use it in Yoga but that's the extent of it.

I've searched online for guides and there are tons.  I couldn't imagine how useful this could be for me and for anybody. 

Since I have not tried it yet, I would be able to recommend it to people yet.  I am a beginner and only starting to invest on my fitness (and I know I'm quite late to do this).  But as an investment,  I know the fitness ball is worth it.  With all the myriad of possibilities, this is a very inexpensive way to work out.  I suggest it for people who doesn't have a lot of space at home, who doesn't have a lot of time to go to the gym and for those who can't really afford a trainer.

So go to the mall, get a fitness ball, log on to YouTube and start working out!

I'll post further research, feedback and reviews in the next few days.  I am very excited and just want to share this bit of info. 

First day at Slimmers World

April  1, 2014 – My first workout day.  I went to Slimmers World Alabang immediately after my shift.  They open at 7am, which means I have an hour to kill.  It takes me around 30minutes to walk from my office to Festival Mall where Slimmers World Alabang is located.  I’ve decided to do that as a warm up for whatever workout routine they’ll give me.

I grabbed a sandwich and a bottle of water at a nearby convenience store.  I have not eaten the whole night and I’m afraid I might collapse if I don’t eat anything before working out.  I managed to consume about half of the sandwich before I felt full.

Slimmers opened promptly at 7am.  Around this time, there are several members waiting already.  I went straight to the reception and handed my contract copy.  I temporarily have to use this while waiting for my membership ID.  They gave me a locker number and I headed to the ladies’ locker room to change clothes.  I went back to the reception area where my figure consultant Rax is now at.  She introduced me to one of the trainers there, YEH and he gave me a fitness test.

This is probably the hardest test I had to take my entire life and probably something that you have to know too.  It can be very discouraging to some, but it is totally logical to go through it.  Yeh started with measuring my vitals.  I never thought I would let anybody, especially a man, take my vitals.  I stopped doing so years ago.  He logged it in this little record sheet that’s supposed to be a monitor of my progress in months to come. 

After the fitness test (which I failed miserably but apparently I have excellent CORE strength), he had me do some cardio exercises for the entire session.  This is to get my body used to the activity rather than exposing me to weights and everything else that might just shock me and make me quit.

So far, it was an enjoyable first day. Will come back again tomorrow for some more cardio exercises and he’ll give me my program on Thursday for our last session.

GYM Search: Slimmers World VS Fitness First VS Gold’s GYM

One of my goals for 2014 is to exercise.   And being the obsessed person that I am, I launched into a gym “search” of the three biggest gyms/fitness centers in the country:  Slimmers World, Fitness First and Gold’s Gym.  Below are my criteria for choosing the best one. 

• Prices/Rates – this is first on my list as this holds the most consideration.  If I can’t afford it then I can’t go to it.  After all, I am just an ordinary employee paying huge taxes (another article I have in mind, but I may end up just ranting about the government so I’ll think about this really well.)
• Location – Working on a graveyard shift, the gym has to be near my workplace and/or home.
• Programs – I can’t join a gym and not know what to do.  They should at least have a set program for me.
• Facilities – I like the little extra amenities and sometimes when everything else is at par, the little extras would be the deciding factor. 

And so my “search” begins:

Round 1: Prices/Rates

I searched the web and found out that the rates will depend on the agent you are talking to.  An agent can give you discounts and make you aware of the current promos.  Since most articles on the web and online forums will most likely be outdated, I asked for the regular rates instead.  But I also asked for the promos as I want the best deal for my money.  Here are the centers’ answers:

Slimmers World:  They also offer shorter durations but for the sake of comparison, I asked for the 1yr rate.  In the end, after much haggling, they are willing to give me 1yr unlimited passport membership for roughly 12k.  For the sake of information, their current promo rates are as follows:

• 1month + 1month : 3500 pesos
• 3months + 3 months: 7500 pesos 
• 6months + 6months: 12000 pesos 
• 1year + 1 year: 21,000 pesos

According to the agent I spoke with in the Alabang location, these rates will vary everyday as they have ‘Daily promos’ .  In my opinion, this is just a sales tactic to get you to sign up right away.  Please note that they have the option for deferred payment of 6months for membership of 6months or higher.  Note that they have an exclusive branch membership which can be significantly cheaper than the all branches type of membership rates I’ve stated above.

Fitness First:   I did some research first before asking them directly.  Research from various forums shows that the average is 2.5k to 3.5k. This will depend on the type of membership you choose, the platinum membership being the highest type. There are those that were able to get a membership for less than 2k but that was during the early years of Fitness First.  I wanted to check it out for myself and so I called Fitness First Alabang (Platinum).  Below are the rates given:

• 1 year : PhP45,600 (Upfront payment) + PhP3000 joining fee, plus PhP1,500 admin fee + PhP2,100 Bodyfirst fee (for beginners) = PhP52,200 total
• 12 months deferred :  PhP3,800/month.  Plus PhP3000 joining fee, plus PhP1,500 admin fee + 2,100 pesos Bodyfirst fee (for beginners) for the first payment.  So that means your first month, you’ll pay 10,400 pesos and then 3,800 pesos for the succeeding months.
• 5 months:  4,130/month. Same fees as above, so first month is 10,730 pesos and 4,130 pesos for the succeeding months.

I can’t afford this.  I think the only reason I would lose weight is because I can no longer afford to buy food with these rates. 

Gold’s Gym:   The rates are reasonable as they seem to be at the mid-range level and they have 12 months deferred payments for those using credit cards.  I know people out there would say it is still too expensive and it is for some but you have to also factor in what you can save if you joined your village gym then join zumba classes, spinning, yoga etc.   So I’m putting the prices at reasonable given that it is not as expensive as Fitness First. 

• 1 year :  27,000  pesos Unlimited
• 1 year (144 visits): 18,500 pesos
• 1 year (120 visits): 17,500 pesos
• 1 year (96 visits):  16,500 pesos
• 6months: 14,500 pesos Unlimited
• 6months (40 visits): 10,000 pesos
• 3months: 7,800 pesos Unlimited
• 3months (20 visits): 5,500 pesos
• 1month: 3,800 pesos
• 1month(10 visits): 2,750 pesos

No promos but there is a pre-selling that can be considered a promo.   There were a lot of promos before, probably when they didn’t have a lot of members yet.  A friend of mine got his for 20k for 2 years, passport membership.  That one is the best deal I’ve heard so far.  I’ve tried several times to ask them if there is an existing promo, but alas there is none.  

For this round, Slimmers win.  Gold’s Gym comes second and Fitness First is last.
 

Round 2: Location

All three fitness centers are available everywhere!   And most often than not, a city with a Slimmers World would have a Gold’s Gym nearby and a Fitness First not far from where those two are.  I live in Parañaque, and so the nearest Gold’s Gym/Slimmers World/Fitness First for me is in Alabang.  I can also go to Makati and all fitness centers have locations there.   It seems that Gold’s Gym has more locations though than the other two.

So for this round, they are all equally matched.

Round 3:  Programs

Slimmers seem to cater more to women as they both have body and skin programs. 

Fitness first seem to know what they can offer and has everything organized.  I was very impressed with their programs and website and the information given.

Gold’s Gym, well their website is a mess so I don’t get a lot of information there.  And as I kept on insisting if they can give me any discounts on the rates (which they refuse to budge), they didn’t discuss any programs with me so I’m basing it all on their website and flyers.  Based on their flyers, it seems like they offer the current exercises but not the same diversity as Fitness. 


Round 3 goes to Fitness First, then Slimmers World and lastly Gold’s  Gym.

Round 4:  Facilities

Sad to say, but Slimmers World did not impress me.  It looked like my regular run on the mill village gym, only a bit larger, with a nice reception area and without the really bad music.

Gold’s Gym (in Alabang) is way better than Slimmers World.  When I saw it, I was encouraged to work out right away, but as I was wearing a dress when I did my research, I was not able to try it.  But from the looks of it (in the eyes of a beginner), I want Gold’s Gym more than Slimmers World.

Fitness First made my eyes pop out.  I never received a full tour, but from what I saw, it was more like an elite club rather than a gym.  I loved it there.  But then I might forget to workout.
Round 4 goes to Fitness First, but I’m giving Gold’s Gym the top score as well since the Fitness First in Alabang is a Platinum one.   If I would compare the Gold’s Gym Alabang with a regular Fitness First, then they would be on equal footing for this category.  Slimmers just failed to impress.

The verdict:   

I can’t afford Fitness First.  So it failed my number 1 criteria.  If I can’t afford it, why would I go there?  Gold’s Gym and Slimmers was a tough choice for me.  In the end I chose Slimmers World.  Mainly because it has the cheapest rates (12k / year).  The facilities are better in other centers, the one in Alabang needs a bit of an upgrade but it has my basic needs.  I am a beginner, so all the fancy equipments and machines won’t be of any use to me.  Their classes are old and should be updated, but they also fit my needs more than Gold’s.  Gold’s seem to have a more intense set of classes which I think might be too much for somebody who has not gone to the gym her entire life. 

Slimmers was the right choice for me.  I can afford it, it meets my needs and it is woman friendly.  I won’t feel conscious because I won’t see hardcore gym goers there.  I would see other women like me who just wanted to become fit.

I hope the tidbits I shared would also help you find your gym.  If you can afford it and you want more diversity, I recommend Fitness First. It was simply awesome.  If you can’t afford it and you are into serious body building, go to Gold’s.  If you are like me, a beginner who needs a comfortable place to work out and a facility that can offer guidance then Slimmers World is the right choice.  

Depending on my experience with Slimmers World and I promise to post my observations here, I might stay with them after my 1 year is up or join Gold’s gym next year.  

If the Fitness First management can read this, please lower down your rates that way we can afford to go to your facility.  You may have awesome centers, brand new equipments…. VIP treatments, but what  use are they if we can’t afford them?   Oh and I’ve read numerous bad feedbacks regarding their staff, I hope they improve on that too. 

Cohen – like Diet to Lifestyle change

My friend started a Cohen diet and lost a tremendous amount of weight in a span of 3 months.  As someone who has been trying to lose weight for several years, I wanted to try it for myself.  But to do the Cohen diet, one has to visit the Cohen Lifestyle Center, get tested and pay an exorbitant fee and wait for your meal plan.  The meal plan will consist of the amount of food you can consume within the day, what not to eat and how much you can eat.  And you have to follow this meal plan religiously. 

I’m not a very religious person nor can I afford their fee.  Some friends and I have decided to follow the Cohen meal plan.  It was very effective but NOT RECOMMENDED.  I managed to lose 17lbs in 2 months.  

Then the holidays came and out with the diet and I gained 7lbs.  But one thing that I have learned about our borrowed Cohen diet was that it was trying to change a person’s lifestyle.  Not starve you to death.  It promotes proper portioning and introduces a lifestyle that allows one to prepare one’s food from fresh produce and minimizes the use of unhealthy processed food.  So if you can afford the Cohen lifestyle,  I suggest that you give it a try.

And so two months after the holidays, I know I needed to go back to that diet. But I decided to just go with the basic portioning concept and control.  After all, if I keep on dieting, it will just be a cycle of weight loss and weight gain.  I am aiming at maintaining whatever weight I lose and changing into a healthier lifestyle.  Thus, I am off the borrowed Cohen diet and started what my doctor has always advised me… proper portioning. 

I’ll post more updates regarding my progress.  My starting weight for this lifestyle change is 143lbs.  Below are my health goals for 2014:

• Target Weight : 120lbs – this means I have to lose 23lbs within the year and then some more next year.
• Poison:  STOP SMOKING.  This is my only poison since I don’t drink.
• Physical Activity:   Move from a sedentary lifestyle to a more active one.  (This is an article in the making.  My search for a gym)
• Sleeping habit:  Sleep at least 6hours straight in a day.  I only sleep 3 hours max in a day and it doesn’t help that I am on a graveyard shift.

Wish me luck.  If you are someone like me with the same health struggles, feel free to comment below.  A support group or just someone who would listen and understand goes a long way.