Randy's Diet and Exercise Journal

2006-07-21T23:28:00.000+08:00

One of my classmates brought this bug to the class and after a week of close contact, I got her disease and was experiencing low grade fever with muscle weakness. I was determined not to have it turn into something with really high fever, or anything with diarrhea or runny nose so I pampered myself. My significant other told me to increase my carb intake because I'll be needing it for my hospital duties. And so I did. Before I knew it, I was 10 lbs heavier again. And still am.

So in my desperate attempt to lose weight, I'm doing super duper mega low carbing again. I returned to the gym again once I regained my pre-illness energy and last Wednesday I did Body Combat, RPM and Cosmic Cycling in Fitness First Greenhills. Cardio day!

I've been cooking eggs and spring rolls for my hospital duty. Last Thursday, I boiled 7 chiken eggs! Today I'm not craving for rice anymore, thank God. But I was so envious of my patient's wheat bread this afternoon.

2006-06-13T23:55:00.000+08:00

Late this afternoon, I went to Gold's Gym Alabang with a friend. I didn't really work out there, I just accompanied a friend who's considering buying Serg's membership. Will do workout for real tomorrow.

2006-04-07T13:17:00.000+08:00

I go to Gold's Gym now but I only could afford the 16 days a month plan. I'm still a prepaid members at Fitness First. Ho-hum.

2005-05-31T23:35:00.000+08:00

I like to move it, move it... Physically fit, physically fit, physically, physically, physically fit...

I almost got late from Peewee's Yoga class at Ortigas. But thank God Ortigas' clock was like 5 minutes late like The Fort's (the rest are 10 minutes in advance except for Eastwood which is like 15 minutes in advance). There were four of us in the class, three whom were begginers so Peewee taught a beginner's class which made it like a Body Balance class. I miss Winnie's Yoga classes at The Fort. I did love Melvin's Hatha Yoga during the Yoga Celebration last year. There should be more Yoga classes. I'm so sick with Balance but in fairness, the latest release of Body Balance at FF Philippines is pretty decent. It's just so fast paced and it seems like the choreographer tried to put in as much moves as possible in the 45-min class. I had on my "yoga pants" which is actually just a linen drawstring pants from Giordano I bought more than a year ago which last year I wore every time I attended Body Balance.

Attended Peewee's Combat class after Yoga. There's this part in the third track (Field of Dreams) of Body Combat 23 where after doing three punches, you raise both of your arms to the ceiling twice. I always miss that part! What I'd be doing is doing two more punches with my other arm. I'm still trying to love Body Combat 23 but there's no way it can beat Body Combat 22 but track 4 (Take a Break by Scooter) of release 23 has become a favorite of mine and I like it better than release 22's I Need A Hero.

After Combat was Jam, a class I don't attend so I hit the free weights section. I'm now seriously working out my biceps and triceps. On the EZ bar I'm doing 20kg for my biceps now with 10-10-10 reps. Julius (J1) wants me to increase the reps to 10-12-14. Oh God I'm too lazy to do the shoulders. I looked around and saw some deformed people--those with really great upper bodies but really skinny legs. Walang ganyan sa Singapore. We have muscles which are more responsive than the others and it's our responsibility to do/find a program which will make us look well proportioned.

Then I attended Malou's Body Pump class. It's funny how some people don't lift much weights in Body Pump because they don't want to become really muscular. Oh come on, it's so fucking difficult to have a really muscular body ala Arnold, there's like a super duper mega slim chance that anyone will be super muscular through Pump. And besides, with all those repetitions, the workout's gonna turn aerobic (vs anaerobic). Today I added more to the weights I'm carrying except for warm up (still at 15kg) while my squats are at 30kg (from 25kg), triceps at 15kg (from 10kg), and biceps at 10kg (from 5kg). Yesterday I upped the plates for my back from 20kg to 25kg. And why am I able to do this, you may ask. I'm taking creatine.

I also attended Winnie's Body Balance class. At the counter, I wrote in the Hey Manager card about my desire to have an intermediate class for Yoga with Winnie teaching.

I parked at The Podium today like I've always done everytime I go to the Ortigas branch of Fitness First. On my way out, I learned from the girls at the counter that parking was only P30 at Wynsum--they're selling ticket stubs for the members. Sheet. I always find myself paying around 60 pesos or higher at The Podium because I attend 3-4 classes at the gym. It reminds me of my Mondays @ Greenhills where I'd be paying almost a hundred bucks for parking.

- cross posted in Yahoo 360 and my Diet and Exercise Journal

2005-05-10T22:53:00.000+08:00

Attended Peewee's Body Combat at Ortigas today. Poor girl didn't memorize all the moves yet. But the class was forgiving because it consisted mostly of first timers. And on my part, I wasn't surprised if instructors mess up in the first few weeks of the release because most of them always do. I still don't know which tracks are combat training and recovery. Left the class at the part when it required the use of mats. Eww, you're like all sweaty and you lie down on the mat?

Did 2k on the treadmill afterwards, 1k run and 1k briskwalk. I could burn 500 kcal on the rotex but it's more tough on the treadmill. The song I kept playing over and over again on my ipod was Never Surrender, a must-have song for any gym playlist. Skipped Body Pump and Balance and decided to go home. I don't know if I should get back to running because it really messes up with the knees and other joints. Maybe I should take glucosamine. Plus outdoor running will only make me look older because I'm melanin-challenged.

2005-04-23T10:52:00.000+08:00

Okay, so I feel like smoking now.

My back feels 90% okay now and I think I can do Body Pump but skip the push up parts. Let me see. There's pump at:

10:00AM - Greenhills (too late for this na)
10:00AM - Metro East (too late and too far)
2:00PM - Fort Bonifacio
2:00PM - Makati
2:30PM - ABSCBN
3:00PM - Eastwood (won't make it to my 5pm class since Eastwood is like 2 hours away from Pasay City)
4:00PM - Alabang (won't make it to my 5pm class if I attend this class)

I'd better move na. Maybe I'll do cosmic. Nah.

2005-04-18T05:41:00.000+08:00

My schedule is tight today and I don't know if it's worth trying to attend Body Combat this morning at all. Maybe I shouldn't be too excited with attending that class again to free up a couple of precious hours this morning. Okay so I only got to sleep for like 5 hours or less this morning, I haven't studied for my Nutrition quiz for this afternoon, I have to go to the bank and withdraw some money then I have to go to the money changer in Makati and then my class starts at 12pm. Oh yeah, I have some frozen pork chops in my fridge for my nutrition class which means the later they leave my freezer, the better. Okay so I guess I'm just going to have to do Combat tomorrow and focus on going back to my diet today. There is a time for everything. Now back to sleep.

Bronco Billy - Binondo Hilot - PT - Chiropractor

2005-04-09T09:15:00.000+08:00

Bronco Billy is dead, a thin old man sitting by the bench under the Mantrade flyover told me. The other day I drove to Makati, parked in the EDSA Carpark and took the MRT to the Magallanes station. A short walk took me to Billy's usual stall. When I was still an AMA student, the FX would take me close to his stall where I'd see him sitting patiently, looking at the cars. He used to work in Japan and then in some big hotels in Manila, he told. How he ended up under the bridge, I didn't ask. Once upon a time I was too cheap to enroll myself in a gym so I ran every afternoon along Quezon Avenue. And you know how it is in Quezon Avenue, the sidewalks are not level and you'll be forced many times to go down the street because of open man holes, parked cars, trash, and people. In one of those runs, I twisted my ankle. The doctors at the Ortho hospital close to my house wanted to put my feet in a cast for a month.

I have been going to a hilot since I was a child. I have a weak back, I was told but since I was the biggest in the class I was always in the bottom of the pyramid of the cheering squad. Cheering was the only sport I could get in because I was a liability in other sports. I'd always find myself a with a pinched or dislocated muscle or nerve in my elbow, back or ankle. For me these hilots have some sort of magic. Most of them knew where to twist, do a deep massage and they can move veins that have become visible from being pinched. Bronco Billy was one of them. Pa-hilot po, I'd tell him. He'd lead me to a wooden bench which seemed small for both of us. Then he'd touch my hand, then my arm and as if he's tracing the veins, he could find the pinched nerve or dislocated bone without being told where it was. It just occured to me now that for five years straight, I had some sort of dislocation or sprain every November 1. What made it memorable was November 1 is All Saint's Day which means that my hilot would be at the cemetery and won't be able to attend to me.

The day I learned that Billy's gone, I went to Binondo for 's hilot. He told me it was in Juan Luna, Binondo side. I don't really know the boundaries of Binondo, Sta Cruz and Tondo. I saw for the first time the Starbucks in Binondo which was full. The hilot's place was spic and span which appeared more like a store than a home. Bottles of liniments and some herbal stuff in bottles were neatly displayed in one corner and on one room which was almost empty was a bed with a pillow. He made me lie down on my tummy and touched my back. He moved my arm and moved his fingers in rapid succession like strumming a guitar. And there I felt a familiar piercing but non-painful sensation I feel whenever I'm hinihilot. This guy is for real, I told myself. He started muttering something, almost like a chant or a prayer. Then suddenly he twisted my hand and yelped. With much confidence he told me, "You're healed." I could now move my head from side to side and face left and right. At night I was able to sleep without feeling the pain.

Last night I ran into Zelle in Starbucks who's a physical therapist. As a student nurse I wanted a medical explanation for my injury. I started describing what happened and which part of my back was a little painful. She touched my back, palpating for tenderness (tenderness - a pain that is felt when the area is touched). Zelle lives in Binondo so I told her about my trip to the hilot in Juan Luna. She asked me to describe the guy and she recognized him. Seems like she's been going to the same hilot after all. Then she said that it was just "trapped air" which caused the pain in my back now. Hah. Trapped air. That's called panuhot in Cebuano, a common excuse for pain given by manghihilots. There goes my medical explanation. Anyway, a quick googling gives me this--

Those ‘knots’ or ‘panuhot’ on your back are caused by air (hangin). It’s called Myofascial Pain Syndrome and air has nothing to do with it. A knot, panuhot, or trigger point, is a small mound of muscle that is lacking nerve impulses and circulation, and is craving for nutrients and soaking in stagnant tissue fluids.

Read more from this blog entry called Debunking Common Filipino Myths.

I'm schedule to meet up with Dr. Martin Camara, chiropractor extraordinaire, on Monday afternoon. The guy's fully booked yesterday and his clinic is closed today. I wonder where he is today with his convertible Mercedez Benz.

2005-03-27T21:04:00.000+08:00

Will attempt to attend 7:30am Body Combat and 8:30am Cosmic Cycling classes at ABSCBN tomorrow morning. Then attend the 7:30pm Body Combat and 8:30pm Body Pump at Fort Bonifacio in the evening with some friends. Might pump some iron before the Combat class at night. :)

2005-03-27T18:50:00.000+08:00

Last night at Coffee Bean, JR (who has returned from Singapore the same day I came back) and I were talking about how fat we were. I told him that whenever I'm abroad, I feel like I'm immune or exempted from becoming fat from eat eating fattening food (carbs and sugar, specifically). He said he felt the same thing but we knew it couldn't be possibly true.

In Bangkok, I ate high carb foods such as cakes, croissants, rice and bread together with high fat foods such as bacon, sausages and peking duck. It's a big no-no to be mixing those types of foods but since I Was on a vacation, I freely ate them.

Before leaving Bangkok, I went through some weight loss and by the time I got back in Manila I sorta like gained half of what I lost.

Food in Bangkok is cheap but it was not that easy for me to find the type of food I needed for my diet. I ate mostly at The Loft, an "upscale" Dish/Streetlife-type of food court because it was convenient to eat there. Then sometimes I'd buy the precooked foods from the supermarket at Central Chidlom (which wasjust on the ground floor of the department store where The Loft was). Sometimes I'd eat at KFC, having a spicy chicken burger (but not eating the bread) plus popcorn chicken (Hotshots here). I'm not very adventurous with street food there but I was told it was way much cleaner and safer than the street food here in Manila or the Philippines in general. I have a stomach "made in Taiwan" I'd hear my parents joke sometimes that attapulgite and loperamide were essential things to bring whenever I travel.

I'm taking hydroxycut again.

2005-03-19T20:59:00.000+08:00

Finally got her name. It's Joella, my favorite BTS instructor of the moment. She explains a lot of stuff during her class unlike Eric who's supposed to be a certified yoga something from the States or somewhere. Eric's form is horrible. I don't know how in the world he got all those certifications. What I want in an instructor is the explanations and extra instructions they give during the class. Like Joella emphasizes how to do the Down Dog properly.

Some fave Les Mills instructors-- Joella (see reason above; great form; graceful), Liz (most stable in balance poses, best form in sun salutations), Laarnie (other than she's fun, she takes time to explain how to do Clean and Press and squats properly), Lito (funnest of them all), Malou (gives out the instructions clearly in time all the time), Teng (for RPM. He's not plastic like other RPM instructors who are trying convince everyone to have fun while they themselves are bored to death of the tracks), Mike DR (pushes everyone to the limit in Body Pump), Winnie (for being just the way she is) and Mindy (for Combat. For some reason I'm not like pressured to do pa-cute in her class, I wear pambahay when I attend her class).

Some disliked Les Mills instructors by moi--Noli (for not following what's on the schedule--RPM or Cosmic), Eric (other than the reason above, he's always late in his classes especially with his Balance class in Eastwood), Ole (for sometimes inventing moves in Balance), Gilbert (for making pa-cute to Toki, the club manager of Fort Bonifacio, so unprofessional ha and also he sometimes does not give out commands), Philip (who doesn't give out commands in Combat. I don't know how this guy got the certification), and Edmond (for attending classes with a hangover plus only having two hours of sleep and invents moves sometimes in Pump).

2005-03-18T06:45:00.000+08:00

Slept at 1:30am the other night err morning then woke up at 4:30am and went to Church. Came back home and slept for a couple of hours. Before I knew it, it was time to go to school for a final exam. Came back home and went to sleep. Thought about attending Lito's class at Fitness First Ortigas but was sleepy. Forced myself to sleep even if I was tempted to join Pump and Combat. Now I just woke up and I feel so well rested. Good thing I didn't give in into the gym temptation. ;)

2005-03-16T23:51:00.000+08:00

Did Body Combat, Body Pump and Body Balance at the Ortigas branch of FF tonight. Alex was kidding me that I'm ready for Body Jam na. Hahaha. As soon as I get back from Bangkok I swear I'm going to hit the machines and free weights as well as attend classes, of course. Will suggest that Yoga class be added to the class lineup of Ortigas branch. Maybe they could change Winnie's Body Balance class on Tuesday nights into Yoga. On other days maybe Melvin could teach Hatha Yoga. There's this girl who teaches Body Combat and Balance at Makati. I'm not sure what her name is but I so love her. Maybe she could teach Yoga, too.

Ate a lot again tonight. Two orders of pork siomai and an order of beef siomai from Chowking in Ortigas, Greenhills. Then I stopped by Burger King for chicken and beef patty.

2005-03-16T15:04:00.000+08:00

URTI not so bad na. It moved up and now I have sipon and sometimes my head aches a little. I so have to buy some watermelon frost from a Chinese drugstore and some ginseng stuff from the Korean drustore in Malate. Maybe I can find something in Megamall later.

2005-03-16T14:58:00.000+08:00

Was in Binondo last night and had some dimsum at Wanchai. Was in Binondo again today and had some dimsum at Waiying. Then I bought 1/2 kilo of lechon at Elar's (P440/kg ha) and consumed all the pork skin. Now oil is like coming out of my face and it's disgusting. Thank God for the low carb diet.

Today I'm off to the Ortigas branch of Fitness First. Let me see. I think Arnold has a Body Pump class while Olé has Body Combat and Body Balance. No gym for me tomorrow since in the morning I'll be going to the church and in the afternoon I'll have a midterm exam in Heath Economics. Noontime I'll be in Makati to run some errands for my mother.

2005-03-15T10:19:00.000+08:00

I ate a lot this morning considering that I'm not working out today. URTI still bad.

Had some of the wheat raisin bread. Oh dear. It's carbohydrates.

2005-03-14T10:06:00.000+08:00

I feel like having a cup of coffee but it might interact with ginseng. I should be getting dressed now.

2005-03-14T10:01:00.000+08:00

It's too late to take a nap now. I'm drinking this ginseng drink with real ginseng root I bought from Malate last year. Leo chews the ginseng root and swallows it and that's what I just did. I feel like I'm in Fear Factor. I didn't expect the ginseng root to be soft like a worm. Hey, it's not so bad.

2005-03-14T09:05:00.000+08:00

Mike and Christine are back in town. I got pork floss bread and some wheat bread from what I supposed was a bakery like BreadTalk back in Hong Kong. I ate a bit--I'm giving the rest to Mom. In Binondo last night, I had hakaw and sha long pao and took out cold cuts (asado, hainanese chicken, peking duck, etc) which I ate at home. It was low carb except for the sugar used in cooking asado. This morning I had longganisa meal (without rice) at Jollibee in the National Bookstore building in Quezon Avenue. Me hungry again.

With little sleep, I went to ABSCBN to attend Body Combat after having breakfast. Tita Helen attended Combat, too. I was the one who made her join combat for the first time and when I saw her again, I thought that she just attended the class for me. But na-addict siguro. Imagine, she gave up Mike's Cosmic Cycling class for Body Combat.

My throat is a bit scratchy, nothing too serious. My voice sounds different which is a bit annoying. I'm tired.

2005-03-13T13:56:00.000+08:00

Went clubbing last night until 3am. Had a few sips of that horrible gin tonic. Got home around 4am. Slept for like 4 hours. Must take a nap after updating my blogs.

Attended Malou's Body Pump this morning at ABSCBN. She must have gone clubbing last night as well, shouting at the top of her voice, for today she didn't have boses na. Mike D was there in her place while she went around teaching the newbies the proper forms. Body Pump is all about form di ba because one can easily injure himself with the wrong weights and wrong form. As usual, I skipped the biceps portion. But I did the lunges which wasn't really that difficult in this release. The shoulders and triceps tracks are real killers.

Body Combat was super fun because there were so many teachers today: Laarni, Malou, Mike D, and two semi-new Combat instructors. I'm a big Body Combat fan now, so far I've got 3 songs from the current release thanks to Limewire.

BTS Talk - contains the track list of the Les Mills releases (Pump, Combat, Balance, etc) as well as a forum.

Breakfast was large KFC Hotshots and large Diet Pepsi. Lunch was porkchops without rice and a couple of orders of dimsum sans the wrapper. Now I'm eating a small bag of peanuts with a can of Diet Pepsi.

2005-03-12T19:20:00.000+08:00

Had fun at Laarni's class. Laarni the forever bading. Was late for Laarni's class because it started pala at 2:30pm, not 3pm. Wanted to join Teng's class but it was full. Teng and Melvin swapped sched pala so Teng's teaching cosmic na at ABSCBN Saturdays at 3pm. Mark your calendar. Also Laarni's class will be moved to 2pm from 2:30pm which is good news because that means Cosmic Cycling and Body Pump's scheds don't conflict anymore.

Ate 2-piece chicken at McDonald's Quezon Ave corner Edsa. The bad part was I ate 1/2 of the rice.

Leo and Jake will be having dinner at a Korean restaurant in Malate later and I'm invited. Not going because I'm to groggy to be leaving home. Might eat at Binondo super late tonight.

2005-03-12T12:59:00.000+08:00

The whole morning I tried to look for my Fitness First Passport and ended up wheezing, thanks to my allergy to dust.

Had peanuts and a can of Diet Pepsi before I went to nap this morning.

Cooking longganisa now.

Will be attending Laarni's Body Pump class at ABSCBN later at 3pm.

2005-03-11T23:38:00.000+08:00

Before going to the gym I went to the new KFC at Greenbelt 1 and had something sinful--a Go-go sandwich.

I attended three classes at the gym--Body Combat, Body Pump, and Body Balance. Yay! My favorite, Malou, taught Combat and Pump. There's this new girl who also taught Combat and Balance whose name I don't know but I love her. I think I'll be going to FF Makati everyday Friday afternoon.

On my way home I passed by KFC Buendia (at the Caltex station) and got myself a large hotshots and large diet pepsi. And now I'm eating 1/2 embutido. Oh dear.

2005-03-11T16:39:00.000+08:00

Had a quick lunch at Friday's at Robinson's Place Ermita and had Caesar Salad and water. Healthy di ba? Except for that bread stick which I gobbled down. Then I had a slice of guiltless chocolate mouse--non-fat, no sugar added. Guiltless, my ass. Sure, they didn't add any sugar in it but they didn't do anything about the existing carbohydrates in the flour and the crust. I am heading to KFC after this to have a quick snack--small or large hotshots with diet pepsi--then I'm off to the gym at Fitness First Makati.

2005-03-11T08:49:00.000+08:00

Just had embutido, a whole umm loaf? Do you call 'em loaves of embutido?

Food & Exercise

2005-03-10T22:08:00.000+08:00

Dinner consisted for grilled liempo from Tower Cafe. For pre-dinner I had a pack of peanuts and a can of Diet Pepsi.

Lunch was fried burger patty and one half friend embutido.

Afternoon "snack" was a grande iced coffee from Starbucks with two packs of Equal.

Breakfast was McDonald's Sausage McMuffin with egg, eating only the sausage and egg. Then double patties from Jollibee.

~~~~

Attended Mon's Body Combat class at Greenhills after driving Mike to the airport. Couldn't walk straight after the class so I skipped the Body Pump class which I planned to attended. Plan to join the Pump, Combat and Balance classes tomorrow in RST.

Where the Idea of This Journal Came From

2005-03-10T21:14:00.000+08:00

It all came from my friend Meredith's Diet Journal. Instead of putting my sex life, love life, the log of my attempt to be thin and random rantings in one journal, I decided to more subject-specific journals.