Staying Healthy this Holiday Season

Christmas Season is fun and memorable for all Filipinos. We Eat. Then Eat. And Eat. Parties almost every night starting from the 3rd week of December until the first few days of January. Then comes Sinulog!!! 

But not everybody wants to attend parties. Some people (myself included) try to steer clear of overeating opportunities to avoid gaining weight during the holidays. It is really hard to control your appetite when all your favorite dishes are being served and waiting to be devoured. My weakness? Humba. I just can't stop eating our home cooked (Heart attack guaranteed) Humba. I also can't refrain from having an extra serving of any vanilla/ chocolate Ice cream. I am heavy built and gain weight easily whenever I indulge.

I created a healthy lifestyle plan to keep my weight at bay during the holidays. I hope it works well for you as well. Good Luck!!!! 

1. Whenever you are invited to a party. Arrive LATE! As long as you are not bringing food for everybody then it is acceptable to be late. Be Tardy enough that all the good and tasty food have vanished and you are left with just water and Soup. 

2. Stick/ Hang out with healthy weight-conscious Friends. Some of my team mates from Multisport Team Reborn are healthy but not weight conscious because they are blessed with bodies able to metabolize large amounts of food. I try to stick with team mates who are trying to control their food intake as well during the holidays. One for all, All for one. 

3. Make aerobic/ fat burning exercises a group activity. Organize a group bike ride or run to make the holidays more jolly as well as healthy.

4. Schedule Lunch or Dinner parties after regular training hours. This will help increase your metabolism during the party and burn some of the calories you are taking in. 

5. If its not too important, SKIP IT! Try to make an excuse for not attending the party. Be polite, not rude. 

6. Earn your food. Eat only what you have burned prior to the meal. Remind yourself that training is hard and burning 500 calories is equivalent to running at moderate intensity for an hour. Drinking one venti-sized Frappuccino (>500 calories) can be burned by running for more than an hour. 

7. Count calories. I am not a big fan of this but I just remind myself that a cup of hot Cafe Mocha is more than double the calories compared to a cup of Cafe Americano with no sugar and cream. A bottle of San Mig Light is 100 calories and a regular glass of red wine is 100-150 calories.  

8. Eat more vegetables or fiber. I eat cereal bars for breakfast while driving to work or after a workout. During parties, I try to fill my plate with veggies first before meat or carbs. 

9. Love Peanuts and Peanut butter. I never run out of peanuts in the car and peanut butter in the office. I love Jiff or Peter Pan Reduced Fat Peanut butter and Cheding's Greaseless Peanuts. These help reduce my food cravings between meals and provide me with enough protein and calories for recovery. 

10. Pick your food. It does not have to be expensive as long as it is not processed. Despite my love for Cheeseburgers, I try to refrain myself from eating fast food unless there are no other choices. I eat chips, fries and Ice cream only during "cheat days" 1-2x a week to keep myself motivated to exercise and burn the calories I have consumed. 

11. Drink water. This, for me, is the most important. A glass of water before meals and 30-60 minutes after a meal. I consume around 2-3 Liters of water on a regular day. If its really hot and humid outside or if I am training, I consume more. No beer, soda or artificial juices during parties. 

This regimen has worked well for me these past few weeks. I have not gained weight since the start of the holidays and I feel lighter. A regular and healthy diet supplemented with a consistent Aerobic exercise program (moderate intensity, at least 30 minutes/ day for 3-5 days/ week) will help you feel younger, lighter and healthier. Happy Holidays!!! 

My First Chain Snap...Timex 226 and the Cobra Ironman Registration

Right when I was about to end my spin program with a heavy geared slow spin, it happened. My very first chain snap. I was not sure what was happening because my chain started jumping gears until my cranks suddenly lost tension. When I looked down. My chain was on the floor. 

For some reason I was smiling when it happened. Do I need a new one? or just have it repaired? 

More importantly, Congratulations to the finishers of the recent TIMEX 226 race in Bohol. Special mention to my team Reborn mates Tenggoy Colmenares and Jomer Lim. Good job mates! Your finish times have really improved. 

Also, I have already registered for the 2013 Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines yesterday. I completed registration a few minutes after it opened to make sure I  had a slot. They are selling like hotcakes! If you have plans of joining next year's race you better get your credit card ready and complete the registration form. Waiting for a slot to open can be torture. Register Now! 

The solution to Time-crunched Athletes

I am a full-time Doctor training in Adult Pulmonary Medicine and time is a luxury I do not have. Reports, lectures and patients eat away my daily hours. On top of that, I am an exercise addict and want to sweat to relieve stress and stay healthy. 

I used to train 10-15 hours a week when I trained for my first Ironman 70.3 in CamSur. This was 2 years ago and I was not doing medical training back then. Now, I have to squeeze in a few minutes to hours (if I am lucky) just to run or bike or swim in my hectic time schedule. I can only commit to 3-5 hours per week of training and need to build good quality workouts in my training program. 

In a few days, I will register for the 2013 Ironman 70.3 Philippines and have to be ready enough to finish the 1.9K swim, 90K bike and 21k run. Despite my half-ironman finish last 2010 and 2011, I am still nervous I may not be prepared for next year's race. I have committed to losing weight and be as lean as I can next year. I hope to achieve target race weight of 68 kilos by March next year. So far, I have lost more than 5 kilos in more than 2 months and still losing. I use an accurate weighing scale and a BEI measurement device to  keep track of my progress. I record my weight, body fat percent, Basal metabolic rate (BMR) and Body mass index (BMI) every week. (I will soon blog about how to properly use a BEI device)

I convinced myself to cut down on my daily calorie intake and started to choose high quality foods. No processed foods as much as possible. I eat lots of proteins, drink as much water and regularly take my daily food supplements. I still eat at least 3x/day sometimes as often as 5x depending on my daily energy expenditure. I eat small meals enough to satisfy my stomach and not feel hungry all the time. I snack on high quality foods like fruits or nuts to keep me full. Although I allow myself cheat days, this half of my training regimen has been successful. Losing weight and staying healthy is not just about cutting down on food intake. 

The other half is more difficult. I have to exercise or train with only 3-5 hours to spare a week. I have to make quality workouts on my swim, bike or run training to achieve good results. I can only do my bike training using a trainer to maximize time. Cutting down on bike preparation prior to a ride, I can start spinning and focus on my program immediately after commencing my spin program. I usually spin with Team Reborn mates Jung and Gianluca to bear the pain of spin training. I repeatedly remind myself of my mantra while suffering on the trainer. IWBMATTKYT. "I Will Beat My Ass Today To Kick Yours Tomorrow" I got from The Sufferfest website for cyclists. I keep my runs short and hard. Long runs are faster than my previous long slow distance (LSD) runs. I rate my efforts based in on a RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) scale of 1-10. Interval workouts are usually at 8-9 (sometimes 10) and recovery at 6-7 on the scale. Because of my lack of time, I follow a training principle called HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training.

HIIT principle states that workouts/ intervals need to be hard enough to cause a sharp increase in oxygen consumption (VO2 max) to maximize exercise gains followed by bouts of recovery. This method can help you build power and endurance in only a short amount of time per workout. It also improves weight loss by burning fat hours after your workout. Running HIIT will have more exercise gains compared to an ordinary run workout of the same duration. The only drawback is that you have to tolerate the suffering. It hurts to push your body harder (not longer) with only a short burst of near-maximal to maximal effort followed by a recovery phase and repeatedly doing it. Workout sessions last only 20-30 mins but are as effective as longer programs. And because sessions are shorter, It reduces risk of injury from overuse or overtraining when done properly. 

If you are a time-crunched athlete like me then maybe you should start incorporating HIIT training to fully maximize your exercise gains. Time is never an excuse to not exercise. Make time to exercise. Your body is your biggest investment. See you on the road!!!