Category Archives: Weight loss challenge

My Journey to Better Health (Week 3): Tips to lose weight and live healthier

This is my third week into the weight-loss program. Last week I shared how much I enjoyed and still enjoying the benefits of exercise as well as the good effects of moderate food intake to my body. I don’t easily get tired from climbing the stairs and doing household chores like I usually do. The strenuous exercise and diet program have finally paid off, too, as I lost two pounds in two weeks. I am hoping to lose more before this challenge ends.

What I did this week?

Much as I’d like to, I really have to stop exercising for four days due to severe menstrual cramps. I know that moderate physical activity is not bad for someone with menstruation, but I can’t move or even stand up as I felt dizzy all the time. I was lying down for two days because of dysmenorrheal pains.

Hopefully I can start exercising again once I feel better.

For the meantime, here’s some tips to lose weight and live healthier from https://www.facebook.com/Clium.

For a healthy food intake

  • Be wise in your food choices. Set a goal to incorporate a variety of nutritious food cooked in healthy ways. Use low-fat methods such as baking, broiling, roasting or steaming.
  • When adding ingredients for cooking, be sure to replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats. Olive and canola oils can replace fatty additives, such as butter when preparing your meals.
  • Eating foods high in fat and cholesterol & having a low-fiber diet have been found to cause colon cancer. Get your best protection by eating healthier food options and incorporating high amounts of fiber in your diet.
  • Fruits are a good dietary source of soluble fiber. Be it fresh, frozen or canned, they essentially help in regulating your bowel movement.
  • Trade your bag of chips for dried fruits and nuts. These low-fat and high fiber food will keep your body in tip-top shape.
  • For those who want to lose weight, increase your fiber intake. Food with fiber requires more chewing time, thus, making you feel full for a longer period of time.
  • Snack on whole wheat crackers to make the most of their high fiber content and choose brown bread, pasta and rice as opposed to their white counterparts.

Be physically fit

  • Find a hobby that you love and turn it into an exercise routine. Try dancing, walking, gardening, yoga, cycling, playing basketball and many more. Choose an activity that fits your lifestyle.
  • Regular exercise is necessary for physical fitness and good health. It reduces the risk of heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes and other diseases.
  • Exercise Tip: Keep a journal of your work-out routines everyday to keep you motivated and to show how much you have improved since Day 1.
  • Aside from the usual routines like running and biking, you can try a more intense and challenging fitness program that will keep your heart pumping and your muscles contracting such as TRX suspension. Exercises like this allow you to work all of your muscles simulatenously (back, biceps, rear delts, traps, forearms, hamstrings) so your entire posterior chain is already hard at work.

Achieve your fitness goals and improve your overall health and wellness, check out http://www.clium.com.ph/losemore to find all the tools you need to start making the smarter choice towards looking young and feeling young.

Watch out for my Week 4 update. (I really hope to get well before the big day.)

My Journey to Better Health (Week 2): Weight-loss effort pays off

After learning that I’m way too heavy for my height (full story here), I’ve made a decision to change my lifestyle for the better. I start to eat less by cutting down the serving size and follow an exercise regimen.

So, how was the first week of the weight loss challenge worked for me?

Following the recommendations made by Dr. Diana Lodriguito, the nutritionist who took by BMI test, is a painful task at first. I maintain a sedentary lifestyle for the longest time so exercising is like a punishment that I have to endure everyday.

But seeing the benefits of exercise to my body now, I don’t think I will do it in any other way. My body is beginning to love the exercise routine and I’m happy that it’s paying off. I already lost two pounds (but have to check other weighing scale to verify the result).

I’m doing the 4-minute metafit work-out since last week. (Thankful that a dear friend even made a video for me.)

Food moderation is an important factor to lose weight. I watch what I eat now. For the past two weeks I have managed to eat two cups or less of rice a day, 1 cup for lunch and another cup for dinner.

I prepare the same food for the family, including their favorite Adobo, Sinigang, fried chicken and porkchop. I eat portions of everything so I don’t starve myself as it is not healthy.

I also eat snacks in between regular meals. It is advisable to take fruits – one piece or 1 slice for snack to make you active and alert in between breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Taking two sachets of  C-lium Fibre with coffee in the morning and before dinner lessens my cravings and makes me feel full. I feel lighter too and my tummy smaller I think.

Benefits of C-Lium in the body

  • C-lium Fibre works like a sponge in the digestive system as it absorbs things that aren’t healthy such as excess carbohydrates, fats, and sugars.

I’m taking two sachets everyday to ensure I get the adequate amount of daily fiber requirement. C-lium Fibre has up to 14 times more fiber than oatmeal and cereal.

  • C-Lium Fibre also helps regulate blood sugar levels and manage the body’s energy-producing carbs. The psyllium husk content of C-Lium slows down the passage of digested food through the digestive system, stalling the release of sugar into your bloodstream so your pancreas has more time to keep these blood sugar levels stable.

Although my blood sugar level and cholesterol are within the normal range, it is better to maintain them by taking C-Lium everyday.

  • Fiber is one of the most effective ways to lose weight without feeling deprived.

I can attest to C-Lium’s effectiveness. In just two weeks, I already lost two pounds.

Keeping up to lose more and live more

I know I have a long way to go to achieve my desired weight, but I’m slowly getting there and I’m not letting up.

I’d like to share my wonderful experience with C-Lium, I hope you do, too.

Check out their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Clium to know more about C-Lium. If you are already up for the challenge log in and join http://www.clium.com.ph/losemore. The winner gets P10,000 in cash. For more updates, you can also follow their Twitter account https://twitter.com/cliumfibre.

My Journey to better health: A Realization

Stay fit and healthy? That’s easier said than done. But if you are properly motivated to achieve your goal, nothing is impossible.

When I was working I strived hard to keep myself fit. I managed to eat cooked oatmeal and banana for dinner. But my healthy lifestyle and eating habits took a nosedive when I started working online. Now, I’m no longer conscious of what I eat; I sleep late at night, and have become sickly. I’ve packed on the pounds for the past five years, too.

I know I have to put an end to my misery. I don’t want to stay like this (heavy) forever.

Last month, a dear friend of mine encouraged me to join a weight loss program. She knew what I’ve been going through and she wanted to help pull me out of the doldrums of my misery for good.

Last week, I started my personal journey to lose weight – one small but sure step at a time.

Executive check-up: The beginning

A group of bloggers including myself met at the MediCard Lifestyle Center in Makati for an executive checkup. This is a requirement for the month-long weight challenge called C-lium Fibre Lose More, Live More Bloggers’ Edition.

I had my BMI (Body Mass Index) test taken by the Center’s nutritionist Diana Lodriguito. You compute for the BMI by dividing your weight by your height squared. The higher the result, the more overweight you are.

At five feet, I weigh 163 lbs, and have a waist line of 40 inches, so that means I have a 32.1 BMI score. The ideal weight for my height, according to Lodriguito is between 95 and 116 lbs or 43 to 53 kilograms. By the end of the weight loss challenge next month, I should have shed a couple of pounds already.

The nutritionist also recommends the amount and type of food that I should eat based on the inverted food pyramid. This means I have to begin taking the right food in moderation. (No more extra servings of rice from now on.)

In keeping with the food guide, Lodriguito recommends brisk walking everyday for at least 30 minutes or 3 hours per week. I started brisk walking the other day and I’m beginning to like it (despite the leg pain).

A big part of being healthy is getting enough rest and sleep everyday. The nutritionist suggests seven hours of sleep everyday if I intend to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

A blood sample was also taken on the same day to determine cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Results furnished by MediCard show that my cholesterol and blood sugar levels are within the normal range. I guess the “only” problem I have to deal with for now is to lose the excess 40 pounds (of fat) off my body.

The treadmill Stress test, which is the last of the series of tests conducted by MediCard, was the most difficult one for me. Not only because it was my first time to step on and use a treadmill, but also because I can hardly cope with the pace of brisk walking. Despite the hurdle, I was able to pass stage two of the test.

The stress test is a real eye-opener for me. It motivates me to take the weight loss program seriously not just for myself, but for the people I care for.

My partner in this journey to a healthy lifestyle is C-Lium Fibre. I take it twice daily with my favorite juice drink to supplement my daily fiber requirements, as fiber is important in lowering blood sugar levels and eliminating excess fats.

To know more about the health benefits of C-Lium, visit and like their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Clium and http://www.clium.com.ph/ for the C-Lium Lose More, Live More website.