Water matters

Hello, sweeties! I hope all of you have had a restful/peaceful Holy Week. I have spent some time in my hometown and I've been busy playing with my baby cousin and the dogs that's why I have been away from the blog for a few days. I'm back with a list of subjects I want to write about and there's quite a few things on it. Let's start with the earth element that is so close to my heart, Water.

Palawan

Although it is summer time and it would be so interesting to read a post about pools and beaches, what I'm gonna talk about is drinking water. (Yes, I know some people do drink water from pools and beaches but that doesn't count. hehe)

Photo is from here

We all know how drinking plenty of water plays an essential part in our well-being, right? It hydrates our skin, regulates our body temperature, helps remove waste products, protects our organs, cushions our joints and the list goes on and on. When we talk about weight loss, we can associate water with helping convert food to energy and giving us a feeling of fullness.

Photo is from here

Awesome fact: drinking ice cold water makes the body heat itself up to be able to accept the ice, which in turn fires up the metabolism. You can actually burn calories by just drinking cold water! 

I have been drinking lots and lots of water these days.  It isn't a problem for me anymore because I learned to love drinking water! It wasn't always that way, though. I had always complained about the bloated feeling I get after consuming a lot of it. I hated that feeling that something (a goldfish, maybe) is swimming inside your tummy after you've drank aplenty.

My little secret for drinking more water without getting bloated is to drink more gradually. My tumbler never goes empty! I use my good old 16oz. tumbler at work and it's right beside my monitor so it never goes unnoticed. Whenever I finish its contents, I get up to fill it again. Aside from adding my water intake, the trip from my desk to the water dispenser is a good break for my eyes from the computer and my whole body from sitting. 

Now here's a little challenge for all of us: Assign a "water-only" tumbler or sports bottle then commit to having it always filled  and to drinking 2-3 liters per day. After a a week, see how it will change how you feel. 

Let's get it on!

Let me give you a background first. I was born from a family of fat and food-loving people and grew up slightly rounder than all my peers. I usually get comments that I am obese for my height (I am 5'0 ft. and I used to weigh 140 lbs.) but it didn't bother me even a bit.  I would even say that "diet" just isn't in my vocabulary.

Most girls would be so self-conscious by the time they get to High School but even when I was in College, I never mind being fat. I guess it was my self-confidence. I am a person who knows who I am and what I'm capable of, so as long as I felt good about myself, other people's comments just didn't matter.

When I started working, I became less active as I felt too tired to get up and exercise. I also had my own money, so I was more able to eat what I wanted to. Needless to say, I gained more and more weight. It still didn't bother me though, I can always buy new clothes anyway, right? Then in late 2009, I started having chronic back pains. My doctor said that I am too heavy. My lumbar spine can't support all the weight and it is becoming unstable.

Photo from here

January 2010, I also discovered that I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which means I am most likely to have these complications.

It was then that I got scared. I started "dieting" and exercising, on and off.  I would be so determined for like a month, then I'd eventually stop. After a month or so, I would feel energized and motivated again, then after some time, the lazy person in me would again take over.

I started this blog on my birthday last year because I wanted to be out in the open. It was actually to chronicle my journey on battling with my weight issues. But I got more focused on schooling, beating deadlines for the numerous papers and reports became my top priority. Exercise and eating healthy again took the back seat. As time went by, I also started to feel bad with how I looked like.

I still look okay back in 2009.

Then I got fat.

This was when I was in my heaviest. 140 lbs.

When I finally decided that I'd quit schooling, I thought that now I can actually focus on the first item in my list -- Achieve my ideal weight. It was also then that I received an email from Rae of Scatterbraintures, inviting me to join her in creating a support group on healthy living and weight loss.You can email me or Rae if you are interested in joining as well.

From now on, you might be reading more of health-related stuff here in the blog. Please join me as I try to lose 34 lbs. more in the remaining 17 months before I turn 25. 

Holler!

Hello, folks! I am back to write a quick post. I am still superrrrr busy because of school stuff . As you might have noticed, I abandoned my blog and I wasn't even able to continue the March photo a day challenge.  Everything will be over by next Thursday, though. So please pray for me as I finish my final requirement and as I quit schooling. 

Image is from here

I do believe that we should never stop learning, that's why I went back to school. But it doesn't work for me anymore. I am, most of the time, bored or stressed out. I feel that schooling is a hindrance for me to achieve my other goals. That doesn't mean that I'll stop studying and learning more things, though.

I recently realized that one of the reasons why I go to school is that I want to have a better job. I figured that I should be studying so I can get out of my job, not be stuck in another one. Not that I hate being a Librarian, I actually like being one. I just wanna live a more comfortable life. How am I gonna do that, you might ask. Well, for now, my plan is to self-study about money, saving, investing and that kind of stuff. I kinda hate math, so that's actually quite a challenge for me. 

I'm also gonna study about myself, specifically about my weight issues. I'd be writing about that very soon, maybe after my long paper due next week.

So there, that's what's on my mind lately. I'd be visiting your blogs real soon. Can't wait to read all your stories that I have missed!

A smile

Bedside

On my bedside is a bookshelf and a little reading nook, where I don't really read (I prefer reading in bed). It serves as a place for my very big bag.

Neighborhood

I am originally from Bulacan but because my work is based here in the Metro, I rent an apartment with four other people, including my sister.  I live in the first door, the one that doesn't have an A/C.

Fruit

Mangoes & shrimp paste = Mangga at bagoong:
It's not summer without you...