2 Heartbreaks & A Bet.

A lot of people have been asking me what the real reason is behind my determination to FINALLY lose all the excess weight. To most of them I just usually joke and say it’s my fear of going back to my old FAT FUGLY self. While that is partly true, there really are 3 other factors that contributed to my weight loss.

year 2009. around 183 lbs.

year 2011. around 179 lbs.

First, there was heartbreak number 1. An ex boyfriend and I enrolled at Fitness First in the hopes of losing weight together as a team. We only ended up hitting the gym together TWICE then things turned sour after that. I had already signed up for a 4-month membership and I didn’t want my money to go to waste. And also because I wanted to prove a point, that I could do this whole weight loss thing on my own, I worked my ass off at the gym. I dug into my life savings and signed up for personal training sessions. The gym membership plus the personal training fees were SO EXPENSIVE. I just wanted to make sure they were all going to be WORTH IT. Also, there is that scene at the back of my head wherein I’m looking so incredibly sexy as I walk past that person and all he can do is stare at me with his jaw on the floor. *evil laugh*

On my first day at Fitness First, September 12, 2011, I weighed in at 178.8 lbs. I stared in disbelief at the weighing scale and thought “what have you done to yourself mickiego? How could you have allowed yourself to grow this big?” My personal trainer immediately put me on a weight loss program focusing on a lot of cardio exercises coupled with strength training to help me build muscle. Muscle, according to her, aids in the burning of fat. So I should not be afraid of bulking up if I do weights. I told her, “I’m willing to do absolutely anything. Just get me back in shape please.” The goal was to lose 7 to 10lbs per month. If all goes well, I should be able to reach my target weight of 120lbs by March 2012.

I would say the first few weeks of regular gym-ing were the hardest. I had to sacrifice a lot of the things that I used to enjoy like my cooking, staying up late at night to stalk people on FB, to read blogs, watch TV, etc. I made it a point to sleep as early as 1:00am as opposed to my usual 3:00am so I could wake up early the next day. I had to make a total 360 degree turn in the way I lived my life. Since I started to embrace the joy of cooking early in 2011, I didn’t find it particularly difficult to alter my diet. I have been eating a lot of veggies, chicken and fish even before I started hitting the gym.

All I had to do was to teach our house help basic recipes that she could prepare for me. I had to give up cooking time to make way for gym time. My everyday diet started to look like this:

Pre-gym: a bowl of Oatmeal w/ Peaches OR Fitnesse Cereal

Lunch: Salad (composed of romaine lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber) with chopped hard boiled eggs, grilled or breaded chicken or fish (and sometimes bacon!) I don’t include dressing because I rely only on the meat to give it flavor. I also have a cup of coffee (or two) together with my lunch.

Dessert/Snack: Apples (or sometimes I’d have a banana, or oranges and grapes). Apples are a staple in my everyday meals.

Dinner: Grilled or breaded Chicken or Fish w/ brown rice (or mashed potatoes) plus stir-fried veggies (usually a medley of eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots.

I bought this set of 3 containers from Lock & Lock around last year and they have been my best diet companions. I take them with me as I leave the house in the morning and I make sure my food is just within reach at all times. So whenever I go hungry I do not get tempted to eat anything else other than my baon.

 The hardest thing to give up when it came to my diet is SWEETS. I have always had a thing for cakes, pastries, bread, cookies, and chocolate. They are my ultimate weakness. However, it came to a point when I’d ask myself “how many more hours on the treadmill or the elliptical do I have to do just for me to burn this piece of cake?” Indeed, that saying that goes “A moment on the lips, forever on the HIPS” is SO TRUE. So I started to carefully watch everything that entered my mouth.

Then an old acquaintance entered the picture. Itago nalang natin siya sa pangalang Coach K. He’d been inviting me out to coffee for a few times after learning about my recent “heart break”, tweeting to me things like “kinsa man away nimo? coffee ta na.” But I always pretended to be preoccupied with other things. But one night I finally invited him out to dinner along w/ my girl friends. That was the night Coach K and I made THE BET. The first one to lose 10 lbs will win P1,000. Goodness. That’s some huge money there. I didn’t want to have to pay that amount just because I’m FAT. hahaha.. So I worked harder. Also, because I wanted to show Coach K that I’m better than him. :p Na challenge akong beauty!

On my next weigh in, September 30,2011 I was 171.4 lbs. Almost 7 lbs lighter than 2 weeks ago. I was AMAZED when I saw the numbers on the weighing scale. I wanted to hug my personal trainer out of happiness. WOW. 7 lbs in 2 weeks. How did I do that? It was on that day when I made the resolve to keep going at this. RESULTS make everything worth it, I tell you. Coach K was the first person I called after I learned about my weigh in results. I was just 3 lbs. away from winning P1,000. I remember that day very clearly. Coach K told me “ani nalang micks, dagan lagi ta. i tell you, you are going to lose weight faster.” I was like, huh? running? me? But I’m too fat and I have very weak knees. I have to lose weight first. That became another motivation for me to work harder at the gym. I have joined a few fun runs in the past, some 3k and some 5k but I always found it so exhausting. Maybe if I did lose some weight, say around 150lbs, I’ll think about this whole running thing again. If I’m lighter I’ll probably find it more enjoyable. And yes, I eventually won the bet but it took Coach K a couple of months before he could pay up his P1,000. hahah!

Fast forward to the month of October. Cupid somehow found his way into my life and I found myself starting to like this other guy. I met him around a year ago and communication lines started to open again. For a little while there I thought, oh my goodness. I have found THE ONE. I was inspired more than ever to keep going, to work harder at the gym, and to stick to my diet. There were times when I’d be at a party or a gathering and there’d be so much food in front of me but I’d only eat a cup of yogurt that I brought from the house. It was so hard to resist temptation yet I knew my efforts would be all worth it. By the end of October I weighed in at 164lbs. I was beginning to actually SEE results.

October 2011. around 164 to 166 lbs

Friends would tell me my face looks smaller and that I look so much better. They just don’t know how happy those comments made me feel. Before I knew it I was already wearing clothes from my closet that used to be too tight for me like this pair of skinny jeans. Damn. It felt so good to finally be able to squeeze into them again.

skinny jeans! yeaahboi!!!

November rolled around and I found myself nursing another heart break. Although there was really nothing between me and my so-called “THE ONE”, for some reason, it hurt me. A LOT. To me it felt like he was the one that got away but at the same time I never really had him in the first place. I don’t know if that even makes sense. All I know is that my pride and ego took a pretty good beating. Since I am not one to wallow in my misery, I focused all my efforts into my weight loss. This second “heart break” became the ultimate driving force for me to keep going and going. My everyday gym-ing composed of group exercises, personal training sessions, and cardio exercises became my diversion. Going to the gym became my reason to wake up in the morning. I focused on my bi-monthly weigh ins making sure that each time I faced the weighing scale I would be happy with the numbers. All this time I maintained my 2x a week dance sessions which I believe helped me a lot in the weight loss department too. This photo was one of the first Before & After  layouts that I posted on Facebook. Man, I was FLOORED by the responses I got from my friends. I knew there were a lot of people cheering me on and rooting for me. And NO, not a single Like or Comment from the person behind heart ache number 2. OUCH.

It was in the later part of November when my personal trainer at Fitness First told me to join their New You Achievement Awards (NYAA) contest. It is not a weight loss contest as many people tend to believe. The winner will be chosen based on the number of lbs lost as well as the story behind their weight loss. The more inspiring, the better. During the pre-judging interview I was asked, “So what made you decide to lose weight?” I was honest with them and told them, “Well, it’s really because of 2 heart aches”. Most of the judges just laughed at my answer. I probably would have laughed too if it weren’t the truth. There were 8 other contestants all with their own stories, all with their own reasons why they made the decision to shed the excess weight. While my story probably wasn’t as sob-inducing as the others, I still enjoyed my Fitness First NYAA experience. This photo was taken during the pre-judging. That’s me and my trainer Charlemagne. My legs look so disgusting. haha!

To join the contest I was required to submit before and after photos. And since I operate my own photography studio for a living I thought to myself, why not just give myself a photo shoot? After all, it is not everyday that I get to join contests like this. So I booked my favorite make up artist WWZ, dressed up, and posed like there’s no tomorrow. Kapoy man sad d.i mag mow-del but was so happy with the results. Here are 4 of the “AFTER” photos that I submitted. At the time these photos were taken I had already dropped 17 lbs.

During the awards night, December 6, 2011, all contestants were made to walk one by one on a stage. Our “stories” were presented to the audience with a matching dramatic background song called “This Is My Now” by none other than one of my weight loss inspirations Jordin Sparks. It felt nerve-wracking to walk down a ramp in heels facing many of the gym goers but I managed to survive without tripping and falling flat on my face. It also helped that there were 2 familiar faces in the crowd none other than Borbies my dear friend, my dormie and fellow gym-goer (to GAIN weight, not to LOSE)

weight loss-er and weight gainer

and of course, Coach K! I always tell people he is the reason why I was so determined to lose the first 10lbs. I just didn’t want to lose a bet with this guy. U-uh. No way. No how. So, yeah, he just had to be there. And also because I needed someone to take photos. haha Thank you again Borbies & Coach K for the moral support!

because I didn't want to lose p1,000!

That night was also a moment of pride for my trainer Charlemagne. God, I don’t know what I’d do without her. She’s been so supportive of me from day 1. This is us all glammed up for a change instead of our usual gym outfits.

 I didn’t win the NYAA but the experience was so inspiring. It gave me even more determination and motivation to keep going. Around the first week of December, I finally reached 151lbs. And as a promise to myself, I thought about the whole running thing again. Coach K had been continuously prodding me to go running with him and so I finally gave in. Our first training run was a 5k jog around I.T Park which was then followed by my 4th race, the Run United last December 11, 2011. For the first time I actually ENJOYED running because I felt so much lighter, I had more stamina and endurance to finish the race without huffing and puffing for dear life. And the HIGH I got after crossing the finish line was just awesome. I told myself, if I’d get addicted to running it will be because of this race.

 One training run with Coach K led to another and soon I found myself looking forward to running. From doing only 5k, we slowly made our way to 7k, then 12k, then 14k. The next thing I knew I was preparing for my first half marathon. I am going to devote an entire entry about the road to my first 21k so I will stop here for now. This photo was taken 2 nights before the big race last January 8. Weighing in at 145 lbs.

 I have another 25 lbs to lose before I reach my target weight of 120lbs. It seems like a mountain to climb but at this point I know that there is nothing that I couldn’t do. Having lost this much weight feels so empowering and has inspired me to aspire for new goals. In fact, I am currently working towards joining my first TRIATHLON in 2013. I know it seems like a tall order now but I know that there is nothing I couldn’t achieve if I put my whole heart and mind into it. We bid goodbye to the year 2011 a couple of weeks ago and with it I bid goodbye to my old self too. The year 2012 will be all about stepping out of my comfort zone, pushing boundaries, and exploring my limitations.

Also, since the heart took a pretty good beating last year, in 2012 it will take a rest. To the 2 boys behind the heart aches that led me to where I am now, well, I never thought I’d say this but THANK YOU. Now I am a true believer in the saying that things indeed happen for a reason. On to a stronger, happier, and most importantly, SEXIER 2012! Let’s gooooooooooooo Mickieeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!