In Love With Zumba

I knew it was gonna be unbearably hot. The news said it was the hottest in Manila in the last 3 months at 34 degree Celsius. So I knew there wasn't a breath of wind out. And I knew that I would be miserable within the next 60 minutes.

But I did something I considered to be very brave.

I went back to Zumba yesterday!

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I enjoy Zumba a lot.

The last time I attended was last November. How time flies. And how jiggly my arms have become. The arms that keep me from going sleeveless. Aargh.

This is the place I have been working out.

See the guy in yellow short? 

Lovely, isn't it? Bright and sunny.

I have to peek in between heads to see the instructor..

The instructor had us do all kinds of squatty jumpy lungie owie things. Lots of stick your butt out and get low-low-low-low kinda stuff. And then we did J. Lo’s I Want to Dance. Oh how I bopped my hips like a butterfy on cocaine and mambo-ed like a madman on the loose. It. Was. That. Fun!

My strength and endurance have gone through the roof. But I felt lovely & light after the work out. It’s like my spirit lifted up. I was soaking wet. I was red, winded and tired but I was happy. Like crazy-happy.

The hardest part? I was terribly in pain after. Felt like my bones were cracking up in every single move.

You say Goodbye, I say Hello!

After surviving a month of overindulgence of spaghetti and menudo, and massive amounts of bad cholesterol from lechong manok and lechong baboy, and overdose of sugar from fruit salad, graham cake and ice cream which is enough to make frosting for a small planet, and not to mention the empty calories and umay factor of MMFF movies (will anyone tell me when Enteng Kabisote and Shake Rattle and Roll will end?), today really is the beginning of a new world.

Apparently the Mayans are right in a sort of way.

And about this time everyone is also compelled to do their resolutions. They are tricky little bastards, aren’t they? Every year I make several resolutions, and by the end of January, they're usually forgotten, much like Jessica Sanchez after she came in second on American Idol.

Most years, I also find that somehow, no matter what I resolve to do, the opposite usually happens. Zumba? nakakain ba yun?

Since that's the case, I've finally smartened up a little and have decided to resolve to do the opposite of what I'd like to do. Without further ado, I am happy and excited to present to you: *Ahem*

1. Screwed at life. This includes, but is not limited to: forgetting to shower for days at a time, being incredibly rude to other living things especially flying insects, and continue to carry books inside my bag for the whole year without reading them. All because Angry Birds are so much fun compared to them.

2. Gain Twenty Pounds. Do I need to lose weight? Yes. Do I want to? Sure. Am I willing to stop eating Tortillos and brownies? No. So, I knew it was stupid to make a resolution that I wasn't going to stick with. In fact, I would love to have even bigger arms, and my thighs are FAR too thin for my liking! Let's fatten them up, shall we?

3. Take really crappy care of my house. Continue to not know how to do things such as sew buttons back on clothing, properly iron my clothes, and put off doing laundry until husband is out of clean underwear.

4. To be more vain.. Spend all of my money on my dry hair, cracked nails, and other material things such as shoes, bags, etc. etc.

Kidding aside, all the goals and objectives we set are good parameters to see how are we becoming as a person, wife, neighbor or in any roles in between. It is like a little target we can check if we hit or miss. And like a game, in case we lose, we can start over and over again. There is no rocket science to explaining life’s success or failures. It is our perseverance and strength of will to go on despite of our present circumstances that all matters.

So friends, what were your resolutions?

An Open Letter to Andi Eigenmann

Dear Andi:

I suppose I should get a couple of things out of the way first. One, I will not pretend to be your mother so this sadly is not to patronize you and your decisions. In fact, for the longest time, I couldn’t decide if I liked you, and lately I’m not just into you. And two, how did you get so thin and sexy when you just gave birth last year? My youngest is already 3 but I still look pregnant. Why?

I watched you at Deal or No Deal the last time . You can make the 24K girls run out of job. You were sporting a body hugging, almost spandex-like mini dress. For some of us chronically obese: it’s a tease. Really, where did those flabs go? I could almost curse myself from being lazy at my aerobics class.

Actually, it's not because I'm lazy. I'm actually a pretty hard worker. It's just that this year, dancing wasn't a goal. Finishing house is.

So to you Andi, you may ask why I hate to see your latest men’s magazine cover? Because you aren’t good for me that's why. You cause depression, regrets and sugar cravings. I didn’t want to hear it either, but there you go.

Yes, the sugar cravings are too your fault. But that’s because when I am jealous, I eat more.

Frankly, I am surprised at how showbiz mothers lose weight too easily, while we, normal birthing humans, lose milligrams of fats ever so slowly. We had to actually weigh and measure our rice if we want to lose some in the waistline area. And we had to drag ourselves to the gym and face the fear of being permanently maimed by the gruesome kickboxing(I still love Zumba though). And don't even get me started on how repugnant I find other people's sweat. Ewewewew.

So to all of you who get rid of body fats, thank the heavens for your fast metabolism.

Have a nice life, Andi. I'm confident that this spontaneous letter won't break you, but good luck nonetheless.

Peace out,

Littleyana

It's Not Fair

Why is it that you take a week off and everything goes right to hell?

I don't mean a week off from work. I wish

I didn’t take a week off from my kids. I wouldn’t want that.

I had to take a week off from working out. No zumba, no kickbox, no latin dance.

Why? Lots of reasons.

Tuesday class was temporarily cancelled because the instructor is going away.

Apparently, she’s tying the knot this month.

Thursday is the next class but my Thursdays are not available because of work.

Then last Saturday, I woke up with my youngest daughter already playing. I just can’t leave the little girl alone in the house, can I? I actually forgot to remind my yaya to come early. At first I thought why wouldn’t I bring her to the aerobic class? Then again for how long would I keep the interest of a 3-year old girl? Would jiggly arms, jiggly bellies, jiggly thighs amuse her long enough?

And Sunday, I can’t take the class either. I can if the kids and I are not attending early church service. Two hours I need to wash them, feed them, prep them and make them look decent.

But I need to something to keep me moving.

I need something to keep me progressing.

I worked out since mid-February and saw pretty good results.

Slowly but surely, the weight was coming off. Snoopy Dance every time I think of it.

But more importantly, of course, I had dropped blood pressure significantly, stabilized my blood sugar and was no longer considered pre-diabetic. I also felt stronger physically.

You know how Sharon Cuneta lost a bunch of weight after The Biggest Loser and told everyone she was slimmer but she was really more like she was before and bigger? I totally get that.

So today, Monday, I surely miss going back again to the class.

I miss doing the oowie this and hurty that and seeing my self sweaty, red and panting.

And now with my weight coming back after a week long absence, it’s a pity.

Haven't I been mostly faithfully working out 3 times a week?

One week off and my knees now jiggle?

Not fair.

The Truth About Zumba

Remember I said I feel like this:

But I look more like this:

I. Don't. Care

Zumba is fun!

[reposted from The Gift of Fat]

Taking Extra Fat to the Next Level

You know what else comes when you hit 30’s? Aside from raising stubborn teens, you also gain stubborn fat. Fat that won’t come off easily. This so because older people metabolize fat slowly. They don’t burn calories fast like younger people do. And the result? Saggy arms, bulging stomachs and fatty hips. All these while facing early mid-life crisis.

But I guess you know this already.

I am not fat my whole life. But I can’t recall myself being skinny even before either. Not too heavy but I was always on the round side, that’s why I’ve been in and out of gyms for many times. As I’ve said before I have great aversion for dieting. I love dinner like I love my breakfast. I can’t start the day without them.

And so this new craze is for me.

ZUMBA!

It's exercise, sure, but it's really dancing.

When I hear the sultry Latin beats I swing my hips like Shakira. I cumbia like Selena, and I salsa like Gloria Estefan.

I feel like one of Christina Aguilera's backup dancers.

The truth is, there are very specific circumstances that are enabling me to do this.

• It’s free. Who doesn't love free? It was actually better than free. It was like someone handed me P16,500.00 which is equivalent to one-year membership to Gold’s Gym. Only I don't have to pay taxes on it.

• My kids are all big enough that it's OK for me to be a couple of hours late two nights a week. One of my girlfriends was telling me how frustrated she is that she can't exercise more. She has a one year old. When I had a one year old, I sure couldn't work out. At all. He won't be one forever. When he's ready, you can think about getting ready.

• My husband has been willing (and able) to go home early and watch kids on workout days. Although we pay someone to look after the children, I am more comfortable that he himself gets them dinner, gets them cleaned up and in jammies. This is huge. Without this, forget it.

• The work out place is near my house. In fact, it’s right beside hubby’s store where he works as a Manager. This convenience is critical. I guarantee if he ever decides to move, he better consult with me. Because if he moves too far away, I'm done.

• Lastly, I did found a new environment and meet new friends. A healthy, happy environment, and health happy friends. I say I became happier, more up beat. Although I am so sore after the calisthenics, I like what the endorphins does to me.

So far.