plana forma

Getting back on track

/ iamsupercarla / Leave a comment

Normally, weight gain doesn’t bother me.

It’s a lie.  It feels magnificent.  Not having to worry about losing weight because your man loves you as you are?!  Totally reminds me of Channing Tatum’s first lines in his vow from the movie The Vow:

I vow to fiercely love you in all your forms, now and forever.

That has to be the best line in their vows ever.  Anyway, moving on…

It’s different to have your family critical of you; I think it’s something that they normally do.  Like breakfast.  It’s part of being a family, criticism.  So it slighted me in the littlest manner possible whenever they would criticize about my weight.

Then it became lunch topic.  And a greeting.  “Oh wow, you’ve gained weight!” or “You look so… great!” I am assuming by ‘great’ people are talking about width.

And then…  it became an MRT pass.  A lady offered me her seat when she saw me.  I think she assumed I was pregnant.  I took it anyway, sayang e.  But it happened again.  A girl frowned at everyone and was like, “Here take my seat.”  Then… I realized it has been happening all the time.

Even at church!  I usually hear mass at the Bel Air locale every Thursday night.  Twice, I was offered to sit in the nursery.  Yes, the place where the moms with kids and pregger moms  sit.

Now, I only have one thought in my head.  This weight has got to go.

But then this is not my first foray into weight loss.  I’ve done Plana Forma.  Circuit training.  Yoga.  Weights.  I rekindled my love for running.  But my brother said I lacked one thing and it’s not determination.  It’s consistency.  I may be motivated and determined to be toned and all that but if I have too many rest days, the weight will just come right back.

I think that’s also one of the reasons why I gained faster this time compared to the time I managed to lose the weight.  I abruptly stop.

Anyway, moving on… I’m going to try out one of the workouts on Back On Pointe.  Been pinning a lot from it lately, and this workout caught my attention:

I like mornings.  I actually like waking up early.  I am kind in the morning, so it’s easy to associate me with the word ‘angel’ as long as it’s morning.  So yeah, maybe this kickoff would be a good start.

Plus of course, serious diet realignment.  More complex carbs, more protein.  Lesser sugar, lesser caffeine.  I challenged myself a few weeks back to not have coffee; I lasted a good five weeks.

Let’s see how long I can keep this up.  I figured this coupled with a good diet and maybe running at least five hours a week could eventually prep me for that big February 2013 event.  EHEHEHEHEHEEEEEEEM.

I’ll let you know how it goes.  Maybe this would be a good start for you too. :)

Advertisement

Time to go healthy!

/ iamsupercarla / 2 Comments

I credit my recent weight loss initially to Plana Forma.  To be honest, I want to go back to doing that, but their studio is way too inaccessible for me.  I’m hoping that they set up a Makati studio soon.  Anywhere in Makati is accessible for me.

So when I stopped Plana Forma (I did about 10 or 12 sessions?  It’s sooooo good.), I resorted to the company gym.  Mondays and Tuesdays, I run.  I usually just run too on Wednesdays, but when I discovered Taebo at the Penthouse and how it gallantly kicks my ass, that has officially settled in as my Wednesday routine.  First week on this schedule, I lost three pounds.  I better keep it up.

I started looking for food that will easily be a healthy fix.  If there’s something I need to cure, it’s my spontaneous eating habits.  Then I saw this:

I want to know where I can find blueberry cream cheese.  I just had second breakfast, and now, I want to eat again!

This is sooo not helping my diet.

Landmark = worst customer service

/ iamsupercarla / Leave a comment

Before I blog about something fantastic,I almost forgot about this little thing that happened over the week.

I’ve scheduled my Plana Forma classes over the week and unfortunately, I forgot to bring clothes.  I guess that’s the pitfall of a new exercise routine; it needs breaking into.  So instead of missing the class (which will most likely form a very ugly habit), I decided to run to Landmark and grab a pair of pants and top to suffice for the day’s workout.

And the epic fail decision started there.  I know SM is no step up, but I should have just gone there.

The saleslady was so curt.  I weas asking for my size and I swear I saw her eyes roll at me.  I asked for a medium top.  Threw it in my hand.  I asked for a medium pant.  Gave it to me without even looking.  So in my head, hey, maybe she’s having a bad day.  I mean, I would too if I had to work through lunch, so I ignored it.

After fitting the items, I decided to get them.  Cheap but nice, will do for later.  Landmark’s practice is having an order slip filled out by the consignee’s saleslady.  But when I went out of the dressing room, she wasn’t there.  Waited for five minutes.  Nada.  So I went straight to the cashier, knowing that the cashier will call for her and have her fill out the order slip.

Then we waited at the cashier for FIFTEEN EFFING MINUTES.  Seryoso.  As in!  The bagger lady was calling her area, but no one was picking up.  So she sent someone to pick her up.  The wait took such a long time that the cashier started chatting me up, feeble attempts to make me comfortable.  When the bagger lady couldn’t handle the ringing, she ran to where that saleslady was.  When she ran back, she muttered, “Sus, nakikipagdaldalan lang pala.”

It.  Is.  Infuriating.  The next scene just played like this.

Me:  *not looking*
Saleslady:  Ma’am thank you for your purchase.  Cash or card po?
Me:  *still not looking, hands over card to cashier*
Saleslady:  *copies details of purchase in order slip*
Saleslady:  *hands order slip to cashier for processing*
Saleslady:  Ma’am sa susunod po, kuha tayo ng order slip para mabilis po.
Me:  In that case, *turns to her and does the Cherie Gil look (aka head to toe, brow raised)* next time din, huwag kang magtataka kung bakit dito ka nagtatrabaho at kung bakit yan lang ang responsibilidad mo dito.

BAM.  FIERCE.  The entire counter was silent for a while and I swear I saw her tear up.  In my head, it’s so simple!  You are a saleslady, so take care of every potential sale.  I’ve been to customer service and I was not ever that crappy.  Come on!

Of course I felt horrid right after I said it, but I said it already.  No need for me to play angel when I clearly meant what I said.  It’s just sad when the simplest of tasks cannot be performed. 

Wala lang.  I just now know for a fact that I can’t speed shop at Landmark. SM Makati na lang (note the specified location).  There, I just say I’m in a rush, so can you find me this this this in this size and this color.  Fifteen minutes and I was out of there.  Sa Landmark, fifteen minutes, wait period pa lang.  Anu ber.

So there.  Customer service is customer service.  If people can demand so much from their government workers and employees, then maybe these people should also demand the same from themselves.  Just saying.

Plana Forma Day 2

/ iamsupercarla / 1 Comment

As scheduled, I made my way to Jecoprime Building yet again yesterday to catch the 11:30 class.  I knew it was somehow going to be a light day at work, though it held very little promise to remain light.  Grabbed a cab and had him drive to McKinley Hill, and this time, I downloaded Google Maps.  Ha!  I outsmarted myself.  Though by not much coz I should have done that in the first day.

Because of the map, I am once again presented with a reason why I do not like Global City (that much).  The first one was the amazingly depressing exit to C-5.  Have you tried that?  Fucking awful traffic!  Went that way with Anj one time, got stuck for 30 minutes.  That’s a trip back to QC along EDSA right there!  The second one is the stoplight.  Correction:  STOPLIGHTS.  Every single corner has one!  I left the office at 11, grabbed a cab at 11:02, and I should have been there in say 15 minutes.  I got there 11:27.  Not.  Fun.

I hate rushing.  Really.  Especially rushing dressing up.  I was in a dainty dress and had to slip into my leggings and top real quick.  And when I did manage to do that, I remembered I’m wearing the wrong bra.  So went in and changed that too.  Then the class started and I had to hop out while putting on socks.  UGH.

The class instructor Mae Evangelista is really interactive.  I guess because there are only four of us there, she managed to memorize all our names (and I think she also met us one by one before class).  This is the part I really like, the small class.  She was able to call us out when our form wasn’t good, boosted our spirits when we no longer want to continue, and well, she was exceptionally chipper.  I swear she hops.  She doesn’t walk.  She really literally hops.

It’s much much much much much less painful.  I did quiver 50% of the time, but Mae was quick to praise and say “shaking is good” coz apparently, that’s the burn.  Funny how my body can’t seem to be used to it.  They were right when they said the first time will always be hell.  The second was far breezier than I expected.

I liked the mat exercises a lot.  Mae really made us work for it, and I regretted just eating a power bar before heading to the studio.  But I felt it all in my ass, the movement I mean.  It was like a workout for my but and my big butt cannot lie.  Midway through the exercise, the movement started to feel more natural… until the thigh exercise.  Hahahahaha.

Plana Forma never fails to surprise me.  I mean, I still hate the thigh stuff, but Mae was quick to point out if I want to lose the weight I want to lose, and be toned the way I want to be, I should do them.  And do them I did.  For a moment it felt like I’d be more familiar with the routine, but different instructors seem to be the spice here.  I can never expect the same exercise.

I ended up signing up for their Newcomer Monthly Unlimited.  For P3,000, I get to join as many classes as I want.  It’ll expire 30 days from the first day I use it.

Let’s just say I can cope better now.  I managed to come back to the office, nibble on my fish lunch and hold two more meetings in the afternoon.  I was supposed to have Day 3 today, but yeah, the late movie made me wake up late.

So there.  Let’s see…. hmmm… Lost a couple of pounds already, and I’m surprised.  Maybe if I tweak my eating…

Plana Forma Day 1

/ iamsupercarla / Leave a comment

As part of my resolutions, I have decided to take up Chuvaness’ advice:  take up Plana Forma.  Actually, it was more like an indirect advice, because she just shared the reflections of the person who did try it, and to be honest, well… it got me curious.  I’ve been meaning to try it for some time, but never really had the courage to.  So when I felt like calling their studio to book a schedule, I didn’t resist the urge.

I was scheduled for an intro class on Monday evening, 5:30 to 6:30 PM.  I was adviced to come in earlier than usual because I still have to go through the registration process (aka fill out a two paged form).  The first challenge was the location.  It’s at 20th Drive, McKinley Hill.  When I looked it up Google Maps, it showed that 20th Drive is along 5th Avenue, the long stretch along Global City.  Then I realized, this is not an easy commute.  I mean, are you kidding me?  The fact that it is located in a place so averse to public transportation already makes it hard.  How hard  can this get?

So I took the cab at first to get there.  The driver isn’t familiar with the street so I had to call their studio as I go.  Too bad, the receptionists can’t seem to have any other landmarks but Libingan ng mga Bayani and Esensa Condos.  I think they’re not used to clients that do not own cars.  They can use some work on their direction giving skills, or better yet, explore commute options to their studio.

When I got there, they were right:  the building where the studio is located is still under construction.  However, it is impossible to miss.  It is the only building with green glass panels.  When you see it, do not fear, you are not lost, just walk in and get on the elevator to the 6th floor (yes, this is what I said to myself as I was walking the grassy way to Jecoprime Building).

Everyone appeared to be expecting me, prolly because I looked so new.  I filled out the forms and they casually offered me their bottled water for P30.  I was surprised to see Nature’s Spring as their bottled water supplier (it looks really cool, by the way).  They offered me a locker, which I happily availed. 

Then… silence.  I had to ask them where to go next.  They then led me to their locker room which was very relaxing.  One cube was for doing yer business and three others as the shower.  Face and bath towels were cleanly stacked and lockers, that sadly have a high face-hitting-the-door risk, smell very nice.  For a newbie, it was a very good indication that I will get my money’s worth.  They asked me politely if I want to settle the bill now or after the class. 

Then I changed.  Everyone seems to know someone taking this class and I can see even if it’s just the soft opening, it has attracted a particular niche of goers.  I wanted to hangout at the locker more, but then I heard a voice and when I went out, the class was already starting, about three minutes in.  I wish they announced that it’s about to start.

Now, the hard work begins.  The intro class felt really good to start.  We started with floor exercises.  A lot of the movements target the thighs, and Dyan Castillejo was not kidding when she said you can feel the burn.  It started out good pain, and then the struggle pain came in when we went to the bar.

The bar reminds me very much of the exercises we used to do when I was a kid and I was studying ballet.  I admit I was losing focus, mainly because I couldn’t find my center.  Standing on the balls of the feet, our instructor Vinia had us doing pulses by making our ankles touch our ass (or as close as we can get it to). 

OH.  MY.  GEHD.  The pain quickly set in and I am reminded of how little exercise I get (or give) to my thighs.  Hamstrings, glutes, everything was stretching and everything was painful.  The brief 30- to 45-second stretches were like heaven.  Then we had to do the other leg.  OH.  MY.  GEHD.

Matt exercises kicked our core.  It was very ab-centric, and that is the one region I’ve always been lazy to focus on.  I paid the price alright.  There was a part when you had to “swim” and all of your weight is on the abdominals and hips, all limbs elevated imitating a swimming style. 

After the 55-minute class, we had to put everything back in order:  the mats, the ball, the straps, the weights, everything is provided for.  I wanted to run because I can feel the throbbing in my legs.  It felt like the devil decided to live in my thigh and redecorated it. 

The hard part is the going home part.  It was so hard to get out of that place.  You have to walk to 5th Avenue and wait for a jeepney to Guadalupe station or a cab to anywhere.  And by waiting I mean really waiting.  It took me roughly 45 minutes to get to the train.

All in all, it was a FANTASTIC workout.  I love the pain I’m feeling in the morning because I know I did it right.  The instructors are very concerned with your form, that’s why they’re constantly monitoring it.  Also, everyone in the studio is so chipper; it’s hard to snap at them even when you want to break their neck after what they did to you.  They have everything for sale:  shirts, leggings, training bras, towels, non-skid socks, water, power bars, EVERYTHING.  The studio itself is a one-stop shop to prep you for your Plana Forma session.

I strongly recommend this exercise because the way I sweated it out yesterday… well, let’s just say I just might be able to reach that goal weight by May.  Yes.  I seriously feel it’s THAT good.

I just wish they’ll be more accessible.

Plana Forma Day 2 will be on Friday.  Another intro class for me.  I think I’ll get three or four intro classes before I go to the beginner ones.  My muscles need a lot of breaking in to.