Awesome Life Practices in "Real Life" Part 4: My Body

Last week, I attended our high school reunion and had a super awesome time! A batchmate commented on how I didn't look like I had a baby. High five! OK, confession time. Here's a peek at some of my daily routines logged at my ListLab planner on how I take care of my body.

I've got special routines on the list like thyroid meds for my post-therapy maintenance and bone stretching exercises that a physiotherapist taught me to take care of the "very mild" scoliosis I got a few years back. The question I simply want to convey with this post is "What practices can you realistically do daily to take care of your body?"

Lately I was able to squeeze "walking" to my daily routine before and after work. It feels good that little things like this can add up to become a good habit and eventually a healthier lifestyle change. Take it a habit at a time. Make it something easy and fun. Herbal tea break, anyone? :)

Foodie Round-up: Quittin' Sugar (Join Us?)

"Jen, OK na ko." ("Jen, I'm OK now.), Ma said with a big grin in her face. She just came from the doctor's clinic that day with test results on her hand. After weeks of quitting sugar, she was able to normalize her alarming high sugar level and dismiss problems with her kidney. Weeks before that day, I joined my mother on her "quitting sugar journey" because I simply love wellness experiments and I know it can help me regulate my energy levels and even help me shed some weight.

Eco Loca: Why Dry Brush

I've got a morning habit that I have been doing religiously for 2 years now. It's called dry brushing. I first learned about it from the book "Do It Gorgeously" and had been reading about its great benefits since. It helps detoxify your lymphatic system, sheds dead skin cells, thus, improving skin texture and increases skin circulation flow (no more clogged pores and less cellulites!) to name a few.

But Jen, wouldn't it hurt to brush the body dry??? Just a tad bit, honey. It depends on your brush. I purposely chose a brush with bristles that is on the medium to hard range. One of the reason I do this is to wake up my senses. I used to wake up so early for work when I started this habit and I needed a real wake-me-up ritual and this came along perfectly. I love my brush. I make sure it's on my suitcase when I travel. :) Make sure that you choose a natural (vegetable bristles) brush with a long handle and you're good to go.

Foodie Roundup: Workout Starts Tomorrow

I congratulated myself too much this week. I received a few compliments lately that I lost weight from my pregnancy and I patted my back hard with 6 slices of strawberry cake (I know!), fried ice cream, and butterscotch candies. This morning, I got the better of me and decided that too much happy pink desserts will send me back to square one. All of these snacking had been fun but I'm going back to my sugar-phobic self and face Jillian's workouts tomorrow. Oh, I love Jillian's tough love motivation, by the the way! Following her customized program corrected a lot of my form mistakes in exercises. Channelling my "babaeng Amazona" self... now!