It all started with a simple compromise. I asked Erika to be my walking buddy every weekend morning; she asked me to go to this preview Saturday the week that I asked her. It seemed I have no choice because I really wanted her to come with me; I said yes, I’ll go… and the rest is history.
I’ve been brisk-walking around and around the Ayala Triangle Park for the past couple of months. I targeted Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but that hour-long exercise depended on the time I left the office, other prior commitments and the weather. Oh, the weather! Sigh. I remember I wasn’t able to exercise for a whole week because of the rain. That was disappointing. So because of the lack of exercise, I decided to do weekends too and, just like old times, again, asked the dear best friend who’s game for everything to join me.
To cut to the chase, we never really did the weekend exercise. For one, I loved sleep more — strike that — love sleep still; secondly, what I heard during the preview changed my perception on weight loss and weight management.
What changed my perception? Even if I tried to cut out on the frappe, soda, rice and sweets intake and attempted the thrice-a-week exercise, I found out that my visceral fat is 13, whereas the normal number for women is 5, and my body age is 50. Fifty!!! Imagine that, I can get any kind of disease that a 50-year-old person may get. Of course I do not want that. Nobody does.
If you’re curious about what visceral fat is, according to Wikipedia, it is “located inside the abdominal cavity, packed in between organs (stomach, liver, intestines, kidneys, etc.). There is a strong correlation between central obesity and cardiovascular disease. Excess visceral fat is also linked to Type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, inflammatory diseases, and other obesity-related diseases.” Read more about visceral fat here. So it is unhealthy fat that surrounds your organs. From what I learned, it’s hard to get rid of visceral fat. Just imagine, liposuction only removes subcutaneous fat. What about all the other fats inside of you? How can that be removed? Wikipedia answers through “high-intensity exercise”. I, for one, don’t like the sound of that. High intensity? Come on. I’d rather sleep… or eat. Haha! Not unless you’re really committed to losing all your visceral fat.
So currently, I’m off the exercise, although a part of me still wants to do it (just weekends perhaps to add to the healthier feel of it all), and I’m on the weight loss program which will help me lose the excess pounds and visceral fat, be a lot healthier.
I will post specifics once I’m off the program. Maybe I can help you change your mind too. Remember: BEING THIN ON THE OUTSIDE DOESN’T MEAN YOU’RE HEALTY ON THE INSIDE.
It’s a brand-new year… oh, and a brand-new blog (yes, again). I want 2012 to be all about change. So, we’ll make change happen, as for my case, beginning with a healthier lifestyle.
