2021 was a life-changing year for me, even more drastic and scarier than 2020 when the COVID pandemic began. Fear that I was going to die was what motivated me to take a stand for my life, particularly my health. This wonderful journey and rediscovery started on my birthday during the early part of the year. I already finished my 90-day weight management The Right Approach (TRA) program many months ago and I’m proud to say that the TRA90 challenge was one of the sulit investments I ever did for myself, like the Landmark Forum. I want to travel more, write and experience life guiltlessly with my love for many years to come. Let me share a snippet of my foodie and health adventure with you.
Fast forward to my birthday, a chika moment led us to this program. I immediately signed up and paid that night, empowered with my choice. I just started following what was needed, prepping and going here and there to make sure we were tracking my progress and eating properly. I was already losing weight at Day 0000 when I was practising how to eat in the program and my supplements haven’t arrived yet haha.
For a brief background, I was at my heaviest, experiencing body aches every day, bad days and allergies all year round. To top it off, I was stressed at work and worsened when I got my bad blood test results. I was also not sleeping well and having digestion issues. I was unhappy, kind of depressed and having a hard time in general.
The timing was perfect since I was working from home and grounded without any travel for months. This was me in my last major trip in 2019.
I thought that it was time to try the “three months to make a habit” that my friend was talking about and I was already at my bottom so what else could I lose. The first month was the hardest since the adjustment was tough - so many questions about re-categorizing food groups, monitoring how I felt and getting used to thinking about what best to eat 3x a day.
I was also eating double (sometimes even triple) of what I normally eat pre-program and I had a hard time finishing my meal plates. I eat more than Jeff now haha. “How can I lose weight with all these?” was a constant thought.
I can’t skip meals as well like I always did. The second and third months were over in a flash. Seeing my TRA90 batchmates online also from all over the world and what they were eating helped the program become more interesting for me.
The supplements with Ageloc technology were confusing at first, with the different timings and all but I got the hang of it. I hated this meal replacement Trimshake for dinner for the first two months but it’s my go-to meal now whenever I’m in a hurry or feel like I want a lighter meal.
I was also not a fan of water and that was a hard change. I am also no longer constipated and sleeping better after a month or so after listening to my coach.
For exercise, the only requirement was 30 minutes of walking in a day or I replace it with house chores or swimming or Barre3. I cherished these 30 minutes or more of just Jeff and I walking around the village and talking, talking about plants and our plans and even fruit picking!
One of the best parts when I look back is how I managed to eat new food and try out different fruits because of TR90. I found out that I liked, most of all, apples of a certain variety (Mongolian available around May, Envy available after up to around December), to die for dragonfruit from a farm in Batangas (OMG, season is around May to October), Valor dark chocolate (did not even see that coming, I used to just eat milk and white chocolate), lettuce, kale, barbeque (even without the fats), roasted chicken, pork bone soup, rice, etc. My taste buds also adjusted and the flavors are magnified now like how sweet and salty things are.
In a few short months, I have reached my target weight and lost 15 lbs. I thought it was already impossible to go back to my college weight! But 15 lbs for 15 years was my ideal goal haha. I reached it at 120 days since I still continued the eating and walking part after.
My old clothes started to fit and I felt younger too with more energy!
What’s next for me is getting my body fat down more to an ideal level and applying what I learned - proper 3333 meal portions and sequence of all fruits, veggies, protein and carbohydrates for every meal. It also comes more natural now asking myself how I am and what I need I instinctively know what already. I am also constantly thinking about what food to eat and what is bad for me and if I want to taste it then how much.
Currently, resisting temptations and not saying yes to everything on the table during the holidays and events are keeping me busy. I got that much practice with the program that it doesn’t matter anymore what other people think. For 2022, I would probably do a little more toning, gaining more muscle, reducing more visceral fat and starting to apply this eating habit and preparations in my travels!
Overall, this is one of the priceless gifts I gave myself in the past few years, along with my daily Spanish lessons (which I also started this year hehe). Isn’t it great to give or receive a gift that will let you savor new experiences and make you look forward to having many more years to live your life the way you envisioned it?
This is my gift to anyone reading this who wants it - the answer to the question of what happened and what I did. ☺️ It’s my greatest guiltless adventure for 2021.
Lastly, thank you to my forever date for supporting me and eating everything I make in the kitchen haha.
We can finally take nicer pictures again and make more memories.
The free assessment for the TR90 experience is open for everyone. Just message me if you want to be introduced to my friend and Coach Jovi ;)
Disclaimer: This is a story of what I experienced and the results may vary from person to person. Please consult your doctor if you have any illness or medical condition. I am hoping that this may inspire you for 2022 and give you the courage to choose your health and well-being too.
Happy Holidays, Everyone!