My Journey to a better version of ME!

Pre-pregnancy

Love yourself and your life – by doing so, it will motivate you to achieve a better version of yourself.

@105 lbs one of my modelling comp cards pictures.

I don't always have this perfect sunny disposition, but this is a commitment I make every day.
With what I have been through you can say my life is full of colors and different shadings but what I have learned through this journey in life is that we decide what we make of ourselves and how we are going to touch the lives of people around us. And for me it is to inspire, influence, and care in the most positive way possible.

I am not a Saint by all means, I will take no crap from anyone, nor conform with anything that doesn't fit my principles. Or even subject myself to be classified based on the judgement of others of who I am supposed to be in their eyes.

After my first attempt to lose weight.

You see, it's all about perspective and I have learned to be resilient from being bullied back in grades school as well as in high school. YES! I have been bullied. I have learned to stand up for myself, I have practiced the beauty of power over my own thoughts and my emotions. I filter only the ones that have good and sincere intentions and discard the ones that have intended to put me down. If you come across this situation: always ask yourself, who owns your brain? YOU DO, who owns your heart? YOU DO. At the end of the day who are you going to listen to? YOURSELF. You will only get hurt and affected by the people you allow to hurt you. Filter them. Ask yourself always, was that intended to make me a better person? If the answer is NO, discard it. That is why it is important that we love and value ourselves, because it will be the only one that will make us strong in times of doubt even if the whole world is against you. Keep faith in yourself, be kind to yourself.

I forgave them, and I have moved on a long time ago. But I never forget. In fact, I pity them, and I hope that they may find the rainbow along their journey to make them realize how beautiful a life can be and would be a waste to spend on negativity. I thank them as well, because they made me stronger than ever, they taught me compassion in so many ways.

You may think I don't listen to any criticism, I do. I just choose to listen to valid criticism. I would like to take this opportunity to thank some of my high school friends that made me realized my shortcomings and weaknesses. I could definitely say, you guys helped me mold myself for the better. I have been more attuned to my inner self. You all know who you are, Thank you.

Also, I would like to thank my cousins who have inspired me and cultivated me to push myself to my full potential.

Nang(big sister/Ate) Aulerey and Nang(big sister/Ate) Nester

To my Nang Nester who always gives me a sensible advice and inspired me to strive harder.
To my Nang Aulerey who's always got my back since the beginning while I am still discovering myself. Thank you to both of you, I am who I am today because you guys have been a big part of my life.

They say, surround yourself with people who will inspire you and lift you up, it is indeed true. You guys have been my great mentors.

My training/ workshops and experiences mold me to become who I am today, and many of my personality development workshops have great influence in how I speak, how I communicate, how I dress, and my appearance. I am a strong believer that this world will be a better place if we all learned how to be confident, how to carry ourselves, and the proper etiquette in every situation.

Again, I am not perfect, and it takes a lot to practice all of these, to make it a habit and second nature to you and integrate it in your lifestyle. I have a favorite quote that I have learned from one of the Ted Talks Speaker: "Don't just fake it until you make it, fake it until you become it."- by Amy Cuddy I've learned a great deal with her speech, one of that is if we learn how to condition ourselves to empower how minds to be confident, that as simple as our posture can affect how we think and how we will perceive ourselves. I will include a link to her video below for your reference, I love her and I'm certain you will find her infectiously inspiring too.

These is one of the things I would like to do; to become a mentor and speaker or better yet an advocate for personality development, manners and etiquette for a better society.

It only takes one person at a time to change the dynamics of a culture, let's start it with ourselves. Inspire people in your world everyday to live a better life by being positive, compassionate, and kind to others.

As part of this journey, I have learned to find the strength and motivation in getting fit, not only for better looks but better life. I want to live longer for my kids, I want to be a better example for them in all aspect of my life; identity, socially, and in mental well being. I have managed to lose weight about two years ago through the help and support of my husband. But I have bounced back since I did not make it my lifestyle and I don't think it fits my physiological needs. I have become more self-aware of my health and weight and I have decided to do something about it. I tried doing a jumpstart of water fast, and it was a total FAIL! My husband was so scared for me, that I got so affected I quit the next day. That is why in undertakings like these, you have to prepare your family and win their support first. I then thought I can't give up now. I recognized that my body does not process sugar, and carbs very well, so I decided to start there. I started to cut my sugar and carbs. I stopped eating bread and rice. Then I happened to talk to my colleague who have been doing intermittent fasting, so I thought why not do it too. I slightly modified it to 22/8 I will fast for 22 hours and eat for 8 hours. I replaced it with water during fasting hours. I started consuming about 4 liters a day. I have included to exercise as well at least 3-5 times a week for 30 minutes. Since then, I have not had hypoglycemic shaking, my headaches have reduced a lot and my skin is so much better. And to date I have lost about 6 inches. I am now at the point of maintaining it, I switched back to 16/8: 16 hours fasting and 8 hours eating time. I feel so much better now than ever before, I have more energy as well. I love how I look. I love my self as much as I love life itself!

These taught me to value myself and respect my body, enough reasons for me to take care of it so that it will serve me well in return. By leading yourself, it will allow you to take control of many aspect of your life.