Cold vs. Flu

Yesterday I was literally bedridden. 

My head hurts when I start walking my way to the kitchen to get food.

It's a feeling that one just wishes to go away.

Now that the "BER Season" is here, one could easily catch these things. But I wonder, is it the common cold? or The Flu? 

Doing more research, I found out that, although the common cold and the flu share many similar symptoms, they are 2 different conditions.

Below is a representation on how to differentiate a cold vs. the flu.

Bike to Work for Fitness

I am retyping  and posting an article written by Fara Manuel of The Firefly Brigade for the 10th Tour of Fireflies Newsletter where yours truly was featured for an interview about Biking to Work.

"They are ordinary people with extraordinary abilities. They are everywhere among us. They are bike
commuters! In the streets at sundown, it has become a pseudo-bike parade for menial workers who bike commute. Their bikes become make-shift carriages & extensions to shovels, construction materials and what-have-you's. But this street parade is not at all exclusive. More and more "weekend" or recreational cyclists are joining the trend!

*Urban Assault : going down the stairs of Luneta
(Photo courtesy of Karen Menez)

Mountainbiker, Rissa Falvo is a 38 year old, Control Systems Design Engineer for a multi-national company and a mother of four. Her commute? a 20km or 50 minute bike ride from Makati to Alabang.

It Takes 21 Days to Form a Habit..

Here's a secret, fifteen (15) days ago, I added an activity in my To-Do-List :
A 30-45 minute work out EVERYDAY.

I know that most people would advise against a daily workout, but if one is building a habit, one should be consistent until it reaches a point when it gets to be human nature already; like breathing air.

¹The 21 day habit theory as sourced from The Aristotle Blog "Dr Maxwell Maltz wrote the bestseller Psycho-Cybernetics. Originally a Plastic Surgeon, Maltz noticed that it took 21 days for amputees to cease feeling phantom sensations in the amputated limb.


From further observations he found it took 21 days to create a new habit. Since then the '21 Day Habit Theory' has become an accepted part of self-help programs.

Brain circuits take engrams (memory traces), and produce neuroconnections and neuropathways only if they are bombarded for 21 days in a row.

This means that our brain does not accept ‘new’ data for a change of habit unless it is repeated each day for 21 days (without missing a day)."
Whew! now that geeky stuff and references are out of the way, we continue with our conversation.

I am now in day 15 and I have 5 more days to go for this 21 Day Challenge with myself.
Yes my friends,I talked myself into working out everyday.


In the past, I did all the tricks that I could think of to trick myself into working out.
I kept with me this handy notebook that I log my workouts in.
I had nice little stickers used as a reward on the days that I worked out with the idea that I'd fill up the whole week of my moleskine with stickers indicating that I did a workout the whole week.
Sadly, because it was not a habit, I was not successful in having it ingrained in my system.

I know that we all want to be fit and healthy, but those things don't just happen. Those things are planned, monitored and done.

When I decided to go for the whole 21 days, the first few days were fun.
Week two though had been a challenge and this was the time when I have to be creative.
Will power and commitments will be compromised and questions would creep in -- why am I even doing this to myself? I sometime ask.

Being creative had me incorporating workouts with family time.

*My 12 and 11 y.o. stopping for a pose during our jogging session

The other weekend, I invited two of my kids for a run at Bonifacio Global City. Yesterday, I had my 11 yo girl accompany me in the gym to lift weights while her sisters took a swim.
Combining activities that create fulfillment for myself further strengthened the habit because of the reward it brings.

*My youngest doing a set of 10reps of dumbbell presses

Creativity would help you take out the monotony factor in the equation.

This would help you out with drafting your Plan B in case Plan A does not work out.
Challenge yourself to do a positive change for 21 days in a row.
Start with something small and start NOW.

By the time you finish the challenge, you have programmed your brain making it easier for you to keep going with your new habit.
So decide what positive habit you want to build and act on it!

Mental Fitness: Exercising The Mind

It was around noon time when my brother and I took the MRT from Ayala to Quezon Ave Station to attend a learning event at the Executive Lounge of Hotel Rembrandt in Tomas Morato. 

The dark sky shows signs of impending rain but we were decided on finding out more about "Blogging for Fun, Fame and Fortune" -  indeed, with such a catchy title, who would not be that curious enough to travel from one side of the metro to the other?

Photo taken from http://www.thelearningaddict.com/

Being FIT and STRONG..

What does this really mean?
For most of us, it means being physically fit.

*image from the web

Lifting the heaviest weight one can have, running the longest mile with the fastest P.R. or even carrying your groceries without the help of your yaya or hubby or whoever.

Today, is one of my little girl's birthday.
This day had me contemplating on the other meaning of STRENGTH.

Yza Mae, is a sweet kid who is kind hearted, dreams big and loves life.

I remember when I was in the hospital eleven years ago, the doctor was wondering why it was taking long for her delivery -- and eventually found out that she was in distress due to an abnormal dual cord coiling on her neck -- after grueling hours of operation, she survived.

Her doctor had announced that she is a lucky kid, with a lucky birth date - 9.9.00.

Time: Our Friend

Exactly six months ago .. I had my blog entry for the year..

I know, I know!  That is not the way to work on a blog!
Excuses like, "I was too busy.." "Office workload and deadlines were way too much..." yadda yadda yadda..

The list goes on and on.

After assessing what had transpired, I found out that, it's not about the things that you HAVE to do, it's about HOW you schedule the things that you WANT / NEED / HAVE to do!

Everyone is pressed for time. Everyone has their own personal deadlines. Everyone is BUSY.
Heck, that's one of the reasons why we cannot even "Squeeze in a workout" in our super duper busy schedule.

Time management is a skill that most of us are not born with, but as with every skill, it could be learned.


Time is the great equalizer. We need to use our time more efficiently.. so you ask, how do we do that?