Manny and the world of sports. Well kind of..

The good ol' days..

For the past two weeks, I've been trying my best to work out. Unfortunately for me an old friend visited just recently. The stiffness of my knee. The hidden pain the comes and goes when I work out my legs. But I am lucky it does not hurt or bother me when I work at the hospital.

Since the year 2006, I have been haunted by this pain. I used to compete in many triathlons and cycling races for years. It was my life and it was what consumed pretty much most of my time when I was not eating or studying. But after injuring my leg, I thought my life was over. For years I struggled to cope with the fact I was and probably will never be the way I was prior to the accident. After graduating from college, I was so depressed, I gained about 20 pounds and didn't even know it. Well that's until all of my clothes wouldn't fit.

No one ever teaches you about coping with injury. When an athlete gets injured, especially seriously high level injured, you still think you're Superman. You think that within one week, you'll be able to get back out there and just continue where you left off. I was wrong. Week after week, I kept dropping out in the middle of practice because my knee would hurt like hell. So I decided to stop showing up. It's hard enough to watch everyone do what they love while one is sidelined, helpless. Cutting myself off from both teams and from the world of bicycles, running and swimming was the only was I can get over it. I stopped talking to everyone and anyone associated with it. I didn't drink, but I ate and that's for sure.

I tried getting help from an Ortho Doc and a Chiropractor. Everyone had a different opinion and after repeated visits, without any progress, I started to realize they were probably keeping me around for the money. Who knows for sure, but the point is that I didn't feel better or stronger. I waited another year before I got help and that's when I saw a physical therapist. She definitely got the job done and got me going. I started to feel great until my insurance coverage with my mother expired. I didn't have enough money to continue on and I had many bills to pay. Since then, I never got help again.

I think that's another reason why I started this blog. I did this also for my knee, for the hope of getting my knee back to the state of getting back up and doing what I love to do, competing in sports. After watching Manny Pacquiao defeat Antonio Margarito, I started to reminisce about all the times I used to watch him from college and after, work my ass off in practice because of how much he inspired me. I feel no matter what what he does on that ring, he inspires not only every Filipino, but every person who aspires to be great. Wether that be in the kitchen, in class, in the hospital or out in the field. I don't know, but after watching the fight over and over this week, I have decided to get my knee back to the way it was years ago. I'm scared that it will never get better no matter what. But I have to try.

To those of you reading...I know many of you think this is a blog about me just losing weight, but I'm sorry to disappoint some of you... This is a blog about my journey and redemption to a better life that will hopefully inspire others. This blog is about overcoming those mountains we never thought we can climb. And right now, I'm on a road to see what else is out there when I step out of my comfort zone and try to achieve what I feel in my life is impossible.

I'll leave you guys with this trailor to the new movie "The Fighter"

Well... It's been a while. Wouldn't you say?

I hate to admit it, but. I said it. The "but" word, the excuse... BUT, after the last week of October working out, I started to get real fatigued and took a week to recover. During that time, I just ate like crap. Week after week I kept putting off my workouts. Those late nights partying, staying up until 3 or 4 in the morning, I thought I could just get up early the next day and have an intense work out without suffering from lack of sleep or recovery. But I thought wrong and it pains me to say that I have failed again.

It's crazy that it's been a few weeks since I last posted. I really didn't know what to say to all of you. How I slacked off and it felt good to eat chinese fried rice every day? How I might have let some of you down who were counting on me? It's a weird feeling. I just want to say, I'm still here trying to make up for some lost time, so don't lose faith in me just yet.

I find myself anxious every time my house is a mess. I can't think, do work, and at times can't sleep when I know my environment is a mess. I know it's easier to clean a messy home than to maintain a clean house. I don't want to blame it all on the mess that led me to my first failed attempt to keep a consistent healthy-style living, but I reallly hate living in a dump.

This last week, I took the time to clean and donate a bunch of my belongings to Goodwill. I never realized how much more junk I owned and junk that was rarely used. It is a relief to get rid of some stuff. I hold such ties to material things, that every once in a while it's good to let go and not look back. This place is looking a lot better.

As you can see, I didn't place any pictures of myself here with the progress. I saw no point if I didn't do anything. I can tell you, I'm at about 153 and not feeling that great. I can feel the effects of eating junk food. I feel less energetic and I feel lazier. My stress level did go up for a while, but that is another topic I want to discuss next time. Whether we know it or not, we encounter stress daily. Some are more pronounce than others, but still affect us the same way.

Until next time... I apologise if this post is lame. I feel a bit embarrassed to even be writing this.. Ciao.

Has it been a month already?? I guess this is the 1 Month review...

What can I say? The past month has gone by with a blink of an eye. I started this blog to start my new journey, so that I may look back and reflect on what kind of life I led. In the past 30 days, I learned so much more about myself and all the things that I need to improve on. It was hard, but I'm still here.

One of the lessons I learned this past month, is just to take things step by step.  We try so hard to become this great person, that we think we can just jump right to the finish line and call it a day. We want to please everybody, but we can't do that if we are sacrificing who we are. I learned it the hard way. I thought it was that easy to just leave the bad habits and just straight into the better ones and move along. I guess building a foundation and appreciating the moments is the ultimate way to take our early steps. You dont want to hurt anyone on your way, and certainly don't want to make big mistakes when trying anything. I have to be more aware and cautious.

Second lesson, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. When it is tired, rest. When I am thirsty, drink water. Don't fight my body and don't try toughening it out. I ran into my biggest fear, Mr Overtraining. He makes me feel so fatigued and like crap to the point I don't want to do anything. Resting and refueling is the greatest gift I can give my body.

I am happy to say that since starting to eat healthier and working out more, I have been sleeping better and I have been having more energy during the day. I know it's funny to say since I just talked about overtraining, but I really have to give praise to the way I've been feeling for most of October. I have been eating more spinach, carrots, and fruits and I look forward to eating more of the same.

So I went from 154 to 150. That's a pound a week. Not a whole lot, but I'm in no rush for that. A friend of mine jokingly asked me, "that's it?" Yes that's it. I don't expect to lose weight or gain more muscle in a short period of time. I'm enjoying my exploration of eating healthier food and my workouts. Some of you might have seen me eat something totally opposite of healthy, but the point is this. I don't want to always, 100% of the time watch what I eat. When I'm with my friends, I love eating comfort food. I'm not always with them, so why not?? I can have a cheat day or two, but as long as I'm eating healthier more and more when I'm not around them. I may only have lost a pound a week, but hey, I gotta start somewhere.

And before I end this blog, I have to say THANK YOU. Thank you to everyone reading my blog and supporting me in this journey. Whether it's a small comment to even "liking" my post, you guys have seen me in this first month endure, what I have been going through. Your comments and "likes" have definitely sparked a fire in my heart. I hope you guys continue to read and if may be, please comment, send me a message, suggestion, or helpful tips on anything that can be beneficial. You guys are great. ttyl.