I have a lot of friends that are into running these days. To be honest, the only thing that may entice me to run is the gorgeous Nike running shoes that I saw at the mall, and that’s not even enough.

I’ve been very vocal to my friends that I’d rather dance than run. Then a friend suggested biking. Apparently, she and her husband have been into biking for months now. They have this kuat bike rack on their family car, drive down south just to do some serious biking. Wow! Just thinking about it makes me tired, and sweaty and lose some pounds.

Seriously, I know I should find some activity that would keep me moving.

Finally, my son was baptized last Saturday. I am happy with the outcome of the ceremony and the baptismal party. It was successful in my opinion even if we only had 2 weeks to prepare for it. Not only that, there was a typhoon on that day, and I was grateful to family and friends because 71 out of the 80 invited guests came. Yes, despite the heavy rains. Plus, I think about 5 people told me that I look thinner that day. Someone asked if I had been taking diet pills. To be honest, no. Breastfeeding has been burning a lot of my calories.

So that’s the secret to my weight loss… it’s not a secret at all.

Healthy eating should be encouraged at home and something that should be done by the whole family. Kids even at a young age should be introduced to this type of lifestyle so that they will carry this habit even in the coming years. But is it even possible? Encouraging young children to munch on celery and carrot sticks when the taste buds are craving for sweets and candies?

With proper techniques and parenting skills, you’ll be able to introduce a healthy diet to your kids. Start by looking for fun and easy recipes. You can find easy to prepare dishes that are nutritious in several health magazines or online. Let the kids join in food preparation and use this time to introduce them to different fruits and vegetables. As they become more familiar to it, they will be more interested and curious to try it.

Remember that a meal does not have to be boring. Cut vegetables in different shapes and sizes; mix a variety of veggies with different colors for a lively presentation. And of course don’t that as parents, you should serve as role models when it comes to eating healthy and right.

Joy is a freelance content writer is also fond of traveling and outdoor adventures. She enjoys working for tagpaptag and sees this as an opportunity to share information about a special type of roofing.

I miss coffee. The real one, caffeinated one. And I never realized how much I do until I went inside Starbucks yesterday. It reminded me of my mom’s kitchen and of my grandmother (mom’s aunt) who used to make me coffee in my high school years (or maybe earlier). Yes, I drink coffee every morning even at a young age.

When I got pregnant with my daughter, I took a break from caffeine. And when I missed my usual cup of morning coffee, I’m sure to have a migraine attack later in the afternoon. I had to sacrifice for the baby.

But for this pregnancy, I chose to have decaffeinated coffee twice or thrice a week. I was advised that a cup of caffeinated coffee a day is still safe. But I’m still hesitant.

Coffee is something I wouldn’t mind getting hooked to again. So unlike smoking. I am just so glad I was able to quit smoking in 2005. The smell was so bad (on clothes and on my hair, ugh!) and was simply unhealthy. If I didn’t quit, I’d probably have been looking for smoker life insurance at this age. Now, I hate its smell so much. Honestly, I don’t even remember why I started anyway.

I’ve been advised by my OB to watch my diet (again) during my last visit. For some reason, I am just worried that the baby might get too big to get out of me but not so mindful that I am getting too big that I might not get back to my ideal weight.

But I’ll be honest. I expect to go back to my ideal weight by January 2012. I’m just not sure how. It could be by breastfeeding or creatine supplements. All I know is I’m decided what I want to be and when. Yes I’m giving myself enough time. So by March 2012, I’d be picture perfect in a two-piece. Wow, now, that’s confidence.

I was reading sensa reviews when a friend called and told me they want to visit my daughter. I told her I am working from home and she can drop by anytime. My daughter thought they will be coming with our friend’s niece and nephew. She wore a necklace from a classmate. When they came, my daughter was disappointed that the kids didn’t come. Apparently, the kids went home to their parents yesterday. She took off the necklace with a sad face. (Only then that I realized she wore it for the other kids to see.)

Anyway, our friend just got promoted (again) and decided to treat us to dinner. Just tonight, I intentionally dismissed from my mind that I am on a diet, as per my OB. Burp!

I was encouraging a friend to quit smoking. I asked her if she has seen smokers life insurance rates, and informed her that they are higher than term life insurance. She told me she knows about that. She reasoned that she does not have enough motivation to stop, but instead more to continue. For one, her boss smokes as well and she gets to talk to him during their cigarette break. She thinks that if she quits, it would lessen their chances to talk about office matters. Sadly, this is true. Some friendships are established through cigarette breaks. I think my friend will need more than convincing from me to decide on her own to quit for good.

I just woke up from a 5-hour sleep. I woke up as early as 6am and went back to sleep at 10am. We went to the hospital to have some of my lab tests, which should have been done last Saturday along with my ultrasound and urinalysis. It’s just that I didn’t know that “fasting” is abstinence from liquids as well. So yes, I had to do the “fasting” and skip breakfast on a Saturday morning for the second time now.

While on our way to the lab, inside the elevator there was also a guy with medical computer carts and a doctor with him. The computer monitor was on, and I can see some of the images there. What did I see? Let’s just say that I’m normally not afraid of blood extraction, but when we got out of the elevator, my hands were cold and I was agitated.

The good news is, the nurse just extracted blood only once for these 3 tests:

1. CBC – Complete Blood Count – evaluates red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.
2. FBS – Fasting Blood (Sugar) Glucose test – measures blood glucose levels after fasting for 8 hours or so. I honestly thought I have to drink some sort of super sweet syrup, but the nurse told me that’s a different test called OGCT or Oral Glucose Challenge Test used to test Gestational Diabetes.
3. Anti HBS – a test to determine (how much?) antibodies to hepatitis B virus.

And yes, there was nothing to worry about. It was like an insect bite.

I once tried this diet which restricts one to have sugar in any form for a week. I wasn’t able to stick to it and instead, I just searched for the best fat burner in the market. You see, I always start my day with coffee which obviously has sugar. If I miss my coffee, I’ll have my migraine attack later in the day for sure.

Even while pregnant, I still drink coffee, decaffeinated that is. But my husband is against it. I just remind him the reason behind coffee being prohibited when pregnant. Caffeine is said to be transferred to the baby who will then not get as much sleep as he/she needs. But since it’s decaf, then there’s nothing to worry about. No caffeine, no worries.

Lately, I get hungry after every 3 hours. That’s ok because I am pregnant. What’s not ok is I always crave for sugar frosted cereals. I’m not into chocolates but eat cereals twice a day. I realized not only will I gain excess weight, I could suffer gestational diabetes if I continue doing this. So I’m going easy on the cereals and sugars.

As for the excess weight, well, I could go for the best weight loss supplement, right after giving birth. And I could start munching on those sugar frosted cereals. Although, I’m not sure if I’ll still crave for them by then.