am officially on a diet — not to get thin, but to be healthier.

It probably is unusual for me to go on a diet especially now that people are telling me I’m getting really thin. Some of my teammates are even texting me, “Kumain ka please!” (Calling on Dzi Gervacio, Alyssa Valdez and Den Lazaro). However, I feel like I’m in that point in my life where I need to be more conscious of what I eat. After all, it affects every aspect of my job — as an athlete, host, model and fitness advocate. Of course, I have to live up to what I say

I think all of my efforts to live a healthier lifetsyle have been effective so far.

This was me back in college:

This is me now.

You’re probably surprised at the transformation. When people ask me what I did to become this thin, I always have to think so long before answering. It’s because I wasn’t trying very hard to be thin but I did make a lot lifestyle changes. Here’s what changed from before:

1) I sleep almost 7-8 hours a day.

Back in college, the most sleep I could get was 6 hours at the MOST. There are times when I would only sleep for 3 hours then go to training right away. Because I stayed up so late to finish school work, I would always binge on junk food, pizza, coffee and anything I could find in our storage just to compensate for my lack of sleep while studying. I would also drink a lot of coffee just to keep myself awake the next day. Now that I get to complete my sleep, I don’t get as hungry anymore. I don’t crave for food all the time so this really helps.

2) I don’t eat carbs when I don’t need it

In Ateneo, because there were so many food choices, I would always get tempted to eat a lot. I made it an excuse that I was training hard so I can eat a lot. The serving in Ateneo was also big and I didn’t want to waste food so I ate everything that was on my plate. Right now, I’m able to control how much food I take in so I make sure that I’m not super full after I eat. That’s my measure of how much to eat in a meal. When I do have games though, I make sure to eat a load of carbs.

3) I exercise regularly and intensely

When you graduate from college, it’s so difficult to still train as intensely as before. It’s easier when you’re forced to go to training and when you have teammates beside you to motivate you. However, when I graduated from school, I made sure that I wouldn’t fall so deep into the hole of being too lazy or too busy to work out. I hated gym before but I’ve come to love it. When you get into the discipline, it becomes a whole lot easier and very rewarding – physically, emotional and mentally. The fact that I’m still playing volleyball now for Petron also helps a lot because it gives me a goal when it comes to my workouts. I know that I can’t stop working out if I want to strengthen my shoulder and get back into the game. It’s in working out that I actually find my center. Without it, everything seems so disorganized and unfocused. By “intense” workout, I mean the kind of workout that lets you go past your limit all the time.

4) I became more conscious of how I look

I have never deprived myself of eating what I wanted. Well maybe the occasional ice cream or chocolate, but when it comes to meals, I still eat my favorite food, like tuyo, daing, pasta, pizza, and everything spicy. However, I’ve become more conscious of what I eat. I know that the food you take affects the way you look. It’s really as simple as that. When you lack water, vegetables and fruits, you look a little more pale. You FEEL a little more pale. It affects your aura. Because I always want to emit positive energy and I’m inspired to look the best I can, I try to eat healthier food. I also feel like I get better skin when I do  ) If I give in to my favorites, I make sure that I do so in moderation.

To help me with that, I’ve decided to try out, more recently, @dietdivaph. Well, I’ve been eating their food for almost a week now and I love it! It doesn’t deprive me of good-tasting food. At the same time, it’s very healthy as well! It doesn’t feel like I’m on a diet. Because I’m training very hard and I don’t want to get any thinner, I also eat other food on the side when I get hungry, but my Diet Diva just makes sure that I get to eat healthier. We don’t have as much healthy food at home so this really helps!

Tuna Pesto Spaghetti Pasta in Olive Oil & Parmesan Cheese

To get to the bottom of everything, I’m really happy with my weight and physical fitness right now. I feel like I need to bulk up a bit more to get stronger as an athlete, but I’m in the process  In determining the right weight for a person, I think what matters is not what other people think, but how confident that person is with his health and body. Exercise is very empowering once you establish the discipline. Get fit not to please others but to please yourself!