Skinny vs Fat

Today, I'd like to tackle a topic very close to me: health.

Why is it ok for people to tell skinny girls that they're thin and they need to gain weight, but it's socially unacceptable to tell fat girls that they're fat and they need to lose weight? When you see photos of thin girls on the internet, you get comments like, "You need to eat.", "Maybe she's anorexic.", or "Companies and magazines are setting unhealthy standards for young ladies." Then you see people agree. BUT, when you see fat girls posing, you get supportive comments, like "You go girl.", "Be proud of your curves.", or "This girl represents REAL women." Ansabeh?! So if I'm not real... then what am I?

Photo: pixton

There's also that concept of an "ideal weight", which is based on height, age, and gender. There are many ideal weight calculators out there like this and this. But does it take into account your body fat? Your bone structure? NO and NO. I'm pretty impressed with this concept because even though it leaves out important factors, a lot of doctors and health institutions rely on this computation to determine if a person is over or underweight. But is it really accurate? I don't think so. Excluding their bone structure, Person A and B might have the same weight. Take into account their bone's weight, then they may end up with different total weights because one might be big-boned, while the other may be small-boned. Right? Person C might be "underweight", while Person D might have the "ideal weight". But take into account their fitness level and body fat, Person C might turn out to be healthier.

Honestly ladies, being thin should never be your goal. If you really love yourselves, never mind those ideal weight calculators and make it your goal to be FIT, HEALTHY, CONFIDENT and most of all, HAPPY. :D

Cheers!

Review: Belo Essentials SunExpert (SPF40, Face)

I love taking care of my skin. Our skin is the first thing people see and, whether we like it or not, our skin's condition makes an impact to the people we meet. But aside from wanting clear, beautiful skin, I'd also like to stay cancer-free. Did you know that at least one person dies form melanoma every hour? (from Skin Cancer Facts)

Photo: glogster

But wait, why am I talking about sun and skin cancer in August?! You must be thinking, "Hello! Tapos na ang summer diba?! Ano ba naman tong blogger na to!" But that's where you're wrong. There's a big misconception that you're only at risk of melanoma during summer when the sun is always up and shining brightly. While it's true that the sun is strongest in summer, the dangerous UV rays do not disappear just 'coz it's the 'ber months or typhoon season.

To protect my skin from the UV rays, I wear sunblock every day. Yes people, we have to wear sunblock even if it's not summer and a trip to the beach isn't part of our calendars. Why? Because according to Dr. Mehmet Oz, "UVA rays can penetrate glass windows, meaning you're at risk while sitting close to a window, whether in a car, at home or in the office. Also up to 80% of the UV rays can pass through clouds."

Did this surprise you? You're not alone; I was surprised too! When I became aware of my skin's needs, I dedicated a lot of my time to search for a really good sunblock. The sunblock I use at the beach is too thick and heavy for everyday use. It also leaves a bit of a white cast, which is acceptable at the beach (because it disappears after taking a dip), but is a huge no-no at the office. Another requirement for me is an SPF of at least 15, which is generally recommended for everyday use.

After a few misses, I finally found a perfect sunblock for me and I'd like to share this with you. Introducing, the Belo Essentials SunExpert (SPF40) for the face.

Photo: uptowndowntownsite

Product description. "This moisturizing facial sunblock effectively provides broad-spectrum protection against harmful UV rays. Lightweight and non-sticky, it also gives superior cell protection against sunlight and pollution. Sun Expert strengthens the skin's defense system, maintaining healthy skin while simultaneously preventing accelerated premature skin aging." It's water-resistant, fragrance-free, hypo-allergenic, dermatologist-tested, and takes effect immediately. To know more about this product, please visit their Facebook page here."

Here are various hand shots for your viewing pleasure. Or not. lol.

left: no product. right: with product - no difference, no white cast!

left: you only need a small amount because it's sooo easy to spread. right: when spread out - silky, liquid-ish texture

Rating: ★★★★★
Pros:

• Not heavy, sticky and oily
• Very easy to apply
• My skin takes on a healthy, dewy glow after application (NOTE: I have normal/dry skin so I'm not sure how this will hold up for oily/combination skin)
• SPF40 PA+++ - it has a high SPF so it's also the same sunblock I use at the beach. I just re-apply more often. I find beach sunblocks for the body too harsh for my face and I'd end up getting pimples after
•  Hypo-allergenic and non-comodogenic - no break-outs!
• Water-resistant
• Takes effect immediately - most sunblocks instruct you to wait for at least 20 minutes after application before exposing yourself to the sun

By the way, it has a mild scent, but it doesn't really last long (there you go, all you scent-averse people haha!). Scent or not, I don't really mind. I just find it weird since it says fragrance-free in the packaging.

Cons: nada!

I cannot stress enough how much I love this product. I really recommend it to all my friends. This only costs P229.75 for 50ml at Watsons and it will last you for months. Usually, I do my groceries at Cherry Foodarama in Congressional 'coz it's cheaper there, but I couldn't find this. Not sure if it's out of stock or they really don't carry this.

How about you? Care to share your favorite sunblock or sunscreen?

Photo: wellsphere

Life-changing

With all the health articles that's been going around lately, I got inspired to write this post to share what I went though 2 years ago. It was the first time I was hospitalized and to undergo a major surgery at that! This is gonna be a long, but very meaningful and personal post. Remember, I warned you! :D

I guess it all started with me taking advantage of freebies. As an employee in a multinational company, I had HMO benefit via Medicard, meaning maraming FREEBIES!!! Free annual check-up, doctor consultations, dental stuff, etc. I noticed the symptoms when I was in college, but everyone, even my mom, said it's nothing and that it's normal. I sometimes had bleeding in-between periods (TMI, I know but for the purposes of sharing my experiences to help other people, go lang ng go). At dahil may free check-up, I told myself, why not? Wala naman mawawala and it's FREE! I underwent ultrasound and lo and behold, I have something in BOTH my ovaries. My left ovary was polycystic and my right ovary had a big dermoid cyst (around 6-7cm). (According to Wikipedia, a dermoid cyst is a systic teratoma that contains developmentally mature skin complete with hair follicles and sweat glands, sometimes clumps of long hair, and often pockets of sebum, blood, fat, yada-yada... you get the picture.)

The doctor told me that I had to undergo surgery instead of waiting for it to grow bigger and twist on its own. As it was, the cyst already took up a chunk of my ovary, stealing space from my normal ovarian cells. :( It was December 2011 and I was just 23 years old. I was alone when I had the check-up kasi akala ko normal lang, weeeelll... JOKE'S ON ME! But seriously, I was really, really scared. I went back to my office in tears. Looking back, medyo nakakahiya pinagtitinginan ako ng mga tao but I was just plain SCARED. I didn't know how to tell my parents and boyfriend. Syempre as we grow older, we have less chances of giving birth, so ako mas lalong less chance. I wasn't ready to be a mom yet, but the thought of not having a baby really scared me...

I visited other doctors but they all said the same thing... I was scared, my parents were scared (I was the eldest), my boyfriend was scared... We were all scared. Nakakaawa pa ko lalo because I'm super thin!

I scheduled the operation last June 2012 and I was a nervous wreck a month before the operation. Talagaing naiisip ko siya before I sleep, when I work, taking a bath... umaga hanggang gabi. But, being my normal self, I made light of the situation by looking at the bright side. Like when I "checked in" with my mom, I posted the photo below in Facebook. Cool, right? St. Luke's gave away "baller IDs and loot bags"! HAHAHA!

But a few hours away from the operation, di na talaga keri ng sunny self ko, aaminin kong kabado na talaga ako, and since it was my first time to get hospitalized, everything was new. I didn't know what to expect. Ang masasabi ko lang, ang hirap magsuot ng hospital gown (why is it even called that???) at ang sakit ng dextrose and skin test! :'( Good thing all my St. Luke's nurses were very gentle and nice.

Just to forget about the operation, I logged on to social networking sites (thank you to free wi-fi) and looked at my phone's photo album. I had this habit of saving inspirational messages kasi. When I saw this particluar message, it really stopped me. As in talagang napatigil ako at napa-isip and somehow, it wiped ALL my nervousness and worry away. Talagang wala. Zero. Nada. Zilch. WALA. At that point, I realized there's no use worrying and that I just had to leave everything up to God.

Photo: --- (Got it from a random site waaay back. Let me know if this photo is yours so I can credit accordingly)

I really had a lot to be thankful to God for:

1.Great job with great benefits - I'm not the type to have myself checked up regularly. Honestly, if not for the free check-ups, I wouldn't even have bothered with an OB visit. Plus, they shouldered all the costs. I only paid like 3,000 out of the almost 100,000 hospital fees. That's a big help, especially to my parents.

2. Early detection - Kinda related to the 1st one, buti nalang talaga because detecting it at a later point in my life might have a more lasting consequece (ie. no kids). Imagine if I just chalked it up to "weird but normal girl thing" lang...

3. Great doctors - my OB, Marietta Sapaula. was one of the best in St. Luke's. She's the OB of most of my officemates. See, talagang meant to be diba?! It's like God placed me in that company, at that specific time just so I can reap these benefits. (insert here: God loves me talaga!) It helped that she was a Christian like me. We even prayed together before the operation. My anesthesiologist was also great, very friendly and machika to the point na pag kausap mo siya, parang wala lang yung surgery pero pag uwi mo, you'll realize "Ay shucks, nakakatakot pala!".

4. Minimal scars - my OB did laparoscopy on me (3 small "holes": one on the left side, one on the right, then they inserted the camera in my bellybutton). Faster recovery, more affordable option and I can still proudly wear my bikini teehee! By the way, it's not true that you can go back to your regular activities in 2 weeks. Kuba pa ko up to 3 1/2 weeks 'coz it was still a bit painful. Best to take at least 1 month leave from work.

5. Successful operation and recovery = another life :) - I won't lie, it was a hard and painful process. But support form my friends and family really helped. Nakakainis lang kasi ang hirap tumawa, parang nag-sit ups ng 100x!!! Haha! I had a hard time laughing, coughing and sneezing. Plus, I lost the few precious pounds I gained from weight training :( But oh well.

I actually have a LOT more to be thankful for but yan ung pinaka-tumatak talaga. Now, in situations that are less than desirable (painful, stressful, etc), I always think, "Sus, na-operahan na ko! Na-skin test na ko noh! Chicken lang to, keribels! God's behind me all the way, highway! (pagbigyan na) Ha, take that!" hahahaha!

Told ya this was a pretty long post but if I was able to help ease the pain for at least 1 person out there, then good job to me! :)

Few recommendations:

✓  Know your employee benefits beforehand and research! Some examples: HMO, PhilHealth, leave types your company offers - note that we now have a Magna Carta of Women (RA 9710). Aside from the usual maternity leave, this law also gives us a leave of up to 60 days for gynecological reasons.

✓  Always get second and third opinions in both results and recommended surgical procedures.

✓  Don't be shy to ask. This is your health (and money!) we're talking about. Wala ng hiya hiya!

✓  Wag mag-feeling na marunong magsuot ng hospital gown. If you don't know how to put it on, ask help to prevent mishaps and boo-boos! Went though a lot of check ups and even stayed in the hospital for 3 days, yet I still don't know how to put on that damn gown.

✓  Pray :) If God is for you, who can be against you? :)

Feel free to hit me up for additional queries :)