Many thoughts ran through my mind. What would I to write about? Who were the interesting people I could talk to? What were the topics my readers could benefit from? I decided it has to be something I was passionate about, something that was close to my heart. Aside from my family, it’s my workout, my fitness regimen, that is truly close to my heart.
After I won Slimmer’s World’s Great Bodies competition last Dec. 21, I was so happy! I felt that my decision to join that contest was one of the best things I ever did for myself. I worked so hard to achieve the body I wanted and it paid off. I had been weight training for three years and prepared for a year for the competition.
After I had given birth to my third child Arabella, I felt I wanted to get a personal trainer. I had heard then that my former aerobics teacher, Kristine Yu, had become a personal trainer, and hers was the class I always attended. So I decided to give her a call.
We met at Le Coeur de France in Robinson’s for lunch. While we were talking on the phone she told me she had gone into body building and had just finished joining a contest. She said "Baka magulat ka sa hitsura ko!" I told myself, "Well, siguro nga nagbago ang hitsura niya." I didn’t know I was in for quite a surprise.
When I got to the restaurant she was already there but I saw her from afar. As I slowly approached the table, I had to stop when I saw her. I was in awe. She was so dark and so "cut-up." She looked like a work of art, something I only saw in magazines. I was speechless. She had all the definitions in the right places and still looked feminine.
I remembered her as being quite fair and just thin. The woman before me had undergone a total transformation, one I found admirable. She told me what she did, what she went through to achieve that body, and I was a fan. Right there and then I wanted to be like her. I just didn’t want to be thin anymore. I wanted a body that had definition.
We took our time, always allowing my body to react to comply with a program she designed for me. I never compared my progress, fast or slow, to someone else’s. Our body types, our problem areas. What was important was to enjoy our workout and not be impatient. And I did truly enjoy my workout. Three years of weightlifting with the proper eating habits, of course. You can’t separate exercise and proper diet.
I took each workout seriously. I was determined to have the body I wanted. Slowly with Kristine’s help, guidance, patience, and love, we were able to build the body I wanted. She was my inspiration and I am so happy I took that step to weight training and eventually body building. It was not an easy road to take but with focus and determination, it can be done. Thanks to my personal trainer Kristine Yu and now a very good friend, someone I call Inay, I am very happy and proud of my new body. I may not have those big breasts, am not tall, don’t have long legs but because of my decision to have a defined body, I definitely feel sexier. You can be too!
After I won, I knew my life would change somehow. I knew I would be more focused and more passionate about working out. Those things I knew. What I didn’t know was the effect that my lifestyle, my winning, my new body would have on people. That totally blew my mind off!
Two weeks after I won, I was invited to The Buzz where Boy Abunda interviewed me and showed the video of the contest. After that day, my life was never the same again.
Those who watched the episode were shocked at how I looked, at what I had done to my body. I think what surprised them was that first of all they didn’t even know I joined a contest. I was quiet about it kasi; I didn’t announce it, didn’t feel the need to. I was just concentrating on my workout everyday, just doing what I had to do to prepare.
Secondly, I wasn’t visible on TV at that time. I didn’t have anything regular. The last people saw of me was in my soap Saan Ka Man Naroroon. And I wasn’t cut up yet. So when they saw the footages of the contest, it was like "Is that Jacquilou now? Ganun na pala ang katawan niya."
After that Sunday afternoon, other shows called and people wanted to interview me, one after the other. My manager and I were like, "Is this really happening?" I was tickled pink though, thrilled that people wanted to find out about what I did. Feeling ko, para akong "baguhang artista." All of a sudden people were interested and curious about me.
But do you know what thrilled me more? It’s the response I got from those I didn’t know, especially women coming up to me to say, "Jacqui, after seeing what you did to your body, you have inspired me to go back to the gym." Or "Nag-enroll uli ako. You have inspired me to work out again. You are our model." Wow! Was I hearing it right? Were they talking to me?
For a while I was speechless. Tears would well in my eyes. I didn’t realize I had affected them in that way.
Aside from my winning, this is the most wonderful thing that my love for working out has brought to me–the fact that I am able to encourage people to think or re-think their health. Their fitness and well-being is an even bigger prize.
For them to realize that they can do it! It’s not the age or how many kids you have, but your focus and dedication that really matter.
I have been working out for quite sometime now. I always enjoyed doing so. But now it has become a cause, a mission. I would like to continue to encourage, to motivate people to make fitness a way of life. I want them to know that if I was able to bring my body to where it is now, they can too. Nothing is impossible!
Now, most of the offers I’ve been getting are related to fitness. I’ve told myself nga, "Nakalimutan na yata nila na artista din ako." But then, I’m not complaining. I feel the God is opening a new road that He wants me to take and I am taking Him up on His offer. If that means that I can inspire more people into leading a healthy life, then I’ll keep on walking that road.
We are God’s most beautiful and perfect creations. Let us take care of ourselves. Let us try to lead healthy lives. Let us be around to see our children’s children.
So what will it be? Walking, running, swimming, aerobics, working out? Take your pick? I totally approve!