Mutual Fund by Sun Life

One of the things that I am looking forward to experience is investing. I have been reading quite a few number of books and online articles/blogs related to money management and all of it says something about investing. However, before you step into investments, it requires knowledge and patience as it doesn't offer a huge profit for a short period of time unless you have studied stocks and trading in great heights.

Anyway, when I saw a promo posted on TipidMommy's facebook page regarding Sun Life's Mutual Fund, I have contacted her agent and inquired about it. I have then met Ms. Che Gernandizo who answered all my questions. Believe me, I had a LOT of questions and have been communicating with her almost everyday. Hahah! I am just so thankful that she's so patient with me until I am contented with all her answers and fully understood mutual fund.

Although I have some basic knowledge prior to this, I still would want to confirm everything that I know specially the ins and outs of the company where I will put my hard-earned money. Sun Life has a great track record and has been in business for a very long time so I didn't hesitate. Besides, having a dedicated financial advisor helped me trust the company more.

When I had finally set a goal as to why I am investing in Mutual Fund, fully decided, we set an appointment near our office so I could submit the forms she sent thru my email ahead of time. I filled it out, deposited the required minimum amount, signed the papers and submitted it to her personally. I just waited for roughly 2 weeks since the company received a lot of application and had backlogs due to their ongoing promo.

The offered promotion of Sun life was for money market fund which is an investment vehicle for conservative type of investors and has a track record of up to 2% per annum. Instead of Php5,000 initial amount required to invest, it was lowered to only Php500.

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Since my goal is long term investment, I was hoping to transfer my fund to Equity or Index Fund which is for aggressive type of investor as soon as possible. I know that time is on my side so I have to maximize this investment. Remember, the higher the risk, the higher the returns.

Everyday has been so exciting watching my first passive income. Although it was a very, very, very small gains, I feel happy because you cannot get Php5 pesos just parking your money on your wallets nor putting it on a savings account in a bank. I mean, you can get 5 pesos in a bank after 6 months probably depending on the amount of money kept. Every payouts, I did some top ups until I got a go signal to switch my portfolio to Index Fund which has a track record of up 21% per annum.

SWITCHING MY FUND

Since I am a very agitated and excited type of person, I downloaded the Sunlife App on my phone so I could watch it closely. Although it is recommended to let it do its magic for a long period of time, there's something about checking it everyday regardless if the NAVPS (net asset value per share) is up or down. It motivates and reminds me of my goals. 

When I reached Php5,000 on my money market portfolio, I transferred my fund to Index immediately. Why Index? Well, the amount per share is quite low at the time so I will be able to buy a lot of shares. How did I transferred my fund? I did all my transactions thru their app in a breeze. It was a user friendly app plus an attentive financial advisor made me so happy I made the right decision. 

HOW TO ADD FUNDS ON YOUR PORTFOLIO

What I initially did is to go to the nearest BPI and deposit the money on SLAMCI's account. Take picture of my deposit slip then fill out the order form thru the Sunlife App. After some time, I asked my advisor if I could skip going to the banks and just transfer the fund thru BPI mobile app. I am so glad it worked fine. All I have to do was to transfer the fund to SLAMCI's bank account just like a normal fund transfer, take a screenshot of the confirmation, fill out the form on Sunlife's app and wait for the confirmation of additional shares bought the next day. 

Here's a step by step guide on how you could submit an order ticket form thru SunLife App.

1.) Download the SunLife Portal on your phone. 

Sunlife Portal Landing Page

2.) Upon sign up, it will ask you to nominate your PIN for you additional security. 

3.) This page will show up after you key in your PIN. It contains your account number, number of shares you have, the NAVPS from the previous day and the total fund value. To submit an order ticket form, tap on the fund name to bring you to the next screen.

4.)To be able to submit an order form, tap on the + button which will offer you to either REDEEM FUND, SWITCH FUND or ADD FUND. Select Add fund to see the form. This is where I also switched my fund from Money Market to Index Fund.

5.) The form should look like below. Fill out the form according to which bank and how much top up you did. Upload the screen shot of the bank confirmation for transfer fund or take a photo of your deposit slip for over the counter payment.

 After submitting the form, an order ticket number will be given to you. You may take note of it if you wish. A separate email will be sent to you to confirm the transaction has been received and once processed (which could take 24hours), another email will be sent to confirm the total number of shares bought and the amount per share according to the NAVPS. They also send text messages and a letter to confirm subscription in the mail.

Should you wish, you can also arrange an auto debit from your payroll or savings account to automatically fund your portfolio. To do so, please contact your financial advisor. Cut off for top ups is at 12noon. Additional funds processed before cut off time will buy the closing NAVPS from previous day (5pm) while anything after cut off will buy today's closing NAVPS. For any questions, please contact your financial advisor.

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IN MUTUAL FUND

I have waited two years before I finally had the chance to try Mutual Fund. Reading a lot of blogs/books/articles and joining facebook groups about money management somehow prepared me to this date. There was a time when I switched to Index Fund where I had paper loss. As I check it everyday, all I could say was, "down pa rin ang market" then shake it off. I kept reminding myself of my long term goal and there's nothing to worry about. True enough, the market bounced back, returned my paper loss and even added more. Since I am on Index Fund, means it mirrors PSEi, I could check the market's performance and expect the same gain or loss on my portfolio. 

It's been a month since the last time I added fund to my account. This is because I could see that the market is on green and is consistently going up for the last couple of days. I intend to add funds when the market goes down. Besides, I have other goals that I have to prioritize at this time. This portfolio is intended for our Retirement fund and thinking about it gives me fuel to continue working hard everyday. 

All I can say is, before you get yourself into investing, make sure that you prepared yourself to any changes as NAVPU could go up and down everyday. Being emotional in investing is never a good thing along with trading as it can cost you a lot of money if you're not fully knowledgeable. It will be best to set your goal for long term (5years and up) to maximize your gains. You can also do PESO-COST AVERAGING meaning putting the same amount (or more) money consistently (every salary or monthly). There are days where market is up which could buy you lesser number of shares and vice versa and can buy you more when market is down. Read a lot or ask questions until you fully understand the risks.

While every Mom's wish was to give out the best to our kids, we also have to make sure that all our hard work are not put to waste. Make your money work for you, not the other way around. We will not be young or strong forever, so while you can spare some amount for your future self, please do it now.

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If you are born poor, it's not your mistake, but if you die poor, it's your mistake. - Bill Gates

A Look back at 2017

This 2018 felt good! It is said to be a year of the Earth Dog based on Chinese Calendar. There's something in this year that I felt I should be looking forward to.

I know this will be another year to continue reaching for our goals. I have written some on my old planner just so I could polish them before writing it down to my new planner. I was kind of unsure at this point since we have a lot of things planned for the year. I have to consistently communicate with Daryl to make sure that we are both in line with our mission this year.

I have decided to write this year down as #Amazing2018. I can't wait to become close to those goals and it's very exciting to actually think about achieving them. I will blog about our goals as soon as I am satisfied with it. It wasn't just a simple dreams that I write about. I want to have a game plan and a strategy on how we could achieve them. Hindi na kasi pwede yung SANA SANA lang or the dreaming stage lang and wait until we achieve them without a concrete plan of the HOW diba?

Anyway, I want to look back on our 2017. Not just what happened to the goals but also the good and the bad that happened last year.

JANUARY

• I had trials at work specially that I felt a superior doesn't like me. What made me happy was I finally got hold of my dream phone! Lol! Pero hindi brand new although in good condition naman. What's important is I got it fully paid in time. =) 

FEBRUARY

• We had our annual physical exam in the office which made me realize that I am gaining weight from the previous APE. This was the same month when I decided to push myself to the limit and go on a strict diet. I blogged about it here. 

 

 MARCH

• I was meant to be promoted at work. I had an existing memo until mid-March. A day after the memo was lifted, I applied for a position and yes, I was hired by the end of the month! :D
• I joined the new team's outing in Calaguas Island. It was free for us while I paid extra for Daryl. I tagged along Jami and Daryl since they allowed family members to join us on this trip! :) 

APRIL

• Daryl's birthday month. We celebrated at home since we just came from Calaguas the day before. 
• Weight loss became noticeable by 2-3 people. 
• I was able to secure my SSS loan by applying in their amnesty or SSS Reconstructing Program which I blogged about here.

MAY 

• We had a quick getaway at Stilts Calatagan for Mother's Day with Daryl's side of the family.
• I stopped going on a diet at 57kgs. My initial target was 60kgs but people missed me in my chubby self hahah! Anyway, I was happy with 57kgs although it's 2kgs more than my average weight for my height.

JUNE

• My birth month. We had a short celebration, just the three of us in Shakey's Mall of Asia. We were looking to claim gift sana for birthday celebrant kaso you have to have a membership card which will cost Php400. Okay sana however, the freebie also cost the same amount. I thought about it for a while and decided not to get the card because we won't use it often. 
• Jami started going to school. He was enrolled in a small school around the area and so far, I am glad with how he's performing. 
• Daryl started his new career. I was so glad for him he gets to work in the airport which somehow co-related to his college degree. He was also happy and contented with work which was a lot important. 
• We struggled financially this month since Daryl and Jami were both starting. We don't have fund to support the additional expenses which ended up taking loans left and right. 
• Gigantes Island - Guimaras - Bacolod trip with Jami. 

JULY

• I started accepting baking orders again to help us cope up with finances.

 

AUGUST

•  I manage to get a new business partner and very active re-seller of my baked goods. 
• Finally had the chance to experience Dreamplay for my nephews 7th birthday. 

 

SEPTEMBER

• I started my Mutual Fund with Sunlife Asset Management (SLAMCI). I saw an online promo from Tipid Mommy's facebook page where you could start investing for only Php500 rather than Php5,000. I met a financial advisor na sobrang maasikaso and very helpful. Should you need one in the future, please let me know. =) 

 

OCTOBER

• I finally had the feeling of having passive income! hahaha! Although super duper small, it felt good thinking that it will grow big in the long run. 
• Jami's birthday celebration in school. 
• Took a life insurance from Pru Life UK which I will blog about separately. 

 

NOVEMBER

• Approval of my Life insurance application.
• Started building our Emergency Fund. 
• Renewed my passport.

 

DECEMBER

• Successfully saved coins from July to mid-December. Jami was able to save around 2,000+ including monetary gifts while I had less than Php3,000 of 10s and 5s coins. =) I intended to use the money for our New Year's eve budget while Jami bought a new toy and saved 50%. 
• For the first time, I celebrated my NYE away from home. =)

You know somehow I felt that we had a good 2017. I mean it was surely a roller coaster ride but nevertheless, it gave us a lot of things to learn and that we were able to start on something new. My personal goal was to become a wiser version of myself and I felt I was able to pull it off. Anyway, I believe naman that the most important thing is that you learn and ready to start again. New year never fails to replenish my hopes that I am one step closer to my goals. I somehow felt na nag mature ako. Ganito pala ang feeling, Lol! #Adulting101. Hahahah! Tita na talaga.

It's day 10 of 2018. I hope you all have a wonderful year ahead.

#GreenTeam for #Amazing2018

Re-visiting Goals 2017 Part 2

So it's 2018! Just like that!

Grabe sobrang bilis ano?! I didn't even realize that December is about to end.

Hay nakooo!

Anyway, I had a wonderful 2017 and I always wanted to look back by writing them. Good thing I discovered the use of a planner because reading everything that I have written down in the last 12 months give me so much satisfaction with the year that passed. I have realized sooo many things and even remembered some at that instant which I completely forgot happening. Weird feeling actually. Hehe.

Well, I said I had a satisfactory feeling after 2017 being able to accomplish so many things. I had a go-go energy as per my Chinese calendar prediction and I guess that was true. I did a lot of new things, gained new friends, acquired new skills and learned new stuff. It was a roller coaster ride but I really feel contented. I even reviewed my goals in August to check if I am in line with my goals. Part of it was great and some were not. I intentionally not complete all of them based on my priorities.

Should you wish to look back, click here for my 2017 goals and an update here in August 2017.

I was able to still complete some before the year ends and that made my goals for last year at 70% done. I'll write down those that I wasn't able to complete na lang to make it short. The rest that aren't on the list are completed.

Personal Goals

• Attend Workshops - No, I didn't attend a workshop still. Although this could enhance my baking skills which I use for earning extra money, I wasn't ready financially since my extra income helped us get back on our feet when things got rough in mid-2017. I am looking to at least do this in 2018 and save money for it. 
• Vaccine - No vaccine for us in the entire year. Good thing we only caught colds twice a year and no health issues far more than that. Thank you Lord!
• Loose Weight - I was able to maintain it until last month where I gained 2kg. I let it be since it's the holidays where there were food left and right. Sweets are my weakness! I don't crave rice, bread etc. But sweets?? Please! Let there be peace on Earth. Hahaha! Nag uubos na lang talaga ako ng food from New Year's Eve tapos I'll go back on dieting.

Family Goals

• Staycation & Photoshoot - are the very least in our priority this year so I intentionally didn't put an effort to it. Maybe in the coming years na lang.

Relationship Goals

• Eat Out/Date Night/Movie together/Spa Together - Yes we had some eat outs with just the two of us and we used it to talk about some things and you know, just reminisce the old time. Hehe! Hope we could have one at least once every month or every 2 weeks. I am looking for a movie or spa together which weren't completed.

Financial Goals

• Beef up Emergency Fund - Hay nako etong Emergency Fund na ito, taon-taon na lang. hahaha! But hey, we had some improvement before the year ended. I was able to save some although really small lang compare sa aming goal but at least, we had something saved. It's a big leap of adjustment but we were there. Tuloy-tuloy na ito! Wala na ng SANA, para magkatotoo naman. Hahahah!
• School Fund -  No school fund yet but this is included on our 2018 goal.
• Travel Fund - No travel fund yet since we had other much more important goal to achieve like the first two above.
• More Sideline/Additional Income - compared to last year, the holidays of 2017 gave me lesser orders but I am not complaining. The money helped us cope up faster than expected so it was a really big help. Besides, I didn't do a lot of marketing this year since I felt I need a lot of sleep at times. 

So there you have it guys! I didn't write down those that I was able to complete just so I could completely tick them off. Although I had some that are not completed, I felt happy with 2017 for being a #WiserMe version. I can't wait to start my #Amazing2018 and to see what's in store for me and my Family.

Thank you for your continued support guys! We may have a prosperous 2018! =)

Re-visiting Goals for 2017

It's 5 months before the Holidays!

Can you believe it? Sobrang bilis ng panahon!

Imagine! August na ngayon? How could it be? Samantalang parang kahapon lang nung nag birthday ako?!

So how're your goals doing? Are you on track or lost? Last month was the perfect time to reassess your goals and re-visit the plans you have listed down. The next best time is today. We still have 5 months before the year ends and for me, there's still a chance to go back on track.

If you wish to look back on the goals I have written early this year, please feel free to read through.

I seriously had some ups and downs this year and there were areas that I felt I achieved earlier than what I expected while I lack some courage to push on the other.

To make my goals a lot more manageable, I divided it into sections.

Personal Goals

I wrote down 7 goals and I am at 3 out of 7 at the moment. I am looking to accomplish more than that for the remaining months of 2017. I am happy how it turned out so far and I'll do my best to make it happen. =)

• Attend Workshops -  I haven't done anything related to baking so far since I got so busy and focused with my new role in the office. Gusto ko muna kasing magamay ang lahat although I am looking to go back to baking anytime soon since it's almost BER months were baked goods are at its peak.
• Hair Transformation - Eto wala pa talaga because I have a lot of financial things going on at this point that are much more important. However, this can be done throughout the year.
• Vaccine -  rainy days are here and virus are everywhere due to inclement weather. Last year, we were able to get a cheaper price here in the office but it's different now. It's 50% price increase so I decided to look elsewhere. Good thing Jami isn't catching any virus just yet. I will have to contact his pedia for a cheaper flu vaccine in the coming days/weeks.
• Loose Weight -  I was able to loose 8kgs in a matter of 3 months. I stopped at 57kgs since I am hearing a lot of side comments na wag na daw masyadong magpapayat. Honestly, I like my body now, I just need to have to work it out to make all muscles firm. Next move: Maintain the weight. :p
• Read another book - I wrote that I want to read new books about finances. I haven't done one but I was able to read Harry Potter books - all of them. Next move: Read another book.
• Be Punctual - This doesn't apply to my work at this time since we have a flexible schedule. I am part of another team now that handles back office tasks so schedules aren't that strict. Just as long as we go to work at a time we are expected to, all's good. I would like to tag it success because I was able to limit the amount of late to only twice in the first 3 months of the year which resulted to being promoted to work. =) Next move: Continue the hard work.

Family Goals

Family  is really important for me so to strengthen the bond, I separated my goals for my family. So far, we were able to reach 3 out of 5.

• Travel - this year, we had more travel than what we have expected. Having that said, I could say we could stop at that for the year and plan na lang where to go next year.
• Calaguas Island, Camarines Norte
• Stilts Calatagan Beach Resort, Calatagan Batangas
• Gigantes Island in Ilo-ilo
• Guimaras Island
• Bacolod City
• Next Move: Save up for for travel fund (for next year).
• Family Time - I am glad to say that we are spending more time together because we only have limited time everyday. Daryl started working last month so we barely see each other during weekdays or weekends. His rest days are on weekdays and mine is on weekends. Even so, when we get the chance at home, we often cuddle and make time for each other including Jami. Next Move: movie time. =)
• Home Cooked Meals - We have been working on eating home cooked meals. Aside from the fact that we are trying to cut cost, I want to make sure that the food they eat are clean. So far, I would say it's a success since I am planning our food sometimes. Next move: Consistency in planning meals! 
•  Staycation and Photoshoot - are the two least priority of all. When our finance allow, we'll proceed with it but surely, I can go by without these muna because I need to focus on building funds first.

 Relationship Goals

• Eat Out/Date Night/Movie together/Spa Together - Well, Daryl started working and we have different rest days so we really can't do this soon. Quite frankly, we don't have a budget for it and we are trying to live below our means so this can wait. I sure enjoy the days we spend kulitan in the house and I am contented with that. 
• Cuddle and Kiss more often - Yes! We are cuddling more than the previous year! Hahaha. I mean, we fight less now since we have one thing to stop fighting about - money. I also realized that we have to cuddle and kiss often to keep the fire burning so if there's a chance, before he goes to sleep or vice versa, cuddle cuddle muna. =)
• Complement more - I do complement him not that often but if I get the chance and he does something really need to praise. I thank him for his hard work now that he helps with the bills and rent. I also say nice things when I noticed something new with him like hair. 
• Understand each other more - It has always been me who's hot tempered among us so I did a lot of effort to at least minimize the amount of negative thinking. When we are about to argue, I am trying my best not to let the arguments get longer or if I am being sensitive to what he's saying, I am trying to think less. Although I am hot-tempered on some minor things, I could easily forget what I am mad about after some time. With that, we kiss and make-up quite easily pero he has to get ready with explanations when I remembered why I was mad 2 weeks ago. hahahaha! Baliw lang.

Financial Goals

•  Beef up Emergency Fund -I know! Eto na naman tayo sa emergency fund hanggang ngayon wala pa rin! Hahaha! We just had a lot of expenses the last 7 months so it was really a struggle to save money. Also, I don't know what happen but because of debts, I was so scared to budget our money because I know it's going to be negative. It turned out really bad for the last couple of months. Good thing Daryl started his new job in June which means we will be able to catch up on this part. We still have 5 months before the year ends so hopefully kahit 1 month worth of expenses lang makapagtabi kami. Next move: Save at least a month worth until December.
• School Fund - I was really looking to pay for Jami's tuition in cash however, the second quarter of the year went quite bad so we took the installment instead. The amount is manageable and since I started budgeting the money again last month, it's going really well and never felt a burden. Next move: Start saving in November up to May for next school year.
• Coin to Piggy Bank - Just last month, I got hooked in saving 10 peso coins! I have read a lot of 50 peso challenge where every 50 peso bill that comes in to your hands, it's invisible for spending and should go to savings immediately. Since money is tight, I know the most that I can manage is 10 pesos and so far, I have collected some that I am looking to deposit to my ATM which will be used for the coming holiday season in December. =) Next Move: Continue collecting and deposit the money on ATM for holiday fund.
• Travel Fund - No travel fund for the rest of the year since we had a lot of traveling for the first 6 months. I am looking to save some when our debts are fully paid. Next move: Plan our next travel and save for it before summer next year.
• More Sideline/Additional Income - we are restarting our business so we could pay our debts faster and get more money saved. Next move: Earn from these sidelines to finish paying our debts.
• SSS Loan Update - I was able to take advantage of SSS' loan restructuring program late April so I am now paying my old salary loan slowly. So far, I managed to pay 4 consecutive months which I'll share with you on a separate post. Next move: Continue paying for the next 20 months.

These are the goals I have listed down when the year started and the status of each goals so far. I am so glad that I am making progress in most of them. It's a good thing to look back at them once in a while to make sure that these goals are up to date and will have at least a tiny progress.

How about you guys? Kamusta ang mga goals? Buhay pa ba? Hehehe!

Yummy Diet PH Reviews

Part of my weight loss journey was the calorie counted meal. Offers are everywhere and there are a lot of providers to choose from. Prices also varies and of course, the taste.

I saw a lot of store that offers calorie counted meal that carries 1,200kcal/1,500kcal/1,800kcal and those who have special needs like vegetarians etc.

I chose Yummy Diet PH above all as they offer delivery schedule depending on my needs. Before booking your meals, you have to consider the delivery too because there are some that only delivers in the morning from 5am-8am for Makati and 3pm-9pm for other locations.

Anyway, I only took the minimum 3 days meal because (1) I am not sure if I'll like the food (you know how much picky eater I am); (2) Strict budget. The 1,200kcal meal costs Php1,900 for 5 days with 3 sets of meals and 2 snacks). Besides, it will be a lot easier to come up with a meal plan for only 2 days in a week rather than 5 days. Hahaha! Weekends doesn't count. I still eat regular food but in minimum amount only. Half cup of white rice and viand etc.

Since no one will be home when delivery arrives, I have it delivered in the office every late afternoon which is just according to my schedule. I chose the Cash on Delivery payment but I have meetings scheduled on the first meal delivery so the food was left in our security desk without payment pa. I have then decided to fund transfer the payment to make our lives easier. Why I didn't do it upon order? I don't have enough fund on my debit card.

 First Week of Order:

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My Day 1: Tuesday Meal

I've never tried eating tofu as a viand ever since (except taho in the morning) so there's a lot of convincing on my part to eat the dinner. Hahah! Grabe, I can't believe I ate salad. Alam nyo naman, I am not fond of veggies so I took in a lot of courage to eat them all. Hehe. But it was a success, I managed to finish the food and liked it. The breakfast and lunch tastes good. I ate them all without much hesitation since they're yummy. I was thinking how they managed to make it taste this good without adding preservatives. I guess it's just real food no?!

Day 3 and Day 4, I have no photos to show you. I was really busy so when I get to work, I will eat lunch immediately so wala na akong picture. =(

Anyhow, I ordered another minimum meal for 3 days. This time, my sister want to try Yummy Diet too. I placed my order thru Facebook Page and placed an order thru text message for my sister. I sent them a message on their FB page that there will be 2 deliveries for me on two different addresses.

3-day meal

Monday came, I was expecting for a delivery to arrive for my Tuesday meal. Nothing came so I have to send them text messages by 10pm to ask if they are still going to deliver the meal. They were really quick in answering so I knew they delivered the food and someone received it. They sent me the address and found out that they were referring to my sister's delivery.

I explained to them that there were supposed to be two delivery. I paid for my order thru BPI fund transfer and my sister paid hers thru the same method. I sent them my screenshot of payment and immediately processed the order. Instead of Tues-Thurs meal, they offered me Wed meal and 2 Thursday meal. I suggested why don't we make it Wed-Fri meal which they agreed naman. They are very easy to talk to.

Included on my delivery on that week was a spoon and fork and some teas and coffee. My previous delivery doesn't have one so probably because of me referring my sister or for the confusion of delivery. Either way, I was happy with the food. =) This was the last set of food that I ordered because I don't want to spend too much in food delivery.

Fast forward to second week of April, I received a text message from Yummy Diet asking for a payment for my last delivery. I got really confused and felt bad that they think I didn't pay the food. Nasan naman ang kunsensya ko, kinain ko na ang food ng walang bayad. Hahah!

I told them that payment has been made the moment I placed the order. I sent a screenshot of my payment (buti hindi ko pa na delete) and advised that they could back read our conversations because the same picture was sent weeks ago. They replied na okay na. Maybe they got really really confused when I ordered for me and my sister. Although I tried my best naman to make sure the order is clear in my end.

Anyhow, I can still say that Yummy Diet lives up with their tag. The food tastes yummy and I could say that this helped me loose weight along the way. Bare in mind that I didn't exercise, just plain diet but still, I lost extra pounds and still a work in progress. In the course of my 3-days meal, I make sure that I eat food less than 1,200kcal on days that I don't have food delivery to maintain the diet. I can't say that the plan will work for everybody but it sure helped me.

Calorie Counted meal delivery are perfect for those who doesn't have time and knowledge to prepare healthy low calorie meals. If you have the budget, you may want to consider Yummy Diet PH.

*not a sponsored post

Weight Loss Journey: 65kgs down to 60kgs in 8 weeks

You all know that loosing weight was a real pain in the ass for me. Back in the day, before Jami came, I was at 54kgs. I was actually in the boundary of my body mass index but I am quite happy with it. I have a normal weight for my height, I may not get a flat tummy but I could always tuck them in if necessary.

I tried morning jog in the past but it didn't work because my mind was not in to it. I could kill myself going on cardio but if I didn't change my diet, I will accumulate more weight for sure. So in February, after our Annual Physical Exam here in the office, I realized that I gained more weight compared to last year's result. I was 63kgs in 2016 to 65kgs in 2017. Sad isn't it? That's where I decided to officially start going on a diet.

Baler 2016

Initially, I was planning to go on a no-rice diet. That's the easiest that I could go I think. When I got used to it for about 1 week, I downloaded an app on my phone "My FitnessPal" where it could help you track the amount of calorie intake everyday. It also has a recommendation of 1,200kcal/day for me to achieve my goal. With this app and some more research, counting calories became easier. Cooking and preparing meal did matter as well. Although I wasn't tracking my intake for about 4 weeks now because we don't have internet in the office, I am still mindful of the things and the amount of serving that I eat.

I also tried to go on a military diet that I found online, which I would love to share with you too in the coming days. While working on the military diet, I am still tracking the calorie intake on the app and realized that there were days I am going below 1,000kcal which is unhealthy so I have to add some food not included or double the food indicated on military diet. I'll explain this on a separate post too for a more detailed information and how did it go for me.

The struggle of preparing a healthy food is real. When I ran out of ideas, I started ordering the Calorie counted meal which I will tell you all about on another post too. :)

Calaguas 2017 wearing the same Rash guard

Pardon the photo. I am banging my head in the wall now for not taking photos of before and after. The first photo was our Baler trip in March 2016 while the last photo was our recent Calaguas trip. Notice that there's a difference in the belly area? I am trying to find a much decent photo and a close up one but I really can't find one. Why? I stopped taking photos of my body because I felt I am too fat. Due to this change, my lost confidence is starting to go back and hopefully, I could also improve my arms and legs and my tummy part further.

Anyway, as of this writing (04/05/2017) I am weighing 60kgs so I mainly lost 5kgs in 8 weeks. I just noticed that my weight loss is getting slower now that my body has adjusted with the amount of food that I eat so I have to add workouts to my routine. I felt I need more of a cardio to remove excess fat then tone the muscles later on. At this time, I can't still find the time to do it because my body clock is adjusting to my new forever schedule of 8am-5pm. I am giving myself at least 2 weeks to adjust then I could include the workout.

In total, I am so proud of myself for finally pulling this all together and making a progress. From 65kgs (143lbs) to 60kgs (132lbs), that was 5kgs (11lbs). It was really amazing! I have to give up sodas, sweets, junk food (chips), fast food etc. Although I don't deprive myself too much. I still get the chance to eat fast food when family goes out but I always make sure that I eat on a minimum. It's been 8 weeks since the last time I drank a soda and from time to time, I eat cakes (one small serving). I realized that the more you starve yourself, the harder you'll gain weight. The truth is you have to make sure you are consuming the right amount of healthy food, healthy snack while avoiding those fancy food. I learned so much in the past weeks and I will share it with you in the coming days.

My new target is at 57kgs (125lbs) and that hopefully can include routine cardio to help my body adjust. I don't want to impose a harder goal just yet because I want to take it one step at a time. Lol!