5 Simple Changes To Make Yourself Healthier and More Fit


A majority of people think that being fit and healthy all boils down to giant changes such as working out consistently, switching to a purely healthy diet, or heck, even being an athlete.

Breaking news: it's only a small portion of overall fitness.

A lot of people I know who do all these things still don't consider themselves healthy and fit because they're not at their target shape, weight, or fitness level yet. What could have possibly gone wrong? A discussion revealed that it's due to the small things and habits that continually affect their fitness journey: they work out consistently yet they either snack on junk food to death, continually subject themselves to stress, or slack off.

Your time in the gym is only a minute portion of your fitness journey; it's in the everyday that makes the most impact; simple, everyday things and habits; when you exit the gym, what and how much do you eat? On your off days, do you go the extra mile to burn a few more calories? How do you manage stress?

Believe it or not, these small things can greatly affect your fitness and health; they may be little and seem insignificant, but if compounded, they become big and considerable. If you find yourself in a plateau or you think your fitness journey is too slow or not going anywhere, then it's time to focus on the small things and detail your strategy.

Here are five simple changes that will make yourself more fit and healthier:

1. TWEAK YOUR CALORIES

- Let's be honest. Life is so much better if you can eat what you want and I will drink to that. Call me an anti-fitness adviser, but I'm advising you to eat whatever you want not because I'm after the taste of food, but because I'm after the good feeling that comes with it; it's also important to feel good!

But the secret to staying fit while eating what you want is to tweak your calories. Go for bite- sized versions of your favorite chocolate. Want a milkshake? Get one and drink half only. Treat yourself to a cheat meal once a week. Opt for brown sugar/artificial sweetener instead of white sugar or sugar syrup. Switch to Basmati rice instead of regular rice. You'll be surprised what tweaking calories can do to aid you in weight loss.

2. SNACK HEALTHY

- If you're a snacker, whether you eat your 3 big meals in smaller portions throughout the day or you just like having two extra, small meals on each day, go for healthy snacks such as yogurt, granola, carrot sticks, celery sticks, fruit, or nuts; they're more filling and healthier.

3. SAY NO TO STRESS

- Learn the art of letting go, of breathing, of taking a breather, of meditation, of anything that will help reduce and get rid of stress. How is this important to fitness and health? I have read in various medical literature that stress induces the hormone Cortisol, which holds fat in the body. Go figure.

4. FIX YOUR POSTURE

- Stand straight. Tighten your core. Roll back your shoulders to avoid slouching. Bad posture has long- term negative effects on your health and body, which in turn will affect your performance.

5. WALK!

- On my off days, I still try to burn more calories without actually kicking my arse in the gym. Walking is the answer. NEPA or Non-Exercise Physical Activity, is one of the best ways to shed excess weight and burn more calories without stressing out the body through strenuous activities aka exercising.

Whenever I get the chance, I walk to burn more calories: I walk to work, stroll around the mall non- stop for at least an hour (it's not boring because there are a lot to see, trust me!), have myself dropped off a block away from my actual location so I can walk, or walk my dog.

If you're not yet sold on the idea of walking and walking on your non-workout days as one of the best ways to become more fit, then you have to download Philam Vitality App to hopefully inspire you to take your fitness journey to the next level because when you do, you will be rewarded!

Philam Vitality Active is a fitness app that provides incentives when you become more active. Whenever you run, walk, or dance, you get the chance to earn points that will allow you to redeem various rewards.

Allow me to guide you through the process of signing up and I'll share my thoughts and experiences with the app briefly below as well.

First, download PHILAM VITALITY ACTIVE app; it is available at Google Play and Appstore. It's free!

Sign up for an account. A confirmation message will be emailed to you; just follow the steps in there to activate your account. 

Log into the app. The app will ask you a series of questions regarding your fitness activity, level, and health status that they will record to help you keep track of your journey; your vitality age, according to them, will also be revealed when you have accomplished the initial questionnaire; when you get a number that's higher than your actual age, then you gotta start getting fit or increasing your activity!

Next, link the app to another fitness app; the fitness app will count your steps and Philam Vitality Active app will compute your points, based on the incurred steps.

I'm using an iPhone and I've used Apple Health app, which is pre- installed in the smartphone, as my fitness app of choice. There are other apps to choose from and use such as Strava; there's also a handy list of preferred fitness apps within Philam Vitality Active app to help you choose.

Now here's the exciting part: collecting points for incentives! For every 7,500 steps, you will get 50 points. Each number of points has a corresponding reward; the higher the points, the better the list of rewards to choose from. You can also create teams and compete with friends; this should be a very fun activity among your group!

Here's a list of rewards that you can redeem using your points:

Free P200 text and call credits on Globe postpaid plan 
Free P200 text and call credits on Globe prepaid plan 
Free P200 call and text on Touch Mobile prepaid 
P200 hotel/resort accommodation voucher from Agoda 
Free movie from BlinkFree entrance to the dome theatre of Exploreum 
Free Grab car ride up to P200 (available in Metro Manila, Cebu, and Bacolod only) 
Free one bowling game at SM Bowling 
Free 2D ticket at SM Cinemas 
Free one hour ice skating at SM Ice Skating

Awesome, right?

Here are my thoughts on the app:

- I love that the app encourages people to walk more and be more active, and the incentives greatly help in the process
- It's secure and easy to use
- I love that it promotes camaraderie among friends
- I love that it encourages an alternative recreational activity among friends
- Device needs to be close to you to track steps
- Workouts such as Crossfit, strength training and conditioning, Powerlifting, Boxing, Muay Thai, and movement- heavy exercises may not allow smartphone use when working out, therefore steps incurred may not be counted because device is not close to the body; for workouts like this, fitness trackers like Garmin or Fitbit are needed

So there! Walk now, get rewarded later. If you want to know more about the app, visit PHILAM LIFE on Facebook. Check out their website at philamlife.com/vitalityactive.

What small changes are you currently doing or will do in order to improve your fitness and health? Let's talk about it!

DISCLOSURE: This post is brought to you by Philam Life and The Beauty Junkee

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21 Comments

  1. I'll be checking the Philam Life vitality active post since I just love to walk, it's the only excercise I do that is keeping me from weighing more than I should be with my love for food. Haha. Thank you for sharing this! :)

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  2. Yayyy!!! This is so good. Downloaded the app on my phone because why not? Time to walk more!

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  3. Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I need to burn more calories..maybe i'll start with walking (no more tricycle rides)lol!

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  4. I must admit that I'm lazy to do some excercises and having a hard time resisting my husband cooking..huh! It so diffucult for me to do this. I know I should take care of my health specially that I'm on my 40's. This app would really help a lot in motivating me to do this goals.

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    1. Yeah, I'm also glad Philam came up with something like this to encourage people to move more and be healthier. :)

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  5. Having a healthy lifestyle at adulthood is kind of hard. Unless you are a gym buff or a fitness addict you can maintain a healthy lifestyle while enjoying your food. I myself is guilty of eating unhealthy foods and also not exercising. But I walk when I can, usually after eating or buying something from the grocery store.

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    1. At least there's an effort to move, but still better if you can incorporate exercise. :)

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  6. Wow.. as in wow! two thumbs up sa mga incentives Ms M! Thank you for sharing will try this App! hugs!!!

    Note: I do agree on item no.4 Fix your posture.. it really do a lot sa katawan

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  7. Thanks for this post Ms M, I better tell this to my husband, he loves to walk. Kame din ng kids, from house to mall which is Greenbelt, nilalakad lang namin. Parang ang distance nh house namin ay from SM Makati to Greenbelt 1 ang layo. Nagrereklamo na nga kids ko eh. Hehehe

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    1. Walking is a fun activity that you can engage yourselves in. Try doing it in a park like Ayala Triangle; the vibe there encourages people to walk more. :)

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  8. Oh my the Philam Life Vitality is so cool.I would love to try it too coz it's hitting two birds with the same stone because you're getting fit and rewards at the same time. Yey!

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  9. Health concious na nga karamihan sa tao ngayon, sumagot naman si hubby "pero yung mga kinakain unhealthy food".
    Natawa ako kasi pareho ng sinabi ni hubby. As a mom of 2, hindi na ako makapag-zumba dito sa bahay but everytime pumupunta ako downtown for groceries, nilalakad ko nalang kasi aside sa traffic, tipid pa sa pamasahe. hahaha!

    I totally agree with you. This app is so amazing and innovative. But does it work offline?

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    1. That's great to hear. At least there's effort to move from your end. :)

      The app works offline to collect points as long as it's linked to a tracking app. :)

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  10. Huhuhu I really wanna do that! Getting fit is one of my goals this year! Hope I'll get into shape tho! ;)

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  11. Wow these are very helpful, thanks a lot the beauty Junkee 😚😚😚

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  12. I would definitely try this app. I love walking so its not my problem but stress? Hmmm.. I am incoming fourth yr. College so stress is part of my student life. As much as i want to avoid it but the combinations of school works, family, lovelife and other stuffs is too much������ but i guess i am strong cause i managed to balnce all of it.����

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  13. i would definitely try this out😍😍😍 i am just concern about stress. I cant avoid it too much school works,family, lovelife and other stuff but i guess i am strong enough to managed all of it💪💪💪

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Let me know what you think of this post! :)