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Immuvit MetaFit Challenge

It was when I learned I have kidney stone that I decided to change my eating habit as well as my lifestyle. I started with drinking more water (since that’s the culprit of my stone) and watching what I eat. It also gives way to being more active, such as participating in fun run and exercising/ dancing almost everyday. The kidney stone was my wake up call. But you know, being a mom of four, it’s just hard to keep up with everything, the tendency is, whenever I am stressed, I tend to eat a lot. It’s also a challenge to exercise for 30 minutes a day since I have two toddlers who always demand my attention. Even before my routine ends, one of them would come running to me asking me to hug them or just want my attention. A few more weeks of that and I gave up my exercise. The good news is (in a way) I had to discipline myself more in terms of eating and I am just glad that I am starting to be more choosy with what I eat. I still want to exercise though, I am planning to join more fun runs and beat myself (I did 3k for 32 minutes.. yup, that slow) and I want to increase my endurance and strength.

Immuvit MetaFit was like an answered prayer to me. It is a 4 minute exercise that can burn up to 600 calories. Based on my research, 30 minutes of zumba can burn up to 400 calories, but that’s 30 minutes! Immuvit MetaFit is only 4 minutes. Last April 17, I signed up with for Immuvit MetaFit challenge, a one month program that will challenge us to be fitter, stronger and younger!

bloggers included in the challenge listen as Coach Jim explains about Somatopause and how to counter it

Coach Jim Saret (the man behind the 4 minute work out) explained to us how our body’s metabolism changes over time and why we grow bigger (horizontally) as we grow older. The medical term on this condition is Somatopause, a gradual decrease on growth hormone secretion. It happens in adults like us and the symptoms of it includes weight gain, bone density loss and declining energy. So if there is a decrease in Growth hormones in our body, the only way to reverse it is to have more growth hormones.. unfortunately, growth hormones supplements is not the answer. This kind of hormones that we need is produced by our body and only a specific exercise can make our body produce it. Here’s Coach Jim presentation:

Immuvit MetaFit Challenge

View more presentations from Janette Toral

Metafit workshop is the answer. That’s Metabolic fitness, a very short exercise that can burn up to 600 calories, it also promotes higher metabolism rate and energy, stronger bones and lower blood sugar. It has been proven, scientifically, to help our body release somatotropin or the growth hormones that counters somatopause.

Immuvit, multivitamin supplement that contains 2 kinds of ginseng that helps in fighting aging

Metafit goes well withImmuvit, as coach Jim puts it, “IMMUVIT is the only multivitamin supplement that contains 2 essential Ginseng extracts: Korean and Siberian ginseng – plus CoQ10. Combined, these superior ingredients effectively help slow down the manifestations of aging.”

After that brief and very educational discussion, Coach Jim taught us the Metafit routine along with Erik of Pinoy Biggest Loser.

weigh in before we started Metafit (and I lost 1 Lbs after.. yay!)

So here’s Erik, teaching us the routines for MetaFit:

that’s jumping jack, squat (please take note of the right way to squat), push up and lunges.

after the first routine, yes I can still laugh at that time.

The work out includes, jumping jack, squat, push up and lunges (each leg) which is done repeatedly, 10 times each (described in the video). The first time we did, Coach Jim said we were doing it wrong, he said that we can push our selves more. Its a high intensity work out so we should feel the intensity. It should feel like the longest 4 minutes of your time, wishing it would end soon –hindi pa ba tapos?? wala pa bang 4 minutes?? hindi ko na kayaaaa!!– that kind of intensity.

He challenged us to do more on the second exercise (the work outs will be done alternately everyday), he challenged us to do 5 sets in 4 minutes. That means 5 repetition of 1o sealed jack, 10 power jack and 10 push up. Knowing I can do more, I pushed myself to the limit until I almost faint (at 3 minutes I think). It’s nice to know my limit and how much I can do. It’s also nice that I experienced how it was to be on the verge of it. Coach Jim said it’s normal due to Oxygen shortage.. and that you just need to lie down, with your feet up and slowly breathe. After a few minutes, I can finally stand again though not as normal as before I start doing Metafit (it took about 30 minutes more).

As this is a one month challenge, we have to do MetaFit everyday (well that’s just 4 minutes so that won’t be a problem to me). We were also given a health diary which will serve us our guide (I’ll have it open to public maybe after 2 weeks). Of course, it will not be about Metafit and Immuvit, I know I need to work hard in order to achieve the body I want. My goal is to lose at least 8 lbs after the challenge, be able to run 3k for 15 minutes or less (in a month) and to be able to do real push up (in two weeks). To achieve that goals, aside from taking Immuvit everyday and doing MetaFIt everyday (or 2x a day if I can do it) I will be changing my lifestyle and of course watch what I eat. I have to cut back on food that’s not good for my body.

To know more about Immuvit and Metafit, visit Immuvit Facebook page. And of course stay tune as I’ll be updating you weekly on how this challenge goes for me.

Who’s Afraid of Menopausal Stage?

When I was a young kid, I am always concerned with menstrual period and what I am going to do when I first had it. It’s not like today that I can easily look for the answer in the internet, back then all I can do is wait for the day and pray. It was embarrassing to ask someone about it, some would even tease you that you are excited to have it and some would just give you wrong information about it.

Now that I am older, though this is not happening in the near future, I am already reading about menopause. One of the reason is to better understand my mother. Menopause is a stage in a woman’s life where in the ovaries stopped producing egg cells. It usually happens to women ages 40-50.

Symptoms and signs of menopause includes irregular menstrual period, hot flushes and some can experience short temper. Migraine is also one of the symptoms but not all women will experience it. In some cases, there are those that will need Hot Flashes Treatment there are those that won’t need it. The symptoms are different from each other, some won’t even feel it.

Since menopause is a natural thing, the most a woman can do is understand her body and educate herself about it.

Kidney Stone Symptoms, Shockwave For Kidney Stone Cost (cost of ESWL in the Philippines)

I have been experiencing cramps on my lower abdomen and all along I thought it was just a menstrual cramps. Then 2 days after Christmas (at 3 in the morning), I experienced a sharp pain on my lower abdomen, right part and it goes down to my foot. Knowing that we have history on appendicitis (my sister had her appendix removed, my maternal grandmother died from appendix rapture), I woke my husband and told him to bring me to the hospital. The diagnosis was Kidney Stones (I need to know shockwave for kidney stone cost) and I was given 2 kinds of med to drink for one week. I was given Rowatinex and Acalka. Rowatinex smells like olive oil, well it has olive oil (so does it means the Kidney Stones Home Remedy Treatment or natural treatment for kidney stones that involves olive oil is effective?).. and it does not taste good. Acalka is a big tablet and really hard to swallow. The tablet is not digested and you can see it in your feces.. as whole as it is. Readings said that though the tablet is not soluble, the active ingredient has been released in gastrointestinal tract (which maybe the cause of slight gastrointestinal disorders).

After my medication, I went to a Urologist for follow ups and to see if the kidney stone/s are gone. My urologist, Dr Hector Jacinto, advised for a CT Scan. My kidney’s swelling based on my Ultrasound but there was no stones found.. the CT Scan result was ureterolithiasis or stone/s in the ureter. And not only that, the stone formed is too big for medication, I need to undergo Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) or shock wave for short, a no surgery treatment for kidney stones (shockwave for kidney stone cost). It’s a bit shocking for me.. no. I was shocked big time! I need another week to accept the fact that I need the procedure. I was scheduled for a shock wave at Urology Center of the Philippines* a few days after I said yes.

minutes before the procedure, had to remove my pink lipstick 🙂

The procedure was not that stressful as I expected. I did not need to be stained since the stone can be seen clearly. The whole Shock Wave procedure took about 2 hours, which includes anesthesia, X-ray and shock wave (30-45 minutes). After the procedure I was expecting that my right back would hurt, because they said that the shock wave is like Pacman’s punch times 1000 (aw!). Good thing it was not the case, I was asleep during the procedure and they woke me up after it was done where I was transferred to the recovery room. After an hour or two, we went home and got my cup of Frappe. Dr Jacinto prescribe 5 meds, one for pain management (2 days only), antibiotics (can’t remember but I think I took it for 5 days) and 3 for the stone management (took for a month, 3x a day). There’s Rowatinex and Acalka and Sambong. And I also need to drink 3L of water a day and should not hold my pee… that’s quite hard for me..but hey I did it! and I am already accustomed to drinking that much water.

It’s been 3 months since my Shock Wave treatment and my last ultrasound showed no signs of swelling, but I still need to undergo CT Scan to make sure that I am Kidney stone free.

And now, let’s get on to the technical terms.

What is Kidney stone? This is a solid formation on the kidney that usually cause by minerals on our diet. It is classified based on the location: kidney> nephrolithiasis, ureter >ureterolithiasis or bladder >cystolithiasis. And also classified based on the stone component: Calcium containing or uric acid.

What are the Symptoms of kidney Stones? from my experience, sine what I had was ureter stone, there was a cramp on my lower abdomen as well as my foot. But one of the most Kidney Stone symptom is back ache, the kind of back ache where the feeling was heavy (or ngawit). Other symptoms are changes in urine pattern as well as blood in the urine.

What causes Kidney Stones? This can be caused by the minerals on our diet such as calcium and uric acid. In my case, since I did not drink enough water and loves to eat food high in uric acid (hello isaw), that’s where I got it.. I think. You will know what kind of stones you got by collecting stone samples and having it examined.

Treatment for Kidney Stones. Depending on the size of the stones, it can be treated through medication or shock wave treatment. Kidney Stone Home treatments suggest live oil and lemon juice to treat it. Lemon juice (as some of my readings suggest) will help in breaking the stones so that it can pass through, where as Olive oil aides in passage. Medication includes Acalka and Rowatinex and usually administered for 1 month.

Shock Wave treatment or Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) is done when the size of the stone is 6mm up. High energy sound waves are used to break the stones into smaller pieces and making it easy to move through the ureter and out of your the body (through urine).

How much is Shock Wave Treatment in the Philippines (shockwave for kidney stone cost)?

My treatment cost was around 38,000 PhP based on the package that our HMO approved. And I am just so glad that Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) was included on our health card (so thanks to my hubby’s company for providing such). When I asked the staff the Urology Center how much it usually cost, they did not give figures, so I am guessing the usual cost is around 38-50K PhP depending on the HMO and the doctor. Now I am not sure if it cost lower or higher if you will be the one paying it.

ESWL treatment room

Guide To ESWL Treatment (I am posting some tidbits from the readings they gave me when I had my ESWL treatment):

No aspirin for two weeks, no alcohol for 24 hours and no food 8 hours prior to appointment.
Day of the appointment, do not drink anything, no make- up (that I did not know, yes I come in full battle gear LOL), no nail polish and no jewelries.
Patient should be on the center one hour before the appointment and should have one companion at least (you’ll be groggy and sleepy after the procedure)
Procedure is 30-90 minutes (depends on the size of stone), anesthesia is given. This is an outpatient procedure.
Pain is manageable but patient may feel sore due to passage of stone. Patient may have slight fever, beyond 38C see your doctor.
Stone particles: strain urine for a week to save stone fragments for stone analysis.
Bloody urine is expected for a day or two.
Normal activities can be resumed after a day but patient can’t drive for 24 hours.
Diet will depend on the stone analysis.

DIET FOR kidney stone patient:

For Uric Acid Stones:

Moderation: poultry, Sea food (crabs, oyster, eel, shrimp), Vegetables (asparagus, spinach, mushroom, cauliflower), beverage, Fats, Legumes, Meat, Mar soups and broth, Oatmeal, Butter, Maragarine

Limited Amounts: Mussels, meat extracts, Internal organs (liver, pancreas, kidney>>> goodbye chicken liver!!), sardines, patis, yeast, Nuts, Anchovies, Brains (what?!? I can no longer b a Zombie!), Gravies, Herring, Mackerel, Balut and Beer

For Calcium Stones:

Limited Amounts: Green leafy vegetables, Calcium- fortified juices, whole, low fat, buttermilk, yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream, ice cream sherbet, custard, pudding, cream, cream soups, sweet potatoes, tofu, quick cooking cereal and quick breads, Sardines, fish canned with bones, dried beans, cheese, Food rich in saturated fats like bacon, kropek, sitsaron, whole nuts and peanut butter… and CHOCOLATES!

*Urology Center of the Philippines map:

Urology Center of the Philippines is at Maginoo street, Quezon City. If you are coming from EDSA, turn at East Avenue then turn right at Matalino Street (street right after Philippine Heart Center), go straight until the last street before Kalayaan Ave.. Maginoo street is right after Masikap. Turn right at Maginoo street and go straight until almost dead end, turn right and you will see Urology Center of the Philippines. When you turn at Maginoo Street, you will wonder if there is really a Urology center there as the road looks as if you’re inside a village.. but yes there is… and this is how it looks:

How can Kidney Stones prevented? Check the foods that you eat, avoid salty food and drink lots of water, 2-3 L of water a day is your road to a healthy kidney!