[cafeaulately]

March in my personal rings 🖤

[cafeaulately]

𝘐𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯.

[haverst]

source / Haverst

[cafeaulately]

☕️ 6/30/26 | LIFE LATELY ☕️

I’ve been thinking about how I even started walking in the first place.

🗓️ March '26

I remember inviting a friend for an afternoon walk. I just wanted some company and and to get my mind off something without actually having to talk about it. When I got home that day, I felt so calm, I even fell asleep easily without taking melatonin and ashwagandha. I liked that feeling, so I walked again the next day—this time by myself—same peaceful feeling afterward. So I kept doing it, day after day, until it quietly became a habit.

🗓️ March '25

A little backstory: I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Since then, I had confined myself to my comfort zone. I avoided new, unfamiliar, and uncomfortable situations. My mind had a hard time telling the difference between excitement and anxiety. It would automatically jump to overthinking, so staying where things felt familiar seemed like the easy and safe choice.

🗓️ 3 months later, June '26

I can’t speak on the science why walking helps with mental health... all I know is that for the past three months, my mind isn’t nearly as loud as it used to be. I still experience anxiety flare-ups but I feel like I’m getting better at grounding myself. Walking quiets my mind enough for me to sit with my thoughts and sort which ones deserve my attention and which ones I should simply let pass. Walking—and eventually running—became my way of pushing back against anxiety.

Every walk reminds me that I can still do new things. Every run is proof that I can trust myself a little more than I think I can.

[cafeaulately]

[cafeaulately]

[petaltexturedskies]

Katherine Mansfield, in a diary entry dated 14 October 1922, from Letters and Journals of Katherine Mansfield

[cafeaulately]

Just over here planting seeds today to reap rewards tomorrow 🌱

Today marks three months since I started working out and eating clean. When I first started, my goal was to fix my body composition and improve my overall health.

But as I’ve progressed, I’ve realized that what makes me happiest isn’t the number on the scale, but feeling how much more my body can do and endure now without getting tired so easily!

Excited about all the new things I’ll get to try as I continue building my endurance.

[fnjsla]

[cafeaulately]

- Two PT sessions done and feeling good so far. My knee pain has been at bay, and I’m finally able to run again. Focusing less on pace and more on getting the distance in. Also, I still can’t believe I chose dry needling over cupping. Big girl moment for someone who’s terrified of needles!

- Attended my first taebo and step class. I have terrible coordination, but that didn’t stop me from giving it a shot, haha. It was my first time and I went solo, so I was a bit nervous. Had such a good experience, I immediately signed up for another session!

- Sharing some ready-to-eat meals I prepped for the week. Dinner last night was tuna rice balls and boiled egg. Then I went straight to make another batch to cover us until Friday. Made bistek, salpicao, and stir-fried veggies. Used pork tenderloin this time kasi malapit na kami lumipad ni Rom, haha.

[cafeaulately]

Consider this a gift from today me to tomorrow me 😌

Pushed my luck a little too far. Made it to 7KM, but had to stop because the knee pain came back! Tigas talaga ng ulo eh, haha. For now, I’ll wait it out and see what the PT says on Tue.

Started meal prepping as soon as I got home because I knew if I sat down, there’s a good chance I wouldn’t get it done. Had to power through because one look at my to-do list is enough to tell me tomorrow’s gonna be packed.

[cafeaulately]

☕️ 5/31/26 | LIFE LATELY ☕️

- Hit a new 5KM PR at 9:26/km! But toward the middle of the month, I started feeling pain in my right knee. It comes and goes. So, I decided to take it easy and stick to walking for the rest of the month.

- My friend who got me into running said knee pain is common among runners, especially once you start pushing for faster paces. I take my warm-ups, cool-downs, and form seriously, so it was a letdown when it started showing up. I don’t think it will magically disappear on its own, so I finally booked a PT consultation.

- I think doing strength and cardio workout every morning makes me a better person overall, haha. It puts me in a better headspace before work. I’m more intentional about putting myself first now. That’s why I like getting my workout done first thing in the morning before I start taking care of anyone else’s business.

- I’ve also become a lot more mindful of what I eat. I keep reminding myself: what’s the point of exercising if I don’t change what and how I eat? One thing I’m really grateful for is having such a supportive husband, family, and friends throughout this journey. Being active is one thing, but eating healthy is a whole different challenge for me because, honestly, I eat like a horse for as long as I can remember.

- Pretty happy with how my weight management has been going so far. I’m not an expert, but just trying to follow the best practices my former boss (who’s a fitness coach) taught me. It’s been two months and I’m seeing and feeling improvements! My body fat and visceral fat have gone down. Although, building muscle is more challenging, since I’m currently limited to moderate exercises only, no core and weight exercises until August — that’s a story for another day.

[lucydacusgirl]

Does anyone know what to do when you have no ambition or hustle or grind but also need to make money to live when every career in the world is now a miserable rat race.

[cafeaulately]

I woke up today feeling tired and lightheaded even after getting a full night of sleep (my sleep score was even at 91). I couldn’t really get myself to do much at work and home, so I just decided to sleep and didn’t wake up until 6PM.

A few more thoughts:

1. I need to start planning my exercises more intentionally around my cycle. I’m also reminding myself that skipping exercise doesn’t make me lazy! Dati nga, I didn’t care about my daily movement at all, but now I’m constantly trying to work my life around it.

2. Another change I noticed in myself is how my priorities have shifted. Before, taking a sick leave would make me anxious because I’d worry about the work piling up! Now, I just want to recover properly so I can get back to my exercise routine as soon as possible.

3. Really thankful for my mom today (and always) for sending over mechado after I told her I wasn’t feeling well. She also gave us two slices of cake. She knows I’m not really into sweets, but I occasionally crave some, especially during that time of the month.

[cafeaulately]

Rom: Bb, kaya mo pa tumakbo? Baka pagod ka na.

Me: Yes, bb! Kailangan ko ‘to para mawala pagod ko.

Didn’t sleep well because of the coffee from last night, and today was hectic too both at work and home. But, my body still wanted to run!

Honestly, two weeks in, my walks and runs have started to feel less like exercise and more like my way of releasing stress.

Here’s to a new PR, my fastest 5KM so far! Gotta cut back on coffee again because I really need to sleep better if I want to run longer distances.

Happy weekend, everyone! 🖤

[cafeaulately]

Also, these ads have become bothersome. 🥲

[cafeaulately]

This quote I came across online couldn’t feel more true today.

A good run is like a cup of coffee. I’m much nicer after I’ve had one.

My plan for today was to stay home and do some strength training, but something came up and kind of ruffled my feathers. I needed to get out of my head, so I laced up my shoes and went for a walk.

Eight kilometers and a cup of coffee later, I’ve saved myself from saying or doing something I’d regret.

By the way, the coffee was good! Totally worthy of being up this late. I just hope I can still have a good run tomorrow.