I quit vaping and...

That's it! I quit vaping and what else can I say? I have to say something right? Otherwise what good is this blog entry if all it has is that broad title. So here's the story:

I haven't been vaping for more than a month now. At first it was just an economic decision as the little piece of s**t just got more expensive in the Philippines and I thought that's not fair. But then I realized its now a booming industry and the government should profit from it even more. Taxes rose up due to different s*it that both government and business sector agreed to impose but I can clearly see that consumers are the main reasons why additional profit must be obtained by stake holders. People got crazy over this highly addictive habit that demand breaks the supply hence business booms. In the background, cigarette and vape companies are having war but that's none of my concern so let me focus on why I simply quit this vice and its not purely due to financial reasons.

Vaping, as its supporters say is lesser evil than smoking. Cigarette has thousands toxins that enter the body that cause horrible diseases. While I agree to this, I concluded that you cannot pick a poison between these two vices are they are just equally evil. Vape has its fair share of chemicals that enter the body when you inhale it once it becomes aerosol. I'm not an expert and I don't need to identify those chemicals from vape products that mainly affect lungs but I can surely say that this vice in its infancy is still being studied just like cigarette in its humble beginnings. Both are just equally dangerous. Now enough of chemistry and their effects on the user's physiological state and let me state my major and personal reason why I quit vaping. (Drum roll...) Mental health is what made me decide to quit vaping. Chemical imbalance inside the body that affects hormones due to excessive intake of nicotine is what made me quit on this yet another horrible vice that I now officially align with smoking and drinking abuse.

I didn't care much about the foreign objects that enter my lungs as I've been a smoker then vaper for decades now.. But since I quit alcohol, I became very wary of things that will alter my mental state due to hormonal imbalance. If you're not aware yet, vapes are packed with nicotine and nicotine is a nootropic drug. Nootropics, or “smart drugs,” are a class of substances that can boost brain performance. A boost in thinking capability is not a bad thing and I can tolerate that not until I learned that nicotine also affects the dopamine and other hormone release such as norepinephrine and epinephrine. To sum it up, if you become dependent on any addictive agents for your happiness, your tolerance will eventually rise up which later on becomes addiction. Unfortunately, there is no healthy addiction and whether its smoking or vaping, you will be consuming foreign substances that your body is not designed to take. Sure our body will adapt and our immune system will catch up until it cannot take them anymore which eventually will cause our demise. Simply because of our unconscious behavior of chasing that hormonal release to the expense of both of our physical and mental health that we endure the damage our addictions bring to us.

I quit vaping and now I'm happier. Not only that my pockets can breath from the cost of this expensive vice, my lungs also improve its performance during my runs and other physical activities. Alan Watts said that the meaning of life is "just to be alive" but it doesn't mean that we have to settle to that simplicity. There are million reasons to die and since I adopted the "win each day" mantra, I am no longer afraid to die. My goal is to etched my legacy as someone who turned things around in his lifetime and gave zero f*ck to naysayers. With "winning each day" as the main flavor of my everyday life, it certainly will not disappoint me should my final hours knock. The days that I lived that I can vividly remember, uninterrupted by vices that hinder my clarity will certainly satisfy my whole existence. I know this blog is supposed to be just about quitting vaping and I apologize that it ended this way but in totality, the message that I just want to convey is...let's not f*ck our own system with these mind altering instruments and stay away from vices as best as we can. If you haven't quit yet, find your "day one" if today isn't it yet.

Kabi-kabilang sakit ng katawan! Workout pa!

 I just turned 37 last July at maniwala ka o hindi pero I feel like 27 again! I guess lahat ng pagpapagod at diet na pinagagawa ko since nagstop ako uminom e nagbubunga na. Hindi na mabigat ang katawan ko sa umaga at lalong hindi na ko puro negative agad paggising pa lang. I know na medyo paulit-ulit lang yung ibang sinasabi ko about motivation, being strong etc. Pero this journal really helps me a lot lalo na sa trajectory ng goal ko which is to be healthy overall. Maybe unconsciously nauulit-ulit ko yung content and I'll explain that later. Pero in this entry its more on sharing lang talaga about my routine.

In my past posts, I mentioned a bit about my diet which was mainly low carb. I changed that now with intermittent fasting but with a twist. Although madalas ako mag 16:8, I also do 14:10 and even 12:12 minsan. Sa 16:8, depende sa intensity ng workout ko sa umaga, naachieve ko to nang walang hirap. For example, I will run 3 km sa umaga before work or do pull ups, push ups or ab workouts and considered light workouts lang yun for me so bagay sila for 16:8. Note na isa lang sa nabanggit na workouts ang ginagawa ko na more or less 20 mins lang and hindi masyadong nakakapagod at nakakagutom yun so survive ang long hours until mag-end yung fasting. Pero kapag tumakbo ako ng 5-7 km or nag-gym ako sa umaga for 30 mins or more before work, I go for 14:10 or even 12:12 kase grabe na yung naburn na calories na need ko na magreplenish. Sa kinakain ko naman, wala pa din ako masyadong pili. Tipikal na Pinoy meals na puro taba at oil (haha) pero small amount lang then susundutin ko sya ng either boiled eggs or saging na saba or both para satiated na ko until second meal na kung saan dun lang ako nagra-rice. Wala ako pakelam kung anong pagkain since I cook as well and hindi ako fan ng mga kaartehan. Calories in-calories out and I just make sure na sustainable at simple yung meal ko. One thing lang na binago ko ng husto e sugar or sweets. I dont do sugar sa kape ko at all anymore and while I still eat pastries, sobrang konti na lang unlike nung bago pa lang ako nagquit ng alcohol. Kase for some reason, bigla nagspike up yung hilig ko sa matatamis nung di na ako active sa alcohol.

On some rare occasion lalo na pag sobrang ulan at di ako nakapag-gym or nakatakbo, I do 18:6 or even 20:4 fasting. Though kahit kaya ko magfast ng matagal, I choose not to do it often kase during fasting, your body consumes your stored fats but also your muscles. So dahil nagje-gym na ko, sayang naman kung maapektuhan yung muscle gain ko. Kaya tamang 16:8 lang ako to produce keytones na kakain ng fats ko lalo na sa belly area. Then sa hapon when the whole ordeal of fasting is finished for the day, saka ako magwe weight lifting. I have 2 favorite coffee shops na tinatambayan bago magwork out to get my sugar-less brewed coffee para high na high ang energy ko during weight lifting. Sa gym, with new found friends na mostly younger than me feeling young din ako and kuma-catch up ako sa energy nila. Yun nga lang, payback time pagdating ng gabi kase andyan na yung muscle pains.

Nung mga unang weeks ng work out ko, epic yung body pain ko talaga. I would take a bath with warm water to lessen the pain then have my last meal for the day. I take a lot of protein rich food at night pero regardless yun kung anong protein source. Yung iba ayaw nila ng oily and fatty pero binabanatan ko yang mga pagkain na yan sa gabi kung yun lang ang available na mostly e galing sa carinderia. Our body needs fat and cholesterol for testosterone production and I don't care kung magcarry ako ng extra fat kung para naman sa hormone na yun. I often eat raw onions as well para sa testosterone pa din and for muscle repair para sa mga nadamage na tissue.

Sa next morning, mas malala yung body pain pero I get up from bed no problem. No pain, no gain! Although recently aside sa shoulder injury ko na gumagaling na, wala na ko masyadong isyu sa body pain. Di ko alam kung nasanay na ko or sadyang nakapag-adapt na yung katawan ko. Anyway thats how hypertrophy works and muscles at rest is where they grow so gradually, masasanay ka na din.

Everything I mentioned above, lahat yun ay through mental strength. A friend once asked me pano daw maging consistent sa routine tulad ng saken. Sabi ko, train your mind much harder than your body. The reason why I write almost every night along with my reading and listening to bright minds are because, kahit magbuhat ka at magpakamatay ka sa kakawork out, kung ga-munggo lang yung utak mo at ni wala kang fundamentals ng mind strength, nagsasayang ka lang ng pagod. Train your mind by thinking deeply through reflections and gaining knowledge. This right here, etong pagsusulat ko ng blog, this is my form of reflection and kaya minsan nauulit ko yung content ko is because need ko pa syang ire-iterate sa sarili ko bago ko sya totally ma-internalize. My idol David Goggins said, "you have to form a callus in your mind". Hindi sapat na puro nasa palad mo lang yung kalyo ng pagpapagod mo, dapat magkaroon din ng kalyo yung utak mo. So I might sound like a broken record sometime pero each time I reflect on what I've written here, lalo lang nun napupush ako na maging consistent kase its not enough na naisip mo sya, you have to put them into practice. Now if repetition works for you para maimprint sa utak mo yung gusto mong ipatupad sa sarili mo, ulit-ulitin mo lang hanggang maging normal na part na sya ng sistema mo.With that, let's all be resilient! Sasakit ang katawan natin pati mga utak natin pero hindi tayo titigil hanggang yung pain ay magdala ng resulta na hinahangad natin. Keep working!