Last night, I had another pole class and, boy, was it a workout! Our instructor was out sick so we ended up practicing all our stunts and teaching each other other stunts we had learned in the past. We've also been practicing how to ad lib with the pole. This is pretty important to us since we're planning a Pole Dancing showcase in November and really need to practicing the dancing part of pole DANCING. Haha. (Keep reading my blog for updates on the show details!)

Being a dancer, I find it very hard to do any physical activity without a soundtrack playing in the background. Here are my top 10 most favorite songs in the world to workout to (or just move to in general)! Please nodoby judge me for my outdated and jumbled taste in music. Haha.

1. Bulletproof - La Roux

2. Ce Jeu - Yelle

3. Little Secrets - Passion Pit

4. A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More "Touch Me" - Fall Out Boy (among other songs from From Under The Cork Tree)

5. We Dream In Heist - Anberlin

6. California Gurls - Katy Perry (or most of her songs for that matter)

7. Goodbye Mr. A - The Hoosiers

8. Sexy Beast - The Out of Body Special (a local Filipino band with AWESOME music -- You can grab a copy Is Love at any music store in the country)

9. Everything Is Alright - Motion City Soundtrack

And last, but definitely not least, my all-time favorite feel good song in the universe:

10. Don't Stop Me Now - Queen

What do you like listening to when you exercise?

I've always found it hard to get myself to the gym to workout. Ever since I was a kid, I would have no physical activity whatsoever unless I was enrolled in a dance class, gymnastics program or hoseback riding lessons. I remember my mom sending me to the park to go play with my friends. My physical activity would only ever last an hour at the most. I would play kickball or tag or dodgeball with my friends but it would get boring really fast. The rest of my afternoons would be spent walking from one base to another or sitting on a bench cheering my team on.

I had the stamina and endurance to keep active but I had no interest in the game. As the years went by, the situation stayed the same. I would always want to be active but I just wasn't motivated. I applied for gym membership and would workout and take classes religiously but that only ever lasted a few months. Then I would find myself in possession of multiple membership at various gyms and unnecessary deductions in my bank account.

I had almost given up on being healthy and active and finding a way to tone my body until my mom enrolled my little sister in her summer dance workshop. I came home to her excited kwento (story) of how Martina, my sister, would be starting her class in a week. It was only until she mentioned their pole dancing class that I, too, was able to join in the excitement.

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It's been 2 1/2 months since I started pole dancing. I have 1 1/2 hour classes twice a week and with only 3 hours of working out a week, I can already see a drastic change in my body.

Pole dancing is a great overall body workout. Each set of muscles is exercised and the dancing part of the class serves as my cardiovascular workout. Now, I look in the mirror and my arms are toned and lean, my legs muscles are more developed so they don't jiggle as much when I walk around in shorts, and when I wake up in the morning, you can even see a little definition in my abdominal area.

I achieved all this in less than three months without even altering my diet! I make sure to eat healthy but not less. And there's even some room for cheating and having a burger or pizza or other junk food 2-3 times a week.

Staying fit and living healthy is all a matter of finding an activity that suits your lifestyle and personality. I would not have been able to get into shape otherwise. A half-hearted workout never really paid off for me simply because I wasn't motivated to keep at it and I was definitely not happy doing it.

Now, I find my happiness in my dance class. And in being able to eat what I want without any guilt. I feel great! It's just an added bonus that my body is also starting to look great.

With the effects that crash dieting has on your body, it's just not worth it. I found this website that has quite a few writeups about healthy living. It doesn't offer too much on concrete plans of action but I think it would be nice to check it out just to be informed about what's going on with you when you eat healthy and exercise. I think it's good information to combine with the exercise and weightloss plan here on BelleToday.com.

Dieting =/= suffering!

I particularly liked the page about fastfood and how to choose your food in places that serve high cholesterol and high sodium foods. Most are fastfood chains found only in the States but they do have a report on McDonald's, Subway, TacoBell, Domino's, Pizza Hut and Wendy's.

Also, check out their recipes. They look pretty good. Personally, I haven't tried any yet but they all look yummy. And the website claims they're healthy too (or healthier than the original recipes)!