How I applied corporate strategy to my fitness journey

When the community quarantine was declared in March 2020, I took the opportunity to finally focus on my fitness aspirations. I have recently taken on a new role at AXA Philippines, in addition to HR, I am also involved with Business Development. Our team engages with various corporations to promote both financial wellness and health. I felt like I needed to walk the talk, so to speak.

My fitness journey through the years took the usual route: spurred on by New Year’s resolutions, I went on diets and even enrolled in a gym, but I could never stick to them. I live about two hours away from the office and the daily travel time left me feeling exhausted and unwilling to work out. When we all had to observe work from home arrangement during the quarantine, I got the extra push I needed. There was no excuse. I had extra time because I no longer needed to spend time on the road.

However, time was only one of the factors. To make the most of this opportunity, I decided to approach my fitness journey by applying the key strategies I practice in my profession as an HR practitioner. I am a leader at work, and to achieve our goals, we begin by setting a vision with my team and breaking them down into KPIs. In this case, my KPIs were not just the time spent in a workout but also my calorie intake.

Model behavior 

The first step was to set my fitness goals. At the age of 50, Jennifer Lopez can pole dance at the SuperBowl; whereas at a (much) younger age, I find myself gasping for air while climbing the stairs. To set the pace on my first day, I did 30 jumping jacks. Then, I looked at my other fitness inspirations, the Victoria’s Secret models, and I incorporated their pre-catwalk routines that I found on Pinterest, such as toe-touches. I must reiterate though that for me, being healthy does not just mean looking like a model. It is a holistic view where I want to look good and feel good about myself.

I am a Behavioral Science graduate and I also applied what I learned in creating my new routine. In psychology, we learned about Behavior Modification and it taught us to look at the habits we need to change. I studied my behaviors and I realized a few things about myself, one of which is how I eat. Regardless if I ate a big breakfast or big lunch, there’s a time of day when I really eat a lot. By 2:00pm, I am already looking for something salty or sweet to eat. Thus, to ensure an impact on my health, I started to change the way I eat and went on a Keto diet.

Gaining and sustaining momentum

I lost five pounds as a result of my diet and exercise routine in the first few weeks. It did not seem like much, but when I saw a visualization of how much five pounds of fat looked like, I became more encouraged. That is, until I plateaued.

To move forward, I applied another leadership and coaching principle that I espoused at work, which is to talk to an expert. In this case, I hired a fitness coach. I believe in getting help from someone with subject matter expertise, whether it is in financial or physical wellness. I was inspired by the AXA value of Courage. It taught me to be brave enough to seek help, because even though I have already made some gains, I knew I needed someone to help me move forward further in my journey. I thought I was already doing well, but with the help of my coach, I learned that there’s always room for improvement. My pre-coaching photos and the ones I took after I started working with one were evidence of that.

My coach also shed light on my diet dilemma. I love bread, fruits, and vegetables, and with Keto, those are restricted. I admit this made me cranky and even weepy. I spoke with my coach about it, and I was advised to look for something that would suit my appetite better. After watching a documentary on plant-based diets, I realized this was what I needed. I am not 100% plant-based because I love my seafood and I would not say no to an occasional steak, but at least I could eat more of what I love and that helped me to sustain a healthy diet. This is another work principle that I embraced on my fitness journey. At work, there should be a synergy between various departments – in my case, the physical activity and my food intake must work together for them to be effective. These are also my “moving pegs”, one (exercise) may be stronger than the other (diet), and together, they create movement. 

My next step was toning. I have been making progress on the weight loss, but there were things I needed to tone. This is why I started working with a Pilates coach. I now do two workouts a day: with two separate coaches.

Another AXA value that I applied to my journey is Customer First. Here, I am my customer, I am my first meeting of the day – and I make sure to prepare for this meeting. Not only do I keep my appointments to myself, I make sure that I am dressed up for it. It may be my vanity dictating me to choose to exercise in my workout attire instead of my house clothes, but it motivates me and makes me feel that this is an important appointment that I should keep.  

Fit for life

When we meet with our clients, we always highlight the importance of having a game plan and we emphasize that physical and financial wellness go hand in hand. When you get sick, for example, you will want to focus on getting better instead of worrying about your medical bills.

In my case, I also have game plan when it comes to investing. In the same way that I have my fitness coaches to guide me in getting into shape, I have financial advisors who can tell me which investment option fits me at my stage of life and help me set and achieve my long-term goals, such as the education of my children and my retirement.

All these put together help me feel more prepared so I can have peace of mind, which is also important in holistic wellness. Being healthy is not just about eating your greens and exercising. It means that you are also able to enjoy the beauty of life with less worries. 

The journey to overall fitness is not easy, but my advice is to stick to it. My most valuable takeaway is that hard work really pays off. Have the courage to start small and just have the discipline to continue with it, and you will definitely see improvements.

Start small and dream big. Who knows, maybe when I reach 50, I just might have that Jennifer Lopez body.