The 18 Foxtrot Chronicles

What do Martha Stewart and I have in common? We're both media moguls? We both know how to make a table centerpiece out of a recycled hubcap? We've both done time in federal prison for insider trading???

No!!! We both have blogs about our best and worst health habits. I found Martha Stewart's Best and Worst Health Habits on the web, and just couldn't resist trying my own version.

Those who know about my alter-ego-life-as-an-aerobics-instructor often ask me questions, such as "does the ab-roller/thigh-master/gazelle-glider really work?" (hint: just about any piece of exercise equipment works, the trick is actually getting it out and using it 3-5 times a week since they generally do not work if you leave them in the closet)

So here are my "best and worst health habits":

1. Health Flaw: Eating fat. Yes, it's true -- I love fat. It's my favorite part of a steak or pork barbecue, and the best part of a roast turkey or lechon is the crispy, fatty skin. Yum!

2. Health Flaw: Procrastinating. Although I love to exercise and feel 100 times better every time I do exercise, I still manage to consistently put off exercising the way a teenager hits the snooze button on an alarm clock in the morning. I will put "GO TO GYM" in the calendar on my celfone with an alarm so that I will remember to exercise. But then I will keep moving it later and later in the day until my 6pm exercise becomes a rushed 9-10pm session as the gym is closing.

3. Health Flaw: Overdosing on CNN. Okay, here's one Martha and I share -- not getting enough sleep. They say you should get 8 hours of sleep a night -- I generally get 6. And not for any particularly good reason. Usually it's because I'm not falling asleep so I decide I should start watching CNN around midnight or 1am. (hint: turning on a tv while trying to fall asleep is about as wise as turning on all the lights in your room and expecting to fall asleep -- experts say even the light from your celfone or laptop being illuminated is enough to counteract the natural melatonin your body produces which induces your sleep cycle).

4. Health Feat: No Junk Food and No Fast Food. Steak fat aside, I really do have very healthy eating habits (and I eat steak about once every 5-10 years). (seriously!) I do not buy or keep any junk food or soda in my house. I almost never eat fast food. McDonald's is what I consider "emergency" food -- as in, it's 2am and there's nothing else within a 20 km radius that's open and I only have 10 minutes to eat and 90 pesos in my wallet.

5. Health Feat: Almost No Deep Fried Food and Almost No Dessert. Once you start eating healthy, your stomach will stage a revolt if you try to give it greasy or deep-fried food so I avoid these as much as possible (other than the occasional french fry). I can't claim much self-discipline with regards to dessert because, first of all, I am allergic to eggs so I can't eat 90% of desserts and, second, I don't have a sweet tooth so dessert doesn't have much appeal for me.

6. Health Feat: Eating Japanese!  I eat Japanese food whenever possible. Especially salmon sashimi. I would eat salmon sashimi every day if I could afford it. I saw a report (on CNN, of course) that said more than 33% of Americans are obese compared to less than 3% of Japanese. I'll take the Japanese diet. Besides, they say salmon prevents wrinkles.

7. Health Feat: Regular Exercise. Despite the fact that I always seem to end up rushing to complete my workout before they turn the lights off in the gym, I do exercise regularly. This is, in fact, the only New Year's resolution I have ever kept. I made a New Year's resolution in January 1992 to get in shape, and for the past 16 years I have worked out consistently -- usually 2-3 times a week. Of course, everyone needs incentives to work out -- mine is the reward of treating myself to the spa after a particularly hard workout.

So that's the tale of the tape between Martha and me.