Trentahin | Meal prep, gym days, and maintaining wellness in my 30s

I blinked and suddenly I’ve entered my 30s.

It’s crazy to think I started this blog back in January 2012. My first ever post was a review of Aleph by Paulo Coehlo, a book that I have since forgotten.

For added perspective, I wrote that post when I was still in high school. Now I’m writing the first draft of this post while in-between patients at the Emergency Room.

Turning 30: ‘Health is wealth’ Goals

I celebrated my 30th birthday in solo contemplation (it was a Namjoon-ing solo trip to Seoul and Busan, which is still on the travel vlog queue). At that time, I was looking forward to a year of career confusion and freedom. And I also knew to expect more frequent joint pains and back pain episodes entering this decade, based on everyone else’s anecdotes.

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Both my finances and career trajectory are still on the rocks, but at least I’ve resolved to spend my 30s in a physically healthier direction.

Some of my goals as a #Trentahin:

• Healthier diet – Incorporate more vegetables and fiber into my daily diet. Say yes to fruits. Try to avoid binge-eating (it’s harder than I thought).
• Healthier weight – I hit an all-time high during the office desk work days of chief residency, so I’m still a few kilos off from the ideal. This requires a lot more cardio and caloric deficit than I’m used to.
• Stronger muscles and bones – I haven’t done serious resistance or strength training (ever), though I have done some dumbbell exercises and mat pilates in my day. Fun fact: bone health typically declines after age 30, so it’s just a matter of accelerating or decelerating the journey to osteoporosis.
• Improved flexibility and mobility – Again, it’s just a long road to avoiding hip fractures when I’m older. Frequent and prolonged desk work means stiffer joints and the inevitable back pain (especially with my scoliosis).
• Moments to touch grass – To maintain intellectual health (aka have some enrichment in my enclosure), I’m hoping for continued engagement with nature, art or other adventures. The only challenge is time and my thin wallet.

I have to convince myself that prevention is better than cure. Or in this case, strengthening my back muscles and doing regular stretching exercises are better than getting a spa massage every other week. Ha!

Plus, as a self-employed professional, I don’t have the safety net of company-backed insurance. So health really is wealth in more than just the abstract.

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Gym girlie (why is it so expensive)

I’ve been spending adult money on a gym membership since late last year, and I started personal training sessions last January. Because I’ve essentially paid for all sessions beforehand (my credit card was NOT happy), I feel the added pressure to show up at least twice a week.

I’ve been focusing on strength and functional training while at the gym, since I can squeeze in cardio more easily at home. I also think I need that added supervision to uensure proper form and to prevent injury.

Once in a blue moon, I join free gym classes. I’ve enjoyed piloxing barre, zenfit yoga, and reformer pilates (the last was actually the reason why I even signed up for my specific home gym). It’s been fun, but sometimes I wish I had more time to join classes.

I haven’t been brave enough to repeat the initial body impedance analysis that I had last December. So I don’t know if there’s any significant difference in my muscle mass and fat percentage with all the gym sessions I’ve gone to. But I do know that my posture’s been so much better since I started working out, which is a reward in itself.

I’ve only started doing cardio again this month. I barely make the universally recommended target of 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity aerobic exercise, especially if I have more than 2 emergency room duties scheduled. (Mostly I just watch Santos Bravos: La Serie episodes while brisk walking on an incline.) But even with such little time, I’ve already dropped a couple of kilos. Treadmill, elliptical, dance and even swimming laps are seriously effective.

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Meal prep! Go, grow, glow within budget

I started deep-diving into meal prep ideas when I noticed I can spend up to 1/3 of my day’s professional fees on just lunch and coffee. Meals in BGC are seriously expensive! Tell me why a rice bowl and an oat latte can run me Php 700 and above… And because I don’t have a new present address yet (I’ve been squatting at my sister’s place most of the time), I also hesitated to have diet food delivered at first.

There are many meal prep and bulk prep tutorials available online. Allrecipes.com is a treasure trove of serving size computations, nutritional facts, and community tips in the comments section. Souper cubes kept making the rounds in my algorithm, so I finally bought dupes from Landmark.

I had several resources that gave me confidence: my mom’s full kitchen, my experience cooking during the pandemic, and my background in clinical nutrition. Also, a deep and enduring love affair with spreadsheets.

At the start of each month, I decide how many meals I need to prepare. Usually that’s just one set meal per work day, as I can afford to eat out for either breakfast or dinner. (I only eat two meals a day on average.)

Each meal needed to be balanced — some carb, protein, and vegetables. I also wanted to switch up the meat with fish or plant-based protein every other day or so.

I’m still deciding if I want to add more recipes this coming May. If I end up a little too lazy, I can start reusing my bestselling recipes starting February. (Bestseller in my stomach, that is. Ate Risa and mama occasionally get a taste while I’m cooking and prepping, but most of it is just for me.)

Regardless of my plans in the next few months (like where to live and where to work —-it’s really a struggle to be an early career doctor), I think I’ll still enjoy doing some bulk prep. A few hours once a month is well worth the savings! And the health benefits.

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Trying to live (it’s a conscious effort)

Sometimes I feel like a hamster stuck in a wheel, chasing forever and ever for that next paycheck.

There are some bright spots that I naturally look forward to— a trip to Melbourne scheduled next week with the med school girls, and BTS content dropping every day as they go on world tour. But other than those bright spots, the routine of clinic and ER duties easily gets depressing. Even if I try to protect my weekends.

A part of me knows this comes with the growing pains of an early career doctor, still deciding on how to spend her time. But this has still inspired a commitment to get out of the house and clinic (that isn’t the gym).

Touch grass. See some people. Enjoy coffee for the sake of it. Read a book on Kindle.

Here’s a life update, ft. socializing and a little art.

Related: ASMPH MD/MBA: Life and Love — aka the first post featuring my loves, from way back in 2017!

Related: #ArtFairPH2026: Navigating the crowd and curiosities at Art Fair Philippines – Circuit Makati

*I may or may not write a separate post about Iloilo art museums and coffee shops. My first tip: ILOMOCA is cash-only, so make sure to have some on you when you visit.

Choosing to be healthy requires conscious effort most of the time. And it’s an effort that’s increasingly becoming more and more valuable as we age. I don’t have plans for retirement yet, after all, so I need to prepare against severe or debilitating chronic disease. My main enemy now is irregular sleep…

But I like to believe that with some more financial security and just the right amount of discipline, good habits can become second nature. The healthier choice will become the only choice. And someday (hopefully soon), good posture, increased mobility, balanced meals, and non-doomscrolling activities will become my norm.

Until next time! ♥︎

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