Being Human and Being Healthy

Source: Manila Bulletin- Well-Being Section

Date: November 19, 2012

Author: Marane A. Plaza

Photos by: Rudy Liwanag

Manila Bulletin articles:

Nov 19, 2012—Being Human and Being Healthy

Being Human And Being Healthy

By MARANE A. PLAZA, Photos by RUDY LIWANAG

November 19, 2012, 3:27pm

With the busy lifestyles that most of us lead nowadays, it is quite difficult to regularly stick to  some measures that will make us healthy and fit all the time.

But not for Luis Manzano.  Juggling a handful of projects like hosting "Kapamilya’s Deal or No Deal," "ASAP," "Sarah G Live" and VJ-ing for Myx Channel, plus an upcoming movie to boot, you’d definitely wonder where on earth does he get his energy, while still cracking jokes at that?

As funny as he is, Luis does not make his health a laughing matter at all. In fact, he is more than serious about maintaining a healthy lifestyle all the time. For him, a good physique does not necessarily equate to great health.  “We always have this notion that (having) muscles is equal to being healthy, and a smile means you arehealthy. There is so much going on inside our body. It’s a whole new story, “Luis started.

“Just because you look healthy, does not mean you are also healthy on the inside. You might think you are invincible because you don’t ever get sick, but that does not excuse you from taking genuine care of your health.”

And for Luis, taking real good care of one’s health means taking a conscious, serious responsibility into incorporating good nutrition, taking vitamins and maintaining exercise routines into one’s everyday life. Being busy should not be an excuse for neglecting one’s health.

Being one of the leading and in demand male stars today means facing an arduous schedule every day that can really take a toll on his health, and Luisacknowledges that. "People have no idea how we really work, and what goes on with our bodies.  Artists don’t even have regular sleep patterns,” says Luis. “We have our physical and emotional stress that we have to deal with everyday. Sometimes, we work for 20 hours straight. Once we are on set, we only get to sleep two to three hours, plus the dishes being served on set are not necessarily always healthy nutritious. There are times that there’s really nothing to eat. All you see is junk (food) around you.”

It’s all in the mind

“One very important key factor is you have to try to eat healthy,” said Luis.

When it comes to nutrition, Luis emphasized that it is all about making smarter choices all the time.

“As for me, as much as possible, I stick with my day-to-day diet which is low carb and high protein,” he added. “I also see to it that I take my daily vitamins.”

“Three months ago, I also started drinking Enercal Plus milk. I’ve noticed that I don’t have cravings anymore because I seriously don’t lack nutrition anymore, and second, my energy’s always up,” said Luis. “It’s a lot better than boosters, when all you can get are basically just sugar and caffeine, na  when you take them, in an hour or two, bagsak ka na, “Luis shared.  “All in all, it is really having a state of mind that you’d always, always take better choices when it comes to your health.”

As physical as it gets

If you think that Luis’ secret to having good health and a perfect bod lies solely on his diet, you are dead wrong. When it comes to exercise, Luis literally does a little bit of everything, especially in martial arts.

“When I was younger, one thing that’s always instilled in me was to practice martial arts. I’ve tried so many forms of martial arts, God knows how many,” Luisquipped. “I’ve started with Taekwondo, then I also tried Taikido, as well as boxing—name it, I’ve done it!”

Among all those forms of martial arts, Luis has developed a long standing affair with Muay Thai, having been at it for six years now. “For me, Muay Thai is the most practical among all of those forms of martial arts in terms of striking, and it’s basically all you need when it comes to fighting.” Luis trains at least three times a week, mixing Muay Thai with Jui-jitsu and mixed martial arts. Sometimes, he also trains with his girlfriend, Jennilyn Mercado, proving that it’s always easier to have a tag team partner in maintaining a regular workout.

“It’s really cool when you have someone who loves taking care of her health as much as I do,” said Luis. “Although, one frustration ni Jen in terms of our healthyactivities is yung,  matalo niya ako sa Jui-jitsu.  She had never made me back out sa Jui-jitsu.  In other words, never pa niya ako natalo,” Luis muttered with a light laugh. “I am very proud of her. Jennilyn has an unbelievable stamina when she runs or when she bikes. She’s just really sports minded.”

As if those were not enough, Luis continued with his daily typical workout routines. “I bike with a trainer, I run, I swim-- name it, I am bound to do it,” Luis stated casually. “If I have a late call time, that means I would train earlier. If I have an early call time, that means I need to work out later in the day. If the taping finishes early, I automatically train in the afternoon or the evening. Or when I get home, I am on the bike for at least 30 to 45 minutes.”

Indeed, Luis is a paragon of health and fitness. He cannot reiterate more that maintaining good health all boils down to having a special brand of self-discipline. And of course, it really helps if you’d set some personal goals too. And  Luis has certainly extraordinary goals for his physical endeavors.

“I have personal goals in my physical activities. Like for my scuba diving-- right now, I am already a Dive Master Candidate. But my goal is to still do some Tec Diving (technical diving),” this health buff shared. “One thing I’ll be doing very soon also is skydiving in Dubai! For sky diving, my goal is to reach at least 300 to 400 feet. I’m going to be happy to check off that item in my bucket list.”

Seems like for Luis, any kind of goal, be it in health alone or life in general, is always, always healthy…and attainable. “I also wanna try free diving. Free diving is basically diving with no gear! My goal is to hit at least 80 to 100 feet, with no gear at all. So it’s basically just me and my guts!”