Massage Therapy for Weight Loss and Stress Relief

Massage Therapy for Weight Loss and Stress Relief

We used to think of massage as a “reward” after a long and busy month — until we learned how much it helps the body actually recover. Now, it’s part of our wellness routine, just like workouts and clean meals.

If you’ve been following our The Gentle Reset weight loss journey, you already know we focus on fat loss, muscle recovery, and lowering bad cholesterol and blood pressure through balanced meals and consistent workouts.

What surprised us most? How regular massage sessions accelerated our progress.

Massage lowers cortisol — the stress hormone that triggers cravings and belly fat. It helps muscles recover faster after HIIT days, reduces soreness, and improves sleep quality (which, let’s be honest, is half the battle in weight management).

So while massage isn’t a magic fix for weight loss, it supports everything that makes results sustainable.

Every time we lie on that massage table, stress levels drop, blood circulation improves, and your happy hormones — serotonin and dopamine — rise. It’s your body’s reset button. Believe it or not. Haha! 

Studies show it lowers anxiety and supports long-term mental well-being — which matters when you’re staying consistent with a fitness plan.

When your body feels safe and relaxed, your hormones balance, your cravings stabilize, and your motivation returns.

Massage isn’t just for spa days anymore — it’s part of a modern wellness lifestyle.

For us, it’s become a quiet but powerful ally in our The Gentle Reset journey — helping us heal, reset, and keep going with clarity and calm.

Because wellness isn’t just about losing weight. It’s about feeling light inside and out. 💆‍♀️✨

You can join/follow our routine and eating habits. 

Visit our previous blogs here: https://reviews-all.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Gentle%20Reset

#MassageTherapy #WeightLossSupport #WellnessJourney #StressRelief #HolisticHealing

You Can’t Out-Diet Bad Sleep: The Hidden Reason Your Weight Loss Has Stalled

We used to think we could outsmart our body with discipline — five hours of sleep, clean meals, daily workouts. Yet, the scale didn’t move. 
Turns out, lack of sleep was sabotaging everything. You can’t out-diet or out-exercise poor sleep — because when your body’s tired, your hunger hormones go WILD.


What Happens When You Don’t Sleep Enough
When you sleep less than 7 hours:
 

• Ghrelin (your hunger hormone) spikes, so you crave carbs and sweets.
 • Leptin (your fullness signal) drops, so you never feel satisfied.


Studies show that women who sleep 5 hours or less are 15% more likely to gain weight, even with the same calorie intake. 😴
That’s when we realized — sleep is not “rest.” It’s a metabolic strategy.


Not a nap—this is my metabolic reset.

The Gentle Reset Sleep Habits That Helped Us Lose Weight


1. 4-7-8 Breathing Before Bed
Inhale for 4, hold for 7, exhale for 8. It’s my go-to calm-down ritual that lowers stress hormones and helps me drift faster. Oh, dont forget to relax your face while doing this. 


2. Magnesium Glycinate = Nighttime Magic
. I take it an hour before bed — it quiets our mind, supports melatonin, and keeps cortisol (a belly-fat trigger) in check.


3. Hot Eye Mask & Dim Lights- 
A heated eye mask feels like a mini spa, while dimming the lights after dinner helps my body recognize: “It’s sleep time.”


4. Cool, Dark Bedroom and 
24°C is the sweet spot. It helps our body cool down and recover better overnight.


5. No Caffeine After 2 PM
Even a 3 PM latte can delay your sleep cycle — we learned this the hard way.
When we started sleeping 7–8 hours consistently, cravings calmed down, energy came back, and the stubborn weight finally moved.


Science backs it up: people who sleep longer naturally eat 270 fewer calories a day — without dieting.


Start Tonight — Not Monday
 

Pick one new habit tonight: maybe the breathing trick or dimming your lights. Then build from there.
Because sometimes, your body doesn’t need another diet plan.
… It just needs a good night’s sleep. 🌙

You can join/follow our routine and eating habits. 

Visit our previous blogs here: https://reviews-all.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Gentle%20Reset

Why Our Weekly Leisure Walk is the Best and Favourite Exercise

As I’ve shared in our previous blog, since 2020 we started practicing OMAD (One Meal A Day) and it became our lifestyle. Maybe because our body got used to OMAD and our mindset shifted, we thought that even a once-a-week exercise was okay.

But slowly, fats accumulated, we became sluggish, and yes—our body started to creak.

Now that we are doing this Gentle Reset, hitting the gym is our primary exercise. On rest days, we make sure to still move our bodies. Of course, we know you cannot do HIIT or strength training every single day. Your body needs rest and recovery too.

And the most gentle way we’ve found to keep moving without straining ourselves?

👉 Leisure walks.

Why Our Weekly Leisure Walk is the Best and Favourite Exercise

This is honestly the most enjoyable part of our week. Instead of taking the shuttle home, we walk from the MRT station. And of course, walking is best when paired with a drink, right? For us, it’s a cup of hot soya milk in hand.

While walking, we talk non-stop about how our day went. Some people say walking and talking makes them breathless. But if you don’t experience that, congratulations—your lungs are in great shape! 👏

As promised, here’s our menu and workout routine for this week. Hopefully, this motivates you too—because yes, it’s for health, but let’s be honest, it’s also for the body to flaunt. 🤗

Walking may look simple, but it’s a powerful part of our Gentle Reset journey. It keeps us moving, gives us bonding time, and supports our fitness goals. So if you’re looking for a gentle yet effective way to stay active, start with a walk.

You can join/follow our routine and eating habits. 

Visit our previous blogs here: https://reviews-all.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Gentle%20Reset

Week 2 - Meal plan for high cholesterol & Workout plan to slim down

Week 3 - Meal plan for high cholesterol & Workout plan to slim down

Week 4 - Meal plan for high cholesterol & Workout plan to slim down

Week 5 - Meal plan for high cholesterol & Workout plan to slim down

Week 6 - Meal plan for high cholesterol & Workout plan to slim down

Week 7 - Meal plan for high cholesterol & Workout plan to slim down

Week 8 - Meal plan for high cholesterol & Workout plan to slim down

Why Exercise Alone Isn’t Enough for a Healthy Body (+ Our 1-Week Meal & Workout Plan)

“Ha? He looks so healthy—full of muscles and runs every morning! How come he got a stroke?” My sister answered: “He eats a lot of meat. A lot of street food. And mga matatamis”

Well, we were shocked too! When Abbey was diagnosed with high blood pressure, it didn’t make sense at first. Ha? We eat mostly vegetables and not a lot of meat! So how did this happen? 

The truth is, regular workouts and eating vegetables aren’t enough to guarantee a healthy body. You need a balanced diet, portion control, and mindful choices. I realized this too—despite thinking I was eating healthy, I still have high uric acid.

So, what’s the takeaway? Exercise is great, but nutrition matters just as much. High blood pressure doesn’t care how fast the morning run was if meals are loaded with sodium, fried oils, and processed meats. Small swaps—less salt, fewer fried foods, more whole foods—consistently beat “outrunning” a poor diet. 

👉 In this post, I’m sharing our first week of healthy meals and workouts designed for lowering blood pressure and reducing uric acid levels. If you’re starting a wellness journey for better heart health, this might inspire you too!

Meal plan for high blood pressure & Workout plan lowers uric acid

You can join/follow our routine and eating habits. 

Visit our previous blogs here: https://reviews-all.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Gentle%20Reset

The Signs We Ignored — Until Our Bodies Started Crying for Help

Whenever I’d ask him if I looked fat, he’d grin and say, “Hindi ka mataba, you’re voluptuous.” 🤭 And I, of course, would accept that answer with a smile, thinking, “See? No need to diet.”

We were “healthy.” We ate vegetables daily, we did weekly fasting, and we even shared on a previous blog post about our eating habits. But the truth? We were feeling less and less healthy every day.

Maybe you are experiencing subtle signals below that your body sends that you keep ignoring. And we ignored them too… until they became impossible to brush off.

The Signs We Ignored — Until Our Bodies Started Crying for Help

1. Body Odor That Came Out of Nowhere

We take two showers a day — one in the morning before work, and another thorough cleaning at night before stepping into our bedroom. So smelling bad? Unthinkable!

But one day, I noticed my shirt smell funky. Abbey said it was just that one shirt. Few days after that, same problem — and I started blaming the washing machine. After observing… surprise! It wasn’t the shirt. It wasn’t the washing machine. It was my sweat. Something in my body chemistry had changed, and that was a big red flag.

2. Shortness of Breath Without Effort

Running out of breath while running? That’s normal. But losing breath while simply talking? Not normal.

Our fun conversations turned into tiring chitchats. I’d end up gasping instead of laughing — which was both annoying and alarming.

3. The 3AM Wake-Up Club

Almost every night, I’d wake up at 3AM and struggle to fall back asleep. The next morning, I’d start my day foggy, cranky, and unfocused. That’s a sign my sleep cycle were out of balance.

4. Unusual Clicking Sounds

If you’ve ever used noise-cancelling earphones while walking, you’ll know you can hear your own body. One day, the music stopped, and I realized… every step with my left foot came with a clicking sound. My leg felt uneasy, like something inside wasn’t moving right. That’s when I knew — this wasn’t just age catching up, this was my body complaining.

5. Afternoon Cravings That Hit Hard

We’ve been doing OMAD (One Meal a Day) for years without much snacking. But this year, by 4PM, both Abbey and I would crave something salty or sweet. It wasn’t about hunger — it was our body crying out for electrolyte balance. We ignored it until the light-headedness became too obvious to dismiss.

💡 Here’s the reality:

These were our body’s warning signs — small whispers that could have turned into shouts if we didn’t act. We finally stopped denying the truth and made a choice to restart our health journey.

So, I’m sharing this to ask you:

Bukod sa di kasyang pantalon, ano pa ang signs na dapat mo nang pagtuunan ng pansin sa katawan mo?

Sometimes, accepting these flaws isn’t about shame — it’s about giving yourself permission to reset, recharge, and rebuild.

Let’s go and reset our body now! 

You can join/follow our routine and eating habits. 

Read our first post! 

We Thought We Were Healthy... Until 2025 Hit Us Hard 🥲 (Our Gentle Reset Story)

When I got a full-time job, Abbey and I slowly slipped into a comfortable routine. We were working hard, eating once a day (OMAD), and convinced that as long as our meals were mostly veggies and fast once a week, we’d stay fit and healthy — even if we barely exercised.

But as 2025 began, reality hit hard.

Despite eating meat only once or up to three times a week and having mostly gulay sa ulam, our health markers didn’t lie. Abbey was diagnosed with high blood pressure. I had elevated uric acid. Oof.

Kasunod pa noon? Abbey got a sprain. I started noticing that my shoulders were always clicking. He had to see a physio, and I was told to always warm up before any workout. That was our wake-up call. It felt like our bodies were rusting. 😢

People say it’s because of age or hormones — but honestly, we don’t fully buy that. We believe the ALMIGHTY wants us to live healthy and joyful lives, so we won’t use aging as a reason to let ourselves go.

It’s not our body’s fault. It’s our habits and mindset.

So we began searching for a sustainable way to reset our lifestyle. That’s when we discovered Kaizen by Cho Lim. We were actually ready to join even if it cost ₱20,000. But to our surprise, the price was ₱40,000 per person. 😲

We took the online orientation, slept on it for a few days (literally 😆), and decided not to join — not because we didn’t believe in it, but because we wanted to test our own discipline and commitment first. Again! 

What stood out to us from the Kaizen call was this:

✔️ It’s not just about body workouts

✔️ It’s also about mindset, habit building, and accountability

That’s when we remembered: during the pandemic, we opened a small support group among our family and friends — and it worked. So why not do it again?

We Thought We Were Healthy... Until 2025 Hit Us Hard 🥲 (Our Gentle Reset Story)

Thus, The Gentle Reset for 40s Community was born.

💡 Our Plan

Each week, we’ll post:

✨ Our actual weekly exercise routine

🥗 Our simple, budget-friendly, healthy weekly menu

🧠 Small mindset shifts that helped us stay consistent

This is not a fitness challenge. This is a reset. A gentler one. For us 40s na hindi na bata, pero hindi rin matandang-matanda. 😅

If you’re also in your 40s and want to feel stronger, lighter, and more in control again, join us on this journey.

See you on next week’s update!

✨ ITO NA ANG SIMULA. ✨ 

You can join/follow our routine and eating habits. On our next blog we will post what we ate for Week 1.