Beauty queens' fitness expert says losing weight is about being aware, working out

With any kind of information just a few keystrokes away, fitness buffs have easy access to a myriad weight loss programs. Still, others find it hard to see some changes. For fitness expert-to-the-beauty queens John Jay Cuay, losing weight is about monitoring your food intake and sweating it out.

"Losing weight is very simple eh. You don't really have to go to fancy gyms. You don't have to subscribe to fancy applications and all that. Kailangan ka lang talaga aware doon sa nilalagay mo sa katawan mo, ano ang kinakain mo. I think that's the most important thing," Cuay said on GMA News TV morning news program "News To Go" on Friday.



Cuay has been training Filipina beauty queens who have strutted their stuff in international pageants these past few years. He is currently making sure that the country's bet to the Miss Universe pageant, Pia Wurtzbach, wows the world with a lean, fit physique.

To keep the beauty candidates healthy, Cuay tracks what they eat. This is something everyone can do as well.

"It's all in the food talaga. Since these girls are young pa like from 18 to 20 [years old], talagang kumakain ng kahit ano iyan. I will always tell them, 'You have to tell me whatever you put in your mouth,'" he explained

The fitness expert is against deprivation.

"Moderation is still the key. Kapag kakain ka ng lechon, if you only eat a little para lang ma-satisfy ang cravings mo, then that's not gonna be a problem," he said. "Enjoy the simple things in life. Don't deprive yourself."

Aside from tracking food intake, those who wish to cut some weight should also get up and move.

"Kapag feeling mo marami ka nang kinakain, then you work out also kasi iyong kinakain mo naman, you can always utilize it as fuel of your physical activities. It's as simple as that," Cuay said.

"The ,bottom line there is the amount of calories you put in your mouth and the totality of calories you have for the day tapos the total number of calories you burned for the day."

Cuay was not only speaking as a fitness expert. He has also been there. The fitness expert used to weigh 256 lbs before he decided to work out and managed to drop almost 100 lbs.

"Ang na-realize ko on that journey is that you have to increase your physical activity then you have to eat right," he said. — Trisha Macas/DVM, GMA News