Rica Peralejo Reveals Major Rule to Being an Expert Mom

Photo from ricaperalejo.ph/Instagram

Mothers always want to be the best moms they can be. They will always find ways to find the best opportunities for the children and for the family.

However, mothers tend to forget how to find the best of everything for themselves.

Hence, Rica Peralejo-Bonifacio, who recently became the face of the GSK Expert Mom campaign, underlined, 'I don’t think you can be a really good mother if you always forget yourself, kasi ikaw nga yung usually the primary caregiver, di ba?

"If I lack sleep, if I lack rest, if I lack, you know, even simple joy in my life, it reflects on everything that I do. Even from my children... alam niya kapag bad mood ako kasi I’m coming from a place of hurt.

"Ako, so parang whatever my heart has, it’s the thing that I’m able to produce also. If you don’t guarantee the quality deposits you have in your heart, then your household is gonna be not the happiest in the world."

For Rica, the concept of "Expert Mom" leans more on the idea of being a "Whole Mom."

She explained, "You work from a state of depletion. You’re already depleted na, wala ka nang energy, wala. Hindi ka pa kumakain, nagpapakain ka na ng iba. Hindi ka pa magaling, pinapagaling mo pa yung iba."

To help give moms a small community they can turn to for their quick mommy fixes, Rica and fellow moms TV host Chesca Garcia-Kramer and interior stylist Marilen Montenegro have come up with a series of workshops.

"We call it the 'Whole Mom Workshops' kasi nga parang we believe that there is no mom who can be perfect but you can be whole.

"And when we talk about being whole, it’s really not having a gap in your heart and, usually, what we’re addressing there is the issues of the mom’s today, e."

Tackling home, beauty, and even marriage, a "100 % Whole Mom," she said, is a step closer to being an expert mom.

Self-care

Diet and exercise had gained a new meaning for Rica at this stage of her life. "Nakakatawa nga e kapag nanay ka pala, ikaw bubuhat ng stroller, ikaw nagbubuhat ng bag. Sabi ko, bodybuilder pala ang dapat na nagiging nanay."

"So do'n ko na-realize na kailangan strong ka pala talaga, no? Kasi mabilis ako mapagod, wala pala talaga akong exercise."

She admitted to struggling with a fixed schedule for a regular fitness regimen.

"Mahirap siya, mas lalo na kapag nanay ka kasi your time is not your own anymore. So even just a simple exercise, let’s just say I want to attend a class, you’d first think na, 'Okay, ano ba schedule ng anak ko, ano ba kailangan niya gawin sa araw na yo'n?"

But she and her husband Joseph do a circuit training exercise called Plus Fit.

In terms of diet, Rica found a new perspective to the practice. "The diet is, kasi before kapag mas bata ako, diet meant so you can be sexy, ganun, para you can fit well in your clothes.

"Ngayon, iba na talaga definition ko ng diet kasi diet is really a good set of meals that you eat within the day that’s really functional for you. So, that means that will give me energy throughout the day, would give me strength. Babalik ka lang din dun sa Go, Grow, Glow chart mo kasi ano nga ba ulit yung pang energy, ano nga ba ulit yung pang strength?"

This story originally appeared on Pep.ph.

* Minor edits have been made by the Smartparenting.com.ph editors.    

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