Say yes to fitness
As someone who makes a fair attempt at staying fit—gym four to five times a week, fun runs with distances of 6K to 12K lately, watching what I eat (when not invited to events for this column)--a day of healthy meals and fitness activities at Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa sounded appealing to me. A group of media friends were invited to the resort for Global Wellness Day, a movement founded in 2012 that spanned 73 countries by 2015. ShangriLa Hotels and Resorts joined in last year, including Mactan, in saying an energetic “Yes!” to fitness. Special healthy menus are available at the resort’s different outlets, and guests were encouraged to join in fitness activities. Upon arrival the evening before, we were welcomed with a wonderful dinner at Acqua, which was meatless (but definitely not vegan) with the feta cheese on the salad, ricotta with the soup, cream sauce on the tortelli with nuts, and a little scoop of gelato with fresh fruit.
We were up bright and early for Global Wellness Day with a 7:30 a.m. breakfast at Cowrie Cove, starting off with a wheatgrass smoothie that Shangri-La somehow made palatable down to the last drop. The muesli was one of the best I’ve sampled anywhere, and there was an abundance of fresh fruit, salmon, chicken, and also hot vegetable dishes. I of course still had to have a croissant, because these shouldn’t be missed when having breakfast at Shangri-La.
It was a good thing we fueled up, as we were then led on a 3K walk all around the resort, including the back office areas that guests don’t normally get to see. After a little period of rest from the heat, we then joined Aqua Aerobics, which ran for a good hour at the main pool. We had some free time and a choice of water sports, and I opted for my favorite paddleboard instead of the Jetski.
In the afternoon, we had a session with Cebu’s Chocolate Queen, Raquel Choa, who spoke about the benefits of cacao for the body, inside and out. She swears by drinking a mug of chocolate every morning or when she gets hungry to keep her svelte figure, even after her eight children. This is duly noted!
Global Wellness Day only ran one day, but organized activities and delicious, healthy meals are available 365 days a year at Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa to make it easy to stay fit while having fun.