Body Talk with Ina Raymundo

Take a good look at Ina Raymundo in the pictures on this page, taken recently. Does she look like the mother of five children (Erika, 14; Jakob, 11; Mikaela, 7; Anika, 5; and Minka, 3) by her husband, Canadian financial consultant Brian Poturnak)? At 40, she doesn’t look like a cougar (yet), does she? She can give the new breed of sexy bodies a run for their curves, can’t she?

Last year, Ina finally graced the cover of FHM 15 years after she said yes to the invitation and, even after a long absence from the showbiz scene, she doesn’t seem to have aged at all. How does she do it? (You will find out in a bit.)

Ina staged an impressive comeback first in the Kapamilya soap All Of Me, followed by the GMA series Marimar. She’s in the cast of the new GMA soap The Millionaire’s Wife (with Andrea Torres as the titular character).

At 5’4” and 112 lbs., Ina measures 35-26-35 (same figure that she had when she showed frontal nudity in the 1999 sex flick Burlesk Queen Ngayon, inspired by the Vilma Santos starrer directed by Celso Ad. Castillo).

How did you prepare for your role in The Millionaire’s Wife?

“Physically, she’s dalaga sa story so I have to look younger. I’m always exercising so I didn’t really prepare for it anymore. I just did the usual — regular workout.”

What kind of workout do you do?

“I do Zumba three times a week, then strengthening TRX twice a week, so basically I work out five times a week. And I also eat well.”

What part of your body needs improvement?

“My butt. I need to strengthen my quads because I have a problem with my knee. My butt has always been flat, but it’s now much improved. But I’m not aiming naman for a Kim Kardashian butt, that’s so hard to achieve. You need to lift heavy weights and do so many squats.”

Part of a man’s body that you notice first?

“The shoulders. When I see broad shoulders, talagang napapa-gasp ako. My husband’s shoulders are like that, broad and perfect. I like the form. And it’s kinda rare, eh, yung maganda ang shoulders and the arms as well, including the abs. And I liked a chiseled face; I don’t like a round face.”

What about your diet?

“I eat like I have diabetes. Ganun ang diet ko. I’m always conscious. I eat six small meals. I make sure na hindi sobra sobra, including my carb intake.”

What’s for breakfast, lunch and dinner?

“My breakfast every day is a cup of cereal, one cup of fat-free skimmed milk, three egg whites and one whole wheat bread. That’s a heavy breakfast, busog talaga ako. Every day ‘yon,  hindi ako nagsasawa. I don’t eat rice or fried rice for breakfast. It’s always eggs and cereal.

“For lunch, I usually have fish, chicken breast, mga ganun. And once a week I eat nilagang beef, tinolang manok. I love soup! Sinigang na fish, sinigang na beef. I eat a lot of sour food kasi yun ang pinaka-safe, eh. Salty food not good, right? Ayoko rin naman ng sweets.

“For dinner, I eat more. We are supposed to eat more protein kasi nga matutulog ka. So same, I eat chicken or fish or beef. And I always eat one serving of fruit, meaning one cup. Or one whole piece of a small apple. Everything must be measured; hindi yung tipong ‘I’m hungry I want this, ang sarap nitong mangga, tapos kakainin mo lahat.’ No way!”

Any snacks between meals?

“Yes. Mid-morning snack, afternoon snack and then bedtime snack. My snacks are usually a tablespoon of peanut butter on wheat bread and a banana. Having fruit for breakfast is not advisable; better to have it as mid-morning snack, not first thing in the morning kasi magha-high sugar ka tapos maglo-low.  Some people have orange juice kaagad in the morning. It’s okay if your blood sugar is okay but not if you are diabetic.

“I’m worried that I might end up a diabetic because I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant. Candidate ako. My relatives have diabetes so I’m very conscious. Ayokong umabot na meron na akong diabetes so I’m doing the prevention now. Kasi yung iba indulge nang indulge hanggang sa magka-diabetes. I still eat dessert but I make sure that I exercise soon after.”

What medicines/vitamins are you taking?

“Vitamin C and calcium citrate. If I don’t take calcium, yung buhok ko nalalagas. So calcium helps your hair to grow thick. Akala nila naka-extensions pero my hair is thick because I always take calcium. But, of course, you have to take the right amount. Mga two capsules a day.”

How much water do you take per day?

“At least eight glasses. If you see my night table, ang daming tubig. As in super dami! My husband keeps teasing me that they are drowning me in water kasi ang dami talaga.”

How many pillows do you sleep with?

“Five, one under my head, one under my legs, one sa cheek ko, and baby pillow. During tapings, I have three. I must have one under my legs. I’d rather have a pillow under my legs, under my head.”

Favorite sleepwear?

“It depends on my mood. If I want to feel sexy, I wear my nighties. But lately I’ve been wearing long-sleeved dresses. Sometimes I wear pyjamas, so depende sa mood ko. Basta I want to wear something comfortable.”

Do you snore or sleepwalk?

“I don’t snore and I don’t sleepwalk, so I’m like Sleeping Beauty when I sleep. Naka-project.”

Last thing you do before you go to sleep?

“My beauty regimen. I put on my moisturizer, everything. Yung asawa ko nga sabi niya sa akin, ‘It’s so hard to be a woman.’ Ang daming rituals daw. Sobrang tagal, like 30 minutes? And I have to pee five times before I go to bed. I want to drain it para I won’t have to wake up in the middle of the night to pee.”

First thing you do as soon as you wake up?

“I check my phone. I turn on the wifi right away. Kasi in-o-off ko yung wifi before I sleep para ma-rest yung phone ko.”

How do you relax/cope with stress?

“Doing crosswords and Sudoku. I buy books online. I wanted to download apps, pero I realized mas gusto ko yung old-fashioned. I really do the hard level kapag Sudoku. Kailangan mo talagang isipin ang probability, and all. Pero it helps the brain, it sharpens your memory. So I’m a nerd, actually!”

Favorite hideaway?

“Beach, definitely. There’s something about the beach that makes you just want to relax, have a few cocktails and just do nothing but sunbathe. It’s relaxing just to look at the ocean. I can do that for months. Doon kami nagkakasundo ng asawa ko, we are very laid back. We don’t follow a strict itinerary. We just like to chill all the time.”

Do you have a nightlife?

“This year, I make it a point to hang out with my friends more. Last year kasi, I was usually with my work and family. Now I’m going out more, pero yung hindi bar-hopping, just dinner with a few glasses of white wine. Once in a blue moon siguro yung club-hopping and bar-hopping, pero kung regular, no way.  Sleep is important to me. I try to complete the seven hours.”

Your outlook in life?

“I don’t take life seriously. I take it one day at a time, live in the moment, for the moment. And I’m not serious about this and that, then turn out to be judgmental? I’m serious about parenting my kids but at the same time I have a sense of humor. Pareho kami ng asawa ko, hindi yung sobrang serious. Even on social media, mas pipiliin kong mag-share ng jokes and funny things. Very light lang, ‘yan ang outlook ko in life.”

Three men that you think have nice bodies?

“My husband, Daniel Craig and Ryan Gosling.”

And three women that you think have bodies as nice as yours?

“Andrea Torres; she has a really nice body. Halle Berry; I think she’s really hot for her age. Actually, she’s my peg. She’s almost 50 na but she’s still so hot. And Sofia Vergara.”

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