I've always loved Giselle Sanchez.
As a child I saw her on TV in Sineskwela. (I idolized her & Mamu Tintin Bersola Babao because of that science show! hahaha) We watched her in Shake, Rattle & Roll & Kadenang Bulaklak. She registered so well on camera as she delivered her wild antics & jokes. Watching her made life seem a bit lighter. At that time, it was rare to find female comediennes who looked good while being hilarious.
When I was 11, she hosted one of our Family Days in school (her sister Mauie was my batchmate) I was starstruck. I envied Mauie for having her at home for most of her life :p Her success story was inspiring for an awkward & self-conscious pre-teen like me. I didn't do well in sports, my teeth & ears were too big for my face, and I suffered from painful pimples. Teens often overreact to problems; I felt like my efforts would never amount to anything.
My parents told me that when you're confused on what you need to focus on or what you want to pursue, you can either pray for inspiration and/or study the lives of the people you admire so you would know where to start. "Try to emulate the positive values of your role models to improve your life."
Giselle Sanchez served as my life peg. When I joined pageants, I tried to copy her shoes & clothes, I went to UP for College. I had my pimples checked and treated. Heck, I even married an engineer too. haha.
I bashfully told her all that when we both worked in CNN PH more than a decade after gradeschool. It was a delight to bump into her in the makeup room. I was pregnant at that time & she offered tips on how to eat so you can maintain (or even improve) your body once you become a mom. She generously shared what she knew about Ge Lai (the Chinese method of bouncing back to health after giving birth) & I was able to try some of the tea & food she recommended after giving birth to Leji.
Looking back, I'm not sure if that is related to why it was easier to lose weight after my first pregnancy; I wasn't able to buy the tea/tonic/body heat generating food after Leon. Tandem feeding drained the hell out of me. There were days after several vtrs & tandem feeding in traffic (yeah I scrambled to get back to my modelling career shortly after giving birth; seeing other adults was my way of overcoming post-partum depression). Leon would still latch overnight then I really couldn't get out of bed even just to eat or drink water the morning after. Zombie mode to the highest level. But I think breastfeeding was still worth all the effort and pain; I have no regrets. I should have just invested in Ge Lai delivery instead of waiting for someone to buy the tea, tonic & cooking herbs (for soup) from Binondo :p
Fast forward to half a decade after the makeup room encounters, Giselle guested with us on Cignal One PH's Inay Ko Po :) If you weren't able to catch it live, you may still watch the episode on Facebook, Youtube or on Cignal Play. You may also try the link below:
Inay Ko Po with Giselle Sanchez
She added another feather in her cap by winning Miss Noble Queen International for the Philippines before 2020 ended despite the pandemic. It was Patricia Javier (2019 Noble Queen of the Universe) who urged her to join so she would have a bigger platform for her advocacy: supporting homeless families.
She flaunted her bikini body (live in the show!) to prove to her bashers that her photos online have minimal retouching. She looks as young as her teenage daughter!
She shared to us her secret on how to maintain a flawless body in your 40s: "You have to eat only a fistful of food each meal; and you have to fill your stomach every 2 or 3 hours." She said you shouldn't deprive your body of good food otherwise your health will backfire. She also reminded the moms watching: "Dapat laging nagdidilig!" She explained that you have to nourish your relationship with your husband/partner at least once a week for better well-being; you really have to make time. You reap what you sow.
