The 35-year-old Ruffa Gutierrez dons a swimsuit, and looks fabulous!

Her bikini-worthy body, she says, is a result of Dra. Vicki Belo's BodyTite, various workouts, and diet.

Though the former beauty queen "never had a weight problem," she felt the need to change her lifestyle and counter the early effects of ageing.

An article posted in Yahoo's "Healthy Living" states, "Metabolism slows with age, we start to lose bone mass, and our bodies start to reduce production of certain hormones that are important in preserving muscle mass, which is key to having a higher metabolism and keeping off weight."

Ruffa didn't want to resort to liposuction, so she worked harder. Her rigid lose-weight efforts began in April last year.

"I can't stand being in the gym because I get bored, so I enrolled in a class," she tells PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) during the launch of her billboard for Belo.

She's into Bikram, a "hot form of yoga" that ideally runs 90 minutes and consists of a set series of "26 postures and 2 breathing exercises"; also, Plyometrics, which is supposed to enhance the muscles' speed and strength; plus, Forma, an exercise plan that combines yoga, pilates, and dance in an intense 55-minute session.

"I'm diving na din," she adds. "Exercise din yun ah, because you burn more than 70 calories per dive."

With regard to food, "I don't like pasta or rice so much," but "I love Tapsilog and Tiramisu." Making a decision to "sacrifice" the latter, her diet these days includes "salad" and "a lot of protein, steak."

But her end-goal is not just to become sexy. "What's more important is the timeless beauty," she says.

In a beauty-queen mode, she imparts some words of wisdom about beauty.

"For me, the older you get...women should be like wine, they should get better with age. It doesn't mean, you're young, you're fresh. [You] could also be beautiful any age, whether you're 20s, 30s, 40s. I know a lot of 20 years old who look like lolas, you know. And I know a lot of older women, for example, Maricris Zobel is like fabulous. Every time I see her, she's like my girl crush, that's how beautiful she is. I don't know either how old she is but I know she's older than me, because she has older kids, di ba? So for me, any age, you can be beautiful."