Could this be...

Wow, this feels like being locked up for a very long time and finally getting released. All of a sudden, in my office, we were restricted to viewing and accessing certain sites and the next was having a quota time to which you can go on the internet....aaarrrrggggghhh...how frustrating. This meant that I could not access my baby..my blog. It felt like a part of me had been ripped and taken away from me. The good news is that i am back and bad!

Hope you guys have been doing good and I cannot wait to hear all the success stories! or....arent there? Hmm. I am sooooo excited. I think I should call this a rebirth. I have successfully been abale to maintain my new body without depriving myself. I have stumbled across more topics, health related...ofcourse... that I know that should concern us all. The first one I will like to talk about and bring more light to is CANCER!!!!

Hmm...can't to share and blog aware. Watch out for this space. Love you guys and always saty healthy...xoxo

THE REVEAL!

LIKE THEY SAY, A PICTURE SAYS A THOUSANDS WORDS.....(I THINK). SO, SIT BACK, RELAX AND SEE WHERE I AM COMING FROM AND WHERE I AM TODAY. CURRENTLY, I AM 67.5KG BUT THE LATEST PICTURE I HAVE WAS WHEN I WAS 72.3KG, I HAVE NOT TAKEN ANY RECENT ONE. WILL DEFINITELY DO THAT. HOPE THIS WILL ENCOURAGE Y'ALL.

CLEARLY, THIS WAS ME BEFORE I STARTED MY WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY (STARTED AT 85.5KG)

THIS WAS ME WEIGHING 72.3KG.

I will definitely post more pictures. Just wanted to let you guys see what I have been talking about, and know that it is no joke at all. Now, I am a 67.5kg and am so happy cos I am not only slim but fit and healthy. ciao

Yet Again!

Friday the 9th day of July, 2010, precisely 7.30pm...it was me face to face with 10 boxes of pizza at the bowling rink at the palms. We were there for the continuation of Juliet's birthday party. At the beginning I promised myself that I was not going to eat so, before I left the office I stuffed up on a lot of veggies but little did I know that my friend Juliet had massive pastry plans for me. She knows how much I loooooooove pizza (and dont forget chocolates too)...so ordered over 5 boxes. There I was staring at these boxes and fighting myself on the inside. There are times I would get up and walk away from the boxes and still, like some type of evil force and magnetism, I find myself being drawn towards the boxes. So, I gave up! Yes I gave up. Immediately I took the first bite, I remembered what my mum used to say when praying to God for forgiveness of sins "Lord, you know that the heart is willing but the flesh is weak"...that was me! So, you would think that this girl would just have a slice or two and be done...yeah right...more like 6 slices or even 7...in short, I felt bloated like a big fool and ofcourse, I topped the eating with massive alcohol drinking. What can I say, I was in a celebration mood.

As the alcohol started kicking in, I got in a dancing mood and so I danced the night away. When I say dance, I worked up 5 to 6 buckets of sweat (I know...eewww...but you get the picture). By the time I got home, I collapsed on my bed and floated to the beyond.

I woke up, expecting to hate myself for all I gubbled down last night, but on the contrary, my body was feeling otherwise. I went to the loo (wee wee), brushed my teeth, took off my clothes and mounted the scale and to my honest and sincere astonishment....I had lost 0.8kg. WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!! The day before, I woke up weighing 70.5kg and now I am 69.7kg. I felt on top of the world, that I immediately geared up and did my morning aerobics. Ate breakfast ( 3 thin slices of pancakes, no syrup, water and freshly squeezed orange juice) and now am in front of my laptop typing this.

It feels good...I tell you. I cannot believe that this is me. At the beginning I would just say that I want to just weigh 70 something. When I got into that 70 something, at a point it felt like I would never leave 70 something, so, I pushed myself and am here today weighing 69.7kg. I am also excited because the only condition, I told myself, that would make me release my before and after pictures is, if I have left 70 something, so people...brace yourselves. My next blogging would be the big reveal.

Have a beautiful and healthy weekend. Remember my motto(well...sort of)....; "never deprive yourself but dont forget to burn after chopping"

Ciao. xoxo

Temptation...

Hi all, I have a sin to confess. This weekend was a trying one and one of the most difficult weekends I have ever encountered during my journey. There were temptations left, right, centre...in short, everywhere...I had no other option (no excuse as well) but to fall. But it was worth it. On Saturday, 4th of July, 2010, my siblings and I came together (ofcourse including my parents) and threw a 13th birthday party for my kid sister, so you can imagine food and drinks everywhere and best of all, CAKE!!! One good thing came out of this, my opinion as to not depriving oneself was fortified. Yes! I had a taste of everything that was edible and drinkable, so as not to feel left out, but the key was to the portion of each. I knew that I was going to eat rice, chicken, ice cream, cake and so on, so I had to do a lil' calculation in my head. The rice was definitely a miniature size with the chicken (I made sure that it was barbecued chicken, but not the Nigerian version with oil), then my cake was also miniature and no icing (very unnecessary), I had my ice cream)chocolate flavour). How did I burn it? I was on the move. I volunteered to do everything and when it was time, I hit the dance floor. I wanted to burn off the calories if not everything but a lot of it so that when I wake the next day I would not feel the weight guilt. When I woke the next day, i eagerly zapped to the scale to get my judgement and guess what? I didn't do badly...I managed to add only 0.3KG. The long and short of this story is that I still had fun, ate all that was served at the party and used the same party to burn off, by dancing and didn't do badly at the end of the day. so, if you find yourself in situations like this, my advice is to look at the positive side of the situation and make good out of it.

Now, yesterday, the 5th day of July, 2010 was not at all like my weekend...I fell hard into the welcoming hands of temptation. It was my friend, Juliet's birthday, we had three cakes, one being pure chocolate cake (did I mention that I AM IN LOVE WITH ANYTHING CHOCOLATE??!!). Yes! I am an addict. But so far so good, I have been able to curtail my intake its so minimal that I cannot believe that it is me doing it and even if I go overboard, my body rebels....u get the picture?(toilet...lol). Anyway,  I was in charge of cutting the cake and sharing, I found myself, cutting one slice and eating one slice...and when am not cutting, am licking off the icing. It felt good!. Immediately I got home...OH BOY, it was like a war was going on inside of me. I dashed off into the toilet but just in time to grab a magazine cos I knew I was going in for a long long time. Oh yes, did I get it! After that, I felt better and lighter and I promised myself that that would never happen again (yeah right...I will try though). I did my aerobics and went to bed. Woke up this morning feeling better. I resolved, on my way to work, to conclude my journey by the end of this week. It is very possible, its just that have been subconsciously stalling cos its a big and final jump for me.

Wishing you all a lovely day...please and please...let my experience be a lesson to you....do not indulge the way I did. Ciao.

                                                           Cake #1: The chocolate cake

                                                                      Cake #2

                                                                       Cake #3

                                                                     Juliet nd I

Just tips!

Hi dieticians...I know that I have not been blogging for a while now, please forgive me. I hope those of you who want to shed some pounds have successfully taken flight, thanks to c'est moi. If you have woooohooo. Today I want to give you quick tips that were helpful to me and I thought I should share.

Tip #1

Take lots and lots and lots of water. I know I know, you hear this every time and some of you even wonder what it is that water does. Well listen up...IT DOES A LOT!!! It keeps the body hydrated. In fact, 2/3 of our body weight is water. The very composition of our body are; blood is 83% water, muscles are 75% water, brain is 74% water and bone is 22% water. Water is necessary for the very survival of human beings, as it ensures the smooth functioning of body systems. Water acts as a natural remedy to head your way towards achieving beautiful rich glowing skin. Drinking water skin benefits can be attributed to the fact that water acts as a body purifier, by removing toxins and waste from your body. People who are fed up with their overweight problem, for them hot lemon water works wonders in fastening their weight loss program. It also keeps your heart healthy. So, drink lots of water throughout the day, to promote your mind body fitness. one other thing, warm water serves as the perfect good morning drink, as it aids the digestive system and makes the process of eliminating the waste products from the body easier. 

Tip #2

Every tiny chance you get, work out! I am not saying do a 30 mins aerobics...lol. Did you know that the little exercises you do at intervals go a long way? For example, if you find yourself sitting for long on a chair, lets say, you are at the office, you can get up and walk around, come back to your chair and do some squats (e.g. 50 squats). Another you can do are arms exercises. Pretend you are holding dumb bells and do curls (e.g 50 curls).

Tip #3

Use the staircase! I can never stop emphasizing and advocating for this form of exercise. It helped me sooooooooooooo much. On its own, its a well-rounded exercise. You are working your thighs, hips, buttocks, abs and arms. Your heart gets pumped thereby getting its own form of exercise.

Tip #4

Vegetables. One of the secret I learnt during my diet was how I can, with eating my veggies eat the meals I would want to eat. What do I mean? Take spaghetti for example, its one of my best meals, but when you are dieting you are adviced to cut down on the intake of carbohydrates right? or even stop eating carbs for a period of time. To me, that is depriving oneself thereby leading to craving and finally falling and falling real bad. So what do I do? I take my pasta but in small quantity (just to satisfy myself that I am eating pasta) and load the rest of my plate with veggies. Veggies here can be our fresh vegetables (ugu) or cabbage, carrot, lettuce, corn, garden egg, etc; all steamed and spiced ( little ooooo). Did you know that you can make vegetable (ugu) spaghetti? It is unbelievably delicious. I will post the recipe later. So, remember, take the carbs you want but in very little quantity and load up with the veggies, this way you do not deprice yourself of ur favorite carbs.

More tips to come your way...later guys. Am about to go for my walk. ciao. xoxo

HEALTHY INDULGENCE...

Here are some of the foods (with their recipes) that were with me and still with me during my unforgettable journey into the world of the fit and healthy. Enjoy.

BOLI (roasted plantain) + Veggies
This is one of my favorites because it's quick to make and very delicious. This food is soooooo balanced that it makes me want to shout...wooohooo. It contains, iron, vitamins, mineral, protein, carbohydrate, fats and oil, etc. It is a meal that can carry you through out the day.

 Here is how I make it:


Ingredients:
1. one ripe plantain
2. cabbage
3. carrots
4. chicken
5. onions
6. spring onions
7. cobia (or another type of fish)
8. lettuce
9. cucumber
10. seasoning

Cooking
1. Take your ripe plantain and peel
2. Put your plantain in the oven and set to roast/bake
3. boil your chicken and fish (Separately) and (Ofcourse, season it)
4. When the chicken and fish are done, de-bone it and dice or shred
5. Cut/shred/dice the carrots, onions, spring onions, cucumber, lettuce and cabbage
6. Get a frying pan spray on it cooking olive oil (if you do not have that, you can use the regular cooking oil and put a dash of it in the frying pan)
7. when the oil gets slightly hot, put in the chicken, fish, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, cucumber, onions, spring onions, and season.
8. And fry lightly and quick. You just want to get it soft a bit and tasty. You can sprinkle a little water for it to cook a little. Remember this cooking it quick because your vegetables are not supposed to cook or fry for long or else you loose the vitamins (the essence).

when the veggies and your roasted/baked plantain/boli are ready, dish them unto a plate ... presto...ready to eat. Bon appetite (i hope i got the spelling...lol)




RICE AND GREEN VEGGIES
This is for if you must eat rice! The green vegetable substitutes the regular stew, sauce, soup, or whatever one takes with rice.

CHINESE NOODLES, MIXED VEGGIES, FISH AND SNAIL










PLANTAIN, GREEN (UGU aka PUMPKIN LEAF) AND FISH
Yep! am sure some of you would look at this and say whaaaaaat! Trust me its delicious and best of all healthy. If i were at home eating this, I would have substituted the fried plantain (dodo) with roasted plantain...but heey...had to do with what I had.



NOTE: For me, I eat "heavy meals" (the foods am posting up) during lunch, never for breakfast or dinner. For dinner and breakfast, I always have something light. Most times, I have fruits, quaker oat for breakfast or dinner. I do this because I know that when am done I would burn it. If I eat a heavy meal in the night, the next thing is to go to bed and ....extra pounds. Another thing to remember is never eat past 7.00PM!!!!!!!! If you are hungry afterwards, drink water or take fruits or go to sleep!

WEIGHT LOSS PART?......FOOD FOOD FOOD!!!

Hi guys, missed you all. Was not able to upload and update till now cos of the bad weather over the weekend. It was crazy but it did not bring me down. So, its food time. During my weight loss journey, I ATE!!! YES, I ATE!. Do not listen to anyone who tells you not to eat. The secret to this is what to eat and how to combine it for it to work for you. Before I go any further, let me at this juncture, reveal to you the best diet and it is............................ "THE BALANCED DIET!!" Why a lot of people fail in this area is because they do not understand the concept of balanced diet. A balanced diet means getting the right types and amounts of foods and drinks to supply nutrition and energy for maintaining body cells, tissues, and organs, and for supporting normal growth and development. What this means is that every type of food is important...do not do away with some...the key is just in the quantity and portion. For example, I can have chocolate muffin in the morning, but what matters is what I eat next as lunch...so I can have fish and steamed Veggies and for dinner I might have oat. But remember, everything is in the quantity. I never for once deprived myself of anything type of food that I am craving for...but...but...I am not saying that you can use "craving" as an excuse, one has to be very disciplined. Back to balanced diet...it is like mix and match and this makes eating more interesting. For you to succeed in this journey, you have to keep an open mind, be creative and explore different recipes (healthy choices). People limit themselves when it comes to food... I always encourage people to explore foods from other tribes and countries...it is very interesting experimenting.


My eating habits changed and changed for the better. My system went on an automatic detox and as I went deeper into my new eating habit, I even started feeling better and healthier. From time to time, for a period of two weeks I would be posting up recipes I have tried and yet to try. I will also put up recipes and pictures of food that I enjoy taking. Give you exercise tips that I do and even exercises I would love to try. We will go through this together and I know it would be fun especially with your comments and mails. Remember, I would love for you to also share your stories of yours journey into this known-world of weight loss.


Ciao Ciao.  xoxo