My First YouTube Video

Bad Habits for weight loss

To ensure that I do not go back entirely to the bad habits that make me to gain even more weight, I’m not perfect. I watch for the following:

1.     Drinks

I do not drink aimlessly now, actually I ensure that I save my calories for foods that will sustain me for longer. For example when I have my lunch I do not take juice or fizzy drink but instead water and I know for a 250 ml orange juice, I have saved about 111 calories and this is a commercial juice and not home-made. So I rather eat a full orange (45 calories) than its counterpart commercial juice. I enjoy taking coffee for its effects on me, it gives me more energy you know, that pick me up thing when feeling down and out without the added sugar "wink" because I take it with only a teaspoon of honey and sometimes a little milk just a little.

2.     Portion size

I'm so bad when it comes to portions, you know I will dish for myself and come back again and adjust the size of the starch so much that I have a kitchen scale for weighing my food because my eye cannot correspond with my hand, I know in my head the portion but my hand does not and my mouth does not, also my stomach does not so a scale works for me. I also used a smallest mug in the house before buying the scale that's just how bad in this I was but I found a way. Most of the time within a few weeks my hand adapts to the size and the stomach has to have what's there. If someone dishes for me I tell them what exactly to be on my plate or I will eat the whole thing eish what they taught me though is not good at all "finish your food!" 

3.     Limit processed foods

I cut back on processed foods like, slash! And eat them only on my cheat days, with time I have noticed I am not that into most processed foods. I think I forget about most of the processed foods I used to eat such as sweet, bubble gum, chips etc. But sometimes the craving hits in, like really hard especially for them chips whuuu lah-lah…

4. Weigh yourself

Do not be scared to weigh yourself especially if you know you have fallen off from the wagon, to give yourself a wakeup call I most definitely need that wakeup call all the time when I slack and the scale always freaks me out. And I over joy when I know I have been stuffing myself and not even exercising and found the scale exactly where it was when I last weighed myself. I even take the battery out and reset just in case I’m fooling myself and then take off where I have left and just pat myself at the back and say it was not bad at all after all what you were doing it’s only that I am more aware and alert of my eating habits and somehow exaggerate a little in my head.

5. The company I keep

Surround yourself with what motivates you on your journey. If you keep a company of emotional eaters soon you will eat like them and definitely be big like them, keep away from such they will even demotivate you right at your face and say “you are so obsessed about your weight you know” just enjoy life. How do you enjoy life when you cannot even run after your kids and have fun? Hooo let me leave it right here, gosh!!!…

6. Exercising

Yes, exercising! Whuuu I stop only for a week and then it’s so difficult to start again. I jog when I really want to kill it and when I have stopped jogging by some life things, you know. With exercise there is just something that distract me, ohhh season! You know when the season change I catch some flu and fever and then I have to slow down and stop entirely exercising until I’m good again and then I cannot because the laziness hit hard and, and, and. I purposely walk very fast on my way to work when I realise it’s so difficult to start where I have left of until I get my courage and strength phew. I promise you it is not easy, it takes a lot of determination and discipline whuuu…. I salute all the fitness babes out there, you do your thing hands up.

That’s what keeps me from finding myself appearing on TLC channel from that show “Over 600 pounds body” something like that… Sometimes I stand up while watching it and weigh myself and run on one spot just to make sure I am not as big in such a way that I am a risk to my own body. Advice from a big woman hahahaaa….

7. And lastly my Morning Routine, I mean THE JUST FOUND MORNING ROUTINE… the story for another day…

How to stop eating junk food?

When I started working I took it into my heart that I had to pay myself back and that was achieved through food, snacks anything that I can put in my mouth and somehow convinced is thee thing. In my mind having a slab of chocolate all the time in my bag was heaven together with bubble gum, not just one but a packet of them and will just pop at any time and chew away my hard work. as time goes on I noticed my teeth were sensitive especially after chewing the bubble gum. When my teeth became sensitive, I told myself I need to control the gum chewing habit as it became worse even when chewing my teeth will be aching.

Diet

Choose a diet that is strict and encourages you to eat more vegetables, more protein and more fruits but less starch and nothing processed for a specific period. That will encourages you as it will give quick results and encourages you to keep up the good work and therefore make it easy to keep eating clean and staying clear of junk food.

Make it difficult for you to have it

 I started by not having chocolate or gum at my arms rich, I only bought when I want them and only buy one at a time, it was not easy but I had to or I was going to lead an uncomfortable life of sensitive teeth that made it even difficult for me to laugh. My teeth were sensitive towards air that comes inside my mouth when I laugh or talk. before I know it I was lazy to just stand up and go to buy chewing gum as it was the one I had more challenge stopping eating it, bit by bit I stopped buying it. I only buy cinnamon chewing gum from Stimorol only if I am in a trip that is more than three hours away to my destination. why? I enjoy it but I cannot chew for long now because  my jaws get tired and when the sweetness is no more I throw it away but the cinnamon ones somehow they are sweet the longest.

I used the same strategy for the chocolate as well when I noticed that my weight was just increasing no matter what and soon found out that my pay me back method was firing back at me at a very unhealthy way. With chocolate because it comes at so many different varieties I had to ask myself which form I love the most and that will be the form I can have at least once a month or maybe once a week without feeling like I am putting my health at risk. So my favorite form of chocolate is moist gooey chocolate cake or muffin or cupcake let me say the combination of flour, sugar, butter and cocoa oh very nice. The cake must be really good or what ever combination must be really great or I will not fatten myself with some not so good dry cake and worst cheap ingredients. If the cake is not good I just taste and leave it, it's not worth it hahahaaaa... this works for me and I keep it that way.

Keep healthy snacks at hand

I try to have something healthy in my bag and it varies from season to season, now I am busy with loosing weight and then a snack that I eat or keep in my pocket is my kola nut. This thing takes away my cravings like a miracle and I like the bitterly after taste because it keeps me busy for a long time trying to get rid of the taste and it also curbs my appetite. I take this only if I feel like my cravings are everywhere, I feel like having chocolate before I know it, I feel like having chicken wings then I know this girl is about to binge! and take out my kola nut and chew vwa-lah craving gone!

                                                    Kola nut
Drink thy waters!

Since I started long time ago to start with 1 liters of water as the first thing I do when I wake up, I do not suffer from headaches anymore. Water is life to our bodies and also noticed that my choices of food changed, I think maybe is from knowing that I started by flushing my system with clean water so I cannot pollute it now for example I cannot start my day with a sweet, after drinking my water no, no, no, no at least in the afternoon not in the morning. I can say I am more aware of my body and listening to it and in general thinking for it you know and again not to go back to my old habits hey. I do not drink fizzy drinks as much as I used to I can go the whole month without even taking a sip but I still do sometimes, I've gotta "live" hahahaaaa.

Ohh I keep a food journal...

I keep a food journal when I start going back to my old ways, so is like you will pay big time you silly so start with that journal that you do not like. The moment I start the food journal also my counting calorie knowledge kicks in and start to be on healthy food track again. It's not easy to cut junk food, I need to lean on, time and again and when it feels like chaos I cry to my Helper to assist. I totally depend on God for everything I do, sometimes I start alone 'being human" and quickly remember when I just cannot do it that I am alone in this route and ask the Almighty to lead me and everything falls into place again. The weight challenge is a journey for me that I need not to travel alone because I just cannot, I just lose it when I do it alone.

I prepare meals...

As a mother I buy grocery and prepare food so most of the grocery list is more on the healthy side without boring everyone in the house and also sticking to the budget.

Limit going to restaurants or buying take away

When I go to the restaurant I make sure it's worth it and I enjoy myself so instead of saying choose your food wisely, what works for me is I choose the food that I  have been craving, that I love and enjoy the most even if is the worst dish ever. Because I felt if I am in a deprivation mode is difficult for me to wean myself from junk food but when I know is available to me only at the certain time I get the satisfaction and I can hold on until the next time and before I know it is not my go to food anymore and I do not know why it happens like that.

Do not try to do everything all at once do it step by step and start with the easiest for you, for me it was drinking water first thing in the morning and then I incorporated the other steps as I continue. I am not at my best but I am better than 6 months ago.

Homework Time with Children and Losing It

Homework time in my home used to be the most stressful time for me as a mother. You know when you are trying your best to make a grade 1 understand a lesson and is more than decades since you had your own grade 1, it is a struggle. I used to even drag going home after work, even the thought of it, when I know that the day will be even more strenuous for me emotionally more than it was at work physically.

Let me give you just a glance of what was happening in this house around about 17:45 PM the time I usually arrive during week days. I do not even have time to take my work bag to the bedroom, the moment I enter I fill up the kettle with water to start cooking, oh actually when I enter at the door all my kids come hopping to me, some calling me mama, the other one mommy and the other ma etc. The youngest in this home was around 11 months. I will hold all of them giving hugs and kisses and the last one I will hold on my hip and she will take a while before letting go of me or not at all and have to resort to putting her on my back. She is a heavy child and was around 15.0 kilograms then. If I want to see progress in this house she must be on my back, anyway now she ask for me to put her on my back as she can mutter something I can hear, what can I do, it's called mothering. After all the excitement and is sort of went down I call on my son and niece to ask them if they were given a home work and also reaching for the school bags. I know a few times where they said there was no homework and found us with that red pen gee they are still using a red pen why can't they change to green maybe, somethings just never change.

I check their books and find oh boy there again when is this going to end though...I take out the homework book and the book for writing “Lord have mercy”, I start by asking what we did yesterday they do not know a thing. I get angry and furious and cling fists and teeth and all the angry faces, while at it my 31 months old daughter is crying to be carried as well. We will do the homework and cooking but by the time we finish it we are all angry, teary and pulling faces, just a horrible time in this home. This started to bother me, “life is not supposed to be like this and it looks like I will lose my children in this process”. I like to Google things and topics but this one I did not, I was frustrated, you know when you feel like there is a lump in your chest and all you want to do is just scream, yeah that one. I remember talking to myself as I approach home and actually crying and saying “I do not want to lose my children with this homework thing please Lord help me” and something clicked in my mind that I wanted to lose weight this year 2017 and my goal was to start exercising and dieting, it was time to get rid of all the baby fat besides my girl was going to turn one soon, I cannot be calling it baby fat any more hahahaaa. I missed the point when I forgot to take care of me, to do the things that makes me happy was actually the problem in this whole scenario.

I had to reflect and ask myself where I went wrong in this whole thing and how to solve it. I realized that I forgot they are children and everything is new to them and it takes time to grasp new information. They always say a happy mommy makes a happy home, so this starts with me. I told myself that you know what tomorrow when I arrive, I will give all the hugs and kisses and I will go straight to my bedroom and change to my jogging gear. I like outdoors when I start to exercise it is so revitalizing. I did exactly that the following morning, I was on a mission, behold my child was not even clingy that day wow that was amazing. I went straight out of the door after changing, still no one is crying after me, praise be to the living God. I went for 3 kilometer run and I did that in 22 minutes baaam! I was back. When I came back that is when I asked everyone for their homework, behold I was so relaxed and definitely dripping in sweat.

I sat down with my son and niece with their homework and I told them we are doing the homework today, sitting down for a change. When they did not remember or understand something I was like do not worry you will know next time, mommy will do it with you until you understand, I was more on motivating and praising them when they get something right, or wrong for that matter. I did not force myself to do this, it just came out of me naturally while busy stretching. I found my son stressing over himself when he did not understand something and I was the one who was saying do not worry as long as we do it every day you will know it, do not be hard on yourself, this is new to you. Now I do not ask him to take out his homework most of the times, he takes it out without me asking and if he is watching his favorite television cartoons, he asks politely if he can finish watching and do the homework later. We are not 100% perfect yet, he has his days and I have mine but I am more aware of myself now and more relaxed during this time and if it happens that I just cannot cope at that time. I tell them to pack everything and have a brake and come back after fifteen minutes to finish off and by the time they come back, I have collected myself together and said my motherly affirmations to myself and at it with a bang and patience.

I hope this will help another parent who is struggling with homework time to remember that it starts with you, get yourself together and all things will fall into place when you are in a clear head space. For me it is exercising and prayer that calms me, for you it might be reading your favorite book, but just make sure you are happy for you to make a happy homework time.

Just Me Cruising: How to prevent sagging skin while losing weight:...

Just Me Cruising: How to prevent sagging skin while losing weight:

...: How to prevent sagging skin while losing weight: I have noticed that as I loose weight my skin starts to slightly get loose, this happens ...

How to prevent sagging skin while losing weight

How to prevent sagging skin while losing weight:

I have noticed that as I loose weight my skin starts to slightly get loose, this happens if I am on a yo-yo diet meaning the diet where I can not sustain it and the calories are very restricted and the deficit is way more than 500 calories. Most of the time in these diets we lose muscles more than fat and the scale go down and we celebrate that we have lost weight, three days after that 1 kilogram is gained back and so follow the other kilograms and more than double what you have lost. That is not a problem in a short term, the problem is after these diets we do not feed our muscles after the diet. The secrete is when you see you are loosing weight very fast, slow down a little bit for example you have cut all the carbohydrates then sneak in just a little bit of good carbs and ensure you add more protein to your diet this secrete works better for the ones who does not really enjoy being in the gym 6 days a week.

Secrete number two is to drink lots of water while on the diet,our bodies are made of more than 60% water so work with your body not against it. Secrete number three take gelatin, bone broth, collagen powder or agar-agar if you are vegetarian to maintain the elasticity of the skin. The skin is the biggest organ that occupies a lot of area in our bodies, I believe is a myth that when you lose weight your sagging skin is the after effects. It is not supposed to be like that, the skin can stretch and still tighten again, ask a woman who has given birth. we just need to educate ourselves on how to lose weight the balanced way and more than anything listen to our bodies.

You can find these at Dis-chem with all the description on how to prepare and take it.

Secrete number four is weight training, the bigger you are the better for your skin not to sag by using weight training and a little bit of cardio. Cardio makes our bodies to lose weight fast but does not increase our muscle mass as much as weight training does. To have toned body without sagging skin, just maintain your caloric deficit at 500, drink lots of water, do more weight training alternating with cardio, take gelatin or agar-agar to maintain the elasticity of your skin. I have just explained in simple terms what tends to be very scientific sometimes before getting straight to the point and here I just got to the point without the scientific jargon.

 It can feel like you are not doing any thing and you do not see any changes on your body, remember we can entirely depend on God, ask Him to help you in this journey and give you wisdom on how to take care of your body as the temple of the Holy Spirit. As humans we function on the spirit, soul and physical and all should be aligned together, we cannot neglect the other and only concentrate on one. The equation should balance.

Just Me Cruising: After 13 days of Metabolism Diet with a tweak.I ...

Just Me Cruising: After 13 days of Metabolism Diet with a tweak.

I ...: After 13 days of Metabolism Diet with a tweak. I did do the 13 Days Metabolism Diet for the second time and it was harder than the first ...