HEALTHY EATING, FITNESS, WEIGHT LOSS AND FITNESS CHALLENGES

Monday, April 15, 2013

Weight loss: Why do you want to loose weight?


So I have to issue a disclaimer up front! I am not a professional at this in fact, I just lost enough to get into a size 16 dress so don't think I am some skinny 'human' dishing out advice. I am a person who has a very different view of life so this enables me to see things others don't and I can give great advice too... problem is I never take those advice myself... funny right?

 Today, I would just share a bit of my journey with you. I have consciously tried to get my weight in since January 2012 I succeeded a little failed a lot and all I have achieved is dropping two dress sizes...Sigh!

There is a lot of information about weight loss out there and believe me there are some really helpful ones. I am not here to give weight loss advice but to get you to think about why you think you want to lose weight.

 For me I decided I want to lose some weight because I wanted to be a healthier version of me I want to be able to do a flight of stairs and not literally need oxygen... I kid.

 I also decided to lose weight because I wanted to just be smaller... I just was curious to see myself physically smaller, see what I would like like....

Another reason I decided to embark on the weight loss journey is to lose weight is because I want to raise my children with the healthy life style and I want to be a good example. I am perfectly secure in myself and you should be in you too...

I live my curves but at some point I started to feel like I was pushing the envelope, it was getting out of the confines of being curvy and so I decided to do something about it...

Why do you want to lose weight? Share your reasons in the comment box below...

Before I forget, a few friends and I decided to go through this week not eating any of the obvious carbohydrate foods... E.G Rice, Couscous, Eba, Amala... etc LOL we are all Nigerians so you know how important Rice is LOL.

 If you want to join in the #0carbweek feel free and let me know your experience in the comment box.

I will be posting my weight by the end of the week. Also, I will share some of the changes i have had to make with you guys and my whole journey as we go...

Good to be here I pray we make tremendous progress Amen.

Misslara

25 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. I mistakenly deleted my rather long comment on why I want to lose weight. I shall try to think up something as coherent later. :-)

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    1. I have it in my inbox and I will put it back up for u......I want to lose weight to be healthy and slimmer/smaller and wear what I like without feeling conscious that I am looking like mutton dressed as lamb. I much prefer how I look slimmer to how I look with a bit more weight on. I generally look much younger when I am slimmer. I am a size 14 borderline 16 on my bad days. I have big christian mother arms which make me self conscious(I always say it's thanks to my rivers/delta heritage from my mum's side even though my mum and my sisters who take after my mum are all skinny minnies) That's another reason why I want to lose weight I am tired of being the "elephant orobo" in my house! I am not even trying to be a size 8 or anything. If I can hit size 12 I would be very happy and content! I have a big behind which I have a love/hate relationship with. However, I have a problem with discipline and it seems I can't quite stick to any weight loss/diet plan. I invariably quit so I am hoping joining this group will help motivate me and keep me on track to being slimmer forever! :-) AMEN!

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    2. Oh wow! Thanks Madame Sting!!!

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  3. Based on my BMI, I am overweight. Anything over 150lbs is overweight for me. I gained weight right before I started med school and I have never been able to lose it since. I want to be comfortable in my skin, be healthy and physically fit. This is not just about weight loss for me but about living a healthy lifestyle.

    Diet never last and I don't think I have ever seriously been on one. I know you have to change how u eat and be active. There are many health benefits to being physically active. It is very important to remember that weight loss is 80% food and 20% exercise, so if u become a gym rat but still eat crap, you won't see results.

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  4. I love junk food....need to stop eating junk and start eating healthy foods.. want a lifestyle change..... lose weight ....and maintain that weight.... and be physically fit tooo....

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  5. I'm one of those all or nothing type of people. I'm either eating very badly and too much or too restricting/too little.I've gone from size 16 to size 2 in 4months and back to size 14 in two month (talent) I spent way too much time on the too much eating though, my love for cereal and cookies smh.
    I want to lose weight because
    1) I'm tired of being tired, I can't take two steps without being out of breath
    2) My knees hurt almost all the time
    3) I want to look better in clothes no more sucking in my tummy in pictures and wearing like 5 breast reducing contractions

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  6. I want to lose weight because i've never been slim, i'm curious to know what being a size 10 feels like. Also, because i'm getting married soon and don't want to become a big momma after kids seeing as i'm currently a 14-16. I lost weight last year and became a 12 but stopped going to the gym when i moved to my new location and poooffff, in 3 months, i weighed the heaviest i've ever been.

    I dont have the zeal for exercising as i get headaches once done.i also cannot be on a fruit diet, stay on juicing alone or without carbs. I've tried them all but never ever lasted past 12 hours.

    My favourite foods are - asaro (yam porridge), fried plantain, bread, rice and nandos chips. I hate vegetables, unripe plantain, beans without red oil, baked plantain. Lol so atleast i can identify the root cause of my problem.

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  7. I want to lose weight so I can have a better quality of life. Life is more fun when you are healthy. You get more out of life when you are physically fit and this translates into all areas of life. I want to be able to run with my friends, lovers, by myself on the beach and not be winded. I want to strong because you never know when you have to fight for your life or when your physical strength and fitness will come in handy.

    I'm working on cleaning up my diet (the way I eat). I don't believe in fad or crash diets. You can not out-exercise a bad diet. I am also working on reducing my stress. Stress is equal to weight gain. I am not trying to lose weight (in lbs or kg), I am trying to bring down my body fat percentage. I don't subscribe to using the BMI.

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  8. I want to learn to maintain a healthy lifestyle of healthy eating and exercise. If I lose weight in the process, fine. If not, I will be happy that I got more active and I am taking care of my body and what goes into it. I love this group challenge and the accountability that it is going to give.

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    1. Okeoghene, that is the spirit! Change is only lasting when your motives are not superficial. Some people lose weight for the Summer, only to gain it back in the Winter, only to start the crazy dieting again in the Spring to lose weight for the Summer. Choosing to be healthy lets you make the right decisions for your health day in day out, and all year long! All the best!

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  9. I want to lose weight so I can have my pre pregnancy body back!!! I refuse to be one of those women who get married/give birth and lose their sexiness.

    In fact I'm taking it to another level. I want at least 4 packs if not 6. I know it is very doable. But my love for food/good cake/junk food have me walking around with deposited layers of fat covering my abs.

    To be fair being fat is very easy in my family. I have watched my weight for a very long time. 3 times I have lost weight from a 14 to an 8 or 10 in the last 10 yrs. But the pregnancy brought it's own on me, in a huge way.

    What's sad is that I know what to do, but in recent times patience and discipline haven't been my friends. I look for short cut out and end up quitting.

    It's slow and steady for me. 80% cleaning up my eating habits, 20% work outs

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    1. That's the way to go ooo..Slow and steady truly wins the race. Dedication and commitment too is necessary which is why I love this challenge since we'll be accountable to one another...

      I'm also on a quest for any pack as long as that bulge disappears..

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  10. I want to lose weight because i want my pre-pregnancy body back, maybe not an extreme weight loss but my good old size 12 or even 10. And of cos I hate to the hear d remarks from clothes stores "sorry we don't have your size" or from my hairdresser...."aunty you have added o!"...absolutely rude comments..

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  11. I want to lose weight because I want to know how slim I can be. I don't know my ideal weight. The slimmest I've ever been was in JSS3, after the boobs grew out, other parts seemed to follow.

    And the comments, especially in Naija. Oh my. No one cares about being PC in this place o. Even bus conductors will laugh as you walk by and call you names. Is Orobo supposed to be a term of endearment? Because people say it and then look at you like you're supposed to smile and say thank you. I hate that word!

    I think beyond the competition, it would be great to have a 'family' urging you on, and showing you the ropes. I'm looking forward to this.

    I love food. I don't eat a lot, but I eat often. That's supposed to be good, but I haven't gotten the balance right yet. Cos, my metabolism is super, but I don't have even a 2-pack.

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  12. I love this and would love to post my stats and all. . .as soon as I figure out how to get it in the side bar. I had a question though; no rice, amala, couscous or pounded yam?!?! What is left on the menu then? I am trying to make a lifestyle change and so I still need to eat :)

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    1. Just publish a regular post with your stats. It's just the template that makes it show up on the side like that. Everyone has access so they can publish post. Let me know if you have questions about how to publish a post.

      As for cutting out carbs, the main thing is whatever you do has to be sustainable unless it will fail. You want to start small. Eliminate soft drinks, sugars, junk food. If you like rice, you can start of doing half rice, half veggies and some protein. Biggest thing is replace the carbs you took out with protein, that way you can build muscle mass.

      I eat a lot of beans. There are different types of beans and also different ways to make it. I hardly ever eat rice these days. There's a lot of fish, oatmeal, unripe plantain (which is a carb), mixed veggies (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower) in my diet. You just have to start small.

      If you are going to eat a carb heavy meal, the earlier in the day you eat it, the better. I know someone who does half garri, half ground flax seed, to make eba. I also made quinoa which is a high protein grain for the first time this past weekend.

      Long story short, it's small steps. Don't eliminate everything all at once unless it won't work (you won't be able to sustain the change). Always look for substitutes that are high in protein.

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    2. Oh, I see I am on the right track then.

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    3. So, I noticed I am only able to comment but not publish a new post. . .

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    4. Did you send me your email address to be invited as an author to the blog? If you did, then check ur email or spam folder as I sent an invite out to everyone who gave me their email. If you didn't, then leave ur email here and I will add u.

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    5. Forgive me, the fat must be affecting my brain I actually spent hours trying to figure it out. My email is abolajihafsat@yahoo.com :)

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    6. Done. Check ur email and accept the invitation.

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  13. I have always had to contend with a roundish tummy. After two kids, the belly just never went down. Suddenly I have become the woman who everybody keeps asking when the baby is due because I look very pregnant. Needless to say the last child was almost four years ago.

    Funny enough, I lost the pregnancy weight after each child but gained even more about the three month mark. I was about 175lb when baby number two was about three months (my delivery weight was 197 with him) and have steadily gained almost 60lb since them.

    Of course I can blame it on stress, work, school, kids, birth control, America and a host of other things. I do not think I have a problem with eating because I really do not eat much especially when I have to cook. Now the snacks are my downfall, cos when I am tired, stressed, hungry, happy, heck sometimes for no reason; I must have fresh baked crunchy cookies, a kitkat or mars bar, or vanilla ice cream. I love cake, not just any cake I bake those rich fluffy dense moist yellow cakes we enjoy in naija (aka occasional cakes).

    I am fortunate not o have any real health issues save for achy tingling feet and hands which my Doctor assured me was nothing but I knew was the weight so I dropped 20lbs in 2012 and of course the symptoms went away. Another was tinnitus, I can actually hear my own carotid pulse swooshing, of course its no medical emergency but being the health nut that I am its a precursor to the many problems of the obese. I think my greatest wake up call was a broken arm. I was standing on a side table which should not have broken if I was not so heavy, and tried to beak my fall with my arm which cracked under the weight of my body. The cast came off a week ago today and I think its time to find another stress relief method.

    Now, I do not believe in BMI like many African women because I have curves to contend with. I just want to be 132lbs which is not the lowest I've weighed however, when I weighed less I looked sickly. When I weighed 132lbs ( from about 21-23 and again around 25 through 28 years of age) men and women were falling all over me with favors and compliments. Everything I wore looked cute and I think that was part of why I was in denial when i started adding on the weight. I would literally dress down and flash my wedding ring to get less attention. I truly believe our metabolism slows down in our thirties because I eat much less than I used to; or maybe I've kept the weight on too long. I truly miss all the attention and desperately need to get my sexy back.

    So, here I am trying to lose all 100lbs and I have a reward fund set aside for a tummy tuck as motivation for when I drop the first 50lbs (heck, the stomach alone weighs 20lbs by itself).

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