New Year, Same Resolutions.

Another year has ended and I must say that it was a good one. Yes, I didn't get fatter. I focused on my self confidence and exercising habits. I have a lot of hope that 2012 will be a great one as far as my weight loss efforts are concerned. Even though we say the same things year in, year out, here are my goals for the coming year.

1. Drink more water
2. Drink more green tea
3. Eat more fruits and vegetables
4. Exercise at least five times a week
5. Try as much as possible to avoid processed juices.
6. Lose at least 25kg by the end of the year.

Well, simple yet difficult,  if you know what I mean. However, like my trainer always says: No pain, No Gain.

A Happy New Year to you all.

Losing Inches...

Yesterday my trainer took measurements and guess what? I've lost two inches on almost every part of my body. Hips, arms, calves, waist. I'm so excited and I plan to keep it that way. Won't get carried away this Christmas. :-)

Merry Christmas to everyone. Chill but don't freeze. :-)

Slow But Sure Progress...

So, as I was adding new photos to my album last night, I came across across a few pictures from the past two years. Though my progress has been very slow, I still am very proud of the fact that I keep moving forward. Thank goodness for that.

The last picture was taken on Thursday. Was really tired and it was only 2pm. lol! Notice any changes?

I await your thoughts.

Non Scale Victory!

Ok! This one is going to be really short. Three great things happened today.

1. My trainer said I was shrinking. Yayy!
2. A friend I haven't seen in months saw me and the first thing he said was "Enyonam, you have lost weight" Double Yayy!
3. A colleague who never compliments anyone actually called me "HOT". Dayum! That definitly calls for a YAYYYYYY!

I love the fact that the hard work is paying off. I was worried when my weight didn't seem to move. Guess I'm gaining muscle now. :-)

C25K Update.

I can't believe that I haven't blogged in a while. Finished Week Three of the C25K program last week with so much ease. I was surprised since work has been really hectic these last few weeks and I am usually exhausted by 5pm. Guess, my endurance levels are increasing, right?

So, Week Four begins today and I am actually looking forward to the three and five minute runs. It's strange but the gym has become a part of who I am. I get there with my Ipod and once I get onto the treadmill to begin my run it seems like the rest of the world is non-existent. lol! If only I could watch my diet with such fervour, the pounds would drop much faster. lol! Maybe I should start a food journal, again!

Wish me luck on the C25K thingy. Cheers.

C25K + Week Two = Complete!

Is that even an equation? lol! I'm just so excited that I was able to complete the last 90sec run. The feeling of accomplishment set in as soon the voice on the podcast said I had finished the run for the day. Thank God! I was so excited that i continued brisk walking for an additional 40minutes. how bout that?

Anyways, I'm looking forward to Week Three. Wonder what i should be looking forward to. :-)

Update and Gym Switch...

I know I haven't blogged in weeks. Work and life stress are my excuses. lol! Anyways, not much has happened since I last blogged. I kinda gained a few pounds back but i'm working on that.

On the gym front, I'm planning on changing gyms. The one I go to is just beginning to put a dent in my weight loss efforts. Not only do their treadmills keep going off when you are on them, their cycles and steppers are just awful. The trainers are cool but I guess that's what you get for paying $19 per month.

So, the new gym I plan on training at costs a whole lot more but their facilities are ... amazing! They even spinning classes, zumba and yoga classes; all the things I've been longing to do to vary my workouts. It's gonna cost me $310 for a three-month membership but, after my tour around the place I would say it's totally worth it. Guess, I'm gonna be visiting there twice a day, five times a week. lol!

Finally.... Onederland!!!!

After working out real hard I finally got what I have been struggling for. I stepped on the scale this morning and weighed in 194.8lbs. Talk about goals. I've hit my second goal and I'm 2.8lbs away from my third goal. I'm so happy.... Yayyy!

I Love My Gym!

So, I started exercising at a new gym on Saturday. The experience was totally awesome! It's not often that you find trainers paying attention to you and giving you tasks that suit your needs and weight. After weighing in I was asked to do 30 minutes on the treadmill. After which I did 15 minutes on the elliptical and 45minutes with different weight exercises. I still feel sore but guess what! I love the fact that I feel that way since it means one thing, my muscles were being worked.

Anyway, woke up today and weighed in at 202.6lbs. I have 16 days to reach onederland and with the recent exercise regime, I think I will get there. Can't wait to get to the gym this evening and burn those calories. :-)

Moving Forward!

This week I decided to start all over with the weight loss thing. The goal is to exercise for at least 30 minutes each day and eat right. So far everything seems to be going well. I've exercised consistently for three days. Hopefully, this will continue till the end of the month.

This morning I weighed in at 92.1kg... as opposed to 92.8kg on Monday. This means I've lost a pound already! I'm sure that I will be reaching onederland by the end of this month. All I need to do is lose four more pounds.

Wish me luck...

A Better Beginning.

Last week was a very emotional one for me. I was criticised about my weight so many times. In the end I decided to be alone for a while and figure out this weight loss thing on my own - without external interferences.

So, I weighed in at 92.8kg this morning. This is like a new start since I started a new jumprope routine today. This will include 3000 jumps a day (1500 morning, 1500 evening) and a really healthy diet consisting mostly of fruits and vegetables.

People forget that it's not easy to take that step to losing weight. They just find it so easy to make you feel bad because you are fat. I've had enough and I'm gonna show them all...

To a new and better beginning folks.

Have a great day!

M.I.A...

I know I've been away for too long. Forgive me. Work has been crazily hectic and my internet connection has been giving me problems. Unfortunately, I hate typing blog posts on my Nokia C3. 

Back to business. Woke up this morning and weighed in at 91.8kg. No loss. I'm not surprised though since my eating patterns have not been the best lately (junk food, diet soda, late night eating, etc) But I did try to exercise three times a week. Thank God for my treadmill, else it would have been no exercise at all.

Last week I made enquiries at a gym in the area. Turns out their three month standard fee is almost 1/2 of what I get paid in a month... Too expensive but, maybe that's what I need to push me out of this rut. Onederland is so close and it hurts to see the land of "Canaan" if you know what I mean.

Before And Now!

So, I was looking at a few pictures and I came across one the one picture that made me realise that I was obese. Sigh!

This was how I looked at 242 pounds. Gosh! I hated it!

               
                   Now, this was taken last week. It may not be a great difference but I'm feeling good.

This is me at 202.6 pounds. Yes..  I can't wait to hit Onederland!!

The Reward!

I woke up yesterday morning feeling really good. I had done six days of detoxification and was gonna rest my body and eat whatever I wanted. As I stepped on the scale I could feel my heart thumping in my chest. I took a deep breath and looked down at the numbers.... 91.8kg.

OMG! I finally hit my first goal which was 92kg. Finally! I could feel the sense of achievement. And I didn’t waste time with the reward. I went to the salon and had my nails done. They look fantastic. Will be getting the shoes later. J

                                                                                                         

Detox Day 3 & 4...

Detox Days 3 & 4

So, I’ve been quite busy lately with work but, since I promised to give you updates on the detox thing, I just had to post.

Days 3 and 4 weren’t so bad. It was just fruits and vegetables throughout. But I did enjoy some skimmed milk yesterday since the body needs the calcium among other mineral nutrients.

So today is Day 5 and I’m allowed to take a bit of beef. I can’t wait to enjoy my dinner of beef and vegetables. Will probably show you guys a picture.. J

Oh! And did I forget to say that I’m almost at my first weight loss goal. I can see it... So close...

Do We Really Need All That Food? Detox- Day 3...

So, yesterday was a very busy day for moi. I didn't even have time to eat. All I ended up taking were oranges, an apple and some vegetables with one boiled potato for dinner.

Going on this detox made me realise how much junk we put in our bodies in the name of hunger. If one can survive on vegetables and fruits, why do we go for the pizzas, ice cream and other junk foods that do us more harm than good. I made a resolve this morning after being able to go for three days without all these things. After this detox, I'm definitely watching every single thing that goes into my buccal cavity.

I feel so fresh and light.... Detoxing once in a while is good!

Detox- Day 2...

Ok, so Day 2 was much easier than I expected. Only felt hungry after 4pm. Thank God the diet allows a baked potato with butter at dinner. I decided to boil my potato, dice and stir-fry with vegetables in olive oil and, Mmmm.... it was delicious and filling too.

So, I woke up this morning feeling proud of myself. I had done two days without cheating. Hopefully, today will be the third day of fruits and vegetables. A colourful fruit salad for lunch and a very colourful vegetable salad for dinner won’t be bad at all. J

I can’t wait to feel totally great after 7 days of cleansing. Cheers.

Detox!!

Tis been a while, right? Anyways I haven't had much to blog about since I have been dancing around the same weight for a while now. No one likes to talk about their failures, or?

Back to business now. Last week a friend and I were discussing our weight loss journeys when we both decided to embark on a 7 day detox using the fat burning soup diet. It allows you to take lots of fruits and vegetables with the soup for the first 4 days, then, you start introducing the meats, brown rice and other foods from the 4th day.

I started yesterday and surprisingly, I didn't feel hungry even though all I took were two mangoes, an apple, a cup of green tea and half a glass of cranberry juice. Day one was a breeze and hopefully day two will be the same.

Will give you an update on my progress. Cheers.

Getting Serious & An Interview WIth Moi!

There's no way I'm gonna start this post without first saying a big Thank You to Tim of Fat.Boy.Thin  for asking me to do an interview. I enjoyed sharing my thoughts and experiences with others. For those of you who don't know Tim, you can check out his blog.

So, I woke up this morning and felt like embarking on a more serious regimen to shock my body into losing weight. The problem: I can't seem to think of suitable exercises. Any ideas? Yesterday I was reading blogs and I kept seeing the c25k program so I checked it out. I'm just worried about the running part but I see it's a gradual process so maybe I will give it a try.

I haven't posted any weigh-ins cus it seems I've hit a plateau but, it's gonna be broken asap. Oh yeah... I've got to get into those size 14 jeans by August. :-)

Why I Exercise At Home...

I have never been a fan of the gym. Never. The thought of being stared at by slimmer people kinda freaked me out. And when I decided to finally go to a gym, the instructor had me doing 2000 jumps on my first day. The result... a visit to the cardiologist.

Then, I decided to go for brisk walks in the evenings. I wasn't spared by the area guys... The catcalls and being called names such as obolo, heavy duty, fatty were my portion. Gosh! I couldn't even drown their shouts with my earphones. I was miserable till I discovered that I could do exercises at home and lose weight. Yes, I didn't have to worry about being laughed at.  I could do my situps, crunches, lateral raises etc. I could mess up, start all over and not feel bad about myself.

Last night I did 5 minutes on the treadmill + 1000 jumps of the jumprope and felt so good afterwards... Besides, it will be fun to see the look of surprise on the faces when they see me move from a size 16 to a 10. :-)

It's My Birthday!

Happy birthday to me! It's funny how time flies. I started this weight loss journey two months after my birthday in 2009. Ok, so I wasn't able to lose any weight in the last month but I didn't gain any either.  I am proud of myself though because I've lost 16kg (35 pounds) so far and that is something to me.

Anyways, I'm back to my rigorous routine. Watch me do my thang and become the next JHud. :-)

I Got This.....

When I fall I won't drop
Something in me won't let me stop until I reach the top
I keep going
I keep showing
The whole world everyday i'm growing
Everything everything everything everything everything in me
Says I got this....

This are lyrics from the song I Got This featured on Jennifer Hudson's new album "I Remember Me". After listening to the whole song i found myself relating to the lyrics. Many people still don't believe I can reach my goal weight. Some look at me and say "U are supposed to be fat... or, u won't look beautiful if you lose weight" What? That's support for u. I can tell that only five people support my weight loss and these include my parents, boyfriend and a very good friend of mine.

So, when JHud goes like "Ain't no stopping me" I sure can relate... I must say that i'm grateful to have support from u fellow bloggers. I would have had to keep these things to myself and ended up being depressed. You guys know I got this. :-)

Love you all...

Its Been So Long....

I haven't posted anything in weeks but not to worry. I'm still alive. Work and my thesis have made it impossible for me to think about anything else. Thankfully, I've been able to maintain my weight at 94.2kg. It's been too long but I guess I'm closer to reaching my first goal.

Hopefully, I will be 92kg by my birthday which is in 2 weeks. That is if I try to exercise.... God help me...

94.7. I'm Not Surprised...

The past two weeks have been hell for me. Had a nasty bout of the flu. Imagine how embarrased I was when I had to carry a box of tissues in my bag to the launch of a new product. I know what you are thinking... But in Ghana, the flu is not a good excuse to skip such an important event.

Tried to exercise twice but the sneezing and coughing just kept interrupting my walk. In the end my Dad had to plead that I stop stressing and body and let my energy be used in curing my cold. So, my weight has fluctuated all week. It's been moving from 94.1 to 94.7. Today it is 94.7. Hopefully when I continue my workout sessions, we'll be in the 93 zone.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend. Tata..

94.9. So Far So Good....

Wow! 1.6kg in a week. I'm feeling so good right now. Not because I lost that amount of weight but because I was able to go without rice for 5 days. Remember I  mentioned in my last two posts that I was advised to give the South Beach Diet a shot? Well, I kinda tried it and it's not easy going on such a diet in my country.

The thing is, most of our staples are found in the high carbs category. Rice, Yams, Cassava, Maize.... the list goes on and on. So the challenge is to get creative when preparing meals in order to relieve boredom for the first two weeks of the program. I've been creating interesting meals with eggs, lean meats such as chicken, various vegetables and legumes such as beans.

Anyway, I tried to exercise for at least 30 minutes each day and I missed only a day of exercise because of the pain in my left foot (Apparently I hadn't been placing my foot on the clutch well; I'm a driving newbie :-).

Oh my, I can't wait to reach my first goal for the year. 2.3kg gone, 2.9kg to go to 92kg. My nails really need the reward. :-)

96.5kg. Lost 1.5 Pounds!

That's great news to me. Since I couldn't exercise yesterday as a result of a sprained ankle. Hopefully the scale will read 95.5kg or less next week. :-) Anyways I haven't started the South Beach Induction Phase yet. Has anyone tried it? Any tips or comments on the diet?

Anyways, I realised that my face looks a little slimmer today. My Dad too seems to see some amount of toning on my thighs (i wear shirts only at home). At least the treadmill is doing something right.

South Beach Diet.

I finally realised from my food diary that I was consuming too much bread and rice; and they are both high in calories. I just hope I get some good results when I weigh in tomorrow.

Anyways, a friend of mine who happens to be a dietitian suggested that I go on the Induction phase of the South Beach Diet just to lose a few pounds and curb my cravings for rice and bread. I'm addicted to rice especially so I know the first days are probably gonna be tough but, where there's a will, there's a w

Aargghh! PMS is here again. The trials of womanhood, aye? LOL!

A New Start...

It's usually not easy to keep up with diet and exercise when you are in the world of Advertising. The late nights and junk food at meetings always catch you unawares. God knows that I tried to exercise at least 4 times in a week but, it just wasn't enough.

I stepped on the scale this morning and saw that I was 97.2kg. I was sad and disappointed in myself. What example was I setting for those who were inspired by my determination and hard work?

Thus, I decided to start afresh. No previous losses. Hence the change in the weight loss ticker. I'm starting at 97.2 and changing my goals as well. For every 5kg loss I will reward myself with something. 10kg was a long stretch for a mini goal.

Since there is a microwave oven at the office, I will also pack and refrigerate my meals at night. I realised that eating out = more calories so, meals away from home is left for special occasions. The exercise part is good but I am aiming for 250minutes of exercise every week. Hope I have not disappointed you guys too much.

It's a new dawn, a new day and, a new start for me...

96.6?

What is going on? I know I haven't eaten the right foods since I didn't have the time to prepare packed lunches like before. I have tried though to exercise for at least 30 minutes each day (with the exception of Monday and Tuesday). So how the hell did this happen?

I'm soo not amused about this but well... all I can do is work harder and eat better.

Update On Jump Rope Challenge...

Phew... Just finished jumping rope. My calves were begging for mercy by the time I had finished these evening's set. Wow! 3000 jumps in one day! I just hope I don't cry tomorrow morning.

3000 down, 12000 to go. :-)

Jump Rope Challenge!

Shit!! Sorry, but that was all I could say when the scale's battery decided to go off this morning. The result: I couldn't check my weight. Aaargghhh! I hate it when that happens.

Anyways, I started jumping rope again and realised that 1000 jumps were not as hard as it used to be. I therefore decided to challenge myself a bit and hopefully, break this sudden slow weight loss pattern.

The Challenge: Do 3000 jumps 5 days this week

It sounds crazy but, I plan to split the sessions. And, I promise to update you on how each day's session went.

Are there any workout challenges that you may want to attempt? Share please... :-)

Two Are Better Than One!

After putting off jumping rope because the sports bra didn't seem to support the twins adequately, it finally hit me this morning when I realised that I didn't want to walk on the treadmill. Two sports bras!

I tried it and had a quick and fun filled jumping experience. 1000 jumps was a breeze and I intend to do the remaining this evening... I can't wait :-).

I hope to see some weight loss by the end of next week. I didn't do so good with exercising since my knees were affected by the bad weather (Dunno why). Hopefully jumping rope will solve that problem for me.

It's a new day and I'm feeling good...

I Grabbed The Peacock!!!

Just came across the Hate-Loss Challenge on fatgirlwearingthin's blog and decided to join. I always say to people.. "I'm hot and sexy" or "I'm beautiful" but, there are days when I wake up feeling fat and unattractive.

However, after losing more than 30 pounds since I embarked on this journey, I think I deserve to praise myself on a daily basis as I strive harder to achieve my goal of losing 50 pounds this year.

I'm a smart and beautiful thick mama!!!

95.1..... Happy New Year!!

Imagine my delight when I weighed myself on New Year's Day and found that I had gained less than a kilo. Yes, I was happy because I had done bad things over the holidays... The ice cream, spring rolls, bread etc.. I had them all in moderation of course.. But, I wasn't exercising on a regular basis though.

Now, it's a new year and the ball is already in motion to achieve the goals I put in the previous post. This year is a year of action and I plan on getting my pedicure by the end of next month.....

Cheers...