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Showing posts from March, 2016

Secret to Flat Abs

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I have experimented it severally and that is why I am here. I love the mantra that says " abs are not made in the gym, they are made in the kitchen ", and on your plate. Let us start from the anatomy of abs and then move on to what happens to either create the 'bulge' or the 'packs' we get at a time or the other. The abdominal is made up of different muscles on the front, side and middle of the abdominal area. When we think of the abs, most of us are focused on the flat muscle that travels down the front of the belly, from just below the chest to the pelvic area. This muscle, called the rectus abdominis , is often called the " six-pack ," because there are three tendinous creases there that separate the muscle, giving it that washboard look. The rectus abdominis is responsible for spine flexion , which involves bringing the shoulders toward the hips, as in a crunch, and is involved in most abdominal exercises like crunches. Which

Week 4 Weigh in: 170.2lbs

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I had an 0.4lbs weight gain between last week and today. I am not surprised because " it's not possible to keep doing the same things and expecting different results ". All my plans to take my workout up a notch last week was forfeited by some factors beyond my control, "weather" (over 37 degrees celcius and over 27 at night). I hate making excuses but I seemed to be very helpless at this point, the scotching sun during the day and the humidity at night is quite overbearing. According to a previous plan , I intended utilizing the mornings but they are as equally humid as the nights too. The effects of all these is low morale and total body debility and I don't feel encouraged to do anything. It looks to me that my mind is not working neither is my body. I am presently on intermittent fasting and I am consistent with it, but I also think I eat too much while breaking the fast and it is really jeopardizing my efforts of the fasted periods. I h

Week 3 Weigh in: 169.8lbs

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It's another weigh in today and I am happy with the results - 169.8lbs. I overate over the weekend but IF helped me and here I am back to my pre-TOM weight and a little more. I usually mindfully measure my body before climbing the scale, what I means is this, there is a feel of lightness and when I weigh in I find that the scale is down and the same happens when the scale will go up. This is an indication that I am in charge on this matter, nobody will do this for me. I need just a little discipline and I will surely get it right and anybody can too. Last year , I was down to 162.8lbs, I could almost not believe my eyes that day but it was there and I am making a determination today (3/23/2016) that nothing will stop me again till I get back to this number between now and the 13th of April, 2016. Some things worked last year and it will work again, I was under some discipline last year and it worked. Here they are: Bread is a bane to my weight loss success and therefore,

Women and Water Weight

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On a monthly basis, for every fertile pre-menopausal woman, there is an Aunt Flow (sorry TMI). Personally, the flow bugs me less unlike the extra baggage that comes with it consistently, I refer to the "water weight" or bloating that accompanies TOM. I feel really discouraged seeing my weigh ins going back and forth, up and around the same numbers. It can be as bad as over 3lbs (1.5kg) during this period, I know that I will loose the so called "water weight" the following week but I really wish to be out of this jingling over the same weight range for months. It is a fact that right now I am in a plateau of some sort but the spike during periods gets to me a lot and I could start bingeing if care is not taken and some mental exercise done to curb it.  I also realized that a few days before TOM, the morale to exercise and energy levels are so low and the week after TOM brings on some unexplained hunger that keeps me eating without caution. google

Running Plan

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When I first started my journey to weight-loss in 2010, one of the easiest exercises for me was running. I loved the environment way back when the morning breeze will blow on my face as I was doing the 5k training. No gadgets to measure my pace, heart rate or speed, I just ran. I did high speed, easy pace and some walking till I am done for 30 minutes every other morning. I was also not alone because I met guys who love to run too. Fast forward to 2012 and we moved to another place where running was almost impossible (not safe enough). I had to register in a gym very close to the office and my passion for running continued and I even became the leader of a running group on sparkpeople, yay. 2014 I was posted to another department that made going to the gym practically impossible, I tried to adjust my schedules but it looks like every adjustment tightens the space harder. Since last month I have been following a blog Katie Froster's  runsforcookies which sparked running

Week 2 Weigh in: 170lbs (TOM and other issues)

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It is going to be a quick post today because less had happened other than lots of clutter and disorganization, ish. Today is another weigh in and I can say I did not do badly with a gain of a pound from last week. TOM is here and I normally have a 3lbs gain for other months. To be candid, I hate making excuses but not when life keeps getting in my way. I have issues with people who are disorganized and they keep assuming that is the way every other person around them is. I became a little organized after reading Eat That Frog! (21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time) . The book is about handling your stuff in the order of importance, the "frog" is actually the activity that is hardest for you and shouldn't be delegated or delayed for another time, this is marked "A", a "B" is what is second most important but that is not so vital but equally necessary. A "C" is an activity that can be delegated or shif

Week 1 Weigh In: 169lbs

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Today is week 1 since I decided to stop the monthly challenges and tweaked to weekly plans . That is rather doable for me and I think I am reaping the dividends of the change coupled with intermittent fasting (Church matters).  My scale had been misbehaving for a while now so I decided to weigh my 10lbs dumbbells this morning before weighing myself, it showed 9.8lbs so I concluded I will be removing 0.2lbs from every of my weigh in pending when I will reward myself with a new scale. I eventually weighed in at 169.2lbs and that automatically gives me a 169lbs for Wednesday Weigh in. That truly made me happy because I was tired of seeing 170 something every time for the past few weeks now. I was both surprised too because while breaking my fast last night, I ate everything in site including BREAD (my weakness). I was doing this because today was going to be a full day fast no tasting, no water too till breaking period.  Food is on point because there is no way I would over

Routine

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It's no news that I get bored easily. I think I dislike too long  routine and when I hear people say "I eat the same breakfast each day of the week or I had been doing this everyday for 5 years" I am baffled and wondered how they ever cope. Anything that is around for too long bore me out except the DH and surfing the internet, lol. Don't get me wrong, I have routine that I had been doing for more than 7 years like going to work daily, brushing my teeth every morning, being in church at particular time and days of the week, what I hate is monotony. I love me some spice in everything. Way Out (if you are like me) 1. Know yourself and determine what works for you 2. Experiment with your own body (you are always the lab rat in this science of weight loss) 3. There is no one-size-fits-all 4. There are lots of gibberish when it comes to physical fitness and healthy eating  5. Familiarize yourself with your body so that you can bust myths and establish facts 6.

Chicken Roast

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I always dreamed about it and now I have done it. Chicken Roast Recipe 1 dressed chicken 1 Tsp Curry Powder 1 Tsp Thyme 5-8 pieces of dry Basil leaves 1 tbs cayenne pepper (powder) 1 stock cube Salt to taste Directions 1. Mix all the spices in a bowl 2. Rinse the chicken and pat both in and out dry 3. Rub the spice on the chicken and some to go under the skin. Let the spice go round. 4. You can stuff with cooked rice or half boiled potatoes. 5. Tie the legs together and put in the pre-heated oven. Reduce the heat after 20 minutes and cook till done on a low heat. 6. Check the thighs, when it's done leave for 10 more minutes. 7. It is ready to be explored, lol. Here's mine