Chez FitMercy

On the 3rd of November 2015, I woke up as usual doing my daily routine of house chores. I did not eat because I intended engaging in a fast that day. I got to work early and around 9am I was summoned by my boss, as I entered the office, a dizzy feeling came upon me and I had to lean on the nearest object so I don't fall. I went back to my office and I attributed that to an empty stomach. I took two glasses of water then ate breakfast and I was fine. I went about my daily business and the second day Wednesday 4th, I experienced the same thing. I took permission from DH and I closed from work to rest at home but this time the whirling did not stop. On the morning of Thursday 5th, I could not turn my head without whirling (of course it was later I realized it was in my head), I took an excuse from work and I had to visit a laboratory to do some necessary tests to be sure I was fine and every result came out with good numbers i.e. blood count, blood pressure, sugar fasting and eve

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

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,

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Stuff (not all) I will love to achieve in the number of my days: 1. Live in Australia 2. Reach goal weight of 145lbs this year (2016) and maintain it for 52 weeks 3. Travel by flight within my country 4. Stay for at least 3 nights in an International Five Star Hotel with DH 5. Go to the CNN Broadcasting Station in the UK 6. Meet and take a selfie with 3 of my CNN journalist crush (Christiane Amanpour, Hala Gorani and Becky Anderson) 7. Sponsor and maybe follow my Mommy on an Holy Pilgrimage to Israel 8. Build a home with any choice kitchen design inspired by Houzz 9. Become a Chartered Secretary 10. A fresh degree. 11. Learn French and Spanish to a communicative level 12. Birth 3 kids and witness their weddings and nurse the grandkids 13. Get this blog to at least 1,000 views per day 14. Join a dance group and become a dancer (it's a side passion) What is included in your list?

I had a Fitbit activity tracker two years ago and it got lost never to be found again. I got a new tracker but not a Fitbit this time, it is called I5 Smart Bracelet . I realized there are hundreds of such activity trackers with no popular brand names that are out now for our use. I ordered my own tracker from AliExpress at a cheap rate of about $20 (N6,000.00) approximately. When it arrived in the mail, I sincerely did not know what to expect considering the cheapness of the product, I was preparing my mind for the worst ranging from a hyper-counting of my steps, to a faulty band, low battery etc. But with over two weeks of consistent use, I had really been surprised and impressed. Surprises : 1. Not different from the Fitbit I had 2 years back 2. Steps counting are almost near accurate (fitbit was not exact either) 3. It was not ambiguous 4. Battery life is quite reasonable (chargeable) 5. The color was just perfect for my skin. 6. There is a buzz feature t

I saw it, I prepared it, I took it and I loved it . I always wanted something new in my recipes. This weekend I decided to try a drink I had always seen on online, after a long search I realized it is call "infused water" and there is also a special bottle for it although "mason jars" are more in use, for me, I am using a water bottle for a start till I lay my hands on other containers meant for that purpose. The drink gets better with the days, you can drink the water and refill without throwing the fruits or veggies out. My Recipe : Ingredients 1 small orange (cut into small parts to enter the bottle, with or w/o the rinds, I prefer without) 3 leaves of basil or mint leaves (I did not shred, I tore each leaf for easy juice extraction)  (Carrots, watermelon, cucumber, and other freggies as you would love it) Preparation : - Put all your ingredients in the water bottle - Fill with water - Close the bottle and leave in the refrigerator for 4 hours or l

Yesterday Wednesday, was my Challenge weigh in day (Mondays are my official weigh in day) and as I stood on the scale and the number 170.4lbs (77.4kg) was staring at me, I was rather unhappy and wondered what went wrong between Monday (167.4lbs) and Wednesday. 5 things happened: 1. New workout plan started on Monday 2. White Bread on Monday diet 3. Fried Plantains (4 slices) on Tuesday 4. Reduced steps on my tracker for Tuesday 5. Post TOM week Some of the above could have been responsible for a 3lbs gain in three days. I was sad because of this but I did not allow it to dampen my morale to stop moving forward. Irrespective of what happens on your weight loss journey especially when it is negative e.g. a binge week, a gain or a workout rut, you have to tell your mind that there is another opportunity to be the best. Do not over-flog the issue and be in despair, just brace up and know that you can do it. It's within this ups and downs that lies your success, o

The first month tagged #ProjectScaleDown was a huge success, save three days within the 31 days when I was down with flu I worked out every single day and I had a 4.2lbs loss to show for it, if I lost 4.2lbs consistently for 12 months I would be 50.4lbs less by December and trust me that is way beyond my weight goal of 145lbs.  I followed all the instructions as I spelled them out in my first blog this year and I am reaping it's benefits because the scale is going down. This is February, the month of love and I will love to give some love to this body. No stress, just some walking comfort for my body. I am intending to walk this month, 6 days in a week till I can attain 10,000 steps per day i.e. 5 miles approximately. I have my calendar designed and ready to be executed just like I did in January .  I have concluded tagging this year's challenges as #ProjectScaleDown , this is the hashtag you will follow on twitter and then the mini hashtag defines the month.

Here are mine for 2016 - Wake up by 5a.m. daily for devotion and then exercise. - Workout for at least 10 minutes every morning - Workout for at least 10 intentional fitness minutes throughout January.( I did not meet this goal, I had flu and was down for 3 days ) - Eat healthy (more whole grains, limit processed foods, drink more water) - Build a saving culture (20% of my monthly earnings) - Reward myself whenever I meet a fitness goal ( An activity tracker on 1/28/2016 ) - Exercise at least 6x a week - Intermittent Fasting on two days of the week (Wednesday & Friday), Leangains 2 days a week (Tuesday & Thursday) Note: I will be adding more as the days goes by and of course auditing myself monthly. Today is day 15 of my fitness streak and I have exercised for every single day in January so far, I have also lost 2.6lbs.  January 4 - 172.2lbs January 11 - 171.6lbs (I unofficially weigh in today at 169.6lbs i.e. a 2.6lbs loss) Other Goals with Da

One of my little secrets is that I hate going down when exercising, I mean any type of exercise that will make me either be on my back, bend my knees so much, sit down etc. If you ask me I dislike exercises such as lunges, squats, lying bench press etc. Find below some wonderful workouts you can do while standing and still break a sweat. Core : Upper Body : Thighs : I love Shaun T so much when it comes to working out without getting down. I can fully recommend this video (Hip Hops Abs) for a crunchless exercise. STAND UP AND JUST DO IT

I saw this header somewhere   and I felt it is a better word than New Year's Resolutions . Resolutions look so outdated and sounds more like a failed plan even before it began. When I was much younger, I had always heard adults make resolutions that I see them break at the slightest chance. They could work but it looks like many forget about it and that is why it never worked for many. Maybe we can help ourselves out on ways to have better intentions or decisions and keep at it till we achieve them. Mindfulness   Mind Over Matter : This is the key to achieving goals at any time, it is a strong and conscious desire to be on top of the situations at every check. You can get it if you want it so badly. Losing weight or quitting an unhealthy diet for example, nothing should occur in error. There is a dire need to be fully conscious of your environment at all times to really achieve your goals. You can make some decisions that could help in putting these goals right befor

Intermittent Fasting (called IF) is a pattern of eating where you time your eating. There is a deep study by various people on this (Read on  here ...) and I have tried some of these including:- 16:8 Fasting You fast for 16 hours and limit your eating within an eight hour window. I was doing this day in day out early 2015. My breakfast was coming in by 3pm every day and I lost weight and my blood work became almost perfect. I think I got discouraged along the line when some "concerned folks" started complaining that I am doing "too much". I regret ever listening to them now, not sure they were God sent. 24 hours Fasting . This is when you don't consume any calorie for 24 hours straight, I normally fast breakfast to breakfast i.e. 7am today till 7am tomorrow. I did this as a "collabo" (together) with the 16:8 and I think this was what made my weight loss so drastic and noticeable. I did this early last year and I had a surprise

The above is a tweak of January workout plan (I did this with a combo of Greatist's "just do something") and also my New Year's Resolution. I am starting on this project of 30 days and one of the major guidelines is to make an appointment of at least 10 minutes of exercise everyday. With the above plan, I am mandated to do just the first 10 minutes, any extra minute is bonus. A. Equipment (Anything that can be used to exercise within your reach) I have these: 1. I have 313 workout videos (low impact, high impact, flexiblity) 2. A stability ball 3. Set of Resistance Bands 4. Set of dumbbells (5lbs, 4kg, and 3lbs) 5. A yoga mat 6. A hand crafted 30lbs barbell (I am sure you don't want to see it but it does the job) 7. Other accessories like sport bra, jeggings, leggings, sport wears. 8. Consistency, consistency, consistency. 9. Lastly me, myself and I. 10. Mind over matter B. At least 10 consecutive minutes out of 24 hours daily fo