Chez FitMercy

Good day good readers. Is it not awesome that I am still in this weigh in and healthy lifestyle blogging? I am so proud of myself this morning and my Wednesday weigh in and blogging about it had not faltered for a moment.  Consistency is a key to success, keep moving even when sometimes you take some wrong turns [of course its because you are conscious is the reason you even know you have taken a wrong turn], keep moving by turning back into the right direction. Do not stand there kicking or blaming yourself for the wrong turn and not doing anything about it. Today we want to understand more about success and how you need to get yourself ready for it. Last post dwelt on what our plans, goals and resolutions are in 2017 [I believe you have written them down], now we are to be optimistic and enter into the level of imagination on what our successes will be like this year. What successes are you looking forward to? 1. From 1lbs - 500lbs loss 2. A toned/rip...

Stress is simply a reaction to a stimulus that disturbs our physical or mental equilibrium. In other words, it's an omnipresent part of life. A stressful event can trigger the “fight-or-flight” response, causing hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol to surge through the body. Never say "there is nothing I can do about it". No! Don't accept stress as a part of your lifestyle, you can deal with it, you can minimize it, stress can be controlled. Some quick tips according to Stress Management by Lawrence Robinson, Melinda Smith, M.A., and Robert Segal, M.A.: Move your body frequently—don't sit for more than an hour Make positive face-to-face connection with other people a priority When you can't change the stressor, learn to avoid, alter, adapt, or accept Reduce your intake of alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine Do something you enjoy every day Get all the restful sleep that you need to feel your best. According to the authors, there are a few ti...

As I did yoga (Wednesday exercise) this morning, and looking forward to a favourable weigh in, " consistency " came to mind on a topic to speak about. I think the ease by which I slide into some yoga poses brought this to mind.  Consistency is a pattern, a compatibility, lack of deviation, a uniformity that defines anything ranging from behaviours to substances. Doing a particular thing with so much steadiness and constancy without slacking. If weight loss is going to be meaningful then consistency must be the watch word. When exercise/diet is consistent, the weight loss becomes easier and new challenges/heights could be set. Meanwhile one of the major challenges even in life is actually becoming consistent with anything. Life gets in the way and there is a diversion which could in turn lead to deviation from any set goal.

Weight loss journey can be as interesting and as boring, it can be as inspiring as it can be frustrating. It is the desire to keep moving no matter what, that brings the most success. I had been on this for the past 6 years and it is funny how many times I had to lose and regain those tiny pounds but somehow I am nearer to my goal weight now than ever before. Sometimes I lose weight rapidly, other times they come in tiny bits and some days it's like I woke up to gain 5lbs that will refuse to go away irrespective of what is done. In this long journey to great health, I have learnt to keep on keeping on even when the surrounding conditions doesn't permit it.

Fitness or  physical fitness is a general state of health and well-being and, more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of sports or occupations. Physical fitness is generally achieved through correct nutrition, moderate-vigorous Physical exercise, physical activity, and sufficient rest. It's not how long we will live, but how well. You can be successful without Fitness, but your success may be limited. Fitness builds energy that makes it possible to live with more zing and power. It's the pep you'll need to really go after your passions and goals. Our bodies were meant to move -- they actually crave exercise. Regular exercise is necessary for physical fitness and good health. Once you begin to exercise regularly, you will discover many more reasons why exercise is so important to improving the quality of your life.  Exercise reduces stress, lifts moods, and helps you sleep better. It can keep you looking and feeling younger throughout your entire life. A ...

This is a big challenge for most of us to come to terms with during any weight loss journey.  Everybody reacts to nutritional change and fitness differently. My pushups may make different muscle changes on me than your pushups do on you. But it’s really hard to remember that when someone lost twice as much weight as you did in the same amount of time.  We have all had those moments when the comparisons become a negative thought:  Why can she lose weight so fast and I can’t?  Keep it sane. Don’t compare yourself with others weight loss paths. Keep positive. Support yourself and congratulate others.  Your journey is your own!

Today, take a look at YOU... Just look at ALL you have accomplished! Be PROUD of YOU! YOUR hard work and persistence are paying off! Keep UP the GOOD work! Yes, YOU can do anything you put your mind to do! Google says, pride is a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of one's close associates, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired. It is the consciousness of one's own dignity. Wikipedia however talks about pride as an inwardly directed emotion that carries two antithetical meanings. With a negative connotation pride refers to a foolishly and irrationally corrupt sense of one's personal value, status or accomplishments, used synonymously with hubris . 

Yesterday was weigh in and it was not too good thanks to wacky hormones (every woman's monthly bane). I weighed in yesterday and I thought it was due to late dinner on Tuesday that showed on the scale but when I tried it this morning, it was worse despite the controlled portion yesterday and taking my early dinner. Now I know it has something to do with water weight. Anyways, the week was not bad and I did everything to be sure the weekend challenge was on point.

The Biggest Loser Challenge (BLC) is still on and I had a great week save my lack of consistent exercise. The challenge emphasized greatly on setting goals on all levels and meeting them. Nutrition Goals I did a daily meal plan and tracked it in my journal at the end of the day. I made sure to record everything that made it's way into my mouth daily and wrote statements of caution for anything that was not planned for the previous day. I realized at the end of this challenge how good it is to plan meals ahead, it gave me a sense of discipline and some accountability. Fitness Goals I did badly on this part, for whatever reason I am a bit incapacitated. I wanted all my exercise videos on a memory card because of some hard disk issues I had with the computer and solution seemed not to be coming forth quickly. I am not making excuses because I had lots of other alternatives but I promise myself that this week will be better. Goal Setting I did not get the instru...

There are instances of economic recession all over the world right now, and Nigeria is not an exemption and if I am allowed to say this, we seemed to be at the core of it right now. I am writing as it relates to my environment and what I practice. I noticed that healthy foods can be expensive in this side of the world except you are truly determined to do what is right. I will highlight food sources and what you can consume to get the daily requirements of such classes of food. I will dwell more on protein , fruits and complex carbs because that is where we have most challenges when it comes to being balanced around here. Protein Beans : Right now beans seem to elude the present recession as the price of beans is stable at N1200.00 ($3.00) for a paint rubber measure. It's a staple seed that can be diversified. You make your beans porridge, pudding and cakes out of this and you still have your fill from little. ( 3/4 cup cooked beans = 1 serving )

I am sure you are familiar with the Biggest Loser TV series that ran its 17th season this year - since 2004. It is a challenge where obese or overweight contestants are made to go through rigorous exercise and strict dieting disciplines. They compete for cash reward for 3 months and after which a ranch winner and a home winner emerges. So when next you hear " biggest loser ", its not pessimism they mean the individual with the lowest number on the scale, I will most love to be in that category, lol.  Post today is about a replica of this TV series that I have been involved in over the past 4 years. This is an online version of the biggest loser TV series. This challenge runs for 15 weeks straight with a weekly Wednesday weigh in and some other in between activities just to keep team mates on their toes for the period, some of which are:

I have cracked my brain over what to write about today and when I tried putting some post together about " living healthy on a low budget " (watch out for that next), the topic " family " just popped in my mind and I decided to just pour my heart out a bit this week and also reminiscence into what my family eating style was about too. I grew up within a family of 7 including mom and dad. We are a combo of 3 boys and 2 girls, friendly siblings in our years of growing, we did everything together and really loved ourselves. I think as we were growing we started recognizing our individual differences and it could only make us form parties, I don't mean we disliked ourselves but we started preferring one person over the other and obviously became closer with one more than others, lol. (If this has not happened in your family, raise your hands up).

What or who are food pushers? We encounter them daily during our weight loss journey and instead of avoiding them I think we can be polite. This post is based on some facts about food pushers and as I had personally encountered them and the few reasons why they push food at you. They can be categorized into 3.

My weight is up this week because of a new exercise plan.  I weighed this morning first thing after leaving the bathroom and it was a gain from last week, I decided to do my workout for the day which was a high intensity interval training. After the exercise, I bathe and weighed again and it was an increase on the scale. I wish to address this in my post today. I had been discouraged over and over about this issue in my journey towards losing weight. I mean, starting a new exercise plan with great expectations of a cooperation from the scale only for you to sight a bad gain at the first weigh in, urgh...

Overeating is the process of eating excess food in relation to the energy expended by a person. There are a thousand and one scientific explanations that is given to what happens before, during and after overeating. I want to explain overeating as it relates to me. I mostly have this experience when I think I am too hungry or when I enjoy the meal or when the food is my favorite. I think as much as it is easy to explain overeating, it starts from the mind then the mouth and the most effect is felt in the stomach then the waist in that order.

I have kept at this streak for 20 good weeks straight up. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy Find Below my chart for the past 5 months of consistent weigh ins.

I have been weighing myself and blogging about it for almost 20 weeks consecutively. I feel proud of myself because I know that consistency is very important in a weight loss journey and I am doing just that. For the past 3 weeks I had been posting on eating, hunger and other things in-between. I posted about CRAVINGS , DESIRE TO EAT and HUNGER , today and I am going to make my inference from the past posts and how it could affect me as a person (one of the purpose of this blog is for readers to learn from me and succeed). My conclusions goes thus : 1. I now know what true hunger means, which according to Dr. Fuhrman is felt at the throat and at the back of the mouth (refer to the last week's post)

It's a new week and I am a little excited today for some reasons: 1. I had my first workout Wednesday morning after more than 3 whole weeks of inactivity. 2. I just got clue to a new challenge and I am really excited that I may not bored out of this. 3. Intermittent Fasting is working and I am not worn out. It's more spiritual than physical and that keeps me going. 4. This is my 200th post on this blog, a wonderful milestone for me. I am proud of myself The post on true hunger is not really mine but a fact as researched by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D.  Happy Reading. Hunger is good to experience on a daily basis. Hunger is important to aid in our enjoyment of food and get the precise signals from our body to know the amount of calories we need to maintain our lean body mass. When we eat when we are hungry food tastes much better and we are physiologically primed for proper digestion. Hunger, in the true sense of the word, indicates to us that it is time to e...

I am making this a quick post so that I am not breaking my weigh in streak. I weighed in yesterday at 170.2lbs and that is a result of one week of inactivity but keeping food choices on point. I did well intermittently fasting and made good food choices, I also tracked my meals in my journals without default. You might wonder why I feel a gain of 0.4lbs is a good thing, I think so because I am just coming out of TOM and I normally expect a 3lbs gain most times but I think something is working for me, I only hope it has nothing to do with lack of exercise which characterized this week. I coming up with a series of posts on hunger, cravings and a desire to eat , I am almost done with it and I promise you it will be a good time to keep "overeating" under forever. ________________________________________________________________________________ I danced last week for a total of 90 minutes and I was surprised to have over 10,000 steps on my tracker, that is ...

This week had not been really interesting save the surprise birthday party I was at on Monday 20th. On the healthy lifestyle road, I can say this week was a bore. I tried working out but the morale was just not there (always remember that this happens a lot along your journey to success). Well, I needed to something interesting for this week's post and voila  - "clutters and de-cluttering" . We have all had to battle with this at one time or another. If you are a working class and you are like me with an 8 hour job with other extra-curricula activities on a daily basis, then you will relate with this a lot. Sometimes it becomes worse and you just must find that time to get your house in order. At a point, a cluttered house was my bane till I found a secret of handling one room per time and in a month my home became a safe haven again. Funny part is that when the house is cluttered there is a superstition that one will be having constant nightmares (I don'...